Chapter 22

Out of Breath

It was now three days after Sara's surgery. The tube in her chest that had helped reinflate her lung had been removed early this morning, so now only an IV line remained in, so that she could continue to get her antibiotics.

Sara was relieved to get rid of the chest tube; it had been restricting and had pulled every time she moved and Sara had been positive it was the biggest cause of her pain. Now however, she was beginning to think otherwise. Sure that had gone, but now they had her moving about the more and that hurt. If it wasn't her shoulder, it was her ribs and it still hurt if she moved her head too quickly.

To top that off, one of the nursed had just informed her that she would be back in ten minutes to get her into the shower. Now it wasn't that Sara didn't want a shower, oh she did, in fact she never wanted another sponge bath as long as she lived. It was the thought of all that pain. It hurt so much, and it scared her, and that scared her even more. What had happened to 'Miss I Will not Give In to Pain or Illness Sidle'.

When the nurse returned, Sara still hadn't figured it out.

Gritting her teeth against the pain, Sara let herself be helped out of bed and together they slowly walked to the bathroom. A chair was placed in the shower stall and Sara sank slowly and gingerly onto it while the nurse covered her plastered arm with a plastic bag. For a short while, Sara revelled in the feel of the warm water, but she quickly became tired and impatient to get back to bed.

"God! How fickle can I get? First I don't want to shower, then I'm loving it and now all I want to do is go back to bed"

The nurse quickly dried Sara off and began to dress her. It was only when she had finished that Sara realised she was not in a hospital gown any more, but a pair of light purple satin shortie pyjamas.

"That must feel better Sara" the nurse stated. "Getting into your own things is always a good feeling, and these are really lovely and soft."

"These are not mine" Sara told her. "They must have been put hereby mistake. I usually just sleep in whatever is handy."

"Oh no. There are at least a half dozen pairs like this in your cupboard, plus a dressing gown and slippers. Oh and if you like, I'll brush your hair for you and pop on one of the scarves you have too. That way your head wound won't be obvious."

All the while they were talking the nurse had got Sara out of the bathroom and back to her freshly made bed. She helped Sara climb in and covered her over with….

Sara gasped. "Where did this come from?" Sara finally found her voice. It was shaking now with weariness and emotion.

On the bed was a quilt, with a beautiful floral cover and instead of the normal hospital pillows there was a lovely soft horse-shoe shaped pillow that was covered in a soft satin pillowcase.

"Well, we had a special request for you to be allowed to have your own bedding and as you will still be here for a while yet, we thought ….why not?" Sara was told.

As Sara settled into the bed, she couldn't help the tears. No-one had ever done something so thoughtful for her and she was overwhelmed by the gesture. The bed felt so much more comfortable and much less like hospital.

Noticing the tears the nurse left the room, returning a few minutes later with some pain relief.

"Would you still like me to do your hair for you Sara?" she asked softly.

All Sara could do was nod and ten minutes later she was having a beautiful silk scarf wrapped around her head.

"That looks lovely Sara, those colours help put a little colour back in your cheeks"

She watched as Sara, comfortably cushioned in her new pillows closed her eyes before leaving the room.

--

When Sara woke, she felt a lot better. She was still trying to figure out where all the new things in her room had come from when her door opened and Allison entered.

"Wow! Will you look at you." She exclaimed as she covered the short distance to the bed. She dropped a kiss on Sara's forehead and sat down. "You look…. human."

"Gee thanks. I think." Sara gave her friend a smile. "You want to tell me about all this stuff?" she gestured to herself and the bed.

"Nope."

"I see, never mind, I will find out you know. I'm an investigator and I'm good at my job" Sara told her.

"How are you feeling Sar?"

"Actually, not bad. Tired and sore, but not bad. I had a shower this morning and that kinda knocked me for a while. I keep dropping off to sleep all the time."

"I guess that's to be expected. At least you won't try to overdo it if you keep falling asleep" Allison grinned at Sara.

"I wish I could concentrate more, but I can't, it hurts my head too much….."She broke off at Allison's laughter.

