Chapter Eleven – The Announcement
There was a group of four people standing in Jenna's room talking. They continued to talk even when the door opened, until they noticed that two members of the group were no longer paying attention. Sr. Laura and Catherine Willows had stopped taking part in the conversation when they saw that Gil Grissom was being wheeled in.
Catherine ran over to greet him. She held back her joy at seeing him, as she knew that he would not be in the mood for any display of affection. "Gil, it's good to see you awake," was all that she said.
He wasn't looking or listening to her. He pushed on the wheel of the chair to motion that he wanted Warrick to push him over to the bed. It was a though he had no concept that other people were in the room, looking at him. Warrick pushed the chair to the side of the bed. Catherine followed. Sara stayed back.
Gil looked at Jenna, first noticing only her still body, then the tubes coming out of her mouth. Then the wires attached to her head and the tubes in her arms. Then he looked at the machines. The EKG
was running irregular. The EEG was not showing any waves at all. Catherine saw the look of despair on his face when he realized what was happening. She pulled up a chair and sat next to him.
"Gil, do you know what happened?" Catherine asked softly.
He shook his head no, never taking his eyes off his love.
She didn't want to go too far, so she asked first, "do you want me to tell you what happened?"
He took a deep breath and closed his eyes for a few seconds. No, he didn't want to know the details, but she was going to tell him anyway. He was right. When he didn't answer Catherine took that as an indication that it was okay to continue.
"When they first brought Jenna in, she had lost a lot of blood. They put her on the respirator to help her breath. About 3 hours later she threw a blood clot that went to her brain. If not for the fact that she was already on the respirator, they would have declared her dead."
To Catherine's surprise, at this point Sr. Laura came over to continue with the story. Catherine got up and offered Sr. Laura her seat. "These people here represent the hospital. They want to petition the court for guardianship so that they can either send her to a nursing home somewhere or turn off the machines and let nature take its course. They say that the court has to decide because Jenna doesn't have a next of kin to make the decisions for her. If she did, then someone who loved her would be able to decide what her future will be."
At this point Gil turned and looked at Sr. Laura. The two of them just stared at each other. In the background he could hear the hospital personnel and Catherine talking. They were talking about judges and guardianship and turning off machines and transferring to long term care facilities. Through all this Sara noticed Sr. Laura and Gil never lost eye contact. She heard her say to him, "It would be a shame if someone who didn't know and love our Jenna was given the authority to decide her future, don't you think?"
At first he didn't answer her, he just turned back to Jenna. He thought to himself, what difference did it make as she was never going to wake up again. Then he heard the voices of strangers talking about her as though they had a right to control her destiny. Finally he spoke. "I can speak for her."
"Pardon me?" asked Louis Monroe, the hospital's legal department representative.
"I can make the decisions of what should be done with her." Gil announced again.
"Under what authority?" Monroe wanted to know.
Gil turned and looked at Sr. Laura as if he was looking for the courage to answer that question.
"Under what authority Mr. Grissom." He was asked again.
This time Gil answered him, "As her husband."
Sara watched as Sr. Laura breathed a sigh of relief. Sara realized that Sr. Laura knew all along that they were married. Why the hell didn't she tell anyone?
Catherine returned to his sided and asked. "You married her, Gil? When? Why didn't you tell us?" She wasn't sure if her feelings were hurt or if she was angry that he didn't trust them enough to invite them take part in his marriage. "When did you get married Gil?"
He turned and held Jenna's hand. They waited for him to answer. "It'll be 19 years in May," he finally answered.
Catherine stood back. 19 years! He's been married all this time. My God, Gil, she wondered, why didn't you ever tell us? So this was your deep dark secret. There was someone that you loved and lost. Who would have known that he was waiting for her to return? How sad for him that things are ending like this.
Louis Monroe was the next to speak. "Mr. Grissom, do you have documentation to prove your marriage was valid?"
"I have a copy of our marriage license in a safe deposit box," he answered.
"Yes, well, I understand that your wife has been known by a few aliases. Can you prove that your marriage was valid? That she married you under a legal name?"
"I don't know. I suppose…," he was going to say he could probably contact the FBI and get proof that she was legally Jenna Tappen, but he didn't have to finish his thought as Sr. Laura had gotten up and walked over and pulled an envelope out of her purse.
"I have the proof that you need." She then produced papers that documented that on May 15th, 1983, Leslie Brenden was legally Jenna Tappen, the name that she used when they got married. She also had a certified copy of their marriage license.
