Okay. This chapter takes a slight turn; kind of worked in part of the original in with a new ending to this section. Keep the faith! I had enough votes from readers who wanted happy, not tragic. Plus, I had written the 'more tragic' ending prior to the season premiere so after that I wanted to change this anyway. More to come; this story is far from finished
"What do you mean you're sending her out?" Catherine stood in Conrad's office, having barged in after hanging up on his phone call a few minutes earlier.
"Just what I said" he replied callously "We're short handed, Brown needs a partner, Sidle is going."
"She's nearly eight months pregnant, Conrad!" Catherine protested "I put her on non-active status over a month ago!"
"Sorry, Catherine" He replied "Guess I forgot to sign the form"
She looked at him incredulously "What the hell is your problem?"
"My problem" He said with cold sarcasm "Is that your little CSI's boyfriend manages to skate by any disciplinary action by playing on the sympathies of the department heads." He gave her a disheartening look "Sidle has sex with a supervisor and walks away unscathed. She thinks she gets extra privileges, but it isn't working with me"
"You are unbelievable" Catherine responded "You're willing to jeopardize Sara's health for some long-sought personal vendetta?"
"I am not jeopardizing anything. This is a low profile case with an easy workload; she just has to take pictures" He looked down, filling in paperwork as if dismissing her. "I am sure even Sidle can handle that"
At that point, Sara walked in, looking at them both. "Handle what?"
Catherine gave Conrad a final glare before turning to Sara. "Guess you're with Warrick today" She said.
Sara nodded, unfazed. "In the field?"
"Is that a problem?" Ecklie asked
She shook her head "No...just wanting to make sure I am not in violation of some departmental policy"
"Don't be a smart ass, Sidle" he nearly barked "You're on thin ice, remember?"
Sara smiled over at Catherine "Yeah, so I've heard"
With that she walked out towards Warrick who left his resting-place against the wall, where he'd waited out the confrontation.
Catherine watched as Sara approached him, saying something that made him laugh. As she watched, Sara gave Warrick a friendly punch in the arm and he reached out to grab her, pulling her into a bear hug before they walked, arm in arm down the hallway.
She smiled. Although she did not agree with Conrad, she felt one final day with Warrick in the field before she was stuck in the lab all day was just what Sara needed.
She didn't realize how wrong she was.
"I still can't believe you got him to move" Warrick commented as they headed towards the site 15-miles outside of Vegas "Man, Grissom hates change...or did" He looked over at her with a smile. "You've really changed him...I have never seen the man this happy" He paused "Actually, I've never seen him giddily happy. He's got it bad"
She smiled. "Got what?"
"You" He said "You know how it is when a guy is madly in love with someone and they get all starry eyed and absent minded? Never thought I'd see Gil Grissom that way, but I gotta say he has never been quite the same since you came to Vegas. I always knew the man had the hots for you..."
"Hots" She laughed "I think 50-year old men don't get the hots"
"Yeah, that's what you think" He grinned back "That's 'cause you're not a guy"
They were quiet a few minutes before he continued "And married? I can't imagine him married. That's big...I mean, a baby is big but marriage?" He shook his head "That is a really huge step"
"Yeah" Sara replied, taking a sip of the lemonade he'd bought her at the convenience store at the edge of town. "It feels huge"
"Not as huge as you" He said, giving her a sideways smile. "I think you better lay off them Nachos, Sara."
