A/N: This is the last chapter and I have tried to increase the tension, I hope it lives up to all your expectations. Thanks to all of you who took the time to review this story.

Chapter five

Sara woke from a restless slumber, her head was pounding making it difficult to open her eyes and focus, but more than anything she was thirsty, her tongue stuck to the sides of her mouth in a sticky mess making it difficult to swallow. At first she didn't notice the bottle of water on the bedside table and when she eventually became aware of its appearance she fought an inner battle between grabbing the plastic bottle and downing the cool liquid in one long chug and resisting temptation in case the water had somehow been tampered with.

Picking up the bottle she carefully scrutinized the seal and finding that it was still in tact, made short work of unscrewing the cap and gulping the liquid like a drowning man gasping for air. At first she relished the way the cool wetness diluted her thick saliva but within minutes she began to feel odd. A tingling sensation, starting in her fingers and toes spread rapidly throughout her body causing her limbs to appear heavy and all her attempts to move only resulted in her clumsily making exaggerated steps, only managing two before her weak legs collapsed from under her. As if in a dream world she lay helpless as the door opened and Sadie entered, kneeling beside Sara's incapacitated form her features contorted into a combination of a smile and a sneer. "Not long now Sara and all this will be over."

Effortlessly Sadie dragged Sara from the room to an adjoining garage where the Buick lay in waiting, the engine already ticking over.

Brass had filled Grissom in on the information the neighbour had provided, how Sadie spent most of her time at her workshop where she and Dell made dolls houses and all the furniture to go with it, apparently it was a successful business that Thomson and Dell set up together some years before. The workshop was situated over the other side of the city and as Brass pushed the Taurus to its maximum speed the tension in the vehicle was palpable, Grissom stared aimlessly out of the window, hands clenched in tight fists.

As they neared the front of the building Brass pulled the car into the curb but just as a couple of squad cars joined them a speeding car emerged from the garage lock up and crossed their path at high speed. Immediately Brass barked orders into his radio for one of the units to follow the vehicle while the other stayed and cleared the building.

"Did you see who was in the car Gil?" Jim struggled to keep up with the car ahead as it turned off the main road and headed down a dirt track weaving precariously from side to side and kicking up plumes of dust in its wake.

"I think I could just make out the driver and one other, I can't be sure if it's Sara, but it has to be. Can't you go any faster?" Grissom frantically held on to the handle as Brass steered the car around the numerous pothole and rocks which littered their path.

"Look, if I catch one of these wrong and blow a tire, we'll loose them, keep calm Gil, this road leads to nowhere, sooner or later this psycho will realise that."

Sirens echoed across the vast open expanse of land as the trio of cars headed in convoy further and further away from the city. In the passenger seat of the Buick Sara sat slumped against the door, unbeknown to Sadie the effects of the concoction which she had slipped her were beginning to wear off. As Sadie gave her full attention to the road ahead she did not notice that her reluctant companion had begun to unbuckle her seatbelt and all too late did she sense that the passenger door was open. In a vain attempt to regain control of her hostage Sadie reached across the seat and grabbed the back of Sara's pants.

From their position behind, Brass and Grissom watched helplessly as the car veered from one side of the road to the other careering over potholes with such speed that the vehicles wheel actually left the ground on a number of occasions. They had a clear view of the passenger door as it flew open and then abruptly closed again; the shadows and shapes of a tussle going on between the two occupants caught their attention until the Car began to pull away from them and a quick glance at the speedometer from Brass confirmed that they were traveling in excess of 100 miles per hour. As the battered Buick raced over a blind ridge its wheels left the ground once more and it surged forward for twenty metres before regaining contact with the ground in such a violent way that it began to roll over from its wheel to its roof. Over and over the tangled metal made its decent down the hill, as the Taurus came to a standstill both men got out and watched helplessly as the wreckage burst into flames in a giant fireball.

