A/N: Hey everyone :) Next chapter is here. Thank you to those who have left me a review. Very happy you are enjoying the story.
A huge thank you to my current supporters – Nat, Mrs Crabby, Dbackfan, AliceC, ChristineS, Jillian, IngridT, Tracer85, NiniZ, Jamie M, NancyB and Lottie.
Always, thank you to calim for the beta, suggestions and friendship :)
Let's see how Grissom is doing. On we go…
Chapter 32
As they walked down the long corridor inside the recovery ward, Sara couldn't help but look in each room they passed. All had open doors and glass windows, medical staff moving in and out checking on patients. It was oddly quiet despite the amount of activity in the area. That reminded her of Natalie and that after she'd woken from surgery she'd been put into a ward like this.
Trying to brush off that thought she looked at the doctor as they walked.
"How long will he be in trauma for?" she asked.
"At the moment he's under constant supervision," Doctor Aziz told her. "And he will remain here until we are satisfied his blood levels are back to being sufficient and his blood pressure has risen." His head tipped her way. "So, likely it will be early this evening."
Sara nodded as they continued walking until they reached a room with a label on the window by the open door.
'Grissom. GSW. ABT. –BP. 30/240 minutes.'
She knew what GSW and BP was but wasn't so sure about the rest.
"What does all that mean?" she asked as she pointed to the information.
"That the patient has a gunshot wound and low blood pressure. Currently undertaking an allogenic blood transfusion and needs to have checks at least every 30 minutes for the next four hours. It makes for much quicker treatment if required."
Sara nodded not really taking in the information.
He smiled at her. "Let's see how he's doing."
Sara followed the doctor into the room watching as a nurse folded up a blood pressure cuff then stepped toward them, revealing Grissom in the bed behind her. Nothing can ever prepare you for that moment.
He was sitting up at about a 45-degree angle, a bedsheet covering his legs. His upper half was exposed, and his hands were resting on his abdomen. As she stepped closer, her gaze focused on the white dressing just below his left shoulder. No doubt there was a similar covering on his back.
Her gaze lifted to his face. He looked pale, very pale and the cannula affixed to his nostrils looked almost too big. It wasn't. She knew her mind was playing tricks given her state of mind at that point.
Things just felt hazy. Even more so when she saw the IV followed by the blood bag hanging to his left. She swallowed, head shaking a little.
'Focus on him, Sara' went through her mind so she did.
Reaching out, her hand very softly clasped onto his arm as it lay beside him. His skin felt cold and slightly clammy which was a surprise because it was pretty warm in there.
"He feels cold," she said.
"That's just because his body is recovering from shock," Aziz told her. "Blood loss, low blood pressure all accumulate to this. He should start to get some heat and color back in the next few hours."
Letting out a breath, Sara closed her eyes, her hand tightening just a little upon him as if she was willing the heat from her own body to pass through him. Unlikely but wishful thinking. She'd take any positive thoughts at that point in time.
When her eyes opened she noticed the nurse had gone.
"You haven't mentioned surgery," she said, head turning to the doctor. "Is he going to need it?"
"No," the doctor said folding his arms. "It was a very clean shot and, thankfully, no shrapnel has remained in the body. Surgery is usually required if the bullet or fragments are still internal, or it hits a life-threatening organ or artery."
"Is there a risk his wound will start bleeding again?"
The doctor smiled and picked up a chair, placing it next to Sara.
"Why don't you sit with him and relax for a little while. We can talk later when we know more. Hopefully, his condition will improve, and we won't need to discuss negative options."
Sara nodded. "Okay."
She could certainly live without any more negativity.
"I'll be back in a little while but he'll be monitored constantly. Shout out for the nurses if you need anything."
"I will," Sara agreed. "Thank you, Doctor."
He smiled again. "That's why we're here."
She watched as he walked away then grabbed the chair, moving it as close to the bed as she could, sitting at his right side so she could take his hand. Doing just that, she gently encased her fingers around his, lifting her free hand to whisk through his hair.
"Do you know how worried you had me?" she said quietly. "I don't want you ever doing that again, Mr. Grissom. Do you understand me? I couldn't carry on without you, Gil."
Feeling a light pressure on her hand, her eyes sprang to it to see his fingers tightening upon hers and her attention shot to his face. Holding her breath, her heart thudded in her chest as she waited. Then his eyelids twitched right before they slowly opened.
Watching him open and close his eyes several times, blinking over and over, Sara patiently waited until he seemed to focus, and his head slowly tipped her way.
"Hey," she whispered, a faint smile following.
Another long blink came, his nose twitching sensing the cannula.
"Hey," he said back, his voice sounding deep and groggy before he attempted to clear his throat.
Sara's smile grew, fingers whisking through his fringe. But then her smile faltered as he moved a bit, and her arm quickly dropped over him.
"Try not to move," she urged softly. "You should keep still for now."
Catching sight of the white dressing on his shoulder, he frowned.
"What… happened?" he asked as he looked at her. "Where… am I?"
Nipping her lip, she retook his hand. "What do you remember?"
His brow furrowed again, eyelids blinking again and again. "Um, leaving the… hotel. That's it."
"Nothing after that?"
As he shook his head, Sara took a breath. "Someone shot you."
There. She said it. No point sugar coating it or lying about it.
His eyes widened and he let out a single cough. "Shot?"
