It's taken a very long time but….another story is finally delivered! This one is really a Sara and Grissom story but, as is usual in my stories, there is a bit of Nick angst thrown in for good measure - and, of course, the obligatory hospital scene down the track : ). Please read and consider reviewing - I do really love getting feed back. A big thankyou as well to all the very kind people who continue to read my stories and review even though its been a very long time between drinks : D

CHAPTER ONE

Sara Sidle smiled a contented smile. She lay curled up next to her sleeping husband, feeling nothing but happy and safe and secure. There were many times as a young teenager, when she was shuffled from foster home to foster home, when she believed she would never be capable of feeling this way. When her mother had murdered her father, her family had disintegrated overnight.

She had awful memories of police cars and social workers - all strangers - arriving at her house. She remembered being taken into her bedroom with the social worker and packing a small overnight bag with some of her belongings. She remembered the muffled deep voices of police officers wafting up the stairs. And she remembered the frantic cries of her younger, frightened brother as another social worker carried him to a waiting car. It was the last time she had been a family with her brother. They were separated that dark night and only reunited occasionally for several hours here and there depending on what families they were staying with at the time. She had grown up, essentially, as an only child. It had often been a sad and lonely ride the rest of the way to adulthood.

But now, many years later, and with her fortieth birthday looming, she had overcome most of the demons which had plagued her since that terrible night, and was in a happy place. She was enjoying being back working with her friends on grave shift at the Las Vegas criminalistics lab and she was more than happy that her husband had accepted a twelve month research and teaching grant at LVU, meaning that after twelve months of married life, they were finally living in their own marital home and seeing each other daily. He would spend the daylight hours at the university and, at times, at the crime lab making use of some of the specialised equipment which was beyond the financial means of the teaching department, and she spent the night time hours working as a CSI. But they always made sure they were together for their evening meal and for at least a cup of tea as they passed each other in the morning. It wasn't perfect, but it was a far better solution than living on separate continents.

Gil Grissom gave a sudden deep breath and his arm moved to draw her closer, even in sleep. Smiling, she cuddled in and moved her arm to rest across his chest, laying her hand gently over his heart.

Sara arrived at work the following evening feeling refreshed. She had had a relaxing day catching up on some reading while Grissom had been away at the university and had enjoyed an excellent documentary on the Galapagos Islands before getting ready for work. But the lab was quick to leach the relaxation from her system. It was a busy night. There was plenty of work to be done on an open case she had been working on for the last couple of shifts, and she had barely set foot through the front doors of the lab when Catherine Willows handed her with a slip for a death in Summerlin.

"You're with Nicky tonight." Catherine called over her shoulder as she walked off to finish delivering work assignments to the other team members.

Shrugging her bag off her shoulder, she opened up her locker, deposited her bag within it, donned her black CSI vest, restocked her investigating equipment in her kit case, double checked her reflection in the small square mirror at the end of the room, and headed off to find Nick Stokes.

She found him sitting at his desk in his office. Sara stood back and watched him from afar for several long moments. She still found it a little odd that someone other than Grissom sat in that office. And yet, she was glad it was Nick who got first dibs on it when Gil had left the team. Nick had earned the office.

Finally, she moved and stood in the doorway, knocking gently on the open door to get his attention. He looked up and smiled at her. The same friendly smile he had given her since they first met eleven years ago. The two had clicked almost instantly. She imagined the relationship she and Nick shared would have been similar to the relationship she would have had with her own brother had their lives turned out differently. And Nick, having grown up with five older sisters, treated her like a sixth.

"Hey," said Sara as she went to lean against the end of his desk. "its me and you tonight."

Nick leaned back in his chair and rubbed his hands against his face. He looked tired already.

"Yeah," he replied. "419 in Summerlin. Catherine's already caught me."

"You OK?" Sara asked as he brought his hands back down to the desk.

Nick gave a chuckle and squinted up at her.

"Yeah, I'm fine." he mumbled "Didn't get much sleep last night."Sara smirked at him, suddenly remembering that he had mentioned he was meeting up with an ex girlfriend for a drink last time she had spoken to him.

"Hmmm," she teased, "the hot date went well, I take it."

Nick ducked his head, a flush of embarrassment evident on his cheeks, and pushed himself up from his chair.

"Somethin' like that." he murmured, "Time to go, Sidle."

Grinning, Sara stepped into stride next to him as they headed off to their assignment.

It turned out to be a relatively routine case. A man in his mid fifties had been found deceased in the backyard of his family home by his teenage son. From his attire, he had been swimming in his in-ground pool before apparently slipping with his wet feet on the concrete and cracking his head against a solid brick wall which enclosed the area. A large pool of tacky blood had started congealing around his head, reflecting the large outdoor lights which had been switched on by the CSI's to illuminate the scene.

Sara and Nick had been processing the scene for just over an hour when Sara's cell phone rang. She glanced at the caller identification and frowned slightly as she saw Jim Brass - he was working another case with Greg, she thought.

