Though she knew there was no need, she still felt self-conscious. Her bruise had faded considerably throughout the day and the only mark visible beneath her makeup was a small red bump across the bridge of her nose.

Hopefully, she thought to herself, if she didn't spend too long with any one person, they wouldn't look close enough to notice.

Her second plan to get through the shift – that being, to avoid Catherine at all costs – was quickly foiled as the blonde's voice followed her down the hall.

"Sara." Her tone was calm enough not to draw undue attention, but firm enough to dissuade Sara from keeping walking.

Slowly, the young woman spun on her heels and sloped back to the office.

"You called?" She asked softly, leaning against the doorframe.

Catherine was leaning against her desk, her blue eyes narrowed. She was obviously searching for the mark on her face.

"How are you feeling today?" She asked at last.

"I'm okay." Sara nodded, subtly closing the door behind her so as to avoid anyone overhearing.

"Have you done it yet?" The supervisor continued. There was no need to elaborate; Sara knew exactly what she was talking about.

She cleared her throat nervously, fidgeting on the spot.

"I, uh, I made an appointment." She lied. "Tomorrow at 3."

"Do you want me to come with you?"

"No, thank you." Sara shook her head vehemently. "I'll be fine."

Cath narrowed her eyes again.

"You shouldn't be driving." She pointed out. Sara smiled tightly - she had been expecting that.

"I'm okay, I promise. It'll be sorted out tomorrow."

"Good." Cath nodded, straigtening up.

Settled that the conversation was over and she was allowed to leave, Sara turned to the door but Cath's voice held her back again.

"Hey," she called, taking a step closer. "Next time something like this happens, you tell us." Her voice was sympathetic, but she was deathly serious. "When it could affect your health, we need to know."

"I know." Sara nodded solemnly. "I'm sorry."

Catherine's lips turned into a small smile as she reached out to lay a hand on Sara's arm. The brunette tensed beneath the touch but forced herself not to flinch.

"Take care tonight." Cath said at last, softening her voice. "Let Greg drive, for once."

Sara nodded in agreement and was already halfway out of the door before the words registered and she paused.

"Greg?" She inquired.

"Oh, yeah." Cath reached onto her desk and extracted a case file. "Grissom's in a meeting with the Sheriff so I'm doing assignments. You and Greg have a 419 in a Downtown residence."

"Oh. Good." Sara nodded, taking the file.

Ordinarily the prospect of letting Greg drive would have irked her somewhat, but today she was happy to go along with Catherine's orders if it kept the blonde satisfied. She was grateful, also, to the presumably deliberate pairing with the youngest CSI. He was the least likely to press her on her mysterious disappearing act yesterday.

He knew better than to push her buttons.

X x x

The water was stone cold and harsh against his delicate skin.

He blinked, resisting the urge to touch his eyes until he was suitably 'decontaminated' - just in case.

He could honestly say that the sight of several men in biohazard suits bursting into his crime scene was the scariest thing that had happened to him to date.

Sara didn't seem particularly amused by the disruption either.

Greg cast a furtive glance across the tent, catching the briefest glimpse of her on the other side.

She turned, almost catching his eye. He quickly looked away, but something made him turn back a moment later.

Sara was staring at the floor now, her dark locks painted to her pale skin by the strong water pressure.

But it wasn't her face he was trying to see anyway.

X x x

"Yeah?" Cath hummed, waiting for her visitor to creep in and close the door behind them.

"Uh hum." Greg cleared his throat, shuffling up to the desk. She flicked her eyes briefly up to see who it was before going back to her work.

"What's up, Greg?" She asked. Any other day she would enjoy the young ex-labrat's humour, but she was far too busy tonight for idle chit-chat.

"Can I talk to you for a minute?" He asked nervously, fidgeting with his long sleeves.

"Sure." Cath agreed absently, continuing to scribble on her notes.

"Well, it's kind of delicate." He began tentatively. "You see, when I was in the shower with Sara earlier, I saw something that I don't think I was supposed to see. And well, I thought I'd talk to you because … you know, you're a woman."

Catherine froze, lifting her gaze to blink at him. With slow measured movements, she capped her pen and placed it carefully on the desk, giving him her full attention.

"I'm sorry." She said at last. "I stopped listening at 'in the shower with Sara'."

The young man took a deep breath and started again, from the beginning this time.

"Well, there was this mould at our scene – rhizopus oryzae – and Doc Robbins had us dragged into this decontamination shower to, you know, stop us from dying." He slid into the seat opposite her desk and folded his hands on his lap.

"Oh, I bet she loved that." Cath snorted, leaning back in her chair.

"Yeah, well, I saw something." Greg continued, not in the slightest bit amused. "And I don't know what to do about it because if I say anything to her then she'll know I was looking – not that I was looking! I just caught a glimpse and I didn't know what to do so I pretended I didn't see it. But now I'm worried because…"

"Greg!" Cath held up her hands to stop his rambling before it got even less logical. "What did you see?"

He took another calming breath, regaining a slight sense of composure.

"Bruises." Cath raised an eyebrow, waiting for elaboration. "On her back and shoulders. As if someone's been hitting her."

Catherine pursed her lips, letting her mind work through this. "Okay." She nodded carefully. "Were they fresh?"

"Some of them." He admitted. "Some of them looked a few days old. I just didn't know how to bring it up with her. And I thought that maybe you would know what to do."

"Leave it with me." She hummed. "I'll find a way to talk to her."

He jumped eagerly to his feet, glad to have alleviated his responsibility somewhat.

"Thanks Cath." He breathed. "I just … I was worried, you know."

She smiled reassuringly.

"I'm sure there's an innocent explanation, but I'll talk to her." She promised. "Don't worry about it."

"Okay, thank you." He nodded again, slipping back into the hall. He would worry, of course. Sara was his best friend and until he knew what had happened to her it would play on his mind. But knowing that Catherine was dealing with it comforted him. The fiery blonde would drag it out of Sara, by any means necessary.

Alone in her office once again, Cath's smile vanished and she released a shaky breath.

"Damn it Sara." She sighed, shaking her head sadly. "You lied to me."