Some of you have probably noticed that the chapter titles and the chapters relate to season 5 episodes. There will be some episodes missing, which don't fit into the plot of my story and eventually it will stop following the canon episodes all together.

Thank you to everyone reading and reviewing!

"You can't be serious, Sara!" Belinda exploded. "Do you have any idea what's at stake here?"

"Yes, I do!" She retorted. "But I can't do this anymore; I can't keep sneaking around like I'm doing something wrong."

"We are doing something wrong, Sara!" Belinda grabbed both her wrists tightly. "I could lose my job!"

"I know." Sara weakened, attempting to pull away and quickly giving up. "I just don't want to hide anymore. You know the whole point of me seeing you in the first place was to help me come out from the dark, not go back in."

Belinda's expression softened and she released Sara's arms, dragging a hand through her wild red curls.

"I know, I'm sorry." She sighed. "And I want to help you, I really do. But ..."

"What?" Sara pressed when she neglected to finish the thought.

"Well, maybe you'd find it easier to get away from the darkness if you didn't work there."

Sara rolled her eyes impatiently.

"Not this again." She groaned. "Bel, I'm not quitting my job!"

Will you just think about it for a minute?" The other woman pleaded earnestly. "A break from death and pain might be exactly what you need. And if you quit, we wouldn't need to keep hiding – we could be together, properly."

"So, you want me to leave my job – the only thing that keeps me going – so we can be together without you losing your job?"

"It makes sense."

"No, it doesn't."

"I thought you wanted this, Sara."

"Bel, please." Sara begged softly, averting her eyes. "Don't make me choose between you and my work."

Belinda stared intently at her for a moment; so long that Sara lifted her head and met her gaze. When the nurse spoke up again, her voice was cold and detached.

"It sounds like you already have."

Sara didn't respond, but she didn't look away either. For a moment, neither moved a muscle. Finally, Belinda grabbed her bag and stalked out of the apartment, slamming the door behind her.

Sara exhaled slowly, trying to shake away the memory of the fight.

Her phone, sat beside her on the bench, vibrated quietly and caught her eye.

Sara glanced at the name flashing on the screen and pointedly turned it over so she couldn't see it anymore.

Subtlety lifting her eyes, she checked that her companion hadn't noticed; but Catherine was too engrossed in her work to pay any attention to Sara.

"So, I heard you applied for the day shift spot?" She cleared her throat, offering a meek attempt at small-talk.

Cath flicked her cold blue eyes up, narrowing them suspiciously at Sara across the table. The brunette almost flinched at the harsh look.

"Yeah, and?"

"Nothing." Sara shrugged with a small frown, reverting her attention back to her work. "It just won't be the same on the team if you leave."

Catherine lifted her head, staring at her younger colleague for a moment in an effort to ascertain whether she was serious.

"Right." She scowled eventually, when Sara's expression didn't give away any clues. "Okay."

As they resumed the uncomfortable silence, Sara finally picked up her phone and scanned the text message.

'We need to talk asap. Call me'

Abrupt, straight to the point. Much like Belinda herself, Sara mused with an internal sigh.

Sara took a few deeps breathes as she weaved her way through the corridor, psyching herself up for a difficult conversation.

However, once she eventually reached the office, her composure dissipated. Sofia Curtis, the beautiful blonde dayshift CSI that Gil had suddenly taken quite a shine to, was perched on his desk. Her head was flung back, her long tresses forming a golden waterfall down her back, as she laughed joyfully at something he had said.

A part of Sara wanted to interrupt. She had prepared herself for this, she wasn't about to back down again. But she just couldn't bring herself to do it. Turning around with a despondent frown, she left them to their private joke and headed back the way she had come.

However, her dismay quickly turned to hope as she spotted Catherine exiting the DNA lab.

The strawberry blonde wouldn't have been her first choice to confide in, or even her second, but she was next in command and that was good enough for now.

She would just have to edit her pre-prepared spiel a little.

"Hey, Cat?" Sara called, quickly chastising herself for using the forbidden nickname. "Have you got a minute?"

"Okay, but make it quick." The older woman instructed without sparing a glance from her DNA results.

"Um, can we go to your office?" Sara asked, her gaze flicking nervously around the busy corridor. "It's kind of private."

"Hey, Catherine?" Mandy leant out of the fingerprints lab and Cath's eyes lit up excitedly.

"You got a hit off those prints I gave you?"

"Yeah, and I think you're going to want to see this." Mandy said with a satisfied smile. "It's pretty good."

Cath, barely remembering Sara's presence, tapped the brunette's arm lightly with the folder in her hands.

"Hey, can we take a raincheck?" She asked, not sticking around long enough to hear Sara's answer.

"Yeah, sure." She exhaled sadly. "No problem."

He almost skated past the room, but something caught his eye and he ground to a halt.

"Hey," he greeted, sidling into the room and leaning against the doorframe. "Everything okay?"

Sara lifted her head and smiled.

"Yeah, everything's fine."

Greg straightened up and moved cautiously towards her.

"You sure?" He pressed with a knowing raised eyebrow.

Sara smiled, dropping her gaze into her lap and twisting her hands anxiously.

"No," she sighed honestly. "I'm not sure."

Without waiting for an invitation, he took a seat beside her and tentatively nudged her in the shoulder. Taking the hint, she nodded slowly.

"I just feel a bit stonewalled today. I tried to talk to Grissom earlier, but I can't seem to catch him without Sofia hanging round." She pouted miserably. "And so I tried Catherine, but she was in the middle of a hot case and didn't really have time to talk."

Greg cleared his throat softly.

"You know, I'm a good listener." He half-joked, offering a sweet grin. "And I just brought a new box of Blue Hawaiian coffee for my flat."

Sara laughed, nodding slowly.

"Thanks Greggo, I appreciate that. But I don't think this is something you can help me with."

"Okay." He said, the disappointment written all over his boyish features. "Well, you know where I am, if you change your mind."

As he stood up, leaving her to her thoughts, her phone began to vibrate against her hip with a new text message.

Greg was almost out of the door, when her soft voice called him back.

"Hey Greg," she lifted her head, her boundaries suddenly back in place behind a composed mask of indifference. "Forget the coffee. How about a drink instead?"