A/N: Very sorry for the delay. Life isn't too amazing at the moment so writing isn't really happening for me so, I hope you can be patient with me for a while.

Michael is on his way. Should be interesting to see how things unfold. I'm sensing a few brave faces but lots of sadness underneath. Let's hope they can get through this. *Sniff*. Thank you for the reviews and to calim for the great beta and advice.

On with the angst…

Chapter 4

Taking a breath, Grissom encased Sara's hand in both of his. "The last thing you remember was at the house, right?"

"Yes," she said quietly. "When…you got shot." Her eyes worked over his face. "You…your face…looks bad."

"I'm fine," he said softly, her concern considering her position touching him deeply. "Thankfully, the bullet just scraped me."

She frowned. "So…what happened…to me?"

"They took the truck and you with them. About 20 miles down the road they ran head on into a tanker." He swallowed again. "You were in the front seat. The impact …." He shook his head a bit. "It was bad."

Sara's chin quivered and she raised her head to look at her legs. "How…bad?" she whimpered.

As his hand found her hair, her eyes flicked back to him. "Your legs are… crushed," he said as softly as he could, his eyes clouding with tears. "Your right arm is broken and…several discs in your back are injured as well."

Her mouth opened but nothing came out and her head dropped back to the pillow, eyes shut, her jaw clenching. Grissom bit down on his lip as silence enveloped them for a minute until she spoke again, her head tipping back his way.

"What…about the babies?" she sniffed, her hand now squeezing his. "How…are they? Where…are they?"

"They are in the NICU," he said, fingers gently running through her hair. "They are both in incubators and on feeding tubes but they're doing well." Sara whimpered again and Grissom leaned a little closer. "Tests so far haven't found any major problems. They are just very weak."

Feeling her breathing becoming a little shallow, Sara closed her eyes, trying to control it. "What…sex?"

"Boy and a girl," he replied softly.

Her eyes popped open and she managed a small smile. "Wow," she breathed.

"Yeah," Grissom agreed. "I'll admit I wasn't expecting that."

"Have…you…seen them?"

Dipping his head, he placed a soft kiss on her forehead. "No," he replied. "My attention has been focused elsewhere," he replied.

"Nothing new…there then."

A small smile passed over his lips. "I'd rather see them with you," he said sincerely.

As she blinked drowsily, Christine returned with a cup in her hand, a spoon sticking out of the top.

"How are we doing?" she asked.

Grissom looked at her. "Getting there," he replied, holding out his hand. "May I?"

"Sure," she replied, handing him the cup. "Nice and slow, okay?" Grissom nodded. "Call if you need anything."

Christine left them alone and Grissom took hold of the spoon, scooping up one of the chips.

"Still thirsty?"

"Hmmm," Sara mumbled, opening her mouth.

"Don't swallow it, okay? I don't want you choking."

Sara nodded and Grissom edged the spoon towards her mouth, tipping the ice chip inside. She sucked on it, the cool wetness a very welcome feeling to her dry mouth.

"Okay?" he asked.

"Hmmm," she mumbled again and soon the ice was gone so she opened her mouth for more.

Smiling, Grissom dropped another chip into her mouth and watched as she sucked that with equal vigor.

"More?"

Now Sara shook her head, swallowing down the water as it melted.

"Okay," he whispered, putting the cup down. "Just let me know if you do."

Licking her now cool lips, Sara felt her eyes dropping as she glanced back at her husband.

"Will they…let me see the babies?"

Clearing his throat, he retook her hand. "I don't think you can be moved right now. You're very fragile and will need to go back into surgery."

With her eyes starting to flutter, Sara tried to battle off the darkness she knew was coming. "How bad…are…my legs," came her quiet murmur.

Grissom's lips parted but he paused when her eyes closed. "Sleep," he whispered. "We can talk more when you wake."

Sara didn't answer and had indeed gone back to sleep. Grissom found himself glad for that. Telling her what he had was hard enough but revealing the truth about her legs was going to be heartbreaking. He was, however, surprised at how calm she'd reacted so far although the medication probably had something to do with that.

After holding her hand for a while, he sat back when the nurse returned. Christine looked over her patient then at Grissom.

