A/N Another chapter based on an Unbound Challenge. First and Last lines provided, and limit of 1000 words. I made it within the limit this time.

Thank you to Cybrokat for the Beta.

Grissom froze suddenly; the growl was soft, but dangerous, and coming
from below his waist.

"Sara?" He glanced down at the floor, sure he was no where near contaminating the crime scene. She was scouring the area with the ALS, and, as he had known, at least two feet from where he stood. He'd been in no danger of disrupting her search. Her snarl couldn't have been directed at him, could it? She'd been distant since he'd summoned her from the layout room, where she'd been going over the photographs from the Muniz case. It was a Fish Board case, surely she couldn't be upset
over being pulled away to a new murder. Even now she was glaring at the floor, giving no evidence of having heard him. Her hands clutched the light, and even through her gloves he could see how tightly stretched her skin was around the implement.

Sighing softly, he crouched beside her; his eyes scanning the carpeting almost in tandem with Sara's. He remained that way for a moment, giving her a chance to realize he was there, to respond to his nearness. When she said nothing, did nothing but continue to search the floor, he finally whispered, "No trace?"

She didn't start exactly, though her gaze flicked quickly from the floor to meet his before glancing back down. When she spoke her voice was soft, no hint of the growl from a moment before. "Not a speck." She blew out a long breath, her fingers tightening on the tweezers. "It's okay, Grissom. I've got this."

He nodded, but remained at her side, eyes scanning the knobby brown carpeting. He moved along with her, his own small black light moving in an arc next to hers. He wanted to relax, to relish in the harmony that work often brought them. But he could feel the tension pouring off Sara in waves. "Sara I…I saw Sophia leaving the Layout room earlier."

"Mmhmm."

"Did she apologize?"

"She did."

"Good." He glanced Sara's way, half hoping she would continue, give him more…something. When did it get so hard again, talking to Sara? Something was bothering her, had been since they had left the building. Since the two female CSIs had been together, he might have guessed that Sara's mood had something to do with Sophia, but Sara said she'd apologized. And she hadn't seemed overly upset about the paint incident in the first place. Or, maybe he just didn't want to think too hard about Catherine's insinuation that Sophia's treatment of Sara had something to do with him. "I wanted to…"

"Look, Grissom." She closed her eyes for a moment, hands coming to rest at her sides, fingers tight on her flashlight. "Can we just finish this, please? Sophia apologized. It wasn't your fault, and you really didn't need to make her say anything. It's over, please."

"Okay." He hovered at her side briefly, then reluctantly stood. "I'll finish up in the kitchen and I'll meet you at the car." He remained frozen there another moment, waiting for her to do something more than just nod. When no other acknowledgment came he blew out a rough breath, and moved to the kitchen. When he turned back to glance at her, he thought he caught her head jerking back down to her work, but he couldn't be certain.

So it seemed to go the rest of the night. They processed the house separately, speaking occasionally, but only about the case. Sara was silent on the ride back to the Lab. Not rude, not even cold…just quiet. And Grissom couldn't find a way in, no matter how often he tried. Once back at CSI, Sara took evidence to Mia, and left Grissom to deal with Hodges and their scant Trace.

"Hey boss!" Hodges' voice rang through the lab as Grissom deposited two bagged threads, and what seemed to be half a plastic button on his table. "I guess you heard, huh?"

Of course Hodges would want to talk. He paused in the doorway then turned around, peering at the lab tech over his glasses. "Heard what?"

"About the cat-fight. You know, Sara. Sophia. In the Layout room, earlier." He lifted one of the bagged threads, turning to prepare it for his 'scope. A scowl appeared on his supervisor's face, but Hodges didn't seem to notice. "I mean first with the paint, and then…"

"Hodges."

"Yeah, Boss?"

Grissom's jaw tightened as he nodded toward the evidence. "Process." Halfway out the door he paused again, turning back to the other man."Without your mouth."

He didn't find Sara until they were both in the parking lot after shift had ended. She paused when he called her name, giving him a weary smile as she turned toward him. "You need me for something?"

"Yes…no." He stopped, shaking his head as he looked down. "Sara. What happened with Sophia? Earlier?"

"Nothing, Grissom." Sara gave a quick shrug, not meeting his eyes."Listen. Grissom, I appreciate your…concern. But it was nothing. I don't need…You don't need to be…concerned…about me." She smiled again, though this time all the emotion seemed to be drained from the expression. She climbed into the car, rolling down the window just a crack to whisper,
"Have a good day Grissom."

He stood, for a long time, watching the car disappear down Tropicana. There had been a time when he would have known whether to believe if it really had been 'nothing'. A time he would have known how concerned to be. Now though, he had no idea. "How did this happen?"