Title: Fear 22/29
Author: CSIphile/Stepf
Rating/Disclaimers: PG13, Don't own em
Notes: I totally made up the medical stuff, I know very little so if I mucked something up or didn't make something as serious as it should be..humor me, call it creative license. Check out more notes at the bottom, I couldn't put em here! Lookie how fast I am posting this chapter too, Megs the best!
Thanks: For the reviews, you guys, as per usual, rock hard! And Dev, who listened to me whine endlessly, she's a saint. Also to Meg, who betaed this with speed cause we were afraid of being lynched if Nicky hung in the balance for too long. G
Once more, he jerks, and once more, no reaction on the heart monitor. "Ok, one more time at 350..ready? Clear!"
Nick's body jerks once again, but this time a small beep emits from the monitor. "Sinus," one of the nurses calls out, and everyone breathes a sigh of relief.
"Ok, good job everyone." At that moment another doctor walks in and talks to the ER doctor. They quickly rush Nick out of trauma. The only word Sara hears is 'surgery'; she is focused on Nick as they rush by her.
She doesn't realize she is holding her breath until Hank touches her arm again. The trauma doctor looks back at Sara and smiles. "Your brother is going up to surgery. I am not going to lie to you, his injuries are very severe. He has internal bleeding in addition to the broken leg and pelvis and serious concussion. It's going to be wait-and-see for a while."
"Okay, thank you."
"Have you been seen yet, Miss?"
"Uhhh. No. Actually, I.." Mid-sentence, Sara leans over and coughs hard, bringing up a small amount of blood. Removing her hand from her mouth, Sara looks at her red-covered palm in shock.
"Sara?" Hank asks and shares a concerned look with the doctor, who moves over to get a closer look at the young woman.
"That's not good, is it?" is all she gets out before another cough racks through her, causing Sara to cry out in pain. It feels like her chest is being ripped to pieces from the inside. "Oh God, that hurt."
"Ok, get her into a trauma room and let's get a chest CT," the doctor, whose name she now knows as McCarty, barks at a passing nurse. As Hank picks her up carefully and walks with her in his arms to trauma, he sees Grissom quickly walking down the hall to him.
"Hank.Sara!" Grissom shouts when he sees who Hank is carrying.
"Sir, are you family?" McCarty asks.
"Yes," Grissom says without hesitation. At that moment, Sara coughs again, this time bringing up more blood, covering Hanks shirt in it. He lays her down on the bed, placing her on her left side, to keep her from choking on the blood, and looks at Grissom, who is staring at Sara with fear.
Grissom is stunned. Blood mats her usually shiny brown hair and runs in rivers down the side of her face from a nasty-looking two inch gash in her head. Almost her entire face is mottled in bruises of differing colors and textures, results of the airbag exploding too close to her. Looking down her body, Grissom notes the splint on her right arm along with various bruises and cuts. Add to that the blood she is coughing up with frightening regularity on her shirt, and Grissom almost doesn't recognize the woman he loves. Walking to her after the nurse takes x-rays, Grissom grabs her left hand and squeezes. She turns to him and smiles slightly.
"Hey," she says in a whisper.
"Hey, baby. Everything will be ok; they are going to take you up to surgery in a minute," he says and strokes her cheek where there isn't blood.
She nods and coughs violently again. "It was him, Grissom. Harrington. He tried to kill us. Why? I don't understand. I thought he was gone." Her voice becomes rougher and quieter as she talks, prompting Grissom to shush her.
"Sara, stop talking, ok?" She nods again and fights closing her eyes, finally succumbing to the urge.
Trying to hold back tears, Grissom places his forehead on the bed next to her and cries silently. He never should have let her leave the building; he should have kept her closer to him, no matter how angry she may have gotten at him. He is a trained investigator and yet he ignored all the signs of an increasingly violent stalker. He is forced out of the way as a nurse returns with the results and McCarty examines her.
Looking at Hank, Grissom gives the man a small smile and thanks him. "I owe you, Hank. Can you do me a favor, though? Catherine and Warrick are in the waiting area. Can you let them know what is going on?"