"Has she been sleeping long?" she asked, moving around to the heart monitor to begin her checks.

"10 minutes maybe," he replied before yawning.

Nodding, Christine watched Sara's heart rate, noticing it was still quite high. "Did you manage to talk?"

"Yeah," he sighed. "For the most part. She'd just asked for details about her legs but fell asleep before I could tell her."

Smiling sympathetically, Christine moved to the IV, checking over the bag of fluid. "Why don't you try and get some sleep?" she suggested. "Morning will be here soon."

"Isn't it already morning?" he shot back. Christine's eyes flicked to him and he held up a hand. "Sorry."

"Don't worry about it," she insisted. "How's your pain? Would you like some medication? Might help you to rest."

Looking back at Sara, Grissom inhaled, holding it for a moment before letting it out. He couldn't deny he was hurting again and, considering she'd probably be out for a while, sleeping was a better option than sitting up and worrying.

"Yeah, that might be good."

"Okay. I'll just finish this up and then we'll sort you out."

Offering a weak smile, Grissom nodded. "Thanks."

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The sound of voices caught at Grissom's ears and he opened his eyes. Yawning, he looked toward Sara's sleeping form then to the doorway, spotting Steven talking with Christine. Pushing the blanket from his lap, he glanced at the wall clock.

9am.

He blinked. How was it 9am already?

Groaning, he pushed himself up, earning Steven's attention as he stepped toward the bed to glance over his wife.

"Morning," Steven greeted. Grissom looked at him and nodded. "Managed to get some sleep, I see."

"Yeah," he replied.

Sucking on his lip, he ran a hand through his hair noting it felt greasy. God, he must look a mess since he hadn't shaved in three days, showered in two or brushed his hair not to mention a busted up face. Shaking his head slightly, he figured where else could he look like a boxer on the losing end of a bout and not draw any stares but in a hospital.

"How is she this morning?" he asked carefully rubbing at his eyes.

"About the same," Steven replied, looking over his shoulder when Christine approached and whispered something in his ear. His eyebrows rose and he nodded before the nurse walked away.

"What was that?" Grissom asked, holding a hand to his stomach as the soreness started to rear its ugly head. At least when he was asleep he couldn't feel it.

"Catherine's back," he replied. "Along with your son."

Grissom's heart began to thud and his lips parted. "Oh, um," he said, swallowing hard before he looked down at himself.

Steven smiled at him. "Before she left last night she said she'd bring some of your things back so you could clean up for Michael. I'm sure you'll be glad to get out of that gown."

Nodding, Grissom glanced back at Sara, his jaw working from side to side. How was Michael going to react to this?

"How about," Steven continued, "we get you back to your room, get you cleaned up and then you can see your son. As soon as you're ready, we'll bring you back here."

Grissom frowned. He didn't want to leave Sara but he did want to see Michael.

"If anything changes here, I'll let you know," Steven promised.

With a sigh, Grissom nodded again. There really wasn't much alternative. "Okay."

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Escorted back to his room, Grissom was helped to clean up and had his stomach re-strapped before he was left to dress at his own insistence. After pulling on his pants, he grabbed a navy blue shirt from the case Catherine had brought for him and wondered back into the bathroom. Putting the shirt on, he winced as his stomach stretched, making him curse under his breath as he fastened the buttons. Sighing, he looked at himself in the mirror then moved his jaw from side to side, producing only a slight stinging in his nose. At least, something on his face was feeling a bit better.

"Gil?"

His head shot up and he turned around, slowly walking from the bathroom.

"Daddy!" Michael shouted the second he saw his father and, before Catherine could even react, he was running towards him.

Smiling, Grissom hid a groan as he got down on his knees and held out his arms hoping he wouldn't cry out when Michael barreled into him. But his son slowed as he neared, his eagerness fading, replaced with a confused look.

Lowering his arms, Grissom bit down on his lip. "It's okay," he soothed. "Daddy just had an accident."

Michael blinked. "Accident?"

"Yeah," Grissom said softly. "Could use a hug though. Make me feel better."

Catherine smiled as Michael slowly moved to his father, Grissom pulling him into a gentle hug.

"I've missed you," he said, fingers running though his son's hair.

"Missed you," Michael replied, enjoying his father's embrace.

