Thanks for reading! I have no idea if you guys are enjoying this or not, but I hope you are. Thanks again Imagifictions for the reviews :)

/

Sara

This is the sort of situation that university forensics courses don't prepare you for. All of the suspect handling enactments in the world won't ready you for a serial murder suspect cornering you in an alley while you're off shift, alone and a little drunk. My heart was pounding in my chest, all of my effort going into keeping the fear and anger I felt out of my features.

Crushing the remainder of my cigarette beneath the toe of my boot, I glanced up at James's approaching form, a smug smile tugging at his lips.

"What the hell are you doing here?" I asked before he had a chance to speak. He looked different in the dim lighting of the alley- larger somehow. Far more intimidating than he had seemed in the confines of the interrogation room. He walked past me to lean against the side of the building, the feel of his bright eyes raking slowly over my form deeply unnerving.

"Enjoying my Friday night- there's no crime in that"

I couldn't keep the distain off my face, nails digging into the soft skin of my palms.

"I was just leaving" I said stiffly, moving to pass him.

"I was actually hoping to run into your friend, Detective Curtis" he mused, eyes following me while remaining casually propped against the wall. I felt my stomach clench, turning back towards him swiftly. The bastard had followed us.

"I liked the vibe she was giving me- that smouldering anger thing is crazy sexy"

His voice was deep, like gravel and I felt my hands ball into fists, taking a step towards him.

"You stay away from her" I warned, jaw clenched. He laughed, reaching for another cigarette. He held the pack out to me in offering, which I blatantly ignored.

"It's ballsy of her to be out wandering around looking for a guy that kills women who look- if I have my facts straight- just like her"

I knew that he was trying to provoke me, and that his six feet of pure muscle would be utterly un-phased by my attempted violence, but I felt anger flowing through me in waves. If I wasn't sure this guy was guilty before, I knew it without a doubt now.

"Sure she's a little older, but I could imagine that if someone was getting a bit too close, one might consider adjusting their target, purely for the sake of getting a point across. Don't you think?"

His tone was casual, almost conversational, and the rational part of my brain shut down. It took three steps to reach him, his calloused hand grasping my wrist before I could even release a punch, lowering my arm back down slowly. I winced in pain and he chuckled, dark hair moving in waves as he shook his head

"I like your enthusiasm, but this would not look good for you. Don't cause a scene"

I shoved his hand away from me bitterly, taking a second to discreetly glance around, noting that everyone seemed to be entirely unaware of us.

"You're going down, you son of a bitch" I hissed, turning once more to go.

"See I thought you were fucking the detective- I'm good at picking up those vibes" he mused, taking a sharp drag of his cigarette. I didn't even pause my journey towards the door. I didn't care what he thought he knew. All I could focus on was trying to remember where Sofia had said she would be tonight, reaching into my pocket for my phone.

"But then I see you getting cozy with Catherine and now I'm not so sure. Unless you're banging both of them, in which case I am very impressed by you"

I felt my stomach drop, my fists clench, feet turning me back around on their own accord. He had no way of knowing Catherine's name, not without making a point of looking into it. He also had no way of knowing there was something between Sofia and I- he couldn't have simply read that through our body language. Had he followed us before?

He seemed satisfied by my reaction as he walked towards me, taking a final drag of his smoke before flicking it into the ally and focusing his cobalt gaze on me. He leaned in closely, lowering his voice a few octaves

"I imagine she must be stressed, what with that beautiful daughter of hers running all around this town when…"

I had him shoved against the wall before he could finish his thought, the force of my anger momentarily overthrowing his brawn. One hand on his throat, another on his chest, I pressed him back against the cold building, fingers straining with the pressure I was applying to his windpipe. At that point I didn't care who was watching.

"You touch her and I swear to god I will kill you" I hissed, the smile forming on his face causing me to vibrate with anger. I knew that someone would come break this up soon, and I gave him a final shove, holding his gaze as I backed away.

I turned towards the bar, pushing past a rowdy group of girls who stumbled past me into the alley, all short dresses and too much perfume. I scanned the room for the guys, pulling out my phone to a message from Warrick confirming that they had left. I felt sick, weaving my way towards the exit. The fact that I shouldn't be driving didn't even occur to me as I headed briskly out of the bar towards my SUV. I dialed Sofia's number, cursing when it went to voicemail.

It was late- she was probably asleep or on shift I told myself, taking a deep breath to calm my nerves. I began dialing Catherine's number before thinking better of it. What was I going to say, our murder suspect threatened your daughter, watch out? That conversation could wait until morning.

It was a short drive to the lab, my mind racing. I replayed the encounter over and over- why would he reveal himself so clearly as guilty to me? Was he just messing with us? He must know that we would be keeping a heavy eye on him now.

I took a few deep breaths in the confines of my car in an attempt to get ahold of myself before entering the lab. My hands were shaking- from anger or adrenaline I wasn't sure. I balled them into fists, my wrist throbbing violently where he had grabbed me.

Once inside I headed straight for Grissom's office, keeping my head down incase Ecklie, in typical fashion, decided to make an appearance at the most inconvenient of times. I felt eyes on me and glanced up at Hodges who was observing me strangely from one of the labs. I ignored it, turning sharply into the cold, dimly lit office.

