A/N: Yay, I'm back :) As usual, sorry for the delay. Lack of mojo + work + other stuff doesn't help the writing but I got there in the end. So, I hope you enjoy.

As always thank you for the support and reviews and to calim for yet another fab beta :D

Chapter 13

Two weeks later

Many things can happen in two weeks. In these last two weeks, all the things that happened made Grissom smile.

The twins were doing well and getting stronger every day. Gabriel's heart problems were solving themselves and both had been moved to open cribs a day before, their incubators used only if their body temperature dropped lower than the staff were happy with. Having yet to hold her babies, Sara needed to do so and wrangled a promise from the doctors that it would be soon. And things were looking up.

After spending 14 days, 24/7 in bed, her condition had improved, at least, in some ways. The embolism had died away and the medication kept others at bay. Her back, though giving her an occasional niggle due to being immobile, felt much better. She had a bit more energy and her breathing had steadied. No more gasping to get her words out. But, as they all knew, her legs were the major problem. And today was test day, tests that could determine just how much of a problem they would still be facing.

"Come on, honey," Grissom encouraged, holding a spoonful of cereal near her mouth. "Just one more."

Dropping her head back to the pillow, Sara shook her head. "Had enough."

She hadn't eaten much but Grissom didn't push. They'd lowered her pain medication to do the tests so he understood her lack of appetite.

"Okay," he agreed, putting the bowl down and reaching out to whisk his fingers through her hair. "Feeling okay?"

Sara cleared her throat. "Starting to hurt a little."

He frowned. "Your legs?"

"Hmmm," she mumbled. "And my arm's throbbing."

Feeling a twang of concern hit his gut, Grissom looked over his shoulder as Steven entered and headed their way.

"Morning," the doctor greeted. "How are we doing?"

"I'm not sure," Grissom replied. "She's starting to feel pain."

Steven nodded. "That's expected with the reduction in medication and, unfortunately, needed for the tests. But, we'll try and get them over with as soon as possible so we can get you comfortable again."

Sara was nervous about the tests. That was something she couldn't deny. Any thought of pain was never a fun one but, if she got answers, she knew it would be worth it.

"When will we start?" she asked.

"Right now," Steven replied. "First to radiology and then to the treatment room where Alex will be joining us once he has the results."

Inhaling the biggest gust of air her lungs would allow, Sara nodded, feeling her heart rate kick up a notch. "Okay," she breathed. "Let's do it."

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Anxiously watching as the nurses eased Sara's left leg from the sling, Grissom felt her hand tighten in his. His gaze swung to look at her seeing her eyes tightly shut.

"Doing really well, Sara," Alex praised. "Just make sure you shout out if it gets too painful."

Sara was more scared than in pain. "It just burns," she said.

"Good," Alex returned. Grissom frowned at him. "Burning is good, Gil. It means we have feeling."

Grissom swallowed down the lump in his throat as Sara's left leg was placed on the soft padding on the bed. He, too, was incredibly nervous as he tried to prepare himself mentally. This would be the first time either of them would see the full extent of her injuries.

"Is that comfortable, Sara?" Steven asked.

Opening her eyes, she glanced down at her legs as the nurse lifted her gown to rest mid-way up her hips. "I'm not sure anything feels comfortable right now," she shot back.

"We'll get through this as quickly as possible, I promise," Alex guaranteed.

"Okay," she mumbled nervously.

Steven stepped closer to the bed. "First, we're going to remove the bandages from your legs and clean them up. Alex will then make a full visual assessment prior to hands on exam. Okay so far?" Swallowing hard, Sara nodded. "One thing I ask is that you must keep still. That may not be easy but, if you move without our direction, you could cause yourself a lot of pain. That's not something we want right now."

Breathing deeply, Sara nodded. "I get it," she muttered. "I don't think I'm all up for dancing just yet anyway."

Smirking, Steven nodded to the nurses. "Then let's get started."

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A half hour later, the bandages and dressings were gone and Grissom softly wiped away Sara's tears. Whispering words of encouragement, they both watched as the doctors inspected her wounds.

Her right leg, swollen around the knee especially, had a 3" scar running downwards hiding the rod and screws holding her tibia in place. Her left leg was almost unrecognizable as an actual leg as it was heavily swollen from hip to toes with cuts, slices and stitches everywhere. You couldn't even make out where the knee was as the leg seemed to flow in one mass blob down to her foot which was almost twice as big as it should be.

