Liv woke to find Sara sitting on the other end of the couch. The sky was just starting to lighten. Liv stretched and watched the nature program Sara had on, and waited for her to break the silence.
Eventually Sara took a deep breath, "Why did you do that?"
"Sara, you'd had enough. It was time to leave."
"You've been talking to Jim Brass, haven't you?"
"Yes, I have. And I promised him I'd keep an eye on you. I'm not letting him down, or you."
"I'm not an alcoholic."
"Sara…"
"Brass is just being…it's none of his business." Liv gave Sara a look, daring her to say it was none of her business either.
"What do you care?" Sara asked instead.
"Because I care about what happens to you." Liv pulled Sara's hands so they faced each other, "Sara, I know the signs, and I need you to be aware of the path you're on."
"Oh, you know do you? From coddling some more of your victims?"
"Sara, you're lucky I don't belt you right now. A few years ago I would have. No, that's not why I know." Something in Liv's tone cleared the rest of the fuzz out of Sara's ears. "Sara…my mom was an alcoholic, my whole life. I've lived through the addiction. I know the signs. I know what it does. I thought you were doing okay. Things didn't seem that bad. But one bad day, even with everything else good that's going on, and you were gone. I can't let you keep this up."
"It was just once." Sara said, knowing Liv would see through her lie.
"How far would you have gone if I hadn't stopped you?"
Sara just stared at her, mouth agape.
"I just wanted a little escape." She eventually said.
"You need to know when to stop." Sara so badly wanted to say she knew when to stop, but she didn't. Sara just stared at her hands. "Sara, why does Catherine bother you so much? What is it she does that makes you want to escape?"
"She just…she has everything: renowned in her field, a great kid, a man who loves her more than anything…she has a confidence, a way about her that I will never possess…everyone loves her…including Grissom…"
"But Sara, you don't want Grissom anymore. You have Greg now, and he's so much better for you."
"I know, but I just can't seem to get past it, can't get over it. It's stupid."
"No Sara, it's not stupid. But I need to you recognize that it's a problem. It's something you need to deal with, because it's not going away on its own. I will help you, and Greg will help you, and no one else has to know."
"Really?"
"Yes."
"Thank you, Olivia." She said tearfully, and drew her into a hug. Sara mumbled something into Liv's shoulder,
"What was that, honey?"
"I should tell Jim too." Liv smiled,
"Yeah, I think he'd appreciate that."
TBC...