Author's note:

1) This fic is based on the episode "Built to Kill, Part 2".
But althought Catherine is the primary character in the episode, this fic is written in SARA'S POV all the way! I hope you guys like it. I have to say, i love to write this fic.

2) I have all the chapters done but I'll wait my super beta to take a look before posting it. So it will take a few days to my next update. Thanks Deb for doing this. You are amazing!!

3) Csi characters are not mine.

4) And please review! I like to know what you guys think.

***

I let the water fall against my body washing away the sweat from my early morning run. They have become a ritual for me to help leave work behind especially after the toughest nights. I love feeling the wind in my face as the pale light of dawn breaks, followed by the amazing feeling of hot water cascading over my skin.

Once finished, I turn off the water and grab a towel. I wrap the thin white fabric around me and open the door to the bedroom. I pull on something comfortable and close the blind to block out the strong early morning rays, before finally slipping inside my sheets. I'm exhausted but feeling good at the same time.

No sooner has sleep overtaken me than I am awakened by a noise coming from somewhere. That's one of the problems when you work nights: the only time you get to sleep is when most people are starting to get up! I try to block out the noise by pulling my pillow above my head but it doesn't help. It continues and louder this time. When I enter the living room I realize that the sound is not down to my inconsiderate neighbors, as I thought at first, but someone at my own door - which is strange because it's very early and I sure as hell don't get many visitors at the best of times.

"This is better be good!" I curse before opening the door.

The angry words die in my throat when I see who it is and more specifically take in her appearance. Her arms are crossed in front of her chest in a protective way. She's wearing clothes that just can't be hers firstly, because they are far too large and secondly, because she would never wear those, they do nothing for her beautiful skin. And then there's the very angry-looking bruise on her right cheek.

"Can I come in?" Catherine asks; her voice low and tearful. I nod and open my door further. She steps inside the door and just stands there.

"Um… would you like something to drink? Coffee, water, juice maybe?" I ask, not knowing quite what else to say.

"Water please," comes her barely audible reply.

I nod and go to the kitchen. I never expected to see Catherine Willows, the strongest woman I know, in such a bad way and it angers me that someone has done this to such a beautiful creature. I come back to the living room and find her in the same spot completely lost in her thoughts. I call her name keeping my voice low so as not to startle her.

"I'm sorry. I know you'll be getting ready to sleep after shift but I didn't know where to go," she says, looking up at me. Only now do I see her usually vibrant blue eyes red and sore because of the tears.

"It's ok. I'm glad you came here." I motion for her to sit on the couch and I sit beside her. Not so close to make her feel uncomfortable yet not far away either so she knows I'm right here for her. Catherine and I are not really what you would call friends, though I would very much like us to be. Her hands are shaking so badly that she chooses to put the glass over on the table after a few sips to save from spilling its contents.

"He was waiting in my car," she whispers fixing her gaze on the floor and going silent.

"It's ok Cat. Just take your time ok? I'm not going anywhere, I promise," I say trying to reassure her. She looks at me with a sad smile and a nod. "And if you don't want to talk right now that's ok too." I don't need her to say anything else because deep inside I already know what has happened and my heart has already broken. Catherine surprises me when she continues.

"He made me drive through the city for twenty, twenty five minutes and all the time he had his… gun behind my head, a 9mm. I tried talking to him, reasoning with him, explaining that maybe what he was doing wasn't such a good thing and that it would have consequences, but he wouldn't listen." Though her words are incredibly sad, I have to smile inside. This is my Catherine, always so brave even in the darkest of moments. "Suddenly he asked me to stop and then," she fumbles for her words frowning, "well the next thing I remember I was tied to this filthy old bed and he… he…" Catherine closes her eyes trying to calm herself down but her body has other ideas. She leaps up and sprints in the direction of my bathroom.

In a matter of seconds she has her head down my toilet and I'm trying to hold her hair out of the way while the contents of her stomach empty themselves violently into the pan. I rub her back soothingly with my free hand in an attempt to help her. When it seems she's finished retching, I dampen a flannel and pass it over her forehead and mouth slowly. She doesn't say anything or look at me, just sits on the floor resting her head on the wall.

I fetch her glass of water which Catherine uses to wash out her mouth. I refill it and she sips weakly at it. I can see she is ashamed for being sick in front of me – Catherine hates feeling weak – but leaving her was never an option. So I sit on the floor shuffling closer to her and wait silently.

Catherine finally looks up at me. I smile in response and that's all it takes for more glistening, unshed tears to fall. She leans into me and sobs. Just seeing her like this makes my heart ache desperately.

"It's ok sweetie. Let it out. I've got you. I won't leave you." It took a long time for her shuddering sobs to finally subside as I hold her tightly. My voice is soft as I ask her, "Have you called it in?"

"I went to the hospital but… I…" her voice wavers and she nods as her body starts to tremble, "I… I…"

"Sshh, it's ok, it's ok. You're safe now." I wipe more of her tears away before encouraging her to get up from the cold floor and helping her to my bedroom. She will stay here and there will be no arguing. She sits on the bed and I go and grab the most comfortable pajamas I have. "Ok, arms up."

"What?"

"You will be more comfortable in these." She stares at me for a while but eventually does lift her arms. I kneel in front of her as I pull off the foreign clothes and draw the new soft fabric over her head and down her body. She stands to change into the pants.

"You know, I still can manage this," she whispers her mouth quirking slightly upwards.

