A/N: I'm so so sorry!!!! I never meant to make you wait that long. I just lost track of time ... kind of.

Thank you so much for all your reviews! You guys are just great! Really! And creative ;-) I can't comment on all of them, cause there were just too many, so just let me say that:
I want them to go through this seminar without help from the outside, so the dig-up-his-past-scenario is not going to happen. But a few of your reviews went in the same direction as my first thoughts and I also found some new ideas.
I don't know if you'll be happy with the way I deal with Albert. It's probably too gentle, but it felt right to write anyway.

Now I said enough. Enjoy the chapter.

Chapter 25

When Catherine returned to the room she immediately noticed that Sara wasn't on the bed anymore. Instantly panic overcame her. Then she heard water running. Sara was obviously in the bathroom taking a shower. The blonde took a deep breath. Everything was okay.

While the older woman went to her suitcase to check her cell phone, only to find that there still was no reception, the water stopped.

Fifteen minutes later Sara emerged from the bathroom, freshly dressed and with the good old first-aid-kit in hand. The look on her face told Catherine that she hadn't expected her to be back already. Sara's question confirmed that. "You are back already?"

The blonde nodded. Then her eyes fell on Sara's hand. The bandage was gone. Catherine looked with a raised eyebrow at her younger co-worker.

Sara shrugged and looked away sheepishly. "You did a really good job bandaging it, but I wanted to take a shower and the bandage was in the way. But I'll re-do it now."

The older woman shook her head smilingly at that. "And how exactly do you plan to do that?"

Sara went over to the bed and sat down. "Well, I managed to dress myself with one hand, so I'm sure I'll somehow manage that, too. Don't worry."

Catherine sighed. Don't worry? Those were easily spoken words. And why was it so hard for Sara to ask for help? Or did she really think that Catherine was mad at her for taking the bandage off in the first place?

The blonde watched her co-worker for a minute fumbling with the first-aid-kit. She had to admit that it looked quite amusing. As soon as the thought crossed her mind, Catherine felt bad about it. Sara was probably in great pain and that was everything but amusing. And after all she had a plan that she had to fill her in. So she sat down beside her and took the kit away from the brunette. "Let me do this."

Before Sara managed to object, Catherine picked up her hand and started to re-dress it. "And before I forget it: I have a plan." That got Sara's attention.

Right, Catherine wanted to solve some problems. Sara came to the conclusion that that meant finding a way to get rid of Dr. Albert. And if her co-worker had plan then she was definitely in. It was questionable if she was really helpful in her condition, but she was willing to try.

When Catherine saw that she had Sara's undivided attention, she explained her plan. "This is what we are going to do …"

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They sat down in the restaurant for breakfast, but Sara wasn't really hungry. Her hand hurt like hell and she really didn't want to see Dr. Albert again. That combined kind of eliminated her hunger. But this time it was Catherine who'd had the last word and so Sara spent breakfast chewing unhappily on a slice of toast. All too soon for her liking, breakfast was over and it was time for their next session.

And here they were – back in hell! Now was the moment of truth. Would the plan work?

Catherine and Sara entered the room wordlessly and sat down opposite Albert. There were no greetings exchanged between them. The two CSI were ten minutes late – on purpose of course. They knew it and Dr. Albert knew it. But no one said a word. Instead they sat in silence for a few minutes, each side trying to intimidate the other with an icy glare.

Then, finally, Sara broke the silence. "Could we get this started? I'm sure the lab has to pay a great amount of money for this seminar and I really don't want to waste the precious budget." Her voice dripped with sarcasm.

Catherine smirked. That was a nice start.

Dr. Albert raised an eyebrow. It looked like the brunette was some kind of skipjack, the kind that knew that it would be shot down again hard, but got up again every time anyway. That girl was really self-destructive. Well, if she insisted on it. The psychologist adjusted his glasses, leaned back in his chair and folded his hands in his lap. "Alright, I really like this idea. Why don't we start with what happened to your hand. I'm really curious."

Sara felt the urge to growl, but she had promised Catherine that she would hold her temper. "What exactly has my hand got to do with our relationship and the way we work together? Because if I recall correctly, that is the topic of the seminar."

The doctor also kept his cool. "A lot actually. So?"

Catherine and Sara figured that this wasn't exactly a good reason, so they both didn't bother to answer.

When Dr. Albert realized that, he went on himself. "Fine. Then I tell you what I think." Neither woman looked like she was interested in hearing his opinion, but that had never stopped him before. He turned to Sara. "I think your anger got the best you – again – and you just let it out."

