Here is chapter 6.
"Hey" Sara said quietly as she entered his hospital room, Nick following behind her.
"It was nice to see you at the lab yesterday" She said to him. Nick had filled her in about the night before when he had taken Greg back to the hospital.
Sara sat next to him and shook her head, "We were all happy to see you".
Greg didn't reply and Sara shared a concerned look with Nick.
"Do you fancy anything fetching from the cafeteria? I can go down and see if they have anything a little exciting for you" she suggested, trying to lift his spirit.
But he just shook his head and turned it away from the side she and Nick sat.
Nick frowned, "Do you want us to leave?"
Greg didn't answer him, just stayed quiet without even acknowledging the fact that Nick had even spoke.
"Tell you what, Sara and I will go have a coffee downstairs, and we'll bring you something up when we've done, alright?" Nick suggested.
Greg didn't respond so Nick sighed inwardly and motioned to Sara for them to leave.
As Nick shut the door Sara spoke, "Has he been like this since last night?"
Nick nodded as they started down the corridor, "Yeah, he just clammed up after he broke down and he's hardly said two words since" he told her with a sigh.
Sara sighed too, "I thought he was making good progress".
"He was, I mean, he was out of the hospital yesterday" Nick replied, "He was outside for the first time in what must feel like forever for him and he just shut off… I shouldn't have taken him to the lab" he said as they sat down at the cafeteria.
Sara leant her hand over the table and grabbed his, "Hey, this is not your fault. You asked him if he wanted to go and he said yes. He did want to go. It might not have gone how we all wanted it to go, but he still got out of the hospital for an hour". Sara gave his hand a squeeze, "He's probably just overwhelmed by everything today, he'll be speaking again by tomorrow".
But Nick shook his head, "What if he doesn't speak to us tomorrow though? Or the day after? Or the day after that?" he asked her as tears began to well in his eyes. "He didn't speak for weeks after he got here, he couldn't speak… what if that happens again? I just want him to get better" he told her, putting his head down and taking a deep breath, "I can't stand to see him get worse again" he told her with a defeated sigh as he wiped a stray tear.
Sara gripped his hand harder, "He won't get worse. He's going to get better. You've been by his side the whole time; he needs you to stay strong so that he gets better. So he had a bad day yesterday and he's having a bad day today, tomorrow's going to be better. You have to believe that".
Nick nodded, "Yeah you're right. I just… seeing him like this, it's not Greg. They broke him Sara. And I don't know if he can be fixed".
"Greg, I'm going to assess you now, alright? It won't take long so your colleagues can wait just outside" his doctor told him.
The team stood to leave but looked back to Greg when a strangled moan left his mouth. They were about to turn again but Greg stared at Nick.
"Y… you… s…s…st…" He tried to get the words to leave his mouth and the team must have gotten the gist as they began to smile and Nick went to sit back down.
"Of course I'll stay, man, whatever you want" he told him with a grin. He couldn't believe Greg had just spoken. The whole time that they had been sat with him at the hospital, not one word had passed his lips. They had begun to think that their friend would never speak again, and the doctor told them that it was possible after his injuries that it could take years for him to regain any kind of voice.
Henry and Hodges knocked tentatively on the hospital room door and waited a second before going in.
"Hey Greg" Hodges said in an unusually soft tone. "Henry and I just wanted to come and say hi".
Henry sat down awkwardly and Greg's gaze moved over to him.
"We, err, we bought you some chocolates and stuff" he said holding up a small gift bag, "looks like you already have enough to last till next year though" he commented looking to the bags of gifts and chocolates at the side of the room.
Greg just stared at him for another second before turning his head to look forward, and leaning his head back into the pillows, closing his eyes.
Hodges and Henry shared a look with each other and Henry spoke quietly, "Do you want us to go? We can come back later?" he suggested after a minute.
Greg opened his eyes again and shook his head slightly in his pillow, wincing as the motion sent pain through his head.
"Do you need some more pain medication?" Hodges asked him gently.
Greg mumbled a response and Hodges nor Henry knew if that was a yes or a no.
"Shall we get a doctor?" Henry asked him.
But Greg managed to whisper out a 'no' and forced himself to keep his eyes open, which had started to droop close again.
They all sat in silence for the next few minutes, Henry and Hodges watching as Greg struggled to stay awake.
"Hey, if you're tired, get some sleep, we'll stay here for a little while" Hodges said to him.
Greg turned his eyes to him and tried to speak, "S… s…"
Hodges and Henry sat there, giving him time to get out what he wanted to say.
