This Is Your Song
Chapter Seven
Author's Notes: I got a new bathing suit! In other words, I have nothing to say. Thanks: Allison, you badgerer, you! You helped me write this chapter (and make sure it wasn't evil because I wanted to avoid the whole Reverend incident happening again). In other words, thank you so much for all your help. I'm getting sentimental on the second to last chapter of this story. Heh. Also thanks to Amber, who is just so awesome that it's hard not to be thankful! In fact, it's impossible! Thanks so much for all the kind words of encouragement you've given me, Amber! And Tash, I'm still hoping I don't get any heavy objects chucked at me, although I think you'll be relatively happy with this chapter. I know I was! Thank you for beta-ing, I love ya!
Heat. It was unbearable, beating down from the sky onto my back as I bent over to tie my shoe. When I took a breath the only air around me was hot, fiery, oxygen. It felt like thousands of others had breathed it in when its warm fingers touched my throat. I exhaled, happy to be rid of the recycled air that tried to take over my lungs.
"It's freaking hot out here." Sara said, squatting beside me in the desert dirt. She lifted up the bottom of her shirt to wipe off the beads of sweat that had gathered beneath her hairline. I watched her while I waited in vain for my head to clear up. "Catherine, are you alright?" She asked me, obviously noting that I was a little light-headed.
I shook myself all over, wincing when my heavy hair fell against my neck. "Fine." I said shortly. I needed to breathe again, but there wasn't anything to take in. "Sit..I've got to sit down.."
Sara jumped up and helped me to a rock which was laying solitarily in the dirt. I grimaced when the heat lunged at me in a wave, pushing me off of my seat and onto my back on the ground. Air, I needed air.
I felt someone else's arms underneath my arms, lifting me. My eyes were closed and my head was fuzzy, but I could hear Sara grunting with my weight. I tried to help her get me to wherever it was she was taking me, but I couldn't find my legs. Air, I needed air.
I felt a soft, cushiony seat underneath me. I awoke to find that I was laying on a seat in the Tahoe, air blowing against my face, cold air. Air...I breathed in, letting my eyes flutter open and an almost delirious smile spread across my face. "Air.." I whispered. The air conditioner was on full-blast. Sara was in the driver's seat, turning to me so she could stare me in the face.
"Are you OK?" She asked me. I shook my head.
"I will be." I breathed again, letting the sweet, cool oxygen fill my lungs. The hairs on my arms prickled with the change in temperature. My head became less fuzzy, and I wiped a palm across my face.
"I called an ambulance." At my surprised expression, she raised an eyebrow. "You were unconscious for three whole minutes." I nodded shortly. "Have you eaten anything today?"
I thought back. "I'm not sure." To take the attention away from my unhealthy lifestyle, I quickly said. "But it's so hot." Sara raised an eyebrow.
"It's been hotter." She reached over to the vent and wiggled her fingers. "It's not getting cold fast enough." Looking over at me again, she felt the skin on my arm with a pinky. "Your skin is hot. Not wet, just hot. And red." Her eyes widened. "You need water." She reached over and grabbed her water bottle from by her feet, shoving it at me. "Drink. Keep drinking even when you're not thirsty anymore. You've got heat stroke."
I took the water bottle and pressed it to my lips. The liquid felt cool in my throat, soaking up the dust and warm air that still festered there. "Come to think of it, I haven't drunk anything all day." I said. Suddenly, I was confused. "Why are we here, again?"
"Crime scene." Sara said simply, never missing a beat. "Put some water on your neck, Catherine."
I flipped a hand at her face. "I'm fine. I'll be fine in a second."
"You are not fine. You could have died if you were out here alone."
"You sound like a doctor." I remarked. My head was starting to clear up, and it felt good when Sara lifted the freezing cold water bottle to my neck and kept it pressed there.