"It will heal in time, honey," Grissom whispered, brushing his lips over her cheek. "Things will get better, I promise."

Sara didn't know what to say. The shock of seeing her legs made her feel numb, leaving her to watch Alex in stunned silence. After several minutes, he huddled together with Steven and they began quietly talking.

"Is it essential that you whisper?" Grissom challenged, knowing it was making Sara as nervous as he was.

Both doctors looked his way.

"Sorry," Alex said. "Just force of habit. I was saying I'd like to take another look at the X-rays before I go any further."

Sara sniffed, her nose blocked from the tears. "Why?" she asked nervously. "What are you going to be doing? I don't feel like I know anything about anything right now."

Sucking on his lip, Alex exchanged a look with Steven who promptly pointed toward the X-ray machine.

"Why don't you check what you need to and I'll explain to Sara," he said to Alex before turning back to his patient. "We need to be absolutely sure that we can do the tests we want to do and, in order to do them, we need to be 100% certain the bones in your feet and legs are stable and in the correct positions. One tiny mistake and we could have some serious problems."

Swallowing heavily, Sara tried to tug her husband a little closer. Getting up from the chair, he sat on the edge of the bed.

"What kind of problems?" Grissom asked. "What's he going to do?"

"Mainly light pressure tests and, hopefully, a little bit of movement."

Sara blinked. "Movement?" she gasped.

Steven held up a hand. "Please, don't panic. The movement will be very minimal and concentrated only on your toes."

Grissom was about to ask more questions but Alex returned.

"So, what do you think?" Steven asked him.

"We're okay," he replied, turning his attention to the couple on the bed. "So, I believe a full explanation would make you feel a little less anxious."

Without hesitation, Sara nodded. "That would certainly help."

The doctor smiled. "Okay. First of all I'm going to test along your legs and, as best I can, around your knees."

Turning, Steven picked up something from a trolley behind him and held it up. "A testing pin," he pointed out.

"Aren't I full of enough holes?" Sara mumbled shakily.

"No pricking," Steven said softly. Grissom's eyebrows soared and he cleared his throat. "At this point in time we will use the pin head to apply pressure to the skin and record any feeling you may have throughout your legs. Any feeling at all, no matter how light, is a very good thing. But at this stage, we can only apply light pressure because of your injuries so we aren't expecting miracles just yet."

Sara snorted. "Shame."

"So why did you have to recheck the X-rays if this is just that simple?" Grissom queried.

"That isn't the only test I'll be doing," Alex admitted.

Sara's fingers grew tighter around her husband's. "What else?" she whispered.

"It's not bad, I promise," Alex tried to reassure. "But as long as we have no problems with the pressure test, I would like to do another test involving movement of your toes. In order to do this, I must be totally sure that your bones, especially in your left foot, are set correctly."

"Why?" Sara asked.

"Because of how you might react," he said swiftly. "You may not feel anything but on the other hand you could kick out."

Now Sara looked totally surprised. "Kick out? I'm capable of kicking out?"

"You can't control your reflexes which could cause spasming."

Grissom frowned. "Is that testing wise?"

Alex nodded. "For us to get a clear picture about what she can feel in her legs, it's a necessary step we must take so that we can figure out exactly how to move forward. The X-rays confirm the bones are set. My current uncertainty lies with her muscles and tendons. I need some idea of what she can feel to prescribe the best treatment. The longer the muscles and tendons wait to be fixed, the less useful they'll become over time. Left too long and they just die away."

Oh, Sara's nerves were building and building by the second. "Can we just get on with this," she requested. "The more you talk about it the less I like it."

Alex nodded. "Okay," he said softly watching as Steven moved around the bed to stand by Grissom.

"Do you mind just hoping off the bed, Gil, please?" Steven asked him.

Doing as asked, Grissom got to his feet but made sure he kept a good hold of Sara's hand.

"Okay, Sara," Alex continued, slipping on a pair of gloves then moving so he was standing by her right hip. "I'm going to start halfway down your hip and simply apply a little pressure with the pin head. I need you to tell me if you can feel it. It's that simple. All right?"

