A/N: Thanks for still reading, everyone!
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Disclaimer: I do not own any part of CSI or its characters. That honor goes to the good folks over at CBS.
Title: The Planetarium: Part 4
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"Are you okay, Ms. Sidle?" Jacob Rice, the EMT, suddenly asked her. "You look a little bit pale," he added, noting the color—or lack there of it—in her cheeks.
"I'm fine, thank you," Sara mumbled, trying to shift Patrick's weight on her lap. Even now, with the safety of the ambulance, the young boy still refused to let go of her.
"Are you sure?" he again questioned her.
Sara nodded, trying to smile. But she really didn't feel "fine," and she wasn't sure if she was going to be "fine" again for quite some time. Something about Patrick and his vulnerability made her think about her own vulnerability, and that left her with a very uneasy feeling in the pit of her stomach.
Sighing, Sara leaned her head against the ambulance's side panel. Patrick just looked at her, sucking his thumb, and resting his head on her chest. "We'll be at the hospital soon," she told him, gently running her fingers through his hair. "Hang in there, okay…?" she whispered. Patrick listlessly stared at her, his thumb in his mouth.
Five minutes later, the ambulance arrived at the hospital, where an orderly met them all with a wheel chair. "Okay, Son," the man firmly said, reaching out with both arms in order to take Patrick from Sara.
"No, no, No, NO!" Patrick screamed, wrapping his legs tightly around Sara's waist as they exited the emergency vehicle. "NO, NO, NO, NO!" he repeated, beginning to get more and more hysterical. Before Sara or the orderly could stop him, Patrick reached up with both of his hands, and grabbed his hair, tugging on it in frustration and fear. "No, no, no," he sobbed, trying to yank out a fistful of his own hair. "No, no, no, no, no, no," he added, as hot, stinging tears slid down his face. "Nuh-uh, nuh-uh, nuh-uh!" he whispered to himself, over and over again. "I don't wanna!"
The orderly looked at Sara with a mixture of confusion and annoyance on his face. "But it's procedure, Ma'am!" he told her, again reaching out his arms for the young boy.
Sara threw the man a disgusted look, before trying to calm Patrick down. Sitting on the bumper of the ambulance, she tried to soothe him. "It's okay, Patrick. Shh, it's okay. You're safe here…" she whispered to him. "I know that you're scared, but it's safe here…"
"No, no, no," Patrick softly said, shaking his head back and forth. "Nuh-uh, nuh-uh," he added, still trying to pull his own hair out.
Sara reached up, and tenderly grabbed his tiny fists with her own palms. "Patrick, look at me," she calmly said to him. When he refused to let go of his hair, she added, "You're okay. I promise you that... but you need to sit in the chair." This time, Patrick let Sara gently open his fists, and he allowed her to place him in the wheelchair. "Look at me, Patrick…" When he did, she kneeled down next to him. "You're okay," she smiled. "Promise." Patrick just nodded, and let the orderly wheel him into a room.
After the doctor had checked Patrick out, and determined that he was unharmed, Sara knelt down next to his bed. Clearing her throat, she sighed. "Patrick…can you help me with something?" Patrick just gazed at her, looking quizzical. Gently taking his hands in her own, she pointed to her kit. "I'm a… scientist of sorts. I help figure out what happened in a place… like at the planetarium," she carefully told him. "And collecting things—like in a scavenger hunt—helps me make sure that the bad person goes to jail..." she trailed off. Patrick merely blinked. "So… can you help me collect some stuff?" she finally asked him.
Patrick slowly nodded. "Okay," Sara smiled, taking out some q-tips for a swab. "This won't hurt a bit," she added, making eye contact with the young boy. Patrick simply nodded again, as Sara took a sample of the blood. Then, just to cover her bases, she did a test for GSR. As expected, Patrick was clean for that. Last, but certainly not least, Sara took the spare clothes that the hospital gave her off of the shelf, and handed them to Patrick. "Patrick," she cautiously said. "I need you to change into these…" she whispered, pointing to the bathroom. "Go ahead, and I'll wait out here for you." When Patrick's eyes grew wide with fear, she flashed him a small smile. "I'm not going to move, I promise… I'll be standing right here, the moment that you get done."
Patrick nodded, before hesitantly moving toward the bathroom. Flicking the light on, and studying the empty room, he frowned, before walking inside. Locking the door behind him, Patrick tried to stop himself from crying, as he quickly changed into the spare clothes.
When Patrick re-appeared minutes later, Sara knelt down, and held her arms out to him. "Good job…" she smiled, as he ran over to her, throwing his tiny arms around her body.
At that moment, a tall figure briskly walked into the room. "Patrick?" the woman called out, raising her voice. "Patrick?" she repeated, rushing into the room. "I was so worried about you, sweetheart!" she added, finally seeing him with Sara, on the floor. Holding her arms out to him, she frowned.
Noticing the ring on the woman's finger, Sara asked, "Mrs. Sampson?" The woman nodded, still holding her arms out to her son. But Patrick refused to let go of Sara. "I'm… sorry to hear about your husband," she hesitantly said, trying to unobtrusively release Patrick's hold on her shoulders.
The woman shrugged, walking over to Sara, and grabbing one of her son's arms. "Well, I'm just glad that Patrick is okay," she replied, a little bit too loudly for Sara's taste.
"Ma'am, my name is Sara Sidle, and I'm with the crime lab. At some point, we are going to need to talk to you and your son."
"Well, I want to get my son home. Can this wait?"
"It would be better if we spoke rather immediately," Sara frowned, biting her lip. Glancing at Patrick, she was slightly dismayed—and surprised—to see him studying the floor, and still sucking his thumb.
"The in that case," Ms. Sampson sighed, "I will meet you back at your lab in a few hours…"
Sara nodded, as the woman took her son by the arm, and pulled him out of the hospital room. Patrick, remaining quiet, merely stared at Sara, a single tear rolling down his cheek. Perplexed, Sara watched the duo walk away. What was that all about? She asked herself, collecting Patrick's soiled clothing from the bathroom floor. Something other than the…incident…at the planetarium was wrong with Patrick. That much was for sure.
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TO BE CONTINUED