"Sorry, that's a topic I won't talk about." Sofia stopped Sara before she could come ask her question. "Not because I don't want you to know but we're not alone and some things I don't want him to know. Yet."

"Alright. Sorry."

"No need to be sorry, I told you ask. Anything else, that isn't about this topic?"

"Do you get champagne for free and are there any pompous rooms in the Fort?"

Sofia chuckled. "These are not your questions, these are Greg's questions."

"He's my friend, I thought I ask them for him."

"I can drink as much of Bubbles' champagne as I want, all for free. I know most people would love that, my problem is, I'm a beer person, I don't really like champagne or sparkling wine."

"And you don't get fired to say that loud?"

"No, he appreciates honesty. And I don't know if the rooms are pompous, you'll get some more pompous on the Strip, but he has some really nice rooms here, yes. If you want, I can show you them. After those were Greg's questions and you don't really care about things like that, I assume, you don't want to see them."

"I can survive without that, yes."

"Anything else?"

"Will you turn tables on me and start to ask me a lot of questions?"

"Scared?"

"Just asking."

"Every question I ask you, Sara, no matter which topic, you are free not to answer without that I'll be offended."

"That means, you'll ask me questions. Wanna ask me one now?"

"Alright. And you won't be mad if I ask the wrong question?"

"I might not answer it."

"As I told you, that's fine."

"Shoot, detective."

"What happened to you and Grissom?"

Sara knew this question would come sooner or later. Of course Sofia had heard of her and Grissom just before she had left LVPD and after almost three years working the same shift, she wanted to know what had happened to them. A lot of people did, most didn't dare to ask and Sara was more than happy about that. She didn't want to talk about her private life with anybody of the lab. Not even with her colleagues, only Greg, but he was special. The question was, did she want Sofia to know? Was the blonde special enough?

"Remember, you don't have to tell if you don't want." Sofia reminded her softly.

"No, it's alright. I try to find the right words. After the night under the car, I was horrified. The physical injuries were nothing compared to the mental injuries. I was so sick and tired of all the violence in my life, violence I had to live with every day. I couldn't go on, for years I had pushed myself to go on because that was the only way to decrease the criminal rate. When I found out that no matter what I did, the criminal rate increased year by year, I got…I don't want to call it frustrated, or maybe it was a mix of frustration, desperation and helplessness.

Then we got a case with Hannah, you remember the young girl, whose brother was on trial for the murder of a class mate and during the trial, she told everybody, it was her, who killed the girl. They both got away, she told me at the end of trial, he killed that girl, but I had no evidence. We got his brother for the murder of a student, all evidence pointed towards him. This time he was innocent, she killed the young woman. She was afraid she'd lose her brother to another woman. They had lost their parents a year before, all she had left was her brother, nobody else wanted to have anything to do with her. He hung himself in a cell after a few days, left her with nothing and we had no way to prove what she did.

I think, that was the moment I realized, I can't go on like that. I wrote a letter to Grissom and left Las Vegas. I needed some time away, I needed to see anything else than death and people, who had nothing else in mind than torture other people. I don't want to blame Grissom for that, it was mainly my fault, my problem that I couldn't handle it anymore. I have…I have a long history of violence and that point, I needed to go out. I know, I couldn't ask Grissom to come with me, he lives for his job. So I left, went to south America, spent a few months in the jungle and came back to Vegas.

I told him in a letter, he should move on, that I had no idea if and when I come back. He did what I asked him to. He was the reason why I came to Vegas, he was the reason why I tried so long to be strong, but he couldn't give me what I needed to survive the life of a CSI in Vegas. I know he loved me, as much as he can love somebody, but I needed more. I needed to be the most important person and thing for somebody, I needed somebody, who cares, who can give me a certain kind of emotional strength. And that wasn't Grissom. We're friends, we enjoy working together, but we aren't lovers anymore."

That was a very long and very detailed explanation of what had happened to Sara. Probably the most detailed one she had ever given to somebody in one piece. Her therapist had needed months to make her say out loud all of these words. Maybe it was easier to say them after you said them out once.

