Trauma

Usual disclaimers... don't own it, never will, but a girl can dream, right?

Rating. Probably PG-13 don't know where I'll end up yet

Ch. 3

After nearly 30 years in law enforcement, Jim Brass thought he had just about seen it all. However, nothing could have prepared him for the scene before him as he, and five other policemen, broke through the bedroom door of Sara Sidle's apartment.

There, on his knees before a man dressed entirely in black, with the muzzle of a gun pressed hard against his forehead, was his friend; Gil Grissom. What caught his attention even more was the look of desperation and defiance mixed on his old friend's face. Behind Gil on the bed, was Sara. Bruised, bloodied, and bound to the bed, her naked form was struggling with consciousness.

The thug with the gun spun around quickly, and just as quickly; hit the floor as Gil slammed his still bound body into the man's knees. The other two men-in-black tried to jump out of the window, only to be met on the ground by four cops wielding shotguns.

"Get 'em out of here!" Brass bellowed at the uniformed officers with him after the perps were 'cuffed. Kneeling to cut the tape on Gil's wrists he quipped," How come I didn't get an invite to the party?"

"I invited you as soon as I could. You could've gotten here sooner, you know." Griss retorted. Then quietly," How bad does it look, Jim?" This said with a nod toward Sara's now limp form as Catherine is trying to gather evidence and still give Sara some dignity. The paramedics get her covered and loaded in the back of an ambulance before Brass can control himself enough to answer.

"She doesn't look good, Gil. I'm no doctor, but this will take some time..." he couldn't finish. "You don't look so good yourself, pal," he said, trying to choke down his emotions.

"I'm fine." Grissom winced as he tried to stand. His side felt like someone was sticking him with a red-hot poker whenever he tried to take a breath.

"Yeah, right," Jim didn't sound convinced." Tell you what, why don't you just ride in the ambulance with Sara and let the EMT's check you out, just for my peace of mind, OK?"

Griss grudgingly agreed, if for no other reason than he could be at the hospital with Sara. He had to pass by a mirror in the hall on his way out and caught a glimpse of himself. He stopped and stared. He almost didn't recognize himself. One eye was nearly swollen shut, his nose had been bleeding, and the side of his face where Sara had scratched him was crusted over and very sore. No wonder Jim wanted him to get checked out.

Gil looked back at his friend," Thanks, Jim." he said.

Three hours later, the ER doctors had fixed him up and Sara had finally gotten moved to a room. At the side of her bed, holding her hand, Gil Grissom gave in to the exhaustion and pain meds and laid his head on his arms to fall into a fitful sleep.

He stirred when he heard whispered voices. The room was dark, but the light from the hall outside silhouetted three men. His groggy mind only saw the forms and he immediately got to his feet in a defensive stance. Sara sensed his movements and opened her eyes. She followed his eyes to the door and saw them. Sara screamed.

" NOOOOO! STAY AWAY!"

Griss' mind cleared and he recognized the three now very nervous young men. "Sara, honey, its OK. Its just Nick, Warrick, and Greg!" He tried to calm down the near-hysterical woman. He repeated, "Shhhh, baby, its OK. " over and over as he wrapped his arms around her.

When his words finally registered in her mind, she quieted, but did not let go of the grip she had on his sleeve. Breathing hard and softly crying, she looked cautiously at her friends.

The three men carefully approached her bed, and tried not to crowd her. She cringed as Nick reached toward her, his hand going to the switch on the wall so that she could see their faces. All three of them drew a sharp breath when they saw the state of their friends' faces. The blood and bruises being more than they expected.

Sara released the death grip she had on Griss' sleeve with one hand to reach over and take Nick's hand in her swollen one. "Sorry, guys," she said hoarsely.

" No, Sara, we're sorry, we didn't think, we were just so worried about you..." Warrick couldn't finish through his tears.

"Its just...three...hurt so much...kill Griss..." this all becoming more incoherent with every word. She was falling apart before their eyes. Sara, their cornerstone, was shattering.

"Catherine couldn't tell us anything, she just teared up and walked away."

They looked at Grissom questioningly, "There were three of them." was all he could say, and they had to strain to hear him.

"Oh, God! Did they...?"

"Repeatedly." even quieter.

He saw the understanding in the eyes of his friends turn quickly to rage.

Sara had drifted back to sleep. Sometimes, Morphine can be a good thing.

"Guys, I'm not going to tell you not to come see her, just don't come all together, please."

When the younger men had left, Grissom sat back down and cried himself to sleep.