She smiled "Thanks, Warrick" She said in her casual smooth tone "You're lookin' pretty damn good yourself"
He laughed "I'm happy for you" He said with sincerity "I mean, at first I was really weirded out by the whole you and Grissom thing...but, what the hell? This is Vegas, you know." He shrugged "You two are gonna be great parents...this is gonna be one smart kid"
"It's all the nachos" She replied with a smile
"More like explosive DNA" He commented, returning her smile "The Grissom-Sidle combo. The kid'll come out reciting Shakespeare and solving quantum physics"
"Nah..." She said with another sip of lemonade "More like Baby Einstein and Sesame Street." She swirled the straw around in the cup "I've started watching them...Baby Einstein...I've heard that baby's really like that stuff so I'm trying to get into the rhythm...Gil's not so in-tune with it yet....says he just doesn't get it"
He laughed, trying to picture Gil Grissom watching a baby cartoon. "He doesn't get a lot of things"
They were both quiet for a few minutes, watching the scenery go by before he said, "I'm glad it worked out for you, Sara. I know it was pretty rough for awhile"
"Yeah." She sighed "We didn't exactly handle the situation like educated adults"
He scoffed "Just because you're intelligent doesn't mean you're smart"
"Funny how that works" She said as she put the empty cup into the cup holder
"You think of a name yet?" He asked, his sunglassed eyes watching the road spread out before them. They had been called out on a DB found in the middle of an ATV trail and the road was lined with hills and valleys; a favorite hang out for illegal sport utilities and big trucks to race around in.
"Well," She said again smoothly. "Gil wants to name her Gabriella Marie. Marie after his mother and Gabriella so she'll have his initials" She smiled over at him, her hand rubbing her abdomen "I like Isabella; Isabella Catherine"
"That is a beautiful name." He said, glancing at her quickly. "So, Catherine as in Catherine Willows?"
"Yeah" She replied thoughtfully "Cath has done so very much for me through all of this. She was the first person I told about the pregnancy, the only one who knew about Gil...." She paused, "She was my rock through all of this...she is the closest thing to a sister I have ever had. I think it is only fitting that that I name my first daughter after her"
He smiled "That's real nice, Sara." Then "So...first daughter? You guys planning more?"
She shrugged. "Well, we have to survive the birth of this one first...but, we've discussed it. Neither of us want our daughter growing up as an only child; Gil knows how lonely that can be" She yawned "I think we'd like to have two. Maybe actually plan the next one"
"Gil Grissom a dad" he said with a shake of the head "...the things Vegas does to a person"
It happened so quickly that Warrick wasn't sure it had happened at all. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a dark object approaching rapidly. In a blaze of glass and scraping metal, he felt a jolt that sent his head sideways into the window, shattering the glass as the Denali was spun 90 degrees, tipping slightly before slamming back down on all four wheels to sit sideways on the interstate.
Time seemed to slow as he scrambled to understand what had just happened; everything around him seemed surreal and dream-like. As if in slow motion, the 4-wheel drive truck that had flown over the embankment to broad side them rolled by the front of the Denali, rolling into the ditch on the other side of the road. His arm seared with pain and as he looked down, he realized it was broken.
"Sara?" He struggled to move so that he could see her, the Denali's bent frame making the task difficult. "Sara?"
Turning, he attempted to get the seat belt off, crying out in pain as his dangling arm protested his every move. He looked over at her as he struggled with the clip, his panic increasing; she wasn't moving.
Finally releasing the clasp, he ignored the pain as he pushed aside the slowly deflating air bag and crawled closer to her. "Sara?" he called, reaching for her head. "Come on, Girl! Sara?" He began picking glass out of her hair, the thick blood from her wound coating his hand. "Sara!" He cried "Oh, God, Girl...c'mon...don't do this! Please, Sara..."
Her eyelids fluttered open, her glazed brown eyes staring straight ahead. "Sara? Sara, can you hear me?"
"My head hurts..." She said quietly
He looked her over, a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach. "It's okay" He soothed. "You're okay...."
Sounds from outside alerted him to people approaching the Denali and he looked up as a man approached Sara's side. "Get some help!" He yelled to him "She's pregnant! For God's sake, call an ambulance!"
He looked back down at Sara, continuing his diligent task of removing the glass from her hair. She remained placid and calm, her eyes looking straight ahead and he wondered if she realized what was going on around her. Feeling something wet on his hand as it braced her head he looked down. Blood was slowly trickling from her left ear where it rested on his palm 'Oh, Shit...' He thought.
