Disclaimer: They're still not mine, but if anyone is selling them, I'd like to bid. :-)
Author's Notes: This is a short chapter, and very transitional. The action will come in the next part, which I should have up this weekend. We're getting close to the end, although I'm not sure if I'll extend this a bit to finish with my plans or do another story in the series...any suggestions would be appreciated, I could rush it a bit and just add 4 or 5 more chapters to the end of this, or start a new saga...
Jenny
Chapter Twelve:
When Sara opened her eyes again, Greg was sitting in the chair next to her bed, his face scratched and swollen, his eye a dark shade of purple, and his fist bandaged.
"You look awful," Sara croaked, gratefully accepting the water Greg handed to her, "What the hell happened?"
Greg took the cup once Sara had finished, shaking his head, "That's not important right now. We've been so worried about you."
Greg took her hand into his own, squeezing it gently and trying to fight tears that threatened to escape his eyes. "Oh, God, Sara. I was scared to death, all I could think about was that you were going to die and the last things we said to each other were in anger."
"I'm sorry I scared you." Sara whispered, her voice still scratchy, "Did you find the guy that hit us? Are all of your bruises from the accident?"
Greg looked down, squeezing her hand again, "No, I got these after the accident. Don't worry about it, okay? They're still looking for who hit you, us, they have a few leads that they're working on. Don't worry about that, either, just concentrate on getting better."
"How long was I out for?" Sara murmured, looking around at the balloons and flowers decorating her hospital room, "What's wrong with me?"
Greg stroked her hair gently, placing a gentle kiss on her forehead. He couldn't begin to describe how relieved he felt to hear her voice, to see her beautiful eyes, to feel a response when he touched her. "You had to have surgery, you had some pretty serious injuries, but they're all fixed now. We've just been waiting for you to wake up. Oh, Sara, I'm so relieved that you're okay."
Unable to stop the tears from falling, he bent over and laid his head on her bed, his hand still intertwined with hers, tears falling silently onto her blanket.
Sara absentmindedly let her hand stroke Greg's hair while he cried, longing to say something to make him feel better, but unable to find any words that could help. Her eyes started to burn from sleepiness, and together, they fell asleep in the quiet room, each embracing the silence and presence of the other.
"What!" Nick cried out, "You've got to be kidding me!"
"No sir, Jessica Stokes was transferred to a higher security ward of the prison after threatening another inmate with a sharp object. She's not allowed to have any visitors until her five-day solitary confinement is complete." The guard told Nick, looking almost sympathetic as Nick's jaw slightly trembled.
As if this day hadn't been bad enough already, now he couldn't even see the one person who could make him feel better about his own situation. With a heavy sigh, he thanked the guard and walked down the corridor leading back to the main door.
Attacking another inmate did not sound like something Jessica would have done, she was a lot calmer than that, she was striving to prove she was not a violent murderer. Why would she act out like this so close to her trail date? Was she intentionally trying to ruin her case?
The initial shock and sadness was quickly changing to anger as he realized how potentially damaging this was to her case. She had put in so much effort, so much time, so much money to try and win this battle, and in one simple act, she may as well have thrown it all away. How could she be so careless?
Still angry over his fight with Greg, and now even more angry by the update on Jessica, Nick's blood was boiling. The talk he and Greg shared with Grissom had been enough to calm him at the moment, but the angrier he got about Jessica, the more his fight with Greg started to eat at him once more.
The talk with Grissom hadn't been too involved, they basically decided that it was Sara's choice who she was going to date, and that the personal life of any CSI was not to be discussed on the clock. Grissom had made them both apologize, and reminded them that while they were angry or jealous of the other's position, they couldn't rightly express that unless they've walked in the shoes of the other person.
Slamming the door to his Tahoe, he decided a long drive was what he needed to clear his head and calm his over-stressed nerves.
Greg stood in the doorway to Catherine's hospital room, watching as Warrick quietly whispered to Catherine's belly, his hand over her lower abdomen, obviously sharing some quiet time with his unborn child. He didn't want to disrupt him, which not only could disturb Catherine's rest but also anger Warrick.
Sara had insisted that he apologize to both Warrick and Catherine, once she heard the entire saga of what had been happening at work, down to the fight in the viewing room. At the time, he would have done anything to please her, now, he wasn't so sure.
Apologizing had seemed like such a good idea when Sara suggested it. He was sure that it would relieve some of the heavy guilt weighing down his chest, and while he wasn't sure if Catherine and Warrick held this against him, he knew it wouldn't hurt their feelings of animosity towards him or Nick.
Now that he was in the doorway of Catherine's room, where the air was tense with worry, he wasn't sure his presence would be welcomed by his two friends. Nonetheless, he had to do this for Sara, he had promised her.
He rapped lightly on the door, making his presence known. Warrick's head shot up from Catherine's bedside, and the soft, vulnerable look in his eyes was replaced with a look of anger and dislike. Before Greg had noticed Warrick rise, he was being pulled into the hallway by the older CSI.
"What the hell are you doing here?" Warrick growled, pushing Greg up against the wall, "Haven't you done enough? Or are you trying one last time to make our family as miserable as you are? Killing my son won't bring Sara back!"
