Chapter Twenty-Remembering and Explanations
~~~The next day (at about 6:00am)~~~
Greg woke up just when the sun started to rise, its beams of light hitting Greg's conscious body. He was surprised that his leg's cast was disconnected from the ceiling, then, he looked and felt around his body, glad to find that his head no longer had the bump on him, his shoulder felt a bit better, but it was still in a sling connected to his arm, and that the cut on his throat, the cuts on his face and body were healing. Greg looked around the room, his thoughts floating about in his mind.
'I wonder what happened to Nigel Crane and Rick Johnson...I seriously hope that they're dead. Oh yea, and what about Nikki? I haven't seen her ever since before I got shot...how long has it been anyway?' Greg thought to himself. Suddenly, his eyes widened in shock.
'Waitaminute! How do I remember Nigel, Rick, or Nikki? Don't I have amnesia???' Then, Greg sighed.
'Then that also means that I remember everything now, and that I have to face them...' Greg thought painfully.
'Whatever, well, I guess that Nick, Grissom, Sara, Catherine, and Warrick went home...I never really gave them a chance to explain themselves, did I...I mean, what if I misunderstood everything? Maybe...' Greg's eyes wandered around the room, and he abruptly stopped as his eyes rested on a box beside his bed. Greg eyed it suspiciously, sat up, and reluctantly took it and opened the box. Once Greg saw what was inside, he grew speechless, he smiled a bit, and his eyes started to well up with joyful tears.
"I can't believe that they remembered!"
~~~Flashback~~~
While Greg was in the hospital after the lab explosion ("Play with Fire"), the CSIs had visited Greg all the time.
"Hey guys, I really thought that I was gonna die in that explosion...I mean, I didn't wanna die alone, and since I don't have anybody, I would've..."
"Greg, before you say anything else, just know this, we're always here for you, we wouldn't leave you alone, not for anything! We would've made sure you wouldn't die, someone up there loves you too much to let you die anyway!" Nick said jokingly. Greg smiled broadly.
"Wow, talk about fast-comfort." Greg joked.
"Yea, and that reminds me, what are your comfort foods?"
"Uh...I don't really have any special comfort foods...but I like to eat candy, like gummies, and beer! Never forget the beer!" The CSIs stared at him oddly. Greg chuckled at their expressions.
"Kidding, just kidding, gummies and my favourite Blue Hawaiian coffee that everyone likes!" Greg smiled.
"But why are you asking me this?"
"Greg, isn't it obvious? We're gonna buy lots of that for you, so that you'll heal faster!" Nick said ecstatically.
"Anyway, we have lots of work for you to do when you get back out!" Grissom said, acting serious, then broke into a grin.
"You don't have to, I mean....you guys just don't need to!" Greg replied, but inside, he was bubbling with happiness, knowing that the CSIs actually cared about him.
"Nonsense, we have to! It's just not the same without you, Greg." Catherine said.
"Yea, I agree with Cath, those substitutes either have no personality at all, or they have too much attitude for their own good." Warrick said.
"I agree with Warrick, they're all so slow with the results." Grissom said.
"Grissom? You...are you complimenting me?" Greg stuttered, amazed. Then, Grissom smiled and laughed at Greg's surprised face. The other CSIs stared at Grissom, shocked that he was ACTUALLY laughing, then they looked at Greg, seeing his expression, and they laughed as well.
~~~End flashback~~~
Surely enough, in the box, there were bags of gummy candy, a few boxes of the Blue Hawaiian coffee, with a thermos full of it placed in the corner. There was also the picture with him and the CSIs (the picture that I described in ch.12), a 'Get well' card, a 'Sorry' card, a few of his favourite CDs, a CD player, and on top of it all, was a piece of paper, and Greg recognized the writing as Nick's handwriting. It said...
"Hey Greg,
We're all really sorry about all that has happened. Please let us explain everything to you when we next visit you, and we're REALLY sorry. We were all called to work, so we had to leave, sorry. We all hope that you'll recover 100% physically and emotionally really soon! We miss you Greg, and we hope that you like the stuff we gave you. And yes, the CD player is a present from us to you, as well as the candy and coffee! We asked the doctor, and he said that you can eat the candy, but don't drink too much of the coffee. Get well soon!
Yours truly,
Nick, Catherine, Warrick, Sara, Grissom"
Greg smiled.