"Sara?" He asked, his face laced with panicked desperation "Sara? Stay with me, okay? You gotta stay with me, Sara....can you look at me? Can you see me Sara?" She did not respond and he looked around him, hoping for anyone who could help him get her out of the SUV. Vaguely in the background he could hear the sirens approaching.
"You gotta hang on" He told her. "Sara? You gotta hang on, okay? The ambulance is on the way....Oh, God...please Sara..."
"I'm okay...." She breathed out, her eyebrows furrowing "Oh, God....the baby, Warrick...."
"I need some help here!" He screamed out, looking back down at her "Sara...your head is bleeding..."
"The baby..." She murmured, her eyes beginning to close
"No!" He screamed, shaking her lightly "Stay awake! Open your eyes! C'mon Sara!"
There was a rush of noise around him and suddenly a paramedic approached the vehicle, looking in at them. "Are you injured?" he asked Warrick
"She needs to get to a hospital" Warrick told him "She's hurt really bad..."
"Are you injured?" The man repeated
"SHE NEEDS TO GO TO THE HOSPITAL!" Warrick screamed "NOW!"
He held her hand as the fire department cut the side of the car away, refusing any treatment until they had seen to Sara's care. She faded in and out as they loaded her into the ambulance.
"Questions came at him like gunshots:
"What's her name?"
"How far along is she?"
"Does she have any other medical conditions we need to be aware of?"
"Do you know her immediate family?"
As the clock ticked, he barely remembered responding
"Sara...Sara Sidle...we're with the Las Vegas Crime Lab"
"Eight months? Seven and a half months? I don't know....She's due in August...Sara? C'mon Sara...."
"I don't think she has any other conditions....Sara? Stay awake, okay?"
Family? Grissom...he had to call Grissom
Gil sat at the trial, listening intently as the suspect was questioned. As he listened, he made mental notes of points to counter when he was called. Next to him, his phone vibrated against his hip and he reached down to stop the motion, his attention back on the events in front of him.
He had seen Sara only briefly in passing that morning; they had barely time to wave a greeting as he was whisked off by the undersheriff to prep for his testimony. He had made a mental note to go in after his testimony and take her to lunch. He felt somewhat guilty for not calling her during the last recess, but the attorneys had congregated on him and he was unable to break away
Vibration alerted him that he again had a call and this time he reached down to see who the caller was; Warrick. Halting the ring again, he flipped the phone off and he made another mental note to call him back as soon as the judge released him.
Minutes ticked by as the witnesses were called and Gil began to wish he'd have gotten a little sleep before the trial; it had been a long night. After another hour of testimony, the door to the courtroom opened and he watched as Jim Brass came in and was pointed in his direction by the court officer.
Gil watched him only momentarily before turning back to the judge. As Brass came up to him, Gil could sense the urgency in his actions "You need to answer your damn phone" He whispered harshly
"I am in a courtroom" Gil replied quietly "I cannot answer it here...sit down"
"You need to come with me." Jim said gravely without moving to sit "There's been an accident..."
Gil felt a tingle of alarm go through him as he looked at Jim, furrowing his eyebrows "Accident?"
"Sara and Warrick were in an accident" Jim reiterated more forcefully "You need to come with me"
Gil did not recall leaving the courtroom; he barely remembered the drive to the hospital as Jim explained what he knew from Warrick, which was not much. Warrick, he said, had tried calling Gil several times from the scene, trying to alert him to head to the hospital. Gil felt his heart stop as he realized he had turned the phone off instead of just answering it.
All that Gil knew as they pulled up in front of Desert Palms Hospital was that Sara was injured. He jumped out of Jim's cruiser as soon as it came to a stop at the front of the building and ran into the trauma unit, searching frantically for the front desk.
As he approached the desk, he could see Catherine out of the corner of his eye as she stood from her spot in the waiting room. The receptionist at the desk looked up at him
"Can I help you?" She greeted
"Sara" He spat out "Sara Sidle...is she here?"
The receptionist nodded "Are you family?"
"I'm her fiance..."
The girl looked up at him with a sympathetic smile. "I'm sorry, Sir. She's still in trauma, I don't have any information yet."
