Chapter 1

Catherine sat in her car, driving around. Trying to focus her mind on traffic, she found her thoughts wandering off ever so often. She knew that what she was going to do wouldn't go by unnoticed -wouldn't pass without causing pain- but she also knew it had to be done.

Looking in her rear-view mirror she saw Lindsey -a worried look etched onto the young girl's face. As the little blonde turned her head from looking out of the window and locked her eyes with her mother's, she spoke up

"Mom, do we have to?"

Catherine let out a soft sigh, they had gone over this a lot of times already. "Linds, you know why we have to."

"But I don't want to," the girl grumped, crossing her arms in front of her.

The sight that greeted Catherine in the rear-view mirror stirred up a lot of emotions. It made her think back to a few weeks ago.

"I want to stay here, with you," Lindsey said, sitting down on the couch in her mother's office.

"But I promised Uncle Grissom to work through these," Catherine said, pointing to a large pile of folders. "I'm sorry we won't be able to do something this afternoon, but this way we can spend the evening together."

Lindsey did nothing to mask her anger, her face showing Catherine exactly how she thought about it all. Letting out a big sigh she locked her eyes with Catherine's.

"Linds, grandma is already on her way," Catherine said, regretting the fact that her daughter had inherited her stubbornness. "She said she wanted to take you to the park," she added, hoping the prospect of an afternoon playing outside would get her daughter to change her mind.

"But I don't want to," the girl almost screamed, crossing her arms in front of her.

Just as Catherine was about to speak up to her daughter there was a knock at the door and Sara came walking in.

"Sara? What are you doing here?" Catherine asked, but before the younger woman could answer she spoke up again, "Don't tell me you're working overtime again?"

"Ok," Sara started, a small smile creeping onto her lips. "Then I won't tell you."

"Hey Lindsey. What's with the grumpy look?" the brunette said as she noticed the angry face of the young Willows woman.

"I want to stay here, with mom, but she says I can't and that I have to go along with grandma."

Sara noticed the pile of paperwork on Catherine's desk. She also realized that the CSI HQ wasn't the place for a little girl to spend too much time. Seeing the frustrated looks on both of the Willows women's faces she decided to try and sort this out.

Sitting down next to the little blonde, Sara spoke up, "Why don't you tag along with me?"

"Really?" Lindsey said, her face suddenly not showing any sign of anger, but before the brunette could answer, Catherine interrupted.

"Sara," Catherine started. "I don't want her wandering around the lab, that's why I asked my mom to watch her this afternoon."

"We'll have to go for some groceries first, but then we could make a dinner for your mother so that when she comes home you two can have a lovely evening together," Sara said, looking at Lindsey and ignoring Catherine's comment.

From that moment on, things had changed between Sara and Catherine. That night, when Catherine had arrived home, Lindsey and Sara had prepared a lovely dinner and Catherine ended up asking Sara to stay for dinner as well.

After some persuading from Lindsey -who really knew how to work the puppy-dog-pout- Sara decided to stay, and the three of them sat down at the kitchen table.

"Hmm, this tastes great. You two have done an excellent job on this pasta," Catherine said before she took another bite.

"Sara taught me how to make my own pasta," Lindsey said, excitement noticeable in her voice. She seemed to have forgotten all about what had passed between her and her mother that afternoon.

An astonished look came onto Catherine's face as she glanced over at Sara, "You made this yourself?"

"We made it together," Lindsey stated proudly.

Catherine locked eyes with Sara and noticed a light blush creeping onto the brunette's face. "Well, you really know your way around in the kitchen. This is the best I've ever had."

Now Sara's face sported a bright red and she was only able to mutter a "Thank you" as she averted Catherine's eyes.

Later that evening all three of them were seated on the couch of the living room, watching a movie Lindsey had picked out.

Catherine tried to focus on the screen (a donkey, a green ogre and a princess wandering through the fields), but her mind -as well as sight- was preoccupied with Sara and Lindsey.

The strawberry blonde was marveled at how comfortable she felt with Sara there, spending time with her and Lindsey. At work, from the start, their relationship had been tense. They'd never really had a good bond, but after tonight Catherine was determined to change that. A smile crept onto her lips as she saw the easy interaction between her daughter and Sara.

