A/N: Here we go with another chapter. Sorry for the delay for a change, lol. Lots of changes afoot I think especially for Grissom. Chaos may ensue :P As always thank you for the reviews and to calim for the help and beta.
On we go….
Chapter 27
It had been eight weeks to the day since Sara and the twins were admitted to hospital. It felt like eight years to Sara. She was fed up. Tired of staring at the hospital walls, tired of eating the same food, tired of the same routine day in day out.
To keep herself sane, she'd started giving names to the days. Today she decided was discussion day. For one, they were meeting with Jane after breakfast about the twins heading home tomorrow. They'd finally been given the all clear and it made her both happy and sad. Happy because they were healthy; sad because she would no longer be able to leave her room and visit them. Also, Grissom would have to spend a lot more of his time at home now. She wasn't sure how she was going to cope with that one.
Yes, she'd encouraged him to step away, spend time with Michael, go to the lab or even just take a walk. Get out for a while. But, he still spent 75% of his time with her and she really depended on him for so much. Especially the private stuff. Helping her dress, shower and use the bathroom was so much more comfortable with him than a nurse.
It was so much more than that though. Most of all, she would miss him. The comfort he offered, his smile, the touch of his hand when she woke, being there for her in good times or bad.
Their babies going home was happening. She'd just have to deal with that.
After seeing Jane, Sara would then have her casts removed for an examination as well as X-rays to ensure all was still healing the way it should be.
It had been over three weeks since surgery and it was time for a thorough check. A huge part of her was hoping they would leave the casts off. In fact, she was going to request it. It wasn't like she was going to be walking around, was it? And wasn't that the major reason casts were usually put on in the first place? Well, one of the reasons anyway.
She was nervous. What if something wasn't healing in the right place or there was something else they didn't know about? It wasn't like she could be X-rayed every day, so something could have gone wrong.
Was she being paranoid? Probably, but after all that had happened she had every right to be. While she had gained a little weight (not as much as the hospital staff really wanted though) she was still weaker than she'd like to be. So, she could still get sick and there was so much she could get sick with. Ironically enough one of the easiest place to get sick was in a hospital.
Boy, she really needed to stop being negative. Especially since she was being wheeled into the twin's room where Hope was placed in her arms. Just looking at her daughter's face swept away any other negativity swimming around her head like a feather in a summer's breeze.
"Hello, sweetie," Sara said happily, offering up her finger for Hope to grab as she kicked out her legs and gave her a happy gargle.
"I think she's telling you she's hungry," Grissom said as he sat with Gabe in his arms.
"She's always hungry," Sara snickered.
"Ah, don't let her fib you," Jane said as she approached. "She had a bottle about 10 minutes ago. Sadly, she was bawling for food or we would have waited for you."
Sara pretended to be shocked. "Are you lying to Mommy?" she accused her daughter making Grissom laugh.
"Fat belly just like Mike," he said, glancing at Jane. "Has he eaten, too?"
Jane nodded. "He ate at the same time. I think he knew," she teased.
"Three little piggy's," Grissom said.
"I hope you have a sturdy house," Jane joked as she sat with them.
Smiling, Sara looked at Grissom who suddenly looked a little more anxious than he had.
"So," Jane began, looking at Grissom, "how are you feeling about tomorrow?"
As his heart hit an abnormal beat, Grissom shrugged. "Mixed emotions," he admitted quietly, sending Sara a nervous look.
"He's nervous," Sara said. "He won't admit it, but he is."
"Of course," Jane replied. "I'm sure anyone in your position would be. And how are you feeling, Sara?"
Looking down at her daughter, Sara gently ran her hand across her head.
"Sad, happy, nervous. Probably everything Gil is feeling but one thing I do know is that we both are very proud."
Grissom managed a faint smile at Sara's comment.
"And our children will be loved and cared for no matter where they are or who they are with," Sara finished.
"I have no doubt about that," Jane agreed. "And you will have support from the hospital, too," she continued, really getting Grissom's attention now.
"Oh?" he asked.
She nodded. "If you are both comfortable then I will explain everything."
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Popping a few grapes into her mouth, Sara snickered as Grissom again turned the laptop to show her a tiny pair of baby slippers.
"What about these?" he asked.
"Cute," she mumbled as she chewed on the fruit. "But you are going to need to start making clothing decisions without me for a while, hun. I'm not always going to be there when they need feet protection."
His eyes playfully narrowed before looking back at the screen and it amused Sara. He'd made decisions that had caught murders, thieves, rapists and saved lives yet could he pair his daughter with the right shoes? Hmmm.
