Title- Everything's Changed
Author- pepsicolagurl
Rating- R for language and violence
Notes- Same disclaimer as before. This is the last regular chapter, to be followed by the epilogue. Enjoy.
Chapter Twelve
They watched helplessly as the unconscious teenager was loaded into the back of the ambulance. Everyone had seen her bend her head down and bite the man as hard as she could to get away. One of the police officers had just been getting ready to shout at her to just slip out of his arm and hit the ground, but they didn't have the time. His hold hadn't been that tight on her, they could see that from where they were standing, but she decided to do it her own way.
The dull thud that had sounded from the porch had been heard by everyone around as she had hit the ground, only seconds before the three officers that had come in through the back of the house had started to shoot. One of the officers had been hit in the chest, although he had, thankfully, been wearing a bullet proof vest.
And just like Catherine had told Sara, it went in shifts. First, the police went up to make sure that he was disarmed, but it turned out that one of the bullets, the second one of many, had killed him. The paramedics were motioned to after that, and they hurried to get Anastasia into the ambulance. Once it had taken off, the siren screaming and lights flashing, everyone stood around for a moment, unsure of what to do.
That was, until Sara reached over and grabbed a set of keys out of Warrick's hand. "We're going to the hospital. I know where they're taking her," she said shortly, heading over to the vehicle that he had brought.
Grissom looked towards her, shaking his head. "You're not driving," he said, even as he was walking over to the passenger side.
She stopped and looked at him for a long moment. "Shut up and get in the damned thing so that we can go to the hospital, would you?" she said sharply, opening the driver's door and climbing in. He followed dutifully, as she turned on the engine, the lights in the grill still flashing. She took off before anyone could say anything, following the same direction that the ambulance had taken. "She's fine, she just hit her head," she added as she turned a corner, slowing down only enough to make it safely before she stepped on the gas again.
"I know," he said quietly. "He didn't...God, I'm still shaking," he whispered, looking down at his hands. "I don't think she's really hurt."
"Her ankle, that cut, and a few bruises. That's all," Sara said with a nod, licking her dry lips. "We're lucky that they figured it out when they did. A few minutes later, and..."
"We don't know that for sure," he said, before looking over at her. "You missed the turn. You were supposed to turn over there."
She shrugged. "I'm taking a short cut," she told him as she turned the wheel into an lot that was supposed to turn into a new hotel. She sped past the few people around, the tires kicking up clouds of dust, before she went through the other opening and back onto the main street. "They won't let us see her right away, you know that, right? They have to look her over and get her ankle looked at before we'll be allowed to go in there."
He nodded. "I know, Sara," he said, just before she came to a screeching halt outside of the emergency room.
"Go on in. They'll need some information, and I have to find a parking space so that Nick doesn't kill me when he finds out that I had his truck impounded. Go," she added when he just sat there. He finally opened the door and jogged around the back to the entrance as Sara moved to the visitor's parking lot, looking for a space big enough. She finally found one and shut off the engine, climbing out as she ran towards the doors that Grissom had gone through, seeing him fill in the usual forms. "She's allergic to penicillin," she said shortly as she sat down beside him, taking a deep breath.
"I know," he returned in the same tone. "I do know her medical history, thank you." He filled in the appropriate areas and went to hand the forms back, as she leaned her head against the wall and closed her eyes. It was going to be a long wait for them.
**********
"Ow," Anastasia said, as they started wrapping up her ankle with an Ace bandage. She had been right when she thought that it had been sprained, not broken.
The doctor looked up from what he was doing and smiled at her. "Good morning...Anastasia, right?" he asked. She nodded her head and immediately regretted the movement. "As soon as we finish with this, I'm going to get your father and your sister."
"My...yeah, sure," she said, understanding what he was saying after a moment. Sara was in the waiting room, as well. "My ankle's not broken?"
He shook his head and finished wrapping the bandage around it, before fastening it tightly. "You hit your head, but you don't have a concussion. You were knocked unconscious, and you probably have a bit of a headache."
"That would explain the pain and the black dots again." She caught him look and smiled weakly. "This is the second time today that I've been unconscious."