"Sure, Grissom. I'm sure she'll be fine." He pats Grissom on the shoulder and walks out as the doctor addresses the older man.
"Mr.Grissom?" the doctor questions, unsure if that's a first or last name.
"Yeah," he replies, not taking his eyes off the now-unconscious Sara, who is swiftly being moved upstairs to surgery.
"Sara has a perforated lung caused by a rib that snapped in half and pushed back into the chest cavity. It's not a big perforation, but it requires surgery. Additionally, she has a broken arm, a serious concussion, and various cuts and bruises. Considering the man that came in with her, she is very lucky."
"I know." Grissom runs his hands through his curly hair and address the doctor again. "How's Nick?"
"That, I can't tell you. He is in surgery now; you can wait for them both up there. I can tell you we lost him once on the table down here; it was a close call. But he is young and strong. Good luck."
"Thank you doctor," he says and walks out to the waiting room, still in shock from what he had been told. They almost lost Nick. In a daze, he wanders aimlessly into the room, only looking around when he hears Catherine's voice.
"Grissom?" she says softly and approaches him with Warrick close behind. When he doesn't respond, she tries again, "Gil?"
Turning to her, Catherine is surprised by the ashen look on his face. "Is she alright?"
"What? Yeah, she should be fine. Perforated lung. She was coughing up blood, Cath, a lot of blood. And her face, it was covered in it, I almost didn't recognize her. They could be dead, gone for good. Nick was brought back once, and they lost him in trauma." He is shaking by now, looking in Catherine's direction, but to her it seems as though he is looking through her.
"Yeah, Hank told us about Nick. They are both strong people with something to live for. Have faith." She pulls Grissom into an embrace, slowly rubbing his back as he grips onto her for dear life.
Finally pulling away, Grissom looks at both of their solemn faces. "We can go upstairs and wait for both of them there."
"Ok, let's go," Warrick finally says, unable to keep his voice from cracking on the three short words.
Entering the waiting room, she looks around, quickly finding the people she is looking for in the near-empty room. Even if the room was full, the two men and one woman would have been easy to spot. They are sitting side by side, with the strawberry blonde in the middle leaning against the younger of the men. The older of the two is sitting stock straight, staring into nowhere. Approaching the group, she gets the younger man's attention first, and he alerts the others to her presence.
"Hi, I am Dr. Ashwari. I worked on Miss Sidle. You are waiting for her, correct?"
"Yes. I'm Catherine Willows; this is Warrick Brown and Gil Grissom," the woman says and holds out her hand.
"Good to meet you. Let me give you the lowdown." She sits in the chairs in front of them. "Sara was brought it conscious, lucid, and able to walk on her own. Adrenalin probably kept her from feeling the pain in her chest. Her rib had broken and punctured her right lung, not too seriously, enough to cause quite a show of blood, but not enough to actually collapse it. We repaired the lung and set her rib, in addition to the break on her arm. We also stitched up the laceration on her head, and additionally, she suffered a serious concussion. She is pretty bruised and banged up but she should be fine. She is in recovery now. Sara is sedated pretty heavily now and intubated to help her lung heal, but she should be ready to get out of here in a few days."
"What about Nick?" Warrick asks quietly.
"I checked in on him on the way here. He's still in surgery. I won't lie to you, he is lucky to be alive; they revived him once in the ER. He sustained massive internal injuries. They removed his spleen, sewed up part of his liver, and he has bruising of the sternum and a broken pelvis in addition to other minor injuries that the surgeon working on him would be better equipped to go over with you."
"When can we see Sara?" Grissom looks at her with an almost desperate expression.
"As soon as they move her into ICU, one at a time and not for more than 10 minutes for now. The nurse will let you know. After they lift the sedation, probably sometime tomorrow, she will be moved to a regular room and she will have normal visiting hours."
"Ok, thank you doctor," Catherine says as the woman gets up.
"You're welcome. If you have any questions, let me or one of the nurses know." Receiving nods, she leaves the trio in peace.
