Flashback- Chapter 36
Nick Stokes entered the elevator and impatiently waited to reach the floor of his destination. Rubbing his side ruefully, the Texan grimaced at the itchiness of the bandages that wrapped his midsection. As the elevator doors slid open, the sight of Jim Brass standing next to Sara who was crouching down next to a figure seated in a wheelchair, greeted him. As he stepped off the elevator, Nick watched Dr. Longman leave Grissom's room, drawing Sara's attention. The slender brunette immediately stood up and, after a brief consultation with Longman, made her way back into ICU. The doctor followed in behind her.
Though Brass's back was to Nick, he could see the police captain talking to the man in the wheelchair in a low voice. Nick strolled over to the two men and caught Brass's attention. Looking up, the older man gave him a slight smile and said to Petersen, "There's someone else you should talk to. Nicky?"
The Texan stood before the Marine and waited a moment to see if the man would recognize him. Petersen blinked twice at Nick but gave no indication that he had ever seen him before.
Holding out his hand, Nick greeted the sergeant, "My name is Nick Stokes, sir."
Petersen gave him a confused look. "Have we met? I don't believe I know you, but…."
A shadow passed over his face and he frowned slightly as a distant memory flickered through his mind.
"…but you seem familiar somehow."
Nick studied Petersen for a moment and then looked at Brass.
"Did you tell him? Have you let him know about what happened out at Red Rocks?"
Brass looked down at Petersen and then back at Nick and sighed. "No, I wanted him to see Grissom, but then…"
Nick glanced back towards where Sara had disappeared.
"Grissom…I saw Sara rush to go in there," Nick interrupted, looking back at Brass, "what… what's going on? He isn't worse, is he?"
Brass held his hand up. "Nick, relax. The doc just came out to tell Sara that he was asking for her. He regained consciousness a little while ago, and they took him off the respirator," the police captain said with a smile.
Petersen looked up at both men, trying to understand what was going on. Raising his left hand and waving it slightly to get their attention, the Marine spoke up.
"Who is this Grissom? You're telling me that I should meet him? Why?"
Brass looked down at Petersen and said, "I think you'll understand once you see him. Come."
Brass, with Nick following, pushed the wheelchair so that it came to a stop next to the observation window of Grissom's room. Through the open blinds, they could see Sara bending over the patient lying in the bed.
Staring anxiously at the figure in the bed, Sara entered the ICU room and watched for a moment as Jennifer adjusted the leads and tubes that were snaking from Grissom's body. She took a tentative step forward, and the nurse waved her forward.
"Go ahead," urged Dr. Longman from behind her, "it will do him good for him to see you."
Sara gave the doctor a brief glance and smiled in appreciation. "Thank you, Doctor," she said softly and approached the bed.
Grissom watched intensely as the nurse adjusted his IV and then turned his head slightly towards the door when he heard voices. He concentrated on bringing into focus the slender figure that had just entered room.
"Sara," he whispered roughly, "you're here."
"Yeah, Gil, I'm right here," she said as she hurried over to the bed. She gingerly picked up his right hand and squeezed it gently. "You scared me. You know that, don't you?"
"Where…what…," he rasped.
"Sh…sh…everything's okay. Just rest easy," she said softly.
His eyes sought hers, and she gave him a small smile. "How…how long?"
"You're at Desert Palm and it's been two days since you were brought from Red Rocks."
Grissom shut his eyes and gave her a slow nod. He tried to wrap his head around her words. Red Rock Canyon…It was all a blur as he tried to remember. Suddenly his eyes flew open, and Grissom's hand tightened around Sara's.
"Tell me…tell me what happened. Nicky…I remember seeing Brass. Sara…"
"Gil…it's okay. I swear, everyone's okay," she tried to reassure him.
"The Marine…the sniper…Nick and I…we," Grissom stammered.
Dr. Longman stepped up and lightly touched Grissom on the shoulder.
"Dr. Grissom, you need to calm down," Longman said in a soothing voice as he eyed Grissom's increasing heart rate and blood pressure.
But Grissom was totally focused on Sara. The young woman looked helplessly at the doctor and then back down at the distraught man lying in the bed. Grissom tried to control his breathing, but as more of his memories came to the forefront of his consciousness, the more anxious he became.
