 | ShatterStorm Productions
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| ShatterStorm Productions
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Disclaimer: "CSI: Crime Scene Investigators," the characters, and situations depicted are the property of Jerry Bruckheimer Television, Alliance Atlantis, and CBS Productions. This piece of fan fiction was created for entertainment not monetary purposes. Previously unrecognized characters and places, and this story, are copyrighted to the author. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author. This site is in no way affiliated with "CSI: Crime Scene Investigators," CBS, or any representatives of Jorja Fox or Marg Helgenberger.
Author's Notes: Hurt/Comfort warning..... there is also a pretty violent dream in this part so be warned. Also the italics are meant to indicate character's thoughts but they aren't crossing over in the posts. Also some naughty language.
Sara Sidle Hospital Room 9 a.m.
Sara squeezed her eyes shut tighter against the light that invaded her hospital room. She squinted and then raised her hand to block the offending light. She glanced to her left expecting to see Sofia and blinked in surprise at seeing Grissom sitting next to her. Did I imagine her last night?
"Sara, are you alright? Did I frighten you?" Sara shook her head distractedly and looked around the room. There was no evidence that Sofia had ever been there. There was no pillow or blanket nearby and the blonde would never leave her gun unattended. The geek in her longed for her metal case of tools to check for blonde hairs or fingerprints on the arms of the chair.
"The nurse said you woke up last night. I'm sorry I wasn't here. I've been working nights." The nurse knows I woke up and I haven't met a nurse yet so maybe I didn't imagine her.
Sara looked away from Grissom as the nurse in question entered her room. "Good morning Ms. Sidle, how are you feeling?"
"I'm fine. When can I go home?" The nurse cracked a smile and glanced at Grissom who was staring at Sara in admonishment.
"The doctor will be anxious to speak with you now that you're awake. He'll go over your plan of care and your discharge." Charlene could see that the poor woman looked a bit confused and the disapproving looks from her boyfriend were not helping.
"Mr. Grissom, I think that Ms. Sidle would love a bath. I'm going to have to ask you to step out of the room. Grissom looked like he couldn't get out of the room fast enough and Charlene laughed internally at his haste. She returned her attention to her patient and went to rip open the packets that were in a bin next to Sara's bed. She began to wash Sara's still weak body with the warm cloth.
"My name is Charlene, Ms. Sidle. I know we haven't been properly introduced. I've been taking care of you on night shift. It's nice to see you back in the land of the living."
"Charlene, may I ask you a question?" At Charlene's nod, Sara continued. "Did I have any visitors last night?" Charlene continued to wash Sara's body and replied, "Yes, Mr. Sanders came by and I believe Ms. Willows was here too." Sara bit her lip in frustration.
"Oh and of course, Detective Curtis came by around 8." Sara could swear there was a hint of mischief on the nurse's face almost as if she had purposely left Sara hanging by waiting to divulge this fact.
"When did she leave?"
"I last spoke with her around 7 this morning. She said she had to run home and shower and head to work." Hmmm so she was here all night. I'm not going crazy.
"She asked me to give this to you." Charlene reached into her pocket and withdrew a folded piece of paper. Sara took it in her hand but did not open it. Charlene finished her impromptu bath and then acclimated Sara to the room including the call bell and the remote for the television.
"I'll leave you alone now, Ms. Sidle. Physical therapy should be in here shortly to get you out of bed and show you how to use the crutches. If you need anything, just press the call bell."
Sara glared at the offending appendage wrapped in the cast with her toes sticking out. She was dying to get out of the hospital and back to work, to move on from this nightmare she had never been sure she would wake up from. Her ankle was not going to make that easy.
Charlene smiled to herself as she left the room, wondering how long her stubborn patient could hold out from reading the note.
Sara turned the television on and surfed idly. The note remained folded within reach on the bed. She settled on the Discovery channel and couldn't focus on the program as her eyes kept drifting to the note. When she lost track of the program for the third time in five minutes, she gave up and picked the note up. She slowly unfolded it and without reading it, took in the detective's handwriting. The lettering wasn't bubbly or overly large. It was elegant and somehow bold in the way the letters flowed into each other. She read the short note several times trying to find some hidden agenda and was pleased to find none. It was brief and to the point.
Sara,
I hope I didn't offend you by being here when you woke up today. I will leave you to your recovery in peace. Trust me when I tell you that you are in good hands with Charlene. If you would like company or anything else feel free to give me a call day or night.
