POV-Brass

------------------------------------------

I was the first to find out that she was leaving, but I don't believe she meant for it to be that way...just happenstance. We all had gone out for supper and after everyone had left their money for the check and left, it was just she and I left at the table. We sat and talked over several glasses of a nice red wine and after about an hour she spilled. She said she was unhappy and wanted more out of life than to be at the beckoned call of an impossible to please reluctant authoritarian.

Deciding that we'd had quite enough to drink, I paid the bill and we walked the strip to sober up a bit. She said that she'd requested and had been granted a transfer to another department and was to leave us in two week's time. I tried, Lord knows I tried to stop her leaving but she wasn't to be dissuaded. A bit unsteady on her feet, she slid her arm through mine and took my hand in hers. I stopped at this contact and looked over at her. Raising her hand to rest her open palm on my face, she told me that I was her best friend here in Vegas and that she'd never forget me.

I've always had feelings for her, maybe stronger than they should have been, but they were there regardless. I knew she didn't share my feelings so I stood back and watched as she got her heart tromped on repeatedly...first by that Hank guy, secondly by some physics professor at LVU and lastly by Gil. I knew that if she'd have just given me the chance I could have made her happy and in turn, maybe she would have stayed. But I kept my feelings and thoughts in check tried to put her out of my mind in that respect. But then and there, as we walked the strip and still feeling the alcohol somewhat, I told her how I felt. She said it was sweet of me but that her mind had already been made up and there was no point in trying to keep her here.

After a couple of hours wandering, we walked back to the lab and I drove her home. Entering her apartment all that was there was her bed and a phone by the bedside table. She was still a bit wobbly, so I put her to bed and that's when she grabbed my arm, asking me to stay with her until she fell off. I took off my jacket and sat in bed beside her. All the while as I watched her sleep I tried to think of anything I might be able to do or say that might make her stay but came up empty.

When I woke I was alone, save for a note scribbled on a piece of paper on the bedside table beside me. Unfolding it, I read it.

"Jim, I want to thank you for your invaluable friendship, counsel and support these past five years. You'll never know how much it has meant to me. Out of all the lab guys you were the only one I ever felt that I could confide in completely, and for that I am truly thankful. By the time you've read this I'll be well on my way to my new position but I'll always have the memories of you and I as well as the others to keep my heart warm. When I've settled in I'll be in contact, but until then I'll be adjusting. Thank you for everything. Much Love and Complete Respect, Sara."

She was gone. She never did get back in touch with me or anyone else for that matter, but I'll always have the memories of our last night together as a reminder of how much she meant to me and how much I missed her...and still miss her.