After a few minutes of sneaking glances at the brunette and her daughter -who were discussing which of the characters was the funniest, Catherine focused on the movie again -not noticing that now Sara was watching her, a similar smile creeping onto her face.

Pulling the car into a vacant spot in front of a large apartment building, Catherine reached for an envelope that had been lying on the passenger's seat. She knew no one would be home, so she could deliver the letter, and leave unnoticed.

Catherine turned around, looked over her shoulder and spoke to her daughter, "This will only take a minute Linds. Stay in the car, I'll be right back."

After receiving a short nod from Lindsey -whose sad eyes locked with hers for a moment- Catherine opened the car door, and headed for the building. Her heart felt heavier with every step she took towards the entrance, just as the letter she held in her hand.

Walking up two flights of stairs, she reached her destination. Looking once more to the envelope she felt her heart being torn in pieces. Was this the right thing to do? Was she sure she wanted things to end this way?

Her mind told her this had to be done, but her heart kept screaming at her not to. A single tear found its way across her cheek as she kneeled down and shoved the envelope underneath the door.

Now there was no way back?


Chapter 2

Walking through the halls of the CSI HQ, Sara was reading over some results she had just received from Wendy.

With these last DNA results the case was solved. The brunette had been working for several hours now and with these results she decided she deserved a break, so she headed for the break room.

The room was empty -which seemed pretty logic since shift had actually ended three hours ago. Opening the fridge, Sara grabbed a bottle of water. As she noticed a plate with a piece of chocolate cake on it, her mind filled with thoughts about something that had happened a few days ago.

"Chocolate cake?" Catherine started as she saw Sara entering the dining room with said dessert in her hands. "You keep surprising me."

"I try," Sara smiled.

That same gap-toothed smile graced her face again as the memory of her and Catherine's seventh?or had it been their eight dinner?date?

Date, Sara smirked, Could you call them dates?

"I guess they were," she sighed contently as she plopped down on the couch and opened the bottle. Taking a sip of water, her mind once again wandered off to that evening.

"I know I'll have one pretty jealous daughter when she finds out you made chocolate cake for dessert while she was at a sleepover."

"Oh, there's no need for her to be jealous," Sara said. "I've made some for her as well, so you can give it to her tomorrow."

Catherine looked surprised. No one had ever cared that much for her daughter. Not even Lindsey's father, Eddie. She reached over and covered Sara's hand with her own, whose eyes shot up at the unsuspected contact.

"Thank you, Sara," she started as she gave the younger woman's hand a squeeze. "That's a really considerate thing to do. And don't you say you're not good with kids ever again. Just look at how you treat Lindsey. She just loves spending time with you and the last few days I haven't heard anything else than 'Sara this, Sara that'. She's so smitten with you," Catherine stated, mentally adding, And she's not the only one.

"You've raised a beautiful daughter, Catherine," Sara said, locking her eyes with the blue pools in front of her as she tried to fight a blush from spreading across her face.

After the brunette had spoken, they just sat there in silence, looking into each other's eyes, Catherine's hand still on top of Sara's.

That evening -Sara now realized- had definitely been a turning point in their relationship. After drinking some more of her water, the brunette grabbed the remote, and flipped through some channels. She figured that, since the case was practically closed now, she could allow herself a few more minutes of rest.

Some channel-surfing later, Sara came across an old black-and-white movie. A smile graced her face yet again as she realized it was exactly the same movie she had watched with Catherine.

After they both had finished their chocolate cake, they cleared the table, did the dishes, and were now seated on the couch in Sara's living room. Accompanied with a glass of wine they had settled for a movie -Catherine had chosen a classic black-and-white movie.

During the movie, they both had -unconsciously- moved closer to one another. At one point Catherine had leaned her head against Sara's shoulder. Neither one of them said a word, but both their minds were thinking the same; that they fitted together nicely and that they felt really comfortable this close.

At some point Catherine had dozed off and had snuggled even closer to Sara. Her head still resting on the brunette's shoulder, but now her arm was also draped over Sara's waist. As the end-credits rolled over the screen, Sara decided it was better to wake Catherine.

"Catherine, wake up. The movie has already ended," she said as she carefully shook the older woman a little.

Not getting any response from the strawberry blonde she decided it was time for another, more daring, 'wake-up call'.

Inching closer, Sara placed a soft kiss on Catherine's forehead. "Wake up sleeping beauty."

