AN: WOW! Thank you guys for the reviews they're awesome and so encouraging! Just for that I posted sooner than I planned! Thanks again so much and enjoy the chapter.
Disclaimer: I own ZERO of the characters used, CSI is not mine.
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Never would have thought
Chapter Two: Sitting with Sara
"The world is full of suffering; it is also full of overcoming it."– Helen Keller
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Catherine excused herself discretely, leaving Gil and Sara alone behind the curtain. He stroked her hair gently and whispered in her ear. It was one of the most loving acts he had ever performed. When she had finally stopped her tears he released her and helped her lay down again.
He touched cheek gently with his thumb and brushed away the remaining tears, "Ok now?"
She shook her head, "I don't know if I'll ever be ok Gil."
He wanted to kiss her forehead and tell her everything would be alright but he didn't want to engage too much contact. One misstep could send her into a relapse of emotion and fear.
She seemed tired and he asked her if she felt alright.
She shifted slightly, "I don't know. I have this pounding headache."
Grissom quickly became concerned and went in search of a doctor. He returned minutes later with a doctor, a young man. As soon as he stepped in the room Sara's wide eyed fear came back and she moved to the far end of her gurney.
"No! No, stay away!" She called, her voice trembling in fear.
Grissom approached carefully, "Sara, he wants to help."
She was crying now, "No, make him leave Gil, make him leave!"
Grissom looked at the doctor apologetically and asked him to leave. Turning back to Sara he spoke soothingly, trying to get her calmed down.
"Griss, I'm going to be sick." She murmured.
He grabbed the pan and gave it to her. Immediately she retched, emptying what was left in her stomach into the basin. Grissom held her rich brown hair off of her sweaty neck and rubbed her back until she had finished.
"All done?" He asked gently.
She nodded and sank back into the pillows, emotionally and physically spent. Grissom called for a nurse who emptied the basin and returned with a female doctor, the one who had treated Sara when she first came in.
The doctor asked Sara how she was doing and set up a drip to ease the pain she was feeling. When she had done that she turned to face Grissom and said,
"This will make her drowsy; it will also rid her of the headache and ease some of the pain in her wounds."
Grissom nodded and sank into the chair beside her bed. A few minutes later Catherine joined him, clutching two cups of coffee. She handed him one and pulled up a chair beside him.
"How's she doing?" she asked.
Grissom ran his hand through his curly gray hair, "I don't know. She seemed ok, then a male doctor came in and she had a breakdown. Crying, clinging onto me, she even vomited after he left she was so upset."
Catherine nodded, "She did earlier too, twice. It was right after the CSI was asking about the rape."
Grissom sighed and looked at Sara, who was sleeping heavily. As he looked on he saw her shy away from her dream and whimper quietly. He saw a tear slip down her cheek and felt his heart clench as he watched her move away from something in her sleep.
"Catherine? When does it end?" He asked quietly.
Catherine shrugged, "I don't know Gil…I honestly don't know.
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Over the next few hours Catherine and Grissom took shifts sitting with Sara, comforting her when she woke up. They had moved Sara up into the general recovery wing, recommending she stay for the next few days to make sure everything went as planned. During Grissom's shift with Sara Catherine returned to the hospital room and said,
"Look, I told Lindsey I would be home as soon as I finished grocery shopping and it's been almost 24 hours. I think I'm going to go home, let her know what happened, get a change of clothes, and then I'll come back."
Grissom was already nodding. "Catherine, what about the rest of the lab?"
Sara moaned softly and groggily said "Don't tell them."
Catherine looked at Sara who had fallen back asleep then to Grissom before whispering, "Well we have to tell them something. I mean we both left them with Ecklie, we've been gone for a full day and Sara's been completely absent."
Grissom shrugged, "Tell them she's hurt? Don't give details, just tell them she's been hurt and needs some moral support."
Catherine nodded, "Ok, I'll stop by on my way back and let them know."
Grissom gave a rare smile before turning back to the sleeping Sara.
As the drugs began to wear off Sara became more and more conscious. Eventually she opened her eyes, looking at her new surroundings.
"Griss? Where am I?" She questioned; her voice hoarse and rough.
He attempted a smile, "You're in general recovery, and the doctor wants you to stay for a while."
Sara shifted, feeling the dull pain returning. "Ok."
He continued, "She also wants you to try and get up and walk around a little bit. We can try that when Catherine gets back."
Sara nodded, "And I suppose that CSI will need me to…to say what happened?"
Grissom nodded slowly, "You think you're ready for that?"
Sara hesitated, "I don't know, but we might as well get it over with."
Gil leaned over and touched her cheek gently; the sleep had done her good. She seemed more composed, more like Sara. However, though she acted the same he could still the haunted look of hurt in her eyes; he could see the pain in her movements and the fear in her mind.
He heard a knock at the door and turned to see Catherine come in the door, her arms laden with packages.
She lay them down on the bed and sighed, "Sorry I'm late, once I told everyone you were in the hospital they made me wait while they got you gifts."
