New chapter! Special thanks to Grissomgal71 for beta-ing this for me!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Sara made her way from room to room, searching for Ecklie. So far, her search had proved fruitless, and she was running out of places to check. Finally, she spotted two familiar faces in a layout room. She stepped in, noticing what the pictures on the wall were: Grissom's house and hospital room. She froze at the sight, then turned to peer at the two women.
One of the dayshift CSI's looked up after pulling a piece of paper out of a folder. "Hey, Sara," Jamie Cohen said, moving over to settle onto a stool.
Her comment made the other woman, Kimberly Sears, look up as well. "How's Grissom doing?" she asked, looking back down at a stack of papers for a moment.
Sara shrugged. "I don't know. When I left, he was still out of it. They don't know if he'll wake up or not," she said softly. The other CSI's nodded somberly, giving Sara sympathetic glances. Sara shook her head after a moment, remembering why she had come in here. "Have you guys seen Ecklie? I've got new information on Grissom's case."
"It's our case now," Sears said, lifting up an x-ray to study it. Then she put it down, focusing on Sara. "What'cha got?"
Sara hesitated for a moment. "Why is Ecklie off?"
Sears grinned. "He said something about his workload being too heavy, but I think the director made him give it up. He won't be able to be objective, you know?"
"Yeah, I guess." She shrugged again. "I saw something at the hospital. Something I think may help you find the attacker."
Sears and Cohen exchanged a glance as Cohen pulled out a small notebook. "Go ahead," the New York native told her.
Sara looked a little uneasy, but settled down onto another stool. "When I was leaving Grissom's room, a nurse came in. She didn't say anything, but she was the last one in the room." She shook her head. "I know we're not supposed to play hunches or feelings, but I know she was the one who did that to Grissom. I just know it."
Cohen nodded, looking up after she finished writing something. "That could help." She turned to the other dayshift CSI. "Hey, Kimmer. All hospitals have surveillance cameras in the halls, right?" Sears nodded. "What are the chances that one of the cameras caught our 'nurse'?"
Sears smiled, then jumped down from the stool and pulled out a set of car keys. "I'll go ask the hospital for their tapes. We'll see if we can catch a glimpse of our perp." With a nod to Sara, she stepped out, all but jogging to her SUV.
Sara turned back to Cohen after Sears left. "What are you going to do?"
"Well, Kimberly's the A/V ace of the two of us, so she'll be busy on that for a while. Meanwhile I," she held up a small test tube of dark liquid, "need to find out exactly what was put into Grissom's IV."
* * * * * *
Some time later, Sara found herself in the A/V lab, watching as Sears fast-forwarded through yet another tape. Sara's eyes began to droop after only ten minutes of watching the video, partially due to boredom and partially due to fatigue, but Sears never seemed to lose her edge. When Sara asked her about it, the woman simply commented on years of practice brought about by insomnia.
Suddenly, the tape stopped, and Sears stood up from her seat. She stepped up to the screen, peering closely at a woman in a corner. She studied the image for a moment, then fast-forwarded a few seconds. The camera view changed, now showing a hallway with restrooms. A woman was outside of the restrooms, trying to discreetly shove a cloth bundle into a garbage bin.
Sears went to the computer and pressed a few keys, zooming in and focusing the still-frame. After a few minutes of typing on the keyboard, Sears had managed to get a clear view of the woman's face, and what she was tossing into the garbage. She leaned back in her chair with a grim look on her face "There's your girl. And there are the scrubs she was wearing." She pressed a few more keys, and a moment later, the printer whirred to life.
Sara reached down and pulled the paper from the tray. She studied it for a moment, a strange feeling in the pit of her stomach. Then she looked up at Sears. "Let's find Jamie and let her know."
* * * * * *
"Clopramine," the dayshift CSI said, holding up a piece of paper as Sara and Sears stepped into the layout room.
Sara arched an eyebrow and looked at Sears. Sears just shrugged. "That's a cattle sedative."
Sara gave the criminalist a curious expression. "And you know this because..."
Sears smiled. "I worked at a vet clinic for a few years during high school and my freshman year at LSU."
"Right," Cohen said, giving the paper to Sara. "They found about 7cc's of that stuff in Grissom's IV bag, and the doctors estimate that another 3cc's got into his system. So, we'll just have to track down vet clinics that carry Clopramine. Could be one or all of them; we won't know until we start."
"Well, why don't you see if anyone recognizes her," Sears said, handing Cohen the printout from the camera.
Cohen glanced briefly at Sara and Sears over the top of the paper. "This is your 'nurse'?"
