A/N: Hey, guys. I'm back, along with the angst. Since my first story was enjoyed by most of you, I figured why not start a new one, and hopefully, receives as much interest. So, here comes the beginning.

WARNING: This story carries a great deal of angst and darkness. So, I suggest that before you start reading, make sure that a box of tissues is right beside you. Oh, and Grissom becomes too cruel to Sara in the incoming chapters. You've been warned.

SUMMARY: Someone from Sara's past turns Gil against her, and have him for herself by putting him under hypnosis.

DISCLAIMER: I do not own CSI or its characters. All mistakes are mine, which I'm pretty sure you're going to find plenty of, because I don't have a huge background about hypnotism. I am neither a psychiatric, nor a psychologist. So, my information about hypnotism is gained merely from stories and movies.

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PROLOGUE

Sara curled up on the living room couch, staring into space in the dim lit townhouse. She didn't even try to swipe at the tears flowing down her cheeks because she was sure that she could not stop the flood that escaped her eyes, no matter how many times she did. That night was no different from any other night in the last two months. She had cried herself to sleep every single night since. That was when she learned about Gil's infidelity. Her husband was cheating on her with her best friend, Charlotte. Who used to be her best friend.

That was what Sara used to think of Charlotte until two months ago, until she found out that she was sleeping with Gil. Sara used to trust her blindly until she stole her husband.

Sara and Charlotte were best friends since high school. Even when they chose different careers and went to different colleges, they never lost contact with each other. They called one another every couple of days and talked for hours about their lives. Sara told Charlotte everything, including her unconditional love for Gil the moment her brown eyes met his deep blues.

Charlotte studied psychology while Sara studied forensics. And, after they graduated from college back in San Francisco, they worked in the same building for five years, until Gil called Sara to Las Vegas and asked her to stay by offering her a job to work for him, which she accepted without a second thought because that meant she could see him and be near him almost everyday.

Although Sara lived in Vegas ever since, which was ten years ago, her relationship with Charlotte never withered. They called and e-mailed each other constantly, talking about anything and everything in details.

Before coming to Vegas, Sara worked with Charlotte closely. Sara was a CSI in the San Francisco Crime Lab while Charlotte was the department psychologist, there. That was until twelve weeks ago, when the Las Vegas Crime Lab had an opening position for a department psychologist, and Sara recommended Charlotte for it immediately. Charlotte accepted it, came to Las Vegas for the job interview a week later, and got hired a week after that. And now, Sara could blame no one but herself. And she felt that she could not blame herself enough for that mistake, no matter how many times she did it over and over again. If it wasn't for her insistance on recommending Charlotte for the department psychologist position, she wouldn't had been in that mess.

Gil hadn't touched Sara for over a month, he would come home pretty late and claim that he got caught up in work whenever he found her waiting up for him, but Sara knew that he was lying to her as well as cheating on her. There were several reasons to prove it. One, she called the lab every time he was late, asking for him after not answering his cell phone, and Judy, the receptionist, would tell her that he had left the lab hours ago. Two, he would come home carrying that strong, suffocating perfume, which she unmistakably recognized as Charlotte's, that was transferred to his shirt from his very close range to her. And last but not least, she saw the mere disgust on his face as he roamed his eyes up and down her body, followed by a lame excuse to reject her every time she asked him to make love to her.

Sara's heart and brain were in a battle again. Her brain told her to leave him and never look back, to move on with her life, and start a fresh one with another man. At the same time, her heart told her just the opposite, it told her that it won't survive without Gil, and that it won't ever welcome any other man, no matter how cruel Gil was to her. And when it came to Gil, the love of her life, her heart was the one that always won despite the countless times he hurt her in the past. She couldn't hurt him back because her heart would hurt her, even more, if she did. She just couldn't stand to see him in any kind of pain. She loved him enough to protect him from getting hurt, even if that meant he would hurt her in return. Hell, she loved him enough to die for him.

