Disclaimer: Same as before. I don't own any of these characters or content from CSI etc. Content may be disturbing to some people.

Sofia POV

"Jim, here's my request for transfer back to Boulder City". He looks up from the paper he was reading and stares at me. "I need to leave as soon as possible".

"Wow, Sofia, can I ask what brought this on? I had no idea you were unhappy here". Captain Brass looked over my paperwork carefully.

"I'm having a personal problem here and that is making it difficult to be around the lab and at crime scenes with some of the CSI's".

"There's not much I can do to make you stay, but do me a favor, would you? I'll keep this, but think about this for a day or two and then get back to me. I want you to be sure this is what you want". I know this is what I want but a few days won't make a difference I guess.

I can't remember ever feeling this depressed over breaking up with someone. I even knew that our relationship couldn't last forever. I saw Sara and Grissom in the corridor today. I'm sure they thought they were alone. I saw the sparkle in her eyes. That was the sparkle that used to be there for me. I'm not angry at her. 'You started this, Sofia, and now you have to pay the consequences' I think to myself.

As I drive home I remember that I need a few things from the store so I make a stop. As I walk the isles of the grocery store I absently thrown in a big bag of Swedish Fish along with my usual items. Then I stop for some beer and head on home.

I manage to make it up the stairs outside of my condo without dropping my bags, but as soon as I reach to pull out my keys everything falls. "Shit. C'mon Sofia, just do something right today". I inspected the bags and luckily nothing broke, but the bag of candy fell out. The candy that I always bought for Sara when I went shopping I thought. I don't even like them. I'll just give them to Catherine tomorrow and tell her to pass them on to Sara for me. After I finally get the door unlocked I scoop up my dropped bags and bring them to the kitchen. My cat, Trina, is sitting at her usual spot on the counter top and the sight of her makes me smile. She's someone I can always count on to be there for me no matter what.

The ring of my doorbell combined with several thuds on the door itself startled me out of my thinking. I'm not expecting anyone. Back into cop mode, I put my hand on my gun and go to the door. What I saw when I opened it put me in shock.

"Oh my God" was all I could get out. Lying on the ground in a fetal position on my doormat was Sara. She looked horrible. Her hair and her clothes were in disarray. After I spoke she slowly lifted her face to look at me. Instead of the brightness her eyes held earlier in the day I saw pain and torture. They were red and swollen and she had obviously been very upset and crying. Five minutes ago I never wanted to see this woman again in my life as I knew it would be too painful, but seeing her in this state threw made my feelings seem so insignificant. She's obviously here because she needs a friend. She's chosen to come to me, and I have to step up to it.

"What happened?" I ask. Goodness, Sofia, don't make her sit there. "Here, come in". I reached down to try to help her up and she practically turned into a wild animal.

"Don't touch me!" she shouted and backed away.

"OK, I won't. Can you make it inside?" She nods yes, so I back out of the doorway and give her some room to come through. When she stands up I almost cry myself. She gingerly walks across the threshold. 'She must be in an immense amount of pain' I thought to myself. I motion for her to sit down on the sofa but she makes her way instead to the wall and slides down it to sit on the floor. I've never seen her like this. She had told me of her depressions but I had never seen this darkness.

I walk over to her, making sure I stay a few feet away and sit across from her on the floor. "Do you want to talk about it?" I don't know what "it" is, but obviously it is something huge. She shakes her head no, but I decide to try again. "Did you and Grissom have a fight?" At this she just stares at me blankly. Just then Trina comes over to greet Sara. I try to grab the cat before she reaches her, but not being able to take my eyes off of Sara, I miss and Trina is snuggling up against her. Sara moves her hand to pet Trina's head and that small gesture brings me comfort. "Can I get you something to eat? Do you want a drink?" Again, all I get is a blank stare as she strokes Trina's back. I'm not sure what to do. "I'll be right back. Trina will keep you company" I say to her. Again, all I get is a nod.

I make my way into the kitchen. "Fuck!" I scream as I kick the wall. I don't even feel the sting in my foot. "What the hell did you do to her?" I shout to nobody. This is the woman that I love, the woman who put meaning back into my life. The woman I let go at the expense of my happiness so that she could have hers. I would do it again in a heartbeat, and I would do anything to take away her pain right now.

