Beth slowly opened her eyes. The light was blinding and she was forced to close her eyes. She had no idea where she was. She felt as though she had been sleeping for a week but she was still tired. The sounds of soft murmuring seemed to come from everywhere. As she listened to the voices, she began to recognize them. She heard Grissom's voice, Catherine's voice, and Nick's voice. There were others, but they were too soft to identify. She assumed that all of the CSIs were present. She blinked her eyes again, and someone noticed.
"Guys, I think she's waking up." The voice was undoubtedly Grissom's. He was whispering excitedly, and she wasn't sure why. She heard chairs scraping on the floor and people scurrying about the room. Someone took a hold of her hand, but she wasn't quite sure who it was. She opened her eyes again and saw the whole night shift gathered by the left side of her bed. She was able to keep her eyes open this time and she scanned the faces gazing at her expectantly.
Her voice was very soft when she spoke, and everyone leaned in to listen. "What's up guys?" A slight laughter rippled through the crowd. Grissom was the first to speak.
"How are you feeling?"
"I feel like I've been to hell and back. But other than that, I feel alright. Although I do have this killer headache."
"That would be the drugs wearing off."
"Where exactly am I?"
"Do you remember anything?"
"About what?" Grissom turned away from Beth and whispered something to Catherine. She nodded her head.
"You were in an accident, Beth; one that almost killed you and Greg."
"Is he…?"
"He's fine Beth. He's in the bed next to you. But he's still sleeping. He won't be awake for a little while." He pointed to the right side of her bed. Her gaze shifted to where he was pointing and she saw Greg lying in a bed like her own. He seemed so peaceful in his sleep. Then she noticed how pale he was, and that his shoulder was heavily bandaged and held sturdily in place. When she saw the bandage, everything came rushing back to her. She remembered everything from his proposal to when she and Greg were shot to when she passed out. She closed her eyes, managing to hold back the tears, but not the shiver that ran down her spine. Catherine noticed the shiver.
"Beth, are you okay?" When Beth turned to look at Catherine, she had tears brimming in her eyes.
"I remember everything." She whispered so softly that her voice was almost inaudible. "Can you guys leave me alone for a little while? I need some time to think." Even as she said it, she rolled over in her bed to face away from her friends and towards Greg.
Catherine gently urged everyone out of the room. After everyone had left, she walked over to the right side of Beth's bed so that she could look the injured woman in the eyes. "Beth, I know you want to be alone, but I want you to know that every one of us cares for you. If you need anything, don't hesitate to ask." Beth just nodded her head, tears streaming down her face. Catherine turned to leave, but before she left, she heard Beth's voice.
"Cat, can you get Grissom?"
"Sure Beth."
Beth heard the door shut softly. Not soon after, she heard it open again. Grissom was soon beside her bed. He pulled up a chair that was nearby and he sat down. She was staring at Greg, and Grissom waited for her to speak. The silence lasted for a few minutes.
"Grissom? What was it like?"
He hesitated in answering. "I've never felt so helpless in my entire life." Beth turned her gaze from Greg to Grissom's face, and she saw that he, too, had tears rolling down his face.
"I feel so foolish. I never should have gone into your house alone. I should have taken Brass with me, or at least someone else."
"Beth, you can't change the past. What's happened has happened. You're both alive and well, that's all that matters now."
"Alive, maybe, but not necessarily well." Her eyes drifted away from Grissom and back to Greg.
"Beth, look at me." She slowly turned her gaze back towards the older man. "I may not ever know the physical pain that you felt, but believe me, I know the mental anguish that you suffered. I was there. You can't live the rest of your life living in the shadow of what he did. If you do that, then he's won. I know you're strong. I know that you will be able to make it through this. I'll be beside you every step of the way. You need to be strong both for yourself and for Greg."
"Grissom? Is he really going to be okay?"
He sighed. "The doctor said that the bullet did a lot of damage and there will be a lot of scar tissue left in its place. He may not regain the full use of his shoulder without physical therapy."
"And what about me?"
"The bullet that hit you lodged itself in your femur. The doctors decided that it would do more damage to remove it, so they left it. They told us that you might have a slight limp, but other than that you will heal fully."
"Why? Why did this have to happen, Grissom?"
"I don't know." A silence fell over the two, and Beth returned her gaze to Greg. She watched him sleep, knowing that he would be scarred for life, both mentally and physically. She wanted so much to be in his arms, to cry on his shoulder. But she couldn't. She could only watch and wait.