Nick was hunched down on his knees and paused from double checking his scene photographs and glanced over at Sara as she took the call. He saw the frown deepen as the conversation continued and saw the determined stance and knew what was coming. He'd be finishing the scene by himself. Not that he minded too much - he just had to think back to when he had first become a CSI level 3 and how desperately he had wanted to run a scene solo.

"Hey, Nick?" Sara called over to him, "Do you mind if I leave you finish up here? I've got to head back to the lab."

Nick stood up, shrugged and stretched his back.

"No problem." he replied. "Everythin' alright?"

It was Sara's turn to shrug, the frown still firmly in place.

"Jim's got my brother in interrogation."

Nick froze in shocked silence, shooting a quizzical look at her.

"Your brother?" he repeated, "I didn't know you had a brother."

Sara packed up her equipment without looking back over at him.

"I haven't had a brother for years." she replied quietly as she closed her case and headed out through the pool gate.

Nick looked at her leave, confusion clearly evident on his face. Shaking his head at the enigma that was Sara Sidle he turned back to his camera and continued processing the scene.

Sara arrived back at the station, chewing her bottom lip in unconscious worry. All Jim had said was that they had her brother in custody for drug possession and he had been asking to see her.

She dropped by the lab briefly to deposit the first of the evidence from the scene before heading across to the police station. Jim Brass was waiting for her outside the interview room, arms crossed but holding a manila folder in one hand and leaning with his back against the wall. He pushed away from it when he saw Sara walking towards him and started filling her in without hesitation.

"OK," he began, "so, we picked up this guy claiming to be your brother…." - he opened up the file and read the name aloud - "Alexander Paul Sidle."

He paused briefly and glanced across at Sara for confirmation. She gave a short nod of acceptance, arms firmly crossed and frown deep across her forehead.

Brass continued…

"He was picked up on the Strip trying to buy heroin. He'd already been ejected from MGM and Excalibur for intoxication. He's declined legal counsel but has requested to speak with you."

Sara walked silently past Jim and into the observation room. She looked through the one way glass window at the man sitting in the interview room. She heard Jim Brass quietly move into the room but did not take her eyes from the accused. He was agitated - hands scratching marks on his bare arms and legs jiggling up and down so fast that Sara wasn't sure if it was controlled or a severe tremor. His dark hair was greasy and untidy and he was looking around the vacant room as if suspicious that someone might be hiding. Sara was amazed at how much he physically resembles her father. His face was so similar….and yet so unfamiliar. She was utterly bewildered - she could have walked past this stranger a million times and not realised who he was.

"So, I take it this is your brother?" Brass asked quietly.

Sara nodded again but did not take her eyes away from the window.

Brass paused for several long moments before he asked, "How long has it been since you've seen him?"

Sara brought a hand up to rest on the cool glass and raised her eyebrows as she mentally calculated the years.

"I guess it's been about twenty five years." she admitted, a pang of regret that it had been so many years.

Brass was quiet a moment longer.

"What do you want to do, Sara?" he asked, voice continuing to be low, "It's your call."

Sara hesitated for a heartbeat before turning and, for the first time, looking Jim straight in the eyes.

"I'll talk to him" she replied firmly.

Brass shrugged and gestured with his arms to the door of the interview room. She opened it and entered the room with more confidence than she could have imagined. But it faded as quickly as it had come on.

All of a sudden she was fifteen years old again - shy and awkward - and having a prearranged meeting with her younger brother who she barely knew. But her foster family had pushed for them to maintain some form of contact and so, twice a year, the two separated siblings would come face to face and spend an hour or two realising how very little they had in common as they both got older. There was six years difference in their ages and their foster families differed significantly. Both had endured numerous different families but by the time Sara was fourteen, she was living full time with a family who supported her and encouraged her to funnel her anxieties and underlying anger into study. She found she had a talent for mathematics and science and began to excel at school. Her brother had not been so fortunate and had continued to be shuffled in and out of different families. His behaviour deteriorated every time Sara met him until finally the meetings stopped. He had finally found himself in juvenile detention. Sara had lost contact with him after that. He had ceased to be a part of her life.

And yet suddenly he was back.

Sara stood just inside the doorway and spent several moments looking at her brother. He looked over at her, continuing to rub distractedly at his arms.

"Sara?" he finally asked.

Sara nodded and moved to sit down opposite him in the hard, plastic chair.

"Alex." she replied calmly, "How did you find me?"

Alex's eyes were glazed and he seemed unable to maintain eye contact with her.

"You kept your name, sis." he said, finally dropping his arms to his side and focusing on her for the first time. "You weren't too hard to find. God bless the internet."

Sara sat back in her chair, arms folded and frowned back at him. "Why are you here?" she asked.

For the first time since Sara had entered the room, Alex stopped fidgeting and brought both arms up to rest on the table. His eyes dropped away from hers briefly and, when he did finally look back up at her, she was struck by the deep misery that reflected back in them.

"I really need my sister at the moment." he said quietly. A lump formed in Sara's throat so quickly it took her by surprise. "I need you to help me get my life back on track."

As usual, I'm not really planning where this story is heading so I guess we'll just see where it ends up. Now, please, consider hitting that review button….