After collecting myself I head back into the living room. Sara is sitting in exactly the same place she was when I left. I'd be surprised if she has even blinked. "Are you hurt?" I ask her. All I get is that now familiar nod. "Do you want to go to the hospital?" This time she shakes her head no. "You're going to stay here with me today". I decided there wasn't anything else I could right now. "Come to the bedroom. You can sleep there. I'll sleep out here on the sofa". Until yesterday we shared the bed but I knew that she would rather be alone tonight. "Come on". I smile to her and gesture. Just as I turn around she latches on to my hand like a vice.

"I still have some of your stuff here" I offer. I go to the dresser to pull out a set of pajamas but she refuses to let go of my hand.

"I feel dirty". It was the first sentence I've heard her say tonight. It surprised me a little, but I quickly snapped into action.

"I'll start the water for you in the shower. You can sit here for a few minutes while I get stuff ready". I turn towards the bathroom but rather than letting go of my hand and sitting down, she stays latched to me and follows me into the bathroom. When the shower is ready I say, "Here. The water's just the way you like it. I'll give you some privacy and go get you a towel". Sara reluctantly lets go of my hand and looks at me. The pain is still clearly visible in her eyes, but I also see a hint of something else. Security. "If you need anything, I'll just be in the other room" I tell her before walking out.

My whole being wants to go back in and jump into the shower with her. I think back to the time we were in there together with the rubber duck and the… 'Damn, Sofia, stop it. This isn't the time for this'. I brush the thoughts away and head to the closet and I pull out a fluffy green towel. I then discreetly slip the towel as well as her pajamas into the bathroom while she showers and head over to the phone.

"Willows".

"Cath? It's Sofia".

"Sofia? Um, hi?" We've never been great friends, so I'm sure she is wondering why I'm calling. I don't waste time with pleasantries.

"Hi. Look, Sara's sick and I don't think she should come in tonight. I'm taking care of her here. She won't tell me what's wrong, but I'm hoping she'll be better after a good sleep. Actually, can you tell Brass that I'll be out tonight as well?"

"OK, no problem. Thanks for the head's up. Tell her I hope she feels better".

"Sure, I will. Thanks Cath".

After hanging up I look over at the bags of groceries. I put them away and then take the bag of Swedish Fish and dump them into a bowl for Sara. I hear the shower shut off so I go back into the bedroom and put the bowl down on the night table. A few minutes later Sara comes out. "Feel better?" I ask.

"No" she states is a flat tone as she walks towards me. Again she latches onto my hand.

"Sara, why don't you get some sleep? You'll feel better later".

"OK". She lies down on the bed and I try to pull away to leave her to rest but she stops me. "Don't leave me alone, please" she asks with such fear that I've never seen her display. I am unsure if I can stand being with her in the bed, but if that is what she needs, I will be there for her. I lay down on the bed as far to the edge as I can but keep within her hand's reach. I realize that I'm still wearing my work clothes, but that doesn't matter right now. Within minutes I hear her fall asleep.

My anxiety is so high that I can't bring myself to fall asleep. I keep wondering what happened to cause her so much pain. All of the possibilities were playing through my head, each one more disturbing than the last. I'm not sure how much time passed but suddenly I'm brought back to reality when Sara lets out a shrill scream. "Stop! You're hurting me! I can't do this!" She's in hysterics right now, but I can tell that she is not fully coherent.

"Sara, wake up. It's Sofia. You are safe" I try to shout above her. She wakes up trembling. I fight the urge to run my hands through her hair or brush my fingers over her cheek to try to calm her down. That would probably make things worse. I can hear her heavy breathing mixed with slight whimpering. "Hey, you're safe here. Nobody can hurt you here. I promise". I can feel her calming down.

"Thank you" she says groggily. We lay back down and I hear her drift off to sleep again. This time I manage to fall into a light, fitful sleep of my own. We stayed there for the rest of the day. Sara, letting her subconscious work through a traumatic event with her hand grasped around mine, and me, laying on the other side of the bed trying to be the kind of friend she needs right now.

To be continued...