Disclaimer: These aren't my creations. If they were, I'd have a lot more time to write fanfic!
A/N: Here's Chapter 3. We're still in the introduction stage, but stick with me. Chapter 4 is being typed as we speak, and things will start to make more sense!
Chapter 3
Sara was sitting with her head resting in her hands trying to decide if she wanted to get up and ask the nurses for a Tylenol. All of the nurses had been incredibly sweet considering the circumstances, obviously curios, but not asking any embarrassing questions. When she heard the footsteps behind her, she assumed one of them was coming to check on her again. But when she lifted her head, she was stunned to see the one person she never expected to see, but the only one she believed could truly help. Surprise stopped her speech for a second, then she found her voice. "Grissom, what are you doing here?"
He stared at her for a long moment, trying to decide how to answer her. How am I going to explain why I'm here? I've never done this before, and I'm not completely sure what I'm doing now, he thought. Suddenly, he realized Sara was staring at him. "I, uh, I was worried about you."
Sara chuckled humorlessly. "You drove all this way because you were worried about me? Come on, Grissom, do I look that stupid? You're afraid I was going off the deep end, weren't you?"
"Sara, I'm telling you the truth," Grissom answered patiently. "I was worried. You were acting so out of character, I was afraid something bad had happened, and, obviously, I was right."
Sara lifted an eyebrow at him. "And you love being right, don't you?" Then, she remembered where she was. "Grissom, I don't believe you've met my mother. This is Laura Sidle."
Grissom started slightly. "I guess I was always under the impression you're mother was no longer living. Apparently, I was wrong there. What happened to her?"
Sara shook her head. "I have no idea. All they told me at the prison was that she had been injured in an altercation. They said they weren't at liberty to discuss anything else with me about the investigation. I've been here at the hospital ever since, and this is the way she's looked the entire time."
"What are the doctors telling you?" Grissom asked quietly.
"They're not giving me a whole lot of hope. I guess she sustained some serious head injuries as well as internal injuries. Combine that with her age and the fact that she hasn't had the best of healthcare for the last two decades, and you can understand why they are not very optimistic." Sara sighed and leaned forward to stretch her back.
Grissom studied her tired face and rumpled clothes, and a thought suddenly occurred to him. "Sara, have you left the hospital at all?"
"No, I've just stayed here. I guess the thought of trying to find a hotel room was just more energy than I wanted to expend."
"Well, you're not going to be any good to anyone soon if you don't get some rest. Why don't you come with me, and we'll find rooms for both of us."
Sara stared at him. "Grissom, how long are you planning to stay here?"
Grissom looked deep into her eyes, and hoped that she could see beyond the detached façade he always presented to the world. "For as long as you need me, or until Ecklie comes and drags us both back." He smiled at her. "Actually, I have to be back in a couple of days. Catherine will kill me if I'm away any longer."
Sara smiled back at him. "Then, in that case, let's get something to eat. I'm tired of hospital food." She left her cell phone number with the nurses, and turned to leave with Grissom. She couldn't explain it, but for some reason, the dark cloud that had hung over her the past 36 hours or so was gone. It probably had a lot to do with the man at her side. She was beginning to feel that there was some hope again in her life. "So, where are you taking me?"
"Oh, so you go from hardly eating at all to expecting me to feed you?" he laughed.
"Well, you offered," she answered with a smile.
They drove to a small mom and pop restaurant near the hospital that one of the nurses had recommended. Sara's buoyant mood started to drop when she realized that he was going to want some answers. I don't want to share anything else with him, she thought. He already knows more about me and my past than anyone else on earth. We're going to keep this conversation strictly superficial. Right, like that's going to happen, Sara.
They were seated at a small table, and a perky high-school type waitress took their order. Sara watched her walk away for a minute before looking at Grissom.
"So," he began, "tell me about your mother."
TBC