Chapter Four: What You Don't Know
Greg hadn't wanted to let go; he was afraid. The same fear he had seen in Sara's eyes haunted him as well. Letting go was one of the last things he wanted to do, but he knew he had too. The branch wouldn't support their combined weight for long. If he could give Sara a chance, then he would.
Giving her hand a final squeeze, he had smiled softly, encouragingly, as he let himself be taken away by the river. The current had pulled him under immediately, but instead of fighting, he let it pull him along. He broke the surface a ways down, sputtering as he done so before.
Most of his effort went now into keeping his head above the water, still that task was hard. His mind screamed at him to swim, but he knew that it would be in vain. The swollen waters were moving with such a force Greg swore that he could actually feel the river wanting to flow faster. The thought scared him.
He couldn't see in the darkness, only trust that the river would lead him to another tree, or rock, even better, land. It had done so once, why not again? The reasoning wasn't good, or even bad in a sense, but it was all Greg had to hold onto.
He could feel his body slowly shutting down, he couldn't feel his legs anymore, hadn't been able to feel them for some time now. Dead weight, essentially, was what they were now. A combination of the cold and shock was getting to him. He could feel his arms slowly becoming heavy as liquid metal. It was funny, funny odd, you heard people use expressions like that all the time. But you never realized how true they were until you were in that situation.
The waters were becoming rougher now, if that was at all possible. Flowing faster, tossing and turning, Greg was a rag doll, a kite lost among the wind. He was pulled under, breaking the surface a moment later, his motions coming to an abrupt halt as he slammed into something heavy.
Greg had expected some type of pain, mainly due to the large smacking sound that was made when he hit the large rocks, but all he felt was mass confusion. He wasn't moving anymore, the current was pinning him against the rocks. He stayed like that for some time, eyes halfway closed, as if willing the world to stop spinning around him.
Finally his sense came around to him, he could remember where he was, and what had happened. Shaking off the daze, he reached up, trying to grasp the rock in order to pull himself out, but it was no use. His fingers were frozen, they had no feeling left in them.
Letting out a quivering sigh, he rested his head against the rock, closing his eyes. At least he wasn't moving anymore, that was a plus. He wondered dully how Sara was doing, he could see her in his mind, still holding strong onto the branch. Maybe she had even worked up the courage and strength to pull herself out.
She would be out on the ledge, pacing back and forth, trying to find a way to climb out. Then she would find some help. She would be safe, he reminded himself. Sara was never willing to back down so easily, she was strong spirited. It was one of things he admired about her. But it was more than admiration.
Greg let out another sigh, a much sadder one, wondering if he would ever get to see her again. He wished that he could, he hadn't meant to hurt her like that, hadn't meant to grab her arm so harshly. She had scared him, Greg knew that he should have listened to what she said. True that Catherine was supervising both of them, a last minute call from Grissom, but Sara still had a say over him. It kinda sucked being the newbie sometimes.
Greg knew that if he had listened, they wouldn't be in this situation. It would serve him right if this was how it ended. His only prayer would be that Sara got out okay, and that she would be able to forgive him.
He swallowed tightly, shivering. What if it was worse? What if they both made it, and Sara never wanted to talk to him again? He certainly would deserve it, more than he deserved dying out here, but the thought alone was too painful to even think of. After all, why would someone like Sara want to spend time around someone who almost got them killed? It was already obvious that Sara wasn't interested in him. She probably saw him as immature and unfit, it wouldn't surprise him either.
He was crying; he hadn't realized it until now. His tears felt hot against his face, as he drew in another shaky breath. It was hard to breathe, he noticed dimly, and tried to adjust himself so that it would be easier. As soon as he shifted, the current had him again. Greg dug his fingers into the rock, but it was clear the river would not let up. He was able to manage one last breath before being pulled under by the demanding river once again.
Catherine was leaning over Warrick's shoulder, watching as he slowly moved the broken glass around the table. The pair had gone from reading over documents in the pale light from the table lantern Warrick had managed to pull out from a top shelf. There was only one emergency light in the current room, and although a separate room down the hall had better lighting, it would be too much of a hassle to carry all the pieces down there.
She let out a sigh, moving to the other side of the table, picking up another piece. There had to be over a hundred small pieces, and they had been working as this for over an hour now.
"Turn it over," Catherine suggested as Warrick let out a sigh. Suddenly a few loud beeps pierced the air, followed by a rushing of air. A second later the lights blinked back on.
"Thank goodness," she stated, things would go much easier in the light.
Warrick switched off the lantern, turning it upside down. "We need to find new batteries," he told her, "So that this will be more useful the next time we loose power."
She nodded in agreement. "We don't loose power very often, so we don't think about that too much."
"Hey Catherine," Brass had poked his head into the room, waiting until she looked up before continuing. "Greg and Sara are here right?"
She shrugged, "As far as I know, they were right behind me. Why do you ask?"
