Chapter 27

A/N Trying to get this done quicker, but life still gets in the way. Hope you enjoy. Please keep the reviews coming they are great encouragement you know.

Independence v dependence.

Grissom woke slowly, his body and mind gradually regaining awareness. He tried to stretch and found his movement restricted by a weight over his chest and legs. As his brain caught up to his body, a contented feeling overcame his momentary fright as he realised that sometime during the night Sara had moved so that she lay on her right side, head on his chest, her plastered arm resting on his side and one of her legs was thrown partially across his.

Deciding it was not altogether unpleasant he let his right hand gently stroke her head as it rested on his chest. She looked so peaceful this morning and after last night's nightmare he was glad. He noted how, even with the damage to her shoulder, arm and ribs she had still managed to mould herself against him.

She stirred a little and he stilled his hand, but when she became more restless and let out a small whimpering sound he continued and was rewarded as he felt her relax once more.

He lost himself in the moment and closed his eyes; when he opened them again it was to find a pair of sleepy brown ones peering back at him.

"Good morning" he whispered.

"Mmmm…..a girl could get used to this" she said sleepily.

"Oh! Really?" he raised his eyebrows questioningly.

"Mmm…hmm. It's like having a giant heated teddy bear to snuggle" she chuckled against his chest and moved her hand in small circles on his side.

Grissom stiffened, unprepared for the sensations the movement of her hand was creating and hoping he could control his natural reaction.

Sara felt him tense and chuckled against his chest again, but not stopping the motion of her hand.

He grabbed her hand and stilled its movements, causing her to lift her gaze to his. She was surprised to see the emotions reflected in his eyes and smiled.

"Um… I don't think you should do that right now" his voice was low and soft.

"Why Dr. Grissom? Am I bothering you?" she teased trying to pull her hand free.

"More than you know Miss Sidle" he growled softly and leant forward to kiss her.

Sara groaned into the kiss and he deepened it until the need for air broke them apart leaving them both breathing in short heavy puffs.

Letting go of her Grissom traced his hand along her jaw, all the while his eyes locked with hers.

"As much as I want to, now is not the time to take this any further honey" his voice tinged with love and desire. "You need time to heal first; there will be plenty of time then".

Hearing his need for her reassurance, Sara could do nothing but nod, not trusting her voice. The feelings he stirred in her were strong and she did not want to acknowledge that he was right and she reached out her hand towards him again.

With a gentle kiss to her forehead, Grissom pushed himself away from her and climbed out of bed.

"Rest there" he told her. "I'm going to shower and then I'll get us some breakfast."

Sara just nodded and settled against the pillows, pushing her head into Grissom's pillow and soaking in his scent.

She must have dozed off again, because she woke to a gentle knocking on the bedroom door.

"Come in" her voiced was muffled by sleep.

"Morning sunshine" Jim gave her a broad smile as he entered the room. "Gil sent me in to see if you want to eat breakfast in bed or with us and to give you a hand to get up if you need it" he spoke in a monotone that made her giggle.

"Morning Jim" she replied, easing herself into a sitting position. "I think I'll get up and join you, I've spent enough time in bed lately and now I'm home I want to get moving."

"Ok then. Let's get you moving eh?" he moved to the bed as he spoke.

Sara threw back the covers and tried to get up by herself but found she was actually quite stiff after a full nights sleep.

"Whoa there Sara, let me help" Jim was quick to support her to sit on the edge of the bed.

"Can I have my robe and slippers please Jim?" she hated this part; she wanted to be able to do everything for herself.

Jim could guess how she was feeling; the expression on her face was very telling. He was happy to let her do as much for herself as possible, but he wasn't about to let her hurt herself either.

She managed pretty well, though she had a bit of trouble getting the robe on and as he watched her struggle he was struck by a thought. He watched her face as he helped her with the troublesome robe before speaking. He knew it was a risk bringing it up, but he couldn't help himself.

