AN: Thanks for reading. And thanks for all those who share their thoughts and kind words with me. You guys really are the greatest and appreciated beyond words. Hope everyone is doing well.

Take care and enjoy.

CHAPTER 25

KELLY POV

"Nice place."

Sara doesn't comment, simply opening the door wider to allow me enough room to pass through.

Having gotten the address from Catherine, I was surprised that Sara lives in this particular neighborhood of Vegas. Not that it's the most sketchy neighborhood one could chose to live, but it certainly has a higher element of crime and nefarious behavior than others. It's an odd choice for someone I presume could afford at least a dozen other, safer options.

What the building lacks in charm, however, the inside of Sara's place more than makes up for. It's modest in size, extremely tidy and filled with pictures, books, and many other personal touches that catch my eyes as I glance around.

"Want something to drink?" Sara asks, drawing my eyes back towards hers.

"I think I'm good," I say, feeling my insides already twisted in anxious knots, not really feeling like I can stomach anything right now.

Nodding, Sara picks up her own half consumed bottle of what looks like beer, fingers playing with the label as she gestures towards the living room.

Taking a seat on the couch, Sara sits on a chair on the other side of the coffee table that's between us.

I stay quiet, letting her dictate this process. Seemingly coming to the same realization that she's the one who called me, Sara lets out a long breath, taking a sip of her beer before tapping her fingers along the edges.

"It's not fair to drag you along without clear direction of where this is headed," Sara starts quietly, eyes boring into the amber colored bottle in her hand. "It's also not fair for me to dictate or presume what you are or are not comfortable with pursuing. You were right."

Swallowing, her eyes meet mine.

"But, Kelly, to be able to make that decision you need to know more than you know now. You need to know more of what you would be signing on for, more about me, than you currently do. Otherwise, you aren't making an informed decision."

I nod, agreeing so far to her words. Agreeing that Sara doesn't have a right to tell me what I should or should not be open to pursuing with her. And, to know what I'm open to pursuing with her I need to know her. I need to know the things she's been hiding, the person that she is, the sides of her that she fears will sway me.

"You sure you don't want a drink?" Sara offers quietly. "There's more than a couple things to discuss."

Shaking my head, too nervous to speak, I simply cross my legs and give her my full attention.

"Okay," she gets out, putting down her own drink as she steadies herself, eyes watching the table. "I guess the first thing you need to know…"

Standing, I numbly take the few steps needed to bring me to the front door.

"You alright?"

I nod, looking up into concerned hazel eyes.

"I should probably be the one asking you that," I state quietly, my words sounding far away to my own ears. "I know this couldn't have been easy for you. Sharing what you did."

Sara doesn't argue, but she doesn't seem to care all that much either, her concern still solely directed at me.

"I, uh," I clear my throat, trying to shake some of the haze from my brain. "I have a lot to think about, obviously."

Understanding, Sara holds the door knob, unlocking it.

"Take all the time you need, Kelly."

Reaching forward, I place my hand over hers, stopping her motions. Feeling the smooth, cold skin beneath my fingers, I gently graze my thumb across her knuckles.

Taking her hand more firmly, I pull her closer, drawing her body a few steps closer to mine. Her grip falling off the door, she raises her eyes to meet my gaze.

Reaching forward, I place my free hand gently on her chest, feeling her halted breathing beneath my touch. Leaning in, I gently place my lips against hers. The kiss is gentle, the contact light and soft.

Pulling back, I step away, taking up her former job of opening the door.

"I need to think," I repeat my previous words. "But I promise I'll talk to you soon, Sara."

While this is hard on me, I know this waiting period has to be agonizing for the brunette as well.

Nodding, she gently takes the door from my hand, holding it open as I exit.

Giving her one last look, I steady myself and walk away.

"She what?"

"She told me she was willing to proceed however I wanted. That if I still wanted to pursue things and see where they went after what she told me then she was on board."

I watch Catherine taking this in, her empty plate completely pushed away as she leans across the table to give me her full attention.

