A/N: Thanks for all the reviews guys...believe it or not, they help me through my writer's blocks that seem to be coming more frequently. Sorry about the horrendously long update; but life, writer's blocks, and uncooperative internets got in the way... So, without further adu, here's Chapter 13...and, if the book seemed slow this far...things will start picking up real soon...

Props to my beta MootheQuackingCow. I revised some of the dialogue, so any mistakes you find in here are my own.

Rating: Yep...it's still at M; I just thought I should let everyone know that there will be foul language in this chapter, so if that kinda stuff makes you blush...why are you even bothering with any of my books? Lol. JK JK, but not really.

Chapter 13:

"Have you ever been low / Have you ever had a friend that let you down so / When the truth came out / Were you the last to know / Were you left out in the cold / 'Cause what you did was low"

-Kelly Clarkson; Low

CSI HQ

Locker Rooms

Tuesday December 20, 2004

5:12 p.m.

Warrick bent over and began lacing up his boots when the locker room door swung open and a shadow appeared. From what he could tell the shadow had a curvy figure, probably a woman, and was shorter than he was...about five or six inches shorter...

Oh no... Warrick thought as the one person who fit that description popped into his head. He turned and prepared himself to be chewed out by his ex-girlfriend, when he came face to face with a just as feisty red head...

"Kris?" Warrick asked slightly disheartened. She raised a brow and shook her head.

"Geez Rick, don't seem so happy to see me." She replied sarcastically and went over towards her locker. Warrick sighed and shook his head.

"I thought you were someone else..."

"Catherine isn't here yet..." Kris replied, knowing that's who she had been mistaken for.

Warrick shook his head. "I didn't think you were Catherine." He lied and she scoffed and shook her head.

"Do I radiate the inherent aura of a complete imbecile or something...? Because everyone at this lab seems to think I'm a complete idiot." Warrick gave her a look and she shook her head. "I know you were looking for Catherine without really looking for her."

"Was not." Warrick lied in a soft voice and Kris sighed and sat down on the bench as she changed out of her "play" boots, into her work boots.

"Rick...don't play coy with me..." She sighed and put her foot back on the floor. "You don't want her to leave...so go talk to her."

Warrick's head snapped over to her direction. "You know for sure she's leaving?"

Kris shook her head. "No...but if she is, you're not wanting her to go may have a big impact on her decision."

"Kris, look, I appreciate the whole 'pep talk' thing you've got goin' on...but I'm not up for it. I'm a big boy and I can make my own decisions and my own mistakes...so let me make them."

"Is letting go of the woman you love really a mistake you want to make?" She countered and Warrick ignored her and slammed his locker shut as he walked out of the locker room. Kris sighed, sat down on the bench, and put her head in her hands.

Damnit Catherine...what're you doing? Kris asked herself and sighed as she hung her hands off her knees and stared at the ugly blue color of the lockers.

"Kris...?" Came the soft voice of Catherine. Kris turned her head towards the door to see Catherine slipping into the locker rooms. "Is anyone else in here?"

"No."

Catherine sighed and nodded as she sat down next to the younger woman. "Good...we need to talk." She replied solemnly.

CSI Crime Lab

Grissom's Office

9:18 p.m.

"We need to talk..." Grissom said softly as Sara sat down in the chairs in front of him. He looked at her hopelessly and then cast his eyes to the floor. "I don't know..." He sighed again and put his head in his fist. "I don't know what to do about Catherine..."

"Has she come to a decision yet?" Sara asked softly and Grissom sighed heavily and dragged his gaze up to hers briefly before letting it fall once again. He moved his fingers to massage his temples and gave a gentle nod. Sara sighed and looked down. "Oh..." She stole Grissom's gaze once again. "Why is she leaving? Haven't we made her feel like she has a home here? Like she has a family? We've always supported her, through everything; I mean yeah...I guess she and I had some problems in the beginning, Hell, who didn't hate me?"

"I didn't." Grissom stated absently.

