Chapter Ten: Compassion
Sara drew in a breath, pacing herself as she reached up along the rock face, searching for another handhold. Bits of loose gravel were knocked out the way, scattering down the slanted stone, disappearing somewhere into the darkness below. Sara let out a small gulp, focusing her attention back on the task at hand. She hated heights, hated them with a passion. And now Greg was making her climb.
"Can you see where you're going?" he asked.
Sara growled, continuing to move up as she did so. It wasn't a hard climb, the rocky surface slanted enough that it required the use of both your hands and feet to stay steady, but easy enough that it was only slow going, as opposed to being hard. Greg was only a few feet ahead of her, but he had stopped to glance over his shoulder. It was only the third time he had done so in the last five minutes. What? Did he not think she could climb?
"I can see your big butt," she scoffed heavily, now having to stop in order to wait for him.
She heard him laugh in response. "I didn't even know you liked looking," came the quiet teasing.
Sara blushed an immediate red, her lips pursing tightly. She was only thankful that Greg hadn't seen anything, the former lab-rat already climbing once more. She resumed as well, once getting herself back under control.
The one thing she hated to admit was the fact Greg had been right. For a few minutes before hand all she could think of was being rescued, and seeing the sole person coming towards them had only fueled her hopes.
After thinking of what Greg had said she now felt more foolish than anything. She hadn't taken the time to evaluate the situation, and if she had, she would have realized that something indeed was off. It was a mistake that could have caused the both of them their lives. A fine investigator she turned out to be. It was a sad, sad world when a rookie was correcting her own mistakes.
She wasn't aware she had reached the top; that was until Greg was lending hand in helping her up. Sara ignored it however, relying on her own strength to get over the last bit. Greg watched her with a quizzical gaze, one that she could not see as she rested against the cool ground.
From here they could see the tops of the nearby trees, and the light from the officer as he continued on his way. Sara continued to glance around the area, making a quiet remark at the sheltered cave behind them.
"Reason why I thought we'd be better off here," Greg nodded, sitting down as well. "By morning we might be lucky enough to see how to get out of here."
She watched as he pointed, gazing out into the darkness. It was hard to see much of anything, but it wouldn't be long until the sun would be working its way up. "Find out where a road runs through here, might be lucky enough to snag a ride."
"What if it's just trees?" Sara asked then, the thought coming to her suddenly.
"I highly doubt it," Greg countered, letting out a yawn. "This forest isn't that big."
"Why don't you sleep," She suggested casually, "or are you going to tell me that you're not tired?"
She heard him laugh, but there was no answer to her question, or accusation. It didn't surprise her much. Greg had kept quiet about it for this long, what was stopping him now? Instead she focused her gaze on the sky, hoping and praying for some rain. At the very least it would cool her down, and now with the cave they had shelter nearby there was no real worries of getting sick.
"I started having problems after the lab explosion," Greg said quietly, and for a moment it threw her off track. Before she could even ask he was already talking once again.
"I thought that it was because of the pain mostly…I actually blamed it on the pain for the longest time. That I couldn't get comfortable, that the medication wasn't working. It wasn't until after I completely healed that I knew that wasn't the cause."
He paused here, but only long enough to take a breath. "So I did what most people would do. I went back to the doctor's, got a prescription to help me sleep."
"Did it work?" she asked quietly, unsure as of yet where this story was headed.
"Wonderfully," Greg nodded to her. "When I took it that was. The first night it calmed me down enough…then the second night I tried to go without, but ended up taking some later anyways. Then a third night, and a fourth…"
"You became dependent," Sara stated, catching on now.
"I didn't mean too," Greg countered quickly, not wanting to seem like the bad guy. "It was just something that sort of happened. When I worked in the lab it was no problem…but with field work,"
"You can't be on medication," Sara nodded, already knowing the policy. "What about OTC stuff? That's allowed."
Greg shook his head, "It doesn't work."
"But if you find something that would, just not as strong as what your doctor prescribed you," she started, but Greg was quick in cutting her off.
"I need something that's going to work. Just not kind of, sort of, stuff. And anything stronger would be too big of a risk if I was called out to a case."
Sara nodded in understanding. She never had that sort of problem, so it was unfair of her to judge him. Part of her knew that Greg would handle this on his own, but she felt bad that he wasn't seeking out any kind of help.
"I can't believe he had the nerve to try and follow us," Sara mentioned quietly, trying to change the topic at hand.
"I can," Greg laughed softly. "He must be getting a lot of money for this to be that dedicated."
