Alright, so I'm very skeptical about how this chapter plays out. In a way, I fudged the medical info--so if you are studying to be a doctor or something, be warned that his chapter my annoy you.

Anyway, thanks to everyone who reads and reviews. I hope everyone gets what is going on in this chapter, especially the somewhat cryptic end. Let me know how you like it:)

Chapter 17

Grissom shuffled through the endless mounds of paperwork piled on top of his desk. He sighed, wanting nothing more than to be back at Sara's apartment with her. Catherine entered as soon as he sought out tonight's assignment slips. He looked up at her with distain. "What happen to I'll take care of your workload, Gil?'" he whined pathetically, making Catherine smirk.

"I tried. But between you and Sara, we were definitely short-handed. I spent most of my time out in the field."

"Of course," he said with mock-cheeriness.

Nick, Warrick, and Greg all appeared at his doorway suddenly. "We gonna have a shift tonight or what?" Warrick asked.

Grissom nodded, "Two cases. Trick roll, Warrick."

Warrick's nose automatically scrunched. "Gee, thanks boss," he said as he took the slip. As he exited, he tossed out playfully, "It's good to have yah back."

Grissom puckered his lips wryly, "Nick, Greg, DB in Henderson."

Nick nodded and took the slip while Greg whooped, "Awesome."

"Later guys," Nick said as he dragged a jubilant Greg with him.

Catherine frowned, "Where does that leave us?"

"Paperwork." Her face immediately scrunched in complaint. Grissom flashed his best puppy dog look, "I need help." Catherine rolled her eyes. "Please."

Taking a seat across from him, she offered her hand without a word. Smiling, Grissom handed her a file. They got to work immediately, attempting to reduce the piles on Grissom's desk. Catherine finished her fourth file and glanced up at what Grissom was working on. "Explain to me how I finished writing off four cases, while you are still nursing the first," she huffed.

Grissom blinked. He cleared his throat and refocused on the file in front of him. "I'm sorry."

"Just call her," Catherine groaned.

"Sara's very independent. You know that. And plus, I left her breakfast. And she promised me not to move around too much," he added.

"Let me guess, she said she'd kill you if you tried to check up on her."

"Not in those exact words," he admitted.

"Same difference," Catherine chuckled. "Gil, I'm sure Sara is perfectly capable of taking care of herself—blind or not. But if you're gonna continue at a snail's pace, just call her for your peace of mind."

Grissom looked contemplative for a second. As he reached for the phone, it rang on it's own accord. He frowned as he picked up, "Grissom." Catherine watched as he scribbled an address on a notepad. "We'll be right there."

Catherine raised both eyebrows at him expectedly, "Who was that?"

"That was Brass, PD just got a call of a suicide. Should be open and shut."

"Good," Catherine nodded as she rose, "I guess I'll take this one?"

"Er…" Grissom rose with her, "On second thought, it could very well be a homicide for all you know. I'll go with you."

Catherine rolled her eyes as she followed him out the door.

As Grissom steered the Denali next to Brass's car, Catherine gasped. "Grissom! This is Sarah Shelby's house."

Giving each other pointed looks, they exited their vehicles and approached the house. Brass met them just inside the door, where the body laid. "Victim's name is Sarah Shelby," Brass stated as he guided the two CSIs to the body.

Grissom raised a brow, "We know. She's Gregory Shelby's wife—the case I reassigned Sara, too.

"Jesus, Gil. I didn't know her name. I—didn't make the connection."

"You were never part of that case, Jim." Grissom knelt down by the body just as David rolled in with a gurney. "You couldn't have known."

Brass sighed, "So we have another dead Shelby. At least this one's less complicated." He handed Grissom a sheet of paper in his gloved hand, "Suicide note."

"Where was it found?" Catherine asked.

Brass pointed to the broken man outside next to the police officer, "Gus Garrison. He found it next to the body. Called 911 right after."

"Let's go have a word with him shall we, Jim?"

"Alright," Brass nodded, "We'll be back, Gil."

