A/N – Again. I suck! I know I don't get these up fast enough…finals are looming ahead though – but ill be done classes soon and I love to finish up this story and my other one by new years… We'll see! BTW – to clear some confusion, this story is taking place at some point in season 5, after Grissom finds out about Sara's past, but Nick hasn't been buried alive.

Chapter 23:

"You already knew that Sara's Mom…" Grissom nodded to Brass, who seemed extremely concerned about the news he had found out. He placed a newspaper clipping on Gil's desk. "I wanted to look a bit further into her past, what happened with her brother."

"See if he's a real threat or not." Jim nodded. Grissom picked up the paper and read aloud. "Sidle, a mother of two, 8 year old Sara and 15 year old Daniel has been sentenced to life in prison, without parole for the vicious murder of her husband. Sources say that her daughter witnessed the altercation that eventually led to the death of her father. Both children are in the custody of social services." He looked up at Brass.

"Why didn't she tell any of us?"

"She didn't want people to know. She wanted to move past what had happened. I think she was scared to turn into her mother. Though, I wouldn't doubt if Catherine knew this by now. Strangely enough, she seems to know more about Sara than any of us do."

"It's a good thing." Brass gave him a small smile, "it's not like any of us will ever understand women." His face returned to seriousness. "However, I think we still need to find out where he is. Did you find any evidence linking him to the rapes?" Grissom shook his head no.

"Doesn't mean there isn't any. There's a pile of evidence that hasn't be processed, but since we've "solved" the case and arrested two men, it probably will never be. And we can't keep dragging this case on and on. For now, this remains between us." Brass nodded in agreement. They didn't notice the brunette standing just outside.

"He's not involved." She said firmly, her eyes filled with fire, mixed with tears of frustration. "Can't you just let it go?" She walked away quickly. Grissom shot up quickly, casting a glance at Jim. They didn't know if she'd run, or what she'd do. They had been trying to protect her from getting upset; they didn't know how she would react. Jim said quickly,

"Let me talk to her." Grissom nodded and Brass hastily ran down the hall in the direction Sara had gone.

-+-+-

"Hey Rick?" Nick asked as he sorted through the trash strewn about the liquor store. "Do you think burglary is ever going to go out of style?" Warrick chuckled.

"Not in our lifetime."

"Look at all the prints we have. Video camera – this guy's an idiot." Nick responded.

"Well," replied Warrick, "It's not like you need a university degree to become a criminal."

"I'm going to take this stuff back to the lab – you okay here?" Warrick nodded, but shot a concerned glance at his friend.

"You're checking up on Sara, aren't you?" Nick looked back sheepishly.

"I just want to make sure she's okay." Warrick nodded.

"How has she been doing lately? I haven't had much time to talk to her." Nick shrugged.

"She's getting there. It's hard but she's stubborn and anxious to recover. I'm worried about her going out into the field though. I think it's too soon, but I'm sure Grissom won't let her for a few more weeks at least."

"Go see how she's doing – I'm fine here. Not more much to do anyways."

"Thanks Warrick." Nick said, as he hurried out the door.

-+-+-

Brass found Sara sitting in the break room, her eyes red with tears. He took a deep breath before sitting down beside her. He wished he could take away her pain; he wished that he could make it all go away.

"Are you okay?" He asked quietly. She nodded. "Do you want to talk about it?" She didn't move. They sat in silence for a few moments until Sara began to speak in a small voice.

"I still dream about it, you know. Hiding under the bed. Watching him hit her. She was going to turn him in. For everything. She had said she was going to do it before, but this time she was serious…"

"How did you know she was serious this time?" Sara tried to fight the tears that welled up in her eyes.

"Because she had caught him…in my bedroom…" She responded, in almost a hollow sounding voice. Brass thought he was going to lose his lunch. Five years, and no one knew the trauma Sara had gone through as a child. She continued, "She took a knife. He ran into my room, so I hid under my bed. He was going to use me, to hide behind. He knew my mom would never hurt me. She got to him before he could get to me. As he lay on the ground, my mom pulled me out from under the bed. She wiped the blood that had splattered on my face. She told me that things were going to change. That Daniel and I would be safe. That no matter what, Daniel and I needed to stay close together, for her. Then they took her away. And they took me away."

"What happened to you and your brother?" Brass asked kindly. This was the information they needed. Maybe there was something between them that would show if her brother would come after her.

"We were put into the same foster home. A few times I had caught him doing bad things. Found some pot under his bed, caught him stealing… He told me every time, that if I didn't want to turn out to be a murderer like mom, I would keep my mouth shut. So I did. He turned 18 two years later. I was almost 11. He pulled me aside and told me he was leaving. And that was the last time I had seen him." She started to cry, and Brass pulled her close.