Sara nodded. "I'd recognize her anywhere." She opened her mouth to say more, but cut herself off when her pager began vibrating. Sighing with slight frustration, she plucked it off her belt and peered at the blue display.
Gris awake. Wants to see you. ~N.S.
Sara's eyes darted up to the dayshift CSI's. "Guys, I really have to go."
Cohen nodded. "Fine. Officially, you're not part of this investigation, so..." She gestured to the door, a small smile on her face.
Sara didn't waste a second. Giving the two women one last smile, she all but ran out of the room, heading towards her SUV.
* * * * * *
The sound of laughter drew Grissom out of his light doze. He tried to lift his head to peer out of the window, but didn't have the strength. He let it fall the short distance back to the pillow with a sigh.
In an instant, Nick was at his side, peering intently at the injured supervisor. "Gris? You need something?"
Grissom opened his eyes again, peering tiredly at the younger man. "No, Nick. I'm fine." The faint sound of gunfire and tires squealing caught his attention. "What is that noise?" he asked, his voice barely above a whisper.
Nick glanced over his shoulder. "Just the TV, Gris. You want me to turn it off?"
"No. It's fine." With a small groan, Grissom closed his eyes again, trying desperately to rid himself of the fatigue that plagued him. He'd woken up a few hours before, endured a long hour of the doctors poking and prodding him, then been released back to his room. He'd been given a new IV bag, as well as a few shots that were supposed to clear out his system. He wasn't sure what he had been given; all he knew is that it drained all his energy.
Nick watched as his mentor struggled to sleep. As soon as Grissom had woken up, the doctors had called him, saying that they believed someone familiar should be there with the entomologist. He'd rushed over as fast as his SUV would allow, then sat through the exam. Whenever the doctor had finished with Grissom the first thing he had done was ask for Sara.
The younger CSI glanced at his watch. That had been two hours ago, though he'd only paged her a half an hour earlier. He knew she would come, but he was concerned that someone might try to stop her. Beefing up security, the hospital had stationed two uniformed policemen in Grissom's hall. One was in front of his door, while the other stood by the elevators. Would these cops prevent Sara from entering Grissom's room? Nick hoped not, knowing the fiery brunette was likely to bash the cops' skulls in.
Sighing, Nick grabbed the remote and turned the TV off. He turned back to Grissom, noticing that his breathing had finally become level and steady. He smiled, then stood up and stepped out of the door. The cop nodded at him, then went back to counting the number of spots on a single tile.
The sound of footsteps caught Nick's attention. Those aren't nurse's shoes, he thought to himself, having had a good deal of time to compare the different sounds of different shoes. He looked up and saw Sara making her way towards him, a small smile on her face. He returned the gesture and stepped away from the wall to greet her.
"Hey, Sar. How you holding up?" he asked, genuinely concerned.
She shrugged, her eyes going to the police officer. "I'm fine. How's Grissom?"
"He's sleeping, finally. He woke up and they had to run a lot of tests and stuff. Wiped him out. You still want to go in there?"
She nodded. If only Nick knew how much she had to see Grissom; to see that he was alive and well. Nick turned to the cop and dipped his head slightly, then stepped aside to let Sara in. She turned and gave him a questioning look when he didn't follow her in. He just smiled at her, then shut the door, leaving her alone with Grissom.
She stared at the door for a second before turning to the object of her thoughts. She smiled when she saw him. Grissom's color had returned to his face, and he was no longer connected to any machines. He still seemed weak, and the lines on his face seemed all the more prominent, but he was the most beautiful sight in the world to her.
Reaching out to take his hand, she sank into the chair that Nick had abandoned. She felt tears well up in her eyes as she stared at him, wiping them away with her free hand. She watched his chest rise and fall a few times, then leaned forward. "You need a haircut," she commented quietly, running her hand through the curls.
"That's the style..." she heard him whisper, his voice raspy. He slowly opened his eyes, fixing them on her.
She smiled. "Hey. You feeling any better?"
He returned the smile. "Much. At least I can breathe now."
"When do you get to come home?" she asked, taking hold of his hand again.
He weakly tried to shrug. "Soon. They don't think there's any lasting damage, and my gut's as good as it'll get here. Besides, I think my medical bill is high enough as it is."
She laughed at his attempt to lighten the situation. "Good." Then she looked down at the floor. "Will you go home?" she asked, wondering if he would really be up to returning to the place where he'd been shot.
He blinked slowly, turning his head to look up at the ceiling. "I don't know. Where else can I go?"
"You can stay with me. You know, just until you're ready to go back," she added, seeing his questioning gaze.
