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"That gun was police issue," Nick said, packing away evidence from Sara's case.
"I know," Warrick answered, "this is just horrible, she doesn't deserve this."
"I just want to go see her, see for myself that she's okay."
"Griss is going to call you, right?"
"Yeah."
Warrick slipped the closed sticker onto the box of evidence and headed down to lock up. With everything wrapped up with the case, they would finally get a chance to catch up with the rest of the crimes in Las Vegas.
Four days later, Sara woke up with excruciating pain in her arm. Grissom had been sitting nearby, his nose in a forensic journal, but he looked up when he heard her gasp. "What is it honey?" he asked, clutching her hand.
"Get the doctor," she managed to get out.
Grissom pressed the call button and tried to comfort her. "Shh honey, he'll be right here."
The doctor walked into the room and saw Sara scrunched up with pain. "My arm," she gasped, "I can feel it, but it hurts like hell."
The doctor adjusted the pain medication, and after a few minutes she was relaxed enough to speak comfortably. Her hand was still clenched tight around Grissom's, but she appeared somewhat more comfortable. "Where does it hurt Ms. Sidle," the doctor asked.
Sara took in a deep breath. "From my shoulder, all the way down my arm."
The doctor rolled up a stool near the bed and pulled out a pin. "I want to test the sensitivity in your fingers," the doctor spoke, "tell me if you can feel the pin prick."
The doctor poked at her fingertips, and the answer was affirmative each time. "For now, try and get comfortable and get some rest," the doctor stated, "I'll tell the nurse you can have a sedative administered if needed."
Sara nodded to the doctor and turned back to Grissom when he left. "Gil, it hurts so much," tears escaped from the corners of her eyes.
"Honey, it's so good that you have feeling though," he tried to console her.
Grissom administered his makeshift hug again and held her as she cried. After a while, she still seemed pasty white and in a lot of pain. "Honey, do you want me to get the nurse?"
"Yeah," Sara conceded, "this pain is just about unbearable."
When Grissom came back with the nurse, she gave Sara a sleeping aid and once again adjusted her pain medication. After a few minutes, she was sound asleep once again. "How long will she sleep?" Grissom asked the nurse.
"Approximately eight to ten hours."
"I'm going to leave for a bit and try to get some rest. Please call me if there are any problems."
"Sure Mr. Grissom."
Grissom left the hospital and headed toward the lab. I can at least tell the guys what is going on, even if I can't sleep. "Grissom, what are you doing here?" Greg asked, noticing Grissom enter the lab corridor.
Grissom turned around and saw the lab tech staring at him. "Sara is sleeping, I figured I'd come by and tell you how she is doing."
"Oh, well it's been a slow night, we're not really working on much, you can probably get the gang together now."
"Alright, let me go talk to Catherine first, be in the break room in five."
Greg nodded and went to put some papers away before going to the break room.
Grissom continued down to Catherine's office and opened the door. What he encountered shocked him. Where did all her things go? He decided to go back to his office and page her.
When Grissom opened his office door, he found the redhead seated behind his desk. Catherine looked up and gave him a small smile. "How's Sara?" she asked.
"Sleeping," his reply was short, "what happened to your office?"
"Well, the sheriff decided to put the team back together."
"Oh, how nice of him to notify me," his statement dripped with sarcasm.
"He apparently needed to space for the new swing shift head, even though that was my office before."
Grissom started to reply, but Catherine cut him off. "Since I'm acting supervisor right now, and I'm working on all of your paperwork, your office looked like a good place to work."
Grissom gave her a half smile. "I'm going to go update everyone on Sara's condition."
"Where?"
"Break room."
"Well, let's go then," Catherine said, dropping her pen and taking Grissom's arm on the way out.
The team had assembled in the break room and were all drinking coffee. They were all anxious to hear the news, so Grissom started right in. "Catherine probably told you about the severity of the injuries to Sara's right arm," he stated.
He received nods and affirmative statements. "She regained feeling in her arm, but she is in a lot of pain. The doctor is doing all he can to keep her comfortable, but there isn't a lot he can do. Right now, she is sedated and resting."
"Do you think when she wakes up she'll be comfortable enough for us to visit her?" Nick asked.
"I'll tell you what," Grissom reasoned, "why don't you come around nine tomorrow morning to visit her. That way, she will have been up for a while and might be more comfortable."
"If it's a problem Griss," Warrick stated, "call one of us and we won't come."
Grissom nodded. "I'm sure she'll be happy to see you all."
After they had finished their conversation, Grissom decided to go home and try to get some rest. Hopefully I'll have better luck this time.