"Sor…y"
Henry frowned, "What are you sorry for? You can't help being tired, right?" he said, trying to let him know that it was fine. The team had told them both that he probably wouldn't be up to much when they visited but they only wanted to see their friend. They didn't expect him to be having full on conversations with them.
Greg just mumbled something that neither of them could make out before he had closed his eyes and was fast asleep.
"Hey, when did you get out of bed?" Nick asked as he and Morgan entered his hospital room.
Greg was sitting in the chair by his window, looking out of it. He turned to face them and tried to offer a small smile, "The nurse asked if I wanted to sit here", he told them, giving a short explanation of how he had gotten out of bed for the first time since he had arrived.
Morgan smiled as she and Nick bought a chair up to sit down with him.
"Well it's good that you're out of bed" she commented, "Have you had any more physio yet?"
Greg nodded, "This morning".
"Yeah? How did it go?" She asked him, determined to keep the conversation going.
He shrugged slightly with his left arm and turned to look back out of the window.
Nick frowned and pushed him slightly, "Did it not go well?"
Greg was silent for a minute but then looked down as he spoke, "I couldn't do it".
"What do you mean you couldn't do it? What did you have to try and do?" Morgan asked him softly.
"Couldn't move my fingers right. I had to… try hold a pen" he told them, sounding a little distressed.
Nick shrugged, "Well you can try it again right? It doesn't matter that you couldn't get it first time" he told him, trying to raise his moral a little bit.
Greg shook his head slightly, "I've been trying to do it all week", he told them with sadness in his voice.
"Well it's something to work on right?" Nick said, "It might take a little bit more time but you will get there".
Greg didn't say anything, just turned to look out of the window.
Morgan looked to Nick, unsure of what to do.
"Did you get to try doing anything else?" Nick asked him.
"Just usual things" Greg replied. He had been just trying to get some movement back into all of his muscles. After being immobile for so long, it was hard work to just get things going again.
"That's good, all of this is going to help you get out of here" Morgan said to him, trying to get him to smile.
He still didn't answer. He was just fed up of everything. He had been in the hospital for weeks and weeks and before that he had been god knows where, with the cruellest bastards he would ever meet, for almost three months. Everything had changed in that time. Everything about him had changed.
"Hey, bud, how's it going?" Russell asked him as he entered his room and shut the door quietly. He noticed how dark it was and realised the drapes were closed.
He looked at Greg as he sat down next to his bed and frowned in concern, "You alright?"
Greg shook his head gently on his pillows, "I have a fever" he told him quietly.
Russell leant forward and touched his arm, "Yeah, you're burning up. They've given you something for it?" he asked.
Greg swallowed painfully, "Gave me something earlier".
Russell nodded and looked down, only now noticing the soft cushioned fabric that attached Greg's wrist to the bed rail. He looked over his other side and noticed both were the same. Concern growing Russell looked back to Greg.
"Greg, why are you restrained?" He asked gently but confused.
Greg's eyes flicked up to him and he quickly looked down as his breathing hitched.
"Hey, it's alright, who put you in them?" Russell asked him, grabbing his young colleagues hand and offering support.
Greg tried to keep calm but he could feel himself getting agitated. "The doctor" he told his boss, gently pulling his arm away, making the fabric stretch slightly as it held him to the bed.
"Why Greg?" Russell asked him. He could see the anguish in his friend's face and his heart was almost breaking.
"I panicked" he told him as a tear rolled down his face, "I was confused" he added as he struggled to even breathe properly.
Russell shushed him and squeezed his hand, "Ok, ok, it's alright. Shall I go and see if we can get them off?" he asked, still unsure of the reason they were on in the first place.
Greg nodded and pulled at the restraints again, "I need them off… they can't do this… I don't want to be back there" he told his boss, tears streaming down his face.
"You're not back there and you won't be going back there, ok? Do you hear me?" Russell told him strongly.
He sat for another minute with him until he was sure a full blown panic attack wasn't about to break out and then told him he was going to find his doctor to get them removed.
As he closed the door to Greg's room he went over to one of the nurses and spoke, "Excuse me… Hi, I'm visiting Greg Sanders" he told her, pointing to the room behind him, "is his doctor around? I need to speak to him".
The nurse smiled at him and nodded, "I believe he's on the floor already, I'll go and see if I can find him" she told him politely.
Russell smiled at her, "Thank you so much" he said to her as she left, and he went to sit on one of the chairs just outside Greg's room to wait.