"Can I see her?" He asked, panicked
She shook her head "I cannot allow anyone back there until she is stable"
"No" He shook his head "You do not understand...she's my world...she's...we're having a baby..."
The girl watched him, her eyes sympathetic "I am sorry, Sir. I cannot let you back there until she is stable"
Stable. He ran a hand through his hair "The baby?" He asked "What about the baby?"
The girl scanned the computer screen before looking back up at him "I'm sorry; I don't have any information yet."
Gil opened his mouth to argue when he felt a hand on his arm, turning to see Catherine "They won't let me see her..." He said softly
"Come on" She said with a slight tug on his arm "We'll wait for the doctor..."
"I don't want to wait!" He suddenly exploded, another hand through his hair as he looked back to the receptionist "Can't you let me back there? I'm with the crime lab! I should have some right to go back there!"
The woman gave him a wide eyed look, glancing at Catherine for help "Gil..." Catherine said as she pulled on him "Come on....she's just doing her job"
"I really am sorry, Sir" The woman said with quiet sincerity "Really"
He nodded at her, his temper soothing as he allowed Catherine to pull him away to the waiting area. He paced as she sat back down and he would stop occasionally to look through the swinging doors that led to the long hallway to Sara.
"What happened, Catherine?" He asked in a stressed voice "What was she doing with Warrick? Why was she out there?"
She opened her mouth, looking at her hands "Ecklie sent her...."
"What?"
"To take photographs...at the crime scene..."
"What?" He stopped pacing, looking over at her "You are her supervisor! Why didn't you stop him? She's not supposed to be out in the field, Catherine!"
She looked at him, her eyes rimmed with tears "Gil, please..."
He sighed, going over to sit next to her. Taking her hand, he hung his head "I apologize...that was..." He stopped "...uncalled for....I just...I don't know what is wrong. I don't know how she is; I don't know if she is okay...I don't know anything..."
"I know" She replied quietly, wiping a tear from her eye
The front door opened and Jim came in, having parked the car before joining them. He came to sit across from them "I called Nick and Greg; they're on their way. Have you heard anything?"
Gil was silent, his head in his hands as Catherine shook her head.
After fifteen minutes of silence, one of the doors opened and Gil looked up to see Warrick come out; his left arm in a cast with scrapes along his left cheek. Upon seeing him, Gil stood up to walk over to him
"Grissom" Warrick began, reaching out to hug the older man "I'm sorry...I'm so sorry..."
They stayed that way a few moments before Warrick let him go, wiping at his eyes "I didn't see the guy, man...he came out of nowhere..."
"Sara?" Gil asked, his voice laden with a quiet desperation
Warrick looked away "I dunno....she was bleedin' pretty bad, Griss..."
As Nick and Greg rushed through the front door, Warrick explained the group what had happened including the fact that the guy who had hit them was drunk; out 4-wheeling with his buddies in his new truck and did not even realize there was a road on the other side of the bank he decided to jump.
"She was brave" He sniffed, trying hard to keep his emotions from showing "I tried to keep her awake...she was worried about the baby..." He covered his face "I'm so sorry...."
Catherine grabbed his hand, holding it tight "She's a fighter, guys" She said. "She'll be alright."
As Nick glanced at Gil, he could see the torment on his face. "They'll be alright" he said with a nod, knowing Gil was thinking of not just Sara but their daughter as well "Stay strong"
After what seemed to be an eternity, the trauma doors opened and a scrubs clad doctor came out to look over the group. "Gilbert Grissom?"
Gil jumped up to greet him "How is Sara?"
"Why don't we have a seat?" The doctor asked, motioning for Gil to the chair he had just vacated
Gil stood for a lingering moment, knowing that 'why don't we have a seat' meant that it was bad news. Finally, he sat and felt Catherine's soft hand grasp his again. He was forever indebted to her strength at that moment
"Miss Sidle has suffered a fairly significant head injury" the doctor began "There is concern about fluid around the skull. We may need to insert an ICU to monitor and alleviate the pressure, but we are still running tests"
Gil felt his stomach curdle, his hand within Catherine's suddenly feeling very damp "How significant?"
