Issues by SLynn
Disclaimer: I own only the thoughts in my head and the characters you don't recognize.
Notes: Thanks and such to come in another chapter. : ) But rest assured, this is going somewhere. I'm not just trying to torture my readers.Thanks and keep on reviewing!
Chapter 25: Residual
The next day was worse.
Greg hadn't known it at the time, until he'd gotten up, but Nick and Amy had stayed the night. It was still dark out, but early enough in his mind to make coffee. He'd stumbled out of bed and into the living room to find them their asleep. Amy on the couch, curled up like a cat and Nick sprawled out in the arm chair.
Hearing him walk past, Nick stirred.
"That you Greggo?" Nick asked, sitting up straighter and stretching.
"Did I miss a party or what?" Greg whispered as he continued on to the kitchen.
Nick got up and followed him.
"How you feeling?"
"Not you too," Greg said wearily, prepping the coffee maker.
"Sara is really strung out about this. She said you were completely out of it last night," was all he said as he sat down in the nearest chair, glancing at the clock. Quarter to six.
"Truthfully? I wasn't really feeling like myself."
"What's wrong?"
"It's the flu Nick," Greg answered, feeling irritated again.
Nick gave him a look but didn't say any more.
"So what is with the sleepover?" Greg asked instead, trying to change the subject as he got out mugs for both him and Nick.
"Yeah, sorry about that. It got late. Amy was just going to stay herself and I was going back to my place for the night, but I just couldn't make the drive. I'm worn out. Feels like I've been up for days. Brass had some guys at Amy's place all day putting up surveillance equipment and stuff. Getting ready."
"For what?" Greg asked.
"Sara didn't tell you?"
Greg said nothing. She might have, he wasn't sure anymore.
"Amy's agreed to help out in the investigation," Nick said somewhat tightly.
Greg took a moment to really look at him for a change and saw it. The frustration behind Nick's eyes. That familiar look of fatigue. Clearly he did not like this idea at all and was even losing sleep over it. Greg now took his statement at face value. Nick probably had been up for days.
"Help how?"
"How do you think?"
Greg nodded, not really liking the idea much himself. But really at this point, what could she do. She certainly couldn't spend her entire life inside the lab or in the presence of a law enforcement officer.
"How is she doing?" Greg asked as he poured the coffee and joined Nick at the table.
"Alright. Better then most people would be," Nick said as he subconsciously leaned back to peak at her in the next room. She was still sound asleep. "She's having nightmares. Grissom wants her to see a counselor about the whole thing but she doesn't think she needs too."
Greg shrugged. Sometimes he didn't think he needed to either. Still, he made a mental note to talk with Amy about it if he got the chance. It might help.
"So," Greg picked up, "how do you know she's having nightmares?"
Nick looked over to him cautiously until Greg let out a laugh.
"Don't go dragging your mind through the gutter Sanders."
"What? I'm curious. They must be bad if you can hear her all the way from the guest room. Amy's my friend; I have to look out for her wellbeing."
Nick just pinched the bridge of his nose with his thumb and index finger, shaking his head silently.
"That's all I'm saying," Greg continued, still laughing a bit as he took a sip of coffee.
"It's not funny, okay? Nothings going on, she just doesn't want to be alone right now."
"Funny, because when she's slept her she never crawled into bed with Sara and me."
Despite himself Nick laughed, coughing up a good bit of coffee as he did so.
"Now you're dreaming."
"Sometimes it's all a man has."
"You'd better keep it down," Nick said warningly but still amused, "if either of them hears you talking like that they're going to put the hurt on you. And seriously, Sara can kick your ass."
"I've given her enough reasons to lately."
"Bad huh?"
"Yep," Greg said putting down his mug as his stomach began to turn sour again. "Honest, I'll be surprised if she's still talking to me at all when she gets up."
"She didn't sound mad last night. Really, I think she's just worried."
"She sounded mad to me. And you weren't here the night before."
Nick nodded. He couldn't fight that.
"Ugh," Greg said getting up and pouring the rest of his coffee down the sink, "this stuff is killing me."
"Wow, it must be bad if you're tossing out perfectly good coffee."
"Well, it's either out or up."
Nick winched at the comment.
"I'm hitting the shower," Greg said before Nick could say anything else.
On his way there Greg felt himself beginning to sweat. Half a cup of coffee was all he'd had since yesterday afternoon and he knew it wasn't going to be long in his stomach. As quick as he could without actually running, he got inside the bathroom and locked the door. Running the water in the sink first, he just made it in time before he'd gotten sick in the toilet.
