Author's Note: Just to clear things up, that last chapter wasn't supposed to be all about Sara trying to make Grissom pay attention her or ask her out or anything. It's kind of supposed to show that Sara is doing this to shake Grissom's control over things. She's doing it to shock him and hurt him, not to seem attractive to him. The first chapter explains that Sara's feelings of love for Grissom have turned into feelings of hate, and that will come into play later. I just wanted to make sure I wasn't offending anyone or anything 'cause that's not the point of the story. Oh, and thanks for the feedback!
As soon as Sara was sure that she was no longer visible to Brian, Grissom, or Sophia, she ran into the bathroom at the end of the hall. She pulled the door shut and slumped against it. She closed her eyes as tears began to pour from them. Angry sobs racked her body as she whispered to herself, "I can't do this anymore."
"Can't do what anymore?" she heard a voice ask. She opened her eyes. The voice belonged to Archie, the sweet Asian audio/visual lab technician.
"You do know you're in the guys bathroom, don't you?" he asked. She shook her head.
"Sorry, I was just…I don't know. I guess I was feeling kind of…" she trailed off.
"Depressed?" Archie finished. Sara nodded, smiling sadly.
"It's funny," she said dejectedly, "I used to be depressed because I didn't have a life. So… I kind of went and got one, mostly to piss people off. It's just that…I know that this isn't the right way for me to live. I can see the way I'm hurting other people…and I guess…I'm hurting myself in the process." Archie put a comforting hand on her shoulder.
"Aw, Sara, it's okay. I know you, and I know that you're strong enough to get through this," he told her. She looked up at him gratefully.
"Thank you," she said, wiping her eyes, "that's the nicest thing anybody has said to me in a while." He pulled her into a quick hug.
"Anytime you need a friend, I'm always here," he said.
"Thank you," Sara said, smiling slightly. For the first time in many years, she felt content and peaceful.
Sara entered the break room cautiously. She saw Sophia standing near the cabinets and making herself a cup of coffee. Sara approached the other woman.
"Uh, hey," Sara said. Sophia turned towards her.
"Hey, Sara," she replied.
"Um…I'm sorry about that whole thing with Brian," Sara said, nervously biting a nail.
"That's okay," Sophia smiled, "It was quite entertaining actually."
"I'm…I'm not usually like that," Sara said, looking down at her hands, "It's just…It was just…" she suddenly looked pensive, "It was a…a bad stage of my life, but I'm…" Sara raised her head, a proud look in her eyes, "I'm getting over it," she finished. Sophia nodded. Sara took a deep breath.
"Sophia…I think we got off on the wrong foot," she told her colleague, "I know what it feels like when everything around you changes so dramatically and…it's hard. Sometimes all you need is someone to talk to. If you ever need a friend…I'm always here," she said, echoing Archie's words. Sophia looked genuinely touched.
"Thank you…thank you, Sara. You don't know how much that means to me," she said, smiling. Sara smiled back. She was finally finding peace within herself. She knew what she had to do to make things right.