Not two minutes later the nurse arrived with Greg's doctor next to her.
Russell stood to meet him and put his hand out, "It's good to see you again" he said as he shook the doctors hand.
"You too" the doctor greeted him, "I think I know what you want to talk to me about".
Russell raised his eyebrow slightly and nodded, "Yeah, I bet you do. What happened? He doesn't need those things on, after what he's been through…"
"I know, I know what you're saying" the doctor interrupted, "but please let me explain" he said, motioning to the chairs that Russell had previously been sat on.
As they sat he spoke again, "At about 2pm one of the nurses went to give him a bath, as she went in she could see Greg looked unwell. She went over to him to take his temperature and Greg panicked. Whether he had just woken up or was in the middle of a panic attack, we're not sure. But he lashed out at her".
Russell frowned in worry. Greg would never do such a thing. Well, not intentionally and he was sure he would hate to think he was capable of doing it in any state.
"Our nurse tried to calm him but he continued to be violent. He managed to pull out his IV whilst he was at it too" the doctor informed him. "A few of the nurses heard the commotion and went in and then I was called. By the time I had gotten there, Greg had managed to get two of the nurses with his fist. He was clearly agitated and I tried to calm him down but he wasn't listening and began to try and get up out of bed. The only way we could calm him was to give him some sedation and use the restraints".
Russell took a minute to take in what had been said to him and sighed, "Have you been in to him since?"
"Yes, once he had woken up I went to speak to him" his doctor told him softly, "he asked if I could take the restraints off and I told him they had to stay on for a little while longer. I understand why he and yourself would not want us to keep them on him, however after his state earlier; we have to take precautions to make sure that my staff are not at risk. I explained this to Greg and he just told me to apologise to the nurses for him. Both of them are fine now, and they understand Greg's situation and why he might have acted the way he did".
Russell sighed once more, "So he has to leave the restraints on?" he asked quietly.
The doctor nodded, "Yes. Perhaps just for another hour, but it's too soon to assume he won't react in the same way again".
Russell nodded, "I'm sorry. That he did that" he clarified, "He would never dream of doing anything like that…"
"Like I said, the staff completely understand. We're only here to make Greg better".
They were quiet for a moment before the doctor spoke again, "Greg's therapist said he would come down to speak to him later on this evening. By then he can have the restraints removed".
Russell stood as did the doctor and thanked him. He watched as he walked back down the hall and then turned to go back into Greg's room.
Greg looked up with hopeful eyes as Russell entered his room again but his face dropped when he saw his Boss' face.
"They have to leave them on for a little while longer" he told him sadly.
Greg leant his head back into his pillows and closed his eyes as tears threatened to leak.
"Hey, he said it won't be long until they can take them off, ok, just an hour or so, that's it" Russell explained to him, watching his colleague crumble.
Greg took a deep breath and tried to hold it together. "I didn't mean to do it".
Russell leant in closer to him and nodded, "I know that, Greg. And the doctor said the nurses understand, it's ok".
He looked down and could see the dark bruise where Greg had obviously ripped out his IV like his doctor had just told him. A new one had been inserted just next to it.
He looked at his young colleague's face and didn't know what to say. The kid just couldn't catch a break.
Just as he was about to speak, a young nurse came in. "Hey Greg, I'm just going to check your temperature ok?" She said as she came up to the side of his bed, "It's gone up slightly since the last time we checked, so I'm going to have to give you some more antibiotics" she explained softly as she prepared it to put in his IV.
Before she reached it Greg spoke quietly, "Are they going to make me feel sick?" he asked with watery eyes. Every time they gave him something he felt worse and worse.
She smiled sympathetically at him, "They shouldn't do, why do you feel ill now?" she asked him.
He nodded and blinked, making a tear roll down his face.
"Ok, I'll go and get you something for the nausea. Have you eaten today?" She asked him next, to which he shook his head.
"I'm going to bring you something, it will be good to get something in your system" she told him with a small smile.
Neither Russell nor Greg spoke until she returned and handed Russell a small plate with a few crackers on it, "Will you be alright to help him with these?" She asked Russell.
Russell nodded and then thanked her as she left. "Here buddy, have some of these" he said as he leant over to give Greg one of the crackers.
But Greg just turned his head away, tears once again making their way down his face. Russell was about to try again but then thought against it. The poor boy was tied up to a hospital bed, having his boss trying to feed him. He must have felt so humiliated. He sat back and put the plate down. He would wait until the restraints were removed, and would allow Greg to eat by himself.
Please review and let me know what you think.