"She's going to be fine, Grissom. They both are," Catherine says and places a hand on his arm. She's surprised when, for the first time in almost two hours, he moves, jumping up and pacing in front of them. They watch him walk tight circles for a few minutes; Catherine can feel the waves of anger coming from him.
"Gil.."
"This never should have even happened, Catherine. Never. He should still be in jail on the assault charges. Dammit! If only we could have proven he broke into her apartment, he would be safely locked up where he belongs, not running my CSIs off the road, almost killing them." He finally stops walking and looks at them.
Catherine almost recoils from the look her friend gives her; she has known him for over 10 years now and never once in all those years has she seen such hate and fury in his eyes. She realizes the feeling isn't directed at her, but they frighten her nonetheless.
"Grissom, man. We did what we could; there was no evidence to charge him on. Believe me, I would have been the first person to do it," Warrick says, also noticing the expression on his face, but ignoring it.
Something about what Warrick says rings true with Grissom and he sinks into the chairs across from them, placing his head in his hands, elbows on his knees. After a few minutes he raises his head, looks into Catherine's understanding eyes, and practically whispers to her, "I just found her again Cath. I can't handle the thought I almost lost her before we had a chance. And Nick, he wanted to protect her, as much as I do. Did someone call Brass? She ID'ed Harrington in the ER."
"Yes, Warrick called him. There is an APB out now. They will find him, Grissom, and half the force is out there looking. She's fine, though; you heard the doctor. You will have your chance, Gil. Don't let this destroy it." She pauses momentarily, considering what to say next. "Nick loves her, loves her like the younger sister he never had; more than we probably realize. He probably was protecting her as best he could. They are both alive. He'll be fine.."
"He has to be fine, Cath. It will kill Sara if he isn't," Grissom finishes for her as the nurse walks in and informs them that they can visit Sara.
Following her down the hall and coming to a halt in front of ICU room 3, they decide by unsaid mutual agreement that Grissom will be the first to go in. Before he does, however, he gets a stern reminder from the nurse that he can't stay more than 10 minutes, and then he can come back in two hours. He nods a response and pushes the door open, steeling himself for her appearance.
Walking in, he sucks in a breath; she is lying so still, a white ghost that blends into the white linens, her brown hair the only thing that differentiates her from the bed. She looks so young and innocent. An intubation tube attached to a respirator parts her pale lips, soft lips that he can still feel on his body from what now seemed like an eternity ago. Sitting in one of the chairs, he takes her left hand, the one without a cast, and holds it to his lips. Her hand is warm, for some reason that gives him great comfort. Leaning onto the bed, still grasping her hand, he brings his face close her hers and talks quietly to her.
"Hey baby. You're going to be all right. The doctors did a good job; I'm sure you'll be back in the lab in no time." Letting a tear run down his cheek, he continues, "I love you, Sara. I will be here when you wake up, ok? We will find him, Sara, I promise you that, He won't ever do this again. Just rest now. Cath and Warrick want to see you, but I will be back soon." Leaning down, he kisses her forehead and gives one more long look at the brunette. 'I'll find him myself if I have to,' he thinks and walks out, allowing Catherine by.
"Grissom, Nick's out of surgery. He isn't being allowed visitors right now; they are confident he will recover fine, though. So when we're done, I am taking you home and you are getting some rest." Catherine can tell he is about to argue with her, so she fixes a glare. "I'm not kidding, Gil. They both are going to need you, and you can't do that half asleep. They're safe here; Brass is posting men at their doors."
He nods in acceptance, and waits patiently for both her and Warrick to finish before allowing Catherine to lead him downstairs to the waiting Tahoe. The entire walk down, however, Grissom feels like he is abandoning Sara. The picture of her alone in that hospital room is almost more than he can take, and for a brief instant, he debates returning to her. Catherine's steady hand on his arm reminds him that she will be unconscious anyway, and he rationalizes that a shower and some sleep won't keep him away long.
