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KARMACOMESBACKAROUND IS MY FAVOURITE PERSON IN THE WORLD, AND THESE COMING CHAPTERS ARE DEDICATED TO YOU!

I had real writers block with this one but I think I'm getting back in the swing. So, here goes. Please tell me what you think.

Sorry for any mistakes, they are mine.

Read. Enjoy. Review.

Chapter Forty Three # Never Be Lonely #

"Nick?"

Nick looked up, mildly shocked that Sara was talking. She hadn't moved from her curled up position on his bed for the past two hours. "Yeah?"

"What…what're you doing?" Sara asked quietly, climbing off of the bed and padding slowly over to Nick, who was tapping on his laptop at the desk.

"Writing." Nick replied with a little smile.

"What are you writing?" Sara asked.

"Just some crappy story." Nick smiled, briefly explaining the storyline to her.

"That sounds good." Sara said, her voice quiet.

"Yeah." He nodded.

"Nick, I'm sorry." She mumbled.

"Sorry? What on earth are you sorry for?" Nick frowned.

"I…I killed my dad and now I've intruded into your life and your house and-"

"Sara, Sara!" Nick stood up, clamping down on her shoulders. "You haven't intruded in my life. And you didn't kill your dad!"

"I stayed out late, it was my fault."

"No, Sara, no…" Nick murmured, hugging her again.

Sara sobbed again and once more Nick held her, unsure of how long it would last.

"Don't worry, Sara…" he murmured, "It's going to be okay, I promise."

A short while later, Nick's mom knocked on the door.

"Sara, I've finished making up the spare bedroom for you. There's an en suite bathroom and some of MJ's old things for you to use for tonight, we can get you your own things tomorrow." She explained softly.

"Thank you." Sara mumbled, not meeting anyone's eyes. "Night Nick."

"G'night. Sara, if you need me, I'm right in here, okay?" Nick replied with a smile.

"Thanks." Sara nodded.

She washed quickly and climbed into MJ's old pyjamas and into bed. Whereas Sara's 'old' pyjamas had holes in, MJ's were still in good condition. Very good condition.

She curled up in the covers. The bed was comfortable, maybe even too comfortable. There were two large pillows beneath her head. She took one out and hugged it tightly, trying to smother her crying.

Slowly, surely, she fell to sleep.

"Bitch, you killed him! Bitch, I'm going to kill you."

"Mom?"

"I'm not your MOTHER!"

Sara held up her hands. "Mom! Don't, stop!"

"STOP!" Sara screamed, crying hysterically. "Don't kill me, please!"

"Sara!" Nick shook her shoulder. "Sara, it's okay, Sara, it's okay!"

Sara opened her eyes, terrified, and punched Nick as hard as she could in the nose.

"OW!" Nick cried, putting one hand on his nose and the other in the air. "It's okay, Sara, it's okay…"

Sara's hazy frightened eyes fixed on Nick and she relaxed suddenly, before breaking down. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry!"

"Hey, hey, hey, it's not your fault Sara, it's alright." Nick soothed. Sara hesitated as if she wanted to hug Nick but she stopped. Nick hugged her instead and she hung onto him for a long moment.

"I'm sorry…"

"What happened?"

"Nightmare."

"Talk to me?" Nick asked.

"She was going to kill me again." Sara whispered.

"Sara, no one's going to hurt you, I promise." Nick reassured her.

Sara took a deep shuddering breath. "I know… I know. Nick I'm so, so sorry that I woke you up-"

"Don't be." Nick shook his head. "Don't be."

CSIVCSIVCSIV

The doorbell chimed at half past eight the next morning and Bill opened the door.

A young Hispanic woman in a suit smiled tightly at him. "Judge William Stokes? My name is Marianna Del Lana. I'm Sara Sidle's social worker."

"Come in, please. She's still asleep upstairs." Bill explained, letting Marianna into the house. "My youngest son Nick is with her. They're friends."

She raised an eyebrow. "Are they in a romantic relationship?"

"No, no. Sara has a boyfriend, a Tony DiNozzo. He stayed with her in hospital yesterday." Bill explained, knocking on the door of Sara's bedroom.

When no one answered he pushed open the door a crack. "Sara?"

When they opened the door they found Nick still sitting up in bed with Sara in his arms. They were both fast asleep in their friendly embrace, Sara's head on Nick's chest, Nick's head on Sara's.

Bill cleared his throat before barking out. "Pancho!"

"Ethan did it!" Nick cried, blinking awake and waking Sara at the same time.

"This is Sara's social worker, Marianna Del Lana."

The two teenagers both started to move.

"Your Honour, perhaps we should talk in the kitchen for a while. Do you think that fifteen minutes is enough time to clean up and meet me downstairs?" Marianna asked not unkindly.

