Author's Notes: Thank you to everyone who replied, you guys are honestly the best readers a writer could hope for. Please let me know you're still reading, I enjoy reading your comments. And for that one superb writer (you know who you are) who taught me the fine art of cliffhangers...this one's for you.

Jenny

Chapter Four:

"Sara?" Greg murmured, finding the warmth that had surrounded him had significantly decreased, "Sar?"

The world shifted beneath him, and he weakly opened his eyes, shadows visible through his blurry vision. "Sara?"

"Don't worry about your friend, we're taking good care of her." A soothing voice replied, "We're going to get you out of here."

Greg relaxed slightly, not resisting as the nameless voice strapped his arms to the stretcher, slipping an oxygen mask over his face. He tried to turn his head towards the direction Sara had been laying, but the rescue worker stopped him, gently advising him to keep still until they could get his injuries assessed. As he drifted back into unconsciousness, his thoughts were on Sara. The rescue team arriving was surely a relief, but having them there didn't ensure Sara's well-being. With a soft moan, he stopped fighting and let his eyes droop closed once more.

—

"Greg!" Catherine exclaimed as the rescue team appeared through the rubble carrying a stretcher, "Look!"

Catherine's announcement got the attention of Warrick and Nick, who had been talking to the bomb squad. They had unwillingly been assigned to the case by Grissom, who had then disappeared with the Engineering crew. With a quick, "excuse me" to the bomb technician, Nick took a few steps towards the waiting ambulance, knowing that was the location he was most likely to get a good look at the younger CSI.

Following his lead, Catherine and Warrick also moved towards the ambulance. All three gasped when they saw the condition the young CSI was in. The left leg of his jeans were torn off, the remaining fabric bloody and covered in dust and soot. The leg itself was a dark shade of purple and blue, with a deep gash going from his calf to his ankle. The rest of his clothing had been ripped slightly, bruises scattered up and down his pale arms and cheeks. On his face he wore an oxygen mask, his eyes closed and limbs limp.

"Is he--?" Nick asked, taking a step closer to his friend, resisting the urge to reach out and touch him.

The paramedics took over, loading him into the ambulance while quickly assessing his injuries and vital signs, while the rescue workers headed back to the house.

One worker stopped, turning back to Nick, Warrick, and Catherine, who was staring helplessly as the paramedics worked on their friend. Jogging to them, she held her hand out to Nick, "Jessica Morrow, I was the one who did the initial work-up on your friend."

"Is he--?" Nick began again, unable to finish his thought as his voice clouded with tears.

Jessica shook her head, "No, no. I'm pretty sure he's going to be alright. He's got a definite break of his left leg, and probably a concussion, but I don't see any indication of more serious internal complications. He seemed more worried about his friend than anything else."

"She's his wife." Warrick muttered, receiving shocked looks from both Catherine and Nick. With a shrug, he motioned towards the house, "Sara...the other victim...is she..."

Jessica bit her lip, looking from the wreckage back to Warrick, "She's alive, but she's got a lot of injuries and her vitals aren't very steady. It's taking a bit longer to get her out, because of the position her body was in--we don't want to aggravate any possible back injuries."

"Oh God." Catherine murmured quietly, "This is..."

"I know." Nick replied, nodding towards Jessica as she hurried back towards the ruins of the house, "I can't believe this is happening, haven't we been through enough already?"

"I'm going to ride with Greg." Catherine said quietly, taking one last look at the house before climbing into the ambulance, taking Greg's hand into her own as the sirens began to wail and the vehicle lurched into gear.

Meanwhile, Warrick looked at the house solemnly, hating that he was stuck waiting for news while one of his friends was trapped in the remains of this house.

Nick stood next to Warrick, his arms crossed while he tried to fight feelings of hysteria. Closing his eyes for a moment, he had to remind himself to breathe and remain calm. He wouldn't be helpful to anyone if he started to fall to pieces right now.

"Married?" Nick asked after a few moments of silence, "When did they get married?"

