Chapter Seventeen

There is probably nothing worse than waiting and there is no worse location to be waiting in than the hospital. This is the place where life hung in the balance. There are so many variables that could mean the difference between life and death and there is absolutely nothing that you can do to affect the outcome. Everything is left up to fate and all you can do is wait and see what happens.

And that's what Gil Grissom was doing as he sat in his chair in the ER. Waiting.

As he waited, his mind envisioned what was most likely taking place down the hall. He could see a nurse getting a sample of Nick's blood so a match could be found. The IV lines Nick received in the field were now being replaced and he could see the fluids pouring into Nick's body. No doubt a doctor would be trying to find the source of the bleeding and making an attempt to stop it.

'They're probably giving him a blood transfusion by now.' Grissom thought dully.

Of course, in his mind's eye, everything was going smoothly without any complications. In reality, especially given the luck he'd been having, things were probably very dire.

Thankfully, these thoughts were interrupted by the appearance of Catherine hurrying through the door. Warrick, Sara and Greg were hot on her heels. Their faces and demeanors conveyed the state of their worried minds. They had refused to sit on the sidelines while Nick was fighting for his life. They wanted to be as near to him as they could be as a way of offering their support.

Grissom suddenly realized how much Nick meant to his entire team. All this time, he had been thinking about what Nick meant to him, but he meant so much to the team and the individuals who comprised it. What would it do to them and their ability to work together if Nick was lost? Grissom shuddered at this thought and endeavored to push it from his mind.

"How is he?" Catherine asked, rushing to Gil's side.

Grissom shook his head. "I don't know. I'm still waiting."

"What happened, Grissom? How did you even know where he was?" Warrick inquired as the party seated themselves around Grissom.

"I went back to Prosper's office in an attempt to see if we had missed something. I was looking for anything that might give us an indication of where Prosper and his people might be hiding. While I was there, I remembered that William Belanger had co-owned an auto repair warehouse with Max Bridgford. I thought that would be an ideal place for that large of a group to hide so I went to investigate." Grissom told him as weariness started to settle upon him.

He knew that he would have to tell them what had happened, supplying them with enough details so as to not create further questions, but he couldn't bring himself to explain his motivations for risking himself. Only Catherine had any inclination of his true feelings and he prayed that she would have the decency to remain quiet.

Grissom launched into an explanation of what happened when he arrived at the warehouse. He told them how he had met Nick, Nathan, and Donna. He related to the others how Levi had surprised him and triggered the bomb.

"The explosion sent us all to the ground and started the fire. Levi got to his feet and took off. Nathan followed him. I don't know what happened to them. Nick, Donna, and I went to get the Alcott children. On our way back out, we got separated somehow. I made it out with Donna and Allison Alcott and then discovered that Nick and Matthew weren't following me. I tried to go back inside to find them, but the firemen prevented me. So I waited." Grissom rubbed his forehead.

"Brass said Nick was shot. How did that happen?" Sara inquired, a bit confused.

Grissom shook his head. "I don't know. It happened when we got separated. I don't know who did it and I don't know how Nick got away. The firemen found no one else with them."

They all fell silent for a moment before Warrick plucked up the courage to ask, "How bad was it, Grissom?"

Gil lowered his head, not wanting to meet his CSI's eyes. "He was in a lot of pain and he lost a lot of blood."

This statement had a sobering effect on the group and no more questions were asked after that. Instead, they sat back and joined Grissom in the arduous task of waiting. A few attempts were made at light conversation, but for the most part, they remained silent. Somehow, engaging in trivial small talk seemed disrespectful to Nick. Instead, they turned their thoughts inward and reflected on their friend.

Their moments of quiet contemplation were cut short by the arrival of Brad and Patricia Redman. Grissom suddenly realized that he had completely forgotten about Donna. He wondered vaguely how she was doing.

The Redmans made a beeline towards Grissom.

"Mr Grissom, we're sorry to disturb you, but we were told that we could find you here. We wanted to thank you for giving our daughter back to us." Patricia said as she leaned on her husband's arm.

Grissom stood up and took Brad's outstretched hand. "Don't thank me. Nick is the one you should be thanking."

"How is he?" Brad inquired.

"We still don't know." Grissom replied quietly.

The couple fell silent, suddenly feeling awkward as their joy was out of place given the current situation. Wishing to set them at ease, Grissom asked, "How is Donna doing?"

"She's doing just fine. Tired, but fine." Patricia answered with a smile.

