Disclaimer: I won these characters on Ebay. Just kidding. I do own the board game, though, and I dominate at it!

Author's Note: I know the characters are out of character. So sue me. Being scared does funny things to people. Also, reviews are gratefully appreciated and lovingly replied to.

Sara snuggled farther into the couch as she felt shivers run down her spine. The lamp on the table beside her cast long shadows across the large living room. This house had been a mistake. It was too big, especially right now.

She shook her head to clear her thoughts. It was ridiculous to let herself get this scared over a silly book. This was the reason she never read suspense books any more. She couldn't handle it. And what had possessed her to read this one? The stalker/serial killer/ rapist was preying on women who were single and in their thirties and above average intelligence, and that description almost fit Sara perfectly.

Sara vowed that she wouldn't spend the rest of her night off scaring herself in this way. She needed a shower and some sleep. She put the book on the end table and stretched, trying to work all of the kinks out of her body. A glance at the clock told her that she had been reading for three hours straight. She grinned guiltily and thought about all of the times when she hadn't stopped at all until it was time to go to work.

A noise from the kitchen made Sara jump. Something was scratching at the door. She slowly made her way into the room, picking up a frying pan and turning off the lights so that she could see outside. She hugged the wall as she made her way across the kitchen and flicked on the outside lights. She moved in front of the French doors to get a look at the culprit.

It turned out to be Aggie, her chocolate lab. She had let Aggie out when she started to read and forgotten to let her back in.

"Poor Aggie," crooned Sara, "I didn't mean to forget all about you. How about I give you an extra treat for being such a good girl?"

Sara fed Aggie the treat and headed to the shower, Aggie at her heals. Having a dog made Sara feel so much safer. Why hadn't she gotten one sooner? Oh yeah, because dogs weren't allowed in her apartment. That was another reason why she was enjoying having a house.

Sara stripped in the laundry room and put her clothes into the proper hampers for colors and whites. Then she went into the bathroom and turned on the shower, putting the heat up to maximum. She brushed her teeth as steam filled the bathroom, and then jumped into the shower stall.

It had been a mistake to let the bathroom mirror get covered in steam. Now she thought she saw a shadow lurking in the corner, but couldn't see the reflection in the mirror. Every time she closed her eyes to wash the shampoo out of her hair she felt some one watching her. When she opened them there was no one. Sara began to sing to herself to hide the silence that was haunting the large bathroom.

By the time Sara was done showering she had scared herself silly. She cleaned off the mirror and didn't even close her eyes when she washed her face. She was sure that if she did she would open them to find a killer right behind her, just like the girls always did in horror movies. Unfortunately, she got soap in her eyes and had to wash it out. She cursed as she promised herself that she was never reading another novel when she was home alone, not even Winnie the Pooh.

Sara heard something creak in the attic, and then the branches from the tree next to the house began to tap on the window. Someone had snuck into her attic! And had she locked the door after she let Aggie in? They were planning to grab her! She felt a draft as from behind her and whirled around to find…nothing.

That was it. Sara flung open the bathroom doors and ran straight to the bed, relieved to see the familiar lump beneath the covers. She dove straight in and buried her head in Grissom's chest.

"Sara, what's wrong? Why are you shaking?"

"Oh Grissom, I was so worried, I just knew that someone was in the house and waiting to kill me. Thank goodness you're home now."

"Ssshhhh, baby, it's all right now. I'm here. You've been reading those books again, haven't you?"

"Maybe."

"Well don't worry. I would never let anyone hurt you." Grissom kissed her softly, and suddenly Sara knew that she had been completely ridiculous to get so worked up. But anything that ended with her in Grissom's loving embrace was entirely worth it.