AN: Thanks for all the reviews, they were definitely a pleasant surprise
:o). Sorry for the cliff-hanger, but they are oh-so-fun to write ;)
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Grissom blinked slowly. For an instant he forgot where he was, but a pounding in his head brought him swiftly back to reality. He immediately looked around him, finding himself to be lying in the middle of the remains of the plane. The outer walls of the jet still seemed mostly intact, proving the jet to be a lot stronger than it looked. Grissom went through a quick mental check list of all his body parts to make sure nothing was broken. Satisfied with the results, he untangled himself from the wreckage. He spotted Catherine laying directly to his right. She was also trying to stand up, and aside from a cut on her upper arm she appeared to be okay. Nick, Greg, and Warrick also emerged from the rubble with some minor cuts and bruises.
"Is everyone okay?" Grissom asked with much concern. He had begun to think of his team as his family, their well-being was his priority.
He received mumbled "yes"s and silent nods - plus an "everything will be fine, my ass" from Catherine.
"Guys, where's Sara?" Nick said with alarm in his normally steady voice.
"Crap, she was in the cockpit when the plane went down, meaning.."
"Meaning she was front and center when this junk heap crashed," Greg finished for Grissom.
They all immediately snapped into action forcing their way into the remains of the cockpit while calling Sara's name.
"I'm here and I'm fine, don't get your panties in a bunch," came a muffled voice.
They rushed towards Sara's voice and found her pinned under the pilot chair and some other various debris.
"Sara, are you okay? Do you know if anything is broken?" Grissom inquired.
"Maybe if you get this giant chair off me I'll be able to tell you."
Warrick and Nick quickly but carefully lifted the pilots chair off of her.
"Oh man, this doesn't look good," Catherine commented when Sara's body came into view. There was a large amount of blood on the front of Sara's shirt and a large gash running down almost all of her lower right leg.
Feeling the weight of the chair lifted off of her, Sara began trying to get up.
"Woah there, don't move Sara - you don't look so good," Nick said to her while gently pushing her back down.
"Gee, thanks Nicky. But really guys, I'm fine."
"I agree with Nick right now Sara, until we know nothing is broken, no moving," Grissom said sternly leaving no room for argument. Sara had let her stubbornness put her health at risk one too many times for Grissom's liking.
Sara explained to everyone about the pilot, pointing to where his body had been thrown during the crash.
"Nick, Warrick, Greg - let's go see what supplies we can salvage from the cargo section while Catherine checks Sara," Grissom quickly ordered as he ushered the younger men out of the cockpit area. He knew how private the young CSI was and tried to respect that as much as he could in the situation. With one last glance at Sara and the dead pilot, he followed the other men out.
"Alright Sara, just me and you," Catherine said a bit uncertainly. The two had never really had a good relationship; however a strong friendship had begun to grow - until Eddie's death when everything seemed to fall apart. Catherine deeply regret the things she had said to Sara during that time, but Sara had forgiven her without a second thought. However, their friendship was never the same. "Where should we begin?"
"Cut the crap, Catherine. I'm fine." Sara said impatiently as she once again attempted to get up.
"Oh no you don't," Catherine sternly said as she pushed Sara back down. "You're going to lay there patiently while I make sure for myself you are fine. Man, you're worse than Lindsay."
This caused Sara to chuckle, but her smile was quickly erased when a sharp pain shot up her side.
Catherine immediately noticed. "I think that's my cue to begin."
She decided to start at the gash on her leg first. She rolled up Sara's pant leg and tried not to gag at the sight. The cut was deep enough to see white bone in parts and it was bleeding at an alarming rate. Catherine quickly removed her lab coat to use as a giant bandage. She began wrapping her leg in it, using the sleeves to tie it together tightly at the end. Sara tried in vain to contain her whimpers of pain.
"I'm so sorry honey, but it has to be done." Sara just nodded and tried to ignore the tears that were forming in her eyes.
Satisfied with her wrapping job - Catherine moved up to Sara's stomach.
"Alright, I'm going to lift your shirt a bit to see if you broke any ribs and stop this bleeding," Catherine stated in a motherly tone. She did just that and revealed a large shard of glass lodged in Sara's stomach.
"Ok Sara, I'm going to pull this glass out, it's going to hurt, but I'll be as gentle as I can."
"Ok, go ahead," Sara stated with little emotion.
Catherine had to admire the younger woman's desire to always appear strong.
Gripping the glass, she pulled it out in one swift motion - causing Sara to scream out.
"We're almost done," Catherine told her sympathetically. She had begun to care for the younger members of their team, but especially Sara, as if they were her own children - and seeing Sara in so much pain was breaking her heart.
"Now for the ribs."
Catherine lifted Sara's shirt higher to reveal a large bruise on her left side. She could tell immediately that at least two ribs, if not more, were cracked, possibly broken.
"How do they look?" Sara inquired.
"Not good..but I'm afraid there's not much I can do about those."
Just then Nick poked his head in.
"Do you mind if I come in?" he asked.
