Chapter 6

Sara sat in the uncomfortable waiting room chair, only talking when Catherine would ask her questions as she filled out her registration paperwork. She felt cold, angry, and violated. Replaying the attack over and over in her head, she didn't want to forget a single detail before her statement was given. It always ended with a question, 'Was I raped?' Pushing the question aside, she convinced herself she was molested.

Catherine leaned in, as if reading her mind, "Sara, I think we should have them complete an assault kit."

Frantically looking around the room to made sure Grissom hadn't heard. Sara found him across the room, trying to maintain his cell phone signal, while he coordinated the arrest of Kelly James. She finally opened her mouth to protest, but was stopped by Catherine's hand on hers.

"Sara, what did he do?" the blonde studied her, she knew something had happened.

A lone tear slid down the younger woman's cheek, but before she could respond the nurse called her name.

Grissom watched Catherine stand, and help Sara to her feet, "I gotta go Brass; you tell me when you have him." He spat out, closed the phone, and met the pair by the entrance to the exam area. He wanted to help Sara, but realized how powerless he was given the circumstances. He settled for a gentle hand on her arm.

Sara looked down at his touch, and she hoped he couldn't feel her shaking. She wasn't ready to deal with the truth she knew she was going to have to face, but most of all she didn't want Grissom to know the secrets she hid from him. Looking up at him, she tried to cover the guilt she felt.

He felt the slight tremor that coursed through her body, and was concerned for many reasons. Knowing the effects of shock on the body he worried about her physical well being, but more than that he wondered about her emotional state. When her eyes met his they were laced with pain. "Brass is on his way to arrest him," he told her simply, "Do you want me to stay?" He wanted her to say yes, to tell him she needed him, but he wanted even more for her to feel safe and protected.

She considered him for a moment, and wanted to tell him yes, she wanted him to hold her hand while she was examined; she wanted him to wait with her while the assault kit was completed, but all of that would lead to areas in her past she wasn't willing to confront. "I'm fine," she informed him, and started to follow the nurse, but stopped. "Can you call Catherine when you have him?" For a brief terrifying moment she realized Kelly James was still out there, and had every reason to come and kill her. She was his biggest threat at that moment; she was the evidence that would put him away.

He looked down at Catherine, making sure she was still armed, and nodded, "She'll be my first call."

--/--

Sara had observed hundreds of rape exams, but lying on the table, feet in the stirrups, and the cool feel of metal, was almost as traumatizing as the event that landed her there. Despite their past, she was glad Catherine was in the room, talking to her. She wasn't listening to the words, but let the soft tones relax her.

"Almost done Sara," the resident encouraged her.

She flinched when a swap hit a particularly tender spot, 'God, this is real.'

Catherine noticed the reaction, and was starting to feel sick. Kelly James clearly did more than touch her colleague. The blonde watched the young doctor place all the samples in the box, and stood, "Sara, I'm going to talk to Dr. Manning, and then come back to take the evidence photos." Getting no response from the brunette, Catherine led the resident toward the door, so she could keep an eye on Sara, and still give her some room.

The doctor handed her the assault kit, "I found no semen, but there were signs of trauma to her external genetila, and her vaginal canal. It wasn't consistent with penile penetration, but possibly an object rape."

She felt a heavy weight growing on her chest while she listened to the findings, "Her other injuries?"

"Someone should stay with her for at least one night. She has a mild concussion. She'll also need to keep the sutures in her wrists and ankle dry for two weeks. Other than that, she had some deep bruising around her joints that will be uncomfortable for several days. I prescribed some percocet, and ibuprofen," the young woman explained, passing Catherine prescriptions.

Catherine took a deep breath, and walked back over to Sara, "You up for documenting your injuries?"

"What did she say?" she needed to know what the official documents were going to say.

Giving her a sympathetic look, "There were signs of trauma, but no evidence of penile penetration. Did he…was there an object?" She couldn't bring herself to actually ask the question.

Sara struggled to sit up, feeling suddenly claustrophobic, and out of control. She brushed off her companions hands, needing to find some area of her life she had command of. Steadying herself, she looked up at Catherine, not bothering to hide the raw emotion she was feeling, "His hand."

