When Sara found herself coming back into consciousness, she realised she could hear the voices around her. It sounded like they were far away and she was under water, but she tried to focus to make out what was being said. How long had she been asleep for? And what had actually happened? Unfortunately, no answers came. She could hear someone leaving, a female she thought based on the sound of the shoes. And she recognised Brass's voice and it seemed clearer than it had been.

But when he told her that Grissom was on his way back, she felt her heart sink. She hadn't even realised that she had managed to move her hand initially. But quickly, a nurse had arrived and alerted both Brass and Sara to the fact she was signing. If only she could make her hands work so she could tell them to leave Grissom alone. He didn't want to come back to Las Vegas, ever, and now he had been summoned because of her. She knew that he would come out of a sense of duty, but that he would dread it. Since losing Honey Bee, their relationship had been shattered. He didn't want to see her. It was her fault that he had lost his daughter and she didn't know how or if he would ever forgive her. But he was not a vindictive person so he would come back for her, no matter how much it hurt him. But she didn't want to do that to him. Why couldn't she just tell Brass and everyone else to leave Grissom alone? But of course, she hadn't told them what had happened or that Grissom had asked for a divorce so they had no reason to believe he wouldn't want to be there. Had he told them? She tried to keep answering their questions. She needed Brass to stay. But once again the blackness pulled her back under.

Greg grabbed his phone when he heard it vibrating - two quick blips, indicating a text. Reading it, he cursed under his breath, and immediately felt bad. Grissom was back. He would be seeing Sara tonight. Greg was to go to work, along with Nick and everyone else, and no visitors allowed until the next day. Of course, it was a good thing that Grissom was back, and he knew Catherine didn't want a huge blow up at the hospital on his first day... but still, Greg was disappointed. He wanted to see Sara before work. And what if Grissom visited but didn't stay? Would Sara be left alone overnight? Surely Catherine wouldn't want her to be alone... Briefly, he considered calling DB to say he was sick and then staking out the hospital to visit Sara when Grissom left, before he had to acknowledge that might be a bit over the top. And Catherine had probably already told DB and there's no way he would believe Greg was sick. He sighed, and then texted Catherine to see if he could come in to visit Sara before Grissom arrived. A one word, two letter text arrived.

NO

He pouted and stared at the ceiling, calling her and Grissom every childish insult he could think of in his head. Then he apologised out loud, rolled over, and went back to sleep. If he had to work tonight, he was going to see Sara in the morning, and he did not need to be over tired.

Grissom groaned when his alarm went off. He had slept like a rock and after a brief moment of groggy disorientation, he remembered where he was and groaned again. Two hours were left before he needed to contact Catherine. He rubbed a hand over his face and stood up to go to the kitchen and make coffee. He would feel better once he had coffee.

While the coffee machine brewed, he opened his phone to check for messages. No missed calls from Sara's doctor so that was a good thing. In fact, no missed calls or texts from anyone. Instead of relief, he just felt worried about the unknown.

When the coffee was ready, he poured himself a mug and found some an apple and a muffin on the counter, then sat down at the table. He stretched, and stared at his quiet phone as he drank his coffee, as if it was a bomb about to detonate. Finding that didn't help, he stood and paced the room as he drank his coffee and ate the apple. He remembered reading somewhere that a study had found that an apple was as effective as coffee at helping to wake up the brain. Did it have to do with chewing and jaw movement? The details evaded him. Still, it was worth a try.

Having successfully killed 15 minutes, he decided to shower again and change into fresh clothes. It would be best to look clean and presentable at the hospital.

20 minutes later, he was clean, showered and shaved. He was dressed. He had eaten breakfast and had coffee. There was nothing else to do except to let Catherine know he was awake... and yet he frantically tried to think of something else he could do to postpone the inevitable. At the same time, he was now anxious to see Sara and speak with her doctor, so he picked up the phone and typed with shaky fingers.

Where would you like me to meet you?

Less than a minute later, he had an answer.

Head down to the private entrance where you were dropped off, Henry will be there in 5 minutes to bring you to the hospital. Do you want me or Brass to meet you at the car, or would you like to come up to speak with Dr. Mark first?