Sofia
Sara noticed that Sofia had left her three contact numbers. She had somehow managed to convey support without assuming that Sara needed or desired it. Sara had to smile at the kindness of the gesture. This was not a surprising quality to emerge from the detective. Sofia had always had a way of calming the victims and their families and of knowing what they needed like it was instinctive. Sara wished sometimes that she could allow herself to be more in tune with what others needed but it was so hard to let her guard down. She didn't know if she had the energy to develop that particular skill. Maybe with a narrower focus and patience she could manage it.
Later.......
Sara squinted under the heat of the fluorescent light. She was lying on a metal table and her body was strapped down to it by strong restraints. She looked around in confusion until her eyes landed on a woman with dark hair that was hanging in her face leaning over her. The woman finally stood up straight and Sara almost felt her heart stop when she saw Natalie smiling at her. Natalie rolled a cart into the room and Sara could see a miniature on it. It was a replica of the room she was in and there was a figure with dark hair strapped to the mini table. The only thing that was different was the surprising amount of blood littering the floor of the miniature. Sara squinted more closely and started to sweat as she realized that the figure in the miniature was dismembered. Sara began to struggle frantically when she heard the sound of a buzz saw off to her right. Natalie remained smiling at her coldly and Sara bit her lip hard enough to draw blood when she saw the figure holding the saw. Grissom stepped into the room and Sara screamed as he started to cut into her.
Sara woke up in the dark with sweat covering her whole body and her heart monitor beeping loudly. She struggled to calm herself as the fact that it was a dream started to sink in. Charlene came running into the room. "Ms. Sidle, are you alright? Your heart rate is pretty elevated." Sara struggled to get herself under control. "I'm fine. Just a bad dream."
"Can I call Mr. Grissom for you?"
"NO!"
Charlene paused and stared at her patient with concern in her eyes. "I'm sorry, Charlene. I'm fine really. I just need to get back to sleep."
"I can get you a sedative if you'd like."
"No, thank you." Sara couldn't stand the thought of chemically-induced sleep at the moment. The thought of being trapped in her dreams was more frightening than losing sleep altogether. Sara stared at the outline of the telephone in the dark. She picked up the phone and listened to the dial tone. She hung it up in frustration and ran her hand through her damp hair. She sighed and turned on the bedside light and then picked the phone up again and dialed.
Sofia Curtis' bedroom 3 a.m.
Sofia snatched her land line up off of her bedside table without opening her eyes. She had finally fallen asleep an hour ago and it figured that something had happened that required her to get out of her comfortable bed and out into the Las Vegas night. Brass had finally allowed her to switch to night shift again and she had looked forward to trying to get some sleep and not have to go back to work until the next night. The trouble was, sleep had proved to be elusive. Her thoughts kept wandering to a certain brunette. Sofia held the phone to her ear.
"Curtis.," she said gruffly. She could hear nothing but silence on the other end.
"Hello?" There was still no reply. Sofia fumbled for the lamp next to her and grimaced as she put pressure on her injured shoulder. She turned the light on and blinked at the display on her phone. University Medical Center was the readout on the display. Before Sofia could say anything more, the caller hung up. Sofia hung the phone up and rubbed her temples distractedly. She forced herself out of bed and started to get dressed. She smirked at the gold and white cat that was staring at her through slitted green eyes. "What are you lookin at?," she asked, playfully throwing her t-shirt at the reclined feline.
Sara Sidle hospital room 3:05 a.m.
Sara hung up the phone in disgust. She felt horrible for calling the detective in the middle of the night but she for some reason had just wanted to hear her voice. She had called the land line hoping that Sofia was working and she would get her voicemail. She froze when she heard the sleep-laden voice that answered the phone. Just one word had soothed her frazzled nerves slightly and also woken other feelings that she wasn't willing to address at the moment. She brought her left leg towards her body and sat forward putting her arms around it. Her injured right leg remained extended on the bed. She rested her forehead against her arm and tried to stay calm as her body began to shake slightly.
Sofia walked slowly through the ICU dressed in jeans and a soft button-down shirt. She felt butterflies in her stomach and the uncertainty she felt in her decision to come to the hospital made every step seem like there were weights attached to her ankles. She couldn't ignore the silence on the other end of the phone. Sometimes silence said more than actual words did. She just hoped she was reading it right.
Charlene glanced up from her computer terminal and saw the blonde detective making her way to Sara's room. She met Sofia's concerned gaze from across the hall and nodded encouragingly when she saw Sofia hesitate at the door. Sofia entered the darkened room slowly so as not to alarm Sara. She could hear sniffling and could just make out the casted foot as she walked around to the left side of the bed. Sara was propped up and Sofia could see even in the dark that she was shaking as if cold.
