For the next week a routine had been worked out. Everyday Sharon, the nurse, would come and help the ladies get cleaned up. They only trusted her and she was nice enough to even come in on her day off. Everyday, Warrick, Greg and Doc would show up so Grissom, Brass and Nick could also get cleaned up. Lindsey was told what had happened and came to visit her mother. She would be staying at a friend's house for a while. Nick would be staying at her house with her. Grissom was going to stay at Sara's place during the week and open his home to her on the weekends. Sophia would be having Brass as her houseguest for a while. Everybody from the lab pitched in to make meals for the CSI's. Warrick and Greg had been discharged and lived out of Greg's place for a while with his parents. Doc had told them all they needed to have some therapy before they could come back to work and wanted the ladies to be comfortable on their own as well. He saw the dependency which was totally natural but they also needed to slowly regain that confidence back.

--

After a month had gone by, Warrick and Greg were declared ready to go to work. They weren't ready to be sent out solo yet and that was ok with everyone. Ecklie was running shift which they didn't like, but until Sara came back, Grissom wouldn't be back either. Brass had been back for a couple of weeks and was already in the routine even if he did check over his shoulders a little more often. He called Sophia often to check on her. She stayed at Catherine's house on the nights he had to work and was progressing the fastest out of all the women. Sophia felt that in another few days, she would be ready to tackle desk duty and get back into her routine. No one knew it, but she and Brass were enjoying each others company and the beginnings of a relationship were appearing. Catherine was still in therapy, but doing well. She no longer needed Nick there for every second of her daily life and had begun casually seeing Warrick. Lindsey also went to therapy a few times to discuss the impact of what happened to her mother and how it affected her.

Sara was not making as much progress as she should be. Grissom and Doc were the only ones to truly understand this because they knew her past. They were the only ones not to push. Grissom had gotten her comfortable enough that he could leave her alone for up to forty-five minutes several times a day to attend to his own personal needs. Everyday they strived for another five minutes. At night they continued to share the same bed and during the day when she took a nap, she wore his shirt from the day before and clung to his pillow. Most of the time it worked. He would perch himself on a chair nearby and read. When Sara had a nightmare, he was there in a flash. One night, he got an idea; mostly because he was going a little stir crazy.

"Hey Sara, can we go to the lab for an hour or so? I need to do a few things there and I know that everyone would love to see you."

"I don't know. What do you have to do?"

"Talk to Ecklie for one and make sure that my pets are still alive. Would you come with me please?"

"I don't want to be left alone for that long. Let me get dressed."

She was more confident in some of her old routines. She would voluntarily go by herself to take a shower, but the door stayed open and if she called, he had to answer immediately. He usually sat outside of her bathroom door reading. It was the same when she got dressed. Only when using the facilities did she close the door, but he had to read to her the whole time. She dressed first and then he dressed. Then they were out the door. He was now accustomed to one of his arms being taken hostage whenever they left the safety of one of their homes and had to hold hands in the car. Truthfully, he loved it. The closer she got to the lab, the more apprehensive she became. He squeezed her hand to reassure her. She gave him a tight smile in return. He pulled into the lab and opened the door. The other thing he was now used to was both of them using the same door when climbing in and out of the car. Together they walked into the lab. People all over the lab smiled cheerfully and greeted them. Sara, he could tell, was trying her best to stay at his side and not hide behind him.

They walked into the break room together halting whatever conversation was going on at the time. Sara smiled and stepped a little closer to Grissom. Warrick was the first one out of his seat.

"Can I give you a hug?" He asked from three feet away. She nodded slowly and kept hold of one of Grissom's hands the whole time. Nick and Greg copied him. Catherine wasn't back yet as she was practicing being home alone with Lindsey and said she needed a little more therapy before she could come back. Nick and Warrick were both on call if she needed anything.

"Conrad, can I speak to you in my office?" Grissom asked the man.

"Let me hand out assignments and I will meet you there." He answered and turned to the group. Grissom led Sara out of the room and directed her toward the one person he knew she would be comfortable with.

"My night just got a whole lot better now that you are here." Doc Robbins greeted her cheerfully and pulled her in for a hug without asking permission first. She smiled.

"Sara, I will be back soon to get you and then we can go. Ok?"

"Ok." She said quietly and watched as he left the room. Doc turned to her and told her with is eyes to sit down in the nearby chair.

"How are you doing?" He began the conversation.

"About the same. For some reason, I just can't move on as easily as I did last time."

"Maybe it's because you have people that care about you this time. Last time, you were on your own."

"That could be."

"How are things going with therapy?"

"Not much has changed in the last twenty years. They still use the same trickery as before. They won't let Grissom stay with me during my sessions. I don't like that, so we have them at Grissom's house where he can be in the next room. I don't like therapists."

"Are you more comfortable talking to me? I have noticed that Warrick and I are the only two men you are ok with being left alone with for more than a few minutes; besides Grissom of course." Sara gave a half hearted smile.

"I could do that. You would do that for me?"

"I already know your history so it would make more sense. I think I would be more successful pushing you back to independence. In fact, why don't we start right now?"

"Sounds great." Sara agreed and Grissom came back in to the morgue. They both looked at him and Doc told him he would page him later. He raised an eyebrow in surprise and left again.