To those who take the time to reply, I really appreciate it:) And once again, I don't own CSI, CBS does (bummer) . . . .

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After she left Maggie in the interrogation room, she had informed Warrick and Nick about what had happened. Knowing that aside from the SART exam, which neither of them could be present for, there was nothing that any of them could do on the case that night. She had sent the two back to the motel to check in, and she would be there as soon as she could.

It had only taken her about thirty minutes to see them again. She had done the SART exam as quickly and painlessly as possible, then taken the photos of the bruises, both new and old, on Maggie's body. The woman was thouroughly exhausted, so Sara told her to go back to the holding cell for the night and to try and rest.

"I can sleep on the floor, if you're uncomfortable," Nick said quietly, shaking her from her thoughts.

Sara shook her head and looked at Nick who was sitting beside her in the diner booth. "No, it's fine. It's big enough for the both of us. Besides, it's not fair that you would have to sleep on the floor just because the motel only had one room left that didn't have some kind of water damage to it."

There were only 10 rooms in the small Pioche motel, four of which had been vacant when Grissom had called to reserve two rooms earlier in the evening. One for Sara, and the other for Warrick and Nick. She had returned to the motel only to be told by her friends that a couple of pipes had burst and there was only one room available. But it only had two beds. The establishment did not offer cots, and did not have sofas.

When she first entered the room, the bed nearest the door had looked so inviting that she crawled on top of it and placed her head on the pillow closing her eyes. Nick had laid down beside her, and Warrick flopped down onto the middle of his own bed.

"This one yours?" Sara had asked quietly, opening one eye.

Nick nodded, smiling slightly. "Warrick and I really weren't sure how to decide who would sleep with you." Sara's eyebrow shot up in surprise, and she heard Warrick chuckle. "That sounded wrong. Not that it would be bad at all . . ." he rolled his eyes at himself, "What I meant was -"

"No, it's OK," Sara smirked, placing a hand on his chest. She could feel his muscles twitch beneath her finger tips, under the thin layer of cotton that his shirt provided him with. "I get it. Besides, Warrick over there looks like a bed hog. And Cath says he kicks."

"Oh really?" Warrick rolled over onto his side. "You two talk about me? What else does she say?"

"Oh no," she laughed. "I'm not going there!"

Warrick pouted a little causing her to laugh.

"You wanna grab a shower? Warrick and I already did - we showered separately, Sidle," he cocked his eyebrow up at her, knowing exactly what she was going to say. She placed her hands up in mock defeat, giggling. "You might feel better, and after that, we'll go grab a bite to eat."

She nodded her head in agreement, though she wasn't really hungry. "Sure," she stood up and paused as she passed Warrick's bed on her way to the back of the room where the bathroom was located. "And Warrick?" she noted he glanced at her waiting for her to continue. "Everything Catherine has said about you . . . well, lets just say it's all complimentary."

Warrick smiled triumphantly. "HA!"

Nick groaned. "More than I needed to know."

So, she showered, dressed and the three of them headed across the parking lot of the motel to the diner that they were now seated at.

"Bacon Cheddar burger," Warrick smiled at the waitress, handing his menu to her. He glanced across the table at Nick and Sara.

"Same here," Nick agreed. "Sara?"

"Uh, just a garden salad."

"Sar, you have to eat more than that," Nick softly told her.

"Nah," she shook her head. "Not really hungry." She glanced and saw that he was about to reply. "I'll probably have a big breakfast though." She turned back to the waitress. "Whatever salad dressing you have in the back will be fine. Ranch, Thousand Island, I'm not picky." She smiled, handing the woman her menu.

"Can I refill your coffees while you wait?" she asked.

The three nodded their heads appreciatively. At least the diner had good coffee.

"So," Warrick started casually, his voice low, even though there weren't many people in the sleepy little towns diner at this time of night. "You didn't tell us about the kit."

"Confirms it," she nodded, looking down into the black liquid heaven in her mug. "Evidence that it also wasn't the first time."

"You handled everything really well, Sara," Warrick complimented her.

"You did. Morgan really trusts you," Nick smiled. "And you said you weren't good with kids."

She brushed off the compliments, not really used to having them come her way. Well, actually the people at the crime lab complimented her regularly, but she really didn't know how to respond. Growing up, if someone complimented her, it was usually immediately followed up with 'can I ask you a favor?' "I just hope that Morgan is able to be with her mother after all this. Or it could really screw her up," she bite her lip gently, staring back down into the coffee.

"We don't even know if she's been completely straight with you," Warrick cautioned. He received one of her looks, and he put his hands up in surrender. "I just don't want you to be disappointed. It's not like people who've just committed a crime come out and say it immediately. It just doesn't normally happen that way. And if they do, they aren't always giving you the complete truth. How can you be sure that she is?"