Sucking in a deep breath, Sara nodded. "Okay."

Grissom softly tugged on her hand and smiled as she looked at him. "You'll do great," he encouraged but the crack in his voice was unmistakable.

"Starting now, Sara," Alex said.

Nodding, she inhaled another breath and closed her eyes.

Gently, Alex placed his left hand on her hip, positioning the pin with his right so the head just touched the skin. Then, with great care, he pushed into her hip for a second and withdrew. Eyes flicking to the patient, he waited to see if she'd react.

An audible breath left Sara's lips and she nodded. "It's light but I can feel it."

Grissom smiled, squeezing her hand again.

"Good," Alex said, moving down about half an inch. "Next one coming right up."

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Considering the circumstances, the tests had gone okay. Sara could feel 80% of her right leg and ankle but little sensation just below her knee. Her left leg fared worse with only a couple of points above her knee relaying any feeling but, in the doctor's words, 'that's to be expected'. Expected or not, it was hard for her to lie there and experience how almost useless her legs were.

"You're doing really well," Grissom praised, giving Sara some water as the doctors had a quick chat and Alex made some notes in Sara's file.

"Am I?" she challenged, sitting back once she'd had enough to drink and closing her eyes.

Sighing softly, Grissom put the cup down and leaned close, tenderly cupping Sara's cheek. "Honey, look at me."

It took a few seconds for Sara to open her eyes and fulfill his request and he gently ran his thumb over her cheek. The tears in her eyes made his heart heavy but he had to be strong.

"You need to believe how well you are doing," he insisted. "This is only the first test and you have some feeling. We can't expect the world so soon and this is so much better than no feeling at all."

He was right. Sara knew it and, as his words filtered through her brain, she flattened her hand over his.

"Ready to continue?" came Steven's voice.

Keeping eye contact with his wife, Grissom waited for her to make the call on that question. Thankfully, she smiled and he slowly removed his hand from her cheek.

"I'm ready," Sara said, glancing at the doctors.

Moving to the foot of the bed, Alex glanced over Sara's feet before back at his patient. "Little different to before," he began, "but still nice and simple." Sara nodded again as the doctor continued. "I'm going to start with your right foot and one by one move your toes. I will be very gentle especially on your left foot because of the swelling. Now, what I need you to do is tell me if you feel the movement and what it feels like. Okay?"

"Okay," Sara answered quietly, another spark of nervousness floating through her.

As she clasped Grissom's hand again they both watched as Alex edged his fingers towards Sara's big toe and she closed her eyes, eyebrows pinching together.

"Can you feel that?" Steven asked, watching her reactions.

"Hmmm," Sara mumbled, bobbing her head. "Can feel it moving and the pull in my ankle."

"Good," Alex said, moving onto the next toe. "Let's see how we get on with the rest."

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Tests over, Grissom watched as the nurse injected a well needed shot of pain relief into Sara's IV. The tests hadn't been particularly crippling, thankfully, but the slight movement of her left foot had reignited the pain normally muted by medication.

Overall, the test results were mixed but Grissom took hold of the positives. Sara could feel every movement from the toes on her right foot. And, while her left foot hadn't felt nearly as much, she'd still been able to feel the last two toes. That was so much more than they expected.

"Better?" Grissom asked, running his fingers through her hair as the nurse stepped away.

"Hmmm," Sara hummed, immediately feeling the soothing effects of the medication. "Much," she said dozily. "I love a good flight."

He truly smiled, so happy at her lightheartedness considering what she'd just been through. Glancing over his shoulder, he watched Alex and Steven in conversation, waiting patiently until Steven returned to the bed.

"What's happening now?" Grissom asked him.

"I think Sara would appreciate a rest," he replied.

Sara snorted. "I think she might," she agreed.

Steven flashed a smile. "Alex and I are going to have a consultation about what we've just seen and recorded so we'll get you back to your room for a few hours and then come by for a talk once we know where we're heading, okay?"

Blinking drearily, Sara nodded. "So, there's no horrendous news then?"

"No," the doctor said confidently. "Be proud of yourself and be positive. We are."

Sighing softly, Sara nodded and closed her eyes ready for a sleep and, with no negativity clouding her mind, hopefully it would be a peaceful one.

A/N: I hope she gets a peaceful sleep :P