Joey pulls his baseball hat down over his eyes, trying to keep his face hidden. While he had managed to change his hair color earlier, his eyes would probably give him away. It was the one thing that always drew women to him; the ice blue shade of them is unusual, but luckily the blonde hair seems to diminish the impact. Joey isn't stupid; he knows the police are looking for him. The only way he can stay near the woman he loves is to disappear into the throngs that visit Las Vegas on a daily basis before probably heading out of town.
First making a stop at the hospital's front desk and asking about Sara, he finds out she is in ICU on the surgery floor. Room three. Walking to the bank of elevators, he sees the gift shop across the hall and makes another stop. Carrying his purchase and keeping his head down, Joey makes it into the nurse's station unmolested. Unfortunately it's necessary for him to check with the nurses before moving to the room located behind them. Glancing around, he finds room three to the left and notices that she has no guard on the door; that surprises him. Putting on his best saddened look, he gets the attention of the younger of the nurses.
"Excuse me, miss. My.sister was brought in earlier, she was in a car accident. They told me she was up here. Is there any way I can see her?" He blinks several times as though holding back tears and sniffles a bit.
"She really shouldn't have visitors anymore today. Your father was here earlier looking in on her. I don't remember seeing you with him." She looks at him warily for a moment.
"My father?" he questions then realizes who she must be talking about. "Oh of course. Yes, I just flew in from San Fran. I know she probably doesn't need more visitors, but I just got here from the airport and want to leave her something so she knows I was here." He indicates the gift in his hand.
"I can leave it for her," Dana says, but she is softening, feeling bad for the young man who almost lost his 'sister'.
"I would really like to see her, just for a moment. Please, it would mean so much to me." He opens his eyes wide in a pleading gesture and that does it.
"Ok, five minutes, not one more."
"Great, thanks Dana, I really appreciate it." He smiles and gives her a wink as he waltzes past the desk and enters Sara's room.
tbc.........
More notes: Cause I am sure you care what I was thinking.I debated Nicks fate for a solid two weeks before deciding he could live. I even wrote his death first, but I couldn't do it. Besides the geeks, Nicky's my favorite and I didn't have the heart to kill him. Though some person, who shall remain nameless, was encouraging me to kill him, you know who you are!
Author: CSIphile/Stepf
Rating/Disclaimers: PG13, Don't own em
Notes: I totally made up the medical stuff, I know very little so if I mucked something up or didn't make something as serious as it should be..humor me, call it creative license. Check out more notes at the bottom, I couldn't put em here! Lookie how fast I am posting this chapter too, Megs the best!
Thanks: For the reviews, you guys, as per usual, rock hard! And Dev, who listened to me whine endlessly, she's a saint. Also to Meg, who betaed this with speed cause we were afraid of being lynched if Nicky hung in the balance for too long. G
Once more, he jerks, and once more, no reaction on the heart monitor. "Ok, one more time at 350..ready? Clear!"
Nick's body jerks once again, but this time a small beep emits from the monitor. "Sinus," one of the nurses calls out, and everyone breathes a sigh of relief.
"Ok, good job everyone." At that moment another doctor walks in and talks to the ER doctor. They quickly rush Nick out of trauma. The only word Sara hears is 'surgery'; she is focused on Nick as they rush by her.
She doesn't realize she is holding her breath until Hank touches her arm again. The trauma doctor looks back at Sara and smiles. "Your brother is going up to surgery. I am not going to lie to you, his injuries are very severe. He has internal bleeding in addition to the broken leg and pelvis and serious concussion. It's going to be wait-and-see for a while."
"Okay, thank you."
"Have you been seen yet, Miss?"
"Uhhh. No. Actually, I.." Mid-sentence, Sara leans over and coughs hard, bringing up a small amount of blood. Removing her hand from her mouth, Sara looks at her red-covered palm in shock.
"Sara?" Hank asks and shares a concerned look with the doctor, who moves over to get a closer look at the young woman.
"That's not good, is it?" is all she gets out before another cough racks through her, causing Sara to cry out in pain. It feels like her chest is being ripped to pieces from the inside. "Oh God, that hurt."
"Ok, get her into a trauma room and let's get a chest CT," the doctor, whose name she now knows as McCarty, barks at a passing nurse. As Hank picks her up carefully and walks with her in his arms to trauma, he sees Grissom quickly walking down the hall to him.