This approach seemed to work, because Catherine stirred a little before stretching her body and turning her face up towards Sara -a small smile creeping onto her lips.

With her eyes still closed, and her mind not completely cleared from the fog that had formed during her little nap, she inched closer and gave a soft, short, but sweet kiss on the brunette's lips.

"Hmmm, did I miss much?" she said as she moved back and opened her eyes.

"The last thirty minutes or so," Sara grinned as she saw Catherine only now started to realize what she had just done.

That had been three days ago, and Sara now felt like she was on cloud nine. That little peck on the lips hadn't been the last they shared that evening and they had decided from that night on they would take things slow, see where it would take them.

Suddenly, Sara realized she had been sitting in the break room for almost an hour, so she stood up and headed for her favorite lab to finish things off for that shift.

As she filled in the last of her paperwork for the case, she checked her watch, and noticed there were seven hours left before her next shift would start. So she quickly grabbed her belongings from the locker room and headed for the parking lot.

Within minutes she was driving her car through the traffic of Las Vegas. The streets were pretty calm, so it didn't take her long before she reached her apartment building.

Throwing her keys on the small table next to the door, Sara noticed something on the ground. Reaching for it she noticed it was an envelope.

As she carefully examined the envelope, she saw her name on the front, written in a handwriting she immediately recognized as being Catherine's.

A bad feeling settled in the pit of her stomach as she walked over to the couch and sat down. Opening the letter she knew her fear would become reality.

Dear Sara?


Chapter 3

Sara still couldn't believe what she had just read and picked up the letter again. Tears spilled from her eyes as she started reading for the third time.

Dear Sara,

These last few weeks have been wonderful. Spending time with you has been really wonderful. And seeing you together with Lindsey, the way you made her feel special, the way you made me feel special, made my heart flutter. I cannot thank you enough for that.

But this same feeling is making me scared as well. I've never felt so much for someone in such a short time. I've never felt so dependent on someone before, and it scares me. All that passed between us the last few weeks, it all feels so good, so natural, and yet it scares me to death. Maybe it all went too fast?

I've got my own insecurities, and I know you have yours as well, and I don't want to hurt you by laying these insecurities upon you. It will do nothing but harm to our relationship. There's no easy way to say this, but Lindsey and I are leaving Las Vegas.

I'm really ashamed I didn't have the guts to tell you this in person. This is just a lousy letter, and no words will ever be able to describe this torn feeling that haunts me inside, but I didn't want to make this any harder than it already is. For you, for Lindsey, and for me.

In my heart there will always be a special place for you. I will never forget what you've become to mean to me, how important you became these last few weeks.

Thank you, sweet Sara. Thank you for everything, for showing me how to live again, how to love again. You've opened up my eyes, you've opened up my heart and my soul. Thank you for caring for Lindsey and me.

Again, I can't tell you how sorry I am, and I understand it if you're angry at me for doing this to you -I'm even angry at myself. But I know it's for the best this way.

Goodbye, dear Sara. May you find the happiness and love that you deserve.

Catherine.

After she had finished reading the letter once again, she let it slip onto the ground. Questions started to form in her mind, along with anger. Not towards Catherine, nor her letter, but towards herself. Why hadn't she noticed Catherine's discomfort? Why now? Wasn't this what they both had wanted?

"Apparently not," Sara chided herself.

Had she done something wrong? Was this the end of it all?

"No," Sara said aloud, "I'm not going to give us up this easily, Catherine. You're way too important to lose?you and Lindsey."

She quickly grabbed her keys and headed out. Her first stop would be Catherine's place. As she drove through traffic, her mind was flooded with thoughts from a day ago. After shift Catherine asked her to join her for breakfast.

"I'd love to," Sara started. "Where did you want to go, Alice's?" She asked, knowing that the entire team -including herself- enjoyed having breakfast at that diner not far from the CSI HQ.

"Well, actually I was thinking about going home," Catherine said as she grabbed her jacket out of her locker.

"Home?" Sara queried, one eyebrow raised.

"Euhm?yeah?my place," Catherine said, suddenly very shy. She hoped she wasn't too forward, but thinking back at the shared kisses two nights ago -waking up after she had fallen asleep against Sara's shoulder while they had been watching an old classic- she figured it would be nice to spend some time alone with her again.