"Why would she leave? What could have possibly gone so wrong that would make her want to bail out of here so quickly?" Sara asked, truly stumped. She stared at the floor confusedly and shook her head as she fidgeted as she thought. Grissom bit his lip and contemplated telling her the real reason, but knew that it was really none of her business. The people who knew, knew for a reason and that knowledge was to be respected, not abused. So Grissom kept his trap shut. "I just..." She sighed and sat back in her chair. "I just can't believe she's leaving..." Grissom finally looked up at her eyes, and was slightly taken aback to see that his lover was crying.

He knew she was taking this hard, but he really had no idea. Way to slip back into your old ways so quickly Gil. Grissom thought bitterly, and quickly decided to prove his internal self wrong. I'm not just going to sit here and let her cry her heart out like I've been forced to do so many times over the years. No. I'm going to help her through this and be the man she needs. Grissom informed himself and reached over towards her.

"Honey..."

Before his skin finally met hers, the door to his office swung open and Ecklie stood in the way. Alright...next time you have a bright idea Gil...do it fast! "Grissom...where is your team?" Ecklie snapped exasperatedly as if his bursting into Grissom's office and interrupting a vital conversation with Sara was all a bother to himself.

"Out in the field and Greg is in his lab while Sara and I were talking...where are you Conrad?" Grissom replied blankly and Ecklie narrowed his gaze.

"Get them all back here ASAP." He snapped.

"They're out on assignments...at their scenes." Grissom said slowly and patiently as if he was explaining it to a child. "They have responsibilities. They can't just leave, they have investigations to complete."

"They have responsibilities to this lab, now call them back, we have important matters to discuss..." Ecklie replied ominously and walked from Grissom's office.

"Is it just me or did that man get scarier with his new instilment of power?" Nick asked, suddenly appearing in Grissom's doorway, watching Ecklie walk away with disgust.

"Definitely scarier." Catherine chorused as she walked up behind him.

"What are you two doing back?" Grissom asked perplexed.

"Finished our scene." Nick stated simply and spotted Sara sitting in the chair in front of Grissom's desk, sort of hunched forward, not acknowledging their presence. Her face was closed off from view otherwise he would have seen she was crying. "Hey Sar. How'd your B&E go...? I know those always suck."

"Fine." She answered softly.

Nick stared at her a minute longer, then looked back up to Grissom and blinked. The look on his supervisor's face told him to leave it be, so Nick nodded and did as 'advised'. "We heard Ecklie had something 'important' to tell us..." Catherine replied, breaking the silence.

Grissom stared at her, then glanced at Sara and locked eyes briefly with her, then returned his azure eyes to Catherine. "Yes...it may take a while to get the rest of the team here. So feel free to continue on with your evidence."

Catherine and Nick nodded and stood there a minute longer, before leaving in silence. Sara stood and made way to follow them, leaving a downcast Gil behind. Damn...next time don't take so long, genius... He thought, then laughed at the cruel bit of irony handed to him. He had made her wait for him for nearly eight years since the day they met... yeah. Now that he thought about it, a few hours didn't seem so unbearable.

CSI Crime Lab

Break Room

Wednesday December 21, 2006

1:18 a.m.

"Alright, it's been hours...this is unbearable! Where are they!?" Catherine growled irritated. There was still no word from Kris or Warrick about their case or when they'd be back, and so far, no one could get a hold of them.

"Calm down Catherine, I'm sure they'll be here any minute." Greg replied slightly hopeful.

She sighed and slumped into the couch. "It's just stupid...they're keeping us all waiting." She scoffed and shook her head. "Typical Warrick." She grumbled under her breath. Yeah, that's right Cath; just bad mouth him and lie to yourself about how horrible he is, that'll make the pain go away.

When Catherine had told Lindsey the previous night of her offer to move to Miami for lead CSI in Days, Lindsey had been somewhat reluctant. Her first concern being her friends and life here in Vegas. They had worked passed that issue with Catherine's promise to let Lindsey visit and stay with her Grandpa over the summer, and tackled her next inhibition...Warrick. Catherine had taken a deep breath and told her that she and Warrick were spending some time apart...

This Lindsey was not pleased with. They had fought for quite a while, till Catherine 'pulled rank' and dropped the subject. Lindsey had been defiant in staying in Las Vegas, and Catherine informed her that she would take her opinion into consideration, but in the end, she would do what she thought was best...

