Author's Notes: Happy Thursday (a day which, I'm convinced, is the best day of the week). It is only 7 hours and 15 minutes until CSI. Yay!

Replies make me smile, and I torture Greg and Sara less when I smile. So, reviews would be great. :-) Never above bribery.

Jenny

Chapter Five:

"Sara, is she alive?" Greg mumbled, almost to the brink of sleep.

Warrick patted Greg's uninjured leg reassuringly, "She's in good hands."

Greg drifted back into unconsciousness, leaving Warrick to sink into the nearby chair, groaning softly. He hated to see his friend like this, in so much pain, unsure of what was going on. How was he supposed to tell him about the injuries Sara had sustained, the uncertainty that she'd even pull through surgery. When he was coherent enough to realize it, how would he tell his friend that the person who put him in this bed had gotten away?

Catherine opened the door, glancing at Greg, then Warrick, "He's asleep?"

"Yeah, he's pretty wiped out. Found a doctor?"

"They're going to bring some medications for his IV. What did you tell him about Sara?" Catherine asked quietly, "Are we supposed to lie to him? I mean, the doctors told us to keep him calm, and he's going to be anything but--"

"I know." Warrick interrupted, "I guess we just have to sugar-coat the truth if he asks. Have you seen Grissom or Nick?"

Catherine shook her head sadly, "I think they're still in the emergency room waiting area. I'll go check with them, see if they know anything."

"I'm going to call Brass and see if they've caught that bastard yet." Warrick said, standing as Catherine walked to the door, "Want some coffee or anything?"

Catherine shook her head, "I'm good. Be back in a few."

Catherine walked out of Greg's hospital room, shutting the door behind her. With a sad shake of the head, she walked to the elevators, leaning her head against the cool metal panel as she waited for it to reach her floor. Waiting was the worst part. You could try and rush the rescue teams, you can try to rush the doctors, but you can never speed up time. The elevator doors opened, and Catherine looked up, surprised to see Nick and Grissom standing in front of her.

"Sara?"

"She's still in surgery. The doctor agreed to come to Greg's room to give us an update. How's he doing?"

"He woke up for a few minutes, asking about Sara." Catherine replied, leading them towards Greg's room, "He seemed pretty disoriented, and went right back to sleep."

Grissom nodded, "Recovery is a process, it will take him some time to regain his strength."

--

Greg awoke with a start, giving a relieved sigh when he realized that he was still safe in his hospital room, despite the nightmare he had just experienced. He turned his head to the side, surprised to see Grissom and Nick accompanying Catherine and Warrick in his room.

"Sara?"

"She's still in surgery, Greg, but the doctor should be by soon for an update." Grissom replied, his voice calm, "How are you feeling?"

Greg shrugged, looking down at the white blanket covering his bruised body. He traced his finger along the edge, worry settling in the pit of his stomach. He wasn't sure how long he had been asleep, but the changes in lighting from the window confirmed his suspicions that it had been awhile. If she was still in surgery...there was no way that could be a good sign.

Sensing his uneasiness, Nick motioned for the others to leave. Pulling a chair next to Greg, he sat down, waiting until the door shut behind his colleagues to speak, "Hey man, I know this is really weird."

"Tell me about it." Greg replied with a sigh, "I...I don't even know what to say."

"We're just worried about you. You and Sara are lucky to be alive. There were two bomb squad guys who were caught in the explosion and didn't make it." He paused, choosing his words carefully, "I've been in your situation. You probably feel like you're being studied by everyone, you probably have thousands of emotions swirling around inside of you and you don't know what you want to think, say, or feel. That's normal, you've been through a traumatic experience."

Greg silently nodded, refusing to meet Nick's eyes. After a few moments, he said softly, "I'll feel a lot better once I know how my--Sara's doing."

"Your wife?" Nick teased, "Warrick told us."

Greg wiped away a tear that had managed to escape onto his cheek, his face pink with embarrassment, "We wanted to tell you, but..."

"I know, it's something that may be frowned upon by upper management. I don't think so, though, it's not like she's your superior. I wouldn't worry about it. Hell, if I was married to Sara, I'd be screaming it from the rooftops. She's hot, man." Nick replied, squeezing Greg's hand, "Congratulations."

