Disclaimer: Not mine.
A/N: This is just a one-shot. Everything italicized is Grissom's thoughts. Enjoy!
As he was walking up to their house, Grissom looked at his watch. Thirty-eight hours since I left home last. Sometimes I really hate being the only forensic entomologist in Vegas. Shaking his head he let himself in the front door. He took off his jacket and laid it on the back of a chair, making his way to the bedroom. He stood in the doorway and suddenly all his worries and frustrations disappeared. The reason lay in their bed. How did I live so long without her. I'm an idiot that's how. Smiling to himself, he laid down next to her, not bothering to take off his clothes. Sara shifted so that she was curled into his side. She kissed his cheek and whispered, "Mmm. I didn't think you were ever coming home again."
He smiled. "Me either."
He leaned in to place a quick peck on her lips but it turned into a longer passionate kiss. They both heard it but neither wanted to acknowledge the ring of his cell phone. After they parted, he sighed deeply and gave her an apologetic look.
He grabbed the phone and growled into it, "Grissom."
"Sorry pal. I know you've been up awhile but we need you."
"Jim, it's going to have to wait. I'm not going to do anybody any good if I don't get at least a couple hours of sleep."
"That's exactly what I told Ecklie, but he's insisting."
"Ecklie. It figures. Fine, give me the address."
As soon as Brass gave him the address, Grissom spoke, "Alright, tell Conrad I'll be there in an hour. No sooner."
"I will. Sorry Gil."
"Yeah." He shut his phone and laid back down. "I'm getting too old for this."
Sara rubbed his chest. "You're not too old. You just worked almost 40 hours straight and now they want you to come back in. That would just about kill anyone. Conrad's an ass."
He smiled and gave her a quick kiss. "I love you." He hugged her then rolled out of bed. "I'm going to take a shower."
When he came out she was already dressed and had her own copy of the address. Confusion was apparent on his face. "What are you doing? You don't have to be up for another 3 hours."
She walked up and put her arms around him. "I want to keep an eye on you. You can say you called me in to help. We can still drive separately. I'll even give you a 15 minute head start." She ended with her Sidle smirk. He stood there mouth agape. Why am I so surprised? "Grissom? Close your mouth honey." She tapped his chin.
He looked at her with complete seriousness, "You're good for me. You know that."
"We're good for each other. Come on. You better go or I'll beat you there." He winked at her and kissed her nose.
Driving to the crime scene, all Grissom could think about was Sara. He stopped for the red light. I think it's time to tell everyone. I'm tired of hiding our relationship. It's not fair to either one of us. I want to be able to hold her hand when we're in public. Not have to hold myself back when I want to kiss her. He shook his head. You've turned into quite a sap Gil. I'll talk to her when we get home.
Green light. Just as Grissom pulled into the intersection, a truck slammed into the passenger side, sending his suv spinning and ending up on the opposite side of the street. A woman ran up to Grissom's vehicle. "Mister? Are you okay? Can you hear me? Somebody call an ambulance!"
This is the weirdest feeling. I can hear the voices and sirens. I feel awake but I can't move. I can't open my eyes or talk. I definitely feel pain. Damn it, I must have a broken rib. My head hurts too. I can feel the blood dripping down the side of my face. God, I'm tired. Good, the paramedics are here. I think I'll just sleep and let them do their job. Just sleep...
Sara pulled up and saw Brass. "Hey Jim."
"Sara. Not that I'm complaining but what are you doing here?"
"Grissom called me to help. Where is he?"
"I haven't seen him yet." Sara tried to mask the instant panic that washed over her but Brass noticed it. "What is it?"
"Can you do me a favor?" When he nodded she continued. "Could you call dispatch and see if there have been any accidents reported in the last 30 minutes? Please? I just have a bad feeling."
Brass was hesitant, thinking she was overreacting, but he decided it wouldn't hurt anything. "Okay. I'll let you know." With that said he placed his call and Sara went to go check out the body.
When the paramedics came on to the scene they noticed the crime lab vehicle. The passenger side was smashed up pretty bad so they went to the driver's side. They were able to get the door open with the help of a crowbar. One of them lifted Grissom's head gently so that it was resting against the headrest. "Oh man. It's Dr. Grissom. We're going to need a collar and a backboard."
One of the firefighters spoke up. "I'll get it."
"Dr. Grissom, can you hear me?" No response. They continued to work on Grissom and got him on his way to the hospital.
Brass couldn't believe his ears. He was notified that Grissom had in fact been in an accident and was taken to the hospital in serious condition. Brass walked up to Sara. "Hey, I got samples of Grissom's bugs all ready for him and took some photos." Looking at the expression on Brass' face, she turned to the other man standing there. "David, you can take the body now."
"Okay."
