Hi all!

New story :) This is based on a current storyline on Australian Soap Neighbours and one of the characters will be borrowed from this. I hope you enjoy it :)

Most of you will recognise this chapter as being largely taken from the first episode of Season 5, Viva Las Vegas. Don't worry, it's just setting the scene. Future chapters will not have so many lines ripped directly from the show!

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters and I do not make any profit from this story

Sara sighed, lifting her head.

"So, I had some time to think while I was away." She began calmly. "Enough time to figure out why I made such a stupid mistake. I – I do not have a drinking problem. I have a ... uh, me problem. My PEAP counsellor suggested that it would be a good idea for me to talk to my supervisor and that's you, Grissom; so ... I never told you about my family. I never told anyone about my family, why would I..."

"Sara?"

She started, tearing her gaze from her reflection in the small mirror. Finding herself being watched by Greg and an unknown woman, she rose to her feet nervously and prepared to explain herself. However, if Greg was at all perplexed by finding her talking to herself in the locker room, he didn't show it as he eagerly gestured to the bored-looking woman next to him.

"I want you to meet my replacement. This is Chandra."

Sara smiled, doing her best to still the butterflies in her stomach.

"Nice to meet you Chandra."

The woman smiled back, although it was the tight smile of someone who wanted to be anywhere else right now.

"Likewise."

Oblivious to the awkward tension that suddenly befell the room, Greg continued to beam at Sara.

"So, how was it?"

Her smile faltered and a knot started to form in her stomach.

"How was what?"

"Well, you took some vacation time, right?"

"Yeah, right." She relaxed slightly, although her eyes remained wide and startled. "It was great."

"Yeah, okay." Greg nodded, casting a glance at Chandra and realising that she was looking decidedly bored. Offering Sara a final grin and a wink, he gestured for the new lab tech to follow him on their tour of the lab.

She turned, nodding curtly in Sara's direction, before shuffling down the hall after the hyperactive young man.

Sara held her face in a fixed smile for a moment longer, waiting until she was definitely alone again before finally releasing a relieved breath.

He scanned the room, looking for a suitable source of heat; but the only heartbeat in his office was his own, as his companions were all long-dead and preserved in their jars.

"Grissom?"

He whirled around, as two blurry shapes appeared in the doorway, shrouded in a red mist.

Greg, unfazed by the boss' unusual attire, raised a hand towards the other figure.

"I'd like to introduce you to Chandra Moore."

"Pleased to meet you, sir." She crooned, offering a hand that went un-shook. "I'm a fan."

Grissom gave the woman a slow once-over.

"You're hot."

The words slipped out before he could call them back and he instantly felt his own cheeks flame beneath his helmet.

"I...I'm sorry?" Chandra stuttered, slowly retracting her hand and clasping it behind her back.

"You're emanating heat." Gil explained by way of apologising. He slipped his helmet off and held it up proudly. "This is a new infrared camera. It's good for looking at evidence in the dark."

She nodded, not as impressed as he'd have hoped. Turning his attention to Greg, he gestured towards the woman.

"Did you get her blood yet?"

Chandra's eyes widened impossibly further.

"My ... why?"

The hint of a smile played on Grissom's lips, as he offered a meek shrug.

"So many reasons."

Before he could explain further, a sharp holler from the corridor made them all jump and the furious heel clicks of Catherine Willows descended on the room.

"You can't possibly call that thing my office!" She insisted, storming between Greg and Chandra until she was inches from Grissom's face. "It's a cupboard!"

"Catherine, have you met Chandra Moore?" Gil asked calmly, attempting to deflect her rhetorical question. "She'll be doing DNA while Greg's in the field."

"Hello, I'm Catherine." The blonde greeted coolly, barely casting the affronted woman a glance before she affixed her gaze back on the boss. "We need to talk."

"Well, not now – too much work." He smiled, putting on his glasses and picking up a stack of files. "You have a suspicious death at the Palermo."

Without tearing her fierce eyes from his unfazed smirk, she snatched the folder from his hands and held it up towards his face, before thinking better of continuing her rant. Turning on her heel, she stormed away from him, almost mowing down the rest of the team on her way out of the door.

"Warrick," Gil continued upon seeing the dark-skinned CSI. "Trash call at a weekly at Freemont and 12th."

"Excellent." He nodded glumly, taking the folder.

"Nick, Sara, body in a shallow grave – dry lake bed, in Ely, off Groom Lake Road."

Nick accepted the assignment with a grin.

"Alright." He nodded eagerly, turning to his partner for the night and giving her a gentle punch on the arm. "I'll meet you there?"

