Precious Things by SLynn
Spoilers: Up to 'Nesting Dolls'
Rating: R for violence and disturbing content.
Disclaimer: Not mine – well, some are mine, just not the ones you recognize.
Chapter 19: Rash
That night Detective Sullivan managed to track down Russell Blackwater. He was brought in for questioning and Greg and Nick sat in on the interrogation.
He was about Charlie's age, a year or two younger then Greg, but looked older. Like he'd already lived a rough life. He told them next to nothing. Nothing about Taylor Sinclair or any of the other girls that had gone missing and ended up dead from the school. They confronted him with the bleach and he had nothing to say other then the closet didn't have a lock. She could have gone in there on her own for all he knew.
When they asked him about the semen he grew quieter but seemed to know that they didn't have much. He refused to give them a DNA sample so they couldn't even determine if that sample was his. Russell Blackwater had been down this road before and knew they needed a warrant for anything more then his time. And he knew that given what they had, they weren't getting one any time soon so that was that.
It was very unproductive and very frustrating.
When they got back to the lab Amy practically pulled Greg into the lab, oblivious to the very odd look Nick gave her as he followed them both.
"You have to tell me exactly how it happened," she said straight away. "I'm freaking out about everything in here and I won't be able to stop until I know."
Nick gave Greg a very serious look as he seemed to have caught up to what was going on.
"Amy really," Greg tried again, ignoring Nick for the moment, "it was an accident. Nothing in here is dangerous. Well, I mean, don't go spilling the chemicals, but you knew that."
"Greg," she implored but saw she wasn't going to get anything further.
He wasn't going to tell her that it was the fume hood blew. He was already kicking himself mentally for forgetting about the scars and scaring her senseless. Worse, he had a feeling Nick was going to kick him for real once they got out of the lab.
"Okay," she said with a nod, turning from him, "You won't tell me. Fine. Nick, what happened?"
Nick, who had still been glowering at Greg, was caught off guard. He turned to her suddenly, surprised.
"Well?" she asked.
"Amy, he's right. You don't have anything to worry about."
Amy nodded slowly, but wasn't giving up. Her parting look clearly told them that.
Greg and Nick made their way out of the lab. Nick waited until they were in the break room before he started in.
"What are you doing telling her about that?" he asked, still fairly angry.
"It was an accident," Greg said heading over the fridge to grab a soda, "She saw my back and started asking bunch of questions. I couldn't lie."
"How'd she see your back?" Nick asked.
"Yeah," he heard Sara echo from the door, "How did she see your back?"
Greg turned around and set down his soda can. Thinking about it made it itch more; he'd done a fairly good job of ignoring it until now.
"Because," Greg said, "I was trying to scratch it. Apparently my new meds are rash inducing."
He began to squirm again, unable to get it out of his head.
"Is that why you've been fidgeting all night?" Nick asked, mildly concerned.
"Pretty much," Greg answered.
"Is it a rash or a reaction?" Sara asked, more then mildly concerned.
"Don't know," Greg answered pushing up his sleeve once more, "I couldn't see it. Amy said it didn't look too bad."
"Maybe you should go to the…"
Sara had stopped as she got a look at Greg's arm.
"That's new," was all Greg said as he saw it for himself. The rash, which hadn't been that extensive earlier, was now visible on his forearm.
"Take that off," Sara said with a stern look on her face, the one she got when she was worried.
"I'm not stripping in the break room," Greg returned a little louder then he meant too.
Nick laughed despite himself. The rash looked bad and he was worried too, but the look on Greg's face was priceless.
"Just let me see," Sara said tugging at the shirt, completely indifferent to Greg's modesty.
"What's going on?" Catherine asked Nick.
She watched with mild amusement as Sara continued to pull on Greg's shirt and as he continued to fight her.
"Greg's got a rash," Nick answered, now unable to keep from laughing.
"How bad?" Catherine asked all concerned and moving over to Greg and Sara.
"It's nothing," Greg said finally stepping back and away from Sara, "It's a side-effect. It'll be fine. I just need some cortisone cream."
"Let me see," Catherine said, fixing him with a similar gaze as Sara had. "Take that off."
Greg looked at her like he couldn't believe this was happening. And really, he couldn't.
"No," Greg said louder then before. "This is crazy."
Sara let out a sigh and grabbed Greg by the arm.
"Come on," she said pulling him out of the room.
"Where…wait….Sara."
She pushed him into the bathroom, the women's bathroom he noted, and once more demand he take off the shirt.
