The Incident –A Place for everything

A/N: Thanks for all the reviews. Yeah, sorry about the cliffhanger. NOT. Please enjoy.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything to do with CSI except my own characters and this story.

A Not So Average Day.

The sun was just beginning to set as Sara, Allison and Richard pulled up in front of the house. Looking at it, Sara found it hard to believe that this pretty little home, in this rather nice looking sub-division was the scene of such a horrendous crime.

As they retrieved their kits from the back, they could hear the sounds of the numerous FBI agents, still moving around the house and its yard.

"Nice house" Allison remarked as she slung her kit out of the car.

"No wonder it took so long to find them, this is just a normal neighbourhood, with Mr and Mrs Norman Citizen living next door." Richard added as he grabbed his and Sara's kits.

Sara stared at the house; it was the type of place she had dreamed of living in as a kid. A flower edged path lead to a front porch complete with a swing seat. A small fountain/bird bath stood to one side of the path and the lawns were neatly trimmed. Hung beside the open front door, was a small bell complete with a 'Welcome, please ring the bell' sign.

"Well, it certainly wasn't Mr and Mrs Average who lived here" Sara remarked, making her way to the front door.

As they reached the bottom of the three steps leading up to the front porch, they were greeted by an armed agent, who stepped forward to stop them from entering.

"You guys were pretty quick!" Agent Walker smiled as he addressed them.

Sara had met him a few times at scenes here in Washington and she liked him, he reminded her of Warrick.

Giving Sara a smile he continued. "Agent Sidle, nice to see you again"

He nodded towards Allison then Richard. "Agent McKenzie, Agent Harper glad you could all make it".

"Hi Adam, it's been a while" Richard shook Walker's hand. "What's happening?" he asked the other Agent, inclining his head to indicate the house.

"Haven't quite finished securing the scene, the house is done, but they haven't finished with the basement or the shed out back yet. You guys must have grown wings to get here so fast. You'll need to wait in the car til we give you the all clear" Agent Walker told them.

"No problem" Sara told him. "I just hope they don't destroy all the evidence before we get a chance at it."

Allison and Richard snickered at Sara's comment and picking up their kits turned to head back to the car.

As Sara bent to pick up her own kit she heard a shout from inside. Though she couldn't hear what was said the shout was enough to cause a fleeting moment of concern. The FBI was well trained and usually moved methodically and quietly through the process of clearing and securing a scene. It must mean that this scene was not secure and therefore not safe. They needed to move to a safe distance and cover and do so quickly.

All this flashed through Sara's mind in an instant, causing her to drop her kit and turn to leave, even as Adam Walker grabbed her arm to move her from the doorway. They had only gone a few paces to the side when they were thrown from their feet by the blast that tore through the house.

Sara felt herself thrown into the air and she hit the ground hard. Her ears were ringing and she could feel the heat from the blast. She tried to turn herself over, but she was held in place by a heavy weight over her back and legs, and the pain that tore through her chest held her still. Gasping for breath, she could hear shouts and someone calling her name, but before she could get enough air in her lungs to answer she succumbed to the darkness lurking at the edge of her vision and she lapsed into unconsciousness.

The emergency waiting room was chaotic. There were more FBI agents than there were staff, and still more were arriving to get reports and hear news of friends and co-workers. The media were camped outside the hospital doors, waiting for more information to feed to the public. The department heads and team supervisors had been given the use of a conference room on the fourth floor to use as a command post ( for want of a better term) and agents and doctors were coming and going with information on both the agents who had been injured and the investigation of the incident.

Rod Marshall had just left the conference room and was headed towards the ER waiting area. He had briefly touched base with Allison and Richard on his way through and like both of them he wanted to find out what was happening with Sara. He had been relieved to see that they were basically ok but his relief was short lived as they relayed the information that Sara had been brought in unconscious and they didn't know how badly she had been injured.

He found them sitting together at the side of the waiting area, sipping coffee from styrofoam cups. He took the seat next to them as another agent got up to leave.

"Don't bother with the coffee, boss" Richard spoke quietly, as though he might offend someone with his statement. "It's like drinking sump oil, even with milk and sugar."

Rod looked from one to the other and shook his head. They both looked like they had gone three rounds with Mike Tyson. Cuts, abrasions and the beginnings of bruises over their faces and hands and he could only surmise that their clothing covered up even more evidence of the explosion.

"Do you want to tell me what happened?" He asked, his voice etched with concern.

His two agents shared a look and Richard nodded at Allison to go ahead.

"We were heading back to the car, apparently we got there pretty fast and the scene wasn't fully secure. Adam Walker and Sara were at the bottom of the steps leading up to the front porch and we were behind them, closer to the gate."

Allison paused and Richard took over.

"Ally and I were walking to the gate, I think Sara was still talking to Adam and we heard a shout from inside. We dropped our kits and ran for the gate. We didn't get far, next thing we know we're flat on our backs on the grass and when we finally sit up we can see Sara and Adam not far from the porch."