Pulling back, he once again looked over Grissom's face then reached out to softly tap his father's nose.

"Funny color," he said. "You bumped your nose? Like when I fell over and bumped my knee?"

Grissom tried to fight off the burning lump in his throat. "Something like that," he whispered. "Have you been a good boy for Catherine?"

Looking over his shoulder, Michael nodded as Catherine stepped closer and placed her hand on his shoulder.

"He sure has," she confirmed and he smiled at her before looking around the room.

"Where's Mommy?" he asked, turning back to his father.

Slowly getting up, Grissom looked at Catherine who gave him a sympathetic smile.

"Come sit up here," Grissom said, sitting on the edge of the bed and patting the sheets. Michael reached up and Catherine helped him sit. "Now," he continued, taking his son's hand, "I need you to be very brave, okay, because that's what Mommy needs us to be."

Michael nodded although he wasn't really sure why. "Mommy's here?" he asked.

"Yes, she's here." He cupped Michael's cheek. "But…she was in a car accident and she's very sick." Frowning, Michael looked down at his lap and Grissom gave him a moment before continuing. "Do you understand what I'm saying, Mike?"

Nodding again, Michael slowly looked up. "The men hurt her?"

Feeling a crushing in his heart, Grissom tapped his lap and Michael crawled onto him. "We don't need to talk about that. What we do need to talk about is helping to get Mommy better. And I need you to be a big boy and help Daddy with that, okay?"

Michael wrapped his arms around his father and hugged him tightly. "Yes, Daddy."

Rubbing his hands up his son's back, Grissom glanced towards Catherine who smiled lovingly.

"How's she doing?" she asked.

"Not much change physically," Grissom replied. "But we talked a little in the night so at least she managed to stay awake for a short time."

"How did she seem?"

Turning Michael around, Grissom sat him on his knee. "Very groggy but…she wasn't totally out of it. I think I surprised her a little bit when she woke up."

Catherine's eyebrows rose. "Oh?"

Grissom nodded. "She, um …." He paused, glancing at Michael then back to Catherine. "After what happed at the house…. You know," he said, tapping the side of his head.

Catherine's mouth dropped open then she nodded. "A good surprise for her, at least."

Grissom smirked. "Yeah."

"So, how much does she know?"

"Almost everything," he admitted. "But we didn't get into any details about her…," he paused and tapped his leg, "other issues."

Folding her arms, Catherine nodded again then looked over her shoulder as Steven stepped in.

"Hey guys," he said.

Looking at him, Michael pointed. "Doctor!"

"That's right," Steven replied enthusiastically. "And you, must be Michael."

"Yes," Michael said quickly. "Michael."

"Well, I'm very pleased to meet you."

Michael giggled and then pointed to the stethoscope around Steven's neck. "Can I play?" he asked.

Smiling at the request, Steven's eyes flicked to Grissom who looked at Catherine and she helped Michael off his knee so he could stand up.

"How about," he began, "we go and see Mommy first and then you can play afterwards? Because Mommy will need to have tests soon and then she might be sleeping."

Now Michael nodded enthusiastically. "Yes. Mommy!"

With a smile of his own, Grissom glanced at the doctor. "Is that okay? Is she awake?"

Steven gave a nod. "She just woke up so let's go."

Breathing deeply, Grissom sucked on his bottom lip before squeezing Michael's hand. "Then let's go see Mommy shall we?"

"Yes, yes!" Michael agreed, jumping up and down and, for the first time in a while, Grissom laughed.

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As they reached the ICU and Sara's room, Grissom pulled Michael to stop and did his best to crouch in front of him.

"Now," he began, reaching for the tiny collar on his son's shirt and straightening it, "Mommy's going to be very tired and look a little bit different than what she normally does, okay?" Michael nodded and Grissom continued. "Anything you see, the machines and people, are all there to help get her better so don't let it frighten you."

"Yes, Daddy."

Grissom smiled. "Good, boy," he said, slowly pushing himself up and retaking Michael's hand.

Taking a steadying breath, he prepared himself. He didn't know how Michael was going to react and that truly worried him for his son's sake and for Sara's. They really needed each other right now.

"Ready?" Steven asked.

