AN: Hope everyone is doing well. Thanks for continuing along this journey with me.

Take care and enjoy.

CHAPTER 26

CATHERINE POV

"Hey, hey, hold on a minute."

Jogging, I catch the tall brunette who was hoping to sneak in and out of the break room without being noticed. It may have worked for most of the team, but not me. Perhaps it's because I immediately noticed she wasn't there before me like she almost always is. Then, hyperaware of the brunette's absence, I noticed immediately the moment she arrived, nearly ten minutes late for shift.

Which, for Sara Sidle, is unheard of.

Barely glancing over her shoulder, Sara doesn't slow her pace, continuing out to the parking lot, assignment slip in her hand.

Almost running to catch up, I'm able to grab Sara's arm just as we reach the cool night air outside.

"Hold up, Sara," I state, catching my breath. "Jesus, woman. You're going to give me stroke here, it's too early for jogging around in heels."

Standing rigidly still, Sara's hand pauses on the door of her Tahoe.

"What do you need?" she asks me, gesturing to the slip in her hands. "I have to get going."

"You can wait for a few minutes," I tell her, seeing her up close for the first time.

If I wasn't worried before, I sure as hell would be now. She looks awful. Her eyes reflect a clear lack of sleep, deep shadows beneath her hazel gaze. She looks tired, agitated, and, looking down, I note evidence of what first drew my attention this morning when she arrived. Other than the fact she was late.

"Are you okay, Sara?"

"You need to stop asking me that," she says, clearly losing interest in having this particular conversation as soon as the topic is revealed.

Opening the door, I have just a few seconds to reach around her and slam it shut again before she gets in.

Turning, Sara's expression is even harder than before.

"What the hell are you doing, Willows?"

"Trying to stop you from being a stubborn idiot."

Before she can reply, I gaze down towards her foot. Seeing where I'm looking, Sara's gaze quickly leaves mine.

"I don't know what you-"

"Don't bother, Sara," I cut her off. "Please don't start lying to me in the first minutes of shift. At least wait a couple hours before you start that shit with me."

Jaw tightening, Sara looks less than pleased at being called out as a liar. But, her penchant for lying when it comes to her state of wellbeing doesn't mean I have to sit here and pretend to believe her. I no longer have the energy nor desire to play that particular game with her anymore.

"What happened to your foot?"

Sara swallows, dark eyes on the pavement that's nearly as dark as her expression.

"I'm a CSI, Sara," I remind her, tone trying to soften to something less stern. "I know when something's wrong."

"I…" Sara breathes out tightly, clearly hating this conversation and still trying to debate her options out of it. "It's really nothing."

I don't move, don't speak, hand remaining tightly on her car door. The message is clear. I'm not going anywhere until she stops being an idiot.

"I went for a run after work," she eventually states when I start to get worried that our shift will consist of us standing out here in the cold for all of it. "It was longer than usual. It's just sore."

"Bullshit."

Sara's eyes flash, her posture stiffening to an almost impossible level.

"Then why are you asking me if you apparently already have all the answers? What do you want me to say, Miss Willows?"

"No," I cut in. "Not again. We're not going back to that 'Miss Willows' shit. You may not like me, you may not care what I want, but dammit Sara, we're beyond that. Are we not?"

Her eyes search the surroundings, the ground, the car, anywhere but near me. Reaching out, I turn her jaw in my direction, waiting until her gaze is all but forced to meet with mine.

"Please tell me we're beyond that," I ask quietly. "Please tell me I'm not still the CSI investigating you in your eyes. Please tell me you trust me more than that by now." I breathe out, searching the deep colors in her eyes. "Please tell me I've made some sliver of progress with you."

I feel Sara's tension, her body's reaction to my words. I feel all of it under my fingers.

"Why does it matter?"

Sara's question is so quiet, I barely make it out. But, when I do, my eyes narrow in confusion.

"With me," she clarifies. "Why does it matter how I see you or if you've made progress? Why do you keep trying?"

I raise a brow, wondering how she could even ask that. How the question is even a question to her.

"Because I care about you Sara."

Seeing her guarded gaze, the walls in her expression that only seem to rise higher at my answer, I start to understand the true point of confusion for the brunette. And, it makes my heart break.