"Warrick, you'd better get over here." She stopped, squinting her eyes as she listened to what he was saying. It took me a few seconds to register that she was talking on her cell phone. "Because, Catherine's got heat stroke. I called 911, the ambulance should be here any minute now. I figured you'd want to ride along with her....I can't, I've got a crime scene to process...OK, see you in a few minutes."
I noted vaguely to myself that I still wasn't sweating. "Keep drinking." She ordered me.
"You're a good friend to take care of me like this." I said, and smiled as best I could. She grinned back, putting a hand to my forehead.
"Still no sweat." She frowned, then, her forehead crinkled. "This isn't good, Catherine."
"Why don't you just take me home or something? Why are we waiting here?" I avoided her statement.
Sara looked bewildered.. "We're waiting for the ambulance, Cat. Remember?"
I nodded, drinking and drinking.. She watched me intently, staring as my throat bulged with the intake of liquid. "Jeez, this is insane. It's gotta be like 110 out there."
"Welcome to Nevada." I said absent-mindedly. The sound of car tires on dust made me lift my head. I saw a white van pull in beside the Tahoe and several men jump out. "Coming to bring me to the looney bin?" I asked once they opened my door, and laughed out loud.
"How are you feeling?" They asked me instantly, one of them putting the back of his hand to my forehead. "No sweat." He said, more to Sara than to me, raising both eyebrows. "Here." He pressed a freezing cold ice pack against my neck, and then two more under my armpits.
Another man lifted me off my seat and carried me to the ambulance, where they laid me down on a seat in the back. I felt my body getting wet and cold air blowing against my face. Movement of the vehicle caused my stomach to lurch, and I noticed for the first time that my head was throbbing. The last thing I remember before my memory went blank was Warrick's worried face above me and his soft hand stroking my dry, red cheek.
I awoke to bright lights, soft sheets, and the beautiful ecstacy of sweat on my skin. I looked to my left and saw my daughter lying beside me, awake and staring me in the face.
"Mommy, are you awake finally?" She asked, her voice oddly high- pitched. I tried to smile.
"Yeah baby, I am." She smiled and leaned against my shoulder. There was a doctor standing in the doorway, looking at me.
"I hope you don't mind, I said it was OK that she sleep with you. I thought it might be nice for you to wake up to something familiar." He was tall with grey hair, and carried a clipboard. Walking into the room completely, he smiled. "Do you know where you are?" He asked.
"In the hospital, obviously." I said, looking around my room. There was a curtain to my right, behind which I could hear light voices whispering. "What the heck happened to me? I didn't get in a car accident, did I?"
Lindsey giggled. "No, mommy, you got heat stroke." She said the two words proudly. "That means you were so hot you couldn't sweat." She frowned. "And that's bad."
The doctor chuckled at my daughter's words, but then turned serious. "It's very, very bad. You could have died, Catherine." He brushed a fingertip across my forehead and looked satisfied when he saw it was covered with sweat. "Your body temperature will fluctuate abnormally in the next few weeks. If you don't mind, I'd like to keep you here for a few more hours. Oh, and my name's Dr. Hulk, by the way." I smiled.
"Thanks Dr. Hulk." I said.
"And there's a man waiting outside the room who'd really like to see you. I told him to wait till you regained consciousness, but I think he's getting a little impatient. You were out for quite a while." The doctor smile at me again and left the room, holding the door for a worried-looking Warrick.
"Hey Catherine.." Warrick said softly, walking slowly towards me and creasing an eyebrow.
"Hey." I said simply. I didn't know what else to say. Lindsey was lying right beside me, and I didn't want her to hear anything that I felt like saying at the moment. "Is there anybody else out there?" I asked Warrick. He nodded.
"Grissom and Sara." He said. I looked to my left.
"Lindsey, why don't you go outside and visit Uncle Gil? Mom wants to talk to Warrick about some stuff, OK?"
"OK." She said, and leaned over to kiss me on the cheek before leaving the room.
"You freaked the shit out of all of us, Catherine. Especially Sara. She said you were spouting nonsense." Warrick told me as soon as Lindsey had left the room. He moved to my bed and sat on the edge of it. I loved the way his smell drifted across to me.
