Author's Note : I know, I usually tack this on at the end, but hey whose story is this anyway? First off, it's a two for one night. That's two chapters in one evening. You know you love me for it. Secondly, please reveiw, you know you want to. Now sit back and read, you know you want to.

Chapter XIV

Nostalgia

Greg - Sofia quickly decided - and his faded jeans with ragged cuffs, black Marilyn Manson tee shirt, streaky spiked hair and crooked grin looked more like a student than a CSI on her investigative team. She looked at the young students passing by her from the round concrete table they'd staked out by the building that Catherine had pointed out as the one that had the records office in it. Since the blonde CSI had "an in" with the records office, Sofia was more than happy to let her go in herself and get the records they needed. Greg was sitting on one of the old cement benches that circled the table, legs stretched out in front of him, and Sofia would bet high roller money that he was ogling the co-eds around them behind his dark sunglasses.

She chuckled, "They're barely legal, Sanders."

He grinned, "The key word there is legal, Sofia, and besides I see the girl for me coming around the corner."

She followed his eye line and had to smile. Sara Sidle didn't look like a co-ed, she had a fresh maturity, and a confident walk: she was a first year professor. She was the one that had all the boys, and some of the girls, sitting in the front row and hanging on her every word. Taupe slacks, a casual white top that revealed a hint of the blue tee beneath it, aviator glasses that hid her eyes and a dark sweep of strait hair. If only Sofia's college professors had been half as gorgeous. Sara reached them and grinned at them both. "Stop ogling me like that." Sofia almost protested, but since Sara was pointing her finger and smiling at Greg, she realized she was in the clear and wisely kept her mouth shut.

Sara stretched, "God this all makes me feel so old." Scoffed, "Three kids called me ma'am when I stopped to ask directions to this building."

Greg laughed, "Oh c'mon you're not old, Sar, I mean Catherine's got like, what, ten years on you?" He waited a single silent beat, "She's standing right behind me, isn't she?"

Sara and Sofia both tried, very valiantly, not to laugh. Catherine, who was standing on the first of many steps that lea to the door of Hunter Hall didn't look like she was laughing. "I hope you can catch a ride back to the lab, Greg."

The shaggy-haired CSI looked at Sara, "Be a pal."

Sara shrugged one shoulder, "Sorry, I'm on the bike and I didn't bring an extra helmet."

Greg groaned, Catherine snorted and Sofia only chuckled. "Don't worry, Sanders, I'll call a black and white for you, you can ride in the back."

That time, Sara didn't even try not to laugh.

Catherine, on the other hand, was not amused. She had two files in her hand, and Sofia would swear that there was one less button fastened on her shirt. "Are we going to work the case or would you guys like to apply for Rush Week?"

Greg pursed his face in disgust, "Greeks are freaks."

Sara nodded her agreement, "Speaking of: were either of our victims Greeks?"

Catherine put the two files on the rough concrete table. "No, both were athletes, though."

Sofia flipped open one of the files. "Mick told Sara and me that there hadn't been any rapes on campus."

Sara held up the newspaper she'd picked up on her walk, "But the "Sound Off!" section of the Rebel Gazette says differently. One of our vics was caught up in a rape controversy."

Catherine nodded, "I'm still getting all the information on that, the detective handling it is on medical leave for a thrown back, but it's a pretty messy case and the University kept it out of the media as much as they could."

Greg nodded, "Days caught it, but I heard bits and pieces, it was a shaky case. Our best case scenario had him pleading down to sexual battery." He picked up the girl's file, "And she had nothing to do with it."

Sara looked over his shoulder at the file for a moment. "There was a possibility that she was raped before."

For a moment, the none of the four spoke, then Catherine put the paper she'd been going over down. "That's the first I've heard of that, what evidence do you have to support that?"

Sara shrugged, "I talked to her roommate a little, she'd been showing signs of post rape traumatic syndrome."

Catherine tilted her head, "They told you that she'd been raped, unless they had front-row tickets, it's hear-say."

A frown flew across Sara's face, "It's not hear-say, it's instinct." The last part was said with a little less confidence than usual and the other three investigators were just a little shocked. Scientist to the bone, Sara Sidle, acting on something as intangible as gut instinct, it was out of the ordinary to say the least. Catherine opened her mouth to comment, but for some reason that Sofia couldn't quite pin down, she closed it again and only shrugged. For her part, Sara stared hard at some indiscernible point over Catherine's shoulder.

Sofia shrugged, and picked up the girls' school file, which combined with their own file, laid out a sketch of the woman Erica Green had been becoming, and handed it off to Sara. "We are officially grasping at straws here, no offence, Sara."

Sara took the folder, flipped it open and began ruffling through its pages. "Maybe, maybe not."

