Sara came home, exhausted, and sank to the floor. She leaned her back against the door she had shut, closed her eyes and sucked in a deep breath. It seemed that every case she worked drained her a little bit more, but today's had gotten to her more than most. Seeing Tina and Eli felt like a punch to the gut, and she hated that she may have been responsible for Warwick's child ending up in the foster care system. She had wanted nothing more in that moment than to follow Eli as the social worker had taken him and registered on the spot to become a foster carer and take him home. But she hadn't, and she knew she couldn't. She was barely keeping herself alive at this point and she couldn't care for another human being. She couldn't give him what he needed when she herself still felt so broken. So instead, she had spoken to the social worker, emphasising how important Eli was to them. The social worker seemed to understand, and despite the protocol in place he had given Sara the name of the family that would be taking him in for the short term. She had stayed at work late running every background check possible, and speaking to the family on the phone, before she was satisfied that he would be safe and well cared for until Tina could pull her life together.

She was glad she had organised for Tina to see Eli before coming home. And while she knew that Tina thought it was for her, Sara knew the truth. It wasn't for Tina's benefit, it was for Eli and for Warwick.

After leaving work, she had met up with Nick for breakfast. It had been months since they had taken the time to do so. They had reminisced about good times, before Sara had been kidnapped. Times with Warwick. Times with their old team. They were the only two left now, and it felt strange. She knew that she owed Nick the truth about her life now, but she also knew he held onto the dream of a happily ever after for her and Grissom and she couldn't shatter that illusion. Perhaps, deep inside, she also feared he would reject her. After all, Grissom had been his mentor long before she had even met Nick, and she worried his loyalties would remain with him if he were to know the truth. So instead, they had reminsced about good times together, and had discussed a plan to support Tina and Eli. It was the least they could do for their fallen friend.

Having lost herself in thought, Sara didn't notice the passing of time. At some point she must have drifted off because she found herself waking hours later, the room full of beautiful mid day sunlight. She eased herself up, feeling her whole body protest. The familiar ache in her gut throbbed. She should eat, shower, then go to bed... but exhaustion overruled the other needs and she stumbled to her bed. The room was dark and cool, and without changing or even pulling up a blanket, Sara found herself asleep again.

The night shift had begun quietly. DB came into the break room to hand out assignments, but did a double take when he only saw Finn and Nick. Greg had the evening off (and had a date if rumours were to be believed). Morgan rushed in a few minutes late, looking flustered, but Sara was nowhere to be seen.

Assignments were handed out - a suspected suicide for Finn, with a significant amount of blood to be studied. Morgan was assigned a break and enter. DB had intended to send Nick and Sara to a double murder at a sleazy hotel so he could work on paperwork, but a knot in the pit of his stomach made him change plans.

"Has anyone heard from Sara?" he asked before they all left.

"I called her when she wasn't in early, but no answer" Nick replied. His uneasiness was obvious. They all knew how unlike Sara it was to be late, and even moreso to be unreachable.

"OK then, Finn and Morgan, you head out. Nick and I will take the double homicide until we reach Sara." He nodded, dismissing the two women and pulling out his phone. He dialed Sara's number, but the call went directly to voicemail. "You know what? I've got this one for now. Why don't you go ask Archie to see where her phone is, and I'll call Brass to see if he can swing by her place and check in on her. Once we've tracked her down, you two can take over." Nick nodded in agreement, his face creasing with worry as his stomach twisted.

"Sara... you know she hasn't been looking so great lately." Nick admitted hesitantly. "She seems... tired. She's not herself." He continued. "We had breakfast after shift. Reminisced about old times. But she just seemed... off. Tired. Didn't eat much."

"I've noticed it too." DB admitted. "But she's tough. She'll be ok. Probably just overslept or got caught in traffic. Go talk to Archie."

-Author Note -

I'm returning to fanfiction after a 6 year absence. With CSI Vegas coming back last year, the moment I heard the intro song again, I knew I was falling down a rabbit hole. However, wanting to ensure I didn't abandon readers again mid story, I swore I wouldn't publish anything until I finished writing.

But as most FF writers know, feedback is what keeps us writing. I've completed 20 chapters of this story so far, but have many more to go (and several different directions written, oops!) So I'm taking a risk and publishing my unfinished story one chapter at a time. I need feedback! Reviews! Tell me what you think happens next!

Having been out of the game so long, and changing from my previous obsession back to CSI, I am in need of a beta should someone be interested.

And I guess my writing style is apparently distinctive so if anyone does figure out my old account and asks nicely, I might go back and try to finish the abandoned stories I left.

Oh, and I promise not to load down my stories with authors notes. If you see italics at the end of a chapter, feel free to ignore.