I'm Back
Chapter 7
"I guess that would sum it up. The guys said everything was as Catherine described it in the helicopter and there was duct tape all over the place. You could see where Catherine had been taped to the bed and there were pieces of the tape on the floor where the girls taped him and left him. They didn't skimp on the tape so he should not have been able to get away. It could be that he had another knife in his pocket just like Sara did. I've set it up that there will be a cop on both girls rooms here at the hospital and from here on out. What happened to no one going to a crime scene by themselves?" He looked at Gil when he asked the question. Everyone else turned to him and waited for his answer.
"Don't look at me like that. She begged for a case and this one appeared to be cut and dried. There was a cop on the scene and cleared the house. How was I supposed to know?"
"Well it turned out that it was all a setup. The cop was Sara's stalker and if Catherine had had backup this would not have happened. Did you forget about Holly already?" It was rare to see this amount of anger coming from Nick but he held nothing back. "It was a slow night, Warrick could have gone with her, then she would be home with her daughter right now and Sara wouldn't be fighting for her life. I gotta get out of here." He gave Grissom one last look and left the waiting room.
The rest of the team just sat there not knowing what to say. Brass turned to Nancy. "Have you heard anything about Catherine?"
"I spoke to the nurse while you were gone and she said that Catherine passed out once they got here back into the emergency room. They said it wasn't unusual in someone who had been hit on the head, the adrenalin kicked in when she had to help Sara and her body just gave out after she was taken into the emergency room. They were going to wait until she regains consciousness to evaluate her."
"Well that's good right?"
"It kind of helps when you work at the same hospital and you know most of the staff personally they tell you things that they don't tell most families. They also told me that Sara's injuries are not critical but it wasn't just a cut it was a stab wound and went much deeper than it appeared. Catherine saved her life with the bandage she put on it." She gave a little laugh when she remembered what the nurse had told her Catherine used to make the bandage.
"What's that smile for?" Greg had turned from Grissom when Brass and Nancy had started talking.
"She used sanitary pads to stop the bleeding and they did just what they are designed to do. They absorbed the bleeding but were not able to stop it." She looked around and like all guys when it came to talking about certain things they were all blushing. "If you guys had been a half hour later she may not have made it. The pads kept her going as long as she did but the blood was seeping through by the time you guys found them."
Just as she finished talking a nurse walked in the room. The look on her face did not bode well. She walked up to Nancy and gave her a hug. "Nancy it's not good. Catherine has a subdural hematoma and she hasn't regained consciousness yet. They took her into surgery and are going to try to drain some of the blood from the brain cavity and hopefully that will bring her back around. You know the dangers of this kind of surgery so we are just going to have to wait and see."
"But the guys here said it was just a bump on the head. She was fine in the helicopter how could she not be ok?" Brass had his arm around her shoulders and led her over to the chairs. "Is she going to be ok?"
"Nance you know the dangers and you know the good side. We'll just have to wait and see how she responds to the surgery. She will probably be asking about Lindsey as soon as she comes out of surgery."
"Damn what am I going to tell Lindsey and Mom?"
"Why not wait and see how she responds first?" Warrick sat down beside her and put his arm around her. "It could be there will be nothing to say except that she's fine. She's a fighter so she may be just fine. We'll put both Sara and Catherine in the same room and they can gossip as they recover." This brought a small smile to Nancy's face. Warrick turned to Grissom daring him to say anything. "They're both going to be fine. Both of them are too damn stubborn to let this get them down."
"I've only met Sara a couple of times but if she is a stubborn as Catherine then you may be right about that. I guess all we can do right now is wait. I never realized how hard this is on the families, I think in that in the future my dealings with family members is going to change. This waiting can kill you. I can't just sit here, I have to walk around." She got up and walked out into the hallway and the guys could see her pacing back and forth.
"So how are we going to catch this guy?" Brass asked no one in particular. "The guys said that there were tire tracks leading away from the mobile home that looked like they belong to a motorcycle. That means he had to have planned this all out. Maybe he was thinking Sara would take the call and he wouldn't have to involve anyone else. When Catherine showed up he improvised and used her to get Sara out to the sight. Anyone want to go to the mobile home and process it?" He looked around and when no one volunteered he continued. "That's what I thought so I talked to Ecklie and he sent a team out there and will let us know what they find. Maybe this guy is in the database and we can get a handle on him. At least get a picture that we can distribute and start looking for him."
"What can we do in the meantime? Just sit here? I'm with Nancy, this sitting here is brutal." Greg got up and joined Nancy in the hallway. "How are you doing Nancy?"
"Catherine was always the strong one. She may like to dress up and look nice but she also loves to throw on a pair of jeans and take Lindsey to the park and wrestle in the grass. What am I going to tell Lindsey? Eddie is just an asshole and he will never be able to take care of Lindsey on his own and whatever bimbo he's sleeping with today won't be there tomorrow so there will be no stability for her. I'm Lindsey's Godmother and I guess I could fight Eddie to be able to take care of her. Listen to me, I'm talking as if Catherine is going to die to or something."
"I guess being a nurse you see this all the time huh?" Greg asked in a small voice. "Do you think she's going to make it?"
