A Higher Power

Hiya, yet another one shot while WDLAC is being beta’d. This was inspired by an article I read in a magazine this afternoon, and I swear to you, I burst into tears when I read it. I’ve most probably done a great injustice to it and it came out a helluva lot better in my head than it has on paper, you know when you get inspired and you see the scene you want to write playing out in your head, and then when you start writing it, it sucks? Well that’s what happened here, and I was majorly rushed for time because of lack of internet…and the fact that if I hadn’t have wrote it now, I wouldn’t have at all (maybe that would have been better for mankind…meh) because I have the tendency to lose interest the next day…but anyway, here it is.

Gil Grissom sat in the uncomfortable chair in the corner of the room, his head in his hands, and thought back to his childhood.

Ever since he was a boy, he had always been brought up to believe in a higher power, God, and that this higher power viewed the world and everything you did, even the really bad stuff you didn’t think anyone would find out about. His mother was a very strict Catholic and every dinner time, he was expected to say Grace before eating, and pray for his family before going to sleep, and he did so, right up until he went to college, then religion took a back seat and science came first. Of course, he was still a Catholic, and always would be; he just thought you could have beliefs and still have science, which is perfectly true.

So throughout his college years, religion did not play a great role in his life, although it was always there, enforced by his mother from time to time, such as when he visited during his breaks, he was still expected to say Grace at dinner time and accompany her to Sunday Mass every week, but then he would go back to college and science would take over again, the same as when he moved to Vegas, he didn’t have his mothers influence and his Catholicism faded into the background.

He recalled a conversation he’d had with Sara only a few months before;

“I didn't offend you, did I? Did I say something offensive to you as a

Catholic?” she’d said when he returned after quickly exiting the room a few moments before.

“I'm not really a Catholic anymore, you know. I suppose I practice a kind of secular Catholicism that involves ritualizing certain aspects of

everyday life and imbuing them with a spiritual intensity they might not

otherwise possess, but I don't want to put too fine a point on it.”

He smiled at the thought of her amused grin when he had said this, but the emotion left his face as he gazed at her motionless form lying on the bed in front of him. A doctor entered the room at that moment and Grissom jumped out of his chair.

“Doc, is she going to be ok?” he asked hopefully. The doctor sighed.

“Dr. Grissom, Sara was out in triple degree heat for hours, she’s suffered severe heat stroke, dehydration and hyperthermia, we’re replenishing as much of her fluids as we can, but the next twenty-four hours are going to be crucial.” He paused to let his words sink in. “She had a very weak pulse when she was brought in and she still can’t breath on her own, I’m afraid she may not make it through the night.” He looked so sincere and Grissom nodded sadly. The doctor put a comforting hand on his shoulder before departing. Grissom went back to his seat. He reached out a hand to touch Sara’s face, careful not to move the breathing tube attached to her mouth, and caressed her burnt cheek. He sighed and closed his eyes to prevent the tears seeping out, but they still managed to flow down his cheeks. He turned his head to watch her heart monitor, steadily beeping away.

“Oh Sara.” He whispered. “What did you ever do to deserve this?” he kissed her hand and held it to his mouth.

A soft knock came from the door and Catherine entered it. No words were needed as the look on Grissom’s told her all she needed to know.

“Gil, why don’t you go home for a while.” She suggested.

“I’m not leaving this hospital Catherine.” He said, not taking his eyes from Sara.

“Well then go and get yourself something to eat, go and lie down in the visitors lounge for a while. Please.” She put her hand on his shoulder to encourage him and he stood up slowly. “I’ll stay and keep watch on her, you go get a few minutes to yourself.” He nodded sadly and left the room.

He tried to get a few minutes sleep, but he just couldn’t, knowing that Sara might not wake up. He paced around the room and then sat back down on the couch in the middle of the room, only to stand back up and start pacing again. Finally, on his fifth round of pacing, he angrily kicked the waste paper basket before sitting down again. He wiped the tears from his eyes and breathed heavily before breaking down completely into a fit of sobs. He hadn’t cried this hard since he was a small boy and had come home from school after being picked on in class. His mother had asked him if he had told the teacher what had happened and he’d replied no. His mother’s words echoed around his head; “Help comes to those who ask for it.” He blinked, wiped his eyes, and then, for the first time in over thirty years, Gil Grissom prayed.

“I don’t know what I ever did to deserve Sara.” He said to the empty room. “I treated her like crap for years and she still waited for me to come to my senses, and when I finally do, she’s nearly taken away from me. I don’t care what happens to me, I don’t care if I lose my job over her, I love her and I just want her to be ok again.” He closed his eyes and repeated his words over and over again, until he fell asleep, emotionally exhausted from the events of the day.

“Grissom, Gil, wake up!” Catherine’s voice boomed through his head and he sat bolt upright.

“Cath, what is it? Is it Sara? Oh God.” He immediately thought the worst and started breathing heavily.

“Griss, calm down.” She was smiling. “Someone must be looking out for you, she’s awake.”

The End

Yeah, I know the ending sucked, but like I said above, the scene in my head was miles better than this…it’s sucks being you and not able to see inside my head…my head rules…so before the people with the white jackets come and take me away for my insane ramblings, I bid ye farewell for now. Next chapter of WDLAC should (depending on Joey) be up in the next few days. Cheerio!