The hospital legal representative perused the documents. He asked if he could make copies for his legal department. He promised to return them. Before leaving Monroe addressed Gil, "Mr. Grissom, I'll have your wife's doctor come and talk with you about her condition. Then we'll have one of our social workers talk to you about your options."
"Fine," was all he said.
Once the hospital personnel left, Sr. Laura again walked over and sat next to Gil. "Gil, I have one more thing for you." She opened the small box that she had removed from her purse. "Jenna told me that your wedding ring was too big for your finger and that sometimes, depending on what you were working on, you would leave the ring behind. The day that she left, you were going to be doing some digging in the mountains, so you left your ring behind. She told me she took it as a remembrance of what you had. I think it's time that these rings were return to where they belong."
At first he just looked at the gold bands. Then Sr. Laura went on to explain why she had them. "Jenna was saving them for when you started your new life. It was going to be her gift to you."
He reached in and took his wedding band. He looked inside to be sure the inscription `forever in love' was engraved on the inside. When he saw this simple statement he closed his eyes and lowered his head. He was fighting to control the tears that were burning to get out. He slowly placed the ring on his finger, realizing that it was now a perfect fit.
He then took Jenna's matching ring and placed it on her finger. He kissed her hand and barely audible, he was heard to say, " I love you Jenna, I'll love you forever."
He held her hand in both of his. He then lowered his face onto the bed and cried silently. They knew he was crying because his shoulders were heaving up and down. Catherine went over to him and rubbed her hand across his upper back. "Gil, we'll give you some time alone. When you're done, call us. We'll be out in the hallway." Then she motioned everyone to leave the room. Catherine knew that Gil would want to say some private things to his wife, without an audience listening in.
Sara had already left the room. She walked out without being noticed once Gil placed the ring on Jenna's finger.
When they walked out of the room, Catherine noticed Sara pacing at the elevator, repeatedly pushing the button that was already lit up. She could only imagine the emotions Sara was feeling. She went over to talk to her.
They weren't in the hallway for more than five minutes when he called Warrick back into the room. "Take me back."
"Sure thing, Gris,"
Out in the hallway Gil spoke to Sr. Laura. "You'll stay with her?"
Sr. Laura assured him that someone from the Shelter would be with Jenna around the clock.
"Good," he answered.
Then she told him, "You get some rest. I'll come by tomorrow and we can talk, if that's okay with you?"
"Whatever you want," was all he said before being taken back to his room.
There was a group of four people standing in Jenna's room talking. They continued to talk even when the door opened, until they noticed that two members of the group were no longer paying attention. Sr. Laura and Catherine Willows had stopped taking part in the conversation when they saw that Gil Grissom was being wheeled in.
Catherine ran over to greet him. She held back her joy at seeing him, as she knew that he would not be in the mood for any display of affection. "Gil, it's good to see you awake," was all that she said.
He wasn't looking or listening to her. He pushed on the wheel of the chair to motion that he wanted Warrick to push him over to the bed. It was a though he had no concept that other people were in the room, looking at him. Warrick pushed the chair to the side of the bed. Catherine followed. Sara stayed back.
Gil looked at Jenna, first noticing only her still body, then the tubes coming out of her mouth. Then the wires attached to her head and the tubes in her arms. Then he looked at the machines. The EKG
was running irregular. The EEG was not showing any waves at all. Catherine saw the look of despair on his face when he realized what was happening. She pulled up a chair and sat next to him.
"Gil, do you know what happened?" Catherine asked softly.
He shook his head no, never taking his eyes off his love.
She didn't want to go too far, so she asked first, "do you want me to tell you what happened?"
He took a deep breath and closed his eyes for a few seconds. No, he didn't want to know the details, but she was going to tell him anyway. He was right. When he didn't answer Catherine took that as an indication that it was okay to continue.
"When they first brought Jenna in, she had lost a lot of blood. They put her on the respirator to help her breath. About 3 hours later she threw a blood clot that went to her brain. If not for the fact that she was already on the respirator, they would have declared her dead."
To Catherine's surprise, at this point Sr. Laura came over to continue with the story. Catherine got up and offered Sr. Laura her seat. "These people here represent the hospital. They want to petition the court for guardianship so that they can either send her to a nursing home somewhere or turn off the machines and let nature take its course. They say that the court has to decide because Jenna doesn't have a next of kin to make the decisions for her. If she did, then someone who loved her would be able to decide what her future will be."
At this point Gil turned and looked at Sr. Laura. The two of them just stared at each other. In the background he could hear the hospital personnel and Catherine talking. They were talking about judges and guardianship and turning off machines and transferring to long term care facilities. Through all this Sara noticed Sr. Laura and Gil never lost eye contact. She heard her say to him, "It would be a shame if someone who didn't know and love our Jenna was given the authority to decide her future, don't you think?"
