A/N I'm sorry for the delay in posting. RL is settling down again now. Huge thanks to everyone who sent well wishes to my husband and my father. Both are doing well.

Thanks go to Hazeleyes57, Suzy and Laura Katharine who beta'd this chapter in Marlou's absence. Lk just for you, the sugar is gone!!

Chapter 10

When Grissom returned to Sara's hospital room, he was met with the most adorable sight he had ever seen. Sara was in the same position he'd left her in, but her eyes were closed as she succumbed to exhaustion.

Carrying the bag of takeout food to the bedside table, he placed it down as quietly as he could before returning his attentions to the woman who had stolen his heart. Her lips, he noted were still slightly swollen from his affections as well as her previous injuries. He wanted to heal her in so many ways, both emotionally and physically, and over the past few hours he had thought of nothing else but how he could take care of her while juggling his already busy work schedule.

The endless possibilities had started to make his head ache, so instead of dwelling of what he could do to help, he decided to give her all that he had right now, here in this moment—even if that meant dueling with his fears to overcome the obstacles that still crept up to hold him back every once in a while.

Silently, he took the chair beside her bed and eased his tired body into the cushions, content to watch the steady rise and fall of her chest.

Reaching forward he stroked one of her hands that poked out from under the blanket, amazed that she didn't stir while he caressed her fingers. These last few days had bombarded his heart with umpteen different emotions, each one precise and defined, causing his whole body to erupt like a simmering volcano that was once content to lie dormant only to explode and force a flow of emotions throughout him.

Vincent Lurie came into his mind, his presence creating a rift in the silent confines of his emotions. This man continued to haunt him, his image taunting, causing Grissom to suck in a breath with every assault as the realization that he could have lost Sara forever penetrated his heart.

Shaking the image away, he closed his eyes briefly, only to open them again and take a long look at the woman he loved, and he did love her. He could count the times when those three simple words had almost slipped from his lips when his feelings for her had been practically overwhelming.

How often in the past had he almost given into temptation. Sighing heavily, he pushed the thoughts of regret back into the far reaches of his mind while the words I love you still called from his heart. I love you...I love you...until his lips moved in time with those words, voiceless but yielding, building strength every second, and then without even realizing, he whispered those words, his own voice a shock to his ears.

Clamping his mouth closed he watched her carefully for any signs that she may have heard his admission, but when she didn't stir he found himself relieved and disappointed all at the same time. Those three words had released almost a decade of emotions, each one centered around the woman before him, and for the first time he found that the soft admission didn't scare him as much as he thought it would.

Smiling, he reached closer to touch his fingertips to her cheek allowing himself to revel in her softness, his own personal reward for conquering one of the biggest hurdles that had prevented him from surrendering to her for so long.

He followed the bruises that littered her face as if his gentle touch could heal the purple blemishes and all the pain they were causing her. For a moment he allowed his eyes to travel her face and look upon the marks that had broken his heart the second he'd seen her.

His eyes filled with sorrowful tears as he was once again thrust into the nightmare right alongside her, and he fought those same demons that clawed their way into her dreams and kept him from her.

More and more he knew that his love for her was taking control of his senses, casting all rational thoughts aside. He wanted to be the one to be with her when she woke up shaking from her nightmares. He wanted to be the one she clung to when she couldn't take any more. He wanted to be the one she needed, and he knew to do that, he would have to make some sacrifices in his life

His touch roused her slowly as she fought to open her eyes under the weight of sleep. For a few seconds she thought she was back in her nightmare, that the gentle touch on her cheek was that of her tormentor and she tried to move away from it.

"Sara," Grissom whispered, keeping his voice soft as he spoke. "It's okay sweetheart."

'Sweetheart.' The sound of that particular endearment thrust Sara further into turmoil, and she snapped her eyes open, ready to fight the man who held her down. Gasping for breath, she forced her eyes to focus on the face of her captor, determined to fight with every ounce of strength that she had. The face that came into view wasn't that of a man she feared, and she focused on his concerned eyes brimming with worried tears.

"Grissom?"

"I'm here," he breathed, moving closer towards her to ease her fears. "It's okay now, you're safe."

"You called me...that...and I thought," closing her eyes tightly she tried to control her raging emotions, hoping that he wouldn't give up on her and think she was crazy. "I'm sorry."

