FF_11/27/2008
Disclaimer: I don't own any of CSI. Just my own imagination!
Remember My Name
Chris cursed also. "I have to go report in and then yell at an IAB lieutenant."
"Yell at him for me, too. I'm not leaving Nick's side until I know he's safe." Brass spoke gruffly.
He'd heard both Chris and Brass's last statements. They settled him, somehow.
"Hey, Nicky, it's Brass. I'm here to stay for a while. Chris and the others will have to go back to work after they get you to the hospital. Me, I'm here for the long haul. You are my job until further notice, ok?" Brass waited until he felt him squeeze his hand once before continuing. Brass began a soothing chatter about Chris and how he'd like to be there when Chris tore into Lt. Casey.
Chris stormed into the Command Post. The Sheriff was there questioning the Las Vegas Fire Department firefighters who still held Lt. Casey's arms. "Are you insane?" he demanded of the IAB officer. "I've got an unstable patient, pinned by debris. He's got a depressed skull fracture. He can't open his eyes; he can't speak. He doesn't remember anything before waking up in the rubble." Chris ran a hand through his hair. "Can you imagine it? He's in the dark, he can't speak and he doesn't know who the hell we are. He's in agony. And everything we do causes him more pain. I'd just gotten him to trust me and you sweep in and start making demands. You terrified him!"
Chris paced away from Lt. Casey, then back. Everyone in the Command Post was watching him. He stared intently at the lieutenant. "You are not coming anywhere near my patient as long as he is my patient."
The Sheriff spoke quietly. "Are you aware of the threat?"
Chris met his gaze. "Yes, Captain Brass told me. He's with Nick now."
Lt. Casey started to object.
"Shut up!" Chris stared back at him furiously. "I don't care about your policies or procedures. I'm concerned with keeping my patient alive. I was able to reassure Nick that Captain Brass was a friend of his. I need him to trust us, or he probably won't survive."
The room was silent. Finally the Sheriff spoke. "Chris is the EMT in charge. We'll follow his guidelines regarding his patient's wellbeing. If that means Lt. Casey has no access at this time, so be it. Access is meaningless if Stokes doesn't survive."
Lt. Casey tried to object again, but the Sheriff waved him silent. "I'll have you removed if necessary," he told the IAB lieutenant.
Chris turned to the Search and Rescue specialists. "How are we going to get him out of there?" He began discussing logistics with them. After finalizing those plans, Chris got on the phone, talking to Desert Palms Hospital. He gave them the situation and their plans. He let out the breath he was holding when they put their seal of approval on the plans.
Chris was turning to return to Nick when Nick's friends and co-workers stopped him. He looked into their worried faces and said, "I don't have anything reassuring to say except that somehow he's still alive."
"Why was he screaming?" Greg asked.
"I checked his pupils. They're blown," Chris's words were curt and discouraging. It was the look on his face that told the story. He was struggling to hold back tears. "I think he's got TBI." Chris met their eyes, then turned and made his way back to Chris.
Catherine quietly questioned, "TBI?"
It was an extremely sobered Greg who replied, "Traumatic Brain Injury."
It silenced the group.
A/N: Please forgive any errors in medical issues and terminology. Again, I'm going with my imagination in this! :)
Thanks everyone who's reviewed. And thanks nicksfriend for all your support. You are a major prop in my getting this out!