The story continued. The group resumed their seats, and Sara felt the need to move things forward.

"After that –" she started.

"Hold on," Brass interrupted. "Let's back up. Catherine said they found you on the floor, covered in blood. How bad were you hurt?"

"The blood wasn't hers," Catherine said, sparing her the trouble of responding. "A few minor lacerations, nothing major. There were a lot of bruises, she was only semi-conscious, but nothing was fractured."

"Okay," Brass said. "So what then?"

"Take your time," Dianne said.

"Well … we realised were being chased," Sofia supplied, honest. "There were two guys chasing us outside. I knew we didn't have long, that it was going to come to a shootout. We carried Sara into the backyard, left her there with Nick and Grissom, and Catherine, Warrick and I went to the front of the house to stand guard."

"Did they find you?" Brass asked.

"Did they ever," Warrick muttered, to himself.

His dark eyes looked like he did not embrace the memory.

"Yes, they did," Catherine said. "They walked up the driveway shooting, and we shot back, through the window and door."

"Was anyone hurt?" Dianne asked.

"No," Sofia answered. "We killed them both."

"Thank God you had training," Brass muttered, seeming relieved.

"What then?" Dianne pressed.

"We left," Sara said.

She took the story over from there, and related how they had forced themselves to walk out of Vegas, silent and injured, and then their long hike up the nearby hills, back to the highway, and all the way to the little lonely town they had left that morning. She spoke in an emotionally detached tone, merely relating the facts, until she reached their arrival at the pharmacy, and then paused, recollecting painfully what had happened next.

"We stayed there the night," she said. "We slept on the floor of the store. But –" she chanced an awkward glance to Sofia "- I think Sofia's head was hurting. She was in a lot of pain. She had to take some drugs from the pharmacy to handle it."

Dianne took a breath, looking pained at hearing it.

"How bad was it?" she asked.

It occurred to Sara that Dianne was not asking as an interrogator, or as a member of PD, but rather as a scared mother.

"Bad," Sofia said, without elaborating.

She did not meet her mother's questioning eyes.

Deciding it was best to get it over with, Sara pressed forward.

"We slept there the night, then in the morning we decided to head back to the house, where we had first woken up. It seemed at the time that if there was any hope of getting back that's where it would be. And, we hoped it might be safe. At least safer than being in town."

"We took some things with us," Catherine explained, also looking awkward now that the tale of Sofia's overdose was getting nearer. "Food, painkillers … some drinks."

"Some alcohol," Sara said, knowing there was no getting around it.

"I can't blame you for that," Brass admitted. "I think I would have drunk myself unconscious."

"You're not far off the mark," Grissom said, who had been oddly quiet up until that point.

"We did drink," Sara admitted, flatly honest. "It was the most devastating atmosphere, the sense of defeat. We didn't expect to see any of our loved ones ever again. We thought that was it."

"I remember feeling that if I just drank enough, it might dull the pain," Catherine admitted.

Sara snuck up at hand to take Catherine's, hearing the pain and enormous regret in her voice. She held it firmly.

"You're leading up to something," Dianne said, with an air of bracing herself – hard. "What happened?"

"We drank," Sara said. "We went to sleep. But we hadn't realised that Sofia's head was hurting, that she had taken more painkillers. At dawn, she came in and woke us – me and Gil."

"Why'd you wake them?" Brass asked.

He directed the question to Sofia, but she did not answer. She looked at a spot on the floor, dead ahead, stoic and silent.

"She was very ill," Grissom provided. "There was a cocktail of drugs and alcohol in her stomach, and she came to us for help."

"You overdosed," Dianne concluded, looking to her daughter.

But Sofia still did not answer. She looked ahead, and Sara could sense her writhing inside, her irises shifting, uncomfortable.

"More or less," Grissom answered.

There was a moment of silence. Dianne took in a breath.

Sara pressed on, eager to justify themselves.

"We helped her to the bed, found an emetic, got her to vomit. It helped, but –"

"She was ill for hours," Grissom said. "We weren't sure how it was going to turn out. Not for a while."

