AN : Sorry for the delay on this one. My grandmother passed away somewhat suddenly. I haven't felt much up to working on it lately. But, I am back now.

Sara laid her head on Catherine's shoulder. "Thanks Catherine. Thanks for everything."

Catherine looked at Sara and smiled. She was reminded of the time right after Sara found out about Hank and Elaine.

Flashback

Catherine had taken Sara to her house. Sara had put up a very brave front. But when she finally relaxed, Catherine had seen how much Sara had been hurt by the experience. The hurt in those brown eyes made Catherine just want to wrap her arms around Sara and tell her that Hank was no good for her.

So, she took a chance and did. Sara broke down and cried. Catherine had held Sara and rocked her ever so gently. It was a natural response to someone crying and Sara just let her. Catherine whispered words that she hoped would comfort Sara.

Sara had questioned her, " What is wrong with me? I step out of my comfort zone and allow myself to care about someone and they hurt me."

Catherine whispered, "Shh…. There is nothing wrong with you Sara. You are a beautiful and smart person."

"No, I am not. I will never be good enough. I am not worthy of being loved." Sara pushed Catherine away at this point, wiping her tears away furiously.

Catherine slowly reached her hand out and laid them atop Sara's fidgeting hands. Catherine spoke calmly and tenderly, "Sara, the fault does not lie in you. The fault lies in Hank. He doesn't know what a great thing he had with you."

"But, if I was smart…. I would have realized that he was seeing someone else."

"Sara, I have been around long enough to know that sometimes even the smartest person can miss that. Don't beat yourself up over it."

Catherine and Sara sat and talked for a long time after that.

End of flashback

Sara sat there working on the story as she lay against Catherine's shoulder. It didn't take too long for her to start nodding off. "Umm…Catherine…."

"Yes, darling?"

"I don't think I can stay up much longer."

"Ready to lay down?"

"Yes."

Catherine wanted to ask Sara something and was unsure of how Sara would react. But, she would never know until she did it. And she did want Sara to know what it meant to be loved and cared for.

"Sara?"

Sara turned her head and looked at Catherine. "What is it?"

"I…don't know how you will react to this. But, I am going to give it a shot. Ok? If you don't want to, it's perfectly all right. Would you like me to rock you? It's one of the things that I miss doing with Lindsay. She tends to be more reluctant to do it now…wanting to be a big girl, you know?"

Sara's face was a mix of emotions. She wasn't sure how to take this. To be quite honest, she really did want to be held and rocked. It's not something that she had got a lot of when she was little. But, what if the rest of the team was to find out?

"Sara?"

"I…I …would like that." Sara whispered. "But…but…" She paused. "But…can we keep this between us? I don't think I could look the rest of the team in the eye if they found out."

"Of course, Sara."

Sara scooted close to Catherine. Catherine pulled Sara into her arms and held her close. She started rocking her gently. Sara fidgeted at first. But, Catherine just continued to rock her. She fell asleep in Cath's arms.