"Because you're worth caring about, Sara Sidle."

Immediately, Sara pulls back, my words clearly hitting too close to the source of her confusion, too close to the question she was really asking.

"Please," Sara states, "I really need to get to my scene."

"Stop running," I tell her gently. "Stop running from people that care about you, Sara. Stop pushing everyone away."

Head lowering, Sara's hand is on the handle of her door, dark hair obscuring her features.

"Last time I checked," she barely gets out. "I wasn't the one pushing people away from me. They were the one running away as soon as they saw who I really was."

Voice low, her eyes flash up to mine.

"So please, move your hand off my fucking car door before I move it myself."

Watching her withdraw completely back into herself, I sigh, knowing exactly what she was referencing. If I didn't witness her actions in the locker room last night to betray her state of anger over what happened with Kelly, this certainly would have.

Raising my hands slowly in surrender, I take a step back, giving her room to open the door.

She's in and gone in seconds.

I haven't seen Sara all of shift. And, to make matters worse, Kelly keeps texting me to ask how the brunette is doing.

When I had dinner with her yesterday, she was devastated. She was also beyond worried regarding what impact her decision might have on Sara. She knows as well as I do how guarded Sara is, how hard it is for her to put herself out there. Then, to have been noble enough to put herself out there for Kelly, only to have Kelly decide that things weren't right to pursue…

Letting out a long breath, I put my pen down, both grateful and frustrated at Gil giving me the day to make progress on my paperwork. There's a lot of it, so it was more than appreciated, but it doesn't afford the same level of distraction that working a scene does. With most of my open cases in holding patterns as we wait for new evidence, evidence to process, suspects to be tracked down, and a myriad of other things, paperwork is the best, and only, option right now.

But, it's less than ideal.

Haven't seen her most shift, she's been out at a scene.

I send the response to Kelly, figuring it's at least semi honest. I don't know how to inform my friend that Sara actually seems eons away from fine. That, if anything, she's only become more guarded and standoffish than she was even when I first met her. While that answer would be honest, it also would be devastating to Kelly, who was only trying to herself be honest by giving the brunette the decision she knew was right for her.

Cursing under my breath at the situation, I pick up my pen, grabbing another file to buy me perhaps another five minutes of distraction.

It's only due to a miracle that I run into Sara before I leave. Almost literally.

She's about to leave the locker room just as I'm entering. Stepping back to avoid colliding with me, Sara puts distance between us. Which, in turn, allows me to step inside and lock the door behind me.

Eyes shooting up, Sara looks beyond angry.

"We had a deal."

Dark eyes jerking from the door to mine, she shakes her head.

"Excuse me?"

"Your health," I clarify though I more than believe she already knew what I was referring to. "We had a deal. You let me check in on you, or I go to Grissom."

"That was a deal related to the incident in the desert," she bites out. "Nothing more."

I wonder how in the hell someone can refer to themselves being stabbed and nearly bleeding to death as an 'incident', but I push that particular topic aside.

"Which I haven't checked in on," I tell her seriously. "Now I want to."

"It's been weeks," Sara states. "I'm fine. I would've been dead by now if I wasn't."

Though she has a point, there're a lot of other options between fine and dead. I obviously know Sara isn't dead, but something tells me she isn't quite fine either.

"A deal is a deal."

"This is ridiculous," Sara states tightly. "Our deal was void the second I got better. And, it's sure as hell void now."

"Why?" I question, crossing my arms over my chest in challenge. "Because of what happened between you and Kelly?"

I shake my head at my colleague.

"That is between you and Kelly, Sara. It has nothing to do with me, nor my own relationship with you."

"Doesn't it?" she questions with a raised brow. "Let's be realistic."

"Kelly hasn't told me anything about what you two talked about," I state evenly. "And she never will. Though, I suspect you already knew that before you trusted her with the information in the first place."

Sara doesn't argue, some of the anger leaving her as she looks away instead.

"I would never ask her about it either, Sara. That's your business, not mine." I keep my gaze firm though she's still staring somewhere beyond my shoulder.

"What happened between the two of you happened between the two of you. In my eyes, it has no bearing on my own relationship with you at all."