"Thanks."

"She's going to be fine, you know. She's a fighter." Nick said, answering Greg's unspoken concerns, "She had a few broken ribs, they punctured a lung. The lung partially collapsed, and when they brought her out of the house, she was having a lot of trouble breathing. They're repairing the lung, as well as putting pins in her broken arm. It's taking so long because Grissom had one of the best orthopedic surgeons in the state flown out to do the repairs on her arm."

"Pins? That's serious." Greg replied, his hands trembling as his mind flashed back to the explosion. If he hadn't thrown himself on top of her, maybe her ribs wouldn't have penetrated the lung. If he hadn't fallen asleep, maybe he would have known she was having trouble breathing. Was she awake, alone, scared? With a shiver, he looked back at Nick, a frown on his face, "Do they think they'll be muscle or nerve damage?"

"We won't know until she's out of surgery."

"She's going to hate it if she can't fully function with that arm...they won't let her work." Greg replied, "Company policy says you have to be able to lift at least 50 pounds, without muscle strength, she'll never be able to pull that off."

Nick shook his head, "You can't think like that, Greg. Remain optimistic, you have to, for Sara's sake, for your own sanity."

"I don't really want any visitors." Greg said softly, after a short pause, "I mean, continuous visitors. Talking to you, it's okay...but everyone in here at once? It doesn't feel right."

Nick nodded, "Done deal, I'll take care of it. Get some rest, I'll make sure you know the moment we have news on Sara."

"Thanks." Greg replied tiredly, resting his throbbing head against his pillow. He let his eyes close, but jerked them open again as he heard the door open once more.

"Mr. Sanders? I'm Doctor Kline."

"Nice to meet you." Greg replied politely, stifling a yawn. Fighting his heavy eyelids, he waited for the doctor to continue.

Dr. Kline sat down in the chair Nick had vacated, a chart in his hand, "Well, I see here that you were to be kept for observation. How are you feeling?"

"Like a house fell on top of me." Greg replied flatly, disappointed that this was his own doctor, and not Sara's. "I've got a blinding headache, but that's all. My leg doesn't even hurt that badly."

Glancing down at the cast, the doctor nodded, "We had to give you a local anaesthetic before inserting your stitches. Have you been given any medication for your headache?"

Greg lifted his arm, showing the doctor the IV, "I'm assuming..."

"I'll check with the nurse and see what else we can get for you. You're looking great," Dr. Kline said gently, shining a penlight into Greg's eyes, "Good visual response, your speech is fine...It would be safe to say that if nothing changes, you should be able to go home this evening. I'd recommend that you either stay with someone or have someone stay with you, especially if you regularly climb stairs, just until you get the hang of using the crutches. I'm going to prescribe you some pain medication, as well as a low dosage antibiotic. It's only a precautionary measure, since your cut is underneath your cast, there's a higher chance of bacterial growth."

"Thank you." Greg murmured. He was finding it harder and harder to resist shutting his eyes, and as the doctor stood, he smiled down at the younger man, "Get some rest, it's the best healing method there is."

That was the only incentive Greg needed before drifting back to sleep, hoping that happiness, instead of nightmares, awaited him.

--

"Greg, wake up, Greg!"

Greg moaned, pushing away the hand that was resting on his arm. He was too tired to be bothered, and his dreams were too pleasant to be interrupted by this unwelcome voice.

"Greg, wake up!"

"Go away." Greg mumbled, fighting to remain asleep. "It's not time to get up."

As the voice grew more persistent, he managed to crack open his eyes enough to see Catherine's anxious face above his.

"Hmm?" He moaned, rubbing his eyes tiredly as he tried to adjust to the light, "Catherine?"

Catherine squeezed his hand gently, "Greg, wake up, the doctor has some news on Sara."

"Sara?" Greg mumbled, rubbing his eyes as he grew more alert, "How is she?"

"Mr. Sanders, I'm Dr. Ramirez, I was the surgeon that oversaw your wife's surgery..."

TBC