Las Vegas
October 1998
"And smile, perfect," said the photographer before he walked off and Jenna looked at Frankie and rubbed her cheeks.
"My face is going to hurt if I have to smile anymore," said Jenna and Frankie laughed before taking her out to the dance floor.
"Think how poor Maggie feels, I think her face is frozen like that. Just think, you'll have to go through this someday," said Frankie and Jenna made a face.
"Have you met me? No one in their right mind is going to marry me," countered Jenna.
"Well in any case you have made an excellent Best Woman and if you want to catch the garter instead of the bouquet you have my permission," said Frankie.
Jenna looked over to where Maggie was dancing with her oldest brother who had served as her Man of Honor. Jenna was amused with the fact that Maggie and Frankie had decided to have Bride's men and Groom's ladies. Frankie had grown up around all the women at the bakery and Maggie had grown up with all her brother's cop friends. The only guy in Frankie's party had been Jonathan who was dancing with his little sister Connie.
"Promise me you aren't going to take it off with your teeth? It is so tacky and gross," said Jenna.
"I like being alive and I'm pretty sure everyone in Maggie's family is packing right now. Actually Maggie's cousin wanted to know if he could have your number before he left," teased Frankie and Jenna rolled her eyes.
"I don't think I could date a white boy. I spent too much time around them at Stanford and they can't handle seasoning. What kind of life do you expect me to lead if I can't use anything stronger than black pepper?' asked Jenna. Greg could handle seasoning. Hell he put extra hot sauce on top of his chilli.
"So your only requirement is that they can handle seasonings? That is an insanely low bar and would explain how Andy got back in your good graces," said Frankie.
"We're just friends," said Jenna. You've said that before.
"So that's why he spends so much time with you and mom at the hospital?" asked Frankie and Jenna rolled her eyes.
"He's just being nice…look we agreed, no talking about mom's illness, hospitals or anything like that. It's a happy day for you and Maggie," said Jenna.
"Yeah," said Frankie softly. Jenna knew that deep down Frankie wasn't happy at all, it had nothing to do with getting married or Maggie. They had planned on getting married anyway, but they planned on getting married later on, like two years from now or even later. But, with Gia getting sick so fast, they stepped it up. It's Vegas. We could have thrown something together in a day, but we wanted it to be nice for mom. We're scared she might not be here next year.
Jenna shook her head and smiled at her mother sitting at a table with a nurse they hired for the day. The cancer had moved quickly and so far her mother had lost a good twenty pounds and was already wearing a wig. Jenna was surprised that her mother was even awake, she had gone through another round of chemo late last week and was totally exhausted at the rehearsal dinner last night. Jenna looked up at Frankie and sighed.
"Go dance with mom, she really wants to," said Jenna.
"I don't know," said Franke. Frankie hadn't been dealing with their mother's illness well and tried to avoid it whenever possible. Jenna frowned at him and hissed in his ear.
"Franklin Antonio Bianchi, go dance with your mother before I get your wife over here and we both start kicking your ass," said Jenna. Frankie pulled back and looked at her.
"I can't remember the last time anyone used my full name in that tone…I'm in the dog house ain't I?" asked Franked and Jenna sighed. She might be the younger sibling by almost five years, but she was clearly the older sibling emotionally by a decade at the very least.
"No, she just looks really sad and she talked about dancing with you at your wedding for weeks. Now go dance with mom, if she's tired she'll tell you," said Jenna. Frankie gave her a hug and looked a little glassy eyed.
"I honestly don't know how you deal with it everyday. I'm not strong like you," said Frankie and Jenna patted his head.
"Don't get all weepy on me now. The men in Maggie's family look like the type of guys who can take a bullet in the knee and still kick your ass, you don't want to show them that your little sister can kick your ass. Go dance with mama," said Jenna and she pushed him off the dance floor. Figuring her family was paying for half the bar tab Jenna went over the bar to ask for another glass of white wine.
He's not coming, why do you think he's coming? Jenna had sent Greg a letter asking if he could get away for a weekend and come see her and be a guest at the wedding. She told him that he could tell Dana that it had something to do with work, Jenna even told him that she would foot the bill for a hotel room and gas if he came down here. She had sat aside some money and could easily get a cheap room for the weekend.
I miss you so much, she wrote to him in the last letter, Just come see me, make up any lie you want to her. So far that letter hadn't come back yet, unlike the others she had sent so she was hoping he would come and see her. So far he was a no show.
