Dawn came, which meant that a new day had begun. A new day of life, moving around, making traces on earth for the upcoming generation to search through. Once, way long ago, a very wise man had told her something that had kept in mind as she went on living. 'You make the day, as you want it to be'. Could that really be true? What if something ruled above all other powers, something that could change or maybe define the way people lived. You made your own decisions, but the rest was up to something else, to figure out how to handle the situations that came across them. Faith. Did everything happen for a reason? She had a hard time believing that. 'You live for a reason'. Reason was indeed a very strong word. She wasn't even sure if she, herself, could define and answer that very question.

He hadn't left her side. Just like he had promised her, he'd stuck by her side. Day in and day out, she had found him asleep by her bed. She wasn't sure how she could prove how grateful she was for him being here. If he hadn't been here, she wasn't sure that she would have made it through the days. She needed all the support and comfort that she could receive. And she was grateful for getting it from him. He had kept her safe, and she had felt safe. The nights had been the worst times. How many tears had fallen through these days? She hadn't a clue. She had never been crying like this before. At the worst times she had had his arms around her, wagging her to sleep, wishing and praying for this to just go away. But, it couldn't.

Days had passed, and evidence had been gathered. Trials had been set, and victims had been placed. The hardest time had been in court, to face him. Too meet his eyes, and smell his presence, and yet again see those other women who had failed his hand just like she had. All those tearful eyes, that just been crying for protection and help. All she had to do was go in there, state her name and answer all the questions that were asked to her. She had done this a million times before, but somehow it felt like she was a beginner all over again. That she'd never been here before, she'd never seen the face of that judge, calling out the names of the victims and gathering as much information as he could.

The gentle touch of Grissom's hand, as he pressed it in hers when she came out of the courtroom, calmed her down a bit. How many times had she thought she was going to faint in there? Uncountable. How many times had she felt her heart stop when she'd looked in the attackers eyes? Uncountable. As she had turned to Grissom he had just looked her in the eyes and nodded. He knew what was going on in her head, or heart maybe. He knew, because he struggled as hard with this as she did. Or maybe even harder. He had to be there for her, look at her sad and hurt expressions and literally feel her pain.

As Nick and Warrick walked up to them, they saw how much Grissom suffered. Nick pressed Cath gently against his own body, giving some of his warmth to her, offering a shoulder to cry on. Her shivering hands dug deep in his shirt, trying to come as close to him as they could. Nick whispered some calming words in her ear, while looking at Grissom who had sat down on a nearby bench, with his head in his hands. Damn. He couldn't watch them like this, he couldn't handle the pressure of both his friends feeling like this. His eyes met Warrick's as he sat down next to Grissom, both thinking the same thing. The son of a bitch, who did this, was in bad trouble.

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The cold breeze, that the night had to offer, felt like knives in her eyes. Although Las Vegas brought up as much light as it did, her world seemed to have shaded out. Her room had never been this dark, in fact, her whole house had never been this dark. Lindsey had to go and stay with Eddie for a while, even though Cath had complained on that decision. As far as Cath knew, Eddie had torn her whole body apart by doing something she knew that she would never do again. A drunken Eddie was no man to play a game with. By the end of their relationship he had used her, sexually, far too many times. She'd never thought that she would ever again feel bruised or torn in those certain ways, but she guessed that the words 'never say never' was too obvious this time. Still, she felt dirty. Like she wasn't clean, no matter how much she scrubbed. It was like his smell had got stuck on her body. Like she was wearing someone else's skin. The fact that he had been in her, made her feel nauseous. Disgusted.

As they drove home from the court, she looked over at Grissom. He hadn't said much since they'd got in the car, but she knew what he was thinking. His face expressed so much, yet so little. The grey lines under his eyes, and the pail tone of his skin, told her how exhausted he actually was; even though he'd told her over and over again how much he'd slept when she had slept. She didn't believe one word of it.

There had been no question about where he was going to live during this time. They hadn't really talked about it; it just came by itself that he had to be there for her, as much as she to him. During the first two weeks she had spent most of her time in her room, safely under her own covers, with him next to her. Day in and day out, he had been there and helped her with everything. He had calmed her and dried her tears away. She knew that he was the only one that she wanted to be there for her. She wasn't sure if she could rely on anybody else, not anymore. But, she thought that he knew that.

At the end of the first two weeks, she had started to go down to the kitchen, sit down in the couch. She'd even answered the phone once. It was a really big step for her to come back to reality; back to life. But, she got to talk to him and tell him all her feelings and wonders, and he helped her. That was a really big help for her, she felt so safe around him, which also made a great deal in her life right now.