If the situation wasn't so serious, Warrick would've laughed at the idea of Ecklie having a heart.
As it was, everybody loved the labrat. More than they cared to admit, sometimes.
Ecklie, upon hearing the news of the ill-fated accident, practically shoved them out the doors and told them to visit Greg. They had a week, he said, and if they didn't come back he'd personally go over there and kick their asses back to the lab. Which wasn't really a surprising threat. In reality, their supervisor probably only wanted to know whether or not he'd need to hire a new CSI, but it was the idea that counted.
Stealing a glance in the rearview mirror of his Tahoe, the dark-skinned CSI noted that Sara had finally fallen asleep in the backseat with her head resting on Nick's shoulder.
He and Nick traded worried looks. It had only been several hours since the phone call, but by the way she looked it seemed like days.
"Where's Grissom?" Catherine asked, bringing Warrick's attention back to the road.
Nick sighed. "Ecklie wanted him to find replacements for us before he left. He'll be behind us by about an hour," he explained, rubbing a hand over his face. "Only Ecklie would think about work at a time like this."
A dry humorless chuckle escaped from Warrick's lips. "That's Ecklie for you. He doesn't give a shit about anybody but himself."
Silence settled tensely inside the car at his words.
"How much longer till we get there?" Sara muttered, waking up from her nap.
"About half an hour."
"Take the back roads. Less traffic." Her voice was calm, controlled, but too much to be unaffected.
Catherine turned around in her seat to face the younger woman. "He'll be alright, Sara." She didn't voice her own fears, knowing that their quirky friend really wasn't.
"Don't lie to me, Cath, just to make yourself feel better," the brunette snapped tersely. "I don't need to hear any sensitive crap."
The strawberry blonde's eyes flashed in anger but kept tongue in cheek, literally. Seeing the brewing danger, Nick stepped in.
Rubbing Sara's shoulders, he whispered, "Relax, Sara. You're not the only one who cares."
She sagged in defeat. There was no reason for her to raise her temper, especially since Catherine was just trying to help. "Sorry. Just...I'm really worried, that's all."
"We all are." The older woman offered a small smile, to which Sara didn't return.
One by one, they all turned to look outside the windows to see the world of healthy and happy people.
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Fuzzily, he heard a voice.
Something about bones...blood...metal disc...spinal cords.
The voice faded away, but not before he heard the last word.
Paralyzed.
His heart froze in its metronome beat.
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"What the fuck are you telling me? That he's paralyzed?" Emily and Nick rushed over before Sara could blow up the doctor with her anger.
Grabbing her friend by the wrist, Greg's sister pulled her away, leaving the Texan to deal with the doctor.
Mouth set in a thin line, Nick inquired, "What's this about Greg being paralyzed..." He glanced at the doctor's name tag. "Dr. Bell?"
The doctor ran a hand through his greying hair before replying. "As I was saying before Miss Sidle over there interrupted me, Mr. Sanders IS paralyzed. From the waist down."
Dread filled Nick at the words. "So you're saying he'll never walk again?" Unshed tears pricked at the corner of his eyes, and he angrily swiped them away with the back of his hand.
At that moment, a furious Sara hit the wall with a tightly clenched fist. She grimaced as the pain shot through her arm like a rocket.
Frowning, Nick turned around to face her, who was watching him with wide doe eyes. He saw the lost and confused look on her face, and his heart fell further. Noticing she had wet tracks running down her haggard face, he wiped them off and gave her another brotherly squeeze.
"He's gonna be fine, Sar," he comforted with a smile.
"But..." she stammered. "The doctor said he was paralyzed!" Fresh tears began to roll down her pale cheeks.
There was a pause as Nick didn't know what to say to that. Instead, he lamely replied, "It really is going to be okay, alright? Don't cry." Nick held her as she cried into his shirt.
They were that way for a while, until he was sure his shirt was soaked through. "You mind, Sar? I need to change my shirt." He grinned affectionately as she blushed in embarrassment.
"Sorry," she murmured. Letting go of him, she turned to face the window of Greg's room.
Nothing was going to be alright.
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Ah! His mind screamed as his vision was filled with incredibly bright light.
Wait. Light?
Blinking once or twice, the light faded a little and he could see that the sun was shining through the curtained window.
It wasn't a dream now, the shapes and the shadows.
Rolling over to his side, he grinned. Flowers, candy, and well-wish cards galore littered the bedside table.
The balloons caught his eye. A whole multitude colors he could actually distinguish: the reds, blues, yellows, the whole rainbow.
Right then and there, Greg swore he would never take blind people for granted ever again.
How they could go on without ever seeing the world was something he couldn't fathom, and hoped he wouldn't ever personally find out.
Weakly, he used his arms to push himself into a sitting position, wincing at the soreness he got from the countless bruises and scrapes. A couple of fingers, he noticed, were in splints-must have broken them.
Damn. Lucky duck, he thought; nothing all too serious except for the broken arm. Funny, he couldn't move his legs either. He began to reach for the glass of water sitting next to a fruit basket.
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One second, Sara was outside in the hallway, peering in worriedly through the glass. The next second, she was smothering Greg in bone-crushing hugs.
"Nice to see you, Sara, really," Greg managed to gasp out as she held onto him for dear life. He dropped the water cup back onto the table, not really wanting to slice his hand with glass.
She didn't say a word, torn between slapping him for scaring them all and kissing him in relief. After pushing the call button for the doctor, Sara finally spoke."You're awake," she muttered quietly.
He grinned wryly. "I noticed." He gestured towards his gifts. "Where'd all these come from?" Greg picked up one of the packages of candy and made a face. Chocolate covered grasshoppers. "Don't tell me. Grissom."
Sara gave him a small smile and pointed towards the small fruit basket. "Ecklie."
He quirked an eyebrow. "Wow. I feel loved," he smirked.
Refraining from rolling her eyes, she tentatively sat down at the edge of his bed. "You've got no idea how close you were to not seeing us again," she berated gently. "We would've gone insane without you."
"Don't you already?" He quipped, trying to lighten the mood.
It fell flat, Sara's mouth curving downwards into a deep frown. "Not funny."
The pair looked up as the door to the sterile white room opened. Revealing a procession of family and friends, Dr. Bell led them all in, with a few nurses in tow.
The first thing that Catherine did was giving Greg a pinch on his arm. He yelped, glaring at the motherly woman as he rubbed the sore spot. "What was that for, Cath?"
"For scaring us to death," she laughed, giving him a peck on the cheek and a gentle hug.
The doctor stood in the background as family and friends alike offered their hugs and kisses. "You're a lucky fellow, Mr. Sanders," Dr. Bell commented. He motioned for the nurses to prep Greg for transportation.
"Wait. What are you doing?" The confused patient demanded as the hospital personnel unlocked the gurney wheels. He'd just gotten up, and they were already moving him? Couldn't he say hi to his friends? It wasn't like he could up and run anywhere.
His protests went ignored as the doctor busied himself with the machines and other medical equipment.
As the doctor headed out the room, Greg protested one last time. "Where are you taking me?"
Dr. Bell gave a comforting smile as they began to wheel him out of the room. "You do want to walk again, don't you?"