A/N: Thankyou for your continued support and I hope you enjoy this next chapter.
A Long Day
Richard and Allison dropped Grissom off at his hotel, leaving only after he promised to try and sleep and that he would call when he was ready to go back to the hospital.
Grissom had felt guilty making a promise he had no intention of keeping, but he knew he would not be able to settle until he was back at the hospital again.
So, a half hour later Grissom was showered, changed into fresh clothes and heading downstairs to the café.
He phoned Catherine while he waited for his food and filled her in on what was happening with Sara, asking her to pass the information on to the others for him. After assuring her that he would take care of himself he hung up and attempted to eat.
Another half hour and he had eaten all his unsettled stomach could handle. He did down two cups of their rather strong black coffee, hoping that it's caffeine would see him through several more hours.
Another ten minutes and he was settled in the back of a cab, giving the driver the hospital's address. He closed his eyes for a moment, not in tiredness, but to try and gather his thoughts together. His mind was racing with all the possibilities regarding the outcome of Sara's surgery. His biggest fear was that she would have some permanent disability from her injury. It didn't matter to him, he knew that she would always be his Sara, but her intelligence and her fierce independence were what she valued most about herself and he didn't believe she would cope well with anything that would affect either.
Her road to recovery was going to be a long one, and he wanted to be there every step of the way. Her independence would again be the issue; because he knew she would not accept help freely, it was just her nature, her hating to be dependent on anyone was well known. Well she would just have to learn to accept his help and the help of her friends here in Washington. He already knew she had good friends in her co-workers, even though he had only had a short time with them, he could tell they cared and the fact that Rod Marshall had taken the time to let the Las Vegas crew know about Sara before they heard it on the news was a point in his favour too.
He opened his eyes as the cab pulled into the driveway of the hospital and he quickly payed the driver and got out. He made his way to the lifts and punched in the button for the fifth floor, as he had been directed by the receptionist at the front desk. Apparently the surgical waiting area and the ICU shared the same floor.
Exiting the lift, he turned left to the waiting area, instead of right to the ICU as he had been instructed and he soon found himself at a small reception desk.
"Excuse me" he spoke quietly to the woman behind the desk. "I'm waiting for news on Sara Sidle, she is probably still in surgery, but I wondered if there is somewhere I could wait for her doctor?"
The woman looked at her list, before glancing up at him once more. "Miss Sidle is still in surgery, I'll show you where you can wait for Dr. Lucas." She stood and gestured for him to follow.
At the door to a small room she stopped and gestured for him to enter.
"I'll make a note that you will be waiting here for Dr. Lucas" she told him before turning away.
"Thankyou" he was speaking to her retreating back.
Taking a seat, he settled back, to wait. It was not his intention to fall asleep, but the comfortable seat and the quiet room worked against him and that is precisely what he did within minutes of sitting down.
He awoke to the quiet murmur of voices and as he slowly regained his senses, he realised he was no longer alone. There were others in the small room, and it took him a few minutes to realise he had been joined Allison, Richard and a man he presumed was Rod Marshall, Sara's supervisor.
As he sat up and tried to relieve the kink in his neck, they stopped talking and looked over at him.
"Oh damn! Sorry Grissom, we were trying not to wake you, even though you didn't look that comfortable" Allison was apologetic, then her tone changed. "Mind you, we didn't expect to find you here, I thought you were going to have a sleep…. in a proper bed."
Richard and Rod looked from her to Grissom, wondering what on earth had possessed her to speak like that to a man she hardly knew. They half expected him to be angry at her, so they were totally taken aback, when after a moment he let out hearty chuckle. They let out a breath of relief, that was not missed by either Grissom or Allison and it caused Allison to blush.
Before she could offer an apology Grissom addressed her.
"Do you know how many times Sara has said those exact same words to me over the years?" he asked her, a smile lighting up his tired features. "Although she is usually much more…" he searched for the correct word.
"Forceful" Richard supplied.
"Emphatic, abrupt" added Rod.
Grissom had to laugh a little then, and the tension in the room lifted greatly.
Rod held out his hand to Grissom. "Rod Marshall, it's a pleasure to meet you, I just wish the circumstances had been different" he had an easy manner and Grissom found himself relaxing as he responded.
"Gil Grissom, though it's usually just Grissom. I have heard a bit about each of you from time to time" he saw Rod's eyebrow lift at his statement. "Mostly good stuff though I assure you."
Rod nodded. "More than I can say about you, but then we all know that Sara tends to keep her private life just that, private" he glanced at the others and they nodded their agreement.
By the smirk on Allison's face, Grissom thought she might know a little more than the others, but he decided not to push the issue. He would have plenty of time to find out later.
They chatted quietly for a while, and as the time dragged by Grissom began to check the clock more frequently, getting restless despite all his attempts to not let his anxiety get the better of him. He was grateful when, after they had been waiting for about two and half hours, Richard and Allison offered to go and get coffee and find something to eat, leaving Rod and Grissom alone to wait.
It was not long after they had left that Dr. Lucas made an appearance. Grissom was on his feet in an instant, closely followed by Rod. Dr. Lucas took in the tired and anxious countenance of both men and gave them a nod and a smile. Taking the gestures as good news, the two men exchanged relieved looks, but didn't relax completely.
"Sara came through the surgery well" Dr. Lucas told them, smiling. "She is in recovery and all being well should be transferred back to ICU in about a half hour or so. We could find no bleeding under the fracture, but it will take time for the swelling to dissipate. I see no reason why she should not wake up fairly quickly, though only time will tell."
"Does that mean she will not be sedated and on the ventilator?" Grissom asked.
"No more sedation at this stage, although she will be pretty doped up with pain relief; and no, no more ventilator."
"How long will she need to stay in the ICU?" this time it was Rod asking the question.