Jenna sipped her wine and studied the dance floor. Ofilia had left saying Milia was tired and needed to go to bed. Jenna was now wishing she had snuck out with her. Jenna had a feeling the real reason Ofilia had left was the tall blond now dancing with Jonathan as Connie was now talking with some of the neighborhood aunties. Jonathan asked if I would be willing to make the wedding cake for him next spring. Hopefully Ofilia doesn't spit in it.
"Hey," said Andy, joining her at the bar. He was serving as one of the ushers and was dressed in a black suit and tie. Jenna had to admit that he looked really good in that suit, the blue tie really made his blue eyes stand out. He had recently cut his hair, so now it was a mess of black curls.
"Hey," said Jenna and she asked the bartender to top off her glass. What the hell someone can drive my ass home for once.
At first it had been awkward between her and Andy. They really hadn't talked when she had been home during the winter break. Honestly Jenna didn't know what to say to him. She had a feeling he was probably really sick of hearing 'Sorry your dad died.' She had made him his favorite, cheese pierogies before going back to California. However she had heard everything from her mother and Ofilla about how Andy's dad had completely fucked Andy and the whole family over with the gambling and bad business decisions. His sisters and their families had to leave Vegas and start over since they had worked in the family business and needed new jobs.
Andy and his mom were now living in a sad apartment building which was a far cry from the decent house in Henderson. His mom was cleaning hotel rooms and now Andy worked for her mother doing deliveries. Well technically he works for me now. God that is something I will never get over.
However after her mom had been diagnosed with cancer it seemed that other than Ofilia Andy seemed to be doing a lot of the heavy lifting with things that seem to run her over more often than not.
Andy was taking care of the house in Henderson when Jenna was camped out on a cot at Desert Palms. He did dishes and made sure the house was clean when they were allowed to come home between treatments. He made it a point to bring her the mail, the phone messages, clean clothes and food outside the hospital and he also took over staying at the hospital with Gia when Jenna needed to run errands, go to work or have another marathon phone call with the insurance company.
If someone would have told you that your ex would be bending over backwards like this for you last year, you would have laughed your ass off.
"So how long did that cake take? It's just…wow," said Andy. Jenna looked over at the piano shaped cake that her and some of the other girls had slaved over. Jenna did it for Maggie, who taught music back in Chicago.
"Oh it only took about eight hours. Cutting and shaping it was kind of a pain in the ass. But, it was worth it. The photographer asked for my card. Which I have none so like the classy lady I am I wrote my contact info on a napkin," said Jenna with a grin. She took a sip of her drink and spotted Frankie dancing with their mother who couldn't have looked happier.
"So…listen," said Andy who was interrupted by the nurse Jenna had brought in for the day.
"Excuse me, Miss Bianchi. It's almost nine, we agreed to have her back at the hospital by nine," said the nurse using a slightly rude tone. Jenna sighed, she would have much rather had Vanessa or Mimi as her mother's caretaker for the event, they were polite for starters and didn't treat Jenna like a child who didn't know what she was doing. Sadly they both got double booked on a shift and sent someone who reminded Jenna of an even bitcher version of Barb.
"Let her finish her dance with my brother, then I'll tell her it's time to go," said Jenna trying to use that firm but polite tone that got her through many phone fights with the insurance company. The nurse made a noise of disgust.
"I still can't believe that your family would have a wedding right now and put all this needless stress on her, it's really selfish if you ask me," she said. Jenna was getting ready to let loose a stream of swears, when Andy grabbed her arm.
"Well it was a good thing that no one asked you, it was Gia's idea to have the wedding now. We'll get her when she's finished dancing with her son. And I suggest you apologize to the person who's paying you, and mean it or else I'm sure your supervisor and the other nurses on staff would love to hear about how disrespectful you were to a patient's family during a family event," said Andy. Jenna looked at him in shock.
Did he just stand up for me? The nurse rushed off and Andy shook his head.
"I hope you tell Vanessa what a bitch that nurse is. Hey, you ok?" Jenna was really upset about what the nurse had said.
It was really dumb to do this now, It was money we really shouldn't have spent right now. We could have waited until she was better...at least a little bit. It really is a lot of stress and she really shouldn't be dealing with it right now. God I suck at this.
"I just really need some air," said Jenna and she walked outside and sat down on a stone bench that overlooked the garden and some of the ponds at the resort where the reception was being held. Frankie was wrong, she wasn't strong at all. She may act like it, but on the inside she was falling apart, it was all she could do to put one foot in front of the other, her days were just one giant blur after the other.
