Another Nice Mess We've Gotten Into

Disclaimer: CBS owns CSI

The cavalry arrived, but were they in time?

Chapter 7

She woke up suddenly and screamed. Looking around her, everything was white, the smell was of disinfectant, and there beside her was Grissom, asleep, well until she had screamed anyway. She could only see out of one eye, the other being swathed in bandages, in fact she looked like a mummy with all the bandages, but an odd one with all the tubes. She was confused as all hell, her throat hurt, almost everything hurt but how did she get here. A million questions ran through her head.

"Grissom?" she manage to croak out.

"I love you too Sara Sidle." He said matter of factly and planted a kiss on her lips.

Then she remembered the morse message she sent. "It worked then, good." She said it with a strained smile on her lips.

"Sara, our secret is safe with us, Greg and Archie, they know but won't say a word, they promised."

"Cath knows as well, that's how I knew what to send. Is she alright Gil? If I remember right, she saved my life." Alarm shot through her, what if Catherine wasn't alright? "Catherine? Is she..?"

"She'll need major reconstructive surgery as will you, but otherwise fine. Umm, both of you had rape kits done whilst under anaesthetic, we all felt it would be easier on you that way."

"Yeah I figured you'd have to do that, I know he raped me, but his original plan was not to kill Catherine, it was to make her kill me and turn her into a killer. Eventually he won," she cried.

"She didn't kill you and you are not dead."

"What is the damage Grissom, I need to hear it all, I know my left hand is busted."

"According to the doctor, you have a fractured cheek bone, eye socket, one broken rib on one side, three on the other side, compound fracture of the femur, a stab wound in your side, it missed the major organs, and an unflattering mark around your neck that nearly killed you."

Flashback to the rescue: Grissom had raced into Sara as she passed out, strangling herself in the process, he held he limp and battered form in his arms, her head upright while Brass released her from the metal collar first then the other restraints. She slumped into Grissom's arms like a ragdoll, torn and tattered, his shirt and pants quickly becoming stained red with her blood. She was still breathing, still alive he wasn't too late.

Nick had gone to Catherine, lying in a bloody heap on the floor, the gun still in her hand. He found her pulse and her breathing was labored but even, she was barely conscious and flinched when Nick touched her, trying once more to raise the gun and defend them both. He gently removed the gun and heard a sob come from Catherine. "Easy Cath, it's me Nick, you'll be alright, just rest for now, Grissom has Sara, everything will be alright now." She closed her eyes and let her adrenaline rush subside along with her consciousness and she slid into the pain free black void.

Medics were quickly on scene and treating both women, then rushing them both to hospital. The coroner arrived to dispose of Symonds body, and Grissom left Ecklie's days shift to process the place.

"Why us Grissom? Why me?" Her eyes were pleading with him. "Everytime I start to feel safe, someone pulls the rug out from under me, be it either Natalie, or this guy Peter. And why? Because we are women, senior CSIs, and seen on the news occasionally, that's what got him interested. The other two women were practice runs. I can see now that I have to re evaluate my job, maybe become a librarian. I just don't know anymore Grissom." He knew all her bravado was her way of stifling her emotions, a brave face, but he saw through it and was troubled.

She was breaking down in front of him, but still trying to think logically in spite of the pain. It was painful for him to see her like this but she was right.

After that long speech, Grissom ran his hand through his hair and sighed, this job was her life, she loved it, what else would she do? Wrong question, what could he do to help her, yeah that's better.

"I do. You can start by taking up Ecklie's offer on the sick leave, then a vacation to clear your mind and think about your direction. After that we'll re assess the situation, but one thing I want to do is to devote myself to you and that's why I also had the surgeon implant a tracker for you. So I don't lose you again."

She was dumbfounded, not sure whether to be angry or happy. A tracker could have saved much misery in the desert, Catherine's had saved them this time, maybe it was a good idea. It would also enhance the lab's investigative prowess if their own could be found immediately after they were kidnapped. Nick wouldn't have had to endure all that misery and pain either.

"Ok Grissom but I do have an idea, have all CSIs implanted, and don't let anyone but us know it, it could save lives, and increase our reputation to the point where no one would touch us." She smiled up at him. What she wouldn't do for a shot of tequila right now, something to wash away memories.

Grissom understood the meaning and nodded. That was his old Sara, always thinking three steps ahead, analyzing data in her head and finding the overall picture. How could anyone not love this woman.

Sara turned away from him, all the courage she had faded, it would no longer sustain her, she had been right when she said goodbye to Catherine, part of her was gone back there. She was just a façade. Her control, assurance and enthusiasm was gone, she was a shattered shell .

In Catherine's room sat Nick.

"Nicky? I don't remember getting here, what's happened?" she asked anxiously.

"Sshh Cath, don't get yourself worked up, you are safe in hospital, the doctor says he'll have to reconstruct your hand and kneecap later but the collarbone and ankle were clean breaks. The scalpel wound wasn't deep enough to cause much more than blood loss."

"I couldn't reach the tracker to start with, then nothing went right, how did you get to us, surely you didn't just guess."

"No we didn't just guess, you know Grissom, Sara sent him a message via Archie."

Catherine smiled and figured she knew what the message would be.

"How is Sara, I mean I didn't know what happened, I don't know if she's even alive?"

"She'll be fine after some reconstructive work, the perp used brass knuckles on her face and a bat on her thigh and wicked knife in her side. She a bit broken up, but she's Sara, the fighter."

"I don't know that she is anymore Nick, the look in her eyes, she'd resigned herself to die, she'd given up, you could see it. Peter could see it as well, that's why he took his time. She even said the survivor talk was bullshit and said goodbye to us all."

"Then it's up to us, her family, to work her through this, like you all helped me. I still have the nightmares, but they are fewer. We just need to help you and Sara get past this horror, and move on to our next job. Just remember a few words Sara once told me after I was rescued. She said 'it wasn't your day to die'. It wasn't hers either, or yours Catherine."

A/N Is Sara still a fighter? Or has she been shot down in flames?

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