Greg shook his head, "No, man, I was just coming to apologize and check on Catherine."
"You don't have a right to check on my fiancé." Warrick snapped, "I don't want to see your face down this hallway again. You stick to trauma, and we'll stick to maternity, got it? I won't have you upsetting Catherine anymore, understood?"
Greg pushed Warrick away, his temper beginning to flare, "You can't walk all over me like I'm beneath you! I made a mistake, we all make mistakes! I'm doing the right thing by coming to apologize to you. I'm sorry I got Catherine and your baby involved. I just wanted to apologize, that's what friends do."
"Friends wouldn't have gotten us into this mess in the first place. We don't want to see you, you could have cost us our child." Warrick said coldly, his eyes flashing with barely concealed fury.
Warrick's adrenaline hadn't let up since they brought Catherine in, and even though he knew it was an accident, he felt the need to release his anger and find someone to blame. It seemed as if Greg had walked right into the trap, and was now stuck in the fire of a man protecting his family.
Greg had to fight to control his emotions as Warrick's words sunk in, "So you don't consider me a friend anymore? Nick? Sara? Grissom?"
"Sara and Grissom didn't take the life of an innocent child into their own hands, unlike you and Nick. You two couldn't grow up and talk like mature adults, instead you turned the viewing room into a boxing rink. Because you couldn't control your testosterone, I could have lost my child. In my position, would you consider yourself a friend?"
Greg shook his head sadly, "I know I screwed up, I swung at Nick first, we hurt Catherine. I feel awful about it, I hate myself for it. I know it's my fault, I'm trying to make things right--"
"It is your fault, and you can't do anything right now. Maybe once this whole thing blows over, we can talk, but right now you need to get out of my face and stay away from both of us." Warrick warned, his voice tight with anger and emotion.
A loud, continuous beeping from Catherine's room caused both heads to turn towards the doorway. Before Warrick could react, two nurses rushed into Catherine's room, pushing both men aside.
Giving a cold glare to Greg, Warrick hissed, "If something is wrong with my son, you will pay. This is all your fault...you just don't understand. You'll never be on our playing field, Greg, you're trying to play with the big kids and so far you've only gotten burned. First Sara, now Catherine and the baby...it seems like things have plummeted downhill since you got promoted."
Warrick pushed Greg aside and rushed into Catherine's room, leaving Greg standing in the hallway, tears stinging his eyes as Warrick's words continuously replayed in his mind.
Grissom walked into his office, rubbing his temples in a vain attempt to ward off the migraine already pounding through his skull.
It was one hour into shift, and he had yet to see, or hear from, any of his workers. Sure, Greg and Nick were out on suspension, Sara and Catherine were in the hospital, and Warrick was probably unwilling to leave Catherine's side, but just being the only CSI he had available, he had expected Warrick to at least check in.
He had four cases that needed to be handled, and he had no team. He was tempted to bring Nick and Greg in, just to cover what needed to be done.
He sat down and began to search for the paper which held the direct line to Sara's hospital room. He was fairly certain that was where Greg would be, and since cell phones weren't allowed on that floor of the hospital, there was a good chance the phone in Sara's room would be the only way of contacting the hyperactive CSI.
On top of his messages laid a plain brown envelope, with "Grissom" written in a messy scrawl. Curious, Grissom flipped it over and broke the seal, pulling out the papers inside.
LVMPD: Criminalistics Bureau: Resignation Notice
Employee Name: Gregory H. Sanders
Position: CSI, Level 2.
Supervisor: Gil Grissom
Reason for Leaving: Personal.
Contact Information: None.
Grissom dropped the sheet on his desk, rubbing his eyes to make sure the throbbing in his temples hadn't affected his eyesight. After re-reading it twice, the implications of this memo began to sink in...Greg had resigned without a word to anyone.
Underneath the envelope was the paper Grissom had been searching for. Dialing the familiar number to Desert Palm, he impatiently asked for Sara's room. A few moments later, he was rewarded with a groggy, "Hello?" from a familiar female voice.
"Sara?"
"Gris? Is that you?"
Grissom, despite being in shock over Greg's hasty exit, couldn't hold back the smile that plastered his face at hearing Sara's voice, "I didn't know you were awake yet. I'm so glad to hear your voice."
"Thanks. What do you need?"
Grissom glanced back down at the memo, upset for calling as he heard her yawn, "Is Greg there with you?"
"He was earlier, then he went to talk to Warrick and Catherine. I fell asleep after he left, I'm not sure if he's been back or not. Want me to have him call you if I see him?"
"Yes, thank you. I hope you feel better." Grissom said sincerely before hanging up and sighing worriedly. He didn't want to call Catherine's room and disturb her, it was, after all, past midnight.
He decided to take a chance, noticing that while Greg's pager, badge, and gun were in the envelope, his cell phone was missing. Dialing Greg's number, he began to quietly urge the young man to pick up. His hope, however, was dashed when the faint sound of ringing filled the air of the quiet office. Digging a bit, he found the phone on the floor, under his desk, as though it had fallen.
With a heavy sigh, he picked up the phone, dialing Ecklie's number. He'd get some of the day shift CSI's in to cover his cases while he went to the hospital to see if Sara knew anything of Greg's disappearance.
TBC
