Sara Sidle - CSI/24 AU - Milliways

[mm_ali]

[ OOM: Sara had a bad day.]

"Do your other patients a favor and have the cafeteria closed for presence of hazardous materials," Sara says over her shoulder. Laughter follows her into the bar.

She sighs, finding a nearby booth and taking a seat, moving awkwardly around the cast on her left arm.

Comments

[mmkcountess]

Jack comes in a few minutes later, wishing he could have a drink, but knowing he should just stick to coffee. It hasn't been a good day. Not that anything especially bad had happened, there are just bad days and not-so-bad days. Not being able to concentrate on a book for more than a couple minutes at the time and TV coverage still talking about the nuclear bomb incessantly make for a bad day.

It may--or may not--be getting better when he spots Sara in a booth.

"Sara, what are you doing here? Shouldn't you be at home, resting?" he asks, walking over.

[lvpd_sidle]

"I'm here for the same reason you are, I suspect. Don't worry--I'm not drinking anything alcoholic." Despite the snarky tone to her words, she gives Jack a small smile when he approaches.

[mmkcountess]

"I'd hope not, with the kind of drugs you're on. When did you get out of the hospital?" he asks, taking a seat.

[lvpd_sidle]

"Three minutes ago, and the narcotic ones were taken away on the third day. The county didn't want to pay for them." Her voice is dry.

[mmkcountess]

Jack's expression turns wry. "How nice of them, after you were injured in the line of duty," he says, darkly. "Can I get you anything?"

[lvpd_sidle]

"I wouldn't mind some tea and a salad. I don't know what they were trying to feed to me, but I don't think I can classify it as food." She tilts her head. "Are you all right?"

[mmkcountess]

"Yeah. Here, I'll be back in a minute." He heads over to Bar and comes back a moment later with a tea set and salad for her and a cup of coffee and a turkey sandwich for him. He hadn't asked for the sandwich, but Bar had given it to him anyway.

"So how long are you off before you have to go back to work?"

[lvpd_sidle]

"Two months." She takes a long drink before continuing. "It could have been sooner than that...but I need the time off. I need to process everything, and I won't do myself any good by rushing myself." She gives him a wry look. "Don't tell Grissom I said that."

[mmkcountess]

Jack nods. "Probably a good idea. I promise I won't tell him," he says with a weak smile. "How are you doing?"

[lvpd_sidle]

"Fine, aside from the nightmares." No need for bullshit with him, and Sara knows he would see right through it. "But I expected them."

[mmkcountess]

"Yeah. I'd probably be more worried if you didn't have them. What's happening to Natalie?"

[lvpd_sidle]

"She would have been sent into long term psychiatric care--prison wouldn't have done anything and she wasn't competent to stand trial--but she managed to kill herself a few days after I was found."

Sara takes another long drink. "It might sound cold and callous of me, but I'm...kind of glad to know she can't hurt anyone else."

[mmkcountess]

"If you're expecting me to be horrified at that you're talking to the wrong person." It's not the terrorists' deaths at his hands that keeps him up at night. Sometimes that was the only way to keep more innocent people from being hurt.

[lvpd_sidle]

"I'm talking to you because I know you'll understand where I'm coming from. You've seen the same things---and worse." She spears a tomato slice.

[mmkcountess]

Jack rubs his forehead for a moment, his head aching for a moment as he can see the image of the mushroom cloud over Valencia a little too vividly in his mind's eye. His grip tightens on his coffee cup slightly, the pressure of the porcelain against his hand and the heat of the mug a reminder of where he is. This isn't a good time to have a flashback. He'd rather focus on her at the moment, and not just so he can avoid talking about things that have been troubling him.

"Yeah, I can see that."

[lvpd_sidle]

"I'm not going to pretend to understand all that you've seen--not that you've told me much." She puts down the fork and covers his hand with her good one briefly. Another anchor in reality.