A/N Thanks for the encouraging reviews! Wow! Some of you are really reading my mind with your suggestions – hint hint! This chapter is something of an interlude, just to tie up some loose ends etc. before the party. I hope you enjoy it!

C: 4

Gil Grissom headed from his office towards the break room. It was turning into a heavy night and he needed coffee. Already, Catherine had returned from a high profile B&E only to report that a reporter had gotten onto the scene and compromised evidence. The man was currently attempting to press charges against her for confiscating his camera. Warrick was meant to be returning from a Forensic Conference in LA but his plane had been delayed indefinitely due to engine trouble. Grissom's own case, one he'd decided to work alone, was at a dead end unless the DNA results – currently pending – went his way. He hadn't seen Nick, Sara and Greg yet but Brass had hauled a suspect in for them earlier, so he assumed they were meeting some success. When he stepped into the break room however, his hypothesis was defeated.

Sara was seated at the table, her head in her hands. Her face was pale, her eyes weary and she was staring blankly at a sheet of paper on the table in front of her. He could see by the droop of her shoulders that something had upset her. He'd come to know Sara over the years and, judging by the way she looked now, something was horribly wrong.

"Rough night?" Grissom asked, going over the coffee pot.

"I've had better," Sara said, keeping her eyes on the page.

"Me too." Grissom said, "You want some coffee?"

Sara finally looked up at him. "Uh… yeah why not. My body clock's so screwed up already, I can't do much more damage."

Grissom smiled in understanding and took another mug from the cupboard. A few moments later, he sat down next to her, putting a steaming mug in front of her.

"Thanks," Sara said softly.

"How's the case going?" Grissom asked, sipping his coffee.

Sara took a deep breath, "Greg collected all the pieces from the jetty after it collapsed. We're going to check them for trace but there probably won't be much that will help us. I also found some boot prints. Nick made a mould of them for comparison to…to our new suspect."

"Sounds good so far. Who's the suspect?"

Sara stopped dead. Flashes of the shed, the knife, the vile smell of his body against hers and his throaty threats filled her head. She took a deep breath and forced them out of her mind. Beside her, Grissom frowned, confused by her pause and sensing that something was amiss.

"I… followed the boot prints and found an old shed – about halfway between the dumpsite and the house of the guy we suspected was having an affair with our vic. We picked up our new suspect there. Howard Phipps. He … was less than cooperative. Brass confirmed he's also the guy who owns the house," Sara finished, happy with the composed front she'd managed to present.

"Sounds good," Grissom nodded with approval. "And... how are you?"

"I'm fine," Sara said dismissively, "Why?"

"You look upset. What's up?"

"I'm fine, Griss," Sara said, trying to look nonchalant.

"I'm your supervisor Sara, you can talk to me, you know," Grissom said.

Sara took a deep breath. The joy of finding out how Nick felt about her had been killed by the constant flashes of the attack that had been rippling through her mind. It didn't help that they couldn't show any affection in the lab. Ecklie had been making things even more difficult for her lately. Relationships in the team were a touchy issue, but, if discovered, theirs could prove fatal to one or both of their jobs. Nick had suggested they keep it a secret and she'd had no objections. But she still wanted to rush to Nick for a hug, some reassurance that she wasn't going crazy. Sara felt like she was cracking up – losing herself. She'd been working non-stop, like a madwoman for over three and a half weeks, she was getting sick, she hadn't eaten or slept properly, she'd been attacked at a crime scene and she felt miserable because the only thing that was bringing her comfort had to be kept hidden.

She looked up at Grissom and sighed. "When I was in the shed-"

"Grissom!" It was Mia. She put her head in the door, waving a page.

"You got my results?" Grissom turned to her.

"It's a match. The blood in Finn's car is a match to the vic's – and to the blood on the gun barrel," she held out the page to him.

Grissom rose from his seat and accepted the page, scanning it keenly. "Oh yes. Thanks Mia." He looked up and smiled happily. "I'll get PD to give him a call with the good news." He turned to Sara. "Can we finish this later?"

Sara nodded, "Sure Griss."

A second later, he was gone from the room. His coffee mug still stood steaming on the table next to her.

Sara sighed and let her head drop onto the desk in front of her. So much for asking for a couple hours off.

"Hey you!" Greg came walking into the room. "Wanna help me build a jetty?"

Sara sat up and put on a smile. "Sure – lets go."

xxx

"Yeah, I know Melanie Porter," Howard Phipps leaned back in his seat. "She'd come out to Mead on the weekends and we'd … enjoy each other's company."

"Did you sleep with her?" Greg asked.

"No woman can resist this," Phipps said arrogantly, gesturing to himself.

Greg raised his eyebrows, "I'll take that as a yes."

"So you admit to having an affair with Melanie Porter?" Brass questioned.

"Hell yeah," Phipps said. "She was married to a work-addicted pansy. He didn't even know she existed and I, well, lets just say she was all that I knew existed."

"So you must have been upset when she decided to end the affair and go back to him, huh?"

Phipps glared at Greg. "Yeah I was angry. She was mine!" he barked, his voice rising, "She had no right to just up and leave me after what we had together."

"So you killed her?"

"She just walked in there and declared that it was over. As if she owned me or something."

"So you raped, stabbed and strangled her then tied her to the jetty poles? Doesn't sound like a loving relationship to me."

Phipps paused, considering the implications. "I loved her. She was my world. I got angry but I didn't kill her," he said, changing tack.

"Mr. Phipps, the shed that you were arrested in – is it yours?" Greg asked.

"Yeah, so?"

"We found Melanie's blood on the floor in the shed."

"And you attacked our CSI!" Brass said incredulously, letting out what he'd been desperately wanting to ask and raising his arms. "What the Hell were you thinking, man?"

