AN: Sara's been rescued, but Lurie's still out there, so this story isn't over yet… hope you like this chapter!

Thanks to WalkerTRngr for the beta help!

Disclaimer: I don't own anything relating to CSI

Chapter 7

Filling out the necessary paperwork doesn't take long, and then all Grissom can do is wait. The waiting room is fairly quiet, and he leans against the wall and closes his eyes. He can't stop the images of Sara's injuries from flashing through his mind, though, so with a sigh, he opens them again and looks around for something to keep himself occupied.

When Catherine slides into the uncomfortable plastic chair next to him some time later, he's flipped through half of an old copy of Time, not having read a single word.

"Any news?"

He shakes his head with a sigh. "Nothing since we got here. I don't know if she's still with the doctors or if that CSI from dayshift is…" He trails off, not wanting to think about some faceless woman processing his Sara – collecting fingernail scrapings, photographing the marks on her skin…

Catherine's hand covers his. "She's going to be fine."

"Physically, maybe, but emotionally… how do you get through something like that?"

"With a lot of support from the people who love you," she tells him gently. "Which Sara will have. She's strong, Gil. But she's going to need all of us. Including you. Especially you."

Like he could be anywhere else.

"Have you heard from Jim? Have they brought Lurie in?"

Catherine's expression says it all. "No. Police were at Desert Palm within ten minutes of us finding her, and at his house, but he hasn't been seen in either location. The APB hasn't turned up anything either… I don't know if someone tipped him off or something, but he seems to know we're looking for him."

"Damn it!"

"Every law enforcement agency in the state is on the lookout – we will find him," she vows, voice steely. "In the meantime, Cavallo has given the whole graveyard shift the next few days off, said not to show our faces until Monday."

The compassion from the man is surprising, but welcome.

"Good. I don't know if they're planning on keeping her here, but if they do, I doubt it'll be for more than overnight observation, and she's not going to be on her own as long as that bastard's still walking the streets."

Catherine sighs. "Yeah, the boys were saying the same thing before I left the lab, so we can take shifts."

He doesn't object to that, even though he has no intention of letting Sara out of his sight any time soon.

"Dr. Grissom?"

He looks up at the voice, finding a vaguely familiar woman in front of him. "Yes?"

"Sofia Curtis," she introduces herself, holding out a hand, which he shakes as he connects the dots. "I've just finished processing the vic… CSI Sidle. She hasn't woken up, but the nurse said you could see her, if you wanted to. Room 412 down the hall to your right."

He jumps to his feet immediately. "Thank you."

Despite hurrying, he still catches Catherine's question about the woman's findings and the beginning of her response.

"Severe abrasions on the right wrist, I understand she was handcuffed, so I would assume she was trying to get free. Cut lip, left side of the face swollen and starting to bruise, consistent with a blow. Bruises from what looks like fingers around the throat, most likely from either a strangulation attempt or perhaps a way to subdue her, I would imagine she would fight back. Ligature marks on her left wrist and both ankles, possibly indicating she was restrained with more than the single handcuff at some point, and bruises on the inside of her thighs, which would indicate sexual assault, but…"

He pauses at the door to room 412, showing his ID to the uniform posted outside – and sending a thank you to Jim for his quick thinking. Then he takes a few deep breaths to try to collect himself and quietly enters the room.

She looks so small and frail in the hospital bed, the bruises on her throat standing out even more against the white sheets. Her wrist has been bandaged, and she's still hooked up to an IV-line, oxygen, and a heart rate monitor. He doesn't think he's imagining the beeping being more frequent than it was earlier, and he hopes that means she'll wake up soon.

There's a chair in one corner, and he pulls it up to the right side of the bed, reclaiming the hand he held in the ambulance.

Barely a minute later, the door opens again, and a doctor comes in.

"Hi, I'm Doctor Havers, I'm Miss Sidle's attending physician. Are you next of kin?"

The question makes him realize that they haven't even tried to contact Sara's family to let them know what's happened. He's not even sure who he would be contacting – she's never said anything about her family, beyond a brief mention of a brother, and he knows there's no next of kin noted in her personnel file.

"Yes," he replies. She's obviously not close to her family, and he is her emergency contact – it's a white lie in Sara's best interest. "Have you figured out what was used to sedate her?"

"Propofol. One of the nurses gave the CSI that was here a while ago a blood sample, she said they'd run a more thorough analysis at the lab to see if she's been given anything else, but that was the main sedative. It should work itself out of her system soon, and she'll wake up."

"And what about her injuries?"

