CHAPTER 5
The hospital was brimming with business and something about the sterility made Sara feel like she was a commodity being processed through an assembly line. Nurses came to check on her bruising and her vitals, an resident came by to stitch a cut in her face, and after a few hours, a orthopaedist came in.
"Dr. Assantu," the woman said, frowning at Sara's appearance.
She was gentle, probing Sara's swollen wrist, face and ankle. She asked Sara to rotate her shoulder and frowned again when Sara took in a sharp breath.
"This should come as no surprise, but I'm going to send you for some x-rays."
Sara nodded. Several hours and two plaster casts later, Sara was trying to pay attention as Dr. Assantu spoke to her about the recovery process.
At long last, a gynecologist came into Sara's curtained cube. The man frowned when he saw Sara's battered appearance.
"Hi Sara. My name is Dr. Jakubowski, but uh, you can call me James."
"I wasn't raped," Sara said, so quietly James almost missed it.
"Sara," he sighed, "several people witnessed your assault."
She glared at him. "I lived it. Trust me, if he had," her voice wavered, "I would know."
James nodded. "Can you tell me what happened?" he asked.
"Are you a therapist or something?" Sara countered, feeling increasingly hostile.
"Sara, I'm a doctor. I just want to make sure that you're okay and that if you have any fluids on you, they're properly collected. Besides, an extra exam will answer the questions you know law enforcement will ask," he said, looking into her face.
She nodded. James explained the exam to her as he went through it, even though he was sure she'd done it a million times. When he went to palpate her breasts for lumps, he paused when he saw the fingerprint bruises there. He drew his hands back. "Make sure to exam your breasts for lumps when they heal," he said softly and she nodded, happy that he was so considerate.
When he was finally done, he gave her the privacy to get dressed before returning to her room.
"Do you believe me now?" She asked bitterly.
"Sara, do you have someone you can stay with?" he asked.
"Excuse me?" She was startled.
"You've been through something very traumatic. You're injured, both physically and psychically." He sighed.
"I'll be fine," Sara grumbled.
Grissom, who had been pacing in the waiting room, chose that particular instant to enter Sara's curtained cube. "I'll be with her, doctor," Grissom said.
Sara looked up at him and realized that he was, indeed, serious.
The doctor nodded. "A month, at the very least."