Disclaimer: I still don't own CSI or any of the characters from the show. If I did, this would be on TV and not on the internet.

Help Me

Chapter 5

Much of the rest of Sara's time in the hospital was spent either alone or with Grissom. He spent as much of his free time with her as he could. He was actually losing sleep to sit and talk with Sara. She was feeling more and more comfortable talking to him. She felt she could tell him almost anything. He had seen her at her lowest point and he wasn't ashamed of her. When it was time for her to go home, Grissom came to pick her up.

"Hey Sara, ready to go home?" he asked brightly.

"Yes," she replied.

"Good, I'm glad to see you going home. You have no idea how terrified I really was the other night," Grissom told her.

"I can only imagine," Sara sat up slowly from her bed. Her body was still weak and she was glad for the wheelchair that was going to take her to Grissom's car.

Grissom waited patiently while Sara got dressed in the clothes he had fetched from her locker at work. Finally, the paperwork for her release was completed and they were truly ready to go. A nurse wheeled Sara out to Grissom's waiting SUV and helped her into the front passenger's seat. Sara rested her head back on the headrest and shut her eyes for the ride home. When she opened them, she was surprised to find herself at Grissom's house again. She turned to him with a questioning look.

"Sara, you're still pretty weak and for a few more days, I'd feel better if you stayed with me," Grissom explained, "if you insist, I will take you home, but I think you should stay here."

Sara was slightly amused at the idea of Grissom practically begging her to stay at his house. Under any other circumstances, she would truly enjoy this. She was too tired to argue with him and was actually glad he offered. The prospect of staying alone in her apartment was not a great one.

"Sure," she said.

Grissom, slightly surprised at how easy that had been, went around to Sara's side of his SUV and opened her door, "Let me help you."

Sara took the offered hand and then wrapped an arm around his shoulder to help steady herself. She felt a little wobbly as they walked to his house and was glad that he was here to help her. She was very grateful that Grissom was able to read her so well, she hated to ask for help and he knew just when to give it to her. They stopped in his living room, the old couch already gone and replaced with a new one.

"Sorry about your couch," Sara said upon spotting the new furniture.

"Sara, don't worry about it. I'm just glad you're alive today," Grissom said seriously, "besides, that thing was old and it was about time I got a new one anyway."

Sara laughed weakly, "That other thing was pretty ugly."

Grissom laughed too, "I'm glad you are feeling well enough to joke with me."

Sara sat on the new couch and said, "Oh yeah, this one is so much more comfortable."

"I'm glad you like it," Grissom smiled.

"I've never had a leather couch," Sara ran her hand on the smooth material.

"Are you going to be okay sleeping on the couch? You are more than welcome to take my bed," Grissom offered.

"No no," she cut him off, "you're already being put out by letting me stay here, I'm not taking over your bed too."

"Okay," he agreed.

"I do appreciate you letting me stay here. I don't think I would want to be alone right now," she said quietly.

"I just want to help you," he explained, "are you hungry?"

"A little bit, yeah," Sara replied.

"I think I'll go make us some soup, does that sound good?" he offered.

"That does sound good," Sara leaned back into the soft backrest of the new couch. It was a nice leather couch. It was very comfortable. So comfortable in fact that before she knew it, she had drifted off into a light slumber.

Grissom returned to his living room several minutes later with a tray with two steaming bowls of tomato soup on it. He smiled at Sara's sleeping form on his new couch.

"Soup's ready," he said, startling her awake.

"Oh, man I can't believe I fell asleep. You were gone for what...ten minutes?" Sara said, somewhat embarrassed.

"It's okay, if you're tired, you're tired," Grissom sat next to her.

Grissom handed her a steaming bowl of soup and turned the TV on. He let her choose a show to watch. The ate their meals in relative silence. When they were done eating, Sara laid down on the other end of the couch, with her feet in Grissom's lap. She was fast asleep and he gently moved her feet, stood up and went to his own bed.

Sara woke up and it was dark in Grissom's living room. She was surprised to find a blanket covering her body. She grinned to herself, still amazed at how thoughtful Grissom could be. She glanced at the clock and saw that he was probably leaving for work soon.

As if he read her mind, Grissom entered the living room, "Hey sleepyhead."

"Hey Gris," she smiled sleepily.

"Did you sleep well on the couch?" he asked.

"Yeah actually. The last couch I slept on left me with a stiff neck, but this one is great," Sara said.

"Good. Well I have to go to work. There's plenty of food in the kitchen, and I kept in mind that you are a vegetarian when I went shopping. Feel free to sleep on my bed if you want, you have the remote for the TV right there. I have lots of books if you want to read, but I don't know if any of them will interest you, lots of stuff about bugs, you know," Grissom winked.

"Thanks, I'm sure I can keep myself entertained," Sara returned.

"I know they're going to be asking about you at work again," Grissom started, "everyday it's 'how is Sara?' or 'when is Sara coming back?'. They're truly crazy about you Sara."

Sara blushed slightly at that comment, "I can probably go back to work in a few days."

"Don't rush yourself into it," Grissom advised, "you may feel all right physically, but I'm sure you will be mentally tired for a while. I don't want you to go back too soon and realize you can't handle it."

"I won't rush myself. Don't worry about it," Sara flashed him a smile.

Grissom was glad to see her beautiful smile again, "Well I'll be seeing you tomorrow morning then."

"Bye Gris, and thanks again for helping me out," Sara called after him.

Sara wasn't sure, but she thought she heard him mumble something like, "I'd do anything for you Sara."

A/N: Chapters 5 through 7 are pretty much the same and that's why they are coming so fast. I didn't really need to remove them, but I did, so here they are again.