Chapter 2

Hours of silence past as Sara huddled against her cold wall. Then, as though something struck her, she realised Hank was now gone and she was alone in the dark. Crawling painfully across the wooden floor to the cordless phone that lay in its solitude on the coffee table not a few feet away, though those few feet felt so far.

"911 Emergency. How may I help you?" A female voice greeted.

Moving back towards the walls, she waited in the darkness. It was nearly five minutes before the EMT's arrived, but she blacked out as they approached her.

The Doctor entered the white sterile room where Sara was resting in one of the beds. She had just had a sexual exam and her injuries were patched and wrapped up. As soon as the doctor stopped to check on her, she informed her that the police had been notified.

"They are sending a CSI to collect the SAE kit. They'll want to ask you a few questions. Are you up for that Sara? I'll be back in about 10 minutes to talk to you some more" The doctor politely asked as she pulled on the cubicle curtain to give them some privacy.

Before Sara could find any kind of response, with panic rising quickly, Catherine walked through the door and addressed the doctor, who was pulling the curtain back in place as she was leaving.

"How is she?" Catherine inquired, reaching for the SAE kit that was boxed up and held out to her by the doctor.

"She'll be fine. With a few broken ribs and a few fractures to her cheekbone, she'll make a full recovery. The swelling will fade in a few days."

"Doctor, do you mind if I see her? And ask a few Question's?" Catherine asked.

"Sure, I don't see why not, but please don't over do it; she just woke up a few minutes ago."

"Thank you." Catherine smiled. She glanced at the doctor's nametag and nodded. 'Dr. M Morgan' "Thank you Dr Morgan."

Turning and pulling back the curtain a little, Catherine gasped. "Sara?!" She approached the bed carefully and was caught by the damage her fellow CSI had acquired.

Sara turned her head and tried to smile, but the pain in her cheek was too much and she winced. "Hey Catherine." Her voice was but a whisper and her dry throat caused her to dry cough, hurting her ribs with the added jostling, her hands instinctively hold onto them to lessen the movement.

"My God Sara! What the hell happened to you?!" Catherine was too shock, seeing her friend in pain and bruised up. Tears instantly sprung to her eyes.

Sara had to turn away because she didn't want to see pity in her friend's eyes, her hands covering her face to hide the tears.

"Sara, please look at me." Catherine pleaded softly, moving to sit on the mattress.

Detective Jim Brass entered with his notebook in his hand and a pen poised ready to write. Expecting information on a rapist, he got the shock of his like. "Oh my god. Sara, are you ok?" The worry thick in his voice.

Sara couldn't take it anymore and broke down into almost quiet sobs. She turned away from them, despite the pain.

"Sara, please, I'm going to have to go all cop on you for a few minute. To get it over with. Ok? Can you tell me what happen? Anything happen between when you left work to now? Brass asked, trying to hurry the questioning to comfort his friend.

"I'm so sorry Sara, but you know its protocol and I have to do this." He apologised, urging her to answer his questions.

"I know." She said, with a hint of sadness and exhaustion. "I've done these before remember? But now I'm the bloody victim. Funny huh?"

"It's ok Sara, when you're ready." Catherine said soothingly.

Sara nodded slowly, her back sill to them. "When I left, I went to my car. I was about to get in when Hank appeared."

"Hank?" Catherine asked. "You're kidding right?" Sara's silence was all she needed to believe her. "Ok, maybe you're not."

"Then what happened?" Brass prodded.

Sara sighed tiredly. "Well, I told him to leave, but you know Hank. He wouldn't. We talked, briefly. I told him I moved on with my life, but he didn't seem to take that too well. I started the car and left."

"Good for you Sara." Catherine smiled, squeezing her shoulder.

"When I got home, he jumped me at my door. Then… …." She hesitated. "… And then I woke up. I crawled to the phone… and you know the rest."

"No Sara, that's not the rest and you know it." Catherine tried to look at her face.

"Who the hell did this to you? Please. I need to know who." Brass walked around the bed to see her.

Sara shook her head. "I don't want to talk about it any more."

"Come on Sara, you had to see his face. Think back to when it happen. Was there a light? Did you see his face? Please Sara. Who was he?" Brass questioned.

"That's it." Catherine snapped determinedly. "I'm calling Grissom."

Sara moved too fast and cried out in pain, but protested to Catherine with force and fear. "NO! No! No!" She started getting hysterical. "Please. I don't want Warrick and Nicky to know, especially, Grissom, to see me like this. Please Cath, not that. Look at me, I'm a mess.

"If you won't tell us, the DNA will." Warned Catherine.

"What's going on here?" Doctor Morgan demanded, rushing to Sara.

Sara ignored the doctor's attempts to calm her. "It won't. He would have used a condom. If I know Hank, he used protection." She didn't realise at first what she had just confessed.

"Hank? Are you telling us Hank Preddigrew did this to you?!" Catherine's voice rose slightly.

"Right, I'm on it Sara." Brass sighed, gently squeezing her hand before leaving them alone.

TBC