"And then…she shared with me….things about her…"

Catherine's eyes go wide.

"Seriously?"

"Seriously."

"Wow," my friend breathes out. "That was…considerate of her. To be willing to open up to you so that you were making an informed decision."

I nod, "I appreciate it beyond words. And, if I'm honest, I can see why she had so many reservations about me changing my mind once I 'knew' her better."

"That bad?" Catherine asks quietly. "I mean, I can assume her concerns were serious based on the little I do know about her past. The abuse her medical records revealed was horrific."

I shake my head, "She didn't even really bring that up. Probably figured I already knew that particular point of concern."

Catherine watches me, eyes darkening and narrowing slightly as she takes this in.

"There's more?"

I nod sadly, "Much more." I try to keep my mind from flashing back to the conversation I had with Sara now over a day ago. One that keeps playing through my thoughts nearly every free moment I get.

"And," I state tightly. "I can't help but suspect that she's still not even telling me everything. Just enough for me to get a general gist. But, there's more. I know there's even more that she's not saying."

Catherine watches me, eyes hard to read as she leans back slightly, letting out a long breath. She doesn't ask me to share any of what Sara discussed with me, and I respect her even more than I already do for it. Catherine isn't one to pry, isn't one to ask me to betray the trust that Sara put in me. Never one for gossip, particularly at the expense or betrayal of someone else.

Part of why I love and cherish my friend, one of the best human beings I've ever met.

"Do you know what you're going to do?" she asks instead.

Eyes moving to hers, I tense, my own expression shifting to something that likely looks as torn as I feel.

"I think so."

Catherine nods, reaching across to gently take my hands in hers.

"You're a great person, Kelly, with amazing instincts. I think you know what it is you want to do. You just need to trust yourself and do it."

Squeezing her hands, I nod, looking down at my own untouched meal. Pulling one hand free, I take out my phone.

Sending a quick text, I get a response almost immediately.

"That Sara?"

I nod, taking a deep breath.

"I told her I was ready to discuss my decision."

CATHERINE POV

Having not heard from Kelly all night, I anxiously look up as I notice someone enter the break room. Knowing Sara was on shift tonight, I purposely got here early as I was unable to sleep anyway, too worried about my friend and the discussion she was likely having right then. Knowing I would possibly not hear from Kelly, I decided to search out my other option.

Sara.

Seeing her pour herself a cup of coffee, she quickly takes a couple swallows, only grimacing slightly at the liquid that has to be nearly scalding.

"Hey."

Looking over, Sara's eyes are blank as they meet mine, giving me no indication to what is going on under them.

"Hey."

Downing the rest of her coffee, she places her mug near the sink, moving to exit as quickly as she entered. I'm not sure if she's avoiding me, or if she's simply being Sara. Queen of quiet introversion.

Regardless, she was of absolutely no help in getting insight into what happened between her and Kelly.

It takes nearly half the shift before I get another view of her, entering the back lab she's working in as Grissom joins along to get an update on the status of our desert rave case. We fill him in, our reports shared succinctly and efficiently, building off the information the other person shares to lay out the case for Gil.

We may barely speak a lot of the time, but we make a damn effective team. As we report on our progress, it impresses even me just how much we've already made in such a short period of time. Knowing the case is clearly in very good hands, Gil offers few words before leaving to get back to work himself.

When Sara silently goes back to taking notes on the owners of the plate numbers we identified on some of the video feeds we pulled last shift, I move slightly closer to the table.

"You okay?" I question, keeping my gaze neutral.

When she looks up, her eyes narrow.

"You just seem quiet." I state gently. "Or, quieter than usual."

"I'm okay," she answers quietly after a few more moments of silently studying me.

"Alright," I answer, straightening up as I move to the door. "I'm around if you need."

She doesn't look up this time, her grip tightening on her pen the only indication she's heard me.

"Thanks," she says in almost a whisper as I step into the doorway.

Nodding, I exit, glancing down at my phone as I walk towards my office. I see my texts to Kelly glowing back up at me, all still without a response.

