When the nurse came to check on Sara, she found her sitting upright in the hospital bed but with her eyes screwed shut. "Miss Sidle?" she probed, but there was no sign that she had even been heard. "Sara?" She waited a moment and then Sara's eyes jolted open and darted in the direction of the nurse. "Are you alright?" she enquired.

Sara nodded curtly. "Fine."

"You should probably lie down, Sara. Give your body a rest – it's been through a lot."

"I'm fine, thank you."

The nurse came over and gently tried to adjust the pillows which were currently propping up Sara's back. "I know you probably feel a lot better but your body may still be in shock."

"I told you, I'm fine." Sara's voice was sounding angry now.

The nurse looked concerned. "Maybe I should get the doctor to come and have a look at you."

Sara pulled herself even further out of the bed sheets and turned to look the nurse in the eye. "To tell me what, exactly? That my leg is going to grow back?"

The nurse let out a breath, as though she had only just realised what it was that was bothering her patient. "I know this is difficult, Sara."

"You know this is difficult?" Sara sounded outraged, continuing bitterly, "You seem to have two legs. I don't see how you can begin to imagine."

The nurse seemed to realise that it was hopeless. "I'll send the doctor along to speak to you."

Silently she turned and left the room. Only once she had shut the door behind her did Sara take her advice and lie down on the bed.

I I I I I

Grissom was sitting on an uncomfortable chair directly outside the door contemplating how long he should leave it before attempting to speak to her again, when he noticed the doctor approaching. As he went to open the door to Sara's room, Grissom called out to him.

"Yes?" he replied impatiently, before turning and recognizing the man sitting before him. "How can I help you, Dr Grissom? Have you been in to see Sara?"

"She wanted to see her leg," Grissom replied simply

"Ah," the doctor sighed, as though that explained everything. "I take it she didn't take it well."

Talk about stating the obvious, Grissom thought, but he did not word it. "No, I don't think so. But she was very calm. She asked me to leave as though we'd just had some kind of argument."

"People deal with these things in different ways, Dr Grissom."

Grissom just nodded silently. It was difficult to put into words your instincts. He was not worried about the way in which Sara was dealing with the accident; he was worried that she was not dealing with it at all.

I I I I I

Catherine Willows was riding the elevator up to the floor on which Brass had told her Sara was being kept. The minute the doors opened stiffly, she spotted Grissom sitting awkwardly, staring at his feet. With a deep breath she approached him. The sound of footsteps drew his attention.

"Cath. What are you doing here?"

"The same as you, I expect," she replied. "Visiting Sara." She eased herself into the seat beside him. "How is she?"

"Not great."

"I wouldn't expect anything less. But we all know how strong she is. She'll get through this."

"I don't know if anything she's faced in the past can compare to this."

"Maybe not. But we can't do anything now except offer her all our support." The words sounded futile and slightly corny to Catherine's ears but she could not think of a better way to express herself. She placed a hand on Grissom's knee supportively. "You should go home, Gil. Have a shower, something to eat and a few hours sleep."

He turned to her and smiled, grateful but weary. "I can't leave her."

"You're no good to Sara in this state." Her eyes examined his face as though he were a piece of evidence in the lab. "I think you could do with a few hours off. If it makes you feel better, I'll make sure there's always someone here. I know Nick's planning on coming soon. We'll contact you if we need to." Grissom opened his mouth to protest but a sharp look from Catherine stopped him. "Go home, Gil. Just for a little while."

Resignedly, Grissom nodded. "I won't be long."

"Take as long as you need," Catherine smiled, trying to appear more confident and optimistic than she was feeling. "Sara's got a long road ahead of her; you need to make sure you're in a fit state to travel it with her."

I I I I I

Grissom had been gone a mere two minutes when the doctor emerged from Sara's room. He scanned the corridor before addressing Catherine. "Are you a friend of Sara's?"

"A colleague," Catherine replied, before deciding to add, "And a friend also."

"Has Dr Grissom gone?"

"He went to get some shut eye."

The doctor nodded in approval. "I'm glad to hear that. I didn't want another patient on my hands."

Catherine smiled slightly. "How is she, doctor?"

"Physically she is fine. More than fine, in fact. Considering what her body has been through in the past twenty-four hours, she is in remarkably good shape. Except for-" He faded off as Catherine nodded regretfully. "I'm not sure she's dealing with it that well, right now. She refused to talk about it with me. But it has only been a few hours. It can take people days, even months to come to terms with something like this."

"Can I go in?"

"You're very welcome to but I must warn you she is not very receptive right now. She is still in some shock and…well, as we said, there's a lot to come to terms with."

"Thank you, doctor."

As he walked away Catherine stood up, took a deep breath and pushed open the door to Sara's room. She was shocked by her colleague's appearance. The doctor had said she was in remarkably good physical condition but Catherine would not have thought so herself. Sara's face was drained of colour and she was attached to foreboding hospital equipment which was measuring her body's health to a tune of regular beeps and sighs. She was lying flat on the bed, her head rested on a pillow and her eyes focused firmly on the ceiling. It was a few seconds after the door had clicked shut before she turned them to look at Catherine.

"Catherine. I didn't expect to see you." There was coldness in her voice, but Catherine thought it was more distant than bitter.

"I thought I'd surprise you."

Sara returned her eyes to the ceiling. "I hope you're not here out of a sense of duty."

"You know me. I wouldn't come unless I wanted to." Catherine moved closer to Sara and perched on the end of the bed. "Everyone's really worried about you."

"There's no need."

"Try telling Nick that. It was all I could do to stop him driving here the second he heard." She smiled but it was lost on Sara, whose eyes did not move. Catherine followed her gaze but could not find anything fascinating about the white, slightly shabby ceiling tiles. She decided to continue talking. "I made Grissom go home for a while. He's been here the whole time, you know. It was a struggle to get him to leave. He's really torn up about this."

"Anyone would have thought he was the one in a hospital bed."

Catherine felt her blood boil slightly at this comment. Whilst she and Sara had not always been bosom buddies she had thought they were getting closer recently and she really was concerned for the woman, whom she now regarded as a friend. However, picturing Grissom as he had been when she arrived, exhausted, troubled and yet so reluctant to leave, she resented Sara's attitude. "I don't think you realise how much he cares." Sara was silent. Catherine thought she may have hit a nerve and decided not to push it further. "We're all here, you know, if you ever need anyone to talk to. I know this isn't going to be easy, but whatever we can do, we will."

Catherine had Sara's full attention now and, if she was not mistaken, her eyes were filling up. "Could you leave, please?" she asked, her voice catching slightly in her throat. "I need some time alone."

Catherine could sense that it was not worth arguing. "I'll be outside. If you need me, just call." But Sara's eyes had returned to the apparently mesmerizing ceiling again. Catherine closed the door behind her just in time to miss the tears as they started to roll down Sara's ashen cheeks.