Mornings started at six with a meeting with the doctors to see how Gia had done overnight. Jenna telling the doctors how many times her mother woke in pain or to use the bathroom or anything she could remember. By seven the drugs were handed out, by seven thirty at least one of them made Gia physically ill and now it's time to guess which one it is. At ten her mother was in chemo. It was during that time Jenna would shower, eat and try to write a letter to Greg. It was honestly the only alone time Jenna had anymore.
By noon Gia was sleeping and Andy would come in to watch her mother. Jenna got to go home and spend at least three hours on the phone fighting with either A-the insurance company to cover Gia's stay and treatment, B-The bank to see if she could hold off on just one more loan payment for the bakery or C-The suppliers for the bakery who want to deal with her mother and want payment for three months ago. If she wasn't doing that she was working to make sure the bakery stayed afloat or was at her second job slinging drinks and waiting tables at Shimmer.
In the evenings it was another round of guessing which drug made her mother sick and if Jenna was lucky she could get four maybe five hours of sleep between the nurse checks or her mother crying in her sleep.
I'm fucking exhausted, I don't know how people deal with this, most twenty three years old I know are finishing school, getting their life started…mine is stuck. I just want…a hug, someone to tell me it's going to be alright. It's childish, but that's what I want. She really wanted Greg, she knew that he couldn't come to Vegas and help her deal with the never ending mess that her life had become, but would it be too much to ask for him to return a letter. She sighed and slammed down the rest of her drink and stared at the gardens. She could hear the music from inside the hall and gave a little smile and shook her head.
It's been seven hours and fifteen days
Since you took your love away
I go out every night and sleep all day
Since you took your love away
Andy sat down next to her and nudged her.
"Hey, they're playing our song. We danced to this at your going away party," said Andy and Jenna almost let out a laugh.
"Kind of weird, I'm surprised that you remembered," said Jenna.
"I gave them twenty five dollars to play it," said Andy. Jenna looked at him shocked and he grinned at her. He stood up and held out his hand. "You wanna dance?" asked Andy.
What…what are you doing? Jenna got up and took Andy's hand, he put one hand on her lower back and took her hand in his and Jenna took her other hand and placed it on his shoulder and let him lead.
Since you've been gone I can do whatever I want
I can see whomever I choose
I can eat my dinner in a fancy restaurant
But nothing, I said nothing can take away these blues
'Cause nothing compares, nothing compares to you
"How are you Jen?" asked Andy. Jenna blinked and the question kind of derailed her train of thought. For the most part, over the past few months; no one had asked her how she was. It was always about her mother, her brother and Maggie, or the business. If they did ask her, it was almost like an afterthought.
"Honestly…shitty…really shitty," said Jenna and she almost laughed, it was either laugh or cry anymore. Andy let out a laugh too and pulled her a little closer.
It's been so lonely without you here
Like a bird without a song
Nothing can stop these lonely tears from falling
Tell me baby where did I go wrong
I could put my arms around every boy I see
But they'd only remind me of you
"You've gotten really skinny, are you eating?" asked Andy. Jenna shrugged and Andy frowned. "You need to start eating or you're gonna get sick too," said Andy.
"Wow that is the most concern you have ever shown for me and that includes the time we found out I was allergic to the condoms and was crying while peeing after graduation sex," said Jenna trying to joke.
"I know I wasn't the best boyfriend, but I still care…I've always cared about you Jen," said Andy and he looked so serious it floored her.
Oh you are not falling for this line of bullshit are you? Wait…oh my god, don't fall for this. It was too late, if it was a line of bullshit, Jenna didn't care anymore. Had she been so focused on what went wrong with her and Andy that she forgot that they did really care about each other years ago? Andy had been her first real boyfriend, her only real boyfriend; they had started dating when Jenna was fifteen and had been together for almost six years. He had been her first…everything…first date, first boyfriend, first kiss, first time, first heartbreak. Andy brushed some hair away from her face and smiled.
I went to the doctor guess what he told me, guess what he told me
He said girl you better have fun, no matter what you do
But he's a fool, 'cause nothing compares, nothing compares to you
"I almost forgot how beautiful you really are. I don't know how you do it, I mean I don't think I could take care of people the way you do," said Andy
"You could if it was someone you really cared about," said Jenna.
"Who takes care of you, does anyone take care of you anymore?" asked Andy.
He used to…but he left, thought Jenna.
All the flowers that you planted brother, in the backyard
All died when you went away
Jenna just looked at Andy shocked and tried to find words.
"Let me take care of you, you've been so sad lately and you hide it from everyone and it's not fair," said Andy. He pulled her a little closer and Jenna was reminded so much of being seventeen and dancing at prom. She had felt so safe and loved in that moment. The last time you felt was when Greg told you he loved you. "Were you seeing someone while you were away?" asked Andy.
