Hello readers! Here's the next story in this little twisted series...We started with "Remorse", went to "Denial", then to "Jealousy", "Shadows", and now we're here on "Betrayal". I wouldn't even begin to have an idea what to call this. lol.

I live for feedback, so please be kind and hit the reply button, especially if you want me to continue. Replies are what makes the world go 'round. Or at least what gets me writing. Thanks to Emmithar for assisting me with the end of this chapter, if she wasn't around, we wouldn't have gotten this far, because I would have quit somewhere around chapter 2 of Shadows. You're the best. I dedicate this to her.

Sara and Nick this chapter, Greg and Angelle will make an appearance next chapter, as well as Catherine and Warrick (haven't forgotten them). Hopefully I'll have something up bynext weekend if replies are inspiring enough.

Jenny

Betrayal:

"It's a great musical." Sara complained, "It's so much better than the Discovery channel special on sharks."

Nick threw a piece of popcorn at her, "Weren't you ever taught that you shouldn't control the remote at other people's houses?"

"Isn't this a movie-fest to cheer me up?" Sara protested with a smile, "We're watching Rent."

Nick groaned, taking the DVD from her hand and walking to the entertainment center, "You're the last person on earth that I thought would like Rent."

"Why? I like music. I like movies. It's a good story." Sara said with a content smile as she nestled herself into the couch, "Except for the part where--"

Nick held up his hand, "I don't want to hear it, you'll ruin the movie for me."

"You don't even want to watch it."

"But I am, so you have to at least give me the pleasure of watching it without you telling me everything that is going to happen." Nick replied, throwing the remote to her, "Another beer?"

Sara nodded, finishing off the last of her first bottle, "Definitely."

Nick wandered into the kitchen, leaving Sara alone in the bedroom, accompanied only by her own troubling thoughts. It had been three long weeks since Greg's attack, and she still hadn't been allowed to see him, despite her daily efforts to visit and/or call him. Every call was intercepted by that horrible woman, Angelle, and every nurse on Greg's floor had been instructed by her not to let any visitors enter. Catherine, Grissom, and Warrick had gone by twice to visit, only to be turned away.

She had been relying heavily on Nick for companionship and comfort since Greg's attack, and she had been surprised to find that all of the animosity between them had instantly vanished that night in the hospital. He had been nothing but supportive, he had even tried to get her in to see Greg, only to be turned away just as the others had been.

She took a deep breath, refusing to let herself get upset right now. She couldn't cry on Nick's shoulder again, that was all she had been doing for weeks now. She was jolted out of her thoughts when Nick sank onto the couch, holding the brown bottle out to her, "Your beer."

"Thanks." Sara replied, taking it from him and pointing the remote at the TV, "You'll love it, I don't know anyone who doesn't like Rent."

Nick rolled his eyes, taking a swig of his beer, "I don't do musicals, Sidle."

A little over two hours later, Sara was turning the DVD player off, wiping tears from her eyes, only to look at Nick and see he was doing the same.

"You liked it." She stated, a grin on her face, "Admit it, you liked it. You cried."

Nick shook his head, blushing slightly, "I'm not crying, I just got something in my eyes."

"Yeah, tears." Sara scoffed, "You liked it."

Nick stood, stretching, "It was long."

"But you liked it."

Nick rolled his eyes, "Okay, you win, I liked it. I even have some of the stupid songs stuck in my head."

"Yeah, that's the downfall of Rent, you'll be singing the songs for days, even if you don't know the words." Sara replied with a smirk, "If you really want to, we can watch your Shark documentary now."

Rubbing his eyes, Nick shook his head, "Nah, I'm going to hit the sack. Feel free to crash here, you've more than a couple of beers...I don't know if you want to chance it."

"Yeah, I'll take the couch." Sara replied, grabbing the throw blanket she had been covered with during the movie, "Can I catch a ride with you to work tonight?"

Nick nodded as he yawned, pointing this thumb towards his bed, "You take the bed, I'll sleep on the couch." Seeing her gearing up to protest, he shook his head, "I insist."

"Thanks." Sara replied, heading towards his room, pausing in the doorway, "Nicky?"

Nick looked up, meeting her gaze, and she smiled, "Thanks for everything you're doing for me."

"I hardly call watching a musical something to thank me over." Nick replied with a wink to show her he knew exactly what she had been talking about.

As Nick made himself comfortable on the couch, Sara sank onto his soft bed, rubbing her eyes tiredly. She made a motion to turn off his bedside lamp, but as her fingers brushed against the phone cord. She paused for a moment before picking up the phone. With a resigned sigh, she began dialing a number she had learned by heart, she hoped she'd be able to get through.

Nick sighed as he closed his eyes, knowing that this time couldn't possibly be any different from the rest. Every night she'd make the same phone call, argue with the same receptionist, only to slam the phone down in frustration after her call was inevitably denied. He would ask her if she was okay, she'd insist that everything was fine. After all, Greg was a grown man, he could choose who he wanted to speak with. She'd follow with a statement that if he didn't need her, that was all the better, because she could function perfectly well without him. She would turn off the lamp before he could see her crying, although he could hear her soft sniffles, and he'd end up comforting her, holding her close while whispering false promises in her ear until they both fell asleep.

Nick couldn't help but watch as she stood, cordless phone in her trembling hand, and paced the room anxiously. As if feeling his eyes on her, she turned away from him as she spoke. "Room 336 please...Sara Sidle..."

Knowing the outburst that was sure to follow, Nick sighed and sat up, kicking his blanket off while running his fingers through his hair. How long would this have to go on before she finally began to move on?

He turned his attention to the conversation when her voice rose slightly. Even though her back was towards him, he could envision the look of shock on her face as she spoke, "What do you mean he was discharged? When did this happen?...Of course I know I'm not his emergency contact, but I'm his girl--I'm his friend. Doesn't that count for anything? Could you try not to be rude for one night out of the month?...Did he leave a forwarding address? What do you mean you can't tell me? I work with the crime lab, I--Never mind."

She hung up the phone, flinging it towards the wall as she collapsed onto the bed with a moan. "He was discharged this morning."

Nick moved to the bed, stroking her back gently, "He'll--"

"Don't tell me he'll call. We know he won't. Why should he? I'm not his girlfriend anymore, I'm not his anything. That voodoo freak is with him, and apparently that's all he needs."

Nick continued to stroke her back in silence, letting her calm down while he tried to come up with something consoling to say to her. She always seemed to have a problem letting go of the people she loved. It had taken her years to get over her infatuation with Grissom, months to recover from Hank's infidelity enough to trust men again. Greg had been gone for six months and she hadn't made but a few steps towards independence from him. Now that he had come back into her life, just to alienate her, who knew how long it would take her to move forward this time?

Her shoulders began to shake, and Nick didn't hesitate before pulling her close to him, letting her warm tears fall onto his chest, barely concealed by a muscle shirt. As much as he hated to see her hurting, he would definitely miss having her this close to him once she began to move on from this heartache. There hadn't been a single day since that night in the hospital that they hadn't been together. She spent the majority of time at his house or at work, and the shakiness of their friendship had now been built back up to the state it had been a few weeks earlier, before Greg had returned.

"How could he have not told me about her?" Sara asked, her face still buried in Nick's shoulder, "After everything, how could he keep her a secret?"

Nick remained silent, not knowing the answer to her question, but wondering the same question. Why had Greg come back, attempting to rekindle friendships, and never once mentioned his girlfriend back home?

TBC...