"We stayed with her," Catherine said, eager to explain. "Helped, did what we could."

Dianne held up a hand, indicating for them to stop, and stemming the flow of their guilt-ridden explanations which she was not ready to hear. She swallowed, braced herself, and then addressed only her daughter.

"It's okay," she said. "It's all right …"

She looped an arm around her daughter, holding her tight, and Sara saw Dianne's eyes rapidly shifting, trying to absorb everything she had just heard, and not quite knowing how to make it right.

"You two want a moment?" Catherine offered, gently. "We can step out."

"No," Sofia said, in a rush. "Just keep going."

But the group hesitated.

"Sofia," Grissom said, gently, "the goal of this is that your mother understands. She can't help you if she doesn't know what you endured. Maybe it would help, even if you're not ready to re-live the whole night, if you could give her an inkling of some of it, what it was like."

But Sofia said nothing, her jaw set.

Sara realised they had to change tactics.

"You want to step out a moment?" Sara offered. "Get a drink. We can fill your Mom in."

"Yeah," Sofia said.

She rose, immediately, only too happy to leave. Nick, with a look to Sara, followed her out, hand on her back.

Sara waited until they were gone, and for Nick to close the door behind him, before she turned to Dianne, who jumped straight in.

"How bad was it?" she asked. "Just tell me everything."

"It was awful," Sara blurted. "She was in a lot of pain, her head was hurting, but she hadn't told us."

"She didn't want to worry us," Grissom explained. "It only came out then how much pain she had been in."

"She vomited several times," Catherine said. "She was shaking. Pale, sweating. We kept her cool, held her hand …"

"I remember holding her hand for hours," Sara confessed, trying to help Dianne paint a picture. "She kept asking us to see you, if it ended badly. She asked us to apologise on her behalf, to tell you she loved you."

All of a sudden Dianne looked away from Sara's eyes, and sank her head into one hand, sighing with torment. Sara raised her hand and put it tentatively on her shoulder.

"She was delirious for a while," Grissom put in. "And when the danger did pass, she had stomach cramps. She was ill for half the day."

"Well at least she went to you," Brass said, looking disturbed. "At least you were able to help."

"Actually, I've never felt that helpless," Grissom confessed.

"It was horrendous," Catherine added. "You can't just call for help out there, you're trapped …"

"We got through it, though," Sara remembered, and thinking they had gone far enough. "I think she just doesn't want to tell you because she's embarrassed, maybe a little ashamed."

"And it's painful," Catherine said.

"A bit of a sore spot," Grissom said.

"Okay," Dianne said.

She sighed heavily, and then took Sara's hand from her shoulder, squeezing it in gratitude. She then rose, and then explaining that she wanted a word with Sofia, left.

There was a heavy silence. Sara exchanged looks with everyone in the room, tense, and then overheard as Dianne, in the next room, simply took Sofia into her arms, and comforted her.

Nick, leaving them to it, drifted back to join them.

"That was awful," he said quietly, just to the group.

"She has to know," Grissom reasoned. "It's short-term pain for long term gain. Sofia has to get through this."

"It doesn't make re-living it any easier," Catherine said, disturbed.

"You going to be okay?" Sara asked.

"I don't know," she said. "Let's just get it over with."

She shook her head slightly, unable to deal with the memories, and across in the armchair, Warrick held out a hand, inviting her over. Catherine went, and he gently tugged her to sit in his lap, putting his strong arm around her waist.

"Hang in there," Brass said. "I know it's difficult, but you're doing well."

After a few minutes Dianne and Sofia re-joined them, and although Sofia had a few residual tears in her eyes she looked a lot better. Whatever had been said in the other room had helped, and Dianne, too, looked more at ease. Sara put a hand briefly on Sofia's knee as she sat down, but Sofia nodded, evidently ready to keep going.

"It's fine," she said.

"Shall we keep going?" Grissom asked.

"Yeah," Sofia agreed.

Sara's eyes did a quick lap of the room, ensuring everyone was ready, before she proceeded.