She took off her gloves and followed Brass to the side. He watched as the color drained from her face. She was barely able to get the words out. "Where is he Jim?"
"He's at Desert Palms. Another car hit him. Come on, I'll drive you." She nodded and they walked to the car.
The ride was quiet. He jumped at the sound of her voice. "Why couldn't Ecklie have waited a few hours? Grissom didn't need to be there. Anyone could have gotten the samples and photos for him. If I lose him, I swear..."
"Hey. Don't talk like that." He put his hand on hers. "We're not going to lose him. He'll be okay. I want you to believe that. He needs you to believe that. Okay?" She just nodded and looked out her window as the tears flowed down her face.
After a few moments passed, he realized what she had just said, 'If I lose him.' He looked at her. Sensing she was thinking of the worst he decided to try to get her to talk. "So, how long?" She looked to him questioningly. "You two. I've had my suspicions lately. You both have been so much happier."
"I don't know what you're talking about." She looked back to her window.
Brass spoke quietly, "Okay."
A minute of silence passed then she answered softly, "Six months."
Brass' lips curved up into a sad smile. He squeezed her hand, "He'll be okay." She squeezed back.
When they pulled up to the hospital Sara barely waited for Brass to bring the car to a stop before she jumped out. Once inside the emergency room she spotted a nurse. "Excuse me. Dr. Gil Grissom of the crime lab was brought in. He was in a motor vehicle accident."
"Hang on. Let me check." Brass was standing next to Sara when the nurse came back to her. "They're running tests on him right now. He has four broken ribs and a gash on his head. He was unconscious when they brought him in. If you'll have a seat, I'll let you know when he's in a room."
Sara couldn't talk so Brass stepped in, "Thank you." He ushered her to the waiting area. "You going to be okay for a few minutes?" She nodded. "Okay. I'm just going to step outside to make a phone call." She just stared straight ahead with tears streaming down her face. His heart broke for her.
Once outside he flipped his phone open and dialed. "Jim, what's going on? Nick just came in and said he heard something about Gil being in an accident."
"Yeah, unfortunately, he heard right. He's still unconscious but he's stable. Look Catherine, I need you guys to do him a favor."
"Name it."
"You guys are going to have to handle things at the lab without Gil and Sara for the next few days."
"Sara? Was she in the accident too?" A simple "no" was his answer. Then there was silence until Catherine spoke, "Oh. Okay. Yeah. Um, wow."
"Yeah."
"How long? You know what, never mind. They'll tell me if they want me to know. I just can't believe they finally did something about it."
"I know. I better get back in there. I'll keep you posted."
"You do that. I'll let the guys know. Thanks Jim."
Brass went back in to the waiting room and sat down next to Sara. She was still staring straight ahead with tears slowly falling. Brass put his arm around her and pulled her close. After awhile a doctor came out and headed towards them. They stood as he approached. "Hi, I'm Dr. Wiggins. I was told you were here for Dr. Grissom."
Sara spoke, "Yes. How is he?"
"Well, he does have some broken ribs, bruises, and a gash on his forehead that we stitched up. We ran a CT scan and determined he has minimal swelling. We still don't know why he has not regained consciousness."
"He had been up for nearly 2 days. Could that mixed with the trauma be a reason for that?"
"That is possible. He's in room 343 if you'd like to see him."
"Yes, thank you doctor." He smiled then walked away.
Brass and Sara looked to each other then Brass spoke, "What do you say we go check in on sleeping beauty?" He was relieved when he detected a hint of a smile on Sara's face as they walked to the elevator.
Brass waited outside the room, looking in through the window. Sara went in and sat down beside Grissom, taking his hand in both of hers. She choked back a sob when she saw the bruises. She tried her best to be strong for him. She leaned down and brought his hand to her lips. When her eyes clamped shut she let out a deep sigh.
"You scared the hell out of me Grissom. I know you need your rest but I really need you to open your eyes or squeeze my hand. Just something. Then I'll let you get as much sleep as you want. I just..."
I'm trying honey. I'm sorry I scared you. I love you so much.
"I should have driven you. I don't want us to hide anymore. This is just ridiculous. It's probably a moot point. Brass knows about us."
I don't either. God, this is frustrating. He lightly squeezed her hand. Okay, now open your eyes Gil.
"Grissom?" She started to cry a little more.
His eyes fluttered open and his voice was raspy, "Love you."
She rose from the chair and kissed his lips. "I love you too baby." Brass wiped at his eyes and decided to go find Dr. Wiggins.
Grissom reached his hand up to Sara's cheek. "Don't want...to hide...anymore."
She put her fingers to his lips. "Shhh. We'll have plenty of time to talk later. Just sleep now. I'll be here when you wake up." She kissed his lips and he closed his eyes with a smile. Sara sat back down and held on tightly to his hand. She whispered, "I'll be here."
