Hi guys, apologies for the delayed update. I've been sick over the last couple of days so haven't felt up to writing much. Hopefully this will make up for the wait, although I can't promise that it's my best work.

Let me know what you think x

x x x x

"Uh hum." Catherine cleared her throat from the threshold, getting Sara's attention. The brunette glanced over her shoulder to seek out the source of the sound and smiled softly.

"Hey, I was just on my way to your office." She greeted. "Greg said you wanted to see me?"

Cath nodded, coming into the room and closing the door behind her, ensuring they had complete privacy. She gestured to the bench between them.

"Yes, but we can do it here. Take a seat."

Sara frowned at the formality, but obliged all the same.

Catherine moved to join her, straddling the bench so she was not only facing her colleague, but also potentially blocking her escape.

"Sara," she paused, licking her lips slowly. This wasn't going to be easy, she wanted to get her words right. "How did you get that bruise?"

"I told you. I collapsed." The answer was instant, prepared.

"Yeah, I know what you told me." Cath rolled her neck, taking a deep breath. She knew it would be too easy to expect the truth right off the bat, but she could always hope.

"Cat?" Sara pressed softly when she didn't speak again.

"I had a visit from Greg this morning." The woman explained at last. "He told me what happened at your scene."

"Yeah, that was … interesting." Sara laughed nervously, her cheeks acquiring a pinkish tint.

Cath pursed her lips sombrely, not in the mood to joke.

"Sara, Greg came to see me because he was worried about something he saw." She reached out and touched her shoulder gently, causing the girl's muscles to tense beneath her fingertips. "More bruises."

"Cath." Sara shrugged her off, her defences rising like a brick wall and disguising any emotion that had been playing in her eyes.

"Sara, I know you lied to me about being sick. I know you didn't collapse yesterday." She continued firmly. "So tell me the truth."

"There's nothing to tell." Sara jumped to her feet, followed quickly by her supervisor.

"I know that you're lying. Tell me what's …"

She stopped mid-sentence, her eyes glued to something behind her young co-worker. She reached past her into the open locker and wrapped her fingers around the offending item. Sara followed her movements with a scowl, her eyes widening in panic as she realised exactly what Cath had spotted.

"Sara, are you taking diet pills?" The blonde asked incredulously.

"No!" Sara went to grab the small tub back but they disappeared out of her reach. "They're just vitamins."

Quirking a disbelieving eyebrow, Catherine took hold of her chin gently, holding her gaze..

"Honey, I was a dancer – and these are diet pills."

Wrenching free from her grip, Sara managed the snatch them away from her and hurled them to the back of the locker, slamming the door shut.

"It's not what it looks like." She mumbled, trying desperately to conceal the scared tears threatening to fall. Moving to stand directly in front of her, Cath tried fruitlessly to catch her eye.

"Listen, Sara. I don't know what's going on with you at the moment but you know the dangers associated with pills like that." She said sternly.

"It's not like it seems." Sara continued to insist weakly, but Cath wasn't biting. Shaking her head in disbelief, she took hold of Sara's wrist tightly.

"Sara, as a scientist and as your friend I am telling you, you do not need to lose weight." She paused, narrowing her eyes. "Does this have anything to do with those bruises?"

"No." Sara pulled back roughly and strode quickly to the door.

"Sar, if someone's hurting you…"

Affronted, she spun on her heels and held her hands up.

"That's not it." She swallowed hard, desperately fighting to keep her emotions in check. "Just … leave me alone."

"Sara, get back here." Cat demanded, following her into the corridor.

When the stubborn young woman failed to stop, Catherine hollered down the hall after her.

"You can't run from this forever, Sara." She warned.

"Catherine?" Grissom enquired in a confused voice. She turned, frustration evident in her expression as she came face to face with the puzzled man. "What's going on?"

She rolled her blue eyes helplessly, blowing a strand of hair out of her face.

"When I find out -" she sighed weakly, "- I'll let you know."

X x x

Greg peered into the dimmed room on his way past and skidded to a halt.

"Hey." He cleared his throat, shuffling into the lab. "Catherine's looking for you."

"I know."Came the disgruntled response, although Sara never tore her gaze from the laptop she was staring at.

He nodded, choosing his next words carefully. He had actually just passed Catherine in the hall and judging by the strawberry-blonde's stressed disposition and Sara's current mood, their talk hadn't gone so well.

"Sara … I don't mean to pry…"

"Then don't." She replied bluntly. Not one to be put off that easily, he inched closer to the bench.

"Is everything alright with you? I mean, I know something's going on; if you wanted to talk about it, you know I'm here."

She stopped what she was doing and cast a glance up at his face. She hated people pushing her to talk when she didn't want to, but she just couldn't stay angry at his innocent concern for her welfare.

"I'm fine." She assured him at last, softening her tone. "I've been kind of ill lately, but it's all sorted now. I've seen my doctor and I'm fine."

Unlike Catherine, Greg accepted the explanation with little complaint and nodded.

"Oh. Well, good." He smiled. "As long as you're alright."

