Took longer to get this up, but its extra long and Cara-heavy to make up for it :)
x x x x
To Catherine's surprise as she slid through the door to Sara's room, sleeping beauty wasn't alone.
The nurse; armed with a sponge, a bottle of lotion and a roll of fresh bandages, turned with a stern expression at the sudden intrusion to her work.
"Who are you?" She barked harshly. "You can't come in here."
"I'm a friend." Cath explained, slightly taken aback at the abrupt order. "We work together."
"You shouldn't be here." The nurse reiterated, although at the sight of Catherine's ID badge clipped to her jacket she decided not to press the issue and continued in her mission to sand Sara's delicate skin off.
Catherine frowned at the rough treatment of her colleague, taking up a seat on the opposite side of the bed. She scrutinised the unfamiliar nurse carefully; she was older and wearing a stark white uniform in contrast to the faded pink of the ER nurses.
Catherine knew that she was right; she had clearly walked in on an intimate procedure of sorts – in order to prevent sores developing on her already sensitive skin, Sara needed regular application of moisturiser. Soon she would be able to move around more and this would become unnecessary, but in the meantime they would need to keep doing this. Catherine probably should afford her some privacy and leave the nurse to it. But quite frankly, she didn't care. Sara was her friend; if the situation called for it, Cath would do this for her.
In fact…
"You know," she drawled, picking up Sara's hand and idly drawing circles on the back of it. "My sister's a nurse here."
"Really." The woman grunted; she clearly couldn't give a monkeys but Cath was going somewhere with this.
"Yeah. Nancy Flynn." She waited for any sign of recognition, but receiving none she continued. "Anyway, I know how busy you guys are here. Nance never gets a minutes peace."
The nurse paused long enough to send Catherine a contemptuous look.
"That's the job." She snapped, going back to scrubbing Sara's chest before slathering it in the lotion. It looked like milk. If Sara were awake she would be writhing with discomfort right now.
"I know." She conceded, changing tack slightly. "I just meant there's always something more pressing needing to be done …. So, since you probably have a lot to do, I could finish this for you..."
This time the look she received bordered on incredulous.
"Are you trained?"
Catherine blinked, barely resisting the urge to retort with 'trained to use a sponge?'
Thankfully, she was saved from answering at all by the arrival of another nurse who Cath recognised instantly as Carol Hathaway. She vaguely remembered meeting her at one of Nancy's barbeques a year or two ago. She was the head ER nurse, if memory served correct.
"Sterling," Carol barked at the nurse. "You're needed in the ER."
"I'm busy." Nurse Sterling retorted coolly, not even turning to acknowledge her colleague. Carol didn't seem impressed by the response and opened her mouth to vocalise her displeasure when Catherine seized her opportunity and jumped in.
"Carol, hi." She chirped, as if they were old friends.
The nurse looked up, noticing the CSI for the first time and narrowed her eyes as she tried to place the face.
"Catherine – Nancy's sister." She said uncertainly at last.
"That's right." Cath smiled brightly.
To the growing chagrin of nurse Sterling, Carol wandered over and leant casually against the end of the bed.
"How's she doing?" She asked of the dozing patient.
"She's okay." Cath shrugged, absently helping herself to the lotion and tenderly massaging it into Sara's arm, an action which only served to further piss off the older woman. "I just came to see if she needed anything." Carol pursed her lips thoughtfully.
"Well you seem to know what you're doing." She commented. "Would you mind taking over?"
Nurse Sterling looked up, an insulted scowl on her face. "I can manage." She snapped.
"I need you." Carol retorted, sending Catherine a hopeful look.
"I don't mind." She replied with a sweet smile. "I'll gladly take over. Anything to help Sara."
"You're a saint." Carol grinned, nodding for her co-worker to follow her. After an irritated sigh the older woman tossed the cloth down and flounced out, letting the door slam behind her.
Alone, Catherine picked up where she had left off.
"I know, I know." She muttered to the sleeping Sara. "You're going to be pissed with me. But I don't care." She dropped a kiss onto her cheek. "I can't fix you but I can make you feel better."
X x x
"Do you want the bad news or the worse news?"
Grissom looked up from his mound of paperwork, analysing Brass' face for a moment.
"Bad." He decided at last.
Jim pushed himself off the doorframe and wandered over, dropping into the chair in front of the desk.
"Uncle Rocco has an alibi for Sara's accident."
"What?" Grissom took off his glasses and fixed his friend with a weary look. "A credible one?"
"Oh yeah. Nick found CCTV footage of him at the Tangiers bar at the time of the accident." He explained, producing a still image of the Italian downing a shot of whiskey. "There's no way he was behind the wheel of the car."
