Disclaimer: CSI belongs to CBS and Jerry Bruckheimer and other people I have nothing to do with. I'm only borrowing these characters and I don't make profit with this hobby.

A/N: I know it's been forever since last update. I'm bit of a perfectionist so I can spend hundreds of hours just changing little things that no one else might notice. But now it's here: The chapter 14! Yey!

Thank you for the reviews! You guys keep me going. Tell me what you think about this one, too. I know it's going slow but that's how I write.

And Carissa, without you this update would have taken few more months. :D So THANK YOU!

Hope you like it.

Monday afternoon:

The sound of a telephone woke up the sleepy brunette. Sara sat up and took her cell phone from the night stand, still half asleep. After yelling "Hello?" on the phone for several times with no answer, she finally realized she had got a text message.

She sighed and read the message. It was from Lindsey who needed a ride home after all. The brunette glanced at her alarm clock and realized she still had one and a half hours before she had to leave. So she sent Lindsey a simple "OK" as an answer, reset her alarm clock and fell asleep again.

--

"Hi, Lindsey," Sara greeted when the girl climbed to the front seat and fastened her seat belt.

Lindsey mumbled something incomprehensible and stared out the passenger side window.

"Uh... Everything OK?" Sara asked while she rolled into the traffic.

"Nope," Lindsey answered and kept staring out the window.

"Did something happen at school?"

"Yep."

"Wanna talk about it?"

"Nope."

"You sure?"

"Yep."

"Alright... But if you change your mind, I'm ready to listen, OK?"

"Whatever..." Lindsey mumbled and Sara saw her wiping a tear from her cheek.

Rest of the drive went by in a rather awkward silence. When they arrived home, Lindsey rushed straight into her room. Sara was waiting for the "bang" that normally followed when she closed her door, but it didn't come this time. As a matter a fact, there was no sound of a closing door, so she obviously had left it ajar on purpose.

Sara wondered if that was a sign for her that the girl wanted to talk after all. She wondered if she should go and knock on the door but decided to wait a few moments, just in case the girl decided to come downstairs.

The brunette had just poured herself a glass of water and sat down at the table, reading newspaper, when her cell phone rang. It was Catherine.

"Sara"

"Hi, it's me. I'm on my way so I'll be home in a few."

"Are you hungry? I can make some sandwiches if you want since you'll probably be asleep when the dinner is ready."

"You don't have to, but that would be really nice." The mention of food made Catherine realize how exhausted she was. "And you don't have to cook, just get pizza or something."

"That would be the second time within a week. Besides, it's kinda fun to see a teenager eat vegetables with good appetite." The blonde could hear Sara was smiling and that made her smile, too.

"True. And thank you, really. Is everything OK there?"

"Well... "

"Well?" suddenly Catherine sounded very concerned.

"Don't worry, nothing serious I hope. Lindsey was bit down when I picked her from school."

"Oh..."

"She was quiet and I asked if something happened at school and she said 'yep'. That's how much I know. So don't worry about it yet. She's in her room now, you can talk with her when you get here."

"Alright then... We'll see in few minutes."

"Yeah, bye."

"Bye."

Sara placed the cell phone on the table and opened the fridge. Few minutes later she had found everything she needed and was about to spread butter on the pieces of bread when she heard noise from upstairs. It sounded like something had broken down, something like a vase or a window.

The brunette sprinted to the stairs. "Lindsey?" she called but got no answer.

She jumped up the stairs two steps at the time and was soon at the girl's door. "Lindsey?" she asked, softly this time and knocked on the door that was slightly ajar. No answer this time either.

"I come in, OK?" she asked and slowly opened the door.

First thing Sara noticed was that the huge mirror which had been on the wall was now in million pieces on the floor. When she looked more carefully, she noticed some blood on few fragments. Then she saw the girl. She was on her bed, in fetal position, sobbing.

"Lindsey?" Sara called again. "Can I come there?" she asked softly and the girl nodded a little.

Sara made her way through the floor, avoiding the sharp mirror pieces, and sat down on the bed, next to Lindsey.

"Uh, what happened?" Sara asked and looked around the room, wondering what to do and say.

To her surprise, Lindsey snuggled up against her thigh and started to cry hysterically.

It took a second for Sara to realize what just happened but then she started to stroke the girl's hair gently. "Hey... Shh... It's gonna be alright..." she whispered.

They stayed like that for a moment and finally Lindsey's crying subsided into occasional sobs.

"He told 'em." Lindsey whispered in between sobs. "He told 'em everything. -sob- You're not supposed to tell things -sob- like that."