Grissom returned to the hospital looking more refreshed and alert. When Sara awoke, she needed a few minutes to adjust to the constant pain, but she seemed to be feeling slightly better. "How do you feel?" Grissom asked.
"Wonderful," she lied with a small smirk, but continued, "slightly better. They've got me so doped up that everything is just like a dull ache."
Grissom smiled and pressed a kiss to her forehead. "If you don't mind, the team wants to come by and see you."
"I'd love to see them," Sara said, a small sparkle present in her eye.
"They're coming by around nine. I wanted some time alone with you first."
Sara smiled and let out a small chuckle. Good, that got a grin out of her. "Come here mister," Sara pointed to the bed.
Grissom carefully wrapped his arm around her, and they shared a kiss. "That's about as alone as you're going to get," she joked.
Grissom smiled and playfully bit her ear. "Be good Gil," she smirked, "we're in a hospital."
Grissom pulled back as a slight redness engulfed his face. "We've got about an hour," he joked back, "you're all mine for a while."
Sara smiled and tried to rest comfortably with his arm around her. What would I do without him?
"Hey Sar, how are you feeling?" Nick asked, entering her room.
"Okay, come on in," Sara said.
Nick entered the room with Warrick close behind him. "Hi Warrick," Sara stated, noticing Warrick's presence.
The four of them chatted and visited for a while, then Catherine and Greg replaced Warrick and Nick. When Sara started to yawn, they told her to feel better, and they left Sara and Grissom alone. Before long, Sara had fallen asleep, Grissom by her side.
One month later, Sara had been home from the hospital for awhile, and she was starting to adjust to her condition. Her right arm was still in a brace and a sling, and her wrist had a cast around it. Her physical therapist had given her exercises to work on with her fingers to try and keep some strength.
"Damn it!" Sara yelled, kicking the kitchen cabinet.
Hearing Sara swear, Grissom exited the bedroom and found Sara picking up pieces of a broken plate in the kitchen. "Let me help you with that," he stated, walking across the room.
"No!" Sara yelled, "I'm sick and tired of everyone helping me, I can do this myself!"
Grissom realized there was no rationalizing with her, so he turned around and went back to the bedroom.
When Sara finished picking up the broken dish, she went in search of Grissom. She found him in the bedroom sitting with his head down.
Why do I keep doing this? Sara sat down next to him and wrapped her arm around him. "I'm sorry," she spoke, leaning her head on his shoulder.
Grissom carefully pulled her into his arms and kissed the top of her head. "No, I'm sorry I keep nagging you, I just don't want to see you hurt yourself."
"Gil, don't," she said, stopping him, "I'm just really moody and anxious right now. I'm ready to go back to work, but I'm not sure I'll do my job right."
Grissom pulled back from her and looked her in the eye. "Sara, you're just helping Greg in the lab. If you think you need more time, you can stay home longer, you know that."
"No," Sara said, shaking her head, "I can't stay here anymore, I'm going out of my mind."
"Okay then," Grissom kissed her cheek, "you're going back tomorrow to help Greg. Do not even think about going into the field."
"Is that my boyfriend or my boss speaking?"
"Both."
Sara nodded her head and kissed his lips in return.
Two months later, Sara had fully recovered from her injuries, and all that could still be seen were the horrendous scars. She had requalified at the firing range, and was finally able to return to field work. "Hey Sar, welcome back to the field," Nick stated when she entered the locker room.
"Thanks," Sara smiled.
"C'mon, give me a hug," Nick held his arms out.
Sara obliged and gave Nick a big hug. It's so nice to have good friends. Sara finished putting some things away in her locker and went to leave the locker room. "Nick, c'mon, you're going to be late for assignments," Sara chided.
"Maybe I can get in good with Grissom so I don't have to worry about that," Nick grinned.
Sara slapped his shoulder before leaving the room to go to the break room.
By the time Sara and Nick arrived at the break room, everyone else was already there. "Welcome back Sara," Catherine stated, sipping her coffee.
Sara received other welcomes from the group. "Thanks, it's good to be back," she stated.
"Let's get underway," Grissom said, bring the group's attention back to him, "Cath, you and Warrick take this robbery, Nick, take Greg and go to this apparent suicide, and Sara, you're with me, we have a vandalism."
"A what?" Sara asked in shock, "What do we have to investigate at a vandalism site?"
"Kid says he didn't do it, swears the paint on the wall doesn't match what's in the can. Apparently the kid watches a little too much tv and specifically asked for us down there."
"So now we go to scenes when the criminals ask us to? And two of us need to go?"
"It's that or stay in the lab, Sara," he said sternly.
"I'll meet you at the car," she said in a huff, leaving the room.