"When we got to them, Adam was lying across Sara's back and neither of them were moving, they were both unconscious. They were pretty close to the house when it blew." Allison paused to take a deep breath. "I don't know if Adam threw himself over Sara to protect her or if the blast threw him on top of her."

"I take it there's no news on either of them yet?' Rod asked, looking from one to the other.

He nodded his own head in acknowledgement when they shook theirs in answer to his question.

Together the three agents waited. Others drifted in and out, some speaking to them and others joining them for a short while.

They had been waiting for three hours when a doctor entered the waiting room with a clipboard in his hands. Taking a look at his list he called out into the waiting room.

"Family of Ethan Harper?"

He smiled at the three people who rose to meet him. He spoke quietly to them for a few minutes and the gestured for them to follow the nurse he indicated.

He had been working his way through the list slowly and each time he called a new name, the three waiting agents who had sat forward in anticipation, flopped back into their chairs again.

"Family of Adam Walker?"

They started when they heard Adams name called but their hearts clenched when it was obvious that the news the doctor was giving his family was not good. They watched in silence as his wife and parents were led away by another nurse.

"Family of Sara Sidle?"

It took them by surprise, they were each deep in thought about Adam Walker and it was only when the doctor repeated her name that they jumped up.

Rod shook the doctor's hand as he spoke.

"Rod Marshall, FBI supervisor" he introduced himself. "We are here for Sara Sidle" he told him, gesturing to include Allison and Richard. "She has no immediate family here in Washington."

That's fine, I'm Marc Lucas, Sara's primary physician" the doctor responded.

"I can give you the information, but I will need to speak to whoever holds her medical power of attorney. Firstly, I must say that Miss Sidle is very lucky that her injuries are not much worse. It would appear she was shielded somewhat from the full force of the blast and that was what saved her."

The doctor paused and looked at them deciding they probably knew how she had been shielded.

"Miss Sidle has several fractured ribs, one of which punctured her lung, causing a haemothorax. She has a chest tube in, which is keeping her lung inflated, and barring any complications, the ribs and lung should heal nicely. She has multiple cuts and abrasions, some of which required suturing. However those are relatively minor. Her shoulder was dislocated and both her radius and ulna fractured" he paused at Allison's quizzical look.

"That's both of the bones in her lower arm. Presumably from when she landed. The shoulder has been reduced, but the fractures will need surgical repair. Her head injury however is a different matter" again he paused to take in the worried looks on their faces.

Richard wrapped his arm around Allison's shoulder and she leaned into him for support. Rod smiled inwardly at the gesture and then turned his attention back to the doctor.

"Miss Sidle has a depressed fracture of her skull, which means a small piece of bone has been pushed downwards onto her brain. She remains unconscious and we will be monitoring her condition closely over the next twenty four hours to determine when we can attempt surgery. An anaesthetic with her lung in the condition it is in is not ideal, however if her condition deteriorates we will have to operate to bring the piece of bone back into alignment, regardless of her other injuries. She is currently being moved to the ICU."

By now, Allison had gone white and was crying softly, and Rod gestured for Richard to take her and sit down.

"Thankyou, Dr Lucas" Rod waited til the other two were seated before speaking again. "I guess all we can do is wait."

The doctor just nodded in response.

"Are we able to see her?" he asked. "I think we would feel a lot better seeing her, they were there when it happened." He indicated the others.

"Certainly, I'll get someone to escort you. Because it is ICU, your visit will need to be short"

Dr Lucas paused, looking back at his papers.

"Are you able to tell me who has Miss Sidle's medical power of attorney? I will need it for when we do operate. There are ways around it if necessary, but I for one always feel better doing it the proper way if possible."

Rod thought for a moment, but could not remember who it was.

"I'll check her file and get back to you as quickly as I can."

"Thankyou, I'll just go get someone to show you to ICU."

The two men shook hands and Rod headed back to Allison and Richard to wait for their escort.

A nurse arrived fairly soon after Dr. Lucas left to request that they follow her.

"I want to warn you that Miss Sidle is hooked up to a lot of monitors and other equipment. To rest her lungs and because of her head injury she in ventilated, so it is also a little noisy in there. For the moment she is stable and she does have a lot of visible bruising" she looked at each one before opening the half door to Sara's cubicle.

Though they had been warned, it was still very hard to reconcile the woman in the bed to the one they were familiar with and each one of them fought back tears at the sight before them.

Allison lasted in the room only long enough to place a gentle kiss on Sara's forehead before leaving the room. Richard lasted a little longer, placing a kiss on her forehead and whispering that they were praying for her before he too left the room.

Rod stared at the woman in the bed for a few minutes before taking her hand and placing a kiss on it. He wanted to say something, but he couldn't, so he just gently squeezed her hand before replacing it on the bed and turned away to join the others outside.