Thanks so much for the support and reviews! Here is another update, hopefully it's okay. I hope we're getting into it now? Again, forgive mistakes, it's a quickie.
This is taking time I don't have at the moment :-( so I highly hope it's worth it! Sorry, another really bad chappy title, subject to change
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Chapter Fourteen # Memories Are Hard to Bare #
Sara and Finn raced through the hospital, colliding with DB in the waiting room.
"What happened?" Sara cried.
"Mario Lorenzo, the supposed brother in law of Jose Martinez, broke into Greg's house; he wanted the evidence from his sister and niece's case. He made Greg call me. When I arrived, he shot Reuben before I could get my phone out of my pocket. I was running late – there was a hold up at the evidence locker, and not just because there wasn't any evidence to start with seeing as it wasn't an actual case."
"Oh my god, Reuben, Greg, are they okay?" Sara gasped as Finn gripped her arm.
"Yeah, the bullet just grazed him. He'll be just fine. Doesn't mean he deserves even that though. I think Greg's more torn up about it than he was."
"Can we see them?" Sara asked.
"Oh, yeah, Morgan's in there now, I'm just leaving. It's Nick's night off so I'm going to call in Wendy and get started processing Greg's house. I want this guy, and I want him bad."
"You know, I'll join you in a little bit, as soon as I'm sure Reuben's okay." Finn nodded.
"Why Greg? Why now?" Sara asked.
"I don't know!" Russell ran a hand over his face. "I don't know."
Sara ran out of patience. "I'm sorry; I have to see Greg... Excuse me."
She ducked past Russell and ran into the room he pointed at. Instantly she saw Reuben in a bed that was much too large for him. Greg was next to the bed on one side with Loeila on his lap and Morgan on the other side, holding Reuben's hand. Greg stood up when he saw Sara.
"Oh my god, all of you! Thank god you're okay!" she sighed, hugging Greg tightly. She could feel him shaking.
"Audie Sawa!" Loeila cried, pushing in between Greg and Sara. "Me hug, me hug!"
"Okay Lola!" Sara hugged the little girl and looked at Reuben who was drowsy but awake in the bed. She fluffed up his sandy hair. "How're you doing, buddy?"
"I okay fank you Audie Sara!" he smiled. "Did you come to see me?"
"As a matter of fact I did."
Reuben's face flushed with pleasure. "Fank you!"
"You're welcome." Sara smiled.
Loeila tugged Sara's hair lightly to get her attention. "Sawa? Bad man came into our house! He huwt Weuben an' Daddy an' he scawed me. He scawed me a lot. But Audie Mogan took me away from the bad man so I didn't get huwt."
"Sara?" Reuben interrupted her response. "Um, um, daddy won't beliebe me and Audie Mogan!"
"About what?" Sara frowned.
"He finks it's his fault!"
Sara looked at Greg. "Greg-"
"I opened the door." Greg said in a low voice. "I just opened the door."
"Greg. Stop it." Sara pulled Greg into another hug. After a moment, Loeila protested.
"Squishy!"
"I'm sorry, Loeila." Sara replied, letting go. "Greg, this isn't your fault."
"We've been trying to tell him that for the past hour." Morgan piped up for the first time.
Sara smiled at her. "How are you holding up?"
"Shaken, but I'll be okay." She nodded.
"Hey guys." Finn said announcing her arrival.
"Finn!" Loeila and Reuben yelled in delight at the same time. The twins and Kristy loved Finn just as much as Eli did.
"Finn I got...I got an owie!" Reuben announced. "From da bad guy! Da bad guy was very scawy Finn; he was in our house!"
"That's awful! But you know, both of you, that it doesn't matter how many bad guys come after you." Finn said, perching on the edge of the bed. "Because, your Daddy will always be there to protect you and look after you. Always. And if he goes slack in that department I'll come in and kick his sorry bum back into gear."
