Disclaimer: I don't own them and sadly, I never will; I've accepted it. I own Michele, Maria and Barney. (I suppose Angela would belong to me to unless CSI has already named her and given her a description. Of course, we don't even know if Grissom's mother is still alive.)

Summary: What kind of secret would Sara tell Ecklie, but not Grissom? There are a LOT of twists and turns in this fic. GSR (naturally), pregnancy, adoption, sexual issues and Nick is a little OOC. I know this summary kind of sucks, but it was the best way for me to incorporate as many twists as I can. There are some that aren't even mentioned.

Pairings: GSR, CW/OFC

CONFIDENTIALITY (1-6-08)

"This is Brass." Jim answered the phone which had interrupted his dinner with friend Gil Grissom.

"Are you alone?" The voice on the phone whispered. Brass was on alert. He knew that the voice was whispering because she was in pain.

"No. What can I do for you?"

"I need you and Catherine to come over. I've been…attacked. I'll tell you when you get here." Brass' suspicions were right. She was in pain.

"I'm on my way." Brass set his napkin on the table next to his plate.

"Please, don't tell anyone. I woke up a few hours ago and it took me this long to call you." She pleaded with him.

"I'll do my best, but you know I can't make that promise." He told her.

"I know. The door is unlocked and I haven't touched anything."

"I trust you."

"Please hurry." She pleaded.

"I will. Are you going to be ok until I get there?" He asked.

"Yes."

"I'll be there as soon as I can. Bye." He told her.

"Bye." She replied and hung up. Brass put his phone away and already in a different world. He was going to take this one to heart.

"Hey Jim, are you ok?" Gil brought him back to the here and now.

"Oh, uh, no I'm not. I'm sorry to cut this short Gil, but I need to go." Brass was making sure he had everything on him.

"What happened?" Gil asked.

"I…uh don't have all the details. I'll see you later." Brass stood up and walked away but came right back and was reaching for his wallet.

"I've got it; just go Jim."

"Thanks. I owe you one." Brass rushed out of the restaurant and pulled out his cell phone on his way to the car.

"Willows." He knew he had woken her.

"Get your kit; you and I have been specially requested for a case." He told her in his best official as he could muster.

"Does Gil know?" It figures she would ask that.

"This particular victim deserves special treatment. She doesn't want anybody to know; as in the file may go straight to Cavallo." He knew that this had gotten her attention.

"Who is it?"

"Just meet me at the lab and you can follow me to her place. Trust me; I'm going to take a lot of heat for this once it gets out." He assured her and knew who would be leading the pack waiting to light the match that will burn him.

"Ok, I'll be there in twenty." Catherine said and hung up abruptly. Jim parked his car at the crime lab and went inside. He needed to let Gil know that Catherine was with him. He wrote a note and then paced back and forth in Catherine's office until she arrived. As promised, twenty minutes later, Catherine found him.

"Let's go." He told her and grabbed her elbow. They passed Gil on their way out the door.

Grissom had been put on alert by Jim's odd phone call and then evasive behavior. He knew Jim was lying about the case details and planned to grill him about it later. He finished his dinner in peace and went into work early. Judy, the receptionist, handed him his messages. Right on top was a note from Jim.

Gil,

The victim needed a woman. Catherine is with me. I'll update when and as best I can.

Jim

Just as he looked up, Jim and Catherine went flying by. They waved at him on their way out, but clearly were not willing to stop and talk. His curiosity was definitely peaked; but there was nothing he could do except follow them. He didn't want to do that. He decided to corner them the next time he saw them.

Catherine was confused about the whereabouts, even after she had parked her car next to Jim's. She reigned in her curiosity for the time being especially since Brass didn't seem to be in the mood for conversation anyway. Jim led them to the building's security door and punched in the code to breach the interior. She followed him to apartment 3D and waited for him to open the door. He turned to her instead while pulling on one glove.

"Put your gloves on now. I want the entire door printed. Everything for this case will be done by the book." He ordered.

"Thanks for the tip. Whose place are we at anyway?" She asked after her sarcastic remark. He waited until she had her gloves on.

"We're at Sara's." He whispered so quietly she almost didn't hear it. Her eyes widened.

"What?"

"She wants this kept as quiet as possible." She heard the underlying just as he had when Sara told him. She decided to verbalize it.

"Gil is going to be pissed when he finds out." Brass nodded.

"I know; I'm already mad as hell."

"Let's get started." Catherine motioned to the door. Brass knocked and entered as carefully as he could. There was damage everywhere; clear evidence of a struggle.

"Sara?" Brass called out.

"Here." She replied and her voice was strained. Catherine waited impatiently in the hallway while Jim cleared the apartment. He came back out a minute later and put police tape across her apartment.

"She's in the bedroom." Catherine started to move but Brass caught her elbow.

"Catherine, she's in bad shape. Be prepared." Catherine nodded.

