Sort of a filler chapter. Have a much needed week off work, so will try to get at least one more chapter up by the weekend.

Her brow creased with a frown. Momentarily closing her locker, she then opened it again and continued to stare in bemusement at the contents.

"Ahem." Nick leant close to her ear and cleared his throat. "You alright there, Sar?"

Slamming the locker shut, she turned and gave him a tight smile.

"I'm fine." She lied, sliding past him to sit on the bench and began instead rifling through her bag.

"You lost something?" Warrick noted her strange behaviour and shared an amused grin with Nick at the usually unflustered brunette's obvious stress.

"No." She scowled. "Not lost. Just can't find."

The boys chucked at her use of semantics in an attempt to deflect from the truth.

"I hate to break it to you honey," Nick said sweetly, patting her gently on the back as he made to leave. "But that's the same thing."

As the two jokers left, Sara abandoned her bag and sat back, continuing to scowl at the lockers. The other resident of the room, who had thus far remained quiet, moved to sit beside her.

"Everything okay?"

She cast a sideways glance at Greg's eager face and felt some of her irritation fade away.

"I was sure I put something in my locker earlier, and now it's not there."

"Maybe you left it at home?" He suggested. "Or in the car?"

"Maybe." She agreed, although it was clear that she didn't believe that for a second. "You know, it's the second time I've lost something today. Earlier, I was working on the Johnson case, and I cannot for the life of my find that folder now."

"Well, it can't have gone too far."

"You wouldn't think so, but it's eluded me so far." She dragged a hand through her hair in frustration. "And now ... I feel like the world is messing with me today."

Greg tentatively placed a hand on her arm.

"I was about to go make myself a cup of coffee." He smiled, raising his eyebrows playfully to indicate the bag of Blue Hawaiian sat on the bench beside him. "How about I make two cups, and we see if we can find that folder?"

Her expression softened and she nodded gratefully.

"Thanks, Greg." She exhaled slowly. "I'd appreciate that."

Pleased to have been on some assistance, the young man snatched up his coffee and scampered off to make two mugs of the steaming brew before she could get a better offer, or change her mind.

Alone in the room at last, Sara stood up and returned to her locker one last time.

She was certain she had put it in there. So, where the hell was it?

Catherine cast a hurried glance across the room, to where Grissom was staring pensively at a blood pattern, before sidling over to Sara.

"Hey," she hummed casually, still managing to startle Sara out of her thoughts.

"Hey." The brunette echoed, regaining her composure.

"Are you alright? You seem kind of distracted today."

"Yeah, I'm fine." Sara pushed herself to her feet, dusting fingerprint powder off her gloves. She looked over at Grissom and raised an eyebrow in question.

"He hasn't noticed." Catherine answered her unasked query. "He's too busy meditating on the blood void."

"Good." Sara nodded, pretending to look for something in her forensic case in a vain attempt to avoid eye contact with the suspicious strawberry blonde.

Ensuring they were out of ear shot, Cath took a step closer and lowered her voice.

"Is it Belinda?"

"No, actually, I haven't seen her." Sara answered and, despite the nervous hitch in her voice, Catherine seemed to accept the response.

"Good." She pursed her lips. "So, why do you look like someone's lit a match under you today?"

At the bemused scowl she received, Cath chuckled and placed a gentle hand on Sara's shoulder.

"Honey, you've been fidgeting and flinching since we left the lab. I know something's wrong."

Realising that she wasn't going to be able to lie herself out of this one, Sara took a deep breath, when Grissom finally managed to tear himself away from his thoughts long enough to notice their intense conversation. She clamped her mouth shut and took a deliberate step out of Catherine's reach.

The older woman cocked her head to the side, before she caught a glimpse of Gil staring at them and realised what had spooked Sara into silence again.

Deciding to end the conversation before the entomologist got too curious and began asking questions, Cath gave Sara a pointed look to show that her reprieve was only temporary, before stalking back to her own section of the room.

As she passed Grissom, he sent her an inquisitive look which she returned with disdain.

"What?" She shrugged calmly.

Sloping up the steps, she dragged her feet tiredly across the worn boards until she reached her apartment door. She slotted the key into the lock and turned it, frowning when there was no telltale click.

Assuming it was stuck, she tried again, harder this time. Still, the key wouldn't budge. Tentatively, she pressed down on the handle, her eyes widening in alarm when the door opened with ease.

Her apartment was unlocked – but she was certain she had locked it. She always locked it.

A slow-building sense of dread started to build in the pit of her stomach.

Unholstering her weapon, she nudged the door open with her foot and, with her heart pounding against her ribcage, darted inside.

Her firearm raised, she swung it from one wall to the next, clearing the apartment one corner at a time, until she found herself in the middle of the apartment pointing a gun at the door she had just come through.

Although she couldn't hear anything due to the blood rushing through her ears, and she felt a headrush from spinning in a circle around the living room, she managed to establish one fact through the fog in her head.

She was alone in the apartment.

She quickly locked and bolted the door, trying the handle twice to make sure, and sank onto the sofa, running a shaky hand through her hair.

She always locked the door. She was certain that she had done so yesterday.

Just like she was certain that she had put her mother's wedding ring in her locker.