The Weakest Link
Sara next awoke a couple of hours later with Nick still by her side. Her fidgeting – her bruises were getting itchy – woke Nick up too.
"Sara, don't itch," he said swiping her hands away from the black and blue spots. Sara swatted back at him.
"They itch," she responded childishly. Nick scowled at her, capturing her hand in his own once again.
"Stop itching. It won't help them heal."
"Then what am I supposed to do? I can't ignore them, sitting here like this all day," she pouted, crossing her arms to the bests of her ability with her one arm in a cast and sling. Nick watched, wincing slightly as she moved her recently relocated shoulder.
"How's your shoulder?"
"In the right place," she retorted, her tone slightly sarcastic. Nick took it in stride, chalking it up to the mountains of painkillers she was on for the bruising.
"That's a start," he pointed out with a slight smile, "now, how are you feeling?" Sara shot him an incredulous look.
"What on earth is that supposed to mean?" She could feel her frustration rising in her veins.
"Being in here, your bones, your body… your mind." Sara ran her sling-less hand through her already mussed hair with a sigh.
"I hate being cooped up, and I mean hate. As to my bones and body? They've seen better days and have been through better times, but, we take it all in stride." She purposely avoided the mind question. She wasn't sure if it was something she wanted to discuss with Nick. Catherine would understand and possibly give her advice on what she could do to get over the haunting memories. Nick, on the other hand, she wasn't so sure. Was he going to pity her, or sympathize with her?
"And your mind?" Damn, he just wouldn't give up.
"Seen happier memories," she answered carefully.
"You can tell me if you don't want to talk about it, Sara. I just hope you will discuss it with some one." Sara smiled at him, appreciating his understanding.
"I was hoping to talk to Catherine later. Maybe…" she swallowed hard. Nick nodded.
"Because she's done this before?"
"It might be easier talking to some one who understands the emotional pain. Not saying you don't but Catherine's been through it all and I just think that she'll be able to give me a better perspective without all of the…" she trailed off realizing that she was babbling. It was something very un-Sara-like. Nick's smile was amused.
"That was cute," he said quickly before sobering. "Without the pity?" Sara couldn't believe his ability to virtually read her mind. He just knew, knew she needed support and not pity. He himself was afraid of pitying her. He didn't want to. She was strong and she would get through this. She didn't need his pity on top.
"So you want to talk to Cath, who will empathize instead of sympathize?" Sara nodded her head sheepishly.
"Sorry."
"Don't apologize. It's completely logical." A knock sounded on the door.
"Come on in," Nick called, eyes focused on Sara. Catherine, Grissom and Lindsey entered.
"Hey," Sara said.
"Sara, I'm so sorry…"
"Don't apologize, Cath. With my past, I would have done the same thing you did, had I been in your situation." Catherine still looked caught. Lindsey approached her bed. She reluctantly withdrew her hand from Nick's to accept the stuffed dog and card the little blond was holding out to her.
"We brought these for you," she said.
"Thanks Lindsey."
"That's one of the fire dogs. Those dogs are brave so I thought it suited you well." Sara's eyes teared up. It was sweet, especially since Sara and Lindsey didn't know each other very well.
You have a big heart, Lindsey, Sara thought. You're mom should be proud of you.
"Cath?" Catherine jumped at Sara's voice. The elder woman had been lost in her own thoughts, and Sara knew – from experience – that wasn't always a good thing.
"Are you alright?" Catherine's eyes darted around the room.
"Can you give us a couple of minutes?" she asked. Nick gripped Sara's hand again. Sara smiled at him, telling him wordlessly that this was something that needed to be done. Besides, she couldn't remember the last time he had eaten.
"Why don't we go find you a cookie, Lindsey," Grissom finally spoke up.
"I could use one myself," Nick agreed, dropping a light kiss to Sara's forehead. Her eyes closed involuntarily in reaction. They left. Catherine turned pain filled eyes to Sara and Sara couldn't help thinking that she was taking this a lot better than Catherine was. Then again, Catherine had been through much more. She did, after all, have a daughter.
"Before you apologize," Sara began as sson as Catherine opened her mouth to speak, "for the record, I don't blame you one little bit for what happened. It was completely my decision to go in there in the first place." Catherine looked like she wanted to delve deeper into things but then pulled out.
"Was there an officer on duty?" Sara thought back hard. Had there been some one there to watch over the room? She shrugged.
