Summary: After viewing a horrific accident, Sara makes some hard decisions about her life. Obviously, a Sara-centered story, but with lots of friendship and a little bit of G/S at the end.
Rating: R for subject matter
A/N: No real spoilers. The chapter titles are opening lines from Emily Dickinson poems.
Thanks to Burked and all the others who previewed this for me.
Disclaimer: Obviously, I don't own anything related to CSI. If I did, I'd be on a tropical beach right now.
Chapter 10 - Angels in the early morning
~~~~~~~~~
"Miss Sidle?"
"Call me Sara," she said as she approached a man and woman standing outside the door to the injured girl's room. The couple looked as bad as she felt; from their appearance, she doubted they had slept or eaten since the accident. She couldn't blame them. "Are you Teresa's parents?"
"Yes. I'm David; this is my wife, Rita," he said reaching out to give Sara's hand a vigorous shake. "We just want to let you know how much we appreciate your coming. And we want to thank you. For saving our baby. Teresa told us she was scared; that she wouldn't leave the bus. That you found her. If you hadn't, she would have been on the bus when, when ..."
Sara froze as the haggard man broke into tears. His wife wrapped her arms around him before thanking Sara herself. She started to say 'It was nothing' but stopped herself in time. To Teresa's parents, her safety wasn't 'nothing'; it was clear they loved their child dearly.
"I'm just sorry she had to go through this. That any of them did," she said instead. Her parents gave her grateful looks. "How is she?"
"Teresa gets tired easily. They're worried about infection. She'll need surgery, later, for the scars. The doctors aren't sure how soon before she'll be allowed to come home," David finally said. He gave Sara an embarrassed look as he wiped away his tears. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to fall apart like that," he added.
Sara gave him a reassuring smile. He had no reason to be embarrassed, as far she was concerned. And in her current condition, she wasn't in any position to judge someone else's behavior.
"Is it all right if I see Teresa now? I could come back later if she's too tired," Sara asked. She wasn't looking forward to this. What do you say to a child who barely lived through an accident? Catherine would be better at this.
"No, now's fine. She just woke up a little while ago. She'll be so happy to see you," Rita told her as she opened the door.
Entering the room, Sara was glad the little girl hadn't been looking her way; she wasn't sure she had repressed her wince. Lost in the middle of the large bed, Teresa lay with numerous IVs replacing her lost blood, supplying nutrients and medications. A bank of equipment monitored her condition. Most of the exposed parts of her body were wrapped heavily in gauze.
The girl's shirt had been soaked in blood. It was surprisingly warm. Sara wasn't used to blood being warm and flowing. Or falling like a soft, sticky rain. The child was crying. The smell of smoke was starting to fill the bus. The other two children stood at the end of the bus, lost and alone. She could feel the temperature starting to rise inside the bus, making the already noxious odors worse.
Shaking herself, Sara entered the girl's room and approached the bed. "Teresa? I'm Sara. Your parents said I could see you," she said softly, regretting stopping to eat before coming. Her stomach was twisting.
Despite her condition, the girl's eyes lit up when she recognized her visitor. They were almost the only part of her body which was visible.
"Wow! You came! Cool!"
Sara found herself smiling slightly at the enthusiastic greeting from the child.
"Yeah. Hey, I brought over some toys and stuff for you kids to play with. The nurses have them. Later, why don't you ask them to bring them over so you pick some out?"
"Wow! You brought me a gift!"
Sara's grin grew. She'd never had a child respond so positively to her before. She pulled a chair over to sit by Teresa's side. This wasn't too bad, after all.
"That's for you," the girl said. She turned her eyes to the bedside table. An envelope obviously labeled "Miss Sidle" by an adult was on it. As Sara opened the envelope to remove the store-bought card, the girl apologized. "I wanted to make you one, but I can't color," she held up her heavily bandaged hands.
"This is beautiful. Thank you," Sara said gently. She blinked rapidly, tears blurring her vision, making her unable to read the message. She didn't want to start crying in front of the small girl. She wondered in amazement if she could have ever had been as brave at Teresa's age.
"You like it? Good. I wanted you to have the prettiest one. Daddy picked it out," she said. "He's not good with pretty stuff. Momma tells him that all the time," she said in a conspiratorial whisper.