'So, they do care about me...I was probably wrong about them hating me then, I mean, people who hate each other would never do anything like this for each other...nor would they bother to visit each other. But they do...Nick, Sara, Catherine, Warrick, and even Grissom! They visit me! They give me stuff! All right, I'll let them explain themselves when they come again...' Greg thought to himself. Greg eyed the contents in the box, then, he put one of his CDs into his new CD player, and started to listen to it. Greg also eyed the candy and coffee, and decided to eat some candy.
Afterwards, Greg placed the framed picture of him and the CSIs onto the counter beside his bed, smiled, and continued to eat candy and drink coffee, and started to look at his cards. Then, about two hours later, laid back down on his bed, and Greg started to fall asleep while he was listening to some soft music.
~~~12 hours later (8:00pm)~~~
Greg awoke with a startle, beads of sweat trailing down his forehead, and he sat up on his bed. Greg had the nightmare again, only this time, he didn't see the CSIs in it. But still, the nightmare seemed more intense and more...realistic than usual...like it was trying to tell me something...but what?' Greg closed his eyes to concentrate.
'This time, I didn't see Nick and the others, but I still saw Rick, and now Nigel and Nikki...and more darkness and pain...what does it mean?' Greg was so concentrated that he didn't hear Nick and the others come into his room. Suddenly, a hand rested on Greg's shoulder, and Greg jumped slightly, and opened his eyes.
"Greg?" Grissom asked, concerned.
"Huh? Oh, Grissom, hey guys..." Greg said, as he tried to slow down his heartbeat.
"Greg, before you say anything, just know that we're really sorry about everything, okay, really, everything! You may not understand what I mean cause you don't remember what happened, but still, we're really sorry." Nick said quickly.
"Uh...yea...guys? I remember everything now, I guess the memory loss was really only temporary." The CSIs nodded.
"But guys, I really need an explanation though, I mean...I need one..." Greg said, not knowing exactly what to say.
"Okay, well guys? I'll start first, but, I think we all want this to be private." Catherine said. The CSIs nodded and went out to wait for Catherine, when they left, Catherine sat down in the chair next to Greg, and sighed.
"Greg, that day, when you heard us...talking about you, we...I didn't mean to say what I said. You're cute, adorable, and a funny guy, and I really love you, like a close friend, and I really don't think you're annoying. I think that you're a great guy, and I...I'm so sorry, Greg." Catherine said softly as she started to cry, and Greg smiled slightly.
"It's just...God, this is déjà vu, Greg, that day...not just that day, but that whole week was just so frustrating. As you know, it is "murder season", we...the cases always get to us! Y'know?"
"Yea, I do know...even though I'm just the lab tech in charge of the DNA stuff, I do know what it's like..." Catherine stared at Greg.
"What do you mean? Have you seen how bloody most of the cases are? It's just...everytime I work on these cases, a part of me goes out to them too...the only reason why I can handle them is because of Lindsey, Warrick, Grissom, Sara, Nick, Brass, Dr. Robbins, and you...because you and the others literally are like my family, except for Lindsey who really is my family. If...if you were to back away from me, there wouldn't be balance...and...and I'd break, y'know?" Greg sighed.
"As a matter of face, Cath, I do know. But I'll explain it all to all of you later..." Catherine nodded slowly.
"Alright..." Catherine sniffled.
"I'm sorry, Greg, I hope that one day, you'll find it in your heart to forgive me." She stood up.
"I'll go get someone else in now..." Greg nodded and Catherine walked out the door.
Afterwards, Warrick apologized and explained everything to Greg, then Grissom, Sara, and finally, Nick.
(I'm not gonna include the conversations that Warrick, Grissom, and Sara said to Greg, cause it takes too long...and it'll probably get too boring for some of you readers. So...I didn't include it, but if you are one of those "wanna-read-every-little-thing-down-to-the-last-scrap" kind of person, then just know that everything that the three of them says is close to whatever Catherine and Nick says...so, let your imagination SOAR! LOL, anyway, read on!)
Nick walked into Greg's room very slowly, and Greg chuckled a little.
"Come on, Nick, I'm not gonna suddenly jump out of this bed and charge to you with a sharp knife. I'm hooked to all these tubes and wires anyway...I still need my blood, and I have this cast on, so..." Nick smiled slightly, relieved that Greg wasn't in a murderous mood, then Nick sighed.
"Greg, I'm sorry about everything...for insulting you and for shooting you in the shoulder. I'm really sorry...the shooting thing was not on purpose! Nigel taunted me, my emotions went wacko, I couldn't contain myself, and I shot at Nigel. I was so angry after he told us the he ordered Johnson to...rape you in my home..." Greg stiffened at those words and winced at the memory.
