III - HEART ATTACK
Warrick and Catherine were the first to arrive at the hospital after shift. Stopping at the gift shop, Catherine bought several magazines, a couple of Sci-Fi books and 'The Big Book of Crossword Puzzles.'
Grissom smiled at them tiredly when they walked into Greg's room. Catherine walked immediately over to him, squeezing his shoulder, before turning to Greg.
"Hey Greg. You're looking better."
"Better than what?" Greg responded dryly.
Catherine just grinned at him, and rolled her eyes. "I'm not going to answer that. You're just fishing for compliments again." Her voice was warm, and she quickly leaned in and kissed him on the cheek. "Seriously, though. It's nice to see you awake. And alert. How are you feeling?"
Greg shrugged. "Why is that one of the first things everyone asks when they walk into a hospital room?" His tone was light, but Catherine saw the barely banked pain in his eyes. "I feel like an elephant stepped on my chest."
Warrick looked at Greg in sympathy, his tone light and teasing. "An elephant, eh? So you're sore than."
Greg had grunted and rolled his eyes, but a small smile lurked on his face. "As always Warrick, you are a master of understatement. Are Sara and Nick coming?"
Warrick nodded. "Should be here soon. They needed to go back to Nick's place to feed the kitten, and Sara wanted to pick something up for you."
Grissom stood and stretched. Anything happen last night?"
"Nah. Slowest night in the history of CSI. Not one call. There is a God." Warrick grinned. "Sara slept the whole shift in the lounge."
"You squealing on me to the teacher again, Warrick?" Sara's unusually chipper tone broke into the room. "Quit sucking up." She quickly walked over to Greg and kissed him on the cheek. "Hey, Greggo. We come bearing gifts."
Behind her, Nick grinned. "I come bearing gifts - you made me carry everything." He grunted as he lowered a large Rubbermaid box to the floor. "Hi Greg."
Sara laughed. "Ignore him, Greg. I'm the brains of this outfit. He's the brawn - kinda like a mule, only cuter." She quickly turned to the box at her feet, took off the lid, and started pulling items out of it. "I brought you some new sheets - see?"
"You brought bed sheets? To a hospital?" Grissom's voice was carefully neutral as he cocked an eyebrow at Nick. Nick just shrugged and rolled his eyes, grinning.
"Of course. Have you ever slept on hospital sheets, Grissom? They suck. They're bleached beyond belief and they're scratchy. I thought Greg would appreciate being comfortable while he's here." Sara smiled at the men, before she reached into the box again. "I brought you some pajamas, too. Hospital gowns are way to embarrassing. The ventilation may be good, but that's about it."
Greg grinned as he saw the pajama bottoms. "Where in the world did you find Foghorn Leghorn pj's?"
Sara shrugged. "If I told you, I'd have to kill you." She rummaged around in the box again. "There's some toiletries in here for you as well - shaving gear, TIGA Bedhead gel -" she teased, "and, we brought you a CD player."
Nick interrupted. "And I made you a CD at work last night." He grinned as he reached into his jean jacket, and pulled the case out of his inside pocket, handing it to Greg. Greg looked at the songs Nick had burned, and smiled. "You are so morbid!"
"I thought they were appropriate."
Greg looked at the list again, reading the song titles aloud for the others in the room. "Heart Attack - Olivia Newton John; Don't Go Breaking My Heart - Elton John." He stopped as everyone started laughing, before beginning again. "Shot Through the Heart - Bon Jovi. Where Does My Heart Beat Now - Celine Dion?! Ugh. You're a sick man, Stokes."
* * * * *
Dr. Mellows was pleasantly surprised when he entered Greg's hospital room an hour later. All his friends who had waited so diligently during his surgery were with him, and Mellows noted with satisfaction the happy expression on Greg's face.
"Hi Greg. You're looking good this morning. How do you feel?" He picked up Greg's chart, reading it quickly, before looking to the young man again.
Greg shrugged. "I feel sore. My chest hurts, but I'll live." He sighed as the doctor picked up his arm, manually checking his pulse.
Mellows nodded. "You were lucky your friends were so quick to get you to the hospital and also managed to find out what type of drugs you were injected with or we might not even have been having this conversation." He smiled gently at the young man. "I need to look at your incision. Do you want your friends to stay, or wait out in the hallway?"
"They can stay." Greg sighed. "How bad is the scar going to be?"
"Not that bad - it's fairly small, all things considered. About 6 - 7 inches." He pulled Greg's robe open, his fingers gently probing around the swollen tissue. "Does this hurt? How about this? I don't see any redness, which is good. We need to avoid infection. According to the readings the nurse gave me this morning, you had a couple of small shocks last night. Do you remember feeling them?"
Greg shook his head blankly. "Shocks?"