Warrick didn't take his eyes away from the building as he replied, "A few weeks ago they both took the night off--remember? We had a triple and Grissom had a fit because he couldn't reach either of them?"

"Yeah."

"They went to a justice of the peace that night. I tried calling them the next morning, I guess I was worried because no one had talk to them...Greg told me not to tell anyone. I guess they're afraid they'll be sent to different shifts or something." Warrick replied, shaking his head sadly, "She has to be okay. If she's not, Greg's going to be destroyed."

"Tell me about it." Nick replied, his heart heavy. Two of his best friends were married and he had no idea? And now both were faced with the possibility of losing a spouse. Could things possibly get any worse? He glanced over to the bomb squad tech, who was now talking to a detective, "Where's the idiot who secured the scene?"

Warrick motioned towards the group of police cars, "Somewhere with them. From what I've heard, the officer forgot to check the closets. Rookie mistake."

"Mistake that shouldn't have happened." Nick replied darkly, remembering his own run ins with criminals. "They're here to protect us."

Seeing the grim look on Nick's face, Warrick decided it was time for a change of subject, "Greg's going to be pissed that I spilled the beans about him and Sara."

"I didn't even realize they were that serious." Nick replied with a nod, "I knew they were dating, but I thought it was just something casual. I had no idea they were even thinking about marriage."

"They've been together over a year, Nick." Warrick reminded him, "You didn't know that they had moved in together?"

"Didn't she say that her lease was up and she was just staying with him until finding a place of her own?"

"Well, I'm guessing she found a place...Greg's place." Warrick replied, "Do you think she's going too--"

Warrick was cut off by a flurry of activity near the house. He barely noticed as Nick muttered Sara's name, both of them hurrying towards the commotion. By the time they reached the edge of the house, Grissom had shown up as well.

"Everyone back up, give us some room!" One of the rescue workers demanded, "We need a medic down here, now!"

--

Greg opened his eyes, very aware of the pain coursing through every inch of his tired body. Blinking a few times before his blurry vision became clear, he was able to sense a presence in his room.

"Sara?" He whispered, his throat dry and irritated. "Where--"

A cup of water graced his lips, and he greedily took a few long sips before letting his eyes trail to the source of the comfort. He was surprised to see both Catherine and Warrick standing over him. "What--?"

"You're at the hospital, do you remember what happened?" Catherine asked soothingly, gently squeezing his hand. Seeing him wince as he tried to move, she quickly asked, "Are you in pain? Warrick, go get a doctor."

"No, no." Greg replied weakly, "Is Sara okay?"

Catherine stroked his hair gently with one hand, squeezing his hand again with the other, "Don't you worry about Sara right now. Everything's going to be okay. You gave us quite a scare, you've been out since you got here."

"What time is it?" Greg asked curiously, although he had nothing to really compare it to, since he didn't know when he had been taken out of the house. "My leg--"

"It's very, very late." Catherine soothed, "And your leg is broken. They set it when they brought you in, we suggested a hot pink wrap--"

"Don't listen to her--" Warrick interjected with a short pause, "It was lilac."

Seeing Greg's horrified look, Catherine shook her head, "We're just kidding, it's plain white...they also gave you stitches, you had a pretty nasty cut. They're underneath the cast, but they're dissolving ones, so I wouldn't even worry about it."

"Do you need some pain medication?" Warrick asked worried from the foot of the bed, "Something else to drink?"

"My head hurts." Greg admitted, bringing his hand to his head and marveling at how heavy it felt, "Did they get Sara out?"

"I told you, everything's okay. Don't worry about Sara, she's being taken care of." Catherine replied, "And your head hurts because you have a pretty bad concussion. I'll go get something from the nurse for you to take. Do you need anything else?"

"Just Sara." Greg murmured, his eyes growing heavy. The door shut behind her, and Greg fought to keep his eyes open long enough to look at Warrick.

"...'Rick?"

"Yeah, man?" Warrick replied, his voice filled with concern.

Greg let his eyes fall closed as he mumbled, "Cath--she's not answering me. Sara, is she alive?"

TBC