Do not own CSI or any of the characters

Do not own CSI or any of the characters.

Thanks again for all that have reviewed and read. I really enjoy reading your feedback.

Also I want to thank theyHAUNTme and StokesSidle for all their help!

Picking up the Ashes

"Oh," was all Sara could master as she looked at herself in the mirror. She had just gotten her bandages removed from her burn marks.

She held the mirror up to her face and examined the damage done to her neck. The burn covered most of the left side of her neck and shoulder. It was red and raw looking. The scar tissue was a different colour from the rest of her skin. The doctors had done skin grafting to it, but that still did not cover up all of the damage. The scar on her right calf was also like this. They had put skin grafts on it too.

Sara traced her hand along the edge of the scar from her neck down to her bare shoulder. It was bumpy and rough. Her eyes began to water, and a single tear rolled down her cheek.

Grissom who was standing close to the bed noticed this and placed an arm around her shoulder, trying to comfort her. It was hard for him to see Sara like this, in pain.

The scars on Sara's neck and body might have been ugly but they did not take her beauty away. She was still beautiful to Grissom, even more now.

Grissom tried to take the mirror away from Sara but she would not let him take it. He did not push this; he knew that she needed time to deal with the scars. He simply just kept his arm wrapped protected around her shoulders.

It wasn't until an hour or so later that Sara placed the mirror down on her lap and turned to Grissom. Her eyes were red and bright with tears. It broke his heart to see her like this, but even more to hear, "Do you still love me?"

The words rang through the room. Grissom didn't know how to respond to this. Of course he still loved her, how could he not?

"Sweetie of course I still love you and nothing will ever change that," as he spoke this he reached down and wiped away her tears.

Sara brushed away his hand. "Are you sure? Cause I will understand if you don't want to be with me anymore," her voice choked up and a new set of tears started to fall down her rosy cheeks.

"Oh, honey," replied Grissom, cupping Sara's chin and kissing her.

Just then the door to the room flew open and the whole night shift appeared. Sara and Grissom broke away from each immediately at this. They both looked up at their friends to see if they noticed but most of them were still chatting away, except for Warrick who smiled at them and winked.

Sara blushed at this and looked away. Grissom gave Warrick a dirty look which just made him smile wider. Grissom then looked over at Sara who was now being greeted by Greg and Nick.

"Hey Sara," greeted Greg excitedly.

"Hey," greeted Sara back, hugging the man.

Next was Nick who handed Sara over a bouquet of flowers. They were Sara's favourite, pink roses. They were bright and full of colour.

"They're beautiful Nick, thank you," spoke Sara, kissing Nick on the cheek. Nick blushed a little at this and said it was no problem. Sara then felt tears well up in her eyes again but she blinked them away before anyone could see them.

Catherine was next to greet Sara. The two women briefly hugged each other. As Catherine pulled away she handed Sara a gift bag.

"What's this?" asked Sara taking the bag.

"Oh it's nothing really," spoke Catherine shrugging her shoulders. "But open it later."

"Why?" asked Sara.

"No reason, just open it later."

Sara just shrugged at this, "Okay."

She placed the bag next to the flowers on the night stand and looked over at Warrick.

"Are you going to say hi to me?" she asked, titling her head at him.

"Of course girl," spoke Warrick smiling and taking a step closer to the bed. "How are you?" he asked in all serious now. There was a look of concern in his green eyes.

"I'm fine," replied Sara, brushing her hair behind her ear.

Warrick did not look convinced at this but did not want to push it.

Sara then glanced over at Grissom, who just had stood up from where he was seated. He looked down at Sara and smiled trying his best not to give anything away to the group.

"I'm going to go," he spoke just to Sara but loud enough so it seemed like he was addressing the whole group.

Sara looked hurt at this and mouthed "Why?" to him but he just shook his head. She tried to reach out and grab his hand but he moved too quickly.

Just as Grissom opened the door, Sara shouted out, "Hey." This 'hey' was filled with so much raw emotion and feelings; it stopped Grissom in his tracks.

He turned around to face Sara. Their eyes locked and they silently communicated with each other.

