Disclaimer: I do not own anything about CSI.

A/N: Special thanks to GeekLoveFreak (for beta-reading and everything), Unspoken (for wonderful ideas), Andromeda and Teryl (for guidelines and advices), obsessed, Kristy, Grissomsbutterfly, ash, and everyone who read and reviewed this story. It means a lot to me. Thank you very much.

CHAPTER 2

In Sara's mind, there were lots of questions floating around - - why was she here in Vegas? How could this happen? Who did this to her? Her head was spinning as flashes of her tragic childhood came back to haunt her. The flashes of the fights, the yelling, the fists, the stabbing and the foster families were running through her throbbing head. Here she was, standing, staring at the person she loved, who had raised her and made her become who she was. Her heart was racing and her breathing became short and ragged as she was trying to accept the reality in front of her. Although she knew by heart who the person was, she couldn't help keep asking herself the same questions again and again. Her head pondered 'Is it really her?' 'No, it can't be.' She closed her eyes, hoping that when she opened them again, this nightmare would have gone away. But it hadn't.

Grissom stared worryingly at Sara's still form, noticing that her breathing had become shorter and quicker. He realized that she was on the verge of having a panic attack. He had known and been working with her for a long time, but he had never seen her like this. Seeing her reaction, he came to the conclusion that this dead woman wasn't just another victim to her. Not just one of the tougher cases, the ones she got emotional over. 'But how?' he wondered. Sara Sidle wasn't the type of person who liked to go out. Besides her friends from the lab, she didn't have many friends. Let alone this old woman. He took a look at the lifeless body on the damp ground and then turned to Sara. Seeing her blood-drained face, he pushed his thoughts aside and a look of concern covered his face. He was afraid that she was going to pass out any minute.

He reached out to her and gently touched her arm. "Sara."

She jumped a mile when the feel of his hand on hers pulled her out of her deep trance. She was aware of her surroundings again and then she felt her chest tighten. She couldn't breathe. Her mind was foggy. She felt as if she was underwater gasping for air. Hearing Grissom calling her name, Sara tried to respond, but she couldn't form a tone. She knew he was concerned about her and wanted to help, but she didn't want him to see her like this – weak and vulnerable. She had let her guard down once and had let him see her weakness when she had told him about her past. After that night, she had promised herself she would never expose herself like that again. What she wanted right now was to get out of there. Fast.

She finally found her voice and croaked out. "Get out of my way."

That came out wrong. She didn't want it to sound so cold and harsh like that, but she just wanted to get away from this haunting place as fast as she could. Without looking at him, she pulled her arm out of his grasp, made her way past him and Brass, who had seen the situation the whole time, and then ran into the darkness.

Grissom knew she needed her space and that he should leave her alone for a while, but he was worried about her. He needed to check on her how she was doing. Turning to Brass, he told him what to do with the body.

"We'll catch you later." Grissom said to the captain but his eyes were looking into the direction where Sara had left to.

Brass just nodded, understanding that the two probably needed to talk. He was also worried about Sara. She was like a daughter to him. Being concerned, he wanted to know what had happened here as much as Grissom did. He could have asked her about that but he thought Grissom was the only one whom she trusted and opened up her heart to.

"Go see her, Gil." He said to his friend and left to take care of the body as he was told.

"Thank you." Grissom nodded absently and then ran after her.

Grissom found Sara leaning against the hood of the Tahoe, trying to control her breath. He slowly approched her.

"Are you okay?" His voice was laced with worry.

"Grissom." Sara spun around and found him standing behind her. Feeling regret about what she had done earlier, she quickly apologized to him. "Grissom, I...I'm sorry I pushed you away. I didn't mean to --"

"Hey, it's okay. Don't worry about it." He interupted her before she could finish what she was trying to say, and gave her an assuring smile.

"Are you sure you're okay?" He asked again.

Avoiding his eyes, she looked down at the ground and responded. "I'm okay. I think I just needed some air, that's all. It's just..." Shaking her head; trying to get rid of the image of the dead body she ran away from, she continued. "I just didn't expect to see her...like this."

Although he had sensed that she somehow was connected to the victim, he still had to ask her.

"Do you know who she was?" He asked her softly.

She nodded, and for the first time since they had arrived at the scene, she looked at him. "That's my mother." Taking a deep breath, she corrected herself. "My foster mother - Anne Jensen."

His mind was blocked for a moment as he took in what she had just told him. Thinking back about the night he had held her hand, the night when she had revealed her past, he realized he was the only one who knew about it; the domestic violence, the crime, and the life after that. He might not have known everything about her time with her foster families – whether they were good or bad, but judging her action, saying 'mother' instead of 'foster mother,' he assumed that they must have been really close. He looked deeply into her eyes and all he could see were the saddest eyes he had ever seen, which were now flooded with tears.

"I'm so sorry, Sara." All his sorrow and compassion for her were lying in these few words.

She remained silent as she felt the moisture in her eyes growing more and more. Turning her face away from him, she stared at nothing but empty spaces. The sun started to come out from its hiding place, shining a slight ray of light into the morning sky. The scenery looked so beautiful, but not to Sara – since it was now painted with pain and sorrow...and memories. The two CSIs were drawn into their own thoughts – neither of them had said anything until...

"I don't know what to do, Grissom..." Came her cracked voice. She turned around to see him watching her, and their eyes met. "I don't know if I can deal with it...I don't..."

Grissom's heart broke as he watched her trying to hold back the tears and emotions that tried to break free. He didn't care if someone would walk in on them and see what he was about to do. All he wanted to do right now was to comfort her. To tell her that everything was going to be okay. Suddenly he stepped closer and put his arms around her.

Holding her tightly, he whispered. "I won't let you go through this alone, Sara. You can count on me for that."

And that was it. She couldn't hold it anymore. The walls she had built to save herself from more pain, crumbled down. Tears streamed down her face when she finally broke down in his warm embrace.

TBC

A/N - Thank you everyone for reading and reviewing. I hope I didn't disappoint anyone.