Chapter 2

… …

Sara stood there with her Starbucks coffee in hand as she exited the diner that the entire PD and Lab personnel used during work hours, which was all day and all night for Vegas enforcement workers.

She reached into her pocket for her car keys so she could head home before the day flittered by. As she was crossing the parking lot, her eyes fell on Catherine as she stood be her own car across the street. The blonde was waiting for something.

Soon that something, someone, came out of the lab entrance with a briefcase and stack of papers under his arm. Sara watched as her boss, Gil Grissom, the man she had tried to confide in, the man she secretly love-- walk straight towards Catherine.

Catherine took the papers from him and planted them in the back foot-well of her car before turning back and…

Sara's heart stopped.

Grissom had leaned down to kiss Catherine.

And to Sara's painstaking horror, it was not just your friendly kiss either. This wasn't the first time she'd seen them, but it always shook her and sobered her every time she came across them in some embrace or another.

This one was initiated by Grissom, that's what really shocked her. He held Catherine close and kissed her deeply, his hands on the blondes body with familiarity that made Sara's stomach churn.

Sara knew he'd been out with woman in the past, but she'd never known them and that had seemed to lessen the sting a little, but seeing him holding a woman she knew and worked with, hurt more than she could imagine.

Swallowing the prickling pain in her throat, she managed to toss her much loved Starbucks into the nearest trash can and climbed into her car, trying to block the imagery from her mind as she drove past them on her way out of the parking lot.

… …

She felt a heavy weight on her chest as she tried to move. She felt hands holding her down. Her voice was loud and scratchy as she tried to get free.

"You need to stay still." A voice insisted. She couldn't make out if it was female or male, only that the pain was worsening.

"Get Offa Me!" She screamed in pain.

"We need some help in here!" Cried another voice.

"Ah!" She screamed again, the pain too much for her to bare. "It Hurts!"

"Try and stay still. We're trying to insert a needle to help relieve the pain. Hold still just a little longer." The voice from before soothed into her ear, though it sounded slightly gurgled.

She tried to lie still, but the pain wasn't helping. She felt hot and sweaty. Her heart was beating a mile a minute and her brain was screaming at her to put out the flames.

Soon everything went quiet and the pain stopped. She could see bright lights above her in lines as she was moved someplace. The colour of the ceiling was pure white and the walls were an almost lime green.

Settled into a darkened room after what felt like hours of torture, she slept.

When she woke, she could feel stickiness and discomfort. She was so tired and could barely open her eyes. She sensed that someone was in the room, moving about, but she couldn't see them, she couldn't move.

"Sara?" A soft voice called out her name from above.

She opened her eyes a little and saw a woman in a white coat and her hair was pinned up out of her eyes. Her face had little if no makeup on and she was smiling at her.

"Hey. My name is Julie. Do you know where you are?"

Sara's eyes closed again and again as she tried to think, but she couldn't. She was so tired and before she could try to answer, she was asleep again.

"It's normal, don't worry about it. At the moment, the best thing she can do is sleep." Julie explained as she stood up and looked at the worried faces across the room.

"Will she be alright?" Nick asked as he approached the bed and looked his friend over.

Julie nodded and offered him a reassuring smile. "She'll be just fine."

Warrick moved to the foot of the bed and lightly touch Sara's feet with one of his big hands. "You get better girl."

Nick turned and headed for the door with Warrick following. Julie brought up the rear after she had checked Sara's stats and blood pressure. She was writing on her clipboard when Nick turned back.

"Does she know what happened?" He asked, moving with them to leave the room.

Julie shook her head. "I'm sorry, but she hasn't woken up yet. That was the first time she was conscious since she was brought in yesterday."

"How do you think she'll take it?" Warrick asked, looking at both Nick and Julie for answers.

"Right now, I'm more concerned with how she's going to react when we tell her about Cath." Nick worriedly chewed his thumbnail.

Warrick nodded and sighed. "She's a fighter, Nick. She'll get through this."

"I sure hope so, Warrick." Nick rubbed his forehead tiredly and leaned against the wall outside. "Have you seen Grissom?"

Warrick sat down on a waiting chair and dropped his head into his hands. "Um, briefly. He was with Cath's mom and Lindsey."

Nick sat down and rested his elbows on his knees, his hands clasped together. "How did they seem?"

