And So It Goes...

By: Manigault

Note: Thanks for everyones comments!

This chapter has something I've never written before (that I remember that is) and that's Grissom doing something that I've avoided in stories past. If you blink you'll miss it. LOL.

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Grissom held his breath as he waited for news of Sara's conditon while all the time wondering if he would still be standing if it were not for the solid presence of Warrick and Nick on either side of him as they practically held him up with their nearness. He was aware of Catherine standing close to Warrick and Greg and Jim hovering over his shoulder as they all stared the doctor down with their intense gazes.

Not intimidated by the motley appearing crew, Dr. Ike Stephens smiled faintly and attempted to make his answers short and to the point. "She should live." Waiting for the expectant sigh of relief he continued on when it was apparent that more definitive details were needed by this patients "family".

"Miss Sidle has had some damage to her spleen and liver which we prepared during surgery. Surprisingly there are no broken bones considering the extent of her internal injuries." He frowned and gave the man standing directly in front of him a puzzled look as he stated dryly. "I was told she was in a car accident? The injuries she sustained are more comparable to being kicked or beaten by someone while she's in a prone position."

A chorus of expletives erupted from the group and one or two threats were directed towards that lunatic at the station who would dare beat their friend while she was most likely unconscious.

"She had to be unconsconscious," Greg mumbled beneath his breath. "That's the only way that psycho could have taken her without a fight."

Waiting for the cacophony of protests to ease, Dr. Stephens addressed the only quiet one in the group, the one that appeared, in his eyes, to be the most distraught by the condition of the victim if the fact that he appeared as if he'd collapse at any given second was accurate.

"She's in recovery now and we'll be moving her to the intensive care unit soon. In a few hours we'll allow two visitors at a time in to see her until she's stable enough to move to a regular room." He hesitated as if he wanted to say something else, but held back and waited for any questions.

"A few hours?" Grissom repeated the doctors words even as he moved away from his friends to ease himself onto a chair. Numbness was setting in his mind and he wasn't sure if he'd last that long before seeing her with his own eyes. The swelling of emotions pounding in his head and within his chest were threatening to erupt in some manner and he didn't want to have a complete melt down in front of everyone. He needed to be alone. He needed to see Sara.

Thanking the doctor for his information Catherine walked over to ease herself into a chair beside Grissom. Watchful of the fact that he was about to fall apart she chose to not speak to him and keep anyone else from approaching him as he leaned foward and squeezed his eyes tightly shut.

Taking a hint from Catherine's expression the team dispersed to go in search of coffee and something solid to eat. It was understood without question that Grissom would be the first one in to see Sara and with any luck they would each get in to see her as she recovered.

Time crept by as Grissom waited for someone to inform him that she'd been moved to intensive care and could receive visitors. He knew from experience that he should go to the waiting room but the thought of his legs giving out on him kept him from moving.

Sara's okay. Sara's alive. She is alive. These reassurances kept going through his mind over and over as he swallowed back the emotions. He was vaguely aware of a hand on his arm and registered a familiar voice, Catherine, telling him that he could see her now.

Opening his eyes, he blinked several times in a rapid fashion as white flashes distorted his vision. Swiveling his head around, he focused on Catherine's face and asked her to repeat what she'd just said.

"You can see Sara now, Gil. Warrick just called me and told me that two people can go back and see her and I told them we would be on the way up and that I thought if best if you are the first one in to see her and then the rest of us can take turns if that's okay. You ready?"

With a nod, Grissom stood up and was surprised that his legs didn't betray him. Shaking off the feeling that there was something he'd forgotten to ask the doctor, he begain walking briskly to the elevator that would lead him to the second floor, and then to Sara.

Moving past the waiting room where the crew had settled in with their food and beverages Grissom found his way to the nurses station where he eagerly asked to see Sara Sidle and was given the room number with a cryptic statement that Dr. Stephens was waiting to speak with him.

A new fear gripped his mind as he made his way to room four and saw Sara lying in bed with lines running from her arm up to an IV pole holding a bag of fluids. Dr. Stephens was standing on one side of the bed and on the opposite side a nurse was checking vital signs.

Catching sight of Grissom as he entered the room, the nurse smiled and introduced herself before leaving so that Grissom could move in and stand beside the bed. Clearing his throat, Dr. Stephens tried to draw the man's attention away from the patient so he could ask him a direct question that would determine any other information he could give.

"Dr. Grissom, isn't it?"

Grissom tore his gaze away from Sara to acknowledge Dr. Stephens before looking back down and reaching out to push a strand of Sara's hair behind her ear.

"Tell me this isn't about any problem with her prognosis." Grissom finally managed to utter the words as he waited for Stephens to fill him in why he needed to speak with him.

"Indirectly, it could be."

This statement captured Grissom's attention and his head jerked back up to give the doctor a wary look. "What is it?"

"What is your relationship with Miss Sidle?"

Narrowing his eyes, Grissom scowled at the man before giving him a biting response.

"We're lovers, Dr. Stephens. Is that what you're asking me?"

Not deterred by the tension he'd generated by his questioning, Dr. Stephens made a decision to go a bit further.

"Are you aware of her, hmmm, of the fact that she's expecting?" He hoped he wasn't stepping out of line with this information.

Grissom appeared baffled at first and then understanding lit his eyes before something like guilt washed over him. He'd forgotten. His concern had been completely focused on Sara; finding her and making sure she was okay. He'd forgotten about the life inside of her and how this situation would threaten the baby.

"I didn't think about the baby." He admitted as the guilt crept into his voice. "Is it..."

Dr. Stephens nodded. "The fetus is holding it's own, but considering the situation the next forty eight hours should prove crucial. We'll monitor them both, but I thought that you should know that as we speak the baby is alive and doing as well as could be expected." Watching the emotions play over the man's face, Dr. Stephens gave him an encouraging smile and told him that he'd clear it with the nurses to allow him to stay in the room for as long as he would like.

Thanking him, Grissom waited until he'd left to pull a chair up beside Sara's bed and reach beneath the covers for her hand. His eyes fastened on her belly and he wondered at the fact that he'd not remembered the fact that Sara was pregnant and the baby was in as much danger as she was. What did that say for him as a prospective parent? What did it say that his concern was still focused on Sara's recovery and the idea of a child growing inside her was almost unfathomable.

With the stress of the entire situation catching up to him, Grissom bent forward and lay his forehead on the hand he clutched like a life line, as silent sobs racked his body.

TBC

Okay. I believe this is the first time I've let Grissom sob. It's also the first time it felt right to me.