Grissom watched her face pale before him and soon found himself caught up in his overwhelming need to protect her. He moved over to her bed and perched on the side of her mattress to link both of his hands with hers. "Sara, honey, open your eyes."

She did as he asked, uncertain if she could prepare herself for what she would see in his eyes. The warm smile that greeted her seemed to melt most of the fears away, and she found herself relaxing under his gaze.

"You know, you can tell me anything, right?" he asked softly, keeping his voice low as he spoke. "I know what you went through will stay with you for a long time, but I want you to know that I'll be here for you, for as long as you need me."

"I'm sorry I freaked," she whispered as she fought off the tears that threatened to overthrow her again.

"You have every right to freak out—"

"No, you don't understand." Letting go of one of his hands, she pushed herself upwards so that she was sitting a little higher averting her eyes from his concerned gaze. "You're trying to help me and all I've done is..." her voice trailed away to bring a wave of fear to Grissom's heart. Only an hour or so ago they had been kissing and healing each other with tender touches, and now he felt as if they had taken a huge step backwards.

"You didn't do anything wrong sweetheart—"

"DON'T!" Pulling her hands from his grasp she moved away from him and pulled her knees up to her chest and surrounded them with her arms while she rocked back and forth.

"What did I do wrong?" he asked worriedly, her behaviour alarming him to the point of hysteria.

Opening her eyes again she forced the nausea away before turning to him. Her voice was soft as she muttered her reasons, and he had to strain to hear her through his own thumping heartbeat. "He called me sweetheart...he called me that every time he..."

"Oh, Sara." Pulling her arms away from her knees, he moved closer to her so that he could hold her. She buried her head into his shoulder, her tears soaking his shirt all the way through to his skin, but he didn't care. He knew now more than ever that she needed his strength to help her through the worst of the nightmare.

"I'm sorry," she whimpered as he rocked her, his heat seeping into her body.

"Everything's gonna be okay Sara," he soothed, "Lurie's gone and he'll never be able to hurt you again."

Sara let his arms encircle her for a few more moments before slowly disentangling herself from his body. Lifting her head, she gazed up into his eyes and reveled in the love she could feel emanating from them. "I'm trying to forget," she whispered as a single tear fell onto her cheek. "But every time I close my eyes he's there, and everything gets so confusing."

"It's gonna take time, Sara," he told her gently, lifting a finger to her cheek to swipe the lone tear away. "No one expects you to get over this quickly, there's no time frame attached."

"I know, but—"

"Shhh," he told her, smiling gently as he pulled her close to him for another embrace. "You don't have to do this alone anymore. I'll be here."

Closing her eyes again, she clung to him, thankful that he would be there to chase the nightmares away from her.

000000000

Later that afternoon, Catherine made her way down the hospital corridor with Nick and Warrick in tow.

"You think Sara's gonna like those flowers?" Warrick asked in a conspired whisper to Nick who held a particularly large bunch of pale pink carnations in his hand.

"Why wouldn't she? Every girl loves flowers!"

"Well Sara's not like most women, she prefers her things living," Warrick grinned as he gestured to the stuffed white teddy bear tucked under his arm.

"So you think she'll go for the cutsie type gift then huh?" Nick asked him with a sly wink. "Care to place a wager on that?"

"Will you two stop already?!"

Both men looked over towards Catherine who was by now shaking her head showing very little amusement.

"Sorry," Nick muttered, bowing his head like some naughty school boy, while Warrick shrugged his shoulders by way of an apology.

When they reached Sara's room, Catherine approached the door to poke her head around the frame to herald their arrival. A huge smile lit her features as she took in Sara's relaxed posture. "You decent in there?"

"Cath," Sara gasped when she heard the welcome voice, her obvious delight with Catherine's presence lighting up her bruised face with a smile. "Of course I'm decent."

Grissom shifted in his seat to take a look behind him, his slow, stiff movements causing Sara to reach for his hand to give it a gentle squeeze. When he turned back towards her, he could see the concern in her dark brown eyes, and he knew that he would have a tough time in convincing her that he was really okay.

"I'm fine," he insisted, ignoring Sara's worried glances. "I am."

For a few moments he found himself caught up in her knowing gaze, but when the small hospital room suddenly became slightly overcrowded, he welcomed the intrusion knowing that he had indeed received another reprieve.

