Confessions on the Rooftop
By Henrika

Henrika- I'm glad this fic is going over well. Considering that it is still Valnetine's Day for another hour or two, I give you all the gift of angst and further depth on how I'm torturing Greg. With love of course. Enjoy and Review!

Chapter 2

"Dr. Grissom?"

"Yes?"

"I'm Dr. Harper. I've been treating Mr. Sanders." The gray-haired doctor held out his hand and Grissom shook it, standing up from the uncomfortable plastic chair he had been sitting in for the better part of two hours.

"How is he?"

"One moment, if you don't mind." The man flipped open a file folder he had had under his arm and flicked through a few sheets before landing on the one he wanted. "Ah yes, here we go. You see, the hospital get awfully upset if I release information to people if they aren't on the list. And you're on the list."

He turned the folder to face Grissom and Gil read his name, which was right under "Olaf Hojem" and before "Nick Stokes", "Sara Sidle", "Catherine Willows", and "Warrick Brown". He remembered Greg talking about a Papa Olaf and was shocked to find that he was the only family member listed. When Greg had been in the lab explosion, he hadn't given any thought to the fact that no one had come to see him.

"Anyways, would you like to sit down? There are some things I'd like to discuss with you. You're his boss, correct?'

"Yes." Grissom nodded and sat down, the doctor sitting behind him.

"Good, good." Harper said genially, flipping through his folder again. "Well, good news first. Mr. Sanders is stable now, though he's still unconscious."

Grissom let out a breath he hadn't realized he had been holding. "And the bad news?"

"I'm afraid there's a lot of that. Normally, I would say this was a case of exhaustion that had progressed just a bit farther than we like. But…"

"But?"

The doctor's smile dissolved. "The symptoms are too severe. This wasn't just a case of overworking, though that was the catalyst for this episode. This has been going on for quite awhile now. He's underweight. Severe fatigue is obvious. His ribs are bruised, probably from the fall. He coughed up blood for a good half-hour before we managed to stop it. We were thinking a mild case of pneumonia and then the excessive coughing to explain that. I had to go back and comb his records to explain the extensive scarring on his back."

"There was an explosion, a few years ago. The crime lab." Grissom said meekly.

"Hmm. I seem to remember the burn ward doctors talking about something like that. He was the one?"

"Yes. So is he going to be alright?"

"He's very ill Dr. Grissom. We've got him on IV to replace the blood and nutrients he's lost. He's on morphine to ease the pain because he managed to tear up his throat pretty badly with all that coughing. There's a tube down his throat to help him breathe. We have him heavily sedated to combat the fatigue, something of a 'healing sleep'. We think he'll make a full recovery, but he's going to have to change his life and work habits if he doesn't want a relapse. As it is, it'll be at least a week before we release him, barring any complications. After that, he'll probably need someone to watch over him for awhile."

The doctor smiled again, the grim look disappearing. He watched Grissom struggle with the information for a moment. "I didn't see it." He said quietly. "I was right next to him and I didn't see it."

"People rarely see things when they gradually change. You didn't notice because you were so close."

"Can I see him?"

"Of course. He'll likely be asleep for several more hours though."

"That's fine."

"Right this way then." They stood and begin walking down the hall, Dr. Harper pausing occasionally to issue orders to passing nurses. "Do you happen to know Mr. Sander's living situation?"

Grissom realized he didn't. He had never seen where Greg lived, though he knew the address. "No."

"Ah. Well, Mr. Sanders and I are going to have a long talk when he comes around."

"Greg." Grissom almost absentmindedly corrected. "His name is Greg."

"Yes. Well, here he is. Visiting hours are open-ended, so you're welcome to stay with him."

"Thank you Doctor."

"Look after him, will you? He's awfully young to have gone through so much."

"I'll try." Dr. Harper nodded and they shook hands again before the doctor walked away and Grissom quietly pushed open the door to Greg's hospital room.

Grissom was used to seeing horrible things. He just hadn't realized till Nick's ordeal how much it affected him when it was someone he knew.

And seeing the normally vibrant young man lying nearly as pale as the white sheets made something in his heart clench painfully. Three IV lines ran into Greg's left arm, where bruises were already forming. There was an oxygen line taped over his mouth and his face was expressionless, smoothed out by the sedatives. Grissom pulled up a chair by his bed, sitting quietly there for a moment before he nervously reached out and gripped Greg's hand. "I'm sorry Greg. I didn't realize how bad it was. I should have reminded you that my door was open. I should of…" Grissom stopped, unfamiliar with the feelings of guilt. Emotional response wasn't something he was familiar with and wasn't his forte. He caught sight of his watch as he moved his wrist and realized his team was still waiting for the news he had just received. "I'll be right back."

He slipped out the door and picked Catherine's cell phone out of his phone directory. It rang once before she answered. "Willows."

"Catherine, it's me."

"Grissom! How is he? Is he okay?"

"He's stable, but apparently he's been pushing himself way too hard. He's very ill. The doctor said that he coughed up blood for a half-hour and his throat is shredded because of it. "

"God." He heard her whisper. He knew that Catherine had never quite managed to separate Greg's youth from her motherly instincts, though she rarely hesitated to give him the responsibility he deserved. "Is he going to be alright?"

"They think so, but they're taking a 'wait-and-see' philosophy. How's shift going?"

"Quiet, thankfully. And it's almost over. You're at Desert Palms right?"

"Yeah. It's room 307."

"We'll come as soon as shift ends. I already called one of Lindsey's friends' mother and she's getting taken to school. Warrick called his wife and Nick and Sara are both coming."

"He's under sedation right now." Grissom pointed out.

"We're still coming."

"I'll see you then." He flipped his phone shut and put it back in his belt.

He sighed as he looked through the small glass window at the man he knew, yet knew little about. He was a scientist and it was his job to understand each and every puzzle piece that he unearthed.

He just never realized how much harder people were to understand than crime scenes.

Henrika- Ah, Grissom is being introspective. And Greg wakes up in the next chapter! Yea!