Another chapter and I think I'm getting faster lol. thanks for the reviews it keeps me going to know people are still reading.

I Still own nothing but the laptop i write in on.


Sara watched as Nick stalked into the locker room and slammed the nearest open locker shut.

"Let me guess Cath pissing you off too." Sara made her presence known.

Nick sighed and started talking. "We were working that 411."

"Yeah."

"And all the while they had a homicide with every detail matching the Zamesca case, it urks on too many levels that Catherine would keep me out of this."

"I know."

"I have a hunch that the Zamesca case is connected to the 419 you were working with Az'."

"So go tell Cath."

"Think she'll listen?"

Sara paused for a moment to measure her answer. She had to be sure she was answering the question as a CSI and not as Catherine's concerned and slightly upset girlfriend.

"Think you have to try." Sara finally offered.

"I never thought I'd find us in this position." Nick smiled a little exhaling sharply trying to regain some composure.

"What borderline friends? I know it's scary." Sara joked back.

"Thanks Sar' I know Cath's your girl and I'm having a pop."

"Tell you the truth you really haven't said anything I can't see for myself. I love her but I'm not blind and I know her remember. Look I'll tag along how's that?"

"Thanks man."

OO

Sara and Nick had split up in their search for Catherine. Nick had headed off to see if she was in her office while Sara had headed for the brake room deciding that if nothing else she needed coffee. She had been in time to catch the end of Catherine, Keppler and Warrick's progress meeting on their case. Sara tried not to pay attention to the case or Catherine's proximity to Keppler. The meeting wrapped, Keppler stood to leave. Deciding she didn't want to have to talk to Catherine right now Sara was just heading out to tell Nick she had located her when the Texan strode into the room.

"I just connected Aaron's Vic to Simon!" Nick's statement seemed to hang in the air.

'Go mate don't you beat about the bush.' Sara had to chuckle to herself as Nick got straight to the point. She didn't have to be a CSI to notice both Catherine and Keppler were upset by this.

"Yeah you might want to hear this." Sara couldn't help but grin at Keppler's back.

"What's the connection?" Keppler enquired.

"Well I think that Simon was driving her BMW to meet Zamesca."

"Nick we got a print for the Holstein case. Street dealer." To anyone in that room Catherine sounded calm and confident, Sara though wasn't anyone. She had spent years learning Catherine and months being the one to hold her. She knew that little hitch in her voice and she knew it meant she was hiding something. "Were bringing him in now. And he looks dirty for Zamesca too."

Nick and Warrick exchanged looks at the obvious brush off. Sara though was lost in her own little world as she watched Catherine walk off with Keppler.

OO

"What are we looking for?" Sara asked folding her arms leaning her hip against the table.

"I'm," Nick looked up shaking her head. "Looking for the Holstein Evidence."

"Cool espionage."

Both of the room's occupants looked up as Catherine walked into the room.

"Hey Nick." Sara shook her head turning her back on her.

"We can't find the evidence in the Holstein case."

"What do you want it for?" Catherine wanted to know.

"Because that guy who confessed to killing Zamesca didn't do it." Sara told her turning round.

"Yeah the sheriff is jumping the gun." Nick added.

"We have evidence and a confession. You can't just come in here and take over my case."

"Touchy there Baby?" Sara questioned.

"Is there a reason you don't want us to see this file Catherine?"

Catherine's head spun for a moment they were tag teaming her and it hurt to see that Sara would side with Nick over her, though she knew she had no one else to blame.

"As your supervisor I'm telling you to leave it."

"As your colleges we're asking you to stop lying to us." Sara almost begged.

"Leave it." Catherine stated firmly as she walked out.

OO

"Uh, it's freezing. Why are we having a meeting outside?" Aaron asked blowing on to his hands as he cupped them to his mouth.

"'Cause Catherine and Keppler are in there." Nick told him.

"What, have you guys been listening to Hodges?" Greg joked.

"No, and this isn't about Keppler being IA anyway. This is about Catherine having a false confession and standing by it."

"You'd better be able to back that one up, man." Warrick was quick to jump to Catherine's defence.

"We can." Sara told them stepping out of the shadows.

