SLOW BURN

~ Chapter 28 ~

A/N: My apologies for the length of this one; it's been trimmed as much as possible but it's still coming in longer than I'd like.

"You know, I had this fantasy about how today was going to end that involved waving off the last of our guests then taking my new husband by the hand and leading him through to our bedroom, stripping him naked – which, by the way, I always pictured happening in slow motion - and then spending our wedding night celebrating in the time-honored tradition." Looking across the emergency room bed at Sara, Helen winked. "And instead, I ended up stripping the best man in the back of an ambulance and then spent the rest of the afternoon holding his head while he threw up into an emesis bag."

"Well, at least we seem to be running out of ammunition." With her hand braced supportively across her husband's back, Sara did her best not to touch either the sling that cradled his left arm or the wide strap that kept it immobilized against his body as she nodded towards the almost empty bag. "Considering he hasn't eaten much over the last few days I have no idea where it all came from."

"You'd be surprised how much the human body can store for occasions just like this one." Seeing her patient's head come up, Helen shifted her free hand to the back of his neck as she helped Sara guide him back against the pillow behind him. "All done?"

"Yeah, I think that's the end of it." Wincing at both the taste in his mouth and the pain in his shoulder, Grissom watched as she secured the top of the soiled bag before opening up a fresh one and placing it by his hip. "I'm sorry, Helen."

She turned at the comment. "What on earth for?"

"For ruining your day," he said simply, "It was bad enough that I passed out during the ceremony but now I've made you miss everything else."

"You didn't ruin my day, Gil, if anything you made it more memorable." Mindful of his injury, she lightly patted his knee. "I'm just glad it happened when and where it did; you had medical assistance with you within seconds of hitting the ground." She winked as her mouth quirked up in an amused grin. "Or Jim as the case may be."

"Is he alright?"

"Oh, he may have a bruise or two but nothing worse than that; he'll never let you forget it, of course, and he'll ramp up the drama every time he tells the story but that's Jim for you." She tapped the almost empty IV bag hanging from the pole beside the bed. "I've just got to go grab a replacement; you'll be okay while I'm gone?"

"Yeah," Grissom managed a gruff chuckle, "we'll be fine." Turning his head, he met his wife's steady gaze. "And I need to apologize to you too, don't I?"

"Kind of, yeah but not right now." Sara watched as Helen pulled back the privacy curtain just enough to slip through. "The only thing I'm interested in is making sure you're alright."

Searching her husband's face, she took a deep, calming breath. He'd slept deeply for the first hour or so after his arrival at the ER, waking only long enough to throw up and respond vaguely to one or two questions before drifting off again, behavior that had ramped up her fears until Helen pointed out that it probably had more to do with post-seizure exhaustion and the valium in his system than any neurological condition.

Since then, his sleep level had lightened considerably and the periods of consciousness in between had lengthened while the vomiting had, thankfully, begun to taper off allowing Sara to relax for the first time since his initial collapse back at Jim and Helen's house.

"However, as soon as you're back home, the two of us are going to sit down and have one hell of a talk about sharing," she narrowed her eyes and fixed him with her best glare. "Especially when it comes to health matters."

"Yes, dear." Shifting slightly on the gurney, Grissom gasped at the sharp stab of pain that radiated down his arm and across his chest then exhaled slowly as it eased off a little. "Just as soon on as they sort this shoulder out, I'll be good to go."

"You know," wrapping her hand around his free one, Sara watched as he rode out the last of the lingering pain. "Something tells me that it might not be that simple."

"Listen to your wife, Gil; that's a smart woman you've got there." Stepping around the privacy curtain, Dr. Craig Donohue made his way up the other side of the bed and cocked his head as he visually examined his patient. "You're looking a lot better; color's starting to come back and you're definitely more alert than you were earlier." Pulling a pen light from his pocket, he quickly shined it in both of Grissom's eyes. "Pupils are reacting nicely." He stepped back again. "How's the head feel?"

"Sore and kind of foggy, I guess." Grissom lightly rubbed at a spot just above his left eyebrow. "But that's nothing compared to my shoulder."

