A/n ~ Thanks for the reviews!!! {{{{Hugs}}}} But I can't really take the credit. I didn't write it- it wrote itself...my hand just started scribbling and I just couldn't make it stop! Looking around there seems to be a distinct lack of Greg angst fic which is just unacceptable. What's with that?! Why does no one like Greggo? :-( Well I'm here now to fix it, so watch out people... :-)
Part 2
They were in the waiting room; waiting. They all looked as though they had been crying. Because they all had. Nick and Grissom couldn't get the image of Greg tied up out of their minds. Pale, burnt, bruised, bleeding, scarred but still conscious, barely. They would never forget that image. Catherine was thinking about Lindsey. Lindsey was with her father now, and Eddie didn't seem so bad somehow after this. How could anybody do that to their child? Sara and Warrick were thinking about just how much Greg had been through, even though he was the youngest of the team.
"If only I'd-"
Nick started, but Grissom stopped him.
"Don't you dare."
It was clear from his voice that Grissom was more than angry.
"Excuse me?"
"Don't you dare try and blame this on *anybody* but Jonathan Sanders do you hear me?!"
There was a pause until Warrick said
"Man I wish it had been me to pull that trigger Nick, that bastard is going to hell."
He was obviously just as frustrated as the rest of them at not having heard anything about Greg's condition. There was another long silence. After a little while, Catherine started crying again. Grissom handed her a box of tissues.
"Thanks. I-It's just-"
She sighed.
"It would have been bad enough if John Sanders had been a stranger but- when he was Greg's father and- I just keep thinking of Lindsey-"
"Catherine-"
But Grissom was interrupted by the arrival of the doctor, who immediately had their full attention.
"As I'm sure you're aware, Greg is in a critical condition. Right now he's in a coma which we can only hope he will wake up from."
The doctor hesitated.
" His injuries are so extensive that if he does wake up he will need a great deal of physiotherapy as well as counselling...there is another matter which I can only discuss with his next of kin, so could Gil Grissom and Nick stokes please come this way."
On the way to the doctor's office Grissom couldn't help thinking that in only 28 years, Greg had got to the point where he had to put down his boss as his next of kin, though he certainly wasn't surprised that Greg hadn't put down his father. He looked at his watch. It was 5 past midnight, and so thanksgiving. Grissom suddenly wondered where Greg spent holidays like thanksgiving. At home? Alone? Or did Greg have foster parents? He had to have stayed somewhere after his father massacred his family...another relative maybe? It was amazing how before this incident, he had been completely oblivious of Greg's past. The office was small, cluttered and claustrophobic, but somehow the doctor seemed to fit in there. He was at perfect ease with the clutter around him, but less so with what he had to tell them.
"I'm afraid...I have some...distressing news. It seems that on top of all of the injuries Mr. Sanders received, he was also, sexually abused..."
"What?!"
"Oh my God..."
The doctor paused.
"Fortunately there is absolutely no trace of any sexually transmitted diseases...which is certainly a benefactor in Greg's recovery. Physically anyway...mentally..."
"This is not happening..."
Nick whispered. They were both in a state of shock, anger and despair. Grissom calmed himself enough to ask one more question.
"Doctor, tell us honestly, do you believe Greg will wake up?"
The doctor sighed. He hated moments like this.
"It's hard to tell- Apart from the injuries he's received in the last 24 hours, he's young, fit and healthy, which is all good. I would hope that Greg wakes up within the next two weeks, but like I said, it's hard to tell."
Grissom nodded and Nick joined him as they silently headed to the waiting room. They stopped just before they reached it.
"Wait- are we going to tell the others?"
"I know it's not something you want everyone to know about Nick, but they'll need to understand the full situation. Otherwise when Greg says something about it or acts differently, they won't be able to support him."
Nick hesitated, but eventually nodded.
