The day seemed to drag on at a snail's pace in Sara's room. Friends took turns sitting with her, holding her hand and chatting. Nurses were in and out, adjusting IV lines and changing bags. An NG tube had been inserted to feed her, and Catherine and Brass both quickly reminded the nurse that Sara was vegetarian, and were reassured that she wouldn't be given any animal products. Greg arrived around dinner time, sending Catherine out to get food and telling Brass he had to shower before work. When Catherine returned, they ate together while chatting quietly about what was new in their lives.

Morgan and Finn arrived a couple hours before they needed to head in to work, with a large toiletry bag in tow.

"I thought Sara might need a spa day." Finn joked as she opened the bag. Catherine's eyes widened.

"You know she'd kill you, right?" She asked.

"Yup, she would. But if she doesn't want pink glittery toenails she'd better wake up and stop me." Finn explained in a sing-song voice, pulling out the nail polish.

"I want in!" Catherine nearly squealed, grabbing the bottle from Finn's hand.

"I think that is our cue to leave" Greg said to Nick, as he got up and made his way to the door. "No way am I having anything to do with that! Catherine's right, Sara would kill me!" Nick nodded in agreement, and left with Greg, deciding to head home and get some rest before work.

Morgan pulled out a hair brush, and carefully began to brush Sara's hair while Finn and Catherine gently uncovered Sara's feet. Over the next 30 minutes, her hands and feet were moisturised, lip balm was applied and toe nails were painted. The three women put Sara's hair in several loose braids to keep it from tangling. Catherine washed her face around the tubes, and gently patted cream on. Finn filed the fingernails that weren't hooked up to monitors. The nurses told them no nail polish could be used on her hands as it would interfere with the pulse oximeter, so they added cuticle oil and left them alone. Morgan pulled out a trashy magazine to read celebrity gossip, despite knowing Sara really couldn't care less. Despite the situation, Catherine enjoyed getting to know Morgan and Finn better, and decided they were a good influence on Sara. She also fully intended to throw Finn under the bus when Sara asked whose idea it had been! Still, she couldn't help but snap a few quick photos of their handiwork.

An hour later, Greg returned with Brass, having met him on his way up. Catherine chatted with her friends for a bit, and then asked Greg if he would mind heading out to grab coffee for them. He gave her a questioning look for a moment, having just returned, but quickly turned and left when she gave him a look. When he had left the room, she leaned forwards towards Brass. He could see she had something to say, so he gestured for her to get on with it.

"Look I know the timing for this sucks. But I've been meaning to talk to you for a while, Jim. You've got to be at the point you're considering retirement, right? I need a head of security at the Eclipse. Could you think about whether you'd consider it? Pay would be significantly better than what you're making now, and your boss would be a lot more fun." She teased. "I need someone I can trust. I'm not in town a lot, and I really want to turn over a new leaf with the casino. It's time to start letting Sam's staff go and replace them with my own. Our current security head is ready to move on. He knows his time is done. And when he leaves, so will a lot of my team, so you could pick anyone you want to work for you. We can get in some young new people for you to train, or you could bring some friends with you. It would be entirely up to you." Brass still had a look of surprise on his face.

"You want me to be your head of security?" He finally asked. "Not someone younger, or someone with more experience in that kind of thing?"

"Honestly, I don't know what I'll do if you say no." Catherine admitted. "It will take years to build up trust with someone new. And I don't have the time to invest in training someone right now. But if you aren't up for it, that's ok. I'd be happy for you to recommend someone, or I can talk to the lab... I might even consider poaching someone from the agency if I have to. But no, I don't want someone else. I want you." Brass leaned back, overwhelmed.

"Yeah, I'll need some time to think." He said quietly. "Things with Ellie, you know. And now Sara, someone's going to have to keep a close eye on her. But I'll think about it." Catherine nodded and pulled a folder out from her bag.

"Here's the legal and financial stuff you'll need to help you make a decision." She said. "Job description, salary, benefits, all that kind of thing. You'd set your own hours, but obviously need to be available for big events, come in for emergencies. I know it's a lot to ask." Brass opened the folder, with his eyes coming to rest on the salary.

"Geez Cath, I think you may have added some extra zeros here."

"No, that's the salary. It's what the current head of security is making plus a ten percent increase. You would be well worth every cent." She said firmly. "Just take some time. Think about it. Talk to a lawyer and an accountant if you need to." He nodded.

"OK, I will. Let's keep this between us for now. But I'm going to hold off on all of that until Sara is better." Catherine nodded.

"I wouldn't expect anything less."

When Greg returned, he could see Catherine was starting to wear out.

"Coffee for everyone!" He joked. "But there's also decaf here because it looks like someone needs to go to bed." He gestured to Catherine. "I've got things here for now. Why don't you two head out. I'll call all of you if anything changes." Catherine stood up, grabbing the decaf he pushed at her.

"I'll do that, Greg. I'll see you tomorrow. Have a good night. And if Sara asks, it was all Finn's doing." she said, gesturing at Sara on the bed. Brass snorted.

"Yeah, I think she will know better." he said, eyeing her. "Go home. Go to bed." He gave her a hug, then gently pushed her towards the door.

"What about you, Brass? Are you going to stay here and watch sleeping beauty with me or are you going to head out?"

"I should probably go check in at work. I'm supposed to be there already, but I've got enough sick days and vacation time saved up that no one will care. Might be a good idea to go follow up on my cases though, make sure no one's screwing them up." He reluctantly stood up, and leaned down to give Sara a gentle kiss on the forehead and patted her shoulder. "Get some rest, Sara. Then come back to us. We've got a lot to talk about." He whispered to her before nodding at Greg one last time and leaving the room.

"Looks like it's just you and me now." Greg told Sara. "And I know you've been dodging my invitations for a while, so we are going to catch up on the movies we've missed. I even brought popcorn!" He said as he whipped out a bag and a laptop. "It's kettle corn, I know it's your favourite! And if you wake up I might even share some." He opened the bag and waved it under her nose. "Now since you can't object, I think we need some nice cheesy old school horror movies." He put his laptop on the table by her bed as he started it up, and put on a movie. "Ah Sara, we could have had a lot of fun dates." He sighed, patting her hand gently, and then he began to narrate everything happening on the screen as he ate his popcorn.

I'll admit I'm not entirely sure where this chapter came from. It just sort of happened? Do people still blame the plot bunnies for running away on them?

Answers will come in time. Please keep leaving reviews, guesses, questions or even just a hello. It keeps me writing.