"Well, lucky for you, that's going to be fixed in about twenty minutes or so." Leaning on the bed's siderail, Donohue smiled. "The x-rays we took earlier confirm that it's a subluxation instead of a full dislocation." He pointed to his own shoulder as a means of demonstration. "Basically the ball of the humerus is only partially out of the socket instead of totally out and, in your case, it's sitting right on the edge so it should be relatively easy to pop it back in place.

"And to do that, you're going to have to sedate me."

"Normally, yes." Donohue straightened again. "We need to completely relax those muscles otherwise we'll end up playing tug-of-war and you'll be in a whole new world of pain. We'd usually use Versed to loosen you up enough that we can manipulate that joint however the reversal agent we'd give you afterwards would also reverse the valium that's already in your system and that's something I'd like to avoid for now."

"Versed is Midazolam, isn't it?" Sara's voice was emotionless but the tightening squeeze she had on Grissom's hand let him know how anxious she was. "I…" She looked almost pleadingly at her husband. "I don't want them to use that."

Donohue looked from one to the other. "Problem?"

"Not as long as you don't use Midazolam." Grissom squeezed his wife's fingers that were still curled tightly around his hand. "I've never had it but Sara has and it wasn't a particularly good experience."

"Just as well there's an alternative then," Donohue smiled. "I think the best way to go about this for you is to avoid sedation altogether, so my plan is to use a nerve block." Reaching out, he lightly touched the side of Grissom's neck. "The nerves that go to your shoulder and arm run through here so we'll use ultrasound to make sure we're in the exact spot we need to be and then we'll inject local anaesthetic so that your entire arm will go numb; the ulnar nerve isn't affected by any of this so you'll still be able to move your fingers but you'll have no movement or feeling in the arm itself. It usually takes around fifteen minutes for that to happen and, once we've made sure that it has, we'll be able to pop that shoulder back where it should be and you won't feel a thing."

"Sounds good to me." Grissom looked at his wife. "Okay by you?"

Relief flooding through her, Sara exhaled a shaky breath. "Yes, definitely." She glanced quickly at the entrance as Helen pushed through the curtain, one arm loaded with fresh supplies and the other holding a pair of IV bags. "How long will it take?"

"Just a couple of minutes for the procedure itself but it can take another eight to ten hours for the block to wear off." Donohue nodded towards the patient monitor beside the bed before addressing Grissom. "Your stats are looking good now but we'll continue to monitor you down here for a couple of hours afterwards and then, if there's no other problems, we'll move you upstairs to a room."

"A room?" Ignoring the pain it caused, Grissom shook his head. "No, I can't stay, I need to go home."

"You're forgetting that a subluxed shoulder isn't the only reason you're here, Gil; we need to get to the bottom of these episodes of yours. I've arranged for both a cardiologist and neurologist to come down and check you over tonight and tomorrow morning they'll decide what tests they think they'll need to run on you."

"No, I can't do that," Grissom insisted. "I'll go home tonight and then see my doctor in the morning, he can refer me to whoever he thinks is best." He stared almost pleadingly at the doctor. "I don't want to leave my wife and son alone at the moment; I can't leave them alone."

"Gil," realising instantly what the sudden objection was about, Helen stepped forward. "Sara and Ben can stay with us until you get out of here; they'll be perfectly safe, Jim will make sure of that."

"No Helen, I think we've monopolised enough of your wedding day as it is." Sara shook her head. "I'll call Greg; he'll be happy to come over and christen our guestroom for us." She fixed her husband with the best no-nonsence glare she could muster. "You have to stay here for one simple reason: I am not going to let you back into our house until we know that it's safe for you to be there." She placed the palm of her free hand against her mounded belly. "At a time in my life when I should be avoiding as much stress and tension as I can, I have had nothing but stress and tension ever since we found you passed out in the bedroom. I don't want to spend the final weeks of this pregnancy waiting for what happened today to happen again and Ben definitely doesn't need another repeat of the trauma that you've put him through." She pulled her hand away from his as if to drive home the point. "Seriously Gil, it's stay here or stay away from us – because I'm not willing to go through this over and over again; I honestly couldn't take it."

"Well, if that's not reason enough to stay I don't know what is but I'm going to add to it anyway." Adjusting the stethoscope that hung around his neck, Donohue shrugged "I'm not sure if you know this or not but Nevada is a mandatory reporting state when it comes to seizures so we have a form that has to be filled out and submitted within fifteen days of any seizure activity."