When the others found out, there was a hushed silence. No one knew what to say. Something inside them felt dead. Catherine looked to Nick, making sure he was ok, being the only one who knew his secret, other than Greg. Nick was trying not to think of that one night, that one babysitter, and the many nightmares that followed. He didn't want is best friend to go through that. And definitely not alone.
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When Greg woke up, almost a week after the incident, he didn't call the doctor. He just sat up painfully and stared into space. He remembered. Every single detail. Why couldn't he have had amnesia he wondered. A nurse entered; startled when she saw he was awake. She called out into the corridor, to Dr. Simons; who replied he'd be there in a minute, just had some calls to make. The nurse spoke to Greg, but he just ignored her, still staring into space.
"Mr. Sanders? Mr. Sanders how are you feeling? Do you remember what happened? Can you hear me? You should be lying down-"
She put her hands on his shoulders to gently push him down, but he flinched violently. He looked up at her in fear, but then looked down, embarrassed. Her professional tone was replaced by a much softer one.
"You don't have to be embarrassed. You're lucky to have survived you know that? And your friends are worried sick about you."
At this point Dr. Simons entered.
"Your friends are on there way over Mr. Sanders. How much do you remember?"
Greg didn't respond. He drew his knees up to his chest and made as tight a ball as possible. The doctor sighed.
"All of it I presume."
A nurse entered.
"Dr. Simons? Some visitors are here, they said you wanted to see them?"
Dr. Simons nodded and left. He met the five CSI's who looked both relieved and worried at the same time.
"How is he?"
Grissom asked, before he could say anything.
"I think he remembers everything, he hasn't said a word since he woke up."
They asked if they could see him and he lead them to Greg's room.
"Greg!"
They ran into his room and surrounded him, but he was still in a tight ball and just ignored them.
"Greg?"
"Greg- say something!"
But Greg continued to ignore them, staring at nothing. The expression on his face was haunted. As though he wanted to just block out the world. Nick knew what he was feeling. He did exactly the same when he was younger, waiting for his parents to come home, sitting in the dark staring into space. Cathy mentally compared Greg now to her memories of him in the lab, joking around, making them laugh, yet still being completely professional and competent. She didn't know whether he would ever be the same again. She couldn't help it- she started crying. Standing next to her, Nick put an arm round her shoulder. Greg came out of his reverie and looked at Catherine. Recognition seemed to flash across his face. She was crying.
"Are you ok?"
He said a little croakily, his voice not having been used for a week. She smiled a little and hugged him gently. He flinched involuntarily. She hesitated, wondering if she'd put pressure on an injury, until she remembered.
"Sorry"
He said quietly. His apology went straight to Sara's heart. She hugged him next, and tried to make light of his apology.
"You're damn right you're sorry, do you have any idea how worried we were about you?"
Greg moved into a cross-legged position and smiled slightly, though Grissom noticed it didn't reach his eyes.
"How long was I out?"
He asked. Nick replied.
"Almost a week."
He hugged Greg, who forced himself not to flinch. Warrick held up some gifts.
"Hey we brought you some presents...These are from the other lab-techs."
He handed him a huge box of chocolates, and some blue Hawaiian coffee, as well as Greg's cd player from the lab and some of his cd's. Grissom stood up and reached for the huge 'get well soon' card behind him.
"Not to mention this"
He said handing Greg the card. It had been signed with little messages by everybody. Cathy smiled, and handed him a bag.
"We thought you might get bored in hospital so Nick, Warrick, Sara and I banded together and got you a gameboy with 17 games. And- Lindsey wanted me to give you this."
She took out a picture, obviously drawn by Lindsey. In it, Greg was in a hospital bed surrounded by the five CSI's and Lindsey, as well as heaps of presents. Greg laughed when he saw Lindsey's perception of Warrick's hair, which was much longer and spikier than in real life.
"Tell her I love it- And if she wants to visit she can"
Nick handed him a bag of grapes.
"Hey it's tradition right?"
