Sara had been seated in the center of the couch where everyone could see her. She listened intently to the story of her 'death'. Tyler and Lindsey were on either side of her and Lindsey had yet to let go of Sara's arm. She clutched desperately at her as if afraid that if she let go, Sara would disappear, "If you weren't dead, then where were you?"

"I was working with the Feds in Chicago. One of their undercover agents needed a CSI. It had to be someone that wasn't known to the area and the agent remembered my name from the university. The Feds arranged for my death to be faked so the syndicate we were after wouldn't be suspicious. What I don't get is that I gave them a list of people to inform of the reality of my situation. They were supposed to have told you what was happening."

The talk continued as they discussed the events that had occurred since Sara had been gone. Hours later the guests started to leave. Everyone one of them gave Sara a long hug before they left the house.

Noticing the time, Sara stood, "I should probably get going."

"And go where?" Tyler asked, "You've been gone for months. They already rented your apartment to someone else. I packed your stuff myself."

Sara hesitated, "Umm… I could get a hotel room for now."

Catherine waved away this suggestion, "No. You will stay here. You can have Lindsey's old room."

Sara was confused, "Her old room? When did she get a new room?"

Lindsey blushed slightly, "I've been sleeping in Tyler's room."

Sara nodded, then, "Wait. What?"

Tyler wrapped her arm around Lindsey's waist, pulling her back against her chest, "She and I are together."

Sara looked to Catherine for confirmation and received a smile and a nod, "For a few months now. And yes, I approve."

Sara turned to Tyler and grinned, "Congratulations, Little Meddler. You and I will have to have a talk later though."

Tyler nodded. "Yes, A-Lu-Tsi."

"What does that mean?" Lindsey wanted to know.

"It's close to aunt in English. It's an Apache term used for respect of an older woman with whom you have a close relationship." They had expected Tyler to answer, but Sara had instead.

Shaking her head, wondering how much more about Sara she didn't know, Catherine ushered them off to bed.

She and Sara stopped in front of the door of Lindsey's old room. Catherine opened the door to let Sara precede her into the room. Sara turned to tell Catherine thank you, but was caught in a fierce hug. Catherine wrapped her arms around Sara's waist and held tight. Sara was shocked at first, but she reacted to the tears and the desperation. She rubbed Catherine's back soothingly, trying to calm her. She laid her cheek against Catherine's hair and inhaled the smell of her shampoo. She figured this was probably the last time she would ever be allowed this close to Catherine so she wanted to enjoy it.

Catherine could hear the steady rhythm of Sara's heartbeat beneath her ear. She hadn't gotten over the grief of Sara's loss and the shock of her return. Having Sara here and alive was making her feel a lot better, but she was reluctant to leave her for fear she would wake up to find it had all been a dream. Finally, she pulled back and much to Sara's surprise, she brushed her lips gently over Sara's cheek, "Goodnight, Sara."

Catherine left the room, closing the door behind her. Sara was left thinking to herself, 'What the hell was that?'

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There were four hours until they needed to leave to catch their flight. Tyler had called the airport and gotten another ticket for Sara. Lindsey and Catherine had gone upstairs to pack, leaving Tyler and Sara staring at the phone. They knew what needed to be done, but neither wanted to be the one to do it. Eventually Tyler spoke, "I'll do all but Willow and Penelope. You have to be the one that calls them."

"What? Why me? I can't talk to both of them by myself. You have to help me."

"The gods help those who help themselves. You can handle two women."

Sara looked scared, "Yeah, but not those two."
Tyler laughed, "Fine. I'll talk to Willow, but you're on your own with Penelope."

Sara sighed in defeat, "Fine. Hand me the phone."

Three hours later, Tyler had finished all of her phone calls and Sara was still on the phone with Penelope.

"Yes, Penelope."

"No, Penelope."

"I know. I'm sorry."

"I thought you would have been told."

"I know it's not a good excuse."

"I would have if I could."

Sara shot Tyler yet another pleading look, but this time she took pity on her. She pulled the phone from Sara's hand, "Penelope? I hate to do this, but Sara and I need to get ready. We have a flight to catch."

"Yes ma'am. I'll tell her."

"I love you too, E-Tsi. I'll call you later. Bye."

She and Sara slumped over in relief that their ordeal was over. They glanced at each other from the corner of their eyes. They just looked at one another for a moment before laughter overtook them. Sara wiped the tears from her eyes and spoke, "You'd think she would be more grateful to hear from me. And I still can't believe you call her 'mama'."

Tyler shrugged, "I'm sure she was thrilled to hear from you. She went through a lot when she thought you were dead. This was just her way of dealing with it. And she asked me to call her that."

Sara snorted, "I've always thought she was kind of weird." She looked at her watch. "Maybe we should see what's keeping the girls. We need to leave soon."

