A/N: unspoken-dream and icklebitodd, thank you so much for your comments! I hope you like this chapter!

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Disclaimer: I do not own any part of CSI or its characters. That honor goes to the good folks over at CBS. For more detail on Matthew and Sara's life in foster care, check out QuoththeRaven's "The Life & Times of Sara Sidle." With her permission, I have begun to incorporate her interpretation of Sara's childhood into most of my stories.

Title: The Planetarium: Part 5

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Hey, Sara! Joan thought, watching the other woman outside of Grissom's office. What's up? Ready to solve the case…?

Sara stood just outside of Grissom's door, hesitating. Why was she so nervous? Was she afraid that her supervisor would read something on her face, that she didn't want read? No, that couldn't be it, because Grissom was oblivious to everything except for his precious insects. "I'm afraid to move this case forward," Sara mumbled to herself. "Afraid of what I'll find…" she trailed off, confused, and still staring at Grissom's closed door.

"Hey, Sara," Catherine said with a smile, slowing her pace down as she came upon her colleague.

"Oh, hi, Catherine," Sara muttered, turning around to look at Cath. "How'd your case turn out?" she asked her friend. "It was at the Rocking Horse, right?" she asked.

Catherine nodded, grinning. "Some college pledges ended up trying to steal the mechanical bull's head for a pledge task. They're in booking now," she added. "Hey… Sara? Are you…okay?" she cautiously asked, eyeing her friend closely. Somewhere along the way, the relationship between the two women had grown into a fairly decent friendship: a step up, from their first antagonistic year with one another.

"I'm fine," Sara immediately snapped, her smile disappearing and a scowl appearing on her face. "Why does everyone keep asking me that?" she grumbled, as she finally knocked on Grissom's door and stormed in, leaving a stunned Catherine all alone out in the hallway.

Catherine watched Grissom's door slam shut behind Sara, concerned over whatever it was that her friend was going through. Shaking her head, she walked off, vowing to catch up with the younger woman later on.

Inside of Grissom's office, Sara waited for her boss to make eye contact with her. "Sara," he finally acknowledged her, clearing his throat. "Please, have a seat." Sara sat down, as Grissom removed his glasses and rubbed the bridge of his nose. "Have you been able to get any information out of Patrick?" he asked.

Sara frowned. "Patrick is a little boy, Grissom. A scared, little boy. With feelings, and emotions, unlike yourself," she blurted out, regretting the words the moment that they were out of her mouth. Shit, she thought to herself. Shit, shit, shit.

Grissom frowned at Sara, setting his glasses down on the desk in front of him. Sara just confirmed that he had indeed made a mistake in bringing her in on this case. He had hoped that she would be able to reach out to Patrick, but instead, it looked as if Patrick had reached out to her. "Sara…" he began.

"Grissom," she interrupted him. "Look. I'm sorry. I'm just…" she shrugged. "I tried to speak with Patrick, but I haven't been able to get all that much out of him. All of the blood on his clothing belongs to his father, and as we suspected, he did not fire the gun. Other then that, I can't tell you much… aside from the fact that something else is wrong."

"What do you mean, Sara?" Grissom asked, folding his hands. "You found some additional evidence?"

"Not exactly…" Sara trailed off, looking down at the floor for a moment. "Look. I know how you feel about intuition, but… something isn't right between Patrick and his mother."

Grissom sighed, leaning forward. "Go ahead."

"Well, you saw how he was with me at the Planetarium, right? He wouldn't let go of me, like he was terrified of everyone and everything around him?"

"Yes?"

"Well that continued even at the hospital. He wouldn't leave my side… even when his mother showed up…"

Grissom bit his lip. That was a little strange. Even in the case of extreme trauma, the boy should have responded to his mother.

"What did Patrick do, Sara? When he saw his mother?"

"He sucked his thumb, and refused to leave my side… then Mrs. Sampson came over, and led him away…" she shrugged.

"Interesting," Grissom said. "Well, Brass did a check on the family. Sam Sampson was a stockbroker originally from Minnesota," he said, "And was married to a Lynette Wycos, from Reno. Lynette—Mrs. Sampson—gave birth to Patrick on October 2, 1999. So he is almost seven years old now."

Sara nodded. "Any prior records?" she asked.

"Not on MR. Sampson," Grissom informed her. "But MRS. Sampson has a record for spousal abuse."

Sara's eyebrows shot up. "Grissom, we have to get him out of there, then," she anxiously told her supervisor.

Grissom shrugged. "We can't do anything, until we process the scene, Sara. You know that," he calmly replied, putting his glasses back on.

Sara glared at Grissom, upset, frustrated, and even a little bit annoyed. It was just like him to sit back and let an innocent child get hurt. It was just like all adults to sit back and let an innocent child get hurt. To let her get hurt. Like when her foster brother, Matthew, raped her, and no adult stood up to help her. Like when they allowed it to happen a second time, and then forced her to face him in a trial. Sara bit her lip, though, sighing, knowing that in actuality, Grissom would never let a child get hurt.

Grissom looked over at Sara, concerned at what he was seeing. What was going on in her mind? "Sara…" he trailed off.

Sara looked up at him, and her features immediately softened. She wasn't being very fair to him. He had nothing to do with her rape, and even now, with Patrick, his hands were tied. She knew that he had to follow procedure—that they all had to follow procedure—in order to protect the child.

"Sara… I'm sorry…" Grissom tried again, unsure of what else to say to her. She looked so angry, and so helpless, and so hurt.

And that did it. All of Sara's anger suddenly ebbed away, as the tears started to well up in her eyes. Embarrassed and ashamed, Sara tried to burry her head in her hands. She couldn't believe that she was crying… and in front of Grissom, too, no less. But before Grissom could do or say anything else in order to try to comfort her, Sara bolted out of his office, unsure of where she was going, or what she was going to do.

"Sara! Wait a minute!" Grissom called after her. But Sara did not stop.

Sara…? Joan frowned.

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TO BE CONTINUED 