Grissom glanced up at me from behind his glasses with a look of confusion, pen in hand. I closed the distance between the door and his desk silently, pressing my hands against the cold metal, a little out of breath.

"I ran into James O'Riley at the bar. He threatened Sofia and Lindsay- he knew things he wouldn't know if he hadn't been watching us. He is our guy Grissom, without a doubt"

The words tumbled out of my mouth, his blue eyes squinting lightly in question, putting the pen down and folding his hands in front of him patiently.

"And before you ask, yes I'm a little drunk and no Ecklie didn't see me come in" I threw in, dropping into the seat behind me, running a hand through my hair.

He raised an eyebrow lightly, but ultimately didn't press the fact that I should absolutely not be there in this slightly intoxicated, rattled state.

"So he provoked you. Did you take the bait?"

I frowned, absently wrapping a hand around my rapidly bruising wrist, rubbing it gently.

"If you're asking me if I responded to him, I did. Are you even listening, he threatened Lindsay!"

He glanced momentarily at the open door before dropping his stern gaze back to me.

"So you allowed a suspect, that we have no incriminating evidence against at all, to bait you into attacking him, drunk at a bar in front of- I'm assuming- a room full of people?"

His voice was uncharacteristically harsh and I slunk back into my chair slightly, still rubbing my sore wrist, dropping my angry frown onto his desk.

"It was outside" I mumbled, as though that made any difference at all, opting to leave out the fact that I had also made some fairly aggressive threats.

He opened his mouth to speak and I shook my head in annoyance, placing my hand firmly on his desk once again.

"Look, I get it- I should have done a lot of things differently, you can lecture me all you want, but we need surveillance on Catherine and Sofia's places for tonight. I need to talk to Brass" I spoke rapidly, moving to stand. He held his hand up, eyebrows furrowed.

"Sit down Sara. You shouldn't even be here, Ecklie would have a field day with this"

He eyed me with irritation as he picked up his phone, resting the receiver against his shoulder as he dialed.

/

"SARA"

I jumped in surprise, eyes flying open. I glanced around with sleep-blurred vision, squinting at Catherine's perplexed expression through the window of my Jeep.

What the hell?

I lowered my knee down from its spot against my door, tingling painfully from the awkward position as I slid my sunglasses up onto my head, rolling the window down as I hazily pieced together my current situation.

"Hey Cat" I spoke, frowning lightly at the grating sound of my sleep laced voice. She shook her head with a bemused frown, gesturing to my present position.

"What is this, have you even been home?" she asked, eyes noting the outfit I had been wearing for the past three days. I rubbed my eyes with a tired fist, still adjusting to the mid morning light.

"You know what, don't even answer that. I've been calling you for the past hour, what is going on?"

After getting ahold of Brass and confirming that an officer was stationed outside of Catherine's and Sofia's places, Grissom had all but thrown me out of the lab. Home was the last place I wanted to be, so I figured a few hours of sleep in my car would be enough to allow me back in to work on the case. Based on the glaring sun and Catherine's presence, I had slept longer than initially planned.

I glanced over at the passenger seat, grabbing my phone and frowning at the lightening symbol. I threw it back on the seat, turning towards Catherine.

"Phone's dead, sorry. Last night got a little out of hand"

She crossed her arms, sunlight illuminating her hair as she jutted her hip out in what I had come to recognize as a symbol of annoyance.

"Care to explain why I woke up to an officer outside of my house this morning? He didn't seem to know exactly, and Brass and Grissom are also ducking my calls"

I sighed, leaning back against the seat, attempting to formulate the right words in my head. I didn't get much of a chance before Catherine reached in to unlock the door, jerking it open in one swift move. She grabbed my arm, using the other to keep me upright as she pulled me, stumbling, out of the jeep.

"You are unbelievable, you know that? You don't sleep for days on end, you barely eat- you can't live off of coffee and cigarettes, believe it or not"

I wasn't sure where this sudden outburst came from, but I followed behind begrudgingly as she kept a firm hold on my forearm, heels clicking against the pavement as she led me towards the doors of the lab.

"I'd tell you to go home but I know you won't listen. So you throw on those spare clothes in your locker and get your head in the game. And please, tell me what the hell is going on"

I bit back a smile at her bossy manner- annoyed but somewhat charmed by her small form dragging me along beside her, the motherly lecturing that was typically reserved for the guys a sign that she, against all odds, might actually care. It felt like a small victory that I hadn't realized until now that I was hoping for.

"I don't really know how to say this, but O'Riley threatened Lindsay last night"

She spun around, mouth opening in a silent question, dropping my arm.

"He approached me outside the bar just after you left- he knew your name, he knew Lindsay has been wandering around town. I just… I lost it, Cat"

I could sense the fear behind her eyes, shaking her head lightly in confusion

"How would he know that?"