"Well," she said, "after that, things were good for a while …"

She related how they had let Sofia rest, gathered more food, and then just generally lay about and recuperated from their ordeal. She did, however, find herself oddly leaving things out – things which felt too personal to share. She did not let on that they had walked around in so little clothing, or how their bond had started to develop. She did not divulge how Catherine had become increasingly affectionate, or any of the intimate conversations the group had had. She left all that out, but did try to give an inkling for what had occurred at that time.

"We rested a while," she went on. "Recovered. Mostly we stayed near the house, except for when we gathered supplies from the other farms. We spent some time together, went on a few picnics, some walks, shared a few laughs. There was a bit of romance."

She eyed Catherine and Warrick in the opposite chair, and then saw Sofia also pass a slip of a smile in Nick's direction. She had not intended to elaborate, however – until Dianne stopped her.

"Romance?" she queried, with idle interest.

"We had a bit of fun," Catherine replied, completely unashamed.

"What?" Brass queried. "Sex, drugs, rock and roll? That sort of thing?"

"At least one of the three," Catherine confessed.

"You don't understand what it was like," Warrick offered, still sitting with Catherine in his lap. "It was intense, the whole experience. It was too much. We had to let off a bit of steam."

"No, I get that," Brass said, shrugging indifferently. "We're not here to judge."

"It's your business," Dianne said. "No one else's."

"I don't think we need to talk about this part," Grissom said, pointedly.

But Brass ignored him. It was odd, but Sara thought he was almost struggling with something, like an interrogator wondering how best to go about posing a delicate question, or establishing a sensitive fact.

"What is it?" Sara asked.

Inviting him turned out to be a mistake.

"It's just – what, you were … all in together? That sort of thing?"

Sara stared.

"How do you mean?" she asked.

"I think he's asking us if we had an orgy," Nick translated, giving a small amused grin. "And no," he answered. "No, Jim, we did not."

"We absolutely did not," Sara said, stunned – and horrified.

"Where the hell did you get that idea?" Catherine asked, surprised.

Jim and Dianne looked at each other, sharing something, a memory that was left unsaid. Sara's eyes did a quick sweep of the room, and saw that all of her friends were looking equally stunned, mouths open and a few amused grins, with the possible exception of Grissom who was looking genuinely perplexed.

Sara shook her head.

"That's not how it was …"

"Okay," Brass said, hand up to placate her. "It's your business. We just have to ask, you know… keep an open mind. We weren't judging if you did."

"Who said we did?" Catherine demanded.

Sara, too, felt that it could not have come out of nowhere.

"Well…" He shrugged. "People talk, you know …"

"Far too much," Catherine agreed. "But what did they say?"

"You really want to go into this?"

"You started it."

"It's just … we noticed that you were …"

He shrugged, trailing off, with a vague wave of the hand. Sara had rarely seen him so awkward.

"… Close," he finished, finding the word.

"Not that close," Sara clarified.

"I think he's trying to say that we've observed that you're very affectionate with each other," Dianne said, with a calm tone. "And it's not a judgement, it's a nice thing. You have a close bond. There's nothing wrong with that. It's natural, considering what you've been through."

A look of dawning comprehension crossed Sofia's face. Grissom still looked lost.

"We do," Sofia confirmed. "But nothing like that happened."

"I'm in a committed relationship with Grissom," Sara confirmed. "We're engaged. Catherine is in a relationship with Warrick, and Nick is in a relationship with Sofia."

Sara saw Dianne's eyes dart between Sofia and Nick, holding Nick for a moment. Nick smiled under her gaze, as though caught in a crime.

"Mom –" Sofia whispered.

Dianne hauled her eyes off Nick.

"You didn't realise?" Sofia asked, looking struck.

"It wasn't the type of thing we could ask at the hospital," Dianne said. "It wasn't the time. And there were many other priorities. It was the least of my concerns."

"It's just your families noticed there was a lot of hugging, a lot of kissing," Brass explained. "No one was sure. They were trying to be understanding, but … it's finding the right moment to ask, I suppose …"

"Trauma brings you closer together," Grissom explained.

"I can see that," Brass said. "I know you've been to hell and back. It's not for us to judge what happened."