"I…" Jenna wasn't sure how to even explain what had happened between her and Greg. He said he was my best friend and now it's like he never existed.
"Because if he cared, why isn't he here now? I've seen the letters that come back from California, I didn't pry because it wasn't my business, but I see you hurt a little more each time one comes back and I see you hurt a little more each day in that hospital room. Pretty soon, you're not going to be you anymore, just a shell. And the Jenna I remember had too much life in her to be a shell," said Andy.
He's right…if we can read between the lines of bullshit, look at what we've become…a goddamn shell…why should we wait and be lonely for someone who has made it clear with every return to sender that we don't matter anymore. I'm tired of it all; I'm tired of not feeling anything. Let's just try…give it a try, what can it hurt?
"Do you want to get out of here?" asked Jenna. Andy nodded and they went inside to get their things and he drove Jenna back to Henderson. Later on that night, when Jenna was laying next to Andy who was sound asleep she realized that when her and Andy were having sex, she didn't think about Greg, for the first time in months she had put him out of her thoughts, she was thinking about him now, because she realized that she had stopped.
Jenna got out of bed quietly and sat at the kitchen table. She had a half finished letter to Greg sitting on the table. She took it, a pot and a thing of matches outside. She burned it and debated getting her other things from Stanford and the letters Greg had sent back and setting those on fire too. No. Those are your reminders that you can't go back. That it was a nice dream and now you have to face what your life really is. Maybe Andy isn't my soul mate, but at least he's here and that's better than nothing.
March 2000
Las Vegas
Jenna was sitting up in a hospital bed and she had taken off her engagement ring and was staring at it like it was a foreign object. She sighed and wondered how she could feel so empty.
I was going to have a huge, blow out wedding because that's what Andy and my mom wanted, Frankie was going to give me away, Ofilia was going to be my maid of honor, Maggie offered to play piano for me. Connie wanted to make my dress.I wanted to make my own cake though.
"Jen." She looked up and saw Andy in the doorway. He was carrying a thing of red roses and his eyes were downcast.
"Can I come in?" asked Andy. Jenna shrugged and he took that as a yes. He pulled up a chair next to her bed and took her free hand. Jenna wanted to pull it away, but his grip was tight.
"I'm really, really sorry about everything. I'll make it up to you someday I promise,"said Andy. Jenna turned and looked at him. It was like looking at a stranger and she had a feeling if not for the drugs she might find the energy to slap him with her free hand.
"What the hell are you doing here? You either have balls of steel or you are the dumbest son of bitch I've ever met," said Jenna flatly. Andy gripped her hand tighter; it was almost painful.
"I didn't mean for this to happen…" started Andy.
"For what to happen? For me to find out that you went behind my back and stole from me and family, instead of coming to me like a man and telling me the truth, that you were in trouble and needed help. God damn it Andy, your father did the same thing and look what happened! Did you think I was a moron, that I wouldn't notice it?" asked Jenna. It took months, but you finally noticed...well Ofilla noticed and had to point it out to you. God I was so stupid to trust you. I thought you wanted to build something together.
"No…I…" started Andy and Jenna cut him off.
"Or do you mean why I'm in hospital? Are you sorry about that? Are you sorry that you made me lose my baby? Because quite frankly, sorry doesn't cut it for that. You can't even begin to fathom what you've really cost me," said Jenna.
"Our baby," said Andy and Jenna pulled her hand out of his.
"Oh if you think for one second I would have let you near my baby after what you did that would make you the dumbest son of bitch alive. I would have made sure it never knew who you were," said Jenna and she handed him the ring back.
"I'm not going to tell my family what you've done. I won't tell anyone what you did. I won't tell them that you lied and stole and cheated. But, you're going to tell them that this wedding is off. I don't care what lies you feed everyone, blame me if you have too, but we're done. I said what I needed to say to you at the house. I want you gone; I don't want to see you again, I want your stuff out of the house before I get home tomorrow afternoon. Anything you leave behind you'll find it in the trash can or maybe in ashes. You have cost me so goddamn much and it wasn't worth it," said Jenna. Andy took the ring and got up. He stopped at the door.
"I'm sorry for everything," said Andy.
He left and Jenna was alone in the hospital room. Her mom had been feeling good and she was in Chicago visiting Frankie, Maggie and her first granddaughter. Andy had called her and she was on her way back. Ofilia had promised to come back later on tonight so she wouldn't be alone. Jenna placed a hand on her midsection and started to cry, she was only eleven weeks into her pregnancy. She had just found out a week ago and Andy had seemed so happy about it.
