Chapter Two: Another Day

Greg wrung his hands nervously, sitting back down in one of the hard plastic seats that were offered. He was starting to worry…shift started in less than an hour and he was still waiting to see his doctor. It was part of an agreement…no, more of a demand.

Okay, he had to admit that he was concerned as well as the others were, but was it really fair incentive to force him to go to the doctors? After all he had promised he would with the coming weekend, until Grissom informed him that he couldn't work until he was checked out. The appointment had been quickly moved up to the next evening.

Except he was already supposed to be in, and if the receptionist told him one more time that it would only be a few more minutes…Greg supported his head in his hands, staring blankly at the wall. Last night had been more than active, everything had been going fine. Until they started moving stuff, until he started coughing, and couldn't stop.

The harder he tried to shake it off, the longer it lasted. He wasn't even aware that he had passed out, until he woke up on his back, meeting the worried gazes of the other three. Even though he had repeatedly told the others that he was fine, they kept him there, letting him do little more than sit up, until the paramedics arrived.

They said he was fine, suggestion a handful of reasons to why it all had happened. Some seemed reasonable, but it was enough for Greg, who repeated his firm beliefs that he was okay. Even so he was chased home early, with a stern warning from Grissom to get checked out.

His gaze drifted down the hall, where he watched a nurse help an elderly man into a wheelchair. A little girl jumped excitedly near another woman, not too far away, as she reached for a sucker. Greg pursed his lips, wondering where he fit in among everyone else, how all of this worked out.

He took a breath, telling himself to calm down. After all, asthma wasn't the end of the world. He would learn to deal with it; surely it wouldn't affect his work in the field, as long as he was careful, and had an inhaler…right?

He glanced up as his name was called, forcing a smile as he moved to his feet. Hopefully this wouldn't take too long; after all, he still planned on being there for work.

The drive over to the lab had been slow, leaving much room for uncertain thoughts. Greg tried to remain in high spirits, but that was easier said than done. The appointment had gone accordingly, better than he suspected at any rate. It wasn't that he assumed something was wrong, but he would be a fool not too. Still, it wasn't what they had told him, but rather what they hadn't.

He found Grissom in his office, the first stop he made when arriving to the lab. Greg stood there for a minute, watching him work, quickly deciding that he would come back later, another time when Grissom wouldn't be so busy.

"You can come in."

Greg stopped there, anxious to keep on going, but knowing it wasn't the best thing to do. He turned around, entering the office, skirting around the chair along the back wall. Grissom hadn't looked up yet, leaving Greg to do some exploring. He always found his supervisor's office to be…interesting. The items he had sitting on the shelves were more than intriguing.

"You get an okay from the doctors?"

"Yeah…"Greg replied softly, shifting where he stood. "Well, sort of…"

He meet Grissom's wondering gaze, turning away quickly. "They um…they say I seem healthy; they're a little concerned about my blood pressure being so low…other than that…"

"They didn't say anything about your coughing fits?"

Greg shrugged, reaching up to grasp one of the bottles that sat on the shelf, pulling it up to the front. There were several more, all of them holding bugs of different sorts. "They think some of its stress," he commented quietly, his voice dropping even more as he continued on. "They want me to cut my hours back."

"Are you stressed?" Grissom inquired, watching the young man straighten the vials on the shelf one by one.

Greg hadn't faced him the entire meeting, but slowly he slid his hands back into his pockets turning around, forcing out a small chuckle. "At the moment, yeah…a little, with everything, you know. They want me to go back in next week, for more tests."

Grissom nodded, taking in the information slowly. Greg reassured him that it was just to be safe, that they had cut the appointment short due to a busy schedule. Greg had then fallen silent again, meeting his own gaze briefly before turning away.

"We'll cut back your hours then," Grissom started, unsurprised when Greg moved quickly to speak.

"I feel fine," Greg argued, "I'm a little stressed now, I'll admit, but there's nothing wrong.

"I think it would be the best for everyone if you take it easy," Grissom pointed out, watching his facial expressions change. "We can't always be on alert when you go to a scene, it's asking too much of everyone else, and even more from you. We'll just cut your hours back to four a shift until you check out alright."

"Four hours?" Greg questioned incredulous, "That's not even enough time to process a scene, what are you going to do, keep me in the lab as well?"

"Or," Grissom cut in, trying to remain patient, "you can cut down the number of days you work. I'm giving you a choice here."

Greg frowned, his arms crossing his chest as he leaned back against the wall, staring straight ahead. "In others words I don't have one?"

Grissom let out a small smile, watching the younger man. "I'm not trying to punish you Greg," he said quietly. "I'd just rather be safe than sorry. Your health is very important to all of us, and it should be even more so for you. Don't you agree?"

"Yes…" Greg remarked dully, still not moving from his position.

Grissom gave him a long hard stare, raising an eyebrow, "You may want to try and make it sound like you actually do care."

Greg gave him a small smile, nodding. "I see you point," he said softly, "I just don't think it's very fair."

"Go home, get some rest then," he held up a hand as Greg started to argue. "I know you probably didn't sleep all that well after last night, and with the doctors today…you're still edgy. I'll see you tomorrow night."

Greg nodded after a moment, growing quiet. He knew better than to argue further with his boss, but it was ridiculous. After all, he was fine…wasn't he?

TBC