"We received a report of an abandoned vehicle along the highway. Caller was vague, couldn't really see what kind of vehicle it was, just that it was left there with door open, but it sounds like it's around your crime scene. Sara and Greg are the only two I haven't found, so I wondering if they stuck they storm out. You know, broke down or something."
"Well I'm sure they're around here somewhere, you try their cells?"
Brass shook his head, "No, but I'll give it a try. Have fun you kids," he said grinning as he left.
Warrick raised an eyebrow, "Yeah, and people think jigsaw puzzles are hard to put together."
Catherine laughed, the thought that the two may possibly be in some sort of trouble never crossing her mind.
TBC
Okay, R2R…yeah, I've been really lax on them, sorry :P
Mellaithwen: Yeah, I've been doing a lot of writing lately, during my lunch breaks, after work, at night. Plot bunnies unwilling to leave me alone. My tops would be twenty pages in two nights. That was a lot of writing. And Greg's a sweetie yeah, can't let Sara drown, at least not yet. Evil Grin hehe…and I think I'm evil…backs away slowly
LinsGlad you're liking the story, and love all your short, sweet, and straight to the point reviews :D
StormchildeFirst off, I must say I love the spelling of your name. It's very unique. Hope you take a little more suspense cause this story has a few more chapters to go yet.
Chrissy8: Will Greg okay? Hmm…will he ever be okay after us fangirls are done torturing him? No wonder all they all stay in hiding…
Avalon88: Thanks for the comment. Most of my stories are Greg and Sara related, they tend to be a good pair to work with. Besides that, I feel that Sara's a fun character to write, and of course, any good CSI story has to have Greg in it :D
Kelly: Hope this soon enough. Though I could be really evil, leave it at a really nasty cliffie, and not update for a year…wait, I already did that once with another fic…oops…
OrangebroncoOh, I know how much rain Vegas and that area is getting, mainly because it's our rain. Rain we need really bad too…they say it's the driest we've been in over 100 years…and it's only winter! Not looking forward to summer, maybe I'll spend it in Vegas...:D
DeeLOL, Titanic, Scene 7, act 61, Jack dies, Rose finds whistle that saves her life. That movie kinda irritated me, scientifically speaking, there were some incorrectly done issues. Done extensive research, two years worth, trust me :D Rambling, off the topic, sorry
Tripp3235: I hadn't intended including Catherine in the first chapter, but it sort of happened, and I needed to get rid of her before they fell or else the story would already be over. Sara will apologize, though not in the way you would think, said too much already. About the river part, that is actually true, someone taught it too me somewhere…fuzzy memory. And Greg's going…for a swim I guess…lol, reminds me of the CSI ep with the hockey one, where Griss tells Sara to tell Greg bye before leaving the lab, that was too perfect.
JacindaCan I point out that both your reviews are almost identical? Lol, it's great, love reading them, hope you enjoy!
Jenny: I rock? Coolness, never heard that one before. Another new chapter, another new day. Or in my case, night. Glad you are enjoying it so much
Goody: It is hard to find a situation to find our favorite CSI's to get into. You always have the criminal on the scene that wasn't cleared, but that seems redundant sometimes. Love your story, it's amazing, and looking forward to another chapter. That last one had to be a tough one to write. Just want to give Nick a big hug, and find Greg and give him an even bigger, though gentler one, on the account it may hurt him to do so…seeing that he does live…you wouldn't kill him off would you? I nearly forgot about his scuba/surfing skills until I was writing that chapter, and having him think he could manage, and realize later (when it's too late) that the ocean and river are two different things. Since I have little experience with both, I can kind of tell, in some ways at least.
MeloLiked it that much huh? Unfortuneately this one wont have too much Greg/Sara fluff if any at all. My other fic, Cold as Ice, does have it, and will be focusing on it more so if you are interested in that stuff.
Ms. Elizabeth Granger: Yeah, Greggo did let go, twice, not learning fast is he? Uh...don't bite my arm off…I kinda sorta need it…back away slowly
SlynnDon't tear your hair out, that wouldn't be good. I don't want to be paying barbers for their work.
Gizi1213: Hopefully this won't keep you awake as well…I tried to end it on a lighter note…key term there is try.
XombeGlad you like it so far! Love reading your reviews
CatStokesGreg lets go, more than once. Why do I always stick them in dangerous conditions? Uh…cause I can? Does that work?
LuvinNickyStokes: Don't leggo of Greggo? Okay. Clutches hehe…mine now.
Duckie (formerly A Bloom: Romance ey? Never thought about that until you pointed it out. Greg's being a good boy, like he always is!
Only Darkness Exists: Thanks for the review, glad you like it so far!
Miss Jazz: I'm glad you like my stories, I enjoy writing them! Really so much, keep reviewing when you can!
Sorry if I left anyone out, didn't mean too, and for any typos, spelling errors, grammar errors in any of the names. That was a long R2R, now I know why I've been avoiding them…hehe, way too late at night for this. Until then, Review!