It didn't change the fact that when she had confronted him about the money he had gotten physical with her. He shoved me down the stairs...he hit me. The doctors had wanted her to file a report. She was too ashamed to admit that Andy had not only stolen from her, but had kicked her so hard in the midsection she had a bruise the shape of his shoe on her. It took weeks to fade. Pride was the only thing she had left at this point. Jenna was too proud to admit what had happened to her. Is a woman not entitled to her pride? When everything else is gone, is she not at least entitled to this, the coin without which her purse is entirely empty? It was a quote from an old Stephen King novel, but it became her personal mantra for the weeks and months to come.
Jenna got released from the hospital the next day and all of Andy's stuff was gone, but it didn't take away the hurt she felt. Her mother told her she needed to put what she lost to rest. You'll fall in love again. There'll be other babies someday. She didn't tell her mother that Andy had hit her. The shame was too much and there was also her damn pride. At this point, Jenna was pretty sure love was not in the cards for her. What's the point if I never get anything back other than hurt?
One of the ladies at the bakery suggested that she get something to remember her first baby, she still had the blanket that the nurses brought her for her son who was stillborn. Jenna thought long and hard about what she wanted to remember her child by, they hadn't told her what she was going to have or given her anything really as a keepsake. Unless you count the bill for the overnight stay. A few weeks had passed when one of the ladies started talking about how her sixteen year old daughter had gotten her belly button pierced and how foolish her daughter looked.
Jenna went that afternoon with Ofilia to one of the local body art shops and asked the clerk to pierce her belly button. Ofilia looked at her like she was crazy, but she held Jenna's hand when they did it. Jenna got a hoop ring and the birthstone stone for when the baby would have been born. She smiled when she looked at it.
Something to remember you by.
….
Jenna….Jenna….wake up. Please…. Jenna groaned and felt something pressing hard into her side. Everything looked blurry and things sounded like it was coming from miles away.
"She shouldn't have done that...I didn't mean to."
"We need to call for help. She's going to bleed to death if we don't call for help."
"Mom?" asked Jenna. She was pretty sure one of the voices was her mother. A blurry face that looked like her mother came into view. Jenna had to blink a few times to get her mother's face in focus.
"Just stay still. Everything is going to be alright," said Gia and she kissed Jenna's forehead.
"That was really stupid," snapped Lissa and Jenna saw the gun in her hand. It was coming back to her what was going on and Jenna groaned.
"And here I thought I was just having a really shitty dream," muttered Jenna.
"This isn't funny!" yelled Lissa and Jenna sighed. She looked and saw her mother was pressing the dish towel she had thrown over her shoulder into her side and that the white towel was now pink.
"I know it's not funny. I didn't mean it as a joke," said Jenna. She was so very tired and wanted to go back to sleep.
"No..no...stay awake….you have to stay awake. Talk to me mimmo," said Gia.
"I'm sorry I'm such a mess of a daughter," said Jenna.
"I'm sure other people have worse daughters," spat Gia and Lissa flushed. She pointed the gun at Gia.
"Shut up. You don't know anything," spat Lissa.
"Mami...don't poke the bear," said Jenna and she looked at Lissa.
"There isn't a good way out of this now. Let's just put the gun down and we'll figure something out," said Jenna.
"I did and you messed it up," said Lissa.
"Me confessing to your crime wasn't going to fix it. They couldn't put me at the scene. Stupid nerd cops," said Jenna. Lissa went to say something when they all heard the sirens outside. Lissa turned to the sound of the noises and turned pale.
"How...was that really your sister in law on the phone?" asked Lissa and when Jenna didn't answer Lissa kicked Jenna hard on the unshot side.
"You aren't the first person to do that," muttered Jenna and she drifted back out again.
…
Even with the sirens on and Sara driving at least seventy miles an hour Greg was trying to control his panic and fear that they weren't going to get there and no one was going to help her. Please god let her be ok. Please let her be ok. Sara had told Nick what was going on and that they might have a potential hostage situation. Nick had told Brass and a SWAT team was on the way to Jenna's house.
"Greg, are you sure that…" Greg cut her off.
"I have to be there...no matter what...I owe her that much," said Greg. Sara nodded and put her foot on the gas. In a way Sara could understand how Greg felt. Despite how messy and at times one sided her relationship with Grissom had been she loved him. Her coming to Vegas had been a chance to reconnect with him and while it hadn't been ideal or easy they were together now. Greg's relationship with Jenna had been messy and yet he was clearly desperate for a chance to reconnect. Sara would never forget the look on Greg's face when he heard Jenna say I love you Maggie. It was clearly meant for him and he knew it. It took him and her time to see that they wanted to be together, the same way it took me and Gil time. If there is a decent power in the universe please don't make this a scene where we call Doc Robbins, thought Sara.
