Disclaimer: These characters do not belong to me. But I'm having fun playing with them for awhile!

A/N: Sorry it's taken so long to get the second chapter up. I've been on vacation in the mountains of Tennessee with no internet access. I did get almost the entire story written on paper (remember that stuff?) so it's just a matter of typing it in the computer.

Chapter 2

Sara went through the familiar routine of entering a maximum security prison, except that this time it wasn't routine. She could begin to feel her stomach starting to tighten up, and a knot began to form in the back of her neck. She hadn't felt these symptoms for almost 20 years. Actually, it had been eighteen years, three months, and six days, to be exact. But now she was here to face her past. A past she had always been running from.

Taking a deep breath, she turned the knob and entered Joan Anderson's office.

"Good morning, Mrs. Anderson. I'm Sara Sidle." Sara tried desperately to calm the shaking of her hands. "I'm curious about my mother's situation."

"Forgive me for being blunt, Ms. Sidle, but I'll get right to the point. Your mother's in very critical condition. As I told you, we were unable to care for her here at the prison, so we had to move her to a St. Vincent's hospital. The doctor there will be able to answer any questions that you may have about her condition. We've begun an investigation into events here, but, right now, I'm not at liberty to discuss them with you until the investigation is complete. I'm sure you understand. Anyway, if you'd like, we can have someone from the prison here drive you to the hospital."

Sara fought to process all of the information through her exhausted brain. "No, thank you, I know how to find the hospital. Could you please give me her room number and call ahead to let them know that I am coming?"

Sara quietly entered the small, sterile hospital room. The dark-haired woman lying in the bed seemed much smaller and older than the person who had haunted her nightmares so many nights. She slowly dropped into a chair beside the bed and began weeping softly.

"Grissom, what is your problem?" Catherine snapped.

Grissom looked up from the test he was pretending to read. "What?" he snapped back.

"You've spent all shift snapping at everyone who's crossed your path. I'm the only one who'll even dare to step foot inside this office. Whatever is your problem, please get it out of your system before everyone runs away in fear."

"I just think there's something going on with Sara. I can't really put my finger on it, but when she was in here to ask for her time off, she just seemed upset about something. She also looked completely exhausted, but she refused to tell me what was going on."

"Well, she is entitled to a little bit of privacy, don't you think?" Catherine answered.

"I realize that, but something has her knocked completely off, and she's really been so upbeat since we all got back on the same shift. I just want to know what's going on."

"So, call her on her cell," Catherine offered.

"I tried," Grissom answered. "She won't answer. I keep getting her voicemail, but she won't call me back."

Catherine started to smile. She got a mischievous look in her eye as well. "You know, Grissom, you can really be clueless sometimes. Do me a favor. Look around this lab. You only have the latest in technology at your disposal. Get her phone records and locate her cell phone too."

"Cath, she will kill us if we do that. Also, it is unethical to use the lab's resources for personal business."

Catherine snorted. "If you're worried about Ecklie, what he doesn't know won't hurt him. Besides, she may never ask. You can just tell her you used your powers of investigation. If you're that worried, I'll do it. I'm still on Ecklie's good side, and Sara can be mad at me. We always work it out in the end." With that, Catherine walked out of his office and left Grissom sitting there with his mouth hanging open.

Thirty minutes later, she returned. "Hey Gil, who does Sara know at the California Women's Prison?"

Grissom dropped the pen he was holding. "Dear God, how could I have missed that?" he whispered to himself. "Catherine, did you find out where her phone was at?" he demanded.

"St. Vincent Hospital near the prison. Gil, what's going on? What's Sara doing in California? Isn't all of her family gone?"

"Catherine, I'm going to be gone for a few days. I'm putting you in charge. Tell Ecklie whatever you have to to keep him happy." With that Grissom was gone before Catherine could even find her voice.

Grissom walked briskly out to his car and climbed in. Studying the map he kept in the glove compartment, he plotted out his route. During the entire time, questions kept running through his head. What's going on? Why didn't you feel comfortable telling me? I know about you're mom, why did you think I wouldn't understand? What am I going to do when I see her?

Hours later, he quietly entered the small, sterile hospital room. The dark-haired woman sitting in the chair lifted her head from her hands.

"Grissom, what are you doing here?"

TBC