Cath cleaned up a little downstairs, tidied Lindsey's room and changed into her sleepwear. She sat on the edge of her bed and sighed. Her head was so messed up right now; in twelve hours she had learnt more about her young colleague then she had in 4 years. Clearly Sara was not taking care of herself, and that was a key issue that needed to be fixed. But what of these nightmares? Sara had never mentioned having trouble sleeping, and Cath had not found any sleeping tablets in her apartment. Maybe it was fever induced, who knew? Either way, it could wait. Right now, Catherine's main priority was to get Sara better.

Unable to resist, Cath got up and padded down the hall, sneaking a peak at Sara's sleeping form. She seemed peaceful enough and, not wanting to wake her, Cath didn't approach; instead she left the door slightly ajar and returned to her own room.

Climbing into bed, Cath couldn't help but wonder why she felt so overprotective of the young brunette. She cared about her as much as she did the guys, but she also had this undying urge to look after her, to hold her, even. She knew that many people at the lab were under the impression that they were far from friends, but that was not true. Granted Sara could wind her up sometimes, though she knew she didn't really mean to. Sara was passionate about her job, it was one of her best traits, but sometimes it could turn her into a bit of a bulldog when she wanted something. Cath truly admired Sara, but something about the girl frustrated her. Sara was not scared of Catherine, like most people were, and would stand up to her. Because of that, and the general air of mystery surrounding the brunette, she could not read the girl at all. It was impossible to figure out what she was feeling or thinking, and that bugged Catherine.

But the worst was, and Cath would never admit this out loud, Sara could get under her skin like no one else. And that is what confused Catherine the most. Something as simple as a word, or even a look, and Sara could do what no one else could. She could get Catherine all hot and bothered about something or nothing from twenty feet away. And that was impressive.

And a little bit scary.

X x x

Catherine awoke to a startling scream. Bolting out of bed she followed the sound down the hall and into the spare room, where Sara was curled up half way down the bed whimpering. Her eyes were tightly closed and she was fisting the sheet beneath her. The blankets were in a heap on the floor where she had kicked them off. Catherine rushed over and knelt down next to the bed, stroking her cheek lightly.

"Sara, baby wake up." She cooed softly. Sara turned her face away and continued to struggle so Cath sat on the edge of the bed and placed one hand on Sara's back, rubbing comforting circles, and stroked her hair with the other hand. Sara's whole body was covered in a light sheen of sweat and she was making small whimpering cries. To Catherine's surprise she saw a few tears trickling down Sara's pale face. She continued to whisper comforts to her, the words falling out of her mouth naturally. "Shush, it's okay darling, you're okay honey."

When nothing seemed to be calming her down she moved her grip up to Sara's shoulders and gently rolled her onto her back. Despite Sara's attempts to curl up again, Cath held her there, gently rubbing her chest with her fingers until Sara's breathing calmed down. Which it did, eventually.

Once the woman had settled down, Catherine sat back against the headboard, staring at her young counterpart. She was torn; wake Sara up and ask her what was going on, or leave her to get some much needed rest and talk about it later. Deciding that Sara's health was more important, Cath chose to let her sleep. But, now she was faced with another dilemma: go back to bed, or stay here with Sara? She knew that she couldn't protect Sara from bad dreams, but she also couldn't face leaving her alone again. So, Cath gently moved Sara up the bed so her head was back on the pillow, and gathered the blanket off the floor, draping it loosely over her friend. Climbing in next to her, Catherine wrapped an arm around her waist and tugged her close. Sara shuffled a little in her sleep, and ended up nestled into Catherine's side, her head tucked comfortably into the crook of her neck and one hand resting on her chest. Feeling her friend's hand over her heart, their bodies pressed tightly together, sent tingles down the blonde's spine. Catherine held her close with an arm around her back, her hand resting on her hip. Her other hand ran repetitive strokes through chestnut tresses.

She was sure that, if awake, Sara would be uncomfortable with this arrangement, but she was even more sure that they both needed the contact or neither of them was going to get any sleep.

As she felt Sara's chest rising and falling against her own, she placed a kiss on her head. "Sweet dreams sweetheart."

x x x x

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