"Bout what you'd expect."

"Yeah." Nick nodded. He looked up and down the corridor for a few silent minutes, before looking at Warrick. "I can't believe Cath's really gone." The pain in his voice was evident.

… …

"Wasn't Grissom supposed to take you out for breakfast after that Telford Case yesterday?" Nick asked as he watched Sara sit down at the diner table beside him.

Sara looked around the table at Greg, Warrick and Nick. "He cancelled." She told them as neutrally as she could.

Nick and Warrick shared a concerned look while Greg stuck into his pancakes and pretended to ignore them.

"Didn't he rain check it for today?" Nick asked.

Sara pulled her coffee closer and shrugged. "Not really. He said he was going to take Catherine home."

"Oh right. Guess he heard about her blow up in the interrogation room." Nick chuckled. "That was some swift talking from her."

"Nick?" Sara stared at her coffee, absently stirring in her cream and sugar. "You think it's serious between them?"

"Cath and Grissom?" Nick asked only to look at her to know the answer. "Sara-" He sighed.

She forced a grin and looked up. "Hey, I obviously took too long." She shrugged and focused back on her coffee. "No big deal."

"Okay." He said worriedly. "I think it's, not serious yet. Just dating."

Sara nodded, her shoulders deflating slightly.

… …

When Sara woke up again, she was surprised to find she was actually in a hospital room. She panicked at first, but then noticed that she couldn't move much without it hurting. She closed her left hand instinctively and felt the call button resting under her palm.

She pressed the button and in less than a minute someone entered the room.

"Hey Sara. Remember me? I'm Julie. I was here last night when you woke up." Julie asked as she brushed Sara's hair back and smiled down at her. "How you doing this morning?"

Sara closed her eyes and turned her head to look past Julie. "What happened?"

Julie carefully tilted Sara's head up to help her drink a glass of cool water to sooth her dry throat. "You were brought in yesterday morning. Do you remember anything?"

Sara shook her head slowly and looked down at her arm that was resting at the side of her, covered in what looked like tinned foil. "What happened? Where's Catherine?" She asked quickly, trying to sit up as she began panicking.

"It's going to be ok, Sara. Lie back and get some more sleep." Julie gently adjusted the pillows, but Sara was still restless. "The doctor will talk to you when you're feeling a bit better."

"What's happening? What's wrong with me?" She asked rapidly, trying to sit up again.

The door opened and Grissom entered with a plastic cup in one hand a book in the other. Upon seeing the struggle, he planted his items on the side and assisted Julie.

"Hey, hey, where are you going?" He eased her back to the pillows and smoothed out the blanket.

"What happened!?" She sobbed, turning her head away from both of them. She didn't want to see him.

Grissom looked up at Julie and nodded. "It's ok. I'll tell her."

"Ok." She looked down at Sara. "I'll be right outside if you need me, Sara."

After Julie left, Grissom moved around the bed to stand above her. "Hey." He said quietly, pulling some tissues from a box on the side table to push them into her good hand for the tears. "How are you feeling?"

Sniffling tiredly, Sara shook her head and looked away from him. "I can't feel much of anything in my right arm. I can't move my fingers, and my neck stings." She sighed.

"There was an explosion." Grissom started, reaching for her hand to hold it, but stopped and hovered. The sight and feel of holding Catherine's hand was still too fresh in his memory. He settled for resting his hand on the blanket, inches from hers. "The house blew up. The fire-fighters say it was a gas fire. Started in the kitchen. It could have been turned on by the suspect to blow up the evidence. We won't be sure until the fire-fighters do their inspection." He paused for a moment. "That's where they found you. In the kitchen" His voice faltered slightly, but he cleared his throat and continued. "You have 2nd degree burns on your right side. They had to cut your hair because the fire singed the ends." He stopped, not knowing what else to say.

Sara turned her head and looked at him through tear filled eyes. "Where's Cath?"

Grissom looked away, then he looked down at his hand. His voice was low and slightly shaken. "She was right in front of the blast. She didn't feel a thing. She died."

Sara forced her hand to stay where it was for a few minutes, pushing away the urge to reach up and touch his face to comfort him. Giving in to reaching out, she slowly covered his hand with hers. She watched with blurry eyes as he pulled his hand from beneath hers to cross the room to the window.