Five minutes later, still feeling rotten, he splashed water onto his face. Taking a large gulp of water and spitting it back into the sink to rinse out his mouth Greg was startled to see blood. It was absolute disbelief on his part that made him just wash it away and try to forget it. His rational mind knew better. People with the flu didn't cough up blood. This was serious; he just wasn't ready to deal with it yet.
Twenty minutes later he was getting dressed back in his bedroom.
"When did you get up?" Sara asked, her voice groggy but strong.
"Not to long ago," Greg answered, his voice was hoarse now. Much worse then it had been.
"You never told me what Dr. Tracey said."
"She said flu," he said, sitting down beside her. "Took some blood, just to check but yeah, just the flu."
Sara nodded, taking his hand in hers.
"I'm not trying to tell you what to do," Sara tried explaining, "I don't want you thinking that. That I'm trying to run your life for you."
"Sara, come on…"
"I know I'm bossy," she continued on despite his protest, squeezing his hand, "and can be a little overbearing."
"And a teeny bit unreasonable," he added but with a smile, setting his head on her shoulder.
"Don't push your luck," she laughed back at him. "But yes, sometimes I can be unreasonable. But Greg, really, I'm only pushing so hard because I care."
"I know it. And I'm sometimes a little bit self-centered and hardheaded about these types of things. You've just got to understand though; this hasn't just been going on for the last year for me. It's been my whole life. I've had people telling me how I'm supposed to feel and what I'm supposed to do about it more then enough for one lifetime. It's taken me a long time to get my independence, my parents cared too but I think sometimes they forgot … I don't know what I'm saying."
Sara didn't believe that last part but was reluctant to push for more. It was the most he'd ever told her about the first time he'd had leukemia. She could appreciate now, a little better, what that might have been like. Greg, who lately had struggled with how little say he'd had in the on goings of his own life, then would have had absolutely none. Everything would have been decided for him, for his own good of course, but still. It couldn't have been easy and would have been little compensation.
"Do you want breakfast?" she asked still holding his hand.
"No. I want to kiss you," was his response.
She turned to find him smiling at her, near enough where they could almost bump noses. Sara smiled back leaning in to oblige, but Greg stopped her by turning his head down slightly.
"I want to kiss you," he said again looking at their hands, "but I can't. Not right now. Trust me, you don't want this."
Sara, still smiling, kissed him on the cheek instead.
"I'm going to go shower."
"Better hurry, one of our guests might beat you too it."
Greg watched Sara hurry off before stretching back out onto the bed. A wave of nausea swept over him, stronger then he'd ever remembered before. He'd almost hoped at that point to pass out, rather that then have Sara find him like this, unable to even lift his head off the bed.
Luck was on his side. It had passed before she returned.
Getting up, he slowly made his way back into the living room. Amy was awake now, talking quietly to Nick. Side by side on the couch, sitting much closer then he'd ever remembered them doing before.
"Hey Greg," Amy said lightly as he sat down in the nearest arm chair.
"Good morning," Greg returned. It felt as if a fog had settled into his head. His words sounded thick in his own ears.
"Feeling better?"
Greg just nodded then looked up as he felt a hand fall to his shoulder. It was Sara.
"How'd you both sleep?" she asked, thankfully taking the attention off of Greg.
As they answered, Greg took advantage of the break and left the room. Falling back onto the bed he'd just left and was fast asleep within minutes.
Sara casually watched him go. He was suddenly dragging again, almost listless. Dr. Tracey couldn't have seen him like that, and that was the problem. Instead of mood swings he seemed to have developed health swings if that was even possible. One minute he was just fine the next it was like he was an extra in 'Dawn of the Dead'.
"Sara?" Nick asked, interrupting her thoughts. It was her turn to zone out. She hadn't heard a word he'd said.
"Sorry," she said, sinking into the chair Greg had just occupied, "I'm just, I don't know. Do you see what I mean? Am I imagining that?"
Amy shook her head, clearly as worried as Sara was.
"No," Nick agreed, "that's not right. He was fine this morning. Normal. Then he had some coffee and you could just see it, it made him sick."
"I don't think he's eaten in days," Sara confided. "I haven't seen him have more then a couple of sips of water. Could the residual chemo do all of that?"
"The flu could," Amy offered, "if it's bad enough, but the rest… I don't think that makes sense. He seems just out of it."
"His doctor said that's all it was?" Nick asked. They were all worried now.
"Yeah," Sara answered. "She called Grissom up herself, told him not to expect Greg in until Friday. Said it was nothing serious as long as he took it easy."
"Well, I'd say just keep an eye on him," Nick offered, "at least now he's resting."
Sara nodded. It was all she could do. Greg wasn't really giving her any other choice.