"I won't tell him you said that," Sara said in the same tone. She could hear the soft chuckling behind her. Their lowered voices had easily carried across the small room. Turning her head, she saw Teresa's parents watching the exchange from the doorway. They seemed happy. What would it feel like to nearly lose a child you dearly loved?
Teresa gave a small yawn and settled back into her bed. Sara started to leave when the child looked her way. "Momma and Daddy are worried," she said softly.
"They love you very much," Sara told her gently.
"It feels funny. Where the doctors had to sew me back up. Momma told me it was like how she fixed my stuffed giraffe after Rusty tried to eat him. I'll be all better, but if I look real closely, I might be able to see where I was cut," Teresa told her.
"I know. See here," she held out her hand to show the child the nearly invisible scar. "I had stitches a few months ago. I was cut on some glass, too. It'll feel funny for a while, but then it gets all better. If it starts to hurt too much, just tell the doctor or a nurse. They can help."
Teresa gave her a friendly smile. Sara felt the tears threatening again. She never considered herself good with children. She had always been uncomfortable around them and never felt they would like her. But this was going far better than she had hoped it would. Teresa actually seemed to like her. The feeling was mutual.
The pair continued to talk as Teresa asked her questions about what a CSI did and Sara tried to explain it in age-appropriate terms. After a few more minutes, the girl yawned again. Seeing she was fighting sleep, Sara stood up and straightened out her blankets.
"Will you come visit me again?" a sleepy voice asked.
"If you want me to, sure," Sara said kindly.
"Yeah. My other friends aren't allowed to visit. They're too little," came out between yawns.
"Okay. You rest now, okay? I'll see you later." She wanted to give Teresa a hug, but was afraid of hurting her.
As she turned to leave, the little girl asked one last question. "You're not Hunter's momma, are you?"
Sara froze. She never considered the girl would have heard the boy's dying statement. "No," she finally whispered.
"I didn't think so. She came with us once on a field trip. She's not as pretty as you are," Teresa muttered as she fell asleep.
Quickly grabbing the card, Sara turned to leave. Teresa's parents gave her friendly but nervous smiles. "Thanks again. I, we ..." Rita hesitated. "Teresa told us what happened. She saw you trying to help Hunter. That he thought you were his mother before he died. That you had to leave him so you could carry her out. We know how difficult this must be for you. We just want you to know that, well, you saved our lives, too. If we had lost Teresa, we'd be lost too."
"Yeah," her husband added. "Look, we can't ever thank you enough for what you did. But if you ever need anything, anything at all, we'll be glad to do what we can to help. We'll never forget you," he turned around quickly to wipe away the tears, which had started again.
Sara didn't know what to say. After an awkward moment, Rita wrapped her arms around her, giving her a firm, brief hug. Her husband wrapped his arms around both women, before giving each a quick kiss. Rita laughed as Sara blushed. After asking permission to visit Teresa again, Sara left.
Her escape was blocked by the nurses, who wanted to thank her first for rescuing the children, then for visiting, then for bringing the presents. A rather handsome medical resident invited her to join him for coffee, but Sara turned him down with a friendly smile and a weak excuse about another appointment.
As Sara headed to the elevators, she paid no attention to a woman sitting on a chair, reading a magazine. After she had passed, Lynda Darby dropped the magazine she had been hiding behind and headed to talk to the Hernandez family. She knew better than to stop Sidle. It was clear the woman wanted to get out of here. She couldn't really blame her. And Darby felt a little guilty over the lecture O'Riley had given her the night before. She'd cut the brunette some slack.
Her cousin was a security guard at the hospital and she had been able to slip into the children's ward while the rest of the media had been stuck outside. She had come to the hospital that morning to see if she could get an interview with the Hernandez family. They had refused immediately after the accident, when it wasn't clear if Teresa would recover.
As she saw them watching a scene in the girl's room, she waited. When she realized it was Sidle talking to the girl, the reporter discreetly took a seat in the hallway. The good thing about hospitals was that sounds carried. She had heard the entire conversation.
Darby couldn't believe her luck. She had just stumbled into the biggest scoop of the year. The CSI had to leave a child behind to rescue the others. He had died in her arms, thinking she was her mother. This was a gold mine.
She walked over the Hernandez family. They seemed in a much better mood, now. They'd probably be willing to talk.