To her relief, he didn't ask what had been wrong. He simply placed a tentative hand on her arm and moved to leave her alone again.

"Hey Greg." She called out as an afterthought. He turned, that familiar sparkle now returned to his chocolate brown eyes. "Thanks."

He grinned, glad to see the smallest hint of a smile back on his best friend's face, before sailing out of the room.

She relaxed her shoulders a little, although the feeling didn't last long.

"Cute." A cold voice declared with an empty laugh. Sara froze, her muscles tensing up again as the distinctive sound of Catherine's heels stepped into the room. "Now, what's the real explanation?"

"You know, it's rude to eavesdrop." Sara pointed out as coolly as she could, although the slight tremor to her voice belayed her true nerves.

"I don't care." Cath retorted calmly, sidling up to the bench and resting one hand deliberately on the notes Sara was pretending to read. "I want the truth, Sara. And I don't care how long it takes to get it."

There was no way out this time. She was well and truly cornered; she was going to have to fess up.

"Okay, you're right." She mumbled. "Is that what you wanted to hear?"

"Right about what?" Cath pressed, leaning closer still. She knew damn well that Sara didn't like people invading her personal space and she was determined to make her young colleague as uncomfortable as necessary until she got the answers she wanted.

Sara took a deep breath, preparing to tell the truth. To her surprise, what came out was not entirely what she had planned.

"The pills." She swallowed, finally daring to lift her gaze. "You were right, they were making me sick."

Catherine had her blue eyes narrowed, whether in suspicion or concern Sara couldn't quite tell. Then, to the brunette's surprise, she pulled the small tub of pills out of her pocket and placed them on the bench.

There was only way she could have gotten access to them, but under the circumstances it didn't seem wise to challenge the action.

"What were you thinking, Sara?" Cath asked, her voice unexpectedly soft.

"I don't know. I guess I wasn't."

"Well," She chewed on her cheek in thought. "Is there anything else I should know?"

Not trusting herself to make up another convincing lie, Sara settled for shaking her head.

"Good."

Aware that the pills were still in full view of anyone walking past, Sara reached for them but her instintive movements were stopped by a firm hand on her wrist. She instantly let it fall, nodding in understanding. Cath took the pot and slipped them back into her pocket. Presumably they would be quickly disposed of down the nearest sink.

Before she left, Catherine took hold of her by the arms and gently pulled her to her feet.

"Sara, honey, I don't know what's going on in that pretty head of yours at the moment; but you know that you can use us when you need to talk." She explained softly. "Don't lock yourself away like this, it's not healthy.

Inexplicably, Sara felt tears starting to build in her eyes and dropped her head out of shame.

"I know. I won't." She murmured bashfully, silently begging for the woman to leave.

Catherine continued to watch her for a moment longer. She wanted desperately to sit down and talk it out properly, but it was clear that her troubled young friend was struggling and she decided to take sympathy this time. She reached up, brushing Sara's hair aside in an affectionate gesture.

Sara swallowed, pleading with herself not to break down yet.

When she did finally dare a glance up, she was alone in the darkened room.

X x x

Catherine submerged one hand in her hair before shaking the long locks out.

The confiscated pills were still burning a hole on her pocket. She had nearly gotten rid of them, but something had stopped her. Something about Sara's immediacy in responding had unsettled her. She had been trying for days to get a straight answer out of the girl, and this time she had given it up straight away. Something still didn't seem right.

Bruises, a black eye, diet pills …

She couldn't help returning to her initial concern that someone else was involved in this. That the reason Sara wasn't giving up the truth was fear – fear of what might happen if she did. She was well and truly under someone's thumb.

So she made up her mind. After shift, she would catch Sara. She would take her out for breakfast somewhere far away from here and make her talk.

Until then, fed up of trying and failing to concentrate on her work, she had decided to go for a walk and clear her head.

She got as far as the locker room, only to find the door still closed. This wasn't necessarily unusual if someone was changing, but it was mid-shift and to the best of her knowledge no one had been to a scene that would warrant a change of clothes tonight.

Nudging the door open, she peered around the edge and spotted the only occupant in the room.

She was half right at least. Sara wasn't changing, but she wasn't fully dressed either.

With her shirt discarded on the bench, she appeared to be trying to tend to her bruises without the use of a mirror.

Cath opened her mouth to alert her colleague to her presence and perhaps offer some assistance, but the words died on her lips. Silently, she crept inside and walked around the bench, her eyes glued to the fresh scars littering the younger woman's back.

One in particular, caught her attention. Around her left arm there were five distinctive marks adorning the pale skin. And unlike the ones on her back, there was no way in Hell this one got there by accident; someone had grabbed Sara with enough force to leave a clear handprint.

Unaware she was even doing it, Cat reached out and let her hands barely graze the injury.

Sara practically jumped out of her skin, turning around with a horror-struck expression and coming face to face with an identical look on Catherine's face. She tried in vain to cover herself, but it was too little too late. Catherine had already seen more than she needed to.

When the older woman finally found her voice, it was filled with an odd mix of sadness and anger as she desperately searched Sara's face for any hope that what she was seeing wasn't real.

"I knew it."