Lindsey had kicked her mother out of her room and refused to speak to her until she changed her mind about moving. Once Lindsey realized how serious her mother was she gave up her fight; and accepted the cold hard fact...

They were leaving.

Seeing her daughter fight so ardently about staying in Vegas had torn apart Catherine's heart, but when she thought about it, moving to Miami would actually be more sensible than staying in Vegas. In Vegas, Catherine had to worry about her parent's warped relationship and how it was affecting her daughter, the crime seemed to be lesser in Miami, and the pay was a lot better. She could afford to get Lindsey into a private school and give her the attention she needed since, surprisingly, the hours weren't as demanding.

Plus, she'd be working days. And the escape from the constant multifarious situations of drama surrounding her in Vegas, Catherine wouldn't be so tuckered out from dealing with everyone else's problems. She could focus on her own problems and her daughter.

But this had all been in mostly the vain attempt to convince herself that Warrick wasn't the biggest reason she was leaving. It might seem silly and juvenile to some, but Catherine really didn't care. She had known Warrick for close to ten years, and they had both known about their feelings for each other, yet neither played on them. She had come close to giving up plenty of times...until he had finally got his ass in gear and kissed her. Man that had been an awesome kiss; it had been the most perfect first kiss she had ever received. And the love she felt coursing through her and that was shared throughout the kiss didn't hurt either.

But that was in the past. They had their problems, and they thought it would all work itself out...but it didn't. It couldn't. They were just too different in too many ways. And she wasn't going to sit around and wait for him for the rest of her life...

She wouldn't be Sara.

Catherine respected and cared for Sara like a daughter, but sometimes she thought that girl was plain blind. She would never question her intelligence or her abilities to be a CSI...but being in a relationship was a whole other ball game. Sara was spending the better part of her life waiting for a man who, sadly, was too blind himself to look her way and realize what he was missing. Catherine cared for them both and had done as much as she could to get Gil moving, but she couldn't be Cupid. She had her own life to worry about, including that of her daughter's. And she couldn't sit around and be 'Ms. Fix-it' for the rest of her life...

She couldn't, and wouldn't, do that to Lindsey.

"Yo! Earth to Catherine..." Greg sang waving a hand in front of her face. She shook her head, blinked, and slapped his hand away from her. "Where'd you go just now Cath?" Greg asked and Catherine sighed.

"I was sleeping with my eyes open Sanders." She snapped, and Greg chose to back off.

He held up his hands in surrender and took a few steps back. "Fine, fine...I'm backing off...I can take a hint."

Sara scoffed from her own little corner of the room as she flipped through her magazine as if she hadn't made the noise. "'You can take a hint'...yeah right." Sara mumbled causing Greg to roll his eyes and sigh as he wandered in the direction of the coffee pot. Greg shook his head in disbelief.

"Jesus! What is with you women today? Are you all PMS-ing or something?" He asked exasperatedly, to which all heads in the room snapped up to look at him in shock.

Catherine and Sara stared at him in disbelief and Nick chuckled and shook his head. "Dude, Greggo, try not to get yourself killed, okay? We need you as a lab tech..." Nick replied and went back to his video game. Sara chose to ignore Greg and replaced yelling at him with storming down the hall and into Grissom's office. Catherine merely huffed and went back to her magazine, having bigger problems than the obnoxious lab tech.

Suddenly Warrick and Kris walked into the room and looked around at the somber mood. "Hey guys...Jeez, who kicked the puppy in here?" Kris asked and Warrick scoffed and shook his head. Kris glared at the back of his head and rolled her eyes as she went to sit next to Catherine on the couch, who hardly noticed their entrance. Greg looked between Kris and Warrick confused, they had left to the scene perfectly amicable...now they were at each other's throats.

"You're late." Catherine stated simply.

"Yeah, I'm aware of that. But if some people would hurry their asses up instead of flirting at crime scenes, we wouldn't have been late..." Warrick snapped, directing his comment at Kris. Her eyes bulged and her head snapped towards him.

