Title: Love Hurts
By: lewis771750
Challenge: AU
Rating: R probably, strong PG-13
Disclaimer: Not mine, Jerry and the people at CBS would never be quite this twisted:) But it is all just for fun, honest.
Spoilers: none
Words: 400
AN: Stripper!Cath as you might not want to see her...

***

Sara looked sadly at the battered body at her feet. The woman was still alive, which considering the beating she had taken, was hard to believe. She should be dead. The paramedics were tending her, but Sara was there, holding the woman's hand, providing comfort while waiting for the ride to hospital for photos and evidence collection.

The woman couldn't speak, her broken jaw made sure of that, and she had no ID. In fact, under the coat she'd been found in she was practically naked, wearing a few scraps of glittering cloth that might once have been strategically placed, but which had been pulled around during the struggle to cover nothing. The woman was short, and although lithe didn't have the muscles of a fighter. The guy that had beaten her was described as being 12 inches taller than Sara and 'built like a linebacker' which would have made the fight pretty one-sided. Sara could feel all her emotional attachment to abused women rise up again. Gil would tell her off, but it wouldn't interfere with her running of the case, it would be in a week or two she would need to step back for a few days to make sure she regained her focus.

At the hospital they treated the woman and Sara did her work. Part of that was supposed to be a statement, but the woman couldn't speak. She was willing to write, starting with her name, Catherine Willows. She was a stripper in one of the clubs, and she'd been beaten by a dealer/bouncer when she'd managed to kick the habit. Despite some misgivings that Catherine might have got into this trouble through some fault of her own, Sara was still drawn to the smaller, frail but beautiful woman.

She returned regularly to the hospital to visit Catherine over the next few weeks whilst her body healed. Catherine had no one and nothing left, and it made sense for Sara to offer the spare bedroom to her new friend.

Whilst waiting for the trial Catherine went back to stripping, but somehow never got round to finding a place of her own. Both things were fine with Sara, and Catherine sleeping in the spare bedroom gradually changed to their sleeping together, which brought fulfillment and joy to both of them.

Until yesterday and the emergency call from her address. The bouncer had stopped Catherine testifying. Permanently.

***