Nearly there I promise.

The italics in this chap are flashbacks. Hope y'all like it.

x x x x

"Sara, honey, have you seen my ..." Cath turned around, coming face to face with Sara holding her keys up triumphantly. "Thank you." She smiled, taking them and placing a chaste kiss on Sara's lips. "Come on."

Sara and Catherine had been together for three weeks now, and Sara had been back at work for a fortnight. So far, no one knew that they were an item except for Nancy and Lindsey, who had taken the news surprisingly well:

"Arms up!" Cath instructed, pulling her daughter's shirt over her head and replacing it with a nightgown. Lindsey giggled as Cath tickled her stomach and pulled her close.

"Mommy! Stop it!" She squealed. Cath stopped her movements and held her little girl against her chest, as she was sat on the bed with Lindsey stood in front of her.

"Linds, you like Sara right?" she asked. She felt Lindsey nod as her chin was resting on the mini blonde's head. "And you like spending time with her? You like her being around?"

"Yeah, she's fun, and smart. And she's really pretty." Cath smiled.

"Yeah, she is." She paused, not sure how to proceed with this conversation. "You see baby, I really like Sara too," she said, brushing blonde bangs behind her daughter's tiny ears.

"Good." Lindsey chirped, clambering onto the bed and trying to climb in. Cath pulled her back, so that she was on her lap.

"Honey ... I really like Sara. Like," she paused and took a deep breath.

"Like Daddy?" Lindsey filled in, playing with her mother's hair absentmindedly.

"What?" Cath asked, startled.

"You like Sara same as you liked Daddy?" Blue eyes stared up at her curiously, as if Catherine should have already known that. Cath smiled.

"Yeah. I guess I do." Did she? She didn't really know. With Eddie everything had been a whirlwind of partying, drugs, booze and sex. She had loved Ed, of course she had, but it was different with Sara. She loved Eddie because he was bad, and dangerous, and a little bit rough around the edges. She loved Sara because she was mysterious and unpredictable, but reliable and safe at the same time. And because she made Catherine feel something she never had before.

She had loved Eddie in spite of what he did to her.

She loved Sara because of what she did to her.

X x x

That was the difference between her marriage, and all her past relationship now she thought about it, and Sara. Sara treated her right, treated her with respect, even. Lindsey had accepted their relationship with minimal fuss, despite showing a little jealousy when seeing the woman close together. Cath suspected that her little girl had a little crush on Sara Sidle herself.

Nancy, on the other hand, had found it a little more difficult to accept. Especially after getting a firsthand show from the loved-up ladies:

"Cathy? Ca... Oh God!" She screeched, spinning on her heel and covering her eyes. Catherine and Sara hurried to cover themselves up with the blankets that were strewn across the bed and floor haphazardly.

"Nancy! What are you doing?" Catherine asked in an unfamiliar high-pitched voice.

"What am I doing?" Nancy repeated indignantly, turning back around to glare at her sister briefly before averting her gaze again. "You never called me back yesterday, I came to check that everything was okay and that you'd found Sara ... which obviously you have." She gestured in the direction of the brunette, who was holding a blanket against her chest and blushing furiously. Catherine, who was stood up wrapping a cover around herself, shook her head absently.

"Yeah I did. You ever hear of knocking?" She asked.

"Well how was I supposed to know you were going to be in here getting it on with your co-worker? Who, by the way, is supposed to be resting." Both women had the decency to look sheepish then. Nancy rolled her eyes. "Well, I was going to see how you're doing Sara, but clearly you're fine." The nurse said with a little humour in her voice. Sara grinned and nodded shyly. "So, I'm just gonna go, and ... yeah ..." she stuttered, still slightly shocked at what she had witnessed and desperate for the situation to be over.

She started to leave, heading downstairs towards the front door, when she heard Catherine's voice behind her.

"Are you decent?" Nancy asked before turning around.

"Yes. Well sort of." Cath answered, still only covered by a blanket. "Look Nance, are you okay with this?" Nancy took a deep breath and exhaled slowly.

"Am I okay with seeing my big sister having sex with another woman? No."

"Nance," Cath started but her sister cut her off.

"No, Cathy. It's alright. As long as you're happy I'm fine with it. I just wish I hadn't had to see it." She smiled, but then her face turned serious again. "But remember how Sara was just a few days ago. She needs help Cath, I don't know what, but she needs something. If you are serious about her then don't rush things. I don't want to see either of you getting hurt."

"I know." Catherine said quietly, taking in Nancy's lecture. "I know what she needs, I can give it to her. You just have to trust me."

"I do trust you. Question is, does she?" The younger Flynn said no more, just touched Catherine's shoulder lightly and disappeared, letting her words sink in.

As soon as the front door clicked closed a voice from the top of the stairs, quiet but sure, spoke up.

"I do."

X x x

Catherine remembered the way her heart had fluttered as those words left Sara's lips.

Since then things had been going brilliantly. They had fallen into a neat little routine of work, breakfast, taking Lindsey to school, alone time, picking Lindsey up, dinner and more work. And Catherine was amazed by all the small, subtle romantic gestures from her new girlfriend. A flower on her bedside table, a chocolate muffin on her desk.

However, it wasn't all rainbows and roses. Sara was a very insecure, cautious girl and Catherine was very tactile. Sometimes Sara would pull away from physical contact, though she was doing that less and less now, and sometimes Cath had to catch herself before touching Sara, not wanting to startle her or appear to clingy.

Yet there was one day when Catherine really noticed a breakthrough:

Cath was curled up on the couch; book in one hand, wine in the other. It had been a long day and, though she had lots to do at home, she was too tired to care. Lindsey was at school and Sara was asleep upstairs. Or so she thought.

Which is why it was such a surprise when the brunette appeared beside her on the couch, seemingly from nowhere. But what really surprised Catherine was what came next. With no words, and no warning, Sara leant over and rested her head against Catherine's shoulder. It was unfamiliar enough for Sara to initiate any physical contact, let alone something this close.

"You okay?" Cath asked, worried. Sara nodded lazily, but didn't speak. Tentatively, Catherine wrapped an arm around her shoulders, holding her tight against her chest. Sara relaxed into the embrace, her feather-light breath caressing the sensitive skin of blonde's neck.

"Bad day." She mumbled eventually. Sara had told Catherine that sometimes she had days when the memories were too much for her and that she could be difficult to be around at these times. The older woman had promised to be there regardless, and if this was Sara's idea of bad then it was going to be an easy promise to keep.

Snuggled together, Catherine's soothing heartbeat echoing throughout her entire body, Sara let her tears escape, making no effort to hide them now. For these were not tears of fear, or pain, or even sadness.

This was her release. Her way of asking for help.

And Catherine, holding her tightly while she cried, was the answer she had been waiting for.