Notes: Just in case you guys wanted to know, this is not a character death. Sorry if it sounded like that at the end of the last chapter! Nicky was just telling her what happened at Grissom's house.
--------------Desert Palm Hospital------------
Nick pushed Sara down the hall to Grissom's room. "I don't need a wheelchair, Nicky," she muttered for what must have been the thousandth time. He grinned, not dumb enough to open that can of worms again.
They got to Grissom's room after a few minutes. Gil was just waking up when he heard the knock at the door. "Hello?" Sara rolled in, and Nicky walked out to give them some privacy. He walked down the hall to Catherine' room.
"Hey Cath, how ya' feelin'?"
Catherine sat up, "Hey Nick! I'm OK. The doctor said I can get out in a day or so... How 're Sara and Gil?"
"Well, Sara can't leave for another few days - maybe two or three, cause she lost so much blood. Grissom should leave sometime tomorrow; he only had a fairly minor concussion."
"What about..." she started.
"He'll live." Nick stated grimly. "Cops are swarming all around that whole floor. He'll get transferred to the prison hospital soon, probably tomorrow."
Warrick poked his head into the room, "Hey Cat. How ya' doing?"
"I'm OK," Catherine repeated what was becoming her stock phrase. "What's up?"
"Nothing much. Just finished processing Grissom's house, but - I mean - the guy was caught basically red-handed. Slam dunk case for the DA."
"Yeah, except for the minor fact that I shot him." Catherine's face was drawn. "They'll say that we were all to close to the case, that I didn't have to shoot him, that I did it because of what he did to Sara. They'll say that the Chain of Custody was compromised because we didn't pass it off to dayshift. They'll say that I was looking for revenge, and then he will be acquitted because of 'Police Brutality.'" Catherine started crying softly.
"Hey Cath, nobody thinks that!" Warrick started.
"The defense lawyers will! And if the jury agrees with them..."
"Hey, it'll be OK." Nick assured her. Right then, someone knocked at the door. Lindsey poked her head around the semi-open door. "Mommy!" she squealed, leaping onto the bed.
"Hey Lindsey!" She looked up at her sister, standing at the threshold. "Thanks."
"No, problem! Oh, by the way - you and Lindsey are staying with me for now. The doctor said that you can go home tonight, as long as you stay with someone else for a few days."
"All right." Catherine hugged her daughter close, feeling Lindsey snuggle up against her side
------------Catherine's Sister's House------------
Catherine walked into her sister's house, dropping her bag on the floor. Lindsey ran up the staircase to see her cousin while Catherine and her sister walked into the kitchen. Cat pulled a bottle of painkillers out of her purse and swallowed two or three.
"You sure you're OK?" the sister inquired concernedly. Catherine started to nod, but stopped short as she felt the pain in her head worsen.
"I'm fine," she murmured - as the painkillers took effect she felt exhaustion overwhelm her. Climbing off the stool, she wandered toward the guest room. To tired to eat, bathe, or even change her clothes, Catherine flung herself onto the bed, falling asleep almost instantly.
-----------Sara's Apartment, Two Days Later----------
Sara felt memories wash over her as she stood at the doorway. Warrick and Nick had cleaned up the blood and replaced the coffee table while she was still at the hospital, but she could still see it in her mind's eye. One of the disadvantages to being a CSI, she thought, I know it's all still there. I know I could spray luminol a year from now, and still see everything. It was kind of unnerving being in her house again after what had happened just a few days before. Sara heard a noise behind her, and whirled around, pulling out her gun.
"Hey! It's just me." Grissom reassured her. He shivered as a gust of air blew down the hall. He was just about to enter when he saw in his mind the same thing Sara had just been remembering. "You want to stay at my place?" he offered tentatively. Sara looked up at him, startled.
"Sure!" She closed the door to her apartment and, reaching for Grissom's hand, turned to head down the hallway.
-------------Six Months Later-------------
The five CSIs walked into the courthouse, all of them with butterflies in their stomachs. Toady was the day. The jury had been deliberating for almost two days, but was expected to return a verdict today. The trial had dragged out, everything Catherine had worried about had been brought up, along with O'Connor's mental stability; and nobody had any idea how it would turn out. They sat down in together, yet each of them was in their own little world.
The door to the jury room opened, and the people in the courtroom stood. The twelve jurors filed in, and the foreman cleared his throat nervously. "We-"he cleared his throat again, eying the CSIs, especially Catherine, Gil, and Sara. He started over, beginning the phrase that has been heard in so many courtrooms. "We, the jury, find the defendant...."
Notes: Guilty? Not Guilty? Maybe I'll just end it there - let you decide on the ending yourself... Just teasing, just teasing! Next chapter should be up in a day or so.