"Sar' you buying this." Greg asked walking up to his best friend.

"I've been with Nick all night and I've seen everything he has and I can't come up with a different answer."

"Zamesca knew Az's and Greg's Vic. He's dead, she's dead, same drugs are found at both scenes, and then ... those same drugs showed up at your crime scene?"

"Could have come from the same supplier." Warrick pointed out.

"We see that all the time. I don't think it's a coincidence."

"You know, Catherine" Aaron paused to look at Sara "Catherine ordered Henry to step out of his lab without putting drug evidence away." Aaron and Sara locked eyes.

"Why would she do that?" Greg asked Sara's silent question.

"I did see Keppler checking out Zamesca's file yesterday. I didn't think anything strange about it then, but now ..." Warrick added.

"Okay, so ... maybe there is an IA investigation."

Nick and Sara look at each other neither of them really wanted to be doing this but it was too late to stop now. Sara nodded at Nick she really couldn't do it herself.

"We can't find the Holstein evidence."

"What?" Aaron exclaimed.

Sara and Nick just nodded.

"Catherine put it in a temporary locker." Warrick told them.

"Yeah. Why didn't she put it where it belongs?" Nicked asked he was really getting angry now.

"The Holstein bullet was a little bit too clean, and Keppler didn't seem at all concerned about it. He said that we would see at autopsy." Warrick Added.

"Well, it's kind of hard to have an autopsy when you don't have a body, man. I talked to Doc Robbins; he's still trying to track it down. And the mortuary has no record of Catherine's phone call whatsoever." Sara was really starting to feel sick.

"Do we have access to any of the Holstein evidence?" Aaron wondered.

"We got the car… No we don't Catherine sent it to the impound." Nick corrected himself

"Well, at least we know where it is." Greg tried his hand at optimism and Sara wanted to hit him.

"All right, that's it. We're a team now, the five of us. We can't trust Catherine and we can't trust Keppler. I'm serious. I'm gonna run with this one." Nick stated passionately.

"I'll run with you." Warrick nodded. Nick slapped Warrick's shoulder. He knew he could count on him.

"You?" Warrick turned to Aaron.

Aaron looked at Sara and Nick as he weighed it all up. "I'm in."

They turned and look at Greg, Greg looked to Sara who nodded at him with a forlorn sigh Greg nodded too.

OO

"Want to talk about it?"

"What is there to say Az'? She's lying about something I can just feel it. All I can think is if she lies about this at work, where as our supervisor we need to trust her with our lives then what else is she lying about?"

"Like say for instance when she says she loves you does she mean it?"

"Yeah." Sara exhaled dejectedly hitting her head on the locker.

"Sometimes when she's holding me and she says she loves me it's all there is, it's all that's real, life just melts away and it's us, me and her and I can fly if she just holds tight enough."

"Don't want to lose that."

"Don't want that to be bullshit."

OO

Sara sat at the table in the break room as far from Catherine as she could get without looking like she wasn't part of proceedings. The Five CSI's had spent the last few hours working on the leads that they had. They had gotten no more answers but it had convinced them that Catherine Keppler and possibly even Brass were in on whatever was going on.

"It's called reverse forensics." Keppler was the first to speak. Catherine sat watching Sara, her girlfriend, her best friend had never seemed as far away from her as she did right then. Even when they had not even been friends she was the one Catherine felt connected too.

"Reverse forensics?" Greg questioned.

"Big words Grego. For these two here faking a crime scene and getting 'Rick to process it. Baby how often do you fake it by the way?" Sara asked her.

"I know you're angry but not now!" Catherine warned her.

"Baby you have never seen me angry!" Sara replied darkly.

"Simon had to believe it when he saw it on the news." Catherine told the group getting back on track.

"He was a fugitive. The only way to get him to show his face was to make him think he was off the hook."

"And your only option was to fabricate evidence and make me process it?" Warrick asked.

"How could you think we wouldn't work it out, It's kind of what we do." Greg pointed out.

"I understand how you feel. I'm sorry I didn't have a choice." Catherine stated.

"We trusted you with our lives Catherine; you could have trusted us with this." Nick was not letting this go.

"Aaron?" Catherine asked turning to him.

