"Grissom, can I talk to you for a minute?" Warrick stood in the doorway of
Grissom's office. He had just left Nick and Sara in the locker room.
Grissom looked up over the rim of his glasses and gestured to Warrick to
sit down.
Warrick closed the door behind him and sat down. "It's Sara." He began to relay to Grissom what had happened when he'd woken Sara up in the break room. "I'm worried."
Grissom let out a deep breath and considered his words carefully. "What does Nick say?"
Warrick leaned further back in the chair. "That's just it. He won't say a word. It's like he's made some pact with Sara to keep silent. My gut tells me that something is wrong, but neither one of them are talking and honestly, they both look like they're not getting enough sleep."
Grissom just nodded. "I'm not sure what we can do."
Warrick just nodded in agreement.
Nick's House:
"Sara, are you ok?" Nick was clearly worried.
Sara looked at him with a pained expression on her face. "Nick, I don't know what to do. It's just getting worse. I just keep seeing her lying there every time I close my eyes. If we had just arrested the bastard for raping her, she'd still be alive. She was just a girl."
"Sar, it's not your fault. You can't blame yourself." Nick sat down next to her on the couch and pulled her into a hug.
"I'm sorry I keep coming over here. I just don't seem to be able to sleep without having nightmares." She laid her head against his shoulder as a tear rolled down her cheek.
Nick let out a deep breath. "Sara, can I ask you something?"
She nodded. "Yeah."
"Why did this case get to you so much? I know we see horrible things everyday, but most of the time you just do the job, this just seemed a lot more personal." Nick measured his words carefully.
Sara took some time to answer him. "I'm a woman."
Nick considered her statement, knowing that there was probably a lot more she wasn't telling him.
Sara pushed away from him, not looking him directly in the eye. "Hey, do you have something I can sleep in?"
He nodded and stood up. "Yeah, I'll get you something." He returned a few minutes later wearing a pair of pajama pants and a T-shirt. He held out a pair of drawstring sweat pants and a T-shirt for Sara. "Here."
She took them and stood up. "Thanks. I'm just gonna go change." She headed into the bathroom and closed the door.
Nick sat down on the couch suddenly very tired. He rested his head in his hands and let out a deep breath as he considered telling Sara his darkest secret. For some reason he thought if he did, she might tell him what was really going on. Ever since a teenage girl had been raped during a home robbery a few weeks ago and then murdered because she was too afraid to identify her attacker in a line up, Sara had been having nightmares. After that shift, she was so upset; she'd called Nick because she couldn't sleep. Nick had suggested that she come over so they could talk and she'd ended up curled up against him on the couch. After that, she seemed to come over every day several hours after Nick had already gone to sleep wanting to be in the one place she felt safe, sleeping next to him.
He really wasn't sure what to do. He had a feeling that it was more than just the case that was bothering her, but she wouldn't talk about it, and it was really beginning to frustrate him in more ways than one. For starters, she was a beautiful woman. Having her sleep next to him was getting more and more difficult. He'd always found her attractive, and with her clinging to him like this, it was difficult not to act on it.
The bathroom door opened and Sara emerged. She noticed Nick's serious face and raised an eyebrow. "You ok, Nick?"
He looked up at her and before his resolve could falter, he spoke. "I need to tell you something and then I think we need to get some sleep."
Sara studied Nick's face as she sat on the couch next to him. "What is it?"
He let out a deep breath. "Sara, you know how some cases get to you more than others?"
She nodded.
"Well, sometimes it's just because it's so horrible and other times because it's so personal." He furrowed his brow and reached for her hand as they sat there. "Do you remember that case that Catherine and I worked on where that boy was smothered during a therapy session?"
She nodded. "Didn't the therapist and the mother both get charged?"
He nodded. "Yeah, they did." He studied her for a moment before continuing. "What you don't know is that Catherine almost pulled me off that case."
Sara looked shocked. "Why would she do that?"
Nick closed his eyes for a moment before continuing. "Because I thought the boy had been sexually assaulted by the therapist and I wouldn't let it go."
"But the evidence told you something else, she wasn't charged with that." She replied matter of factly.
Nick squeezed Sara's hand and tears threatened to spill from his eyes. "Sara, what you don't know is, when I was nine years old, I was sexually assaulted by a last minute babysitter." His voice was almost a whisper.
An expression of sadness and pain crossed Sara's face and tears began to form in her eyes. "Oh, Nick, I am so sorry." She reached for him and pulled him into a hug; they both began to cry as they held each other.
Catherine's House:
"Willows." Catherine answered her cell phone which she had kept next to her bed. She was just about to get up and get ready for shift.
"Catherine, its Warrick. I think I may have something in this case." Warrick had woken up in the middle of the day with an idea that he just couldn't get out of his mind, so he'd gotten up and gone into the lab. He'd been pouring over the police reports and the interviews with the guests and began to see some odd things emerging.
"I'll be there as soon as I drop off Lindsey." Catherine hung up the phone and got out of bed to take a quick shower before dropping Lindsey off at her sister's house for the night. She hoped that Warrick was right; they needed a break in this case.
Nick's House:
Nick and Sara had fallen asleep on the couch tangled in each other's arms. Sara was the first to wake up and as she glanced up at the clock in Nick's living room, she noticed that they were already late for work. "Nick."
Nick's eyes fluttered open. "What time is it?"
"We're late." Sara answered disentangling herself from him before heading into the bathroom to change into her own clothes.