He nodded and got off of the stool he had been sitting on. "There's a bandage on the side of your face, because you had a bit of a scratch there. You didn't need any stitches, but you've got a few bruises. You'll be pretty sore for a few days, but a few aspirin should help that."
Anastasia winced and sat up, trying to ignore the shooting pains in her head. "All right. Could I see my dad now, please?" she asked, knowing that he could answer all the questions she had about what had happened. The doctor nodded again and promised that her father would be there in a moment, before leaving her alone. As soon as he had left, she looked around to see that she was in the emergency room, the bed surrounded by a cheap curtain. She sighed as she listened to all of the noise around her, which only made her head pound a little harder.
She was about to lean back against the pillow and close her eyes, before the curtain was pushed aside. Immediately, her eyes filled with tears as Grissom sat down beside her on the bed. She leaned forward and wrapped her arms around his neck, sniffling as her tears started to fall. There was a moment that she thought that he was just going to sit there and let her cry on him without doing anything, but she felt him hold onto her.
The other side of the bed moved, as Sara sat down and reached out her hand, running down the length of her hair, like she used to when Anastasia was a little girl and wouldn't go to sleep at night. The teenager was literally shaking as she pulled away and wiped her tears away, sniffling one more time. "What happened? I...I don't remember."
"You bit him," Sara said, amusement in her voice. "And you bit him pretty hard. Nice move, Ana," she added.
Anastasia laughed lightly as she tucked her hair behind her ears. "Was he taken to jail?"
The two adults looked at each other before Grissom shook his head. "No, they didn't have to. One of the officers shot him and...there wasn't a chance."
"So, he's dead?" she asked, before getting two nods. "I don't feel happy about it, you know. I don't...I don't even care. I just want to go home. They're going to release me, aren't they?"
"They're just getting a set of crutches for you, so that you don't put any weight on your ankle, but they're releasing you in a little while. There's no reason for you to stay in here. You weren't seriously hurt," Sara explained. "Your place has already been cleaned up."
She nodded before looking over at her father. "By the way, I'm sorry about breaking the coffee table. If he hadn't have ducked, top of it wouldn't have shattered. I wish he hadn't have ducked. I would have gotten away then. But the bastard ducked." She looked around again, before staring at him again. "I just want an aspirin and some sleep. How long are they going to take?"
"They shouldn't be much longer," he said, looking down at her bare arms at the bruises that marred her skin. "We'll take you home as soon as we can, don't worry."
"Home? Does that mean I'm staying?" she asked softly.
He shrugged as Sara reached forward to brush back a piece of hair that fell in her face. "If you want to. It's your decision this time. You can stay here, and I'll enroll you in one of the local high schools, or you can go back to Orlando, to your old school."
Anastasia nodded again as the doctor came back with a pair of crutches for her and some last minute instructions. "I'd rather stay, if that's all right. I don't remember what it's like to call a place 'home'," she added, the last part so quiet that no one heard it but her.
**********
"I suppose she's not too worried about the aspirin," Grissom said, looking into the seat behind his, where they had stretched Anastasia out and buckled her in. About five minutes away from the hospital, she had fallen asleep and hadn't woken up since. He watched her carefully to make sure that she was still breathing before reaching over to release his own seat belt.
Sara looked back as well. "I guess not," she said quietly so that she wouldn't wake her, although it would take a lot. "Catherine told me that someone came by to replace the glass in her windows this morning, but it would probably be easier for her to be downstairs."
He shook his head as he continued to watch his daughter. "I can't put her down there. You heard what she said, that's where he knocked her unconscious. He was never in her room, that's the one place that she'll feel safe." She nodded along with that as they got out of the vehicle. Grissom opened up the back door and carefully unsnapped her belt, letting it go back where it belonged before reaching for her and carrying her out of there, one arm under her knees, the other around her back. He followed Sara up the stairs before stopping and frowning. "You'll have to get my keys out."