"I know. I'm sorry. I was an idiot to not have drank in that weather. It was my own fault." I ran a hand through my hair. I felt so weak and stupid sitting here in the hospital while my friends worried about me. I felt guilty for putting my life in danger when I had so much to live for. I thanked God for the fourth time that Sara had been there.
"Hey, don't worry about it now." He said, seeing how upset I was. He put a hand on my shoulder and looked me in the eye, and I melted. "Doctor says you might be pretty weak for a few days, so Gris told me to tell you that he's giving you off until Friday." I smiled weakly. His face got a little sad. "It's sure gonna be boring around the lab without you."
I groaned inwardly. Grissom had told him about my accepting the job offer in Miami. I hadn't wanted him to, and told him not to, but he had anyway. I wondered fleetingly what to say. "I'm sorry, Warrick. But the job is a much better one. And I have to take these opportunities, change is good, right?" I asked. He looked confused.
"Catherine, what the hell are you talking about?" He asked. "I was talking about you being gone for three days...what were you talking about?!"
Uh-oh. This heat stroke thing still had me a little loopy. My eyes widened and I stared at the wall in front of me. I could feel his eyes boring into my skull so finally I spoke. "I was offered a job as supervisor on the Miami Dade CSI team. I accepted. I'm sorry, I thought you already knew."
He looked like somebody just threw a rock in his face. I wanted to say something to make it seem less devastating, but I couldn't think of anything and I didn't want to try too hard. My brain already hurt. "When do you leave?" He asked.
I winced. "A week." He raised an eyebrow. "I found out about it a while ago but I just never got around to telling anyone.."
"Right." He said curtly. "Right...well, I'm going to leave now, cause I'm sure you wanna see the other guys." He got up to leave.
"Warrick, wait, come on, don't leave me like this." He shook his head, his back turned to me.
"Seeya, Cat."
WOW, ONLY ONE MORE CHAPTER TO GO!
Author's Notes: I got a new bathing suit! In other words, I have nothing to say. Thanks: Allison, you badgerer, you! You helped me write this chapter (and make sure it wasn't evil because I wanted to avoid the whole Reverend incident happening again). In other words, thank you so much for all your help. I'm getting sentimental on the second to last chapter of this story. Heh. Also thanks to Amber, who is just so awesome that it's hard not to be thankful! In fact, it's impossible! Thanks so much for all the kind words of encouragement you've given me, Amber! And Tash, I'm still hoping I don't get any heavy objects chucked at me, although I think you'll be relatively happy with this chapter. I know I was! Thank you for beta-ing, I love ya!
Heat. It was unbearable, beating down from the sky onto my back as I bent over to tie my shoe. When I took a breath the only air around me was hot, fiery, oxygen. It felt like thousands of others had breathed it in when its warm fingers touched my throat. I exhaled, happy to be rid of the recycled air that tried to take over my lungs.
"It's freaking hot out here." Sara said, squatting beside me in the desert dirt. She lifted up the bottom of her shirt to wipe off the beads of sweat that had gathered beneath her hairline. I watched her while I waited in vain for my head to clear up. "Catherine, are you alright?" She asked me, obviously noting that I was a little light-headed.
I shook myself all over, wincing when my heavy hair fell against my neck. "Fine." I said shortly. I needed to breathe again, but there wasn't anything to take in. "Sit..I've got to sit down.."
Sara jumped up and helped me to a rock which was laying solitarily in the dirt. I grimaced when the heat lunged at me in a wave, pushing me off of my seat and onto my back on the ground. Air, I needed air.
I felt someone else's arms underneath my arms, lifting me. My eyes were closed and my head was fuzzy, but I could hear Sara grunting with my weight. I tried to help her get me to wherever it was she was taking me, but I couldn't find my legs. Air, I needed air.
