A/N: Hey, hope everybody had happy holidays! I know this post is a bit shorter that recent ones, but I've got to follow the natural breaks of the story. This is (in my opinion) when the really good stuff starts, so sit back and grab hold. About three to five chapters out, things are going to start speeding uppity up. Keep up the reviews! They rock my world!

Oh, and thanks to Strummer29, whose prompt gave me vision and structure for this post and a few more to come. Without you, this chapter could have taken ages, but you saved it! Hooray!

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I won't be dramatic and say that being away from Sara was one of the hardest things I've ever had to do, but it wasn't fun. Three days in I was half-ready to quit work and fly back to her. Having Lindsey with me was both good a consolation and a discomfiture. She distracted me and I'd missed her, but it felt as if she never stopped talking about Sara and how much she wanted to meet Ayla and Maggie. As promised, Sara and I talked on the phone at least once a day and we emailed constantly. Once, I was stuck in my office one night at work and I procrastinated doing my paperwork by having a two-hour instant message chat with her.

After a week of separation, Sara called with some disheartening news; Molly had decided to petition the will and file for custody of the girls. While Sara's lawyer had assured her that Molly didn't stand a chance, this new development did mean a lot of extra paperwork, conferences, and hearings. And all of that meant that Sara was not going to be able to come home for a visit.

At first, I was upset- I had looking forward to our time together, but then we started talking about what to do with the girls for summer vacation and I got an idea. Lindsey got out of school a few days earlier than Ayla did. And Grissom did say that he saved my vacation time. Granted, I doubt he thought I'd be using it this soon but…I'd just have to make him an offer he couldn't refuse.

Everything fell into place from there. Lindsey and I would go back to San Francisco for ten days to help get the girls ready to move. Sara needed to go through everything in Matt and Warren's house to divide things up and put the rest in storage, and she also needed help to pack up the girls' things. I was so excited about returning to San Francisco and taking Lindsey with me, that I could hardly think about anything else.

"So while you were gone, Mitch and I finally had that threesome with one of the Brazilian showgirls from the Tangiers- can't remember her name. Jeremy walked in on us and we had to explain how it's not cheating when you do it together."

"Huh?"

My sister was sitting at my counter, head propped up on one elbow, staring at me incredulously. "Oh, my God! You haven't heard a word I've been saying have you?"

"Uh…" I smiled apologetically, "…no. Sorry. I was thinking about something else." Namely, umm…Sara.

She sighed, "You know, I don't know where your mind has been this week. It's like you're on an entirely different planet. Even Mom has noticed, and you've seen her for a whole ten minutes. I know that you never go out of your way to spend quality time with Mom, but now it's like you're avoiding her."

I shook my head in denial, "I'm not avoiding her. I just…haven't been in the mood to handle her." That was true. Kind of.

"No," she argued, gesturing with a Cheeto puff, "no, it's more than that." Half a light bulb went on in her head. "You know what it's like? It's like the time you were dating that cocktail waitress in the eighties. Remember? You referred to her as Alex instead of Alexis and played the pronoun game with me so that I wouldn't figure out she was a she?" Nancy laughed, "You avoided Mom like crazy then because you were afraid of what she'd do to you if she found out you were-" Nancy's eyes went wide as the other half of the light bulb switched on. I busied myself with wiping the counter.

"Oh, my God. You're in love."

My head snapped up. That was a jump. "What?!"

"Yes. You're totally in love. And it's with a woman."

I gave my most convincing snort. "Better leave the investigating to me, Nance."

It was her turn to snort. "No? Let's play your little game for a second and 'examine the evidence.'" She counted off on her fingers, "You're avoiding Mom, which is a sure sign you're doing something she won't approve of; remember how you didn't talk to her at all that summer you and Zach Gruber got high everyday at the public pool? You're being totally spacey; your shirt is inside out, by the way. You've been complaining about not getting any sleep. You've perfected the lover's mope, like you'll waste away whether or not you gaze longingly out the window. But you've got the weirdo mood swings, too, because I know that Linds and I walked in on you belting out 'Walking on Sunshine' along with the radio- using the broom as a mike stand. Don't even try to deny it."

