AUTHOR'S NOTE: Thank you very much to Dark Princess 87, em j, firestorm13 and csialltheway for your reviews. Please keep R&Ring – reviews are what keep me smiling and my fingers typing. As ever, constructive criticism is most welcome – but flames will be used for cooking purposes.

DISCLAIMER: I still do not own any of the names that you may well recognise. If I did, I reckon that I'd be on some tropical island just about now….

For an instant when Sara woke, the innocence of sleep left the impression of general contentment. In fact, she almost smiled as she saw the late evening sun glowing low in the sky and a gentle breeze rustling the upper reaches of the trees, making the intense heat a little more bearable. A lone bird glided aimlessly through the endless colours of sky and the world, for once, seemed to be at peace.

But it was then that it all came flooding back, the sweet air leaving a bitter taste in her mouth and the sun burning a hole in her very being.

She was filled with an urge to simply turn over and to return to the world that she had been previously enjoying, and yet was wide awake and on her feet within a few seconds. In and out of the shower before it had even had time to warm up, it was only a matter of minutes before Sara was washed and dressed and had forced some food down her throat.

Sara had always been one of those people who the rest of the world dreams of having on their side in times of crisis – someone with the ability to press on no matter the circumstances, someone who can put personal pain on hold, someone who will go on and on and on again… until she breaks. And so it was that it was of no surprise to anyone when she turned up on time for her shift.

'What have we got?' she asked purposefully, tying her hair back as she spoke.

Greg shot a glance at Nick, who looked to Warrick, who, in turn, turned to where Catherine and Grissom were.

Only temporarily thrown, Grissom pressed on with his intended plans. 'Warrick and Nick, we've got a request for our services at a crash on the highway. Truck overturned and they smell foul play. Catherine, you and Greg can take the shooting downtown.'

There was an awkward silence.

'Well, what are you waiting for?' Grissom questioned. 'Get going!'

They didn't need telling twice and, although slightly surprised, they had all learned to accept Grissom's own methods of leadership and trusted that he would take the right course of action.

Once the door had finally closed, Grissom turned to Sara. For the first time in years, she felt scared and slightly intimidated by his presence, although her casual lean against the wall gave away nothing.

'We need to talk,' he tried in a way that Sara had always associated more with the break-up of a relationship than anything work related. Sara said nothing in reply, as if saying that it sounded a lot more like it was him who needed to do the talking.

'You can't go out in the field for a while. Just until this whole thing blows over a bit,' Grissom stated simply, never one to beat about the bush.

The same silence as before screamed frustration on Sara's part and a general discomfort on that of Grissom's. He had expected more of a response from his usually fiery tempered colleague and was more than a little shocked when she met the news with an apathetic shrug.

'Sorry…' he attempted to ease the tension.

'Not you fault. You didn't mess up an investigation.' Sara spoke calmly, surprising even herself by her control of her emotions. 'I'll go down to the labs and lend a hand down there.'

She eased open the door and went straight to where she had said that she'd go, leaving Grissom more than a little dissatisfied with how the brief discussion had gone. While he hadn't exactly been hoping for Sara to be angry with him and to try to convince him that, in fact, she was up to the job and that it was all well out of order, actually that was exactly what he had been hoping for.

Every now and then when he got a free minute, he would go down to the lab to check that everything was alright, to check that it wasn't all an act for Sara to try her own vigilante mission for justice, but it wasn't. She was getting on with the work, as instructed, getting the results, as expected, and showing absolutely no traces of the emotion that Grissom had been expecting. And it was this, more than anything else, which worried him.

The shift was a relatively quiet one, well, that was, until about an hour before the end of it. Grissom was in his office when the call came in – there'd been another homicide outside one of the major casinos and a certain Justin Williams was once again the prime suspect. Grissom said that he'd take it himself and would be there in a few minutes. Several different scenarios were already playing out in his head. Catherine and Greg had finished their case earlier so would be able to help out, but he figured that Sara needed to be told before she found out for herself. And yet he needed to get to the crime scene…

Making a decision, he went to find Greg and Catherine in the break room. They immediately knew that something was wrong when he entered the room and ceased the banter in which they had previously been engaging. Grissom could think of no other way of delivering the information than by simply sticking to the facts.

'We've got a homicide outside one of the casinos in town and it looks like it may well be the work of Justin Williams again. Greg, you and I are going to head down there now before the crime scene gets messed up by any gamblers or feds. Catherine…' Grissom took a breath to make it clear in his own mind that he was dealing with the situation correctly, 'I want you to break the news to Sara and to keep an eye on her.'

Catherine was about to exclaim that she was a CSI, not a babysitter, and should be going to the crime scene to collect evidence, but then saw enough logic behind Grissom's judgement to simply nod. Everyone thought of something that they felt should be said, but none of them said it. They simply got on with what needed to be done in silence, Greg and Grissom grabbing some kit before heading off, while Catherine played over and over in her mind what she was going to say to Sara while walking down to the lab.

For a while she stood in the doorway, watching her colleague at work. While the work seemed routine, it was obvious to Catherine that she was watching a master (or mistress) at work. She was thorough and precise, yet almost seemed to have a degree of flair in her work. Catherine hated to disturb her, but knew what she had to do.

'Sara, can I have a word?' she asked gently.

Sara's head immediately sprang up from the microscope. 'Sounds ominous, but sure.'

'Can we….?' Catherine gestured towards the door and in the vague direction of the break-room.

Sara nodded, got to her feet and led the way out. Following, Catherine could have sworn that something was different about the way she walked. A slightly shorter stride perhaps or maybe she was a bit tenser in her shoulders.

Catherine closed the door behind her as she went into the room and, like Grissom only a few minutes earlier, was unsure how to break the news. 'It looks like Justin Williams has struck again,' she said simply, looking on and waiting for the reaction.

Sara just stood there, taking in the news. 'OK' she said, once again, showing no signs of the expected emotion. 'Is that all? I mean, it's bad news, but I'm guessing you're not going to tell me that I'm needed at the scene so I might as well head back to the lab.'

Catherine was stunned. She'd got the tissues in her pocket in anticipation and had gone over what she would say to console her friend. Yet all that she could do was nod and watch as Sara left the room.

She had never quite understood her younger colleague, nor did she ever expect to do so – nobody did - everybody was constantly surprised by how Sara would act in situations. But for surprising, this just beat the lot. If it was denial, it was one heck of a denial, if she was running and hiding from the truth, then she was running damn fast but if she was planning anything else… – that was what worried Catherine.

Please, please hit that little button at the bottom of the screen that says 'review'!