"I'm glad to hear that." Grissom responded honestly. "You have a very brave and very selfless daughter. She risked her life to save those children. You should be proud of her."

Brad wrapped his arm tightly around his wife and hugged her close to him. "We are. We're just so thankful to have her back safe and sound."

With a final handshake and another parting word of thanks, the Redmans departed, leaving Grissom to continue waiting without distraction. Minutes turned into hours and still they heard nothing. Finally, when it seemed that they could wait no longer, something happened.

Grissom's attention was caught by the sight of a doctor approaching in his direction. The man's face was unreadable so Grissom couldn't tell if he came bearing good or bad news. Anxiously, Grissom rose to his feet and steeled his nerves for worst.

"Mr. Grissom? I'm Dr. Wilcox." he addressed the CSI. "I've been working on your colleague, Nick Stokes."

"How is he?" Grissom asked, his heart thudding dully in his chest. The rest of the team had huddled around him and they now stood with bated breath as all of their waiting finally came to an end.

"He lost almost three pints of blood, but we're giving him a blood transfusion to replace what was lost. We preformed an exploratory surgery to trace the path of the bullet. It penetrated his stomach, but nothing else. He was very, very lucky in that regard. We repaired the damage caused by the bullet and he's resting now in recovery." Dr. Wilcox finished his summary with a small, reassuring smile.

The invisible weight that had been pressing on Grissom's shoulders lifted at the doctor's words. Relief, sweet relief. Nick was going to be okay.

"When can we see him?" Grissom asked as Catherine snaked a supportive arm around his waist.

"When he wakes up, I'll have a nurse alert you." the doctor replied.

"Thank you, Doctor." Grissom nodded in appreciation.

Catherine's eyes roamed the room, her eyes coming to rest upon the members of her surrogate family. Sara had fallen asleep, her head resting on Greg's shoulder. Greg's head was against the back wall. He, too, was asleep. Warrick was nowhere to be found, having abandoned his chair and taken to roaming the halls in order to ease his anxious mind. Her eyes then flashed to the man sitting next to her. Gil looked dead on his feet yet somehow, he had miraculously managed to stay awake.

There had been a few things weighing on Catherine's heart and she figured now was as good as time as any to say them. They had a quiet moment to themselves right now and who's to say when an opportunity like this would present itself again over the next couple of days? She decided to act now.

"You did a brave thing, trying to save Nick and the others like that." Catherine told him softly.

Grissom shook his head, keeping his eyes fixed on his hands in his lap. "I didn't feel very brave and I didn't really do anything. Nick was the one who stayed calm and thought quickly on his feet. You should have seen him in there, Catherine. It was amazing."

Catherine smiled. "That's Nick, our little hero."

"He is a hero in the truest since of the word. He put every fiber of his being into saving that little boy with no thought to himself. That's how he is in everything he does. He gives and he gives. Not because he has to, not because he wants to look good, but because that's who he is. I guess I didn't really realize that till now." Grissom said quietly. He shook his head in dismay. There were so many things that he hadn't understood about Nick until now.

"He's a good man. He has his flaws, but no one can doubt that his heart's in the right place. I don't think I've ever met anyone as genuine as him." Catherine admitted.

Grissom nodded in agreement.

"So, how are you?" Catherine asked, placing a hand on Grissom's shoulder.

"Relieved." Grissom answered. "You were right, Catherine. About everything. I made a mess of things and all have this could have been prevented if I had just listened to you in the beginning. I'm sorry."

Catherine refrained from verbalizing her agreement and instead chose to say, "Well, Nick's going to be okay. You have a chance to make things right between the two of you."

"I know. I intend to. There's all this stuff I should say to him - stuff I want to say - but I don't know how to say it. I'm not very good at this sort of thing." Grissom shifted his eyes to Catherine, allowing her to see the pain still reflecting in them.

"When the time is right, you'll know how to say it. The important thing is to say it and mean it. After all, what's the use of getting a second chance when you don't take advantage of it?" Catherine told him.

Grissom nodded, taking her words to heart. Yes, what would be the point of all this if he failed to say the words that had been tugging at his heart ever since Nick had gone missing? He wiped a tired hand across his face.

"Gil, go home. You've been here for hours. Goodness knows you've been through enough already. You need to get some sleep. It could be hours before Nick wakes up. I'll stay here." Catherine said gently.

Grissom shook his head stubbornly. He didn't want to go home and sleep. It didn't seem fair to Nick.

"Well at least go home and take a shower and change your clothes. I don't think walking in to see him while still wearing a shirt covered in his blood is a good idea. Besides, the nurse probably wouldn't even let you in anyway. You're so dirty." she told him a bit more forcefully.

