Ok, here's the next part. Hope you enjoy.
Nick dodged a young woman as he rushed to the break room, a piece of paper clutched in his hand. He skidded to a stop in front of the table Catherine and Warrick were sitting at. They looked up at him with raised eyebrows.
"Where's the fire, Nicky?" Catherine joked.
Nick gasped for breath as he began to explain. "Gris…at his house…Sara found him…"
Catherine's heart dropped as she digested what Nick was trying to say. She stood up from her chair and grasped his hand. "Nick, what's happened to Gil?"
"Shot…Sara found him…a while ago…" He took a deep breath, then looked up at Catherine.
She swallowed a lump in her throat. "Is he…" She couldn't bring herself to say 'dead', not pertaining to Gil. It seemed to final, too absolute for Gil, for one of their own.
Nick shook his head. "I don't know. When Sara found him, he was alive, but suffered severe blood loss. I don't know if he made it to the hospital or not."
Warrick stood up from his chair, and Catherine snatched up her keys. "Which hospital?" she asked.
"Memorial, and I'm going with you," Nick said, straightening up.
Catherine stopped a moment and studied him. Surely the whole CSI team couldn't just up and leave, the sheriff would have a fit. She shook her head. This was a special circumstance, and with Gil having the day off, Catherine was now in charge. She nodded. "Let's go." If they got in trouble, she would take the heat for it.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Catherine gunned the car all the way to the hospital. It was only by sheer luck that she wasn't pulled over and arrested. She pulled into a parking space, slammed on the brake, then turned the car off in a matter of seconds. She hopped out of the car and rushed inside, approaching the reception desk.
"I'm looking for a friend of mine. Emergency, he was shot," Catherine said, adopting the voice that told people not to mess with her.
The woman blinked and turned to her computer. "Name?"
"Gil Grissom. Is he still alive?" Part of Catherine feared the answer, the other part needed desperately to know.
The woman tapped on the computer for a moment. "Gil Grissom. 5'11", age 47. Single gunshot wound to the abdomen." Catherine stiffened uncomfortably. She was reading the information the same way Grissom or Doc Robbins would introduce them to a victim. "He got out of emergency surgery an hour and a half ago. Is listed as critical."
Nick, Catherine, and Warrick all breathed a small sigh of relief. Gris was alive, for now. "Could we see him?" Warrick asked.
The woman raised an eyebrow. "He can only have two visitors at a time, due to his fragile state. But, if you could convince the woman with him now to take turns, perhaps you could see him."
"Which room?" Catherine demanded.
"613."
"Thank you!" Catherine said, then turned and rushed down the hall, Nick and Warrick in tow. She reached the door, then froze. For a moment, she could only stare at the number on the door, fearful of what she would find inside. Nick put a hand on her shoulder, then went to sit in a chair, nervously leaning his chin on his hands. Warrick squeezed her shoulder, then did the same. She stared at them for a moment, then nodded and pushed the door open.
The familiar beep of a heart monitor was the first thing to greet her. It was slow, but steady. She turned her eyes to the bed, then clenched them shut. Grissom lay covered to his shoulders on it, oxygen tubes and IVs running from his body. His face was pale, and he suddenly seemed so old and weak.
Sara sat in a chair by his bed, her head bowed. Catherine also noticed that she held one of Grissom's hands in hers. She looked up as Catherine entered, her face streaked with tears.
"I went to his house to bring him those reports like you said. I found him in his bedroom like this," Sara said softly, her voice cracking. She bowed her head again, squeezing Grissom's hand.
Catherine stepped up to the other side of the bed, carefully taking his other hand. She smiled after a moment. "Gil would have a heart attack if he woke up now. Two women holding his hands, he wouldn't know what to do."
Sara smiled, lifting a little weight from Catherine's heart. At least Sara hadn't drawn too far into herself after what she'd found. Sara stared at Grissom's face for a moment. "He looks so peaceful."
"Yeah, but wait until he's discharged and back at work. He'll be so upset over how much work he missed." She looked up at Sara again, turning serious again when he attempt to lighten the grave situation failed. "What did the doctors say?"
Sara shrugged. "They say it's all up to Grissom now. He lost a lot of blood. They also said…"she looked down at Grissom, "if I hadn't gotten there when I did…he'd have died."
"Catherine smiled gently, reaching over Grissom to squeeze Sara's hand. "So he owes you one."
They both turned as the door suddenly opened again. It was a police officer. His eyes went from Catherine to Sara to Grissom. "Which one of you is Sara Sidle?" he asked.
Sara smirked, resisting the urge to point to Grissom. "I am," she said, wishing nothing more than for him to go away.
"May I have a few minutes? I need to ask you a few questions."
Sara sighed and carefully laid Grissom's hand back on the blanket. She went to the door, then turned back to Catherine. "I'll let Nick and Warrick fight over who comes in next," she said, then followed the officer into the hall.
Nick and Warrick jumped to their feet at the sight of her. Nick approached her, wrapping her in a sympathetic hug. She was grateful for it, but found herself wishing it was Grissom. He pulled away and nodded to Warrick, indicating that he would stay with Sara. Warrick nodded in return, patted Sara's back gently, then disappeared into the room.
The police officer flipped open a small notebook. "Ms. Sidle, you were the one who found Mr. Grissom, correct?"
"Yeah," she answered irritably. She'd already told a cop what had happened.
"What were you doing at his house at midnight?"
"Dropping off a lab report. Catherine Willows had said he'd gone home because his back hurt, but I needed to know where he wanted to go with the case."
"And he was already injured when you arrived?"
"Yeah."
"Were you aware that a gun issued to you was found at the crime scene?"
"Yeah, it's my work gun. You can check it if you want to. You'll find that it hasn't been fired or cleaned in a while. You want to check my shirt for gunpowder residue?" she asked, motioning to her blood-stained shirt. "Check it! I didn't do this to Grissom."
The police officer held up a hand. "Calm down please, Ms Sidle. You know how this goes. Just have to cover all the bases."
Nick put a hand on Sara's shoulder. "We understand that officer," he said, his voice betraying his own fear and anguish. "But could you wait until the shock has worn off? Or until we know it Gris is going to pull through or not?"
The officer nodded and closed his notebook. "I understand." He handed a card to Nick, then turned and walked down the hall. Sara stared after him for a moment, then turned back to Nick. He wrapped his arms around her again, unsure of what to do for his friend.
Wanted: Good beta readers. I've never had one, but I think that it couldn't hurt.