URGENT - SARA

Hey Grissom. Greg got your email from Hodges. He said he hadn't heard from you in a while but I hope you still use this address and you're just ignoring him. I need you to call me as soon as you can, or call Brass, or even call the lab. Any of us. It's really important. It's about Sara.

-Nick

Hours later, little had changed. Nick had eventually filled in Brass and Greg about the divorce papers he found. Both of them were as shocked as he and Catherine had been. Brass had settled into an even deeper silence, shaking his head and muttering to himself about how he was going to strangle his friend. Greg, uncharacteristically, had nothing to say but just shook his head as he held it in his hands. He felt like his world had been tipped on it's side and nothing seemed to make sense.

The doctors had moved Sara to a room on the general ward, with Nick and Brass taking turns sitting with her. Greg had grabbed her hand as soon as they came in, and had refused to let go. When their shift had finished, DB, Morgan and Finn had each stopped by on their way home, staying for a short while. Morgan had convinced Greg that he needed to take a break, having not left Sara's side since she was brought to her room. He argued at first but Nick and Brass shooed him out the door to go eat, shower and nap before returning. Still, Morgan nearly had to drag him away.

Later, Ecklie had stopped in to check in, and brought Sara's medical and emergency contact information that was on file. She had no living relatives indicated for contact, and Grissom's number hadn't been updated since he left Paris. He offered his gentle support for both Nick and Brass, and told them to let him know if they or Sara needed anything. He had put her on medical leave indefinitely so she would still be paid, and he assured Nick that the night shift would be granted extra paid days leave to be with her.

Shortly after Ecklie left, Catherine arrived, looking concerned but determined. Nick had been updating her by text, so she was aware of what little information they had.

"OK, I spoke to Grissom's lawyer. They don't have a number or an address for him. Apparently he's been working off a boat, and gets in touch when he's in port. He didn't have any information about the divorce, aside from saying that Grissom didn't seem angry, just resigned. He signed everything of value over to Sara without waiting to hear back from her. Once the documents were finalised, Grissom paid and the lawyer has heard nothing since." She filled them in. "I've pulled a few strings, and we've tracked down that his boat was recently docked in Mexico, but he's not there anymore. I've got someone in touch with the organisation supervising him so hopefully we can track him down soon." Dropping into the recently vacated chair at the end of Sara's bed, she looked between her friends. "You both look like shit. Go home. Shower, eat, take a nap. I'll stay with her until you get back." Nick nodded as he got up slowly.

"Yeah. I'll do that. Call me if anything changes." He told Catherine. "I'll be back in a few hours." She stood up and hugged him, then gently nudged him towards the door before turning to Brass.

"If it's all the same to you, Catherine, I'm staying." He told her. "It doesn't feel right to leave her." Catherine nodded, not surprised. She knew Brass and Sara had found the father-daughter relationship in each other that they had both missed in life.

"So fill me in." She insisted as she pulled up a chair. "What do we know?"

"Nothing more than what Nick has already told you" Brass shrugged. "The doctors are concerned, but they haven't been able to find much. Or if they have, they aren't telling us. They spoke to her physician earlier, and then ran a bunch more tests, but didn't say what they were looking for." He shifted his position and reached out to grab Sara's hand. "I don't know, Catherine. They don't seem to be able to tell us anything."

At that point a nurse came into the room, quietly nodding to Catherine and Brass before checking Sara's monitors and IV and making a few notes.

"Do either of you know how to reach her husband?" the nurse asked gently. "Or does she have any other family?"

"This is it." Catherine said. "We're trying to get in touch with him, but we're the closest thing she has to family. He's like a father to her" she gestured to Brass "And I consider her my sister. Nick and Greg are like her brothers and there really isn't anyone else." the nurse nodded, understanding, and made notes in the chart she held.

"I can't really say much. But we really need to talk to her husband. Otherwise, we may need to appoint someone to make medical decisions for her."

"Is there anything you can tell us?" Brass asked. "Is she going to be ok?"

"I can't really say" the nurse answered honestly.

"If we can't get her husband here, how do we go about nominating someone else as her medical proxy?" Catherine asked. "Right now, all we know is that he's somewhere in the Pacific Ocean, and we can't reach him. Sara needs someone who is here, someone she would trust. It's obvious this can't wait until we find him, and we need to know what's going on." The distress in her voice was tempered by her determination to get answers.

"I'll have someone from the legal department come talk to you" the nurse said. "For now, the decisions will be made by her doctors, based on what they feel is best. But I'll see what we can do about at least releasing some information to you." The nurse made eye contact with Catherine and set Sara's chart down on the table as she left the room. "I'm just going to restock this cart and I'll be back in a few minutes."

The moment the nurse was out of sight, Catherine pounced on the file and quickly tried to make sense of it. Brass leaned over her shoulder. Scribbles filled the first few pages, with a collection of typed reports behind them. After a moment of trying to understand what they were reading, she quickly grabbed her phone and started taking photos of each page. She understood the CT scan report indicating no head trauma, and some of the bloodwork results for electrolytes and hormone levels out of balance. The majority of the results were highlighted in red, signaling abnormal values. While Catherine took photos, Brass had called Doc Robbins asking him to stop by for a visit. By the time the nurse had returned, the file had been returned to the table and Sara's friends were catching up on their lives over the past few months. The nurse gave them a gentle nod, and said that someone from the legal department would be by to speak with them and Sara's doctors.