They pulled up to the house and Greg saw that Brass was there with the SWAT team and some officers were already trying to set up barricades to keep the nosy neighbors away.
"Anything yet?" asked Greg when they got to Brass. He did not look happy to see him.
"No. One of the neighbors reported hearing what she thought was a car backfiring about twenty to thirty minutes ago. Listen Sanders….I don't think…." said Brass.
"I'm not leaving this scene until I know she's alright. This is my case and I'm going to finish it," said Greg. Brass sighed and looked at the house.
"We haven't heard anything and we can't see what's going on in there. We're getting ready to call the landline," said Brass and he pulled out his cell phone and dialed the number. It rang and it felt like forever before anyone picked up.
"What?" asked Lissa and Greg released a breath he didn't realize he had been holding. So far it meant at least Lissa was alive and maybe willing to talk this out.
"Hi, is this Lissa? My name is Jim Brass. I'm with the LVPD. We realized that you might have gotten yourself into a tiny bit of trouble that has gone a little off the rails, but you can still help yourself if you don't hurt anyone and let us come in alright," said Brass.
"I already hurt someone," said Lissa dully and Greg had to swallow hard.
"Did you hurt someone in the house?" asked Brass and Greg thought he heard sniffling and Lissa sighed.
"I didn't mean to hurt her...the gun went off by accident," said Lissa and Greg felt his heart sink deep into his stomach. I don't wanna see her Doc Robbins table. I can't...
"Is she still alive?" asked Brass.
"She's still breathing...I don't think I hit anything important. There's a lot of blood though," moaned Lissa.
"Ok. So why don't you come outside and let the EMT's come in and help Jenna?" asked Brass.
"How did you know I was here? Someone called Jenna...she told them I was here. She tricked me," hissed Lissa.
"I don't think she was trying to trick you. Jenna really cares about you. Hell she spent over fifteen hours in jail and wouldn't give you up. She didn't even know you did it. She just thought you got high with some dumb guy and didn't want to get you in trouble for pot," said Brass.
"I wanna talk to who she talked to. They can come in. No one else," said Lissa and before Brass could say anything she hung up.
"So how does this work?" asked Greg.
"Oh you are not going in there alone," said Sara.
"You heard her. She shot Jenna and there is a lot of blood. Let me try...please," said Greg.
"You aren't carrying, you aren't qualified to carry, you have barely been in the field for a year and the last thing I need is to give her another hostage," said Brass.
"Well I've been shot at before so at least I have that going for me. We can't just sit here and let her bleed to death. At least give me a first aid kit so I go in and try to help her," said Greg. Brass looked torn and sighed.
"Grissom is going to have my head if anything happens to you in there so don't do anything stupid," hissed Brass. He walked over to the head of SWAT to get a bullet proof vest for Greg and Sara rounded on him.
"You can not do this," said Sara.
"I would go in for you….Grissom would go in for you," whispered Greg and Sara looked ready to strangle him. Brass came over with a bullet proof vest, a walkie talkie and a first aid kit.
"Keep her talking, but keep her calm. Try to figure out how bad the wound is and if she can last long. If you can talk her into getting Jenna out EMT's are waiting. We'll sneak one of our guys in with them to take out Lissa if you can't get her to drop the gun. Be careful," said Brass. Greg got the vest on and was stunned by how heavy it felt. He had done hostage and shooter training before with a vest, but this felt so much different.
"Be careful," said Sara and she hugged Greg.
"That's the plan," said Greg and he went towards the house and carefully went inside. Lissa was standing over Jenna and her mother with a small revolver pointed at them. Gia's eyes went wide at the sight of him. Jenna was passed out and Gia was holding a dish towel to Jenna's left side.
"Here. Let me take a look," said Greg and Gia seemed frozen. Greg knelt down and brushed back some of Jenna's hair. She felt cool to the touch and her skin was very pale.
"Jen...Jenna can you hear me?" asked Greg and Jenna moaned, but kept her eyes shut.
"Greg," called Sara through the walkie talkie. "I have Doc Robbins on the line if you wanna walk him through her injuries and condition," said Sara.
"Can you hear me?" asked Robbins.