"Excuse me?! I was getting information about the damn case; if anyone was flirting it was you and that fucking nurse Tiffany or whatever. And if I remember correctly, it was you who kept us waiting, because I was in the Denali all ready to go by the time you dragged your sorry ass into the fucking vehicle!" Kris rebutted, opting for her more colorful vocabulary in her recent state of anger.

"Hey! Her name was Tina!" Warrick corrected, causing Greg to accidentally let a chuckle slip out, finding it amusing that out of all the insults Kris threw Warrick's way, he chose to correct the nurse's name. Everyone ignored him as he buried his face in the newspaper and focused on yesterday's Sodoku.

Kris shot Warrick a 'you've-gotta-be-kidding-me' look and scoffed and sat down. "Fuck off Warrick. Don't take your shitty day out on me." She snapped and looked around for the newspaper. "Where's the Sodoku?"

Greg's eyes widened and he shrunk back a little, nervous that he was now the one under her radar...which was hardly ever a good thing. She narrowed her gaze on him, then raised a brow slightly and held out her hand. Touching Kris' Sodoku was like taking Grissom's crossword. It simply wasn't done...

Kris and Grissom had a system; they alternated the Sodoku's and crosswords between each other by alternating days, and flipping a coin to see which one of them got the word jumble of the day.

Kris pulled a pen from her front jacket pocket and began filling in the numbers to the confusing jumble with complete ease. And as quickly as the fight between Warrick and Kris had started, it ended, and they 'returned to their neutral' corners to steam in peace. "Did y'all check in with Griss?" Nick ventured.

"Yes." Warrick and Kris said in unison monotone and looked at each other blankly, before looking back at the objects that were holding their separate attentions. Nick nodded and went back to his video game, leaving everyone to themselves before Catherine sighed.

"Well Grissom had to rush us all in here, now we're waiting here...for what?" Catherine asked herself, annoyed with the situation.

"Catherine, please sit down and don't worry. He'll be here soon." Kris replied, not looking up from her number game. Anyone else would have gotten their head bitten off, but Catherine merely sighed and did as Kris had requested.

A few minutes later Grissom and Sara walked in, each looking equally stressed. Suddenly Ecklie appeared behind them. "Everyone...make yourselves comfortable."

CSI Crime Lab

CSI Car Garage

2:03 a.m.

"This is really uncomfortable..." Came the muffled complaint from the trunk of the car. Kris mimicked the comment and rolled her eyes.

"Well you're locked in the tiny trunk of a car genius...of course it won't feel too peachy." She grumbled.

"Can I come out now?" The voice requested irritated.

"No." The voice of Warrick sighed and she heard movement from the trunk, then another sigh and a couple grunts and curse words thrown at her and the car. "Just keep still and you can get out of there, I'm almost finished."

"Well hurry it up...I still don't understand why I had to be in the trunk..."

"Because, you're the closest height and weight to the Vic, and I'm the only one of us who knows how to work this new software..."

"So if we have software why am I in here?"

"We need a human's perspective. Machines can only take it so far."

"That's a stupid reason...I think you just wanted to stick me in the trunk." She rolled her eyes. "And quit rolling your eyes or they'll get stuck like that." Warrick instructed and Kris turned to the trunk and stared in surprise. Was she that predictable? "Yes Kris, you're that predictable." Warrick answered her internal question. "Would you please just hurry it up so I can get out of here...?"

Kris chuckled at the mental picture of Warrick cramped in the tiny space and shook her head as she punched in the dimensions of the trunk and the vic's body weight, along with the other variables contributing to the man's premature death. "Quit complaining, you're distracting me."

Warrick sighed and a few seconds later, a soft humming was heard. Kris raised a brow and tried to focus on the car, not the sound of Warrick's sweet voice. She secretly wondered if he ever sang to Catherine when they were dating, and gave a soft smile, remembering that Catherine had once mentioned that he had. She chuckled softly and felt a pain in her heart for the two, and the thought that Catherine was leaving him...and moving across the Country.

The look of pain and betrayal on Warrick's face when Ecklie had told everyone at the meeting that Catherine was leaving had been more than most of them could bear. He had left the room as soon as the meeting was over, and disappeared to the locker room, quickly followed by Nick.