Grissom was the first to recover; he raced down towards the now unrecognizable heap but the heat of the fire forced him to recoil and he fell to his knees screaming a single word over and over. "Sara."

From his position a couple of metres to the right Brass thought that he had seen something thrown from the car before it caught fire, running into the coarse scrubland he searched back and forth until he found what he was looking for. "Gil, get over here."

Turning Grissom saw his friend crouching beside what looked like a heap of rag and it was only when he came closer that he saw that it was in fact a person. Running to join Brass Grissom felt at first relief and then panic as he realized that the detective was cradling Sara in his arms and trying to shake a response from her.

"Is she alive Jim?" Grissom came to rest beside his friend and saw with his own eyes that Sara remained limp and lifeless.

"We need an ambulance, stay with her Gil while I go back to the car and radio for help." Brass was already retreating in the direction of the Taurus as Grissom removed his jacket and rolled it up to make a makeshift pillow for Sara's head. Her clothes were shredded on her lithe frame and did little to conceal the bruising and scrapes covering her whole body, taking her hand in his own Grissom prayed with all his heart that he wasn't too late and he would get the opportunity to tell her what so far he had not.

After what seemed like an eternity to Grissom the emergency services arrived and set to work but no amount of dissuasion could prevent Grissom from riding in the ambulance, leaving Brass to wait for the fire department to arrive and put out the fire still burning bright as the sun began to set on the Nevada desert landscape. On the long journey back to the city Sara began to stir, slowly at first just a moan and then more clearly, "Gris…som?"

When they finally reached the hospital the rest of the team was waiting, they had heard about what had happened over their radios and had left mid shift to meet them when they arrived.

"What's going on?"

"Is Sara going to be alright?"

"Is there anything we can do Grissom?"

Their rapid fire of questions caught Grissom off guard and for a moment he said nothing until Catherine crossed the room and put a hand on her friend shoulder sensing that the shock of the day was finally catching up with the usually composed Grissom. "Come on, take your time."

After a moment he looked at each member of his team in turn and spoke in a voice that was barely above a whisper, "I almost lost her, after everything we have been through it could all have been over with in the space of 24 hours."

Catherine nodded her quiet understanding before asking, "What did the doctors actually say?"

Blinking back the moisture that had built up in his eyes Grissom allowed a small smile curve his lips, "she's going to be alright, a couple of broken ribs and a mild concussion is about the worst of it, all the rest of her injuries are superficial."

A collective, "Thank God." Echoed around the room as each member of the team took turns to hug each other, their relief was palpable.

After a moments deliberation a thought occurred to Grissom, "What about Sadie? Did they find her?"

Catherine's evasive gaze instantly alerted Grissom that there was something wrong. "What is it Catherine? Tell me."

"A little while ago Brass came in with an update, apparently when the fire-fighters were able to get into the wreckage of the car it was empty, no signs that there was ever anybody trapped in the vehicle, nothing."

SIX MONTHS LATER….

Sara had recovered from her physical injuries well, but the mental scars of the ordeal still remained in the form of horrific nightmares which left her screaming during the night and no matter how many times Grissom held her close and told her everything would be alright the ritual would return the following night. He had not told Sara that Sadie hadn't been found in the wreckage of the accident knowing that it would serve to cause her more anguish and he wanted to avoid that at all cost.

Their relationship had come under the scrutiny of the whole lab but the sheriff had supported them and that left the likes of Conrad Ecklie without a leg to stand on and so even he had been forced to accept their involvement. The rest of the team had surprised them by holding a party at Catherine's and their overwhelming response to the news that Grissom and Sara had gotten engaged was a wholehearted, 'about time!' which left the pair wondering why they had tried so hard to keep things a secret for so long in the first place.

Just when Grissom felt that life was again getting back on track he walked into his office at the beginning of shift to discover a mysterious box covering the majority of his desk space. Zipping off the securing tape with his keys he felt a wave of nausea sweep over him when he opened the flaps to reveal a miniature crime scene model and a simple note which read, 'Payback!'