Finn could see that Sara was wearing out, and excused herself to go in early and help DB get a head start on their cases for the evening. Despite her teasing demeanour she was serious as she made Sara promise to call her if she needed anything, and that she would be by to visit again soon. She offered a wave as she walked through the door, and reminded Greg that he needed to leave soon as well. As much as he wanted to stay with Sara, he knew she was wearing out and was only staying awake for him.
"Finn's right, I probably need to head in soon." Greg told Sara. "Can I get you anything before I go? Or anything you want in the morning?"
"No, I'm good. Maybe a smoothie in the morning. Or coffee!"
"No coffee." Catherine told her quickly. "You need to sleep to recover."
"Haven't you guys spent the past week trying to get me to wake up?" Sara asked.
"Ah, but you need balance." Greg teased her, and she sighed.
"Fine, no coffee. A smoothie. And maybe a muffin if I'm allowed to eat."
"Consider it done. But for now, I'm gonna head out. You get some rest, ok?"
"Yeah, I will. Don't have too much fun without me." Sara told him.
"It's not fun when you aren't there." Greg told her as he gave her a quick gentle hug. "So you'd better get well so you can come back soon."
"I'll try." Sara promised with a yawn. "Night, Greg." she told him as he gathered his things. She was asleep before he even left the room.
Catherine sent a message to Nick and Brass, letting them know that Sara was probably too worn out for a visit, and that she would stay with Sara tonight. Brass quickly replied that he would still be coming to see her but wouldn't wake her. Nick said he would wait for the morning unless Sara woke up again soon. Catherine knew they were disappointed, but Sara was exhausted.
Brass arrived a half hour later and quietly entered the room.
"How's she doing?" He asked Catherine quietly.
"I think it's a bit much for her right now." Catherine admitted. "She's putting up a good front, but she's exhausted and sore, and probably a bit overwhelmed."
"Yeah, she's never been one to enjoy being the center of attention." Brass pointed out. "And she doesn't like people to see her as weak. Probably not happy to have her personal life exposed, either."
"I know. She seems ok with having us around though. She let her guard down a bit earlier when Grissom left the room. Said she wasn't sure how she felt about being around him, and asked that we keep guests down to one or two at a time. But you don't count as a guest." Catherine told him with a smile. "It seems like she feels safe when you're around, and she hasn't kicked me out yet. She did send Grissom home earlier though, but I'm sure he will be back sometime soon."
"Well, why don't I stay with her tonight? You go home, get some sleep. She's probably out for the night now anyway."
"Yeah, you may be right. But don't you need to go to work?"
"I can call in for another night. They'll manage without me. Might as well use up some of my vacation time." Brass told her. "And I need to have a chat with Grissom when he comes in."
"That sounds ominous. Just remember, no ass kicking in here. Take it outside." Catherine told him, half teasing.
"No ass kicking. Just a stern talking to." Brass promised.
"OK then. I'll see you tomorrow. Try to get her to drink more juice or soup when she wakes up. And she's got popsicles in the freezer to eat, too. They said they might be able to take out the tube and IV tomorrow and they're going to try to get her up and moving."
"Good. She'll be happy about that." Brass told her, relieved that things were finally progressing. "Lots of fluids. No ass kicking."
"Have a good night. And call me if she needs anything!" Catherine insisted, hesitating to leave.
"Go, Cath, we'll be fine." Brass insisted. Catherine finally packed up her laptop and bag and left with a wave.
"See you in the morning. I'll bring breakfast."
"Well kiddo, just you and me again. But I'm guessing Grissom will be back soon. I hope you're going to get some rest but if I know you, you'll be up again soon. And I hate to admit it but I kinda hope you wake up before your husband comes back. We haven't had a chance to chat yet." Brass told Sara as he made himself comfortable. "I've brought some old case files to go through while you rest though, so don't you feel bad for keeping me from work. And honestly, I probably need the break. I've got more vacation days on the books than I'll ever use. But you know, we need to stop putting work first. Find a way to have a life of some sort, or do something different." He mused, and Catherine's offer days earlier popped into his head. He mentally filed it away as something to talk to Sara about if she needed a distraction. Seeing that she was still soundly asleep, he pulled out a file to review.
