DISCLAIMER: CSI and Cold Case are the property of Jerry Bruckheimer and CBS.
ARCHIVING: Only with the permission of the author.
SPOILERS: Cold Case 2.23

Rainy days
By mirage

Lilly was breathing heavily from her sprint and her cold, wet clothes that clung to her body when she finally plopped down onto the passenger seat. She brushed a strand of wet hair out of her face and laughed silently at the irony of her situation.

The rain had been the reason she had left Philadelphia and the State Pennsylvania to come to the desert of Nevada. And here she was in the middle of nowhere, trapped in the biggest storm she had ever witnessed, nothing but a few inch of metal separating her from the elements that were raging through this godforsaken place.

She looked at the brunette at the driver seat, but before she could voice her question the brunette already shook her head. "We have to wait till it stops. I don't trust the road in this weather. The rain might wash it away."

A flash lightened up their earlier crime scene and within two seconds the thunder followed, rolling over their heads. Involuntarily Lilly winced. She was shuddering now, the cold seeping into her bones.

Sara obviously had noticed her discomfort. "It won't take long." The brunette promised "It came fast, it will pass fast." She climbed over her seat, vanishing in the back of the Denali. Lilly's eyes followed her, but she was unable to see a lot, the back of the car enveloped in darkness. She wondered how the brunette found her way around without seeing much.

This time the flash illuminated the interior of the Denali, the thunder simultaneous rumbling in her stomach. They were in the center of the storm now, the rain falling like loud drumbeats onto the top of the SUV.

The storm was really fast. Only 20 minutes ago she had watched the brunette CSI collecting the evidence of their crime scene. She had been glad over the faint breeze that at least cooled her skin a few degree, but when Sara had looked up into the sky, cursed and started to work on high speed, Lilly knew that something was wrong. She looked at the horizon, only noticing then the dark clouds that were collecting in the distance.

Sara's yell to get her lazy ass over and help her, finally got her to move.

"Here." A towel and a CSI overall was dropped into her lap before Sara climbed back into the front of the car. "Sorry, but I can't turn the heating on, it would ruin the evidence." She had already changed into an overall, its arms loosely bound around her waist. Her tank top clung to her body, but was mostly dry, as the CSI-vest had taken most of the brunt.

Lilly watched as Sara worked her hair with her towel, surprised to find out that the brunette was a natural curlyhead. San her vest and with her curly hair, Sara seemed different, more relaxed and softer, like she was enjoying all this. Till now she only ever had seen the dedicated CSI, always working, maxing out overtime, dedicated to the job. It was like looking into a brunette mirror.

It had been the exact same behavior that had yielded her a conversation with Stillmann. It ended with a not so subtle advice to think about an absence of leave, a temporary transfer. He had recommended LVPD.

She smiled and shook her head, a motion that didn't go unnoticed by the other woman. "What's so funny?" the CSI asked while she pulled her hair into a ponytail.

"My boss sent me here because I maxed out overtime, suggesting to slow down and relax more."

She liked the way Sara raised her brows in amusement. "He does know that we're the second best lab?"

"Maybe that's the reason." Lilly answered, trying to dry her hair. "When CSI does all the work the cops can lean back and relax."

"Well, you got a nice tan." They shared a small laugh.

The sound of thunder was more distance now, but still close enough to remind Lilly just how cold she felt. "You should change." Sara had obviously noticed her discomfort. "There's more room in the back."

Lilly shuddered and crossed her arms over her chest in an attempt to warm herself. She stared out into the rain, which hadn't slowed down yet, ignoring Sara's advice. "I hate the rain, the quiet it brings." She whispered, her voice barely carrying through the sounds of the falling rain. When she glanced at Sara, their eyes met, but the brunette stayed quiet, leaving it to Lilly to tell as much or little she wanted to.

"I shot someone."

"George Mark." Of course she knew, bringing down a serial killer got everyone's attention.

"I thought I would die, either him or me." Lilly looked out into the rain again, her fingers following the traces the rain drops left on the window as they traveled down. "But I was wrong." She closed her eyes when her unshed tears and the rain drops at the window merged.

The sound of the rain, softer than before filled the silence between them.

"A part of you will always stay there." Sara was the first to speak, the word more than empty phrases of sympathy, but lived reality, revealing that they were more alike than Lilly had thought.

"I've already lost enough parts of myself." The blonde tried to joke, but failed miserable.

"I make sure the rest gets home safe." Sara promised, her warm hand resting on Lilly's cold forearm and Lilly believed her for the moment, feeling relieved to give away the responsibility of protecting herself, even if only for the short period of the drive back.

The End

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