Sara looked up warily, "You didn't tell them what happened?"
Catherine shook her head, "They all want to come see you. Even Lindsey begged me to let her come see you; you're like an aunt to her."
Sara's eyes glistened with tears and she wiped a shaky hand over her cheeks furiously, "I don't want anyone to see me like this."
"Sara, they're going to have to find out sometime. As soon as they see you it really won't be that hard to figure out."
Sara looked up at Catherine, "Fine, tell them when you go back to see them."
Catherine took Sara's hand in sympathy, "I'm sorry Sara."
Sara nodded, sitting up in her bed, "So if they're coming you think I should wait to open all of this?"
Grissom shrugged, "Whatever you want."
Sara released her first real smile since the assault, "I'll wait."
Catherine picked up the gifts and set them on the table beside the bed. Grissom looked at her and said, "So Sara should get up and walk around a little, you want to help?"
Catherine nodded immediately.
Sara looked slightly pale and sick as they helped her swing her legs over the side of the bed.
"You alright there, Sara?" Catherine asked gently.
Sara nodded, her mouth set in a grim line of determination. She winced as both Grissom and Catherine slipped their arms under hers and lifted her to the floor. The cast on her foot made it difficult for her to stand so both Catherine and Grissom kept their hands around her waist.
She moved slowly, shuffling her feet across the tile. Each step brought a sharp stab of pain a silent reminder of the pain she had endured. The simple walk around the hospital floor took just under half an hour, a task that should have taken maybe five minutes.
When they returned to the hospital room Sara's hospital gown was damp with sweat and her face was red from exertion. Grissom left the room as Catherine helped her change into a fresh gown and entered again with a cool cloth he placed on Sara's forehead.
Her breathing was deep and she looked up in puzzlement at the door. Catherine spoke up,
"Who's that?"
Grissom looked at Catherine a moment before saying,
"That's CSI Carver. Sara and I called her while you were out. Sara said she's ready to talk."
Catherine looked at Sara, "You sure?"
Sara, who looked suddenly pale again, nodded.
The tall, willowy brunette name Janet Carver entered, first talking quietly to Sara. Catherine recognized the tactic; she'd used it several times during her own rape victim cases. She then pulled up a chair and sat quietly, not pushing, but waiting for Sara to begin.
Grissom and Catherine sat as well, one of them on each side. Sara took both of their hands and a deep breath before beginning,
"I was working late…until one in the morning I guess. I wanted to go out for a drink, it'd been a hard day and I needed to calm my nerves. I dressed up a little, made myself presentable and drove myself to the bar. I thought about asking someone to go with me, but I decided I needed some time alone."
Sara paused, she took a deep shuddering breath and her grip tightened on the hands that enveloped her own.
"I was at the bar and I ordered a couple martinis, I drank them and hung around a bit before deciding to go home. I asked the bartender to call me a cab because I could feel the alcohol already. He obliged and I waited until he'd called then went out to wait for the taxi.
It seemed like a long wait though it was maybe only five minutes. I peered down the road but I couldn't see any taxis. I turned to go back into the bar and he grabbed me."
Sara's face paled dangerously, leaving her cheeks a ghostly green color. Her palms were sweaty and she knew her face bore sheen of slick perspiration. Catherine grabbed the basin from beside the bed and handed it to Sara. Sara, though she took it, wasn't sick again, she pressed on.
"I don't know how he got me away; I mean there were others there. He hit me hard and stuck a cloth in my mouth to muffle my screams. I fought him but he hit me several times, knocking me unconscious. I remember waking up with my leg twisted in an awkward position and feeling the blood on my face. I couldn't move some of my fingers."
She paused again and her hands trembled,
"He pushed me down and I felt gravel on my back, that's when I realized he'd taken my clothes. He left my purse though; I could see it a couple feet away. I don't know why. He hit me again when he saw I was awake and he shoved me down…then he raped me."
She broke off there and this time she was sick. She lurched over the basin and retched as images flashed through her mind, she could see the world going by as he dragged her, she could see his face, his hands…
As she finished Grissom rubbed her back gently while Catherine rubbed her arm in a comforting manner. She removed the basin when Sara was finished and Grissom moved Sara's head onto his shoulder. CSI Carver asked her some more questions about his appearance and mannerisms, finally when she decided she had enough information she left, thanking Sara and wishing her well.
As soon as she left Sara began to cry again. She cried in pain, she cried for her experience and she cried because she was crying again. Grissom and Catherine both sat with her until she had finished and Grissom gave her a gentle hug,
"You did good Sar. You did really good."
Catherine rubbed her shoulder a little before saying she was going to make a few calls.
She returned a few minutes later, "The boys want to come visit. They said they were going to come no matter what I said."
Sara looked a little distraught but pushed her emotions aside, these were her friends, her colleagues. She took a deep breath, composed herself and said,
"All right, I'm ready to see them."
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AN: Once again, make me happy, push that button and leave your mark? Good or bad? You tell me!
Thanks for reading!