"I wasn't being myself, I didn't look and observe my surroundings! I didn't...I didn't see you behind Crane, I...I shot blindly! And then Crane jumped away, and I saw you...I wanted to stop, I really did! God! If it wasn't for Grissom, I would've...I would've..." Nick started to cry.
"I would've shot you in the head! I would've killed you! Damn it! Why the hell did I become a damn CSI, why did I shoot, why did I even have a gun in my hand at that time? Damn it!" Nick yelled angrily as tears streamed down his face.
"And about that night, when I dissed you, I'm sorry about that too! I didn't meant to say what I said...it's just that, that night, I had a really bad case, a psycho was going off raping and murdering little girls, and you know how much I hate that...it really got to me...I was pissed, I needed to take my anger out on something...in this case, someone...Greg, you aren't a lab rat with no life or friends-"
"Nick, I AM a lab rat with no life or fr-"
"No! Greg, God no! you do have a life! You do have friends! It's just that now, it's not you who don't deserve friends, it's your friends who don't deserve you! You're a funny guy, you're nice, generous, honest, and Greg, I love you like a real brother! I'm sorry that I've never told you that, and honestly, I didn't really even treat you like a friend...and I didn't...I didn't trust you while you did...I'm so sorry, Greg...I hope that someday, you will forgive me." Nick said quietly. Greg was a bit surprised at Nick's confession.
"Wow...you're really being...honest...Nick, thank you..." Nick scoffed.
"For what? I totally ruined your life! I-"
"Nick! Stop beating yourself up about this! You saved my life, Nick, I owe you my life! Now, can you get everyone in here? I need to talk to you guys...it's pretty important...depends on the way you look at it though..." Nick looked at Greg, wiped away his tears, went outside for a little while, came back with the other CSIs, and they stood around Greg's bed, waiting for Greg to say something.
A/N: Well, sorry for updating so slowly...even I hate it when that happens! LOL! Anyway, review review reviews! More reviews plz! And thanx to the ppl who DO review me! =D I know that this chapter was a lot of talking, but obviously, Greg does need to hear some kind of explanation from the CSIs! So, yea, next chapter, Greg talks about his past, and something NEW comes up! Is it good or bad? Stick around! Well, read around! LOL, it doesn't make sense, but what the heck! =D
~~~The next day (at about 6:00am)~~~
Greg woke up just when the sun started to rise, its beams of light hitting Greg's conscious body. He was surprised that his leg's cast was disconnected from the ceiling, then, he looked and felt around his body, glad to find that his head no longer had the bump on him, his shoulder felt a bit better, but it was still in a sling connected to his arm, and that the cut on his throat, the cuts on his face and body were healing. Greg looked around the room, his thoughts floating about in his mind.
'I wonder what happened to Nigel Crane and Rick Johnson...I seriously hope that they're dead. Oh yea, and what about Nikki? I haven't seen her ever since before I got shot...how long has it been anyway?' Greg thought to himself. Suddenly, his eyes widened in shock.
'Waitaminute! How do I remember Nigel, Rick, or Nikki? Don't I have amnesia???' Then, Greg sighed.
'Then that also means that I remember everything now, and that I have to face them...' Greg thought painfully.
'Whatever, well, I guess that Nick, Grissom, Sara, Catherine, and Warrick went home...I never really gave them a chance to explain themselves, did I...I mean, what if I misunderstood everything? Maybe...' Greg's eyes wandered around the room, and he abruptly stopped as his eyes rested on a box beside his bed. Greg eyed it suspiciously, sat up, and reluctantly took it and opened the box. Once Greg saw what was inside, he grew speechless, he smiled a bit, and his eyes started to well up with joyful tears.
"I can't believe that they remembered!"
~~~Flashback~~~
While Greg was in the hospital after the lab explosion ("Play with Fire"), the CSIs had visited Greg all the time.
"Hey guys, I really thought that I was gonna die in that explosion...I mean, I didn't wanna die alone, and since I don't have anybody, I would've..."
"Greg, before you say anything else, just know this, we're always here for you, we wouldn't leave you alone, not for anything! We would've made sure you wouldn't die, someone up there loves you too much to let you die anyway!" Nick said jokingly. Greg smiled broadly.
"Wow, talk about fast-comfort." Greg joked.
"Yea, and that reminds me, what are your comfort foods?"
"Uh...I don't really have any special comfort foods...but I like to eat candy, like gummies, and beer! Never forget the beer!" The CSIs stared at him oddly. Greg chuckled at their expressions.
