Disclaimer – Please see chapter 1
A/N – Thank you so very much to those of you that left a review for the last chapter. My usual apologies again for not having the time to reply to them all, but I am utilizing the time to write more chapters for you! Your all wonderful for the encouragement & continued support you give! Story is beta'd by myself so any remaining mistakes are all mine, so I apologize in advance. R & R Enjoy!
Fall Out Boy – Chapter 16 Who hurt you
Grissom drove quickly keeping his foot on the accelerator pedal most of the way home, ever careful to watch that he never went over the speed limit, the two red stop lights had him cursing and on edge, his frustration to get moving asap getting the better of him.
He swooped into his driveway and slammed on the breaks, pulling the keys out as he rushed to exit the car, slamming the door behind him as he made for the front door.
His pulse now beating rapidly in his chest, his breathing quick, he fumbled with the keys to open the door "Damn it!" he cursed as they dropped to the floor in a noisy heap.
Grabbing them up quickly he took in a deep breath to try to calm himself, then slipped the key into the lock first time, then pushed open the door calling out as he entered "Sara!" he stepped into the large open expanse of his living room to see her holding her arms around her midriff hugging herself tightly.
"Sara?..." Gil said in a low worried voice, as he stepped up close behind her.
Swiping at her eyes as she turned, Gil gasped in shock when he immediately saw her tear streaked face and the swollen bloodied lip, her tongue was tentatively trying to sooth.
"Oh god honey! What happened to you? What's going on? Did someone attack you?" Gil said with a quiver in his voice as his arms instinctively reached for her, pulling her into a protective but loose embrace "Who hurt you Sara?.
Sara just let his arms envelope her, she let herself enjoy the comfort he offered as she let the tears fall once more and she buried her face in his shoulder.
"Sara...It's okay........I'm here now........But please talk to me, tell me what happened to you. Who hurt you honey?" Gil asked gently, his lips close to her ear, as one hand rubbed her back in circles to sooth her, normally he would feel totally uncomfortable at any woman crying in his presence, but this was different, it was almost instinctual for him to act this way with her now, now he'd decided to be more open with her, in the hope of something possibly romantic developing between them.
Sniffing up to try to clear her congested nasal passages so she could speak, she used one hand to wipe her eyes as she felt Grissom release her with one hand and pull a cotton handkerchief from his pocket "Here use this" he said handing it to her and pulling back a little.
Drying her face, and clearing her nose, she pulled the slightly bloody cloth away then stepped back but didn't look up at him, her other hand was buried in her armpit almost protectively.
With his hand reaching forward slowly, Gil tipped her chin up to look at him, so he could take a closer look at her injured mouth "Come into the kitchen with me, I'll get you some ice for that" he said as he released her face, and clasped one hand in hers leading her behind him "You can tell me what happened then".
Not hearing any other noise in the house, but a dog scratching mildly at the rear door, Grissom assessed that there was no imminent threat or situation that needed his attention right now, so he decided to get Sara calmed and find out what had brought all this on, as he led her to a seat by the counter, then rummaged in the freezer for the ice pack he kept there for any emergencies.
Finding it he turned and handed it to her taking a seat next to her "So you ready to tell me what happened now?" he asked just as she let out a low moan when the ice made contact with her face, she was still hiding her other hand from his view, which made him frown curiously.
Nodding she pulled the pack away again and licked her sore lip "I was sat reading, when I heard a loud scream come from Kye's room. So I ran in there to see what was happening and saw him thrashing around on the bed violently. He was in the throes of a nightmare, so I went over to hold him and try to waken him, but his elbow caught me in the face as he struggled to get away from me into the corner of the room" Sara relayed taking in a shuddering breath.
"Bruno and Hank heard the commotion and shot into the room, and as I tried to grab Kye into my arms again, Bruno bit me thinking I was trying to hurt him, so I had to let him go" Sara looked up at Grissom now, tears building again in her eyes "Hank then nipped Bruno warningly on his ass as I stepped away from it all, and both dogs kept growling at each other until I backed out of the room and shouted for Hank to follow me......He's out in the yard now" she said as she averted her eyes now, a little worried Grissom may be annoyed at her putting the dog outside.
