A/N: A quick note of thanks to Grissom1 for recommending this story…I was quite honored by the nod…hope the story lives up to the impossibly high reader-satisfaction bar which all her stories have set…clues to a mystery are like bread crumbs, and some are dropped here…next chapter is almost set, so expect an update in a day or two…your reader support and thoughtful reviews are so appreciated…all mistakes are mine…hope this pleases…you remain terrific! –Kathy
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Chapter 7
Gil breathed out impatiently as he waited for Jillian to answer.
The frightened nurse steeled herself with a deep breath before beginning her explanation.
"Sara was upset earlier…the doctor had a sedative ordered in case she needed help sleeping, nights are sometimes tough after-"
"You were supposed to be off duty hours ago!" Gil snapped, eyeing the tired brunette with some irritation.
Again, Jillian took a deep breath and spoke as calmly as her shaking limbs would allow.
"Sara was off the phone by the time I returned from the nurses' station. It was obvious she was upset-"
Gil blanched at the mental picture; his reaction caused Jillian to square her shoulders as her own irritation grew.
"Actually, Dr. Grissom, I don't know exactly what happened, but Sara was more than a little upset.
She said good night, but I told her no way was I going to leave until she was asleep, and I knew she was alright.
At first, she resisted, telling me again and again that she was "fine"."
That's my Sara alright, Gil thought.
"She's been listless, and I believe she would still be asleep if it wasn't for the nightmare," Jillian spoke, the tone of her voice saddened by the memory.
"How bad was this one?" Gil asked quietly, the fight gone out of his tone to be replaced by the possessive inquiry of a loved one.
Jillian folded her arms across her chest as she continued, "Started with moaning and tossing which turned violent almost immediately.
If I hadn't watched her-" the nurse turned her head to compose herself, "I would have thought she was in seizure."
Gil paled at the image created by her description, it mirrored the nightmares he himself endured about Sara.
Must have been remembering the attack-
"Then she began shouting to put the fire out-" Jillian stopped and moved towards Sara's door to check on her.
"That's when she woke. She trembled violently, which I'm sure only added to the pressure on the grafts.
Certainly has a high tolerance for pain," Jillian sighed before turning fully to Gil.
"After that I called about the sedative. Floor nurse in charge just dropped off her medication about an hour ago.
I told Sara I was giving her something, but she begged me not to – saying sedatives always made her helpless against the nightmares, she couldn't wake up.
I agreed to only give her a slight amount, to help her settle.
I was worried she might have an adverse reaction, considering her concerns.
So I injected her IV with a small amount of the syringe, and I've been sitting here for the last hour watching her vitals.
She drifted off into what I feel must be a dreamless sleep, and since she was resting comfortably, I was about to inject the rest when-"
The nurse stopped talking and wheeled around towards Grissom.
"And now it's your turn to talk. Just what did you think you were doing in there?"
Gil opened and closed his mouth, his brain settling on just how much to relate as to the real reason for his visit, when both their heads spun around towards the frightening moan that suddenly sounded from their patient's bed.
Without thought, Gil pushed past Jillian and rushed up to Sara's bedside just as her eyes flew open and her breathing seemed labored.
"Sara?...Sara?...c'mon, honey…you're safe…you're safe…I'm here…I'll watch over you…"
Jillian watched as Sara became more aware of her surroundings; Gil's comforting was reaching her on some level.
"That's it, honey. Just breathe. I'll watch over you. You're safe now."
After a few moments of Gil's constant reassurances humming more and more softly into her ear, Sara relaxed against the pillows, giving in to the need to close her tired eyes.
His large hands held her hand that lay limp before him as he nestled into the chair near the head of her hospital bed.
Gently his grip encased her palm as if it was a most precious treasure; his fingers rubbed soothing circles over hers as he watched her return to deeper levels of much needed sleep.
Although he knew she was in deep slumber, Gil was suddenly loathed to remove himself from holding her hand, or leaving her side.
However, he did pull his one hand back and reached over to click open his cell phone.
After briefly engaging in muted conversation, he clicked it shut and put it on SILENT mode before reclaiming Sara's hand in his.
Jillian stood at the foot of the bed, gazing at Sara looking so fragile and yet showing such courage.
Lost in the moment, she wondering what was going to happen to Sara next.
His voice startled her from her thoughts as he spoke evenly, "I need to talk to you."
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Sofia had taken all she could of Terri's company.
Lifting the box lid to start packing up her stack of evidence, she stopped at the unmistakably irritation displayed on Terri's face.
"What?"
"Nothing. Just seems like you've rushed through that pile of photos, that's all. I probably would review those a bit more closely if I were looking to uncover any new evidence."
"Actually, I was on the force during the first arson investigation. It was that investigation that caused me to come back to the lab where I worked on compiling a good deal of this evidence."
She continued without pause.