Catherine wanted to comfort her, but wasn't sure how. Sara was obviously trying to maintain control of her shredded nerves, and the night was far from over. Before she could speak her phone rang. Looking at the display she tensed, "It's Grissom." She flipped her phone opened, "Willows."

Sara tensed while she listened.

"Yes… Sara said he was wearing gloves," the blonde explained, and looked to her friend for confirmation.

She nodded, "Black leather."

"Black leather, they're evidence… Ok, I'll take her statement, and get a warrant for the rest… Thanks, I will," she slapped the cell shut in satisfaction. "Brass has him in custody. We got him Sara." The older woman rubbed Sara's shoulder.

In a way she was glad he had attacked her. She felt responsible for Suzanna, and she would have been willing to do anything in her power to make him pay for what he did to her. Never expecting the price would have been so high, she thought she may finally be able to bring some peace to the Kirkwoods. "Can we swing by my place before heading to the lab; I want to shower, and change."

Catherine nodded and reached for her camera.

--/--

Sara walked stiffly up the stairs, leaning heavily on the arm rail. She hadn't felt that much overall body pain since she was a kid, and her father was still alive. Harshly pushing the memories of her childhood away, she struggled with her keys. A hand reached out and gently took the ring from her hand, and unlocked the door. Without stopping she thanked Catherine, told her to make herself at home, and headed for her shower.

Turning on the hot water, she discarded the CSI coveralls in the corner, and stepped under the scalding spray. Sinking to the floor, she sat and let the water pour over her while she finally released the tears she had been holding back.

--/--

Catherine finally heard the water stop, and waited patiently for Sara to prepare herself to face the lab. Looking around the living room she realized there was a lot about Sara she didn't know. Remembering asking about her parents once, Sara had confessed they told her she was smart, but hesitated when she had asked if they ever told her she was pretty. After four years that was all she knew.

"Catherine?" Sara's voice drifted through the hallway.

She walked down the hall to the bedroom door, and found it open a crack, "Sara? Did you need me?"

There was silence for a moment, "Can you come help me?"

Concerned, the blonde pushed open the door, and saw her standing in the middle of the room with blue jeans on and her bra hanging loosely. Catherine once again got a look at the black and blue marks that peppered her fair skin, and was concerned to see what the ultraviolet pictures were going to reveal.

Now, on the verge of tears, Catherine quickly realized they were tears of frustration as she struggled with her bra. Her arms were too sore to bend them around her back, and even if she could Cath doubted her hands would be agile enough to hook the clasp. "Here, relax. Let me?" she asked stepping toward her.

Sara turned to give her access to the bra strap, and rubbed her eyes, "I can't even dress myself."

"It's just going to take some time to heal. You'll be good as knew, and stubborn as ever in a few days I promise," the older woman tried to lighten the mood.

She let out a loud sigh, "Thank you. I'll be ready in a minute."

Catherine backed out of the room and gave her the space she needed.

--/--

Sara walked behind Catherine as they entered the police station. She wanted to give her statement, and leave before anyone she knew saw her. News of her attack must have gotten around the department and she just didn't want to deal with the looks of sympathy that would be granted her. She was too familiar with the sideways glances, and the hushed whispers of speculation; she thought those days were behind her.

Approaching the interview room, both women noticed a small crowd, which elicited a string of profanities from her companion. Catherine turned to Sara, "Let's go back to the lab and do this in Grissom's office."

Confused, Sara looked from her colleague, to the officers, and back again. "It's him isn't it?"

Catherine managed a nod, and tried to steer her back toward the exit.

She didn't move, "They're still interrogating him?"

"I don't know, they should have been done already. That's the only reason I followed the procedures, bringing you here for the statement," she explained, placing a guiding hand on the brunette's elbow.

"I want to watch," her voice held more conviction then she actually felt as she started toward the observation room.

Catherine moved quickly in front of her, using Sara's lack of mobility to her advantage, "Sara you can't."