So the question was, how much more agony was he going to put her through? How much more was she going to endure before he realized what he was doing to her?

Sara was brought back to the present by the sound of the front door opening and closing. So she quickly swiped at the new batch of hot tears running down her cheeks, and sat straight on the sofa. She might had wiped away her tears but her nose and eyes were as red as a tomato, so it was pretty obvious that she had been crying for quite sometime, now.

Gil found his wife sitting in the living room, waiting for him. Again. He immediately noticed the red-rimmed eyes and pink nose, but pretended that he did not. He didn't want to talk to her unless he had to. She was getting to him more and more each passing day. He didn't know why, but just her presence annoyed him since the last two months. He couldn't stand to be with her in the same room for more than a few minutes. He counted the hours to leave the house for work, to leave her.

Quietly, he went and stood just a couple of inches from where she sat. And that deathly strong perfume, that she hated so much, attacked her nostrils full force. She had to hold back her nausea.

"I'm sorry I'm late, but..."

"You got caught up by work. Again. I know." she finished his lie for him, her tone held sarcasm although it was quiet and calm.

Gil caught it instantly, but decided to ignore it as he wondered what she meant. Could she possibly know? No, if she did, she wouldn't be that calm, would she? No, of course she doesn't know. I am just being paranoid. So he decided to play along. "I'm glad you understand."

Sara just got off the sofa and before heading to the bedroom, she looked Gil in the eye. "Goodnight, Grissom." she said and left before he had time to react.

Gil was left alone in the living room, his features carried utter shock and a deep pain, which he did not know where it came from. She hadn't called him by his last name in more than five years. Something was definitely wrong with her, but he couldn't ask what it was for fear of what she would reveal. So, he just let it go, for now. Whatever it was, he wasn't ready to face it, just yet.

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Sara was tucked securely under the covers, curled up into a tight ball on her side of the bed when Grissom entered the bedroom.

She wanted to feel him more than anything. She needed him to make love to her, yet she was too afraid to ask for it because the last couple of times, he made her beg him for it, if not simply denying her request by giving her one of his lame excuses. Excuses like he was exhausted from work, or he would simply tell her that he was not in the mood after looking at her from top to bottom with total disgust written all over his features. And even if he granted her that wish, he made her regret it by closing his eyes the entire process of love making, imagining that she was Charlotte instead, and screaming Charlotte's name out when he came. Not Sara's name, but Charlotte's. Sara felt it like a dagger stabbing her heart, that she almost screamed from the intense pain it caused. It hurt her so much. To Gil, it wasn't love making anymore, it was merely sex.

So now, Sara knew better than to ask him to make love to her that night. She was certain that she couldn't hold it together if he rejected her or screamed out Charlotte's name instead of hers when he came that night. Again.

Instead, she released quiet tears until exhaustion consumed her, putting her in a fitful sleep, where a world of nightmares welcomed her once more.

A couple of hours later, Sara woke up from her nightmare by rough nudging on her shoulder. She opened her eyes and found Gil shaking her.

"Wake up, Sara. Your tossing and turning woke me up, and I have to go to work early tomorrow, so I need my sleep." Grissom said, annoyed at the disturbance Sara caused.

His annoyance did not go unnoticed on Sara as she sat up. "I'm so sorry, Grissom. I'll go sleep in the guest room if I am disturbing you."

At first, Gil's face showed slight pain as he heard her call him by his last name again, but he recovered quickly. "Yes, I'd really appreciate it if you do. Thanks." and with that, he turned and slept again, leaving a very hurt Sara going out of the bedroom.

Sara kept swiping at her tears as she passed the hallway and entered the guest bedroom, closing the door behind her. Once she reached the bed, she buried her face in a pillow to muffle the sobs of anguish her body released.

And once more, Sara cried herself to sleep.

A/N: I know it's not like Grissom to act cruelly toward Sara, but he wasn't himself. It's going to be much clearer in the upcoming chapters. Please let me know what you think about my first chapter. Should I keep going, or just stop? Reviews please.