"Hey Sara," Nick grinned as he entered the room, thrusting his large bunch of flowers out to her while leaning over to plant a kiss on her cheek. He lingered against her skin using her warmth for his own reassurance that she was on the mend. "It's good to see ya."

"It's good to see you too," she smiled, offering Nick a glimpse of what she hoped was enough to keep his worries at bay for a little longer. Gesturing towards the flowers in her lap she reached out to his hand on her shoulder and gave it a small squeeze. "Thanks for these, they're beautiful."

Nick beamed triumphantly and looked over towards Warrick who shook his head in mock surrender and nudged him out of the way so that he could give Sara his own gift.

"Hey girl, how are you feeling?" Leaning down, he planted a soft kiss on her forehead and held out his get well offering to her. When he placed the stuffed animal in her lap along with Nick's flowers he thought for a moment that she might cry, but despite the overwhelming affection in her eyes she hid the tears from view.

"I'm feeling better," she smiled, blinking away the emotion in her eyes. These people around her bedside were more than family to her, and it had taken these awful events to make her realize just how much she loved them. She could feel everyone's eyes upon her, their obvious affections sometimes overwhelming, but at the same time she had never felt so protected in her life.

The sudden need to breathe caused her to turn to the man beside her and seek some kind of reassurance from his eyes. His encouraging smile sent shards of warmth through her entire body, drawing both her courage and strength along with it. He gave her the power to believe in herself once again, giving her the greatest gift of all.

The sweet smell of the carnations in her lap drifted through to her senses and she found herself propelled back amongst the circle of love surrounding her. Grissom's eyes captured hers once more and the need to feel his arms around her became all too much to bear. She knew she had to seek a distraction, something to momentarily drive the surge of need for him away. Looking down at the scented blooms, an idea came to her. "You think you could track down a vase for these?"

"Uh...sure," Grissom nodded, he too feeling the need for separation as much as she did. With a small smile he stood up from his chair only to wince slightly when his back protested with the sudden movements.

"Grissom?" Sara asked worriedly, reaching out to him automatically.

"It's okay," he assured her when she started to protest. Standing up straight he massaged the base of his back with his hands as he tried to work some feeling back into his body.

Catherine caught Grissom's pleading look towards her and then at the worry in Sara's eyes. Stepping forward, she took charge of the situation and to motioned to Grissom to move past her past her only to distract Sara by claiming his chair beside the bed. "Did you manage to eat anything?"

Sara reluctantly looked away from Grissom's retreating form and focused on the woman beside her, her thoughts distracted. "Uh...yeah...Grissom brought me some salad earlier."

"Salad?" Nick asked incredulously. "You're in here to get better not wither away!"

His voice brought her thoughts back to the people around her and she turned to him, ready to protest. "I like salad."

"I like it too, but it doesn't mean I wanna eat it as a main meal!" Sitting down onto the edge of her bed, he grinned at her again. "Well don't think you're eating that crap when I come and stay with you!"

"Excuse me?"

"Nick, you have a big mouth!" Catherine scolded before turning to Sara and nudging her arm. "Since Nick has already blabbed I might as well tell you." Reaching out for Sara's hand she covered it with her own urging Sara to look at her. "We wanted to do something to help, so we decided that between all of us, we can take turns staying with you when you get out of here. You're gonna need help getting around for a few days, and we want to be there for you."

Sara's eyes glistened with tears as she looked around the room at her friends. "Wow, that's..." Lifting a finger to wipe her eye she offered her friends a watery smile. "You guys are really something."

"So are you, Sara," Warrick told her, his hand patting her blanket covered legs.

000000000

Outside in the corridor, Grissom almost collided with Sara's doctor. "Excuse me," Dr. Braham smiled.

"My fault," Grissom offered, swallowing his embarrassment. "It's a little crowded in there at the moment," he told him, inclining his head in the general direction of Sara's room. Over the doctor's shoulder, Grissom caught sight of Brass walking towards them down the corridor holding a large bouquet of flowers in his arms. "Looks like it's about to get even busier!"

The doctor looked over his shoulder then turned back to offer Grissom a small smile. "She's a popular young woman."

"Yeah," Grissom agreed, waving a hand to Brass as he approached them.

"Well, maybe you can help me," the doctor smiled. "I need to check Miss Sidle's condition before I can determine if she's well enough to be released. Would you mind clearing her room for a few minutes?"