Donohue paused for a moment to ensure his patient was listening.

"They give us those fifteen days so we have the chance to diagnose and treat our patients and to then come to a decision as to whether or not their medical issues are going to put themselves or others in danger on the roads." His mouth curled in a self-satisfied grin as he locked eyes with Grissom. "Now, blackmail isn't usually my thing when it comes to patients but, in your case, I'm going to make an exception and promise you that, if you walk out of here tonight, I will submit that report before you've even left the parking lot and I will absolutely ensure that, first thing tomorrow morning, it is processed and your driver's licence is suspended."

"That's not fair!" Grissom bristled at the ultimatum.

"Actually, what's not fair is making people share the road with someone who is driving around when it is not safe for them to do so." Donohue countered. "Do you really want your pregnant wife and little boy in the car with you when you have a seizure at the wheel? You might be prepared to take that risk, Gil but I'm not." He shrugged as the staredown continued. "The choice is yours."

"What choice?" Rolling his eyes, Grissom sighed in resignation. "All right, you win," he turned his head to look at Sara, "you both win; I'll stay."

"I knew we would." With a satisfied grin, Donohue looked up at Helen. "You want to help me set up for a nerve block and closed reduction?"

"Absolutely," she winked at Sara as she passed the bed. "It'll take about fifteen minutes for us to get everything together but, if you need anything, just press the buzzer."

As they left the room, Sara pushed to her feet, one hand resting lightly on the siderail. "Thank you for seeing sense."

"Sense had nothing to do with it; like he said, that was blackmail." Suddenly weary, Grissom closed his eyes against the harsh light above him. "I thought you were supposed to be on my side."

"I am…" leaning in, she pressed a light kiss to his lips, "when you're not making dumb decisions, that is." She smiled as he opened his eyes again. "You really are feeling better now, right?"

"Apart from the shoulder I feel a lot better; just a little bit of nausea and a headache." A single eyebrow rose in question. "Who's got Ben?"

"Greg I think, or at least he did when we left Helen's place." Sara shifted awkwardly on her feet. "I'm going to have to go find a restroom because someone's been tapdancing on my bladder for the past ten minutes so I'll swing by the waiting room and check with Jim." She glanced at her watch, surprised by just how much time had passed since their arrival. "And I'm going to have to find a vending machine too, I haven't eaten since breakfast."

"That could be why you're getting kicked." He offered her a lazy smile. "You go, I'll be fine."

"I don't want to leave you here alone; Helen will be back soon, I can wait."

"If you're worried about me taking off don't be. Just moving when I lie here is painful enough, I don't think I'd be able to make any kind of getaway."

"I wasn't really alluding to that but…" Sara winced in discomfort as she moved her weight from one foot to the other. "Oh, god; are you sure?"

"Absolutely," he insisted. "Go feed Junior."

"I'll only be gone ten minutes, okay?" She moved almost gingerly towards the entrance. "I want to be here for the nerve block."

"Why?" Ignoring the spark of agony it caused, Grissom chuckled. "So you can watch me cry like a baby when they stick the needle in my neck?"

"I was thinking more along the lines of holding your hand actually." Backing up towards the curtain and the corridor beyond, Sara rolled her eyes at him. "Now, I better go before we find ourselves having to come up with a plausible excuse for a puddle on the floor." She looked at her watch again. "I'll be ten minutes max so make sure you're here when I get back."

He watched her disappear from view before easing his head back against the pillow and, despite the pain that arced through his arm, shoulder and chest, looked up at the ceiling above with a wry smile. "Where the hell does she expect me to go?"

She felt like a criminal.

Seated in the overcrowded waiting room, Catherine slid her hand self-consciously across the outside of her jacket pocket to reassure herself that the small plastic bag was still there. Her original plan had been to leave it locked in her car's glovebox but, knowing just how many vehicles were broken into, if not stolen from, hospital carparks, she'd decided that carrying it on her would undoubtedly be the safer way to go.

That didn't help her conscience though or do anything to assuage the guilt she felt for bringing, what she suspected was a schedule one drug, into one of the city's premier medical centers.

"What do you think, Cath; is it legal or not?"