Sara looked at Warrick, and opened her mouth to say something, but she couldn't find the words. She literally didn't know how to explain it.

"Sar?" Nick said, his hand gently found her shoulder, his thumb rubbing soothing cirlces over her shoulder blade. He was getting concerned. She had been spacing out a lot, and it just wasn't like her.

"Don't ask me how I know she's telling the truth," she calmly said, but her voice sounded like she was pleading with them to believe her. Not to push her any farther. "I just do." Her cell phone, which had been resting on the table, started to move around as it vibrated. She opened it up. "Sidle . . . yeah, I'll be right there." She hung up the phone and quickly stood up. "That was the nurse at the clinic. Morgan woke up and they can't get her to calm down."

Warrick dangled the Denali keys in his fingers for Sara to take.

"Thanks, I don't know how long I'll be," she said grabbing the keys from his hand. She started to walk away, but Nick's voice called out to her.

"Sara," he drawled, digging into his pocket, "don't forget this."

She smiled at him. She reached out to take the single key to the motel room, and their fingers brushed together, a spark of electricity flowing through them. "How will you two get in?"

"I have the spare," Warrick answered, patting his front jean pocket.

"OK," she nodded, throwing them a slight smile before taking off out the door.

Both Warrick and Nick watched her go.

"I think she should've taken some time for herself," Warrick sighed. "I don't think she's dealt with her mothers death."

Nick nodded his head as he watched her jump into the Denali that was still parked in front of their motel room. She had sprinted across the darkened parking lot to get there quickly. "Man - this case is effecting her so much. I have never seen her throw herself into something emotionally. Not this fast, anyway. I'm worried about her." He could only hope that she would open up to him, or anyone, about whatever was weighing her down so heavily.

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"How long has she been like this?" Sara asked the nurse as she walked straight into the room where Morgan was sitting in a ball, trying to make herself disappear into the material of the mattress.

"Ten, maybe fifteen minutes," she guessed. "We tried to comfort her, but she just . . . I don't know. We've never had to deal with anything like this," the nurse was a little sharp and Sara glared at her. The doctors and nurses were on call 24/7 due to their location of not being close to a hospital. She suspected this was the first time that the 50-something nurse had an all-night shift.

She removed her fixed glare from the nurse and her face softened as she turned her attention back to Morgan. "Sweetie? It's Sara."

"Sara?" she wailed, glancing over her knees and into Sara's brown eyes. "I'm scared."

Sara immediately sat down on the bed beside the young girl and pulled her into her chest, craddling her soothingly, rocking them back and forth. "I know sweetie."

The little girl clung to Sara as if she was going to drown, continuing to cry, alarmingly loud.

"Sshh," she continued rocking Morgan. "It's OK, sweetie. Let it out," she stroked her back. "You're safe now." A single tear fell down her face. "Everything's going to be OK."

And that's how they sat. Sara rocking the young child in her arms, craddling her protectively, muttering soothing words of comfort, until she fell asleep. And even then, Sara did not. She just sat with Morgan, continuing to whisper that it was OK, hoping to ward off the nightmares that the girl was sure to experience in the days to come.

At nearly 2am, the door slightly opened, allowing a little more light from the clinic's hallway to filter in. Morgan was still nestled in Sara's arms, only her face was calm, but still tear stained. She sucked her thumb soundly.

"Ms. Sidle?" the nurse spoke quietly, careful not to wake the sleeping child. Sara glanced at her, waiting for her to continue. "The girls Grandparents are in the waiting room. I asked them to stay out there so I could come and get you. I didn't know if it was alright for them to come back here or not, being that you are investigating a crime and all," she surpressed a yawn. "And I thought you might want to explain to them what's happening, exactly."

"Thank you," Sara smiled a little, as she gently untangled herself from the childs arms. She slowly got off the bed, careful not to jostle the mattress. "She's been sleeping for a while, but I don't think she should be alone. Would you mind staying with her until I've had a chance to speak with the Grandparents?"

The nurse nodded her head in compliance, setting herself down on the uncomfortable chair near the window, moonlight gently cascading in, bathing the bed in a gentle glow.

"You must be Morgan's grandparents," Sara smiled at the elderly couple as she walked into the waiting room. They looked distraught and overwhelmingly sad. "I'm sorry, I didn't catch your last name when we spoke earlier . . ."

"Brooks," Harold nodded, extending his hand out to Sara. "I'm Harold and this is Mary."

"Sara Sidle," she managed a half smile, and motioned for them to take a seat in the small waiting room. "I spoke with your daughter earlier this evening, and according to her, she and your granddaughter have been through quite an ordeal with David. As I told you earlier tonight, David was killed in the family home."

"What kind of ordeal?" Mary asked, not really sure she could handle it.