I won't deny it. It's a classic song. Nevertheless, Sara and I had agreed to wait before we told anyone, and we wanted the girls to be the first to know; after all it would affect their lives the most. "You have a very active imagination, Nancy. If only my life were that interesting." Yes, if only.

She held up her hands in surrender, "Fine, don't tell me. I, unlike you, am a patient woman, though god knows where I get it in this family. I know I'm right. I'll find out eventually. Now, what I was saying before; do you and Lindsey want to come with us to the water park?"

"When?"

"The twenty-fourth."

I ducked my head guiltily and coughed, "Ah…can't. Love to, but can't. Sorry."

"That's fine. We can always go some other time this summer" She frowned at a Cheeto. "Can I ask what you'll be doing instead?"

I spun to the sink and mumbled something incomprehensible.

"What was that?"

"Flying to San Francisco," I said quickly.

"What?! Again? Why?"

"Well, you know, Linds and I are due a family vacation and I really liked the time I spent there, and you know how attached Lindsey has gotten to Sara, so…"

"Oh, my God, it's Sara, isn't it?" Damn. "Isn't it? You're in love with Sara."

I gave her my best look of contempt. Stupid sisters. "I hate you."

"Oh, my God…"

My sister's acceptance of my sexuality was tenuous, which is better than my mother's, which was non-existent. I came out to Nancy when she was sixteen and I was nearly twenty. And she was cool with it, in theory. But when it came to practical application…not so much. When I introduced her to my first serious girlfriend, her reaction was, "I thought you were kidding, you know, like you got drunk and kissed a girl once or something. Holy shit, Cathy, Mom's gonna flip!" So…yeah. By the time Sara and I had gotten together, she was a bit better than that, but not much. Twenty years had changed her thoughts of lesbianism from 'Ah! Alien!' to 'Crazy and trendy.' Which meant that at bake sales, she could drop a line about her bisexual ex-stripper sister and all of the other moms would think she was either bohemian and wild or kind (better known as patronizing) and supportive.

It was the sort of thing that, provided we didn't talk about it in depth, there was no awkwardness between us. She was right about one thing, though; Mom would flip. Mom did flip, somewhere around 1986. I made the mistake of wanting an honest relationship with my mother. So, when she asked if I was seeing anyone, I casually said, 'Remember Melinda from work? We've been flirting a lot lately, but nothing's happened yet.' Disaster. She went ballistic, threw a fit, didn't talk to me for a week, and then pretended that the whole thing never happened. And apart from an ignored comment on my part here and there, 'Catherine's flexible sexuality' was never been mentioned again.

I'm not complaining though. I don't think I could have stood it if she wanted to join PFLAG, wear 'Proud Mom' t-shirts, and attend rallies. I could just see her deciding to be supportive and then introducing me as 'Catherine, my eldest and sexually explorative daughter.' I am thankful for the little things.

So, I explained the situation to my sister as best I could while giving as few details as possible. For instance, I told her that Sara asked me out after her friends' funeral, but I didn't mention the romantic serenade, or the making out, or the watching the sunrise, or the sleeping in each other's arms. As soon as I did any of that, she would get that look on her face like I brought her soft-boiled eggs instead of hard-boiled. You don't want to be a bitch and send it back, but you don't want to it, either. Nancy gave me her 'I'll support you through anything' speech and then proceeded to tell me the hundred reasons why this relationship wouldn't work, never mind that Sara is a woman.

When Nancy left with Lindsey in tow, I collapsed on the couch. I knew I should be thankful that I didn't have a torch and pitchfork kind of family, and that even if she wasn't okay with it, my sister was making and effort, but sometimes I didn't wonder if things would be easier if we didn't tiptoe around my sexuality like it was a sleeping bear. If I was watch a movie with my mom and my sister, and I thought that Angelina Jolie looked damn fine in some outfit, I had to hold my tongue because it would make them uncomfortable. If I thought about it too much, that kind of thing really got under my skin.