The girl took few deep breaths and Sara tried to understand what she was talking about. "And Christine wasn't at school today so I was all by myself," Lindsey whispered quietly and wiped her eyes to her sleeve. That's when Sara noticed the girl had quite many cuts on the back of her hand. They didn't look deep, but should definitely be cleaned and bandaged. She was about to tell that to Lindsey when the girl continued: "His friends... They called me with nasty names all day... They... They said he dumped me 'cos I'm a lousy kisser. And other things... Things they're not supposed to know. And Christine wasn't there and the others just walked away..." she told with a quiet voice and stared at the opposite wall. All this time Sara kept stroking the teenager's hair.

"What happened to the mirror?" Sara asked after few silent moments.

"I just had to break something. I was so angry... I- I threw it with my alarm clock." Her voice sounded bit more alive. "Mom's gonna kill me when she sees this," the girl whispered and wiped her eyes to her sleeve again.

"She won't, don't worry. Everything's gonna be just fine." Sara noticed a box of tissues on the night stand and handed one to the girl.

"Sara? Lindsey?" Catherine called from downstairs. She knew something had happened when she saw the kitchen. Sara had left in hurry since all the sandwich materials were still on the table, one piece of bread was half buttered and the butter knife was on the floor near the stairs.

"Upstairs!" Sara answered. They heard Catherine running up the stairs. Soon she was standing at the doorway, looking concerned and surprised.

"Come in" Sara said softly.

"What happened here?" Catherine asked and picked her way across the floor which was covered with mirror fragments. She sat down next to Lindsey and stroke her arm gently. "Honey, what happened? Why are you crying?"

To both of the women's surprise Lindsey crawled away from Sara and snuggled up against her mother, resting her head on the taller blonde's shoulder. Tears were running down her cheeks again.

Catherine wrapped her arms around the girl and glanced at Sara, hoping she could explain what was going on.

"Boy problems," Sara whispered and got up.

"Don't go, Sara," Lindsey whispered and took the brunette's hand.

"We have to clean that hand. It's not bleeding anymore but still. It's OK, I'll come back soon." Lindsey let go of her hand and nodded against her mother's shoulder.

"The medicine chest's in the bathroom," Catherine said and smiled a little at the brunette.

Sara nodded and left the room, closing the door behind her.

She found what she needed to clean and bandage the cuts in Lindsey's hand and headed to the girl's room again. She stopped behind the door and heard quiet voices behind it. Sara decided not to disturb them and tip-toed downstairs. She cleaned the mess she had left behind in the kitchen, poured a glass of cold water for Lindsey and then headed upstairs again.

This time the room was quiet. Sara knocked on the door softly and then stepped in.

Lindsey's eyes were closed and she looked peaceful, still leaning against her mother's shoulder.

"Is she asleep?" Sara whispered to Catherine.

"Nope" Lindsey answered, also whispering, and smiled a little.

Sara walked to the bed, put the bandage equipments on the night stand and knelt down in front of the girl.

"Could you give me your hand, Lindsey? I'll clean the cuts."

The girl nodded and placed her hand on her own knee.

"This might feel bit uncomfortable" Sara warned and started to clean the wound. "None of these look deep, more scratches than wounds," she said when she had wiped away the dried blood and wrapped the hand in a bandage. "Does it hurt?"

"Not really," Lindsey mumbled, eyes still closed.

"Good." Sara nodded, stood up and then looked at Catherine. "I can clean up these mirror pieces or should we do it later?"

"Maybe later," Catherine answered softly.

"OK." Sara nodded. "I'll be in the kitchen. And Lindsey, there's a glass of water and some pain killers on the night stand. I know how horrible headache you can get from crying."

"Thanks, Sara." Lindsey opened her eyes for short moment and flashed a quick smile at the brunette.

"Anytime."

Sara headed to the kitchen again. Few moments she walked around the kitchen, wondering what she could do to make Lindsey feel better. Chocolate ice cream might not work this time, but she checked the freezer anyway, just in case, and found some.

She left it there and loaded the coffee maker. Lindsey would probably sleep a few hours, so they could form some kind of a plan with Catherine.

Sara glanced at her watch and realized that the closest thing to a meal that day had been the glass of orange juice she drank in the morning. So she started the sandwich project again. When she was almost done, she sensed Catherine was standing in the doorway behind her. Sara hadn't heard her coming, but she knew the blonde was there.

"How is she?" Sara asked but got no answer.

She turned around and saw Catherine leaning against the door frame, trying to blink tears from her eyes.

"Amm..." Sara started hesitantly. She wiped her hands to her shirt and stepped a little closer. "You need a hug or something? I'm really not good a this but-"

Before she finished the sentence, Catherine's arms were around her and she was leaning her head against the brunette's shoulder. After a second of shock, the brunette hugged her back. Physical contact had always been out of her comfort zone but she was surprised this time it didn't feel so bad.