"Yes ma'am." Nick nodded, squeezing Sara's arm lightly before scrambling away to his own room.

Sara just nodded mutely, taking the clothes that they'd set out the day before.

Bill and Marianna retreated to the kitchen where they were met by Jillian.

"Your son seems very close to Ms Sidle, Your Honour."

"He belongs to a very close group of friends, Ms Del Lana. They've been through a lot together." Jillian explained.

"Obviously I'm here to check conditions, Sara's mental state, whether or not this is a suitable home… I know that you've fostered before and you have a very good legal reputation, so this should be a brief meeting." Marianna explained.

"We understand. Thank you, Ms Del Lana." Jillian nodded.

"Call me Marianna, please. I like to try and keep as relaxed an environment as possible for these sorts of things." She smiled.

"Of course, call me Bill."

"Jillian." Nick's mom nodded.

Shortly afterwards Sara and Nick both arrived downstairs.

"There's some toast here, guys." Jillian pushed a stack of toast towards them. Sara hesitated and Nick noticed. He took a piece of toast and gestured to Sara to copy. She did so, nibbling the edge for a moment.

She was torn between an extreme hunger and a sickening feeling in her stomach. Suddenly, she took a larger bite as the food helped her churning stomach.

"So, Sara…" Marianna began. "I just have a few questions for you. May I speak to you out in the hall for a moment?"

Sara looked at Nick for a moment, and when he smiled at her she nodded. "Okay, I can do that."

They moved into the hall.

"Now, Sara, I only have a couple of questions. So Nicholas Stokes is your friend?"

"Yes…" Sara frowned. "Why?"

"Just a question. Next, and Sara I need you to answer this absolutely honestly, understand?"

Sara nodded.

"Do you feel safe here?"

Sara frowned. Safe. Such a strange word. She was very used to feeling unsafe. She'd felt safer since her father returned after Halloween, but she realised something as the question fell from Marianna's lips.

That was the strange feeling beneath all of Sara's thoughts. Safety.

"I…I…"

"Sara?"

Sara bit her lip and took a deep breath. "Ms Del Lana, this is what safe is."

CSIVCSIVCSIV

"What are we doing here, Nick?" Sara asked slowly.

"I'm giving you some free therapy." Nick replied. "Muse is a great listener. Mom has to come along to supervise, protection blah, blah, blah… But she's staying a little way behind."

Nick led the way over to Muse's stall. "Who do you wanna take today? It's your choice."

Sara looked at the first horse she'd ever ridden. "Muse?"

"Sure." Nick smiled. "I'll take DA."

"You sure?"

"Yeah." Nick nodded, preparing the horses.

A short while later they were riding through the nearby forest. "Nick?"

Nick glanced at Sara. Her eyes were straight ahead. "Yep?"

"How long can I stay with you? When will they make me leave?"

"They won't." Nick shook his head. "You can stay for as long as you want."

Sara sighed. "I'm a foster kid Nick… No one wants a foster kid."

"That's not true. We've fostered before."

"Really?" Sara asked.

"Yeah…" Nick nodded. "I think there were more before I was born, but the only girl I remember was Poppy. She lived with us a few years ago. Got adopted by her uncle."

"I don't have any uncles." Sara looked at Nick.

"Well you can stay with us." Nick insisted sincerely.

"My mom…my mom tried to kill me. Nick, there're gonna make me do counselling."

"And that's your biggest worry?" Nick teased gently.

"Ha ha." Sara said dryly. She sighed. "Ha ha."

By four o'clock, Sara had regained her composure. She was fragile, but she coped. They arrived back at Nick's place and settled down in the comfortable living room playing Mario Kart on Nick's Wii.

"Yes!" Sara cried as her car overtook Nick's.

"Hey, no fair, my phone's ringin'!" Nick protested, glancing at the caller ID. Tali. "Gimme a minute?"

"Sure." Sara nodded and Nick went out into the hall.

"Hello?"

"Oh my god!"

"Hi, Tali."

"Is Sara okay?"

"Yeah…she's doing good. But she's been better."

"I can't imagine… Can I come over?"

Nick considered for a while. Marianna had warned them not to have loads of visitors around. She had said maybe one or two. "Sure. Sara'd like that and uh, so would I."

"I'll be there in thirty."

"Minutes?"

"Seconds."

Nick frowned. "Where are you?"

"Right outside your house. I was hoping you'd say yes."

Nick laughed. "Okay, I'll just check with Sara. Give me a second." He leaned into the room. "Sar? You okay if Tali comes around?"

Sara smiled and nodded.

"Okay, Tali, you can come in now." Nick grinned into the phone.

The doorbell rang.

"I got it!" Nick yelled, opening it.

"Hi." Tali murmured, hugging him quickly. "Where's Sara?"

