When she had awoken, she couldn't figure out where she was at first, then it all started to come back to her. She realized where she was in disgust.

'I'm in a psyche ward again,' she thought, as she gently shook her head in dismay. 'What else did I really expect though, he managed to stop me from dying. Which automatically gets you sent to the hospital. Great, this is real great. When I get out of here, I'm quitting, and moving as far away as possible.'

A nurse came in, which disrupted her train of thought. Sara wiped the forming tears out of her eyes.

"Oh good, you're awake."

"How long was I asleep?"

"A little over a day. Some people have been asking about you, but there was nothing to tell. How do you feel?"

"I'm a little weak, very hungry, and my wrists hurt." Sara stated, smiling ruefully.

"Well, you're weak from blood loss and lack of food, I'm going to get you food, and you know why your wrists hurt. Do you feel up to having lunch with the rest of the patients, or do you want to have it here in your room?"

Sara thought it over, and she decided that she didn't really want to be alone, as much as she didn't want to be with the other patients. So the nurse helped her to get up and to dress in clothes of hers that somehow had gotten to her room.

The cafeteria was filled with a variety of mental health patients, with everyone except the criminally insane. The nurse led her to a table where the patients were quieter, and more subdued. Sara took the seat that she was led to without looking up at the others.

"Thank you," she said softly to the nurse.

"It's alright. I'm going to get your food ok?"

Sara nodded. She felt humiliated. She was curious though, and she glanced up at the other women sitting at the table. They were all like her, eyes downcast at the table, some barely picking at the food on their plates. She looked around the room, and she saw that at each table of ten to twenty patients, a nurse sat.

'That explains the extra seat at this table," Sara thought.

She looked at the food on the plates of the other patients. It looked somewhat edible, but not very.

A couple minutes later, the nurse returned with two plates, one for Sara, and another for herself. Sara looked at the food disdainfully, she didn't want to eat it, but hunger won out, and she ate.

"My name is Caroline Dupree," the nurse began. "I'm the nurse in charge of all of you. I will tell you when different functions are scheduled for each of you. The fifteen of you will be involved in the same sessions together, so why don't we try to get to know one another?"

They were silent. The nurse looked at Sara pleadingly, so Sara decided to go first.

"My name is Sara Sidle. I work at the Las Vegas crime lab."

The other patients looked at her. Then the young woman on her right spoke.

"My name is Maria Clendon. I'm a student at LVU." She was young, Sara thought she couldn't be out of her early twenties. Her hair was auburn and curly; it fell to her shoulders.

Slowly, the others introduced themselves, their ages ranged from early twenties to late forties. The nurse looked very relieved that they spoke to one another.

They spoke about various topics, carefully avoiding how they got in there, which for most of them meant avoiding the topics of love, family, and work. That left them the topics of television, movies, food, weather, plants, and animals, for the most part.

Once they were finished eating, the nurse led them out into a courtyard. They walked around in separate groups; they all had to meet back up in an hour.

Sara started to walk off by herself, when Caroline spoke.

"Sara, thank you for helping me back there. I appreciate it. This is my fifth week with adults, I used to work with the adolescents, and they were more talkative."

"It was nothing," Sara replied with a slight smile.

Then Sara walked off towards a lonely corner of the courtyard.

Sara had been sitting on a bench for several minutes, when Maria came up behind her. Sara jumped slightly when she heard the young woman clear her throat.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to startle you."

Sara smiled up at her, "Don't worry about it. Have a seat." She gestured to the bench.

She took the seat, and then she sighed. "I was kind of lonely, and since I saw you here alone, I thought I'd join you."

"Thanks."

"Are you originally from around here? I know you said that you work here, but I was wondering."

"I'm from California, around San Francisco. I lived there most of my life, I came here about five years ago."

"I'm from Tennessee. I came out here because I thought it would be fun, and I wanted to get away from my family and everything else back there. I'm 19 and I'm going to fail this semester at LVU thanks this. What did you do to get in here? I mean, I can see your wrists and all…"

"I'm really not comfortable talking about that. Plus that's what the group sessions are for." Sara said cutting her off.

"Right, I'm sorry. I know it's none of my business. It's just…"

"Don't worry about it," Sara said kindly.

"We're roommates you know, but this is the first day you were awake."

"Oh. Well, I had a bad argument with my fiancé and my co-workers, and it all kinda fell apart, but I'm not comfortable saying anymore than that right now." Sara said kindly.

Maria smiled gratefully. "My boyfriend broke up with me, and I can't handle rejection. I tried to overdose on sleeping pills, but one of my roommates found me. I've been here for about two weeks, and they just released me from suicide watch yesterday. So now I've been put into this new group with you. I probably won't have a job when I get out either."

"I have like three months of vacation time, so that's probably what they're using for this. Not that I'm planning on working there after I get out. What are you majoring in?"

"Ironically enough, psychology," she replied, laughing.

Sara laughed too.

So they chatted for awhile longer, until they had to go to the group session. Not much was accomplished in the group session, but that was to be expected for the first day.

Sara and Maria were becoming friends, and they talked to each other about what was going on in their lives, but they still avoided the sensitive areas of their lives.

Wow, I got two reviews already, thanks guys.

I'll get around to explaining what's up with Sara soon, but I like making readers suffer a little, sorry guys. Plus I'm not certain yet : )