She tilted her head towards the sun, enjoying the late summer desert heat. She had a streak of paint across her cheek and another across her leg, but in this moment she couldn't care less.

Just as she was about to resume painting the fence, the music that had been playing to itself from the radio stopped. Turning towards the sudden silence, she was surprised to find that she was being observed.

Catherine was stood in her yard, one hand on the now muted radio and a bright smile on her face.

"Hi." Sara greeted, placing her paintbrush carefully across the top of the tin and wiping her hands on a cloth as she wandered over to her unexpected visitor.

"So, this is how you spend your days off?" Catherine nodded towards the half-blue fence at the bottom of the yard. Sara laughed softly.

"Well, it'll be worth it when it's done."

"I bet." Cath agreed, casting her eyes lazily around the garden. "This is a nice place – certainly suits you better than your old one."

"Yeah," Sara agreed, a wistful smile landing on her face as she surveyed her new home. The garden was reasonably big, with steps leading down from the house. From the patio, where she and Catherine currently stood, she could see Lake Mead in the distance – the main reason Sara had moved out of the city to Boulder.

There was both grass and a pebbled area, complete with a small tree in the middle and little Buddha statue sat underneath. Between the earthy touches, the oriental features and the bright flowers, it was very Sara.

Having decided that her chores could wait, Sara produced two beers from a small cooler beside the table and offered one to Catherine, who happily accepted the invitation.

"So, what brings you way out here?" She asked, sinking into a chair and gesturing for Catherine to follow suit.

"I just dropped Lindsey off with my mother." Cath explained, making herself comfortable under the shade of the parasol. "I thought I'd call in and see your new place while I was passing."

"I see." Sara smiled. To be honest, she was surprised that the blonde had resisted the urge to check out her new abode for this long. "Well, there are still a few things to do, but it's coming along."

Cath nodded, casting her eyes back towards the house. Even from here, she could see through the open glass doors into the half-decorated kitchen-diner.

"So," she drawled, taking a mouthful of her beer. "I hear that you and Nick have been talking?"

The brunette offered a soft laugh, a blush creeping up her cheeks.

"Yeah, I'm sorry. I didn't intend on telling him – he saw the pamphlet for Victim Services and it just kind of fell into place for him."

"Hey, don't apologise." Catherine smiled. "I think it's great that you two have opened up to each other about this. It's probably what you both needed."

"Oh." Sara nodded, a soft frown settling on her face. "Well, it's still not easy – Nick hasn't told anyone before – except you, of course – so he's still trying to find the words to explain it all."

"I'm sure talking to you will help." Cath mused, pointing her beer towards Sara. "Just keep me in the loop – both of you."

"We will." Sara promised, giving Catherine a glimpse of that increasinly familiar little sparkle in her eyes. She looked better, Cath realised. Perhaps it was the sun, or the fact that she was out of the office in her own space, but she looked more at peace.

Perhaps she was finally laying her demons to rest?

"Good." She flashed her own smile. "So, you checked out any of the water sports at Lake Mead yet?"

The change of subject seemed to satisfy Sara, who instinctively turned towards the view.

"I have, actually." She agreed. "It's still not the same as being at the beach, but it was nice to get back into the water again."

"I'm glad you're enjoying yourself." Cath chuckled, genuinely pleased to see her usually tense colleague looking so at ease with her life.

"You should come down one afternoon." Sara suggested cheerfully.

"Ha, no thank you." She laughed dryly. "I'm happy enough on dry land."

"It's a lot of fun." Sara teased playfully.

"I tell you what – I'll come and sit on the side with a cocktail, while you play in the water?"

"Fair enough." Sara agreed, flashing another bright, endearing smile.

As they drained the last of their drinks, Sara took the empty bottles and tossed them into her recycling.

"Have you eaten yet?" She asked. "I was going to order something in – you'd be welcome to stay?"

Catherine considered the offer, cocking her head to the side.

"I have a better idea." She suggested, rocking to her feet and ambling over. "Why don't you go inside and get changed, and we can go out for food? There's a great little restaurant in Boulder that I haven't been to in ages."

"Sure, okay." Sara agreed brightly. "Come on in, I can give you a tour of the place before we go."

Catherine grinned.

"I thought you'd never ask."

Unsurprisingly, the inside of the house was very similar to the garden – open, clean and full of little 'Sara-esque' touches.

Granted, there was still some decorating to do, but the majority of the painting had been done – all colours, not a magnolia wall in sight. She seemed to favour the earthy-colours, greens and cappuccino-brown; but the splashes of orange, red and blue complimented central themes nicely.

However, there was one glaring absence in Sara's new home.

Every wall had something on it – a print, a cityscape, a framed poster from a classic movie. There was a large picture of San Francisco hanging on the wall behind the couch, which was almost entirely black and white, apart from the Golden Gate Bridge, which stood out in all its red glory.

But there was not a single family photograph.

The closest thing, she noted with a hint of sadness, was a framed photo of all the team together, stood on a bookcase alongside a stack of CDs. It had been taken in Frank's diner, at the end of a very long trial.

CSI truly was the only family Sara had ever really had.