Silence filled the room. For which she was grateful. Because her head felt about ten times too big for her body. Someone had poured cement in her skull, probably through her ear, making lifting it off the pillow where it was currently residing an impossible task. Not that she wanted to move it anywhere. Way too much pain involved. Every little thing, like breathing was taking an effort unsurpassed before. Every little thought sent shooting pain through her head, like the neurons were protesting any sort of activation. Not that Sara could blame them. She had probably killed off enough of them last night.

She was assuming it was last night of course. One good thing about alcohol? She never remembered the night. One bad thing about alcohol? She could never remember the night.

She wasn't sure how long she had been lying there awake. She hadn't yet worked up enough working nerve points to open her eyes. She was pretty sure someone had superglued them closed, after filling them with sand. Her mouth was a different story altogether. Someone had left a decomp in there to rot. That was the only explanation for the disgusting taste and fur currently growing on her teeth.

She was in a bad way. And that was only her head. She hadn't dared try and move any of her limbs yet.

Somewhere behind her and to the left she heard someone clear their throat. Oh God! She had brought someone home! Oh man! Or a man. She froze on the bed. Which would have been visible if she had been moving at all. Someone was stood behind her, probably had all his memories from last night in tact. What on earth had she done?

Why did she do this to herself?

'I know you're awake.'

No, no I'm not, I'm asleep, look at me with my eyes closed. Asleep. Very asleep. Now leave me alone to work out what happened last night, and to try and work out how to move a muscle. Any muscle. Because they all seem to have the same idea of not moving at the moment.

'Sara.'

Sara managed to move some muscles in her face as she frowned at her name being said. She recognised that voice. She knew that voice. Heard it all the time. WARRICK?!

She had brought WARRICK home with her? Home with her. He was here. Watching her sleep. What had she done? What had he done? What the hell was she going to do?

Then she heard another sound. He hadn't just laugh at her had he? He seriously hadn't just laugh at her. She couldn't have been that bad could she? What did it matter? She had brought Warrick home with her and she couldn't even remember what she had done.

Wait… Wait… Wait. With much difficulty, Sara reigned in her thoughts. Something wasn't right about this picture. Something was off. She sniffed gently. That didn't smell like her bed sheets. Okay, the alcohol and cigarettes smelled like her, but the washing liquid scent wasn't the one she used.

Well, that just means he brought you back to his rather than you taking him home. You still slept with him She silently lamented herself.

'Sara, you're gonna have to open your eyes at some point.' Warrick said, amusement in his voice.

That was easy for him to say. He didn't have sand superglued to the lids.

'Come on Sara. I've got coffee.' He enticed

'Ugh.' She managed to say.

'That's your response, Sidle? Ugh?'

'Ugh.' She repeated. Now if she could just get enough working neurones together to move she could slip quietly from the bed, walk out the front door, and escape from what had to be a nightmare. Right? This time she groaned aloud and buried her head in the pillow, making the man stood at the doorway laugh again.

'Come on, it's not gonna get any easier.' He coaxed her.

She turned her head back so she didn't suffocate on the pillow and with great effort finally spoke. Her voice sounded like she had a little more than one cigarette last night, along with more booze than she wished to think about.

'Get lost.'

Another laugh. If he didn't stop that annoying sound soon he'd find out how painful it was to…well have something very painful happen to him, the likes of which she couldn't quite think of in her current state.

Now, what was her plan again? Oh yeah, deftly slide out of bed, out of the front door, taking what was left of her dignity with her. Ok, maybe she'd settle for just getting out of bed and through the front door, dignity be damned. She just wanted to go home to her own bed.

She decided that slow wasn't going to work, slow would just seize up and not happen. Nope it had to be one big movement out of bed.

Warrick watched, unable to stop the laughter as Sara rolled over, right out of the big double bed.

He soon stopped as Sara finally forced her eyes open to glare at him. 'Very funny' She snapped at him, although made no attempt to get up from the floor.

'Sorry. But that was very graceful.' He said. He stepped forward, offering out a hand.

