A/N – This new idea came into my head, and I couldn't ignore it! Hope you enjoy it.

What does Sara know about the Jane Doe down in the Coroners office, and how will she deal with it. Just as her life is getting back on track, things start to crumble again.

Some GSR, but mostly Cath/Sara Friendship, and romance eventually.

Set 2 months after Family Affair, Season 10, episode 1.

Communes and Tattoos

Chapter 1

Sara had been back in Las Vegas for two months now, back doing what she loved, and what she knew she was good at. At first it had been hard leaving her Husband, Gilbert Grissom, in Paris, but as she hadn't wanted to find a job there, and they had to wait for funding for another research project, they had decided that she would come back to work as CSI for 6 months, part of her earnings to be used to help with the research, whilst Grissom would use his money from his teachings and lectures at one of the Paris Universities for the same purpose. It was hard being away from him again, there relationship and trust in one another once again building up after she had affectively run away just after the case with the West siblings, and again after Warricks funeral. Still, right now she was happy, Grissom had flown out to spend the weekend with her, and they'd enjoyed spending time together, and the physical closeness it bought after having only spoken too each other on the phone or over webcam for the past 8 weeks.

Grissom had left late last night, having caught a taxi back to the airport, and Sara had stayed in bed, already missing his touch, the feeling off their bodies together again after too long. She smiled at the memory, his gentle touch, and caring words. They were happy together, and could sit for hours just talking, or playing chess. Their relationship was intimate, and intellectual, calm. They had had a few arguments over the years, before becoming lovers and then spouses, and a few as a married couple. The hardest part throughout their relationship had begun after Sara had woken up in the helicopter after her ordeal in the desert, and it hadn't really settled again until nearly 8 months later when Grissom had finally come to his senses and tracked her down in Costa Rica.

Now, once again, their relationship was strong, and safe. There was no drama, no conflict, no arguments, just a distance, they were half way around the world from one another, and although it suited them both at the moment, and they knew it wouldn't be forever, Sara had found Grissom leaving harder than she thought she would.

Normally it was herself that walked away, the one who was subconcocusly dominant within the relationship.

Sara bought the pillow to her nose, breathing in deeply, taking in the lingering scent that her husband had left behind, and a lone tear slipped on to her cheek.

Rolling over, Sara sighed, and pushed herself out of bed, even after 2 months, she still hadn't fully adjusted back to 'Las Vegas' time, especially the hours of Grave shift. Looking at the clock she saw she still had 7 hours before shift started, but only 5 before she had to go in to the Crime Lab.

Part of her new contract stated that she had to have a meeting with either Conrad Ecklie or Catherine Willows once a week, to check in, to talk about any concerns, and to try and stem off another Burnout. At first she had wanted to object, but she needed the money, and Ecklie needed the reassurance that she wouldn't leave before her 6 months were up, and the alternative had been seeing a shrink or counsellor.

Sara never particularly liked the meetings, but she knew they were important. Today she would be seeing Catherine, and the thought of that made her smile.

Pulling herself out of bed, Sara pulled some clothes on, looking briefly over her body in front of the mirror, the faded tattoo on her side barely noticeable, and the scar on her arm from where they'd had to reset her broken arm fine and faint. Putting on her running shoes, grabbing her keys and phone, Sara left the house. A 7 miles run would do her the world of good right now.

A while later, showered and satisfied at getting a new personal best on her run, Sara made her way into work.

Pulling into the car park, she glanced around, and noticed that Catherine's car wasn't there yet, but Ecklie's was, and she sighed a little, knowing it probably meant that either the meeting was cancelled, or she would be having to meet with the older man instead.

Walking into the building, Sara decided to head straight to the break room, to grab a mug of tea, before heading off to find either one of her supervisors. First checking Catherine's office, and finding it empty, she trudged over to Ecklie's, and knocked.

'Come in' came a voice, and Sara stepped into the room

'Hi Conrad… Catherine's not here, and… I'm due for my weekly…' Sara smiled weakly, lingering in the doorway.

'Ok, Come in, sit…' Conrad said placing a file down and gesturing to the small sofa in the corner of his office. For some reason they had found that sitting on the sofa, instead of opposite each other with a desk between them had made the meetings easier to deal with, and easier for Sara to tell him anything that was currently bothering her.

Walking over to the sofa, Sara sat down and waited for Ecklie to join her. The meetings weren't as bad as she thought they would be, but they weren't exactly her favourite part of the week either.