That statement wouldn't sound so bad, if he hadn't turned his eyes towards Catherine while saying the last part. Sara's eyes went wide at that. Did that ass really just say that? "Are you actually accusing me of beating up my co-worker?" To hell with her promise!

This time Catherine interfered. "What the hell gives you the right to say something like that?!" The blonde sounded as angry as Sara. "You really seem to have a sick imagination, because last time I checked I didn't have any bruises."

Now it was Albert's turn to get angry. It seemed like they were picking up right where they'd left yesterday. "Sick imagination? Are you getting defensive again? I had really thought that we could start on better terms today."

His false kindness made Catherine feel sick. Then – totally out of the blue – Sara asked an interesting question. "Did you talk to Ecklie yesterday, telling him how much fun you have with us?" Again, the brunette's voice was filled with the right amount of venom, just enough to provoke the dear doctor. To Sara's delight he took the bait.

"There it is again, Sara. Maybe at the end of this week you'll realize that you just lose your temper too easily to work in law enforcement. Even if someone asks you a reasonable question you just snap at them, bringing up things that have nothing to do with the original topic." The little evil smile from yesterday found its way back to Dr. Albert's lips.

Sara countered. "You call the question if I beat up my co-worker, just because my hand is bandaged, reasonable?"

"Conrad is completely right about you. You have a bad temper, which is intervening with your work and endangering the reputation of the lab. This has to stop and I'm more than willing to help him." The psychologist practically shouted.

All right. Not that again! Now Sara was pissed. She jumped up from her chair, walking to the window and then abruptly turning around. "Don't pretend you know me, because you don't!"

Dr. Albert glared at her. "And there you are wrong. I don't need to know you to make such statements, because I know that your father was an abuser and that your mother is a cold-blooded murderer. And the fact that you are their daughter tells me enough to know that you are just like them!"

This time is was Catherine who jumped up from her chair. "How dare you, you damn …" But she didn't get further as the door flew open, revealing two angry looking people. One of them was a woman in her fifties, dressed in a brown pantsuit, the other a man, probably in his forties, dressed in a dark suit. Both looked professional – and really angry. The woman spoke up first. "I think that is enough!"

Catherine moved immediately to Sara's side. Dr. Albert also rose from his chair, looking truly shocked. "What are you doing here?!"

This time the man spoke up. "Saving the reputation of this seminar and of our profession."

Albert turned to Catherine and Sara, who had smug looks on their faces. They'd played him! Those little bitches! "You sold me? Who do you think you are, you damn little …"

"That's enough, George!" The woman interrupted him. "You already did enough damage. Your great connections saved you last time, but this time I'll personally make sure that they never ever let you near a patient again!"

The psychologist clenched his fists, turning away from Sara and Catherine to the two newcomers. "Don't talk to me like that! You can't do anything to me – I'm the head of this seminar!"

The well-clad man shook his head disbelievingly. "For God's sake, George, in which world do you live? You know very well that the stunt you pulled on Saturday had cost you that position. The only reason you're still here is because you have powerful friends."

The woman nodded in agreement. "It was a big mistake to let you stay. You are a danger to everyone around you, a ticking bomb!"

At that Sara laughed out loud. She knew it was totally inappropriate but she couldn't help it. She was really enjoying this show.

The man and the woman looked puzzled at her.

The brunette took a deep breath, trying to get herself together before answering. "Sorry, but it's just … yesterday I was the danger for everyone, the ticking bomb ready to explode. It's just nice to see that it's someone else today."

Catherine tried hard to suppress the grin that threatened to appear on her face. Sara was so right. This whole situation was really entertaining.

Dr. Albert shot both CSIs a death glare, but suddenly it seemed to have lost all its power. "You …" His attempt to insult them some more was interrupted by the woman. "George, my office. Now!"

Furiously Dr. Albert pushed past the two people at the door, leaving the room, shouting: "To hell with you! I'm leaving! No one treats Dr. George Albert like that!" With that he was gone.

The man and the woman looked at each other, both shaking their heads. Finally the man spoke up again. "I'll take care of that." With that he hurried after Albert. The woman sighed and ran her hand through her hair. Then she remembered that she wasn't alone in the room. She looked apologetically at Catherine and Sara and moved over to them.

A/N: Sorry for the abrupt ending, but the original chapter was twice as long and I decided to make two chapters out of it. I promise you won't have to wait for the next chapter as long as you had to wait for that. Sorry again.
BTW: this wasn't the last thing we heard from Albert