Disclaimer: CSI is not ours

Spoilers: none

Authors' notes: this is a co-written fic, by Sab and Danni. We both hope that you'll enjoy and, and this could be considered as a pre-sequel, or a prequel as what we'd like to call it to an earlier fic by Sab a.k.a filangel, titled CEASING TRAUMA. if you haven't read it, well there's really no need to since this is a PRE-sequel/PREQUEL, and could be even better coz then you won't know how it ends and not spoil the whole fun. Those who have read it well, if you're still interested to knowing how it all happened, read on!

Chapter one: Good-bye

"Hey guys let's go have breakfast"

"Sorry Cath, but I have to go home" said Nick sincerely

"Yea me too" said Warrick

"Sara?"

"I have to leave early too. Sorry"

"Come on guys, it's my treat!"

"Well in that case we'll hold you on that for tomorrow!" said Greg cheerfully, and everybody else chimed in to Greg's idea.

"Hey, I'm gonna head home, how about you guys?" Grissom said as he entered the locker room where everybody is.

"We're heading out too" Sara replied.

"I'll see you guys tomorrow" Grissom waved bye to all of them, "Good-bye!" Catherine said.

"We'll see you tomorrow, kay Cath?"

"See you tomorrow Cath!"

"Bye Cath!"

"Hey don't forget breakfast tomorrow Cath!"

"I won't. Good-bye guys!"

Everybody turned on their heels to leave, Catherine sighed. She walked behind her team and watched as they all went on their different directions. "Good-bye" she muttered. She came back to the locker room and got that white envelope she's been working on. She walked to her boss's office and placed it there, she neatly placed a white envelope on top of his desk. She closed her eyes before shutting the door, it was hard but she has to do it.

She walked around the lab, the whole night shift has left, and she's the only one there, she looked around, everything was so normal, no one knew but her. With one last glance at the building, Catherine shed a tear and jumped in her car.

The next shift.

Grissom entered his office; he grabbed the assignments and head to the break room.

"Okay" Grissom announced his presence as he entered, "Warrick, you're going solo, Nick you're with me, Sara you're with Catherine. Where's Catherine?"

"Probably on her way" said Warrick nonchalantly. "Warrick page her, Sara call her phone"

"Her phone's out of coverage area. It's either off or has no signal" Sara announced as she flipped her phone shut.

,,tteett. Tet. Tet.tet. ...

They all turned to look at their pagers, and it was none of theirs. Grissom caught the sight of something between the couch in the break room where Nick is seated, "Nick what's that?" Grissom pointed out. Nick looked at where Grissom was pointing at and as he retrieved it he had no doubts what it is or whose. "It's Catherine's pager."

"She must have left it" said Sara.

"Okay well then, Nick you go with Sara, I'll go solo."

They all went to work on the field, all of them thinking that Catherine has probably arrived at the lab by the time they are out in the Crime Scene. They all pulled double shifts. At the end of the second shift Grissom entered his office for the first time that day since he grabbed the assignments, as he went inside that's when he saw a white envelope on top of his desk with his name written by Catherine on it. He cautiously got the envelope and opened it; there was a letter inside –

Dear Gil,

By the time you've read this I'm already gone. I have sent my resignation to the sheriff, I told him that I would be the one to tell you, and that's why I'm telling you now. I'm going to a place far away, a place where I could be far from you. I've been with lots of men, deep inside me, all my past relationships failed and somehow I know I'm responsible coz deep inside I never expect it to last, coz there's something holding me back. And that's you. Don't worry that's not the only reason I left, I also left because I want to have a new start, a new life. I would go someplace where no one knows that I used to be a stripper, a place where memories of Eddie won't haunt my daughter and I a place far away from Sam Braun, a place where no one knows me, where no one could judge me.

I'm gonna start all over again, I'm gonna miss you, I'm gonna miss, Greg, Nick, Warrick, Sara, even Doc Robbins and Jim, hell even Ecklie! I'd miss everybody, I'd miss Vegas, but everything has to come to an end right?

This is it Gil. I'm sorry I can't say good-bye personally, tell the others the same thing. You know how much I hate good-bye's, if I told you personally I doubt I could go, so, now that I'm gone .... Good-bye Gil.

Saying my last goodbye,

Catherine

Grissom closed the letter and his world seemed to crumble down. He was having a hard time breathing, his hands are shaking, and he was sobbing. As if he has not realized that he's crying he went out of his office, and quickly headed to the locker room. Trying to convince himself that all of it was just a joke.

Everybody turned to look at him as he entered the locker room. Greg was right behind him.

"Has Catherine showed up?" Nick asked, Grissom just looked at him for a moment then walked inside, he opened Catherine's locker and it was empty. Empty except for another white envelope; few dollar bills and a post-it note on it –

Hey guys! I owe you breakfast remember? Greg, Told you I wouldn't forget breakfast!

Love,

Catherine.

"Griss?"

"She's gone." Was all that Grissom said. Nick punched his locker door, and silent tears run down Sara's face. Warrick just closed his eyes, and Greg smiled with the note Catherine left. Greg was smiling but the tears falling from his eyes showed his true feelings.

And suddenly Catherine's last words to them kept repeating in their minds.

'Good-bye guys'

It used to be 'see you later'; 'I'd go ahead'; 'see you all tomorrow'; 'bye', it was never good-bye, yet no one noticed it, not until now.

"She wanted to have breakfast. One last breakfast with us." Sara said breaking the silence that have encompassed.

"We turned it down." Nick replied silently.

Grissom rose, and left with Catherine's letter in his hands. Why did he not saw that letter earlier? If he did he might have stopped her. Why didn't he notice the way she said goodbye to him? He could have stopped her.

All these are a bunch of what he could have. But the fact is ... he did not.

TBC