Nick, Warrick, and Greg left the room. "Lover's spat?" Nick said under his breath.
The three of them smiled and kept walking. "Don't keep her on too tight of a leash Gil," Catherine stated.
"I'm not keeping her on any leash. We've only got small stuff tonight, and I'd rather she start out slow than just throw herself back into work."
"She's going to see it as favoritism Gil, keep a watch on her, but don't coddle her."
"Mind your own business for once Cath," Grissom said, leaving the break room.
Don't mess this up Gil, don't mess this up.
The drive to the scene had been relatively quiet, but Sara suddenly started conversation. "What was that back there Gil?" she asked.
"Sara..." he started, but she cut him off.
"Don't Sara me. I qualified to go back into the field, I've been waiting for months to be able to, and you stick us with this excuse for a case."
"Sara like I said..." he spoke, but she cut him off again.
"You don't need to shelter me Gil, we've been through this before," she practically yelled, exasperated.
"If you would let me talk for a minute, I might be able to explain," Sara looked like she might object, but she went quiet, "There were only three cases so far for tonight. I didn't want to stick the rest of the team with this case, and since you've been out for awhile, I thought it would be fairer to put you on a case like this. Also, I didn't want to send you out alone on your first case back, so here I am with you."
Sara took in a deep breath. "Let's go do the scene, we'll talk later when we're home."
Pulling to a stop, Grissom held her hand before they exited the vehicle. "I won't deny that I'm trying to keep you safe, but if it was any of the guys, I would treat them the same way."
Sara nodded and exited the car, ducking under the tape to enter the crime scene. Grissom shook his head and grabbed his kit before entering the scene.
After collecting evidence from the scene, Grissom and Sara started back to the lab. "I can't believe we were called out there just because it is the principal's son. That's crap."
Grissom's eyes widened, obviously knowing she was still angry. "I hate politics."
"Who doesn't know that?" Sara turned toward him.
Grissom brushed that off and tried to change the direction of the conversation. "When we get back to the lab, there will be another case for us to work on."
Sara nodded and looked out the window. She was silent the entire way back to the lab.
By the end of shift, Grissom and Sara had gone to a home invasion and a convenience store robbery. The evidence was cut and dry, and processing needed to be finished in the lab. Sara was sitting in the break room when Grissom entered. "You ready to go home?" Grissom asked.
Sara nodded her head and met him at the door. He draped his arm around her waist and they left the building.
In the car, Sara rested her hand on Grissom's knee, and he put his hand on top of hers. When they arrived home, they went into the living room and Sara wrapped her arms around Grissom, pulling him in for a big hug. "Thank you," she said.
Grissom was puzzled, but he held her tighter and kissed the top of her head. "For what?"
"Not getting mad."
"Sara, I was just trying to get through to you..."
"I know, I know. I think I was just anxious to go back, but now, I'm glad I'm home."
"Why is that?" Grissom said with a glint in his eye.
"Because now I can do this," she said, pulling him in for a deep kiss.
They continued to exchange passionate kisses, and Grissom was instantly aroused. They hadn't been intimate since before the accident, and they both shared a sense of longing. Breathlessly, Grissom picked Sara up and carried her to the bedroom.
Grissom was above Sara, leaning on his arms, kissing her, when she suddenly stiffened. He looked her in the eye with confusion. "Are you okay?" he managed to get out.
When she started to shake her head, Grissom untangled himself from her and rolled over to his side of the bed. When Sara started to cry he tried to comfort her, but she put his shirt on and slid to the floor. Grissom tried to put his hand on her shoulder, but she shied away. "Don't," she said through her tears.
Grissom pulled his boxers on and waited for Sara to say or do something. He didn't expect for her to get back in bed and wrap her arms around him, but he welcomed her touch. She continued to cry, but he felt better knowing that she came back to him. "I can't," she whispered through her tears.
Grissom turned over and wrapped his arms around her. "Shh," he soothed.
"All I saw was him," she pulled tighter to him, "over me, wanting to hurt me."
Grissom instantly knew what she was talking about. "He's gone, he'll never hurt you again," he said, pulling back the shirt to trace over the scars on her shoulder.
Sara flipped Grissom onto his back and started to assault his body with kisses once again. Grissom grabbed onto her shoulders and looked her in the eye. "Are you sure you are ready for this?" Grissom asked.
"I need to feel alive, to be with you again, it's been so long," she said between kisses.
"Believe me, I know," he said, returning her kisses, "but if you're not comfortable."
Sara's kisses continued down his body and he lost all coherent thought. They spent the rest of the morning reaffirming their love for each other.