"He what?!" Warrick yelled, making no attempt to disguise his anger. Nick didn't say anything, settling instead for looking outraged. "I can't believe this."

"Yeah, I think Sara was a little shocked too." Catherine replied. "She didn't cry, but she did drink three beers in a little more than an hour."

"I can't believe this" Warrick said again. "Dammit, Catherine what are we supposed to do?"

"Well, I imagine that between the five of us, we can come up with something suitable." came a voice from the door way. The three of them spun around to find Sara standing there. "Catherine, you were supposed to wait for me."

"Sorry Sara." Nick apologized, "We asked her why she drove you in today, and the story just sort of told itself. Are you OK?"

"I have a splitting headache, and a foul taste in my mouth that a tube of toothpaste didn't cure."

"That's not what I meant."

"I know." she replied, "But if I didn't laugh, I'd end up crying. I feel really stupid."

"It's hardly your fault he's an ass." Nick gave her a quick hug to stop her from talking back. "If he wasn't willing to work on a relationship, he hardly deserves you."

Sara sighed, and they all knew that no one was getting through to her just yet, but they would stick with her until she was through this. The door to the break room opened, and Greg came in. The young man made a beeline for the coffee maker, and quickly began to pour himself a cup. Suddenly, mid pour, he turned to look questioningly at the group.

"Am I missing something?" he asked "Because the tension is so thick in here, I could take a swab and send it to Trace to be analyzed."

"And here I thought that was just your new cologne." Sara replied sarcastically, nodding permission at Catherine, who replayed the story for the lab tech's benefit.

Greg's mandible got further away from the rest of his skull as Catherine spoke, and his eyes flashed with anger. Abandoning his coffee altogether, he gave Sara a pat on the shoulder and sat down on the couch with Nick.

Sara stood up and paced away from them. Nick made as though to stand up and follow her, but Warrick waved him off. Sara's face was contorted with the effort she was putting forth to keep her emotions in check. She reached the counter and Greg's half full coffee mug. Quickly, she picked it up and smashed it into the sink, sending coffee and pottery sherds out in a flurry around her. Her legs gave way, and she sat down in front of the sink and began to cry.

Warrick grabbed Nick and Greg and exited the break room, discreetly closing the door behind them. Catherine cautiously made her way over to Sara, and began to mop up the coffee and pick up the pieces of mug.

"That was Greg's favourite mug." Sara said monotonously. "I can't even keep my misery to myself."

"You mean more than a mug Sara." Catherine said gently. "He won't mind."

Sara disconsolately picked up some of the pieces that had fallen within her arms' reach, and pitched them one by one into the rubbish bin. Catherine noted that Sara had excellent aim. The door opened, and Grissom entered the room with several folders in his hand. Sara leapt to her feet.

Grissom's face went immediately into crime scene mode, and Sara could almost hear the wheels in his mind whirring as he tried to put together what had happened. She didn't see Catherine shake her head at him when he opened his mouth to ask a question.

"Case." he said shortly instead. "House fire on Lake Mead Blvd. Paramedics are already there, but the fire department is almost done.

Even a blind man would have seen Sara stiffen at the mention of paramedics. Grissom's eyebrow raised in question again, but he said nothing.

"I can't Grissom." Sara said, causing him to do a double take. "Put me on another case."

"Catherine would you excuse us please? Take Nick and Warrick and go meet Brass." Grissom asked politely and Catherine squeezed Sara's hand and left. "What's wrong Sara? This is a big case, the type you love working on."

"I just can't face any paramedics right now Grissom."

"Does this have anything to do with that guy from the restaurant?" Grissom asked. Sara nodded, looking away from him. He steered her over to the couch, and sat down beside her. "Tell me."

Two simple words, said with little inflection, but somehow she knew that he would listen and care and fix it if he could. Two simple words, and without the aid of any mind altering substances, Sara found a that a flood gate in her opened, and she told him everything. How chance words over a gym bag in the desert had brought them together, and then a smell and a severed finger had started to take them apart even before anything had really happened. How he had no interest in science, only movies. How she had to act differently around him. How much he had hurt her. It took her a lot more than two words, but he listened patiently, and when she was finished, he handed her a tissue for the tears she hadn't even realized she was crying.

"Dammit Grissom, this is your fault." she concluded, albeit somewhat irrationally. She had expected him to recoil and ask her what on earth she was talking about, but instead he nodded.

"Distraction."

"Yeah, some distraction."

"Hey it was your first try." he said. "I tried coin collection before I got hooked on roller coasters."

She looked at him incredulously. "I never saw you as a numismatist."

"I wasn't a very good one." he admitted sheepishly, "Coins aren't very scientific. I found that they were too far away from my interests. Roller coasters on the other hand are almost pure physics, and the adrenaline rush isn't bad either. Look, the point is Sara, you need something scientific. That's what you're interested in."

"So my distraction can't be too distracting?" she asked for clarity's sake.

"Generally yes."

"Any suggestions?"

Grissom's cell phone rang and he answered it.

"That was O'Reilly" he said. "There's been a body found in one of the casino toilets. Nice and dead, and not in need of medical attention."

Sara smiled for the first time in what felt like hours. "Sounds perfect."

"I'll tell you what." he said as they headed out the door to get their kits. "After this shift, I'll take you on a roller coaster with me. We can try a bunch of distractions until we find one you can stick to."

Her smile grew wider.