Darkness and Light

Sara walked through the house, her flashlight illuminating her way. She glanced at her surroundings as she stepped into the kitchen. It was a dirty area, dishes and pots piled high in the sink, pizza boxes scattered about on the counter space. The kitchen might have been white at some point, but now it was a dingy grey.

They had received a call about a possible drug house. The police had raided the place and it was now up to her and Grissom to find the evidence to put the dealers away.

She pointed her flashlight up at the cabinets as she moved toward them. She opened one, shining her light deep inside it. It was as bare as a cabinet could get. She shook her head, closed the door and moved on to the next one.

Sara’s thoughts drifted toward Greg and her nightmares. It had been over a month since he tried to kill himself. He was still seeing Dr. Kate Strong and the sessions were doing wonders for him. He was back to his old self and she couldn’t be happier.

The nightmares still plagued her, though. This time, she dreamed of finding him in the hotel room dead, blood everywhere. She’d wake screaming, calling for him. He was there to comfort her, telling her everything was fine. She was grateful for his comfort and his love. He was an anchor for her, her link to sanity in those dark moments.

Sara told him about her nightmares and she wondered if it only added to the guilt he felt. She hoped not, he was doing better now. She didn’t want to cause a relapse.

She brought herself back to reality and the task at hand. She sighed as she opened the final cabinet door.

To her surprise, something fell out and hit her in the arm. She yelped , stepping away from the cabinets. She looked down and saw a syringe sticking out of her flesh. A small trickle of blood ran down her arm, causing a wave of panic to flow over her.

“Grissom!” Sara called as she left the kitchen and staggered into the pale blue living room.

“Sara, what’s wrong?”

Grissom stopped in mid stride as he saw the needle in her arm. He rushed toward her, taking her arm in his hands.

“It fell out of a cabinet in the kitchen,” she explained.

“That needs to be looked at,” Grissom said as he led her out of the house. “I’m taking you to the hospital.”

He told Brass what had happened and where they were going. Brass offered to call an ambulance, but the look in Grissom’s eyes told both her and Brass he didn’t want to wait.

He yanked open the SUV’s passenger side door and Sara climbed in. He slammed the door, hurried over to the driver’s side and climbed in. He started the car and peeled out of the driveway and tore down the street.

“Grissom, it’s just a scratch,” she told him even though she knew better. “I’ll be fine.”

“You don’t know if it’s been used or what’s in it. I’d rather be safe than sorry.”

Sara shook her head and stared at the needle in her arm. She wanted to yank it out and toss it out the window, but she knew the doctors would want to examine it to be safe. The doctors would have a better idea of how to treat her
if they had a look at the syringe. She really didn’t know what was in it if there was anything in it at all.

Grissom sped down the highway, passing cars as if they were standing still. Sara closed her eyes, wanting to tell him this wasn’t a rollercoaster’s car and to slow down. She knew better, though and prayed they made it to the hospital in one piece.

Before long, Grissom pulled into the emergency entrance and leaped out of the SUV. She opened the door herself before he came around, but he helped her down from the vehicle. He led her inside, calling for a doctor.

“We have an emergency here,” he called as a nurse came up to them.

“What is it?”

“She needs her arm looked at,” Grissom said, showing the nurse Sara’s arm. “A syringe hit her arm. It fell out of a cabinet she was investigating.”

The nurse looked at Sara’s arm and she felt as if her privacy was being invaded. She knew it was a stupid thing to feel when her life might be on the line, but she felt it all the same. She sighed as the nurse finished her examination.

“Room three,” she said as she pointed down the hall. “I’ll have a doctor see you immediately.”

Grissom nodded and led Sara down the hall. He opened the door to the room and Sara filed inside. She sat on the bed, laying back against the pillow. She closed her eyes, suddenly tired.

“It’s probably nothing,” Sara said as she stared at her arm.

“Let’s make sure it’s nothing first,” Grissom said as he sat in a chair.

Amazingly, they didn’t have long to wait for a doctor. The door opened, getting their attention. Sara sat up as the doctor came into the room.

“I’m Dr. Lewis,” he said as he stood beside Sara. “What have we here?”

“I was investigating a drug house,” she said as he examined her arm. “I opened a kitchen cabinet and the syringe fell, striking my arm.”

The doctor nodded, “I’ll have that out in a moment. We’re going to test it to see if anything was still inside then we’re going to test your blood for any side effects. We’ll get the results back to you as soon as possible.”