The doctor glances at his clipboard. "We've treated the abrasion on her wrist with antibiotic ointment and bandaged it, she'll need to keep it clean and bandaged for the next week or so to prevent infection, but it shouldn't require any further treatment as long as it doesn't get infected. Apart from that, it's mostly bruises, nothing we can do much about… I understand she was held by the kidnapper for a little more than two days?"

Grissom nods. "Yes, she was taken around midnight between Tuesday and Wednesday, and we found her a couple of hours ago. Why?"

The doctor looks slightly uncomfortable. "Well, I'm having a course of PrEP treatment prepared. It's standard procedure for sexual assault victims when we don't know the, uh… the HIV status of the perpetrator. But it has to be started within 72 hours of potential exposure."

"Oh," he replies, blinking rapidly to maintain control.

"I know this can't be easy," Doctor Havers says with a grimace before continuing. "Do you know if she's on any form of birth control? If not, or if she's on the pill and has missed the last few days, we'd want to give her the morning after pill as well."

He looks away from the doctor, seeking out Sara's face, as if it can give him the answer. "I don't, I'm sorry."

The doctor is silent for a moment. "That's fine, it's something she'll have to take herself, so we have to wait until she wakes up anyway, and then she can just tell us."

Grissom nods absentmindedly, rubbing circles against Sara's palm with his thumb. "How long do you think it'll be before she wakes up?"

The doctor sighs. "I can't tell you for sure, since we don't know the dosage or when exactly she was given the sedative."

"We think the… abductor would have left between six and six thirty," Grissom tells him. "He works at Desert Palm and his shift starts at eight. Not that he showed up to work today, but I don't think that was planned, so I would assume he left in time to make it."

"OK, then, assuming that a standard dose of sedative was administered around six this morning, and taking into account the IV the patient has been given… I would say she should wake up within an hour or two. But keep in mind that it's an estimate. I'm not worried about her unconsciousness, so please try not to panic if it's longer than that."

"I understand."

"I need to check on another patient, but someone will be in to check Miss Sidle's vitals every half-hour or so."

"OK, thank you."

The door closes after the doctor, and Grissom lets out a breath as he leans back in the chair, closing his eyes for a moment.

-CSI-

As consciousness slowly returns, Sara makes a mental note to just eat the damn food from now on, because obviously, if Lurie wants to knock her out for most of the day, he'll find a way, and whatever was in that vial is a hundred times worse. Not only does her head feel like it's full of cotton, it's pounding painfully, worse than the worst hangover she can remember from the days in college when she was still trying to fit in with her peers. Plus, her body feels like it weighs about a ton, and her eyelids several pounds each. Trying to force them open feels like an insurmountable task at the moment, so she decides to put it off for now. She can keep working on the stupid bolts later, it's not like her efforts have yielded any results so far.

Thankfully, the heaviness in her body doesn't remain too long, and soon, it feels like she's floating on clouds. Not that she ever has, but it's what she imagines it would feel like. The sun is pleasant on her face, the pillow soft under her cheek, and the beeping sound from somewhere to her left soothing in a way.

Hang on.

Just as her muddled brain starts trying to analyze the beeping sound, there's another sound. Voices.

"Are there any changes in her vitals?"

Grissom. Does that mean they've found her? Or is it her subconscious trying to give her something to hold onto?

"Her heart rate and breathing continue to improve. It should really be just a matter of time before she wakes up. It can be a little disorienting at first, so be prepared if she's confused or afraid, OK? It won't be anything personal."

The second voice is unfamiliar. Female, with a hint of authority in it, but still gentle. Putting together the beeping sound, the talk about heart rate and breathing, and the voice… she must be in the hospital.

Her eyelids still feel heavy, though not as heavy as before, and she manages to force them open a little. Enough to see an IV pole and some other hospital paraphernalia. But not the face she's looking for.

"Griss…" Her mouth feels like sandpaper, and she swallows drily. "Griss…"

"Sara, honey?" Something scrapes against the floor, and then he's in her line of sight, worry evident in his eyes but a smile still on his lips. "Hey, how are you feeling?"

"I'll let the doctor know she's awake," the woman Sara assumes is a nurse says before leaving the room.

She licks her lips. "Thirsty."

"Of course." Grissom disappears for a moment, then returns holding a plastic cup with a straw sticking out of it. He carefully places the straw between her lips. "Not too fast."

She takes a small sip, and then a few more before releasing the straw. "Better."

"Good." The smile fades from his face and she knows what's coming before he opens his mouth. "Do you remember what happened?"

Sara closes her eyes before nodding. "Lurie."

"It's OK, you don't have to talk about it right now," he assures her, and she feels his thumb brush away a tear that must have escaped down her cheek. "Just rest, focus on getting better."