"This is one of the hardest things to predict. I've seen people die because they bled so much there was no room for the brain and it compresses the brain. If they don't die it could cause brain damage and I've seen others recover completely after the pressure was relieved from the surgery. I guess it depends on the extent of the injury. It's a good sign that she appeared fine until they got her here, that may mean the damage isn't too severe. I hate waiting, I'm not good at waiting, I'm going to see if there's any news on Sara. I'll be back soon."
"Ok I think I'll just pace for awhile." He smiled at Nancy and then she headed for the nurses' station.
"Hey guys can I get some news on Sara Sidle? She came in with my sister and went into surgery right away." One by one all of the nurses came around to give Nancy a hug.
"Judy told us about Catherine and we've been watching the monitor for when she comes out. Nothing so far and you can see that Sara is still in surgery too. Let me see if I can find out anything for you."
"Thanks Julie, there's a room full of guys who are wearing a path in the hallway and waiting room worrying about both Catherine and Sara. Any news will help."
"Sure I'll be right back."
"Nancy what happened to them?"
"From what I could gather, Sara has had a stalker follow her from California and he caught Catherine and a crime scene and used her to get Sara out there. The son of a bitch knocked them both out and then took them somewhere out in the desert. Sara was able to escape and when she went in to rescue Catherine she was stabbed and then her and Catherine tied the guy up and escaped. Greg saw Catherine's car in the lot and got worried and told their boss and he sent help. They found them in the desert and Sara was in pretty bad shape. They said Catherine appeared to be fine until she got here. And you know the rest."
"Well it's a good sign that Catherine seemed fine until she got here. That could mean its minor damage."
"That's what I keep telling myself. I'm just not sure I can believe it. After some of the things we've seen here, miracles are in short supply." She turned around when the doors to the OR opened and Julie walked through them. "What's happening?"
"They are just finishing up with Sara. There was some minor internal damage but she's going to be fine. She'll be in the ICU overnight and if all goes well she'll be moved to a room in the morning and the guys will be able to visit here then. As for Catherine, the news isn't very good. There's a lot of bleeding and they are trying to see where it's coming from. There may be a blood vessel that ruptured and is causing problems."
"Who is doing the surgery?"
"Dr. James."
"Well she's in good hands, he's the best neurosurgeon here so I guess if it has to be done I would want him to do it. Tell me everything is going to be ok. Lie to me if you have to. She's my big sister, I can't lose her." Nancy finally let the tears fall that she's been holding in for so long. Julie put her arms around her shoulder and led her to the nurses break room.
"Sit down and let me get you some good coffee. If she is all you've said she is at least she won't give up. She's got the red headed Irish spirit so I expect she'll come through this with flying colors." She set the cup of coffee in front of Nancy and sat down across from her. "I'm not used to see you in this position. You are usually the one offering advice to the families and telling them to not give up."
"I told the guys in the waiting room that I will look at the families differently from here on out. I've always assumed that the information we give them is enough to keep them satisfied. But we don't, we tell them what we think they can handle and then walk away and not go back until we have more information. We need to find out how strong they are and gauge how much we should tell them. If you had told me what you would tell any other family I would be going crazy not know what was happening. I just told Greg what could or could not happen to Cath and he seemed relieved to know everything and he's no different than most families. He has probably told the guys what I told him and they will all process it it their own ways."
"But they are all scientists' right?"
"What difference does that make. If it was a doctor or lawyer or baker what's to say they couldn't process the information the same as you or I or a room full of scientists? We think the family is better off not knowing what their loved one is going through and then they blame us when they find it out later and wonder why we didn't tell them. We need to tell them more."
"Nancy you are letting your emotions get the better of you. You may feel differently when you are on this side and talking to a loved one in the future. Don't make any decisions based on what you are feeling right now. Why don't you back to your friends and we will talk about this again when you come on duty in a couple of days."
"What do you mean in a couple of days? I'm due back on duty tomorrow."
"You will probably be here for quite a few more hours and then you will have to go home and take care of Jeremy and Lindsey and then try to get some sleep and then come back here to see how Catherine is doing. That's if we can get you to leave after she's out of surgery. You will be in no condition to come back to work and as your supervisor I want you to get at least 8 straight hours of sleep before you come back. Now why don't you go keep those guys from tearing anything apart and I will let you know when we hear something. Don't forget to tell them about Sara. I know it's hard for you to be happy about Sara right now but you have to let the guys know."
"No I am happy about Sara because I think that Catherine feels more for her than friendship and some of the vibes in the waiting room suggest that Sara may return those feelings. She may be the medicine that will help Catherine survive this. So it is good new and I am happy. Let me go tell the guys." She left the break room and headed back to the waiting room. The guys were all just sitting there staring at the walls and they all looked up when she entered the room. "They are almost done with Sara, they will keep her in the ICU overnight for observation and move her to a private room in the morning if all goes well. They said she should make a full recovery."
"Can we visit her?"
"Sorry Warrick, family only and before you say anything I know you think of yourselves as her family but we can't break the rules for you guys if don't for anyone else. She will be moved in the morning and you can see her then."
"What about Catherine?" Brass walked up to her as he asked the question no one wanted to ask.
"She's still in surgery, there's a lot of bleeding that is causing pressure on the brain. They are trying to find the source of the bleeding and stop it. Until they find that it is touch and go. I suppose I should call my mother and tell her what is happening. God I dread talking to her but I know I have to do it. I guess I'll go out in the hallway and call her." As she stood up to leave she was met by Julie and she noticed she had tears in her eyes. "No, do not tell me she's dead."
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