"Catherine get out of my way," her voice was low, trying to hide the emotion she was feeling. Knowing that Kelly James was less than twenty feet away caused her breathing to quicken, and her palms to sweat.

"Sara, you can't. You're not a CSI in this scenario. You're the victim, and if you listen to that interrogation, your testimony could get thrown out." The blonde's voice was just above a whisper, trying not to draw attention to them. She moved to block Sara's view of the door, and to force her attention. "We need to do this by the book."

Sara knew her words were true. Kelly James had already gotten away once with deadly consequences. Her stiff body quickly deflated, leaving her looking fragile, "You're right. I'm sorry, you're right."

Urgent to get Sara out of the building before they transferred Kelly James, she moved her as quickly as she could back to the SUV and helped her settle in. Once she buckled herself in Catherine pulled out of her parking spot.

"Thank you," Sara offered staring out the window.

--/--

Safely sitting in the confines of Grissom's office, Sara finished recounting the attack from beginning to end. Catherine took notes, but allowed the narrative to be told uninterrupted. If she had a question, she jotted it down in the margin of her notes. She may not know much about Sara's past, but she knew how she worked, and if she had to guess, Sara had been rehearsing her statement over and over, recalling any detail she could.

"…he heard the sirens and ran out the back. It wasn't more than two minutes, and Brass and Grissom were there." Her voice maintained it's steady, detached tone from beginning to end.

A knock at the door halted any questions, and Nick's head popped in before anyone would have even had a chance to tell him to enter. "Where you been Catherine? Where's Grissom, I need his signature before I can go…" Trailing off, he sensed the tension in the room. His focus shifted from the blonde, sitting in his supervisors normal chair, to Sara's back.

Sara refused to turn around. She had control of her emotions, but just barely. Nick clearly had no clue what had happened to her, and she didn't feel like retelling the attack again.

"Sara?" The confusion in her friend's voice was clear.

Catherine cleared her throat, "Nick, can you gather Greg and Warrick and have them meet me in the break room?" Glancing at Sara for permission, getting a nod she continued, "There's been a break in the case, and I need to bring everyone up to speed."

"Kelly James?" He asked clearly excited.

"He's in custody. Grissom and Brass are with him as we speak," she added seriously.

Nick spared one more glance at the back of Sara's head, "I'll find 'em."

"Thanks, I'll be there in five minutes," watching Nick shut the door, she glanced at her notes again. "So they were chosen at random?"

Sara nodded, "All of them up until Lydia. Apparently she got in between him and Lisa."

"Ok. How much do you want the guys to know?" she asked, unsure of how to approach the topic with the guys.

"I should tell them," before Catherine could protest, Sara held up a hand, "They're going to hear rumors, I want them to hear the truth from me." Trying to stand, she realized that her muscles were becoming more painful exponentially as the night wore on. "Can you bring them in here? It's…it really hurts to move," she confessed.

"You got it," Catherine stood, and headed for the break room. Before she even got through the door she was assaulted with questions.

Warrick's voice echoed over all of them, "Cath, what's going on?"

"How'd we nail him?" Greg was clearly excited to have played a part in such a high profile arrest.

Nick's voice carried a wave of concern, "Where's Sara?"

Throwing her hands up, everyone fell silent, "We got a warrant for Kelly James' arrest after he attacked another woman. He spooked before he killed her."

"Was Sara involved?" Nick asked painfully aware of her absence.

"She was and she's waiting in Grissom's office to talk to all of you," she explained and led them to the office. Before opening the door she offered a warning, "Don't bombard her with questions."

Her words sobered them all. They filed into the room, flanking Sara, who was still sitting in the chair across from the desk. "Give her some room guys." Catherine instructed making sure the path to the door was clear; she didn't want her to feel trapped.

Nick sat down in the vacant chair next to Sara while Warrick and Greg leaned against the desk in front of her. Nick looked her over. She was wearing a long sleeve shirt, but he could still see white gauze sticking out as she clenched her hands together. His hand covered both of hers, "You're scaring me Sara."