"Or he enjoys his work far too much," Sara added on, a chuckle of her own slipping past her lips.
"It actually might be helpful," Greg reasoned, watching as the light suddenly went off. He sat up, straining to see what he could, as though it would actually help him. "I'm going to check this out…"
"Are you crazy?" Sara shook her head, watching him go. "You're going to get yourself killed."
"I'll be fine," he argued, sitting down along the edge to hang his feet over. "I know what I'm doing…"
She was quick to follow, frowning when he told her to stay put. It was senseless for the both of them to go, yes, but it was hard to believe that Greg was the one giving orders. The last time she checked, Grissom had put her in charge. Now it was the complete opposite way.
Letting out a growl she sat back on her haunches, shaking her head. "You had better be right Greg." She had said it firmly, trying to keep her nerves calm. They were anything but.
Greg was never really sure where he was going. He only knew on basic direction, and had hoped that he would be able to find his way. The one thing he did notice on the ground that he had not while up higher, was the steady glow off in the distance, the light smoke trail hanging up in the air.
That meant that Mckinely must have settled down for the night. But it did not mean he was asleep. Greg slowed his steps as he neared, moving to crouch against the ground. From here he could see the man, who was lying flat on the ground, a cap covering his face. That alone made it difficult for Greg to judge if he was actually asleep or not.
It would be hard for Greg to believe that he fell asleep so quickly. It had taken him a good twenty minutes alone to get down here, and taking into the count Mckinely had to set up camp first, and then proceed to fall asleep…
In the end Greg decided it would be better to wait. He knew Sara would worry, but it was safer to wait than to press his luck. If Mckinely had come all the way out here, than surely he had brought supplies. Greg could only wet his lips as he thought over what. Surely water, and some basic food. That alone would keep them alive long enough to find their way out, or at the very least, help.
He sat there for the longest time, ignoring the stiffness in his knees, the ache in his back. Still he was afraid to move. There was no doubt in Greg's mind that Mckinely was armed, and the chances of him outrunning a second round of stray bullets were more than low. Especially at this range.
It wasn't until the fire had burned down next to nothing, the coals still glowing gently, that Greg made his first move. One step, then another, trying to shake off the numbness that had crept up on him. The man did not stir.
He had spotted it a while back, while surveying the scene in his hidden position. There was a backpack near the makeshift fire pit, still unzipped. Greg crouched down, staying far away as possible as he reached out and wrapped his fingers around one of the straps, carefully pulling the bag near him.
Greg paused as Mckinely shifted in his sleep, the man muttering something of incoherent stature. It wasn't until he fell silent again that Greg dared to let out the breath he was holding, his attention turning back to examine the bag.
His speculations had been correct. The bag was packed with water bottles, wrapped food, most of which were protein bars. There was also more, stuffed way down at the bottom but Greg didn't waste the time in looking. It would just be best if he headed back now, get away from the potential danger.
However it made Greg feel guilty. Even if the man was trying to kill them, Greg would be delivering the same state if he just took off with all the supplies. For a moment Greg had actually considered it, had actually considered just leaving. But even if Mckinely deserved it, he wasn't able to. With a resentful sigh Greg pulled out a single water bottle, a handful of protein bars, placing them on the ground next to the pit. It would be up to the man after that.
Turning to leave though he had to pause once more. The flashlight was still up near Mckinely. Greg knew that it could be valuable, he and Sara had needed the use of one several times before, and that wouldn't change anytime soon. At the same time he wondered if it was worth the risk.
He set the bag on the ground, deciding then that it was a necessary risk. After all, if Mckinely hadn't woken up yet, what was a few more seconds? Greg could be in and out within that time frame, and in the end, be much more prepared.
Still he wasn't reckless. Greg moved quietly, carefully placing each step. The flashlight was up near his head, where Mckinely was snoring softly, his head resting on a rolled up sweatshirt. Grasping the item firmly Greg was moving away when he saw the gun. It was resting on the man's chest, fingers wrapped lightly around it.
For a moment Greg considered it, before shaking his head. It was too risky, even if the man was hunting him down. When he woke up with limited supplies, he would head back. And if they were careful, they would be able to follow at a safe distance. The situation itself was almost cleared up.
It was then Greg heard him moving, the noise breaking him from his thoughts. Mckinely was doing more than just rolling over his sleep, instead he was muttering quietly, reaching up to pull the cap off his face. He froze in his spot, but it didn't do much as the man opened his eyes, his gaze landing right on Greg who was mere inches from his face.
TBC