"Mmph," Grissom acknowledged with a nod back.

"We meet again," Catherine said as she approached Gus Garrison.

The broken man scratched his beard and rubbed the tears that formed in his eyes, "Yeah."

A part of Catherine felt sorry for the guy. He was obviously in love with Sarah Shelby, despite their obvious age difference. And after being a prime suspect for her husband's murder, being cleared, and finally able to start their lives together, she commits suicide. Poor guy. "You found her?"

He nodded, "She called me actually…said she was sorry." His shoulders slumped, "I asked her what she was talking about, but she hung up. I drove here right away, but…it was too late."

Catherine resisted the urge to give him a hug. "You were having an affair. One that started before the death of her husband. How do we know you didn't kill her?"

Garrison's eyes shot up, "I would never do anything to hurt Sarah."

"So you say," Brass chimed in. "Maybe after all this, she decided she didn't want to be with you. And you couldn't accept that."

He huffed out a sorrowful laugh. "Even if that were true, I still wouldn't harm her—much less kill her." Giving Catherine a helpless look, he added, "I love her. I just want her to be happy. I should have told her in the beginning, when she first started to work for me. But I couldn't. I was too insecure. Too scared. Too afraid she'd end up hurting me. Leaving me because she'd find someone younger, better."

Catherine cocked an eyebrow and couldn't help but think of another graying recluse that was in the house at the moment. Brass made eye contact with her and she knew he sensed the parallels between the broken man in front of them and Grissom. "So what changed?" she couldn't help but ask.

"She got married." Garrison shrugged, "I was so afraid she'd leave me for someone younger, that when it actually happened, I was more heartbroken over the fact I didn't love her first." A lone tear ran down his face, "All of a sudden, those insecurities—those fears…seemed meaningless."

"She seemed to feel the same way about you. Which is why I find it odd that she would just commit suicide. You picked up the suicide note?"

"Yeah." Garrison blinked, "It said 'Through living, I am reminded of death. In death, I will find peace with all the sin's I've committed.' She blamed herself for Greg's death. But really…" He shook his head, "It was my fault. Sophie did it because of me. He died because of me."

"Mr. Garrison…" Catherine attempted to interrupt.

"She died because of me."

Back inside the house, Grissom focused on the body in front of him. He winced at the resemblance she had to his Sara. Not only her name, but her physical appearance. She was no Debbie Marlin, but she had brown, shoulder length hair, fair skin, and a tall, lanky frame. "David, take a liver temp would you?"

"Yes sir."

Grissom reached over and pulled back an eyelid. A saturated brown eye stared back at him. He cocked his head in surprise. "David…?"

The assistant coroner opened his mouth in surprise as the body bled from puncture he initiated. "Uhhh…"

Grissom craned his neck to witness the blood flow from where the thermometer was still sticking out and immediately put his hand to the victim's neck. "It's weak, but I have a pulse!" He scrambled for his kit, and pulled out some gauze, "David, get that would taken care of now!"

Catherine, Brass, and Gus Garrison were suddenly in the room. "What the hell is doing on?" Catherine demanded.

Grissom ignored her, "Control, this is CSI Grissom, I need an ambulance at my location immediately. Victim is still alive."

"Sarah's still alive?" Garrison gasped through his tears.

"Whoa," Brass said as he put his arm in front of him, "Keep away from the body."

David continued putting pressure on the wound he created. "Why does this always happen to me?" he whined.

"One hell of a night for your first day back huh?" Catherine said as she handed Grissom a cup of hospital coffee.

"Mmm."

"Okay spill." He gave her an unreadable look. "Gil, you demand her to be rushed to the hospital with such urgency, and now we are waiting around for the doctors. What's going on? This isn't another Debbie Marlin incident is it?"

Grissom shot her a deadly glare, "No."

"Then tell me what's going on."

"I want to know what happened to her."

"I can buy that," Catherine nodded. "But the last time you were this dead set on finding out what happened to a victim was—"

—Grissom's glare returned. "This has nothing to do with what little resemblance she has to Sara."

