Chapter 12
Catherine pulled out a pocketknife and cut the tape that bound Alex's wrists and ankles. She rolled her unto her back. "I said get EMS here NOW!" Catherine impatiently yelled.
Grissom scrambled over to where Alex lay and grabbed her hand. "Alex? Can you hear me?" he softly said to her.
Alex seemed to stir at the sound of her name. Her lips moved, but no sound was coming out.
Grissom moved so his ear was closer to her lips. "Alex?"
She started to speak again, this time he heard her, although her words came out as barely a whisper. "I-I love you."
She exhaled one more time and her breathing stopped. Grissom immediately started CPR. He'd barely begun, when EMS pushed him out of the way and took over. Grissom sat there on the floor, watching them, praying to whatever deity could hear him, Please let her live. He nervously ran his fingers through his graying hair and let out a deep breath.
A couple tenuous minutes later, she started breathing again. An EMS put an oxygen mask on her. They moved swiftly, but carefully down the stairs to get her to the ambulance and rushed her to the hospital with a police escort.
The next hours were a blur for everyone involved. There was the ride to the hospital. There were many surgeries, a broken wrist, broken leg, punctured lung, bruises, and lacerations. And then, after the she had been put back together, she slipped into a coma. Now all anyone could do was wait.
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The sunlight fell gently on her face. The warmth tickled her cheek and started to awaken her. She slowly opened her eyes, afraid she might find she was still lying on the cement floor.
At first all she could see was a blur of color. The light hurt her eyes, as they hadn't been open in days. As her sight adjusted to the light, she saw flowers and balloons all around her. She smiled slightly to herself, They found me.
As she looked around, she saw a figure sitting in a chair next to the wall. He appeared to be sleeping. She recognized him immediately, even though his face was turned from her.
She tried to call out to him, but her first attempted was nothing more than a hoarse whisper. She cleared her throat and tried again. This time she was successful. "Gil?"
The figure in the chair stirred. Grissom looked at her, with relief in his eyes. "Alex?"
She smiled. "Gil!" Tears started to form. She too was relieved and happy.
He stood up and stretched for a brief moment, then went over and sat on the side of her bed. "How're you?" He smiled back at her.
"I'm alive," she started to laugh, but the movement caused her pain and she winced. "How about you?" Then, noticing his unkempt appearance she asked, "How long have you been here?"
He paused before answering, "I'm doing much better now. And I've been here for about three days."
Her eyes widened in surprise. "Three days? Is that how long I've been out?"
"We were worried about you," Grissom replied. Then he thought better of his response. "I was worried about you."
"How—how did you find me?" she asked.
"Special Agent Thompson," Grissom answered. He noticed the change in her demeanor when he said his name. "How did you know I found you?"
She smiled again. "I remember, in a brief moment of lucidity, hearing you call my name."
She moved her hand closer to his, noticing for the first time that it was in a cast. She lightly placed her hand on his. The human contact finally seemed natural to him. She started to tear-up again. She turned her ahead away, not wanting him to see her cry.
Once she gained her composure she turned back to him and asked, "What about Martin? Did you get him?"
Grissom nodded. Then he added, "He's dead."
There was a pause. She didn't know how to respond. She was relieved, but felt guilty at her relief. A person, no matter how vile, had lost his life.
"Now that your awake, I should go get the doctor," Grissom finally broke the silence.
"Ok," she said and quickly added, "Can you ask people not to visit for a couple days? I need some time before I start entertaining." She had a particular person in mind. Although she wanted to see him, she needed time to gather her thoughts.
Grissom understood. "Will do," he replied and left to get the doctor.
When she was by herself, Alex let out some silent sobs and her tears finally spilled over. Her emotions were a roller coaster ride. She was disturbed by what had happened, relieved she had been found, sad someone had to lose his life, and excited she still had hers. It had been one hell of a week so far for her and as soon as she was able, she was going to make sure it would be much, much worse for someone else.
Little did she know, Grissom was one step ahead of her. Her change in expression at the mention of Thompson's name caused him great concern. After he spoke with the doctor, he made a call.
"Hey Gris," Sara answered her cell phone.
"Do you still have contacts at the Bureau?" Grissom replied.
"Yeah, I still have a few," Sara said.
"Good. I need you to see what you can find out for me."