Two hours later, Sara began to stir. Brass set aside the file he'd been looking at and watched her. A few minutes later, her eyes opened groggily.
"Hey Sunshine, how are you feeling?" Brass teased her gently.
"Hi Jim. How long have you been here?" She asked.
"A couple hours. I sent Catherine home to sleep and said I'd stay with you."
"You don't have to stay." Sara told him immediately. "I'm ok on my own. Watching me sleep has to be mind numbingly boring."
"I know I don't. But I brought some old case files to go over. And I didn't get a chance to see you earlier."
"Sorry. Everyone visiting was exhausting." Sara apologised.
"It's all good. We'll keep visits shorter then." Brass told her. "People want to see that you're ok. But they can wait."
"I don't get why. It's not like there's anything exciting happening here."
"They're your friends. They care. They were worried about you. But it's ok to tell them you need some time and space. And that goes for Catherine and I, too."
"No, it's ok. You can stay, if you want to." Sara told him.
"Good. Now I've been given strict orders to make sure you drink more fluids. So what will it be? Juice or soup?"
"Some more soup sounds good. And maybe some orange juice." Sara told him, and directed him where to find things.
"The soup is a bit cold. Do you want me to go warm it up?" He asked. "There's a microwave in the patient lounge area."
"Sure. I'll have the juice first then." He poured some into her cup and replaced the straw, then handed it to her.
"I'll be back in a minute. Don't go running off on me." He teased.
"I'm not going anywhere. Thank you." Sara sipped her juice slowly until Brass returned, taking in her surroundings. She noticed for the first time the collection of plants, flowers and cards around the room. She was overwhelmed by the number, wondering how so many people had taken the time and made the effort to send or bring something.
"One bowl of hot soup." Brass said as he entered the room and placed it on the table before swinging it over her carefully. "Now what's the easiest way for you to drink it?" He asked.
"The bowl is fine. Can you pass me the spoon?" Sara asked, pointing at it. She took the spoon and slowly began to feed herself. Brass waited until she set the spoon down and turned the table away from her before he spoke.
"So how are you really doing?" He asked her carefully. "You've had quite the ordeal here. It's a lot. And I know you don't like being the center of attention." Sara sighed.
"It's weird." She finally admitted. "And yeah, I don't love it. The whole recovery thing isn't going to be a picnic either."
"No, but you'll be feeling better than you have in a long while." Brass told her. "This has been going on for a while." She eyed him carefully, debating how to phrase her next question.
"You know, don't you?" She asked flatly.
"Know what?" Brass asked her, uncertain which secret she was referring to. "Nick found the divorce papers when he found you. DB told him to process your house as a crime scene in case foul play was involved. He came across them when he was trying to find your health insurance information."
"So everyone knows about that?" Sara asked, although she was certain she already knew the answer. Brass's nod confirmed her suspicions. "So then why drag him back here? If you all knew that he was done with us?" her voice was a mix of hostility and sadness.
"Honestly, it was the only thing we could think of to do. He still held your medical power of attorney. And you hadn't signed yet, so I guess we just weren't sure what to do. Getting him back here was the best option." Brass admitted, watching her.
"If Nick found that, then he also would have found all the paperwork I had filed with it, that held all the decisions I would have made for myself." Sara countered.
"Yeah... about that. Catherine told him to lose them. When Nick told her what you'd signed, she declared you weren't in your right mind when you signed them and it would be better to intervene and let the lawyers sort it out later than to let them not treat you."
"Figures she would say that. So she trashed them, and dragged Grissom back here against his will?" She asked.
"I wouldn't put it like that, Sara. And I think she made the right call. You're here, you're getting better, and he wants to be here with you. He cried, you know, when he first saw you. Wouldn't stop apologising, said it was all his fault. He still loves you. And he WANTS to be here now. The only reason he hasn't moved into your room already is that you told him to go and he thought that was what you wanted."
"I don't know what I want." Sara admitted. "I just want to go home."
"Then let's just take it one minute at a time. Drink some more juice."