"Hank.Sara!" Grissom shouts when he sees who Hank is carrying.
"Sir, are you family?" McCarty asks.
"Yes," Grissom says without hesitation. At that moment, Sara coughs again, this time bringing up more blood, covering Hanks shirt in it. He lays her down on the bed, placing her on her left side, to keep her from choking on the blood, and looks at Grissom, who is staring at Sara with fear.
Grissom is stunned. Blood mats her usually shiny brown hair and runs in rivers down the side of her face from a nasty-looking two inch gash in her head. Almost her entire face is mottled in bruises of differing colors and textures, results of the airbag exploding too close to her. Looking down her body, Grissom notes the splint on her right arm along with various bruises and cuts. Add to that the blood she is coughing up with frightening regularity on her shirt, and Grissom almost doesn't recognize the woman he loves. Walking to her after the nurse takes x-rays, Grissom grabs her left hand and squeezes. She turns to him and smiles slightly.
"Hey," she says in a whisper.
"Hey, baby. Everything will be ok; they are going to take you up to surgery in a minute," he says and strokes her cheek where there isn't blood.
She nods and coughs violently again. "It was him, Grissom. Harrington. He tried to kill us. Why? I don't understand. I thought he was gone." Her voice becomes rougher and quieter as she talks, prompting Grissom to shush her.
"Sara, stop talking, ok?" She nods again and fights closing her eyes, finally succumbing to the urge.
Trying to hold back tears, Grissom places his forehead on the bed next to her and cries silently. He never should have let her leave the building; he should have kept her closer to him, no matter how angry she may have gotten at him. He is a trained investigator and yet he ignored all the signs of an increasingly violent stalker. He is forced out of the way as a nurse returns with the results and McCarty examines her.
Looking at Hank, Grissom gives the man a small smile and thanks him. "I owe you, Hank. Can you do me a favor, though? Catherine and Warrick are in the waiting area. Can you let them know what is going on?"
"Sure, Grissom. I'm sure she'll be fine." He pats Grissom on the shoulder and walks out as the doctor addresses the older man.
"Mr.Grissom?" the doctor questions, unsure if that's a first or last name.
"Yeah," he replies, not taking his eyes off the now-unconscious Sara, who is swiftly being moved upstairs to surgery.
"Sara has a perforated lung caused by a rib that snapped in half and pushed back into the chest cavity. It's not a big perforation, but it requires surgery. Additionally, she has a broken arm, a serious concussion, and various cuts and bruises. Considering the man that came in with her, she is very lucky."
"I know." Grissom runs his hands through his curly hair and address the doctor again. "How's Nick?"
"That, I can't tell you. He is in surgery now; you can wait for them both up there. I can tell you we lost him once on the table down here; it was a close call. But he is young and strong. Good luck."
"Thank you doctor," he says and walks out to the waiting room, still in shock from what he had been told. They almost lost Nick. In a daze, he wanders aimlessly into the room, only looking around when he hears Catherine's voice.
"Grissom?" she says softly and approaches him with Warrick close behind. When he doesn't respond, she tries again, "Gil?"
Turning to her, Catherine is surprised by the ashen look on his face. "Is she alright?"
"What? Yeah, she should be fine. Perforated lung. She was coughing up blood, Cath, a lot of blood. And her face, it was covered in it, I almost didn't recognize her. They could be dead, gone for good. Nick was brought back once, and they lost him in trauma." He is shaking by now, looking in Catherine's direction, but to her it seems as though he is looking through her.
"Yeah, Hank told us about Nick. They are both strong people with something to live for. Have faith." She pulls Grissom into an embrace, slowly rubbing his back as he grips onto her for dear life.
Finally pulling away, Grissom looks at both of their solemn faces. "We can go upstairs and wait for both of them there."
"Ok, let's go," Warrick finally says, unable to keep his voice from cracking on the three short words.
