"How long have you been here?" Although there was a smile on his face, Nick's voice was edged with concern; he knew how Sara had a tendency to loose herself in a case.

She glanced up. "An hour or two; I don't know."

Nick furrowed his brow and frowned.

Sara raised an eyebrow in response. "I couldn't sleep."

Nick's expression softened. "I just worry about you."

She smirked. "I'm a big girl." She appreciated his concern, but at times it made her uncomfortable. She was used to doing things by herself and for herself; depending on other people wasn't something that came naturally to her.

Nick let out a slightly amused chuckle. "I didn't say you weren't, but I still worry about you." Truth be told, there were times Nick worried about every member of the team of CSIs he worked with. Each of them had a penchant for working far too much and taking too little time for themselves, and he was as guilty as the rest of them. He hadn't been back to Texas to visit his family in several months and every time he spoke with one of his siblings or his parents, they asked him when they'd be seeing him again.

Sara turned her attention back to the evidence she was examining from the crime scene they'd processed the previous night, letting out a deep sigh in the process.

"Do you want to grab some coffee and come back to this in a few minutes?" Nick looked at her inquisitively. He knew that they'd probably end up discussing the case while they sipped what he hoped was Greg Sanders' special blend in the break room, but at least she wouldn't be staring in frustration at a pile of garbage trying to decipher what it had to offer to their case for a few minutes.

Sara stood up and stretched trying to stifle a yawn.

"I'll take that as a yes." Nick smirked at her as she rolled her eyes at him. They headed down the hallway and into the break room and true to form, Sara began to espouse her theories on the case.

"I can't help but think that the killer had been in our vic's apartment numerous times." Sara's brow was furrowed as she accepted the cup of coffee Nick poured for her.

"Well that tracks with there being no forced entry, but the backdoor was unlocked too. It's possible she just wasn't vigilant about locking her doors." Nick countered as he poured himself a cup of coffee, smiling as he realized that this was Greg's coffee.

Sara considered that for a moment. "Unless she was expecting someone."

"Which brings us back to looking at people that she spent time with on a regular basis." Nick agreed.

Something just didn't seem right to Sara. She looked at Nick quizzically. "Have you ever had a cat?"

He shook his head, taking another sip of his coffee. "I'm more of a dog person."

"Me too." A smile played at her lips as she looked at him for a moment before her expression became more serious. "But I had a cat once, and it was very particular about who could pick it up or even get near it for that matter."

Nick just watched her to see where she might be going with this.

"When I was at Berkeley and would come home on the weekends, my cat wouldn't even let me pick it up until I'd been home for a few hours and she knew I was going to be there for a while." She continued.

Nick still didn't say anything; he just took another sip of his coffee and waited for Sara to finish her theory.

"Have you ever tried to pick up a cat that didn't want you to?" Sara inquired, lifting her own coffee cup up to her lips.

Nick nodded with a smirk. "Yeah, once."

Sara chuckled at Nick's expression. "That's my point." She furrowed her brow again. "I think the killer was in her house for a while before he killed her."

Nick considered her words. "What makes you think the killer was a man?"

Sara pursed her lips together to keep from smiling, knowing that she had a little more information than Nick did. "Crime of passion."

He looked at her doubtfully, raising an eyebrow. "Still doesn't rule out a woman as the assailant."

"Based on just that, I'd have to agree with you." Sara smirked. "But there was just enough DNA on the cat's claws for analysis. Our killer is a man."

Nick chuckled. "Way to string me along." He took another sip, draining the coffee cup before setting it in the sink. "So we're looking for a man that spent a lot of time in her house that also should be sporting some nasty scratches on his arms."

Sara nodded, a smile spreading across her face. "We should see if Brass has a list of friends and neighbors put together yet."

Catherine walked in just then. She looked tired and a bit pale. "Hey." She smiled, but worry was evident behind it.

Nick and Sara exchanged a quick glance before Nick greeted her. "How are you feeling, Cath?" He had a special bond with Catherine and when Sara had called him to help out at the scene the previous night, he couldn't help but worry.

"I'll live." Her smile was more genuine at Nick's display of concern. "I think I'll be staying away from chicken for a while though."

"Food poisoning?" Sara queried her hoping that whatever it was that had made Catherine sick wasn't contagious.

"I hope so." Catherine replied, reaching for a bag of herbal tea instead of her standard cup of coffee. "I'm still not feeling great." She felt compelled to offer an explanation for her sudden change in beverage. She wasn't about to tell them what Warrick already knew until she had a doctor confirm it. While two pregnancy tests indicated the same thing, Catherine knew that they weren't always reliable and this was one time when she had to be absolutely certain.

"We were just talking about the case from last night." Sara informed her.

"Oh." Catherine poured hot water into the cup over the tea bag.

"The assailant killed her pet cat too. Nick found it in the trash in the kitchen." Sara continued, excited that the case seemed to be going somewhere.

The expression on Catherine's face immediately changed and she put her cup down quickly on the counter. "Excuse me."

Nick and Sara exchanged a concerned glance as Catherine rushed towards the door with her hand over her mouth, barely making it into the hallway before she threw up.