She looked at it like it might bite, before reluctantly taking hold of it.

'Perhaps you should sit down.' He suggested once she was standing. She gave him a look. Then swayed violently as the ground dipped to the left and decided to take heed of his advice, sinking down into the bed.

'So.' He said, standing there, arms crossed against his chest, looking down at her.

'So.' She repeated, glancing up at him through her eyelashes. She was desperately trying to remember something, anything that would tell her why she was in this current arrangement. And, perhaps more importantly, what she'd done in this current arrangement.

He chuckled slightly. 'You don't remember, do you?' He asked, sounding rhetorical in his questioning.

He had clothes on. He was fully dressed.

She had on…a t-shirt that was about five times too big.

She shook her head anyway.

He chuckled again.

She decided she didn't mind that sound nearly as much as his laughter. Mainly because this was warm, welcoming, the laughter had sounded too much like it was aimed at her. Which it had been…

'So.' She repeated, for good measure.

She looked up at him again, seeing he was waiting for her to say something more. She sighed this time. Then glared at him. Then chuckled lightly. 'You're gonna make me ask, aren't you?'

He simply nodded, a smile playing on his lips.

'Well, I have the mother of all hangovers.' She started. 'So I guess I went out drinking after shift.'

He nodded again, enjoying this.

She sighed again, wanting to lie down and go back to sleep and have her head back to normal size and without the pain, and preferably wake up lying in her own bed with only her stuffed gorilla for company.

'And I came to be in your bed…how?' She finally said aloud.

'You're not in my bed.' Warrick answered cryptically, still with that annoying little smile on his face.

Sara looked like she was quickly losing patience with this game, so Warrick answered the question before she asked it. 'You're in the guest room.'

'Oh.' Sara managed, looking around. Thank God She added silently. 'So we never…I mean I never…I mean…'

Warrick saved the stuttering. 'You were way too pissed to do much but collapse on the bed.' Warrick told her.

Sara breathed a sigh of relief. Now that that issue was out of the way, she was still wondering how exactly she had come to be in his bed, albeit in his guest bed.

'You called me.' Warrick answered her silence.

'I called you?' Sara wondered aloud.

'By accident, this morning. You were trying to reach someone else.'

'And what, you decided to come rescue me?'

It was Warrick's turn to look uncomfortable. He shifted onto his other foot. 'Yeah.'

For a moment there was silence. 'Thank you.' She said quietly, not looking up at him.

'Don't mention it.' He said.

'About that coffee…'

'Coming right up.'

Once Warrick had exited the room, Sara took a careful look around the room. Double bed with hand quilted comforter, pine wardrobe, magnolia walls, flowery curtains. She came to the conclusion that Warrick hadn't done anything to the room since moving in. Unless she really did know nothing about him.

Something was missing. She took another look around before realising what it was. Where were her clothes? Why weren't they in the room? More importantly perhaps, how had they come off? Her pants and skinny T. and her bra, she realised with a gulp.

She groaned as her head pounded with having to do anything, let alone try and remember anything of last night. Now would have been the perfect time to try and sneak out, but getting arrested for exposure on the streets possibly wasn't a good move.

Her thoughts were interrupted by the best smell someone with a hangover her size could smell- fresh coffee, wafting somewhere near-by. She closed her eyes, breathing in the fresh aroma, feeling the pounding in her head ease slightly in anticipation of the hot beverage.

Finally the door opened and Warrick peered round the door. He had to smile at the expression on Sara's face. He carefully placed the mug down on the side, and put the pile of clothing he had been carrying down beside her on the bed.

'My clothes…' Sara finally worked out. She narrowed her eyes up at him, which made him take a few steps back, holding his hands up as if to ward her off.

'I just washed them.' He said quickly.

She looked down at the freshly laundered clothing. 'Oh. Thanks.' She said, feeling a red blush climb up her cheeks.

'You stripped them off yourself.' Warrick told her helpfully.

The red blush crept into full scale scarlet.

'Although you had a little trouble with your bra…' He added helpfully.