That previous evening hadn't just stayed at that one kiss Catherine had -sort of- accidentally given the brunette and Catherine hoped they could do some more "exploring" -an evil grin appearing on her face as that word popped into her mind.

Even though Sara felt more like crying now, a small smile crept onto her lips as she stopped at a traffic light. That morning turned out into one she probably would remember for the rest of her life. A tear flowed from her eye as she realized that that memory could well be the last she would have of her and Catherine. Looking over at the empty passenger's seat her mind drifted off again.

Sara's car stopped behind Catherine's on the strawberry blonde's driveway. Climbing out of the car she shoved her hands in her pockets and shyly followed the older woman.

Both of them felt nervous, a giddy nervousness settling in their stomachs. Although Catherine had only invited her for breakfast they both considered the fact that this might turn out to be something more than 'just breakfast'.

Half an hour later Catherine and Sara were seated at the kitchen table, eating their breakfast, drinking coffee, all the while talking amicably.

Suddenly, after a few minutes of comfortable silence had passed between the two women, the strawberry blonde spoke up.

"About two nights ago..." Catherine started.

"Yeah?" Sara lifted her gaze, and locked eyes with Catherine. After those kisses two nights ago, they hadn't talked about what had happened -the only thing they had shared were sneaky glances at one another.

Reaching out, Catherine covered Sara's hand with hers before she continued. "I really had a nice time. Thank you."

Giving Catherine's hand a squeeze, Sara smiled. "You're welcome. I had a great evening as well."

Catherine's face now also sported a full blown smile. Entwining their fingers, Catherine started to tug Sara closer.

"If I'd say I wanted to repeat what we did two nights ago, what would you say?" Catherine said, her smile turning into a sexy grin.

Sara noticed the sparkling in Catherine's eyes, their blue color becoming darker as they stared at each other, tentatively inching closer.

"I'd say?" she started, but didn't finish because she thought actions would speak louder than words. She closed the gap between their lips and engaged a soft and sweet kiss.

Reaching Catherine's place Sara noticed the empty driveway. She quickly climbed out of her car and ran up to the front door. Sara balled her fists and let them strike the wooden door in front of her.

"Catherine?" Banging her fists harder she called again. "Catherine, are you there? Please open up!"

But there was no avail, the door remained closed. Sara felt her stomach lurch even tighter as she climbed back into her car. Glancing up once more into the direction of Catherine's bedroom window Sara sped off, not really knowing where to go.

The kiss had started out soft and sweet, but soon things became more passionate and demanding. Since their first kiss a few nights ago, they both felt this urge to touch one another, but hadn't given in to this desire. Now their lips were touching one another's it seemed as if they couldn't stop.

Catherine suddenly broke off their kissing and stood up, leaving a flustered and surprised looking Sara behind. The strawberry blonde held out her hand, waiting for the brunette to take it.

Sara caught Catherine's glance towards the stairs and started to realize whereto this would lead. She stood up, not grabbing the offered hand, but placing hers on either side of Catherine's waist.

Sara cupped Catherine's chin, forcing her to look up into her hazel eyes. "I'd rather not rush into things, Catherine. I want to do this right."

A look of disappointment flashed across Catherine's face, but was soon replaced by an understanding one as she nodded in agreement.

The look hadn't gone unnoticed by the taller woman, and she softly kissed Catherine on the lips. "I don't want to?screw things up?so to speak?I care for you too much to treat you like that."

"I care for you as well," Catherine said as she reached for Sara's hand -once again entwining their fingers, pulling them up, and placing a kiss on Sara's palm. Sara responded by pulling the shorter woman's body closer to her own lean frame.

Noticing the time, Catherine suddenly felt how tired she was. After working last night's shift who wouldn't be tired, she thought. Catherine locked eyes with Sara again. "We should both get some sleep. Will you please stay here? Just to sleep."

Sara didn't respond right away, so Catherine continued. "I'll take the couch if that would make you more comfortable."

"That won't be necessary. I think we'll manage in one bed," Sara smiled as she once again claimed the strawberry blonde's lips. "I'm really looking forward to holding you in my arms as we sleep," she added as Catherine led her upstairs.

But just holding one another turned out to be harder than both of them thought?

