Chapter 4

Again, I own nothing. Just this fanfic. This is a short chapter; not sure what happens next. Please R &R

Nick stood in the doorway, watching bemusedely as Ecklie kneeled on his hands and knees, feverishly scrubbing a spot on the carpeting of his office. After a few minutes of observation, Nick cleared his throat causing the Assistant Lab Director to jump and knock his head painfully on the underside of his desk.

As Nick chuckled with attempted silence, Ecklie clambered to his feet rubbing the back of his head. He glared at the young CSI as he tossed a soiled rag into the garbage. "You better have a damn good reason for coming into my office without knocking, Stokes" He barked "Otherwise I'll send your ass packing along with your two friends"

Nick opened his mouth, ready to argue that the door was wide open when he decided better of it. "Actually, Sir" He said with more respect than he had ever felt for the man. "I was just going to turn in my case file to you, seein' as you fired my boss."

Ecklie took two long strides across the room and yanked the file from his hands. "It doesn't pay to be a smart ass, Stokes" He growled. "Catherine is your supervisor from now on, you know that."

"Yes, Sir." Nick nodded. "Only when she's not here, protocol says I go to you." He grinned cheesily. "I'm just following protocol."

Ecklie squinted his eyes at him, silent for a moment. "Where the hell is Catherine?"

Nick shrugged as he turned away. "I don't know, Sir." He said with a grin, calling over his shoulder as he walked away. "You're the big boss, aren't you supposed to know that kind of thing?"

Ecklie boiled as he watched Nick walk off, storming back into his office to slam the door behind him, making sure that this time he locked it. He didn't know what the hell Catherine was doing and why she was no where around the lab, but right then he had other issues to deal with and the blood stain on the carpeting took more priority than the whereabouts of his lead CSI.


Catherine knocked on the bedroom door, waiting silently for an answer. When she received none, she pushed the door open to peek around and into the room. Sara sat on the bed, her back against the headboard as she hugged her legs against her chest; she said nothing as Catherine came in and Catherine was not sure she had even noticed her.

"Hey" She said calmly as she walked toward the bed, stopping to stand awkwardly in the silent room. "I, uh...I brought you some clothes..." She held out the duffel bag briefly before lowering it back to her side. "Grissom... Gil...he asked me to stop by your place and get you some things...I hope you don't mind."

There was still no movement from the bed, Sara's head still down on the top of her knees. Feeling increasingly uncomfortable, Catherine fidgeted with the zipper on the duffel bag, wishing somehow that the floor would open up and swallow her whole. "Okay." She said as she strode to the bed to drop it on the soft covers. She stood staring at Sara for a moment before sighing. "Look...Sara..." Dropping her eyes, she took a deep breath "I'm sorry...I am really, really sorry."

"Why?" Sara mumbled into her arms without moving her head.

"I shouldn't have left without you" She said simply "I should have waited for you; we should have walked out together..."

Slowly, Sara lifted her head up to turn and look at Catherine. The sight of her made Catherine catch her breath momentarily despite herself and she silently cursed herself for it. "Why are you here?" Sara asked quietly

Catherine opened her mouth to respond and then looked down at her hands as she wrang them in her lap. "Gil asked me to get you some clothes..."

"No." Sara shook her head. "Why are you here?"

Catherine looked up at her. "Because you're my friend, Sara." She replied.

Sara nodded disbelievingly with a slight snort and put her had back down on her arms. "Thank you for the clothes." She said with a tone of dismissal, as if sending Catherine the hint that it was time to leave.

"Look, Sara..." Catherine tried, sitting on the edge of the bed. "I came all the way over here-"

"Then you can just go all the way back" Sara replied coolly.

"Alright. Fine." Catherine sighed as she stood up. "But, you're going to need someone to talk to... And I just want you to know that I am here and I will listen...anytime..."

"Great" Sara muttered as she wiped her eyes on her arm.

Catherine watched her for a moment, noting the way her body trembled; she was crying. She went around the bed and sat down in front of her waiting a moment as Sara still refused to look at her "You know, Sara," She began calmly. "When I woke up in that motel room that day, I thought I had been sexually assaulted...I didn't know what to do, who to call...I didn't tell anyone; I didn't talk to anyone...except you." She waited for a response and when she received none she continued. "I was scared...hell, terrified...to think that I could have let anything like that happen to me; I mean, I'm a criminologist Y'know?"