Darby just wished she could have caught Sidle's visit on camera.
Rating: R for subject matter
A/N: No real spoilers. The chapter titles are opening lines from Emily Dickinson poems.
Thanks to Burked and all the others who previewed this for me.
Disclaimer: Obviously, I don't own anything related to CSI. If I did, I'd be on a tropical beach right now.
Chapter 10 - Angels in the early morning
~~~~~~~~~
"Miss Sidle?"
"Call me Sara," she said as she approached a man and woman standing outside the door to the injured girl's room. The couple looked as bad as she felt; from their appearance, she doubted they had slept or eaten since the accident. She couldn't blame them. "Are you Teresa's parents?"
"Yes. I'm David; this is my wife, Rita," he said reaching out to give Sara's hand a vigorous shake. "We just want to let you know how much we appreciate your coming. And we want to thank you. For saving our baby. Teresa told us she was scared; that she wouldn't leave the bus. That you found her. If you hadn't, she would have been on the bus when, when ..."
Sara froze as the haggard man broke into tears. His wife wrapped her arms around him before thanking Sara herself. She started to say 'It was nothing' but stopped herself in time. To Teresa's parents, her safety wasn't 'nothing'; it was clear they loved their child dearly.
"I'm just sorry she had to go through this. That any of them did," she said instead. Her parents gave her grateful looks. "How is she?"
"Teresa gets tired easily. They're worried about infection. She'll need surgery, later, for the scars. The doctors aren't sure how soon before she'll be allowed to come home," David finally said. He gave Sara an embarrassed look as he wiped away his tears. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to fall apart like that," he added.
Sara gave him a reassuring smile. He had no reason to be embarrassed, as far she was concerned. And in her current condition, she wasn't in any position to judge someone else's behavior.
"Is it all right if I see Teresa now? I could come back later if she's too tired," Sara asked. She wasn't looking forward to this. What do you say to a child who barely lived through an accident? Catherine would be better at this.
"No, now's fine. She just woke up a little while ago. She'll be so happy to see you," Rita told her as she opened the door.
Entering the room, Sara was glad the little girl hadn't been looking her way; she wasn't sure she had repressed her wince. Lost in the middle of the large bed, Teresa lay with numerous IVs replacing her lost blood, supplying nutrients and medications. A bank of equipment monitored her condition. Most of the exposed parts of her body were wrapped heavily in gauze.
The girl's shirt had been soaked in blood. It was surprisingly warm. Sara wasn't used to blood being warm and flowing. Or falling like a soft, sticky rain. The child was crying. The smell of smoke was starting to fill the bus. The other two children stood at the end of the bus, lost and alone. She could feel the temperature starting to rise inside the bus, making the already noxious odors worse.
Shaking herself, Sara entered the girl's room and approached the bed. "Teresa? I'm Sara. Your parents said I could see you," she said softly, regretting stopping to eat before coming. Her stomach was twisting.
Despite her condition, the girl's eyes lit up when she recognized her visitor. They were almost the only part of her body which was visible.
"Wow! You came! Cool!"
Sara found herself smiling slightly at the enthusiastic greeting from the child.
"Yeah. Hey, I brought over some toys and stuff for you kids to play with. The nurses have them. Later, why don't you ask them to bring them over so you pick some out?"
"Wow! You brought me a gift!"
Sara's grin grew. She'd never had a child respond so positively to her before. She pulled a chair over to sit by Teresa's side. This wasn't too bad, after all.
"That's for you," the girl said. She turned her eyes to the bedside table. An envelope obviously labeled "Miss Sidle" by an adult was on it. As Sara opened the envelope to remove the store-bought card, the girl apologized. "I wanted to make you one, but I can't color," she held up her heavily bandaged hands.
"This is beautiful. Thank you," Sara said gently. She blinked rapidly, tears blurring her vision, making her unable to read the message. She didn't want to start crying in front of the small girl. She wondered in amazement if she could have ever had been as brave at Teresa's age.
"You like it? Good. I wanted you to have the prettiest one. Daddy picked it out," she said. "He's not good with pretty stuff. Momma tells him that all the time," she said in a conspiratorial whisper.
