Disclaimer: CSI belongs to CBS and Jerry Bruckheimer. Megan and Sam are mine though.

A/N: Thank you all very much for the feedback!

Chapter 10

Sara and Catherine entered the UCSF Medical Center, still not knowing whether Lindsey and Megan were alright.

"I'll ask at the nurse's station," Catherine said as she pointed to the desk. It was the first thing she'd said after Sara had told her the information Grissom had been able to find out.

Sara nodded at the strawberry blonde, then, as her cell phone started to ring, she saw on the display that it was Grissom. "Yes?" she asked, her voice sounding strained.

"Megan and Lindsey both are still alive," Grissom stated. "The casualties have been identified, neither of the girls being one of them."

Sara let out a breath -only then realizing she'd stopped breathing when she'd answered the call. At that moment Catherine came walking back. They're both alive," the brunette immediately said.

Catherine nodded, though didn't seem to be relieved. Sara looked into the older woman's sapphire eyes and saw the emotional turmoil in them. "I gotta go, Grissom," she quickly said before snapping her cell shut. "What's the matter?" she continued. "They're both alright."

Catherine took a step towards the taller woman, stopping right in front of her. "No, Sara," the strawberry blonde said. "We don't know yet."

"What do you mean...is Lindsey-"

"It's not Linds," Catherine interrupted, shaking her head. "It's Megan."

Sara felt her previous calmness starting to crumble. She clenched her fists at her sides, a wave of anger and helplessness coursing through her veins. "No," she stated harshly as she avoided Catherine's eyes.

Catherine reached for the taller woman. "She's in surgery at the moment, she has multiple internal injuries," she started as she pulled Sara's rigid body into a tight embrace. "They told me she..."

"What?" Sara asked as she stepped out of the strawberry blonde's reach, again sounding harsh.

"They're not sure whether she'll make it through surgery." Catherine didn't let herself be put off by the brunette's angry demeanor and reached for her again, taking Sara's clenched fists in her hands, softly caressing its back. "Let's go to the waiting area."

Sara visibly relaxed at the older woman's simple caress. "Sorry," she muttered, avoiding Catherine's eyes in shame. It didn't happen often that she felt this angry...this out of control.

"What about Lindsey?" Sara asked as Catherine guided her towards the elevators. But even before the strawberry blonde could reply, the brunette continued, "We'll go check on her first."

Catherine was about to argue about this, but as she saw the pleading look in Sara's eyes she knew that it wasn't what the brunette needed at the moment. "Alright," she replied as she took Sara's hand and pulled her into the elevator that had just arrived.

Lindsey'd been placed in a room on the third floor while the operating room where Megan still was, was situated on the fourth floor, so their first stop would be the third floor. Sara held Catherine's hand firmly clasped in her own, the dam she'd built around her emotions starting to crumble.

Catherine, though glad to know Lindsey was okay, didn't feel relieved -far from it even. The pain she'd seen in the younger woman's eyes she'd been able to feel for herself. She realized that if the situation had been the other way around, Sara would have been there for her as well. So, now she'd give the brunette all the support and comfort she had.

Sara looked at Catherine as she felt a small squeeze. The small, wordless action did her good. It gave her back some of her strenght. She smiled a rueful smile and returned the gesture.

The door slid open and the two women quickly headed for the room where Lindsey was, their hands still linked; the comfort still shared.

As they reached the room, they noticed that Lindsey was sleeping. There were bandages on her head, her hand was in a cast, and a woman was sitting in the chair beside her bed, holding her hand.

Catherine immediately walked over to the bed and glared at the short-haired blonde. "Who are you?"

Sara stopped beside Catherine and was the first to notice the woman's uniform. She placed her hand on the strawberry blonde's upper arm, trying to somewhat restrain her. "Catherine," she started. But before she could finish her sentence, Lindsey woke up.

The younger Willows woman looked at the hand that covered hers as all that had happened came back to her. She smiled at Sam and noticed that there were other people standing beside her bed.

Green eyes blinked a few times, then settled on Catherine. "Mom," Lindsey sighed as she spotted her mother. She tried to sit up, reaching for her mother.

"Linds." Catherine carefully embraced her daughter, kissing her forehead. "I'm so glad you're okay," she said as she pulled her daughter closer.

"Mom," Lindsey replied in a small voice. "Meg...Megan...she's..." Tears started to well up again and as she spotted Sara she couldn't stop them from falling.

Catherine held her daughter's shaking body. "Shh, sweety. Calm down."

"She's...still in surgery. It's..." Lindsey said in between sobs. "it's..." The girl couldn't utter the words she'd been told by Sam half an hour ago.

Sam, who had vacated the chair, looked from mother to daughter. As she saw the pleading look in Lindsey's eyes she wordlessly understood what the girl asked. She cleared her throat and spoke up, "Her friend Megan suffered major internal injuries. She has a ruptured spleen, a perforated lung, and was unconscious when they brought her here."

Even before Sam had finished explaining about Megan's conditions Sara had exited the room in a hurry.

Catherine at first didn't notice Sara's hasty exit, though when Sam started to head after the brunette, Catherine stopped her.

"I'll go after her," the strawberry blonde said as she looked at Lindsey. The younger Willows woman nodded at her mother, wiping away the tears that stained her cheeks. "Will you please stay with her till I get back?" Catherine asked of the paramedic, not even awaiting the answer.

Sam nodded. "Sure," she said as she stepped back to the bed and watched the older woman head after the brunette.