"Twenty-four to forty-eight hours, depending on how her conscious state is."
"As Sara was injured while working the bureau will be covering her medical costs" Rod paused as Grissom looked at him strangely and Dr. Lucas nodded. "We will require a single room, if one is not available, a double will do, but we will not allow anyone else in with her." The tone of his voice encouraged no argument, and Grissom couldn't help but smile by the look on the doctor's face as he quickly agreed, before turning and leaving the two men.
Rod smiled at Grissom, who was shaking his head at the sudden appearance of the FBI agent persona.
"Thanks Rod. I know as well as you do that just because Sara was injured on the job it doesn't entitle her to a single room so if you have any problems with the bureau I am happy to pay the costs." Grissom was sincerely grateful and it gave him an indication that Rod truly cared for Sara's well-being. If Sara was in a room on her own she would not have to be alone, someone could stay with her (he could stay with her) as much as possible.
"It won't be a problem; I'll make sure of that."
His tone made Grissom wonder just what had actually happened at the scene of the explosion and he made a mental note to get all the details from Rod at some stage; just not yet. Right now he wanted to concentrate on Sara.
"Besides" Rod continued. "She will probably be here for a while; at least a single room will offer her some privacy and comfort." He was figuring that Grissom would be spending a lot of time in the room too.
It was at that point that Allison and Richard returned bearing a coffee and pastry for each of them. Once Rod had filled them in on the good news, they settled down and for the first time in hours they all felt relaxed enough to actually enjoy the food and drinks.
They had finished the coffee and pastry by the time one of the ICU nurses came to tell them that Sara had returned from the recovery room.
There was no question that Grissom should be the one to see her first and he quickly followed the nurse out the door.
This time when Grissom entered the room it was without hesitation. The first thing he noticed was the bandage covering a large portion of Sara's head. It was crazy, but the first thing that came into his mind when he saw her was 'I wonder how much of her hair they had to shave; she's going to be royally pissed off'. He shook his head, wondering where on earth that had come from and pulled the chair closer to the bed. Her pale face and dark hair looked stark against the pillow, but she did look peaceful in her drug induced sleep.
Once again he took her hand in his, entwining his fingers with hers and wondering at how perfectly they fit together.
"Everything went fine honey. Now you just have to wake up for me ok? I can only stay for a few minutes right now, so that Allison and Richard and Rod can come and see you too, then I'm coming right back. I'm going to be here when you wake up. Is it selfish that I want to be the first thing you see when you open those beautiful eyes?" he told her.
He continued to sit quietly beside her for a few more minutes, content to be close by. Eventually he let go of her hand and stood, placing a gentle kiss on her lips before moving to the door so that the others could visit.
When he re-entered the waiting room, he was smiling and the three occupants of the room were relieved to see it. It had been such a long day and now they could finally see Sara. Grissom walked with them down the hallway to the ICU, and waited outside while they took turns to visit.
Allison went in first, and she was pleased to see that Sara actually looked a lot better than the last time she saw her. She bent a placed a kiss on her forehead, mindful of the bruises and grazes.
"Hey Sar! Can't stay long this time. I'm so glad you're doing ok, you scared us Sara, scared us bad. But at least I got a chance to meet the man in your life. Wow Sara, I think he really loves you; you should have seen him when he got here, he was really worried about you. Now he can't keep the smile off his face. You are one lucky girl." She stopped and smiled at her friend, even though Sara couldn't see it. "I gotta go and let the others come see you, but I'll be back tomorrow."
Richard was next. He sat in the chair beside the bed and took Sara's hand gently.
"Hey Sara! I'm so glad you're ok. I don't think I could handle another day like today. It's the waiting, it's just too stressful. It's been hard on us, especially Grissom, he really cares about you, you know. But I know it's been harder on you, so now you just need to rest and get better. I'll be back tomorrow unless that slave driver of a boss finds us work to do, so I'm gonna go and let him come in." He let go of her hand and placed a soft kiss on her forehead before leaving the room.
When Rod entered, he too went straight for the chair and picked up her hand.
"You know, I'm getting too old for this type of shit Sidle. You know this job is stressful enough without you adding to it. By the way, I like that man from Vegas Sara. I know you like to keep your private life to yourself, but I don't think you should hide him away any more. I'd say he's got it bad for you girl, don't let him get away. Anyway, I'm gonna go and let him back in before he tries to have me thrown out. I'll be back tomorrow to check on both of you" his words were gruff, but his voice tender as he placed her hand back down on the bed and made his way out of the room.
Grissom was surprised that they didn't spend longer with Sara, but he was not going to complain, because it meant he could go back in much sooner than he had thought.
"I just wanted to say thankyou for everything you've done today, I may not have shown it, but I really have been glad to have your company." He told the three federal agents. "Will you be back later?"
"No, we'll leave her to you for now, we'll be back tomorrow. Try and get some sleep yourself will you; you won't be any good to Sara if you're exhausted." Rod told him, giving him a smile. "Call us if you need anything, any time."
"Actually Rod, there is something you could do for me. I don't suppose you could call Catherine for me, I'm too tired to deal with her inquisition just at the moment and I'd have to leave the building to call her. I want to be there when Sara wakes up." he asked hesitantly, knowing that he was just putting of the inevitable.
"Not a problem, I'll fill her in and tell her you'll call her once Sara wakes up" he looked at Grissom once more. "Well, we'll be off if there is nothing else we can do for you. We'll see you tomorrow."
Rod and Richard shook Grissom's hand, but Allison wrapped him in a hug, whispering "Take good care of her and for goodness sake tell her how you feel" before releasing him and following the others to the lift.
Grissom was a little stunned, maybe Allison does know more than the others.
"Allison?" She stopped and looked back at him. "I intend to" he told her, smiling.