"Living room." Nick replied.

Tali ran into the living room and stopped short. "Sara…"

"Hi." Sara waved slightly.

Tali crossed the room and hugged her friend tightly. "Oh, Sara…"

"Wanna play Mario Kart?" Sara asked with a little tight smile.

"Sure." Tali smiled.

CSIVCSIVCSIV

Two weeks passed, up to the first week in February. Rumours flew like flash fires around the school. Some were about Greg, others about Sara. Some were about Don Flack and Danny Messer putting paint bombs in McKeen's office.

And Sara coped. She continued living with Nick and his family. Her therapist and her social worker were both happy with her progress. Grissom mentored her a couple of times, making sure she was okay.

Her friends helped. Tony helped. A lot of people helped.

Night terrors haunted her, but other than that she was okay. She was coping.

Catherine Willows slammed the door to her locker at four o'clock, sighing angrily.

"Catherine?"

Catherine looked up and smiled at Warrick briefly. "Hi Warrick."

"What are you still doing here?" Warrick asked.

Catherine sighed angrily once more. "Well, I was waiting for my mom to take me to my twelve week pregnancy scan. But…she's stuck at work, and if she wants to keep her new job she's gotta stay. How about you?"

"Oh, I just had to catch up on some science work. You know, if you need a lift I can drive you." Warrick offered.

"I can't…" Catherine sighed.

"Sure you can. I got nothing better to do." Warrick smiled. "Let's go."

They slipped into Warrick's car. "Thanks for this, Warrick. I mean it."

"No problem." Warrick smiled.

Catherine checked in at the desk, and shortly afterwards they moved into the small room off to the side.

"Hi Catherine, my name is Nurse Katie, I'm here to make sure everything in your pregnancy is going well. Is this your boyfriend?" the bubbly looking woman asked.

"No." Catherine and Warrick said at the same time. Catherine smiled at Warrick and continued. "He's just a good friend. Warrick Brown."

"Okay," Katie said with a wry smile. "I won't ask. If you wanna lie up here on this table for me, there we go."

Catherine glanced at Warrick as the nurse continued to ask her a few questions while her inflated stomach was prepared for the scan.

"Are you ready?" The nurse asked.

"Uh… I don't think so." Catherine asked, panicking suddenly.

"Hey, Warrick, why don't you hold Catherine's hand?" Katie asked.

Catherine looked at Warrick with a small smile. "Please?"

"Sure." Warrick smiled, taking Catherine's hand in his own.

"Okay… look here. There's your baby." Katie pointed at the screen.

"Wow!" Catherine gasped, looking at the squirming image of her baby on the screen. "That's…that's incredible…"

"Well, your baby is alive and moving…I just need to take a few measurements, but everything looks great." Katie nodded.

Catherine was entranced by the baby's movement on the screen, watching the picture in awe. They gave her a picture to go out with when she left, and she felt like she was glowing all of the way home.

They turned the radio on in the car, and partly due to Catherine's infectious euphoria, they ended up singing along to almost every song, including one Catherine hadn't heard in a long time.

"People in love get fast and foolish
People in love get everything wrong
People in love get scared and stupid
People in love get everything wrong

At least they're not lonely
At least they're not lonely
Never Be Lonely

BBBBaby I think I'm going CCCCrazy
And why should I be sane without you

They tell me to fight it
But they can bloody well just try it
Ill never be the same without you

People in love get special treatment
People in love get everything wrong
People in love their hearts get eaten
People in love get everything wrong

At least they're not lonely
At least they're not lonely
Never Be Lonely

BBBBaby I think I'm going CCCCrazy
And why should I be sane without you

They tell me to fight it
But they can bloody well just try it
I'll never be the same without you

Never Be lonely, never be lonely

Never be lonely, never be lonely

Never be lonely, never be lonely"

"Do you wanna come in Warrick?" she asked hopefully when they pulled up outside her place.

"I suppose I got time." Warrick smiled, following her into the house.

"Eddie keeps calling me." Catherine announced as they drank hot chocolate.

"What does he want?" Warrick frowned.

"He wants to get back together. Says no one will have me now I'm pregnant and when I have the kid."

Warrick's forehead furrowed over his eyes that now wore contact lenses rather than glasses. "That's not true."

"Thanks…" Catherine murmured. They talked about lighter things for a couple of hours, before Warrick really had to go.

"Wait, Warrick." Catherine said, biting her lip as Warrick left the house.

Warrick turned and smiled at her.

Catherine took a deep breath and prepared to plunge into dangerous waters. "Warrick, in some ways Eddie is right."

"What do you mean?"

"Warrick… I can't do this alone." Catherine whispered, trying to stop the tears suddenly pricking in her eyes.

Then she leaned up and kissed him fully on the lips.

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