**********************************************************************************************************************

Lindsey watched over Tyler's shoulder as she played a hand held video game she had borrowed from Greg for the flight. They had boarded about ten minutes ago and were waiting for take off. On Lindsey's other side sat Catherine and Sara. Catherine was trying to relax as she read a fashion magazine she had brought. Sara knew Catherine was on the verge of freaking out. She could see her hands trembling and her knee wouldn't stop bouncing. When the seat belt light came on and the attendants gave the safety instructions, Catherine was turning pale. The plane started rolling and Lindsey was trying to calm her mom and failing. Sara jumped in, hoping to distract Catherine. She placed a calming hand on her arm and leaned over to get Tyler's attention, "Why don't you tell them about what to expect when we get there?"

Catching on to the diversion tactic, Tyler complied, "I figured we could stay at my place instead of a hotel. I have the room so there isn't a reason to spend money on that. My apartment isn't on the reservation, but it's about five miles away. Once we get settled in, Catherine and Lindsey can start they're shopping day and Sara and I can hang out at my place. Then the next day I can take all of ya'll out to meet the tribe. Is that okay with you Ms. Willows?"

Catherine had relaxed significantly throughout Tyler's speech and smiled gratefully, "That's fine with me. Do you think we can go riding at some point?"

"Sure. There are plenty of horses that would be good for beginners."

"I'm not a beginner. I used to ride all the time when I was younger."

Tyler grinned, "I wasn't talking about you. I figure Lindsey's never ridden and I still haven't managed to get Sara up on a horse."

Sara broke into the conversation to defend herself, "Hey, I don't see why anyone in their right mind would climb onto a thousand pound animal that could crush you if it wanted to. They're pretty to look at, but I have no aspiration to ride one. I'll stick to something with wheels."

Catherine had to ask, "You'll ride a motorcycle, but you won't ride a horse?"

Sara shrugged sheepishly, "Horses creep me out."

Lindsey tapped Tyler on the shoulder to gain her attention, "I hate to sound stereotypical, but do the people in the reservation live in teepees and hunt buffalo like they do in the movies?"

Tyler chuckled slightly, "Sort of. For the most part everyone has houses and there is a store. Some of the more traditional places like the sweat lodge and the Elder's meeting place are teepees. There aren't any buffalo, but some people still hunt deer."

"What about the clothes?" this coming from Catherine.

"Usually people wear normal clothes like jeans and t-shirts. Traditional clothing is worn for certain ceremonies like marriages, namings, and coming of age."

"Are there any other stereotypes that you know of that are wrong?" Lindsey asked.

"Well, other than a few exceptions, most of the tribe is westernized. We've adapted to the world around us and we aren't focused on the past. Few people stick to tradition. Even fewer can speak the language."

Catherine was confused, "Then why can you?"

"My father wanted my brother and me to have a sense of respect for where we came from. We were taught English, but he also had us take lessons from an elder on the language and culture of our people."

The discussion lasted for the next few hours until the plane touched down. They took a cab to Tyler's apartment and Tyler led them inside.

Catherine looked around and started to laugh. The others stared in confusion, waiting for an explanation. She gasped for breath and wiped the tears from her eyes, "It looks like a quintessential bachelor pad. You've got the black leather couches and recliner, a flat screen plasma TV, huge DVD collection, and a massive stereo system."

Tyler smiled guiltily, "Come on. I'll show you the rest of the place."

She showed them the master bed and bath then led them to the other two bedrooms and the guest bathroom. She left the two adults to decide who got which room and took Lindsey into her bedroom.

She put Lindsey's bag down next to the bed and tossed her own into the closet, "If you want to shower before you and your mom leave, the shower stuff is in the cabinet with the towels. You can use anything you want. Feel free to make yourself at home. All I ask is that you stay out of the top drawer of the bedside table. Anything else is free game."

Lindsey looked at the drawer in question, "Why can't I look in there?"

"Because I'm asking you not to. I don't care if you get into everything else, but as a favor to me, please stay out of the drawer."

Lindsey nodded, "Okay. While mom and I are shopping, what are you and Sara going to be doing?"

"I thought I could ask her to go to the grocery store with me so I can restock the fridge. Then after we might just chill out here and watch a movie or something."

Lindsey crossed the room to stand in front of Tyler, "I'm going to take a shower before I leave. I'll see you later." She stood on her toes to brush a kiss over Tyler's lips then walked into the bathroom.

Tyler walked into the living room to see Catherine and Sara arguing over what the best track was on Kid Rock's Cocky CD. Sara was in favor of 'Lay It on Me' and Catherine voted for 'Forever'. They turned to face her when she chuckled, "I prefer 'Baby Come Home' myself. Lindsey's in the shower. Sara would you mind coming to the store with me while they're out? I need to get some food."