Jim Brass hated the smell of hospitals. But today…today it was worse.
They were still plucking people out of the debris of the labs. Luckily it had been a time when not to many people had been in the building. So far there was one lab technician confirmed dead. Several were in surgery. Many had minor injuries.
"I don't want to make this call," he said, turning to Warrick.
Warrick was pale. None of the graveshift CSI's had been in the building during the explosion. They had arrived to something that to them, was more horrific than the crime scene they had just attended. Brass had been there and filled them in.
"I don't think anyone does," Warrick replied. He sighed. "Do you want me to make it?"
Brass shook his head. "No. It's my job."
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"What's that?" Grissom mumbled, as Catherine kissed him deeply.
"Hmm?" she asked, her hands travelling downwards.
"It's my cell," Grissom said.
The two pulled apart and Grissom answered the phone.
"Who died? Because I sincerely remember saying that unless a fate worse than death…" He trailed off as Brass explained the situation. His face grew paler and paler and Catherine grew more anxious.
"We're on our way," were his final words. "Pack, now," he ordered his wife.
"What's going on?" Catherine asked him, scared senseless by his actions.
"Lab…explosion. Greg…Katie…" were the only words he managed to get out.
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They didn't know how they made it to the hospital. All they knew was that they made it and were about to face one of their worst nightmares as they stood in front of the receptionist's desk.
"My name is Gil Grissom. We're looking for our daughter, Kathryn Hope Matthews," Gil managed to get out.
The receptionist typed a few things and then looked up at them. "We don't have a Kathryn Matthews."
"You have to!" Catherine
cried. "This
is the hospital they brought her to. From the CSI lab!"
The woman looked down again and typed some more. She looked back up. "We have a Kathryn Hope Grissom. Is that your daughter?"
They both froze.
"Yes, where is she?" Gil demanded.
"I have to send you to the ICU ward. They're dealing with the serious cases from the explosion."
The words "serious" "ICU" and the fact their daughter was using the name Grissom reverberated through the minds of Catherine and Gil as they silently rode the elevator. When they arrived, they spotted Jim, Sara, Nick and Warrick sitting in the plastic chairs. Brass spotted them and the group went over.
"What happened? What's going on?" Gil demanded.
"You need to sit down," Brass told them.
"I need to know what's going on with my daughter!" Catherine cried.
"She's in surgery," Warrick butted in.
"What the hell happened?" Gil asked again.
"All we know is the lab exploded. They found Katie in the locker room. They pulled Greg out too."
"Was she there because of Greg?" Gil cried, fury taking over him.
"Grissom, Greg went back in there after her," Nick told him. "They were leaving for the night."
"She's alive," Catherine said.
Sara grabbed the older woman's arm before she fell and helped her to a chair. "She's in surgery, Cath. That's all we know."
"Where's Lindsey?" Gil asked, willing the tears not to fall.
"Nancy has her. We called her and told her what happened," Brass explained. "We told her not to tell Lindsey. We thought you would prefer to do that."
Gil nodded and glanced at his wife. He looked back at the rest of his team. "And Greg?"
"He's going to be fine. He has some serious burns on his back and some superficial ones elsewhere, but he'll be fine," Warrick assured him.
"I want to know what happened, Jim. And I want to know who did it," Gil said firmly.
Jim sighed. "And how is that going to help?"
"Because then I'll kill him," Gil growled.
"Or her," Sara added.
Jim, Nick and Warrick glared at her.
"What? I'm just saying."
"Did they say how long she'd be in surgery?"
Jim shook his head. "How about I go talk to one of the nurses. You'll probably need to fill out some forms or something."Warrick glanced at Catherine, who hadn't said a word. He could tell she was crying, but was doing her best to keep it hidden from the rest.
"Nick, how about you go with Brass? Sara and I will go check on Greg."
Nick saw what Warrick was trying to do and nodded. "Okay. We'll be back, Gris."
Grissom watched them go and then turned his attention to Catherine. She had curled herself up on the waiting room chair. Her jacket was pulled tight around her, even though the hospital was kept at a comfortable temperature. She was staring out the window intently, her face away from him.
He knew she was crying.
"Cath?"
He watched her rummage for a packet of tissues and he heard her sniffle as she attempted to wipe away the tears. After a moment he moved over and sat beside her.
"Catherine?" he murmured, his hand turning her head towards him.
She smiled a watery smile at him. "Hey."
"How are you doing? Do you need something to drink or eat?"
"I can't," she replied. "Don't feel well."
He gathered her into his
arms. "She's going to
be fine, Cath.
She's just like you. Tough."
Catherine looked up at him. "You can't be sure of that. They won't know until she comes out of surgery…if…"
He put a finger to her lips. "Don't say that. She'll be fine."
Jim and Nick came back, a clipboard and some forms with them.
"They said a doctor is coming out to speak with you soon," Jim told them, handing the forms over.
"I have to go to the bathroom," Catherine told Gil, leaving him to do the forms.
She burst through the door and barely made it before she emptied her stomach contents in the toilet. Tears sprung at the corner of her eyes and she slid down to the floor, sobbing her heart out.
She knew it was her fault. She had consistently ruined this girl's life and now she was going to be responsible for her death as well. Catherine had given her up at birth, then Katie had returned with nothing but a smile for her mother. If she hadn't been on her honeymoon, if she had been at home where she belonged, taking care of her daughters, this wouldn't have happened.
"Cath?"
She stood up on shaky legs. "Gil, are you in the women's bathroom?"
"I just wanted to make sure you were okay. I was worried."
"I'll be there in a minute."
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"Mr and Mrs Grissom?"
Gil and Catherine stood up, watching the doctor approach them.
"I'm Dr Fletcher. I worked on your daughter." He glanced at Jim and Warrick.
"Jim Brass, Las Vegas PD.
This is Warrick Brown
from the crime lab."
Dr Fletcher nodded and then turned his attention back to Cath and Gil. "Your daughter is in a critical but stable condition. According to the rescuers, your daughter was found in the locker room, underneath an open locker, which managed to shield her from most of the debris. Unfortunately, when she was thrown back by the blast she fell on some wood and glass, which caused some serious wounds to her back. She had a ruptured spleen, which we repaired in surgery and a serious injury to her head. When she wakes up, we'll have more of an idea to whether it caused brain damage, but we don't think so at the moment. Now we just have to wait."
"Thankyou," Gil said, holding Catherine's hand tight.
"Can we see her?" Catherine asked, desperation in her voice.
"She's in recovery at the moment, but we'll be moving her to ICU soon. I'll send a nurse to get you."
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Part 16