"Um…Cookie can I ask you a question" he grinned at her as he finished tying off the robe.

She gave him a quizzical look before replying. "That depends."

"Well…." He paused, choosing his words carefully because he didn't like the idea of an angry Sara Sidle, or an angry Gil Grissom if he pissed off said Sara Sidle.

"Umm….Have you thought about how you're going to manage in the bathroom" he paused again when her head shot up and she fixed him with a glare. "I mean….you're like a daughter to me, you know that don't you, but….I mean…. and well there's Gil but……" he broke off, not knowing what else to say.

For a moment Sara just stared at him, then she started to smile, then chuckle until eventually she was laughing so much that she had to hold her ribs.

Jim just watched, stunned, then he couldn't help himself and he too started to laugh.

Having heard the laughter from the kitchen, Grissom tried not to let his curiosity get the better of him and forced himself to wait for them to emerge from the bedroom. When they did, Sara's arm was linked with Jims' as he led her to the table.

Pulling out her chair, Jim helped her to sit, then with a flourish and bow said "Your table Madame, your waiter will arrive soon with your meal. May I be of any further service?" he added a wink for good measure.

"Thankyou my good man, that will be all for now" she returned his wink.

They looked into the kitchen to see Grissom watching them closely, a smirk on his face.

"What?' both Sara and Jim asked at the same time.

"Nothing, just wondering…." he inclined his head towards the bedroom as he made his way to the table with Sara's breakfast.

Jim grabbed the juice and added it to the table then sat, while Grissom collected their plates and set them on the table.

They ate in silence and when they were done, Jim offered to make them all coffee, so Grissom and Sara moved to the comfort of the couch.

"Now care to tell me what was so funny earlier" he quizzed her as he sat close to her.

"Well Jim asked me a question and well, let's just say that it conjured up some interesting images" she chuckled as she told him, revisiting one of those said images.

"Oh and do you want to share both the question and the images, or do you intend to keep it to yourself" he asked.

It was then that Jim delivered their coffees and took the chair next to the couch.

"Yeah, actually I'd like to hear what it was that got you laughing so much when all I did was ask a simple question" Jim directed his question to Sara.

She laughed and looked at their expectant faces.

"Well…the question was simple enough, and what started me laughing was the fact that it took until now for anyone to think of it, then the images just took over" she kept her expression bland as she looked at both of them.

Grissom was getting impatient and Sara thought it was funny, but Jim was not about to risk anything so he answered for her.

"I just asked how she was going to manage in the bathroom, because there's only the two of us here and…well…you get the idea right?" he watched as it dawned on Grissom what he was getting at and couldn't help laughing at the stunned expression on his friends face.

When he had regained his composure, Grissom addressed the problem.

"Well first of all, Jim is not going to help you….." Sara didn't let him finish.

"Does that mean you're offering Gil?" she asked, trying not to laugh at the look on his face.

"Oh don't you wish Sara" he smirked at her, turning the tables on her and giving her a look that made her blush.

"Actually, I did think of it before we left the hospital and I was given the name of a visiting nurse who could help you" he held up a hand as Sara shot him a look that would have dropped a charging elephant in an instant. "But, I thought you might like to try it by yourself first, and with that in mind, Allison will be here …" he glanced at his watch. "In fifteen minutes in case you can't manage."

He sat back against the couch with a smug look on his face watching her. By now Jim was laughing outright, but quickly stopped when Sara turned her glare on him. Turning back to Grissom, she looked at him with a cross between a pout and a glare that just made her look cute to him.

He smiled. Wrong!

"You think you are so smart Gil Grissom, I will not let some nurse in here to shower me, I can do it myself and you can tell Ally that I don't need her either." Sara was angry now and even she didn't know why.

"Sara?" Grissom didn't know why she had suddenly got so angry, and he confused. "Honey?"

Jim saw this as his cue to leave and grabbing the coffee cups, put them in the kitchen and headed to his room. As he left, he gave Grissom a look that basically said good luck.