He smiled, lifting his hand to touch her cheek. "That'd be great."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Sara made her way from room to room, searching for Ecklie. So far, her search had proved fruitless, and she was running out of places to check. Finally, she spotted two familiar faces in a layout room. She stepped in, noticing what the pictures on the wall were: Grissom's house and hospital room. She froze at the sight, then turned to peer at the two women.
One of the dayshift CSI's looked up after pulling a piece of paper out of a folder. "Hey, Sara," Jamie Cohen said, moving over to settle onto a stool.
Her comment made the other woman, Kimberly Sears, look up as well. "How's Grissom doing?" she asked, looking back down at a stack of papers for a moment.
Sara shrugged. "I don't know. When I left, he was still out of it. They don't know if he'll wake up or not," she said softly. The other CSI's nodded somberly, giving Sara sympathetic glances. Sara shook her head after a moment, remembering why she had come in here. "Have you guys seen Ecklie? I've got new information on Grissom's case."
"It's our case now," Sears said, lifting up an x-ray to study it. Then she put it down, focusing on Sara. "What'cha got?"
Sara hesitated for a moment. "Why is Ecklie off?"
Sears grinned. "He said something about his workload being too heavy, but I think the director made him give it up. He won't be able to be objective, you know?"
"Yeah, I guess." She shrugged again. "I saw something at the hospital. Something I think may help you find the attacker."
Sears and Cohen exchanged a glance as Cohen pulled out a small notebook. "Go ahead," the New York native told her.
Sara looked a little uneasy, but settled down onto another stool. "When I was leaving Grissom's room, a nurse came in. She didn't say anything, but she was the last one in the room." She shook her head. "I know we're not supposed to play hunches or feelings, but I know she was the one who did that to Grissom. I just know it."
Cohen nodded, looking up after she finished writing something. "That could help." She turned to the other dayshift CSI. "Hey, Kimmer. All hospitals have surveillance cameras in the halls, right?" Sears nodded. "What are the chances that one of the cameras caught our 'nurse'?"
Sears smiled, then jumped down from the stool and pulled out a set of car keys. "I'll go ask the hospital for their tapes. We'll see if we can catch a glimpse of our perp." With a nod to Sara, she stepped out, all but jogging to her SUV.
Sara turned back to Cohen after Sears left. "What are you going to do?"
"Well, Kimberly's the A/V ace of the two of us, so she'll be busy on that for a while. Meanwhile I," she held up a small test tube of dark liquid, "need to find out exactly what was put into Grissom's IV."
* * * * * *
Some time later, Sara found herself in the A/V lab, watching as Sears fast-forwarded through yet another tape. Sara's eyes began to droop after only ten minutes of watching the video, partially due to boredom and partially due to fatigue, but Sears never seemed to lose her edge. When Sara asked her about it, the woman simply commented on years of practice brought about by insomnia.
Suddenly, the tape stopped, and Sears stood up from her seat. She stepped up to the screen, peering closely at a woman in a corner. She studied the image for a moment, then fast-forwarded a few seconds. The camera view changed, now showing a hallway with restrooms. A woman was outside of the restrooms, trying to discreetly shove a cloth bundle into a garbage bin.
Sears went to the computer and pressed a few keys, zooming in and focusing the still-frame. After a few minutes of typing on the keyboard, Sears had managed to get a clear view of the woman's face, and what she was tossing into the garbage. She leaned back in her chair with a grim look on her face "There's your girl. And there are the scrubs she was wearing." She pressed a few more keys, and a moment later, the printer whirred to life.
Sara reached down and pulled the paper from the tray. She studied it for a moment, a strange feeling in the pit of her stomach. Then she looked up at Sears. "Let's find Jamie and let her know."
* * * * * *
"Clopramine," the dayshift CSI said, holding up a piece of paper as Sara and Sears stepped into the layout room.
Sara arched an eyebrow and looked at Sears. Sears just shrugged. "That's a cattle sedative."
Sara gave the criminalist a curious expression. "And you know this because..."
Sears smiled. "I worked at a vet clinic for a few years during high school and my freshman year at LSU."
"Right," Cohen said, giving the paper to Sara. "They found about 7cc's of that stuff in Grissom's IV bag, and the doctors estimate that another 3cc's got into his system. So, we'll just have to track down vet clinics that carry Clopramine. Could be one or all of them; we won't know until we start."
"Well, why don't you see if anyone recognizes her," Sears said, handing Cohen the printout from the camera.
Cohen glanced briefly at Sara and Sears over the top of the paper. "This is your 'nurse'?"