"That doesn't mean he isn't involved." Grissom pointed out. "Get his phone records and see if he's made any interesting calls recently."
Jim released a heavy sigh, a sound which made the CSI's heart sink.
"I've already tried. His main address is in Italy, he's only in America on business. And the only calls on his cell phone are to his office and his clients."
"Damn." Grissom huffed, rubbing his eyes tiredly.
"In case you were wondering," Brass interjected softly. "That was the worse news."
X x x
"Hey," Nancy greeted suspiciously, sliding into the room. "Carol said you were here. What are you doing?"
"What does it look like?" Catherine asked lazily. Nancy pursed her lips, acknowledging the comment with a soft chuckle.
"Okay, why are you grooming your colleague?" She rephrased. Cath sent her a sideways smile.
"I offered and they agreed." She half-lied.
"Who is they?"
"Carol and Nurse Ratchet." At Nancy's raised eyebrow, she offered a vague description.
"Late fifties, reddish hair, surly… Sterling?"
"Ah." Nancy smiled tightly, nodding in understanding. "Nurse Rhonda Sterling. She's not actually an ER nurse; she was floated down from another ward because we're short staffed."
"Well, maybe you should float her back and ask for one with a better beside manner." Cath huffed. "She may as well have taken a cheese grater to her skin." She gestured to the broken arm she was delicately redressing.
"I'll pass the message on."
As she finished her work, Nancy helped her refasten the gown and then watched as her big sister tucked the blanket around Sara with the loving attention of a mother.
"I just want her to wake up again – properly." Cath moped sadly, dropping back into her seat. "I want to see her smile, to talk to her. Any sign that she's going to get through this."
"She'll wake up in her own time." Nancy assured her. "Talk to her, let her know you're here. You'll be surprised how much it helps." She patted her sister's shoulder and drifted back to the door. For a moment she just watched as Cath stroked Sara's cheek with the back of her fingers.
"Hey sweetie." Catherine mumbled at last, picking up her hand. "We're still working on it I promise. We're going to find out who did this." She paused, doodling patterns on the inside of her wrist with the pad of her thumb. "I know you'd kill us if you knew what we're doing, but we're going to find out who's trying to hurt you."
Absently, she picked up a comb and began running it through Sara's hair. Most of it had escaped from the bandage now and was spilling across the pillow; a fan of chocolate brown waves. She continued to talk; about Lindsey, about the boys, all the while running her hands through the locks. As she did so she couldn't help the images of Sara's brothers seeping into her mind.
Jack's hair had been a mess when he'd been found; tangled and greasy. But she imagined with a little TLC it would have been like Sara's – dark and smooth and silky to the touch. William, on the other hand, had lighter brown hair which had been carefully styled and fell around his face in sleek waves. He had a pretty face and warm hazel eyes.
Much like Sara.
As she pondered this likeness, she found herself staring at an identical pair of confused eyes.
"Hey, you're awake." She blurted out, instantly reaching for her hand again.
"Hi." Sara mumbled, attempting to sit up. Catherine held her still, gently pressing down on her shoulders.
"Hey, don't try to move. You're badly hurt." She instructed. Sara obligingly sank back into the cushions, but her gaze landed on the tray with the bowl of warm water and various other assorted items. She flicked her gaze to Catherine's face, suspicion clouding her features.
"What were you doing?" She asked, suddenly more awake. Catherine realised what she was asking and a coy smile spread across her lips.
"Why? You going shy on me?" she teased.
"Don't most hospitals have nurses who do that sort of thing?" Sara asked awkwardly, shuffling as best her injuries would allow.
"You had a nurse." Cath agreed, waving a disregarding hand at the comment. "I didn't like her bedside manner."
"So you … took over?" Sara clarified, quirking an eyebrow.
"Yes." Cath agreed calmly, dragging her fingers through Sara's hair again. "She was hurting you." She scowled petulantly, a look that Sara just couldn't stay mad at no matter how much of an invasion of her privacy it was. As if reading her mind, Catherine smiled. "What? You don't trust me?"
Sara let the question slide, changing the subject.
"Where are the boys?"
"They're at work." Cat answered. "I just stopped by on my break…" she glanced at her watch. "Which finished two hours ago."
Sara laughed, but the effort hurt her ribs and caused a sudden tight burning sensation in her lungs. Cath placed a hand on her chest and rubbed gentle circles until her breathing evened out.
"Take it easy. Deep breaths." She hushed. "You're not out of the woods yet."