"Grissom, listen," pleaded Sara, "all your questions will be answered." She paused and then continued, an idea coming to her.
"Brass is just outside the door. What if…what if he were to come in and talk to you?"
Sara's words penetrated Grissom's anxiousness and the entomologist slowly nodded his head. "Okay…I'm okay," he breathed out slowly, trying to regain control.
The doctor wasn't taking any chances and wanted his patient resting. He quickly injected a sedative into Grissom's IV line. Moments later, his patient's eyes widened slightly as the medication took effect, and he eyed the doctor somewhat resentfully. Longman watched Grissom as the man slowly relaxed and sank back against the pillow.
Grissom felt himself slowly start to drift away as he tried to tighten his grip on Sara's hand. He struggled to keep his eyes focused on her as her image blurred. Grissom felt the pull of the sedative, but he fought to ask one last question before he was pulled under.
"P…Petersen…Sara…what about…"
The question faded on his lips as sleep overtook him. Sara looked up at the doctor, who said softly, "He was getting too worked up."
Sara nodded solemnly, letting him know that she understood. A commotion on the other side of the observation window drew the attention of both Sara and Longman.
With his outstretched hand pressed against the window, Petersen stood staring wide-eyed at the now sleeping Grissom lying still on the bed. Both Brass and Nick were on the either side of the Marine, obviously talking quietly to him.
The slender brunette stood up and stepped away from Grissom so that Petersen could get a view of the patient. With Grissom's head turned slightly in the direction of the observation window, Petersen could make out Grissom's features clearly. The Marine turned so that he could enter the room, but Nick held him fast where he stood.
Sara watched the scene outside the room, not sure whether she should talk with Petersen as she had intended. Making up her mind, she decided to have that conversation with the sergeant and she headed for the door.
As Brass wheeled the chair up to the observation window, Petersen could see the slender brunette who had spoken to him moments before standing next to the figure in the bed, holding his hand and apparently speaking softly to him. As the Marine observed the scene, he took note of the patient. He couldn't clearly see all of the man's face, but just enough to see that there was something familiar about him.
Petersen stood up out of the chair to get a better look at the patient. Touching the glass lightly, he asked, "Okay, so who is he? I've seen him before, haven't I? That woman there, she said I had something to do with him. Is that true?"
The patient in the bed had awakened and was becoming agitated from what Petersen could see. The nurse and the doctor moved around to either side of the bed with the woman still trying to talk to him. Apparently the woman wasn't able to calm the man down and the doctor administered a sedative through the man's IV.
As Grissom's movements slowed down until the man was motionless, the group gathered around the bed moved away, and Petersen had a clear view of the patient. Grissom's head was turned slightly towards the observation window.
Petersen's eyes widened even further and he slapped the window with his hand in consternation.
"Murph…," Petersen whispered hoarsely. He looked with consternation at Brass and then at Nick.
"What kind of trick is this?" the Marine exclaimed in a low voice, "How could this be?"
Nick laid a hand on the man's shoulder. "No, not a trick. His name is Grissom, Gil Grissom. He's a criminalist with the Las Vegas Crime Lab."
Petersen stood staring at the still figure in the hospital bed, trying to process what Nick just told him.
"What did I do exactly? I mean…How did…how did I…" Petersen faltered, unsure what he wanted to ask.
"You don't remember what happened," confirmed Nick. "I was there. I know. I can tell you everything," he offered.
"You were there? You know…and you don't hate me. You don't want me dead?"
Nick looked at the man incredulously. "No, man,…why in the world would you…"
Suddenly it dawned on Nick what Petersen was thinking. He looked from Petersen to Grissom back to Petersen. Jim Brass caught the drift also.
The police captain gave Petersen a concerned look and then stared back at Grissom.
"Petersen, you were responsible for Grissom bein' in that bed, yes…but not in the way you think."
"I…I don't understand," stammered the Marine, looking confused.
"Grissom would be dead if you hadn't come along and taken care of the bad guys," spoke up Sara as she rounded the corner and stepped beside Nick.
"Not only that, you probably save my life, too. Although it didn't come without a price to pay," piped in Nick as he ruefully rubbed his side.
Petersen sat slowly down in the chair and stared at the three surrounding him. "But you said that I was responsible…that I was the reason he was in that bed."
