A/N: Terribly sorry for this chapter. The evil monkey told me to do it. I swear. Anyways, review and let me know what you thought(or let me know if you're plotting my death for this... either one works) lol.
And Krysalys, lol. To be honest I wasn't really sure if they were hospitalized or not with tuberculosis. So you're probably right and they are, haha.
Oh, one more thing... in this chapter... I'm not positive if two weeks is the amount of time where a person is considered contagious, but I read around on the internet, and a few pages told me that, so that's just what I stuck with. Haha.

Chapter 5 - Lying

After two weeks under quarantine, Greg was finally allowed back to work. The two weeks had felt like an eternity and he couldn't have been happier to see everyone again. He was far from cured of the tuberculosis, but he was no longer contagious. Nick also returned to work the same time as Greg, and was delighted to be able to see his friend again.

The doctor had wanted to see him as soon as the two weeks were up, but Greg never returned the phone call. He knew that if the doctor heard his cough, he wouldn't be permitted back to his work, and he wanted more than anything to go back.

There was a small welcome back party held for him. They decorated the lounge room with a large banner that read "Welcome Back Greggo!", and different colored streamers. Catherine had baked a large chocolate cake, and Greg couldn't wait to taste some of it.

"Thanks you guys. This is awesome," Greg told them.

Although he was permitted to work again, he still hadn't gotten rid of the cough, and if anything, it had gotten worse. He tried not to think about it, and continued taking his medication as the doctor directed, hoping it would get rid of the cough soon.

He wasn't the only one who had noticed that his cough was worse. Even though Grissom was glad to have him back, he wasn't sure if it was such a good idea. He wanted to make sure that Greg was feeling better before he returned.

"Greg, maybe you came back a bit too soon..." Grissom began.

"What do you mean? I'm not under quarantine anymore," Greg coughed.

"No, the cough," Grissom pointed to Greg's hand, "Look, there's blood. Didn't the doctor notice that that's getting worse?"

"The doctor didn't say that it was worse. In fact, he said that it was getting better," Greg lied, trying to hold in his coughing to prove that he was all right.

Grissom didn't want to send him home if the doctor said that he was alright, but he just wanted him to have more time to get better without the stress of work.

Grissom sighed. "Okay. You don't have to take more time off. But the second I see that you are getting worse, you're going home to rest. Understood?"

Greg nodded.


"Man, I can't believe that Greg's doctor said he was okay. Did you see the way he's been coughing more?" Nick asked.

"Yeah I know. And he's been avoiding Grissom. I heard Grissom tell him that if he hears Greg get any worse, he's sending him home," Warrick replied, "That Greg is a good person... but sometimes he's just so stubborn."

Nick and Warrick sat in the locker room as they watched Greg stumble in, clearly having one of his coughing attacks.

"Greg..." Warrick began.

"No, don't tell me that I should go home. I've heard that five times already today. I'm fine. I just need my medication, it's time for another dose," Greg opened his locker and took out a medication bottle.

Greg continued to cough and the bottle slipped from his hands and fell onto the floor, rolling towards Nick and Warrick.

"Come on, this is crazy. You're getting worse," Nick told him.

"Yeah, Nicky's right. Your doctor couldn't have told you that you were better. You're definitely getting worse," Warrick added.

Greg's eyes began to water, and he felt like someone was repeatedly punching him in the chest. He continued to cough. It was the longest that any of his coughing fits had lasted.

"I did see a doctor... it's not getting worse," Greg lied.

Nick and Warrick watched in horror as drops of red liquid began to seep out of Greg's hand, they were starting to believe that Greg was lying about seeing the doctor.

"That's it, man. You are going to the doctor. Right now, I don't care what you say. You are not fine, and you are going to see a doctor. Stop being so stubborn and get your coat," Warrick stated, getting up to walk over towards his friend.

"No!" Greg protested, leaning over, trying to grab his medication bottle, "I'm..."

He felt a loss of control as he fell over.

"Greg!" Warrick and Nick exclaimed in unison.

Nick rushed over to see if Greg was conscious or not, and Warrick bolted out of the room to call an ambulance.

Warrick ran through the hallway into Grissom's office. Without even bothering to ask Grissom, he picked up the phone and dialed 9-1-1.

Grissom's face turned pale as he heard Warrick frantically explaining what happened and that they needed an ambulance immediately. He didn't wait for Warrick to finish using the phone before he ran out of the room to find Greg.

"Nick, is Greg breathing?" Grissom questioned as he saw Greg on the floor and Nick kneeling down beside him.

Nick nodded. "Yeah... he's still breathing, and his heart is beating, but he's unconscious."

Grissom looked around and saw the blood in Greg's hand and on the floor.

"Why is there so much blood?" Grissom asked.

Nick explained how Greg had been coughing excessively, and how he refused to let someone take him to the doctor.

"No, this can't be happening..." Grissom whispered as he knelt down on the other side of Greg. "I thought he said he went to the doctor? What self respecting doctor wouldcall this better?" he asked.

"I think he lied. If a doctor saw this, there is no way that he would have been allowed back to work. I just don't understand why he is getting worse. It makes no sense," Nick explained as Sara walked in.

"What's going on here? What happened to Greg?" she questioned, rushing over to where Nick and Grissom were.

"He started coughing... and then he just... collapsed," Nick felt the tears forming in his eyes as he looked down at his friend.

"Is he..." Sara was afraid to ask.

"No... he's still alive," Grissom replied.

It felt like the ambulance took years to arrive, but when the paramedics finally came, half the people in the lab rushed to the locker room to see what was going on.

"I want to go with him," Grissom stated.

"Yeah sure, come on, quickly," a paramedic replied, loading Greg onto a stretcher.

Grissom followed as they put Greg in the back of the ambulance.

"Has he been takinghis medication?" one of the paramedics questioned Grissom.

"I'm not sure. He's been at home for the past two weeks on quarantine. We called him and he claimed he did," Grissom replied.

"So he just got off of quarantine? Why didn't he see a doctor?"

Grissom sighed. "He told us that he did..."