Disclaimer: Don't own CSI and all of that stuff.
A/N: Thanks to my great Beta Dana, I love you Banana Peel. hugs
Chapter One: A Case is Just a Case…Right?
She told Grissom a secret, one that he thought was her deepest and darkest. What she hid was something that she thought she left back at Harvard. The secret was, after all her reason for leaving everything behind. She began to feel that a shadow was slowly closing in on her. Everyday it got closer and little did Sara know it was going to explode on the people around her. Her past was about to relive itself through the eyes of a new generation of girls; girls who were like her, were afraid to tell. So scared they wouldn't be believed and in a way they were scared that they would be. It's hard to get over these things as many know, or will find out. It's hard to get past the looks one, gets and the whispers. Maybe that is why Sara kept quiet all this years.
Sara was sleeping, something she didn't do very often. When she did sleep she was haunted by ghost from the past. Sometimes they came to her in shadows and others it was more vivid, as if were happening again. The dreams weren't always the same. One night it could be about the abuse she sustained from her father, or her mother stabbing her father to death. Then others it was about the rape. She hated those the most. She often woke up screaming from them, feeling physically hurt. After all these years that man still got to her. Sometimes she wished she would've reported it but she was young and from parents that weren't very upstanding citizens and he was a highly respected city council member. Sara was young and scared so she did the only thing she knew she could do, she ran. Now she lay in bed tossing and turning, fighting the demons the plagued her subconscious.
He sat next to her as they looked over her notes. She could smell him more strongly than she ever had before. The mix of Old Spice and pipe tobacco lingered in her airway as his hand started to run up and down her back. "Professor Featherhuf, please don't." Shrugging her shoulders her body started to tense up as she extended the distance between her and him. She shivered as he pulled her close to him and started to kiss her. She struggled to push him away but the more she fought the more he persisted. At some point in the struggle they ended up on the floor. Tears were streaming down her face as he kissed her neck. He took her hands and placed them under him as he sat on her chest. She watched as he pulled a roll of tape out of the drawer in the coffee table. Peeling a piece off he placed it over her mouth. Her hands were taped next; then he pulled her up and shoved her over and against the bookcase. She saw him pull a couple books off and push it forward. The hidden room contained a bed and cameras. He threw her on the bed and tied her there. Her pants were pulled off, and then he cut her shirt down the middle. The flashing of the camera was blinding. As her eyes tried to refocus she felt his hands slide into her underwear and pull them off. She felt him climb onto her. Her eyes were clamped shut afraid to look at him. Some how she thought if she closed them tight enough it would be a dream. She felt him enter her and she cried out in pain. Her whole body felt like it was on fire. She started to struggle to breathe and her head begun to spin. Then she didn't feel anything. When she finally came to she was untied and he was gone. Every muscle in her body ached as she pulled herself out of the bed and grabbed her clothes. Out in the other room she collected her books and put on her jacket covering her exposed chest. Then she ran, ran for her life, ran to what waited her. When she got home she decided she would keep quiet, she had to. She took a hot shower, she wanted to feel clean; but she wouldn't feel clean ever again.
Sara sat straight up in bed cold feeling sweat pouring down her face mixed with the hot tears streaming from her eyes. She pulled her knees to her chest and cried softly. Hearing the shower shut off she quickly lay back down and dried her eyes. She felt him get in bed and turn so he was facing her. Her eyes opened when he touched her face. "Hey when did you get home?" Sara moved closer to him and gave him a kiss. She never thought he would be the one she would share beds with. Tonight she slept in his. It's funny how she can sleep better in his bed than in hers. Even with the nightmares, Sara figured it was safer than her place. In his house and in his arms nobody could find them.
They were keeping a tight seal on the relationship at the moment. It wasn't like they were ashamed of each other; they just needed to be alone for awhile. The group was great but sometimes they could be over whelming, especially when it came to one of them dating. Least of all, him and her dating each other. So firstly they needed to get comfortable with each other before anyone could know. They both knew there would be questions, questions that they themselves have yet to discuss. They were slowly talking about what they wanted out of each other, out of their relationship. Right now they didn't need others butting into what they had.
