I'm working pretty speedily, whether anyone's reading or not! Here's chapter two, and no doubt chapter three will be along pretty soon too!

Sara winced as she saw Grissom approaching her the moment she walked through the doors to the lab the next morning.

"Sara, one night does not count as leave."

"I'm fine."

"I didn't ask how you were."

You never do.

"Go home, Sara."

I'm not a bloody dog, Grissom.

"You look a mess. You need the time off – you need to get a hold of yourself. And why am I standing here repeating myself? I told you all this yesterday."

How can he stand there and talk to me as if I were a naughty child and he the headmaster? There was a time when I thought he might care for me. When I cared for him. But I look at him now and there's no emotion – nothing. Who was I kidding? I could go home and never come back and he'd never notice. Actually, worse, he's probably feel relieved. It would be nice for him to get rid of all my mood swings. Why can't he understand that all I need is to talk to someone? A shoulder to cry on; some company one evening. I don't want to return to an empty flat night after night…

"Sara?"

Sara was jolted back to reality by Grissom's hand on her shoulder. Even at a time like this the touch of his hand on her skin sent shivers down her spine. And then the moment passed and she was suddenly aware of a river of tears cascading down her cheeks. She looked into his eye sand could not bear what she saw. No compassion. No concern. Just pity. Pity the poor woman with her raging hormones and no life outside of work.

"Sara, I'm sorry, but we don't want people seeing you like this here."

"Wh-what?"

Could she be hearing him right? She was having an emotional breakdown in the corridor and he was worried about how it might look!

"Of course not, Grissom! We wouldn't want people to think you can't control your staff!"

She stared right through the shocked look on Grissom's face and continued to shout.

"I'll go. Don't you worry. But don't expect to see me back here! You want to know why I'm like this? It's you! You and your bloody job. Well, you can stuff it where the sun don't shine, Gilbert Grissom. Stuff my holiday leave. Stuff the whole poxy job. And stuff you!"

And with that she turned and ran. She ran and ran until she could run no more. And then she sat down and sobbed, as she had done the previous night, and the night before that, and every night for the last few months.

She didn't look back but if she had done, she would have seen Grissom standing in the corridor staring at the doors through which Sara had just fled and struggling to hold back his own tears.

What had he said? He hadn't meant to sound uncaring. Was that how it had seemed? When he told her to go home, and that people shouldn't see her that way, he hadn't meant it the way she'd taken it. He couldn't care less about what people thought of his staff management. But he did care about Sara. And he knew she wouldn't want her colleagues to see her like that. That wasn't the Sara they knew and loved. And it wasn't the Sara he knew and loved either.

Love.

Was that the right word? It was four simple letters yet combined they were so powerful. The implications of them were so great. He had never confessed to anyone that he loved Sara Sidle and certainly had never said it to her ace, so somehow it didn't seem real. As the saying goes, you had to see it, or in this case hear it, to believe it. Yet what he had felt when she had fled the lab, tears running down her cheeks, had been so strong how could it be anything other than love?

Her words resounded painfully in his head. 'You and your bloody job.' Had she meant it? Did the job, and more importantly, Gilbert Grissom himself, cause her so much pain that she had been forced to leave. And was she really not coming back? What would he do if…

"Gil? Gil?"

How long had he been sitting here, pondering? He glanced up to see Catherine Willows staring down at his forlorn figure, a trace of impatience in her face, but far more, concern showing in her eyes. He immediately sat up straight and attempted to regain some composure.

"Yes, sorry Cath, I was miles away."

Realising probing would gain her no further knowledge, Catherine resigned herself to the fact that one day she would find out what was bothering Gil, and continued as though nothing had happened.

"I need to speak to Sara about some of the evidence she processed on the Jennifer Thornton case. Is she around do you know?"

"No."

"Oh." Catherine coughed awkwardly, sensing there was something she was missing. "Well, do you know when she will be?"

"She's gone."

"Don't tell me she's taken some of that leave she's owed? Well, miracles do happen after all."

"No, she's gone. Period. She's not coming back." It hurt him even to say it.

"What?"

"Look, Cath, I'm going to have to speak to everyone together, but later. Now, is there anything I can do for you on the Thornton case?"

"Well, the evidence isn't looking good for Jennifer's boyfriend."

That meant that after all they'd been through, Sara had probably been right with her outburst yesterday.

This day just got better.

Seems like it was time they paid Philip Bowran a visit.

Sara had decisions to make. There was no turning back now. When she sat and thought about it, she wasn't entirely sure how she had kept going as normal for the last few months.

She had already started packing her things away in boxes. She had no where to go, no other job to do, but after the day's events it was as if something in her mind had clicked. She couldn't stay here. She wasn't allowing herself to think of what she was leaving behind, or who she was leaving behind.

The last thing she felt she had to do was get some closure as far as the job was concerned. Her emotions had got the better of her in so many cases and she was determined not to leave Las Vegas with one more ruined case behind her. She had an apology to make, and one last case to deal with before she left.

Seems like it was time she paid Philip Bowran a visit.