I sighed and lifted myself off the couch to go fold laundry and get ready for work. No matter how many times I wanted to explode at them and provoke them into telling me what they really thought- You made less of a fuss when I was pawning your jewelry for drug money! When I was dancing, you were disappointed but you dealt with it. But I fall in love with a woman and you're ready to ship me off to somewhere where they help 'the kind of people who have my problem'!

No matter how tempting that was, I would never do it for the same reason I didn't do a lot of things. Lindsey. Lindsey needed her family. Apart from Eddie's mother who was overbearing and manipulative, Nancy, Mom, Jeremy, and Nancy's husband Mitchell were the only family either of us had. And while I could certainly live without my mother most of the time, and Mitchell seriously needed a set of nose hair clippers, Linds needed all the family she could get.

Before I left for work, I opened my email to find my daily message from Sara, but I also had one from Maureen.

Catherine!

How you holding up there, girl? Missing your lady love, I'll bet. Well, I thought you might be, so I attached a little something for you. Joe and I and the kids were with Bird and the girls at the wharf yesterday and then the park. Got a few shots worth sending of the three of them. One (you'll know which), she forbade me from sending. So, of course I had to get to you!

Hope everything's good with you, girl! Sara said that you're bringing your little girl out here for a bit, how about we have a shopping day and ditch the kiddies with the hubbies? ; )

Alright, tell me how you like the pics,

Mo'

I was smiling as I opened up the attachments. The first photo was Ayla, Maggie, and Sara in front of one of those build-your-own-teddy-bear stores each holding a bear. Maggie's was dressed as a fairy, Ayla's was a doctor, and Sara's was a pirate. Apparently, the pirate and the fairy were aquainted because fairy-bear was kissing pirate-bear. I wish I was fairy-bear. Both girls were looking at the camera, but Sara was smiling down at them.

The second photo was Sara reading to the girls at the park. She was stretched out on her stomach and propped up on her elbows. Ayla had climbed up on her back and was reading over her shoulder while Maggie sprinkled grass in Sara's hair with only one sandal on. Priceless.

As soon as I opened the third one, I knew it was the one Sara wouldn't want sent. It was also, in my opinion, the best one. It was a picture of just her, swinging on a swing. Maureen had taken it from behind and Sara was leaning way back and appeared upside down in the photo. Her hair was flying everywhere, her bare arms were tensed and muscular, and in the foreground, her beautiful face and smile beamed upside down at me. Beautiful.

Sara would, of course, hate this picture. But I loved it. It immediately became my new background.

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Warrick caught me smiling at my computer screen on shift later that evening and tried to sneak a look. He had come into my office without knocking. I jumped and immediately slammed the top down on my lap top. He threw his hands up in surrender.

"Hey," he said, smiling, "Can't blame a guy for being curious."

"About what?" I coughed.

"About whoever it is that has you bouncing around the office these days."

I could feel the blush on my cheeks, "I don't know what you're talking about." I couldn't stop the smile, though.

"Yeah, whatever, Cath. I ain't seen you this happy since never. You've found somebody; don't even try to deny it. You are head over heels." He took a seat in a chair and crossed one long leg over the other.

"I'm not denying anything."

"No? Well then, how about some details? Did you meet while you were away with Sara? In San Francisco?"

I hesitated. I knew I was about to play a dangerous game here, but it was so much fun. "That's where we got together, yeah."

"You're together? Already? Snap! Way to go Cath- reel 'em in fast."

"I didn't reel anyone in, it just sort of happened." I blushed again thinking of my and Sara's first kiss at Ducky's. "We're taking it slow, but we're not seeing anyone else."

"Okay, cool." He sat back, nodding. He cracked his knuckles. "So now; tell me the good stuff."

"What good stuff?" I pretended to be looking at some files.

"Cath!!" Warrick chastised. "The good stuff. Let's start with the basics. Male or female?"