I shrugged, running a hand through messy hair

"I have no idea. I think he's been watching us- that's why I got Grissom to call Brass and put an officer outside your place. I just wanted to be absolutely sure he wouldn't try anything last night"

Her eyes caught a glimpse of my wrist as I dropped it back down to my side, immediately reaching out to grasp the bruised flesh gently in her soft hand.

"Did he do this to you? That son of a bitch"

The anger in her voice was heavy as she turned my wrist over in her hands, running a thumb over it gently.

"I'm okay, it could have been worse"

Her bright eyes met mine, hand sliding up to grasp my arm again, this time far more gently.

"Come on- let's find you something to eat and talk this out" she said as we resumed our journey towards the locker room.

/

Catherine scavenged through the fridge, finding someone's apple and half a peanut butter and jelly sandwich that she gave me no choice but to eat, putting on a pot of coffee as I walked her through my encounter with O'Riley. I opted to leave out the parts about Sofia, and the part where he speculated that Catherine and I were sleeping together. That seemed to be the safest bet on all accounts.

I finally agreed to a shower, relieved to find myself alone in the row of cubicles. I rinsed patchouli shampoo through my dark hair, resting heavily against the tiled wall with an exhaustion that a few hours of restless sleep in the parking lot couldn't remedy. I washed my body with harsh, exaggerated motions as though my stress was something soluble, something tangible, clinging lightly to my golden skin.

I dried my hair, threw on the jeans and black t-shirt I had in the back of my locker for days like today. Catherine was already in one of the labs, pulling all of the evidence we had collected so far. I was heading out in search of her when I glanced up, locking eyes with Sofia. Her expression was unreadable, a brown paper bag in her grasp. She was just coming in- a black trench coat wrapped tightly around her form, cheeks rosy from the cold.

"Jim tells me I have you to thank for the wake up call I got from officer Keaton this morning" she spoke smoothly, sauntering up to me with a light smirk.

"It involved coffee and muffins, and an eyeful for him as I don't sleep in much" she breathed the last part, leaning in just close enough for me to hear, pressing the paper bag into my hands gently. The smell of vanilla and musk was intoxicating, and it wasn't until she leaned back that I remembered the pressing matter at hand.

"I tried to call you- I just wanted to be sure you were safe" I told her, a bemused look crossing her features. I secured the paper bag absently in one hand, grabbing hers gently with the other, leading her into one of the empty labs.

"I ran into O'Riley at the bar last night, he was saying some pretty threatening things about you" I explained as I leaned back against the drafting table, resting the bag beside me absently.

"What sort of things?"

"That he was hoping to run into you, that it was ballsy for you to be working a case that involved blonde haired, blue eyed women being killed. That it wouldn't be strange for a killer to change his MO just to get a point across"

The words were spilling rapidly out of my mouth and I felt her hand come to rest on my waist gently, blue eyes searching out mine. I met them after a moment, my stomach suddenly in knots again. She offered me a soft smile.

"He's trying to get a rise out of you Sara. He knows you're onto him. I'm okay"

I think I surprised both of us when I leaned forward and wrapped my arms around her, the wool of her jacket scratching my cheek lightly. I wasn't much for physical contact- more so because I was never quite sure when or how to properly go about it than that I wasn't comfortable with it. But I had spent the night with images of her lying lifeless in the desert somewhere, those brilliant eyes of hers an unfamiliar shade of milky white; of O'Rileys hands causing bruises across her soft skin.

I knew that she was probably right, that he was trying to upset me and had no actual intentions of hurting her, but the thought of it made my stomach turn. Who knew that I was actually growing to care about her beyond our flirtatious back and forth.

She didn't hesitate in returning the embrace, arms snaking securely around my waist. Aside from that night months ago, we hadn't shared much physical contact. I had fantasized about pushing her against every single surface in this lab, in PD, in my apartment, but never once thought about this tender sort of affection. I was surprised at how natural it felt, as though this was something we did every morning.

I held onto her for a few drawn out moments before pulling back, leaning against the table once again, meeting her eyes.

"Just keep the security for a while, okay? Please?" I spoke gently, a light smile gracing her lips.

"I never thought I'd see the day that you were concerned about me" she mused, her hand that was still on my waist boldly sneaking just beneath the material of my shirt, tracing her thumb over the skin of my hip. I forced myself to ignore the way my stomach muscles clenched, my heartbeat increased. I smirked, shrugging lightly.

"What can I say, you're growing on me"

She tilted her head, bright eyes holding mine as her thumb trailed lazily over the soft patch of skin.

"Sara, Ecklie is looking everywhere for you" Greg's voice pulled us out of whatever daze we were in, Sofia subtly pulling her hand away from me and turning around as I glanced up to meet Greg's apologetic gaze.

"Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but it seems important"

"Okay, thanks Greg" I nodded with a smile, pushing off the table slowly. He turned his focus to Sofia, a charming smile painting his features

"Detective" he said in greeting as Sofia sauntered towards the door with a smirk

"Good morning Greg" she answered, shooting me a smile through the window as she headed with him down the hall.

I watched them go, glancing at the paper bag beside me. I unfolded it, peeking in at three fresh blueberry muffins. I pursed my lips into a smile, grabbing the bag and headed begrudgingly out in search of Ecklie.