Warrick stood at her grave, looking down at Lyla Johnson, whose childlike innocence was captured too well.

He turned his back and tried as hard as he could not to cry. He left. In the middle of the funeral, he just left.

I can't do this anymore, Warrick thought to himself. He got into his car and left. He ended up on the strip, just walking, observing the people he passed.

Then, he felt it. The pull. The pull to go gambling. He shook his head; his shoulders sagged as he walked into the building sporting the neon sign boasting the usual gambling opportunities.

Warrick looked up and realized it.

So this is what it felt like to have no hope...

FOUR DAYS LATER:

Sara stood outside the drugstore, in a moment of uncertainty.

"Just go inside," she said to herself, nodding at a couple who passed and had worried looks on their faces because she was talking to herself.

She forced herself into the store. There was slight music playing and she saw the man at the counter, giving her the "ooh-la-la" look. She walked up to him and asked bluntly, "Where are your pregnancy tests?"

His smirk disappeared and he pointed towards the second aisle.

"Thanks," she said, unaware of the shakiness in her voice and her step. She walked over and forced herself to read the back of every one, eventually choosing one that satisfied her. She paid the money and ran to her house and ran straight for her bathroom. After checking the results, she flew out of the room in a rush.

"Oh shit," She said to herself.

Sara ran into the LVCL, accidentally running into Catherine.

"Hey Sara, I thought this was your day off." Catherine said, stopping in her tracks.

"I don't need a day off," She stated quickly, as if Catherine knew.

Catherine saw her cold look and let it drop. Sara ran to Grissom's office and knocked on the door.

"Grissom." She said through the door. There was no reply, so she knocked harder.

"Hey Sara, I thought you were sick today," Nick said, casually walking up to her.

"I'm not..." She said, starting to break down without crying. Nick looked at her wide eyed. "You're starting to scare me, Sara."

Sara was about to say something, but decided to ignore him.

"Where's Grissom?" She asked.

Nick still looked slightly worried about her, but he figured if she had a problem Grissom was a better person to try to solve it.

"I think he went to the Social Services place to follow up the Winters case. Wasn't that thing already closed?"

"Thanks," Sara said, ignoring him and running for her car. She got into the car then paused.

What am I doing? She asked herself, looking at her reflection from the review mirror. It's none of his business that... She paused, letting the reality sink in. He needed to know.

She drove over to the Las Vegas Social Services building and ran in. The secretary was a woman named Sally, by her name tag. She had a bored, drawling voice and looked at Sara as if she were garbage.

"What do you want?"

"Is Sonya Connors still in temporary care here?" She asked. The woman glared and asked, "Why do you need her?"

"My name is Sara Sidle, I'm an investigator for the Winters murder case."

"Oh. One of your little buddies came by earlier." She popped her gum in an obnoxious way as she wrote down the address.

Sara nodded and turned on her heel and left in a hurry, still unsure of what she was about to do. She followed the address to a house near the Winters in the suburbs. She stopped her car next to Grissom's and was about to knock on the door when she caught a glance in the window.

On the couches in the living room, which was visible from the window in the door she saw Grissom's back, talking to the two parents there. She just paused and watched the picture in front of her, and in a moment of sadness she knew that her life would never be like that.

She got ready to knock on the door and hesitated.

She shook her head and turned around, leaving the scene undisturbed. It didn't matter anymore.

As she was walking down the driveway she was stopped by a severe, shooting pain in her abdomen. It was so intense that she fell on the ground, clutching her stomach. Then, as quickly as it came, the pain was gone. The fuzz in her eyes disappeared and she ran for her car, hoping that no one had seen her.

She looked at herself in the review mirror again.

What am I supposed to do? She wandered to herself. She felt so lost.

"So many people focus on the drought, but nobody sees the green grass." –Loo