His touch disappears, and she hears him straighten up. "Don't go," she manages to get out, forcing her eyes open again.

Grissom frowns down at her. "No, honey, I'm not going anywhere," he assures her, reaching out to squeeze her hand. "I was just moving back to the chair on the other side of the bed, my knees can't take crouching like that."

"Oh." She feels a little stupid. "Sorry."

"Don't apologize." He smiles at her before moving away again, but a moment later, she feels his hand grasp her right one and slowly turns her head to the other side. "See? I'm right here."

She's not sure why the relief of seeing him settling into the uncomfortable chair is so overwhelming, but she has to swallow down a lump in her throat and can't keep a few tears from trailing down her face.

Grissom immediately frowns and leans in closer. "What's wrong, honey? Are you in pain? Do you want me to get the doctor?"

She shakes her head, squeezing her eyes closed. "I'm fine, I'm sorry, I don't know why I…"

"Hey." He squeezes her hand until she opens her eyes again. "You've just been through something nobody should ever have to endure, so don't you even try to apologize for anything you're feeling, is that clear?"

His voice is gentle, but it's still an obvious order, which makes her smile a little as she nods.

The moment is broken when the door opens again, revealing a tall, blonde man in scrubs. "Miss Sidle, it's good to see you awake." Sara's not sure how to respond to that, so she just offers a small smile as he crosses the room and stops at the side of the bed. "How are you feeling?"

She hesitates for a moment. "Tired. My head feels like it's full of cotton."

"That's completely normal," the doctor assures her as he shines a light in her eyes. "It should pass in the next few hours. Anything else? Nausea, headache, blurred vision?"

"No. Well, a bit of a headache, but it's gotten much better since I woke up."

He nods absentmindedly as he checks the reading on the heart rate monitor. "And you're not having any difficulty breathing or swallowing?"

"No. It was a little hard to swallow at first, but that's because my throat was so dry."

"OK, but let us know if you're experiencing anything out of place. And you've had some water?" She nods. "Good. I think we can remove the heart rate monitor, the catheter, and the oxygen, I'll let a nurse know, but we'll keep you on the IV for a little longer, just to get everything in balance again."

"OK." Sara hadn't even realized she had a catheter, but now that she knows, she can sort of feel a slight discomfort.

The doctor glances at Grissom. "Have you had a chance to talk about anything we discussed earlier?"

Grissom shakes his head. "No."

Looking between them, Sara frowns.

"Now, Miss Sidle…"

"Sara," she interrupts the doctor.

"Sara," he repeats with a smile. "Considering what you've been through in the last couple of days, there are some treatments we would need to get you on. First, I've prepared an initial dose of PrEP treatment, do you know what that is?"

She nods numbly, her mind straying back to a few months ago, to another hospital room with Suzanna Kirkwood asking for an AIDS test.

"Good. I'll ask the nurse to bring you the tablet, and it's good if you can take it as soon as possible. You'll need to take it for 28 days, OK?"

"OK," she replies, feeling Grissom's hand tighten around hers.

"You should get tested for STDs as well, but you can do what with your regular OB eventually. If you're not on any kind of birth control, we can also give you the morning after pill."

She shakes her head. "I have an IUD, so that's not necessary."

"OK, good. I'll let the nurse know." The doctor writes something on his clipboard before looking up at her again. "Do you think you could eat something? How long has it been since you had any food?"

"Um… yesterday morning," she replies. "He… he put something in the food that knocked me out, I refused to eat anything this morning, so he… he injected me instead."

Grissom's grip on her hand is almost painful for a brief moment, then it loosens, and his thumb starts rubbing circles against her skin.

"I'll make sure you get something to eat too then."

"Thank you."

To her surprise, Grissom speaks up before the doctor can leave the room. "Can you make sure you get her something without any meat? She's a vegetarian."

The doctor nods and pushes the door open, leaving them alone again.

"Thank you," Sara says, giving him a smile. "I didn't think to ask."

"Of course."

She hesitates for a moment, but she needs to know. "How did you find me?"

His jaw tenses, briefly enough she would have missed it if she wasn't watching him so intently. "We tracked your phone, it was pinging a cell tower near the property where… where we found you. We had a car that a colleague had let… him borrow on a traffic cam near your apartment that night."

"You didn't get a warrant on that?"

"No. Jim tried, but… We tried to get the car on other cameras, to be able to show that it followed the same route your phone did, but he must have been taking back roads – we couldn't get it anywhere. I think Greg went through every single traffic cam between your apartment and Coyote Springs, but he didn't turn up anything."

