"Hey."

Sara looked up from her sketch, a soft smile gracing her face. Catherine moved further into the room and sat down on the edge of the bed.

"New masterpiece?" She inquired. Sara turned her sketch book around to show Cath her newest drawing. There were a lot of things going on in the picture, but the one that stood out the most to Catherine was the giant beautiful butterfly taking up most of the page. She smiled; glad to see a more cheerful mood taking over Sara's artwork. "You, uh, you okay?" She asked at last.

"Uh huh." Sara nodded, resuming her work.

"You've been very quiet today." The blonde pointed out, waiting for a response. They had played this game often enough now that she knew Sara would reply eventually, if she gave her enough time, whereas once she would have clammed up. And, true enough, after a long minute Sara spoke.

"There's not going to be a trial." Catherine's jaw dropped. She hadn't yet told Sara that the lawyers were currently doing a deal following Warren's confession. She hadn't told Sara that Warren had confessed. So how did she know..? The young woman looked up and answered her colleague's unasked question. "I heard you on the phone to Brass this morning."

"Oh." Cath nodded, understanding flooding her features. "And, are you okay with that? With there being no trial." Sara nodded her head vehemently.

"I want to forget it ever happened." She mumbled, retuning her attention to her work in progress. In the moment of silence that followed Catherine studied Sara's delicate frame. There was once a time that she would have resisted the urge to reach out and comfort her. Now, she shuffled closer and wrapped her in a tight hug, waiting for the brunette to relax in her arms before she whispered against her ear.

"Me too, sweetheart."

X x x

Sara shuffled uncomfortably in her seat, her dark eyes darting around the unfamiliar room nervously. She could feel Dr Moreno's gaze on her, tracking her every movement. Finally, after what felt like an age, he spoke.

"How are you feeling today?" He spoke in a gentle, dreamy voice, like all psychiatrists do when they're trying to win your trust.

"Don't." Sara said softly. Out of the corner of her eyes she swore she saw him flinch slightly. He must be new to this game, she thought.

"Don't what?" He requested innocently.

"Don't pretend you're here to make me feel safe and that if I talk to you it's going to make all my problems go away." She elaborated, finally meeting his gaze. He shifted in his seat, tapping his pen against the pad of clean blank paper on his lap.

"I can't promise to make all your problems disappear." He conceded. "But I can help you deal with some of them. Talking can..."

"Talking can help, so I've been told." Sara rolled her eyes, sinking back into the sofa. Dr Moreno laughed.

"You've done this before." He realised, casting a glance at her file, which sat unopened on his desk. He really wished he had read it now. All he had been told about this particular case was that she had recently been abused by her boyfriend and had attempted suicide. Ecklie had left out the attitude.

She nodded imperceptibly at his rhetorical question.

"I grew up in rooms like this." She agreed. "So you can leave out the intro." Realising that this was going to be harder than he'd first thought, he changed tactics. He placed his notebook on the desk and sat forward, resting his elbows on his knees. His sharp eyes noted how Sara visibly tensed when he decreased the gap between them, so he sat back again.

"Sara, I am here so that you can talk about anything that's on your mind. Anything that might scare you, or make you uncomfortable."

"This makes me uncomfortable." She answered sullenly.

"What? Talking to me?"

"Talking to anyone." She corrected. "I'd rather deal with things in my own way."

"Well, that's okay to do that. If you find a way that works for you then stick to it." For the first time Sara looked surprised at his words. For the first time they weren't scripted. However, he wasn't done yet. "But it still helps to talk to someone. Even if it's not me." He paused. "If you had to talk to someone, who would it be? Who do you trust the most?"

That was an easy one. "Catherine."

Dr Moreno smiled. A baby step.

"Okay." He nodded, settling into his chair. "Tell me about Catherine."

X x x

"Hey, long time no see." Sara smiled when she nearly got mowed down by a speeding Grissom in the hallway. The supervisor did a double take, surprised to see the brunette in his lab.

"What are you doing here?" He asked, instinctively looking around for Catherine too.

"Today was my first meeting with the counsellor." She explained, watching recognition flash across Gil's eyes as he remembered the date.

"How did it go?" He asked, tugging her to the side so they were not blocking the corridor. She nodded, chewing the inside of her cheek thoughtfully.