Focusing on traffic again, Sara noticed she was already unconsciously driving towards the CSI HQ. She suddenly grabbed her cell phone, and dialed Catherine's number -chastising herself for not thinking of trying this any earlier.

After the phone had rung a few times it automatically switched to Catherine's voicemail. Anger suddenly emerged as Sara threw her phone on the empty seat next to her and her fist hit the steering wheel. "This isn't going to work," she huffed.

She felt as if there was only one thing left she could try -or better said: one person. So she grabbed her cell once more.

"Warrick, where's Catherine?"

"Sara, I?"

But before he could finish his sentence, Sara interrupted him. "Cut the crap, I know you know where she is."

"She's leaving."

"As if I hadn't figured that part out already."

"I'm sorry Sara," Warrick said.

"Damn it, Warrick, just tell me where she is," Sara now almost screamed into her phone.

"McCarran?" was all Sara needed to hear so she ended the call and drove off fast towards the airport. She had to try and catch Catherine -stop her from making this mistake. She at least wanted a last chance to talk to her.

The drive to the airport seemed to take ages as traffic was crowding the streets of Las Vegas. Sara's hands clutched the wheel -knuckles turning even whiter than they had been- as another car tried to force its way past her car.

Although she had to focus on the streets she couldn't help her mind from thinking back at the previous morning.

Their intention had been to just lie in each other's arms, trying to catch some much needed sleep. And at first they did -just lying in an embrace, Sara softly stroking Catherine's strawberry blonde locks, the older woman's head placed on Sara's chest.

After minutes of silence, neither being able to sleep, Catherine turned her head, looking into dark eyes that were staring at her intently. Reaching up she let her slender fingers caress Sara's cheek -the brunette closing her eyes and leaning into the touch.

A content sigh escaped the strawberry blonde's lips as she felt Sara's arms pull her even closer. As Sara opened her eyes again she was staring into two sparkling blue pools and couldn't stop a gap-toothed grin from coming onto her face.

Catherine's lips inched closer and Sara could feel the older woman's breath grace her lips. For minutes they just stayed like that -their breaths mingling, lips almost touching one another, and eyes locked.

They both saw it in each other's eyes -the love, the lust, the desire, the want- it all was there. And before their minds caught up with what was happening, their lips crashed on one another's, both trying to claim control of the kiss.

Catherine crawled on top of Sara's lean frame, one hand playing with strands of brown hair while the other found its way towards the hem of Sara's shirt.

So far for not rushing into things? was the last coherent thought on Sara's mind before she felt the hand of the older woman caressing her stomach.

Suddenly, the honking of a car brought her back out of her reverie. Shaking her head fiercely Sara spoke aloud. "Focus on the road, Sidle. This is not the time to get involved in an accident."

About twenty minutes later she arrived at McCarren Airport, quickly parking her car in a vacant spot right in front of the main entrance of the airport, flashing her CSI badge to a security guard who came her way -a not so friendly look showing on his face.

Ok, not that the badge gave her the right to leave her car there, but hey, she thought. Desperate times call for desperate measures.

Quickly passing the man, Sara walked into the main hall of the airport. The halls were filled with people -tourists, businessmen, flight attendants, security guards; the busy crowd resembling an ant colony. How was she supposed to spot Catherine in this crowd?

Suddenly she spotted a little girl with blonde hair accompanied by a strawberry blonde woman. Pushing through the crowd Sara made her way to them -a feeling of hope settling in her heart.

"Catherine?" Sara said as she tapped the woman on her shoulder.

Green eyes met hers as the woman turned around, and Sara felt the hope that had filled her heart just seconds ago vanish in thin air.

"I'm sorry. I thought you were someone else," the brunette said, quickly turning and fighting hard against the tears that were threatening to find their way across her cheeks.

Walking further into the direction of the departure gates, the brunette suddenly realized she hadn't specifically asked Warrick where Catherine was going to.

She had been in such a hurry to find the older woman that she had cut off the tall dark man before he could give her all the information she needed.

So, she grabbed her phone again, and dialed a number. After a few rings the phone was answered.

"Brown."

"Warrick? It's Sara. I'm sorry about before. It's just?"she started, but was soon interrupted by the tall dark man.

"It's ok, Sara. I understand," Warrick answered sincerity clearly noticeable in his voice.

