Title: No Goodbyes

Fandom: CSI

Pairing: Warrick/Sara

Spoilers: Unless you've been living under a rock for this week, you can guess what it's about.

Notes: For the LiveJournal Multifandom1000 Goodbye challenge. Like there was a chance I wouldn't.

Warrick knew something was wrong the second that Sara opened the door. Either because she'd taken longer to answer than was usual for her, or just because she'd been slightly out of sorts all day - all month if it came to that - whatever the reason, when she opened the door, eyes narrowed in a pale face, he found himself fighting down waves of concern.

"I'm not interrupting…" he asked.

She shook her head quickly. "No," was all she said, rapidly followed up by, "What are you doing here?"

In answer, he held up a long stripy scarf, only slightly relieved when she grinned. "You left this in my car," he told her, holding it out to her. "And seeing as how you ran out on me before I could catch you…"

"You didn't have to come all the way over here," she said, opening the door a little wider. "I could have got it tonight…"

"I'm off tonight," he reminded her. "And since you're off on vacation tomorrow, I won't see you for a while." Something flickered in her eyes when he said that, and he couldn't help but think that for someone who was going on holidays, she didn't look happy about it. "How's the packing going?"

He asked the question to get her talking, but she launched into no "packing-is-hell" tirade, just glanced over her shoulder briefly. It was just for a second, but it had Warrick following her gaze into the small apartment, frowning at what he saw there. There were several boxes strewn around the place, black refuse sacks in various states of fullness, most of the surfaces bare.

It wasn't the kind of packing done for a holiday, and Warrick looked down at Sara, too shocked to keep the dismay from his features. She saw it too, knew it for what it was, biting her lip, turning away from him and taking a couple of steps inside.

"Sara?" he asked, keeping his voice gentle, not giving in to his impulse to grab her and demand some answers. He stepped over the threshold, the door falling shut behind him, saw that the kitchen unit was in the same state as the living room. When he looked back at Sara again, she was standing in the middle of the living room, her life boxed up around her, and she looked more lost than Warrick had ever seen her look before.

"Must be some vacation," he quipped, an effort at levity that fell flat. She didn't crack a smile, and he felt cold all over when he said, "It's not just a vacation, is it?"

Slowly, she shook her head. "No," she whispered.

He took a deep breath, counted to ten before he let it out, wondering all the while how he hadn't seen this coming. "Where are you going?"

Tears stood in Sara's eyes, and he could see the effort it was costing her to keep them back. "I don't know," she said, forcing a smile to her lips. "Maybe Washington, the Federal system? Maybe I'll just keep driving and see where I end up…" She shook her head, looking up at the ceiling. "I just know I can't stay here."

"Is it…" His voice trailed off, unsure of how to ask what he already knew, and at that, she did give a rueful smile.

"Grissom?" He shrugged, she did likewise. "Partly… and the key position, and a hundred other things that have happened here… I just… I feel like I woke up one day and I had no idea who I was anymore… does that make sense?"

"Makes a lot of sense," he told her. "I've been there." Back when Holly Gribbs had just died, back when Sara had been investigating him, back when he'd never thought they'd get along. Maybe she knew that, because she nodded, looked down until he spoke again. "When are you going?"

"Tomorrow… after the shift."

"That soon?" The words shocked him, jaw-dropping shock that was nothing compared to her next words.

"I don't want anyone to know," she told him. "I've got a letter for Grissom, and I'm just going to leave quietly, without any fuss… and you can't tell anyone Warrick, please…" She was talking quickly, an edge of almost desperation in her voice, and to get that pleading look out of her eyes, he would have promised her anything.

"If that's what you want," he promised, holding his hands up to ward off any further entreaties. "But we're gonna miss you." The huff of almost laughter from between pursed lips made clear what she thought of that, so he stepped forward, put his hands on her shoulders. "We are," he said, not taking his eyes from hers.

She closed her eyes and swallowed hard. "I'm going to miss you too," she said, and, to his surprise, stepped forward and slid her arms around his waist. He returned the hug, even pressed a kiss to the top of her head, and when she pulled back, she was smiling, a real Sara-smile. "If you'd told me, back when I started here…" she began, and he laughed.

"We've come a long way," he acknowledged. "You're gonna keep in touch, right?"

She nodded, and he pretended not to notice the doubt in her eyes. "Eventually," she said mildly, and he left it at that.

"You know if you need anything…"

"You'll be the first one I call."

After another moment of silence, Warrick moved first. "I'll let you get back," he said, turning for the door, with her falling into step beside him. Once there, he pulled her into another, tighter, hug. "I'm not saying goodbye to you," he whispered, and when she looked up at him, a tear was making its way down her cheek.

"No goodbyes," she agreed. "I'll see you around Warrick."

He nodded. "Make sure you do."

He stared at her until the door shut.

It was a long time before he walked away.