'So, Sara… How are you feeling this week?' The man asked as he sat down next to her.

Sara closed her eyes for a moment, before taking a sip of tea, she leant her head back, sighed, and answered quietly.

'Tired'

Xxxx

The meeting with Conrad had gone well, they had talked for just over an hour, Sara explaining how she still hadn't got used to the hours, which is how every conversation started. Then she had talked about her cases that week, all had been solved, and most of the paperwork filed. She had briefly mentioned Gil, but had quickly moved on to another subject, and had started talking about her feelings on an upcoming court case in which she would be called to talk through evidence. All in all, it had been a good meeting, and she had left barely anything out. Now, she was headed once more to the break room to await assignments.

Catherine arrived with 10 minutes to spare before she had to hand out the caseload for the night, but before that she desperately wanted to see the brunette.

'Sara…' Catherine said, leaning against the door frame 'I'm so sorry…'

'It's ok…' Sara replied, a weak smile on her face 'Really… Conrad took my meeting… all's well.'

Catherine frowned a little, opened her mouth, and tried to speak, but nothing came out.

'Really, Cat, it's fine, don't worry.' Sara forced a bigger smile onto her lips. She was telling the truth, she was fine, but she was a little sad that she hadn't got to spend any time with Catherine before work. The meetings with Conrad were routine, they drank tea, they talked, he nodded, she knew her job was safe, he knew she wasn't going to run. The meetings with Catherine were much more relaxed, and a lot more helpful. It helped that they usually played some sort of card game whilst talking, which helped Sara to relax and open up more. Their current favourite was Uno, although neither of them really knew why.

Catherine nodded and smiled a little herself 'Ok… well, we'll just wait for the Boys and then I'll hand out the cases… want another coffee, tea?' Catherine asked stepping into the room.

'Sure… Coffee, please.' Sara replied, glad that everything seemed to be alright. She didn't want to hear Catherine's excuse to why she hadn't been there for the meeting.

Catherine busied herself making the drinks 'How's Gil?' She asked over her shoulder

'Good… really good… we actually spent the weekend together…' Sara replied, blushing slightly, as she knew Catherine would know what she meant by that. 'He went back to Paris this morning'

'Well… I'm glad you had a good time, shame he couldn't spare a minute to see us though… guess you were to wrapped up…' she winked at Sara as she handed her the mug. Sara's blush rose a little more, and she took the mug 'Thanks' she mumbled keeping her gaze to the floor.

Shortly after, Nick, Greg and Ray walked in, chatting amongst themselves.

'Hey Boys… '

'Hi' They all replied.

'Not much going on tonight…' Catherine said as she got up, picking up a small pile of paper 'Greg, your with me, 419 the other side of Henderson , Nick, Ray, I need you to go over our current open cases, newest one first, unless anything else comes up, Sara, I'm sorry, but it's your evening stuck in.'

Sara nodded 'That's ok' – That had also been a stipulation that, surprisingly, Sara herself had put in her contract, one night in the lab every 10 days, to avoid the possibility of maxing out on the overtime. So far there hadn't been any consistent pattern to the nights, but she was always grateful when they came around

'Want me to restock the labs…run a few experiments and control tests?' She asked just before Catherine left the room.

'Please… unless there's paperwork?' Catherine answered over her shoulder as she led Greg down the hallway.

Sara soon busied herself, first restocking the kits that were general issue in the department, then asking if any of the lab techs needed any help with anything, or any extra equipment. Wendy from DNA smiled brightly, she loved the nights when Sara stalked around the lab, helping them out wherever possible.

'Please, actually' Wendy said with a bright smile 'I'm swamped in here, backlog from Days, and half of my stock is empty, Grace never seems to replace anything… ' Wendy paused in her work, and wrote down a quick list in short hand, and handed it over to Sara

'Can you read that?' She asked, once again resuming her work

'Yep…No problems…' Sara smiled, really it wasn't her place to do such jobs, but she wanted to feel helpful, and the nights away from the harsh world outside were rather beneficial too her, not that she would admit it too to many people.

'Thanks, I owe you' Wendy smiled glancing up from her work

'Beer and Uno then?' Sara asked

'Sure thing'

Sara walked away, heading towards the stores which were situated down in the basement next to the coroner's office and autopsy. She decided to go in and call in on Doc Robbins socially before gathering what Wendy had requested.