"I'm sorry sweetie, I just got a mental picture of you frowning in concentration and then your head exploding, like on a cartoon" she laughed again at the expression on Sara's face.

Sara was holding her head and trying not to laugh because it hurt her head and her ribs. All she could do was take in short gasping breaths and even that hurt like hell.

I t took Allison a minute or two to realise Sara was not actually laughing and she jumped up in fright to press the call bell when the door opened again and Grissom and Rod entered the room.

Grissom took in the sight of a gasping Sara and almost ran to the bed

"What is it? Sara, what's wrong?" he was almost frantic and just as he was about to call out for help, Sara grasped his hand, shaking her head.

"This is my fault" Allison was close to tears. 'I made a joke and Sara started to laugh and then she started to gasp and….." she couldn't finish.

By this time, Sara's breathing was settling and she managed to get out the words "I'm….ok….it's….ok…..just…..minute."

She was gripping Grissom's hand so tightly it was hurting him, but he didn't care. He held her gaze and stroked the side of her face gently as her breathing slowly settled. Tears streamed from Sara's eyes, not just from the pain, but not being able to get her breath had frightened her and she could see that she had frightened the others as well.

Allison's face was white as she took hold of the fingers of Sara's plastered arm.

"I'm so sorry Sara, I 'm so sorry" the tears fell now, and rod placed an arm around her shoulders in an effort to comfort her.

Sara let go of Grissom's hand and reached out to Allison, pulling her into a hug.

Not wanting to hurt her friend any more, Allison braced her arms on the bed either side of Sara as the two girls cried together.

Rod and Grissom exchanged a worried look, before Rod went to talk to a nurse and see if Sara could have some more pain relief.

A few minutes later, Sara was being checked over and once it was decided there were no ill effects from the incident, the analgesia was administered. Rod decided it was an opportune time to take Allison downstairs for a coffee and to settle her down which left a very relieved Grissom with a sleepy Sara.

"Do you get some sort of perverse delight out of scaring me Miss Sidle" his face was grim, but there was an underlying note of teasing in his voice that Sara, drowsy as she was couldn't miss.

"Uh huh. Keeps you on your toes Dr. Grissom" she muttered, not opening her eyes.

"Oh I see. Well I guess it beats having to drink six cups of coffee" he told her, as he settled into the chair vacated by Allison.

"Mm mm" a sleepy mumble was all the response he got.

Grissom wearily shook his head as he settled to wait for her to wake up again.

He was pleased to see that they were using all the things that he and Allison had purchased, she looked so much better today despite the earlier incident, more like Sara.

When Rod and Allison returned they had brought Grissom a coffee and they quietly chatted while he drank, not wanting to disturb the still sleeping Sara. It took a lot of convincing, but eventually Grissom persuaded them to stay til Sara woke, so that they could see for themselves that she was ok again.

As Sara slowly woke from yet another drug induced sleep, she was greeted by the sight of the three of them playing cards.

"Don't trust Grissom, he played poker to help pay his way through college"

Three heads turned towards the bed and she smiled at the looks on their faces.

"What? It's true" she glared at them.

"Well that explains it then. I don't usually lose this badly" Rod stated grumpily.

"Hey sweetie. How do you feel?" Allison moved to the bed and put her hand on Sara's arm. "I'm so sorry about before. I feel terrible that I cause you so much pain."

Sara grabbed her friends hand and squeezed. "It's fine. I'm fine now. We just need to save the jokes for a while that's all. Ok?"

Allison nodded, giving Sara a weak smile. Rod got up, placing the deck of cards in front of Grissom. "Now that I know what I'm up against here I'll try harder next game. Come on Ally, lets get out of here and leave these two love birds alone" he ignored Sara's snort and glare and the startled look on Grissom's face and bent to place a kiss on Sara's forehead.

"If I could hit you right now I would Rod Marshall" she scolded him and then turned to Allison. "Get him out of here will you."

"Bye Sara" they both said in unison and ignoring the glares directed their way they left the room chuckling.