She nodded, slinking towards the door, but not actually going through it.

"Greg, you're going to be with me." Grissom continued, raising an eyebrow pointedly at the young man. "Your final proficiency."

"Great." He rolled his eyes, turning back to Chandra. "Let me show you your new digs."

As they left, with Warrick offering good luck to Greg on his way out, Sara emerged from the shadows by the door. Grissom did a double take, having not realised that she was still there.

"Can I talk to you real quick?" She asked hopefully.

"Certainly." He took off his glasses and fixed her with a studious look. "Have you been seeing your PEAP counsellor?"

Sara pursed her lips and nodded curtly.

"Yeah."

"How's it going?" He pressed, concern clouding his features.

"Well, it's been interesting." She paused, taking a moment to gather her nerve. Unfortunately it proved to be a moment too long, as a crash from the DNA lab silenced the rest of her sentence. They both peered out to see Greg raise his hands sheepishly in their direction.

Sara shot Grissom a despondent smile.

"It's going to be a busy night, huh?" She sighed. "We'll talk later."

"Are you sure?" He took a step towards her and she instinctively backed away, almost walking into the doorframe.

"Yeah, yeah." She nodded eagerly, feeling the growing weight in her stomach lurch. Glancing down, she found her hands were shaking and clenched them into fists as she scampered out of the office before he could entice her back.

Next time. She would definitely tell him next time.

The music pulsed around her and the dim lights hanging above the bar cast tall, dancing shadows on the deep-coloured walls.

Passing the barman, she waved at the handsome young man to get his attention. Recognising her from earlier, he pointed mutely to the back room.

Chris' office was tucked around the corner, private enough to keep the customers away but close enough that he could keep a watchful eye on the bar. As she opened the door, she caught the sound of a woman's giggle from inside the room; however, even that didn't prepare her for the sight that awaited her.

It was her gasp of surprise that pulled them apart, and Chris looked past his partner towards Catherine with wide eyes. For a long moment, they just stared.

Finally, Chris offered a small shrug.

"What do you expect?" He asked half-heartedly. "I run a nightclub."

She opened her mouth to speak, to shout, to offer any kind of rebuttal to his pathetic excuse; but the words died on her lips.

Shaking her head in loss, she turned around and walked out, letting the door swing shut behind her.

As she weaved her way through the bar, she was acutely aware of the barman's eyes following her and somewhere in the back of her mind she wondered whether he had known what he was sending her in to.

But she didn't stop to ask. She just kept walking. Outside, she kept on walking straight past her car. She wouldn't be needing it today. Not with what she had in mind for the rest of the morning.

The sound of glass smashing stopped him in his tracks. Spinning towards the source of the sound, he caught sight of Chandra stomping out of the DNA lab.

"Oh, I can't go through with this!" She growled to herself.

"Hey, Chandra!" He called, catching up to her before she could disappear down the hallway. "How was your first day?"

She turned to face him. Contrary to earlier, when she had appeared composed and professional, her hair was now a frizzy mess and her face was blotchy and flushed.

"I can't do this!" She huffed, tearing her lab coat off and practically throwing it at Greg. "It's too much for one person. They all want ... they all want you, and I can't be you."

As she disappeared down the hall, Greg's shoulders slumped. It had been a bad enough day, he did not need this right now.

Lifting his head, he spotted Warrick and Nick watching from a nearby lab. Wordlessly, Warrick handed a bill to Nick and offered the downcast ex-lab rat a heartless shrug. Greg pursed his lips, nodding in understanding, and dropped his gaze back to the floor.

He had been given one more chance to achieve his proficiency – on that simple basis that he had found a suitable replacement for the DNA lab. That replacement had now quit.

Which meant that someone really did have it in for him today.

Downing the last of her drink, she slid a few dollars across the bar as a tip and hopped off her stool. Taking a minute to steady herself, she gathered her bearings and began making her way slowly towards the exit.

As tempting as it was to sit here all morning and drink herself into oblivion, it was not going to solve any of her problems.

As she weaved her way through the tables, keeping her head ducked in an effort to make herself feel invisible, she caught a glimpse of something out of the corner of her eye. Her vision was a bit blurry and her head felt fuzzy, but she was certain that she wasn't imagining it.

In a quiet corner, their heads bowed together in deep conversation, were Sara Sidle and another woman.

Without getting closer, it was difficult to be certain; but Catherine was sure she recognised the other woman from somewhere. For a moment, she considered going over and introducing herself; but they seemed engrossed in their discussion and she was in no mood for polite small talk anyway.

Putting her natural curiosity to bed for a while, she slipped out of the door into the stifling, airless morning.