Grissom took out his present.
"Well my gift isn't as expensive as everyone else's, but at least I bothered to *wrap* mine."
The others looked sheepish and he smiled. Greg ripped off the blue and silver wrapping paper to reveal a photograph of everybody in CSI including himself, in a silver frame.
"Man I had completely forgotten about this."
He said quietly. The others moved in for a closer look.
"Me too."
Said Sara.
"I hadn't."
Said Nick with a grin.
"I always wondered where it went though."
Grissom smiled.
"Thanks. All of you guys."
He said sincerely. He lifted the photograph up a little, but then sighed in frustration. Nick picked it up.
"Don't worry man, I'll do it. Doc said you might need some physiotherapy."
Nick picked it up and put it on the bedside table. Greg looked at him suspiciously, aware of a kind of tension in the room. Nick coughed.
"...And counselling..."
"What? No way- I am not going to see a shrink, I'm fine."
Nick sighed.
"Can you guys leave us a minute?"
The others left silently.
"Greg, I know what you're going through- Which means I know you are not fine."
"Nick- when it happened to you, you were a kid, and you were alone- but you turned out ok! I'm not a kid, and I'm not alone, I'll be ok as well."
"Yeah and you know what? I went to the school shrink. After a while, the nightmares stopped- it doesn't mean you're a psycho or a freak, nobody will think that."
"Yeah right."
Nick looked at him suspiciously.
"What are you not telling me? Why are you so against this?"
Greg sighed tiredly.
"You think they didn't make me see a shrink after I watched my dad murder my mom and sister? ...At first- she helped. She helped make the nightmares go away...but then...I trusted my best friend, and he let me down. He told everybody I was a freak, and suddenly no one wanted to be my friend anymore."
Nick swallowed the lump in his throat.
"I'm sorry man, but you gotta understand- They were kids. Nobody will do that to you back at CSI. They'll be supportive- trust me."
Greg nodded.
"I do trust you- you're a much better best friend than he ever was anyway."
Nick smiled.
"Fine! Fine...I'll do it."
Greg relented.
"Hey you should get some sleep- you look tired."
Nick said.
"You too."
Greg said quietly, knowing it was his fault. Nick nodded and left. The lump in his throat was rising as he used the lift to the ground floor. He found the others with a cup of coffee next to a coffee vending machine. At the expression on his face, they assumed Greg had refused counselling, all except Grissom of course, who didn't assume anything.
"He says he'll do it."
Nick said, still looking upset.
"Are you ok?"
Grissom asked.
"Fine"
He replied forcefully.
"Well, do you want some coffee?"
Sara asked.
"No."
He said, and walked out of the hospital. Grissom went after him, stopping at the doorway to the hospital, as Nick stopped a little way off, in the circle of a street light, about halfway to his car. He looked up at the sky, his back turned to Grissom.
"Why Greg?! Huh?! Why did you do this to him? He's a good person dammit! Don't you think he's been through enough?!"
Grissom watched him.
"He doesn't deserve this."
Nick ended quietly, tears falling again. He heard Grissom walking up behind him and turned around. He sighed, frustrated.
"Greg never did anything wrong man."
Grissom knew there was more to this so he said simply,
"No, he didn't."
There was a pause.
"Why was Greg so against counselling?"
Nick hesitated, but told him. Grissom was silent, and Nick couldn't read his expression. They stood there for a while, until Grissom said,
"I'm going to go home and get some sleep. I suggest you do the same, you look tired."
Grissom watched as Nick drove off. He stood there for over five minutes, thinking, before he finally drove home.
TBC-
A/n – Keep the reviews coming! I'm quite surprised I got any to be honest but I love 'em cos they make me feel all warm and fuzzy inside :-) (You know the feeling)- And because of that I promise I'll update *much* quicker this time. I'm not sure how long the next one will be, but I suspect it will be shorter than the first two. Hope you liked this chapter...