Catherine, who already suspected that something was going on between them, raised her eyebrows at this little display of feeling. Warrick already knew about Sara and Grissom. They hadn't come out and told him, but he could tell. He was a level three CSI for crying out loud. Nick and Greg on the other hand did not notice anything between the two of them.

Grissom smiled at Sara before saying goodbye to the whole team and left the room. Once Grissom had left, Sara continued to stare at the door.

Warrick noticing the distress and disappointment on her face walked over to the side of the bed and whispered something in Sara's ear. Sara laughed out loud at whatever Warrick spoke in her ear.

Catherine's ears perked up at this. Had she been wrong, was there something going on between Sara and Warrick instead? But she shook her head at this, when she saw the ring on his finger…he was married!

Warrick noticed Catherine staring and smiled up at her. He still felt guilty over the whole Tina thing at the hospital and such. Catherine returned the smile. She couldn't stay mad at him. He had that affect on her.

The group stayed for about two hours or more, talking and chatting and trying to cheer Sara up. Not once did any one mention the burn marks, which were visible now. It was a fun time but soon they were kicked out; visiting hours were over and they had to get ready for work. Before they left though, they all promised that they would come back later. She waved goodbye as they all left the room.

Catherine was the last to leave; she had paused at the door and turned back to Sara.

"Yes Cath?" asked Sara.

"You can open the present now," was all she said before turning on her heel and exiting the room.

Sara was puzzled at first but then she remembered the bag that Catherine had given her. She turned towards the night stand, where the gift bag and flowers still lay. She took them both and placed them on her lap. She smelt the sweetness of the roses, before paging a nurse and asking for a vase to put them in. After the nurse returned with the vase, Sara thanked her and placed the flowers in it. Sara then turned towards the gift bag and reached in it.

Inside Sara's hand made contact with something soft and smooth. She slowly pulled it out of the bag and revealing a beautiful aqua blue pashmina. Sara ran it through her hands and brought it up to her face. She closed her eyes and rubbed her cheek against the soft buttery material. "But how did Cat know?" thought Sara to her self as she admired the scarf. Sara then twisted her hair into a knot at the back of her head, held up by a pencil and wrapped the scarf around her neck. She then grabbed the mirror she was using earlier. She twisted her neck to see the affect it had. The pashmina did its job, it covered up most of the burn mark on her neck, except for a tiny bit at the top, but you could hardly tell. Sara smiled at her self in the mirror; she was very pleased with the results.

Catherine waved goodbye to the guys as she approached her car. As she opened her purse to search for her keys, Warrick approached her.

"Hey," he greeted the red head.

Catherine looked up at this and smiled at him, "Hey."

"Do you want to go for a cup of coffee and talk," he asked, shoving his hand in his pocket. He was nervous.

Catherine was a little taken back by this. She stopped what she was doing and looked into Warrick's bright green eyes. "I'm sorry, I can't," she spoke.

Warrick smiled at this and said he understood, but in his eyes was disappointment. If he had asked earlier she would had said yes in a heartbeat, but he was married now. That changed everything.

"You know I would love to, but it's late and I have to go home to Lindsey before work," apologized Catherine as she shoved the key into the car door and opened it. "I'm sorry," she said turning to face him before sliding into the driver seat.

"No, its okay Cath, I understand," with that, he walked away.

Catherine waited until he disappeared from her sight before shutting the car door and crying. She really didn't know why she was crying, the tears just started to fall. She was crying because she couldn't be with the man she loved. She was crying because he was married. She was crying because she had lied to him. She didn't have to go home to Lindsey. Lindsey was at a sleep over to night. She was crying because the look on Sara face when Grissom was leaving. She was crying because Grissom had not told her about Sara and him. She was crying for everything and everyone.

Catherine eventually got herself together and started her car. Before she pulled out of the parking lot she looked at her self in the mirror. She was a wreck. Her make up was ruined. Her mascara was running. She quickly wiped it away with a Kleenex she found.

She then drove home to an empty house.

Thanks for reading, I hoped you enjoyed it!

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