"Where are they?" she asked, before shaking her head with a chuckle. "I'll try not to enjoy myself," she added dryly before reaching into his pants pocket and pulling out the keys, digging through them. "Which one?" He motioned to the right one and she unlocked the door, letting him go in first.
Once she stepped in, she shook her head with a smirk, thinking about what she had just done before leaving the keys down on the table by the door and watching as he carried her upstairs carefully. She put down the other set of keys and kicked off her shoes, before her attention was pulled over to a piece of paper on the table. She looked at it with a grin. Grissom had told her that he had left a phone number for Anastasia to call if she couldn't get him on the cell phone, but he didn't say that he had written down almost every number that he knew. She couldn't help but laugh as she walked into the living room, looking around.
Everything was where she had left it after she had finished cleaning up the living room earlier that morning, after they had kicked her out of the building. It hadn't taken long for her to clean up the broken glass that used to be the top of the coffee table, and the frame was where she had left it, pushed against the wall. All of the little objects that Anastasia had thrown were back where they belonged, or where she thought they belonged. Sara climbed onto the couch and looked over the back of it to see if she had been able to get the stain of the blood out of the white carpet. She could still smell the cleaner and the bleach that she had used, but you couldn't tell that blood had been there before. She had been lucky enough to clean it up before the stain had set in.
Sighing, she moved herself around on the couch until she was laying on it, facing the sliding glass door. The only thing that was noticeable about the struggle that had taken place in there was the crack in the glass. It hadn't been replaced yet, but she knew it would be eventually. A wince appeared on her face as she stretched her back, hearing it crack twice, before she closed her eyes and waited for Grissom to come back downstairs.
Unfortunately, she wasn't awake for that. When he came down the stairs, he went to say something to her, before looking towards the couch and seeing the top of her head. He smiled slightly before going over there and taking the blanket off of the top of the couch, where she had left it there, and covered her up carefully, looking around the living room, much like she had done, surprised that there was no broken glass or bloodstain on the carpet. His eyes went back towards the sleeping woman before he smiled again, reminding himself to thank her before he went outside to get Anastasia's crutches for when she woke up, even though he knew it wouldn't be until morning.
Author- pepsicolagurl
Rating- R for language and violence
Notes- Same disclaimer as before. This is the last regular chapter, to be followed by the epilogue. Enjoy.
Chapter Twelve
They watched helplessly as the unconscious teenager was loaded into the back of the ambulance. Everyone had seen her bend her head down and bite the man as hard as she could to get away. One of the police officers had just been getting ready to shout at her to just slip out of his arm and hit the ground, but they didn't have the time. His hold hadn't been that tight on her, they could see that from where they were standing, but she decided to do it her own way.
The dull thud that had sounded from the porch had been heard by everyone around as she had hit the ground, only seconds before the three officers that had come in through the back of the house had started to shoot. One of the officers had been hit in the chest, although he had, thankfully, been wearing a bullet proof vest.
And just like Catherine had told Sara, it went in shifts. First, the police went up to make sure that he was disarmed, but it turned out that one of the bullets, the second one of many, had killed him. The paramedics were motioned to after that, and they hurried to get Anastasia into the ambulance. Once it had taken off, the siren screaming and lights flashing, everyone stood around for a moment, unsure of what to do.
That was, until Sara reached over and grabbed a set of keys out of Warrick's hand. "We're going to the hospital. I know where they're taking her," she said shortly, heading over to the vehicle that he had brought.
Grissom looked towards her, shaking his head. "You're not driving," he said, even as he was walking over to the passenger side.
She stopped and looked at him for a long moment. "Shut up and get in the damned thing so that we can go to the hospital, would you?" she said sharply, opening the driver's door and climbing in. He followed dutifully, as she turned on the engine, the lights in the grill still flashing. She took off before anyone could say anything, following the same direction that the ambulance had taken. "She's fine, she just hit her head," she added as she turned a corner, slowing down only enough to make it safely before she stepped on the gas again.
"I know," he said quietly. "He didn't...God, I'm still shaking," he whispered, looking down at his hands. "I don't think she's really hurt."