"One, but I wasn't going to give Banning the satisfaction of hearing me scream. His voice was quiet anyway so the guard wouldn't have through anything of what was going on inside. No one walked by until you." Sara could tell by Catherine's face that she knew Sara was lying. There hadn't been an officer there, but that wasn't her fault. There should have been, they both knew it.
"And I didn't do anything."
"You screamed which was more than enough to get people to notice that something wasn't right. Cath, if you hadn't come when you did, I would have been dead."
"And you wouldn't have been as badly beaten if I had the presence of mind to get you of there." Sara sighed heavily, sensing that this was not an argument she was going to win. Catherine was stubborn, and so, Sara had to be a little bit more creative I finding a way to lift the blame off of Catherine's shoulders.
"I see this ordeal did something to put you and Griss where you belong." Sara noticed the statement had taken Catherine by surprise. She grinned, the smiled fading when Catherine's next words registered in her mind.
"And I'm guessing Nick won't be at work until you get out." Sara blushed. Her relationship with Nick had, in a way, changed. He didn't leave her bedside, ever. Not for food, rarely even to go to the washroom.
"He's been fantastic, Cath. I can't… he's been so supportive. My second support column, along with you. I swear he hasn't left my bedside since I got here." Catherine was the therapist in her life almost, Nick was the corner stone that kept her away from the dark side of memory lane.
"And Amanda?"
"She's been here too. I just sent her home to get some sleep." Catherine shot Sara a confused look. Sara realized the unasked question.
"I tried, really I did, but he just will not leave. Do you think Grissom would leave if it were you in this bed and not me?" Catherine nodded her agreement. Sara asmiled. It was going well for Catherine and Grissom, at her expense and she couldn't even be there to see them interact from day to day. She, on the other hand, had Nick.
And I wouldn't change a single thing, she thought to herself. Okay, maybe the abuse and maybe the pain of her bruises, but for her – right at this moment anyway – things were working out. Catherine's sigh brought Sara out of her thoughts.
"You don't have to apologize, Catherine," she said again, forcefully.
"It feels like it's my fault. It feels like you wouldn't be here if…"
"Damnit, Catherine, stop! You've been through this, I've been through this and we're both stronger for it. There are not the worst of the bruises I have and sustained and they will heal. My emotional ones are healing too, with help from you and from nick and Amanda. The only major physical injuries I have are my dislocated shoulder – which by the way, the doctors popped back into place – and my broken arm. They will heal. I'll be back to the lab as good as new in no time." Before Catherine could argue further, Grissom, Nick and Lindsey returned. Amanda followed close behind.
"Hey, Sara. How are you feeling?" Amanda asked. Sara painstakingly pushed herself into a semi-sitting position, wincing only slightly as she strained her shoulder. Nick was at her side in an instant, helping her resettle her arm.
"Freight train, enough said." Every one in the room chuckled slightly.
"I thought I told you to go home and sleep," Sara said, directing the statement at Amanda who had come to stand just slightly behind Nick.
"You did, I didn't. My best friend is in the hospital and I'm worried. So sleep wouldn't come," Amanda replied with a shrug. Sara rolled her eyes.
"You know it's more comfortable sleeping in a bed than on a chair. Even Nick will tell you that," Sara shot back, squeezing Nick's hand lightly. Amanda scrunched up her nose in mock disgust.
"I can deal, but only because you're my friend." Sara, in her peripheral vision, noticed Catherine's far away look.
It was weird for Sara to think so much of Catherine, but the bond they had seemed to form was one over the painful memories and withdrawal that Catherine seemed to be going through.
"So when I get out of here we're going for a night on the town, right Cath?" It was the only way Sara could think of getting Catherine to come back to earth. It worked. Catherine jolted and caught Sara's eye. Sara began to worry at the disoriented look in the mother's eyes.
"Cath?" Sara said carefully, pushing herself up further.
"I'm… sorry. Didn't hear the point," Catherine replied on a sigh. Sara's smile contradicted the look in her eyes. She was worried about Catherine. Sara had always believed Catherine to be the strong one, the mother even, of their CSI family. True, she had never been close to Catherine, but that didn't mean there wasn't the respect that Catherine deserved in Sara's veins. Then Brass entered.
"Sorry to break up the party, but Sara, I'd like to ask a couple of questions."
"Brass…" Catherine began, but Sara held up a hand.
If it will put Banning away, I'll deal, she thought.