He surprised himself when he realised that he did actually want to see his friends.

Meet me at the car. I can see Brass after we've talked to the doctor if that's alright.

See you soon!

Grissom smiled for a moment, then pocketed the key and his phone and headed downstairs to meet his driver.

Catherine jumped when the text she had been waiting for finally came. Brass watched her read and quirked an eyebrow. She nodded in response. Grissom was awake and he was on his way to the hospital.

"I'm going to head downstairs." She told Brass. "I'll be back in a bit. Message me if anything comes up." He nodded again and squeezed Sara's hand.

"Good luck" he told Catherine as she stood and left the room, already on her phone to call Dr. Mark and let him know that Grissom was on his way. Fortunately the doctor was awaiting her call, and told her to bring Grissom to one of the small offices near Sara's ward so they could talk. She got in the elevator and went down to the main entrance to wait for Grissom to arrive.

It felt like she was waiting for hours as she fussed and paced, but it was only 30 minutes before the car pulled up and she stepped outside to greet her friend. The driver opened the door, and when Grissom stepped out he was shocked when Catherine reached out to give him a hug.

"You are a hard man to track down, Gil Grissom. Welcome back to Las Vegas." She held him tightly for a moment, hiding the few tears that had welled up. Despite everything going on, he was still her friend and she had missed him greatly since he had left. Pulling back, she smiled at the bewildered expression on his face. "Let's go inside. Dr. Mark is waiting for us." Grissom nodded and followed her silently for a few moments. When they got in the elevator he finally spoke.

"Thank you, Catherine. For getting me back so quickly. I know that was all your doing. How is she?"

"I'm not gonna lie, Gil, she's still not in great shape. But she's starting to wake up a bit, and she looks a hell of a lot better than she did when I got here. Anything more than that, you're gonna need to ask the doctor."

"Who found her?" He asked, and she sighed.

"Nick did. She didn't show up for work and didn't answer her phone, so he picked the lock and let himself in. Found her on the bed and thought she had just overslept until he couldn't wake her. Called an ambulance and she was rushed here." She explained. "He, uh, he found the divorce papers you sent Sara while he was looking for her health insurance paperwork. She hasn't signed them." Grissom nodded. "But we aren't going to get into that now, let's just take one thing at a time, and right now that means focusing on Sara getting better." When the elevator doors opened, the two stepped out and he followed Catherine to a small quiet office.

Dr. Mark greeted them warmly, shaking Grissom's hand and inviting them in. He gestured for them to sit in the two chairs opposite his.

"It's lovely to finally meet you, Dr. Grissom. I've been treating your wife since she arrived here. Now since we spoke on the phone, Sara has been making some great improvements. All of her recent test results are promising. The liver and kidney problems have improved significantly, and her heart seems to be functioning properly now. She's also started showing some signs of being aware of what's happening around her and this morning she reportedly used ASL to communicate answers to simple yes or no questions. It looks like she's still unconscious the majority of the time but each time she has periods of awareness she's making significant improvements. I'm quite confident that she is on her way back to us. There are no signs, yet, of any other complications but of course we will be vigilant about that. We do have her on some low dose painkillers - surgery is never pleasant and she definitely has some pain, but she's already starting to heal well." He paused. "Do you have any questions?"

"Can I see her?" The worlds tumbled out before he could even think them through.

"I think we can arrange that. Detective Brass is with her right now. I'll just have a nurse check on them to see if now is a good time." Dr. Mark told him. "But before you see her, I do need to caution you to be aware that she can hear you, and not to say or do anything that may upset her. If her heart rate increases or she appears distressed, you'll need to leave." He explained, briefly looking at Catherine as well. "Catherine will go with you, and Detective Brass will be staying with her as well. Sara indicated she didn't want him to leave."

"I understand." Grissom agreed, standing up.

"OK then, I'll go speak to a nurse. You two wait here for a moment." The doctor said and stood and left the room. If Grissom had looked at Catherine he would have picked up on her concern, but he was too busy watching the door. When the doctor returned a few moments later, he confirmed it was ok and allowed Catherine to lead Grissom to Sara's room.