"Yeah I can hear you," said Greg. He was grateful to hear Doc's voice on the other line trying to talk him through this
"Ok. First thing first. Where was she shot?" asked Doc and Greg pulled on some gloves before easing Gia's hands away. Just stay calm. You can't help her if you panic. The grey shirt was soaked with blood on the left side and Greg could see where there was a hole in the shirt. He carefully eased the shirt up and swallowed bile seeing the bleeding hole in her side. Jesus.
"Lower left side. Near her stomach," said Greg.
"Can you tell me if the bullet has exited her body," said Robbins.
"Can you help me roll her over?" asked Greg and Gia whimpered, but helped roll Jenna to her side and Greg couldn't see the exit wound and knew this was not good.
"No. There isn't an exit wound," said Greg. Jenna whimpered and when they got her on her back again she looked up at him, but it was clear she was struggling to focus.
"Ok. I'm not gonna lie. That's not great," said Robbins.
"Greg?" asked Jenna and he squeezed her hand.
"Can she feel the lower part of her body?" asked Robbin.
"Yeah," muttered Jenna.
"Her pulse isn't that great though and she's lost a lot of color and blood," said Greg. Jenna looked over at her mother and then back at him.
"She's going to need to go to the hospital soon to get that bullet removed. I do not recommend trying to take it out there," said Robbins.
"Why would I even try that?" asked Greg.
"Because you're an idiot and you would try it," muttered Jenna. Greg looked at Lissa who was pacing and muttered to herself.
"Lissa. You heard them. You have to let Jenna out of here or she's not going to make it. You don't want another death on your hands," said Greg softly and she pointed the gun at him and Greg swallowed hard.
"It was an accident...I just needed the money for Mikey. I was going to make it look like a robbery. I knew where the petty cash was. Only that lady was in the kitchen and I just freaked out," said Lissa and Jenna sighed from the floor.
"If you had asked I would have helped you out. We could have come up with something," said Jenna and Lissa let out a small, bitter laugh.
"I couldn't risk you thinking I was a screw up too the way my parents do. You haven't screwed up anything this badly before so you wouldn't understand," snapped Lissa.
"My ex...he...I thought I loved him, but really I was just very lonely and stupid. I lost the person I really loved so I was gonna marry someone else...I thought we could be happy we were going to have a baby," said Jenna and Greg took his eyes off Lissa to look at Jenna on the floor. She looked oddly calm and gripped Greg's hand
"He didn't love me and he hurt me...a lot. He made me lose our baby. So yeah...I'm a major screw up too," said Jenna. She drifted back out and her mother pulled her close and was whispering to her in Italian. There is so much I wanna say to you right now and I promise I'm going to tell you everything as soon as I get you out of here, thought Greg. He looked back at Lissa and saw her grip on the gun was very loose. Focus...get her to let go of the gun. He stood up and put himself between Lissa and Jenna.
"Everyone here has made some really bad choices in the past and the only way we can make it right is to admit it. Trust me...I've made some really shitty choices," said Greg.
"How did you know it wasn't her? I heard you telling Ofilia you didn't think Jenna did it last night. It was you who called her...she told you I was here, but how?" asked Lissa.
"I know my friend and deep down I knew she couldn't have done this. Although I haven't been a very good friend to her in a long time. I really want to make that up to her and I know she wouldn't want anything bad to happen to you. So...you give me the gun and we can try to make things right," said Greg and he held out his hand.
Lissa started crying and she handed Greg the gun before falling to the floor. Greg quickly unloaded the clip and the one in the chamber before calling Brass and the EMT's in. The house was quickly flooded with officers and medics. Sara came in and looked like she wanted to hug him, but moved to collect the gun he had sat on the table. Greg watched as Brass took Lissa out in handcuffs before turning his attention back to Jenna. The medics were trying to wake her up and trying to make sure she was stable before moving her.
"Single GSW. We're gonna need a trauma unit ready when we get there. Madam. Madam can you hear me?" asked a short male medic
"I just turned thirty. Don't call me Madam," muttered Jenna. The other medic was a tall, female brunette who was gently trying to ease Gia away.
"We're going to help your daughter if you give us some space," said the woman. Greg peeled off his gloves that had Jenna's blood on them and tossed them in the trash before going over to Gia.
"She's going to be ok. Let's get you some help," said Greg. He knew Jenna would want her mother taken care of above everything else.
"Are you coming with us?" asked the male medic looking at Greg.
"What?" asked Greg.
"Are you going to want the evidence off her now or later?" asked the female medic. They had gotten Jenna on a stretcher and were about to wheel her out.
"Greg. I can stay here and process the scene. Go with her and collect the evidence," said Sara.
"Go," said Gia and she stepped away from him and towards Sara.