Entering the waiting room, she looks around, quickly finding the people she is looking for in the near-empty room. Even if the room was full, the two men and one woman would have been easy to spot. They are sitting side by side, with the strawberry blonde in the middle leaning against the younger of the men. The older of the two is sitting stock straight, staring into nowhere. Approaching the group, she gets the younger man's attention first, and he alerts the others to her presence.
"Hi, I am Dr. Ashwari. I worked on Miss Sidle. You are waiting for her, correct?"
"Yes. I'm Catherine Willows; this is Warrick Brown and Gil Grissom," the woman says and holds out her hand.
"Good to meet you. Let me give you the lowdown." She sits in the chairs in front of them. "Sara was brought it conscious, lucid, and able to walk on her own. Adrenalin probably kept her from feeling the pain in her chest. Her rib had broken and punctured her right lung, not too seriously, enough to cause quite a show of blood, but not enough to actually collapse it. We repaired the lung and set her rib, in addition to the break on her arm. We also stitched up the laceration on her head, and additionally, she suffered a serious concussion. She is pretty bruised and banged up but she should be fine. She is in recovery now. Sara is sedated pretty heavily now and intubated to help her lung heal, but she should be ready to get out of here in a few days."
"What about Nick?" Warrick asks quietly.
"I checked in on him on the way here. He's still in surgery. I won't lie to you, he is lucky to be alive; they revived him once in the ER. He sustained massive internal injuries. They removed his spleen, sewed up part of his liver, and he has bruising of the sternum and a broken pelvis in addition to other minor injuries that the surgeon working on him would be better equipped to go over with you."
"When can we see Sara?" Grissom looks at her with an almost desperate expression.
"As soon as they move her into ICU, one at a time and not for more than 10 minutes for now. The nurse will let you know. After they lift the sedation, probably sometime tomorrow, she will be moved to a regular room and she will have normal visiting hours."
"Ok, thank you doctor," Catherine says as the woman gets up.
"You're welcome. If you have any questions, let me or one of the nurses know." Receiving nods, she leaves the trio in peace.
"She's going to be fine, Grissom. They both are," Catherine says and places a hand on his arm. She's surprised when, for the first time in almost two hours, he moves, jumping up and pacing in front of them. They watch him walk tight circles for a few minutes; Catherine can feel the waves of anger coming from him.
"Gil.."
"This never should have even happened, Catherine. Never. He should still be in jail on the assault charges. Dammit! If only we could have proven he broke into her apartment, he would be safely locked up where he belongs, not running my CSIs off the road, almost killing them." He finally stops walking and looks at them.
Catherine almost recoils from the look her friend gives her; she has known him for over 10 years now and never once in all those years has she seen such hate and fury in his eyes. She realizes the feeling isn't directed at her, but they frighten her nonetheless.
"Grissom, man. We did what we could; there was no evidence to charge him on. Believe me, I would have been the first person to do it," Warrick says, also noticing the expression on his face, but ignoring it.
Something about what Warrick says rings true with Grissom and he sinks into the chairs across from them, placing his head in his hands, elbows on his knees. After a few minutes he raises his head, looks into Catherine's understanding eyes, and practically whispers to her, "I just found her again Cath. I can't handle the thought I almost lost her before we had a chance. And Nick, he wanted to protect her, as much as I do. Did someone call Brass? She ID'ed Harrington in the ER."
"Yes, Warrick called him. There is an APB out now. They will find him, Grissom, and half the force is out there looking. She's fine, though; you heard the doctor. You will have your chance, Gil. Don't let this destroy it." She pauses momentarily, considering what to say next. "Nick loves her, loves her like the younger sister he never had; more than we probably realize. He probably was protecting her as best he could. They are both alive. He'll be fine.."
"He has to be fine, Cath. It will kill Sara if he isn't," Grissom finishes for her as the nurse walks in and informs them that they can visit Sara.
Following her down the hall and coming to a halt in front of ICU room 3, they decide by unsaid mutual agreement that Grissom will be the first to go in. Before he does, however, he gets a stern reminder from the nurse that he can't stay more than 10 minutes, and then he can come back in two hours. He nods a response and pushes the door open, steeling himself for her appearance.