"I know you can,"I reply smiling gently at her. Catherine gives me the best smile she can muster under the circumstances and I'm still struck by its beauty. I raise the sheets so she can crawl underneath. Tucking them in around her I sit on the bed beside her. "I'm so sorry, Cat. I'd do anything to be able to take away your pain. I'll do everything I can to help you through this, and I mean everything." Another stray tear wends its way down her cheek and I can't help but reach out and touch her beautiful face and hair. She closes her eyes pressing into my touch. For the first time since she arrived, the nature of the situation sinks in and I finally feel my own tears starting to form.

I don't want to upset her more by seeing me crying too so I kiss her forehead gently then get up. "Call me if you need anything at all ok, I'll only be at the living room."

"Thank you," she whispers before I leave the room, "for letting me stay."

"Don't you worry about it, just try to sleep a little ok?"

I leave the door half open so I can check on her every now and then.

I pour myself some juice from the fridge and decide to finish the cleaning. Though I'm exhausted, I know that sleep will be impossible for me right now.

My mind is spinning. Some sick bastard has not only hurt Catherine physically but he's taken a piece of her and broken her. He's left mental scars that that will take a long time to heal.

As I think about Catherine and how things will be for her over the next few days I suddenly remember Lindsey. There's no way that Catherine would want her daughter to see her like this. Can you blame her? It wouldn't be fair to her little girl either. No one needs to see their mom in such a the phone directory I try to search for her sister Nancy's number. I know that Catherine's maiden name was Flynn but I also remember Catherine animatedly telling the guys about Nancy getting married recently in a beautiful ceremony but Catherine never mentioned what her new surname is, so I look under Flynn but as expected my search is in vain.

"There has to be a way to find that number. Come on Sara, think, think, think!" I say looking around the room. "Of course you bloody idiot!" Catherine's purse is lying by the door and she will of course have her sister's number on her cell phone. That's if the bastard didn't take the phone with him.

"Hello?"

"Nancy? Hi, it's Sara. Catherine's colleague…"

"Oh, hi there. It is nice to finally put a voice to a name."

"Sorry?"

"Catherine talks a lot about you but I've never had the pleasure of meeting you. At least now I can say I talked to you on the phone. And she is right you know, you have a beautiful voice."

"I do?" I'm completely taken aback by this information. I would've thought she'd have talked about how stubborn I can be, how I don't have any social life and how I work my ass off maxing out on overtime every month but most definitively not anything like this.

"Is she caught up again? That lab really is her second home. Does she need someone to take care of Lindsey?" Nancy asks, bringing me back to reality.

"Actually yes, that's why I was ringing, if that's ok with you?"

"Sure. No problem. I know how hard you guys work."

"She'd be there for Lindsey if she could be. She loves her so very much."

"Oh, I have no doubts about that!" I nod and smile to no one. Catherine has always got good things to say about her sister and so far I have to say she seems really nice. "Sara, can I ask you a personal question?"

"Sure," I answer ironically as I'm not at all sure what's about to come next.

"Do you like my sister?"

Well just come right out with it Nancy I laugh to myself. "Yeah I do," although I think the word might actually be closer to 'love'.

Nancy doesn't say anything for a moment then pulls the topic back to Lindsey. "Don't worry about Lindsey, she can stay here as long as Cat needs."

"Thank you Nancy."

"Bye Sara. Say 'Hi' to that busy sister of mine for me ok?"

"I will and it was nice to hear your voice too." Nancy laughs before hanging up.

As soon as I put my phone down I hear screams coming from my bedroom. Catherine is throwing her head from side to side and screaming 'no, stay away, don't do this'. I guess I should've known better than to leave her alone for so long.

"Cat honey, wake up. It's just a bad dream. It isn't happening. Come on Cat; let me see those beautiful blue eyes, please. Wake up for me." My words take a while to seep into Catherine's subconscious but when they finally do she opens her eyes uncertainly.

"Sara?" she whispers, confused.

"I'm here sweetie." I whisper back, touching my hand to her face. "He can't come near you again, I won't let him." Catherine nods in understanding and hugs me so tightly. The movement is unexpected and almost makes us fall to the floor.

"Why Sara… why me?"

"I wish I knew Cat. I wish I had an answer for you. But it's over now. You are safe here."

"I should have made him stop. I should have at least tried."

"You were scared. You didn't know what he was capable of, so you did the only thing you could do, you didn't fight him. It was the right choice"

"How can it be the right choice when I let him rape me?"

Though I knew she would blame herself for this, because every victim does, it doesn't stop me from get righteously angry.

"He would get what he wanted no matter what you did. They always do!" I make her look at me. I want her see the seriousness of what I'm saying. "What happened was terrible but Catherine, it wasn't your fault. It could never be! And if you had fought against him you could easily have ended up on Doc Robbins' cold table, leaving your daughter without her mother. Do you understand?" I know she has never heard me talk like this and I can see in her eyes that I've surprised her.

"Now, do you want to try sleep again or would you like a bath?"

She looks really small and fragile in my sheets. "A bath would be great."

"No problem. I'll be right back ok honey."

I disappear into the bathroom and turn on the tap to start filling the bathtub. I leave two towels on the sink along with some bath oil in case she wants to use it. When I get back to the bedroom Catherine is already stood and is looking out of the window. I don't have to say anything for her to know I'm there and she looks at me with a warm smile of gratitude.

She kisses my cheeks before walking past me into the bathroom. My hand immediately goes to the place where she touched and I smile to no one. She kissed me! Not the way I've always dreamed of but it was a kiss.

She's not long in the bath but by the time she finishes I'm sat up in bed with a book on my knee. I lift the sheets for her to get in and she does just that moving closer to me than I expected then proceeding to wrap her arms around my belly and rest her head gently on my shoulder.

tbc