Author's Note: Whew! Two updates in two days... during finals week! This is really doing a number on me... but it's so worth it to see this story finally developing! Wa-hoo! Anyways... I hope you enjoy this, and I'll update as soon as I can.

Disclaimer: O how I wish I owned these characters... but I don't. Damn. Still waiting on them for my 18th birthday present though! crosses fingers o...

Countless thoughts flew through Catherine's mind at lightning speed. Her heart raced, and she realized she was making an idiot of herself. She pulled away abruptly, leaving Grissom with outstretched arms and a look of bewilderment and shock on his face. Look at him, she thought to herself, he doesn't know what to say without hurting me; I'm such a fool.

"I'm going to the lab, I guess it'll be an all-nighter for me." She murmured.

"Cath--" Grissom started to say how much he needed her, and needed to hear that, but she stopped him by placing her fingers over his lips.

"Don't--" she cried, barely containing her tears. "Please—just don't. I know how you feel…I understand perfectly."

Before he could reply she turned and walked briskly towards her Denali. Grissom stood and watched as she pulled away, her headlights cutting a broad swath across the hot Vegas morning.

"Damn…" he whispered to himself.

Back at the lab, Catherine sat at a table in the evidence room, bathed in the cool fluorescent lighting that cast bright pools of illumination around the room. She cradled her aching head in her hands, rubbing circles over her throbbing temples with her fingertips. She glanced up at the cause of her headache; A bright, white evidence box containing the remnants of her friend's life…and death. To be completely honest, it wasn't the only cause. Catherine was worried about Grissom, and about her impromptu confession to him. Stupid fool, she chided, you've scared the wits out of him. She ran her hand across the lid of the box, memorizing the smooth texture of it under her palm. One last deep breath, she thought, and then I'll do it. She inhaled deeply before gently removing the lid of the ominous box.

"Here goes nothing." She whispered.

One by one she removed the items from the box, placing the evidence bags in haphazard rows across the empty table. She gingerly traced Grissom's spidery handwriting scrawled across the evidence seal of one bag, her heart beating harder with each letter.

"Stop!" she told herself. "You're here for one reason, and one reason only. To find out who's doing this. So just stop thinking about him!"

Her eyes scanned the evidence, searching for something, anything, that would lead her to the truth. Her hand paused over one bag in particular, smaller than the rest. She knew what this bag held. She brushed a fingertip over the familiar signature on the evidence seal. She had cataloged this nearly a week ago, she thought to herself. I can do this, she reminded herself, I know I can. She silently opened the bag and gently emptied its contents into her palm. The gold of Sara's locket twinkled bewitchingly under the harsh lights, bringing a lump to Catherine's throat.

"Sara…" she whispered as she traced the delicate engravings across the lid of the small, heart-shaped necklace. Her thumbnail found the small catch on the side of the pendant, and it sprung open, surprising her. Inside was a faded picture of a girl, her thick, auburn curls tied up in ribbons. Even through her tear-filled eyes, Catherine could see that it was Sara; Her defiant gaze and impish smile had never changed, had they? Next to her, though, stood someone Catherine could not identify. A boy, about Sara's age, stared boldly from the photograph. His eyes seemed to cut right through her, as if he were… No, Catherine laughed to herself, it can't be.

"I really need to get some sleep," she laughed to herself "I'm starting to go crazy here."

She paused before closing the locket to brush away some lingering dust from the picture. Her finger paused as she felt something...strange. A small lump, or bulge of some kind disturbed the smoothness of the image. Catherine gently pried the tiny photograph from out of the locket, silently apologizing to her friend for the act. Underneath lay a single lock of deep, brown hair. The color of warm earth, she thought to herself…but not Sara's hair. Suddenly a thought came to her, and she hurriedly packed away the remaining evidence before dashing out of the room, the locket, photograph, and lock of hair trapped within her clenched fist.

"Greg! I'm glad you're still here." She exclaimed as she reached the DNA lab.

"I was just working on some of the labs on tonight's case. What can I do for you, Catherine?" He asked wearily. The numerous hours spent over his microscope had not been kind to Greg, and the purple shadows beneath his usually bright eyes surprised Catherine.

"I'm sorry to dump something else on you, but this really can't wait. I found this lock of hair in Sara's locket behind the picture. Can you analyze the DNA for me?"

"Of course I can. It'll be a while, though, Grissom put a rush on the DNA from tonight." He replied.

"Please, Greg? This is really important. I'm sure Grissom won't mind once we get the results."

"Okay, but don't say I didn't warn you." He added, with a mischievous grin.

"If Gil comes to you on a rampage, send him to me, okay?"

"You got it."

With that, Catherine walked out of the lab and made her way to the lounge to catch a few moments of sleep before continuing the night's work. As soon as her head touched the arm of the couch, however, she was dead to the world.

"Catherine?" A familiar voice intruded upon her slumber, carrying a tone of anger and impatience.

"Catherine! Wake up!"

"Mmm--" she mumbled, rubbing her eyes sleepily before looking up into the angry face of Grissom.

"What's the meaning of putting a hold on my labs!" He asked angrily.

"Gil--" she began, but her cut her off.

"You know how important this is, we can't afford to screw it up by letting this evidence sit. This guy could walk if we're not careful. And for another thing--"

"Wait!" she interrupted impatiently "Just hear me out okay? I found something big."

"I'm listening." He replied.

"Okay—listen to this."

End Note: I'm really hoping to finish this fic in about three more chapters! I'm on a roll here, so expect updates really soon... as long as you review, that is! Please, please, review! sighs I just love GC!