Sara's gaze remains firmly behind me. A good solid couple minutes tick by, the room completely silent. Then, slowly, her head lowers slightly.

"I'm honestly fine," she says quietly.

"Then just let me see for myself. The foot also."

Sara's gaze is heavy when she finally raises her eyes back up to mine.

"Please, Sara."

Letting out a breath, the brunette raises her hands slightly, holding them away from her body.

Taking that as permission, I step closer.

"Thank you," I offer sincerely, watching as she again moves her gaze beyond me.

Gently taking hold of her shirt, I lift it upwards, stopping when I reach the bottom of her bra. Looking over the skin beneath, I grimace, seeing the stab wounds that are now transitioning from angry red gashes to deep scars.

Looking over her ribs, a lot of the bruising has decreased, but there are still a couple areas that hold a deep discoloration. Using one hand to keep her shirt up, I gently probe those areas with the other.

Feeling Sara's breathing catch, I try to keep my touches light.

"I was hoping the bruising would all be gone by now." I say honestly. "It definitely appears better, but still looks beyond painful."

Sara doesn't comment, and I knew she wouldn't. Both impressed and worried at Sara's ability to handle pain, I try to keep my mind focused on the task at hand.

However, seeing the thin, toned muscles of her torso, it's hard to keep my fingers from traveling from her ribs to trace the tanned, tight definition of the body on display before me. Clearing my throat, I lower her shirt back in place.

Gesturing to her foot, I move to put a bench between us for her to set her foot on.

Taking the hint, Sara pulls off her shoe and sock, placing her foot along the bench.

Reaching down, I lift her jeans away from her lower leg.

And, when I do, I immediately see the problem.

"Sara, your ankle…"

Sara doesn't comment, and I know she doesn't need to be told what I'm seeing. She knows damn well what she was trying to hide.

"You want to tell me what really happened?" I question, grimacing as I trace the bruising around her ankle bones.

Knowing the ruse is up, that there's no benefit to trying to play dumb anymore, she shrugs.

"Twisted it on a rock."

I wince, "Looks like you sprained it pretty good. Should probably get it looked at."

"It'll be fine," Sara counters. "Isn't the first time this has happened on a run."

"Perhaps because you go running in the middle of fucking nowhere with no paved paths."

And, knowing the state Sara was in when she left yesterday, something tells me the brunette's run last night was likely a lot longer and a lot more aggressive than they typically already are. I can all but picture the young CSI trying to force all her anger and frustration out of her, likely being less than careful about where and how she went about doing it.

Sara doesn't comment, but a slight pull at the side of her mouth lets me know she heard me just fine.

Pulling her sock and shoe back on, Sara eagerly moves her foot back to the ground, having completed her part of the deal.

"We done?" she asks.

"How are you not limping more?" I question in disbelief. "You were a little this morning when you came in, which is how I knew something was wrong in the first place. But how are you walking at all?"

Sara shrugs, "Practice."

Heart clenching at her words and her casual reference to hiding her injuries and pain, I sigh.

Someday, I hope Sara finds a place, a person, something or somewhere that she feels comfortable expressing the pain she feels. So she doesn't have to keep hiding herself away from anything she perceives to be weakness. Someone as strong as her deserves a safe haven, some relief from her stoic façade that she wears as armor to protect her from a world that likely has been less than kind to her.

She deserves to not feel that every time she opens up she's only going to be rejected, or hurt, for it. She deserves someone willing to look at all of her, from her deepest darkness to her brightest light, and accept her. Love her. Darkness and all.

"We done?" she questions again with a raised brow, eyes searching my expression curiously.

"We're done," I confirm.

Reaching out, I take her arm gently in my hand as she moves to pass.

"I'm really sorry about what happened with Kelly," I tell her quietly. Knowing this is the last time I will bring this up to the brunette, but feeling like I needed to get the sentiment off my chest. "I'm so proud of you for doing what you did for her to be able to make her decision. I'm sorry that this was the one that she made."

Sara is still, her eyes on the floor.

Then, nodding, she pulls herself gently from my grip.

Unlocking the door and opening it, she turns her head towards her shoulder.

"See you tomorrow…Catherine."

Eyes flashing to mine briefly, she exits the room.

AN: Thanks for reading.