"Kidding, just kidding, gummies and my favourite Blue Hawaiian coffee that everyone likes!" Greg smiled.
"But why are you asking me this?"
"Greg, isn't it obvious? We're gonna buy lots of that for you, so that you'll heal faster!" Nick said ecstatically.
"Anyway, we have lots of work for you to do when you get back out!" Grissom said, acting serious, then broke into a grin.
"You don't have to, I mean....you guys just don't need to!" Greg replied, but inside, he was bubbling with happiness, knowing that the CSIs actually cared about him.
"Nonsense, we have to! It's just not the same without you, Greg." Catherine said.
"Yea, I agree with Cath, those substitutes either have no personality at all, or they have too much attitude for their own good." Warrick said.
"I agree with Warrick, they're all so slow with the results." Grissom said.
"Grissom? You...are you complimenting me?" Greg stuttered, amazed. Then, Grissom smiled and laughed at Greg's surprised face. The other CSIs stared at Grissom, shocked that he was ACTUALLY laughing, then they looked at Greg, seeing his expression, and they laughed as well.
~~~End flashback~~~
Surely enough, in the box, there were bags of gummy candy, a few boxes of the Blue Hawaiian coffee, with a thermos full of it placed in the corner. There was also the picture with him and the CSIs (the picture that I described in ch.12), a 'Get well' card, a 'Sorry' card, a few of his favourite CDs, a CD player, and on top of it all, was a piece of paper, and Greg recognized the writing as Nick's handwriting. It said...
"Hey Greg,
We're all really sorry about all that has happened. Please let us explain everything to you when we next visit you, and we're REALLY sorry. We were all called to work, so we had to leave, sorry. We all hope that you'll recover 100% physically and emotionally really soon! We miss you Greg, and we hope that you like the stuff we gave you. And yes, the CD player is a present from us to you, as well as the candy and coffee! We asked the doctor, and he said that you can eat the candy, but don't drink too much of the coffee. Get well soon!
Yours truly,
Nick, Catherine, Warrick, Sara, Grissom"
Greg smiled.
'So, they do care about me...I was probably wrong about them hating me then, I mean, people who hate each other would never do anything like this for each other...nor would they bother to visit each other. But they do...Nick, Sara, Catherine, Warrick, and even Grissom! They visit me! They give me stuff! All right, I'll let them explain themselves when they come again...' Greg thought to himself. Greg eyed the contents in the box, then, he put one of his CDs into his new CD player, and started to listen to it. Greg also eyed the candy and coffee, and decided to eat some candy.
Afterwards, Greg placed the framed picture of him and the CSIs onto the counter beside his bed, smiled, and continued to eat candy and drink coffee, and started to look at his cards. Then, about two hours later, laid back down on his bed, and Greg started to fall asleep while he was listening to some soft music.
~~~12 hours later (8:00pm)~~~
Greg awoke with a startle, beads of sweat trailing down his forehead, and he sat up on his bed. Greg had the nightmare again, only this time, he didn't see the CSIs in it. But still, the nightmare seemed more intense and more...realistic than usual...like it was trying to tell me something...but what?' Greg closed his eyes to concentrate.
'This time, I didn't see Nick and the others, but I still saw Rick, and now Nigel and Nikki...and more darkness and pain...what does it mean?' Greg was so concentrated that he didn't hear Nick and the others come into his room. Suddenly, a hand rested on Greg's shoulder, and Greg jumped slightly, and opened his eyes.
"Greg?" Grissom asked, concerned.
"Huh? Oh, Grissom, hey guys..." Greg said, as he tried to slow down his heartbeat.
"Greg, before you say anything, just know that we're really sorry about everything, okay, really, everything! You may not understand what I mean cause you don't remember what happened, but still, we're really sorry." Nick said quickly.
"Uh...yea...guys? I remember everything now, I guess the memory loss was really only temporary." The CSIs nodded.
"But guys, I really need an explanation though, I mean...I need one..." Greg said, not knowing exactly what to say.
"Okay, well guys? I'll start first, but, I think we all want this to be private." Catherine said. The CSIs nodded and went out to wait for Catherine, when they left, Catherine sat down in the chair next to Greg, and sighed.
"Greg, that day, when you heard us...talking about you, we...I didn't mean to say what I said. You're cute, adorable, and a funny guy, and I really love you, like a close friend, and I really don't think you're annoying. I think that you're a great guy, and I...I'm so sorry, Greg." Catherine said softly as she started to cry, and Greg smiled slightly.