At first he didn't answer her, he just turned back to Jenna. He thought to himself, what difference did it make as she was never going to wake up again. Then he heard the voices of strangers talking about her as though they had a right to control her destiny. Finally he spoke. "I can speak for her."
"Pardon me?" asked Louis Monroe, the hospital's legal department representative.
"I can make the decisions of what should be done with her." Gil announced again.
"Under what authority?" Monroe wanted to know.
Gil turned and looked at Sr. Laura as if he was looking for the courage to answer that question.
"Under what authority Mr. Grissom." He was asked again.
This time Gil answered him, "As her husband."
Sara watched as Sr. Laura breathed a sigh of relief. Sara realized that Sr. Laura knew all along that they were married. Why the hell didn't she tell anyone?
Catherine returned to his sided and asked. "You married her, Gil? When? Why didn't you tell us?" She wasn't sure if her feelings were hurt or if she was angry that he didn't trust them enough to invite them take part in his marriage. "When did you get married Gil?"
He turned and held Jenna's hand. They waited for him to answer. "It'll be 19 years in May," he finally answered.
Catherine stood back. 19 years! He's been married all this time. My God, Gil, she wondered, why didn't you ever tell us? So this was your deep dark secret. There was someone that you loved and lost. Who would have known that he was waiting for her to return? How sad for him that things are ending like this.
Louis Monroe was the next to speak. "Mr. Grissom, do you have documentation to prove your marriage was valid?"
"I have a copy of our marriage license in a safe deposit box," he answered.
"Yes, well, I understand that your wife has been known by a few aliases. Can you prove that your marriage was valid? That she married you under a legal name?"
"I don't know. I suppose…," he was going to say he could probably contact the FBI and get proof that she was legally Jenna Tappen, but he didn't have to finish his thought as Sr. Laura had gotten up and walked over and pulled an envelope out of her purse.
"I have the proof that you need." She then produced papers that documented that on May 15th, 1983, Leslie Brenden was legally Jenna Tappen, the name that she used when they got married. She also had a certified copy of their marriage license.
The hospital legal representative perused the documents. He asked if he could make copies for his legal department. He promised to return them. Before leaving Monroe addressed Gil, "Mr. Grissom, I'll have your wife's doctor come and talk with you about her condition. Then we'll have one of our social workers talk to you about your options."
"Fine," was all he said.
Once the hospital personnel left, Sr. Laura again walked over and sat next to Gil. "Gil, I have one more thing for you." She opened the small box that she had removed from her purse. "Jenna told me that your wedding ring was too big for your finger and that sometimes, depending on what you were working on, you would leave the ring behind. The day that she left, you were going to be doing some digging in the mountains, so you left your ring behind. She told me she took it as a remembrance of what you had. I think it's time that these rings were return to where they belong."
At first he just looked at the gold bands. Then Sr. Laura went on to explain why she had them. "Jenna was saving them for when you started your new life. It was going to be her gift to you."
He reached in and took his wedding band. He looked inside to be sure the inscription `forever in love' was engraved on the inside. When he saw this simple statement he closed his eyes and lowered his head. He was fighting to control the tears that were burning to get out. He slowly placed the ring on his finger, realizing that it was now a perfect fit.
He then took Jenna's matching ring and placed it on her finger. He kissed her hand and barely audible, he was heard to say, " I love you Jenna, I'll love you forever."
He held her hand in both of his. He then lowered his face onto the bed and cried silently. They knew he was crying because his shoulders were heaving up and down. Catherine went over to him and rubbed her hand across his upper back. "Gil, we'll give you some time alone. When you're done, call us. We'll be out in the hallway." Then she motioned everyone to leave the room. Catherine knew that Gil would want to say some private things to his wife, without an audience listening in.
Sara had already left the room. She walked out without being noticed once Gil placed the ring on Jenna's finger.
When they walked out of the room, Catherine noticed Sara pacing at the elevator, repeatedly pushing the button that was already lit up. She could only imagine the emotions Sara was feeling. She went over to talk to her.
They weren't in the hallway for more than five minutes when he called Warrick back into the room. "Take me back."
"Sure thing, Gris,"
Out in the hallway Gil spoke to Sr. Laura. "You'll stay with her?"
Sr. Laura assured him that someone from the Shelter would be with Jenna around the clock.
"Good," he answered.
Then she told him, "You get some rest. I'll come by tomorrow and we can talk, if that's okay with you?"
"Whatever you want," was all he said before being taken back to his room.