AN: Thanks to my beta, Unspoken for this set of chapters. You're the best.
Please let me know what you think after these two chapters- as I said everything will eventually become clear.
Chapter 5
Magenta Skies
"You seem to be recovering quickly!" The young African American nurse tied her shoulder length brown hair into a bun, before tending to her patient. Wauneta had become one of Grissom's good friends in the hospital. She seemed to be the only person who didn't lie to him.
"Do you think I'm crazy for having years of memories about a woman who doesn't exist?" Grissom sighed, as he watched Wauneta change her bandages.
"You know what? If those memories are good ones, and they bring you joy, what is the harm in having them? You deserve to have some happiness after all that has happened to you." Wauneta smiled as she began to put new gauze over Grissom's head.
"What if they do make you happy, but other people condemn you for that happiness?" Before being able to think further on the matter, something caught his eye. Grissom felt a pang of fear, once he realized that something was wrong.
"Dr. Grissom?" Wauneta immediately grew concerned, once she saw all the color drain out of Grissom's face.
"Let me see my bandages again." Grissom's heart raced, as he waited to see what he thought he had only imagined. Wauneta gave Gil another look of concern, before handing over one of the bloody bandages. Grissom had to do a double take as to what he was seeing. The blood was the color of dark magenta, the same color as the night sky from the accident. He thought he only imagined it- was he really going crazy?
"Purple? What color is my blood?" Grissom demanded, while holding up the gauze. He was tired of being crazy; he needed some recognition that he wasn't seeing things.
"Dark red. Dr. Grissom, I really think you need some rest." Wauneta didn't want to betray Grissom's confidence, but she had to let his doctor know of this new episode. It could mean that there was more damage done then she thought.
Once the moonlight lit his room, Grissom knew it was late enough to attempt the impossible. With all his strength, he pushed himself up into the empty wheelchair beside his bed. He was lucky Wauneta had forgotten to put it away, after one of his rehabilitation sessions. Every move seemed more painful than the first, this time he was getting up on his own. Grissom was starting to grow tired of being dependant on others, and in order to put his mind at ease, he had to grow back his independence. After all, he wasn't confined to his room like in a prison. Why should he lie back and sleep, when no one else would give him the truth? There were too many unanswered questions, and countless "what ifs" for Grissom to be lying down lifeless and disabled.
Once he placed himself in the wheelchair, he begun to wheel himself as quietly as he could to his door. Every inch closer, his chair grew louder. It figured, his chair never squeaked earlier, only when he needed to be most quiet. As he opened the door, he was lucky to find himself in an empty corridor, free of any nosy hospital orderlies.
"Now all I have to do is find a disguise." Grissom pondered. As fashionable as the backless hospital gown was, he needed to look more natural. As he slowly made his way down the corridor, a white coat hanging on a door caught his eye.
"Perfect." Grissom whispered aloud, before grabbing it and trying it on.
"I'm a disabled doctor, who's going to question that?" He sarcastically thought aloud. Grissom was beginning to feel slightly crazy at his rationalizations. He looked ridiculous; any child older than the age of five could easily guess that he was a hospital patient playing dress up. Was his brain really giving out? Perhaps this wasn't the first sign. What was he doing? How was he going to find answers?
"They're just going to send me to my room, and sign me up for another psych evaluation after this..." Grissom sighed, as he made his way closer to the nurse's reception.
"May I help you?" The soft feminine voice caught him off guard. The nurse was fairly tall and her stalky build made Grissom believe she could play on a woman's rugby team. However, the cane by her side, proved to be his first streak of luck.
"Um, yes I'm looking for a chart on a patient." Grissom's palms began to sweat, as his heart raced. There was no one else around, but that could quickly change. Encountering a blind receptionist was a strike of good luck, anyone else would ruin his plan.
"Name please." The young women stated, as she cracked her knuckles ready to search the hospital's database.
"Sara Sidle." The name still made his heart lurch. He had never cared about a woman as much as Sara, if she was hurt or god forbid dead, he wanted to know. He wanted to end the charades that his friends were surly playing on his psyche. Grissom needed to know what was real, and what, was fiction. He could only pray that she existed; he needed her more than ever.
"Miss, may I ask how you know what names are coming up…if you can't..." Grissom was always respectful of those with a disability. He was also intrigued at their abilities to adapt and cope with their situation.
"If I can't see? Well, I'm partially blind; my sight grew worse as I became older. It started when I was a baby. I can only see the outline of people from a distance, but if I am sitting close enough to a person, I can make out greater details. A computer screen is bright enough to enable me to view what I type, if I sit close enough." The computer finally 'beeped' at her query. Grissom frowned at the negative sound the computer spewed out.
"I'm sorry Doctor, but she's not a recent patient, the record we have dates back to 2000." The woman printed out the file, and hoped that he could analyze the file incase there was a misunderstanding.
"What was the purpose of her visit?" Grissom's voice held a slight tremble of fear that the nurse sensed almost immediately.
"She was submitted to the maternity ward to deliver her baby." The nurse smiled as she handed Grissom the file over the tall reception desk.
Grissom felt light headed, as he looked over the file. Every wall in the corridor seemed to be caving in on him. He needed to get out of the hospital and find her. He could only hope the address on the file was still accurate.