Disclaimer: see chapter 1.

Unbeta'd so forgive me.

Also please forgive me for taking so long to post this. Believe me I am working on it… really. Next chapter should be soon. Thanks to everyone for reviewing you all are great.

Other than the language, this chapter isn't all that dangerous to read.

Chapter 11

It was a hollow triumph of sorts. Nick Stokes was actually conscious when the foursome burst into the hushed hospital room.

Juanita, who had just finished up was in the midst or returning from the washroom, was grateful that her hands were now void of the full wash basin she'd been carrying moments before, otherwise there would have been a huge crimson puddle in the middle of the floor. "Hola, mia…" Was all she managed to get out before she was fully infiltrated with visitors – a serious crime against the hospital's visitation policy… even by normal standards… but in the step down unit it was punishable by death – if the head nurse were to catch on. "Mr. Stokes is not allowed this many visitors…"

Brass held up his badge. "I'm with the police department."

Warrick raised his hand. "Brother."

"Sister." Catherine threw in caustically, as she made her way to the bed and nervously grasped the confused Texan's hand.

"Uh…" Grissom just stared at the look of horror on Nick Stokes' and felt his world begin to spin and the walls around him suddenly start to close in on him.

"He's with me." Brass announced and shoved the fraying man a little closer to the bed.

"How long ago did he come around?" Catherine tossed the aggrieved question at the poor nursing student like she was solely responsible for the young man's condition, and everything else that had happened to her, him and them today.

"Just now…" She looked in confusion at the man lying in the bed. His dark eyes were fluttering open, but still heavy and blurred with the after effect of the sedation he was receiving. She knew that any moment now he would begin to squirm. It was common place with people on a ventilator. Four sets of eyes stared back at her. "When I went into the bathroom he was still unconscious…"

The heart monitor that had been beeping quietly, suddenly sped up and all eyes suddenly turned to the person they were actually there to see. As expected, Nick Stokes did what the young student knew he would, he started grabbing at the tube down his windpipe and when he wasn't successful at grasping it, he started to thrash.

"Nicky…" Catherine was busy holding back one arm, while Warrick had grabbed his other.

"Bro', you need to calm down." Warrick's warm, composed voice seemed to penetrate his friend's thoughts and he suddenly went limp, his dark eyes begging for an explanation.

Juanita just stared. She was already in severe shit and the hospital Hitler - her boss – and she knew without a doubt that Ms. Dubay, as everyone called her, would have her emptying bed pans for a month if she were to buzz her now. She should have been more assertive; stopped them before they had all crowded into the room.

Nick's grip on Catherine's hand tightened as Brass leaned in. He'd come up beside the Warrick and didn't want to leave the blonde woman to open the lines of communication. She was already anxious enough, and the police Captain knew that anything that came out of her mouth at the moment would sound a lot more like an interrogation - than concern, and Nick Stokes deserved better than that.

"Hey Nick. Don't worry everything is alright. You were in a car accident. Do you remember?"

Pain and confusion was reflected in his eyes, and then he shook his head slowly.

"That's alright, man." Brass cast a plaintive look in Grissom's direction.

Until that moment the night shift supervisor had been standing at the foot of his CSI's bed, his eyes scrutinizing the spots on the linoleum floor. He was used to dealing with victims, and their families. He knew the state they were in often times when they regained consciousness. He knew there was usually confusion and memory loss, and pain, but some how when he caught sight of Nick's original reaction, he'd thought the worst. 30 years of experience just flew out the window, and he learned the true meaning of irrational, and emotionally involved. She was gone. He just knew it. And the word pain wouldn't have been a drop in the pan compared to the gaping hole his anguish had dug out of his heart. When Brass' words broke through the relative quiet of the room Grissom's blood almost stopped, and he was overcome by the need to run. But his feet were firmly rooted to the spot. As much as he wanted to know the truth, he didn't. If she was dead, which his head had already resolved to be fact, he could hold onto her in life, a little longer if the answer remained ambiguous; because after all, in ambiguity there would always be hope. There was a heart beat of silence, and when he heard no answer from the younger man, he couldn't help himself, he looked up catching his old friend's gaze.

Brass shook his head silently, and then turned his attention back to the young man in the bed. "It was early this morning. Christmas morning, you were coming from somewhere. We think it was a room at the Venetian…" He waited to see if there was any sign of recognition in his eyes.

Shaking with effort Nick pulled his hand from Warrick's grip and tried to reach for the ventilator tubing, only to have the darker man stop him. "Just nod man, yes or no."

Nick blinked slowly and agonizingly, and after a moment his eyes cleared and he nodded slightly.

"Good." Jim Brass leaned in a little closer and smiled reassuringly. "You were hit by a truck and pulled to safety..." The details would come later. He just wanted to get to the point. Sometimes victims were able to string together what has happened to them if someone was able to give them a fairly emotionless accounting. Once you started throwing in the minutiae, feelings came into play and chaos ensued. Brass had seen it happen many times.

