The bar, contrary to her expectations, was dim and dusky; decorated in dark red and amber tones and lit by a handful of shaded orange bulbs. The cab ride had sobered her considerably, but she quickly found herself disorientated by the artificial mist being pumped around the small dance floor from a series of ceiling vents.

Her initial optimism at finding Sara here had begun to wane. After all, with all the bars in Vegas, who was to say that Sara was going to have come here tonight? If she was even in a bar at all – she could have been grocery shopping, or on a date.

For reasons unknown to her, that latter option caused an unsettling feeling to grow in the pit of Catherine's stomach.

Shrugging the thought away, she narrowed her eyes and scanned the open-plan area. Everywhere she looked, people were dancing, or drinking; or in some ambitious cases, both. If you didn't look too closely, you could be forgiven for thinking you were in any – for lack of a better word – 'normal' bar off the strip.

Sliding and ducking carefully through the gyrating crowd, she finally made it to the bar and propped herself against it; attempting to catch her breath back. She cast a casual glance down the bar and, by some grace of God, found herself staring straight at the object of her hunt.

The brunette was chatting happily with the bartender, a younger woman with cropped jet-black hair and a pixie face. She clearly hadn't noticed Catherine yet; and nor did she notice when the blonde crept closer and hovered nervously behind her.

In fact, it was the barmaid who first caught sight of her, and a knowing smirk spread across her impish face. Sara evidently realised that her words were falling on deaf ears and turned to see what had captured her companion's attention.

"Hi." Cath squeaked, twisting her hands anxiously. "I hope I'm not interrupting…"

"No." Sara shook her head, blinking in surprise at this unexpected visit and gesturing to the vacant seat beside her. "Is everything okay?"

Cath accepted the offer and climbed gracelessly onto the stool. Her plan had been to make this look like a chance encounter, but judging by Sara's concerned expression that idea was already out of the window. Even if it had been plausible, which it wasn't, she should have known that the sharp woman would see through her façade.

"No." She breathed, emitting a dry laugh. "No, everything's not okay."

Sara narrowed her eyes, trying to gauge the problem from the look on Cath's face alone. She turned in her seat, casting a slow glance over the noisy bar, before focusing her attention on Catherine again.

Seemingly having made a decision, she gripped her friend's hand and tugged her towards the door.

Catherine didn't object, ducking her head and allowing herself to be lead, until she felt a gust of cool air rush over her body.

When she finally looked up again, they were outside and they were alone; with nothing but shimmering lights and a bright, full moon staring back at them.

X x x

"It's not that bad." Lindsey offered meekly, though the words sounded as helpless now as they had done when she uttered them half an hour ago. "Sooner or later, people will forget about it."

"When?" Sam asked desperately, although the plea came out strangled due to her position, laid on her back with her head hanging off the edge of the bed.

Lindsey was glad that she couldn't see her best friend's face, because she didn't have an answer to that question.

She hadn't really wanted to stay with Samantha tonight, but after the scene she caused at the mall, she figured a bit of damage control was in order. She had hoped that it might throw her mother off the scent for a while.

And, naturally, Sam's mother had agreed instantly. Mrs Hillridge was clearly well aware that something was wrong with her daughter, and she was worried enough to break the 'no slumber parties on a school night' rule.

She obviously thought that spending some time with her best friend might cheer Sam up a bit.

What a joke that idea was.

X x x

"I can see why you go there." She hummed, gladly accepting to hot coffee Sara handed her.

It was an undeniable certainty that she was not going to work tonight; although she hadn't quite managed to make the call to Grissom yet. Sara had reasoned that it was better for her to be sober and coherent before she tried to convince their perceptive boss that she was sick.

"The view, right?" She continued, as the brunette joined her on the couch.

"Pretty much." Sara agreed. "And the staff."

Cath nodded slowly, recalling her first sight of Sara; chatting to the barmaid.

"The woman you were talking to…" She began softly.

"Lara." Sara smiled, a warm relaxed smile rarely seen on her normally somber face. "She runs the place with her partner. They've had it for going on six years now."

"Really?" Cath hummed, unexpectedly pleased to hear that the woman was taken.

They lapsed into an odd silence, with each contemplating the events of the past few hours.

