Grissom returned 20 minutes later with an assortment of bottles in his hands.
"I got your orange juice. And I found that cranberry juice you liked, too. And a few others to try. They're all real juice." He explained, setting them on the table, then turning to find a cup and straw for her. "Which one first?"
"Orange juice." Sara told him with a smile, and he poured a glass of juice, placed the straw in it and then offered it to her. She took the glass carefully with both hands, bringing it to her mouth and taking several big sips before handing it back.
"We should probably buzz the nurse." Catherine realised. "Actually, why don't I go find one?" She stood and quickly left the room, giving Grissom and Sara a few moments alone.
"Thanks. For the juice. And remembering." Sara said awkwardly. Grissom looked at her, puzzled.
"Of course I remembered." He told her. "How are you feeling?"
"A bit better. I want to go home." She told him. "But I'm tired. I might sleep again after the nurse leaves." She told him. "You should go soon, get some rest. Shower, eat, do whatever else you need to do. You don't need to just stay here all the time."
"What if I want to be here?" He asked cautiously, watching her.
"I think you should still go home and sleep. Shower. My keys are around here somewhere if you don't have yours."
"I have mine. But Catherine got me a hotel." He told her and she nodded.
"OK. You can, uh, stay where you're most comfortable. Why don't you go when I go back to sleep. You can come back later or tomorrow if you want." she stumbled over her words. When Catherine and a nurse appeared she tried not to sigh in relief.
"Hi Sara! It's great to see you awake. Catherine said you weren't a fan of the hospital juice so your husband got you something better. If you can manage to keep eating and drinking, we can get that NG tube out soon. No solids today but you can have soup or jello along with your juice. Just let me know if you want me to get you anything." Sara nodded. "Now would it be ok if we spoke on our own?" the nurse asked her, and Catherine escorted Grissom from the room. "Catherine suggested you might want to talk alone. Now that you're more awake, we will be organising more appointments for you with your doctor, a physical therapist, a neurologist and a psychologist. You've had a lot of friends visiting and eager to see you, but if it's overwhelming you can just tell us what you're up for. We can play the bad guys and ask your visitors to leave, including your husband, if you don't feel you can do so yourself. We don't strictly enforce visiting hours but they're there if we need them, and you can always ask for the mid afternoon quiet time to be guest free, or just one person to stay with you. How does that sound?"
"Good." Sara admitted. "I think maybe just one or two visitors at a time, excluding Catherine and Brass. And quiet time sounds good."
"Done, I'll make a note of it in your chart. And tomorrow will be a busy day with appointments. The staff will all be asking your guests to leave when they visit, but you can ask for your friends to stay if that makes you more comfortable. You can also ask to call someone if you like. I know it's all a bit overwhelming at the moment, but I promise we'll have you up and moving and on your way home as quickly as we can. However, in order to do that we need to stay on top of your pain. I can tell it's bothering you but you won't admit it. Since you're more awake, we can try tablets instead of IV meds starting tomorrow as well, but for now I'm going to add some to your IV. I think we can stop the IV fluids now though and we'll check your blood in the morning to see how that goes. Do you have any questions for me?"
"When can I get out of bed?"
"I'll leave that with your physical therapist. You can try sitting up more tonight as long as someone is with you." Sara rolled her eyes. "I know, but you need to start slow. You've got an incision that needs to heal. Anything else?"
"Can we get rid of this thing?" Sara pointed to the NG tube.
"If you're drinking and eating, it can come out in the morning, along with the IV." The nurse smiled as Sara relaxed a bit. "Now why don't you get some rest? I'll send Catherine and your husband back in if you'd like, but then try to sleep."
"OK. I will."
True to her word, Sara was asleep within minutes of Grissom and Catherine returning after making Catherine promise to wake her when people arrived to visit. Grissom watched Sara sleep for nearly an hour while Catherine left to make several calls and coordinate Sara's requests. When she returned, he reluctantly agreed to go back to the hotel for a shower and to try to sleep, as long as Catherine kept him updated. He would return after Sara's visitors had gone off to work, and spend the night in the cot beside her bed if Sara allowed him. He also planned to go shopping to pick up some food and drinks he hoped Sara would enjoy, and he considered if he should go to their home to get her some of her own clothing so she could be comfortable - but he also worried about overstepping. With a sigh, he realised he would just have to ask Sara what she would like, and follow her lead. As he reached the hospital exit and reached into his pocket for his keys, he remembered that he no longer had a vehicle and would need to call for a taxi. As he turned, his phone bleeped in his hand.
Henry is waiting at the main entrance for you with a rental car. Sleep well.