"Her ankle, that cut, and a few bruises. That's all," Sara said with a nod, licking her dry lips. "We're lucky that they figured it out when they did. A few minutes later, and..."
"We don't know that for sure," he said, before looking over at her. "You missed the turn. You were supposed to turn over there."
She shrugged. "I'm taking a short cut," she told him as she turned the wheel into an lot that was supposed to turn into a new hotel. She sped past the few people around, the tires kicking up clouds of dust, before she went through the other opening and back onto the main street. "They won't let us see her right away, you know that, right? They have to look her over and get her ankle looked at before we'll be allowed to go in there."
He nodded. "I know, Sara," he said, just before she came to a screeching halt outside of the emergency room.
"Go on in. They'll need some information, and I have to find a parking space so that Nick doesn't kill me when he finds out that I had his truck impounded. Go," she added when he just sat there. He finally opened the door and jogged around the back to the entrance as Sara moved to the visitor's parking lot, looking for a space big enough. She finally found one and shut off the engine, climbing out as she ran towards the doors that Grissom had gone through, seeing him fill in the usual forms. "She's allergic to penicillin," she said shortly as she sat down beside him, taking a deep breath.
"I know," he returned in the same tone. "I do know her medical history, thank you." He filled in the appropriate areas and went to hand the forms back, as she leaned her head against the wall and closed her eyes. It was going to be a long wait for them.
**********
"Ow," Anastasia said, as they started wrapping up her ankle with an Ace bandage. She had been right when she thought that it had been sprained, not broken.
The doctor looked up from what he was doing and smiled at her. "Good morning...Anastasia, right?" he asked. She nodded her head and immediately regretted the movement. "As soon as we finish with this, I'm going to get your father and your sister."
"My...yeah, sure," she said, understanding what he was saying after a moment. Sara was in the waiting room, as well. "My ankle's not broken?"
He shook his head and finished wrapping the bandage around it, before fastening it tightly. "You hit your head, but you don't have a concussion. You were knocked unconscious, and you probably have a bit of a headache."
"That would explain the pain and the black dots again." She caught him look and smiled weakly. "This is the second time today that I've been unconscious."
He nodded and got off of the stool he had been sitting on. "There's a bandage on the side of your face, because you had a bit of a scratch there. You didn't need any stitches, but you've got a few bruises. You'll be pretty sore for a few days, but a few aspirin should help that."
Anastasia winced and sat up, trying to ignore the shooting pains in her head. "All right. Could I see my dad now, please?" she asked, knowing that he could answer all the questions she had about what had happened. The doctor nodded again and promised that her father would be there in a moment, before leaving her alone. As soon as he had left, she looked around to see that she was in the emergency room, the bed surrounded by a cheap curtain. She sighed as she listened to all of the noise around her, which only made her head pound a little harder.
She was about to lean back against the pillow and close her eyes, before the curtain was pushed aside. Immediately, her eyes filled with tears as Grissom sat down beside her on the bed. She leaned forward and wrapped her arms around his neck, sniffling as her tears started to fall. There was a moment that she thought that he was just going to sit there and let her cry on him without doing anything, but she felt him hold onto her.
The other side of the bed moved, as Sara sat down and reached out her hand, running down the length of her hair, like she used to when Anastasia was a little girl and wouldn't go to sleep at night. The teenager was literally shaking as she pulled away and wiped her tears away, sniffling one more time. "What happened? I...I don't remember."
"You bit him," Sara said, amusement in her voice. "And you bit him pretty hard. Nice move, Ana," she added.
Anastasia laughed lightly as she tucked her hair behind her ears. "Was he taken to jail?"
The two adults looked at each other before Grissom shook his head. "No, they didn't have to. One of the officers shot him and...there wasn't a chance."
"So, he's dead?" she asked, before getting two nods. "I don't feel happy about it, you know. I don't...I don't even care. I just want to go home. They're going to release me, aren't they?"
"They're just getting a set of crutches for you, so that you don't put any weight on your ankle, but they're releasing you in a little while. There's no reason for you to stay in here. You weren't seriously hurt," Sara explained. "Your place has already been cleaned up."