Sara nodded. "I'd recognize her anywhere." She opened her mouth to say more, but cut herself off when her pager began vibrating. Sighing with slight frustration, she plucked it off her belt and peered at the blue display.
Gris awake. Wants to see you. ~N.S.
Sara's eyes darted up to the dayshift CSI's. "Guys, I really have to go."
Cohen nodded. "Fine. Officially, you're not part of this investigation, so..." She gestured to the door, a small smile on her face.
Sara didn't waste a second. Giving the two women one last smile, she all but ran out of the room, heading towards her SUV.
* * * * * *
The sound of laughter drew Grissom out of his light doze. He tried to lift his head to peer out of the window, but didn't have the strength. He let it fall the short distance back to the pillow with a sigh.
In an instant, Nick was at his side, peering intently at the injured supervisor. "Gris? You need something?"
Grissom opened his eyes again, peering tiredly at the younger man. "No, Nick. I'm fine." The faint sound of gunfire and tires squealing caught his attention. "What is that noise?" he asked, his voice barely above a whisper.
Nick glanced over his shoulder. "Just the TV, Gris. You want me to turn it off?"
"No. It's fine." With a small groan, Grissom closed his eyes again, trying desperately to rid himself of the fatigue that plagued him. He'd woken up a few hours before, endured a long hour of the doctors poking and prodding him, then been released back to his room. He'd been given a new IV bag, as well as a few shots that were supposed to clear out his system. He wasn't sure what he had been given; all he knew is that it drained all his energy.
Nick watched as his mentor struggled to sleep. As soon as Grissom had woken up, the doctors had called him, saying that they believed someone familiar should be there with the entomologist. He'd rushed over as fast as his SUV would allow, then sat through the exam. Whenever the doctor had finished with Grissom the first thing he had done was ask for Sara.
The younger CSI glanced at his watch. That had been two hours ago, though he'd only paged her a half an hour earlier. He knew she would come, but he was concerned that someone might try to stop her. Beefing up security, the hospital had stationed two uniformed policemen in Grissom's hall. One was in front of his door, while the other stood by the elevators. Would these cops prevent Sara from entering Grissom's room? Nick hoped not, knowing the fiery brunette was likely to bash the cops' skulls in.
Sighing, Nick grabbed the remote and turned the TV off. He turned back to Grissom, noticing that his breathing had finally become level and steady. He smiled, then stood up and stepped out of the door. The cop nodded at him, then went back to counting the number of spots on a single tile.
The sound of footsteps caught Nick's attention. Those aren't nurse's shoes, he thought to himself, having had a good deal of time to compare the different sounds of different shoes. He looked up and saw Sara making her way towards him, a small smile on her face. He returned the gesture and stepped away from the wall to greet her.
"Hey, Sar. How you holding up?" he asked, genuinely concerned.
She shrugged, her eyes going to the police officer. "I'm fine. How's Grissom?"
"He's sleeping, finally. He woke up and they had to run a lot of tests and stuff. Wiped him out. You still want to go in there?"
She nodded. If only Nick knew how much she had to see Grissom; to see that he was alive and well. Nick turned to the cop and dipped his head slightly, then stepped aside to let Sara in. She turned and gave him a questioning look when he didn't follow her in. He just smiled at her, then shut the door, leaving her alone with Grissom.
She stared at the door for a second before turning to the object of her thoughts. She smiled when she saw him. Grissom's color had returned to his face, and he was no longer connected to any machines. He still seemed weak, and the lines on his face seemed all the more prominent, but he was the most beautiful sight in the world to her.
Reaching out to take his hand, she sank into the chair that Nick had abandoned. She felt tears well up in her eyes as she stared at him, wiping them away with her free hand. She watched his chest rise and fall a few times, then leaned forward. "You need a haircut," she commented quietly, running her hand through the curls.
"That's the style..." she heard him whisper, his voice raspy. He slowly opened his eyes, fixing them on her.
She smiled. "Hey. You feeling any better?"
He returned the smile. "Much. At least I can breathe now."
"When do you get to come home?" she asked, taking hold of his hand again.
He weakly tried to shrug. "Soon. They don't think there's any lasting damage, and my gut's as good as it'll get here. Besides, I think my medical bill is high enough as it is."
She laughed at his attempt to lighten the situation. "Good." Then she looked down at the floor. "Will you go home?" she asked, wondering if he would really be up to returning to the place where he'd been shot.
He blinked slowly, turning his head to look up at the ceiling. "I don't know. Where else can I go?"
"You can stay with me. You know, just until you're ready to go back," she added, seeing his questioning gaze.
He smiled, lifting his hand to touch her cheek. "That'd be great."