"From the implant. It will shock you if your heartbeat loses rhythm or speeds up - just like a real defibrillator does. By monitoring it, we can monitor you - make sure this is working for you. I gave a file to Mr. Stokes for you to read - but don't hesitate to ask me questions either. You were a little out of it when you first came too yesterday - I'm not sure how much you remember."
"I remember enough." Greg's tone was resigned, but he smiled gamely when Sara moved closer to him, taking his hand. "When will I be able to get up - move around on my own?"
Dr. Mellows smiled at him. "I don't want you to push anything just yet - you've been through a serious trauma. Normally, the implant surgery is just a day surgery, but in your case - well, let's just say it's a little more complicated. I would suggest today that you try sitting for short intervals. Depending on how you're feeling and how our tests run, maybe tomorrow you can start walking a little."
"How long is Greg going to have to stay in the hospital?" Grissom had stepped forward, looking at Dr. Mellows expectantly. "If this is normally a day surgery, do you think he might be able to go home in the next couple of days?"
Mellows shook his head. "I'd say Tuesday, at the absolute earliest. And that's only if he'll be supervised." He turned to look at Greg. "Do you live with anyone Greg? Do you have a roommate?"
Greg shook his head. "No."
Sara interrupted Greg before he could continue. "Greg, you're going to move in with us for awhile - we have a spare bedroom, so it's no problem."
"I can't do that Sara." Greg blinked back his tears. "You and Nick - "
"Already talked about it this morning on the drive over." Nick smiled at him. "So, we thought we'd move some of your stuff in when Sara moves over on Saturday. You're not going to need furniture or anything, so give us a list of what you want from your apartment, and we'll get it." He was standing beside Greg now, and reached out, shaking his foot gently. "Unless, you don't want to get out of here."
"But it's such an imposition." Greg's voice was fretful.
"It's only an imposition if we don't want you, Greggo." Sara's voice was gentle. "And we do - want you, that is. Besides, if it were any of us in the same situation, you'd be doing the same thing, and you know it."
_______
Author's note: Okay, okay - I swear I have an interesting case coming up for them to solve - really, really soon! The next chapter skips forward in time a little bit, but I really needed these first three to establish what was going on with Greg and where he was going to live during his recuperation. Next chapter, on with the crime! Oh, yeah - and I apologize after the fact for the chapter title - just messing with you all. Greg will be fine.
Warrick and Catherine were the first to arrive at the hospital after shift. Stopping at the gift shop, Catherine bought several magazines, a couple of Sci-Fi books and 'The Big Book of Crossword Puzzles.'
Grissom smiled at them tiredly when they walked into Greg's room. Catherine walked immediately over to him, squeezing his shoulder, before turning to Greg.
"Hey Greg. You're looking better."
"Better than what?" Greg responded dryly.
Catherine just grinned at him, and rolled her eyes. "I'm not going to answer that. You're just fishing for compliments again." Her voice was warm, and she quickly leaned in and kissed him on the cheek. "Seriously, though. It's nice to see you awake. And alert. How are you feeling?"
Greg shrugged. "Why is that one of the first things everyone asks when they walk into a hospital room?" His tone was light, but Catherine saw the barely banked pain in his eyes. "I feel like an elephant stepped on my chest."
Warrick looked at Greg in sympathy, his tone light and teasing. "An elephant, eh? So you're sore than."
Greg had grunted and rolled his eyes, but a small smile lurked on his face. "As always Warrick, you are a master of understatement. Are Sara and Nick coming?"
Warrick nodded. "Should be here soon. They needed to go back to Nick's place to feed the kitten, and Sara wanted to pick something up for you."
Grissom stood and stretched. Anything happen last night?"
"Nah. Slowest night in the history of CSI. Not one call. There is a God." Warrick grinned. "Sara slept the whole shift in the lounge."
"You squealing on me to the teacher again, Warrick?" Sara's unusually chipper tone broke into the room. "Quit sucking up." She quickly walked over to Greg and kissed him on the cheek. "Hey, Greggo. We come bearing gifts."
Behind her, Nick grinned. "I come bearing gifts - you made me carry everything." He grunted as he lowered a large Rubbermaid box to the floor. "Hi Greg."
Sara laughed. "Ignore him, Greg. I'm the brains of this outfit. He's the brawn - kinda like a mule, only cuter." She quickly turned to the box at her feet, took off the lid, and started pulling items out of it. "I brought you some new sheets - see?"
"You brought bed sheets? To a hospital?" Grissom's voice was carefully neutral as he cocked an eyebrow at Nick. Nick just shrugged and rolled his eyes, grinning.