"She had no right to be in there. I was defending my property and like most guys, I never pass up an opportunity to get some," Phipps said with a chuckle.

"Most guys wouldn't hold a woman at knifepoint," Brass challenged.

"Plus, you built your shed on state land, so technically it's illegal," Greg said.

"And we had a warrant to search your property," Brass added, "So the shed was gonna be ours anyway. Sara Sidle had every right to be there."

"Oh," Phipps said, "But that still doesn't mean I killed her!"

"Actually, it does," Greg said, "Not only did we find her blood in your shed, but we also found some of your hair caught in the wood of the jetty. There were signs of sexual assault – and your semen was there too. And if that's still not enough for you, the knife you attacked Sara with was a match to the one used to stab Melanie."

"And your boot prints were found at the jetty she was tied to," Brass added, casting a satisfied nod in Greg's direction.

Phipps glared at him, "I want a lawyer."

"You're going to need one," Greg said smugly, getting up and heading for the door.

"Oh," Phipps called after him, "Tell Sara that I'm always available if she wants so have some fun. Maybe I'll find her when I'm through with this crap."

Fury rose in Greg but Brass stepped front of him. "Don't worry, Mr Phipps, there are plenty of guys who'd love to have some fun with you where you're going."

In the room on the other side of the glass, Sara shivered. Nick had closed the door and put his arms around her when the interrogation began, keeping her warm and supported, but now her whole body felt cold.

Nick squeezed her tightly. "Don't worry Sara. He won't get anywhere near you."

Sara said nothing, resting her head on his chest and sighing. "Thanks Nick." She glanced up at the clock, "And so ends yet another double shift."

"At least we've got the party to look forward to tonight," Nick said.

"Hmmm," Sara smiled.

"You want me to give you a ride home?" Nick said, noticing Sara's drooping eyes.

"That's sweet, but I'll be fine. My car's here and I need to stop off at the store."

"Okay. You just make sure you get some rest. You've had a long day and I want you better, so get to bed." Nick said.

"Yeah, yeah, I will." Sara said, smiling at him. Another cough rose in her throat and she pulled from his hold.

"And get something for that," Nick added.

"I'll see you tomorrow night. I love you." She went up to him, quickly glanced at the door to check for witnesses, then leaned up on her toes and put her lips to his. The kiss was warm and tender – full of trust and adoration. Nick responded instantly, relishing the feel of her soft lips against his own. Suddenly, Sara jerked away, breaking the contact.

"Stop! Nick, I don't want to make you sick as well!"

Nick sighed. "I'll take a little cough if it comes with a kiss like that," he said, his voice low and suggestive.

Sara smiled and shook her head knowingly.

"I'll see you later," Sara quickly pecked him on the cheek. "And I'll see about taking you up on that." She winked and turned to the door.

"I love you," Nick called.

"Me too!"

xxx

"Whew, what a night," Greg sighed as he sat down on the bench in the locker room.

"Tell me about it," Catherine said, closing her locker. "The press are one giant pain in my ass."

"Is that reporter still pressing charges?" Greg asked, leaning over to pull on his sneakers.

"No. We managed to convince him that it would only make him look like the ass he is," Catherine said. "Hey Greg, I hear you're quite the hero. Saved independent Sara, huh?"

"Who's saving Sara?" Grissom asked, entering the room.

"Greg here is our new department hero of the week," Catherine explained. "He and Nicky saved Sara from a murderer today. Guy had a knife at her throat, hands all over her. Apparently it was nail-biting stuff."

"Yeah," Greg agreed, shaking his head sadly "We really thought he was going to kill her. Nick especially, he took major strain. He was the one that found them in the first place."

Horror covered Grissom's face, "Why didn't I hear about this?"

"You were busy," Greg said. "When I saw you talking to Sara earlier I assumed she'd told you."

"Oh no." Grissom said, scrunching his face and slapping his forehead, as realisation finally hit. He'd let himself get carried away with his case – and run out on Sara.

"What?" Catherine asked.

"Is Sara still here?" he asked, ignoring her question.

"Sorry boss," Greg said. "She left ten minutes ago."

"Damn," Grissom stalked out of the room, headed for his office.

Catherine raised her eyebrows and shrugged. "So you got something to wear for the party?"

"But of course," Greg said with a mischievous grin.

Down the corridor in his office, Grissom furiously tapped his pen on his desk. "Come on Sara, answer your phone." The familiar ring echoed in his ear over and over, almost mocking him. Eventually, he gave up.

Grissom slammed the phone down and sat back in his chair, mentally cursing himself. How could he have been so dismissive? He'd known something was wrong. Anger flowed through his veins – anger at whoever had hurt her, anger at the others for not telling him, but mostly anger at himself for running out on her. Anger fast turned to overwhelming guilt. As her supervisor, it was his job to be on top of what happened to her in the lab and the field. He was supposed to support and protect his team. Plus, he knew Sara. Their relationship was more than just a professional one. Despite their failed 'romance', their relationship was one of deep trust and respect. Grissom had seen other sides of Sara – and knew how fragile she was underneath her tough, independent demeanour. He felt as though he'd failed, as her supervisor and as her friend. She'd always trusted him unwaveringly, even enough to disclose her sensitive family history to him but he'd been too busy to even talk to her when she'd needed him. Sighing, Grissom dialled Sara's home number.

"Hey! It's Sara. I'm not in – you know the drill," the familiar voice of her answering machine came.

Grissom took a deep breath and hung up.

A/N Well, so ends my interlude. Now I've gotta work on the beeeg one. It might take a few days since I have to start studying for finals but fear not – it will be up ASAP.

BUT…

I need some advice from you guys, since season six hasn't aired in SA yet.

What happened with Warrick and Tina?