Grissom looked down as if only just aware of the state of his clothes. Indeed, they were a mess, covered in ash, soot and blood. He couldn't go in to see Nick looking like this. Catherine was right and this time, he was going to listen to her advice.

"Okay." he agreed as he got to his feet. "I won't be gone long."

"I'll hold down the fort till you get back." Catherine said with a tender smile.

As Grissom moved past her, Catherine reached out and grabbed his hand. He turned to look at her and she stared up at him, squeezing his hand gently.

"Everything's going to be okay." she promised.

Remaining silent, Grissom squeezed her hand in return and made his way out the door.

Catherine sighed as she watched her friend depart. She knew that he was carrying an immense weight on his shoulders. She longed to ease it for him, but knew that wasn't a possibility. Only the reassurance that Nick was truly going to be okay and having the opportunity to speak his mind would do that.

Now that she was alone, Catherine picked up a magazine that was laying on the table next to her and tried to find an article interesting enough to distract her. Unfortunately, no such article existed and she had to content herself with flipping aimlessly through it, stopping only long enough to glance at the pictures and read the captions.

After about twenty minutes of this, she tossed the magazine aside and was about to see where Warrick had wandered off to when she saw a nurse heading in her direction. She got to her feet to greet the nurse.

"He's awake." the nurse said with a small smile. She had been watching the CSIs for last few hours and was glad to finally be able to deliver the news that they could once again be reunited with their friend.

"Can I see him?" Catherine asked hopefully.

The nurse nodded and beckoned for the other woman to follow her. As she did so, Catherine shot a look at her colleagues and half considered sharing with them the good news, but she knew that they'd want to see Nick as well and the last thing she wanted to do was overwhelm him with too many visitors.

The nurse led her to Nick's room and Catherine stepped quietly inside. Her heart plummeted at the sight of Nick, bruised and pale, hooked up to so many machines, but she did not hesitate walking to his bedside. His eyes opened at the sound of her approaching footsteps and he gave a her a weak smile.

"Hey Nicky." she whispered as she grabbed his hand and squeezed it gently. "How are you feeling?"

"Better now that I've got all these painkillers in me." he said.

Catherine laughed softly. "That's good."

"Where's Grissom? Is he okay?" Nick asked, his eyes flickering towards the door.

"He's fine. He left just a little while ago. I forced him to go home and get cleaned up." Catherine smiled at the younger man's thoughtfulness. That was Nick. Always thinking of others.

"Donna and the kids are okay then, too?" he inquired hopefully.

Catherine ran her fingers over Nick's knuckles as a sign of tender affection. "Yeah, Nicky, they're just fine. Thanks to you."

"Where's Nathan? Is he nearby? I'd like to see him. There are a few things I'd like to say to him." Nick told Catherine.

The elation Catherine had been feeling at seeing Nick awake and being able to carry on a conversation faded in an instant. She hesitated, not sure if now was the time to tell him what happened.

Nick sensed her apprehension. "What is it? What's wrong?"

"Nathan didn't make it. I'm so sorry, Nicky." Catherine told him gently.

Nick shook his head in disbelief. "What do you mean? He was right behind me. He was injured but up and moving. He was there. He should have been there."

"I'm sorry." Catherine repeated, tears threatening to escape from the corner of her eyes as she took in Nick's sorrow.

Nick closed his eyes and fell silent. He seemed to be waging an internal battle against a fury of emotions that were threatening to overpower him and it was obvious that he was losing. His eyes opened again and Catherine could see them glistening with unshed tears.

"He saved my life. Levi shot me and I was down. He was going to kill me, but Nathan showed up and shot him. He got me back on my feet and put Matthew in my arms. He told me how to get out of the warehouse. I wouldn't be here if it weren't for him." Nick's voice cracked with emotion.

Feeling overcome with guilt and shame, Nick turned his head away from Catherine and stared at the wall. He whispered, "I should have checked. I should have made sure he was behind me. Why didn't I?"

"It wasn't your fault, Nick. You were injured and you lost a lot of blood. There was nothing you could have done. The firemen just barely got to you in time." Catherine tried to offer him some comfort, but Nick refused to be comforted.

As Nick's exhausted body gave way to the overwhelming sorrow he was feeling, Catherine joined him in his grief, never letting go of his hand.

Author's Note: Special thanks to my good friend, Kristen999, who helped me with the medical terms and procedures. I truly appreciated it as well as you!