She started slightly at the question, the hold she had on Sara's bag tightening automatically as she did her best to shift her attention to the man seated opposite.

"I'm sorry, Jim; I must have been daydreaming." She graced him with an apologetic smile. "Is what legal?"

"My marriage," Brass stated simply, the various tensions of the day showing clearly on his face. "If one of your witnesses collapses during the wedding ceremony, would it still be considered a legal marriage?"

Catherine frowned. "I thought Gil passed out at the end."

"He did but, from what both Sara and Craig Donohue said about his behavior before that, he might not actually have been aware of what was going on immediately preceding it."

"But you don't know that for sure?"

"No, he doesn't." Ecklie chimed in looking past the man beside him to roll his eyes in Catherine's direction. "I've told him not to worry about it, that it's something that's easily sorted out later on if needs be, but he won't believe me."

"Well, how about you wait and find out exactly what it is that Grissom remembers before you start to panic." Catherine reasoned. "Besides, unless they've changed it since Eddie and I got married, you really only need one witness at a wedding and you've got Kaylee so there's not going to be any problems if Gil doesn't remember anyway."

"Really?" Brass sank backwards on the uncomfortable plastic seat, a relieved smile taking over from his previously stressed countenance. "Thank god for that; it's cost a small fortune the first time around, I'd hate to have to pay for it all again."

"The Little White Wedding Chapel's just a couple of blocks from here, Jim," Ecklie quipped. "Last I heard, the Tunnel of Love Extravaganza would only set you back about two hundred dollars."

"Yeah, I could really see me getting that past Helen." He sighed as he shook his head. "I should have done something before the damned ceremony; I knew he wasn't feeling right and when he told me about his vision-"

Catherine turned to face him. "What about his vision?"

"He said he had a blurred patch that he couldn't get rid of; he thought it was the start of a migraine but Craig Donohue said it was probably the start of the seizure."

"Don't drive yourself nuts with 'if only's', Jim."

Movement up ahead caught her eye and Catherine watched as the large automatic door that separated the waiting room from the ER itself slid open and a familiar figure stepped through the threshold clearly searching for a familiar face.

"There's Sara!" Jim was out of his seat and wending his way through the room's other occupants before his two companions even had a chance to react. Slipping the strap of the black leather bag over her shoulder, Catherine got to her feet at the same time as Ecklie.

"Well, at least it doesn't look like it's bad news." He looked back over his shoulder as he proceeded her along the same path Brass had just taken.

"Let's hope so." She commented as she followed his lead through the maze of waiting people.

Keeping her eyes locked on the younger woman as they neared, she watched the surprise on her face as Jim pulled her into a tight hug.

Falling in beside him, Catherine patted his shoulder as she smiled warmly at Sara, "He's had a long day."

"We all have," Ecklie added as Jim released his hold. "How's Gil?"

"He's doing pretty good really but, before I fill you in," Sara gestured towards the large vending machines set against the nearest wall. "Does anyone have some change I could borrow? I'm absolutely starving."

"Here, this'll help." Slipping the bag from her shoulder, Catherine held it out. "Greg asked me to bring it along with me, he thought you'd probably need it."

"He was right." Pulling the bag open, Sara rummaged through the contents for her wallet.

"Ah, you may want to check that everything's there." Catherine nodded towards the bag. "I had a near-miss in the car on the way over and most of the contents ended up on the floor." She shrugged nonchalantly. "I think I got it all but you'd know that better than I would."

"Don't bet on it," Sara smiled as she finally located her wallet. "The number of Ben's things in there probably outnumber mine." She glanced up as she extracted a credit card. "My wallet, phone and keys are the only things that are really important anyway." Stepping in front of the machine, Sara studied the contents. "Oh, and my notebook, I'd literally be lost with that."

Catherine frowned at the mention of the notebook.

"Some of Gil's things are in there too, Greg found them inside the house and he had Lindsey drive Ben over to my mom's place." She looked on as Sara made her choices. "She said you're not to worry about him, she's happy to have him for as long as you need."

"Well, that's one less thing I have to worry about." Bending awkwardly, Sara retrieved a muffin bar, packet of almonds and a bottle of water. "I'll give her a call later."