As Grissom looked at her, Catherine smiled. "I'll wait out here, okay? If you need me just holler."

Nodding, Grissom held a bit tighter to Michael's hand and headed into the room.

The second Michael was inside, the beeping of the heart monitor caught his attention, drawing his eyes to the bed. He stopped. Unable to see much apart from legs and a pulley system, he looked up at his father.

Taking a deep breath, Grissom glanced at Steven.

"Could you…pick him up for me?"

"Sure," Steven said softly, picking Michael up and passing him to his father who kissed him on the cheek and they stepped closer to the bed. Michael wrapped his arms around his neck, his gaze falling upon his mother as she lay in the bed.

Sara's eyes were closed but, upon sensing a presence, tipped her head to the side before opening them. It took her a few moments to register who was standing there.

"Hey," came her quiet greeting as she smiled.

"Hi," Grissom squeaked. "I brought a visitor."

Michael just stared and Grissom swallowed when his son didn't immediately react but then to his relief, he reached out his hand towards Sara.

"Hug?" Michael asked.

Unsure if that was possible, Grissom looked over his shoulder at Steven.

"You can sit him on the edge of the bed but very carefully," he answered. "Keep hold of him, okay?"

With a nod, Grissom maneuvered his son into position, keeping a firm grip as he leaned forwards.

"Softly, Mike," Grissom guided. "You can't squash Mommy."

Knowing she couldn't move into his embrace, Sara waited until her son's arms settled around her and his head dipped into the crook of her neck. It was such a lovely feeling.

Lifting her left hand, she rubbed his back and let out a soft sigh. "Hey, baby," she mumbled.

"Hi, Mommy," Michael said back.

Grissom waited for a few moments then tapped Michael on the back. "You need to let Mommy go, Michael," he said softly. Reluctantly, he did and Grissom sat him back on the bed.

Sara smiled again, her eyes drowsily blinking as she managed to whisk her fingers through her son's hair. He looked her over and then to her legs.

"Poorly legs, Mommy?" he asked.

Grissom bit his lip as Sara looked at him.

"Yes…sweetie," she whispered, regaining Michael's attention.

"Can we go home soon?"

Sara's chin quivered and her hand dropped back to the bed through sheer lack of energy. "Not just…yet, baby. I need to…get better first."

Michael's attention shifted to a nurse as she suddenly appeared at the end of the bed moving around to some equipment he didn't recognize.

"Lady helping Mommy, too?" he asked, the nurse smiling at him as she injected something into the IV.

"Yes, Mike. Everyone in here is helping Mommy," Grissom said.

He smiled then nodded. "Good. Then Mommy get better quicker."

Sara's eyes moved to Grissom. For a moment they just stared at each other, neither knowing what to say. It was only Steven's voice that brought them back to the present.

"Alex is on his way down and Sara needs to have her tests," he said. "Michael can come back and visit some more later."

"I sleep here with Mommy tonight?" Michael asked.

"We'll see," Grissom replied despite Sara's frown. "Give Mommy a kiss."

Michael leaned forward and gave her a kiss, smiling back at her as he pulled back.

"I'm staying for the tests," Grissom told Steven as he eased Michael off the bed.

"Okay," Steven agreed. "How about Catherine takes Michael down to the waiting room while we do those? There's a kid area with some toys."

"I like toys," Michael said. "But rather stay with Mommy."

"I know you would," Grissom replied, ruffling Michael's hair. "But she needs to spend some time with the doctor and have some tests so they can make her better. You can come back in a little while."

"Daddy staying?"

Grissom nodded. "I need to help the doctor help Mommy, okay? But I promise I'll come and get you when he's done then, maybe, we can get some ice cream before we see Mommy again."

Michael thought for a second before nodding. "Yes. I bring Mommy ice cream, too. Make her happy."

Grinning, Grissom glanced behind him to see that Sara had closed her eyes but she had a sweet smile on her face. For some reason he wasn't sure if it was a smile of sadness or joy.

Deciding it was the latter, he leaned in and kissed her cheek. "Be right back," he whispered as she nodded. "I love you."

Slowly, her eyes opened, a tear slowly forming. "I…love you."

A/N: Phew, I need some happy right now. Waaaaaaaaa.