"Well, I can't really get into the specifics of that. You're daughter will have to fill in the blanks. What I can tell you is that right now, she is being held in the town jail." Sara saw the shocked looks on the parents faces. "You're daughter told me what happened. She admitted to killing David. And I'm going to do everything that I can to help her, Morgan, and you two, through this. But you need to know that at this point, Maggie can't be Morgan's gaurdian. They won't be able to see each other for a few days. It's pending on a psychiatric evaluation." Harold and Mary were quietly sobbing in each others arms. "I know this is a lot to take in."

"How is Morgan?" Harold finally asked.

"She's scared," Sara answered. "She had a nightmare earlier tonight, but she's sleeping right now."

"You mentioned that Maggie can't being Morgan's gaurdian. What's going to happen to her?"

"She'll be placed in the system, but you two can petition the courts to take temporary custody. If it comes down to it, you can seek sole custody and adopt your granddaughter."

"The system?" Mary gasped.

"It's standard procedure, but that doesn't mean that she'll be with a foster family. If you choose to petition the courts, she can go home with you pretty much immediately. Being that you are Morgan's immediate family, clearance should only take a couple of hours. But until a permanent solution can be made, a social worker would be stopping by to check on her welfare."

"Can we sit with her?" Mary asked. "I don't want my Grandbaby to be all alone."

Sara smiled at the elderly couple. "Of course. I think she needs you to be there for her. I'll take you to her."

Sara led the couple silently towards the room in the back of the clinic. She peered in through the window and noticed that Morgan was still sleeping soundly, thumb still fixed in her mouth. "The nurse has my cell phone number in case you-" she stopped when Harold pulled out a little piece of paper from his pant pocket. "Sorry, I forgot I gave it to you earlier."

"Thank you for everything you've done Ms. Sidle," Mary tried to smile through her tears, but more continued to fall.

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Nick woke up to the bright lights of a vehicle shining into the motel window. He glanced over at the clock that now read 3:03 am. He could hear Sara close the door to the SUV and waited patiently for her to unlock the door to the room and creep in. But she didn't.

At 3:06 am, he swung his legs over the side of the mattress. He gently opened the heavy wood door and stepped outside. He could see her slowly making her way down to the river that ran along the back of the motel, eventually dumping the river water into the lake. He re-entered the motel room, gently closing the door behind him so he didn't wake Warrick who was not only kicking in his sleep, but snoring. He picked up his discarded jeans and slipped them on, doing up the zipper and button.

Carefully, he exited the room, spare motel room key in his hand, no shoes on his feet. He thought that maybe Sara had left her key at the clinic, and just didn't want to go back to retrieve it.

He was quiet as he came up behind her. He noted with concern that her shoulders were shaking slightly. "Hey," he announced his presents, putting a hand on her shoulder. She jumped and recoiled at his touch. He quickly removed his hand as if he'd burned her unintentionally.

"Sorry," he apologized, "are you OK? Why are you crying?"

"I'm not crying," she said defiantly, trying to wipe away the traces of tears. But it was too late. He'd already seen them.

"Hey," he said again. This time, she turned to look at him and the tears openly flowed. He wiped them away with the pads of his thumbs, but the tears started to fall faster and he couldn't wipe them away as quickly as they came. He pulled her into his arms as her body gently shook with sobs that she had been holding back since they'd arrived at the scene. And if she was honest with herself, a part of her had wanted to cry when she was telling Nick and Warrick about her brother when they were on route to the town.

"It's OK," Nick soothed, running one of his hands up and down her back, while the other hand cradle her head at the base of her skull. He revelled in the silky feel of her hair. "Everythings going to be OK."

"Don't say that," she cried, gently pushing herself out of his embrace.

He stood there, unsure of what to say or do. When she started to walk closer to the water, he followed her.

She sat down, taking her shoes off of her feet, her socks following just as quickly. Her toes burried into the sand. He sank down beside her. She looked so hauntingly beautiful at the waters edge, tears cascading down her cheeks, the moon illuminating her pale features.

"I promise Sara," he tried again, this time wrapping his arm around her waist and pulling her close to him. "Whatever it is, it's going to be OK."

"That's what I said to Morgan," she whispered, her voice cracking. "I told her it would be OK. I lied to her. How can I keep lying?"

"You didn't lie -"

"YES I DID!" she errupted. She was surprised that she had even yelled and then burried her face in her hands. "I'm sorry, Nick. But, it's not going to be OK. I lied. I know I lied. And I keep lying. You tell one lie to protect yourself, and then the next thing you know, you have to lie again to keep the first lie going. It's like I can't stop. I shouldn't have given Morgan a false sense of security. I just . . . I shouldn't have."

"What are you talking about? Sara, you've never lied," he said quietly.

She sniffed and a new flood of tears started to flow. "Yes, I did. I do," she corrected. "I've lied to everyone, Nick. For a long, long time. And I've been lying to you."

TBC . . .