Author's Notes: Sorry it took me so long to get this out, I'm having horrible writer's block with this story. To everyone who's relentlessly hounded me on this, and those of you who only brought it up a few times, this goes out to you!
Thank you for the response I've gotten so far...hope you continue to read and enjoy. This one goes out to Emmithar, for trying to hard to get me to focus.
Jenny
Chapter Six:
Sara sat in a dark corner of the hotel bar, slamming back another shot of whiskey. It wasn't a drink she'd normally ask for, but tonight she had to ease her mind and forget about everything.
Her cell phone buzzed in her pocket, but she no move to answer it. The one person she wanted to talk to, she wouldn't be able to, and no one else was nearly as important.
She signaled for another round of shots, she had been going through three at a time, and the bartender obliged, filling her glasses while studying the sullen brunette.
"You look like you're holding the weight of the world on your shoulders, kid." he spoke gruffly, "In the morning you'll be wishing you hadn't gone through half a bottle of whiskey."
"In the morning, I'll be fine." Sara replied, swallowing one shot, not bothered by the bitter taste any longer. "There are other customers, you know."
The bartender took a step back, shrugging slightly, "I'm curious to see how you'll walk out of here after what you've had. Last round, kid."
"Stop calling me that." Sara snapped, slamming the second empty shot glass down on the counter, "Are you really going to cut me off after just a few shots?"
The bartender raised an eyebrow, looking down at Sara's angry face, "A few? Try 15, kid."
With a heavy sigh, Sara flung her credit card onto the bar, taking the last shot before reaching for her cell phone, which was once again vibrating.
"What!" She snapped into the phone, not bothering to check the caller ID.
"Where the hell are you?" Jaysen's angry voice asked, "I've been looking for you all morning. Do you have any idea how worried I've been?"
"Go to hell." Sara replied, snapping her phone closed as she tried to sign her name on the credit card receipt. After a few failed attempts, she scribbled a few letters and stood, her knees instantly buckling beneath her.
She grabbed the barstool, trying to steady her shaking legs enough to get her to the elevator, then up to her room where she could pass out in peace. She let go of the barstool and her knees grew weak again. The only thing saving her from hitting the floor was a pair of strong arms that wrapped around her waist to support her.
"My God? How much did you drink?" Jaysen's cool, angry voice asked, "Are you trying to turn into our parents?"
Sara pulled away from Jaysen, stumbling towards the doorway, "Leave me alone!"
"Leave you alone to kill yourself with alcohol?" Jaysen snapped angrily, "I don't think so, little sister. What the hell is your problem?"
Sara felt a few tears fall onto her cheeks, but she made no move to wipe them away. She leaned against the wall, biting down on her lip as large tears began to slide down her cheeks.
"Where is Greg? He's supposed to be keeping an eye on you. He promised me--when I get my hands on him--"
At the mention of Greg's name, Sara started to sob, sinking to the floor and attracting the attention of the entire bar. Jaysen made an attempt to get her into a standing position, but failed miserably as her knees buckled beneath her. With a groan, he scooped her into his arms, carrying her towards the elevator.
"Let me go." Sara sobbed, trying to untangle herself from his arms, "Jase, let me go!"
Once in the elevator, he helped her stand, propped up against the wall while they ascended to her floor. When they reached their destination, he roughly pulled her out of the elevator, halfway dragging her back to her room, pushing her inside once he unlocked the door.
"What the hell is the matter with you?"Jaysen yelled as Sara collapsed onto her bed, "I've been trying to call you all night, and when I find you, you're three sheets to the wind in the bar? And what's what that huge scene you caused? Are you out of your mind? Where the hell is that little twerp that's supposed to be watching you?"
"I don't need a babysitter." Sara said defiantly.
Jaysen laughed bitterly, "Right, because you're doing so well on your own."
"You don't know anything!" Sara sobbed, "Greg--he--and--"
Jaysen's tone softened a bit as he took a step towards his sister, who was obviously falling apart, "What did he do?"
"There was an accident." Sara managed to spit out before overwhelmed with tears again, "They needed me to identify him."
Jaysen knelt in front of her, squeezing her hand tightly, "Did you go? Is he..."
"I couldn't!" Sara screamed, pulling away from him and covering her face with her hands, "I couldn't do it! I froze up, I gave the guy Grissom's number--he's my supervisor in Vegas—and hung up. I--I can't--I--"
Jaysen grabbed Sara's shoulders, pulling her into a tight embrace as her warm tears began to trickle onto his shoulders, "Shh, I know, it's hard. There's so much going on, it's so overwhelming. I'm sorry I yelled at you, I didn't know...I was scared to death when you didn't show up for Mom's funeral, I thought you had done something crazy or stupid, I kept trying to call you, I was so scared I lost you too."
"I'm sorry." Sara sobbed onto his shoulder, clinging tightly to her older brother, "I didn't want to scare you. I just...I don't know what to do."
"It's okay." Jaysen whispered, rocking her back and forth gently as she cried.
It was just like when they were kids. Something horrible would happen, causing Sara to lose control and come apart, and he would be right there to pick up the pieces. He felt a pang of remorse in his chest as he realized he had failed to keep his promises of always being there for her.
For the last few days, he had started to realize more and more that Sara had grown up to be a totally different person. Gone was the little girl who would climb into his bed after a nightmare woke her up, gone was the child who trusted him to make her world better. In her place stood a strong woman, who was just afraid to let anyone in to see the skeletons in her closet.
"I'm here now, I can make this better." Jaysen whispered, stroking her hair gently as she began to quiet down, "I promise you, I'll find a way to make this better."
--
"Mr. Grissom, I'm Dr. Levine, I am the attending physician for Mr. Sanders."
"How is he?" Grissom asked worriedly, tapping his foot against the linoleum floor anxiously, "Will he make it?"
Grissom waited for the doctor's answer, his heart pounding madly as he tried to make sense of this situation. Greg had come to see Sara, and was leaving alone. They had called Sara, who had refused to ID the body. Now, a day later, they still had no news on the condition of his young employee. Medical knowledge had come a long way, but there was still so much to be learned.
"He's stable right now, but he's in a coma. We aren't sure of the amount of brain damage he sustained, and we probably won't know until he does wake up, if he wakes up."
"If he wakes up?"
The doctor tapped his chart softly, looking at Grissom as he spoke, "Coma patients are very tricky to predict. Sometimes they can remain unconscious for a week, a month, a year, 15 years...There's no real way to predict it. His scans show that the damage isn't too severe, so I'm hoping he will wake up in a relatively short amount of time, but I can't be certain."
"Is there anything I can do?" Grissom asked, "I've heard that talking to coma patients is helpful...?"
The doctor shrugged slightly, "It's not scientifically proven to rouse someone from a comatose state, but I certainly wouldn't discourage it. A lot of doctors feel that a loving presence will help speed things along."
"Thank you, doctor."
"He's in room 418, visiting hours end at 9:30."
--
Sara's cell phone vibrated between brother and sister, but neither acknowledged it's presence as Jaysen continued to soothe a calming Sara.
"Jase, I can't lose him."
"I know, honey." Jaysen soothed, "He's your best friend."
Sara shook her head forcefully, sobbing slightly harder, "He's more than that. He told me he loved me, and I got mad at him. I made him leave. He could be dead for all I know, and the last thing I did was yell at him and tell him to leave me alone. He may never get to know that I love him too."
"You what?" Jaysen asked, pulling away slightly, "Did you just--?"
Sara nodded, replying into Jaysen's shoulder, "I love him. I really love him, and it scares the hell out of me."
TBC