Hi guys. I am so sorry about the ridiculous delay with an update for this fic. I'd be quite surprised if anyone is still reading at this point! I had an horrific case of writer's block with this, knowing vaguely where I wanted to go with it but zero idea how to get there. Add a pregnancy into the mix and any desire or inspiration I may have had disappeared altogether. But I've been off work with an injured foot for the past couple of weeks and my muse has finally reappeared. I've finally finished this chapter that's been sitting half baked in my notebook for months, and I'm hoping to have the final one finished by the time I go back to work next Monday.
To anyone out there who is still interested in this thank you for your patience and for sticking with me. I hope the last two chapters will be worth it!

One week later

With the exception of his head, the whole of Grissom's body felt heavy, like it was being weighted down. As he eased closer towards consciousness, a dull ache began to spread through his limbs and torso. His head meanwhile felt as if it was being simultaneously being split in half and set on fire.
He groaned softly and gave his eyelids an experimental flutter, wincing as the light that momentarily invaded his darkness.
Deciding it was best to just rip off the band aid he forced his eyes open fully, blinking a few times to clear his fuzzy vision. He took in the stark room, skating over surfaces until he hit and locked with a pair of brown eyes, wide with surprise.

"Grissom! Welcome back."
Sara stood from where she had been sitting and approached the bed, reaching above it to press the nurse's call button before returning her full attention to her boss.
"What happened?"
"How much do you remember?"
Grissom shrugged.
"We were at the safe house." He raised a hand to his head, his fingers toying with the bandage that was wrapped around it.

"You were shot," Sara began, pre-empting his next question. "Bullet glanced off the temporal plate. A couple of inches to the left and I would be playing a harp right now."
Grissom tried to smile but it morphed into a grimace as pain shot across his forehead.

"Did everyone make it out?"
He rubbed his hand along his bandages, the aching preventing him from noticing the delay in Sara's response. After a few more beats of silence he raised his eyes to hers, watching her shift uncomfortably on the spot.
"Sara…"
She cleared her throat, another delaying tactic.
"Do you remember what happened to Warrick?"
Grissom closed his eyes and nodded, hearing Sara's relieved exhalation.
"Anyone else?"

The brunette nodded sadly.
"Kip tried to diffuse the bomb; Vega stayed with him. Neither of them made it."
His digestion of this information was interrupted by three slow taps on the door.
Sara, grateful for something else to do, crossed the room and pulled the door open. She stepped to the side and grasped one of the handles of the wheelchair that was being backed into the room.

Grissom sat up a little straighter in bed as his visitor began to speak.
"Thanks Sar. You'd think after a week I'd be better at powering this thing one handed."
"Escaped again Cath?" Sara smiled as she relieved the strawberry blonde of the two takeaway coffee cups balanced precariously between her thighs.
"You know it. There's only so much of my mother's company I can take it one go. I made a break for it while she went out to call Sam with an update."
Grissom caught the tail end of her eyeroll as she swivelled her chair to face the bed and locked eyes with him, a smile spreading across her face.

"Sleeping beauty decided to re-join us I see."
Sara chuckled as the man in question raised a hand in a wave. As Catherine moved her chair closer to the bed Grissom noticed that while her left foot was encased in a flip flop, her right was bandaged from her toes to at least mid-calf, the top part of the bandage disappearing under the ripped hem of her leggings. He frowned as she put the brakes on and used her good arm and leg to push herself up so that she was perched on the edge of his bed.

"What happened to your leg?"
"Dislocated ankle. By all accounts Detective Vartann fell on me when the bomb went off. Poor guy has spent the last week making it up to me."
Grissom bristled slightly and Sara, sensing the change in mood, decided now was the best time to excuse herself.
"I'm going to head out, call Brass and the others to let them know you're back in the land of the living. Try not to cause the nurses too much trouble."
"I'll keep him in line Sar," Catherine cut in before Grissom could respond.
"I'm sure you will," the brunette chuckled and waved, heading out the door and leaving the two alone.

They lapsed into comfortable silence for a few minutes until Grissom broke it.
"So, Detective Vartann seems nice."
Catherine smiled slightly, doing nothing to ease the discomfort of the man in the bed.
"The poor guy felt so bad about my ankle, he's been at the hospital every day trying to help me. If he's not careful my mom may never let him leave."

Grissom glanced away, unable to contain the grunt that escaped the back of his throat. His companion smirked slightly, realisation hitting as she shifted closer to him on the bed.
"Jealous Gil?"
His eyes snapped to hers and she grinned. The lack of response making her realise that he wasn't going to make this easy, Catherine decided to change her approach.

"Now that this nightmare is over, I believe you own me dinner."
A frown flitted briefly across his face before recognition dawned, her parroting of his own words triggering the memory of his conversation with Jim at the safe house, the one they'd had when he'd assumed she was still asleep. Evidently, he'd been wrong.
"You heard that?"
She nodded, a smile playing at the corner of her mouth and he sighed softly.
"Cath I…"

The rest of his sentence died as the door opened and a nurse bustled in, followed closely by a doctor studying what Grissom guessed were his notes.
"Dr Grissom, glad to see you awake. We need to examine you so I'm afraid your friend will have to leave."
"She can stay," he replied, placing his hand over hers.
Both the nurse and doctor started to protest but Catherine cut them off.
"It's fine Gil, I need to get back to my room. I'm sure my mom will send out a search party if I'm not there when she gets back."
She patted his arm lightly and started to move away. On impulse she leaned back towards him and pressed her lips against his. Grissom didn't have time to respond before she pulled away and slipped gracefully off the bed and back into her wheelchair.
"I'll be back later Bugman. Try and behave for these nice people," she shot over her shoulder with a wink as she wheeled herself out of the room.

A bemused smile spread across Grissom's face as he watched her go before turning his attention to the doctor who had already begun speaking before the door was even closed.

Hope ya'll enjoyed the chapter.

Lily
-x-