"Hey Sar." Nick began nervously, flicking his eyes up to hers. "Why didn't you tell us?"

A thick silence had fallen over them, not that they had really noticed, so lost were they in their own thoughts ever since the others had left.

She looked down into her lap, anxiously threading the blanket through her bandaged hands.

"I don't know." She shrugged meekly. "I guess I was ashamed."

"Come on, Sara." He sat forward, stilling her nervous actions by taking her hand between both his own and caressing the raw skin with his fingertips. "You know that we wouldn't judge you."

"It's not that." She shifted awkwardly, her eyes dancing animatedly around the room. "Nick, you know what my father was like." She mumbled. "I remember how people looked at my mother, how they looked at me. I just couldn't deal with those looks again. Like I was pathetic, helpless."

"Oh Sara." Nick shook his head, releasing her hand and leaning up to wrap his strong arms around her slender frame. "You know that you can talk to us about anything, no matter what it is. No one here is going to think you're weak because of what she did to you."

Her only response was to snuffle closer to him, nestling her face against his neck and inhaling his familiar scent. Nick had always been her rock, the one she knew would be on her side no matter what. His touch was strong, but in a comforting way rather than a threatening one. He was a protector.

Sensing her need to fee safe right now, he pressed her tighter against his chest and dropped a kiss onto her head.

"No one's going to hurt you again." He whispered against the shell of her ear. "I won't let them."

X x x

Catherine narrowed her eyes, wishing more than anything that she could hear what they were saying. Sara had coiled herself against Nick and even from here she could see the tears creeping down the Texan's weathered face.

"Why didn't you tell me?"

She turned, throwing a lazy glance at Grissom.

"I didn't think you'd care."

Beside her, he visibly stiffened.

"Of course I care." He countered, affronted at the insinuation.

"Okay then, I didn't tell you because I didn't want to." She clarified calmly, stuffing her hands into her pockets and shuffling her feet, her gaze still firmly fixed on her colleagues in the next room.

He scowled at her blunt answer.

"I should have known. I could have helped."

With a quiet scoff, she finally turned away from the window to face her boss.

"Please, you're so wrapped up in your own world; you never even noticed anything was wrong with her!"

For a moment he looked taken aback by the comment. His tongue darted out to lick his lips as he contemplated his response carefully.

"I did notice, Catherine." He contradicted, failing to disguise his offence. "Of course I noticed. I just didn't know how to bring it up."

"Exactly." She threw her hands out. "Alright, maybe you did know, but you didn't do anything about it did you? You didn't try to talk to her, or offer to help? You just buried yourself away in your lab where things are nice and safe." She shook her head, muttering under her breath in distaste; "Heaven forbid you should actually let someone know how you feel about them."

He blinked at the onslaught of abuse from his old friend, not sure what to say.

"How do you feel about her?" The question, unexpectedly quiet, was posed curiously rather than accusatorially.

She frowned at him in confusion, having expected him to at least react to her harsh words.

"I…" she stuttered, opening and closing her mouth helplessly as her eyes automatically turned to seek out her girlfriend again. Sara was still wrapped in Nick's arms, seemingly asleep. He was rubbing gentle circles on her back as he stared blankly at the wall, lost in his own thoughts.

She swallowed, shaking her head slowly.

"I love her."

X x x

"Hey Sofia!" Warrick jogged down the hall, catching the detective lightly by the arm. "I hear we've got her?"

"Yeah, but we can't do anything until she sobers up. Brass is trying to get an arrest extension as we speak."

"He'll get it." Rick nodded confidently. "The judge wants this wrapped up just as much as we do. Did she say anything when you brought her in?"

"Nothing that made much sense." Sofia scowled. "Except … I don't think she knows that Sara and Catherine are alive. I think that she thinks they died in the fire."

"How come?"

"She said that she killed them. And she's not sorry about it either."

"She actually said that?" His green eyes widened. It was rare for their key suspect to fess up so easily, even when they'd had a shot too many.

"Well, she didn't actually say their names." The woman amended carefully. "But who else could she be talking about?"

"Well, when she sobers up enough you let me know. I want a piece of her." He patted her on the shoulder and drifted into a nearby lab.

She watched him go with a small nod of agreement, her face contorting into a sad frown.

"Yeah. Don't we all."

X x x

"Hey Bobby D." He greeted, leaving Sofia standing alone outside the room. "You not partaking in Hodges' gossip-fest in the break room?"

"No." The firearms tech snapped sullenly, keeping his face firmly pressed against the microscope.