Left alone, Sara and Grissom shared a smile.

"Love birds huh?" Sara snorted. "Where would he have got that idea?" Sara stared at Grissom.

He looked a little uncomfortable right then and she couldn't stop a tiny chuckle from escaping her.

"Is there something I need to know Griss?" she tilted her head to the side to get a better look at him.

"Nothing that you don't already know Sara" he told her, no hint of a smile. "I have made no secret over the last few months about how I feel about you. I….ah….I guess when you are faced with the prospect of losing the one person you really care for you tend to wear your heart on your sleeve." He reached out to wipe the lone tear from her cheek. "I guess they figured it out."

Sara continued to stare at Grissom. She remembered all the times over the last few months where he had brought up his feelings for her, and she had been thrilled that he could do so but she had just not realised how seriously he had meant it. Now she could see it in his face and hear it in his words and for the second time that day Sara was overwhelmed.

"You're serious, aren't you?" she asked eventually and got a nod in reply. She didn't need his confirmation; she was seeing the truth in his eyes. "Then prove it."

Reaching out, she laid her hand against his cheek, feeling the roughness of his beard against her palm as he leant into her hand. She never moved her eyes from his as he ever so slowly moved towards her. She licked her lips in reflex and watched as his eyes moved to watch her. She could feel his breath on her lips now and lifted her head slightly to bring her lips to his.

It was feather light, just a whisper of a kiss but it left them both searching for more. After several more little kisses, Sara reached around to hold Grissom to her and deepen the kiss. He had braced himself with his arms either side of her shoulders and he leant in closer, acquiescing and finally allowed himself to indulge in a long held fantasy. He brushed his tongue over her lips seeking entry and as she gave him access his mind finally shut down and let his heart take over.

They parted, much sooner that Grissom would have like, but Sara was having trouble getting her breath. He smirked as she gasped in small breaths of air.

When her breathing had finally settled, she smacked him on the arm.

"Don't get too cocky, that was good, but if I could breathe properly, it would be you that was gasping for breath buster."

Grissom's eyebrows rose. "Well, I guess that's something we'll have to find out when your better then isn't it?" He was still smirking and Sara found herself unable to keep a straight face.

He became serious for a moment, before he asked his question. "Was that proof enough Sara? Do you believe me now when I say that I love you and that I never want to lose you again?" He waited, watching her as she gathered her thoughts.

"I think that….it was….I think it might be but…." She smiled a she saw his expression change. "But I think I would like to make sure…. I mean we are scientists after all, we have to make sure, if you don't mind repeating it that is?" She watched as a smile appeared on his face.

"I agree, as scientists we have a duty to verify the proof….make sure…" He broke off as he kissed her again, a kiss full of love and promise.

When they finally pulled apart, Grissom could see just how tired Sara was and he helped her settle back against her pillows he smiled. He like being able to take care of her.

"Are you comfy?" he asked. "Why don't you try and sleep again?"

Sara shook her head, frowning. "All I seem to do is sleep; I want to stay awake with you."

"What about if I lay up here next to you?" he gave her a grin.

"Are you suggesting that we sleep together Dr. Grissom, because I'll have you know that I don't just jump into bed with a guy just because he's a good kisser." Sara couldn't believe what she was saying; it must be the drugs talking.

"I should hope not Miss Sidle" he teased, chuckling at the bewildered expression on her face, and wondered himself if it was the drugs making her say those things.

"When I say sleep; that is exactly what I mean" he reassured her teasingly. "Anything else will just have to wait a while." He moved her gently over to one side of the bed and climbed up beside her. He tucked his arm beneath the pillow and turned her slightly towards him so that he could hold her better.

By the time Grissom had covered them both, Sara had dozed off, snuggled tightly into his side. As he listened to her soft, even breathing, he marvelled at how comfortable and right this felt and as he relaxed, he let himself drift off into sleep as well.

A/N: I know it may seem odd that they allowed Sara to have her own bed linen, but I work with sick kids and when they are in hospital for several weeks they all bring their own stuff from home .It makes it so much nicer, more like home.