She pushed the credit card, nuts and water into her bag then tore the plastic wrapping from the muffin and took a bite before turning to address all three of them.

"Okay, he's fully conscious, his blood pressure and heart rate are almost back to normal and it looks like the Valium is keeping the seizures under control. His left shoulder is partially dislocated so they're just getting ready to put that back where it should be."

"Any idea what caused the collapse yet?"

"Nothing definite, no," Sara shook her head as she took another bite. "Both cardiology and neurology will be checking him out tonight and presumably running whatever tests they need tomorrow so hopefully we'll get some answers then." She chuckled as she rolled her eyes. "Being Grissom, he was determined to walk out of here tonight but the threat of a suspended driver's license and the promise of not being allowed back home until he finally has a diagnosis made him change his mind."

"He always was a stubborn mule when it came to his health," Brass commented drily. "So, you and Ben will be alone at the house while he's in here?"

"No, I'm going to call Greg and ask him to stay over for a couple of days; he'll be fine with that and hopefully it'll give my security conscious husband a little peace of mind."

"But he'll be at the lab while the two of you are alone all night." Catherine gave her head a determined shake, "No, I'll call my mom and set it up for you and Ben to both stay with her; Ben thinks it's his second home anyway and I'm sure she'd love having your company for a while." She held up a silencing finger as Sara opened her mouth to speak. "You know what it's like over there: gated complex, twenty-four-hour security and more cameras than you'd find at most casinos; I can't think of anywhere you'll be safer and I bet Gil couldn't either."

"She wouldn't mind?"

"No, she'd love it," Catherine assured her, "And it'll be closer to the hospital for you too since, I guess, you'll be spending most of your time here anyway."

"Yes, probably; it's not that far from Ben's daycare either so it would definitely be easier than getting caught in traffic twice a day." Sara nodded her agreement. "Okay, as long as she's happy to have us, we'd love to stay with her. Tell her it'll only be for a couple nights; license threats or not, I can't see him agreeing to stay here any longer than that."

"That's fine," Catherine pulled her cellphone from her pocket and started scrolling for her mother's number. "The three of you can spend the rest of the week taking it easy at home."

"Well, I'm in court on Thursday for the McIntyre trial but, apart from that, I think we'll all be happy to take your advice and relax for a while; it feels like ages since we managed to do that." Sara checked her watch. "I'm going to head back, they're probably all set up for the procedure now." She looked at Jim. "I'm going to push Helen to go home after they've sorted his shoulder out; the last thing either of you need is to spend your wedding night in the ER."

"I don't mind waiting around for her," Jim smiled. "For you either if you like; when you're all set to go, I can drop you at Lily's."

"They want to observe him down here for a couple more hours, Jim; I can't leave until I know he's settled in a room."

"I can drive you whenever you're ready to go," Ecklie butted in. "I don't have anything planned for the rest of the evening so I don't mind hanging around and I can pick you up in the morning too if you'd like; maybe take you over to Jim's so you can get Grissom's SUV."

"I…" Sara faltered for a moment at the unexpected offer. "I'd appreciate that Conrad, thank you."

"You're all set." Pushing her phone back into her pocket, Catherine smiled. "She said the spare room's all yours for however long you need it."

"Fantastic; thanks, Cath." Sara stepped backwards towards the ER access door. "I'm going to have to go," she smiled widely as she pressed the button on the wall for admittance. "Wouldn't want to miss them pumping my husband full of drugs now, would I?"

Both men turned as the door closed behind her but Catherine's mind whirled.

Her hand dropped to her pocket, her fingers closing around the small bag of powder as she ran through the list of common signs and symptoms of drug use in her mind: nausea, vomiting, headaches, blurred vision, loss of appetite, dizziness, seizures.

Almost everything that Grissom had been experiencing for weeks now.

She stared at the door, trying her hardest not to allow the rush of thoughts to overwhelm her but, given the evidence in her hand and what she'd been told earlier at the lab, she was fighting a losing battle.

Turning from the door, she stalked her way across the waiting room to the seats the two men had found themselves and, leaning in, whispered in Ecklie's ear. "Conrad, there's something I need to tell you and I need to do it now!"

A/N2: Thank you SylvieT for the beta of this (and every other) chapter. :)