"This is the ladies room," he said as he stared at her in disbelief.
"Then you should hurry," she returned, hand on hip.
Greg undid the buttons, muttering under his breath as he worked at it. Tossing it onto the sink he pulled off his t-shirt and watched her reaction.
"I'm taking you to the emergency room," she said evenly and with an authoritative tone he knew better then to fight.
Sara was already heading out the door before he could argue, not that he'd win. Greg was still pulling on his t-shirt as he followed her without looking and bumped right into her back. She'd stopped just outside the door and looking up he saw why.
Greg stopped, his heart suddenly racing, frantically pulling his t-shirt all the way down, dress shirt clutched in his hand.
"This isn't what it looks like," he said blushing deeply as Grissom stood directly in front of both of them.
"He has a rash," Sara said and he could hear the embarrassment in her voice as well, "I was getting ready to take him to get it checked on."
Grissom just looked from one to the other and nodded before moving on. Sara and Greg looked over at the break room and saw Catherine and Nick in the doorway, laughing unabashedly.
Sara moved first, heading towards the locker room. Greg followed, shooting Nick a glare which only made him laugh harder, putting back on his outer shirt and buttoning it as he walked.
"You know," he said as he followed her in, "If you'd have waited that wouldn't have been nearly as mortifying."
"Its fine," Sara said opening her locker to get her things, "He knows we weren't doing anything."
"That doesn't make it any better," Greg said going into his own locker for his meds.
Sara didn't say anything more, just made her way towards the door again. Greg, shaking his head, followed. Why was this always happening?
They'd ended up waiting the rest of the night in the emergency room not being a priority. The doctor basically gave him cortisone cream, no surprise, and told him to talk with his regular doctor about possibly changing the dosage or switching medications.
Greg tried not to be smug about it, but couldn't help but let one 'I told you so' slip from his lips. Sara ignored it with good humor. She was glad to be wrong; Greg didn't need another hospital stay.
Seeing Dr. Jennings about it wasn't a problem either since he had a scheduled appointment with her that morning. After going over the usual things, and finding that other then the rash he didn't really see a reason to stop the medication, she gave him a new prescription with a lower dosage and that was that.
Sara hadn't gone with him to the appointment but had waited up for him that morning. He brought back breakfast with him this time, bagels as usual.
Three bites into her breakfast and Sara apologized.
"Don't worry about it," Greg said meaning it, "You can make it up to me by helping out with that ointment."
Sara smiled at him and said no more about it.
"So," Sara said instead, "you're off tonight. What are you going to do?"
"I have no idea. Try not to scratch my skin off."
Sara laughed and smiled at him.
"I may come in," he said seriously, "get something done. We're getting no where on this case."
"You didn't have any nightmares yesterday," she said sounding serious herself.
"No. I didn't."
She smiled at him once more and he returned it.
"I think you wore me out."
She laughed and blushed looking down.
"And really," Greg said still smiling, "I think that's the only thing that's going to help."
"Did you talk to Dr. Jennings about them?" she asked, not quite taking the bait.
"Some. She thinks I have a guilty conscious."
Sara nodded. She agreed.
"You know you don't have a reason to be, right?"
"Part of me knows," Greg said looking down into his cup, "I just don't listen to that part very often."
"Do you really think the medication helps?" she asked.
"It hasn't hurt," he answered honestly, "Aside from the rash."
They both laughed quietly for a moment.
"It's not like before," Greg continued after a minute, "It's different then the last time I was on them. Easier I guess."
"Well, everyone knows now," Sara offered by way of explanation.
"Yeah," Greg nodded, "I'm not trying to keep it a secret, which helps. I thought if everyone knew before they'd, I don't know, think different of me. But so far so good."
Sara smiled at him, glad he was really okay with it.
"I mean, Ecklie thinks I'm a nut but he pretty much always did."
Her smile grew larger and they both laughed.
"Well," Sara said getting up, "I'm going to bed. Some of us have to work tonight. You coming?"
"Not right now," Greg said standing as well, "I'm think I'm just going to veg out in front of the TV for awhile."
"Okay," Sara said with a nod of her own, "just don't stay up too long."
Greg assured her he wouldn't, kissing her once before she headed back to bed.
He really was okay with it. Greg didn't think he would be but everything seemed alright. The nightmares weren't even as bad as they had been. Despite the lack of progress in the case, Greg's attitude was improving.
Things really weren't that bad, in fact they were pretty good.
