A/N: Another awesome beta by JellybeanChiChi

CHAPTER 25

Grissom quickly glanced up from his cuffed hand, his bloodshot eyes trying to see everywhere at once. The relief of discovering Daniel was safe and well quickly vanished. He felt remorse and humilation that Rory had forced him into a false confession, and he felt enraged his hand was cuffed to the bed. That meant they still considered him a prisoner. Even after his horrendous ordeal, the false notion that he killed Jake still loomed over his head.

Sara watched her husband and could feel his body shaking as emotions consumed him. Large beads of sweat gathered on his forehead and hairline, and trickled down the sides of his face. Dread seemed to close his throat to a pinhole, as he struggled to breathe.

"Gil, it's okay, just breathe, baby," Sara soothed.

But his fear and agitation seemed to increase. "It… It's not okay!" Grissom snapped as he turned his bloodshot gaze to Sara. "I need... need to know... Rory… where is Rory?"

"Gil..."

"Don't Gil me. Please… I… I have… to kn-know!" Grissom urged desperately. "Daniel's safe… you showed me… but if Rory is out there… for h-how long is he… he safe? How… how long are you safe?"

Sara's eyes widened. She was so focused on Grissom's condition that she never realized the nightmare they'd gone through the previous year still wasn't over. Initially she thought the armed guard outside her husband's room was there as means of protection. But that wasn't even the case. He was there to make sure Grissom didn't escape.

Even if he was there for protection, deep down Sara knew if Rory wanted to get to Gil, an armed guard wouldn't stop him. He'd already proven that prison couldn't stop him.

It crossed her mind to lie to him, simply to calm his fears, but she quickly dismissed the idea. He'd been through too much already, and keeping the truth from him, however well intended, wasn't the ideal solution.

She his held hand tightly in hers and ran her other hand gently over his forearm. "I'm sorry, sweetheart," Sara answered in a gentle tone. "Rory wasn't at the warehouse when you were found."

Grissom closed his eyes as his chest rose rapidly. His hands were clenched so hard his his knuckles were white. The heart monitor gave a warning beep as his heart rate rose.

"Gil, you have to calm down, honey," Sara attempted to soothe him once more. "Just take a breath, honey."

Grissom shook his head, his face an agony of despair. "H-Hobson. Where is he?!"

"We don't know, honey…"

"He was there t-too! H-he's in on this."

Sara nodded her head. "We used a GPS tracker on his car to find you. We don't know how much, Hobson is involved in this, but…"

"He-He watched…" Grissom's voice broke and drifted off as his face crumpled.

Sara had to swallow a lump in her throat. She didn't want to ask him to continue talking, but she did. "What do you mean? He watched what?"

"He… he watched him… He… watched Rory…" He couldn't say it out loud how the man who was supposed to help watched him be tortured. "He-he's helping Rory..."

"They're working to find him…"

"Don't you get it?!" His frightened tears filled his eyes. "Without him, I-I can't prove that I'm innocent!" He tugged with frustration at his cuffed hand. He bit back a sob. "I-I didn't kill J-Jake and-and Hobson's in on it!"

"I believe you, Gil, and so does Wilbur Jacobsen. He's working on the case now."

Grissom remained doubtful and he shook his head. His features were drawn and pinched, with severe pain. He turned his head slightly as a nurse entered the room. With his head turned, Sara noticed evenly-spaced, finger-like bruises on his throat.

His eyes met her and she pushed away her distress to offer a soft smile. It wasn't his fault that he looked so hurt and in so much pain. It wasn't his fault that people inflicted pain upon him while others watched. It wasn't his fault that someone strangled his neck enough to bruise him.

So her anger needed to be displaced for now.

Sara gave the nurse room to work. "Hi. I'm Sara."

"Hi Sara, I'm Monica. I'm on shift right now. Wrote my name on the board over there," she said as she pointed to a dry erase board by the door. "The doctor prescribed medication to help with pain and sleep so …"

"Can't I stay a little longer?" Sara asked, glancing at her husband reluctant to leave him after the amount of time they'd been separated.

"The medication will help him get to sleep, and that's what he needs," the nurse said sympathetically with a smile. "Don't worry. We'll take good care of him. And you'll be able to visit him again, tomorrow."