"Come on. We gotta move her. You can follow us to Desert Palms," said the female medic. Greg nodded and followed the medics as they wheeled Jenna out to an ambulance.
"Is she going to be alright?" asked Greg as they loaded Jenna into the back.
"We'll know more once we get her to the OR," said the medic. Jenna had blacked out again and Greg watched helplessly as they drove off.
….
Greg was used to waiting before being allowed to collect any evidence from victims who had been brought into the hospital alive. Hours hoping they would be awake enough to ask any questions he would need so he wouldn't have to come back and bother the victims. Now he was waiting and hoping that Jenna would be awake enough to talk to him and not just about what happened this afternoon.
She was going to have a baby with him. Jenna's words rang in his mind. He didn't love me and he hurt me...a lot. He made me lose our baby. Greg had never been one to get in a fight, but if he could ever get his hands on her ex he was gonna beat the shit out of him or at least try. Bastard.
It had been over an hour and Greg was wondering if something had gone wrong and Jenna wasn't going to be ok. Greg looked over to where Gia was sitting with Ofilia and Millia and the other girls from the bakery. They hadn't really acknowledged him and it was just as well. He wanted to be alone with his thoughts. They would call him first either way to collect any evidence from her before letting family and friends in. Her shirt. The bullet they've taken out. I'll have to test her for GSR. See if there is any skin under her nails. I'll have to take photos of the wound and any other injuries. I'll have to ask her how she got shot and if she remembers what happened after. There was a tap on his shoulder and it was one of the nurses.
"She's out of surgery if you wanna come and get what you need before we let her family see her," said the nurse. Greg got up and followed the nurse down the hall.
"How is she?" asked Greg.
"She's lucky it didn't hit anything vital. She needed a couple pints, but she should be up and going in a few days. She's still out so you'll have to come back and ask any questions then," said the nurse. An older man was waiting outside with the bullet in an unlabeled jar and Jenna's shirt in a plain plastic bag.
"We remembered to save you the good stuff," said the older man before walking off. Greg quickly labeled the bag and jar before putting them in a brown bag that he would take them out in. The door was only a few inches in front of him yet it seemed miles away. It took everything Greg had to open the door and shut it behind him.
Jenna was still out and Greg had a feeling that one of the baggies she was hooked up to was morphine.
"So they gave you the good stuff too huh?" asked Greg, sitting his kit down and taking out swabs and baggies. "Personally I hated morphine. I had the worst case of dry mouth when I woke up. There was not enough water in the world," said Greg. He carefully took her hand and took scrapings from under her nails. She had been hard at work over the years, there were calluses, healed cuts and burns on both her hands. She also had traces of GSR. She did grab for the gun.
"You know when I first moved to Vegas one of the first things I did was check out Freemont Street. I went on a Saturday and wow...you were right...it kind of sucked. I went back on a Tuesday night and it was so much better. I could actually walk around and not be on top of someone. Went out to Lake Mead a few weeks later. Met some people. Went out to Cottonwood Cove...well you were right about it being a huge make out spot. If it makes you feel better I ended up with the worst case of sunburn afterward," said Greg. He went back for his camera and eased down the blanket. There was a bandage covering the wound and he had to call a nurse in to undo it and Jenna winced and opened one eye.
"Wha...what are doing?" muttered Jenna.
"We just have to document your injuries. We'll be done in a moment," said the nurse. Jenna blinked and was clearly trying to focus.
"Greg...where...mom…." muttered Jenna again before drifting back off. Greg quickly took his photos and the nurse carefully redressed the wound.
"Are you almost done? The natives are getting restless," said the nurse.
"I just need a few more minutes," said Greg. The nurse left and shut the door. Greg sat his camera down and sat down on the bed next to her.
"You know it's really unfair that you are passed out on narcotics when I wanna pour my heart out to you," said Greg.
"Yeah...it fucking sucks," muttered Jenna. Greg looked over and Jenna was clearly trying to stay awake.
"Hey," said Greg and Jenna shook her head.
"I'm so tired and doped to the max...you...could you come back tomorrow so we can talk. I wanna be lucid," said Jenna.
"That seems fair," said Greg. He went to stand up when Jenna caught his hand and squeezed it.
"Thank you," said Jenna.
"You're welcome," said Greg. He let go of her hand, gathered his evidence and headed out. He had waited almost eight years to talk to her. What was one more day?
Greg mentioned Cotton Cove being a huge make out spot in Season 4-Feeling the Heat. Jenna being a Vegas native would have clued him in on that. ^-^
Thoughts are always welcome.