At the mention of the dog having bitten her, Grissom's concern rose a notch wondering where the injury was, and how serious it could be, then realization struck him suddenly, her hand that she was holding protectively against body, probably trying to ease the pain.
He reached around her quickly saying "Let me see" pulling on her arm to release it from it's hidden place, and as it came into his view he winced at the sight "Oh Sara this doesn't look too good" he said with worry and sorrow in his tone.
There were clear, but bloodied and swollen teeth marks across the backs of all her fingers, one of the dogs teeth had also caught her thumb which looked to have suffered the worse injury, as it looked the most swollen.
"This needs proper medical attention at the hospital you know" he said lightly running his thumb over her wrist, as he turned her hand to see matching puncture wounds on her palm.
Sara pulled the hand away quickly "No hospital Grissom!" she said determinedly, then with a little panic building inside of her, she added "I just need a first aid kit to sort it out" then trying to sound more calmer than she felt "Besides I can't leave Kye right now, he's still hunched in the corner with Bruno upset, and needs help".
"Okay, wait here" Gil said rushing off to the master bathroom to retrieve the medical supplies he needed before returning again.
He set about tenderly cleaning the injury, before applying cream and bandaging it slowly, noting her flinches of pain and biting of her lip as he did this "I'll get you some Tylenol for the pain. But I'm gonna give Al a ring too and see if he'll come take a look at this for you Sara, because I really do think it needs to be looked at by a physician" Gil said going over to a cabinet in the kitchen to get the pain meds.
"Griss it'll be okay, there's no need for Doc to have to come look at my hand. Really" Sara said defensibly, hoping to put him off.
"Well it's either the hospital Sara, or Doc taking a look at it. This is not up for negotiation otherwise" he said sternly, handing her a bottle of water and two pills.
Pouting a little Sara nodded and took them, then set the bottle down on the counter "I need to check on Kye again, but I'm afraid to upset him more than he already is. He seemed to have calmed a little the last time I went in" she said rising from her seat "But I'm not sure he's going to let me near him again" she sighed heavily "I think I frightened him when I tried to rouse him".
"Okay. I'll make that call. Go look in on him, while I fill the dogs bowls with food, then I can put them outside if Bruno comes through" Gil said opening the cupboard that held the dog stuff.
Sara walked down the hall to the bedroom and pushed the door open, Kye was now back on the bed with his arm around his dog, his back facing the door "Kye, sweetheart are you okay?" she said softly.
A muffled and sad "Yeah" was heard, as Bruno sniffed the air then got up and rushed out of the room.
"Do you need anything? Or want me to stay here with you for a while?" Sara asked stepping into the room now, but not too close to the bed in case she overstepped her mark where his current emotions were concerned.
"No..........It's okay, I'm...I'm okay....I'm gonna sleep" Kye said in a slightly trembly voice, not turning to her as he spoke, but burrowing deeper into his bedding.
Seeing him clearly not wanting her presence in the room, she backed out again "Just call if you need me, okay" Sara said a little disappointedly on closing the door.
Going back towards the kitchen she saw Grissom come back into the room "Both dogs are eating outside....They look to be okay with each other now" he said as he went over to the stove and set the kettle on to boil "Al said he'd be over in an hour....Would you like some tea?" he asked as he grabbed two cups.
"Please. The adrenalin has worn off now and I'm feeling a little tired, might help me relax a little" Sara said as she stood watching him prepare the cups.
Turning to her, he noted the weariness in her face that still bore the tear streak stains of her earlier tears "Go sit on the couch and make yourself comfortable. I'll bring it over to you" he said with a soft smile, his own earlier adrenalin rush now waning.
He made the two tea's and took them over placing one on the coffee table, Sara opened her eyes from resting them, and sat up a little "Thanks Grissom, and I'm really sorry I called you at work in a panic like that" she said reaching for the drink with her bandaged hand, but then changing it to the other one.
Gil sat in the chair putting his cup on the floor before sitting back and looking at her "It's okay, don't worry about it. You had a situation and needed my help, and as I've said before Sara, I want to help you......So if you need me for anything just call" he said with an awkward smile.
"How is Kye now? Is he still upset? Will he be okay?" Gil asked gently.