Removing one hand from under his, she placed it on top, sandwiching his hand between hers, enjoying the momentary comfort. She took a deep breath, and decided it would be easier to treat the situation like tearing off a band-aid, "Kelly James attacked me tonight."

Warrick stiffened as he stood, Greg could only look down, and Sara felt Nick squeeze her hand. "I'm ok, I have some cuts and bruises," she stopped, debating in her head over how much to actually tell them, but suddenly remembered she still had not heard about Tucker's condition. She suddenly felt very selfish. "I got a sample of his DNA, and Grissom and Brass got a warrant based on my ID."

Greg looked up suddenly, "There was no DNA sample in the evidence Grissom dropped off.

Sara glanced at Catherine, who shook her head, "I have all the trace evidence collected from Sara. What did he bring in?"

Shifting uncomfortably like a child that told someone a secret he shouldn't, "He brought me some gloves and clothes to process, but told me to not let anyone see the results. He said my job depended on not messing up."

The two women put the pieces together slowly. That was why they were still interrogating Kelly James. Grissom collected evidence, and dropped it in to have it processed before heading to the police station.

Sara cleared her throat, "Are the results in?"

"That's what I was finishing up. Want me to go check on it?" He felt like he was on shaky ground, and didn't know how to react to Sara's news.

"Can you bring the results here?" Catherine asked for Sara, and Greg turned to leave. "Don't look at it," Catherine asked him before he left.

The four friends sat in silence. No one knowing what the right words were given the circumstances; questions were all they had. Nick gently pushed up sleeve revealing a blood stained strip of gauze.

Sara shrugged off his touch, and pulled her sleeve down. "Looks worse than it feels," she whispered.

Greg walked back into the office, handing Catherine a folder. The blonde looked it over, and a pained expression crossed her features. She handed it to Sara, "We'll keep it confidential Sara."

Taking the folder, she knew what it was going to reveal, but she still looked. Interpreting the information, her stomach flipped. The proof of what she tried to deny was in her hand.

"Sar, what is it?" he voiced the question they all had, but weren't sure they were in position to ask.

Tears pooled on her eyes, but she wouldn't let them fall. She looked up at Catherine, but spoke to the concerned friends waiting for her answer, "DNA that matches mine…blood, mixed with cervical cells." She stood suddenly, "I want to go to my apartment." Refusing to look at the faces, she knew the look they would have, and she really couldn't stand to see it.

Catherine reached for her to steady her, "I'll drive you."

Sara shook her head, "Please process the evidence. Nick would you?"

"Of course. Sit, and I'll bring my car around," he told her, quickly exiting the room.

"Warrick, Greg, can you get all the rape files together. We need to make sure we can pin every one the murders on the bastard," Catherine instructed, leading them from the room, "Call me if you need anything, anything at all Sara."

"Thank you Catherine," she replied as she sat down.

Catherine closed the door, folder and kit in hand, intent on processing the evidence as discretely as possible. Turning, she came face to face with Grissom.

"Something I can help you with Cath?" His emotions seemed to be barely in check, and she could only wonder what Kelly James had said to him.

Clearing her throat, she placed a hand on his forearm, "I brought Sara in to take her statement, but you were still in with James, so I brought her here, and your office was the most private place I could find. I have her official statement."

His jaw flexed, "She's still in there?"

Nodding, "Nick is going to bring her home. She told the guys what happened, she wanted them to hear from her not the rumor mill, or the media."

Offering a grunt of approval, he reached for the handle, but Catherine stopped him.

"Greg finished with the gloves," handing him the folder. "Talk to Sara before you look at the report."

Opening the door slowly, he stepped inside his office, "Sara?"

His voice sounded hesitant, and Sara turned in her seat. She had let the tears fall, thinking she had a few minutes before anyone disturbed her.

Grissom closed the door, and placed the folder on his desk. Stepping in front of her, he crouched down, eye level with her. He cocked his head, trying to decide if he should speak.

Sara leaned forward and rested her head on his shoulder.

He shifted slightly, kneeling for better balance, and wrapped his arms around her, letting her cry.

TBC