'Hey Doc' Sara said with a bright smile stepping into the room, Robbins was sat at his desk, typing away on the computer 'Not interrupting anything?' She asked pausing where she was.

'No, no, not at all, come on in Sara…' Robbins turned in his chair slightly, grabbed his cane and stood up. 'What can I do for you?' he asked, his voice gentle.

'Just wanted to say hi' Sara replied, after her ordeal in the desert, the Dr had been one of the few people to put things into perspective, at least Medically. He helped her to understand the pain, and the fear, more than the Drs at the Hospital had, and for that she was always grateful. It had been Dr Robbins, and Greg, she had told about her choice to leave, she hadn't even told Grissom in person.

'Well hello to you to Sara' he said with a genuine smile.

'Anything interesting this week?' Sara asked.

'A few cases, yes, but you haven't come about a case, so why not let's talk about something else?' he said softly, motioning to the now vacant chair for Sara to take.

'You know I'm no good at talking' Sara replied, although her smile only grew bigger

'I know… how's the arm?' He asked reaching up to touch it

'Fine… fine…' Sara replied not flinching away from his touch 'Scars healing nicely, and most of the sensation is back… I just never thought it still be having trouble with it nearly two years later… it's not like it was the first time it was broken…' Sara closed her eyes whilst Robbins continued to examine her arm.

'Where?' He asked

Sara bought her free hand up and ran her fingers along the outside of her hand, along her little finger

'Pins and needles, still?'

Sara nodded but didn't answer

'Is it keeping you up at night?' he asked gently, his fingers gently carrying on the examination.

Sara just shrugged, she didn't really want to answer the question right now. 'Tell me about her' she replied instead, gesturing towards a body lay on one of the autopsy tables. Robbins frowned a little, not happy with the change in conversation, but answered anyway. Dropping Sara's arm, he once again picked up his stick, and walked over to the table, gesturing for Sara to follow him.

'Jane doe, came in 2 nights ago, haven't had time to do the autopsy yet, Dayshift case, she was found at some motel, her 5 year old Daughter called it in. but she won't speak to anyone… she's not harmed… physically… no I.D found, so… until the girl talks, or I get lucky…'

'Anything that would help identify her?' Sara asked, a knot in her stomach just at the thought of the little girl, even though she knew none of the case details, she knew it couldn't be good.

'I'd say she's about…20…maybe a little older… ' Doc began 'I did the prelim at the scene, but couldn't tell much… I did however noticed she has a birthmark on her lower leg… ' Robbins showed her the mark, a cluster of freckles so close together, they were almost one, about the size of a Nickel. 'She also has a gap between her top two front teeth…' he opened the woman's mouth slightly 'And this…'

He lifted up the woman's arm, and pointed at something on the side of her torso just beneath her armpit.

'It's a tattoo… looks to be the Roman Numeral for 7, but I don't understand why it would be there…it looks old, poorly done, faded…' Doc looked up, and saw that Sara had gone extremely pale, her face covered in a slight sheen, and her eyes had glazed over, before he could react, Sara had collapsed, hitting her head on the metal table on her way down.

'Sara!' He yelled, awkwardly kneeling down beside her, his hand reaching to her neck to check for a pulse, and having found one, to her cheek, where he rubbed it gently 'Sara… wake up Sara…' he said gently, before looking over his shoulder and yelling 'DAVID! DAVID GET IN HERE, I NEED THE FIRST AID KIT!' before turning his attention back to Sara.

He could see her eyes fluttering beneath their lids, and her breathing was slow and shallow, which had him worried 'Open your eyes…' Just as he was about to shout for David again he heard the double doors swing open 'First aid kit, and cold compress, NOW!' he ordered still crouching down next to Sara, although he hadn't turned to see who had entered the room. Nothing happened for a moment, but he heard a gasp as the person took in the scene in front of them 'NOW!' he repeated with more force this time, and was then satisified when he heard the movement behind him. Moments later someone was pressing the compress to Sara's head, where a large bruise was starting to form, but luckily the skin hadn't broken. It was only then that Doc Robbins looked up.

'Thanks Catherine…' he said before turning his attention back to Sara, who was now slowly blinking and struggling to open her eyes.

'What happened?' Catherine asked, the panic evident in her voice.

'I don't know really… she just collapsed…' he said most of his attention still on the brunette lying on the floor between them.