Sara sighed and acquiesced. Betty agreed to take Daniel overnight so that Sara could find a room near the hospital to stay over night. She rose to her feet and placed a gentle kiss on Grissom's hair, the one place that she hoped wouldn't hurt him. She gave his hand another gentle squeeze as she whispered, "I love you, baby."

Although the nurse was going to work on the IV, she took a look at the soiled bandages on his wrist. Those damn cuffs, she thought, as she noticed the swelling on his cuffed hand made his injury look more painful.

Although the guard outside the door had the key, she paged the doctor to ask a question of her.

Once she left Grissom's room, Sara started a to-do list in her head, if anything to get her mind of leaving Gil. She needed to find a place to sleep for the night, which shouldn't be too difficult, and then she need to give Betty an update.

But the top of her list was contacting Jacobsen, and she didn't want until she found a hotel or motel room to do that. With three different family waiting areas on the floors, she was sure she could find an empty space to make a private phone call, so Sara made her way to one of the areas.

When she got to the first area, there was a singular person sitting in a chair. Seeing who it was, she approached him instead of going to another room.

And while a smile formed on his face as she came near, it quickly dissipated when he pushed him hard in the chest.

"That asshole watched Gil get tortured and did nothing about it!" Sara screamed as she once again pushed Wilbur Jacobsen in the chest. "And it was you who put him on the case! How could you do that?!"

While Jacobsen was initially caught off guard, he took a slight step back and put his hands up in surrender. "Sara, please. Let's sit down and talk."

Sara was about to push the lawyer again, but stopped herself. Her hand shook as she pulled her arm back and she closed her eyes to concentrate on calming herself.

Once she opened her eyes, Jacobsen met her gaze and nodded his head towards the chairs. They sat in compatible silence until Jacobsen spoke. "Gil mentioned you could take care of yourself. He wasn't kidding."

He offered her a wane smile, which make her face break slightly. "Yeah. Well. I guess I should apologize…"

Jacobsen cut her off. "Not in the least. You have no reason to apologize to me, Sara. You can't be expected to be without any anger. I'm sorry for what Hobson did to Gil and to you. I could never imagine watching one human being beating another, but both you and I know that people are capable of doing unspeakable things in desperate situations… and sometimes not so desperate."

Sara sighed. "Yeah. We do." She stood up and paced for a moment but sat back down when she realized something. "What are you doing here? I was just going to call you but I didn't expect you to come all the way here."

"I was worried about Gil and about you, and I also wanted to get some information from the attending doctor," he said. "How is Gil? I know seeing him is out of the question…"

"They kicked me out of his room for the night. He's not doing well," Sara said, recounting what little Grissom had told her while she was in the room. "He's hurt and really disoriented. He has one hand cuffed to the bed. He knows he's going back to prison, and I'm worried they'll rush him out of here before he's had enough care."

"That's why I wanted to talk with the doctor," Jacobsen said. "After what he's been through prison should not be a consideration. I petitioned for a new bail hearing, which got scheduled in Judge Carrigan's chambers tomorrow. I want the doctor's opinion on his infirmary care at the prison along to evaluate whether his injuries now can be properly cared for in a security facility."

"How can he be safe in any prison?" Sara asked. "Doesn't the breakout prove that he isn't safe anywhere?"

"That and the beatings he suffered in prison…" Jacobsen regretted letting the fact slip, but Sara deserved to know everything that happened. He retrieved a file folder from his briefcase and handed it to Sara. "I'm sorry, Sara. I know you didn't know about everything that happened, but Gil didn't want you to know. This is documentation Hobson collected from the prison — incidence reports and infirmary notes. You're welcome to read them over."

Sara snatched them out of the lawyer's hand before he could change his mind. Her face bore a fresh intensity as she flipped through the pages. She finished, and bit her lip as she closed the file. "At least Hobson did something right by securing this information."

"That's true. But Hobson's disappearance is not acceptable. My private detective is working hard to find him. We're not giving up on that," Jacobsen said, putting a hand on Sara's forearm. "Are you alright?"

She looked at him. "No." She stood up again. "He can't go back to any prison, Mr. Jacobsen."

"Call me Wilbur, please," Jacobsen said as he grabbed his briefcase and stood up. "Would you mind escorting me into ICU so we might find the doctor? I have a feeling they might not say no to you."

Knowing he was making light of her pushing him, she smiled. "If you think it will help."

"I do, Sara. We need all the help we can get so Gil doesn't have to spend another night in jail."

