Chapter 47

The sound of the heart monitor echoed across the room. A steady rhythm that had been beating in her ears from the moment the doctors finally allowed her to see him. At one point, she felt her own heart start to beat in time with his.

He was lying there, not moving. One half of his face covered with gauze, while the other supported multiple cuts and abrasions. Her own sported its own injuries, but nothing to what it could have been. What it should have been, if he hadn't pulled her out of the way. If he hadn't used his own body as a shield to the heat that flew over them.

Four days. It had been four days, and still there was no change.

Doctors and nurses came and went. The clatter of his file against the bed rang in her ears each time a staff member entered. The team had come to visit, though only a select few had actually come into the room. Not that she would have noticed in any case. The only person she cared about was lying still, the gentle rise and fall of his chest lifting his blanket

Catherine winced as she shifted her position, her bruised ribs objecting to the change. Lou just lay there, just as unconscious as he had been when the EMT's bundled him into the ambulance and took him away. She followed, right after. Sara blue lighting their way to Desert Palms.

She and Grissom were currently in the waiting room, catching up with the team. There was not much left to do with the case. Jimmy was dead. The explosives all accounted for. Lady Heather had been released and already vanished into the chaos that was Las Vegas. It was over. Catherine half expected her friends to disappear off home. They deserved too. Grissom and Sara had been through hell the last couple of days. They had earned a break. A respite from the case that had thrown their world upside down.

But they didn't. They hadn't left her side. Not for one moment. Sara had held her hand as the nurse treated her. As they sat in the hall. As they waited for something, anything, to tell them how Lou was truly doing. Grissom hovered to the side. Going on food and coffee runs, coordinating with the team. He even got Morgan to grab them all a change of clothing. Not once letting his wife out of his sight but giving them room. Space.

As much as she hated to admit it, Catherine needed them there. Needed their comfort. Since she had come back to Vegas, since that moment she and Lou had shared in her kitchen, Catherine knew that she couldn't let him go. Not again. She was still scared. Terrified. But if Grissom could take a chance, if Sara could risk another heartbreak, then surely, she could too.

Sara had told her, that Lou had not moved on. That he was still there, waiting for her. That all she needed to do was crook her little finger and he would come running. Now she wasn't sure if she would get the opportunity to see for herself.

Being back here, back home, had shown her just how much she missed it. She missed the excitement. The busyness. The chaos. She missed walking down the street and seeing her father's legacy. She missed being able to spend time with her daughter. She missed her colleagues. The lab.

She missed Lou.

Her boss called her, only a few days before the bombing. There was an opening at the Vegas office. A new forensic science division that worked in conjunction with WLVU and the Crime Lab. He wanted her to run it.

She hadn't told anybody. Not even Lindsey. Not sure, when she first arrived, if she would take it. All the reasons she left Vegas to begin with floated around her mind. The conspiracies, the demotion, the fractured trust that came from the Langston fall out. But now… She was older, wiser. The moment she touched down, it felt right. If she took this job, she'd be back home. Back with her daughter. Back with her friends. Back with…

Wake up, please.

"Hey," a voice called from the doorway, and Catherine look up to see Sara enter the room. Grissom hovering behind, watching through the glass as the door swung shut behind the tall brunette. Sara had a few bruises of her own, from the explosion. But other than that, the younger woman was unharmed.

"You know, he can come in," Catherine said with a laugh. "Rather than loiter in the hallway."

"I told him to wait outside," Sara said, smiling. "I understand how he feels, but I could use a break from his constant hovering." Sara looked down at Lou, her smile fading. "How is he?"

"No change," Catherine replied with a sigh.

"He's strong, Cath. He'll make it through this."

The two woman sat in silence for a while. Catherine's thumb running across the skin of Lou's uninjured hand. He will make it through this. He has too. Please, please don't leave me. Not when I'm finally ready. She knew it was a selfish wish, but Catherine couldn't help herself. She knew what she needed to do. Where she needed to be.

Here. It was here. With him.

Her grip tightened on his hand as she took a shuddering breath. Her eyes burning. A fist squeezed around her heart while she watched him. The man she was so afraid to love, but did anyway. Catherine willed any remaining strength she had left through her hand, into Lou. Giving him what she could to hold onto.

"When do you set sail?" Catherine asked, trying to focus her mind on anything other than the unconscious man before her.

