Thanks for the reviews, once again. I am particularly pleased that there are people who are not usually GSR supporters reading - I will take that as a compliment!

Sorry for the wait between chapters, it is due to uploading problems on the site.

Em xxx

Sara woke up with a terrible headache once again. She rolled over in the bed, stretching an arm out to relieve her body's stiffness. It was as she did this that she felt him. She turned to look. "Grissom?" she murmured with shock. He lay entangled in her sheets, sleeping peacefully. "Oh, God." She cast her mind back to the night before. She remembered being in the grocery store; buying the bottle of vodka. She remembered driving home, getting changed, opening the bottle… and then nothing.

How many times had she dreamt of this in the past? How happy should it be making her that she had woken up in bed next to Gilbert Grissom? But somehow she had always imagined she would remember how she had got there.

As quietly and unobtrusively as she could, she pulled herself out of bed and moved into the bathroom. There, she splashed her face with cold water in an attempt to make herself more alert. Gazing into the mirror she did not like what she saw. Dark bags under her eyes contrasted against her pallid skin. She turned away and removed her dressing gown from a hook on the back of the door. The thought of Grissom seeing her in such a state made her cringe. Sadness washed over her; she had waited so long – why did it have to end up like this?

She wrapped herself in the gown and tiptoed through her bedroom into the kitchen where she put the kettle on to boil. As she opened the cupboard she wondered whether she should remove one mug or two. Mid-thought the doorbell startled her. Slowly, and very aware of the terrible pain in her head, she made her way to the front door. It was not locked; evidently security had not been at the top of her priority list last night.

As she pulled it open she thought she recognised the man standing in the corridor. Her mind was not working as quickly as usual but it only took her a moment to notice the uniformed police officers standing and she realised that she must know this man from work. "Can I help you?" she enquired hesitantly.

"Sara Sidle?"

"Yes?"

"Maybe you would like to get dressed, Miss Sidle?"

Sara shook her head confusedly. "Excuse me?"

"It might be best if you could come down to the station with us."

Sara could physically feel her body begin to shut down. There was only so much one person could take in 24 hours. "I'm not sure I follow," she murmured.

"We have some questions to ask you," the man explained succinctly. "Regarding the murder of your brother, Adam Sidle."

I.I.I.I.I

"Catherine?" Greg asked hesitantly as he entered the room.

Catherine looked up from the file she was studying. "Yes, Greg?" she queried. He looked nervous. This made Catherine feel so also. "What is it?"

"You know you and Grissom said Sara had a brother?"

"I hope you haven't told anyone else about that, Greg," Catherine replied. "I don't want Sara to return and find the whole lab knows her family's innermost secrets." She was aware she talking to Greg as she would to Lindsay when she had misbehaved but she believed this situation merited it.

Greg looked slightly hurt. "I wouldn't tell anyone," he asserted. "Sara's my friend as well, you know?"

Now Catherine felt a little guilty. "I do know, Greg," she said with an apologetic smile. "I didn't mean to accuse you."

"What I actually wanted to ask was whether his name is Adam."

"Sara's brother?"

"Yes." Catherine looked visibly shocked. Taking the look on her face as affirmation, Greg paled slightly himself. "Oh, God."

"How did you know that?"

"He's dead, Catherine."

"What?"

"Adam Sidle was stabbed to death last night."

Catherine placed her head in her hands. "Poor Sara." After a minute or two of silence, she turned to look at Greg. "How do you know this?"

"Someone left the file in the lab. It doesn't pay to be careless around here. The body was discovered at 7.30am this morning by a nosy neighbour. Dayshift got the case. Despite the fact we're all still here at-" he glanced at his watch. "9 o'clock in the morning."

"Well, they weren't going to give it to Sara, were they?" Catherine shook her head sadly. "Someone needs to tell her."

"She already knows." The voice was not Greg's but Nick's. Catherine and Greg turned to face him, standing in the doorway.

"How?" Catherine asked.

"She just called me," Nick explained. "From the police station."

I.I.I.I.I

When Grissom awoke it took him a moment to ascertain where he was. When he finally realised, a wave of emotion washed over him. Regret. Definitely regret. But not because of whom he had spent the night with; because of how it had happened. You took advantage of her, Gil, his head repeated over and over.

The sound of the phone ringing interrupted his pattern of self hatred. He reached over to pick it up. "Hello?"

"Gil?" It was Catherine. Shit.

"Er, yeah, hi, it's me."

"What are you doing at Sara's house?"

"I, um, came round to check on her."

"Is she there?" Catherine sounded confused.

"Yes," Grissom replied. "I mean – I think – she-"

He heard the sound of Catherine sighing on the other end of the line. "Don't, Gil," she protested. "I don't care how you got there, but I do know that Sara's not with you right now."

Grissom slowly climbed out of the bed, keeping himself wrapped in a sheet. As he did so, he noticed the note lying next to the telephone. Grissom, it read. I'll explain later. Sara. Short but not so sweet. What was it supposed to mean? "I think you're right," he murmured down the phone. "She's not here."

"I know I'm right." There was a moment's pause on the other end of the line. "I'm coming to get you."

"I can drive myself to you, Cath."

"It's quicker and easier this way. We've got some talking to do. I'll be there in about twenty minutes." She gave him no time to argue. "See you then."

I.I.I.I.I

"What do you mean she's being questioned?"

"She's Adam's only known living relative, Gil," Catherine explained, not taking her eyes off the road. "She's the most obvious port of call."

"But they had no right to take her to the station."

"Maybe she wanted to go, Gil. Maybe she didn't want to disturb you." Grissom had not said a word to her about the events of the previous night, but Catherine could take a pretty good guess. She did not condone his actions, but now was neither the time nor the place.

Grissom continued to argue. "She wouldn't have gone unless she had to."

"Well, I don't know, Gil. All I know is what Greg has told me. And that's not much. That's why we're going to find out more."

"What did she do to deserve all this?" Grissom murmured sadly. The question was not really directed at any one person in particular but Catherine took it upon herself to answer.

"I expect that's what she's asking herself right now," she replied, keeping her eyes firmly on the road. "And the answer is nothing. She did not bring this on herself. It's one of those unfortunate things. Bad things happen to people who don't deserve it."

"It's not right."

"Of course it's not, Gil." As the car pulled up in a queue of traffic, Catherine turned to look at her friend. "Very few things are right. Life is unfair. We know that better that anyone. But we can't change what has happened to Sara. All we can do is help her through it. She needs you to support her." As the traffic began to move again Catherine's gaze once more returned to the road. "Can you do that?"

"I hope so." If Grissom sounded uncertain, it was nothing in comparison to how he was feeling in that instant.