Brass cocked his head to one side and said to the Marine, "You didn't shoot him or give him his head wound, and you did cause some havoc up in Red Rock Canyon."
Petersen took a deep breath and looked up at the captain.
"So how did he end up here in ICU?"
Nick bent down so that he was eye-level with the Marine. The Texan spoke in a soft tone, "Better that he be in ICU than the morgue."
"I don't understand," he said genuinely puzzled.
"As far as you were concerned, your timing couldn't have been more perfect," said Brass with all seriousness.
Sara piped in, "Captain Brass is right. You apparently thought you were back in Afghanistan, back with your unit. You were causing quite a stir in Red Rock Canyon."
Petersen arched his eyebrows at the young woman. "Red Rock Canyon? Bower said that this is a Vegas hospital, right? This canyon, this Red Rock Canyon, is near here?"
"Not too far…the canyon is located at the base of the mountains west of Vegas," commented Brass. "According to photos that we've seen, that area is remarkably similar to the region you and your unit were assigned to in Afghanistan."
Petersen took a moment to let this piece of information to soak in. Looking up at the police personnel surrounding him, he was almost afraid to ask. Warily he looked at the two CSI's and the police captain and asked in a halting voice, "What exactly happened? W…what did I do?"
"You were trying to make sure that the Taliban wasn't infiltrating the nearby village," Brass said in a quiet voice.
Flashes of the failed mission flitted through before his eyes. Petersen slowly stood up again and pressed his hand against the glass of the observation window, staring at Grissom's still form.
"I must have…I must have thought he was Lieutenant Murphy," he whispered hoarsely. "How was he injured in the first place?"
Nick spoke up, "There was a murder near the trailhead of the canyon. Grissom and I were there to search for and collect evidence. Two police officers were there with us, assigned to keep the area secure so that Grissom and I could process the scene."
Dread etched its way across the Marine's face. "God, did I…was I responsible for that murder? Did anything happen to the officers? ?"
Nick nodded his head and continued, "No, you didn't commit the murder. Apparently the bad guys who did commit the murder decided to return and retrieve the drugs they had hidden near the spring at the end of the canyon."
Nick paused and then continued, "The two officers who were keeping the scene secure for us were ambushed by them. We nearly suffered the same fate, but you came along and got us out of there."
Brass spoke up. "Your actions kept Grissom alive, but your flashback made life interesting. You were trying to get them to a rendezvous point so that an evacuation could take place. Problem was that every movement you saw was the enemy. You led us on quite a chase through the desert."
Petersen stared at the police captain, unsure whether he wanted to hear more. Turning his head and looking through the window at Grissom's unconscious form, he whispered, "Get me out of here."
"Sergeant, it's okay. Grissom's going to recover," said Brass. "I understand…"
"No, you don't…you don't know what it's like," hissed Petersen angrily.
Brass spun the chair around and just as angrily faced the Marine. "I brought you here because I wanted you to see that you can't change the past…but you already know that. Lieutenant Murphy died, but not because you weren't good enough. You couldn't have done anything different, but the future is before you. You can't change what happened, but you already made a difference in that man's life in there along with the people who are standing here before you."
Brass stood straighter and stared down at Petersen. "So what's it going to be? I can take you back to your room, but it won't change anything. You can't hide or run away because your past will just catch up with you."
"These flashbacks…I don't know when they'll come," said Petersen helplessly.
"Your flashbacks usually were triggered by guilt."
Petersen looked up to see that Dr. Bower had just joined the group. Sara, Nick, and Brass turned their heads at the comment.
"Pete, do you remember how you ended up in this part of Nevada?"
Bower searched Petersen's face as the Marine tried to recall what had brought him to southern Nevada.
The sergeant looked up at the doctor as the memory finally took hold. "Murphy was interred at the Veteran's Cemetery. I was going there to meet Jill, his wife, there."
"You never showed," said Bower quietly and then continued, "I thought you were ready."
"So what happens now?" asked the Marine quietly.
"We start the journey back," said Bower.
A/N: This chapter was difficult to write and I'm not sure why. Thanks for all the encouragement and patience for the problems I've been having. Things are starting to get on track and I hope to get the next installment in a more timely manner. Hand is much better and who knows? I might even get in a reply back to a review or two. Thanks for sticking with me. beck