"Of course. Have you ever slept on hospital sheets, Grissom? They suck. They're bleached beyond belief and they're scratchy. I thought Greg would appreciate being comfortable while he's here." Sara smiled at the men, before she reached into the box again. "I brought you some pajamas, too. Hospital gowns are way to embarrassing. The ventilation may be good, but that's about it."
Greg grinned as he saw the pajama bottoms. "Where in the world did you find Foghorn Leghorn pj's?"
Sara shrugged. "If I told you, I'd have to kill you." She rummaged around in the box again. "There's some toiletries in here for you as well - shaving gear, TIGA Bedhead gel -" she teased, "and, we brought you a CD player."
Nick interrupted. "And I made you a CD at work last night." He grinned as he reached into his jean jacket, and pulled the case out of his inside pocket, handing it to Greg. Greg looked at the songs Nick had burned, and smiled. "You are so morbid!"
"I thought they were appropriate."
Greg looked at the list again, reading the song titles aloud for the others in the room. "Heart Attack - Olivia Newton John; Don't Go Breaking My Heart - Elton John." He stopped as everyone started laughing, before beginning again. "Shot Through the Heart - Bon Jovi. Where Does My Heart Beat Now - Celine Dion?! Ugh. You're a sick man, Stokes."
* * * * *
Dr. Mellows was pleasantly surprised when he entered Greg's hospital room an hour later. All his friends who had waited so diligently during his surgery were with him, and Mellows noted with satisfaction the happy expression on Greg's face.
"Hi Greg. You're looking good this morning. How do you feel?" He picked up Greg's chart, reading it quickly, before looking to the young man again.
Greg shrugged. "I feel sore. My chest hurts, but I'll live." He sighed as the doctor picked up his arm, manually checking his pulse.
Mellows nodded. "You were lucky your friends were so quick to get you to the hospital and also managed to find out what type of drugs you were injected with or we might not even have been having this conversation." He smiled gently at the young man. "I need to look at your incision. Do you want your friends to stay, or wait out in the hallway?"
"They can stay." Greg sighed. "How bad is the scar going to be?"
"Not that bad - it's fairly small, all things considered. About 6 - 7 inches." He pulled Greg's robe open, his fingers gently probing around the swollen tissue. "Does this hurt? How about this? I don't see any redness, which is good. We need to avoid infection. According to the readings the nurse gave me this morning, you had a couple of small shocks last night. Do you remember feeling them?"
Greg shook his head blankly. "Shocks?"
"From the implant. It will shock you if your heartbeat loses rhythm or speeds up - just like a real defibrillator does. By monitoring it, we can monitor you - make sure this is working for you. I gave a file to Mr. Stokes for you to read - but don't hesitate to ask me questions either. You were a little out of it when you first came too yesterday - I'm not sure how much you remember."
"I remember enough." Greg's tone was resigned, but he smiled gamely when Sara moved closer to him, taking his hand. "When will I be able to get up - move around on my own?"
Dr. Mellows smiled at him. "I don't want you to push anything just yet - you've been through a serious trauma. Normally, the implant surgery is just a day surgery, but in your case - well, let's just say it's a little more complicated. I would suggest today that you try sitting for short intervals. Depending on how you're feeling and how our tests run, maybe tomorrow you can start walking a little."
"How long is Greg going to have to stay in the hospital?" Grissom had stepped forward, looking at Dr. Mellows expectantly. "If this is normally a day surgery, do you think he might be able to go home in the next couple of days?"
Mellows shook his head. "I'd say Tuesday, at the absolute earliest. And that's only if he'll be supervised." He turned to look at Greg. "Do you live with anyone Greg? Do you have a roommate?"
Greg shook his head. "No."
Sara interrupted Greg before he could continue. "Greg, you're going to move in with us for awhile - we have a spare bedroom, so it's no problem."
"I can't do that Sara." Greg blinked back his tears. "You and Nick - "
"Already talked about it this morning on the drive over." Nick smiled at him. "So, we thought we'd move some of your stuff in when Sara moves over on Saturday. You're not going to need furniture or anything, so give us a list of what you want from your apartment, and we'll get it." He was standing beside Greg now, and reached out, shaking his foot gently. "Unless, you don't want to get out of here."
"But it's such an imposition." Greg's voice was fretful.
"It's only an imposition if we don't want you, Greggo." Sara's voice was gentle. "And we do - want you, that is. Besides, if it were any of us in the same situation, you'd be doing the same thing, and you know it."
_______
Author's note: Okay, okay - I swear I have an interesting case coming up for them to solve - really, really soon! The next chapter skips forward in time a little bit, but I really needed these first three to establish what was going on with Greg and where he was going to live during his recuperation. Next chapter, on with the crime! Oh, yeah - and I apologize after the fact for the chapter title - just messing with you all. Greg will be fine.