Title: In A Matter of Minutes
Pairing: GSR
Spoilers: Season 7. Post-ep for "Living Doll"
Rating: T
Summary: Three hundred and ninety eight minutes after Natalie is taken into custody, a report comes in about a red mustang in the desert...
Three hundred and ninety-eight minutes after Natalie is taken into custody a report comes in about a red mustang in the desert. You've never felt so relieved and worried at the same time. You are relieved that you've found her but condition she's in still has you worried. Your pulse just reached 120.
Twenty-two minutes of driving through the desert brings you right to the scene and the feeling of déja-vu that washes over you is no surprise. You have a replica of this exact patch of Nevada desert sitting on your desk in the lab, you know every detail. You take in the angle of the car, partially buried in the mud, and the bile rises in your throat. It doesn't take more than a few seconds for the adrenaline to kick in and you move on autopilot toward the car.
Six minutes pass as you wait for the salvage crew to begin lifting the car. Their movements are slow and measured as no one knows for sure the type of condition your victim is in. You are lying face down in the mud clinging desperately to the pale, cold hand that is no longer moving. You know she's alive, you felt her weak pulse, but you aren't sure whether or not she's still breathing, or how many bones may have been broken. You really don't know anything at the moment.
Forty-five seconds is all the time it takes for you and Nick to slide her body out from under the car. You were each holding a corner of her vest, being as careful and quick as possible and you wince when you realize how light she really is. When you turn her over the first thing you do is press your ear to her chest. Her breathing is shallow and you desperately want to cry out in relief but you know that she isn't out of the woods yet. You wipe mud from her face with your sleeve as the paramedics take over, examining her. Nick moves aside to make room but you cannot seem to let go and you grip her icy hand like a life line even as she is loaded into the waiting ambulance.
Thirty-six minutes after being directed to the waiting room, Catherine arrives and finds you in a chair with your head in your hands. When she takes the seat beside you, you brace yourself for the lecture you're sure is coming. But it never comes. She simply takes your hand in hers and sits silently at your side. As the two of you sit there you can't help but think that time has never moved so slowly.
One hundred and eighty-four minutes pass before you are given any information. You are sick with relief as the good news emerges from the emergency room. Her internal injuries were not as severe as they had been expecting and the surgeons were able to repair all of the damages. She will come out of this ordeal with a few broken ribs and a broken leg. But you know that she is strong and that her physical injuries are not going to be the problem. It is her emotional state that worries you because you know that after all she has been through, this is going to become another wall she will have to build.
When you finally allow yourself to rest it is in the chair beside her bed with her hand cradled in both of yours. You have been exhausted by cases many times during your career but the stress of this case is unparalleled. You must have let the exhaustion take you over because the next time you open your eyes, Sara's brown ones are staring back at you. She is pale and tired and you have never been so happy to see someone so much in your fifty plus years.
Fifteen seconds is all the time it takes for you to tell her that you love her.
Ten more seconds and you've asked her to marry you.
It takes less than one second for her to reply.