"If I have something to say to you, Catherine, I'm going to say it in private." he turned to Keppler "No offence."

"Sara I know you have something to say."

"Like my brother I'll say it later alone. Me though I mean a lot of offence, all of it painful." Sara glared at Keppler.

"Okay, look. We can still get Simon. He only walked on Zamesca. He drove Monique Carter's vehicle out into the desert. Nick's established that. Did he kill her, too?"

OO

Determined not to cry in the building Sara made it to her car and slipped in to the driver's seat. Closing her eyes she slumped forward and rested her head on the steering wheel. She tried to hold on for a moment longer but there was no winning this battle and she let her tears fall.

What the hell had she been thinking? That thing could be any different with Catherine. 'Out of your league.'

"Fuck." Sara swore punching the steering wheel in anger. She had tried so hard to keep this professional, keep her feelings for Catherine the woman from tainting her feelings towards what Catherine her supervisor had done. She was having no luck though. Every time she closed her eyes to pull Catherine's face into her Keppler was there smiling just in the back ground. Reaching in to the glove box Sara fished around for her trusty back up pack of cigarettes. She had given up twice before but kept a pack to hand just for moments like this. Her hand came in to contact with something hard and unfamiliar and she pulled it out. It was a jewellery box the size Sara was familiar with; she was always buying Catherine necklaces. Sara was sure she hadn't bought this one.

C

Thank you, for sticking with me on this.

K

Sara was dumb struck for a moment. Why the hell was someone and she was pretty sure she knew who buying Catherine jewellery? Thanks for sticking with me on this read more like thanks for choosing me over them. Sara just had no clue what to do about it. The biggest part of her was telling her to calm down a little and do nothing rash right now. Catherine loved her and there was no way she would cheat on her. However here was a box of jewellery that just didn't sit right messing up that thought process.

OO

"Three calls were made from Monique's cell phone to Simon's strip club after she died." Greg informed Catherine as they walked through the lab together.

"There's another half a dozen calls to Hugh Griffin, Bud Small, Frank Townsend. All known associates."

"He was using her phone to do business, thinking it was safe.

"Oh, yeah, the last call was made to his wife's cell."

"I haven't seen her all morning what do I do Greg?" Catherine asked Greg almost pleading.

"Catherine I don't know her as well as you. I mean she loves you so she really opened up to you. I know though that with Sara once you lose her trust then you're screwed. All you can do is hope she can work it out in her head."

OO

"The paper work on my jewellery store case!" Sara tossed the file on Catherine's desk and turned to leave.

"Where did you go?"

"It's all there so you shouldn't need me anymore."

"Sar' please where did you go? The whole shift worked over time to pull this one out, where did you go."

"I couldn't do it, I couldn't work with you and him and be professional and keep my mind on work so I took myself out of the situation. I did all my paper work like the good little lap dog I am."

"That's not how I see you."

"How do you see me then because I sure as hell have no clue?"

"Look can we please talk about this at home later."

"Whatever."

"No not whatever either you want to talk or you don't?"

"You're ready now you mean?"

"This is just a little too rich coming from you."

"What the hell is that meant to mean?"

"Well you're ok to keep me out when it suits you but when the boots on the other foot you don't like it. I had to do this I told you and I'm sorry ok if there was anyone here I wanted to tell it was you but I couldn't."

"Cath our lives are at stake every day on this job and we have to trust you, god I have to trust you that's a two way street like Nick said."

"You and Nick seemed to have managed to put you differences to one side to gang up on me."

"Listen to your self Cath. We had no clue what was going on evidence was going missing and you had us chasing our tails. Nick thought he was going a little crazy at one point and you compromised poor Henry. So what were we to do? Would we have been the people you thought we were if we had just let it slide?"

"No."

"No and what would you have done if that had of been me acting the way you and Keppler where."

"I'd have gone crazy trying to work out what was wrong with you."

"Yeah well I did, oh and next time your little boy friend is going to leave you trinkets make sure he puts them in your car not mine." Sara told her handing over the gift box.

"There's nothing going on I swear." Catherine was adamant. "I love you and I want us to work this out."

"I love you too I'm not so sure I trust you though."


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