I felt a soft, cushiony seat underneath me. I awoke to find that I was laying on a seat in the Tahoe, air blowing against my face, cold air. Air...I breathed in, letting my eyes flutter open and an almost delirious smile spread across my face. "Air.." I whispered. The air conditioner was on full-blast. Sara was in the driver's seat, turning to me so she could stare me in the face.
"Are you OK?" She asked me. I shook my head.
"I will be." I breathed again, letting the sweet, cool oxygen fill my lungs. The hairs on my arms prickled with the change in temperature. My head became less fuzzy, and I wiped a palm across my face.
"I called an ambulance." At my surprised expression, she raised an eyebrow. "You were unconscious for three whole minutes." I nodded shortly. "Have you eaten anything today?"
I thought back. "I'm not sure." To take the attention away from my unhealthy lifestyle, I quickly said. "But it's so hot." Sara raised an eyebrow.
"It's been hotter." She reached over to the vent and wiggled her fingers. "It's not getting cold fast enough." Looking over at me again, she felt the skin on my arm with a pinky. "Your skin is hot. Not wet, just hot. And red." Her eyes widened. "You need water." She reached over and grabbed her water bottle from by her feet, shoving it at me. "Drink. Keep drinking even when you're not thirsty anymore. You've got heat stroke."
I took the water bottle and pressed it to my lips. The liquid felt cool in my throat, soaking up the dust and warm air that still festered there. "Come to think of it, I haven't drunk anything all day." I said. Suddenly, I was confused. "Why are we here, again?"
"Crime scene." Sara said simply, never missing a beat. "Put some water on your neck, Catherine."
I flipped a hand at her face. "I'm fine. I'll be fine in a second."
"You are not fine. You could have died if you were out here alone."
"You sound like a doctor." I remarked. My head was starting to clear up, and it felt good when Sara lifted the freezing cold water bottle to my neck and kept it pressed there.
"Warrick, you'd better get over here." She stopped, squinting her eyes as she listened to what he was saying. It took me a few seconds to register that she was talking on her cell phone. "Because, Catherine's got heat stroke. I called 911, the ambulance should be here any minute now. I figured you'd want to ride along with her....I can't, I've got a crime scene to process...OK, see you in a few minutes."
I noted vaguely to myself that I still wasn't sweating. "Keep drinking." She ordered me.
"You're a good friend to take care of me like this." I said, and smiled as best I could. She grinned back, putting a hand to my forehead.
"Still no sweat." She frowned, then, her forehead crinkled. "This isn't good, Catherine."
"Why don't you just take me home or something? Why are we waiting here?" I avoided her statement.
Sara looked bewildered.. "We're waiting for the ambulance, Cat. Remember?"
I nodded, drinking and drinking.. She watched me intently, staring as my throat bulged with the intake of liquid. "Jeez, this is insane. It's gotta be like 110 out there."
"Welcome to Nevada." I said absent-mindedly. The sound of car tires on dust made me lift my head. I saw a white van pull in beside the Tahoe and several men jump out. "Coming to bring me to the looney bin?" I asked once they opened my door, and laughed out loud.
"How are you feeling?" They asked me instantly, one of them putting the back of his hand to my forehead. "No sweat." He said, more to Sara than to me, raising both eyebrows. "Here." He pressed a freezing cold ice pack against my neck, and then two more under my armpits.
Another man lifted me off my seat and carried me to the ambulance, where they laid me down on a seat in the back. I felt my body getting wet and cold air blowing against my face. Movement of the vehicle caused my stomach to lurch, and I noticed for the first time that my head was throbbing. The last thing I remember before my memory went blank was Warrick's worried face above me and his soft hand stroking my dry, red cheek.
I awoke to bright lights, soft sheets, and the beautiful ecstacy of sweat on my skin. I looked to my left and saw my daughter lying beside me, awake and staring me in the face.
"Mommy, are you awake finally?" She asked, her voice oddly high- pitched. I tried to smile.
"Yeah baby, I am." She smiled and leaned against my shoulder. There was a doctor standing in the doorway, looking at me.
