(Disclaimers et all in first chapter)

CHAPTER TWO

Catherine walked down the bland hallways of the Desert Palms Hospital, a certain blue-eyed man being her incentive for anxiety. She watched as a doctor emerged from his room, shaking his head. Stopping in front of his door, she peered in and what her eyes witnessed tore at her heart. "Oh Gil…" She whispered to herself, aching to ease his pain. She opened the door and stepped in quietly, just standing and observing his form; he was lying on his back, his head tilted to the side, facing in the opposite direction. She remained, observing him in his sleep.

"You can come in, you know." Gil said suddenly, not facing her direction. He cocked his head to the side, listening to the shuffling that was occurring a few feet away.

"How did you know?" Catherine asked, a little surprised.

"The way you move." He smiled a little. "Your shampoo…" He knew she had grabbed a curl and brought it to her nose, inhaling her own scent to prove his statement wrong. "Also blind hope that you would come." He cringed slightly at his slip-up, dropping his voice a little.

"Do the doctors know you're awake?"

He chuckled morosely. "No."

"But there was one just in here - how could he have not known?" She listened to the heart monitor, the constant tone beginning to comfort her body.

He shrugged, sitting up in his bed. "I pretended to be asleep." His lips finally curved downwards, fighting the fake smile he tried desperately to obtain. "I hate the fact that I need someone, Cath." He admitted, finally facing her.

"We all need someone to help us from time to time, Gil." She brought her hand to the side of his face, her fingers barely brushing the bandage wrapped around his eyes. "You know I'll always be here for you…"

"I'm not used to it." He stated, bordering on childish. "But," he leaned into her touch, "I'm glad that it's you."

She smiled at him, and they fell into a comfortable silence; Gil just listening to her breathe, and Catherine just staring at his cloth-covered eyes. She missed his blues terribly and wanted desperately to catch sight of them one last time.

"So..."

She glanced up, meeting his bandaged eyes. The scraping of her chair echoed through the room as she drew herself nearer.

"Did you speak to the doctor?" He tried to sound casual, but she could make out the nerves tingling in his voice.

She nodded, pressing her lips together, unable to speak.

He more than felt her response, he dropped his head to his chest, his words almost lost to her. "What did he say?"

"Why didn't you ask him when he came in earlier, Gil?"

He shrugged lethargically, slowly easing his head on his pillow. "I didn't trust my reactions..."

She smiled slightly, touched that he trusted himself around her - that she gave him a small amount of courage to press on.

"So...what's the verdict?"

Her eyes were cast downwards, and she knew her voice was not strong enough to carry words. "Um...that you've been," she let out a sigh, trying to delay his pain, "you've been blinded." She swallowed hard, the simple act of searching comfort in his eyes still an automatic response. However, a white gauze bandage shed no light on his emotions.

"How did it happen?"

A tear escaped, scared at the eery calm tone his voice held. "When the suspect pushed that shelving unit on you...there was a flask of acid located there." She paused, trying to assess his reaction. "It shattered and..." She brought her chair even closer, grasping his hand. Her eyes drifted to his non-responsive hold. "Gil?"

Moments passed and she saw him turn his head, following her voice. He didn't speak immediately and she could tell he was fighting hard to keep his emotions in check. "What?"

"I'm so sorry Gil..." She whispered, bringing his knuckles up to her lips. "It should have been me. I should have been the one to -" She admitted, tears now evident in her voice.

" - better me than you." He replied honestly, finally offering some strength back to her. "Lindsey, you...you've been through so much already." He let out a sad sigh, silently enduring the burning sensation behind his eyes, feeling as though his tears carried minute amounts of acid every time they were shed. "Me...this only affects me."

"And me." Catherine cut in, without missing a beat. "And Lindsey, and the team..even your God-forsaken critters!" She attempted a joke, trying only to win some emotion from him. She drew her knees to her chest, her hand still gripping his, unwilling to break contact.

"Is it permanent? ...the damage?" He asked in a leveled voice, seemingly searching for statistics rather than sentiments.

"They don't know." Again, her voice dropped to a whisper. "But the doctor said that flushing your eyes has decreased the damage." She offered, knowing it was futile. She turned suddenly, watching as the doctor entered, followed by a slightly nurse.

"Mr. Grissom? I'm doctor Francis - glad to see you are awake. We were beginning to get a little worried." He smiled, the humour in his tone revealing his knowledge of the staged slumber that had occurred earlier. "I'll be checking in on you periodically throughout the night, so we can assess the damage." He reached for the bandage. "Let's take a look, shall we?"

Catherine strained to see, but quickly glanced away, witness to his pain. Her eyes finally traveled back to his, scanning them despite knowing that he saw nothing but darkness. His lovely blues were now paled to a baby blue, almost daring to a white shade. She gave his hand a reassuring squeeze.

"Okay, well," the doctor cleared his throat, "you are legally blind as of now, but I do have news."

"Good news or bad news?" Catherine asked anxiously, sitting up in her chair.

The doctor shrugged. "Neither...I can't say for sure, but the next week will be crucial, and either his restoration or deterioration will decide his future."

The doctor took leave, after having applied a new bandage, allowing Catherine to remain watching over Gil. She let her fingers dance through his curls and then down over his covered eyes. "Sleep..." She coaxed him, her hand now cupping his cheek. "I'll be here when you wake..." She listened to his heart rate slow, keeping an even rhythm and waited until she knew that he had indeed given in to slumber's demand.

Bending over the bed, she released her emotions, weeping openly for the trials this man had to overcome - for the tragedy he had to face and finally vowing to be with him for every breath he took, no matter the outcome. "I'll always be here, Gil..." She whispered, as exhaustion finally tempted her into an unwelcome sleep.

–TBC–