"Did he ask you to come back?"

"No. I wanted to come back. I spent almost two years away, I was refreshed, I was in a good balance and made the decision, if they need a CSI, I'd be happy to come back. That's how I got back a little bit over a year ago."

"That means, you left a little bit later than I?"

"Yes."

"An interesting coincidence, that we both needed to leave our jobs at almost the same time; for different reasons, but still interesting. Are you happy to be back?"

"Yes. It's what I always wanted to do, it's what I love and after I sorted some things out, I can work again in a way, that I don't let cases get me."

"That's good. Your turn to ask a question, Sara."

"What will we do when Shinning Stars makes the decision to give birth to her foal now?"

"We'll call Steo, he's a vet. If everything is alright, we'll stay here, watch. Steo will make sure she won't be too close to a wall, so the foal has enough space and after the birth, he'll clean her and back off to give them some time alone."

"And if anything goes wrong?"

"We'll call the vet, help Steo as good as we can and try to safe their lives. The vet has checked on her daily, everything is alright, there is no reason to worry. It isn't her first foal, she knows what to do."

"Why is there another vet when Stephen is a vet too?"

"Because he's a retired vet, works only for Bubbles while the other vet is working in a clinic and knows all the new stuff. It's always better to have two experienced people around than only one."

"Especially when the mare and the foal are worth a little fortune."

"I don't measure the worth of a life by money, do you?" Sofia cocked her head.

"No."

"I didn't think so. Yes, they are worth a few dollars, but most important, they are alive, they want to live and they are all great characters – that's more than I can say about some talented humans."

"I couldn't agree more." Sara smiled. She always preferred animals over humans


Shinning Star took her time and waited for another night with the birth of her foal. It was around three a.m. when Sara woke Sofia up, who had fallen asleep after midnight. Josh, who camped with them in the barn again, was easier to wake up than his mother. They called Stephen and watched from their place. A few times Shinning Star rose and laid back down, once she got forced to get up again by Stephen because she was too close to the wall.

Two hours later a little brown foal was laying in the straw, trying to get up after half an hour and made it's first step to get some milk.

"We've got a little mare." Stephen said when he joined the two women and Josh.

"She's beautiful." Sofia said.

"Yes, she is. Josh, why don't you come with me back into the house?"

"I want to stay here."

"I can understand that. But the foal needs to sleep and so do you. I could use your help when I have to check the foal in the morning. For that you need to be very good rested to see if there are any problems."

"Okay." He looked at his mother.

"We'll come inside later too, don't worry. Sleep tight, Honey."

"Night mom, night Sara."

"Good night Josh, have sweet dreams." Sara was still touched by the experience of the birth. It had been the most wonderful thing, she had ever watched. For the first time, she didn't see how a life got taken away, didn't have to walk over a dead body, over traces of violence and destruction. She had watched the opposite. A life came to this world, young, small, fragile and only after a few minutes, it was able to get up, make it's first step and drink for the first time. So many things, that made sure, it would survive, so many things, that showed her, there were other things than death in Vegas, there was life too.

"Thanks Sofia."

"What for?"

"Giving me the possibility to see something wonderful. It was amazing."

"The first birth of a foal is something special, yes. If you want, you can come along for some more. There are five more foals due."

"I'd like to, unfortunately I need to work tomorrow night."

"We're waiting for two this week, if you're lucky, you can watch another birth the next time you've a night off. Give me a call when you have time and I tell you if it's likely that you see another birth. As you saw yesterday, I can't promise you the birth will be in that night, but the chances are high."

"Yes. I'll let you know. What is the name of the foal?"

"I don't know. It has to start with an "F", that's for sure. Do you know a nice name for a mare with an F?"

"No, but don't let her be something like Members Only. That's a really silly name."

"It is. Bubbles gives the names, I'll tell him not to embarrass the horse with the name."

"Good idea." Sara laughed. She doubted that horses cared about the names people gave them, but that was no reason to insult a horse with an awful name. Members Only. She wondered if the person, who named that horse, had been drunk or under the influence of drugs.