Flashback:
She barely caught the soft whimper and poked her head into the room. Sara was sat with her back to the door, half-dressed, her breathing visibly ragged.
"Hey, it's okay." Catherine walked in and placed a gentle hand on her shoulder. "What's wrong?"
Sara shook her head, holding her unbuttoned shirt closed with one hand and clutching the edge of the bed with her other.
"I'm fine." She said breathlessly. "Just ..."
She never managed to finish, but it didn't matter because Catherine wouldn't have believed her anyway. Placing a hand on her forehead, she winced.
"Oh honey, you're burning up."
"I'm fine." Sara repeated, her breath hitching slightly.
"Lie back, honey." Catherine instructed sternly, encouraging her with a small degree of force when Sara resisted.
Sitting down and leaning over her, she gently prised Sara's hand away and peeled her shirt off her. When the brunette attempted to protest again, she placed a hand on her chest.
"Hey, just relax."
"That's easy for you to say." Sara managed to scowl despite her obvious discomfort.
"Please, Sara." The older woman snorted. "You think you've got something I haven't seen before?"
"That's hardly the point!"
Catherine's expression softened and she reached up to stroke Sara's cheek with the back of her knuckles.
"Hey, I know this isn't fair and it's undignified and you probably feel completely violated. But you agreed to accept my help. And I'm afraid that there are times when I'm going to have to help with things like this – and I'm going to look. I'm going to see parts of you that you probably don't want me to see. You just need to deal with that."
"Just like that?" Sara frowned, her breath catching.
"Yes." Cath chuckled. "I'm a scientist honey, what do you think you've got that's going to shock me?"
"I know, but..."
"Exactly. So suck it up." She leant down and pressed a feather-light kiss to Sara's lips. "Now, are you going to let me help?"
"It would appear that I don't have a choice." Sara answered sullenly, clenching her jaw. Catherine smiled, glad that her point had made its home.
As she helped Sara to sit up far enough to remove her clothes, she was surprised when the young patient spoke again.
"I don't like feeling like this." She mumbled sadly.
"Like what?" Catherine asked, laying her back down and dragging a thin blanket over her bare legs, enough to keep her from catching cold without exacerbating her fever.
"Vulnerable."
Catherine slowed her movements slightly as she dragged her hands down up Sara's body and straightened out the cover.
"I know. But it's okay to be vulnerable in front of me." She reassured her with a small smile. "I promise I'm not going to use it against you."
"Mom?"
The voice startled her out of the memory and she flinched.
"What's up Lindsey?" She asked, sitting up straighter on the couch and stretching. She had found herself thinking about that incident more and more in recent days. It had been right after Sara had moved in, probably the first time her temperature had spiked.
She hadn't said it, but she hated seeing Sara like that as well. Tough, stubborn Sara Sidle, broken down and defeated. It hurt.
"I think something's wrong with Sara." Lindsey explained her reason for the interruption, immediately snapping Catherine back to the present.
Following her daughter down the hallway, she slipped into the bedroom and perched on the edge of the bed, naturally reaching out to touch Sara's forehead. The brunette turned her head away, but Cath could feel the heat washing off her anyway and sighed.
Sara attempted to sit up, but stalled when a shot of pain ran across her stomach.
Lindsey hovered for a moment, before quietly returning to her own room. She had realised after the first couple of incidents that Sara seemed to prefer not having an audience when she felt this bad. However, the girl kept the door open just far enough that she could still hear what was going on.
Maverick, whimpering sadly to himself, sat down in the open doorway to her bedroom and glanced periodically between his stricken owner and his new little friend.
"Alright honey," Cath coaxed Sara up into a seated position. "Come on, into the lounge. I'll get you something for the pain."
Sara grimaced against the stomach cramps, slowly allowing herself to be led. Her head was spinning and her body felt disjointed, like she's just stepped off a rollercoaster.
As Catherine walked her carefully back to the living room and deposited her on the couch, a morose feeling washed over her. Following her conversation with her mother and Nancy, she'd come to a decision regarding Sara and work.
Now she just had to break it to her friend.
x X x
Grissom killed the denali's engine and turned to glance at the passenger beside him.
"Should we be doing this?" He asked uncertainly.
"It's a little late to be asking that now, don't you think?" Brass challenged mildly, gesturing to the house they had just pulled up outside. "We're already here."
"We have a right to know what's going on." Nick chimed in from the back seat.
Having rocked up at Sara's apartment only to find it empty and obviously not being lived in, they had taken a guess and headed to Catherine's house.
"Something's obviously going on between the girls," the Texan continued. "I'm going to find out what it is. Who's with me?"
Warrick and Greg shared an uncomfortable look on the back seat, neither offering a verbal response.
Met with silence, Nick sucked in a deep breath.
"Well, I'm going to find out anyway."
Flinging the car door open, he stepped out, took a moment to stare up at the house, before striding up the curved driveway.
"Ah man." Warrick exhaled, hauling himself out of the other side and following his mate, trailed by a reluctant Greg.
"Well," Brass said, gesturing towards the departing boys. "What about you?"
Grissom sighed heavily, a deep frown settling itself on his face.
"I want to know what they're hiding." He agreed at last, climbing out of the car and shuffling after his team.
Jim shook his head to himself.
"This is going to end badly." He mused, exiting the car and bringing up the rear as the team reached the front door.
They weren't exactly sure what to expect when the front door swung open, but it certainly wasn't the sight of Catherine Willows with damp hair wearing little more than a bathrobe.
Nick dragged his eyes up, finally settling on her suspiciously raised eyebrow.
"Hello?" She queried sceptically.
"Hey, Cath." Nick started awkwardly, clearing his throat. "We're really sorry if we're disturbing you, but there's something we need to talk to you about."
She flicked her gaze from one to the next to the next, before finally settling on Jim, who offered a tight smile.
Clearing her throat, she stepped aside and, somewhat reluctantly, waved them in.
As they all shuffled into the lounge, she floated past them, seemingly nonplussed by her state of undress.
"So, what can I do for you all?" She asked as breezily as she could, although she suspected that she already knew the answer.
"We wanted to talk to you ... about that." Nick trailed off, pointing to the couch.
Catherine cast a glance over her shoulder and a small smile crept across her lips. Sara had fallen asleep again, curled up with one hand tucked under her arm and a perturbed little frown on her face.
Ambling over to her sleeping houseguest, watched on by five curious pairs of eyes, she dragged a hand through her hair, before pulling the light blanket off the back of the couch and draping it over Sara's coiled legs. The brunette's fever had reduced and she was only wearing a tank top and pair of shorts.
"I'll make some coffee." Cath said without explanation, gesturing to the empty furniture in the room.
As she disappeared into the kitchen, the boys exchanged puzzled shrugs and sat down. Warrick sat in the armchair closest to Sara's head, with Nick and Grissom taking up the other couch and Brass dropping heavily into the chair at the far side, opposite Warrick. Greg perched on the far arm of the couch that Sara was sleeping on, staring down at her with concern. He assumed that, upon her return, Catherine would take the spare seat on the couch, beside Sara's feet.
However, upon returning with the coffee pot and a tray of mugs which she placed on the coffee table, Catherine instead carefully lifted Sara and slithered herself underneath, so the brunette's head was resting in her lap. Taking an achingly long minute to settle herself, she straightened out the blanket to ensure Sara was covered with the blanket and brushed her hair aside.
She could feel the boys watching her every move carefully, studying her tender actions with unbridled curiosity, but she refused to be rushed.
After all, they'd come to her house unannounced.
Finally, when she was ready, she cleared her throat and spoke up in a steady, even tone.
"She has cancer."