TWO MONTHS LATER:
They hooked Greg up to the IV and patted him on the shoulder.
"Let's do this, Mr. Sanders." Dr. Hunter said, smiling. Greg smiled nervously back. Grissom sat beside Greg in the room he was prepped in. He looked at Grissom's grey eyes and said, with utter confidence, "I'm ready for this."
Grissom looked at him and nodded. "I know you are, Greg. You sure you don't want any of the others to know?"
Greg nodded, "I'll tell them later."
Dr. Hunter smiled, "It's time to wheel you into surgery. Let's go."
Grissom nodded in Greg's direction and left, and Greg was moved into surgery. He lie next to Shannon and she turned her head around and looked at him.
"Wow. Look at where we are. Talk about a change, huh? It takes a lot to change a man, especially to convince him to give you a kidney."
Greg smiled, "Well, any man can change, as long as he has a good enough reason. And an extra kidney to give away."
She blinked slowly and smiled, "You're absolutely right."
He looked at her chart which read "Aveno, Shannon." He snapped his head up and said, "I finally know where I have heard it before!"
"What?" Shannon asked, "What are you talking about?"
"Do you have a sister?"
"Yes. What is this about?"
"Did she write a book?"
Shannon looked at him questioningly, "A book?"
"Yeah. Is her name Maree?"
"Are you kidding me?" She asked, smiling.
"No." Greg said, as the anesthesiologist started to add medicine into his IV.
She smiled her smile and said, "Sleep well, Greg."
"No, seriously. Did she?" He couldn't see her answer, because sleep flooded over him like water, and he fell into unconsciousness.
--
When Greg awoke, he saw Grissom in the corner, trying to sleep on a chair.
"Good morning," Greg said weakly. Grissom's eyes snapped open, proving he wasn't really asleep at all.
"Good morning, Greg," He replied.
"How is she? How did it work out?"
Dr. Hunter walked in, and interrupted them.
"Mr. Sanders, we need to talk."
Fear poured through Greg like an icy shot of liquid Nitrogen, "What?"
"We never performed the surgery."
"Why not?"
Dr. Hunter shot Greg a look, "When we made the primary incision into Miss Aveno, we saw something."
"What?"
"Cancer."
Greg slowly closed his eyes, "It was supposed to be in remission..."
"Yes, but in her weakened state for the long period of time, her red blood cells needed to be a normal count for her to recover from the kidney operation, so we couldn't give her a complete dose of chemo because it destroys blood cells..."
"Wait," Greg said, his brain slowly absorbing what Dr. Hunter was saying, "How is she?"
"She never woke up from anesthesia."
Greg bowed his head in grief. She waited too long. She was too weak. She had no chance.
Grissom bent down so he was eye level with Greg.
"Greg." Grissom's stern voice sliced through the grief Greg was feeling and he finally opened his eyes.
"What?" His voice was small and weak.
"Greg, she changed you so much in the time you knew her. Everyone noticed. She changed you so much, so much more than I expected her too. I gave you her book because it changed me too."
"Her book?" Greg asked quietly
"Yes, the book in your locker. Her book, my book, and your book."
"But her name was Shannon."
"Her middle name was Maree, Greg," Grissom said gently, "She never really liked her first name."
"Wait, how do you know this?"
"I talked to her."
Greg frowned, more confused than sad for the moment. It made so much sense, suddenly. He connected with her just as quickly as he did with the book... her book. The strange smile she gave him in the surgery room...
"It was her book. Could I be more stupid?" Greg said, sitting up on the bed to a slight feeling of dizziness.
Before anything else could happen, the door swung open and a nurse came in, carrying something.
Every head swung around to look at her.
"I found this in Miss Aveno's room. It had a note on it, from her, to give it to Mr. Sanders."
It was Shannon's laptop.
"Ever deSire a ChAnge of PacE?" (Get it?)
