A young nurse entered the room with a bright smile and radiating energy. She greeted Sara's visitors briefly and gestured for them to give her a moment, then turned her attention to the woman resting in the bed.
"Hello Sara, I'm just here to check your vitals. I'm sorry, this might be a bit cold for a moment" she apologised as she slid the stethoscope under the gown carefully. "And we need to check your temperature here. Oh that's looking much better than what we've been seeing! Your oxygen levels are good, your blood pressure is coming up a bit. Now that incision is going to be quite painful for a few days so we've added a low dose painkiller to your IV, but once you're awake we can increase that if need be. You'll be on antibiotics as well to make sure that all that nasty infection is gone. You're doing so much better, Sara! I hope you'll be awake soon. You've got three friends here right now. Now let me guess, I'm thinking the lovely blonde lady must be a model. Your sister perhaps? I don't see much family resemblance though. So a good friend I'd guess. And then there's the lovely gentleman who was sitting on the cot. From what I hear he's hardly left you. Now I know he isn't your father but I bet he acts like it at times. He seems quite concerned about you, dear. He looks like he may end up earning himself a bed here soon if he doesn't take care of himself. And then we've got the handsome gentleman waiting near the blonde lady. Is he perhaps her husband? No, I don't see any rings, and they look more like friends. Oh I know, they must be friends from college perhaps, or coworkers. I know you've had quite a number of visitors. You have a lovely collection of flowers here. I'm sure you'll be so pleased to see them when you wake up. You must be very well loved, Sara. I do hope you're feeling well enough to come back to us soon. But I'd best be getting on to see my next patient. Now if you need anything, you have one of those lovely visitors come get me, or push the call button. We've got it hooked on the bed right near your hand so you can grab it when you wake. Rest well for now, dear." The nurse gently readjusted Sara's covers and tucked her in carefully before leaving the room. Nick, Brass and Catherine just stared at each other in silence for a few moments before they all started to laugh.
"Well, she's obviously new to the job." Brass said.
"I guess we all start out young and eager like that before we become old and jaded." was Catherine's response. "So what do you think, Nicky. Do we make a good couple?" Nick snorted.
"Sorry Cath, but I know I'm not your type." He answered. "But the nurse was on to something. Sara is looking a bit better, isn't she? I mean, she's less grey than she was when I found her. And she doesn't look so... frail." He smiled briefly. "Maybe things will be ok?"
"She'll come back to us. I'm sure of it." Catherine agreed. "But for now, I'm gonna head out. I'll be back in the morning, hopefully with an update on Grissom's itinerary. Brass, you heading in? I can walk you out."
"No, I called in today. You and the nurse were right, I probably need some rest." He said, not admitting that there was no way he could focus on work with the weight he was now bearing. "Nick and I are good here for now, then I might go home and try to get some rest." Catherine raised an eyebrow at him, surprised.
"OK then, I'll see you boys in the morning. Call me if anything changes." Catherine insisted as she waved and left.
Grissom woke to the alarms on the boat going off. He didn't remember falling asleep, but he still held the ceramic bee to his chest. Quickly he stood, placing it gently in the centre of the bed, and going to check what was happening. Several hours must have passed because his migraine had eased, and the screen he was looking at indicated another boat was approaching. He went outside to look around, and saw the Ishmael's twin craft on it's way. The Moby was run by the old sailor who had trained him. Grissom sighed with relief - his work so far would not be in vain, and he knew he could trust the Moby's captain to continue his work. When the two boats were close enough, Grissom tossed a rope across and they were quickly tied together. He passed off copies of all the evidence he had gathered and updated his mentor on what he had observed. An hour later, the Moby was off to pick up where he had left off.
Right behind him, another craft approached. This one was a small tender from a larger ship. Friends from their group had arrived and would bring the Ishmael back home, while Grissom was to take the return tender to the larger faster ship to be rushed back to Vegas. He was reluctant to leave - still unsure Sara would want or need him there at all. But he also knew Catherine wasn't taking no for an answer, and if he didn't head back now then she would likely have the FBI track him down and bring him back in cuffs if he didn't cooperate. He heaved a sigh as he collected his things - gently placing the fragile urn in the centre of his backpack, wrapped in a soft sweatshirt. He wished his friends well with their voyage back to Mexico, and boarded the tender with a sealed crate of evidence and two bags of his belongings. He was on his way back to a sick Sara, and an angry group of friends awaited him.