Chapter 4: Visiting
Grissom's next visit to Sara was one which she was barely awake. He asked about calling her parents but Sara thought it wise to leave them out of the loop until she was released. She didn't want to worry them, which they had a tendency to do. After their brief conversation Sara slept for most of the day and the next. He came back with the gang but she didn't even move. Grissom knew that this had to be the first time Sara got her rest since the start of her last case. He wasn't disappointed that he couldn't speak to her, because she needed her rest to heal. The cuts on her wrist bled occasionally and the nurse had to change bandages but other than that she was doing fine. She was on her road to recovery and it looked like she would be released by the next day.
The second time the whole gang showed up Sara was awake and willing to see them. They all needed to speak to her. Her silent sleeping figure was too eerie. It was like she may never wake up.
"Hey guys." She said happily as everyone filed into the small room.
"Well look who finally decided to wake up." Nick kissed her on the cheek. "How ya feel'?"
"Better now that you're here."
"I am touched."
"Don't be, it's the medication talking." Everyone shared a good laugh. They were all pleased to see Sara back to her sarcastic self.
Warrick came to stand by the bed. "How's the food in this joint?"
"I think they figured if they give pain medication before lunch and dinner then more patients will eat. I wouldn't touch this junk without under the influence of drugs."
"Can't wait to go home Sara?" Catherine asked lightly and was fully aware of the answer. Sara's eye roll was proof of that.
Grissom remained quiet while everyone visited with Sara. He didn't want to attract attention and he didn't mind. This was the best he had seen her. She was in a light mood considering the circumstances. He knew that she was affected by Jarod Morse's attack. A thing like this would affect anyone in a negative way. Sara said her good-byes to everyone including Grissom. He agreed that he would be back after shift to sit with her before the doctor threw him out again.
Sara spent most of the day flipping through the cable channels. She really felt good enough to go home today but the doctor insisted that she stay one more day. There were one hundred channels yet there was nothing on. That's why Sara never watched television. The nurses came and went to check on her but they didn't talk, so Sara was left mostly to her thoughts.
Neither one mentioned the fight they had. It was their first major fight as a couple and it all stemmed from his overprotection of her. Both parties were equally sorry but nothing was said. Grissom seemed okay now but she could still see he was, not angry with her, but unsettled. She was the same way. She wanted to apologize for being stubborn and closed off, but never did.
She didn't want to admit it but Sara was greatly affected by her attack by Jarod Morse. She was more cautious towards people, even Grissom. She didn't want to push him out but she didn't feel right yet. She was afraid that another case would be her last. Going back to work was going to be harder than she thought. But Sara was strong and she refused to let Jarod Morse ruin everything she loved. Besides as long as she had Grissom she was going to be okay. Things would get better. They always did.
Just as the peaceful thought entered her head, Conrad Ecklie walked into her hospital room. "How are you Miss Sidle?"
She raised an eyebrow. "Fine I guess."
Ecklie jumped right to the point. "Good. I think you know why I am here."
"Am I in some kind of trouble?" Sara straightened herself up which hurt her side tremendously but she didn't let Ecklie know that. "Because I assure you that if I could I would erase it."
He cocked his head to the side. "Did you do something wrong to want to erase it?"
Sara realized what he was asking. "No I just don't prefer getting the crap beat out of me."
He detected the animosity in her voice. "Sorry I don't mean to upset you."
"Yeah well it wasn't exactly the best day of my life." She looked away. This was bothering her more than she thought. She took a deep breath to calm her nerves.
"Well I want you to walk me through what happened so we can put this behind us." He said interrupting her thoughts.
"Fine." She knew it was procedure and the sooner she got it over with, the sooner he could leave her alone. She turned the television off.
Ecklie pulled up the chair Grissom sat in. He was already skating on thin ice by taking Grissom's chair. "Just tell me what happened." He produced a pen and paper and patiently waited for her to speak.
Sara explained what happened as best she could. It all went very fast despite how slow it seemed. Ecklie was scratching down several notes on his paper as she told her version of what happened.
"That's it. Grissom showed up and shot him three times." She finished.
He flipped back to his first page to ask his questions. It all seemed believable and didn't see any real complications but he had to work this case like any other, with a skeptical eye. "Did he warn Jarod Morse that he would shoot if he did not back away?"
