9
Sara emptied the contents of her bag into the dresser in the guest room while Grissom showered and packed. After that, she gathered of few of his books, including a crossword puzzle paperback, set them on the table by the door and watered his two plants. As she was rinsing the glass she used, Grissom walked into the kitchen. She watched as he worked around her, obviously gathering up the things he would need for dinner that night. Once he had everything bagged up, they loaded the groceries in his car and went back for his bags. He was impressed when he saw her pick up the stack of books from the table.
"I, uh, just wanted you to have a little piece of yourself at my apartment."
He placed his hand on her cheek. "Sara, you are the piece of me at your apartment. But thank you for thinking about this. Come on, we have shopping to do." After a quick kiss, they finished loading the car and headed off for a day of shopping.
They made it back to Sara's apartment by one and Grissom went straight to work on his sauce. Sara put his books on her coffee table, and looked over at his bags. She thought about unpacking for him, but thought that might be overstepping. Instead, she went into the kitchen to see if she could help.
"I've, uh, got it pretty much under control. Why don't you just relax? Once I'm done here, I'd, uh, actually like to run a quick errand if you'll be okay stirring this for me."
"Sure. I've got some Christmas shopping I need to do anyway. I need to order everything to make sure it gets here on time."
"Great. Do you mind if I unpack when I get back?"
"Nope. So, all I'll have to do is stir, right?"
"Every 15 minutes or so please."
"Okay. I'll be on the computer."
When he was finished, he came over and kissed the top of her head. "I'll be home in an hour or so. Love you."
"Love you, too. Be careful."
After he left, she wondered how it had become so easy for him to call her apartment home and how their 'love yous' slipped right off their tongues. In two weeks, they'd gone from barely speaking to practically living together. They were still on that roller coaster. But, for now, they were at a steady rise. How long could this last?
Pushing that from her brain, she focused on shopping. Her main goal was to get Grissom's shopping done before he got back. It wasn't hard to find what she wanted. She browsed the web all the time and always spotted things she'd like to get for him. Her problem would be narrowing it down. Was there a spending limit she should keep in mind? No…surely Grissom was not a penny watcher.
After making her first selection and entering her credit card number, she remembered she needed to stir the sauce. She spent the next hour rotating between stirring and shopping. After finally feeling satisfied with her purchases, she stirred the sauce one more time, then looked at her watch. Grissom would be back any time now. He'd been gone almost an hour and a half.
When she heard the knock at the door, she rushed over to let him in. When she opened the door, though, she was surprised to see Nick standing there.
"Nick?"
"Sara, I need you to come with me."
"What?"
"Just turn off the sauce, move it to another burner, and come with me."
"How'd you know….", her voice trailed off and nausea swept over her. "No!"
Nick reached out for her, "Sara! He's okay. He's just asking for you. Sara? Do you hear me? He's fine!"
"Okay, okay, I hear you. What happened?"
"Go take care of the sauce, grab him some clothes and I'll tell you on the way."
Once they got in the car, Nick filled her in. "He was hit by a drunk driver. Luckily, the guy was just trying to park, but his foot slipped of the brake. Grissom's got a couple bruises and a lot of scratches. He's got a big bump on his head, and he's got a brace on his wrist. He didn't break it; it's just sprained from the fall."
"Okay. So where is he?"
"Desert Palm. We actually got him to go in. He wouldn't let me come get you until he knew he was okay."
"Nick, he just left an hour and a half ago. When did this happen?"
"He was getting out of his car and was walking through the parking lot."
"Where was he?"
"Sara, I can't tell you that. You'll have to hear that from him. I will tell you this, though. He would only go to the hospital after Catherine took him in the store."
"What store?"
"You'll find out."
They pulled into the hospital a few minutes later and Nick pulled up to let Sara out at the front. She ran into the ER, almost frantic. When she finally found him, she burst into tears. "God, Grissom!"
"Come here, Sara." He wrapped her in his arms and let her cry. "Sara, I'm okay. I won't be able to lift the sauce pan, but I'm fine." Sara giggled then. "That's my girl. Come on. I just finished filling out my discharge papers before you got here. Let's go home."
"Grissom, you're wearing a hospital gown."
It was his turn to laugh, "Yeah, I guess I should change."
"It's just sweats and t-shirt. I didn't know what kind of shape you were in until we got in the car."
"This is fine. I can always change before Catherine gets there."
"Are you sure you still want her to come over?"
"Hey! I've waited a long time to have Gil's sauce! Don't try to take it away when I'm this close!"
"Catherine! I didn't even see you when I came in."
"Yeah. I can see that. Anyway, he's fine. I'm still coming at six." She winked at Grissom. "Besides, if you want those papers, you have to let me come over."
Sara finally gave in, "Okay, as long as he's all right, we'll see you at six."
"Great! See you two lovebirds later!"
"I'll wait in the hall. Just come out when you're ready."
Sara waited in the hall while Grissom changed. "Miss, can I help you?" Sara looked up to see a nurse staring at her. "Would you like a tissue?"
"Oh! Yes, thank you. I'm fine! I'm just waiting."
"Yes, I know. Your husband's a very lucky man. It's a good thing that drunk driver wasn't speeding down the road instead of just trying to park."
She handed Sara the tissue. She thought about trying to correct her about the husband remark, but she just liked the way it sounded. "I have to say that he's a stubborn guy though. He said we couldn't call you until he was checked out and found out he was okay. Said he didn't want to scare you any more than possible. But ever since he asked for you, he hasn't stopped. He must love you a lot. How long have you been married?"
At that moment, Sara thanked God that Grissom stepped out of the room. This is what she got for not telling the truth in the first place. Ignoring the last question, she turned to him, "You ready?"
"Yes."
To the nurse, she said, "Thank you for all your help."
"You're welcome. Drive safe."
"We will."
"Oh! Mrs. Grissom! Make sure he takes the medication and ices that wrist."
Grissom turned and smiled at her. Turning away from his grin, she replied, "I will; thanks again."
"Uh, my car's in the ER lot Mrs. Grissom. Catherine drove me here."
"I didn't tell her we were…she just assumed we were…"
"Sara, I don't care. I actually think it sounds kind of nice."
"Yeah?"
"Yeah."