Author's Notes: Well, this is the last chapter. Surprise! Didn't think I'd be done this soon, but it was time to move forward from this story and onto my next WIP that should be debuting within the next few days. Happy reading, I've enjoyed reading everyone's responses!

Jenny

Chapter Six:

"Mr. Sanders, I'm Dr. Ramirez, I was the surgeon that oversaw your wife's surgery--"

"Is Sara okay?" Greg asked, becoming increasingly alert, "Can I see her?"

Dr. Ramirez held up her hand, with a smile, "Calm down, Mr. Sanders. Your wife is in recovery, but she will be transported to her room within the next half hour. We had some very serious complications during surgery, but we're pretty sure she's going to be okay. If she makes it through the night, she should be able to make a complete recovery."

Greg struggled to sit, staring at the doctor in shock, "What do you mean if she makes it through the night? Why wouldn't she? What kind of odds are those?"

Ice filled his veins and his stomach seized with worry as he waited for the doctor's response. He and Sara had been through so much already, couldn't they get one small break, or was everything going to be this difficult. With a tired sigh, he sank back onto his pillow as the doctor began to speak.

"I'll be totally up front with you, Mr. Sanders. We nearly lost her in the operating room, not once but three separate times. Respiratory injuries are very problematic, and they have to be handled immediately. We were checking for other obvious internal injuries, but we simply couldn't keep her open any longer once she began coding. While we are fairly certain we caught every injury she sustained, there is still a small chance we overlooked something. The next few hours are imperative."

Greg sighed heavily, rubbing his forehead as he asked, "Her arm? Were you able to fix it?"

"Dr. McManus is the surgeon who repaired your wife's arm, and he is the best orthopedist in the state, probably the country. She will need physical therapy to regain use of her arm, but neither of us were able to see anything that would hinder recovery." She put her hand on Greg's arm, giving him a soft smile, "I'm sure Sara will be fine. I'll have a nurse come by when Sara's allowed visitors, and we'll see if we can get you in there to see her."

"Thank you." Greg murmured, the doctor's ominous warning of 'if she makes it through the night' ringing repeatedly through his ears.

He didn't get a chance to reflect on the news as the door opened and Catherine and Warrick walked in, both wearing apprehensive looks on their faces.

"Up for a few visitors?" Warrick asked, placing his hand on the foot of Greg's bed, "We can always leave--"

"It's fine." Greg replied distractedly, still absorbing the doctor's news. He had been tempted to kick the two CSIs out, but the more he thought about it, the more he was anticipating the distraction from his own problems.

Catherine sat down, taking Greg's hand into her own and giving it a gentle squeeze, "She made it through surgery, she's going to be fine."

"I can't talk about her right now." Greg replied, his voice cracking, "Did you catch Michelli?"

"PD's still trying to track him down." Warrick said, his voice tinged with disappointment, "They're doing all they can, but you know how this guy is."

Greg nodded, looking down at his leg, "I know."

"We spoke to your nurse." Catherine replied in an obviously forced upbeat voice after a few moments of silence, "She says that they can work up your papers to discharge you as soon as Sara's able to have visitors. Since you obviously can't drive, we were thinking you may want to sit with her for a bit, and then one of us can drop you off at your place."

Greg shook his head, "Not necessary, I'm staying with her."

"Greg, you've got a lot of injuries, you're going to need your rest." Catherine protested, but was cut off by Warrick's hand on her arm. Looking towards his shaking head, she sighed, "Well, if you change your mind, we're all only a phone call away."

"Thanks." Greg replied, "Tonight's important...I need to be with her."

"We understand, man." Warrick responded, giving Greg the best smile he could manage in his weary, exhausted state. "Will you be okay if Cath and I head out?"

Greg's response was cut off by his own doctor's voice, "Mr. Sanders, just the man I wanted to see--"

"Are you letting me go?"

"The nurse is drawing up your paperwork right now. I'm happy to hear that your wife is stable--"

"She's not out of the woods yet."

"Remain positive, there are more things that modern medicine can cure, than those it can not." Dr. Kline said with a sympathetic smile, "There are a few things we need to discuss." He glanced down at his chart, then back at Greg, "Your cast will be on for a minimum of six weeks. I've set you up an appointment with a orthopedist two weeks from today, and he should be able to give you a definite time frame. No working until the cast is removed, because of the cut underneath. The last thing you want is for your leg to be contaminated and fall off once the cast it taken off."

"Fall off?" Greg asked, his eyes growing wide.

The doctor chucked slightly, shaking his head, "I'm just giving you a hard time. It is, important, however to keep the area clean to prevent bacteria from entering your wound. You're going to have a headache for a few days from your concussion, but it should go away with time. If you experience any sudden, intense pain, prolonged nausea or vomiting, dizziness or disorientation, or loss of consciousness, I want you to get back to the emergency room as fast as you can. Other than that, you're free to go."

45 minutes later, Greg was weakly hobbling on crutches to his wife's room, dread filling the pit of his stomach as he tried to imagine what she must look like, how much pain she must be in. Pushing open her door, he quietly entered, taking a seat in a chair beside her bed.

Holding her hand in his own, he gently stroked her soft skin, worried tears filling his tired eyes. She looked worse now in the dim lights than she had in the darkness, but that was to be expected.

It took nearly 6 painstakingly long hours before she showed any signs of movement, and when she finally opened her eyes, he was still sitting in the same position. She was silent for a moment, while they just stared into each other's eyes, both grateful to be alive.

"Lay still." Greg whispered as she started to shift in her bed, "I"m just going to let the doctor know you're awake."

Sara held up the nurse call button, "I can do it." She replied, her voice hoarse. "How are you?"

"How am I?" Greg asked, half laughing as his tears spilled onto his cheeks, "You're so amazing."

Leaning over, he rested his head against her soft hand, "Oh God, Sara, I thought we were going to lose you."

"Don't cry, I'm okay." Sara pleaded, worry creeping in through the foggy haze surrounding her mind, "Greg?"

"I love you, Sara."

"I love you too." Sara murmured, "Your leg--"

"Is nothing compared to your injuries. Sara, you're lucky to be alive." Greg cried, hating himself for breaking down but finding himself nearly paralyzed with joy and the same fear that had been smothering him since this ordeal began, "I would die if I lost you."

"I'm right here, I'm okay." she replied quietly, moving her hand to stroke his hair, "Greg, you're scaring me."

"I'm sorry." Greg whispered, squeezing her hand, then gently kissing it, "You're so beautiful."

Sara looked down at her pale, bruised skin, then over to Greg with a wry smile, "If I look half as bad as I feel, then your idea of beautiful is very...random..."

"You're always beautiful, Sara." Greg replied, kissing her hand once more, afraid to move closer and risk harming her more than she had already been harmed. "I'm so lucky I have you."

"So am I." Sara replied, her voice growing tired, "Don't ever leave me."

"You won't be able to get rid of me." Greg replied, gently running his hand over her hair to smooth it down, "Get some sleep, sweetie, I'll be right here when you wake up."

"Promise?"

"Promise." Greg replied, bringing her frail hand to his lips once more, "I love you."

"Love you too." Sara murmured as her heavy eyelids closed and her hand started to slip from Greg's grip. Gently laying her hand down on the bed, Greg laid his head down beside her, confident that even though Michelli hadn't been caught, they'd still be okay.

"We'll put the past behind us." Greg whispered, his own eyes growing heavy, "And we'll work on improving the future."

"Greg, stop talking." Sara mumbled, half asleep.

Greg smiled, bringing his lips to her hand once more. As a team, they could face anything that life threw their way.

THE END.