"Can I help you?" Ecklie stared at the young woman that was standing in front of him. She looked him straight in the eye, tight lipped. "Yeah," she spoke confidently, "I'm looking for Sara Sidle, is she in the field?" Ecklie raised an eyebrow, "Yeah, she is… who are you?" She glared at him.

"My name is Marissa Sidle." Ecklie stared at her.

"Hey Sara," Greg jogged up to his friend, holding pieces of paper. "I got you DNA results on the hairs from your dead guys pants. They match the vic." Sara sighed; they currently had no suspects on the case the team was working. "Oh," Greg added, "There's some girl waiting to see you. Marissa… Sidle?" Sara stared at him, "Oh my god."

"So, who is she?" Greg asked suspiciously. "Long lost sister?" he joked. Sara shook her head, gaze far away, "She's my niece. Greg laughed. "What!"

"My dad got my mom pregnant a month before he went to jail," a voice said from the door. The resemblance between the girl and Sara was striking, with the exception of their eyes. Marissa's were silver. "He doesn't know I exist, but I took his name. My mother put me up for adoption when I was three," she laughed hollowly, "Taking care of me was costing her the money she could have spent on drugs."

Greg's eyes widened. "Oh Sara, by the way," Marissa said. "That bald guy, kinda tall; stiff. I think he said he was the Days supervisor? He's a total ass." Sara laughed and Greg said, "Oh yeah, hating Ecklie. There's a definitely a family resemblance."

"Hey Sara," Nick walked into the room, not noticing Marissa. "Did ya'll get the DNA results? Uh, Greg? Snap out of it man." Greg was still staring at Marissa, a lopsided grin on his face. "Nick followed his gaze to the teenager. He had to do a double take. "Holy!" he looked at Sara for an explanation. Sara smiled at him, "This is my niece, Marissa. This is Nick." Sara then pointed to Greg, who's head snapped to attention. "And the idiot who was drooling over you, Marissa, is Greg." Marissa laughed, shaking Nick's hand and grinning at Greg. He smiled, sheepishly.

"Niece huh?" Nick smiled. "You could pass for twins if you were the same age." There was silence for a moment, but Nick interrupted, by taking the DNA papers from Greg. "Um, I've gotta go," Sara told Marissa. "But you're welcome to hangout here with Greg." She gave Greg a warning look, "Just don't let him flirt too much or he'll ask you out, even if you don't flirt back."

"Hey!" Greg mock-whined, "I have a way to do things, er, slowly and smoothly. Warrick's the one who'll ask a girl out the second she gets near him." Nick looked pointedly at Greg; Sara laughed pulling Nick out the door by his arm.

On the way to the coroner, Nick looked at Sara, "How is she your niece, I mean, did your brother have a girlfriend before he went to jail?" Sara nodded stiffly, "She was a drug addict, worse than him. What a bitch." She smiled bitterly, "You know, sometimes I wonder if she was the one who supplied him. I mean, she was stocked with drugs. Maybe if he had dumped her… she was cheating on him. But he was an idiot who was wasted. He didn't do anything."

Nick didn't respond, surprised at Sara's openness. Especially with him. She only seemed to talk to Grissom about personal issues.

"Are you holding something against her, Marissa I mean?" Nick asked, looking concerned. Sara wheeled on him, angrily. "I'm not!" She looked at the floor, walking more swiftly. Nick put his hand on her shoulder. "I'm sorry."

She said nothing.

"Hey Greg?" Marissa smiled, "Is it fun. Working here in the lab?" He grinned, "Well, if I were in the field I could be admired more often than usual by Sara." Marissa laughed, but stopped short, "Sometimes I envy her." She looked down, "She has friends that would do anything for her. She has a career. Sometimes I get angry and jealous, because I don't have friends. I've always been a loner. And I don't know what to do with my life; I haven't gone to college either. And yet, I know that she had a tougher childhood than me. I mean, I don't remember living with my mom, and even though I wasn't adopted, life was good. I could have friends by reading any book; I could build myself a life in my mind. And my dad wasn't murdered, I have no brother to speak of." Greg frowned sympathetically, saying, "Your lives are similar in some ways, you both know pain." He wrapped his arms around her. And though he was a stranger, a crying Marissa fell into his embrace.
"So, cause of death?" Sara looked straight at Doc Robinson, avoiding Nick's eyes. "COD was strangulation," Al said. "There are bruises on his neck, and defensive wounds on his feet." He showed a purple-black blotch on the vic's head. "He fought back with his bare feet and even his forehead." Sara raised an eyebrow, "Not hands?"

"There were deep gashes on his wrists," Al held up the body's arm. "It hints the presence of a rope or wire, tying his arms tight. The killer removed it post mortem."

Sara nodded, taking a sample of white fibers that were in the victim's wrist wound. "By the size of the bruises on his neck," Al continued. "I'd say your killer is an adult male."

"Thanks doc," Nick said as he and Sara left the autopsy room. There was an awkward silence between the two. "Sara," Nick interrupted the moment. "I'm really sorry. I know it's a hard thing to talk about." Sara nodded shortly, before saying, "I'll take this to Greg." She held up the evidence bag containing the white fibers. "Why don't you see if Warrick's got anything on the finger tips from the vic's door." Nick nodded, not wanting to push Sara anymore.

TBC