Disclaimer: CSI is not mine...unfortunately!

Okay, I know I haven't updated in a looooooooooong time, and for that I am very very sorry! But here's an update now, so maybe you could forgive me even if its a little bit!

Mistakes are all mine, seeing as my beta ran away for the weekend to be a bridesmaid. Stupid timing!

Anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter!

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Sara looked up from the microscope, after scrutinising it for half an hour, stopping to look at the clock. She only had 15 minutes left in her shift, and then she would be meeting Catherine for breakfast, and she hated to admit it, but she was nervous as hell. Catherine provoked feelings out of her, that she had never felt before, and it scared her. Scared of letting her in her heart and then only to break it and then scared she might fall too hard and too fast. But it was already too late for that.

They had gotten through the night, without any trouble, both of them being professional and just talking about work. They couldn't let what had happened between them affect their work, and Sara would never let it. If she let it distract her, it could be the difference between an innocent person being caught and the guilty party being freed, all because of one morning.

Looking at the clock, she realised she had been so lost in her thoughts that it was now the end of the shift. Feeling eyes burning through her, she turned round in her seat to find Catherine in the doorway, shifting from side to side, obviously feeling a little uncomfortable, but she still looked so beautiful.

"Um...hey," Sara muttered, as Catherine stepped into the room. Her jeans looked like they had been painted on and her white shirt, showing off her gorgeous curves. If Sara hadn't felt so betrayed, she would have taken Catherine right there and then.

"Hey yourself, you ready to go?" Catherine asked, as Sara nodded slowly, standing up to put the evidence away.

"Yeah, where do you want to go? I'll meet you there."

"How about we go to the same place as we went yesterday morning? It was nice enough."

"Okay, I'll see you there."

"Sara, thank you for agreeing to talk to me, it means a lot."

She couldn't help but watch as Catherine walked out the room, and she let out a big sigh, this was going to be harder than she thought. But she had to be tough, she refused to be walked all over again, she was tired of being that person.

Stopping on the way out to grab her stuff out of her locker, she thought about what she was going to say to Catherine when she got there, and honestly she had no idea. She was going to wait and see what Catherine said, her head was all over the place. She was confused about her own feelings and whether she had the will to forgive Catherine, because that was what she obviously wanted Sara to do.

Getting in her car, she took a minute to try and calm and nerves. She just hoped it didn't show, she hated being vulnerable. Putting her car into drive she headed towards the diner where she was meeting Catherine, she was just glad they had gone separately, as it allowed her to get herself together. She only wished that it was a longer drive, as a few minutes later she pulled into the parking lot, stopping right by Catherine's car.

Taking a deep breath, she stepped out of the car and into the diner. As soon as she entered, she saw the back of a blonde head, and instantly knew it was Catherine. Quickly taking a glance around and seeing it was pretty quiet, she sighed before walking to where Catherine was. Taking a seat opposite her, she met blue eyes they both smiled gently at each other.

"Hi," Sara started tentatively, taking her eyes off Catherine and looking down at her hands resting on the table. She wasn't sure what to say to the blonde woman, she had never felt so betrayed. On one hand she wanted to punch a wall, and on the other side she wanted to cry at letting the older woman in. But she wouldn't do either.

"Hey," Catherine returned, keeping her eyes on Sara who was fidgeting.

"I'm not sure what you want me to say, Cat." The blonde smiled at hearing the younger woman using her nickname. Maybe she did have a chance with her after all. She knew she wanted it, and she was going to fight to get it.

"I want you to tell me what you're feeling right now."

Before Sara could reply, the waitress interrupted them by taking their order. Catherine ordered some French toast, and Sara a bagel. There few minutes that followed the waitress leaving, there was silence. Sara was trying to work out what she wanted to say to the older woman. Easier said than done. Running her tongue over her bottom lip, she sighed before looking back up at the blonde.

"I let you in. I let you get under my skin. God, how could I have been so stupid?" Sara muttered, just loud enough for Catherine to make out. She didn't want the brunette putting herself down, it had been all her. She was the one to blame.