She nodded before looking over at her father. "By the way, I'm sorry about breaking the coffee table. If he hadn't have ducked, top of it wouldn't have shattered. I wish he hadn't have ducked. I would have gotten away then. But the bastard ducked." She looked around again, before staring at him again. "I just want an aspirin and some sleep. How long are they going to take?"
"They shouldn't be much longer," he said, looking down at her bare arms at the bruises that marred her skin. "We'll take you home as soon as we can, don't worry."
"Home? Does that mean I'm staying?" she asked softly.
He shrugged as Sara reached forward to brush back a piece of hair that fell in her face. "If you want to. It's your decision this time. You can stay here, and I'll enroll you in one of the local high schools, or you can go back to Orlando, to your old school."
Anastasia nodded again as the doctor came back with a pair of crutches for her and some last minute instructions. "I'd rather stay, if that's all right. I don't remember what it's like to call a place 'home'," she added, the last part so quiet that no one heard it but her.
**********
"I suppose she's not too worried about the aspirin," Grissom said, looking into the seat behind his, where they had stretched Anastasia out and buckled her in. About five minutes away from the hospital, she had fallen asleep and hadn't woken up since. He watched her carefully to make sure that she was still breathing before reaching over to release his own seat belt.
Sara looked back as well. "I guess not," she said quietly so that she wouldn't wake her, although it would take a lot. "Catherine told me that someone came by to replace the glass in her windows this morning, but it would probably be easier for her to be downstairs."
He shook his head as he continued to watch his daughter. "I can't put her down there. You heard what she said, that's where he knocked her unconscious. He was never in her room, that's the one place that she'll feel safe." She nodded along with that as they got out of the vehicle. Grissom opened up the back door and carefully unsnapped her belt, letting it go back where it belonged before reaching for her and carrying her out of there, one arm under her knees, the other around her back. He followed Sara up the stairs before stopping and frowning. "You'll have to get my keys out."
"Where are they?" she asked, before shaking her head with a chuckle. "I'll try not to enjoy myself," she added dryly before reaching into his pants pocket and pulling out the keys, digging through them. "Which one?" He motioned to the right one and she unlocked the door, letting him go in first.
Once she stepped in, she shook her head with a smirk, thinking about what she had just done before leaving the keys down on the table by the door and watching as he carried her upstairs carefully. She put down the other set of keys and kicked off her shoes, before her attention was pulled over to a piece of paper on the table. She looked at it with a grin. Grissom had told her that he had left a phone number for Anastasia to call if she couldn't get him on the cell phone, but he didn't say that he had written down almost every number that he knew. She couldn't help but laugh as she walked into the living room, looking around.
Everything was where she had left it after she had finished cleaning up the living room earlier that morning, after they had kicked her out of the building. It hadn't taken long for her to clean up the broken glass that used to be the top of the coffee table, and the frame was where she had left it, pushed against the wall. All of the little objects that Anastasia had thrown were back where they belonged, or where she thought they belonged. Sara climbed onto the couch and looked over the back of it to see if she had been able to get the stain of the blood out of the white carpet. She could still smell the cleaner and the bleach that she had used, but you couldn't tell that blood had been there before. She had been lucky enough to clean it up before the stain had set in.
Sighing, she moved herself around on the couch until she was laying on it, facing the sliding glass door. The only thing that was noticeable about the struggle that had taken place in there was the crack in the glass. It hadn't been replaced yet, but she knew it would be eventually. A wince appeared on her face as she stretched her back, hearing it crack twice, before she closed her eyes and waited for Grissom to come back downstairs.
Unfortunately, she wasn't awake for that. When he came down the stairs, he went to say something to her, before looking towards the couch and seeing the top of her head. He smiled slightly before going over there and taking the blanket off of the top of the couch, where she had left it there, and covered her up carefully, looking around the living room, much like she had done, surprised that there was no broken glass or bloodstain on the carpet. His eyes went back towards the sleeping woman before he smiled again, reminding himself to thank her before he went outside to get Anastasia's crutches for when she woke up, even though he knew it wouldn't be until morning.