Sara nodded and lied back down. She closed her eyes as the doctor went about checking her vitals. She thought of Greg and what he would be going through when he was told about what happened. She wished he was here now and not on some case in another part of town.

She groaned as the syringe was taken out of her arm. She opened her eyes and looked at the small hole it had left. Another trickle of blood oozed out of her arm and she swallowed. She hoped nothing was in the syringe and she would be all right.

“I’ll take that,” Grissom said, standing. “It’s evidence.”

The doctor nodded and handed the syringe to Grissom. He put the needle in an evidence bag and left the room. The doctor followed after him and several minutes later, a nurse entered the room.

“I’m going to take some blood and see if anything entered your bloodstream.”

Sara nodded, looking away from the nurse as she took her blood. It was over quickly and the nurse left the room. She closed her eyes, letting the quiet of the room wash over her. She found herself drifting toward sleep and she welcomed it.


~*~


She opened her eyes in what seemed like a few moments later and the doctor entered the room. She glanced at him, hoping he brought her good news.

The doctor smiled at her and she found herself relaxing even though she didn’t want to. She sighed as she braced herself for the news.

“The results from your lab came back and there was nothing in the syringe. We tested your blood and it came back negative for everything except one.”

“What?” Sara asked as she sat up, panic setting in. “Which one?”

“Pregnancy,” the doctor said as her jaw dropped in surprise.

“I’m pregnant?”

The doctor nodded and looked at the results in his hand. “I’d say about six weeks.”

Sara closed her eyes and lied back down on the bed. The panic had receded, but the fear remained. What would Greg say? How would he handle it? How would she handle it? The thoughts chased themselves in her head as the news of her situation sank in.

“Do you have anyone you want to call?” Dr. Lewis asked softly.

“Yeah,” she said as she opened her eyes, the sting of tears welling up in them. “He should know.”

She gave the doctor Greg’s cell phone number, wondering why she couldn’t call him herself. She then realized her hands shook and she folded them under her arms. She truly feared what Greg would say or do as the tears rolled down her face. She wiped them away as the doctor left the room.

Sara fought back the panic, telling herself Greg would be there for her. He had always been there for her and now wouldn’t be any different. He would probably be thrilled and want to marry her.

The thought sent another wave of dread through her and she took several deep breaths to calm herself. She was being irrational and she had to get a grip on herself.

The door opened again and the doctor returned. She blinked back the tears as he smiled at her.

“He’s on his way,” Dr. Lewis told her.

“You didn’t tell him, did you?” Sara asked, knowing she wanted to be the one to tell Greg.

“I thought you would want that job,” the doctor said. “Get some rest.”

Sara nodded and the doctor left once again. She closed her eyes, pushing the fear away. She was tired and at a lost of what to do.

We’ll get through this, she told herself. We always do.


~*~


The door opening, woke Sara from a sound sleep. She didn’t know how long she was out, but she sat up when she saw her visitor. She smiled at him as he came into the room, his brown eyes full of concern.

“What happened?” Greg asked as he sat beside her on the bed. He took her hands in his as he stared into her eyes.

“A bit of a scare,” she said as she squeezed his hands. “A syringe got stuck in my arm while I was investigating a drug house. Luckily nothing was in it.”

She watched as Greg visibly relaxed. He took her into his arms, kissing her temple and hair. She wrapped her arms around him, holding him against her, loving the feel of him.

She pulled away from him, taking him in. He had changed his hair again and she couldn’t help but smile.

Would he ever pick a style and stick with it? Sara thought as she shook her head.
He had cut his hair and colored his hair to a dark brown. She ran her hands through it, glad he had left something to run her hands through. She laughed softly, causing him to raise an eyebrow.

“What?” Greg asked as he stared at her.

“I was just thinking about your hair,” she said.

Greg rolled his eyes and she laughed harder, forgetting her fear and worries for the moment. He kissed her as she sensed the relief he felt washing over her. She almost didn’t want to tell him she was pregnant.

She sighed and pulled away from him, staring into his eyes. She knew she had to, it was the least she could do.

“They drew my blood to make sure I didn’t contract anything,” she said, her voice soft.

“They didn’t find anything, did they?” Greg asked, worry in his eyes and voice.

She shook her head and took a breath. This was it. This was were she learned how he really felt about her.

“I’m clean,” Sara answered. “There’s something else, though.”

“What, Sara? Tell me, I can handle it.”

“I’m pregnant.”