Sofia shrugged, stranger things had happened. "We've already talked to Erica Green's RA, roommates, parents and her coach." She scowled at the last mention. "Jim had to remind the coach where my eyes were, three times during a ten minute interview. Nevertheless, there's the Athletic Director and now the Wrestling team and Marsh's listed roommates to talk to." Catherine grimaced, "I'll pass on the wrestlers, they worry about their weight more than most women." After a few seconds thought, she looked at Greg, "You have fun with the boys, Sanders."

Greg Sanders knew when he was beaten. He put on a pout that was only half-fake. "Wrestling is not my kind of sport. The guys will want to roll around with me and there are no hottie-hot-hottie cheerleaders." Catherine, half smiling now, patted his shoulder, "The Mackellen Gym, go past the library and hang a left, you can't miss it." The CSI 1 left grumbling and Sofia looked at Sara, "Hottie Hot Hottie?" Sara grinned andshook her head as she walked around the table and looked at the many fliers that had been pinned to the side of the steps that lead up to the doors of Hunter Hall. "Greg's got the wrestlers, Catherine can take the Atheletics Director -" She ripped one of the flyers down, "while we talk to these people."

Catherine craned her head to see the flyer, "Tan?"

Sofia joined the two women and looked down at the paper for a moment before rolling her blue eyes, "More anagrams and feminists, you really know how to show a girl a good time, Sara." Catherine looked between the blonde detective and the brunette CSI, "Care to explain that to me?"

Sara smoothed the flyer out on the table, "T-A-N, Take Action Now, it's a grassroots radical feminist group dedicated to stopping rape. It's a step-up from Take Back The Night here on campus. Linda, Erica's roommate mentioned that she was going to meetings down at the student center, and Erica had a matching flyer in her personal effects. It could be a lead." Sofia took the flier for herself, "Couldn't hurt, besides, there's bound to be coffee somewhere in the student center."

Since classes were in session, the campus had, for the most part, settled down. Sara and Sofia passed one or two students studying, taking an early lunch, hanging out, or sun bathing as they followed the directions Catherine had given them to the student center. Sofia looked around the campus, "She sure is familiar with the campus, is this Catherine's school?"

Sara shook her head, "WLVU, the cross-city rival, I think I heard her telling Warrick that she brought Lindsey here for a tour."

Sofia shrugged and they walked, for a few minutes in silence. "My Mother wanted me to go to Oklahoma U, and my Dad had reserved me a spot at his school, University of Virginia since before I was born. They both about killed me when I took my basketball scholarship at PITT."

Sara looked around to confirm their approximate location in relationship to the directions Catherine had rattled off. "Pittsburgh, huh? Go Panthers." Sofia pulled a plastic covered toothpick out of her pocket, "Last time I checked, we beat Harvard into the ground." Sara huffed, "I am not going to dignify that with an answer. We are both too old for a 'My alma-mater is better than yours' argument." Sofia grinned, "So you know when you're beat."

"Sara!"

Both women looked over their shoulder to see if the shouter was trying to get Sara's attention. Sofia looked around and humphed. Sara waited a beat then abruptly turned and started walking again, "Big campus, common name, it happens all the time." The brunette's voice seemed a little strained, but Sofia shrugged it off.

"Sara Sidle!"

This time, Sofia came to a full stop and turned all the way around: had Catherine forgotten something? Sara hadn't stopped and since Sofia didn't see Catherine, she had to pick up her pace to catch back up with the criminalist. "Sara do you think -"

"SARA!"

The voice was more insistent that time, but because of the many buildings and unfamiliar surroundings, Sofia wasn't quite sure where the voice was coming from.

Sara, for her part, was deliberately ignoring it. "I hope the student center has an ATM, I could really use a cup of coffee."

"SAHARA SUN SIDLE!"

Before Sofia could even speak, Sara grabbed her wrist, "C'mon." Sara's dark glasses had slipped just a little and Sofia could see panic in the other woman's eyes. Whoever was calling for Sara, it was obvious that Sara didn't want to speak to them. Sofia's hand fell to her holstered sidearm.

"SARA!"

An unreadable expression went across Sara's face and she turned to face the woman - the voice was far too high to belong to a man - and ran directly into a kiss.

It was the sort of kiss that made people, even jaded college students who were used to performances of public affection that bordered on pornography, stop, and stare.

Sofia could barely blink and found herself short of words.

Catherine, who had been forced to track down the Athletic Director, stared slack-jawed from a smaller walkway a couple of yards away.

Across the walk, on the steps of the gym, Greg struggled to make sounds out of his tight throat.

Wild gold curls tumbled over and French tipped-nails threaded through Sara's rain straight dark locks. The two women were locked in their own little world. There was a strange woman kissing Sara Sidle -- that didn't happen every day. What was more intriguing, amazing, and downright flabbergasting was that Sara Sidle was kissing her back.

Author's Note 2.0 : (insert malicious laughter) Wern't expecting that were you?