In House
Sara Sidle ran into the hospital waiting room, still dressed in the shorts and tank top she'd changed into after work, her hair a brown tangled mass in a ponytail. Nick Stokes was already there as were Warrick Brown and Gil Grissom. "Cath?" She said breathlessly.
"She won't let anyone near her." Nick told her.
"The dumb asses gave her a male doctor. A MALE DOCTOR. And now they want to know why she won't let them collect a kit." Warrick said angrily.
She looked at Grissom, who looked silent, almost like he didn't understand what was happening. "Okay, doesn't she have a sister or someone? Lindsey's not with Ed, is she?"
Grissom finally spoke. "Lindsey's with Sam. He'll take care of her until Catherine can." Sam Braum wasn't exactly family, but he was the closest thing to it in Vegas.
"I'll call her sister." Nick volunteered.
"I'll see if I can get her to let me run a kit." It wasn't like Catherine to refuse to give evidence, but from what little Nick had told her, Sara wasn't surprised. She cast a look at Warrick and he nodded that he would take care of Grissom. He didn't seem to be in shock, just out of it, not that Sara was surprised about that either. None of the others were sure what connection Catherine had to Grissom, but they seemed to be best friends, or as close as Grissom got to having a best friend.
Sara moved into the hospital room and saw Catherine Willows sitting on the examination table, scratched and bruised. "Cath." She tried to keep her voice steady, but it hurt seeing her friend hurt. After all the time Sara had lived in Vegas, it had just dawned on her that night that Catherine was her friend.
"Sara." Catherine breathed. "Grissom?"
"He's outside with Warrick. Nick's calling your sister and Lindsey's with Sam. Everyone's all right…everyone but you."
"Is he mad?"
"Grissom?" Sara frowned. "No, he's not mad. Why would he be mad?'
"The kit."
"No, he's not mad about that." Sara paused. "But you know the odds of us catching the guy that hurt you. We might be able to do it without the kit, but someone else would get hurt. I know you and I know you don't want that."
Catherine shook her head. "No. I don't want that."
"Do you want me to get you a female nurse or doctor?"
Catherine shook her head again. "You can do it."
Sara nodded slightly and began to do the steps of the procedure, repeating them out loud for both her and Catherine's benefit. Somewhere along the way, Catherine began repeating them as well. "There we go." Sara said, putting the last piece of evidence away. "I'm gonna get this to the lab."
"Sara…the boys can come in if they want." Sara knew that, at the moment, it was a huge sacrifice for Catherine and she nodded.
"I'll tell them that." She tried to give Catherine a reassuring smiled before she left the room. "She says you can go in now." She told the three male CSIs. Nick and Warrick went inside the room, but Grissom stood where he was. "You can go in now."
Grissom shook his head. "I…I think I'll ride with you back to the lab."
She wanted to argue, but knew better and took a different approach. "You don't think I can handle it?"
"I didn't say that."
"Then why don't you stay with Catherine? She could use some comforting right now. She's scared." He was too; it was obvious to her.
He shook his head. "I…I don't think that's a very good idea. I'll just go back to the lab with you." Not knowing what other tactics to use, Sara simply nodded and they silently walked back to her SUV.
"Cath?" Nick spoke first.
"Hey, Nicky." Catherine said quietly.
"Lindsey's with Sam. We're gonna help him take care of her. And your sister said to call her if you need her to come down and stay with you for awhile."
She shook her head. "I'll be fine. I have to stay here for a few more hours, but then I can go home. I don't think I'm going to make it to the lab for shift though."
Nick nodded. "We've got it under control. Don't worry, okay?"
She nodded slightly. "Hey, Warrick."
"Hey, Cath." She hugged him slightly and he was careful of her bruised ribs and other injuries. "Grissom went to make sure Sara took care of the evidence. He should be back though."
Catherine nodded, although she doubted it. This was one of the times that Grissom had trouble showing his people what he felt, so he ran to the comfort and safety of his lab, like a child to her security blanket. "Yeah, I'm sure he will be."