"I won't tell him you said that," Sara said in the same tone. She could hear the soft chuckling behind her. Their lowered voices had easily carried across the small room. Turning her head, she saw Teresa's parents watching the exchange from the doorway. They seemed happy. What would it feel like to nearly lose a child you dearly loved?
Teresa gave a small yawn and settled back into her bed. Sara started to leave when the child looked her way. "Momma and Daddy are worried," she said softly.
"They love you very much," Sara told her gently.
"It feels funny. Where the doctors had to sew me back up. Momma told me it was like how she fixed my stuffed giraffe after Rusty tried to eat him. I'll be all better, but if I look real closely, I might be able to see where I was cut," Teresa told her.
"I know. See here," she held out her hand to show the child the nearly invisible scar. "I had stitches a few months ago. I was cut on some glass, too. It'll feel funny for a while, but then it gets all better. If it starts to hurt too much, just tell the doctor or a nurse. They can help."
Teresa gave her a friendly smile. Sara felt the tears threatening again. She never considered herself good with children. She had always been uncomfortable around them and never felt they would like her. But this was going far better than she had hoped it would. Teresa actually seemed to like her. The feeling was mutual.
The pair continued to talk as Teresa asked her questions about what a CSI did and Sara tried to explain it in age-appropriate terms. After a few more minutes, the girl yawned again. Seeing she was fighting sleep, Sara stood up and straightened out her blankets.
"Will you come visit me again?" a sleepy voice asked.
"If you want me to, sure," Sara said kindly.
"Yeah. My other friends aren't allowed to visit. They're too little," came out between yawns.
"Okay. You rest now, okay? I'll see you later." She wanted to give Teresa a hug, but was afraid of hurting her.
As she turned to leave, the little girl asked one last question. "You're not Hunter's momma, are you?"
Sara froze. She never considered the girl would have heard the boy's dying statement. "No," she finally whispered.
"I didn't think so. She came with us once on a field trip. She's not as pretty as you are," Teresa muttered as she fell asleep.
Quickly grabbing the card, Sara turned to leave. Teresa's parents gave her friendly but nervous smiles. "Thanks again. I, we ..." Rita hesitated. "Teresa told us what happened. She saw you trying to help Hunter. That he thought you were his mother before he died. That you had to leave him so you could carry her out. We know how difficult this must be for you. We just want you to know that, well, you saved our lives, too. If we had lost Teresa, we'd be lost too."
"Yeah," her husband added. "Look, we can't ever thank you enough for what you did. But if you ever need anything, anything at all, we'll be glad to do what we can to help. We'll never forget you," he turned around quickly to wipe away the tears, which had started again.
Sara didn't know what to say. After an awkward moment, Rita wrapped her arms around her, giving her a firm, brief hug. Her husband wrapped his arms around both women, before giving each a quick kiss. Rita laughed as Sara blushed. After asking permission to visit Teresa again, Sara left.
Her escape was blocked by the nurses, who wanted to thank her first for rescuing the children, then for visiting, then for bringing the presents. A rather handsome medical resident invited her to join him for coffee, but Sara turned him down with a friendly smile and a weak excuse about another appointment.
As Sara headed to the elevators, she paid no attention to a woman sitting on a chair, reading a magazine. After she had passed, Lynda Darby dropped the magazine she had been hiding behind and headed to talk to the Hernandez family. She knew better than to stop Sidle. It was clear the woman wanted to get out of here. She couldn't really blame her. And Darby felt a little guilty over the lecture O'Riley had given her the night before. She'd cut the brunette some slack.
Her cousin was a security guard at the hospital and she had been able to slip into the children's ward while the rest of the media had been stuck outside. She had come to the hospital that morning to see if she could get an interview with the Hernandez family. They had refused immediately after the accident, when it wasn't clear if Teresa would recover.
As she saw them watching a scene in the girl's room, she waited. When she realized it was Sidle talking to the girl, the reporter discreetly took a seat in the hallway. The good thing about hospitals was that sounds carried. She had heard the entire conversation.
Darby couldn't believe her luck. She had just stumbled into the biggest scoop of the year. The CSI had to leave a child behind to rescue the others. He had died in her arms, thinking she was her mother. This was a gold mine.
She walked over the Hernandez family. They seemed in a much better mood, now. They'd probably be willing to talk.
Darby just wished she could have caught Sidle's visit on camera.