Nick smiled at Sara pulling her closer to him. "Was home an hour ago, you were sleeping. So I just jumped into the shower." He pushed the hair out of her face and looked into her eyes. He could tell she had been crying and suddenly felt bad for not being there. He kissed her lips as he pulled her so she would lie under him. "You want to talk about it beautiful?" He wasn't at all surprised when she shook her head. "Okay then what do you wand to do?" He laughed as Sara pulled him into a kiss. "Well I can handle that." His hands started to go up her top. His kisses made their way down her neck and onto her collar bone. The ringing of the phone stopped him from getting any further. "Stokes" He looked at Sara and rolled his eyes. Hanging up the phone he started to give her more kisses again. "I would love to stay here, but that was Cath…" He Kissed her one more time, got ready and left.
Nick met Catherine at an apartment just off campus of LVU. "Hey Nick sorry to call you back; but I really need your help on this one." Catherine looked in the room where two girls sat. One held a bag talking to the other girl whose knees were to her chest and had damp hair. "Roommate said she came home and could hear the girl crying in the shower. After she was finished she went in and she found clothes in the trash. The girl says she wasn't raped but…I don't know, she acts like she was." Catherine didn't know what to do. The girl said it didn't happen but her body language said other wise.
Inside the apartment the two girls talked to each other. "Eli, its okay to tell them the truth, about what happened tonight. You can't let him win, you need to tell." Izzy wouldn't usually push people to do what they didn't want to but she was scared for her friend. She knew Eli was raped, so she did the only thing she knew how, she helped her. Izzy gently touched her shoulder and hoped one day she could forgive her. "Eli I'm sorry, but you need help. I couldn't just sit back and watch you suffer. I had to do something." She was taken back when her friend shoved her away.
Eli was scared to talk about the rape. She knew she should and she knew she shouldn't have taken that shower. Then again who would believe her? Even if they found the photos he took of her, they may still not believe her. Eli didn't know who to turn to. Her best friend in the world went against her and called the cops. In a way she was glad, but on the other hand she was so angry. She wanted it to go away, now it looked like it wouldn't. "Izzy I told you to leave it alone. Why couldn't you just drop it? Why?" She started to cry as she buried her head into her knees. "Please, just leave me alone. Just leave me alone." She wanted them to leave her in her solitude, yet she wanted them to help her. She was so confused. She didn't truly know what she wanted or needed.
Sara couldn't get back to sleep after Nick left so she decided to get up and finish her new crime novel. She had only read a few pages when her cell phone started to scream at her. "Sidle", she answered. Taking in what was being said on the other line she hung up and went to take a shower. She stood in the shower thinking about her own rape. For some reason she couldn't shake it off tonight. Sara didn't know how long she was in there but the water started to go cold. She snapped out of the memory, finished up and then got dressed and left. Sara was called into work Nick and Catherine's case as they needed help. So now it was all hands on deck.
Nick smiled at Sara as she walked down the hall towards him. "So they coned you into coming in and helping I see." He took her hand while looking around, and then he kissed it. He didn't notice that he still had a hold of her hand as he pulled her into the locker room. "Come here a minute." He pulled her into his arms and started to kiss her as he moved her so her back was against the lockers. "I wish we were at home in bed, beautiful." They stood there with their foreheads touching and holding hands while they talked. "Come on lets go see if everyone is here." He stepped away from her and walked hand and hand out the door. He was surprised when she didn't let go of his hand. He pulled her close to him and draped his arm over her shoulder and smiled to himself as her head came to rest on his.
Sara relaxed for the first time all night as she and Nick walked down the hall in each other's arms. She didn't care anymore what people thought of them being together. They were a couple and if the rest of team had a problem with that it was just too bad, they would have to deal with it. She loved him and wanted to start showing it in public. She couldn't think about when she changed her mind. It was strange she thought. A couple hours earlier she was not ready, but now she didn't care. Maybe it had to do with her nightmare, but right now she didn't seem to care. She was in his arms safe and happy.
Grissom happened to come around the corner just after Nick and Sara walked out of the locker room. His heart sank as he saw the site in front of him. 'Is she dating Nick? Have I lost her? How long have they been together? Am I too late?' All those questions immediately popped into his head. He was jealous of Nick, he was with Sara. His Sara. All he could do was stand there and watch him hold her. He wished it was him holding onto her, walking with her. He wondered what it would feel like to touch her skin. To hold her so close, his blood raced through his blood stream at the thought. He knew what he needed to do; some how he had to win her heart to tear hers away from Nick. He had to show her he was the man she was supposed to be with.