Sara heard someone come into her room but didn't have the courage to look up and let her tears be visible. She felt weight sink into the bed as someone slowly sat down on her left side. She wiped her tears and looked up to see Sofia sitting next to her. She couldn't see her face well and this was comforting because maybe that meant that Sofia couldn't tell that she was crying.
Sofia approached Sara like she would a skittish horse. She had her hands in Sara's sight at all times. Despite the darkness Sofia was sure that Sara could see her from the light of the monitors. She lightly placed her left hand on Sara's right shoulder and her left onto Sara's head. Sara stiffened and Sofia didn't move, waiting to see what Sara would do. Sara gradually began to relax. She was so tired of fighting. She leaned into the touch on the back of her head and she exhaled softly as she felt Sofia's fingers stroking through her hair. Sofia gently pulled Sara towards her body so that Sara's head was resting against her uninjured shoulder. She felt Sara's arms suddenly wrap around her in a tight grip and she gritted her teeth as Sara's hands grasped the back of her shirt as she started to shake again. Sofia said nothing as warm liquid spilled on her shoulder and the grip on her back loosened slightly. Sara buried her nose in Sofia's neck, taking in the pleasant smell of spearmint, eucalyptus, and what she imagined was just plain Sofia.
Again Sofia surprised her in that she let Sara deal with her pain on her own terms. It was like she knew that Sara didn't have the words yet to tell her how she felt. Sara wanted to hear that slightly accented voice run over her senses.
"Sara, you're shivering. We need to get you warmed up.," Sofia kept her voice soft as she grabbed a nearby blanket and put it around the shaking woman. Sara still couldn't stop shivering. Sofia gently pushed Sara from her and got up from the bed. Sara continued to shake, wondering where the blonde was going. She couldn't suppress a soft gasp as a slight weight settled behind her on the bed. She felt Sofia's hands pulling her body backwards. The blanket was removed from around her shoulders and was replaced with the heat of Sofia's body. Sara finally began to still as her body soaked in Sofia's warmth in her back and the blanket on her front. Sara could not remember ever being held so intimately before. Sofia's legs were surrounding her hips and the outside of her thighs. Her breasts were providing a wonderful cushion for Sara's back and her hands were currently rubbing Sara's arms hoping that the friction would warm her.
"Sara, is this okay?" Sofia was extremely unsure if Sara was comfortable with their current position but the brunette had made no attempt to push her away and Sofia had acted without thinking. She had usually been able to control her actions around Sara but seeing the woman look so broken had caused an ache in her own chest that she couldn't ignore.
"Yeah." Sara's voice came out more like a croak but she knew Sofia had heard it because the blonde had pulled Sara's head back to rest against her right shoulder and was soothingly smoothing Sara's hair back with her fingers. She was mindful of the gash in Sara's forehead as she lightly skidded around it. Sara closed her eyes and allowed herself to enjoy the calming gesture. When you have been touched by violence, it is difficult to allow any touch without suspicion but something in Sofia spoke to Sara and it was easier to be touched by her.
Initially, Sara had felt threatened by the confident, almost devil may care attitude that the detective had displayed when she worked in the lab. Sofia was unintimidated by Grissom or Catherine or anyone for that matter. She had impressed Grissom and that had put her on Sara's shit list for what Sara had thought were personal reasons but upon further reflection, were probably more likely professional reasons. Sofia had walked into the lab highly competent and a supervisor. Sara had had to fight tooth and nail for promotion.
When Sofia had left the lab to become a detective, Sara had warmed up to her and it had been easier not being in close proximity to her. There was a part of her that was weary of Sofia because whenever she felt those cobalt blue eyes on her, she thought Sofia could see every scar and blemish that stayed hidden from everyone else. And now here she was laying on a detective pillow and feeling like a huge weight had been lifted. With the relief came guilt that it was not Grissom that she had reached out to. After he had gone on sabbatical, Sara had felt more and more withdrawn from him. It had made her realize that all of those years that she had chased after him she had built up an ideal of him that was unrealistic and not what she needed. She knew they needed to talk soon. For now, she allowed warmth and security to lull her sleep.
|| Part 1 || Part 2 || Part 3 || Part 4 || Part 5 || Part 6 || Part 7 || Part 8 || Part 9 || Part 10 || Part 11 || Part 12 || Part 13 || Part 14 ||