Grissom took hold of one of Sara's hands, but she let if fall limp in his hand and still didn't look up from her lap.

"Sara, I know you want to do this yourself, I don't doubt that you will give it your best shot, but honey you are still really restricted because of your shoulder and that plaster, not to mention your ribs." She still didn't look at him, so he put a finger under her chin and lifted it so that he could look at her face.

The tears filling her eyes were a surprise to him, he didn't understand the sudden changes in her mood, so he did the only thing he could think of and drew her into his arms and held her.

It took a few minutes, but he eventually felt her relax as his hand rubbed circles on her back. A moment later she pulled back and gave him a watery smile.

"I'm sorry Gil" she still didn't smile. "That was….umm….I don't know why I reacted that way."

Grissom didn't say anything, just nodded, waiting to see if she had anything else to say.

"Forgive me?" she smiled at him, a tentative little smile, but that was ok.

"There is nothing to forgive honey Maybe it's just the meds, maybe you're just tired, but it doesn't matter" he watched Sara frown. "Is it ok that Ally is coming? I know I should have asked you first, but you were so tired yesterday and so glad to be home that I just forgot." He watched her nod.

"Besides, after this morning I don't think that I trust myself to just help you undress or dress" he grinned suggestively at her and added "Maybe in a week or so."

Leaning forward she captured his lips in a kiss that left him breathless.

"I think I know what you mean" she told him.

They broke apart at a knock on the front door. Poking his head out to make sure it was safe; Jim waved them to stay seated and opened the door to a smiling Allison.

Within minutes, Allison and Sara had moved to the bedroom, leaving Grissom and Jim alone.

"Everything ok Gil?" he asked as the cleared the table and started on the dishes.

"Yeah, well, it will be. I think she understands" he paused and looked at his friend, with a small smile. "At least I hope so. Once she starts physiotherapy she'll feel better I think."

"When does she start?"

"Actually the first session is this afternoon at four. I wonder if she remembers." Grissom shrugged his shoulders and then smiled as he heard laughter from the bedroom.

"Sound like everything is fine buddy. Let's just take each day as it comes eh?" Jim patted Grissom on the shoulder as he made his way back to his room.

Forty-five minutes later, Sara and Allison, both sporting huge smiles returned to the living room.

"Are you sure you can't stay for a coffee Ally?" Sara asked her friend.

"Sorry, got to go, but maybe we can get together for dinner later this week? I can bring something here if you're not up to going out, anyway, let me know" she gave Sara a quick hug and with an equally quick goodbye to Jim and Grissom left to go back to work.

"You look better" Gil pulled Sara into a hug. "Did you enjoy Allison's company?"

With her face nestled against her neck, Sara just nodded and mumbled.

"That's good, you two sounded like a pair of schoolgirls giggling away in there" he could feel her smile against his skin. "What do you feel like doing now, are you tired?

Sara pulled back, but stayed encircled by his arms.

"I'm a little tired, I actually managed pretty well in there, and I only needed help with my top. But I don't want to go to bed again just yet. Do you want to paly a game or something? I need some stimulation' she told him with a grin.

"Sure, maybe Jim would like to join us. What have you got?"

"Mom….lets see. I've got Monopoly, Scrabble, Trivial Pursuit and I think I could lay my hands on a couple of decks of cards."

"I think cards would be good. You go see if you can find them and I'll go get Jim" Grissom let her go and headed towards the guest room.

Cards turned out to be a great idea, and the morning flew by. It was only when Grissom's stomach growled loudly that they realised it was one o'clock and they had not eaten anything except a few chips since breakfast.

Once a lunch of grilled cheese sandwiches and soup had been consumed, Sara couldn't hold back a yawn and reminding her that she had a therapy appointment at four, Grissom managed to convince Sara to take a nap after promising to wake her in plenty of time for her to get ready.