Grissom took a few moments to comprehend what had just been said to him and then suddenly broke out into a smile when the words sank in. "Of course."

"Thank you."

Turning back into the room again he coughed loudly to get everyone's attention. When all eyes fell onto him he couldn't help the smile that graced his lips. "We need to clear out for a few minutes people, Sara's doctor needs to see her."

"Oh great," Sara groaned, "more prodding and poking."

"Good luck," Catherine smiled sympathetically, squeezing her hand before getting up from the chair.

"Thanks," she sighed.

"Aww, quit being a pain in the butt Sar," Nick grinned. "I'd sooner have you alive and being able to complain about it that not have you at all."

"You say the nicest things," she retorted, her lips turning upwards into a smile. "Just remember sweetie, when I'm outta here I'll be back to kicking your ass."

"Bring it on darlin'," he laughed before following the others out of the room.

Sara watched them file out one by one and caught Grissom's eye before he too turned to leave. "Can you stay with me?"

Grissom's eyes clouded over with emotion as he nodded silently and returned to his chair beside her bed. His hand automatically slipped into hers while they waited for the doctor to come in and close the door behind him.

"How are you feeling today, Sara?"

"Fine," she told him, wincing slightly with the sudden movement, hoping that he hadn't seen her gasp in pain when she turned her head too quickly.

"Good, good." Stepping closer he took his pen light out of his top pocket and raised her head slightly so that he could shine it into her eyes. "Any headaches? Dizziness? Nausea?"

Sara shook her head slightly with each question, and then sat back to watch him move behind her. "I'd just like to check your other injuries, if you wouldn't mind slipping the gown down a little."

Letting go of Grissom's hand, she rotated her shoulder and slid the material of her gown down over her shoulders so that it exposed her bruised skin.

The doctor pressed down gently on the abrasions asking if anything hurt while he did so and she shook her head to all of them, insisting that she could feel very little pain at all.

Dr. Braham helped her sit back again into the pillows and slipped his pen light back into his pocket with a satisfied smile. "We need to take another blood sample to establish if your iron count has raised. Depending on the results, I can't see any reason why you can't go home to recuperate."

"Wow," she beamed. "Really?"

"Yes, as long as you have someone stay with you. Can you arrange that?"

Sara's heart skipped lightly and she sat back remembering Catherine's offer. Turning to Grissom she smiled slightly and opened her mouth to speak when Grissom reached for her hand again. "I'll be staying with her."

Sara's eyes whipped around to his, her heart melting into his smile. No words were spoken as he gently squeezed her hand in reassurance.

"Excellent," Dr. Braham smiled. "All we need to do now is draw some blood from you."

"So if my blood levels are high enough then I can go home right?" Sara asked with a smile, still unable to believe that she could soon be free of this place.

"Yes," he told her with a smile. "If we're happy with the results you could be going home tomorrow."

Sara squashed the desire to give a triumphant squeal of delight. Suddenly she didn't feel so tired anymore.

"A nurse will come by shortly to draw some blood but until then, I'll leave you and your visitors alone."

"Thank you doctor," Grissom smiled, squeezing Sara's hand again as he spoke.

Sara sighed contentedly when Grissom shuffled a little closer to place a soft kiss on her cheek. "That's if you don't mind me under your feet," he whispered.

Sara's eyes filled with tears again when she saw the emotion in his eyes. "I never knew before all of this happened just how lucky I am." She squeezed his hand gently as they slowly gravitated towards each others lips.

"Uh oh." Brass' voice intruded into their near kiss, causing Grissom to sigh heavily and nestle his face into her shoulder.

"Get in here Brass," Sara told him with a mock glare. Grissom lifted his head and smiled into her eyes before kissing her anyway, despite the audience.

"You're looking a lot better since I saw you last kiddo," Brass told her as he handed her his bouquet of flowers and leaning over to plant a fatherly kiss on her head. "How are they treating you in here?"

"It's okay," she smiled. "I might be able to go home tomorrow."

"Really?" Nick asked when he came into the room. "That's great."

"Excellent, we'll have to work out the schedule," Catherine told her as she picked the flowers up from Sara's bed. "I've found a vase, wanna help me with these Warrick?"

"Sure," he drawled and followed him out of the room.

"Schedule?" Grissom asked curiously, his eyes settling on Nick who sat down on the end of Sara's bed.