The conversation with Jane had left them both feeling a little better. They'd discussed Gabriel first. Because of his heart condition, he would need weekly tests for the first two months. After that the tests would be monthly until he was two years old. Every six months would follow until a time was determined that they would no longer be required. There was always a possibility that the tests would continue for the rest of his life.
Next Jane told them about the help the hospital would provide. A community nurse would visit their home twice a week to check on the twins, record their weight and growth, help with any questions or worries. Sara knew that would help immensely and was just really glad they had paid for the higher band of insurance. And, of course, when the twins were brought to visit Sara, the NICU staff were always available should there be any concerns.
Grissom was still nervous, Sara could sense it and she knew his responsibility as a father would really be put to the test. Her desire to leave the hospital rose considerably. Just because she couldn't use her legs didn't mean she couldn't be there to help. Another topic of conversation for later she'd decided.
"I think I'll get them," Grissom decided.
Smiling, Sara held a grape up and popped it in his mouth when he opened it. "Get lots of diapers as well."
"Oh, the joys," Grissom mocked. "But I think we are already stocked up on those."
"You can never have too many," Sara warned.
Rolling his eyes, Grissom closed the laptop. "Yes, dear."
Just as Sara snorted, Maggie stepped in.
"Time for some fresh air on those legs, I think," he said.
Sara shot him an 'oh you didn't just say that' look and he just smirked.
"Ready to go to the plaster room?" Maggie asked.
Sara swallowed hard as nerves hit her. "I guess."
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It took longer than usual to remove Sara's casts as her injuries were more severe than the usual leg break. Careful cutting and very gentle removal of the plaster was required to cause Sara as little discomfort as possible. It had still hurt, though, and her teeth ached for how much she'd gritted them through the process.
As Alex and Steven did a visual examination of her legs before she was sent for X-rays, Grissom firmly held her hand. She'd been gripping on ever since they'd started the plaster saw and had yet to surrender her grip.
Grissom noticed her eyes were still slightly glassy as her attention alternated from her right leg to her left over and over again as they lay upon special support padding. Only a few minutes ago he was wiping away the tears that fell when her legs were revealed again. He'd fought his own tears to try and be strong for her and had fared slightly better than she had although a couple did trickle down his cheeks.
Her legs did look a little better than they had. The swelling on the left had receded somewhat. The worst of it was around her ankle and knee. The main talking point amongst the doctors seemed to be her ankle since their attention remained there longer. When Alex's hand rose, and his finger made a motion around her foot, Sara looked straight at him.
"Do you want to share?" she asked, their conversation not really hitting her ears until now.
The doctors looked at each other before Steven took up the conversation.
"We're just talking about your ankle," he said.
Slowly blinking, Sara ran her tongue across her lip then looked down at her ankle. She couldn't see it very well because of the position they'd placed her knee in to keep her comfortable. A little bent to the right making the left of her foot hard to see. That was the side the bone had broken through and she couldn't get a glimpse of what the damage looked like now.
"I can't see," she said. "So, what are you talking about exactly?"
"It might be a better idea to send you to X-ray first, get all the facts and then we can talk about those rather than give you our observations," Steven suggested.
Sara's eyes narrowed before flicking to Grissom and then back to the doctors. "I want to know what you're observing," Sara insisted. "Because I'm sure you aren't just talking for the sake of it."
She sounded frustrated already and Grissom squeezed her hand regaining her attention.
"Relax," he encouraged softly.
"Little hard to do that right now," she shot back.
Sighing to himself, Grissom decided not to argue and looked at Steven waiting for an answer just like Sara was.
"Okay," Steven conceded, holding up a hand. "On the whole, our first impression is a reasonably positive one."
Her eyes narrowed again. "Reasonably? I love your approach," she retorted. "Good news then bad right?"
The doctor's lips twitched in slight amusement. "Your swelling overall has reduced drastically which is great news. Your knee, of course, will take much longer as well as your ankle."
"And what about my ankle?" Sara asked. "You seem quite focused on it."
"The area just around your ankle bone has sunk in a little," Steven told her. "That's what we were discussing."
Sara swallowed. "What does that mean?"
"It may be nothing," Alex cut in.
"But it could be something," Sara argued.
She was finding it hard to be positive at this point as she looked at Grissom who squeezed her hand again. Working her jaw, she looked back at Alex.
"What would cause this to happen? The good and the bad," she requested.
