Ten Hours
Sara crouched down next to Catherine's lifeless body, sobbing quietly.
'Are you all right?' One of the paramedics asked her. She stood up and nodded, tears rolling down her face. The paramedic then moved onto Catherine. His voice took on a new tone and he sounded more serious.
'Neck brace and full body support over here, now!' he shouted to the ambulance crew. They complied quickly, placing Catherine in the ambulance and shoving Sara in with her. Sara just stood, refusing to allow them to examine her. Catherine had been hooked up to a cardiac monitor of some kind and her heartbeat was being displayed on the screen, each peak accompanied by a loud 'blip'. The paramedics had placed an oxygen mask on her face and were now checking for any abnormal swellings or discolouration around her face. Sara sat next to her, holding her hand and silently reassuring her that it was okay. Suddenly, the cardiac monitor flat-lined.
'Shit!' A paramedic said hurriedly. 'We need paddles! She's gone into v-tack.' Sara saw the defibrillation paddles being charged, and Catherine's body convulsing. Then there was a steady 'blip' from the machine. The paramedic breathed a sigh of relief, just as they pulled into Desert Palm.
They rushed Catherine into surgery, and Sara stood, useless, in the lobby. Her hand was throbbing, but she sat down in front of the operating theatre, keeping vigil. An hour later, the doors opened again and Grissom ran in to meet her. She was pale faced and shivering.
'Sara?' He whispered. She trembled. He placed an arm around her where she sat. She leaned into him, taking comfort in his familiar smell and warmth. Her hand fell from her pocket. Grissom leaned over to look at it. There was a long cut running from the ball of her thumb to her little finger. He stood up, pulling her with him and placing an arm around her waist. She collapsed against him, shoulders heaving as her pulled her arm over his shoulder. He walked her to the ER and they were called almost instantly. The doctor told her to sit on the bed. She sat and he pulled out a pad of gauze soaked with anti-bacterial solution. She flinched as he began to clean the wound, but then ignored him. He reached for a surrette of morphine.
'Any medical conditions?' He asked Grissom.
'She's pregnant.' The doctor nodded, and injected it into her hand. She nearly screamed, but instead clenched her hand around Grissom's jacket. The doctor put in some stitches, and then dressed it with a clean white bandage. Sara fell against Grissom and fell asleep. Shock. He cuddled her close to him and kissed the top of her head gently. It had been ten hours since he had seen her last. So much had changed.