"Gil was short-handed… and he needed me," Sofia emphasized as she kept her composure under the undeniable urge to slap this irritating blonde.
"And yet, here we are, having to review your work for the second time."
Sofia bristled, but remained silent as she slammed the lid down hard on the labeled box and headed towards the storage vault.
"Hot date?" Terri chided, loving the fact that she could easily get a rise out of her only known competition for Gil's attention.
"I need to find Grissom," Sofia all but snapped back as she locked the safe and moved to put as much distance between her and Terri as possible.
"Don't keep him too long. We made tentative plans for breakfast," Terri lied, planning to snag Grissom into resuming their past habit of leaving together for coffee after shift whenever she was in town.
Sofia's parting shot made the other blonde's head snap up, "Consider them cancelled."
The CSI smirked proudly as even now she felt an angry scowl follow her as she proceeded down the hall towards Gil's office.
Surprised to see he had not returned, Sofia trotted over to the break room to check the case board.
Surprise surfaced again as she noticed Grissom was not listed on a call out.
Standing there deciding what to make of it, she heard Brass passing by as he called out a brief "How's it going" to Hodges in the lab.
Turning swiftly, she caught up with Brass who smiled sarcastically as he spoke.
"Ah, the lovely Sofia…criminals stand you up tonight?"
His levity was completely lost on this focused blonde.
"I've been looking to catch up with Grissom," she breathed as she reared her head to exude the importance of her task.
I bet you have. I've seen the way you throw yourself at him. Girl, give it up…ain't but one little filly who's gonna snag that man…all he needs to do is get his head out of his-
"So?" Sofia was almost demanding as she waited for any possible clues from Brass as to where she could find Gil before Terri did.
"Oh, Grissom. Last I heard he was at the hospital."
Brass was enjoying the look of confusion on Sofia's face.
Nodding to make his point, Jim added, "Visiting a friend."
Although he had arrived at his intended destination, Brass couldn't leave before he saw the light of recognition go on in Sofia's eyes.
Those eyes. It's always like looking at some microprocessor. You can always see the minute the clues add up and the lights go on…
Like clockwork, Sofia's gaze clouded as anticipated.
Brass could not help a bit-too-innocent look before smiling broadly and waving softly as he left Sofia alone to contemplate the meaning behind Gil's late night visit.
What he failed to see was the narrowing of angry eyes as the blonde turned and stalked out of the building…
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Twenty minutes later, as Sofia stepped back from the admissions desk where she insisted the night registrar take her credentials very seriously, she made determined steps towards the elevator.
Punching in the floor code, Sofia checked out her profile in the blurry reflection of the elevator doors.
Sighing softly as the elevator moved down to the basement first, she moved over to admit a lanky nurse, unmistakably private duty, who held a small tray containing Styrofoam holders obviously holding two sandwiches and two hot drinks.
Her movements stilled as she realized her floor number was already punched.
Ever the investigator, Sofia played a hunch as she smiled towards the woman before nodding to the tray and asking, "For Grissom?"
The look of shock quickly dissipated as Jillian noticed the badge and uniform.
"I thought I'd grab something for him before I left for the night.
Sara didn't eat much for supper, I was hoping to tempt her with something from the cafeteria."
Jealousy burned throughout her veins, pumping anger and fueling Sofia's discontent.
Even now?…Even now he runs to be with her?…How can he – she's burned and disfigured!
"You…are Sara's private duty?" Sofia guessed needing more information.
The answering nod made the investigator in her feel smug in finding both her conclusions to be correct so far.
"Doctor Grissom hired me- oh," Jillian stopped and lowered her head, mindful of the conversation she had just concluded with Gil.
Let's just keep this between us, for now…
Sofia immediately pounced on her omission.
"Gil is paying you overtime? Looks like you've been here awhile," as Sofia's trained eye had noted the tip of a blue parking pass peering out of Jillian's back pocket.
She had worked enough hospital detail to know the staff lot was color coded by shifts.
Jillian just smiled and was never so grateful to finally reach Sara's floor.
This CSI made her uneasy, and the fact that she followed behind her made her increasingly alarmed.
Especially since she had noted Sofia's gun holstered to her back pocket.
Instead of returning to Sara's room, Jillian calmly entered the nurses' station.
Sofia leaned on the counter, curious as to why the woman did not immediately enter Sara's room.
She watched as the nurse calmly set down the tray before moving to the intercom and stepping in front of it so the blonde could not see the room number she depressed.
First a click, and then Jillian's voice could be heard, "This is Jillian. Could you please come to the nurses' station right now?"
Without waiting for a response, she reset the machine and turned back to a frowning Sofia.
"He'll be right here," she spoke, hoping her smile covered her anxiety.
A moment later, Gil appeared outside Sara's door and frowned slightly as he approached the two women.