I had indirectly told Warrick I was bi about three days after we first met and he didn't bat an eye. He has been one of my few staunch allies since I began working at CSI. In any of my old careers, nobody cared; it was just like that in the glitz and glam or Vegas. But in the police department, any kind of sexual preference, same-sex to fetish, was kept under wraps or at least very discreet. Warrick and I shared a common bond in our not-so-shiny Vegas pasts, and in him I found a loyal friend and confidant. He takes me as I am and doesn't question my choices, only my judgment.

I giggled. I knew I should stop, but a part of me really wanted to tell someone, "Female."

"Aha. Okay, so older or younger?"

"Younger."

"Jailbait, eh?" He waggled his eyebrows.

I flicked a paperclip at him. "Don't be gross."

"Sorry. So…"

"So what?"

"So, how much younger?"

"Eight years, a little less."

"That makes her what, thirty-two? Thirty-three?"

"My girlfriend is thirty-three." I beamed.

Two days after my return, Sara had called me her girlfriend. Not to me. She had been interrupted by Tim offering her a sandwich and she had said, 'Not right now, I'm on the phone with the girlfriend.' She thought she'd thought she had the speaker covered, but she didn't. I teased her about it until she had gotten annoyed.

"Well, either you are my girlfriend or you're hanging up now, because no one except a girlfriend is allowed to pester me like this."

"I guess I'll just have to be your girlfriend then. 'Cause I'm not hanging up for a very long time."

"God, you're a frustrating woman."

Whenever I thought about being Sara's girlfriend, I probably smiled a mile wide. Earlier that day, Lindsey had caught me and asked me if I thought my face was going to get stuck like that.

Warrick returned my smile. "Girlfriend, eh? And she's the same age as Sara. A friend of Sara's then? Is she okay with that? Does she know?"

"Oh, she knows." I snorted, "She's pretty fine with it; I guess you could say it was sort of her idea."

"Really?" He looked disbelieving. "Wow. Okay, next question. When did you get together?"

I blushed and hid my face in my hands, "A week ago…at one of the memorial receptions." Now that I thought about it, that sounded awful.

"Cath…you didn't."

I could only blush and nod.

"Well, I guess that's something to tell the grandkids. Oh, there's another question. Has she got kids?"

I nodded. "Two."

"Does she want more? Do you?"

I froze; though it was still really early in our relationship, this was not something I'd thought about before. "I don't know. She wants Lindsey if that's what you mean, and I want her girls…but more than that, I don't know." I smiled at the idea of raising a baby with Sara, changing diapers and three am feedings, "Maybe, yeah."

Warrick saw the far away look in my eye and his jaw dropped, "Wow, you are seriously in love with this chick aren't you? Together a week and you're already thinking of a baby?"

I could only giggle like a little girl and nod.

"So, do I get a name?"

I stopped smiling and sat up in my chair, "No!" I said, too fast. "I mean," I tried to cover it up, "not yet."

His eyes narrowed, he was suddenly suspicious. "Okay…"

I sighed, "I'll tell you what, if you guess it, I'll tell you if you're right."

"Guess? Cath, this isn't Rumpelstilskin, there are like a million names out there."

"This one is fairly common." I shut my eyes, why was I helping him?

"Fairly common thirty years ago, or fairly common now?"

"Both."

Warrick leaned back in his chair, "Okay, common name, I assume it's not Catherine?"

I nodded, "Correct."

"Alright, umm…Emily?"

I shook my head.

"Umm…Jane? Mary? Helen? Gillian?"

"Nope."

"Margaret? Sally? Jessica? Julia?"

"Uh-uh."

It went on like this for a while and I was beginning to feel safe in that he would never guess, until;

"Well, I mean, the most common name I can think of is Sara, but since…"

My eyebrows shot up of their own accord when he said Sara's name and then I flinched, knowing I had just been caught.

"Sara? Sara? Wait, wait; wait. I take it you don't mean a friend of Sara's who also happens to have the same name?"