Sara again wiped her eyes across her arm before looking up at Catherine, silently scrutinizing her with her gaze. Taking a breath, Catherine continued "You were the only person that I knew I could trust; that I could talk to about it...who would not judge me or label me or look at me like..." she paused as she thought of a word "...like I was a tramp" she shrugged a little "...now, you may not think we are friends, Sara, but if we weren't would I have called you?" She paused a moment to wait before continuing. "I want to be that person for you now...I want to help you like you helped me...I trust you...I want you to trust me"

Sara continued studying her, her gaze one of wariness and caution. "You are the one who sold me out to Ecklie." She stated flatly. "Why would I trust you?"

The sting shot through Catherine like a bolt of electricity. She balked, unsure of what to say. "Is that what you think?" She whispered

"You should just go home." Sara told her in the same flat tone. "I don't need your sympathy..."

"I am not here because of sympathy, Sara!" Catherine insisted in exasperation. "I came here because I'm concerned—"

"Save it" Sara replied as she put her head back on her arms.

Catherine sat staring at her a moment before taking a breath. "Okay." She said with determination. "Okay. You know what, Sara?" Her voice was getting a little louder, her words coming out faster as she spoke. "You wanna know about Ecklie? Fine, I'll tell you..." She stood up, brushing a frustrated hand through her hair. "Ecklie is an ass...a real controlling prick who uses humiliation, blackmail, and threats to get what he wants..." She looked down at Sara, who had lifted her head again to watch her. "You think I wanted to tell him everything? You think I liked being his little mole?"

Sara stared at her. "He threatened you?"

"Look, Sara," Catherine said as she sat back down on the bed. "The last thing I ever wanted to do was tell that man anything."

"Why did you?"

Another deep breath and Catherine answered. "At first, he knew how much I needed my job; the money. He knew that Lindsey and I depended on every last cent that I made. He had the power to ruin me, and he would have, if I hadn't done whatever he asked." She shook her head as she played with her fingernails. "Then, after Sam left me the inheritance I tried to stop, I told him no more...forget it...get someone else...he threatened to have me fired, thrown out of Vegas. Said he'd dig up enough dirt on me to have my parental rights dissolved; said I'd never get another job anywhere, not even as a stripper..."

"My God, Catherine" Sara breathed. "I never knew..."

Catherine sniffled, trying hard not to cry. "No one knew" She replied. "I mean, who would have believed me anyway?" She looked up at Sara again, seeing the look on her face. "I mean, sure you and the guys, but the department?" She shook her head. "He's the Assistant Lab Director...he had enough crap thought up on me to destroy all of the cases I ever worked on; to destroy me completely. None of it was true, but he made sure it was believable." She took another breath. "He tried to get me to..." she stopped as if disgusted momentarily "...have sex with him once when we were alone, but I...I wouldn't; no way...so, he made me his little Tattle Monkey...that is why I was never alone with him unless the lab was full of people; that is why I always beat it out of there before everyone was gone..." She looked up at Sara, her eyes filling with tears. "That is why I left you there all alone, Sara...but I never...I never...thought he would do this to you...and I am so very, very sorry"

Sara watched her before leaning forward to pull her into a hug. Neither woman said anything for a few moments before pulling away. "Guess we both have a reason to hate him." Sara commented as she grabbed them both a tissue.

Catherine chuckled slightly. "I have always hated him." She said as she wiped at her eyes. "He's such a sleaze."

"How did you stop him?" Sara asked suddenly. "I tried. I really, really tried..." She was crying again and she hated herself for it. Why couldn't she stop crying?

"It never came to that." Catherine told her softly. "He never touched me, not aggressively anyway...I threatened to break his arm and he backed off...I have never been totally alone with him since."

"He grabbed me." Sara said as if to herself. "From behind..." she reached up, grabbing the back of her hair as though reliving the memory. "I tried. I really tried to stop him..." She reached up to her cheek. "He punched me..."

"Sara..." Catherine began as she reached out to take her friend's hand. "He beat the shit out of you; he's much stronger than you..."

"But I really, really tried..."

"You broke his nose."

Sara stopped, looking up at her with a sniffle. "Really?"

Catherine nodded. "Oh, yeah...says he ran into a door."

Sara looked down at her lap, whispering. "I don't know what I did. I keep thinking about it. About what I could've done to make him..." She stopped, swallowing hard. "To make him do this."

"Sara" Catherine began. "You didn't do anything. Ecklie is a horrible man, and what he did to you...you did not do anything to deserve this."

Seeing the doubt in Sara's eyes, Catherine spoke again. "You need to file a statement; we need to press charges."

"No"

"Why? Don't you think he should have to pay for what he has done to you?"

"You said it yourself, Catherine" Sara replied, looking at her with sadness. "He's the Assistant Lab Director; who would believe me?"