"I hope you don't mind, I said it was OK that she sleep with you. I thought it might be nice for you to wake up to something familiar." He was tall with grey hair, and carried a clipboard. Walking into the room completely, he smiled. "Do you know where you are?" He asked.
"In the hospital, obviously." I said, looking around my room. There was a curtain to my right, behind which I could hear light voices whispering. "What the heck happened to me? I didn't get in a car accident, did I?"
Lindsey giggled. "No, mommy, you got heat stroke." She said the two words proudly. "That means you were so hot you couldn't sweat." She frowned. "And that's bad."
The doctor chuckled at my daughter's words, but then turned serious. "It's very, very bad. You could have died, Catherine." He brushed a fingertip across my forehead and looked satisfied when he saw it was covered with sweat. "Your body temperature will fluctuate abnormally in the next few weeks. If you don't mind, I'd like to keep you here for a few more hours. Oh, and my name's Dr. Hulk, by the way." I smiled.
"Thanks Dr. Hulk." I said.
"And there's a man waiting outside the room who'd really like to see you. I told him to wait till you regained consciousness, but I think he's getting a little impatient. You were out for quite a while." The doctor smile at me again and left the room, holding the door for a worried-looking Warrick.
"Hey Catherine.." Warrick said softly, walking slowly towards me and creasing an eyebrow.
"Hey." I said simply. I didn't know what else to say. Lindsey was lying right beside me, and I didn't want her to hear anything that I felt like saying at the moment. "Is there anybody else out there?" I asked Warrick. He nodded.
"Grissom and Sara." He said. I looked to my left.
"Lindsey, why don't you go outside and visit Uncle Gil? Mom wants to talk to Warrick about some stuff, OK?"
"OK." She said, and leaned over to kiss me on the cheek before leaving the room.
"You freaked the shit out of all of us, Catherine. Especially Sara. She said you were spouting nonsense." Warrick told me as soon as Lindsey had left the room. He moved to my bed and sat on the edge of it. I loved the way his smell drifted across to me.
"I know. I'm sorry. I was an idiot to not have drank in that weather. It was my own fault." I ran a hand through my hair. I felt so weak and stupid sitting here in the hospital while my friends worried about me. I felt guilty for putting my life in danger when I had so much to live for. I thanked God for the fourth time that Sara had been there.
"Hey, don't worry about it now." He said, seeing how upset I was. He put a hand on my shoulder and looked me in the eye, and I melted. "Doctor says you might be pretty weak for a few days, so Gris told me to tell you that he's giving you off until Friday." I smiled weakly. His face got a little sad. "It's sure gonna be boring around the lab without you."
I groaned inwardly. Grissom had told him about my accepting the job offer in Miami. I hadn't wanted him to, and told him not to, but he had anyway. I wondered fleetingly what to say. "I'm sorry, Warrick. But the job is a much better one. And I have to take these opportunities, change is good, right?" I asked. He looked confused.
"Catherine, what the hell are you talking about?" He asked. "I was talking about you being gone for three days...what were you talking about?!"
Uh-oh. This heat stroke thing still had me a little loopy. My eyes widened and I stared at the wall in front of me. I could feel his eyes boring into my skull so finally I spoke. "I was offered a job as supervisor on the Miami Dade CSI team. I accepted. I'm sorry, I thought you already knew."
He looked like somebody just threw a rock in his face. I wanted to say something to make it seem less devastating, but I couldn't think of anything and I didn't want to try too hard. My brain already hurt. "When do you leave?" He asked.
I winced. "A week." He raised an eyebrow. "I found out about it a while ago but I just never got around to telling anyone.."
"Right." He said curtly. "Right...well, I'm going to leave now, cause I'm sure you wanna see the other guys." He got up to leave.
"Warrick, wait, come on, don't leave me like this." He shook his head, his back turned to me.
"Seeya, Cat."
WOW, ONLY ONE MORE CHAPTER TO GO!