New, longer chapter :) Enjoy xxx

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Catherine's jaw dropped. "Wha…how…b…" She stuttered helplessly before taking a deep breath and starting again. "How long have you been married?" She asked incredulously.

"5 years." Catherine's jaw dropped for the second time. There were so many questions buzzing around her head right now but she couldn't quite form one, and it seemed she didn't need to. "I left him after a few months. He was…angry. He turned up on my doorstep two days ago."

Catherine nodded in understanding. "He hurt you," she stated. Sara nodded miserably.

The young brunette glanced over Cath's shoulder to check the corridor was empty before unbuttoning her shirt with shaky hands. Catherine watched in horror as pale skin mottled with dark bruises came into view. "Oh Sara, sweetheart." She whispered, tracing a light hand down the marks marring her chest and stomach. She felt Sara's muscles tense beneath her fingers.

A test tube smashing in one of the labs brought them back. Sara hurriedly covered her exposed skin. Cath knew that there were still so many questions that needed asking but she also knew that this was neither the time nor the place. "Okay," she breathed, "first of all we need to get you somewhere safe where he can't hurt you. So, you are going to come stay with me." Sara opened her mouth to oppose but Cath placed a finger over her lips. "No arguments! I will not let him hurt you again."

"Catherine I couldn't ask you to…"

"You're not asking, I'm offering. In fact I'm insisting." She saw the corners of Sara's lips twitch in a small smile and took that as acceptance of her offer.

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Having successfully bought Grissom off with a very lame excuse Catherine and Sara left the lab early and went to Sara's apartment to pack a bag. Catherine had never been inside the brunette's apartment before and found it surprisingly feminine. The dark red walls and comfortable furniture created a warm, inviting atmosphere. Sara headed straight into the bedroom and began packing clothes while Cath loitered in the bedroom doorway. Once she had everything she needed they drove the short journey to Catherine's. Sara said all of two words in the car and though Cath still had so many questions she wanted to ask, she couldn't quite form them into words. So instead they drove in silence.

When they arrived at Catherine's house Sara suddenly seemed very nervous and hovered in the hallway. "You can stay here as long as you like, to be honest it'll nice to have some adult company to talk to." Cath chattered happily as she floated through the living room until she realised that Sara had not followed her. "You planning on staying there all day?" she sighed. "Sara honey, make yourself at home here okat, so you can move out of the doorway now."

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Catherine eventually got Sara into the lounge and they ended up sat on either end of the couch with a mug of coffee. Once she thought the young woman had relaxed somewhat Cath decided to breach the subject of her secret marriage.

"So, you married an abusive drunk and left him after a matter of months. Anything to add?" Figuring that she wasn't going to get out of this Sara took a deep breath.

"I was 24 and he was kinda sweet and funny most of the time. He was the first person who'd really cared about me. After we got engaged he got more…possessive. He would hurt me if I was late home or something." Catherine inched closer, taking care not to breach her personal space. "On our wedding night he…he raped me. I got pregnant. About three months later he attacked me. I lost it." Her voice was barely a whisper by now and tears were streaming down her face. Catherine tried to speak, to offer some words of comfort but nothing came out. Instead she reached out and pulled the girl into her arms.

"I'm so sorry." She whispered, placing a soft kiss into brunette curls.

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When Sara had calmed down again she pulled back and nodded her thanks. They sat in silence for a while until Catherine found her elusive tongue.

"Why didn't you report him?" Sara scoffed.

"Cat, it was our wedding night. Who would believe me?" Cath had to admit that Sara was right; it would be nearly impossible to prove, so she decided to change tack.

"So why is he back?"

"Well, when I was dating Hank I spoke to my lawyer, filed for divorce. Just in case…you know."

"In case things might get serious?" Sara nodded then rolled her eyes and smiled.

"Guess I misjudged that one. I never thought anything else of it until a few days ago when he called me. Said he wanted to talk. Next day he turned up on my doorstep and…well you've seen what he did."

"Oh babe, you should have told us. You should have told me." She chastised lightly.

"I'm sorry." Sara choked out.

"No, no honey. This is not your fault. Come here." She pulled the sobbing girl into her arms once again and rocked her gently until she felt her breathing even.

Sara blinked at her. "Have you ever considered a career in social work? Because you're good at it you know." Cath laughed.

"Well, I'll keep that in mind for future reference." Both were relieved by the loss of tension in the room and the older woman decided to keep it that way. "Hey, how about I call Nancy and get her to pick up Lindsey from school then you and I can break open a bottle of wine?"

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