"Our hope would be the growth of soft tissue that hasn't quite got there yet," Alex replied quickly knowing Sara was determined to get answers. "On the bad side, the bone could be healing incorrectly, tissue is failing to form or not growing at a rate we would have hoped, or you have an infection."
Looking back at her foot, Sara shook her head. "I wonder how many more issues there can possibly be before my leg just falls off."
"Stop it," Grissom warned and she sighed. "This is why waiting for the facts is normally a better idea because now you are all wound up and angry."
Eyes narrowing, her head tipped back in is direction. "I have a right to be angry," she growled.
Oh, the mood had certainly changed since a few short hours ago. Grissom knew he had no right to argue Sara's right to anger but he certainly didn't like the route this conversation was taking and, luckily for him, neither did the doctors.
"I think we need to get those X-rays sorted and then we can discuss this further, okay?" Steven said.
Dropping her head to the pillow and feeling extremely frustrated, Sara sighed again. "Fine."
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Grissom chewed on his thumbnail as he sat in the treatment room by his sleeping wife's bedside. The X-rays had been positive, showing no issues with the bones in her legs healing or any misalignment. But it didn't answer the question about the sinking in her ankle, so she was sent for an MRI to check the muscles, tendons and tissue. After that, tiredness and pain really started to come through for Sara, so she was given a shot. It hadn't taken her long after that to drift off and Grissom was glad. Better she sleep than lie there just worrying about what the test results may bring. He was praying the MRI wouldn't bring bad news. They'd had a good run lately and Sara was doing well so he wanted it to stay that way.
Feeling a pressure on his shoulder he looked up to see Christine holding out a beaker of coffee. So lost in his thoughts he didn't even hear her come in.
"Um…thanks," he mumbled, taking the offering.
She smiled. "Are you doing okay?"
He shrugged. "I guess. Just worried."
"Understandable. But try not to worry too much, okay? It's not always bad news."
"Yeah," he breathed. "How long do you think she'll be asleep for?"
"Not too long," she told him. "The shot wasn't too heavy because she'll still have to do some tests once the results come back."
Grissom let out a long breath. "More pain I'm sure."
"Sadly, pain is one of the things that comes with a recovery like this. But as time goes by it will get easier."
"How much time?" he shot back swiftly. "And how much easier?"
"Now you sound like Sara," she returned. "Try and relax."
"Sorry," he apologized, looking away and sighing.
"You don't have to be sorry," Christine replied, returning her hand to his shoulder. "You've had more to deal with in the last few months than some people have in a lifetime and I know how hard it is. You both have every right to be angry and frustrated but if you let it take over it's very hard to move forward."
Another long sigh left his lips. "She has so much more right than I do," he said, taking Sara's hand and softly whisking his thumb over hers.
Eyes narrowing with curiosity, Christine took a step closer, her eyes flashing over Sara from head to toe just checking over her patient. "And why do you say that?"
Grissom still blamed himself, he probably always would but saying that out loud now seemed harder to do. "Because she's lying there and I'm not."
Just as Christine was about to answer, Sara's eyes opened surprising them both but secretly, the nurse smirked. Had Sara been listening all this time?
"Welcome back," she said, diverting from the conversation she was having with Grissom. "How are you feeling?"
"Thirsty," Sara replied, her eyes fixing on Grissom.
"Okay, I'll get you some water and let the doctor know you're awake."
That said, Christine left the room as the couple stared at each other.
"How are you really feeling?" Grissom questioned, running his fingers through the hair on her fringe and suspecting she'd heard his conversation with Christine.
"Very thirsty?"
His eyes narrowed but she smiled, pulling his hand up to her chest and holding it there, looking down at his fingers.
"So how much did you hear?" he accused.
Pursing her lips, Sara looked back at him. "Most of it."
A lump burned his throat now and he swallowed. "It should be me in that bed," he said quietly.
Sara closed her eyes, her own throat dry as she too swallowed. "Stop," she whispered and her eyes reopened. "Talk like that won't change anything and it certainly won't help either of us feel any better right now."
Sighing, Grissom looked over his shoulder as Christine returned with water in hand.
"The doctor will be here in about 10 minutes," she said. "And he has your test results."
Grissom looked back at Sara and now she looked nervous.
"Then I guess we're about to find out if my foot's about to fall off," she tried to joke.
"And I think it's your turn to stop," Grissom said back.
Closing her eyes again, Sara blew out a breath. She was hoping, no, praying there would be no more surgery on the horizon because that particular thought made her feel cold to the bone.
A/N: Hope her foot doesn't drop off….