Chapter 2

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Nick, Jim and Sara were rushed to Desert Palms Hospital. Grissom raced behind the ambulances in his truck. As they arrived, he found a parking spot near the entrance. By the time he made it to the emergency waiting room, all three of them had been rushed inside. Grissom was charged with filling out their admitting forms. He sat in one of the chairs in the family waiting room and fished out his cell phone to call Catherine.

"Willows." she answered

"Catherine, this is Gil. Nick, Jim and Sara were in an accident. I'm here at the hospital." he said flatly

"Are they ok? What happened"
"I don't know their situation. Sara's truck rolled over and Jim's car was sideways in a ditch. He has some head trauma and Nick and Sara have some bodily injuries. I just wanted to let you know what was going on." Grissom explained

"Well, let us know of any up and coming information"
"Will do." Grissom said, then hung up

Grissom had been waiting for a couple of hours before the doctor came to see him. Grissom was pacing the room when he saw the doctor.

"What's the prognosis?" he asked, concerned

"Well, the woman has a broken leg, as does the young man." the doctor explained

"What of the other man"
"Well, his injuries are a bit more serious. He has some head trauma and a broken arm and leg. We won't really know about him until he wakes up"
"Can I see the other two"
"Well, the young woman insisted on being placed in the older man's room. You can see her, but the man is still unconscious. The young man is as well as can be expected, but in another room."

The doctor looked down at his papers, then looked up at Grissom.

"The young man is in the room next to the two." the doctor offered.

"None of them are awake. You can see them if you like, but don't expect too much. They might not wake for a few hours yet."

"Thank you. I would like to see the young woman, please."

The doctor escorted him down the hall to Sara's room. He stood in the doorway and stared for a moment, before entering. He walked to Sara's bedside and pulled a chair up to her bedside. He looked at her and immediately, the tears came. He took her hand in his and laced their fingers together. He lay his head down next to her peaceful form and allowed his tears to come flowing.

He had fallen asleep when he felt a twitch. He snapped his head up to see Sara's eyes open and looking down at him. His eyes were red and swollen from the onslaught of tears. He managed to compose himself, and spoke to her.

"Oh, honey. I thought I had lost you." he said softly

Sara licked her lips and tried to speak. The words came as a shock to Grissom.

"Grissom, what are you doing here"
"You were in an accident. I came as soon as I could." he explained

"What about Jim?" she asked

Grissom hesitated and filled her in.

"Jim has a broken arm and leg. He also has some head trauma. The doctor said we'll know more after he wakes up" he said softly

"Where is he?"

Grissom looked up and pointed to the bed next to her. Sara turned her head to see Jim laying in the next bed. His head was bandaged and his arm and leg had been casted. Sara tried to sit up and was unable to move. She looked down and saw that her leg was encased in a cast. Grissom tried to get her to lay back down, but she was intent on seeing Jim.

Catherine and Warrick had come as soon as their shift had ended. Warrick was with Nick, who had woken up shortly after Sara. Catherine was with Grissom, who was still with Sara. Conversation was kept light and to a minimum, as Sara had a splitting headache. Her concern for Jim was a bit unnerving to Grissom. Catherine tried to tell her that Jim had yet to wake, and that he was not in the best shape. Sara had flung her curtain back so she had a clear view of Jim; if she could not touch him, at least she could see him.

Catherine and Grissom switched places with Warrick and went to Nick while Warrick went to Sara. He sat beside her and smiled.

"You look like hell." he said, grinning his best, fake grin

"Thanks. I feel like hell." she responded.

"How is Jim?"

"Well, nothing has changed. He's still out." Warrick explained

Sara began to tear and Warrick reached out his hand to wipe them away. She looked at him and sighed.

"Warrick, I need you to go to my place and pick something up for me"
"Sure. What"
"There's a photo on my bedside table. I want you to bring it in and put it next to Jim, on his night table"
"Sure. Hey, I'll go now and be back in a bit." Warrick said, standing up

As he was leaving the room, he turned to Sara.

"You hang in there, ok?" he said

"I'll try." she responded

Warrick returned an hour later with the photo. He placed it on Jim's bedside table. It was a photo of the two of them on, what appeared to be a camping trip. Jim had his arms wrapped around Sara and they were both smiling and happy. Sara was looking up at Jim and he was grinning down at her.

When Sara had heard that Jim had head trauma, she decided that she wanted something to remind Jim of her, just in case there was any memory loss.

She was sobbing when she heard a knock at her door. It opened slowly and Nick was wheeled in in a wheelchair. He had a sloppy grin on his face as Catherine wheeled him up to Sara's bedside. Catherine left him there and walked out of the room. Nick turned his head to Sara and took a deep breath.

"How you feeling?" he asked

"I feel like shit. Jim still hasn't woken up yet. I'm really worried." she blubbered

"Well, Rick brought that photo, maybe it will jog his memory when he wakes up." Nick offered

"I hope he wakes up soon. I miss him so much." she mumbled

It had been a week since the accident and Nick and Sara were being released. Jim had yet to wake and this really bothered Sara. She did not want to leave him and have him wake alone. Warrick talked her into going home, saying that he would come back and sit with Jim for a bit before going into work.

Nick had been driven home by Catherine. He was to be off from work for two weeks, at the minimum.

Warrick dropped Sara off at home and went back to the hospital to sit with Jim. He was just about to leave for work when he noticed Jim's fingers moving. Warrick hit the call button, then called Sara.

"Sidle"
"Sar, he's up. Want me to pick you up?" he asked

"Yes, please."

Warrick floored it to Sara's place and picked her up. They flew back to the hospital and Warrick dropped her off, saying he would return during shift to check in on them.

Sara looked at Jim and smiled. He looked dazed, like he didn't know what was going on. He looked her and then turned his head to see the photo on his night table. He had a look of confusion. Sara approached him and sat in the chair at his bedside. She took his hand in hers and squeezed gently.

"Jim, how do you feel?" she asked

He did not answer. She looked at him for a moment and after a few moments of awkward silence Jim let a small slip of a smile present itself on his face. Looking down at himself, he groaned from the pain he was in. Sara squeezed his hand and smiled.

"Don't worry. You're on the mend."