Chapter 6
Magenta Skies
One Month Later
"Dr. Grissom, I must say that I am quite pleased with the progress you've made. I can honestly admit that your friends were quite worried for you." Dr. Heliotrope smiled as Catherine, and the rest of the CSI team stood over Grissom's bed.
"It took a bit of healing on my part, and a lot of support, but I think I know fact from fiction now." Grissom tried to ignore the guilt of lying to those who cared about him the most. However, if they knew the truth, he would never leave the confines of the hospital.
"I'll leave you to pack your things, Doctor Grissom. And good luck with the future. I have scheduled you for monthly psychiatric counseling, with Doctor Shapiro just incase your delusional episodes reoccur. But, judging from your progress, I don't think that will be a problem." Dr. Heliotrope grinned once more, as he and most of the CSIs cleared out of Grissom's room.
Over the past two months Grissom had acquired quite a list of personal effects. Balloons, cards, flowers and a huge stuffed teddy bear, from Catherine, filled his room. He still had to pack all of his clothes- not to mention his collection of presents from the hospital gift shop. Catherine couldn't hold back her grin as she watched Grissom struggle to fit everything into his small suitcase.
"Damn thing never closes properly!" Grissom swore under his breath, as tried with all his might to stuff everything into one place.
"Here let me. I always said, what you need is a woman's assistance." Without hardly any effort, Catherine zipped Grissom's bag closed. Grissom gave Catherine an arched eyebrow in return. "So you gonna get into the dating ring soon, or do I have to drag you?" Catherine stared at Grissom awaiting a response. All she got was a frown in return.
"Cath– I don't think so." Grissom's voice held a sense of sadness that Catherine only heard when he used to reflect on his "memories" with Sara.
"Gil, you're not still holding onto those fake memories are you? You know they aren't real." Catherine patted Grissom's back, as he folded another shirt and stuffed it into another zip-up bag.
"Memories are a way of holding onto the things you love, the things you are and the things you never want to lose." Grissom quoted, as he turned around to look Catherine in the eye. How long could he hide the truth?
"There are lots of people who mistake their imagination for their memory." Catherine quoted back, smiling at the surprised look she was rewarded with.
"Josh Billings? I'm impressed. Someone has been doing some reading recently?"
"Yeah, when you have a daughter who's taking general literature, you learn a thing, or two. Seriously Gil, you would make the whole team happy if you went out and moved on." Catherine's lips narrowed into a frown at Grissom's transparent gaze which held no emotion.
"I have moved on. As a matter of fact, I'm starting my vacation tomorrow." The news caught Catherine off guard. She never thought Grissom as the vacationing type; hopefully he meets someone worthy enough to date.
"To where may I ask?" A smile spread across her lips once more at the news.
"To San Francisco. I've always wanted to visit that side of the coast; I've just never had the chance. And with this new vacation time, I thought I would travel." Grissom packed his last shirt into the bag and felt a sense of relief wash over his body. He was finally getting out of the one place that made him feel crazy. What Catherine didn't know was that Grissom was still having the nightmares, which made him wake up in a cold sweat every night. He still saw images of purple, and worst of all, he was still hearing voices. He could only hope that it was the hospital that was poisoning his mind. He knew he wasn't crazy, and he had Sara's file tucked away safely in his suitcase to keep him sane. The file was his evidence that he wasn't insane. She existed; all he had to do was find out what went wrong. Why would she leave him during a time he needed her most.
"Well I hope you have a great time, you deserve it."
"I'm just doing to sign the discharge papers. Care to join me?" Grissom couldn't wait any longer to sign the paper to his freedom.
"I'll be right there; I'm just going to make sure that you didn't forget anything. You're memory still isn't one-hundred percent." Catherine stated, as she watched Grissom leave the room. A lonely sock caught her eye and she bent over almost immediately to retrieve it.
"Hmm, both bags are full to the brim. I'm better off opening the side compartment of the suitcase than venturing into the depths of either bag." Catherine slowly opened the side of the suit case, and was surprised to see a beige file fall out in response. She immediately began to feel like she was choking, as she examined the file. Her breath was caught in her throat and she had to force herself to calm down.
"I can't let him do this! There is no way he's going alone- I have to follow him. If anything happens, I'm going to feel responsible. I thought he was making progress not getting worse." Catherine's mind overflowed with the dilemma of telling the doctor of her findings. "Or he could get over this whole thing if he finally saw her. Maybe nothing will happen..." She thought.
Catherine shoved the file back into Grissom's suitcase just in time. Grissom opened the door and looked Catherine over with concern.
"You OK?" Grissom asked.
"Yeah I'm fine, just a little hungry. Let's eat, lunch is on me." Catherine forced herself to smile, as she eyed his suitcase one last time. She helped Grissom with his luggage, as she looked the room over one last time.
Grissom on the other hand, never looked back.