okay, I promised I'd post two chapters if someone figured out the title and they did! The story is still unbeta-ed but I'm in the process of getting a beta. And I did promise the next chapter, so if you can forgive any mistakes; here you go...

as for the meaning of the title, it will be explained much later...


Catherine found Grissom in his office on his desk, an arm draped over his eyes to block out any light. He had a headache, she realised from his prone position.

"Take your pills?"

"Yes, it's starting to ebb." He made no move to look at his visitor.

"How's she doing?" Catherine asked not needing to elaborate.

"She's acting tough. Like this is an everyday occurrence."

Catherine shrug-nodded even though he didn't see her do it."Not surprised." She replied.

Nick poked his head in the door, a confused look on his face.

"Guys, what's up with Sara?"

Grissom sat up immediately. Catherine noticed his urgency with a bemused expression.

"Why?" he asked standing up and starting down the hallway to the lab he left Sara in.

"Well," Nick started, "I found something on her car, under the windshield wipers so I brought it to her. I came back to ask her if she wanted to help me on some trace evidence, she was crying." He explained as they reached the lab.

The tree CSI speared in and they say Sara clutching something to her chest and shaking visibly.

Catherine and Nick stopped just short of the door while Grissom went in and stood next to Sara. Nick gave Catherine a questioning glance and she cocked her head for him to follow her to the break room.

Grissom careful placed his hand on her shoulder,

"Honey?" he asked tentatively.

Sara sniffled handing him a new note but she continued to grip the new photos. He accepted the note after putting on gloves.

It read:

19,15 2,5,1,21,20,9,6,21,12. 19,15 16,5,18,6,5,2,20.

He knew it wasn't the note that upset her considering that they didn't know what the numbers were about. He glanced down at her; she was holding another set of pictures face in so he couldn't see the contents.

"What's in photos, Sara?"

He had to strain to hear her when she answered so quietly she sounded small.

"I don't want you to see."

Inhaling, he was glad she was finally taking the situation seriously though at the same time he was fucking pissed off that this demented soul had reduced her to a frightened child.

"They have to be processed. Do you want Catherine to do it?" his tone was soft and soothing not like before when he was just being calm.

Sara nodded wordlessly holding the pictures tighter.

"I'm going to go get her; will you be okay until I get back?"

"Yes." She answered in a watery voice.

Grissom reluctantly left hoping to find Catherine alone but when he found her she was sitting with Nick at the table and the young man was livid.

"What are we doing about this?" he asked just barely holding his anger in check.

"Everything we can." Catherine said trying to calm him down.

"Why didn't see tell me before I left? I would have known not to give her the envelope." He looked at up Grissom when he entered the room, "Can I go see her?"

Grissom shook his head,

"No." he turned to Catherine, shaking a bit with anger. "Sara's agreed to let you process the new pictures."

Catherine nodded, patted Nick on the arm and got up. She glanced at Grissom; she could see the hurt in his eyes. She could also see something else in his blue eyes; how much he loved Sara even if he couldn't see it himself…or maybe he could.

"Okay." She said and quickly fixed two mugs of coffee.

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

Catherine set down the mug on the table; she glanced at the nicely piled black and white pics freshly printed. A copy of the first note was set right in the middle of the table.

"Figured that out yet?" she asked.

Sara had stopped crying, her eyes were puffy and red. She still had a death grip on new set of photos and didn't let up when she answered.

"Hm. I thought it was my personal information, credit cards, social insurance, phone number but it doesn't follow any routine. It's not even mathematics. Then after staring at it for a while it started to look like sentences. I was just waiting for Grissom to get back before going to my locker to get my notebook." Her voice was still thick with mucus and she sniffled a few times.

Catherine took a better look at the numbers and saw what Sara was talking about.

"Well, I'll get started on the pictures if you want to work on that."

Sara nodded and reluctantly handed over the photos.

Catherine waited until Sara was out of the room before shuffling through the new pile. Her eyes widened in horror as she was clip after clip of Sara naked, showering and getting dressed in hazy colour. She wasn't there to hear about the cameras in Sara's home but she quickly figured the pictures were stills from video camera.

Sara came back; she was almost as white as a sheet except the redness of embarrassment when she saw Catherine looking through the pictures.

"Oh, Honey. I'm so sorry." Was all Catherine could think to say. She reached out and squeezed Sara's upper arm and Sara shrugged desperately trying to appear indifferent.

"I'm going to an empty lab to work on these." Catherine informed the younger woman.

"Okay, I'm, um, gonna get started here then I'll find Warrick to see how he's getting on." She replied dropping her notebook on the table.

Catherine left without another word. She wasn't sure what else to say, if there was anything else to say.

Sara, grateful, picked up the coffee with one hand and wrote down the alphabet with the other. After aligning the letters with 26 numbers she started on the translation.

9-I,22-V,5-E 2-B,5(2)E(2),14-N 23-W,1-A,20-T,3-C,8-H,9-I,14-N,7-G 21-U 6-F,15-
O,18-R 1-A 23-W,8-H,9-I,12-L,5-E 14-N,15-O,23-W.
21-U,18-R 16-P,5-E,18-R,6-F,5-E,3-C,20-T,9-I,15-O,14-N 2-B,21-U,20-T 9-I,13-M 14-
N,15-O,20-T 12-L,9-I,11-K,9-I,14-N,7-G 23-W,8-H,1-I,20-T 9-I,13-M 19-S,5(2)E(2),9-
I,14-N,7-G.

Taking the second note she did the same:

19-S,15-O 2-B,5-E,1-A,21-U,20-T,9-I,6-F,21-U,12-L 19-S,15-O 16-P,5-E,18-R,6-F,5-
E,3-C,20-T

Sighing she picked up her work and pictures and went to find Warrick wondering with great anxiety what he might have found.

TBC…