Walking in, he sucks in a breath; she is lying so still, a white ghost that blends into the white linens, her brown hair the only thing that differentiates her from the bed. She looks so young and innocent. An intubation tube attached to a respirator parts her pale lips, soft lips that he can still feel on his body from what now seemed like an eternity ago. Sitting in one of the chairs, he takes her left hand, the one without a cast, and holds it to his lips. Her hand is warm, for some reason that gives him great comfort. Leaning onto the bed, still grasping her hand, he brings his face close her hers and talks quietly to her.
"Hey baby. You're going to be all right. The doctors did a good job; I'm sure you'll be back in the lab in no time." Letting a tear run down his cheek, he continues, "I love you, Sara. I will be here when you wake up, ok? We will find him, Sara, I promise you that, He won't ever do this again. Just rest now. Cath and Warrick want to see you, but I will be back soon." Leaning down, he kisses her forehead and gives one more long look at the brunette. 'I'll find him myself if I have to,' he thinks and walks out, allowing Catherine by.
"Grissom, Nick's out of surgery. He isn't being allowed visitors right now; they are confident he will recover fine, though. So when we're done, I am taking you home and you are getting some rest." Catherine can tell he is about to argue with her, so she fixes a glare. "I'm not kidding, Gil. They both are going to need you, and you can't do that half asleep. They're safe here; Brass is posting men at their doors."
He nods in acceptance, and waits patiently for both her and Warrick to finish before allowing Catherine to lead him downstairs to the waiting Tahoe. The entire walk down, however, Grissom feels like he is abandoning Sara. The picture of her alone in that hospital room is almost more than he can take, and for a brief instant, he debates returning to her. Catherine's steady hand on his arm reminds him that she will be unconscious anyway, and he rationalizes that a shower and some sleep won't keep him away long.
Joey pulls his baseball hat down over his eyes, trying to keep his face hidden. While he had managed to change his hair color earlier, his eyes would probably give him away. It was the one thing that always drew women to him; the ice blue shade of them is unusual, but luckily the blonde hair seems to diminish the impact. Joey isn't stupid; he knows the police are looking for him. The only way he can stay near the woman he loves is to disappear into the throngs that visit Las Vegas on a daily basis before probably heading out of town.
First making a stop at the hospital's front desk and asking about Sara, he finds out she is in ICU on the surgery floor. Room three. Walking to the bank of elevators, he sees the gift shop across the hall and makes another stop. Carrying his purchase and keeping his head down, Joey makes it into the nurse's station unmolested. Unfortunately it's necessary for him to check with the nurses before moving to the room located behind them. Glancing around, he finds room three to the left and notices that she has no guard on the door; that surprises him. Putting on his best saddened look, he gets the attention of the younger of the nurses.
"Excuse me, miss. My.sister was brought in earlier, she was in a car accident. They told me she was up here. Is there any way I can see her?" He blinks several times as though holding back tears and sniffles a bit.
"She really shouldn't have visitors anymore today. Your father was here earlier looking in on her. I don't remember seeing you with him." She looks at him warily for a moment.
"My father?" he questions then realizes who she must be talking about. "Oh of course. Yes, I just flew in from San Fran. I know she probably doesn't need more visitors, but I just got here from the airport and want to leave her something so she knows I was here." He indicates the gift in his hand.
"I can leave it for her," Dana says, but she is softening, feeling bad for the young man who almost lost his 'sister'.
"I would really like to see her, just for a moment. Please, it would mean so much to me." He opens his eyes wide in a pleading gesture and that does it.
"Ok, five minutes, not one more."
"Great, thanks Dana, I really appreciate it." He smiles and gives her a wink as he waltzes past the desk and enters Sara's room.
tbc.........
More notes: Cause I am sure you care what I was thinking.I debated Nicks fate for a solid two weeks before deciding he could live. I even wrote his death first, but I couldn't do it. Besides the geeks, Nicky's my favorite and I didn't have the heart to kill him. Though some person, who shall remain nameless, was encouraging me to kill him, you know who you are!