Almost a half hour later they had reappeared, Warrick looking still unsettled and Nick feeling sorry for him, while saying something supportive. God I hope she knows what she's doing... Kris then sighed softly. Oh wait...she doesn't...that's why she's leaving... Kris continued typing in the dimensions when a soft cough sounded from the trunk.

"Hey...Kris..."

"I'm almost done Warrick, chill out."

"No...I...I wanted to say I'm sorry about earlier...I didn't mean to pick a fight with you..."

She sighed. "I know Warrick...I'm sorry for chewing your ass out." She apologized and Warrick chuckled softly.

"It's okay...I kinda provoked you."

She snorted in an un-lady-like way and nodded. "Yeah...you kinda did."

"...I just...I've been kinda, stressed, I guess you could say..."

"I know 'Rick...I know." She sighed and stood up as the computer beeped, and the printer whirred and began printing her results.

"Can I get out now?"

"Wait, first, tell me, how hard is it to breathe in there?"

"Very...I think this guy definitely could have suffocated in here...speaking of suffocation..." Warrick hinted and Kris sighed and shook her head, too distracted by her train of thought to hear his hint.

"No, remember the fibers in the guys throat weren't tri-lobal...they were plain cotton, and what about the bruises and signs of a struggle?"

"Well, this is a tiny space...and you know for a fact that I didn't get in here without a struggle, and this is for a case...I imagine he wouldn't have been much more cooperative...he must not like tiny, cramped, hard to breathe spaces either..."

"That still doesn't explain the cotton fibers in his mouth."

"Kris! If you don't let me outta here soon you'll be investigating another 419!" Warrick replied frantically and Kris raised a brow.

"Is that a threat...I don't respond well to hostility." She informed him in all seriousness and waited for his reply. "Warrick?" She furred her brows and went over to the trunk and opened it to see Warrick was a funny shade of blue. "Warrick!" She gasped and tried to pull the much heavier man out of the trunk. By some stroke of luck she managed to do so, and he started breathing again after a few chest compressions and rescue breaths.

He coughed and sputtered as he struggled to breathe steadily again. "You're...as bad as...Grissom...when it...comes to...experiments." He gasped between breaths and Kris released a nervous chuckle.

"I'm sorry...I figured you had at least another five minutes of air left..." She explained and Warrick shook his head as he leaned back against the floor, sprawled out, trying to even out his breathing.

"Whew..." He managed and sighed.

She stood up. "The results are done."

"And...?"

"According to the calculations, this car would have definitely toppled over the edge with someone of your weight pulling it down..."

"Gee, thanks." Warrick remarked sarcastically and Kris shrugged.

"Don't blame me...go bitch at Newton."

"Yeah, hang on; I've got him on speed dial two." Warrick joked and Kris rolled her eyes and chuckled.

"Hey, I'm gonna go take these results to Griss...I'll catch up with you in Trace?"

"Cool." Warrick said and gathered up his evidence as he slid the top of his standard LVPD blue jumper back up over his shoulders and buttoned it. Kris waved him goodbye and took off for Trace. Warrick had bent over to pick up the remaining evidence when he saw a familiar pair of legs standing in the doorway behind him. He turned around and saw Catherine standing there, looking slightly flushed. "Yes?" Warrick asked coolly after a few seconds of awkward silence.

"I need to talk to you..."

"I'm working a case." He replied bitterly and brushed passed her. She jogged after him.

"Warrick, its important."

"Unless it has to do with my case I-"

"It does." She interrupted and Warrick stared looking at her skeptically for a moment. "Please." She laid her hand gently on his forearm, and he almost jumped at the amount of electricity he felt shooting rapidly through his body at that very moment. His mouth went dry, his vision blurry, and he felt shaky...just like the first time she had touched him like that.

She tightened her grasp on his arm and he quickly nodded before she touched him again and he was forced to pin her against a wall and ravish her like a wild beast. "Okay..."