Catherine pointed to the man slumped in a chair across the room, "What about your resemblance to that man?"

Grissom glanced at Garrison for a second and frowned, "That's one I don't see."

"You should talk to him. He's practically your clone. Socially inept. Loves Sarah. Heck, I think he's even known for his macro photography in exotic insects."

"Do you have a point here, Catherine?"

Catherine shrugged, "I'm just saying. If you are relating to the case too much, just tell me. You're only human, Grissom."

"I'm not relating to the case personally," Grissom sighed. He closed his eyes briefly in annoyance, "This case has become personal, but not for the reasons you think."

"Then what—"

Before Catherine could finish, a doctor walked out and approached Garrison. Grissom immediately followed him with Catherine in trail. "Mr. Garrison, I'm Dr. Shen." Catherine recognized him as the doctor that treated Sara's eyesight. "I'm afraid I have some bad news. Ms. Shelby did attempt to take her life. And while she didn't succeed, she caused significant brain damage."

Garrison ran his hand down his face, "And what does that mean? Exactly?"

Dr. Shen lowered his eyes briefly, "I'm afraid the chances of her waking up are slim. She's relying on life-support right now. Her body is functioning fine, except her brain isn't communicating with it. I'm so sorry."

"So what now?" Garrison asked, the defeat in his voice as evident as the tears in his eyes.

"It said in Ms. Shelby's file that after her husband passed, you are her legal power of attorney." Dr. Shen dipped his head as he walked away, "The decision's up to you."

Garrison stood frozen before Grissom's voice brought him back to reality. He cleared his throat, "What are you guys still doing here? Didn't I prove that I had nothing to do with this already?"

Grissom bit the inside of his lip, "I'm not here about that Mr. Garrison. I'm very sorry for your loss."

Catherine looked from one man to another, noticing that despite a small height difference and Garrison's straight hair as opposed to Grissom's curly waves, they were essentially the same man.

"Sarah's not dead yet. There's still hope."

"So you're not taking her off life-support?" Grissom asked slowly.

Garrison shook his head, "She's a fighter."

"I'm sure she is," Grissom all but whispered. "She reminds me of someone I know." Catherine raised her brows in surprise. Garrison stared at him wearily. "Her name is Sara, too. She's young, beautiful, and the only person that's been able to make my heart beat and stop at the same time."

Garrison sat back down in his seat with his head buried in his hands, "Why are you telling me this?"

'Yeah, what the hell is going on, Gil?' Catherine thought.

Grisson knelt down, maintaining eye level again with Garrison. "I was scared. I couldn't put my career on the line for her. But most importantly, I couldn't put my heart on the line."

Garrison's head snapped up at this.

"And because of it, I caused her pain. For years, I caused her pain…"

"I know how you feel," Garrison choked out a whisper. "Believe me."

Grissom nodded, "Recently, my actions caused her to lose something of irreplaceable value. My worst fears came true despite my choice of pushing her away. She still stole my heart. And my personal problems impaired my professional decisions. And now she may never be able to see again."

Catherine smiled softly behind Grissom at his heartfelt words.

"At least she's still alive," Garrison replied.

"Alive and living are two separate things, Mr. Garrison. I believe Ms. Shelby is a perfect example of that."

He looked at Grissom sharply, "You—" He clenched his jaw, "You have no right to say that." A look of exhaustion and defeat then graced his features, "But you're right."

"You can help me," Grissom all but pleaded.

The desperation in his voice is what gave it away. Realization dawned on Catherine. "Gil…" she hissed as she put a hand on his shoulder.

"Help you how?" Garrison asked.

"Sarah won't wake up, but her body—her eyes…everything that's her still works."

Garrison's eyes widened as he realized what Grissom was asking of him, "No…no." He sank into the chair, "It wasn't supposed to end like this. Our love was so strong."

"It still is," Grissom answered, "I don't doubt that."

"It wasn't enough to save her." He paused. "I couldn't save her."

"Please," Grissom pleaded softly, "Help me save my Sara."

TBC...

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