Stretching, she closed her eyes against the sun and rolled her shoulders stiffly. Their drink after work had turned into a five-hour film marathon, with take-out pizza and a crate of beer. But it had been worth it, she felt much better for having off-loaded some of her problems to her best friend.

All she wanted to do now was crawl into bed and sleep until dusk.

Sloping down the grey-stoned corridor towards her apartment, she rounded the corner and came to an abrupt stop.

"Belinda?" She blinked. "What are you doing here?"

Belinda pushed herself off the wall, where she had obviously been loitering for a while, and crossed her arms sullenly.

"I came to talk to you." She asserted. "Where have you been?"

Sara mumbled something incoherent, rummaging for her keys.

"I told you I didn't want to see you." She said at last, unlocking the door but not opening it. She didn't want her ex thinking that she was being invited inside.

Belinda stepped closer to her and extended a hand, then suddenly stopped, her eyes narrowing suspiciously.

"Have you been drinking?"

Sara recoiled out of her reach.

"What do you want, Bel?" She asked coldly.

"Sara, answer me." The woman insisted. "You've been to a bar?"

Sara laughed, an embittered laugh, as she ran a hand through her hair.

"No, I haven't – not that it's any of your business. I had a drink with Greg, at his flat, after work. Happy?"

"Greg?" Belinda's eyes widened, suggesting that she most definitely wasn't happy with the response. "You're seeing Greg?"

"No, I'm not seeing Greg." Sara snapped. "He's a friend. I needed a friend today, thanks to you."

"Sara, I'm worried about you! You're behaviour – it's erratic; you're spiralling." The red-head pleaded. "Let's just go inside and we can talk about this."

Sara moved herself in front of the door, blocking the handle. For a long few seconds, neither spoke.

When it became evident that she was not going to gain entry to Sara's flat any time soon, Belinda dropped her shoulders and hardened her features.

"Fine." She snapped, turning on her heel. A few feet down the hall, she stopped again and turned back to Sara with a final parting shot. "Let's see how long Greg sticks around when you start losing it again!"

"Hey. We gotta talk." Brass said breathlessly, jogging to catch up with Grissom's wide strides. "Ecklie's used his hot line to the Sheriff. The whole department knows about the inquiry."

"There's nothing I can do about that." Grissom shrugged nonchalantly, burying his hands in his pocket.

"Yeah, well, I wanted to give you a heads-up, 'cause here's how it's gonna break down: In order to appear objective, Ecklie's gonna follow Sofia's recommendations. The problem is, she's Acting Supervisor of days, so she needs Ecklie to sign off to keep her gig."

Gil came to a stop and finally looked at the detective thoughtfully.

"And you think she'll say whatever Ecklie wants."

"Yeah. And this isn't just about the Garbett case. He's looking into your whole team, and your ability to lead them." Brass warned with a knowing look. To his surprise, Grissom laughed.

"Poor Conrad."

"I hate to tell you, but when it comes to politics, he whips your ass. So watch your back; it's gonna get ugly."

"Thanks." He started to walk away, but Brass wasn't finished his warning yet.

"Gil," he waited for the CSI to turn around and face him. "If there's any loose threads you've left hanging, get them tied up before Ecklie finds them and uses them to choke you."

Sara smiled as Greg bounded off with the serial number, quietly thrilled at her protégé's enthusiasm.

"Excuse me."

She looked up at the soft words and her heart sank at the sight of Greg squeezing past Ecklie, who was stood in the doorway with a smirk.

"Sara." He greeted cheerfully. "You got a minute?"

"I guess." She agreed, since she had no valid reason to leave. He leant over her shoulder, watching her actions.

"Flitz's Compound." He noted, almost impressed. "I'm sure you're not polishing your jewellery in the lab; that would be unauthorised."

She smiled tightly at the bad joke.

"What can I do for you?"

Realising that he was not going to break down her suspicious barriers, he dropped the facade and got straight to the point.

"As you know, it's my job to review everyone's file. I just want to make sure you finished up with your PEAP Counsellor."

"That's none of your business, Ecklie." Sara asserted defensively, straightening up to her full height. His lips curled into a smile as he picked up on her obvious panic.

"Well, not only is it my business, but I plan to speak with your supervisor." He tried and failed to disguise the smugness in his voice. "You have updated him, right?"

