A/N: This was written for a vid challenge over at YTDAW. It's my first ever, but I still crave feedback.
*****
"Why did this happen to me?"
No answer seemed right. It's hard enough to be a 13-year-old girl; when your boyfriend attacks you, things just get more complicated.
Sara had managed to push the voice from her mind, throwing herself headlong into studying, and then her work. 60 hour work weeks became routine.
This week turned out to be very different.
The first two days, Sara was fine. She worked, went home, read a little, fell asleep within minutes, and then got up and did it all over again.
Tuesday night, Sara was alone in a layout room, reviewing evidence from one of her cases.
"It wasn't my fault, you know."
Sara turned, startled by the voice. She found herself alone in the room. She'd shook her head, and gone back to work.
In the morning, Warrick invited her to breakfast. She declined, saying that she had somewhere to be. He'd just nodded. "Another time, then."
Sara had gone home, trying not to catch a glimpse of herself in the mirror.
(Why didn't you help me?)
That voice sounded familiar, but Sara couldn't quite place it. It was a young girl's voice, sounding scared and angry. She tried hard to block out the sound by turning on her stereo, and when that failed, the TV, but neither one helped. Finally, she knew she would not be sleeping that day, and prepared to go into work early.
(I should have tried harder)
When she arrived at the lab, she found it quiet. Deciding to catch up on paperwork, Sara made her way to the break room. Coffee would be a necessity tonight.
"Sara?"
(Don't touch me!)
"Sara? You okay?"
She was startled to find that she had been sleeping.
"Grissom, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to-" She was cut off as Grissom put his hand on her arm.
"It's okay." He looked worried, not angry. "Bad dream?"
"What? Wait, give me a sec." Sara reached for the coffee mug on the table, and then wiped at her eyes.
"No, I just wasn't able to get much rest today." She hoped he didn't notice that she was avoiding his eyes.
"Are you sure? You were talking in your sleep." Grissom looked concerned. He knew that Sara didn't usually get much sleep, but she seemed to function better without it. She'd never done this before.
"Yeah, I'm fine. I'll be okay. Do you have our assignments for tonight?"
She was too busy gathering her paperwork to she did not see the clearly troubled look Grissom gave her.
"Yeah, but I'd like to wait until everyone else is here. They shouldn't be too long." Grissom paused then, wondering if he should continue.
"Sara, listen, if…if you ever need to talk about it, I'm here."
She looked up from the table then. Grissom hoped that her eyes were watery because she'd just woken up.
"Thanks, Grissom." She appreciated the gesture, but knew she'd never tell him what was wrong. She couldn't imagine where to start.
Three weeks later, she found herself in his office after shift ended.
"Hey, Grissom? Are…are you busy right now?"
END