"Will we stay the whole night outside or just sit here for a while?" Sara sipped on her juice. The sun was about to drown in the ocean, in a few minutes it would be dark.

"What would you prefer?"

"I think I'd like to stay outside."

"Okay."

"Can your hammock carry two people?"

"It can, yes. But who says I want to share my hammock with you?"

"Who says I want you in the hammock? Maybe I want Rhys. After he got me a job."

"Do you want to take the offer?"

"Honestly I don't know yet. It's tempting, very tempting. Something completely new. I don't know if I'm good at… whatever I'm supposed to do. It sounded interesting and I'd love to stay here. Just for the fact that I can stay longer I have to take the offer. The staff lives in a huge staff house, don't they?"

"Yes. They've their own bedrooms and bathrooms but share the kitchen and living room."

"A student's life, I'm not sure if I want to live like that. Too many people. If I want my own place I won't get any money, will I?"

"There are like four or five apartments for staff members but like you said, if you take them you won't have much money left."

"Why do you get an island?"

"It's mine."

"That's not fair."

"You can't complain you're welcome here."

"Maybe I've to become a diving instructor too."

Sofia laughed. "You want to steal my job?"

"No, your island."

"Forget it."

"You still haven't told me why you got it."

"No."

"And you won't tell me?"

"Depends."

"On what?"

Sofia cocked her head. "It's your turn to tell me something about you. Like I said when you want to get to know somebody you have to tell them something about yourself."

"Fair enough. What do you want to know?"

"What do you want me to know? I won't demand anything you don't want me to know. No force, Sara."

"Thanks." Sara looked at the sun. It was gone and the darkness crept out of the corners. "Why don't we get the hammock out and talk while we watch the stars and the moon?"

"Sounds like a good idea for me. I get the hammock you get the net? I don't want to be eaten by mozzies."

"Me neither." Sara scratched her arms. She had two bits already. The problem with nice places was that mozzies also liked them. She knew this problem from South America and used a lot of anti mozzie crèmes not to end up covered in bites.

Obviously Sofia slept frequently outside, the blonde carried the hammock straight to two palms close to the water, there were hooks like in the bungalow a bar for the net.

"Get in I follow you."

"Will I fall out when you come in?" Sara asked suspiciously.

"Not when we are smart."

"We're nothing else." Sara climbed into the hammock and got on the other side of the mattress. As soon as she was over the middle Sofia followed her to keep the balance. The hammock shook, they were close to fall down but eventually managed to stay on the mattress. With a thin blanket they covered themselves up. Two pillows for their heads and the perfect position for watching stars was theirs.

"Wow, like holiday." Sara chuckled.

"It's your holiday. And my day off tomorrow, so a kind of tiny holiday. I can't imagine a better place than this one for my holiday."

"Than being next to me?" Sara smirked.

"Who's the smug one now?"

"It's always you."

"Your question sounded slightly different, Honey."

"Did it? Maybe you understood it wrong."

"Do you want to tell me I'm blond and stupid?"

"I'd never say that."

"Would you think that?"

"Blond and stupid? Not about you."

"I will believe you – this time."

"You believe me more often." Sara turned her head to see into Sofia's face. "Sofia?"

"Yeah?"

"Thanks for…being there last night. And the night before but especially last night."

"My pleasure. If you have any more nightmares and need me around just tell me."

"Will I get this special treatment also as your colleague or is it only for guests?"

"It's only for friends, Sara."

"Thanks." Sara smirked again. "But I've to complain, you pulled me into your arms and didn't let me go."

"Of course not. I had a sexy brunette in my arm, you don't let a sexy brunette escape. You'll be in my arm again this night when we sleep in here."

"Who said we'll sleep in here?"

"Come on, we both want to watch stars, we'll end up here. I'll get us a thicker blanket and two more pillows later and we can stay."

"Okay. Even when I know you only do that because you want to sleep next to me."

