Chapter 6-- What's the Story Morning Glory?
The next morning, or late afternoon as her schedule goes, Sara awakes to the light streaming in from between the window blinds into the otherwise dark room. She looks around, forgetting momentarily where she had fallen asleep last night, to find her right arm draped over a rather large pillow, a large pillow that seemed to be breathing...it was Greg. She quickly repositions herself facing the windows again as she was when she fell asleep. If staying at Greg's apartment wasn't awkward enough, last night definitely filled its void.
Thinking over it, she has no idea what made her actually ask him to stay with her, but he did, and not just until she closed her eyes and then left. Then again, he'd jump off a bridge for a friend if they asked him. Of course, she did know that he wasn't intent with staying just friends with her. She had gotten used to blowing off his dinner invitations, but after actually taking the time to get to know him over the past few days, she actually felt bad about it.
She gets up from underneath the sheets and walks quietly over to the other side of the bed to the bathroom to get ready to 'greet the day', leaving him to sleep a bit longer.
"Hey...Greg!" She hovers over him peacefully sleeping, his eyelashes fanned out across his cheeks. She shakes him by the shoulder on the side he wasn't sleeping on to try to wake him before she left early for work, but it was uneventful. So she quickly left a note and went on her way.
For the first day in a long time the break room, no music is playing, no one is rambling on about his coffee stash or chatting up female co-workers. As a matter of fact, there is hardly any sound what so ever. It is near time for Greg to pick up some samples that Mia said were on their way, but instead he sits at the table beside his copy of the case file half asleep.
He had just gotten to work, though his face is flushed and looks worn out all ready. His eyelids feel heavier by the second, as he rests his head in his hands. Greg is close to slipping away to dreamland, until he hears Sara's voice drawing closer and Grissom's following close behind, causing him to jump out of his seat.
"No music today?" Sara points to the lone CD player last left in the corner at the end of yesterday.
"No...I don't think my head could take it." The room was already spinning before and it only worsens after he gets up.
He puts a hand to his head and catches himself on the table with the other to keep himself from falling over. He had stood up just a bit too fast.
"Whoa Greg...you don't look so good." Grissom asks after circling the whole lab,finally to find him here. "Busy night last night?" He raises his eyebrows in suspicion.
"I wish." Greg laughs weakly and sits back down on the stool.
"Are you okay?" Sara knew he probably got three hours of sleep at the most last night, thanks to her 'story time'. Though, he seemed fine when she left earlier to look at an apartment that was for rent before going to work. Of course, he was sound asleep, but there was nothing unusual there.
The duo moves closer, leaning over him, examining as if he was a body at a crime scene. Grissom places the back of his hand to Greg's forehead, but quickly pulls his hand back at the touch of his warm skin. "God Greg, you're burning up!"
"Not to mention nauseous, dizzy, and extremely tired...the reason I was near asleep until you walked in here."
"If you were sick, why did you come to work?"
"Well--" He gets cut off.
"Sara, can you drive him home? You do know where it is, right?"
"Oh, I'm sure I can find it." She fibs quickly and begins to help him to his feet, hoping Greg wouldn't catch it and inform Grissom of their current living arrangements.
"Won't you need my help?" He pushes away from Sara's grasp and sits back down.
"No, Sara and I will be fine without you. Even if you did stay, you wouldn't be much help. Go home, get some sleep."
"Oh, it's nice to know that I'm completely useless around here."
"Greg, you can hardly walk without falling over."
"Thanks for the post-it, I appreciate finding pink paper posted on my forehead when I look in the mirror." He says from the passenger seat of Sara's Denali.
"I tried you tell you before I left, but you were dead to the world and I didn't think it would be too nice to bring out the ice cubes."
"You said you didn't know where my house is when you very well where it is. If you're so ashamed of me, why didn't you just ask Gil in the first place?" He asks, unsuccessfully acting very hurt by it all.
"Why did you come to work anyway?" She asks Greg ignoring what he'd just asked, her eyes glued to the road ahead of her. Through the years she had known Greg, she had never seen him actually be this sick. Any other time, he only had a minor cold. Even so, he made a big deal about it, like he was practically dying when all he had was a runny nose. This time he swore nothing was wrong with him.
"Well, I happen to like working on the field...and want to keep working there." He rests his head on the passenger seat window. "Grissom, he gets me all...nervous. It's like this force not be reckoned with."
"I think he has that effect on everyone."