Sara inhaled deeply. The questioning was taking its toll on her more so than she thought it would. "Yes. Four times I think, maybe more."
"Was your wrist bleeding at the time he walked in?"
"Yes."
"Why didn't he fire then? Why did it take four times of warning to shoot Jarod Morse?"
"You know as a CSI we are trained to not get trigger happy. He did the right thing by waiting."
"But you were bleeding." He said plainly.
"And Jarod had a knife trained on my body. I don't believe for one second that Grissom wanted to risk my life by panicking." Anger started to take hold on her. Maybe it was the sleepiness, but she wasn't happy either way.
"You were fully aware what was going on? You were losing a lot of blood, are you sure?"
"My mind was foggy but yes I was aware that I had an old case that came back to kill me. And I was fully aware that Grissom was there to save me." Her words were becoming harsher. She was growing tired of Ecklie's games. It was a clean case. Old case file attacks CSI at crime scene; other CSI finds her just in time to save her life. It was all that simple.
"Do you remember Jarod Morse's case file?"
"After he refreshed my memory."
He licked his lips and Sara cringed. "So initially you didn't recognize him?"
"No I thought he was the burglar for the case I was working."
"Any reason why he came after you?"
What the heck kind of question was that?! "I didn't actually ask him between blows, but I think it had something to do with revenge for locking him up."
He smiled at her but realized she wasn't joking. He quickly moved on without commenting on her statement. "Mr. Grissom just showed up, warned Morse at least four times, and then fired. How many shots?"
"I already told you that it was three." Sara knew what Ecklie was doing. He was trying to find holes in her version of the story. She didn't know why but he was making this harder than need be. She wondered if she was this big of a pain with Warrick. She hoped not. She really grew to love the guy.
He jotted something down then rose from his seat; Grissom's seat. "I think we are done." Sara grasped the remote and turned the television back on without a word. "Miss Sidle I hope your wrist feels better."
"Me too."
Ecklie noticed the sadness in her voice. The sooner he got this over he could leave it all behind. He exited without another word. It shouldn't have happened in the first place.
~ * ~
Grissom slipped into Sara's room as quietly as possible. Visiting hours were over and he got one of the nurses to sneak him in for a couple hours. The nurse saw the connection he had with Sara and could not deny him. It had something to do with his eyes.
Sara was half asleep when he came in. The movement startled her but once she saw it was Grissom she had to smile. "I've been waiting for you."
"You shouldn't have. You need your rest."
"Ah I'm not tired." She waved a hand to dismiss the obvious. Grissom smiled at her. She would deny that she was tired after a decathlon. Then his smile disappeared, she didn't know when to stop. It was like she didn't have brakes. He didn't want to talk about her work habits just yet because he was happy to have her safe. It did bother him though. It bothered him before they became a couple. He was really afraid of burnout but Sara said she was fine. She always said she was fine.
"What's wrong?" She asked watching his attitude change.
He pulled up his chair. "Nothing." He didn't want to talk about it, not now anyway.
"Anything happen today with your case?" She asked.
"No. Catherine and I hit a road block. What did you do today? Did you watch anything good on TV?"
"Nope. I did get a visitor today though."
He perked up. "Really? Who?"
"Ecklie."
Grissom raised an eyebrow. "Wastes no time."
"I know."
"What did he want?"
"He needed a statement about what happened."
Grissom looked at her. "He could have waited until you were released. It's only one more day."
"I guess he wanted to get it done." She said with a shrug.
"He should have considered your health and state of mind. What if you weren't ready to relive the attack?"
She was surprised he was getting so defensive about it. She wasn't used to Grissom's protective nature or his affection. What she didn't know was that it was new to him too. "It's okay Grissom; no big deal." She said trying to comfort him.
"If you say so Sara." He rubbed her knuckles. "How do you feel?"
"Much better. I want to go home."
"I know. Do you want me to pick you up tomorrow at nine?"
"That would be great." Sara let out a big yawn and rolled over to her side to face him. "Tell me about your bugs."
He raised an eyebrow. "You should be sleeping not learning."
"I plan to sleep."
He laughed. "So bugs are boring? The truth finally comes out."
"They just have that effect on me, but the medication helps."
Grissom frowned at her, but quickly jumped into the origin of naming beetles to please her. He would do anything to please her. It must have worked because Sara was asleep in five minutes.
tbc...