A/N: Thanks once more to Unspoken for helping out once more during these chapter installments! Without you I would be lost, I'd be "Unbound" g. And a special thank you goes out once more to my beloved beta Cybrokat. I also tip my hat to my technical advisor for all things relating to Psychology- Eliza.

Chapter 10

Grissom woke from the couch in a sweaty mess, he didn't receive a wink of sleep and it showed. His age was starting to show after days of unrest, he avoided sleep at all costs. That is when the memories resurface, when the details become clearer. He had hurt Sara this was a fact, one which he wished would be erased. He didn't even turn towards the coffee maker, his first instinct was to check on Sara. He saw right away that her door was open. After peaking inside he feared the worst when he saw that her bed was neatly made with no sign of her insight. His heart raced as he ran out into the backyard to find that her standing against the garage, talking on the phone.

"Culpepper?" Grissom questioned as he inched closer towards her.

"No really you don't have to come down here I'm fine…I'm sure." Sara lied as she talked into the phone.

"I thought she wasn't going to call..." Grissom waited impatiently for Sara to hang up before he started questioning her actions.

"What the hell Sara? I thought we cleared everything up?" Grissom yelled as his fist was clutched tightly again to control his anger.

"What are you talking about Grissom?" Sara took several large steps backward to further her distance away from him.

"You called Culpepper on me didn't you? Do uou know what that could do to my reputation? To everything I've worked for?" Grissom's voice held a pang of rage which he struggled to control.

"Grissom, I didn't call Culpepper…"

"Don't lie to me Sara…" Grissom yelled as he took several steps towards her until she was cornered between him and the garage. He stared at her long enough for her to start crying as the memories from last night began to resurface.

"And what's going on here?" Agent Culpepper took off his glasses to examine the scene lying out towards him. Grissom gave Sara one last angry glare before walking calmly towards the FBI agent.

"Well I thought that since we were pretending to be married we might as well pretend to have a nice rowdy fight while we were at it." Grissom bitterly retorted as he tried to stare the Culpepper down.

"Uh huh. I'd like to hear Sidle's point of view as she is the one who looks uncomfortable." Culpepper approached Sara and she tried her hardest to hold back her tears.

"I'm fine Agent Culpepper." Sara exclaimed while she rolled back down her long sleeved shirt, shielding her bruises. Culpepper stared at a blue mark that refused to be hidden on her wrists.

"And why would someone be wearing long sleeves in this Miami heat I wonder." Culpepper thought as he continued to examine Sara for any other signs of abuse.

"You know Sara, you would tell me if something was going on between you and Mr. Grissom…Right?" Grissom held his breath as he waited to hear Sara respond.

"Agent Culpepper I am fine. I'm just tired from all the case work." Sara was beginning to become very well at lying as Culpepper gave her a nod.

"I just stopped by to see how things were going. If there is any progress in the case or anything ELSE you would like to talk about just call." Culpepper turned back to Grissom and made his way towards the door. "I'm going to be keeping an eye on you." He whispered back to the CSI before walking away.

Grissom finally drew in a breath when he realized that Culpepper was finally gone. He slowly approached Sara, hoping that she still wasn't scared.

"Sara, I would just like to thank you for not saying anything to Culpepper back there." Grissom leaned forward to kiss Sara's cheek and she immediately backed away. Feeling defeated, Grissom loomed towards the house and let Sara have her solitude. He could only hope that she could calm down and perhaps open up to him once more.

Later that night

Grissom read over the case files in hope of gaining a better understanding of the serial killer when the doorbell rang. Sara was inside her bedroom but quickly walked out when she heard someone at the door.

"Who would be here at this time of night?" Sara wondered as she opened the door. Her heart beat rapidly as to who was standing before her.

"Hey girl how are ya'?" Nick asked. He was rewarded with an overpowering hug from Sara. "Umm, hi to you too." Nick exclaimed. Sara continued to hug Nick even harder when Grissom got up from his seat.

"What are you doing here Nick?" Grissom now wondered if Sara had told the team about his actions.

"This week is my week of vacation remember? I'm staying in Miami for a couple of days, catching some rays for a bit…Ummm, I remembered you guys were doing an undercover Op in this place so I decided to stop by." Nick reached for Sara's hand when she quickly pulled out of his grasp.

"What's wrong Sara?" Nick asked as Sara held one of her bruised wrists. Trying to hide her injuries, Sara pushed down her sweater further, making Nick more curious by the second. Sara remained silent as she continued to look at Nick helplessly, she was too afraid to talk.

"Nothing is wrong with Sara Nick. So… if you could just get on your way." Grissom tried to corner Nick to the door but he refused to back down.

"No I want to know why Sara looks like she's scared of her mind Griss." Nick pushed Grissom aside and started to walk closer to Sara. He saw the darkness of the bruises on her wrist as her shirt slid up her arm once more. Nick wasn't getting a good gut feeling about this situation.

"Grissom where the hell did Sara get bruises on her wrists?" Nick demanded to know why Sara was in so much pain.

"I have no clue Nick why don't you ask her? You two have always held a certain rapport." Grissom glared once more at Nick before slumping back on the sofa to watch the two CSI's interact.

Nick put his arms protectively around Sara once more which made Grissom snap in anger. "Oh so now that I'm out of the trees I can almost see the forest." Grissom sarcastically quoted. "You two talk away! I'll just leave you alone." Jealously overpowered Grissom to the fullest extent as he slammed his bedroom door. The action made Sara jump and then start to cry.

"He scares you doesn't he? What has been going on Sara?" Nick calmly asked. Sara just wrapped her arms harder around Nick, using him as a shield from any potential danger.

"Everything is fine Nick." Sara remained in denial as she repeated the same mantra in her mind.

"Everything is not fine Sara. You have bruises on your arms and you're shaking. Did he do this?" Nick never imagined his quiet well mannered supervisor being capable of any violence, although Grissom did have many secrets.

"I got them cause I fell down the stairs." Sara lied knowing very well that Nick was smart enough to look past her fabricated stories.

"Yeah sure and the stairs just happened to leave bruises in the form of hands on both wrists." Nick rolled up Sara's sleeves exposing her injuries more clearly. Sara just remained silent, scared that Grissom would storm out of the bedroom unleashing his anger once more.

"Alright let's not talk right now…I'm taking you to dinner." Nick exclaimed as he grabbed Sara's jacket.

"I'm not hungry." Sara stated while still hovering extremely close to Nick. She followed him around like a lost puppy, very out of character for the independent co-worker he once worked with.

"You can have dessert then." Nick announced as he gently guided Sara outside and into his rented Mustang.

"You rented a Mustang Nick?" Sara managed to let out a laugh as Nick rolled down the hood.

"Ya' of course! I'm in Miami, I gotta live large and pick up the honeys!" Nick grinned as he made his way towards the restaurant.