"You might as well call the paramedics. I'll go to Sara first and see who she wants to process her place." Catherine ducked under the tape and took in as much s she could. She would come back later, but Sara was her first priority. She carefully concealed her gasp of surprise upon seeing her co-worker, but also felt that she failed miserably. Sara looked like a patchwork of bruises and blood. Her hair was matted and frizzed, one eye was swollen shut and she was wearing what used to be a shirt.

"Oh Sara." Catherine's voice was filled with pain and sympathy.

"I tired to scrape his skin. He just followed me home and pushed his way in." Sara was straining to stay awake.

"Don't talk too much right now. I'm going to process you and meet you at the hospital. Can I call for backup?"

"Ecklie. I don't want anybody on our shift to know." Sara was firm and then took several deep breaths.

"Ecklie; are you sure?" Catherine was hesitant. Nobody on grave yard cared for Ecklie.

"Not Grissom. Ecklie can give me the time off to recover." Sara verbalized it. Catherine took a chance on this question.

"Do you love him?"

"No Grissom; promise me." Sara would not be deterred.

"I won't tell him." Catherine gave her word.

"I'm getting sleepy." This was a bad sign.

"No; stay awake, Sara. Tell me how you met Grissom." She barely saw Sara's soft smile as she began collecting as much evidence as she could.

"He lectured at Berkeley. I went to the lecture…It was amazing to listen to him teach. I could tell that he was genuinely excited about the m…material. I'm hurting." Catherine knew it must be excruciating if Sara was verbalizing her pain.

"I know Sara, but keep going. I'm working as fast as I can. The ambulance is on its way."

"I introduced myself afterward and asked a lot of questions. We were kicked out of the auditorium, so he took me out for coffee…We've kept in touch ever since."

"Sounds nice." Catherine offered and Sara smiled again.

"It's one of my…favorite memories." Sara grunted out the last two words. Catherine tried again.

"Do you love him?" She asked softly.

"Yes. Look in my nightstand." Catherine did as requested. Right on top was a photograph of Gil and Sara.

"Is this when you met?" Catherine asked and set the photo down to continue working.

"Yes." Catherine was scraping under Sara's fingernails; there was definitely something there and she hoped it was skin like Sara thought.

"You two are cute together."

"Please keep my secret." Sara begged. Even though it was fairly common knowledge of the non-relationship; it seemed really important to Sara to have the promise.

"You have my word." The paramedics were arriving just as Catherine finished what she could. There was no sense in covering her; the paramedics were going to uncover her anyway. Sara was in a lot of pain as she was being moved and prodded her to get her vitals. Sara told her not to come until the scene was covered and Catherine had no choice but to agree. She was rushed away in the ambulance and Catherine whipped out her cell phone to call Ecklie.

"This is Ecklie." He sounded tired and she knew that she'd woken him.

"It's Catherine. I need you to come to Sara Sidle's apartment with your kit and don't tell anyone."

"Why?" He asked and she could hear him shuffling around.

"I'll tell you when you get here. It's urgent and important. This needs to be kept quiet." Catherine was being just as cryptic as Brass had been with her.

"Ok, I'm on my way." Catherine relayed the address and hung up. She went into Sara's bedroom and packed a small bag of things she might need to make her more comfortable. She knew Sara would be spending a few days at the hospital. She set the bag next to Jim's feet.

"Ecklie's on his way over. I'm going to take some of Sara's personal effects to her. When Ecklie gets here, I am going to go the hospital to be with Sara." Jim nodded though didn't say anything. Catherine went back inside to start taking photos of the damage. She was in the living room when Ecklie arrived. She finished the room and went to join the two men in the hallway.

"Jim has told you?" She asked and he nodded.

"She's adamant that this be kept as quiet as possible. She waited several hours to call Brass after she woke up." Catherine informed him.

"How bad?"

"Pretty bad. She's going to need some time to recuperate and let the bruises heal. She picked you because you can handle Grissom."

"I see. I'll get right on it. You or I will process any evidence we find." She agreed.

"I've documented the living room and the entrance here. I've collected evidence from her body, but nothing else. I'm heading to the hospital to collect her kit and her clothes. I'll check in later."

"Please do." Ecklie requested.

"I'll be there to see her as soon as I can." Jim said quietly, and she could still hear the rage in his voice. She picked up her kit and her evidence and left for the hospital.

GSRGSRGSRGSRGSRGSRGSRGSRGSRGSRGSRGSRGSRGSRGSRGSRGSRGSRGSRGSRGSRGSRGSRGSRGSRGSRGSRGSRGSRGSRGSRGSRGSRGSRGSRGSRGSRGSRGSRGSRGSRGSRGSRGSRGSRGSRGSRGSRGSRGSRGSRGSRGSRGSRGSR

A/N: This was partially the set up and Ecklie being involved is the first of many twists I will include in this story. I'll try not to leave cliffhangers too often, but there will be some. I won't detail the attack for now, but you will know what happened to Sara much later on. Have faith, there will be GSR! Reviews equal more chapters. Have a great day everyone!