"It went okay. As good as talking to a shrink ever goes." She attempted to joke.

"It'll help." He assured her.

"Yeah." She breathed. "I'm actually glad I ran into you; there was something I wanted to ask you." A sweet smile crept onto her lips.

"Okay." He said, waiting. Sara glanced around them, stood conspicuously in the corridor.

"In your office?"

X x x

Inside Grissom gestured to a seat but she preferred to stand.

"I was wondering, if it's okay with you, if I could come back to work? Even just part time?" She said in one breath, waiting for Gil's response. He sat down heavily in his chair.

"Are you sure you're ready?"

"Absolutely." She promised. He took a deep breath, holding it for a moment before releasing it through his nose.

"You'd have to keep up your counselling." He pointed out.

"Sure, no problem." Sara agreed, albeit through gritted teeth.

"And Ecklie would need to okay this." The girl's smile faltered a bit, something which did not go unnoticed by the boss. Taking pity on her, he sighed. "I'll talk to him."

X x x

"Hey Cath," Warrick greeted when she entered the break room. Nick looked up and smiled, before returned to his newspaper. He read one line and paused, glancing up again.

"Hey, wasn't it Sara's first session with the shrink today?" He asked.

"Yeah, this afternoon." Catherine confirmed, pouring herself a cup of coffee.

"How'd it go?" Rick enquired.

"Okay, I think." Cath frowned. "She wouldn't really say much about it but she was a lot calmer when she came out then when she went in."

"That's good." The dark skinned man nodded.

"I'm surprised you managed to get her here at all." Greg piped up, nose-deep in a surfing magazine. Cath snorted.

"It wasn't easy. She can really put up a fight when she wants to: it's easier to get Lindsey to go to the dentist." They all shared a small chuckle which was broken by Grissom's approaching footsteps.

"Alright gang," he declared, appearing at the doorway. "Nick and Catherine, DB for you. Warrick DB for you. And DB for me." He dispersed the folders and the boys ambled off to retrieve their kits, along with Greg who scampered off before Grissom could find a reason to shout at him.

Catherine lingered behind.

"Sara said she spoke to you today." She sidled towards Grissom, trying to catch his gaze. He shrugged.

"Yes, after her session."

"So, what are you going to do?" She pressed. He pursed his lips.

"What do you think?" He countered. Catherine took a deep breath.

"I think it'll be good for her to get back where she feels safe. Back with her friends, her family." She replied after much deliberation. "As much as I love her company, she can't live in my guest room forever. She's going to want to get her life back sometime, and when she does we're going to have to be nearby to keep her going."

"I guess." Grissom sighed heavily.

"Talk to Ecklie, see what he says." She encouraged. "I know you don't think she's ready yet, but give her a chance."

"It's not that." He contradicted. "It's..."

"What?" She pushed softly when he didn't continue. He dropped into a nearby seat, fiddling with the assignment slip in his hands nervously.

"I already messed up once. I don't want to repeat that mistake again ... in case we're too late next time." Catherine slid into the seat next to him and loosely interlocked their hands.

"All the more reason to bring her back to where she belongs."

X x x

For the second time that night, Grissom nearly steamrolled someone in the corridor. This time it was Ecklie.

"Hey, where's the fire?" The lab executive joked. Grissom rushed out a mumbled apology and tried to dodge around him but wasn't quite quick enough.

"Catherine said you had something to ask me?" Ecklie inquired curiously. Grissom faltered for a moment, debating whether or not to deny all knowledge. Tired of waiting for a response, Ecklie rolled his eyes. "You know what; let me know when you remember."

He started to walk away but Gil's voice called him back.

"There was something." He licked his lips. "I spoke to Sara today..."

"How is she?" Conrad asked, genuine concern filling his voice for a brief moment.

"She's okay. She wants to come back to work." He managed to force out. Ecklie pursed his lips thoughtfully.

"She's started her counselling?"

"Today." Gil confirmed.

"What does Catherine think?"

"She thinks it's a good idea."

"And you?" Grissom paused, opening and closing his mouth a few times.

"I want what's best for her. And I think that's being here." He answered at last. Ecklie studied his words for a long moment before nodding.

"I'll sort out the paperwork."

x x x x

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