Part 1

Catherine strode across the pavement, making her way toward the yellow tape where the witness Jim had indicated stood, pale and fidgeting. Sara followed a step behind, annoyed that the scene hadn't been released to them yet and not interested in what the witness had to say. "Um, hi, Miss Spencer, I'm Catherine Willows and this is Sara Sidle. We're from the crime lab and we'd like to ask you a few questions."

Pale blue eyes lifted to shocked brown ones, and the blonde woman stuttered out, "Sure, sure. Um, call me Angie."

"Ok, Angie," Catherine began, but then Brass called to her and Catherine made a quick apology and left, leaving Sara to finish the interview.

"I thought you were a cop," Angie said with only a trace of bitterness in her voice.

"A criminalist."

Angie stared over to where Catherine and Brass stood talking. "I can see what you see in her."

Sara's mouth tightened but all she said was, "Can you tell me what you saw?" She kept her head down, focused on her notebook and the scribbled notes covering the page, and avoided looking up at the woman across the tape from her.

Sara finished taking her statement, muttering a quick "Thank you for your help," as she tried to make a quick getaway, but Angie reached out and snagged her notebook, jotting down her phone number on the top of the page. "I've been looking for you at the clubs the last couple of weeks."

"I work nights." Sara extended her hand for her notebook, trying to avoid glaring at the shorter woman since it would be bad form to be rude to a witness, regardless of their history.

Angie leaned as far over the tape as possible as she handed the notebook back so she could whisper, "I wrote my number here so you won't lose it like you did the last time. Call me. I'd like a return engagement."

Pulling her notebook free, Sara reached down and grabbed her case, saying "Thank you for your time."

Catherine had turned to call to Sara when she saw the witness grab Sara's notebook out of her hand and write a quick note. Sara's back was ramrod straight as she held out her hand for the notebook, but the woman didn't seem to notice the tension in Sara's frame as she leaned over the tape and spoke near Sara's ear. A teasing smirk was plastered on the woman's face as she pulled back and she watched as Sara grabbed her case and walked away, her eyes lingering on Sara's body as if she was memorizing the curves.

Catherine chanced a look at Sara and wasn't surprised to see anger rolling around in those dark eyes; everything seemed to make the tall CSI angry, and Catherine was surprised to find that she was relieved that a woman hitting on her at a crime scene was no different. Seeing Sara's mouth stretch into a hard line, Catherine immediately schooled her expression into one of studied nonchalance and launched into what she had learned from Jim.

xxx

"So, are you going to call her?"

Sara's head whipped around so fast Catherine was afraid she would get whiplash. "Who?" she asked, even though the reddening of her cheeks told Catherine Sara knew exactly who she was talking about.

"The witness. She gave you her phone number." Catherine shrugged. "The case is over, I thought maybe…"

Sara's locker door slammed shut, the noise reverberating in the confined space. "Don't think," she growled as she tried to slide past Catherine to the door.

Catherine's laughter brought her up short, and she turned to confront the blonde. Catherine laughed even harder when she saw the pissed off expression on Sara's face. "Oh, come on, Sara, you have to admit it's funny. I mean, I've seen guys at scenes trying to ask you out, but she was slicker than most." Her laughter subsiding, Catherine said, "And she was very attractive. You should try it."

Sara hadn't joined in the laughter, nor seen the humor, but that hadn't stopped Catherine, so she tried a different tack. "I don't have to."

That at least quieted Catherine, and she frowned and shook her head, "What, what do you mean?"

Sara knew it wasn't wise to continue, but maybe the shock would get Catherine off her back enough so that she could leave. "I don't have to. I've already tried it."

If she had been in a better mood, the sight of Catherine's eyebrows shooting up to her hairline and her mouth dropping open might have been amusing, but Sara felt too annoyed and cornered to laugh. "You, you…"

"Yes," Sara stated simply, tightening her hold on her bag as she started to turn toward the door. Catherine's hand clamped on her forearm stopped her.

"Were… you in a relationship with her?"

Sara sighed. "No."

"What happened?"

"What do you mean, what happened?" Sara pulled her arm out of Catherine's grip and glared at the smaller woman. "I met her at a bar, we had a couple of drinks and we went back to her place." Catherine was surprised to feel a little sliver of jealousy run through her at the thought of Sara with the other woman, and she filed the emotion away to process at a later time.

"You don't have one-night stands," Catherine stated simply, as Sara had never hidden her feelings on issues like sleeping around and affairs in the cases they had worked.

Sara sniffed scornfully at that and rolled her eyes, and this time the feeling of shock ran all the way through Catherine's body in a rush. "Really?" She read the confirmation in Sara's eyes, and saw another emotion as well. Guilt. The breath left her body as Catherine realized this wasn't the first time, "Since when?"

Sara's tone was deliberately blasé. "A year, year and a half. Maybe." She shrugged, like it was so big deal.

Catherine's mind was reeling. "So you are not going to call her?"

"I already threw her number away."

"Why?"

Sara's eyes were fixed on the wall behind Catherine's head as she shrugged her shoulders again, her face emotionless except for those dark expressive eyes, but Catherine found it impossible to read the emotions rolling there. "I always do."

"How many?" The words slipped out before she could stop herself, and Catherine hurried to rephrase, "How many… phone numbers have you thrown away?"

"In the last month or the last year?" Sara threw back at her.

Catherine's eyes widened at the sneer in Sara's voice, but she didn't back down. "Month."

"Four." Sara's tone was callous and her mouth was stretched into a tight line. She didn't look like she was enjoying the conversation, exactly, but a hint of amusement danced in those dark eyes at Catherine's amazement. "I had to throw hers out twice," Sara explained.

"Why? You don't like her?"

"I don't know her." The shocked expression on Catherine's face was threatening to become permanent at Sara's cold tone and even colder explanations. Sara had always seemed such an empathic and caring woman, and the behavior she was describing did not fit the woman Catherine had thought she knew. "She was just a substitute," the dark-haired CSI said nonchalantly.

"A substitute? For what? Drinking?"

Sara's nostrils flared in reaction to Catherine's pointed question. "For the one I really want," Sara shot back.

"The one you really want?" Catherine's mind flew through the possibilities until an image of the woman flashed through her head: blue eyes, blonde hair, slight build. She stared at Sara as she put the pieces together, but she still needed confirmation. "Who?"

Sara read Catherine's expression correctly and her eyes narrowed dangerously. "It's not who you are thinking."

"How do you know who I'm thinking?"

"Get over yourself, Catherine." Sara voice boomed in the locker room. "That woman might bear a passing resemblance to people you might know, but it's not about the looks. She was a body to fill a need, nothing more."

"Nothing more?" Catherine's tone was openly skeptical as her eyes scanned Sara's face, trying to read the truth in her eyes.

"Nothing more," Sara repeated, her voice flat, indicating the end of the conversation. As she strode out the door, Catherine sank down onto bench, trying to put all the revelations that had come out into some kind of order.