"At this point it is too early to determine" The doctor continued "We are doing an MRI right now and that will tell us more about the severity of the injury, but until we have those results we do not know the prognosis"
Gil felt his mouth go try, suddenly feeling as though he were about to black out. Next to him, Catherine seemed to sense his thoughts and asked "What about the baby?"
The doctor sighed "At this point all of our tests indicate the fetus is unharmed." He said "We have put Miss Sidle on an intravenous tocolytic drip to stop signs of preterm labor and it is again, too early to determine if the labor will progress or stop on its own. Right now, our main concern with the fetus is to prevent delivery until at least 3 or 4 more weeks; we need to give it the chance to fully develop lung capacity"
Gil felt a wave of relief wash over him that mixed with his anguish "When can I see her?"
"As soon as we know what the MRI results are." He said as he stood up "We should know something within the hour"
Gil sat motionless as Nick thanked the doctor for his time and he disappeared back behind the swinging doors. Sitting back down, Nick looked at Gil; his face was a ghostly pale "You okay, man?" He asked
Gil barely responded, looking up at him before looking back down "She's my whole world..." he said sadly "...how could this happen?"
They were silent, no one knowing how to respond. Gil stood slowly, looking away from them all. "I'm going to the chapel" He said "Please...find me if I am not back?"
With that he walked slowly away, disappearing around a corner that led to the small hospital corridor. Gil knew he hadn't been the most faithful man over the last few years, but he also knew it was a higher power that had sent him Sara and blessed him with the chance to be a father.
Gil also knew, it was a higher power that could keep him from losing them both.
"Mr. Grissom?" Gil looked up from the bench he had been sitting on, his head bowed in quiet conversation.
He looked up as a taller man walked towards him, his uniform indicating that he was the Chief of Medicine. Extending his hand to Gil, he shook it as he met him in the aisle way "I'm Dr. Darbant. Your friends said I would find you here"
Gil barely nodded "How is Sara?"
The doctor smiled slightly "All of her tests are normal" He said "No signs of internal hemorrhage or bleeding in the skull. We need to keep her for a few days for observation, but she should make a full recovery"
He felt his legs buckle and knew he was going to go down when the doctor reached out to grab him "Are you alright? Do you need to sit?"
"No" Gil shook his head, trying to regain his composure "Can I see her?"
The doctor nodded "That is why I came to find you"
He walked into the room, feeling his stomach knot up at the sight of her. Her face was bruised slightly around the temple area and she had a large bandage around her head. As he approached her bed, he felt the overwhelming emotions come to the surface as he reached for her hand, sitting next to her as the sobs emanated from deep within.
Looking up, he scanned her body and the IV drip leading to her arm, noticing the fetal heart monitor that created a steady beep-beep-beep in tune with the baby's heart rate. His sense of relief washed over him as he realized that he would not lose either one of them and he found himself saying another silent thank you.
As he watched, Sara's eyes opened and she looked at him, confusion clouding her momentarily "Hi" She said hoarsely
He was crying; he knew he was but he could not seem to stop himself. Standing, he knelt down to kiss her softly, starting with her forehead and leading to her mouth, letting his lips linger "Don't you ever, ever scare me like this again" He ordered "Ever"
"The baby's okay" She said groggily "She's okay, right?"
He nodded, his forehead against hers "She's wonderful" He sniffled "Can't you hear her heart?"
She was quiet, her eyes closing momentarily "Yeah...." She breathed drifting into sleep
He kissed her again, feeling the tears as they slid down his cheeks. "I love you, Sara" He said softly, kissing her forehead once again "So very much...I don't think you know...you are my whole life."
"I love you too, Gilbert..." She murmured in reply, her breathing leveling out.
He waited a few moments before sitting back down, her hand clasped in his as he too felt himself overcome by exhaustion, drifting into a light sleep in the chair next to her; the comforting sound of their baby's heart beat filling the room.