Setting her cup down she let out a long heavy breath sinking back into the couch again "I'm not sure, he doesn't seem to be crying now.....but I think he's still too scared to go back to sleep just yet. He doesn't want me to stay with him.........I just.......I just don't know if he's going to let me close enough again to give him some comfort, or try to help him. He wouldn't even look at me when I went into see him" Sara said a little sadly.
Gil leaned forward in his seat and caught her gaze "Just give him a little time Sara, it's still early days yet and he's been through a hell of a lot for a small child in such a short space of time. He just needs time to adjust to all the changes going on around him, let it sink in what's happened to him" he tried to smile reassuringly at her ,but she broke the eye contact with him looking down at her lap.
"And when he's ready I'm sure he'll accept your comfort and love with open arms, he knows you care and want to be there for him, so just hang in there and let him know your around when he does need you, okay" he said hoping to raise her spirits a little, he didn't like seeing her like this, in physical pain from her injury, but also emotional pain from not being able to do anything for the boy right now.
"Yeah I guess your right, and it is his first night away from his home and everything that occurred there.........The paediatrician did warn of possible nightmares" Sara let out a self deprecating huff shaking her head "God I should have known that by my own experiences, and that's exactly why he didn't want anyone near him while going through one, or even after the fact".
"Sara your new to all this.........Caring for a small boy in crisis and need.......You need time also to adjust to everything too. There's bound to be problems that need addressing and dealing with, but right now I think after the last few hours, you both need to relax and get some rest, before facing the next thing that comes along. Okay".
Looking up at Grissom again Sara nodded at his reassuring words "Okay, I'll try" she said lacking any self confidence in her tone.
"If need be, we will get Kye the professional help that he may need when it comes to it, so don't worry. Your not in this alone, remember" Gil said, purposely using the word 'we' and reaffirming his sincere offer to help her, hoping she would feel less worried about the situation.
A long silence took over the room as they both quietly sipped at their their drinks, they darted glances each others way as they both seemed deep in thought.
Gil thought of how Sara must have suffered very similar to Kye as a child, maybe worse even, how she must have felt loosing both parents in one night, he couldn't even begin to imagine, but he hoped by helping both Kye and Sara through this he could begin to understand her childhood a little better, and maybe even be able to help her deal with any emotions relating to that in the future.
Sara was recalling and rationalizing some of the things Grissom had said to her in the last twenty four hours, the way he had acted towards her, the way he seemed to have opened himself up to her more in this short time, more than ever before.
Time seemed to advance rapidly unbeknownst to them, as they both relaxed enjoying the silence around them, until Sara cleared her throat gently, shot a quick glance at Grissom and then spoke a little nervously "Griss...Why now?" she asked the loaded question, that had now become much more pressing in her mind to want to be answered for her.
The question caught Gil completely off guard, his eyes darted around the room, as he used one thumb to rub the palm of his other hand briskly in a nervous gesture while trying to come up with the honest answer she sought "Sara...." rolled off his tongue slowly then broke off as he struggled to find comfortable words he could deliver, but they just wouldn't come to him, as usual he was scared to say the wrong thing to her, to upset her, to generally mess things up again.
Words failed him again when it came to the more personal aspects of his life, even though this time he was more than determined to make sure he didn't run, escape, or push her away, rather than deal with it head on.
Gil stood slowly and went over to the couch, crouching down he clasped his hand in her good one looking into her eyes, and had decided to speak from his heart for once, she deserved that at the very least, when a knock sounded from the front door.
Lowering his head so his chin hit his chest, Gil let out a long resigned sigh as he shook his head, then glanced back up at Sara, who now wore a gentle smile.
"Doc seems to have impeccable timing tonight" she offered as he stood and let go of her hand.
"We'll continue this later" he said hoping the promise in his voice convinced her, as he walked towards the door a little disappointed that he'd gotten the courage up to finally say what needed to be said, only to be interrupted.
A/N I hope you all enjoyed the chapter, but I have to say I'm not completely happy with it myself, I don't know if the dialogue between them was convincing enough for me, but I'll let you decide on that. The next chapter will definitely not be posted before Friday, as I have a ton of work this week and want to make sure the next chapter is not rushed in any way.
Please leave a review for this chapter, as I am keen to know if it was in character and flowed as good as I wanted it too. I really do love and appreciate all your reviews, each and every one of them.