Taking slow, calming breaths, Sara settled down at last. She closed her eyes as the effort of recovering from her unexpected attack took its toll on her body and she lapsed into silence, contemplating her situation. Catherine thought she'd fallen back to sleep and began playing with her loose curls again until a soft voice caught her attention.
"Catherine?"
"Yeah, honey?" She hummed.
"What happened to my bike?"
Catherine laughed, shaking her head at the earnest look in her friend's eyes.
"Never mind about the bike." She bristled. "Let's worry about getting you fixed first!"
"It's broken isn't it?" Sara asked sadly. Catherine softened her gaze, but still couldn't hide her smile at the brunette's upset over a piece of metal.
"Let's just say you came off better." She acknowledged, giving her a meaningful once-over. "And that's saying something."
It suddenly dawned on her that Sara was still unaware of the death of her brothers. She briefly considered breaking the news to her now, but decided if she was this torn up over the loss of her bike then the news might be too much for her to bear.
Sara must have noticed her inner turmoil because she reached out a hand to get her attention and queried the frown with one of her own.
"Nothing babe." Cath assured her, instantly realising her mistake. Sure enough, Sara scowled at the use of the pet name.
"Now I know you're hiding something." She persisted. Cath attempted to laugh it off but Sara continued to stare her out until she broke.
"It's …" she paused. "Alright, there might be something we're not telling you." She admitted. "But there's a reason for that."
"What?" Sara pressed, trying to twist in order to better see her.
"Look, it's not going to change anything and it can wait until you're feeling better." The blonde promised. "Just let us worry about it for now. When you're stronger, then you can join in."
Sara gave her a sceptical look but accepted the answer, for now.
"Good girl." Catherine hummed, placing a kiss on her forehead. "We're doing what's best for you, trust me."
"I trust you." Sara murmured, tipping her head to the side so it rested against Catherine's chest.
It was only on her way back to the lab that Catherine realised Sara had answered two questions in one.
X x x
"We're still looking into the rest of the family." Nick answered. "Rocco came from a big family, but most of them are still in Italy."
"What about this 'business trip'?" Warrick inquired. "That's kind of convenient don't you think?"
"He works for Maserati. He's over here making some sales with several dealerships." The Texan explained. "And guess where those dealerships are based?"
"California and Nevada?" Grissom cocked an eyebrow.
"So, he had motive, opportunity and know how." Catherine interjected. "He works with cars, I bet he would know how to steal one."
"But he has an alibi." Greg pointed out.
"Of course he does." Warrick snorted. "Slick dude like him, he's got someone else doing his dirty work."
"At least two of them." Nick added as an afterthought. "We know that from the CCTV cameras."
"And to hire someone for a job like that would require a lot of trust, don't you think." Grissom posited thoughtfully. "And who would you trust more than your family?"
"I'll work with Sofia, start building up a family tree." Greg offered.
"Good." Grissom nodded at the youngest criminalist. "Catherine, you and Warrick go back to the hospital and see what information you can get from Sara about her father's family." He instructed. "But don't let on as to why."
"How are we supposed to do that?" Warrick asked, sharing an incredulous look with the strawberry-blonde. "She'll be onto us like a shot."
"Make something up." Gil shrugged unhelpfully. "Nick, check and see whether Rocco has an alibi for the other two incidents."
"I'm on it." He nodded.
"What are you doing?" Cath asked. The boss released a heavy sigh. "Someone has to solve the other cases in this city. You guys can handle this – just keep me in the loop."
X x x
"Back so soon?" Carol asked, nodding in greeting at Cath as the CSIs made their way towards Sara's room.
Warrick's hand barely made contact with the door handle when Nancy jumped out of nowhere, purposefully slotting herself between them and Sara's room.
"I'm sorry guys, I can't let you in."
"Why?" Catherine asked, panic creeping into her voice. "What's happened?"
Nancy took her sister's arm and led them away but Cath broke free from her grip.
"I was going to call you …" The nurse began tentatively. "I'm afraid you can't visit her at the moment."
"Is she alright?" Warrick asked hurriedly.
"She's fine." Nance assured them. "She's still awake. Her uncle's with her."
"Rocco?" Cath exploded, her blue eyes widening impossibly. She made a sudden burst for the door but Nancy was quicker and grabbed her by the back of her jacket.
"Cath … he's signed a form forbidding us to allow anyone other than direct family into her room."
"We are her family!"
"Not in the eyes of the hospital you're not."
Catherine and Warrick stared at her, devastation creeping into their faces.
"I'm sorry." Nancy shrugged helplessly, genuinely sad at what she was having to do. "I don't have a choice. I can't let you see her."