Kudos to Miss Cam, who is ever patient on translating for me and answering my silly questions.
Thanks to my beta Fwe!
The muse is being terribly uncooperative this chapter, so it is unfortunately a short one with a cliffhanger ending.
R2Rs really are at the end of this post, I double checked it this time.
OoO
The nurse hurried in and checked the readouts on the monitors. She listened to Greg's heart, the stethoscope lingering over his left lung. Quickly, she put a mask over Greg's face and turned on the oxygen then clipped a sensor to Greg's finger. She watched silently as the monitor's numbers slowly increased.
"What's wrong with him?" Sara asked softly.
"There's going to be a lot of things happening in here in the next few minutes," she said as she unhooked the collection bag attached to the chest tube. The liquid inside was thick and red. "It will be best if you both waited outside."
Grissom took Sara's arm and led her out into the hall. Nurses and doctors came rushing down to the room.
"What's going on?" Nick asked worriedly. "Is something wrong with Greg?"
"He's bleeding," Sara cried, covering her face with her hands and leaning against Grissom. "And he won't wake up."
"He's dying?" Nick's eyes were dark with horror.
"I don't know." Grissom replied.
"Hey, Guys!" Catherine called as she exited the elevator, "Look who I found." She had one arm through Olaf's and they were both laughing. Catherine's smile disappeared when she saw the grim expressions of the others.
"What's going on?" She asked, looking toward the closed door of Greg's room. "Can't we see him? I wanted to give him the bear Lindsey made for him." She held up a stuffed teddy bear dressed in a wide collared shirt with crazy patterns, much like one of Greg's favorite shirts. The fur on its head had been spiked up with hairspray.
"Something is wrong with Gregers?" Olaf asked.
"I think he's slipped into a coma." Grissom replied.
"We couldn't get him to wake up."
"Ach, this cannot be! I just tell his mother he is better"
They watched helplessly as technicians moved equipment into the room. It seemed like an eternity before Dr. Pendergraft came out to talk to them.
"We're going to have to do surgery immediately. The sutures I put in have obviously not held. He's bleeding into the plural cavity, he's literally drowning in his own blood."
"What is the prognosis?" Grissom asked.
Dr. Pendergraft shook his head, "I suggest that you get all of his family here as soon as possible."
OoO
The small room was crowded with people; all the night shift CSIs, Olaf and Greg's mother who had made it in on the first plane available after leaving her father in the care of a neighbor.
Dr. Pendergraft had called in a cardiac surgeon named Dr. Shimura. It was Dr. Shimura who gravely explained to the them what the risky surgery would entail.
"We will have to lower Greg's core temperature to a point at which his heart will stop beating. His blood will be artificially circulated while I repair the damage to his heart. He is young and in good health which makes the surgery a good risk."
"Is any risk a good one?" asked Ella tearfully.
"The risk is outweighed by the results of not performing the surgery. Without repairs made to the wound, Greg will certainly die within the next six hours. I won't lie to you, the odds of him dieing during the surgery are pretty high and if he does survive the procedure he could still die of complications."
"He'll make it." said Grissom.
Olaf laid his hand over Greg's heart, his other hand found Ella's. He bowed his head and said "Please join hands and we will pray for my grandson."
Greg's friends gathered around his bed, joining hands, Sara's slender hand rested on Olaf's hand over Greg's heart.
"Herren er min hyrde,
jeg mangler ingen ting.
Han lar meg ligge i grønne enger;
han fører meg til vann der jeg finner hvile,
og gir meg ny kraft.
Han leder meg på de rette stier
for sitt navns skyld.
Selv om jeg går i dødsskyggens dal,
frykter jeg ikke for noe vondt.
For du er med meg.
Din kjepp og din stav, de trøster meg.
Du dekker bord for meg
like for øynene på mine fiender.
Du salver mitt hode med olje,
mitt beger flyter over.
Bare godhet og miskunn
skal følge meg alle mine dager,
og jeg får bo i Herrens hus
gjennom lange tider. "
They seemed reluctant to let go of one another, still holding hands as they stepped back to allow the nurses to pull the cooling blankets up over Greg. The nurses maneuvered the bed out and down the hall. Their last glimpse of Greg was that of his spiky hair as the elevator doors closed.
"He'll make it." Grissom reiterated.
oOo
Ella was exhausted, she slept fitfully on a couch in the waiting room, waking with a start whenever anyone came near. Jodi and Catherine had both tried to get her to eat something but she'd refused, saying her stomach was too upset to keep anything down except the sprite Sara had given her. She clutched the Greg bear to her chest, praying quietly. Ella smiled when Sara joined her, she'd been surprised that the young woman had evidently been able to understand enough of the Norwegian words to say the Lord's Prayer in English as Ella prayed.
"He is my only child." She gazed sadly at Sara as they held hands. "I cannot keep him beside me for always but I do not wish him to go where I cannot follow."
"Gregars has always been one to explore." said Olaf. "He looked for excitement in New York and California and when he tired of that he moved here. This is where he has been happiest I think. He says there is plenty of time later to settle back in Norway and raise a family."
"Can you imagine," Catherine laughed, "trying to keep up with little Gregs?"
"That would be a full time job." Nick grinned.
"A job I look forward to." said Ella. "Grandchildren keep you young."
"Children make you feel old." Catherine said. "Lindsey will be old enough to drive in a couple of years, going off to college…"
"They may go, but they are never far away." Ella patted Catherine's hand. "They come back."
Catherine's eyes sparkled with unshed tears, "I'm supposed to be comforting you."
"Strength comes of sharing." Ella said. The telephone in the waiting area rang, Ella picked it up hesitantly; as if handling a dangerous animal. "Hello?" she answered. "I am Ella Sanders." The bear she been holding dropped from her arms, landing on the floor, face down. "Yes. No, no I'll take care of it. Thank you." She hung the phone up and her shoulders shook as she cried.
Olaf sat down beside her, speaking softly in their native language.
After a few moments, Ella wiped a hand across her eyes, "There is a funeral home nearby?" she asked. "I must make arrangements."
taz3: Oops! My bad…
ladyjr16: Thanks for the cookie, I'm not easy but I can be had…
castra: YIKES! I'm prodding the muse but she's in a foul mood, she tells me to kill Greg!
radioactive raccoony: WB! I'll try to update soon since this was so short.
Annibal: Muhahahahaha! Thank you! You are an awesome writer, I wish I had more time to keep up with. Yes, chaos and destruction – it's my hobby.
Lins: Thank you, you too! I promise to update if you will.
tvspaz626: Oopsie! runs
bree1387: Do I know you from the Harperchondriacs? I suck at writing romance (smut I'm so-so at) and I love a good friendship piece. I'm Greg angst monger so come on back if you'd like more.
Sillie: Thank you! I hope you still like it after this chapter… ducks and runs
Matteic: Whoops! I kinds forgot to attach the R2R on the last one. Life is full of twists and turns and ya gotta watch that first step, and the next one, and the next one and …
xCrimsonxBlackxBloodx: My Friend! How's this for a cliffie or at least a really mean ending for the chapter? Am I overloading you with the Gregsmacking?
McKenna and his Dad are on my list of loose ends to tie up before it's all said and done, hopefully that will be soon, the muse is getting … difficult and … smutty.
Ze Queen Of Bleu: Sorry I didn't update sooner and it is shorter than I'd like to have made it but the muse is not cooperating
Fwe: It's only three miles long? I must be loosing my fondness for commas!