The Ordeal Is Over

A few days later, Grissom and Sara were in the hospital. Sara had just been released, and she was happy to change into new clothing. Grissom had gone to her apartment and grabbed her a pair of jeans and a Las Vegas University sweatshirt. The entire CSI building was overjoyed that she was found and only required an IV of fluids and ten stitches in her arm. The doctors had been worried when she came in that seven days without anything substantial would do severe damage to her. The abrasions from the rope were healing nicely, although her wrists were red, sore and shaped like the yellow ropes one would find at a hardware store.

They were walking towards the exit of the hospital when Sara stopped in the middle of the hallway. "Everything okay?" he asked.

"Before I was taken, I got in there with Brass," she began, "and...there was a girl..."

"The vic who was skinned?"

"Yeah." Sara nodded. "What happened to her?"

"She survived, Sara. Miraculously, she survived. I saw her just before I came to get you. She'll be released next week. She had to undergo severe skin grafts. Her parents came from Arkansas to take her home."

"Can I go see her?"

He arched an eyebrow, incredulous. "And since when do you ever ask my permission for anything?" he teased. She smiled and walked down the hallway with Grissom to the victim's room. Her parents were there, seated on a chair, staring at their daughter, who was going to be horribly disfigured for life.

"Are you guys her parents?" she asked.

"Yeah," Mrs. Marsh replied, standing to her feet. "I'm Alicia Marsh. This is John, her father." They all shook hands and introduced themselves.

"Gil Grissom. We met earlier."

"Sara Sidle. I just went through the same ordeal as your daughter. What's her name?"

"Jessica." Sara sat down next to Jessica, who was dozing.

Mr. Marsh gentlys hook his daughter. "Jess...Jess, honey, wake up. There's somebody here to see you."

Her eyes slowly opened and she saw Sara. Their eyes instantly clicked and that's when Sara knew that she recognized Sara. Their eyes welled up with tears – Jessica for seeing her savior, and Sara for realization that that could have been her in the bed with the extensive grafts, fighting for her life.

"I'm not sure if you remember me, but I'm Sara Sidle," she said gently. "I was there the night you were found..."

"Thank you."

"Excuse me?"

"The first woman..." Jessica trailed off and started to cry. "I thought she was going to help me... but she saw me...I cried for help and...she...she ran..."

Sara shot a glance at Grissom. "What?"

"Wallace was living here under the assumed identity of Stephen Winters," Grissom informed her, and the parents. "He and his wife ran the mortuary. His wife found Jessica and she...well, she left her."

"That's terrible," Sara exclaimed. Her eyes closed and she took a deep breath. "Please tell me that she's in custody."

"She's in custody," he replied and she opened her eyes with a smile.

"So when do you get to go home?" Sara inquired.

"Next Friday."

"Must be looking forward to it," Sara replied. Jessica nodded.

"Hospital food sucks." Jessica shook her head. "I still have to come back... I have to get skin grafts on my arms."

"I'm sorry to hear that," Sara replied. "You have such a long road ahead."

"When do you get released?" Jessica inquired.

"I just got released," Sara answered. "They had to make sure I was good and ready. But I'm telling you, after a week of not eating...the hospital food didn't look all that appealing either."

"I know," Jessica murmured. "The nurse laughed at me because when I woke up I asked for a pizza." Sara laughed. A pizza actually didn't sound too bad at that particular moment.

"I should get going. My colleagues are waiting for me at work." She stood up. "Have yourself a nice trip back to Arkansas, Jessica."

"Thank you, Sara."

Together, Grissom and Sara left the hospital room. "Feel better?" Grissom asked her.

"I didn't think she would survive," Sara replied, wiping some tears from her eyes. "Funny how some people can survive the most horrible things and still have a great outlook on life."

"Yeah," he replied as they walked towards the door. "Everybody is going to be happy to see you. We were all going nuts for that week you were gone."

"Really?" she inquired. Grissom nodded. "Even you?" she teased.

"Yeah, Sara," he replied after a long beat. "Even me." They walked out the doors of the hospital, into the parking lot, into the daylight.