She led him down the hall towards the only layout room without windows, and closed the door behind them. He quirked a brow at her attempts to conceal their privacy and sighed as he placed on hand flat on the table and leaned on it for support. "I...I needed to say I'm sorry. I didn't mean the things I said the other night...I was vulnerable and angry and hurt...and I wanted to make you feel the same way too, so...so I thought of the lowest thing I could. I'm sorry."

He blinked blankly a few times and she shifted her footing. Alright...maybe this'll be a little harder than I thought.

"I just didn't want to leave this on bad terms..."

"...That wasn't about the case." Warrick pointed out and Catherine raised a brow, a little taken aback by his apathy.

"Yeah...I kinda lied about that."

"Seems to be a pattern for you." Warrick replied coolly. Catherine balled her fists at her sides, then forced herself to relax and loosened her fists.

Just focus on getting this off your chest...focus on apologizing...at least you can go on with a clear conscience. "I know...I'm sorry Warrick...I just don't want to leave with you hating me." She admitted humbly, anyone who knew her wouldn't recognize her. This was about as un-Catherine as a person could get...

Warrick simply stared, pushed himself off the table, and walked towards her, but at the last minute brushed passed her and walked out the door. Her jaw involuntarily dropped as she watched his retreating form. "You're forgiven." He snapped unconvincingly and Catherine winced at the tone of his voice, and knew he was only saying that to mock her. She closed her eyes and shook her head softly and slipped back into the layout room to mourn in peace.

CSI HQ

Conference Room 2

2:27 a.m.

"God can't anyone get any peace in this lab!?" Kris growled in aggravation, leaving a startled Greg looking at her in worry.

"Um...I'm sorry Krissy-Kins. I didn't know you were in here."

"Well now you do. So get out...and don't call me Krissy-Girl." She snapped and turned back to her work. Ignoring her demand, Greg stepped into the room and closed the door behind him.

"Alright, my amazing CSI skills tell me that you are angry..." Greg chided and Kris ignored him. "Wanna talk about it?" He offered.

"No." She replied defiantly.

Greg nodded and pulled up a chair. "Did I ever tell you that to me, no means yes?"

"No. Explains why you keep asking me out though." Kris grumbled.

"No. That was because you're so amazing...especially when you're angry...did I ever tell you how beautiful you are when you're angry?" Greg asked, batting his eyes, trying to get her to smile. He added a goofy grin in the mix and provoked a glare. "And when you chew my ass out...I just wanna ravish you on top of all the DNA samples." Greg professed and Kris blushed in a very un-Kris-like way.

"Greg..." She said in a low voice, trying to sound threatening, but failing as the blush spread to her neck.

"And when you get all flustered over evidence and yell at guilty ass holes..." He threw his head back. "Friggin orgasmic!" He exclaimed.

"Greg!" Kris begged and blushed further. "C'mon, stop it!"

"...But when I see you sad, it kills me." Greg admitted sadly.

She looked at him with her big hazel eyes and gave a shake of her head. "...Thank you for trying to make me smile, but not today..." She replied and went back to her work, avoiding his gaze.

"Well then will you at least tell me what's wrong?"

"Same thing that's bothering everyone else Greg." Kris replied and Greg sighed and nodded.

"...And...?"

"Don't worry about it."

"Kris-"

"Greg if you don't stop it you're gonna have your own set of problems with me alright? Just back off." She snapped and Greg sighed and stood up from the chair.

"Fine..." He said softly and walked to the door. "Oh..." He said while turning slowly. She looked up and raised a brow. "Happy Birthday." He replied with a small smile and closed the door behind him.

Kris gave him a confused look and stared at the door in perplexity. How did he know it was my birthday...?

CSI Crime Lab

Break Room

2:46 a.m.

She was sleeping safely in her bed...her little Ollie Octopus hugged tightly to her chest, being her shield if anything bad were to come out of the closet and get her. That's where she always heard the sounds coming from...the angry growls and screams of agony and pain...the harsh sound of flesh connecting brutally with flesh, making her wince.

But tonight the screams were louder and deeper. The sound of slaps and buffets came at a continuous rhythm. The whimpers were weaker. And the aura was all around stifling.

So oppressive she could barely breathe.