"I guess we've both had a pretty bad day, huh?" She mused at last, drawing a confused hum from Sara. "The homeless guy – you seemed to take it pretty hard, when those cops were upsetting him."

"Oh, that." Sara waved a dismissive hand. "Mental health has always been a … sensitive issue of mine."

Catherine nodded, trying to think of a way to respond to that without making it sound like she was prying; when she started at the feeling of something brushing past her leg.

Two big eyes stared up at her, before nuzzling her shins again.

"Don't tell me you adopted it?" She blinked, instantly recognising the cute little face.

"He needed a home." Sara pointed out, producing a bag of cat biscuits from somewhere beside of the couch and shaking a couple out into her hand. "Say hello to Bandit."

"Bandit?" Cath repeated, amused, as the cat up bounded between them to crunch on the treats Sara was offering. "Why Bandit?"

"Because he steals things." Sara answered easily, scratching the kitten between the ears with her free hand.

"Things like what?"

"My keys." Sara replied. "My clothes, my food. Last week, he managed to get my razor from the bathroom and nearly shredded the couch with it."

An instinctive laugh bubbled out of Cath at the image of Sara coming home to find the kitten playing happily with the blades without a second thought for it's own safety or the safety of the furniture.

"He's very affectionate." She chuckled.

"Only when he wants something." Sara countered, brushing the crumbs off her hand and scooping the cat into her lap.

"Of course, he's a man." Catherine joked, a mischievous twinkle in her eye as she caught Sara's gaze. "Then again, I can understand why that might be unfamiliar news to you."

The look of shock on Sara's face at the playful jibe was too much for her and her attempts to keep a straight face dissolved into giggles; which were only exasperated when she felt a cushion lightly smash into her face.

X x x

"I hate my life so much right now." Sam sobbed. She had repositioned herself after the tingling sensation of a head-rush began to set in; and was now leaning against the headboard, slumped heavily against Lindsey's shoulder. "I've messed up so badly and now everybody hates me."

"Not everybody." The young Willows answered awkwardly. "I don't."

Sam blinked up at her through tear-laden eyes.

"No." She squeaked. "No, I know that." She shuffled upright, dragging Lindsey into a tight hug. "You're the best thing in my life right now. I should have listened to you in the first place."

Lindsey felt her heart tighten as Jem's words rang through her mind. She hated to admit it, but he had been right. Everything she had done ... it was going to haunt her until she fixed it.

She couldn't take it anymore. She had to come clean.

"Sam," she murmured, pulling back and tenderly wiping away the tears from her friend's eyes. "There's something I need to tell you."

X x x

"Sara," Cath called out curiously, tipping her head towards the ceiling. "Can I ask you something?"

"Sure." The brunette hummed, ambling back in from the balcony and closing the door behind her, before settling herself on the couch beside her colleague. "Shoot."

"Last night, the homeless guy … what set you off?"

To her utmost surprise, Sara laughed.

"I was wondering when you were going to bring that up." She pursed her lips.

Catherine shifted, waiting patiently for the explanation that she knew would come eventually.

"I don't know, I guess that mental health is a … tender issue for me." Sara continued after a long moment. "When I saw them treating him like that I just … I can't tolerate that kind of thing."

Her voice had softened, her gaze sliding off across the room somewhere.

Catherine studied her closely. She knew from great experience that when Sara became emotionally invested in a case – for whatever reason – she was like a dog with a bone.

But there was something else this time. Something … deeper, more painful. This truly was a topic close to her heart.

"You're very sweet." A husky voice mused, warm breath grazing the shell of her ear. "You know that?"

When Sara turned her head, she found herself gazing into warm blue eyes that were mere inches from her own. They were so close; she could almost taste the coffee emanating from the blonde.

For a tortuously long moment, neither moved.

Finally, without breaking their staring contest, Catherine darted forwards. However, a split second before their lips met, they were stilled by the ill-timed trilling of a phone.

Sitting back, Catherine extracted it from her pocket and glanced, almost reluctantly, at the message.

"Something wrong?" Sara asked hoarsely, noting the frown on her face and trying to ignore the cauldron of feelings stirring in the pit of her stomach.

"Lindsey." Cath answered, looking up for the first time with a blank mask where previously there was lust and affection. "She wants to come home."