Sara shook her head no and Nick carefully kneeled next to Sara. Seeing her battered form, he took her hand in his. Sara gratefully accepted his gesture. She had always thought of Nick as the perfect older brother, but lately she had been seeing him as a bit more. 'Not that he would ever feel the same' she mused to herself.
"Can I borrow your coat, Nicky?" Catherine asked.
He took it off and handed it to her. He watched as Catherine tightly wrapped almost Sara's entire torso in it. He held Sara's hand tighter as she moaned in pain when Catherine reached her injured ribs.
"I think that does it, kiddo," Catherine said as she lowered Sara's shirt back in place.
"Thanks. Now can I get up?" Sara asked, not waiting for an answer as she tried to push herself up. Nick saw her painful attempt and quickly wrapped his arm around her waist, supporting most of her weight as she stood.
Just then Greg walked in. "Hey Sara, glad to see you on your feet," he said as he playfully winked at her.
"Thanks, Greggo," she said with a smile. Greg was the only person she knew who could put a smile on her face no matter what the situation was.
"Warrick and Grissom are putting all the things we were able to salvage outside of the plane. We have a few of our bags, one field kit, and some other random stuff. Grissom said to meet him out there as soon as possible to find shelter before the sun sets."
"Ok, let's go then," Catherine said, anxious to be one step closer to safety.
Nick helped Sara walk out of the plane despite her argument that she wasn't an invalid just because she has a few scrapes, and she could walk on her own. She was quickly outnumbered.
They all gathered together around their remaining possessions.
"Has anyone tried their cell phone?" Warrick asked the group.
"Yup, no service," Nick replied. "The radio in the jet is also smashed, I checked while we were in there."
"Well, then I say we head towards those cliffs over there. There's bound to be some caves or gulleys in them that we can use as shelter," Grissom said pointing to the rock formations that loomed in the distance. "Its going to be quite a walk though, are you sure you can make it, Sara?"
"Yes! Would you all stop treating me like I'm some fragile tea pot?!" Sara still felt the need to prove herself to the group. She didn't like the feeling of being the injured member who dragged the team down.
To prove her point, Sara stalked away from Nick, grabbed a bag out of the pile, through it on her back, and headed off towards the cliffs at a steady pace. She ignored the tremendous pain walking and carrying a heavy bag were causing her, she refused to show any weakness. However, she couldn't disguise her slight limp no matter how hard she tried.
The rest of the team grabbed the remaining items out of the pile and followed after their headstrong colleague.
Grissom walked behind the group next to Catherine.
"You know Cath, I'm really glad you're okay." He said matter of factly to her.
"And why's that, Grissom?" Catherine asked with a smile.
"Cause I wouldn't be able to live without you."
With that, he kept walking - leaving a very confused and surprised Catherine Willows behind.
Grissom blinked slowly. For an instant he forgot where he was, but a pounding in his head brought him swiftly back to reality. He immediately looked around him, finding himself to be lying in the middle of the remains of the plane. The outer walls of the jet still seemed mostly intact, proving the jet to be a lot stronger than it looked. Grissom went through a quick mental check list of all his body parts to make sure nothing was broken. Satisfied with the results, he untangled himself from the wreckage. He spotted Catherine laying directly to his right. She was also trying to stand up, and aside from a cut on her upper arm she appeared to be okay. Nick, Greg, and Warrick also emerged from the rubble with some minor cuts and bruises.
"Is everyone okay?" Grissom asked with much concern. He had begun to think of his team as his family, their well-being was his priority.
He received mumbled "yes"s and silent nods - plus an "everything will be fine, my ass" from Catherine.
"Guys, where's Sara?" Nick said with alarm in his normally steady voice.
"Crap, she was in the cockpit when the plane went down, meaning.."
"Meaning she was front and center when this junk heap crashed," Greg finished for Grissom.
They all immediately snapped into action forcing their way into the remains of the cockpit while calling Sara's name.
"I'm here and I'm fine, don't get your panties in a bunch," came a muffled voice.
They rushed towards Sara's voice and found her pinned under the pilot chair and some other various debris.
"Sara, are you okay? Do you know if anything is broken?" Grissom inquired.
"Maybe if you get this giant chair off me I'll be able to tell you."
Warrick and Nick quickly but carefully lifted the pilots chair off of her.
"Oh man, this doesn't look good," Catherine commented when Sara's body came into view. There was a large amount of blood on the front of Sara's shirt and a large gash running down almost all of her lower right leg.
Feeling the weight of the chair lifted off of her, Sara began trying to get up.
"Woah there, don't move Sara - you don't look so good," Nick said to her while gently pushing her back down.
"Gee, thanks Nicky. But really guys, I'm fine."
"I agree with Nick right now Sara, until we know nothing is broken, no moving," Grissom said sternly leaving no room for argument. Sara had let her stubbornness put her health at risk one too many times for Grissom's liking.
Sara explained to everyone about the pilot, pointing to where his body had been thrown during the crash.
"Nick, Warrick, Greg - let's go see what supplies we can salvage from the cargo section while Catherine checks Sara," Grissom quickly ordered as he ushered the younger men out of the cockpit area. He knew how private the young CSI was and tried to respect that as much as he could in the situation. With one last glance at Sara and the dead pilot, he followed the other men out.
