When Nick arrived at work, it seemed the entire building was buzzing. News that Grissom was back had spread quickly - and he was 99% certain that Hodges was responsible. He sighed, knowing it would be a long night.

In the locker room, he sat on the bench hoping for a few moments to get his head on straight. While he wanted to be with Sara, and was incredibly impatient to speak to his former boss, he had to focus. Night shift had been short staffed and they needed to get on top of things. As DB had said, the criminals of Las Vegas didn't slow down just because Sara was sick. Lost in thought, he didn't hear Greg come in.

"Catherine sent you the same message, I'm assuming?" He asked, startling Nick.

"Yeah, Grissom is back, go to work, give them space." Nick replied. "I heard from Brass, he's staying. Apparently Sara woke up enough to sign that she didn't want him to leave."

"She was able to sign?!" Greg asked, excited. "No one told me that!"

"Just yes and no, Greg, don't get too carried away. We'll see her in the morning." Nick told him, hoping to stop him from bolting from the room to rush to the hospital.

"I know, I know. But she's getting better! That's good news, right?" Morgan stuck her head into the room to tell the boys to hurry up and come get their assignments.

"Good news? That Grissom is back?" She asked them.

"Yes, and Sara was able to sign something to Brass earlier!" Greg explained excitedly. "And only, what, 10 hours until we can go see her?"

"Let's get to work then, Greg, so we can try to get out of here on time." Nick told him, standing up and following Morgan and Greg. It was going to be a very long night if he couldn't get his mind to focus on work instead of what was happening at the hospital.

A nurse quietly knocked on the door, causing Brass to look up. Typically they simply came in to do what they needed to do, but this nurse gestured for him to step out in the hall. He hesitated about leaving Sara, but it was obvious the nurse needed to speak with him, and he suspected he knew what it was about.

"Dr. Mark asked me to check if Sara is awake or not. Her husband wants to see her, but given her reaction earlier he thought it might be best to check first." Brass nodded and gestured for her to come in with him.

"Hey Sara, are you with us?" Brass asked, giving her hand a squeeze as he sat back down. There was no response. "That's ok, you need the rest. But there's a nurse here who seems to want to chat."

"Hello Sara, it's Katie here, I'm your nurse for tonight. I was hoping to see how you were doing today. Mr. Brass here is quite anxious for you to wake up." She spoke softly. Still, there was no sign that Sara was awake. "I'll come back a bit later then. I think Dr. Mark will be by soon." She told Sara, patting her arm gently. When there was still no response, she nodded and left to report to the doctor that Sara was not responding.

A few minutes later, there was a sound at the door and Brass looked up to see Catherine and Dr. Mark at the door. Close behind them stood Grissom. A sea of mixed emotions overwhelmed Brass when he saw his friend - relief that he was back where he was needed, sadness at what had happened to send his friend adrift, anger that he had abandoned his wife... but he tried to bite it all back because right now, this moment wasn't about him. There would be plenty of time later to talk things through.

Grissom approached Sara so cautiously that Brass wondered for a moment if he was even going to make it to her bed side or if he might freeze by the door - but slowly he approached until he was standing beside her. When Brass looked at his friend he could see the tears building and starting to trail down Grissom's cheeks.

"Sara. I am so, so sorry. My Sara. This is all my fault." he whispered so quietly that Brass could barely make out the words. Grissom reached out ever so gently and stroked her cheek with one hand while reaching for her free hand with the other. "I am so sorry" he whispered again. Catherine and Dr. Mark remained at the door, while Brass stayed where he was sitting on the cot, holding Sara's hand. He nodded at Catherine. Despite his reservations and Sara's insistence that Grissom not visit, she had made the right call. He needed to be there.

Dr. Mark watched for several minutes before he whispered to Catherine to page him if needed, and then he quietly left. Catherine stayed at the door, watching the scene play out in front of her. Brass remained steady, holding Sara's hand and watching his friend but remaining silent and unobtrusive. Grissom didn't seem to register that there was anyone else in the room as he continued to softly cry, whisper his apologies, and alternate between stroking her face and holding her hand. Eventually, he lifted his eyes from Sara and made eye contact with Brass. His whispered apologies turned to quiet thanks as he acknowledged that Brass had been there for her when he had not.

"I'm sorry to put you in this position" he finally said quietly. "It was never my plan. I didn't expect this to happen. I just knew... I knew she would want you to make decisions for her if she couldn't do it herself." Brass nodded. "I'm sorry, Jim."

Catherine finally entered the room and approached Grissom, squeezing his shoulders.

"The important thing is that you're here now." She reminded Grissom. "She's going to wake up soon, and she's going to need you here." Grissom turned to look at her, seeking reassurance.

"I'm not going to abandon her again." He promised.

Please don't hate me for Sara not waking up the moment he arrived. But I promise it happens soon!

Do I end the story when she opens her eyes? Or shall we keep going until she's released from hospital or even longer?

Thank you for the reviews and please keep them coming. I almost took a week off from posting as I'm going into what I call "chaos week" here, but SPRAT2 asked so nicely that I'll keep posting even if I'm not writing.