"Nothing did happen," Sofia pointed out, staring at them as though they were thick.

"It's your business."

"Nothing happened," Sara repeated.

"Okay," Brass said. He shrugged.

"But …" Dianne went on, with a sudden awkward look in Catherine's direction. "You may want to clarify that for your mother. At some point."

Catherine stared. "She thinks that I'm -?"

"Very loving," Brass filled in. "As she puts it."

Catherine looked thunderstruck. She shifted awkwardly in Warrick's lap.

"Jim –" she started, expression becoming stern, but Brass cut in.

"You don't have to explain," he said.

"Your Mom must have seen you kissing," Warrick provided quietly, stating the obvious. "Probably Sara or Sofia, or Nick …"

Catherine stiffened, clearly pissed off.

"It's innocent," she said. "You don't get it."

"I think I should explain something," Sara said, before Catherine could get too mad. "That sort of behaviour –"

"- It doesn't necessarily mean it's anything sexual," Sofia cut in, finishing the thought for her. "What happened out there, the trauma, it was more stressful than you can ever imagine. And when you go through those experiences, it brings you together. And some days, when you're on the precipice, of a dark place … it can be that the only thing standing between you and a descent into oblivion is those around you."

"It's a gesture of mutual support," Sara explained. "Of solidarity. Reassurance."

"You don't have to explain," Brass said.

"If there's that unhelpful gossip out there, then I think that maybe we do."

"Sara, it's no one's business," Dianne said, firm but understanding. "No one but yours. In fact, the doctors at the hospital said that this can happen. They even told us to expect it. They said that people who go through traumatic experiences can often form strong bonds. It doesn't bother me. And if being together helps, then you stay together for as long as it takes, and you do whatever you need to do."

"Thanks," Sofia said, sincere.

"I'm just relieved to have you back," she admitted. "To be honest, that's all I care about."

Sofia softened, and leaned in to hug her mother, pecking her on the cheek.

"Shall we move on?" Grissom said, pointedly.

Sara could see plainly that the entire conversation had pissed him off.

"Okay," Sara said, her head still spinning.

Sara fumbled in her memory to find where the story had left off, but stalled as she saw Catherine shift again, and heard Warrick ask if she was okay.

"I think I'm just going to need a minute to get that image out of my head," she complained.

"Yeah, thanks Jim," Nick joked.

"Hey, you're welcome," he teased.

"You didn't have to make it so awkward," Catherine said.

"You can all be as affectionate as you want," Dianne said, with an air of soothing her. "We just had to establish the facts, that's all."

"Well now that we have, can we move on?" Grissom asked.

"Where were we?" Sofia wondered, aloud.

"Romance," Warrick provided.

Sara nodded, her brain caught up.

"Anyway, we had a good few months. Then reality set back in. We were getting short of food, and supplies … and then I fell pregnant."

Brass' eyes flew up to her, narrowing in alarm. Dianne did not look surprised, and Sara knew she had already known the basics of Sara's condition. It had come up in her private chat with Dianne upon their return home.

With a discrete look to Warrick, Catherine got up from his lap, and crossed to sit back on Sara's arm rest.

"It's okay," Sara said.

"Just keep going," Catherine said.

"Anyhow … a decision was made that we had to find more options, or at least some more food and supplies, and we split up."

Sofia took over.

"I went with Warrick, Nick and Catherine, to hike out and attempt to find some more food, and Grissom stayed at the house with Sara. We made an agreement that she would stay safe there, given her condition."

"And the thugs out there," Brass said, deducing the situation.

"Yeah," Sofia agreed.

Dianne suddenly sighed, heaving with all the senses of a mother.

"How far along were you?" she asked, quietly.

"Six weeks," Sara said. "Give or take."

She nodded. There was a brief moment of silence.

"You don't have to talk about it," she said. "If it's too painful. We're aware of what happened."

Sara nodded. She had no intention of going into detail.

"Well after that –"

She looked to the four who had taken the hike, inviting someone to take the story over.

