1. Karma to burn

"Hey."

"Hey, what are you doing here?" Sara looked up surprised. She had no idea the new spot she found was a well known place. As far as she knew the bar only opened a few days ago, how could the whole department know about it?

"Having a drink. What do you usually do in a bar? Mind?" Sofia pointed to the stool next to Sara.

"Who am I to tell the Deputy Chief where to sit or not to sit?"

"You don't care about ranks, Sara." Sofia sat down. "I take a beer." She said to the bartender, who approached her. "She takes another one too. My treat."

"Thanks."

"I heard about what happened to DB's granddaughter. And Nick. And Ecklie."

"Of course you did, you're the Deputy Chief. The Sheriff was very, very mad."

"Well, she has all reasons to be mad. How is everybody? I heard Nick took a beating, he more or less asked for. Did he really quit?"

"For a few hours, yes."

"How did you make him change his mind?"

"Who said I made him change his mind?"

"If anybody could make him change his mind, it's you. You're friends, when you tell him to get himself together, get back to the team, he does it."

"I felt like grabbing him by the neck and slap his head to the wall until he was sober and use his brain again. I don't think I've ever been this mad with him than in that moment. It's one thing to quit, it's another thing to act like an idiot."

"We all have our weak moments, when we don't use our head to think. You left the lab too."

"And I came back when I got my head clean. If I had had another choice back then I had stayed. Leaving Vegas was hard. The lab is home, they're my family."

"Even Ecklie?"

"Even Ecklie." Sara laughed. "He's the stepfather."

"I think he changed to better since Morgan is here. And I'm glad he'll be fine."

"Me too. Sometimes I wonder why it feels that they're all after our lives. Are we a kind of prey? Why do they get after the family too? DB's granddaughter."

"It's the weak spot everybody has, the family. You want to get to somebody, you take away what they love most. Their family, their children. In our job you're better off without a family or children."

"Is that why you're not a married mother?" Sara wanted her voice to sound like she was mocking the blonde, but she couldn't. It was a serious topic and there was a lot of truth in what Sofia said. A lot of sad truth.

"Did I not mention it's also very difficult to find somebody, who has no problems with the work hours we pull? And is willing to put up with the thought of his spouse could be killed whenever she leaves for work? It's safer as a deputy chief, I spend most of my time in an office, but it doesn't make it safe."

"No place is really safe. We put our lives on the line to make the world safer, but it will never be safe."

"No, probably not." Sofia finished her beer. "Well, I leave you to your well deserved quiet after work drink. Nice talking to you, Sara."

"Likewise." Sara hesitated for a second. "Sofia?"

"Yeah?"

"Care to have a drink here more often? Like once a week?"

"Sounds like a good idea. I see you next week then, stay safe Sara."

"You too, Sofia. You too."