The Texan nodded slowly again.

"Nick. There was someone in the car with you. Do you remember who?"

Grissom couldn't help himself, he'd moved closer and was side-by-side with Catherine. He could barely breathe.

Bewilderment flashed across the young man's face and for a moment he was lost. Then a look of complete anguish transformed his features.

"Oh my God she's dead…" Catherine let out a heart felt sob and tugged Grissom into her arms.

"Hey, who's dead?" All six pairs of eyes in the room swung to take in the tall slim woman standing in the doorway. She looked tired, and gaunt and seriously overdressed for the hospital, but she was breathing.

Sara Sidle watched everyone's jaw drop, and couldn't fathom for the life of her why. Foremost in her mind was the question of who, it was that, Catherine had announced as being dead. For a moment she thought that it might be a joke, but there was something about the cadence in the other woman's voice that told her - whatever was going on - it was for real. Uncomfortable with the burgeoning silence of the room, she shook her head and toyed with the strap on her purse, "Uh…Merry Christmas, and now who's dead?"

It was almost as though somewhere up above some deity suddenly hit play and the room erupted into activity. Strangely enough it was all directed at Sara as opposed to the broken man lying in the bed.

Before the young woman could utter another word she was clutched in the arms of an emotional and tearful Catherine Willows. Sara was both mystified and horrified all at the same time, and actually sniffed the air to see if the woman was drunk or something.

The two were friends and colleagues, but never anything that could be remotely described as close.

"Why didn't you tell us?" Catherine's words were garbled, as she clung to the younger woman as if she was going to disappear.

Sara's eyes immediately sought Brass' a look of total bewilderment directed at the man, but all he did was grin like a fool. Stiffly the willowy brunette patted the blonde woman's back, and gave her a hug for good measure once she realized the wetness pressed against her cheek was from her coworker's tears.

What the hell had happened while she was gone?

"Uh…tell you what?" Sara's words were muffled amidst the confusion of blonde strands that was pressed into her face.

"About your mother, your father - his death…Why didn't you tell us, Sara? It must have been horrible to be so young… and have to deal with that. We heard about your mom… her passing… I'm so sorry."

Sara's heart literally stopped in her chest, and she felt her legs go weak. "What?" The word came out as a whisper and this time, her eyes accusing, were directed at a dumbstruck Grissom.

"Your mom… Oh Shit! I'm so sorry." Suddenly uncertain, the petite blonde held the woman tighter. "I just sort of… Fuck…" What a way to find out your mother had died. "Did you know?"

Sara nodded into the woman's shoulder. "I did…," and for a moment it was almost as though Catherine was holding her up. Laura Sidle's impending death was something that Sara'd been dealing with in integers. After she had been diagnosed, the two had come to terms with the abuse that had filled both their lives. And with a lot of effort and a little understanding, over the past few years they had settled into an - if not great relationship - then at least a comfortable one. And while the loss of her mother hurt immensely, it was something that she would deal with privately, later. The thing that was truly disturbing to her at that particular moment was the unexpected outing of her horrific past. Other that Grissom, she had never wanted anyone to know.

Catherine gave her a final squeeze and pulled away, but the tall brunette didn't have much time to recover as there was another set of arms immediately wrapped around her; these ones belonging to a solid Warrick Brown. He moaned slightly into her ear, and gave her a tight bear hug, his warm lips brushing a soft kiss across her cheek. "Girl…You scared us." He threw a look back towards the rest of the group. "I'm sorry I didn't know about your mother until just now…" He gave an extra squeeze for good measure and then released her to pass her off to a joyful Jim Brass, his eyes drifting curiously to the mortified blonde woman.

Brass was not normally the huggie type, but in this instance he couldn't help himself he pulled the young woman to him and held onto her like she was going to be stolen away. "I knew. Catherine found out this morning and told Gil and I, but you owe me some details, later…" He added.

Sara was still trying to deal with the swirl of emotions and revelations when the Detective stepped back and gripped her by the shoulders. "Doll, I'm glad you are safe, you have no idea, but dammit Sara where the hell have you been? Did you go to see your mom?"

Her mind was still reeling, but she forced herself to answer. "Yeah, I went to San Francisco."

"Why the hell didn't you let someone know then?" Brass' dark eyes stared at her waiting for an explanation.

"I did. Jim, I left you a message on your home phone."

Brass smacked the side of his head and dragged his fingers down his face. He could have put everyone's mind at ease if only he had thought check his messages. "God… I'm sorry, with the accident and everything I never went home."

"Can you start at the beginning please, we've all been through the ringer, here." Warrick hands on hips, leaned against the foot of the bed and waited expectantly.

Juanita who had been checking her patient's vitals amidst the floor show, had decided she was done, and simply left the quietly, while the slim brunette too slumped into a visitor's chair next to the bed.

Her eyes settled on a stolid Grissom, who had taken up residence near the door almost as though he was making to flee. "I ran into Gris last night at the Venetian. He was having dinner."