"Sara Sidle, you're not only smug you're very arrogant. What happened to you? Maybe the diving license isn't good for you."

"It's very good for me. It's just that I gave myself the promise to change a few things in my life, one is that I want to get to know you better, another is that I want to see more often positive things in life. Which brings me to my part of our deal. I've no idea what you want to know so why don't you ask me things you always wanted to ask me and I answer them."

"You don't have to."

"All right, I'll answer everything I want to answer. No pressure, no force."

"Deal. I start with the obvious thing: Grissom. We worked three years together you guys never seemed to be more than colleagues. When he said you're a couple we all couldn't believe our ears. Did you not say a word because he was your supervisor?"

"That was one reason and the other is that I prefer to keep my private life private."

"Did you leave Vegas because everybody knew about you and Grissom?"

"No, I couldn't take it anymore. The crimes, the dead people, the destroyed lives. I had to leave, had to see something else than what people do to each others. It helped me to find joy in my life but also destroyed the relationship to Grissom. He was in Vegas, didn't want to leave and I didn't want to come back. So we did the only sensible thing, we broke up."

Sara stopped for a moment. "And maybe we were too much alike. You know I'm a…a person who is more comfortable around things you can see, science, realistic, you can count. So is he, we both know how to handle something you can see, examine and use letters or numbers on. We're good with these things but we have not really any idea how to handle…soft skills. Everything with an IQ is no problem, for everything you need an EQ for we struggle. Maybe we need a partner who can show us some soft skills and let us experience the side of the brain that we don't use so often. At least I think that was my reason to end it. I loved him but he couldn't make me happy to the bottom of my heart.

That sounds a little bit like I'm a psycho."

"No, not all. It sounds like you're a woman who is aware of her strength and her weakness. When you know about them you can use them and you can work on your weakness, make it a strength."

"That would take some time."

"Anybody rushing you?"

"No." Sara laughed a bit. "But I need a very patient teacher and most people don't have time anymore."

"Do you exclude yourself form this list?"

"No, not entirely. But I'm getting better."

"That's a start. How about trying new things to explore new sides of yourself?"

"This holiday is something new. I've been for almost three weeks without a cell phone, a computer and contact to other people than the ones who are here too. That gave me a lot of time to think about myself, my relationship to other people and what I want for my life."

"What kind of job?"

"What I want for my work and also what I want for my private life."

"What do you want for your private life?"

"I want tidy up my social circle. Not that it is very big but I want to get in contact with people who are important to me, who make me happy, make me feel good. And I want to delete the names of everybody else. There's no reason to keep the number or email address of somebody I can rely on. The world is full with things that can make you sad you don't need to hold on to people who do the same."

"Very wise. Will I have a place in your new world or will I get kicked out with the rest of the annoying people?"

"Sounds like the perfect group for you, doesn't it?"

"No-o!" Sofia bopped Sara.

"I'll think about that, if I want a Sofia Curtis in my life. An annoying smug blonde." Sara placed her head on Sofia's shoulder to have a more comfortable look at the sky. "Next question."

"No more question, we're not in an interrogation."

"You weren't that nice to people in interrogation."

"You're not a criminal."

"No, I might be your colleague soon."

"Again."

"Lovely, isn't it?"

"I always liked to work with you."

"And I've changed and will enjoy to work with you too. If your boss and I can agree." Sara shivered. "Didn't you say something about a thicker blanket?"

"Take the one that's on my bed."

"Me?"

"Yes. I'm too lazy to get up."

"Me too."

"Can't be too cold then." Sofia mocked.

"You're not a nice host." Sara gave the blonde the evil eyes before she grabbed the arm of the other woman and snuggled onto it.

"What do you think you're doing?"

"I found myself a heater." And another one was working as well. Her stone was hot again. It had to react to Sofia, if this wasn't the best evidence Sara had no idea what else it could be.

"You know my price."

"You're priceless, Sofia."