"I know, and I'm so sorry. I just didn't want to start things with you while I was still with Paul. So I had to go and end it with him."

"You couldn't wake me up? Or wait just a little while longer??" Sara questioned and Catherine winced at the tone of Sara's tone. It was broken and very unlike her. It made her stomach flip knowing she was the one who had done it.

"I had to break it off." The blonde stated, getting slightly agitated repeating herself. She wanted the younger woman, to realise how much she meant to her. She just wanted another chance.

"That's no reason for you to just leave me!" Sara flapped, trying to gauge Catherine's reaction. She looked defeated, something Sara had never seen before. She didn't want to back down, she needed to be strong, she couldn't let the older woman back in again. The next time she would take her heart with her, and Sara didn't think she could deal with that.

"I know, I know." Catherine murmured, as they were interrupted by the waitress bringing their food. Each of them gave her a smile, before looking down at their food, neither of them particularly hungry.

"So what's the real reason you left?" Sara asked a few minutes later, breaking the silence that had fallen on the once again.

"What?"

"What was the real reason? Was I not good enough for you or something?" She hated asking the question, but Sara had to know. If that was it, they could cut off from each other and carry on like they had before.

"No, it's not that!" Catherine almost shouted. She desperately didn't want Sara thinking she wasn't good enough. She was more than enough. She was clever, sensitive, thoughtful and her looks were a definite bonus. She wanted Sara to see that, and maybe show her.

"You just wanted one time with me, is that it?"

"I want more than one time, I do..."

"Then what the hell is it?!" Sara demanded, as the diner suddenly got quiet. Looking around, she saw everyone looking at them before she turned round to Catherine.

"I felt myself falling for you, and I got scared, okay? Is that what you want to hear? The bitch Catherine Willows actually got scared about the intimacy."

"Why?"

"I haven't felt this way since my first girlfriend." Catherine confessed, and she could have sworn that she saw Sara's soften. She found Mary hard to talk about, and even harder with Sara. The brunette was the only one she could feel this connection with, the same one she had felt with Mary. Maybe even a stronger connection. She wanted to explore it with her.

"You could have talked to me, instead of just walking out. You made me feel used, dirty." And she had, she had felt like she was just a toy that Catherine picked up when she wanted her. She refused to be that again, for anyone.

"I know, I went about things the wrong way. I'm sorry, I don't know what else I can say." A single tear fell down Catherine's cheek, and all Sara wanted to do was hold her and never let go. But she needed to be strong, for herself.

"I'm not sure where we go from here." Sara stated sadly, and she broke the eye contact between them.

"I want to give things a go with you. You know, dates and walks in the park, and lazy days in bed. I want it with you." Catherine said, as she reached across and grabbed Sara's hand, caressing her thumb over the top of it. She gulped sadly, as Sara immediately pulled her hand away, acting like she had been burnt.

"There's no point if there's no trust. And right now, I don't trust you."

"Sara..."

"No, I'm going to be wondering every time whether you're going to be there when I wake up. I can't, I'm sorry." Sara gulped back the tears that were threatening to fall, as she walked out not daring to look back at the older woman. She just wanted to get home, read a magazine and get some sleep. Hopefully, to put the last 24 hours behind her.

"Sara wait!" But she didn't, and the blonde just watched her leave knowing it wasn't the right time to go after her. She obviously needed space, and Catherine was going to give her that, but not too much.

Grabbing her bag, Catherine walked out of the diner intent on going home getting some sleep. Then she was going to plan on how she was going to win Sara over, and then spend some quality time with Lindsay when she got home from school, before she had to go to work. Turning the ignition in her car, she gripped her steering wheel. Sara Sidle was going to be hers again, she was sure of it.

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I was desperately trying to write a cute Limerick begging you to review, but for the life of me I couldn't write one. But if you review, I promise and cross my heart that the next update will be much quicker coming! :D