"We know…" Catherine interrupted. "He told us." She actually scowled in her friend's direction. Something Sara would have found amusing had she not been so confounded.

"I went to the bathroom to check on my friend Lily." Reaching onto the bed she took Nick's hand in hers and gave it a little squeeze.

His tear-filled eyes simply stared back at her, but with a concerted effort he managed to return her grip.

"She was sick and hung over. We'd gone out the night before and she'd had… well more than me to drink and I was hurting so..."

"Go on." Brass was fingering the small box in his pocket; it soothed his seriously frazzled nerves.

"When I was coming back to the table, got a call, from…" There were unshed tears in her eyes, and she swallowed harshly. "I got a call from uh… the doctor, telling me my mom; well I knew she wasn't well. We've known for three years now that it was going to happen. She was terminal, but I didn't want her to die alone so I told Nick, I had to go. Hit the airport and caught a hopper to San Francisco so I could be there."

"Nick knew, but he was in the car accident." Warrick threw in.

"Oh my God…" All of the pieces suddenly fell into place for Sara and her tears flowed in earnest. "You said someone had died… Lily…?"

"Tall, brunette… Does that describe your friend…?" Catherine added. "We thought it was you."

Sara swiped at her eyes and nodded sullenly. "We used to be mistaken for each other all the time at Harvard, but up close we were easy to tell apart." The words caught in her throat. "Jesus…"

"She was burned really badly, Sara. It came down to DNA."

The detective's words were like a jolt of adrenaline for Catherine. "Oh, damn, Greg…" she announced, and picked up the bedside phone only to find it hadn't been connected yet. "I'm gonna go call him."

A deep gasp was issued by the man in the bed, and everyone turned to see a steady flow of tears running down Nick Stokes' face. Achingly, he lifted a hand and placed it on Sara's damp cheek.

Her hand covered his, "It's okay, Nick…" she soothed and swiped at her eyes with her free hand. "I'm sure it wasn't your fault." She breathed deeply. "God… It you could have been killed, too."

"Yeah, you were real lucky…" Brass stared at him gravely.

Nick nodded very carefully, his eyes beginning to droop heavily.

"You'll be up and at it soon and you'll be a hit with the ladies again in no time. Specially, with all them battle scars." Warrick grinned.

Despite the circumstances, this drew a small smile from Sara.

"Hey Sar, how did you know to come to the hospital?" Warrick's green eyes were almost luminous as he stared at her.

"When I got off the plane I called home, and checked my messages. There were a dozen from Greg alone."

Brass nodded. The former lab rat had been calling her constantly.

"God… I must look like shit." She stared down at the dress she's put on 24 hours earlier.

"There is no possible way you could look better doll face." Brass leaned over and grasped her hand. "You are breathing, so I think I can speak for everyone here when I say - you look great."

"Hey, where's Gris going…?" Four pairs of eyes in the room fell on the blonde woman who'd just returned.

Sure enough the man in question had disappeared. He'd simply slipped out when no one was looking.

Typical… Sara thought, disappointment digging its sharp claws into her belly.

Annoyance was etched in Jim Brass' face when he turned to look at the young woman in the chair. "He was a mess when we thought you were dead." The whisper passed between the two of them only.

The slim brunette huffed in disbelief. Not fucking likely… she wanted to say. Instead she nodded and pain filled smile transforming her countenance. "Yeah…" She stood, and leaned over Nick. "If you want I'll take first shift." She ran her hand over the shaggy brown hair at the top of his head. "Don't you all have somewhere to be?"

She eyed Catherine. "Dinner with Lindsay? You dinner with the girlfriend?" Her eyes had moved to Warrick. "And you…" She grinned at Brass. "A bed at your house has your name on it."

"No I'm on first watch." Warrick moved close and pulled her into his arms. "Go home." He gave her as swift hug and then let her go.

"I won't be able to sleep." Sara admitted. Her head was still spinning. There was so much to do – she had come home knowing that there were arrangements to be made for her mother's remains, and now there was Lily.

"Then I'll take you out for Christmas dinner… and spring for some hot toddy. And you can return my kindness with an explanation." Brass' suggestion came out more like an order.

Sara rolled her eyes.

"You gonna be okay here?" Catherine eyed the tall black man.

"Yeah… as long as someone shares the details with me; I got ripped off big time, earlier."

"It's a deal." Catherine leaned in and squeezed Nick's hand. "I'll be back for next shift."

The man in the bed nodded slightly, his eyes already closed.

"Me too, man. Take care." Brass grabbed Sara by the elbow and made to lead her away.

"I'll be back later." Sara leaned in and dropped a careful kiss on her co-workers forehead before allowing herself to be led away.

"Where to?" Catherine inquired as they made their way through the door and into the abandoned hallway.

"You coming, too?" Brass took the lead, as they made their way towards the elevator.

The blonde woman cast a tempered look in Sara's direction. "Oh yeah, this is one explanation I need to hear."

A low moan escaped Sara as she trailed behind.

TBC