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The Worst

Chapter 3

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"Sara Sidle?"

"Ah, yes sir. Third down on the right"

Grissom stood outside the door, bracing himself. However, no matter how long he stood there, he knew he would never be prepared for what he saw.

Jim Brass holding her un-IV'ed hand with machines all around them beeping; oxygen being blown into her fragile body via a tube around her nose.

Grissom felt angry. Sara, his Sara, wouldn't need all this. His Sara was strong. That was not his Sara lying, unconscious on that bed. It was as though a part of her soul had been stolen and he could sense it.

He scolded himself for what he had just thought, wishing he could take it back; knowing he couldn't. Someone had stolen a piece of her soul. He was going to catch the monster who did it and that guy better hope that the officers around were strong because if they couldn't hold him back Grissom was ready to cause some serious damage.

Brass looked up, then stood. He said nothing, just nodded and let Grissom take up the seat by Sara's bed, before closing the door on his way out.

Grissom looked at her. Beautiful was the word that come to mind; her pale skin somehow ghostly against the white sheets causing the contrast in her dark hair sprawled across the pillow to stand out magnificently. He didn't hold her hand, he always did that, instead he brought his hand up to stroke the side of her face.

He was able to hold it together until her head slipped from it original position to lay in his palm. He swallowed and the tears started falling.

"Sara, Honey. Wake up. Please, wake up" he pleaded, "Honey, it's not the lab that needs you this time, I need you. I'm so sorry it took me this long to say it. Sara, please forgive me. I don't want you to leave. I'm sorry I gave you all those mixed signals, I'm not good with…relationships. Don't leave because of me, stay here with me. I lo…" he'd almost said it, but he remembered his earlier promise to himself, he would take her out and make her feel special; then tell her. "Sara, I don't know of you can hear me, I guess we'll find out when you wake up, but when you get out of here, would you like to have dinner with me?" with that question out, he moved his hand down to meet hers, absently rubbing her knuckles with his thumb while staring up at her face.

The last thought he could remember before he fell asleep against her bed was how much he could get used to Sara's face being the last thing he saw every night.

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Catherine stepped out of the locker room having just used the shower usually reserved for CSI's after particularly nasty decomps. She felt a little refreshed, but still sickened that Sara couldn't wash off the essence of creep.

Warrick stepped in with a sheet of paper in his hand, about to read it aloud to Catherine, but he had to savour the moment. Catherine never wore her hair that way anymore

"You should do that more often."

"Oh! Hey, do what?"

"Just towel dry your hair. Reminds me of old times. I miss that."

She smiled in a very uncharacteristically way for Catherine Willows; shyly, "Thanks." Then seeing the paper in Warrick's hand, she asked, "What's that you've got there?"

"Ah," he sighed, holding up the sheet, "Results from Tox on Sara's stomach contents"

Catherine scanned over the paper twice before speaking, "Two pills? That's it?"

"Two sleeping pills." He clarified, "She was drugged. Doc reckons 'cause there was nothing else in her stomach she was force fed them. There was no water or anything."

"So…this would be the main reason Sara's unconscious?"

"Probably. That and the anesthetic, morphine could be in there too"

"But she's not unconscious because she's in a coma or she's got bad concussion?"

"Wouldn't think so. Not our Sara"

Catherine breathed a long sigh of relief and stepped into Warrick's arms, "Thank God. She needed at least one break. We have to call Grissom" Then realising what she'd done, she took a step back out of Warrick's strong grip, smiling, "Sorry"

"No harm done, I actually enjoyed it."

Catherine hit him playfully over the arm to let him know she'd get back to him on that one.

"Come on, help me write this text to Grissom."

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Em