Catherine just nodded, her hands still pressing the compress to Sara's head. 'Come on Sara… wake up…'

Sara blinked a little more, her eyes slowly starting to focus, a mix of emotions flashing across her face, when she registered that Catherine was next to her she bolted upright, pushing the older woman, and Doc Robbins away, shuffling her body away from them, away from the table, and into the corner of the room, as far away as she could get without standing up to run from the room. She knew her legs wouldn't carry her that far, and she was still in rather a thick daze from the ordeal.

To say that Catherine and Doc Robbins were confused by this reaction would be an understatement and a half, they both looked at each other, glad that Sara had come around, but concerned to her reaction and her haste to get away from them.

Robbins awkwardly got to his feet, and deciding they didn't need anyone walking in on the scene, walked over to lock the autopsy room doors. Something he had never once done before in nearly 35 years of work as a coroner.

Catherine cautiously crouched down in front of Sara, careful not to get to close. What had happened to make Sara react in such a way, to even collapse in the first place. She had been doing so well, her life on track, happily married, working, the incident in the desert no longer playing on her mind, or so Catherine had thought. Or was that all just a front? Or had something happened with Grissom at the weekend? Catherine didn't know what to think, or how to feel at this point, but she felt scared.

'Sara…' she said quietly 'Sara… talk to me…'

By now Sara had pulled her legs up to her chest, and had wrapped her arms tightly around them, her head buried. She wasn't crying, or shaking, or making any noise. She was just sat there, head in her arms, perfectly still, her breathing deep.

Catherine inched closer 'At least let me look at your head…'

Sara didn't respond, Catherine glanced up at Robbins, who was stood close by observing the scene, and then tentatviely reached a hand to Sara, who flinched slightly, but didn't back away any further.

'I just need to look at your head…' Catherine repeated, although she wasn't at all sure if Sara had even heard her, it seemed as if Sara was in some kind of weird daze right now.

Eventually Sara unwrapped her arms, lifted her head, and in one swift and sudden movement had peeled of the shirt that she was wearing.

This action left Catherine and Doc Robbins more confused than ever. 'Did she hit her torso…?' Catherine asked frowning, quickly looking for bruises, but with Sara's legs still folded in front of her, it was hard to see.

'No… No, Not that I saw… just her head…'

'What made her collapse?' Catherine asked still puzzled, her eyes still on Sara's, the brunettes eyes clamped tightly shut against the world.

'I don't know really… I was showing her Jane Doe…showed her a birthmark, her teeth… a tattoo… then she just collapsed… do you think she knew her?' Robbins asked quietly, not wanting to startle Sara right now.

'I… I don't know…' Catherine replied, her hand reaching out once more, to rest on Sara's knee.

'Sara…you have to look at me…' she said quietly, her hand rubbing small calming circles on her knee 'Please… '

Sara opened her eyes a few moments later, glanced briefly at Catherine, and then turned her head and gaze to the autopsy table that held Jane Doe. Letting her knees fall to her side, Sara pushed the waist band of her trousers down slightly, whilst lifting her left arm up, her eyes not once blinking.

Catherine let her gaze drop down to Sara's body briefly, then she looked back up into Sara's face

'What is it? What are you trying to tell me…' She whispered, and then she heard Robbins gasp.

'Catherine…' he whispered

'What?' she snapped turning to glare at him, but then she saw the shock on his face, and felt bad for snapping at him.

Robbins shrugged it off 'I think you need to look at Sara's waist…'

'Why?' she asked frowning, her head already turned back to Sara.

'Because Sara has the same tattoo as our Jane Doe here…'

'Shit.' Catherine mumbled under her breath 'Ok… Sara… Sara sweetie, I just need to look at your stomach ok… ' Catherine cautiously reached her hand out, and pushed the fabric of Sara's trousers down a little further, and had to do her best not to gasp.

'Ok Sara, ok…' she turned her head slightly to Doc Robbins and nodded, and then she pulled Sara towards her, wrapping the younger woman tightly in her embrace.

Sara was still to say anything, to really respond to what was going on around her, she couldn't trust herself to speak, to move, to explain anything, so she had done the only thing she knew how too at the time, to let the people in front of her put the pieces of the puzzle together.

Moments later Doc had slipped a clean lab coat over her exposed body, and it was in this moment that the tears started to fall, and she found her voice, in between sobs, she managed to get out a few words.

'Her name is Sophie… My Daughters name is Sophie.'