"Coyote Springs?"

"That's where we found you. He owns a property out there, but it wasn't registered in his name, some uncle left it to him in a will and he never bothered to change the name on the deed."

"Oh."

"Nick remembered a case where reverse cell tower pinging had been used – looking at all the numbers pinging a tower in a specific time frame, instead of seeing if a certain number pinged it. It took a while to get a warrant, but we did eventually. Around the same time, Catherine and Warrick went out and collected his trash, and in it we found a utility bill for the property. His phone pinging the tower at the same time as yours in combination with the property was finally enough for a warrant." Grissom sighs, leaning his elbows against the bed and raising her hand to his mouth, and she holds her breath as his lips brush against her skin. "We got there as soon as we could, but we should have been there sooner. I'm so sorry we didn't…"

"Hey," Sara interrupts him, turning her hand in his grip to be able to squeeze back. "You did everything you could. I know that. I knew you would find me."

"Did somebody order some lunch?"

They both jump a little at the perky voice and Grissom squeezes her hand one more time before letting it go and leaning back in the chair.

"Thank you," she says as the woman rolls a table over to the bed and sets the tray down on it.

"No problem, sugar. How about we get all this stuff off you first, huh? Easier to eat."

"Yeah, that sounds good."

Grissom's chair scrapes against the floor as he stands. "I'll give you some privacy," he says, smiling down at her. "I need to check in with Jim and Catherine anyway."

She wants to tell him not to go, but she also doesn't want him in the room when her catheter is removed, so she doesn't object.

"I'll be back in a little bit, OK?" he adds before she can ask, then disappears out the door.

The nurse turns to her with a smile when the door's closed. "Well, didn't you just find yourself a real sweetheart! And easy on the eyes, too."

Sara doesn't bother correcting her.

-CSI-

To Grissom's surprise, Catherine is still in the waiting room when he leaves Sara's room. "Hey, I thought you left."

She shrugs. "Lindsey's in school for a few more hours, so I figured I'd stick around for a while. Is Sara awake?"

"Yeah. She's still tired and a little fuzzy, but she seems OK considering."

"Good. Does she remember what happened?"

He frowns. "She remembers… him, but I didn't push her for anything else. She doesn't need to relive all of that right now, it can wait."

"Of course," Catherine agrees with a nod. "Are you planning on staying here, or are you heading out?"

"No," he replies immediately. "I was just… a nurse is with her, removing the oxygen and… other things."

Grissom can tell by the look on her face that she makes the connection. "Ah."

"I was going to call you and Jim, but you saved me a phone call."

"You're welcome." She pauses. "Listen, Sofia went back to the lab with the evidence she collected, but… she didn't do the SAE kit."

"Oh." He doesn't know what else to say – just the words make his head pound.

"She said she wanted to wait until Sara was awake, so she would know what was going on." Catherine sighs. "I don't know if she would prefer it was me or someone else, what do you think?"

Grissom pulls his glasses off and rubs his temple for a moment. "I don't know, Catherine."

"You're not getting another migraine, are you?"

"No," he assures her, forcing a smile. "I'm fine, just…"

"I know." She reaches out to pat him on the arm. "Why don't I go talk to Sara while you call Jim? Sofia left her… things here, so if she's OK with me doing the examination, we'll get it out of the way and if not, I'll call Sofia and she'll come back."

He nods. "OK."

She disappears down the hallway, and he pulls his phone out of his pocket, hitting the speed dial for Jim.

"Brass."

"Jim, any news?" he asks, hoping to distract himself from what will be happening in that hospital room.

The deep sigh over the line tells him everything he needs to know. "Nothing. We've got units at the hospital and both the house in Summerlin and the one out in Coyote Springs, though I doubt he'll return there. He's probably holed up at some off Strip motel or something. But he can't hide forever, we'll find him eventually. How's Sara?"

"She's awake and alert, but still tired. You're not planning on talking to her today, are you?" He hopes his tone of voice discourages the detective if he was thinking about it.

"No, I figure that can wait a day or two," Jim says, to his relief. "Are they keeping her until tomorrow?"

"I don't know yet."

"Well, keep me posted, OK? I sent a uniform over to the hospital, is he there?"

"He is," Grissom confirms.

"If she's discharged, I want someone at her place until we've got this son of a bitch."

"If she's discharged, she won't be going back to her place," he corrects. "She can stay with me until we've got him."

The line is quiet for a long moment. "That works too. But let me know when you leave the hospital either way."

He doesn't particularly like the amused tone of voice. "I will. I need to get back, I told her I wouldn't be gone long. Keep me posted, OK?"

"Will do."