Warrick narrowed his eyes at him, instantly picking up on the waves of anger drifting off the usually laid-back Texan.

"You alright?"

With a heavy sigh, he stood up straight and turned to face the CSI.

"It just seems like they care more about Sara and Catherine's supposed affair than they do about the fact that they nearly died." He scoffed, shaking his head. "It's just … it's just sad."

"Yeah." Warrick frowned, clearing his throat uncomfortably. Bobby came across as so macho sometimes with his gun collection and fascination with cars, it was easy to forget that he was gay himself; he broke all the stereotypes.

Much like Catherine and Sara, the man realised.

"Hey Bobby," Warrick asked, leaning against the bench. "Did you ever notice anything ... you know, about the girls?"

"You mean, did they set my gay-dar off?"

There was a distinct hint of unbridled sarcasm to his voice, but Warrick let it slide and nodded in agreement anyway.

"Look," the tech sighed, folding his arms across his chest. "I never noticed anything between them. But even if they are together, it doesn't mean they don't need your support. If anything, they probably need it now more than ever."

"Hey, I'm cool with it." Warrick held his hands up defensively. "I just can't believe we missed it for so long, you know?"

"Yeah, well." Bobby shrugged, returning to his comparison microscope. "Not everyone in our world walks around in rainbow t-shirts."

X x x

"I can't believe it." Wendy shook her head in baffled loss. "I can't … Catherine and Sara?"

"I told you." Hodges smirked knowingly, taking a long slurp of his coffee.

"But … Catherine and Sara?" Henry continued on from Wendy's train of thought. "I mean that's …"

"Hot." Archie nodded appreciatively, earning him a slap on the arm from Wendy.

"Hey, I'm with you." Mandy sided with Archie, perching on a stool and tearing into a blueberry muffin. "But, what's the deal with this cop woman? Where does she come into it all?"

"I heard that she and Sara were dating and that she's been beating Sara up." Henry whispered conspiratorially.

"Yeah right." Hodges scoffed. "Like anyone could beat Sara up. She's like Lara Croft on speed."

"Okay Mr Know-it-all." Mandy sniped. "If that's not it then how do you explain why Sara's been so quiet lately?"

"Yeah, and all the mysterious bruises." Archie jumped in hurriedly. "I don't believe one person can be so clumsy to injure themselves that much."

Hodges pursed his lips.

"Well, I do hear that Catherine likes it rough." He wiggled his eyebrows suggestively. "The question is, which one was she cheating on if she was seeing them both at the same time?"

"I don't think that's any of your business, Hodges."

The sharp tone of Greg's voice made David jump, along with the rest of the techs, and their cheeks flamed at being caught gossiping.

"How's Sara doing?" Wendy asked hurriedly in an attempt to save face.

However Hodges, having recovered quickly from his shock, cut her off and stalked towards the younger man.

"I disagree." He stated calmly. "I think, since we have to work in this environment, we have a right to know what's going on."

"You want to know what's going on?" Greg repeated with a raised eyebrow.

"Yes, we do."

Without a moment's hesitation, Greg's hands shot out and roughly shoved the lab rat backwards. He stumbled, tripping over his own feet and landing on his ass on the hard floor, every ounce of cocky confidence knocked out of him. Greg stood over him, to the shock of the other lab techs, and crouched down.

"What's going on, is that some bitch has been doing that to Sara for the last six months. And we're going to help her deal with it – however we see fit! And whatever is going on with her and Catherine is their business, not yours or mine or anyone elses."

The trace tech blinked up at the man in astonishment, barely able to form words.

"You can't tell me that you don't know what's going on." He managed to say at last, flinching when Greg visibly twitched at the comment.

"Right now, that's the least of my concerns."

Deciding that he'd suitably made his point, he straightened up and locked eyes with Wendy.

"Sara fine. We're going to process the suspect as soon as possible, so get ready to clear the decks. You too, Henry."

They both nodded eagerly, not wanting to further piss off the usually placid young man and risk getting the same treatment as Hodges.

As he departed, Wendy and Archie offered both hands to pull the man back to his feet.

"What the hell was that about?" He asked breathlessly, brushing himself down.

Nobody dared offer an explanation, choosing instead to slope out in silence while exchanging uncomfortable looks. David, left alone in the room, dropped heavily onto a stool and laid claim to Mandy's unfinished muffin as he pondered Greg's reaction.

Perhaps it was something he'd said.

X x x

Vartann rapped lightly on the door before poking his head inside.