Warrick informed her Catherine was going to Logan International, Boston. "Why is she going there?" Sara wondered aloud.

"I don't know Sara, she didn't say. She only told me she and Lindsey had to leave because?" he started. "Because she would only hurt you if she stayed."

Sara let out a huff. As if leaving me doesn't hurt, she thought.

"Sara you've got to stop her."

"That's what I plan to d-" Sara said, trailing off as she checked a screen with departure times and noted that the flight to Boston had left fifteen minutes ago.

Noting Sara's lack of continuance Warrick spoke up. "The plane already left?"

A single tear streaked across Sara's cheek as Warrick's word, combined with the information she just read from the screen, settled in her mind. She's gone, they're gone. Sara felt her knees buckle and quickly slid onto one of the chairs in the waiting area.

Warrick -who was still on the phone- felt rather than heard Sara's desperation. A plan started to form in his mind.

"Sara?" he asked, making sure the brunette was still there.

"Yeah?" came the reply -Sara's voice nearly a whisper.

"I think I know a way to get her back, well?at least a way to get to Boston. I'll have to make a few phone calls. I'll call you back right after."

And with that said he hung up, leaving Sara alone with her thoughts about Catherine and Lindsey.

((**********))

She still wondered how Warrick pulled it off. She was now sitting in a smaller business jet -owned by some successful Vegas businessman. Warrick had told her the guy who owned the plane owed him, Sara had been wise enough not to ask why, but only thanked him.

Sara's focus left the window and now glanced across the plane. Three men -all of them suited up, and into a very heated discussion.

The heated discussion reminded her of the talk she was going to have with Catherine once she would have found them. Closing her eyes Sara couldn't help her mind wandering back to thoughts involving her and a certain strawberry blonde?

The touch of Catherine's hand on her stomach ignited a fire within the brunette and she knew she couldn't stop anymore. Her own hands started to roam over Catherine's back and settled on the older woman's hips.

With a sudden push Sara changed their positions -her body now on top of the strawberry blonde's, their lips never losing contact.

When the urge for air became too much to leave unnoticed they broke apart -their lips only a breath apart and their eyes locked onto one another's.

Seeing the sparkle in Catherine's eyes, Sara raised her hand and let her fingers trace Catherine's beautiful face. She marveled at the feel of the soft skin underneath her fingertips and noticed Catherine's deep intake of breath as she traced the strawberry blonde's delicious lips.

"I?I," Sara started, not really knowing how to vocalize the longing she felt for the woman who was staring at her intently. Blushing, she turned her head -breaking the spell-like gaze that had put her in some sort of trance.

Catherine reached out for Sara, cupping her chin -forcing the brunette to look into her eyes again. "I want you too," she said before claiming the younger woman's lips.

A moan escaped from Sara's throat, and Catherine took that opportunity to softly slide her tongue along the brunette's lower lip.

Sara started to tug at Catherine's shirt again, and this time managed to pull it off. She let her hands roam over the newly exposed skin. Suckling at the strawberry blonde's pulse point earned her a low groan and within minutes all their clothes where scattered all over the ground.

Thinking back of how wonderful their lovemaking had been, Sara could feel her entire body respond to the memory of it all over again. But one of the businessmen's loud laughter brought an end to her reverie, and urged her to think of what to say to Catherine, how to handle things.

She had to make sure Catherine realized that she can't go a day without her, and that that, even though it scares the brunette as well, is a thing she has never felt so strong before. She has to know they can make things work when they're together.

With this in mind she started thinking of how to convey this all to Catherine. What Catherine means to her, how she could make the older woman come back. To Vegas, to her. And before she knew the plane started to descend, preparing to land at Logan International.

Although her plane had left fifteen minutes after Catherine and Lindsey's, Sara managed to get to Logan International minutes before their plane would land.

Quickly she headed for the gate where the other plane would stop, her mind working overtime on what she was going to say to the strawberry blonde. The main thought that filled her mind now was that she wanted her to be the first thing Catherine and Lindsey would see once they got off the plane.

Sara spotted the little Willows woman and by judging the look on the little girl's face she had been noticed too.

"Mom," Lindsey whispered, thinking her eyes were betraying her.

While walking through the gate, Catherine rummaged through her handbag, searching for her phone. Suddenly she felt Lindsey tugging her arm.

