As always, thank you so much for the wonderful reviews. Now, I really was hoping to finish this story before the CSI premier in a mere week, but due to recent events, I don't think I'm going to be able too because I haven't had any time to write. Nothing would make me happier to see people still reading my story, even though we will be supplied with more than enough CSI on Thursdays now. So, enjoy the chapter, and I hope to have the next one up very soon!

*a.l.

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Airports excited Sara for some reason; so many people bustling about and going every which way. The man who cut in front of her in security she would more than likely never see again, and the woman in the stall next to her in the bathroom might be headed for another country. Airports were all about statistics and odds. Sara had to laugh to herself when she realized that a good fourth of these people would end up dead by the end of next week. It was those kind of odds that kept Sara busy on the flight from Vegas. She had picked up a magazine in one of the shops that included all sorts of interesting information. Grissom would have liked it….

No. Sara was not going to think about him for the next few days.

Sara made her way off the plane and over to the luggage claim. She didn't have a lot, but she felt awkward not brining a suitcase.  She had packed some of her books and a bunch of CDs to fill up the empty space that her clothing had not taken up. Her laptop had come on as a carry on, and of course she had her purse. But other than that Sara didn't have anything at all.

She walked through the airport and came to one of the exits and paused for a second. Where was she going to go? Sara thought. The night before Sara had not gotten any sleep but had spent the night away staring at the ceiling trying to figure out where to go. She wanted to go "home," but she wasn't quite sure where that was. Sara was in no mood to go back to California for San Francisco, or to see her parents. They'd just tell her to stop tap-dancing around her problems and to get her life straightened out. And this was coming from two old Hippies.

But Sara still did not know where to go. She had sat up in bed and looked around the room as if looking for it to giver her clues. Instead her eyes had drifted to the oversized t-shirt she was wearing and she looked down at it. HARVARD started back at her, and suddenly she knew where she wanted to go.

Boston was a great city. It wasn't anything like Vegas, or San Francisco, and Sara welcomed that change. When she was at Harvard she would travel into the center of the city every weekend for the nightlife, and for the food. She had many good memories of her time there, and she had forgotten most of them by this point. Maybe seeing the city once again would bring those memories back. And she was definitely making her way to Harvard. That was her one true home.

Sara stepped out of the airport terminal, and walked up to the curb to catch a taxi. There was no way she was going on foot anywhere. One came speeding over to her and screeched to a stop. Sara opened the door and got in.

"Where to?" the driver grumbled. The car smelled of a mix of smoke and chocolate, and Sara coughed.

"Uh…Faneuil Hall?" Sara said not really sure if that was where she wanted to go. It was a marketplace in the center of the city, and Sara was hungry. She knew that there would be good food there.

The driver sped off away from the airport and got on the highway. Sara looked at the city has he drove, and it sure did look different. Construction sites seemed to be everywhere, and the traffic was pretty backed up causing all of the taxis to start honking their horns. Right, that will do it, Sara thought, get all the cars in front of you to move out of the way by beeping the horn a million times.

Finally the traffic cleared and the driver made his way to the market place. He pulled right up front and let Sara off after she forked over twenty dollars for the ride. She slammed the door and the taxi immediately pulled back into traffic.

Sara turned around and looked at the buildings in front of her. Some of the buildings towered over her, while others were barely three stories. People with as many shopping bags as they could carry hurried back and forth, talking into cell phones and taking sips of their coffee. Two clowns stood in the center of a big crowd making balloon animals for little kids who were willing to pay two bucks for one. Ah yes, Sara had missed this place.

She didn't look too odd weaving though the crowd with her small suitcase and her other belongings. Some people had hung huge backpacks on their backs and they rode around on bicycles, others carried what looked like duffel bags, and some just carried purses that wouldn't even fit a pack of gum. Sara looked practically normal. Her stomach grumbled, and Sara made her way for the Marketplace smack-dab in the center of Faneuil Hall.

She wasn't even in the door and the smell of cooking food hit her nose. Every nationality seemed to have a fast food place here, and you could always find something to satisfy your appetite. And the desserts, those were a whole different story.

Sara wasn't in the mood to go wandering around though, and she ended up buying a bagel and a coke and took her food outside. Seeing no available bench to sit, she made herself comfy on the stairs leading up into the Market. No one paid any attention to her sitting there with her luggage to one side and her soda to the other. Sara looked normal compared to some of the other people conjugated here.

People walked bath and forth, some of them on cell phones, others on bikes, more holding dogs. Sara's years of being CSI had taught her to observe everything around her and take it all in. Sara popped another piece of her bagel into her mouth as two clowns passed carrying a bunch of balloons. Now there's a job for me, Sara thought sarcastically.

It was starting to get late into the afternoon, and Sara knew she had to find a place to stay for the night. She certainly had enough money to rent a hotel room, but which hotel? There were so many to choose from and Sara knew that some would be better than others, while different ones would be more accommodating to her needs. But what were her needs? Why was she here? Sara rubbed here eyes. Along with everything else she was feeling, she was also really tired.