"I'll take the next part," Sofia offered. She drew a steadying breath before plunging in. "The short version is, we hiked for a while and found a hamlet. A group of houses. We searched the place, and there was nothing of us. There was excrement everywhere, it was smashed and run down, but there was a storm coming, so we got out of there. We camped a few miles away and set up a tent. I went out to go the bathroom, and then realised that we'd been followed from the town."

"There was a stalker," Warrick admitted, who despite saying he did not want to talk about it, now seemed content to contribute. "In the bushes."

"Did he attack you?" Brass asked. "Shoot at you?"

"No. He watched me inappropriately for a while, but then the others came down, when they realised I hadn't returned. We searched the area, and then he came at us with a gun. I was staring down the barrel when Catherine shot him."

The look that Catherine gave her was almost imperceptible, and Sara had to give Sofia credit – she was a smooth liar. The lie came so naturally that no one even blinked, and Sara understood what Sofia was doing – that she had taken that part of the story deliberately to protect Catherine, to shield her, and to make it clear to the group what their story was – and that the truth of what had actually happened would die with them, one day.

Catherine said nothing.

"Jesus," Brass said, looking sympathetic to their plight.

"You had a rough time," Dianne added. She paused, sighed heavily, then added, "What then?"

"It was pouring rain," Sara said. "Pelting down. There was a huge storm. They suspected someone else was out there, that the guy had a friend, but they couldn't find him. But they knew they weren't safe, so they packed up camp and tried to hike back in the rain, to find me and Gil."

"Tried?" Brass asked, catching the phrase.

"They got part way."

"The rain was too heavy," Warrick explained. "It soaked our clothes. We walked for a few hours, but then Catherine got hypothermic."

"She collapsed," Sofia added, quietly.

Both their voices were filled with regret, and laced with pain of very recent memory. Sara had to remember that it had actually only been a few days before that it had happened. It just felt like it was so much more distant than it was. She waited for them to go on, and when they didn't, realised that she and Gil would have to take the story.

"Nick ran to find us," Sara explained. "We ran all the way there in the rain. Catherine had hypothermia, and Grissom carried her, and I brought the others back. We boarded up the house, and … administered first aid … and waited for morning."

"Why do I have the sense this doesn't end well?" Brass asked.

"Because it doesn't," Sofia said.

"We're here now," Grissom pointed out. "Maybe that's enough."

"You can't do that," Catherine accused. "You can't just skip over it."

"Aren't you glad to be back?" he asked.

"Don't change the subject. You know what I'm talking about. If we're going to tell this, we should do it right. Get it all out in the open. That was the deal."

"Fine," Sara said, before they could argue. "The truth is, I had a miscarriage. All this happened only a few days ago. I was ill for a few days, weak, and then, one day we went for a picnic, the last guy finally found us, and we had one last gun battle. We took him down, we were unhurt, but then whatever cosmic gateway brought us there suddenly opened again, and we woke up in the desert. We flagged down some help, and called you."

Brass stared. "And that's it, huh?"

"That's it."

Sara naively thought the story was over, but turned as she sensed Catherine straighten up beside her, bristling. When Sara caught her eye, she glared back.

"That's it?" Catherine asked.

"Cath," Nick said. "She doesn't have to talk about it."

He vaguely indicated Sara.

"It's private," Grissom reiterated. "It's between me and Sara."

"That's not what I'm talking about."

Sara stared, confused.

"Catherine –"

"You just woke up in the desert?" she accused. "It was that simple? That's how you recall it?"

Catherine's blue eyes were burning holes in her, but Sara felt dumbfounded, and had no idea what to say.

"Cat –"

But Catherine scoffed, and got up from her chair. In a flurry of red hair, she had crossed the room and left.

"What just happened?" Sara asked, confused.

"I don't know," Warrick said, puzzled.

"I think she's upset," Grissom said.

"Could have figured that out for myself," Nick muttered.

Sincere thanks to those who left feedback on the last chapter - it made my day and it's so good to see that there are still people around reading CSI. I didn't think anyone would be interested in this one, to be honest, and it's a nice surprise to see a few people reading. Cheers!