"It's just...God, this is déjà vu, Greg, that day...not just that day, but that whole week was just so frustrating. As you know, it is "murder season", we...the cases always get to us! Y'know?"
"Yea, I do know...even though I'm just the lab tech in charge of the DNA stuff, I do know what it's like..." Catherine stared at Greg.
"What do you mean? Have you seen how bloody most of the cases are? It's just...everytime I work on these cases, a part of me goes out to them too...the only reason why I can handle them is because of Lindsey, Warrick, Grissom, Sara, Nick, Brass, Dr. Robbins, and you...because you and the others literally are like my family, except for Lindsey who really is my family. If...if you were to back away from me, there wouldn't be balance...and...and I'd break, y'know?" Greg sighed.
"As a matter of face, Cath, I do know. But I'll explain it all to all of you later..." Catherine nodded slowly.
"Alright..." Catherine sniffled.
"I'm sorry, Greg, I hope that one day, you'll find it in your heart to forgive me." She stood up.
"I'll go get someone else in now..." Greg nodded and Catherine walked out the door.
Afterwards, Warrick apologized and explained everything to Greg, then Grissom, Sara, and finally, Nick.
(I'm not gonna include the conversations that Warrick, Grissom, and Sara said to Greg, cause it takes too long...and it'll probably get too boring for some of you readers. So...I didn't include it, but if you are one of those "wanna-read-every-little-thing-down-to-the-last-scrap" kind of person, then just know that everything that the three of them says is close to whatever Catherine and Nick says...so, let your imagination SOAR! LOL, anyway, read on!)
Nick walked into Greg's room very slowly, and Greg chuckled a little.
"Come on, Nick, I'm not gonna suddenly jump out of this bed and charge to you with a sharp knife. I'm hooked to all these tubes and wires anyway...I still need my blood, and I have this cast on, so..." Nick smiled slightly, relieved that Greg wasn't in a murderous mood, then Nick sighed.
"Greg, I'm sorry about everything...for insulting you and for shooting you in the shoulder. I'm really sorry...the shooting thing was not on purpose! Nigel taunted me, my emotions went wacko, I couldn't contain myself, and I shot at Nigel. I was so angry after he told us the he ordered Johnson to...rape you in my home..." Greg stiffened at those words and winced at the memory.
"I wasn't being myself, I didn't look and observe my surroundings! I didn't...I didn't see you behind Crane, I...I shot blindly! And then Crane jumped away, and I saw you...I wanted to stop, I really did! God! If it wasn't for Grissom, I would've...I would've..." Nick started to cry.
"I would've shot you in the head! I would've killed you! Damn it! Why the hell did I become a damn CSI, why did I shoot, why did I even have a gun in my hand at that time? Damn it!" Nick yelled angrily as tears streamed down his face.
"And about that night, when I dissed you, I'm sorry about that too! I didn't meant to say what I said...it's just that, that night, I had a really bad case, a psycho was going off raping and murdering little girls, and you know how much I hate that...it really got to me...I was pissed, I needed to take my anger out on something...in this case, someone...Greg, you aren't a lab rat with no life or friends-"
"Nick, I AM a lab rat with no life or fr-"
"No! Greg, God no! you do have a life! You do have friends! It's just that now, it's not you who don't deserve friends, it's your friends who don't deserve you! You're a funny guy, you're nice, generous, honest, and Greg, I love you like a real brother! I'm sorry that I've never told you that, and honestly, I didn't really even treat you like a friend...and I didn't...I didn't trust you while you did...I'm so sorry, Greg...I hope that someday, you will forgive me." Nick said quietly. Greg was a bit surprised at Nick's confession.
"Wow...you're really being...honest...Nick, thank you..." Nick scoffed.
"For what? I totally ruined your life! I-"
"Nick! Stop beating yourself up about this! You saved my life, Nick, I owe you my life! Now, can you get everyone in here? I need to talk to you guys...it's pretty important...depends on the way you look at it though..." Nick looked at Greg, wiped away his tears, went outside for a little while, came back with the other CSIs, and they stood around Greg's bed, waiting for Greg to say something.
A/N: Well, sorry for updating so slowly...even I hate it when that happens! LOL! Anyway, review review reviews! More reviews plz! And thanx to the ppl who DO review me! =D I know that this chapter was a lot of talking, but obviously, Greg does need to hear some kind of explanation from the CSIs! So, yea, next chapter, Greg talks about his past, and something NEW comes up! Is it good or bad? Stick around! Well, read around! LOL, it doesn't make sense, but what the heck! =D