Trauma
CSI: Yeah sure, I own it NOT
Archive: ask first please
Rating: PG-13
Chapter 5
Catherine found them a few minutes later. Grissom had managed to turn off the water and grab a towel to wrap around Sara's shivering body. He was holding her as her sobs faded to soft whimpers.
"Griss! Are you guys O.K.? What happened?"
"We're alright, Cath. Could you help me get her up?"
Even with her help, the act of getting Sara to a standing position was almost more than his broken ribs could take. Catherine noticed his face turn white, then a lovely shade of green. He fought down the nausea as he took a deep breath.
Sara had been curled in a fetal position ball when Grissom found her, and covered with a towel the first time Catherine saw her, so when she stood up it was the first time either had really seen her body. Purple and black bruises spanned her hips and covered the inside of both thighs to her knees. Grissom hissed in another deep breath and let it out with a word neither had ever heard him utter. Catherine drew a breath, and then offered Sara a watery smile.
"Uh, Griss... Could you give us girls a few minutes?" Cath nodded her head toward the door.
He shuffled his way out, shaking with rage.
Catherine helped Sara into a clean hospital gown, then the women left the bathroom and headed for Sara's bed. After Grissom and Catherine helped her into bed, Sara gave them both a weak, tired smile. "Thanks." she whispered.
"Griss, I brought you some clean clothes, I thought you might want to get out of those scrubs." Catherine said, indicating the duffle bag she had put in the chair.
"Thanks, Cath.Will you stay awhile? I'd like to take a shower, but I don't want to leave her alone."
"Sure, we can girl talk." Grissom wasn't sure he liked the sound of that.
As he entered the bathroom, he heard Catherine offer to get Sara some water or food. The girls would be fine. He turned on the water to adjust the temp. , and painfully pulled the scrub top over his head. "Shit!" he mumbled.
"Catherine, could I bother you a moment? "He called.
The women looked at each other quizzically. "What's the matter? Did you forget how to undress yourself?" she teased as she opened the door.
"No. When they were putting this binder on me for my ribs, Jim told them to put it on backwards because I would take it off the first chance I got. So now the Velcro is in the back and I can't reach it." he said as he turned to show her.
"This may hurt," she warned as she grabbed the end of the material to pull it apart. He braced himself and winced as she tried to accomplish her task with as little pain as possible. He felt the binder release and heard her sharp breath at the same time.
"Oh my God, Gil! What did they do to you?" she whispered so Sara wouldn't hear. His back was covered in bruises, much the same color as Sara's, from just below his shoulder blades to his waist. When Catherine reached out to tenderly touch them, he flinched. "Sorry. "She quickly withdrew her hand.
"Apparently, while I was unconscious, those goons kicked the shit out of me, "he stated matter-of-factly.
Catherine smiled at his un-Grissom choice of words. Yep, he was hurting. "Gil, this looks bad. What about your kidneys?" she asked, the concern evident in her voice.
"They are badly bruised, but the doctors say there shouldn't be any permanent damage. I'll just be pissing blood for a few days."
"Sounds painful."
"Yeah, I'm really looking forward to it. Don't tell Sara, Cath. She has enough to deal with. She already blames herself for my being there, because she called me for a ride." he let out a long , tortured sigh.
He reached for the string on his scrub pants."Uh, Cath, I think I can handle it from here." he said over his shoulder.
"Right..." She turned and left him to his own thoughts.
Stripping off the bland blue scrubs and his boxers in one motion, he stepped under the welcome spray of warm water. He stood there just a moment, letting the water take some of the tension and pain with it down the drain. Then he gingerly raised his arms to run the soapy cloth over his body, trying to remove at least some of the filth he felt, even though he knew most of it was psychological and not actually there. After he soaped his hair, he put his head under the water and leaned his hands on the shower wall. He finally let the tears that had been threatening have their way.
How would she ever want him now? He couldn't stop...anything. When he woke up and she was stroking him... NO! That's not the way it was supposed to be! Their first time together was supposed to be tender, loving, amazing, and beautiful. Not ugly and forced by someone else's agenda. True, technically, they weren't together but it still was not of their own time.
Who was he kidding! He wondered if he ever would've made any kind of move to bring them together. He was too afraid. Of her. Of himself. Now he realized that he was more afraid of losing her.
"What was that about?" Sara asked as Catherine came back into the room.
"Oh, Griss needed help out of his girdle." At Sara's look of astonishment, Catherine smiled as she explained, carefully omitting the worst.
"Catherine, I need you to do something for me. Please."
At Sara's serious tone, Catherine's smile faded." Of course, whatever you need."
"Help him." Sara nodded toward the still closed bathroom door." He was a victim, too."
" Do you want to tell me?"
"No," with a sad chuckle," but I think I need to. To make it brief, they knocked him out then kicked him and hit him over and over. After they took my clothes and tied me to the bed, they dumped him on the bed with me, still out of it. Then they said they would kill him if I didn't... if I didn't..."She fought back the tears. She had to get through this."... Touch him. You know, stroke his..."
Catherine nodded her understanding. Gil hadn't told her everything, after all.
"Then they made him watch while they..." deep breath "gang raped me." She did it. She told it. "That's how he got the cut on his throat, trying to protect me."
As Catherine was trying to adjust to all this new information, Grissom chose that moment to walk in the room.
"So, what have you girls been saying about me behind my back?"