A woman dressed smartly came walking by, yelling into her cell pone. "NO! I am not going to settle for less than what we agreed!" she practically screamed. She walked briskly by Sara sitting on the stairs, her eyes just glancing over her quickly. "Tell Mason that if he wants to talk to me…" the woman stopped talking, and turned around to look back in Sara's direction. She lowered her cell phone from her ear.

"Sara?"

Sara looked up swallowing the last of her bagel.

"Sara…Sidle?" the woman asked again, shutting her cell phone and walking over towards Sara. Sara didn't know what to do. She looked at the woman, and tried to make some prior connection to how she knew her name. The woman had blonde curly hair and green eyes. She was kind of short, but standing so it made her look three inches taller, not counting her heels.

"Yes." Sara squeaked out not knowing what else to say.

"Oh my GOSH!" the woman yelled running over to Sara and throwing her arms around her shoulder pulling Sara in for a hug. Sara, startled as she was, was still trying to make some sort of connection as to who this woman was. Sara looked over at the woman's hand that was now on her shoulder, and noticed an odd looking ring. She had seen that ring before…and suddenly it clicked.

"Sara, what are you doing here?" the woman asked pulling back from the hug.

"Becky Tanner." Sara replied smiling.

"Yes, of course it's me. Who were you expecting?" Becky asked sarcastically.

"Not you." Sara stated as Becky sat down next to her on the stairs. "I mean, I haven't seen you in –"

"Six years?" Becky finished. "Yah, it's been a while."

"You came to San Francisco." Sara continued.

"And I stayed with you for two weeks? Yes, Sara, I remember." Becky pushed a piece of her hair out of her face and turned to look at Sara.

"What are you doing here?" Becky asked once again. "No, don't tell me," She added quickly seeing tension run across Sara's face. "It's probably one of these weird reasons that I'm not going to get at all." Becky shook her head. "Where are you staying?"

"Um…" Sara thought for a moment. She was trying to figure that out when Becky interrupted her.

"You don't have a place set up, do you? God, you haven't changed a bit." Becky stood up and brushed her pants off. "How long are you staying? Oh, that doesn't matter. Sara, you are coming to stay with me and that's an order. Okay?" Becky reached over and grabbed Sara's suitcase. "Come on, my place isn't far from here. I'll interrogate you while we walk."

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"Forensic scientist? That sounds boring." Becky said rolling her eyes. Her and Sara walked along a side street in Boston that would lead to Becky's apartment. "What ever happened to your job at the coroner's?"

"Becky, when you were in San Francisco, I was already at the crime lab. Remember? I took you on a tour." Sara said trying to bring back that memory.

Becky just shook her head.  "Sorry. Drawing a blank."

Sara smiled to herself. She had missed Becky a lot and for a while had totally forgotten about her. In college Becky's dorm room had been right next to Sara, and they would spend late nights just talking or wandering around campus. They didn't have any classes together because Becky was there for the law, and Sara there for the science, but they certainly found time to hang out and have fun. The two of them didn't really have that much in common back then though. Becky had been a party animal while Sara was the obvious bookworm. They balanced each other out though, and the two of them had grown very close.   

When they graduated they went their separate ways, keeping in touch every now and then. Becky had visited Sara in San Francisco once, but other than that they hadn't seen each other. Sara found this time a little awkward because she didn't know what to say to her; someone who had just invited Sara to stay at her house while Sara took her little vacation.

"So, you've told me that you're now in Vegas after transferring from San Francisco, and you work the night shift. Okay, I get all of that. But why are you here right now instead of in Vegas? What brings you back to Boston?" Becky asked as she turned a corner and began to make her way to one of the towering apartment complexes in front of them.

Sara gulped. "I need to clear my head."

"From what? All the dead bodies?" Becky asked sarcastically as she pulled out a key and slipped it into the door.

"To make everything simpler, let's say yes." Sara replied hoping that she subject would be dropped.

"I know your hiding something," Becky pushed open the door and walked inside to the lobby of the building. "And I'm going to figure out what it is. I'm a lawyer."

"What makes you think I'm hiding something?" Sara asked as she followed Becky inside and the two of them made their way towards the stairs.

"Sara, I've seen you drunk, okay? You are very bad at lying." Sara made a face at that, but Becky went on. "I might not have known you for all of your life, but I know that you would not just pick up and leave, without notice or booking a room, and travel across the country just to get away from some cadavers." Becky stated plainly. "I am more than happy to let you stay with me, but before our bonding time is over I will know what's up with you."

"What makes you think that something is up?" Sara asked defensively.

"You look pale. You look like you've lost a lot of weight too. And any other time being in Faneuil Hall, you would have blown fifty bucks already. I don't think something was right in Las Vegas." Becky called over her shoulder as the two of them began to climb the stairs.

"You must make a great lawyer."

"If you're in any kind of legal problems, I can help." Becky quipped.

"Well I might be after my boss finds out that I just picked up and left."

Becky stopped on the stairs and turned around to look at Sara. "Out of all of the places you could have gone, you came here, and it's luck that I bumped into you. I've really missed you Sara. I'm glad that you're here." Becky said, and then turned and continued up the stairs. Sara followed her up.

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