"Cath, can we talk?" Sara asked flatly.
"What can I do for you today, Sara?" Catherine asked with a perturbed look on her face.
"Not here. How about over breakfast?"
"Sorry, I have to pick up Lindsey from my sister's after work. Teacher workday-no school today. Maybe another time, okay?"
"Uh, yeah, sure. Thanks anyway," and with that, Sara dropped her head and turned to leave.
"Wait, Sara. Is there something important you needed to talk about?"
"Nah, that's okay. Don't worry about it."
"Okay then," Catherine said to the retreating figure of Sara. At that moment Catherine didn't know that this would be the last instant she'd see Sara alive.
Catherine went back to busying herself with the case files that had accumulated on her desk. She was still sitting there when the shrill sound of a single gun shot rang like a bell throughout the lab. Her first instinct was to take cover, but something in her made her run toward the sound of the shot. She was ill-prepared for what she was about to see.
She rounded the corner toward the locker room and saw an ashen Greg walk out of the locker room and immediately fall down against the wall. He was visibly shaken and distraught. He looked into her eyes as she passed in front of him and she knew at once what she'd find on the other side of the door. Everything began to move in slow motion. She pushed open the door and saw Nick walk toward her. He put his hands out and said, "Cath, you don't need to see this. Just go back to your office." His body was blocking her view. She allowed him to begin to walk her back toward the door when her curiosity and instinct got the better of her. She quickly turned on her heel to walk further into the locker room. As soon as she broke away from Nick, she saw Sara's boots and instantly screamed, "NO!"
Nick grabbed her and held her up. He walked the sobbing blonde out of the locker room. She kept repeating, "No," as he walked her back to her office. He was unsure why Catherine was reacting so emotionally. She had never been close to the younger CSI and had seemed to do everything within her power to emotionally decimate and socially isolate the Harvard graduate.
He was sitting on Catherine's couch, his arm around her trying to soothe her. Just as calm began to settle into Catherine's body, an equally emotional blonde detective burst into the office.
"You couldn't take a few minutes to fucking talk to her? She needed to talk to you. God knows I've tried to take your place, but I never could. I could never equal the great Catherine fucking Willows. A few minutes of your time and she'd still be here. I wish that was you in there—lifeless and dead," Nick had physically placed himself between the two women to prevent Sofia from taking her anger out on Catherine.
"Sofia you should probably go. Emotions are running high and talking like this to Catherine won't change anything that's happened," Nick said calmly as he ushered a distraught Sofia from Catherine's office.
"Give her this. Sara had it in the hand that wasn't holding the gun," Sofia said as she handing a blood splattered envelop to Nick. "She needs to read that."
Nick turned the envelope over in his hands. No name was on the envelope and it had already been opened. Normally, he wouldn't have done this, but with it having already been opened, he didn't feel guilty about reading the apparently hastily written note. As he read it, he suddenly understood everything.
He walked back into Catherine's office and sat beside her once against on the couch. In his best 'big brother' voice, Nick started, "Cath, I had no idea. Why didn't you---I mean, no one would have thought…Shit, Cath, she was in love with you?"
Catherine hung her head and nodded. "I was in love with her, too."