Her hand tightened on his. "Yeah. It came out of nowhere. We couldn't do anything about it."
With his eyelids growing heavy again, his head tipped away from Sara so he could look around, immediately noticing the equipment by the bedside.
"Did… we catch who did it?" he asked sheepishly, head flopping back her way.
"No," she admitted. "We don't know who is responsible. Yet anyway."
Inhaling deeply, Grissom fought to keep his eyes open. "I think… we do know."
Sara managed a smile. His brain was still working fine and, yes, they did know. Well, technically. Sadly, the person they knew it was, they were yet to discover.
"How… bad is it?"
Hearing his words now slurring, Sara lifted a hand to his face and tenderly cupped his cheek, brushing her thumb back and forth.
"Why don't you sleep some more. You need to rest. We can talk more when you're feeling stronger."
His eyes closed, his fingers now clinging a little tighter to his wife's.
"Are… you staying?" he whispered.
Getting up, Sara leaned over and kissed his forehead. "I'm not going anywhere. I'll be right here when you wake up."
CSICSICSICSICSICSICSI
Parking outside the crime scene tape, Catherine looked around as she got out of her car. A huge portion of the parking lot had been sealed off keeping the onlookers back as they tried to get a peek at what was going on.
Walking around the tape to get closer to the spot where Grissom was shot, she stopped when she observed an argument between a rather large, angry looking male and a cop.
"What do you expect me to do, huh!?" the man shouted. "My car is in there and I just lost all my money. Sadly, I don't have a magical flying carpet that's going to take me home!"
"I'm sorry, sir," the cop apologized. "This is an active crime scene and anything beyond the tape could be critical evidence."
The man rolled his eyes. "My 2001 station wagon is critical evidence?"
Blowing out a breath, Catherine approached them. This may be a crime scene but it was still her land and property, so it was time to diffuse this before it got out of control.
"Excuse me," she interrupted and the man sharply turned to her, looking at her badge as she held it up. "Catherine Willows, crime lab. Do we have a problem here?"
"Yeah," the man confirmed. "I need my car."
Putting her case down, Catherine considered the options here.
"Well, a CSI was shot, and we have a stray bullet which could be anywhere. Even stuck inside your car. It wouldn't make us very good at our job if we just let you drive that evidence away now would we?"
He sighed looking sorry for himself. "I guess not. Sorry, it's just been a bad night and I have no way to get home."
"Do you come here a lot?" she asked.
"Every damn day," the man cussed. "And I usually leave broke."
Feeling sympathy for the man, Catherine took out her cell.
"Well, as a loyal customer to The Eclipse, I'll get a cab here to take you home. But it's up to you to get back here to collect your car when the scene is released which likely won't be for a few days."
The man blinked at her. "Oh," he said surprised. "Errr, thanks."
Catherine nodded. "What's your name?"
"Martin."
"Okay, Martin." Catherine pointed over to the front of the hotel. "If you wait outside the front of reception, I have them come collect you there."
"Thank you," he said with appreciation. "Maybe ask the hotel for a job, Miss Crime lab. Best service I've ever had."
Smirking, Catherine pulled up the number for reception. "Oh, I don't think they'd hire me. Too much of a wildcat apparently."
He laughed. "I bet. Thanks again."
Catherine smiled as she watched him walk away, informed reception what she needed, then pocketed her phone. Ducking under the crime tape, she spied Max across the lot and headed her way.
CSICSICSICSICSICSICSI
Eyes flicking between the bed and her phone, Sara typed a text to Catherine.
'He's doing okay. Thank God. Very weak and sleeping but he did wake up for a few minutes. He shouldn't need surgery. Will call you later xx'
After hitting send, Sara heard someone enter and looked over her shoulder to see a nurse.
"How are you doing, Sara?" she asked, moving around the bed to check Grissom's IV and the blood bag.
"I'm all right, thank you." Sara nodded at Grissom. "He just woke up. About five minutes ago. Not for long though."
The nurse nodded. "That will likely happen a lot for the first few hours until he gets some energy back. Just be patient with him."
"I will be," Sara said softly, her eyes narrowing in on the bag of blood. "How long will that take to go through?"
"The whole bag takes about four hours and were just over a third down."
Nodding her understanding, Sara's focus returned to her husband as he slept.
The nurse smiled. "Can I get you anything to drink when I'm done here? You must be feeling pretty thirsty."
"Yeah a bit," Sara admitted. Likely due to the heat in there. "Some water would be great."
"I'll bring you some."
Sara nodded. "Thank you."
CSICSICSICSICSICSICSI
"Max!" Catherine called as she neared, seeing the director pointing something out to an officer.
Turning, Max spotted her colleague and moved towards her.
"Hey," she greeted. "How's Gil?"
Catherine waved her phone through the air. "Sara kicked me out, but she just sent me a text. It's good news. Not a lot of info but he should be okay. She's going to call in a little while."
Blowing out a huge sigh of relief, Max thrust fists into her hips. "Thank God."
"Yeah," Catherine agreed. "I think we were all very much on edge there for a while."
"You can say that again," Max agreed.
Nodding, Catherine looked around. "How are we getting on here? Found anything?"
Nodding towards the car where Grissom was shot, Max beckoned a hand.
"Let's go take a look."
A/N: Well, let's hope Grissom will be okay :P