"Yeah, yeah, we've had an abbreviated conversation." She lied. "I'm doing fine. Completed my required number of sessions a few weeks ago.

"Huh. Grissom failed to note that conversation in your file."

Sara held her breath, waiting. Finally, Ecklie lifted his head and smiled that Cheshire cat smile again.

"But don't worry, I'll take care of it. All right?" He offered. Pursing her lips, she nodded.

"Thanks."

Sensing that there was something she was holding back, he hovered for a second longer.

"Is there anything else that you would like to tell me?"

Sara chewed on her lower lip, considering the potential repercussions if she confessed her sins to the new lab director.

"No." She decided at last. "Nothing."

It was clear from his face that he didn't believe her; but with no evidence to refute her assertion, he shuffled back to his lair, satisfied that he had gotten the ammunition he needed.

Alone, Sara exhaled slowly, although it failed to relax the knot in her stomach.

Ecklie's office was the epitome of self-praise. Every certificate and commendation he had ever been given adorned the walls. Catherine would be that if she looked hard enough, she'd find his fifth-grade swimming certificate up here somewhere.

"This conversation is on the record. Part of the official inquiry into the Max Larson case.

"Understood." Catherine cleared her throat and folded her hands calmly in her lap.

"Five years ago, were you part of a team that processed a homicide at 2028 Boulevard Highway?" He confirmed, receiving a snarky response from the strawberry-blonde. "Specifically what tasks did Supervisor Grissom assign to you?

"Gil doesn't micro-manage. We know what needs to be done. I photo-documented the scene, I collected blood evidence, and I brought the charred newspaper to trace."

"In the analysis phase, did Grissom review your reports with you?"

"Are you asking if he performed a supervisory review?" Catherine faltered for the first time. "He must have. I'm sure he did."

Ecklie smiled a reptilian smile, his teeth bared. She knew he didn't believe her, but she held his gaze firmly.

"Are you doing all this for the sake of the lab or to indict Grissom?" She challenged.

"Catherine, there a number of talented CSIs, like yourself, who have put in to be supervisors. I just want to make sure the right people are in the right place." He deflected, hoping to turn the conversation around on her. It worked, and she took the bait.

"About my request - I really would like to supervise days."

"Right. You're a single mother. Better hours. And I bet you could use the extra cash." He shrugged.

"No, this promotion isn't about money." She frowned. Again, his teeth peered out from beneath his thin lips.

"Must be nice to be independently wealthy."

Too late, she realised what she had just said. Whether he had already known about the cheque from Sam, or whether he just suspected, was irrelevant. She had just confirmed it.

"We're done here, right?" She stood up, not sticking around long enough to hear his gleeful response.

The words reverberated in his head.

I'm breaking you guys up

"Why are you doing this?" He has asked, begged. And Ecklie had offered some bull about mis-management. He had basically accused Gil of being corrupt, of allowing his team to cover up his mistakes. He had tried in vain to change the man's mind, but Conrad Ecklie was unwavering in his decision.

Catherine was moving to swing shift, and taking Warrick and Nick with her. Sofia was joining Sara and Greg on Grissom's team.

Suddenly, Jim's warning played back in his head. The detective had been right on the money – this had nothing to do with the Larson case, it was just an opportune chance to do what Ecklie had always wanted to do: break up Gil's precious team.

Sara stalled in the doorway, taken aback by the scene.

"Hey." She cleared her throat. Catherine looked up and smiled sadly.

"Hey."

"I hear congratulations are in order?" Sara said, although there was little joy in her voice.

"Yeah, I guess." Cath laughed, shaking her head. She started to say something, but was cut off by her cell phone.

Sara turned to her locker to give her some privacy while she took the call. After a moment, she heard the older woman hang up and groan tiredly.

"Something wrong?"

"No," Cath sighed. "Just my first callout as the new Swing Shift Supervisor. I suppose I'd better call the boys back here. Guess I'll have to get used to ruining their day, huh?" She smiled weakly. "I'll see you around, Sara."

"Yeah," Sara exhaled sadly. "See you around."

Admittedly, she and Catherine had never exactly been close; but she still couldn't help but notice that the room felt that bit more empty than usual with the blonde's departure.