"Yeah, we thought if we took it in turns to stay with Sara then she'll have plenty of help in the next few weeks." He grinned over at her teasingly.

"That's..." Grissom's struggled with a way to tell Nick that he had it under control but when he saw how much the younger man wanted to be a part of Sara's care he realized that he'd have to share her, albeit reluctantly. "That's a great idea."

Sara swallowed hard. She knew that the man beside her would already be fighting an inner war that raged between his desire to be with her and the fear of being with her. They had both come further in their relationship in the last few days than they had done in almost a decade. Turning to Nick, she pleaded with him silently, hoping he would pick up on the desperation in her eyes.

"Nick, would you guys mind if I had some alone time for the first day or two when I get out of here?"

Both Nick and Grissom turned to watch her curiously, and she suddenly felt as if she would melt beneath their gazes. Brass coughed slightly as he fought to hide the smile on his lips, for top-notch investigators, both Nick and Grissom could be pretty clueless at times.

"Gil, wouldn't it make you feel better if you stayed with Sara for a few days?" Brass asked as he winked at Sara who by now was becoming redder by the second.

"Uh...I..."

"Of course it would," Catherine announced as she headed back into the room carrying Sara's flowers now nestled safely in two separate vases. All eyes turned to her when she breezed into the room to place first one vase and then the other onto Sara's cabinet.

"There you go," she smiled, lifting her fingers to one of the carnation petals to rub it gently. "These should brighten things up in here."

"Thanks Cath," Sara smiled gratefully.

"So, what did the doctor say?" Warrick asked, taking his place on the end of her bed next to Nick. "They cutting you loose, girl?"

"I wish," Sara sighed. "It all depends on my blood count. If it's high enough I can go home."

"That's great, you'll be up and about in no time, which brings me back to the schedule issue," Catherine grinned. Her hand slid over Grissom's shoulder and tapped it reassuringly before she continued. "Sara, honey it's your call. The three of us can handle shift for a week or two between us, if you want Gil to stay with you for a while."

Sara glanced at Grissom and found herself mesmerized with his eyes. She wanted to tell everyone that this was the man she wanted to be with, but at the same time she sought his guidance that told her he was okay with her saying it aloud.

Grissom smiled gently and nodded his assent. Her acceptance meant more to him than he could ever put into words, and he couldn't remember a time when he had felt this content.

"You know you're all..." Sara stopped mid sentence, her voice suddenly laden with emotion. Taking a breath, she tried again, only this time feeling the strength from Grissom's fingers through hers. "I think of all of you as my family, and I don't want you to think that I don't want you to stay with me. But I need...what I mean is I want..."

"We get it Sar," Nick grinned, patting her other hand. "You guys want some alone time, and that's fine by me."

Brass grinned, congratulating himself on his suspicions turning out to be right. When Catherine's eyes turned on him, he held his arms up in mock surrender. "I promise not to call."

"You guys take all the time you need," Warrick nodded.

Catherine couldn't help the overwhelming burst of emotion that sprang up into her eyes. At this moment in time she couldn't be more prouder of both Grissom and Sara as she was right now. "Don't be surprised though if you get regular visits. We can't let you get too used to not having us around!"

"I wouldn't want it any other way," Sara smiled as she stifled a yawn. "Excuse me."

"That's our cue to leave," Catherine told everyone, her motherly voice causing everyone but Grissom to move towards the door. "You take care you two."

"We will," Grissom nodded, noticing for the first time that he had referred to him and Sara as a 'we'.

"You call as soon as you know anything, okay?" Nick urged as he blew her a kiss from the doorway. "Feel better."

"You'll be able to hear me all the way across town," she grinned.

Another round of goodbyes followed while Catherine urged everyone out of the small room only to turn around and wave her own fleeting farewell before closing the door behind her.

"Are you okay?" Sara asked quietly when they were once again alone.

"Me?" he smiled, as he placed a soft kiss on her fingers before holding her hand against his bearded cheek. "I should be asking you that question."

She smiled, his tenderness warming her heart to the point where she could believe anything. "I think I'm going to be okay."

"Me too," he agreed softly as he lifted his body from the chair to sit beside her on the bed. Moving an arm around her shoulders he pulled her into his chest and held her against him, content to have her nestled in the safety of his arms.

TBC