Sara didn't respond, didn't flinch, and didn't move.
'Did you hit her Sara?' Nick repeated his voice quiet but angry despite his resolve to try and stay calm.
'Sara?' Catherine called gently after briefly shooting a glare at Nick. 'Sara, sweetie…' Catherine turned her body and gently placed her free hand on the side of Sara's face so she could turn her head slightly towards her.
Sara blinked slowly, registering her surroundings and Catherine's proximity to her, but said nothing.
'Sara… you have to answer Nicks question' Catherine said quietly her thumb rubbing gently across Sara's face. Sara turned her head slightly into the touch and closed her eyes.
'I can't' she whispered after a few more moments silence 'I can't remember… not really… it's.. It's all flashes and fragments…. I don't know if I'm remembering or imagining… '
Nick sighed and ran his hands through his hair 'Oh Sara…' he whispered.
'It's ok… it's ok…' Catherine whispered quietly pulling the younger women into her arms and holding her tightly 'It's ok…'
They all sat quietly for a while, not knowing where to go from here, until Nick broke the silence
'I'm sorry Sara… I… I have a few more questions…'
Sara nodded and pushed herself out of Catherine's arms but didn't say anything. She leant against the headboard, and pulled her knees up to her chest and wrapped her legs around them, her dressing gown falling open slightly, but she didn't seem to notice or care. Nick cleared his throat and glanced at Catherine before glancing back to Sara, hoping Catherine would see what he had and do something about it.
Catherine quietly and gently reached over to Sara and pulled the fabric of the gown together to cover Sara a little more. Sara looked at what Catherine was doing but said nothing about it.
Nick picked up another one of the folders and pulled out a photograph and handed it to Sara
'Do you know this man?' he asked his voice even.
'Yeah…' Sara whispered quietly 'I met him at a bar two nights ago… but you already knew that… what's this got to do with Rose?' Sara asked her voice getting a little louder.
'I'm not sure yet…not exactly…' Nick answered.
'Oh'
'Did you sleep with him?' Nick asked wanting to get this over with as quickly as possible.
Sara only nodded in response.
'Where?'
'His house… why?' Sara asked
'How did you get there?'
'Taxi, we weren't exactly fit for driving.'
'Can you prove that, that you got a taxi?' Nick asked, and Sara shrugged in response. 'Why is it important?'
Nick passed Sara another photo, this time it showed Sara and Matt leaving the bar, and the image had a red circle on it, highlighting something on Sara's hip.
'Why did you take your Gun to the bar that night?' Nick asked quietly his eyes focused on Sara.
'Nick?' Catherine said confusion in her voice 'What's going on?' Nicks eyes flickered over to Catherine's briefly before going back to Sara's.
'Mr Hornby claims that Sara held him at gunpoint, made him drive, despite the booze, and that she then raped him.'
Sara instantly went pale and before she could lurch from the bed she threw up on herself and started to cry.
Xxxxxx
'Brass' Jim said answering his phone without looking at who had called him.
'Hi…'
'Yes… ok… are you sure?' Jim pressed his fingers against his head sighing 'Thanks… alright, get those files to me as soon as possible. I owe you one…'
'Alright… bye…' he ended the call with a mix of emotions. Relief at some of the news, anger at others, and a deep concern to Sara's emotional state right now and how the information gathered would affect her.
Xxxx
Catherine tried to reach over to Sara, to push the hair out of her face, but Sara instantly jerked away and through herself of the bed and ran towards the mini bar in the main space of the suite. Before either Nick or Catherine could stop her she had reached the bar and was downing a bottle of dark rum not caring how it burnt her already sore throat.
'Stop Sara!' Nick shouted, slowly making his way towards her, not knowing if Sara's reaction was in response to the truth behind the statement, or the lie behind it. He couldn't bring himself to believe Matt Hornby's accusations, but neither could he fully discredit them either. He knew what Sara was like when she drank too much, and knew how dominate she could be in the bedroom. Catherine sat on the bed still, tears flowing, but she couldn't bring herself to move, or to look at Sara.
Sara ignored Nick, the rum trickling slightly over her chin, but she really didn't care. She didn't care if she lost her job, her dignity, or the respect that she had gained from both Nick and Catherine over the years.
'Please Sara… you have to stop…' Nick said pleadingly, a lump caught in his throat, and tears threating to fall.
'Why?' Sara spat out her emotions all over the place, the bottle at her side, a third of it gone already.
'Sara please… whatever you did, we can help… please…' Nick pleaded as Sara once again bought the bottle up to her lips, she took another swig.
'How can you help, when I don't remember?' Sara whispered, once again bringing the bottle up, but before she could bring it to her lips Nick had wrestled it off her.
'Give it back!' Sara screamed 'Give it back!' she tried to wrestle it away, but Nick managed to keep the bottle out of her grasp
'No Sara, No, I can't… you need help…' Nick said the tears now falling, as Catherine sat watching from the bed unable to move.
'You don't know what I need…' Sara spat out.
'I know you're an Alcoholic Sara…' Nick said quietly
'No I'm not!' Sara spat out trying to reach for the bottle again
'I know that your hurt and confused, angry… that you haven't been right since the lab explosion a year ago… actually that you haven't been right for a while…' Nick said calmly whilst still keeping the bottle away from her grasp.
'What do you care?' Sara mumbled, the anger slowly seeping away, and tiredness taking it's place, her behaviour beginning to catch up with her.
'I care because you are my friend, I care because you need our help, and I care because…'
'Shut up!' Sara spat out her voice harsh 'Please… just shut up, don't tell me you care, don't tell me you care…' Sara said her voice breaking.
'But I do care Sara, I do, and Catherine, and everyone else, we all care, and you need help….'
'You don't know anything about me!' Sara spat out turning away from Nick, and walking towards the hotel door.
'I know that you're Pregnant' Nick said, his voice as even as he could make it.