I still have no idea how her talk with Sara went, what she decided. And, stoic Sidle is officially of no help.

Reaching down, I unlock my phone, fingers moving quickly across the screen.

Kel, sorry for the zillionth text. You don't have to talk about your decision, I just want to be sure you're okay. Love you.

Sighing, I toss my phone onto the wooden surface of my desk. Grabbing the stack of files piled next to it, I sit down to get some of these finished before shift gets completely away from me.

Reaching forward, I grab my keys from my locker just as my phone vibrates in my pocket. Pulling it out, I glance down at the screen.

Sorry to make you worry. Just needed some time alone with my thoughts.

I read the words from Kelly, glad to finally receive a response as I had been starting to get legitimately worried.

You okay? I type, not sure if I'll get another reply.

But, about a minute goes by when I feel my phone vibrate again.

Not really. I told Sara no, Catherine. That I didn't think things were going to work between us. We were never even truly together, but for some reason this feels like one of the hardest breakups I've ever had.

Reading the words, I let out a breath, knowing how badly my friend must be hurting right now. I know she cared for Sara, likely still does. I know she didn't make this decision lightly, and to have made this particular decision was perhaps in a lot of ways harder than the alternative.

I'm sorry, honey. I know how excited you were and how much you wanted this to work out. You want company tonight? Lindsey and I can bring over some food and watch really crappy movies about princesses and talking clouds.

Closing my locker, I don't have to wait long for Kelly's response.

Sounds perfect. Thanks, Cath. And I love you too.

Smiling, I'm about to step away from my locker to head home when I hear the locker room door open, quickly followed by footsteps in the row behind me.

I move to make my presence known when I hear a shuffling of bags and a quiet curse.

Immediately recognizing the voice, I draw to a stop, not knowing whether to leave quietly or approach. Now having the answer regarding what happened between Sara and Kelly, I feel like I owe the brunette some sort of conversation as well. But, to be honest, I have no idea how she is personally feeling about any of this. Yes, she was quiet today, but that's it.

Is she happy, relieved? Is she upset? Did she want things to work between herself and Kelly as much as my friend did? Was she looking for a way out and is glad that Kelly took it?

Hesitating, I step around the lockers where I can see Sara, her back to me. Reaching down, she pulls her shirt over her head, standing in her bra as she grabs what looks like a running tank top. She's already changed into running shorts, apparently planning to head out somewhere for a run instead of going home.

Feeling slightly guilty for staring at my now half-dressed coworker, I'm about to let her know I'm there when the brunette lowers her head, her tight, stoic posture finally breaking as she slumps forward, head leaning against the metal of the locker as she takes in what looks like a shaky breath. Letting it out, her shoulders slump slightly further, the young CSI appearing like she's caving under the weight of the world.

Then, before I can move, I watch her hands ball into fists.

The metallic bang that follows nearly immediately after sends me jumping, startled. Heart thundering, I watch her pull her arm back, landing another solid punch into her locker before she straightens up, dragging her hands through her hair.

"Fuck," she curses out darkly. "Fuck it all."

Pulling on her shirt, she grabs her keys, closing her locker door with much more force than needed.

Bag slung over her shoulder, she's gone before I can even fathom a single thing to say.

Stepping out of the shadows, I breathe out into the now oppressively silent air.

I guess Sara isn't as 'okay' as she professed to me earlier.

"Shit," I mutter, hating to see what I just witnessed.

While Sara's stoicism is itself quite hard to take sometimes, this is much, much worse. To see the strong, composed young woman hurting, her exposed emotions bared only when she thinks no one is watching.

It's heart wrenching to see. And, unlike Kelly, I can't simply text her. Can't offer to bring her dinner. Can't talk about it at all, really.

I have to watch her walk away, have to try to keep my promise to keep our relationship work related.

Breathing out, I decide to at least help the person that I can. Be the friend to Kelly that she needs and deserves.

And, maybe, someday, I'll be able to do the same for Sara.

AN: Thanks for reading.