You Think You Know 10/?
Disclaimer: I only own Greg's girlfriend… for now.
Rating: R
Summary: Something is wrong with Greg but no one knows what it is. What happens when Sara finds out and informs the rest of the group? Read and find out.
"Do it."
Greg's whisper echoed through her mind. The images of Greg getting whipped and beaten playing like a horror movie on her brain, causing bile to once again move into her throat.
"Hey… how you holding up?" Catherine asked as she stepped into the break room, making a beeline for the coffee pot.
"I… I don't know." Shaking her head, Sara bit her lip, tears brimming her eyes. "I've never felt… so numb. She came into… into my home and took him from me."
"Sara…" The strawberry blonde stuttered, moving quickly to her co-workers side.
"I may never get to see him again… and it's all my fault,"
"Oh, Sara…" Pulling the brunette into a half hug, Catherine cringed as the images from the video came back to the forefront of her brain. "We're gonna find him, Sara."
"If we're lucky…" Shaking her head, a new batch of tears sprung loose, making the growing headache she had even worse. "You saw that video… same as me… the only thing that stood out was Gr…"
Giving Sara's shoulder a comforting squeeze, a half smile slipped from her lips. "And we've found people on much less."
"Thanks."
"I found something!" David Hodges yelled as he bolted toward the A/V lab, not at all surprised to find Grissom, Catherine, Nick, and Sara there as well.
"What do you have?" The supervisor asked, stepping forward, his eyes unmoving from the trace tech.
"Melanie Ceff isn't her real name. She's been using a rental car under that but listed a Natalie Wall as her reference."
"And…" Sara growled, her knuckles turning white from the death grip she had on the table.
"And Melanie is an alias. I ran Natalie through the database and she's got a criminal history.
Swallowing thickly at the thought of where that put their favorite tech, Nick snapped. "Is there anything important here, Hodges?"
"Yes… I got an address. I'ts on the edge of town and only about a year old."
"Ok thanks, David…" Accepting the piece of paper, Grissom skimmed it quickly before adding. "Call Brass, give him the address. I'm heading there now."
"I already did. They are on their way." David smiled before stepping out of the room.
"I'm coming." Sara pounced, her arms folding across her chest before she bolted out of the door.
"Me too."
Letting out a sigh, Grissom nodded to the young CSI's. "Let's go."
The sight of Doc Robbins ME van nearly broke Sara, tears clouding her vision. "No."
Nick and Grissom shared a somber glance at her words. Seeing Brass walk up to the Denali, the supervisor rolled down the window. "What is it?"
"It was her… Natalie… she put up a fight with my men… but she's down."
Swallowing the lump in his throat, Grissom added. "…and Greg?"
"We had him airlifted to Desert Palms. Last check he was in extremely critical condition… we were lucky to get to him when we did… she definitely wasn't going to stop."
"Well it looks like we will still have a scene to process." Putting the truck in park Grissom turned to Nick. "Take Sara and head to Desert Palms."
"Are you sure?"
"Yeah… I'll see you guys there later."
Sliding behind the steering wheel, Nick chanced a glance back at the brunette. Her face was pale, her expression unreadable. She was probably in shock. "It's alright, Sara… Greg is gonna be fine."
The drive to the hospital was an awkward silence. Yes, Greg was alive but even that was up in the air.
Pulling up into the emergency drive Sara jumped out of the truck before Nick could come to a complete stop. Shaking his head, he quickly parked the car and followed her inside.
Finding her sitting shakily in a chair, he sat down beside her, placing a comforting hand on her shoulder. "What's wrong?"
"They have him in surgery…" A sob burst from her lips as she pulled her legs up to her chin. "I just need to see him… I need to know… he's gonna be okay…" Shaking her head, she cried harder, pulling her legs deeper into her chest, her form shaking with fear. "I don't know… what I'll do without him."
"Oh, Sara, don't think like that." Putting an arm around her, Nick pulled her into his side. "Melan… Natalie didn't win… she's gone and he's still here… a fighter."
"Yeah… you're right."
"Doctor's coming."
Sara hadn't known she'd fallen asleep until she was being shaken awake. Groaning at the feel of the of the uncomfortable hospital chair, beneath her, she sat up trying to regain her focus.
"Family of Greg Sanders?"
"Uhh were his coworkers." Nick stuttered straightening up. "How is he?"
"Well it was alittle touch and go at first. He had a lot of internal bleeding, collapsed lung, he's heavily bruised… at one point we did lose him." Hearing Sara's strangled sob, the doctor cleared his throat. "We got him back. He's stable now but we will need to keep him here a few weeks to heal."
"Can we see him?"
"Of course… but please keep conversations as brief as possible. His body needs to help in healing and he can't do that without his rest."
"We will…" Nick smiled, shaking the doctor's hand. "Thank you, doctor."
Stepping up to Greg's hospital room door, Sara bit her lip. Scared to step in the room. Scared to see Greg in even worse condition than he had already been in. She nearly jumped two feet in the air feeling Nick press a gentle hand on her shoulder.
"Hey, its ok… go in. I'll be just a few minutes."
Nodding at his kind gesture, she took a deep breath, willing the gods to give her enough strength to see her broken companion.
Pushing the door open, she stumbled in the room, her legs nearly giving out at the sight of him. Shakily stepping up to the bed, her eyes swept over his form. The thin white blanket covered his lower half, stopping just shy of his belly button, a thin layer of gauze covered the whole of his chest, most of it changing into a deep red hue. Cringing, she lifted her gaze to his collarbone, regretting it almost instantly finding the visible ends of the lacerations leading up to his pale cheeks. Gone were his boyish features, replaced with angry scrapes and gashes.
"Sara."
His hoarse whisper broke her from her reverie, a stunned expression at her lips, finding his hazel eyes on her. "Yeah… how'd you know it was me?"
"I could tell that Sidle scent anywhere."
It came out light, barely above a whisper, but its desired effect fell on deaf ears as a sob burst from Sara's lips.
"Oh, Sara… don't please." His voice sounded like gravel as he eased his battered body higher on the bed, motioning her closer.
Pulling her arms around herself, she eased next to the side of the bed, wiping the lingering tears from her cheeks.
Shaking his head at her skittishness, he grabbed her hand, pulling her til she settled on the bed beside him. "I won't bite."
Cringing at the sound of his voice, she studied his hand, still clasped in her own. "I almost thought… that we… that we weren't gonna find you."
"I was afraid I wasn't going to be found either…." Greg confessed, swallowing the lump that appeared in his throat, before a dry whimper escaped his lips. "Her name wasn't even Melanie."
Closing her eyes, Sara turned from him, her heart pounding. "We know."
"You… you know?"
"Yeah… Hodges found it."
"What?" His shock came out more like a bark, bringing her attention back to him. "Hodges? Great, if I didn't already feel like I was head of the pity party… he's never gonna let me live that down."
Squeezing the hand that she still held, she shook her head, her tears falling anew. "Do… don't say that… if it wasn't for him… then we wouldn't have found you."
Biting his lip, Greg sighed. "Oh god, Sara… I'm sorry."
"Just don't do that again."
"I won't." Giving her hand a gentle tug, he smiled, the subtle grin he received in return, turning his hellish day into his body and soul landing back on terra ferma.
R&R… Sorry for the lack of updates. I'm updating chapters as I get to them.