"Mom, look!" Lindsey tried again, this time almost screaming, surprise tangible in her voice.

Catherine's head shot up after one more tug of her daughter as she wanted to reprimand her daughter for her behavior?until she noticed someone's eyes staring intently at them.

Her blue eyes locked with brown ones as a gasp of surprise left her throat.


Chapter 5

Sara took the last few steps towards the two Willows women. The looks of surprise that were clearly visible on Catherine and Lindsey's face were priceless -or so she thought.

As the brunette stood in front of them all her doubts about what to say were gone, knowing that actions speak louder than words. Well, at least for now, she added mentally.

She knew she had to have a good conversation with the older woman, but for now?

Keeping her eyes locked with Catherine's still surprise-filled ones, Sara reached for her hand. The second their fingers touched, a shiver went through both of their bodies.

Sara pulled Catherine's hand towards her face, and placed a soft kiss on the palm of the strawberry blonde's hand.

Catherine closed her eyes the moment Sara's soft lips connected with her skin. The surprise and shock that had filled her body the moment she had noticed the brunette were now gone -replaced by awe.

Her eyes opened again as she felt Sara's next action. The younger woman had still a hold of her hand, and now tugged at it again. Sara let Catherine's hand down from her lips and placed it on her chest -covering her heart, her own hand covering Catherine's and pressing it really tight against herself.

That action caused Catherine's eyes to fill with tears, as a memory filled her mind.

They had just made love and were now lying in each other's arms -bodies entwined, eyes locked.

Sara had done the same thing, kissing her palm and placing it to cover her heart. But the thing that had happened then had caused Catherine to?well, run.

Sara stared intensely into Catherine's eyes and hand spoken, her voice hoarse and deep -desire still lingering in it.

"I love you," the brunette said.

Three words?three?and they had scared the shit out of Catherine. Not the fact that Sara had said that, but more the fact that the strawberry blonde herself felt the same. Her mind had begun to scream at her.

Too soon, this all is too soon?can it be that I feel for her so deeply in such a short time?

A tear escaped Catherine's eye as the end of the memory lingered in her mind -her leaving Las Vegas.

Sara reached up with her other hand, her thumb erasing the salty drop even before it could leave its trail across the older woman's cheek.

Catherine was touched by Sara's persistence. She thought the brunette would read the letter and leave it at that; that she would be angry about the letter and never would want to see her again. All sorts of scenarios had played through her mind while she had been on the plane, but not this -she had never thought Sara would be the first person she would see as she stepped out of the plane in Boston.

But even though she was shocked the moment she had laid eyes on the taller woman, she knew that deep down she had hoped for Sara to reach out?maybe even to follow her?

The dark brown eyes that were still locked with hers conveyed so much to her. Right then and there Catherine realized that leaving had been the biggest mistake she had ever made.

How could I have left this marvelous woman? Look at what she is willing to do? How could I have been such a fool? Catherine thought.

Now, standing here, in Boston, Sara standing right in front of her, hopeful looking eyes focusing on her, Catherine knew she wanted to be with Sara, because she now knew that -even though it had been such a sort period of time- she had deep, true feelings for Sara.

And now she was wordlessly confronted by Sara about those feelings, she knew her heart had been right all along. Follow your heart, Willows, her mind kept repeating.

The sadness of leaving and the surprise and shock of seeing Sara had been replaced by love -the love that had been there already, but for the first time was able to fight its way out.

Catherine gave a squeeze in Sara's hand which was still entwined with hers -covering the brunette's heart.

Sara had still not spoken a word the entire time, but she saw the sparkle in Catherine's eyes and as she felt the strawberry blonde's squeeze she knew she had done the right thing.

Turning to Lindsey -her hand still holding Catherine's- she reached for the little Willows woman, kneeling down and placing a kiss on Lindsey's forehead.

Catherine was still amazed at the easy interaction between Sara and Lindsey. Love was the only thing she felt as she saw how much Sara cared for Lindsey and for her. Her mind was set; she knew she wanted Sara. To show how much she means to her, to her daughter.

They both knew they still needed to talk. But for now this was all they had needed. Silently, the three of them started to walk. Sara held both of the Willows women's hand -never wanting one of them to leave her side.

She was taking them back?back to Las Vegas?back home.

The End

Thank you for reading!