AN: Special thanks to Erynn for betaing so quickly!
PS: It will all work out, don't panic during this chapter, you know I want GSR all the way!
Magenta Skies
Chapter 3
His head hurt more than ever, but as he started to become more alert, the pain in his leg became overwhelming. He felt a warm fabric draped around most of his body, and without opening his eyes, he knew that he was no longer bleeding to death along the highway. What scared him the most was that he couldn't remember anything after the accident; this moment was indeed his first new memory.
Sara's painful scream of "Grissom!" in the distance, was the last thing he had heard. His heart monitor began to show the signs of his new stress, as he wondered if Sara was alright or not. His eyes bolted open to find himself confined to a hospital bed. Nick was the first to notice the entomologist's consciousness.
"Where's Sara? Is she alright?" He could hardly breathe as scenarios ran through his psyche.
"Hold on, Gris. Stop panicking; you're fine. Just breathe slowly." Nick replied as he motioned for Greg and Warrick to come into the room.
Catherine was with Lindsay in the cafeteria; her daughter had not eaten in days. Everyone had neglected the simple necessities ever since the accident; they thought they had lost Grissom for good.
"Tell me where she is, Nick!" Gil tried to get up, but a sharp thumping pain in his head kept him from completing the task.
"Where is who?" Warrick wondered. He knew Grissom had hit his head hard, but now he was beginning to fear that his injuries may have affected his entire memory.
"Do I look like I want to be playing games?" Grissom protested.
He couldn't understand it. Hadn't he been through enough? All he wanted to do was wrap his arms around his Sara and never let her go. He wasn't asking for much, unless she was injured worse than he was.
"Dr. Grissom, we were worried sick. You've been out for a while." The attending doctor stated as he entered the room. The shiny nametag was engraved with the name of Dr. Gregory Heliotrope. His salt and pepper locks gave Grissom the hint that he had been in the field for a while.
"How long was I-I unconscious?" Grissom stammered.
"You've been out about three days. You sustained a minor skull fracture and there was some swelling in your brain. We actually didn't expect you to wake yet; it's a good sign that you're improving so quickly." The doctor flashed a small light in the entomologist's eyes as they spoke to one another.
"Where is Sara?" Gil asked once more, looking around the room noting everyone's confused expressions.
"Dr. Grissom, the police never found anyone else at the scene. You appeared to be the only one that was in the vehicle." The doctor stepped back as Grissom looked like he was about to throw up.
"This can't be possible. Oh, God…what happened to her? Why isn't anyone telling me anything? Are they trying to protect me? Is she..." Grissom thoughts trailed off when he felt himself gag and panic overtake him.
"What's happening?" Greg whispered to the group.
He had never seen Grissom so distraught; he thought these were symptoms of his head injury maybe, so he tried to remain calm for the rest of the team.
The doctor backed off, as a nurse took over. He walked over to the team across the room.
"He's having a panic attack. I don't want to sedate him due to the extent of his injuries, so I'm going to try to help him calm down. Do any of you know a 'Sara'?" All that the doctor received were blank stares in return.
"We don't know anyone named Sara at the lab, although Gris's a pretty private guy. He could've had a girl that we don't know about." Warrick announced.
It was the truth; Warrick was a good friend of Grissom, especially after everything they had been through. If it wasn't for Grissom, Warrick could have lost his job due to his gambling habit: a mistake that would have cost him his career. He would do anything for Grissom; he just wished he knew how to help him now.
The doctor made his way back to Grissom and tried to calm him down.
"Gil, listen to me very closely and take some deep breaths, if you want to find out about Sara. We need you to calm down, so we can ask you some questions." The doctor's voice seemed faint as the ringing in Grissom's ears grew louder.
Grissom felt dizzy and barely staying conscience. He felt the room spin rapidly as he felt someone's hand in his, the hand felt familiar and filled him with comfort.
"Sara?" Grissom questioned aloud, as he looked down at his empty hand on the hospital bed. No one's hand was near his, just an IV drip running through his veins.
"You're going to be fine." A familiar feminine voice echoed in his head and soothed him. The voice calmed him down enough to stop the dizziness.
"You're going to be fine, Dr. Grissom." The doctor stated.
"I just heard her; you can't hide anything from me any longer. I know she is here in the hospital. I can feel her." Grissom tried to remain calm as the team began to look worried once more.
"Gil, explain to us who Sara is." The doctor sat down on the edge of the bed as the rest of the team moved forward to listen to what Grissom had to say. They seemed just as confused as Grissom was.
"I shouldn't have to explain her to anyone! Nick, would you care to explain to the doctor who Sara Sidle is?" Grissom waited for Nick's response and all he was rewarded with was a perplexed expression.
"Gris, I've never heard of her, man. Is she someone you know that you haven't introduced us to?" Nick was trying to blaze through his memories as fast as he could, but he failed in putting a face to the name.
"This isn't happening. What's going on? How is this possible?" Questions flooded through Grissom's brain as he tried to figure out the meaning behind everyone's absent mind.
When Catherine finally entered the room, Grissom seemed to light up with hope.
"Cath, come on, please stop this game. This isn't funny. Please tell everyone who Sara Sidle is." Grissom seemed to confuse Catherine more than anyone. Her mouth flat lined as she tried to figure out what was going on.
"Gil, what are you talking about?" Catherine walked over to his bed and looked him in the eye. She immediately saw frustration and pain welling up inside. Her heart ached for the amount of stress he was under. She did know a Sara Sidle, a woman Grissom only talked about on occasion during the first few years she had known him. She didn't know if it would be beneficial to tell him that the name rang a bell or not. She didn't want to risk encouraging him if the name was apart of his injury.
"Doc, can I talk with you outside for a moment? Guys keep Grissom company, please." Catherine reluctantly looked back at Grissom one last time before shutting the door.
The hallway's air seemed more comforting; Grissom's room was filled with the sense of panic and dread. She knew that in his heart, he was telling the truth, but she didn't know if he was remembering fact or fiction. She had heard about cases of people waking up from head injuries having their brain permanently damaged. Catherine could only hope that Grissom was not one of those cases; he has a brilliant mind. She could only pray that it would stay sane.
"The name sounds familiar, I'm guessing." The doctor made sure the door was completely closed before motioning for Catherine to continue.
"Yeah, it does as a matter of fact. When Grissom used to do yearly lectures at various universities, he came across a young woman by the name of Sara Sidle. From the sound of it, he liked her and she liked him, but nothing ever came of it. This was a while ago; I'm talking over ten years ago. I don't think he has seen her since, at least he never told me about it." Catherine pulled a loose stand of golden blonde hair behind her ear as she looked into Grissom's room once more.
Somehow Grissom sensed her stare and gazed back into her eyes, the same amount of pain was omitting from his pupils.
"Don't be alarmed, many patients who initially wake up from severe brain injuries usually experience similar symptoms. We call it FMS: False Memory Syndrome. In most cases, the patient accepts the false memories as being 'phony' after therapy. We're going to conduct a series of tests on Dr. Grissom to determine how severe his injury was and what the long term effects may be. Just tell your friends that we will know more about his condition in the next day or so. Until then, try not to let him talk too much about Sara. It seems like his brain his experienced temporary amnesia; he has mixed up dates and people." The doctor patted Catherine on the shoulder in an attempt to comfort her.
The gesture didn't go very far.
"So in all honesty, he's just utterly confused right now?" Catherine stated.
"Yes, and he is in a great deal of physical and emotional pain." The doctor put on his best 'happy' face before entering Grissom's room once more.