Fortunately for Sara and Jacobsen, they saw Dr. Tanner almost immediately after being allowed into the intensive care unit. She was standing at the nurses' station speaking with about four staffers, and when one noticed Sara walking down the hall, all of them turned to watch her as she approached.

It scared Sara. Did something happen to Grissom?

"Hi Dr. Tanner," Sara started congenially, trying not to see nervous. "I'm … I don't know if you remember me, but I'm Gil's wife…"

"Of course, Mrs. Grissom. We were actually just talking about your husband."

"Is something wrong? Is he OK?"

"No. We've given him painkillers and a sedative so he is resting," Dr. Tanner said. "I hope you and your friend weren't looking for an opportunity to see him…"

"Actually we were here to see you, myself in particular," Jacobsen said. "My name is Wilbur Jacobsen. I am Mr. Grissom's attorney, and I have a critical judicial consideration tomorrow concerning his case and I was hoping to perhaps bend you ear a bit about his medical condition. It's particularly relative to my argument on his behalf."

Dr. Tanner looked at her watch. "I might have about five minutes to spare. Let's go into the office over here and talk."

The office was a small alcove that had a door, there was a desk and chair for the doctor and one extra for a visitor. Jacobsen pulled out the chair so Sara could sit down. "I don't know if you are totally aware of Mr. Grissom's situation vis a vie law enforcement."

"Well, according to the guard outside his door, Mr. Grissom is a murderer who escaped prison."

"Actually Mr. Grissom is suspected of a crime, but has not be tried and convicted. While I could tell you he did not commit the crime, it is inconsequential because the care you offer would be no different if he was indeed a murderer or not."

Dr. Tanner leaned back. "Do no harm is an important part of my job. Which is why I took off Mr. Grissom's handcuff."

"You did?" The pronouncement surprised Sara.

"It was necessary," Dr. Tanner said. "When he had his episode when he was disoriented and concerned over your son, he yanked his arm so much it did further damage to his wrists. The swelling was considerable and it was actually a bit difficult to get the cuff off."

"The officer allowed you to remove the cuff?" Sara asked.

Dr. Tanner smiled. "My hospital. My rules. If his superior has a problem with it, he can talk with me. But I wasn't going to risk him having another episode and breaking his wrist, causing an infection or even pulling his shoulder out."

"Thank you, doctor," Sara said sincerely. "That means a lot."

"There are other protocols to make sure he doesn't leave his bed, including bed alarms, which we placed under his neck and back," the doctor said. "Besides, with that knee of his, he won't get far if he could even get out of the bed."

"You bring up a concern that I wanted your opinion," Jacobsen said, referring to the folder he had already shown Sara. "In the past six weeks, Mr. Grissom has suffered several incidences from beatings within the prison, the bus accident that caused the breakout — or as I refer to as a kidnapping where he was abused for three days."

Jacobsen handed the doctor the files Hobson secured. "If you could view these and offer an opinion as to whether Mr. Grissom received appropriate care and whether you think the prison system would be able to care for him once he leaves here, I would appreciate it."

The two hospital outsiders kept quiet and patient as Dr. Tanner stopped several times to flip back a page she had already viewed. The notes included what the infirmary technicians offered in prison, but also the transcribed accounts Grissom gave to Hobson about the beatings. Sara noticed how the doctor didn't glance at the notes; she studied them, critically.

She put the papers down, and retrieved a pad and pen for her own notes. "I am going to have further scans done on Mr. Grissom to get a more critical look at his knee and head injuries."

Jacobsen took out a small notebook and pen of his own. "What is your opinion about the infirmary care?"

"Bare minimum," Dr. Tanner said. "No more than an x-ray for an evaluation for a beating that he chronicled… twice. It's actually ludicrous."

"How would you feel discharging him here to the prison environment?"

Dr. Tanner shook her head. "By your account here, Mr. Grissom was a target in prison. He has strangulation marks on his neck, which simply doesn't happen in a bus accident, and when I asked him what happened to his wrists he told me they were shackled above his head for days."

"It's not a clear cut story as the guard might have presented it to be," Jacobsen said.

"Clearly," Dr. Tanner said. "But all that is not my business. The bottom line is the care he receives here is to ensure there is no infection and that he heals properly once he leaves. However, if he simply returns to a violent environment where he incurs more abuse and little care, especially in terms of another head injury or another injury to his leg, he will be in much worse shape than he is now. And that is saying something."