"Hey." He greeted, clearing his throat. The patient lifted his head, taking a moment to place the vaguely familiar face.

"Detective Vartann." Hank croaked at last. "I was wondering when you would get round to taking my statement."

"I understand you've had a rough couple of days." Lou nodded, sliding into the seat beside the bed. "But since you mention it, I do have a few questions."

"Ask away." Hank waved a hand.

"How long have you known Sara Sidle?"

A simple question on the surface, but Hank still had to think about it.

"I first met her about four years ago. We dated for a while." He cleared his throat, feeling his cheeks heat up at the memory of their breakup. Sara had looked so devastated, despite her attempts to hide it.

And Catherine. Even then she'd been there, he realised now, in the background. Always quietly looking out for Sara in her own way.

Shaking his head, he sent the police officer a blank look.

"Sorry?"

"I said, have you had cause to see her recently?" Vartann repeated, his forehead creasing in concern at his witness' gormless stare.

"Yeah she, uh, she collapsed at work. I was the at... well, I was one of the attending EMTs."

"I remember." Lou nodded, recalling the incident. It had played out over the radio, but he'd been sketchy on the details.

"I saw her a few times after that, I kept trying to get in touch with her but she wouldn't take my calls." Hank continued.

"Why was that?"

"When we took her to hospital, I noticed she had bruises that weren't caused by the fall. It looked like someone had been hitting her." He clenched his hands into fists on the bed and slowly relaxed them, feeling the muscles spasm beneath the delicate skin. "I just wanted to help her, but she wouldn't talk to me."

"So, you knew about her and Kirsty?" Vartann sat forwards, intrigued.

"Kirsty?" He frowned. "No, I ... I thought she was with Catherine actually. Who's Kirsty?"

Lou opened his mouth to answer, but quickly thought better of it and changed the subject.

"You ran into the fie. Did you notice anything about it? Anything specific?"

Understanding that he wasn't going to get an answer to his question, Hank sank back into his hard pillows and folded his arms.

"It was fucking hot." He answered drolly, eliciting a small smile from the detective.

"Yeah." He snapped his notebook shut and slotted it back into his top pocket, signalling the end of the informal interview.

He hadn't really expected to get much, but it was worth a shot. Without any forensic results yet and unable to question Kirsty, the only thing he could really do was talk to witnesses and tie up loose ends.

"Thanks for your time. And ... I hope you feel better soon."

He stood up, but Hank rose with him, shuffling upright despite his tight chest.

"Hey," he gasped, settling himself against the headboard. "Is Sara…?"

"She's okay." Vartann assured him. "They're going to release her soon."

"I'd like to see her."

Lou pursed his lips, wandering back to the bed.

"I don't think that's a good idea." He said tactfully. "Look, I don't know the full story between you two, but I know that until the fire, you were not their favourite person." He paused, licking his lips as he considered his next words carefully. "You saved her life. We can't thank you enough for that." In an act of goodwill, he held out his hand. Hank stared at it dumbly for a second before shaking it limply. "You're a hero." He continued. "Let's not spoil a good thing, hey?"

X x x

"Hey."

Greg looked up slowly, revealing the red marks around his eyes where he had been crying.

"Hey." He croaked hoarsely.

Warrick came further into the room, placing a hand on his mate's shoulder and squeezing firmly.

"You alright?"

"Yeah."

"You taken all your anger out on Hodges, or you still got some left in you?"

Despite his bad temper, Greg laughed at the nonchalant remark.

"I think I'm good." He laughed weakly, wiping at his eyes. "Sorry."

"Hey man, I get it." Rick breathed, releasing him. "I'm mad too. But you'd better be able to keep your cool if you want to help Sara."

Greg nodded slowly, taking a few deep breaths.

"I'm good." He repeated at last.

"Good. Because you and I are going to Sara's flat."

"What for?" Greg stood up, stretching his numb legs. It wasn't usually in him to be violent, it had knocked him for six. Warrick's face darkened somewhat as he produced a search warrant from his back pocket.

"Evidence." He growled in a low voice. "We're going to find something in that building that proves Kirsty was the abuser in that relationship."

"I don't know. She covered her tracks pretty well." Greg pulled a face, scanning the document carefully. "I don't know what you expect to find."

"Well there has to be something." Rick insisted, snatching it back. "And come hell or high-water, I'm going to find it. Now, are you in or you out?"

For the first time in hours, a small smile twitched at the young man's lips.

"I'm in."