She coughed and gasped as the horrid scent filtered into her nostrils. She had smelt this before...but never this pungent. Iron. It smelled like iron. And from all the times she'd come in contact with this iron smell and copper taste, she knew very well that it was blood.

It was only then she noticed the sounds had stopped. If she listened closely enough she could hear an ambulance in the distance...

She groaned softly. Great, now they'd all have to go to the hospital again, and she'd be tired for school, so she would most likely fall asleep again. The teacher would yell at her and the kids would laugh...

The sound of footsteps outside her door echoed through the house and heavy breathing haunted her ears. "Oh God...please don't let Mommy get me...not tonight." Little Sara prayed as the door swung open and her father appeared in the doorway, struggling to stand and gasping for air. Sara sat up in bed. "Daddy?" She called softly.

There was no response. She strained to see through the darkness and reached over to turn on her ballerina lamp on her nightstand. She clicked the button, but no light came on. Laura forgot to pay the bills again.

"Daddy?" She called again. Her father stumbled into her room, groaning and cursing. She heard him cough and sputter, and felt something dark and wet land on the foot of her tiny bed. She knew what that was. She looked up as her father's deathly pale face was illuminated by the eerie moonlight.

"S...Sa..." He struggled and coughed up more blood as she saw the blood seeping from his mouth and out of his chest.

She gasped and pressed herself against her headboard. "D...Daddy." She sniffled as he sank to his knees at the end of her bed. She yelped and jumped up to stand on her bed. "Daddy!" She screamed as the ambulance became louder and a smaller, darker shadow appeared in her doorway. "No! Daddy! Don't let her get me!" Sara begged.

She gagged at the smell of iron and liquor in the air. She saw Laura take a swig of whiskey from the bottle then sob and stumble out of the room. Sara stared in shock as her father slumped forward on her bed, leaking blood all over her white sheets, staining Ollie in the process. Her father choked on the blood in his throat and words on his lips as he exhaled his final breath. "Sara..." He gasped and slumped fully, giving Sara a view of the butcher's knife sticking out of his back.

Sara let out a high pitch scream and sunk to her knees only to topple off the bed and climb under the bed, her favorite place to hide. She slipped on the damp carpet and screamed again when she realized it was blood. She scurried out from under the bed and ran to the closet, slipping and leaving a blood trail along the way.

Her tiny little hands were shaking so badly she couldn't open the door; they kept slipping off the handle. She continued to scream and cry as the tears blurred her vision. The ambulance was deafeningly loud as her room was illuminated in the horrific red and blue lights. She dropped to her knees, put her bloodied hands over her ears, and screamed.

"Sara! Sara!!" The voice screamed, shaking her shoulder and jolting her back to reality. Sara looked around the familiar room to see several familiar faces glancing down at her in worry. "Sara..." Grissom's voice said more softly as she regained consciousness and sat up on the couch, swiping the tears from her eyes. She saw the entire nightshift CSIs standing around her, along with several nightshift lab techs and the assistant coroner, David Phillips.

Damn...was I really that loud? She thought and looked around embarrassedly.

"You were having a nightmare..." Catherine explained softly and knelt down next to her.

"Are...Are you okay?" Nick asked from the side and Sara looked around at all the faces around her. She felt as if they were all breathing down her neck and closing her in, suffocating her. She began to get fidgety and take deeper breaths, feeling a panic attack coming on.

"Alright people, c'mon...clear out, this isn't a crime scene you paparazzi wanna-be's..." Kris and Warrick herded everyone out of the room, leaving only Grissom, Catherine, and Sara. The two of them looked at her uncertainly and Sara blushed and avoided their gazes.

"Are you alright Sara?" Catherine asked worriedly and Sara nodded quickly.

"Uh huh. Yep. Yes. I'm fine." She reassured her several times, only raising their suspicions. Catherine and Grissom shared a concerned glance, then looked back at Sara. "...I need to get back to work." She mumbled and pushed herself off the couch so she could hurry from the room.

Catherine and Grissom turned slowly to watch the door she made her hasty exit from before Catherine turned to Grissom. "...What the Hell was that?"

Grissom merely pursed his lips and took on the all too familiar strained expression and shook his head slightly. "I don't know..."