"Alright Sara, just me and you," Catherine said a bit uncertainly. The two had never really had a good relationship; however a strong friendship had begun to grow - until Eddie's death when everything seemed to fall apart. Catherine deeply regret the things she had said to Sara during that time, but Sara had forgiven her without a second thought. However, their friendship was never the same. "Where should we begin?"
"Cut the crap, Catherine. I'm fine." Sara said impatiently as she once again attempted to get up.
"Oh no you don't," Catherine sternly said as she pushed Sara back down. "You're going to lay there patiently while I make sure for myself you are fine. Man, you're worse than Lindsay."
This caused Sara to chuckle, but her smile was quickly erased when a sharp pain shot up her side.
Catherine immediately noticed. "I think that's my cue to begin."
She decided to start at the gash on her leg first. She rolled up Sara's pant leg and tried not to gag at the sight. The cut was deep enough to see white bone in parts and it was bleeding at an alarming rate. Catherine quickly removed her lab coat to use as a giant bandage. She began wrapping her leg in it, using the sleeves to tie it together tightly at the end. Sara tried in vain to contain her whimpers of pain.
"I'm so sorry honey, but it has to be done." Sara just nodded and tried to ignore the tears that were forming in her eyes.
Satisfied with her wrapping job - Catherine moved up to Sara's stomach.
"Alright, I'm going to lift your shirt a bit to see if you broke any ribs and stop this bleeding," Catherine stated in a motherly tone. She did just that and revealed a large shard of glass lodged in Sara's stomach.
"Ok Sara, I'm going to pull this glass out, it's going to hurt, but I'll be as gentle as I can."
"Ok, go ahead," Sara stated with little emotion.
Catherine had to admire the younger woman's desire to always appear strong.
Gripping the glass, she pulled it out in one swift motion - causing Sara to scream out.
"We're almost done," Catherine told her sympathetically. She had begun to care for the younger members of their team, but especially Sara, as if they were her own children - and seeing Sara in so much pain was breaking her heart.
"Now for the ribs."
Catherine lifted Sara's shirt higher to reveal a large bruise on her left side. She could tell immediately that at least two ribs, if not more, were cracked, possibly broken.
"How do they look?" Sara inquired.
"Not good..but I'm afraid there's not much I can do about those."
Just then Nick poked his head in.
"Do you mind if I come in?" he asked.
Sara shook her head no and Nick carefully kneeled next to Sara. Seeing her battered form, he took her hand in his. Sara gratefully accepted his gesture. She had always thought of Nick as the perfect older brother, but lately she had been seeing him as a bit more. 'Not that he would ever feel the same' she mused to herself.
"Can I borrow your coat, Nicky?" Catherine asked.
He took it off and handed it to her. He watched as Catherine tightly wrapped almost Sara's entire torso in it. He held Sara's hand tighter as she moaned in pain when Catherine reached her injured ribs.
"I think that does it, kiddo," Catherine said as she lowered Sara's shirt back in place.
"Thanks. Now can I get up?" Sara asked, not waiting for an answer as she tried to push herself up. Nick saw her painful attempt and quickly wrapped his arm around her waist, supporting most of her weight as she stood.
Just then Greg walked in. "Hey Sara, glad to see you on your feet," he said as he playfully winked at her.
"Thanks, Greggo," she said with a smile. Greg was the only person she knew who could put a smile on her face no matter what the situation was.
"Warrick and Grissom are putting all the things we were able to salvage outside of the plane. We have a few of our bags, one field kit, and some other random stuff. Grissom said to meet him out there as soon as possible to find shelter before the sun sets."
"Ok, let's go then," Catherine said, anxious to be one step closer to safety.
Nick helped Sara walk out of the plane despite her argument that she wasn't an invalid just because she has a few scrapes, and she could walk on her own. She was quickly outnumbered.
They all gathered together around their remaining possessions.
"Has anyone tried their cell phone?" Warrick asked the group.
"Yup, no service," Nick replied. "The radio in the jet is also smashed, I checked while we were in there."
"Well, then I say we head towards those cliffs over there. There's bound to be some caves or gulleys in them that we can use as shelter," Grissom said pointing to the rock formations that loomed in the distance. "Its going to be quite a walk though, are you sure you can make it, Sara?"
"Yes! Would you all stop treating me like I'm some fragile tea pot?!" Sara still felt the need to prove herself to the group. She didn't like the feeling of being the injured member who dragged the team down.
To prove her point, Sara stalked away from Nick, grabbed a bag out of the pile, through it on her back, and headed off towards the cliffs at a steady pace. She ignored the tremendous pain walking and carrying a heavy bag were causing her, she refused to show any weakness. However, she couldn't disguise her slight limp no matter how hard she tried.
The rest of the team grabbed the remaining items out of the pile and followed after their headstrong colleague.
Grissom walked behind the group next to Catherine.
"You know Cath, I'm really glad you're okay." He said matter of factly to her.
"And why's that, Grissom?" Catherine asked with a smile.
"Cause I wouldn't be able to live without you."
With that, he kept walking - leaving a very confused and surprised Catherine Willows behind.