Here's the next chapter!
I'm still thinking about whether or not this is the last one and the aftermath is going to be discussed in the next story or if I'll add another chapter or two. Which way would you prefer?
And now enjoy!
Greg was sitting in the hospital waiting room. His clothes were stained with Julian's blood and he was putting ice on his cheek, where Julian hit him earlier. He was waiting for Nick, who was still with the doctor. Since he's been unconscious for several minutes, the doctors wanted to give him a full check-up, see if he had any internal bleedings or anything else serious.
Brass was the first to arrive at the hospital. Greg called him and Catherine immediately after he took down Julian with a shot, using Nick's gun.
Brass sat down next to Greg. "Are you alright?"
Greg nodded. "Nick's still with the doctor. I hope he's fine..."
"What about Julian?"
"The bullet hit his arm, he'll be fine..." Greg looked down on the ground.
"His arm? You took a great risk aiming at his arm. You're lucky you didn't miss him."
Greg rolled his eyes while giving Brass an uncomfortable smile. "Actually, I was aiming for his chest."
"Well then... I guess Julian was lucky you're a bad shooter," Brass said smiling.
Not only Julian was lucky, Greg thought. He was glad he didn't kill him. Making the decision of aiming at his chest, instead of his arms or legs – which would be a risk, since it's much easier to hit the chest – was a tough one to make, but Greg knew it was the only right way to do it. He had to protect Nick and himself,
Catherine came in, followed by Sara. Both gave Greg a hug.
"Why didn't you tell us about Julian's obsession?" Catherine asked both angry and worried.
"I'm sorry. I didn't realize he was dangerous until today..."
"I knew something was wrong, but... I'm so sorry, I should've done something..." she said.
"It's not your fault..."
At the same moment, a doctor came in. He told them about Nick's and Julian's condition.
Nick didn't have any internal bleedings, but a mild concussion, as well as several bruises on his face and body. Julian roughed him up pretty good.
Julian had bruises on his face, too. Nick fought back. He didn't break his nose, though, like Julian thought. But Greg shot him in the right arm. He was going to be fine, but he wanted to talk to Greg.
"Let's just get Nick and leave. You don't have to talk to him," Sara said. She didn't think it was a good idea for Greg to be confronted with Julian again just yet.
"No, I need to..." He stood up.
Julian was lying in the hospital bed with handcuffs on. He wasn't connected to a heart monitor or anything like that. He was fine, he just had a gunshot wound on his arm. A flesh wound. Nothing that could kill him. "You actually came..." he said surprised as he saw Greg walk in.
Greg nodded. "I wanted to make sure you're going to be alright..."
"I can't believe you shot me."
"You kind of asked for it, don't you think?" The whole situation felt kind of surreal to Greg. Here he was, in a hospital room, talking to Julian like he usually did. He didn't know how to behave towards him now. Angry? Disappointed? But he wasn't. He didn't feel anything. He was just glad it was over.
Julian laughed humorlessly. "Yeah but I thought I was sure you wouldn't be able to do it."
"You look better now..." Greg said. "Earlier, you... I don't know, you looked different."
Julian nodded. "They gave me my old medication."
"Medication?"
Julian nodded. He tried to explain to Greg that he was taking medication for his personality disorder, and trying a different kind in the last weeks. He said he also took them before he went over to Nick's. Although this was the truth, it wasn't the reason for Julian's weird behavior. He did take drugs for his disorder, and he also was prescribed new drugs, but they didn't cause his behavior. He knew that the fact that he was under the influence of these drugs would help him in court later, though. He would also later profit from the fact that the CSIs never found out that it was actually Julian who manipulated Nick's car, in hopes of hurting him. He also wouldn't have minded killing him. He didn't plan to risk Greg's life, though.
This explanation helped Greg feel a little bit of sympathy for Julian. Although not true, he thought this was the explanation for his aggressive behavior and all the weird things that happened. He wasn't sure if this changed anything, though. "Well..." He stood up. "I'm glad you're better now." He turned around to leave the room.
"Greg, wait." As Greg turned around again, Julian continued. "I'm sorry... For everything. I hope you can forgive me one day."
Greg gave him a faint smile as he walked out.