Wordlessly, I shut my eyes and shook my head.

Warrick was stunned, "Sara? Our Sara? Sara Sidle, CSI?"

I tried to smile, waiting for his response. I could only nod.

"Wow. I guess I just never…" His eyes narrowed. "Prove it."
I crossed my arms over my chest. "What? No! I don't have to prove anything."

"Because you can't," he goaded. "You're just trying to trick me."

"That's ridiculous." I stood up, defensive, "Why would I do that? Sara would kill me if I started that rumor and I wasn't dating her."

Warrick just smiled.

"Fine, you want proof? Fine; here." I lifted up my laptop and turned it around to show him the background on my computer. "That's what I was looking at when you barged in here. That's what made me smile. A photo of my girlfriend, Sara Sidle! And if you don't believe that, believe this." I pulled up the email that she had sent me that afternoon;

Cath,

Okay, so I just got off the phone with you a couple of hours ago, and nothing has really happened since then, except that Maggie came at me with scissors and tried to cut my hair (crisis safely averted). But I wanted to talk to you. But I would feel stupid when you picked up and I didn't have anything to say. I feel connected to you knowing that you'll read what I'm typing, so it's nearly the same. Not really, though. I can't hear your voice. Okay, never mind, this is ridiculous.

I miss you. That's really what I wanted to say. I miss you even since we talked four hours ago. There's so much I want to tell you that it doesn't make sense to tell in an email or on the phone. I know we've been apart for nearly as long as we've being together but it just doesn't seem fair that I reach for you and you're not there. I miss you. I already said that. And now I'm going to go before I hit rock bottom and tell you that you're the wind beneath me wings. Tragically enough, it could happen. But, whatever.

Come back to me soon (even if I'm the one that's away), call me tomorrow (or sooner, if you want), give Lindsey all my love and hugs and kisses (tell her I've got her a present and let's make her wait out the week to find out what it is).

Love and Yours,

Sara

My heart had jumped and skipped when I had read those four little letters at the bottom. L-O-V-E. Of course, it was implied in everything we said, and signing it in an email was not the same as saying it out loud. But still. I had been signing my emails with a 'love always' since the day I got back. Today had been the first day Sara had signed any but '–Sara.' Seeing those four little letters made me feel sky-high.

"There, see?" I was quite irate at having to defend my love to one of my closest friends. Of course, I couldn't really blame him for not believing me. Hell, sometimes I still don't believe it.

"Yeah." His eyebrows were through the roof. "Wow."

"I know!" I grinned, cocking my hip to one side.

"So…you're in love with Sara." He gave me a calculating look.

"You're quick."

"And she's in love with you."

I grinned a stupid grin and felt myself relax just thinking about her email. "Yup. Sounds like it."

"And she's just adopted two kids and you have a daughter and she's coming back here and you're all just going to be one…big happy family?"

I stubbornly stuck out my chin, "Yes."

There was a moment of silence before Warrick smiled, "Okay, then." He held out his arms to me.

I walked into his hug, "Really?" I could hardly believe he had accepted us that just like that; I knew it wouldn't be this easy with many of the other people in our lives.

"Really, Cath. I mean, the timing's weird and you guys will have to make some major changes to make this work, but I'm happy for you."

"Me too." I laughed.

I pulled out of his warm embrace and sat back down at my desk, watching my computer background smile at me. I smiled back. Warrick agreed not to tell anyone until we were ready and I called Sara to tell her I had let it slip. She had been a bit nervous at first, though she relaxed quite a bit when I had assured her that not only was he very supportive of our relationship, but he was also sworn to secrecy. She was just as happy as I was to know that we had at least one ally at the office. I had the feeling that she was worried about how the rest of the team was going to take it, especially a certain silver-haired scientist. She was not the only one.

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Okay, who liked it? Just because he's short, doesn't mean he shouldn't be reviewed. No reviews and I won't post for a month. On the tail of a really huge cliffy. Just to spite you.