Chapter 2: The Quad
Katherine Warrick, Nick, Greg, and the rest of the grave shift and swing shift members stood milling about in the central Lab area. Ecklie looked at the group in sympathy. He knew the 4 that would take it the hardest. "People, people, I'm afraid I have some bad news. It seems that Supervisor Gil Grissom and Ms. Sara Sidle have been attacked and are now at the local hospital. To make up for their absences we will need to...Hey! You four! Get back here! That's a direct order! Hey!" Ecklie was wasting his breath. Katherine, Warrick, Nick, and Greg were already out the door at a run.
The nurse at the desk was very taken aback when four very flushed faces exploded in and asked where they could wait for news on Gil Grissom and Sara Sidle. When she told them that the third floor was the ICU and OR they took off and the nurse smiled. It was nice to see people that had friends that really cared about them.
The four sat in the third floor waiting room in silence. The tension of it stretched between them, pulled thin, but they were all thinking. Incidentally the same thought. "It could have been me" Greg and Warrick both sat in chairs while Nick and Katherine shared a very small couch, their thighs pressing against each other.
A too-clean doctor came out and looked around, stating "Anyone for... Mr. Gil Grissom and Ms. Sara Sidle?" The four jumped up and rushed over to him. He looked at their faces, trying to think of how to tell them what had happened. "Gil Grissom is still in operation, but the huge milestones have been overcome. The bullet in his chest has been removed, and his heart has been reconstructed. The wound to his shoulder was less severe, but due to the amount of blood lost he is incredibly weak and in shock. They should be just finishing up on him as we speak. Ms. Sidle's main artery in her thigh was nicked with another bullet, but through many blood transfusions we were able to save her leg. She will be mostly unable to walk for an extended period of time, but should recover fully in the future. She saved both their lives, if she hadn't used her recources they would both be dead at this moment. I will keep you updated, and you should be able to see them within the hour."
The doctor saw as he had so many times before, a huge sense of relief breaking the tenseness on the faces of the four. "They will be put in room 308 when the surgery is over, feel free to wait here." nodding to them and waving off their thank-you's he exited the room through those foreboding double doors.
The quad went back to their seats and began to talk.
"That was intense" Warrick stated, leaning back in his chair. "I didn't know what to think..."
Greg looked over at him, the smile so often found on his face completely absent. "Yeah...can you imagine the lab without those two?"
"Nah," Nick said, his face still tense, "There wouldn't be a lab."
The most affected of the four was still ashen gray. "This happened once before, only the CSI ended up dying...I don't know if I could handle that again..." With that Catherine began to shake, sobbing quietly. Nick felt her trembling and took her small frame into his large comforting one, hugging her close to his chest. Catherine wanted to thank him, but words were beyond even her, as the intensity of the night finally hit her. Nick just sat there, rocking her, and smoothing her hair. They stayed like that for a long time, no one saying anything, as the hour slowly dragged by.
When they went into the double room that Grissom and Sara shared they breathed a collective sigh of relief. They could see for themselves that the two were still on earth. However, they didn't look like they were even alive, the only indication of that the slow beeping of the heart monitor.
When Nick chuckled the other three turned to him amazedly. "I wonder" he said, "What they'll say when we tell them that they were finally sleeping together." The other three smiled appreciatively and looked at the two very still forms lying on their respective beds happy that they were just that ;beds. Not coffins