Nick swore under his breath and slowly pulled himself off the couch and headed to his bedroom to get changed.
Warrick closed the door behind him and sat down. "It's Sara." He began to relay to Grissom what had happened when he'd woken Sara up in the break room. "I'm worried."
Grissom let out a deep breath and considered his words carefully. "What does Nick say?"
Warrick leaned further back in the chair. "That's just it. He won't say a word. It's like he's made some pact with Sara to keep silent. My gut tells me that something is wrong, but neither one of them are talking and honestly, they both look like they're not getting enough sleep."
Grissom just nodded. "I'm not sure what we can do."
Warrick just nodded in agreement.
Nick's House:
"Sara, are you ok?" Nick was clearly worried.
Sara looked at him with a pained expression on her face. "Nick, I don't know what to do. It's just getting worse. I just keep seeing her lying there every time I close my eyes. If we had just arrested the bastard for raping her, she'd still be alive. She was just a girl."
"Sar, it's not your fault. You can't blame yourself." Nick sat down next to her on the couch and pulled her into a hug.
"I'm sorry I keep coming over here. I just don't seem to be able to sleep without having nightmares." She laid her head against his shoulder as a tear rolled down her cheek.
Nick let out a deep breath. "Sara, can I ask you something?"
She nodded. "Yeah."
"Why did this case get to you so much? I know we see horrible things everyday, but most of the time you just do the job, this just seemed a lot more personal." Nick measured his words carefully.
Sara took some time to answer him. "I'm a woman."
Nick considered her statement, knowing that there was probably a lot more she wasn't telling him.
Sara pushed away from him, not looking him directly in the eye. "Hey, do you have something I can sleep in?"
He nodded and stood up. "Yeah, I'll get you something." He returned a few minutes later wearing a pair of pajama pants and a T-shirt. He held out a pair of drawstring sweat pants and a T-shirt for Sara. "Here."
She took them and stood up. "Thanks. I'm just gonna go change." She headed into the bathroom and closed the door.
Nick sat down on the couch suddenly very tired. He rested his head in his hands and let out a deep breath as he considered telling Sara his darkest secret. For some reason he thought if he did, she might tell him what was really going on. Ever since a teenage girl had been raped during a home robbery a few weeks ago and then murdered because she was too afraid to identify her attacker in a line up, Sara had been having nightmares. After that shift, she was so upset; she'd called Nick because she couldn't sleep. Nick had suggested that she come over so they could talk and she'd ended up curled up against him on the couch. After that, she seemed to come over every day several hours after Nick had already gone to sleep wanting to be in the one place she felt safe, sleeping next to him.
He really wasn't sure what to do. He had a feeling that it was more than just the case that was bothering her, but she wouldn't talk about it, and it was really beginning to frustrate him in more ways than one. For starters, she was a beautiful woman. Having her sleep next to him was getting more and more difficult. He'd always found her attractive, and with her clinging to him like this, it was difficult not to act on it.
The bathroom door opened and Sara emerged. She noticed Nick's serious face and raised an eyebrow. "You ok, Nick?"
He looked up at her and before his resolve could falter, he spoke. "I need to tell you something and then I think we need to get some sleep."
Sara studied Nick's face as she sat on the couch next to him. "What is it?"
He let out a deep breath. "Sara, you know how some cases get to you more than others?"
She nodded.
"Well, sometimes it's just because it's so horrible and other times because it's so personal." He furrowed his brow and reached for her hand as they sat there. "Do you remember that case that Catherine and I worked on where that boy was smothered during a therapy session?"
She nodded. "Didn't the therapist and the mother both get charged?"
He nodded. "Yeah, they did." He studied her for a moment before continuing. "What you don't know is that Catherine almost pulled me off that case."
Sara looked shocked. "Why would she do that?"
Nick closed his eyes for a moment before continuing. "Because I thought the boy had been sexually assaulted by the therapist and I wouldn't let it go."
"But the evidence told you something else, she wasn't charged with that." She replied matter of factly.
Nick squeezed Sara's hand and tears threatened to spill from his eyes. "Sara, what you don't know is, when I was nine years old, I was sexually assaulted by a last minute babysitter." His voice was almost a whisper.
An expression of sadness and pain crossed Sara's face and tears began to form in her eyes. "Oh, Nick, I am so sorry." She reached for him and pulled him into a hug; they both began to cry as they held each other.
Catherine's House:
"Willows." Catherine answered her cell phone which she had kept next to her bed. She was just about to get up and get ready for shift.
"Catherine, its Warrick. I think I may have something in this case." Warrick had woken up in the middle of the day with an idea that he just couldn't get out of his mind, so he'd gotten up and gone into the lab. He'd been pouring over the police reports and the interviews with the guests and began to see some odd things emerging.
"I'll be there as soon as I drop off Lindsey." Catherine hung up the phone and got out of bed to take a quick shower before dropping Lindsey off at her sister's house for the night. She hoped that Warrick was right; they needed a break in this case.
Nick's House:
Nick and Sara had fallen asleep on the couch tangled in each other's arms. Sara was the first to wake up and as she glanced up at the clock in Nick's living room, she noticed that they were already late for work. "Nick."
Nick's eyes fluttered open. "What time is it?"
"We're late." Sara answered disentangling herself from him before heading into the bathroom to change into her own clothes.
Nick swore under his breath and slowly pulled himself off the couch and headed to his bedroom to get changed.