Love is not Poker Game

Summary:A surprise injury during Nick's kidnapping case provides a new opportunity.

Rating:T= PG 13

Spoilers:Anything aired through Season 6 is fair game.

A/N:I am stuck in seasons 5 and 6 right now. GSR with a touch of Brass.

Disclaimer:CBS holds the power and the rights. No harm is intended.

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CHAPTER ONE:

Grissom watched, as the ambulance carried Nick off to the hospital. He was alive, thanks to the efforts of his team. Well, what should have been his team. Now, Warrick and Catherine were riding with Nick and the rest were left to watch. Sara and Greg headed back to the Denali to get their kits. They had a few more hours of shift left and there was work to do.

Grissom told Conrad that he wanted his team back. His whole team. Conrad agreed. Both men looked over and saw the team back at work. Brass had been standing next to Grissom the entire time. He spoke up and said that he would have his men watch the scene until the day shift CSIs arrived. Conrad reminded Grissom that he and the group were off the next day and that he would make some shift changes in the next several weeks. With that, Conrad headed for his next press briefing. He would get an update on Nick while he was en-route to the lab.

Greg re-shot a series of location photos while Sara took the close-ups. They loaded the small evidence into bindles and bags as they combed the scene by the hole where Nick had been buried. Each were lost with their thoughts of Nick and the fact that any one of them could have been the victim in this case. Brass moved out of their way in order to make a few calls to set up police protection of the site and shift coverage. He was just as tired as the CSI team. He would also lead the investigation into how a CSI could be left so unguarded.

The team had been working their way through the crime scene for over two hours when Brass heard a yelp. Sara heard it too and both took off at a run toward the sound. They found Grissom face down in the wet, composted soil. He had been doing a wide perimeter search aided only by his Surefire flashlight. He had tripped on a fresh air pipe that had been sticking up out of the dirt and then injured his ankle as he fell. He was in pain, but his embarrassment level was high as well.

"Can you stand up if we help you?" asked Brass.

"I think so," Grissom replied.

With their help, he made it to his feet just as Greg rounded the corner. Sara directed him to pull one of the Denalis closer and to get an ice pack, ace bandage, and blanket from the back of the rig. She told him to open the back door and fold the passenger seat forward. Sara and Brass eased Grissom into the back seat and he was able to prop the injured ankle on the front, folded seat. Sara quickly broke the ice pack causing it to react and freeze. She placed it over his ankle and used the bandage to hold it in place. Greg padded the area around Grissom's ankle with the blanket to prevent any added jostling from the dirt road.

"Load the other Denali with the evidence and get it back to the lab, directed Sara, then bring the truck over to the hospital so that Warrick and Catherine have a ride home. I will head straight to the hospital with Grissom. Call me if you need anything."

Sara buckled the now protesting Grissom into the seat and Brass closed the door. She hopped into the driver's seat and took off carefully down the dirt road. Greg and Brass finished policing the scene to ensure all the smaller evidence was accounted for. The day shift CSI's would bring a van with them to haul away the rest of the evidence. Within fifteen minutes, Brass and Greg were bound for the lab, with four officers left to guard the crime scene.

Grissom had stopped protesting as the pain in his ankle and the throbbing from his ribs commanded his attention. Sara had to call out to see if he was still OK and all she heard in response was a mumble. Sara dared not talk to Grissom right now. Her mind was racing as her body tried to keep a steady hand on the wheel. It was just an ankle sprain, he would be fine.....what if it was worse? What if he was still suffering from injuries when the kidnapper blew himself up? It was more than Sara's sleep deprived mind could handle. Once the truck hit the blacktop, she hit the siren and lights and stepped on the gas.

"Sara, is the siren really necessary?" Grissom asked with a soft voice . His migraine was starting and the added noise was just too much. He gathered all his energy and shouted to Sara once more, "SARA, please turn off the siren."

Sara calmed down and turned off the siren and lights. She was still doing 80 mph, but the hospital was just ten miles ahead. Both of them could relax just a bit. Once she arrived at the hospital, she pulled up in the ambulance bay and called out for a nurse. She helped Grissom slide out of the truck and into a waiting chair. He gave her a look, but the concern on her face told him to just get in the chair. She thanked the nurse and told her that she would be in as soon as she parked the truck.

As Sara climbed into the truck, she caught a parting glance at Grissom being wheeled in to the emergency section of the hospital. By the time she returned, he was already being examined in a treatment room which was off limits to her.

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