Looking between them, he forced a smile at Jillian and asked, "Would you-?"
Jillian picked up the tray and moved towards Sara's room.
Sofia looked at Grissom, but managed to note the number of the room the nurse entered.
"So?" Gil asked a bit tiredly, wondering about the purpose of this visit.
Sofia was going out on a limb here, but she decided to press her intuition one more time this evening.
"Brass said you were visiting a friend, and I wondered if something had happened with Sara."
She moved closed as her tone lowered, and her hand reached out to touch his forearm.
"I thought you might need a friend right about now."
Gil was tired and worried about Sara's safety.
Truth be known, the gesture touched him.
He trusted his team with his life, yet he had failed miserably in showing them enough trust to open up to them.
Sitting by Sara's side, he had been taking stock of his life, wondering how he could turn it around and be the person Sara needed him to be.
So instead of snapping and dismissing her offer, Gil raised tired eyes and smiled, "I'm fine."
Sofia was delighted to see the smile.
But her happiness abated when he glanced around and said, "But I really have to insist you go, Sofia."
Her look must have shown disappointment, as he quickly added, "I need someone I trust to look into these arsonists. They're escalating. I just want to get out ahead of them."
Sofia saw this as a chance to make inroads with Grissom.
"All right, Gil. I uncovered a few minor leads I want to check out.
I still can't understand why you think there was more than one responsible for-" she paused as she let her meaning sink in.
"But you will call me if you need anything," Sofia spoke confidently.
"I will. And hey, keep me posted, alright?" Gil spoke, already starting to move backwards to where his heart needed to be. "And take care of yourself, Sofia."
Blonde tresses were tossed over her shoulder as she leaned in towards him with a winning smile.
"You can count on it,"
Returning to Sara's room, he spoke without taking his eyes off Sara, "Go home, Jillian. I'll watch over her."
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Gil had spent the rest of that shift at the hospital, allowing Jillian time to go home and prepare for her new assignment.
In their discussions, he had shared his concerns for Sara's safety, and Jillian's worry over Sara had her accepting Grissom's offer.
Jillian would work double shifts in the hospital for the next few days and become a live-in companion for Sara until she was able to come back to work without needing help to resume her daily activities.
Gil knew there would be many surgeries scheduled in Sara's future, and he wanted to be sure she had the best care he could afford.
He also knew that if she went back to living alone before these arsonists were caught, there was an increased danger that someone might attempt to hurt her again…
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His plan was to take a few nights off and stay with Sara overnight while Jillian worked longer hours to ensure their patient was never alone.
And as with all best-laid plans, the first night into his watch he received the all-hands call from dispatch.
They had been engaged in some lively banter, his smug smile eliciting her breathless laughter as one topic melded into another until they recalled a particularly humorous story of them when she first came to Vegas.
His heart sang as her chuckles continued, loving the curve of her lips as she smiled, leaning forward as if he just wanted to kiss that grin right off her face…
Instead, the vibration of his phone caught him by surprise.
His own smile dropped, replaced by a scowl.
Do these people understand what "time off' means exactly?
Seeing the all-hands call out, Gil glanced at Sara who had already fallen into silence, her features unreadable, her disappointment evident despite her best efforts to hide it.
Gil clicked his phone open against hospital policy and called Brass.
Sara could hear a throaty reply, and by the sounds of it this was going to be big.
She watched Gil's expression darken, but her heart sank as his eyes whipped to nail her with a glare.
"I'm not sure I can do that," were his words, but his expression spoke of his worry in leaving Sara.
She reached for his hand, mouthing, "I'll be fine."
Gil clicked shut the device, in their job goodbye was saved for personal calls.
"Sara-" he began, reaching out to grasp her hand in his.
"I'll be fine."
"I don't want to leave you."
"Gil, don't worry about me."
And although he did worry, instead he replied, "Not worried. I just – don't want to leave you."
Sara was stunned at this admission from the workaholic seated before her.
A hush settled over the room as he tightened his grasp on her hand.
Their eyes met.
Without hesitation, Gil stood and moved towards her.
Another moment, and his lips brushed against hers.
Sara leaned back into the pillows at the touch, but Gil pursued her.
Their lips fit perfectly together.
She was soft and welcoming – can lips be shy?
He was becoming less hesitant – and more certain that he never wanted this moment to end.
Pulling back with great restraint, their foreheads met as breathing returned to normal.
Gil sat back in his seat and took her hand for a moment.
She knew he was having trouble forming his thoughts, so she waited patiently.
He opened his mouth to speak, but the chirp of his cell phone broke his concentration.
He had forgotten to return it to silent, so the chirp blasted the silence demanding his immediate attention.
Exhaling sharply, he all but barked, "Grissom!"
From the other end, he could hear the tone Sofia reserved exclusively for him.
"Gil…I think we're looking at another arson here…"