"What do you want to know?" Sara noticed Catherine slowly leaving the room, Grissom and Lindsey not far behind. She needed to be home with her family and people who loved her dearly. Not in a hospital where Sara was sure Catherine had spent more than enough time.
"Want to tell me exactly what happened?" Brass asked, breaking Sara out of her thoughts.
"Pretty simple. I went in. I thought that if I could face him in an interrogation room, the court would be simple. I stood in the doorway for a moment and I guess he sensed me there. Any way, he told me to come in. I told him that I really didn't want to get within 100 feet of him but I would have to face him in court. He recognized my voice and we exchanged a few more words. He seemed calm, until he hit me. I don't even know what was going on in his head. I couldn't see it. First hit was my jaw, then the dislocated shoulder then the broken arm. I must have blacked out after that because the next thing I knew, I was here."
"Did you hear Catherine scream?" Sara nodded with a shiver.
"Then I knew that I didn't have to struggle any more. Some one would come." Brass nodded with a light smile.
"Okay, thanks. Get better soon." He left. Nick stroked Sara's hair back from her cheeks as Sara once again repositioned herself in the bed.
"Get some sleep, Sara. It'll help you heal," he soothed. Amanda took a seat in one of the corners, content to just watch the exchange. Oh the irony. She was sure Nick wouldn't remember telling her – and Sara wouldn't remember hearing him say – that he was her soon-to-be boyfriend. Then she noticed Sara's even breathing.
"She was so calm," Nick whispered to Amanda.
"She's too strong for her own good. I can guarantee when she gets out of here, she won't be worried about herself. Catherine will be her first priority because of the bond they now share, You will be her second priority, then the rest of the team, then herself. It's just the way that Sara works." Nick knew where Amanda was going with this and stopped her.
"I'll take care of her, you don't have to worry about that." Amanda smiled.
"Thanks. I don't need her in more trouble than she's already in."
Sara woke again to the door opening and closing. It was Catherine, looking all business. Sara mentally groaned, she didn't want to deal with this now.
"Sorry, Sara. We got another DB call. Did you know a Lauren Bray?"
"Does she have a brother? I recognize that name."
"I don't know. What I do know, is she's dead, but she was tortured first. Slashes all on her thighs and arms, extensive bruising… We don't even know if it was the pain or if the morphine killed her." Sara nodded thoughtfully. So what did that mean?
"Are Banning's murder charges being dropped?" she asked suddenly.
"We're not sure yet. The darts weren't a match but that doesn't mean he didn't have anything to do with the deaths."
"And because I didn't know Lauren Bray, she's different." Catherine nodded.
"Damn."
"Look, I've got to go. Evidence to process and all of that. I'll be back later."
Nick, meanwhile, was eating. Once that was completed, he made his way back to Sara's room. En route, he ran into Sara's doctor.
"Hi, Sir. Do you know when Miss Sidle will be getting out? She's getting antsy."
"We're hoping to have Miss Sidle out by tomorrow but she won't be able to do any heavy lifting or reaching with her shoulder for about 2 weeks. We took her sling off." Nick filed that away. Knowing Sara, it was going to be tougher than expected.
"And when will her cast come off?"
"6 weeks. That means to field work until then." Nick nodded and thanked the doctor, turning again to make a call to Warrick.
"Brown."
"Hey man. I just talked to Sara's doctor. He hope to have her out by tomorrow."
"That's great!"
"Still, the doc says she can't do any extensive arm work for a while."
"Of course."
"Sara's going to flip. He said 2 weeks."
"2 weeks? For a shoulder? That's fast."
"She's been in here how long? Any way, knowing Sara, it won't be two weeks. At most she'll be back to her work in… 2 days."
"But with you there she'll be taking her rest for those 2 weeks like the doctor ordered." Nick laughed.
"I'm going to head back in. I don't want her alone too long."
"Okay, See ya, man."
"Right. Bye." Nick clicked off his cell phone and made his way back into Sara's room. Sara looked a million miles away.
"Hey, what's wrong?" Nick asked, taking her hand again.
"They found another DB." Nick swore under his breath.
"How do you know?"
"Catherine was in a little while ago. She asked if I knew this girl."
"Did you?"
"No."
"You are the weakest link."
"I know."
"Now what?"
"We wait for Amanda to come back."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Finally got a new chapter done. I hope you enjoyed it all. I have chapter 4 written I just have to type it and post it. Should be up any moment.
Coming soon…
Amanda's connection
~Kavi Leighanna