"Thank you." Catherine mumbled against Sara's shoulder. "I don't know what to do...She's hurting and I can't take it away..." The brunette didn't answer anything, just held her close.

After few moments Catherine made some space between them and wiped her eyes. "Look at me..." she mumbled, and let out a little laugh. "My mascara's on my cheeks, my hair's a mess, I feel like I still have motor oil all over me even though I took a shower at the lab..."

"Long day, huh?" Sara asked and smirked.

Catherine laughed a little. "I'm exhausted," she confessed.

"Want some sandwiches and coffee?"

"That would be great." Catherine said and flashed a beautiful smile.

"Alright. Sit."

Catherine did as she was ordered. Sara soon brought her a sandwich and a cup of steaming coffee. The blonde closed her eyes, smelled the coffee and then let out a long sigh. Then she slowly opened her eyes and faced Sara, who was looking at her rather amused.

Catherine opened her mouth to say something, but Sara stopped her. "I know. I'm amazing. You don't have to say that. Just drink your coffee and eat and then we can talk about Lindsey."

They ate and drank in silence.

"Maybe I should call her teacher," Catherine started when she had finished her coffee. "She was bullied after all. She said she's not going to school ever again."

"Don't do that before asking her. It might make things worse."

"Then what am I supposed to do? I can't just leave her here and go to work like nothing had happened." Then Catherine suddenly buried her face in her hands. "Dear God... Work... I have to go to lab tonight, Grissom just sent me home to get some sleep. We have to solve that case quickly. My sister's not in town and I really don't want my Mom here to tell me how awful mother I am 'cos my daughter is crying."

Sara cleared her throat. "I have about hundred and seventy-three vacation days I haven't used. I mean... I understand if you think it's a bad idea but Lindsey seems to trust me somehow..."

Catherine just stared at the brunette. The look on her face didn't tell anything, no matter how hard Sara was trying to read it.

"OK, now you're either thinking I'm out of my mind or something else. Which one?"

"I'm just trying to find a synonym for the word 'amazing'" Catherine smiled a little and her eyes were sparkling again, like she was about to cry.

Sara rolled her eyes. "Great. You're overtired. But now that we've solved one problem, it's time for you to get some sleep."

Catherine had just stood up when they heard some kind of music from upstairs.

"What's that?" Sara asked.

"I think it's Lindsey's cell phone," Catherine said and sat down again, listening carefully.

"That's either a good thing or a very bad thing," Sara said and Catherine nodded. Then they stayed completely still and just listened. They heard quiet talking.

"She's not yelling," Sara stated, whispering.

"I guess that means it's Christine." Catherine let out a breath she didn't know she'd been holding.

Few moments they just sat there and looked at each other, wondering what to do next.

Finally Catherine whispered: "If that's one of their marathon phone calls, it may not end until midnight."

"You wanna go to bed? I can report what happened when you wake up," Sara whispered back.

"No. I wanna know what they talked about."

"Want another cup of coffee?"

"Not if I'm planning to sleep. But I think I'll take another sandwich. And since you're closer to the fridge, could you, please, give me a water bottle."

"Sure thing."

They ate in silence again, not wanting to miss the ending of the phone call.

Then they heard steps in the stairs. Soon Lindsey was standing in the doorway.

"Hey... How are you feeling?" Catherine asked when the girl walked to the table.

Lindsey shrugged. "Bit better, I guess..." she said and sat down next to Sara. "Christine called and asked what we got for homework today. She had a headache but she's coming to school tomorrow."

"That's good to hear," Catherine said and the girl nodded.

"Would you like a cup of tea or hot chocolate or something?" Sara asked.

"Hot chocolate sounds great, actually."

"Alright then."

Sara got up and searched the cupboards to find what she needed.

She was standing in front of the stove, her back towards the table, when she heard Catherine yawning.

"Go to bed, Mom," Lindsey said. "You look like hell."

"Huh?" Catherine asked and Sara burst into laughter when she turned and saw the surprised look on her friend's face.

"You're laughing at me." Catherine stared at the brunette in mock shock.

"Lindsey's right, you really should get some sleep. We'll be fine, won't we?" Sara looked at the girl.

"Sure," Lindsey nodded. "Goodnight, Mom."

"Alright then... Goodnight." Catherine got up and made for the door. She stopped at the doorway and turned around, probably planning to say something clever, but forgot it by the time she opened her mouth. So she just turned around and walked to the stairs.

"So, Sara, what do we have for dinner?"