For someone who looked amazingly like a cadaver, Sara could certainly move fast- Warrick didn't see the pillow till it was wrapped round the side of his head.

He darted across the room, to the safety of the door, confident in the fact that while she might be able to wield a pillow, her legs wouldn't be able to carry her that far yet.

'Get out!' She told him, although the small tug at the side of her mouth was testament to the fact that she was almost laughing.

The warm chuckle from Warrick followed him out of the door. 'Bathrooms across the hall. Towels and whatever are in there.' He called back to her as he walked down the corridor, still chuckling.

Sara shook her head, falling back into the comfort of the sheet on the bed. Only she could manage to do these things and not remember how. She sniffed, getting the smell of coffee, opening her eyes to wonder if she had the energy left to make it to the bed stand.

Work tonight was certainly going to be an experience. Just as she started moving towards the coffee, a new thought struck her. If she'd managed to call Warrick, who else had she had a conversation with last night that she didn't remember?

It was half an hour, at least, before Warrick heard the shower go on. It was another half hour before it was shut off again, making him wonder if there'd be any hot water left.

He finished the newspaper he had been reading, well, looking at the sports pages of anyway, and tucked it into a neat pile in the corner of the living room.

It was getting on in the afternoon, long shadows beginning to fill the room. They were both meant to be going to work later that night, but they had a few hours before they had to face that hurdle. He wondered how many court cases he could trade with Sara for keeping the facts about her debacle secret.

'What are you smiling about?' A voice accused from the doorway.

He looked up at Sara, surprised to find her wearing not only her clothes but his college shirt. It was about ten sizes too big for her. 'Hope this is ok.' She said, catching him looking. 'Found it in the wardrobe. I was cold.'

'It's fine.' He said.

Her hair hung in limp strands round her face, dark shadows under her eyes. However hot the shower had been, she still looked pale, and slightly green. He wondered how she hadn't puked yet. But she looked a little better for the shower.

She collapsed in the seat next to him. 'Remind me to never drink again. Ever.' She said, eyes closed, head resting against the back of the sofa.

He had to laugh at that. 'You were already to carry on this morning.' He told her.

She cracked open one eye to look at him. 'So, Warrick, what other embarrassing things that I have totally no recall of did I get up to?' She asked.

'What's it worth?' he challenged.

'My not killing you…' Sara challenged back.

Warrick had to laugh.

'Come on, you're not playing fair.' She said, sounding awfully close to whining. He wondered how much of the alcohol hadn't worked its way out of her system yet.

'I called you.' She prompted. 'Trying to get hold of someone else. Who?'

'Grissom.'

The name made her physically wince, as yesterday's conversation came flooding back to her. 'Oh no.' She moaned quietly.

Warrick was watching the reaction carefully, intrigued.

'Uh, so what did I want to speak to…uh…Grissom about?' Sara finally asked, although she knew damn well what she had phoned Grissom about. It was what the start of the drinking had been all about in the first place.

'I think you know.' Warrick said, saving her the embarrassment of having it said aloud.

'Look, Warrick, I'm sorry I got you involved in my mess. I really am.' Sara said sincerely, prising herself away from the sofa to regard him properly. 'Thank you.'

'That's ok.' He said, putting an arm around her as she rested her head against his shoulder. He settled back against the sofa, still with an arm around her. 'Now, about this kiss you had with Grissom…' He started

She whirled around so quickly on him that he wondered if she'd have whiplash. 'I…what?'

'Oh I know all your secrets now, Sidle.' He said, a smile on his lips as he pulled her back down before she fell off the sofa. She reluctantly settled back on the chair, head on his shoulder, again wondering why she ever, ever, touched the demon drink. 'We'll talk payment later. Especially if you want me to keep it secret from Nick.' He added. He began chuckling as she just buried her head in his chest and groaned heartily. She murmured something that sounded like 'Just kill me now.'

'What would the fun in that be?' Warrick asked seriously, wondering about all the wicked ways that this was going to be so much fun.

Sara could almost feel the evil smile lighting up his face. She groaned again for good measure.