CSI Crime Lab

Locker Room

Wednesday

December 21, 2006

4:18 a.m.

"I don't know Greg..." Kris said uncertainly as she grabbed her coat from her locker and slid it on her shoulders.

"Aww c'mon Krissy-Kins, it's your birthday!" Greg begged and Kris gasped and shushed him worriedly.

"Keep it down big mouth! I don't want the entire lab knowing...and what'd I say about calling me Krissy-Kins?" She snapped and Greg smirked.

"Plus Grissom let us off a few hours early..." He pointed out, ignoring her protest. "That almost never happens."

Kris sighed and grabbed her black leather calf high boots with silver buckles on the sides, and sat down on the bench. She slid off her work boots, and slid the less comfortable but more stylish boots on her feet. Greg smiled as he watched her do so. He'd been around her long enough to know that she only did that when she planned on going out after work...which was only when he forced her to go somewhere.

"Please Kris...I wanna celebrate your old age." Greg joked and Kris shot him a look.

"I'm not old...you're older than I am."

Greg laughed. "Why are you so freaked out about turning 25? It's a big occasion. You're officially a mature adult, but still in your prime."

Kris raised a brow. "Just for curiosity's sake," She began and zipped up the last boot and set her foot on the ground as she turned slightly to look at him. "How old are you?"

"25."

"Liar."

"28."

"Double Liar."

"100."

"Greg..." She groaned exasperatedly.

"30." He replied with a cheeky grin. She studied him for a moment.

"...You don't look it." She decided and stood up to adjust her off white flowing lace top, hidden by her black jean jacket.

"Why thank you." Greg replied egotistically and tugged on his shirt collar as if he were 'all-that'. "You don't look too bad yourself Missy." Pretty damn fantastic actually... Greg thought. "So, why don't the two of us fabulous youngins go out for a night on the town...c'mon, my treat..."

Kris threw her hands in the air. "Fine! I give up. We'll go..."

Greg punched the air in victory behind her; rejoicing, but so that she couldn't see him. "Alright, wanna just head straight out?"

"Sure."

"Cool." Greg replied nonchalantly as they exited the warm building and pulled their coats tighter when the chill of the cool air hit them.

"Hey Greg?"

"Yeah?"

"...Where exactly are we gonna go for our 'night on the town'...?"

A/N: Gah!! sorry for the horrendously long update everyone! Time slipped away, as did my inspiration...lol. Alright, here we go...relationship/character break down...

Geeklove: Wow! How did everyone like the angsty-Sara-dream-thing? I worked kinda hard on it...I wasn't sure how far to take it, but hopefully it didn't suck completely. There was a lot of Sara-angst in this chapter, and I'm predicting a bit more to come. And, in my eyes, this is kind of a reversal role for them. Grissom has to be caring and learn how to console her in the particular way she needs comforting...oh what a fun ride it will be! ;)

YOBLING: Ah! Angst! Alright everyone, show of hands...who know OFFICIALLY hates me, I know a few people said they would stop reading if there wouldn't be a future for Warrick and Catherine, but I encourage you to keep reading, because you never know what the future hold...-wink-

Kegger: Ha ha! No one likes them...oh wait, I think I know one person likes them (besides me). But it's been so long since I've updated and got reviews, that I forgot who they were! lol! Oh Goodness I'm a special kinda crazy... So, for those of you who do care...yes, they're going out...tee hee. How do you like the little pet name he gave her? (Krissy-Kins) it's so sweet it makes me wanna barf. Lol, (in case y'all forgot, I'm angsty).

Nick/Kris-Detestation: Lol, that sounds weird...hmm...I think I remember someone calling them 'Kricket'. Yeah, I'm gonna borrow that...for now...-hint hint- what oh what am I planning...-thinks about it- Well...I really don't know...we'll just have to wait and see what happens now won't we? Tee hee.

Alright, so there it is. Reviews are wanted. Constructive criticism is welcomed!! (I'm not perfect...so tell me what I could improve on please!) No use bitching to your computer screen about my writing if you hate it...lol, I CAN TAKE IT!!