Unleashed...

AN: Onyx's challenge to yahoo group CSI-GrissomSara to write your own ending to the season just the last scene or two, must be 1000 Words Max, must contain GSR as that is the scene we are hoping for and is due by Midnight Sunday, April 23rd. Here's my contribution. It's late cuz I had to work this weekend, but its under 1000 words. Regular print takes place currently while the italics takes place in the future.CSI doesn't belong to me...

The Desert Palms waiting room was no different from others across the country as friends and families waited for news. Sara looked at the wall clock but didn't calculate how long they'd been there. Shifting position, she hoped to find a more comfortable position in the chair. Worried she glanced at him. While they were still waiting for news about Jim, it was hard to say if no news was good news. With a sigh her companion sunk into a chair on the opposite side of the room. His head was down and his shoulders slumped from the weight of his decision.

Grissom had returned from speaking with the Doctor a bit ago and Sara wasn't sure what to do. He had finally stopped pacing, sat down, but still wasn't sharing anything. Usually Catherine was the one to help him deal with these sorts of things, she was the one he confided in not Sara, but she was downstairs.

Looking at him and acting on instinct alone she moved closer. When he'd been moving she had been inclined to just wait and watch, but now that he was still, she worried. Slipping her hand into his seemed natural and familiar, needing a distraction she tried to place why it felt familiar. She knew it was just a way of avoiding dealing with this, but was glad to place the memory. The way they were sitting was similar to when Grissom picked her up at the police station.

He didn't respond to her presence, he was too caught up in his own thoughts as he tried to understand why this had happened to his friend and why Jim had chosen to give Grissom the power of attorney. Brass had literally placed his life and future in Gil's hands.

Nick Stokes stood in the doorway watching the pair. Sara was leaning into Grissom who held her hand in between his owns. Clearing his throat he entered the room. "They're guessing he won't wake up for a couple more hours, so you should go home and rest." Sara nodded, but his boss hadn't moved. "Grissom there's nothing more you can do here and I'll call if anything changes."

"They aren't sure what's gonna happen now." There was a slump to Grissom's posture and a resignation in his voice she hadn't heard since his confession to Dr. Luhrie. "Did I make the right choice? I don't know what to do now. Why did he choose me"

"Let me take you home." Sara tugged on his hand gently and he finally responded by standing and following.

"Thanks Nick." Sara was surprised at how easy it was to get Grissom into the car, but it was only as she turned his key in the lock that she wondered what the surgeon had told Grissom. He hadn't shared with her at the hospital and she wondered if he'd be any more likely to in his own home. "Griss you need to eat something and then head to bed."

"Not hungry." He insisted shuffling off to his room. Something about his posture urged Sara to follow and insist he not be alone. By the time she entered his room he was already lying down fully clothed with his eyes closed.

"Are you going to tell me what's wrong?"

"No."

"Grissom." The exasperation in her voice was obvious and pissed him off. Moving faster than she expected he was up off the bed and pacing again. As she watched him walk she watched as he changed as if each step reduced the calm and emotional distance he usually kept. She was shocked by the waves of anger rippling off of him, she hadn't seen him this angry since the case where he found the dead baby. "Griss?" He's back was to her, but this time when she said his name he heard an underlying note of concern and fear in her voice. Which pushed him over the edge and he slammed his fist into the wall before he turned around.

"What do you want from me Sara? You want me to tell you that I ruined my best friend's life. That my choice took everything he loved that he's lost his career." The outburst surprised Sara and she involuntarily had taken a step back, but she wasn't frightened only concerned.

"This isn't your fault you didn't shoot him."

"No? He gave me power of attorney and I approved the surgery and it was the surgery that cost him his career. He won't thank me for that Sara, he might even think he was better off dead. He should have chosen someone else."

"Don't you dare." She hissed as her own anger that he was blaming himself had her step forward. They stood toe to toe when she poked his chest with a single index finger. "Jim chose you because he knew you'd make the right choice, even if it was the hard choice. He takes risks, accepts the consequences of actions and you know he would have made the same choice. This isn't the end of his life and don't you dare act like it is."

Her hand was soft when he grabbed it and the spark of attraction between them flared. Using her hand he yanked her closer to kiss her. It wasn't soft and gentle, but punishing as their verbal argument turned physical and passion unleashed built exponentially.

"Hey!" She smiled at the generic greeting. "So how did the interrogation go with the new Captain?"

"Annie's just as good as promised Jim. How's the new unit supervisor?"

"Glad to be back."

"Yeah." Grissom added with a grin. "I'd forgotten how much I enjoyed you running things so I could focus on the CSIs."

"I told you everything would work out for the best."

"Yes you did Mrs. Grissom. Yes you did."

THE END.