"Thanks. You're so nice today, Sara, what's wrong with you?"

"I'm a diver."

"I should have given you your license earlier if that makes you so nice."

"Sofia, I've always been nice."

"Yeah, sure." Sofia got her arm under Sara and pulled her closer. "Better?"

"Yes." The brunette closed her eyes for a moment. "Can I ask you something? About Rhys."

"Sure."

"The stone he gave me…what kind of stone is it?"

"If I tell you it's a magic stone would you believe me?"

"As a scientist? No."

"And when you listen to your soft skills and not the science or intelligence?"

"Then…I don't know…I tried to find a reason I can accept as a scientist, so far I couldn't find one."

"Which one did you find?"

"The stone reacts to certain…things…"

"Which are?"

"It…when Rhys gave it to me he hugged me and the stone… actually everything felt strange. I can't find the right words to describe it. And when…this will sound even stranger than the first part…it feels like it gets warm…hot…sometimes."

"When?"

"When…I don't think it's a good thing to say that."

"Why?"

"Because…just forget. Okay?"

"Sara." Sofia smiled a bit. "Shouldn't you trust me a little bit more? You know I won't laugh."

"I know but…that's ridiculous."

"That's what you said before you asked me to stay with you and it was good because you slept. Trust me a little bit."

"I do trust you." And it surprised Sara that she meant what she said. She trusted Sofia and she felt…comfortable with the blonde around…even when they were very close like now. She was in Sofia's arms and she liked it.

"Good. Then tell me when you're ready, there's still no force and pressure. And no blanket and I'll get that before it gets too cold." Sofia got up and left the hammock carefully. "Do you need anything else?"

"Yes. I need to brush my teeth and change."

"Sounds sensible. I bet I'm faster."

"No way!" They pushed and pulled each other on the way to Sofia's bungalow and back and stumbled more back in the hammock. With one BANG they ended on the ground, Sara on top of Sofia.

"Ouch."

"Damn. Ouch. That was too fast." Sara cursed.

"Looks like."

"I won."

"Why is that?"

"Because you're down on the ground."

"That made me first in the hammock."

"In your dreams maybe."

"Do you want to fight?"

"Yes." Sara started to tickle Sofia who was for a few seconds unable to fight back. They rolled through the sand until a palm stopped them.

"Let's settle for even." Sofia offered.

"Deal."

"This kind of fight is much more fun than the ones we had years ago."

"I don't fight with cops they always cry when they lose."

"We don't lose."

"Hah!"

"Do you want to fight again?"

"No, I settled for even so you won't cry and I won't give a victory away again."

"One more sentence like this and you won't sleep in my hammock."

"Don't make me beat you."

"Are you daring me?"

"I'm warning you."

"I was the cop you were only a pen pusher. A lab rat."

"Careful Curtis."

"I still have my gun, Sidle. What about you?"

"I've a diving license." Sara grinned. "That's much more fun."

Sofia started laughing. "At least you can't rob somebody with that."

"No but I can find the treasures of the pirates who lived here hundred of years ago."

"Yes you can do that. Tomorrow." Sofia got into the hammock, Sara followed her carefully. This time they didn't end up on the ground.

"I hope we won't end up in the sand during our sleep." Sara worried a bit about what might happen when they turned a bit.

"We'll get these two over us." Sofia took two ropes with hooks, connected them each with one side of the hammock and pulled the sides of it a little higher. "I use them when I sleep here."

"Now we can't fall out anymore. If the hammock turns we'll hang on these ropes like shirts on the clothesline."

"I prefer to sleep in here. How do you feel? Everything all right?"

"Yes. I've got pillows, a blanket and a great sky to look at."

"Not to forget a stunning blonde next to you."

"Where? I can only see a smug one."

"Shut up and sleep!" Sofia bopped Sara and closed her eyes. She had never shared her hammock for a night and wondered if they could really manage to stay in here the whole night.