DISCLAIMER:Don't own it... No money made... Just for fun and enjoyment.
SUMMARY: Sequel to Displacement. The CSI team and their recently hired coroner Stephanie are back to work solving cases, sharing companionship and generally making their way through the dire world of criminal investigation with humor and friendship... This one will show the development of the relationship between Grissom and Sara and there should be some other surprises down the road as well. Romance/Drama/Angst/Mature Situations
RATING: M for Mature - I'm starting this one out at "M", since we won't be waiting quite so long for the smut this time out ;) Also, there is a sprinkling of language throughout the story.
A/N: Okay, before I go further, I wanted to clarify... I know VERY LITTLE about the whole divorce process, and instead of researching the heck out if it, I will be taking some serious liberties with the timeline factor. I come from a unique background for an American... My parents have been married (to each other) for close to 40 years, my grandparents were married for 50 (before my grandmother passed away, though Grandpa says he's still married, so count him as 60 years married), my brother's don't seem to understand the concept of marriage (they either fool around or live w/ the same woman for 8 years) and my sister seems to be taking the same route as my parents. And me? Well, if you marry them, you have to live with them, and I ain't havin' it ;) So, if the whole divorce aspect of this fic seems rushed, consider it poetic license. :D
REVIEWS: I am always looking for ways to improve my writing, and your reviews let me know if I am hitting my mark. Thank you in advance for the time you take to read & review this story.
Chapter 50
The scene was a tangle of arms and legs and shirt sleeves and sheets and tubes and mass confusion. "Would you stop?"
"No, your IV is in-…"
"Where'd the socks go?"
"We'll get to your hair aft-… Stop wiggling!"
Sara was wholly unprepared for the sight that beheld her as she entered the ICU room that afternoon. Before her were two older women attempting to dress a very tall third woman, without disturbing the tubes and wires that were all over the place. She had to put her hand over her mouth to keep from busting out laughing at the absolute chaos of the situation. Eventually, it became too much, and she had to speak, "That's what I have always imagined octopus wrestling would look like."
Elizabeth and Catherine stopped, looked at each other and said, in unison, "This is what wrestling a six foot two year old is like."
"Hey, th-…" Her protest was drowned out by the coughing that followed the outburst. And it made all activity in the room cease until the fit subsided and Stephanie leaned back in the bed.
"So, what's all this about?" Sara cautiously sat down in the chair by the door, since she was uncertain there would not be a recurrence of the coughing.
Elizabeth was the first to speak, as Catherine started to brush out Stephanie's hair, while she calmed down from the coughing. "They have tired of her antics around here and are transferring her down to respiratory medicine."
"Well, that's good… You've managed to weasel your way out of ICU in less than a day." Sara's expression turned to the sly and she continued, "You'll be home before the end of the week at this rate."
"Today would… be better."
"Not hardly, missy." Dr. Carter Wilbanks chose that moment to visit his most unruly patient. "Now, this will be my final opportunity to exert my authority over you, and I'm gonna abuse the hell outta it." He winked and smiled at the other women in the room as he approached the patient.
"Like it's… worked… so far." She coughed again, but it was over fast and nothing came of it.
"Yeah, well… Can I help it if you are the single most infuritatin' female to ever darken our doorstep?" Stephanie smiled in a comical expression at his accusation, and he knew it had fallen on uncaring ears. "Anyway." He took her chart from the bed and began to scan through it as he continued, "Dr. Alvarez will be the unwitting recipient of your dark humor from now on… Yer bein' discharged to respiratory as of rightnow." He signed off on her chart and dropped it back into the holder. "Try not to end up in Psych before the week's out, huh?" She stuck her tongue out at him that time and he just chuckled as he started to walk out of the room. "Ladies, it's been a pleasure… And my deepest sympathies to y'all for dealin' with that one."
They all sat quietly for about a minute, when Sara could no longer bear the silence. "So, what's with the clothes?"
"I am not… being para-… paraded around… with… my… ass hanging out." Sara could tell that she was still struggling for every breath and also to control the coughing. She could only imagine the hell it had to be to lose so much control of your own body. And if Stephanie were even half the control freak her uncle was, that had to be like a private hell for her. "Besides… I wanted… to look good… tonight… too."
Catherine caught the inference that something else was going on, and when she looked over at Sara she noticed that the woman was dressed in much more than work clothes. "Yeah…" She turned with her hand going straight to her hip to ask, "What's got you dressing up?" She knew it had to be something big because at the mere question, she actually saw Sara blush, just a little. "Okay, now I know something's going on… Spill it."
Sara was doing her impersonation of a fish as she fought to find the right words to defend herself from Catherine's interrogation, but in the end, all she could do was smile cryptically and look away, as Stephanie rescued her from the attack. "She's going out… with Uncle… Gil… when he… gets done." Stephanie also had a cryptic smile splayed across her face, and Catherine knew that someone was up to something.
"Right… So, that's why I get to fill in tonight for Gil?… You guys have a date." She thought that taunting the younger woman would help gain her some more information, but Stephanie stepped in once again.
"My fault… I got her… to kidnap him… tonight… Warrick helped." She coughed again, but it was not nearly as controlled, and her mother stepped up to her side in case she was needed. Eventually, the coughing subsided and Stephanie leaned back once again, but looking a little worse for the wear that time.
"All right… But for anyone else? I'd have your ass." Catherine's pointed finger gesture had Stephanie chuckling silently, as she calmed her breathing once again. However, Catherine also planned to stick around for a little longer. She was going to get to the bottom of whatever it was that was going on. Even barely breathing, the kid's hatching plots. I knew I liked her!
