Sara began to stir shortly after Brass made the connection between her miscarriage and the McKeen situation. He and Grissom silently agreed to cease their conversation as they watched her wake up.
"Good morning there, Sunshine." Brass said as she opened her eyes. Grissom hesitated before he also spoke.
"Hi Sara." He said quietly, watching her closely. If she objected to his presence, there was no sign of it.
"Morning." She mumbled as she stretched. "Call the nurse?" she asked as she became more awake.
"Are you ok? Are you in pain?" Grissom asked, concerned.
"I want these tubes gone." She told him firmly as she worked to sit upright. Grissom and Brass both smiled and Brass reached out to help steady her.
"They said sometime today. Not the crack of dawn." Brass teased her gently as Grissom stood to go find a nurse. "How are you feeling?" he asked when Grissom left the room.
"Like I want to go home." Sara told him. "I feel better. I don't need to be in a hospital."
"Well that's up to the doctors to decide." Brass told her. "Do you want something to drink?"
"I want food." Sara insisted. "Real food. And I want my own clothes. And a shower."
"We'll see what the nurse says. How are you really feeling?" Brass asked. Sara sighed as she searched for the right answer. Before she could reply, Grissom had returned with a nurse.
"So I hear you're anxious to get rid of those tubes?" The nurse asked her.
"Yes." Sara answered simply but firmly. "I've been drinking fine, and I want to eat. I don't need these." She gestured to the IV and NG tube.
"Let's start with breakfast then and see how you go. After you've seen the doctor, we should be able to rid you of most of this. A physical therapist is scheduled to come see you later this morning to get you up and out of bed. How does that sound?"
"Good." Sara told her. "When can I go home?" Grissom and Brass exchanged a look behind her.
"One step at a time. Let's wait and see how you go with eating and standing first." The nurse cautioned her. "But you look like you're recovering well so hopefully it won't be too long." Sara nodded.
"When's breakfast?" Sara asked, eager to get started on anything that would put her closer to discharge.
"Another hour or so. But I can get you some crackers to try for now." Sara nodded. "OK, I'll quickly speak to the on call doctor and be back soon with some crackers for you."
"Why don't you have some more juice while you wait." Grissom suggested gently, surprised when she reached her hand out to take the offered cup. She was able to drink more easily than the previous night, with steady hands holding the cup. Grissom hovered nearby in case she needed help, but she simply handed him the glass when she was finished.
"So what is it you want to eat?" Brass asked. "After your crackers."
"Fruit. With some yoghurt and granola. And I asked Greg to bring me a muffin when he visits. Actually, pizza sounds really good too."
"I think that can be arranged." Brass told her, smiling. "It's good to see you hungry again."
"I guess I haven't had much appetite for a while." She admitted with a shrug. "I tend to forget to eat when we're working a lot."
"I don't think anyone is going to let you forget to eat for a while." Brass pointed out. "Everyone is going to be plying you with food once you're back." and Sara groaned covering her face with one hand, thinking of the humiliation of everyone worrying she couldn't take care of herself.
"It's ok, Sara. They care. They aren't going to treat you like a child." Grissom promised her quietly.
"And think of how much money you'll save on food." Brass added.
"Greg said he would even share his coffee." Grissom told her.
"That might actually make it worth it." She said. "The coffee in the breakroom has gotten even worse if that's possible." The nurse returned and knocked on the door for a second before coming in.
"No coffee for you yet. But I do have some crackers and cheese for you to try, and a meal replacement drink to go with it. Dr. Mark said that we can remove the NG tube if you can keep this down. The IV will need to stay until this afternoon when you finish your course of antibiotics." Sara reached for the offered food and drink.
"Thank you." She said as she opened the first small package of crackers and a single slice of cheese, expecting the nurse to leave. Instead, she waited and watched as Sara ate the first cracker with a small sigh of happiness, and grinned.
"I love watching my patients have that first bite of food." She told them. "Eat up, ring the bell if you feel sick. I'll be back to check on you when breakfast arrives." and she left. Sara quickly finished the first package of crackers and opened a second and third along with two more small pieces of cheese, which she quickly ate before eyeing the pinkish liquid that the nurse had left. She sniffed it and made a face. Brass and Grissom followed suit and sniffed it as well.
"That smells like it came out of autopsy." Brass said. "And what's with the colour?"
"I think it's supposed to be strawberry flavoured." Grissom suggested. "It doesn't quite smell like autopsy. More like something from Hodges' lab?"
"Do they seriously expect me to drink that?" Sara asked as she swirled the cup. "She can't be serious, right? It smells... chemically. How is that healthy?" The three exchanged looks, sniffing the pink drink again.
"Maybe it tastes better than it smells?" Grissom told her. "Why don't you try a sip?" Sara shoved the cup at him.
"You try it first." She told him and he shook his head. Brass started laughing quietly at the two of them.
"Maybe you'd like to try it, Jim?" Grissom said, seeing his friend's laughter.
"Nope, I'm good." He answered. Sara picked it up as if to drink it but then quickly set it down and pressed the nurse call button. When the nurse returned, she found the three of them staring at the cup with no one touching it.
"What IS that?" Sara asked her, pointing at the offending drink.
"It's a meal replacement." The nurse explained. "I think it's strawberry flavoured."
"Have you smelled it?" Sara asked and the nurse shook her head. "It smells like something I'd work with in the lab."
"Hmm." she said, and picked up the cup to sniff then nearly gagged. "You know what, maybe we should try a different one. Do you want vanilla, caramel or chocolate?"
"Which smells the least disgusting?" Sara asked, unimpressed.
"I think the vanilla one might be safest." She suggested and Sara shrugged. "I'll grab one of each for you." she left and returned a moment later empty handed.
"So... we might skip the meal replacement. Breakfast should be up soon. Can I get you anything else to eat or drink for now?"