ACID BATH
Chapter 9
"Why," Mrs. Marriott asked, looking away from the video screen after a moment. "Why would someone be so cruel?"
Warrick helped her from the floor to sit on the sofa. "We don't know yet, but we are doing all we can to find this guy." After long moments of silence, he continued. "How did you get this tape?"
"It --- it was in the mail…appeared to be hand delivered," she stammered.
"Same as before," he muttered and frowned.
"Someone else got one of these?"
"Gil Grissom, the judge's cousin."
Mrs. Marriott's hand went to her mouth in surprise. "That poor man," she sympathized. "It must have devastated him."
PPPPP
The resident listened to the gurgles in Brina's lungs and then to her sluggish heart sounds. "One hundred percent O2 mask," he ordered.
"BP 215/160, doctor," the nurse announced.
"Digoxin 400 micrograms IV and start her on Coreg 3.125 mg b.i.d.," he turned to Grissom. "What happened?"
"I—I don't know. She was sleeping. She said something about drowning when she woke up gasping. I thought it was just a nightmare, but her breathing—"
"Sometimes a person's physical symptoms in corporate themselves into their dreams," the resident informed. "The PE is recurring. I don't know how much more of this her heart can take."
"Doctor—" the nurse called sharply as they placed Brina on a heart monitor, "v-tach!
"Someone page Dr. Cowen," the resident ordered. He then nodded to another nurse, who gently pushed Grissom out into the hallway, guiding him to the waiting area.
"You'll have to wait here," she instructed.
"But—"
"We're doing what we can. I'll come back for you as soon as she's stable."
QQQQQ
Catherine rushed into the ER behind the stretcher Sara lay on, visions of head trauma ticking away in her mind. Sara had to be all right. She was like the daughter Grissom never had. If anything happened to her—
"Doctor Cowen to ICU stat," the voice on the PA system interrupted her thought. Catherine froze in her tracks. That was Judge Grissom's doctor. Had something else happened?
In her mind, she knew she should stay with Sara, but her heart wanted to be with Gil. They had been friends for a long time. Instinctively, she knew he needed her support. She packed through the glass doors of the treatment room to see Sara was awake, an irritated look on her face. They made eye contact and Sara mouthed one word, "Go." She must have heard the page, too. After informing the desk nurse where she would be, Catherine ran for the nearest elevator, getting off at ICU.
She stopped short at the waiting room door, watching Gil's heaving shoulders, realizing something was very wrong. She had never seen the Bugman like this, not even when Nick was buried alive. They called him "Gruesome Grissom" at the lab. They would have changed their tune quickly at seeing this side of him.
Finally, her legs came back to life as she crossed to the sofa, reaching out a hand to touch his shoulder. He stood and turned away, quickly moving to peer out the windows and down to the parking lot. "Gil," she whispered, not needing to say more. Because of their deep friendship, he could read the word for what it was—comfort and question in one. He bowed his head and sighed, wiping lingering tears away with his thumb.
"The nurse sent me out," he began. "I—I can't just sit here. I've got to know what's happening."
"What happened?"
"She woke up gasping for air. The resident said the pulmonary edema had recurred."
Catherine knew if they couldn't get the swelling in her lungs under control, it would effect Brina's heart. She could even die. They had to find the person responsible. Catherine also needed to get Gil focused on something other than his fear, but how was she going to tell him the latest news?
RRRRR
He watched her as she came through the door, such a striking woman in her navy pin-striped suit. She kicked off her red four inched spiked heels, pulling her curly red hair up in a bun as she did so. Her muscles rippled through her arms as she pulled off the jacket, hanging it really on a wooden hanger, then pulling off the skirt and clipping it to the rod beneath the jacket. Her lacy white blouse she pulled off and tossed into the hamper along with her silky bra and briefs.
Pulling on a dark silk robe, she checked herself in the mirror. She was such a Venus in the nude, he could hardly contain himself. He took a long, silent breath to contain his emotions.
He could hear water running in the background as she moved from the bedroom to the bathroom. He watched as she disrobed and made her way slowly down into the water. Turning off spigots as she did. Steam rose from the bubbly water as she immersed herself completely into its soothing foam.
xxxxxxx
Hope you enjoy this chapter. I will continue soon. Please continue to review and let me know anything, good or bad, you see in this.