"A few weeks," Sara replied. "Ecklie's asked if I wouldn't mind helping to break in the new supervisor."

"So, Russell is really going then?" It had all been kept so quiet. Sara was the only one who knew about it, until after the final explosion. Russell had confided in Catherine when he had come to visit them in the hospital. He was only staying for the same reasons he asked Sara too. Now there was no need. And he was moving on.

"Looks like it."

"And Ecklie wants you to break the new guy in?" Catherine asked, with a smile. "Bit harsh."

"Thanks, Cath," Sara replied, laughing. "I don't think they'll need much 'breaking in' though. I'll stay long enough to help them settle, then Griss and I will be off."

"Do you know who it is?" Catherine looked up and Sara gave her a half smile and nodded. "Good for him," Catherine said.

"There's no one better." Sara said, and Catherine could only agree. Nick had grown so much since he first started out. He's gone from a green, young CSI, to a seasoned criminalist, and natural leader.

"He deserves it," Catherine finally said. Out of the whole team, Catherine could only think of one other person who could do the job as well. But, since Sara had taken her name out of the running, Nick Stokes was the only other logical choice.

"So, what about you?" Sara asked. "Are you heading back to DC?" Catherine didn't miss the way her eyes flicked over to Lou. Understanding lurking in the depths. Like she already knew. Which, Catherine reasoned, she probably did. If anyone would understand, it would be Sara.

"Actually, I've been offered a job. Heading up a new forensic division at the Vegas office."

"Are you going to take it?"

Catherine looked down at Lou, a small smile lifting her lips. "Yeah," she said, softly. "My family's here. I've got my daughter, Lindsey. Besides, Vegas is in my blood."

"That's great, Catherine. Congratulations," Sara said. "I know of at least two people who would be happy to hear that." She grinned over to Catherine, the Sidle Smirk in full affect. Catherine laughed a little before turning her attention back to the man in the bed. Would he be?

Would he be happy she was returning? They've had a few moments since this whole thing started. Secret looks, lingering touches. That kiss in her kitchen. Yet Catherine couldn't get the look on his face out of her mind. That look he gave her when she left. She hurt him. Deeply. Sara had said that he was waiting, waiting for her. That it wasn't too late. But Catherine wasn't so sure.

Sara was watching her, watching the emotions cross her face as Catherine gazed down at the injured body of the man she loved, and reached out a hand. She squeezed Catherine's arm, and the older woman looked up.

"It's not too late, Cath," she said, softly. Catherine took a deep breath, desperately hoping her friend was right. "I can throw in some baseball analogy's if you like?" Catharine huffed out a chuckle.

"No, thank you," she said, ginning. "It's still a weird side of you."

"I know." Sara smiled and Catherine could feel something lift of her chest. Even if Lou turned her away, this was the right decision. The right place. Catherine looked up at the door and huffed out a laugh when she saw Grissom. He was walking back and forth across the door, phone to his ear, glancing up at them with each pass. Trying to be inconspicuous, but very obviously keeping an eye on his wife.

Sara turned at her laugh and shook her head. She raised an eyebrow to Catherine, and the FBI agent nodded.

"He's incorrigible," Sara said, her eyes lighting with amusement.

"But you wouldn't have him any other way," Catherine said.

"I supposed not." Sara waved to her husband and Grissom entered the room.

He instantly went to Sara's side. While he gave Catherine a warm, comforting smile, his focus was on the brunette now smiling up at him. Catherine's heart squeezed at the love she could so clearly see. Happy for the both of them. If anyone deserved their fairy tale ending, it was Sara Sidle and Gil Grissom.

Catherine adverted her eyes, giving the couple a moment of privacy, and they met the grey gaze of Lou Vartann. Tears built up faster than she thought possible. Her vision blurred and Catherine swallowed the sob that threatened to choak her. There was a slight pressure on her hand as Lou returned the grip she had been maintaining.

"Catherine," he whispered. "You're here?"

"Where else would I be?" she asked, her voice soft. Trembling with all the emotion she tried to keep in check. A tear escaped and slid down her check, but Catherine did nothing to hide it. She didn't care. Not anymore.

"Please, don't leave," he asked of her.

"Never," she promised. Catherine brought a hand to his head, brushing his hair back and cupping his cheek gently. Lou leant into her touch. Peace and joy settled over his face.