Reuben and Loeila both grinned and Greg smiled gratefully at Finn who winked. Through her three and a half years with the team she'd settled into the team into a unique position that Greg was certain no one else was would be able to fill.
She was almost like a big sister, teasing but constructively, but she also flirted mildly and shamelessly with all her male colleagues. Eli, Kristy and the twins all thought Finn was great – she had the cool, adventurous aunt thing down to a tee.
"So now I'm gonna go to your house and get everything sorted out so you can go home soon, okay?"
"Okay Audie Finn!" Reuben beamed at her. "I love you!"
"I love all five of you." Finn beamed back. "I'll be back soon." She promised, waving at the door.
A nurse walked into the room with a doctor and a small tray.
The doctor cleared his throat politely. "Mr. Sanders, I would recommend that your son get's some sleep, I take it he probably has naps anyway at his age?"
"Uh yeah."
"Daddy, I no wanna sleep!" Reuben cried, his little hand tightening around Morgan's. "No sleep!"
"Just a little nap, Reubs. I'm here, I'm not going anywhere. I promise, I won't leave." Greg assured his son as Morgan squeezed Reuben's hand.
"I've brought a mild sedative that should keep nightmares away and give him a wonderful sleep for a few hours. Would you like your daughter to have a nap, too?"
Greg swallowed. He didn't want to dope his children up...
"Mr. Sanders, they've both experienced an incredibly scary situation, and their minds are very vulnerable right now. It is my professional opinion that they should receive the medicine on this occasion."
"What medication is it?" Sara asked, glancing at Greg as he hesitated.
"Benzodicodazol." The doctor replied.
"That's a drug designed for children, right?" Morgan asked.
"Yes, it is." The doctor nodded.
After considering the drug for a moment, Greg agreed.
The nurse slipped the medication into the IV in Reuben's hand. Instantly his drowsiness took over and he began to slip into sleep. The doctor prepared a small syringe and walked towards Loeila who screamed.
"No daddy, no needles, no!" She panicked, gripping onto her father's arms.
"Lola, look at me. Look at me!" Greg insisted. "There we go, there we go..." he stroked the side of her face softly as the nurse subtly put the needle in.
"Oh!" her mouth popped open in a surprise.
"There we go, that wasn't so bad, baby girl." Greg said as Loeila fell against his chest.
"Da...ddy?"she mumbled, trying to fight the drugs.
"I'm here, I'll be here when you wake up. I won't leave. Don't fight it baby girl, just relax..." Greg murmured back, stroking her hair softly. She yawned widely and was asleep before her mouth closed, though somehow she found time to stick her thumb in her mouth.
The nurse cleared her throat quietly."Now, it's probably best if they aren't surrounded by visitors, especially as they're asleep..."
"I really should go call Gil, he may not ever show that he worries but he really does." Sara smiled and left.
"You too Miss." The doctor said to Morgan.
"Uh, please, she's my, um, fiancée! She's practically their mom, please let her stay!" Greg begged.
The doctor and nurse rolled their eyes and left their private room.
"Fiancée?" Morgan raised her eyebrows.
"I'm sorry, I really am, I just... I can't do this alone right now. Do you mind staying?" Greg asked, unintentionally and unconsciously hitting Morgan with his best puppy dog eyes.
She smiled. "Of course not. They're amazing kids and it's not the first time I've played romance with a co-worker."
"Hodges." Greg nodded, gently laying Loeila down next to her brother and tucking her softly under the blankets. She sighed softly, her little arm wrapping over Reuben. "Morgan, thank you so, so, so much for keeping Lola safe today."
"Thanks for keeping me safe. It's not a problem, okay?"
Greg nodded, staring down at his hands.
"Greg?" Morgan's eyes bulged. "Greg, are you crying?"
Greg shook his head but when he looked up at Morgan his eyes were red rimmed and full of tears.
"He was...my son was... Someone shot him, Morgan! And I just can't stop thinking about Jason Morley..."
"Who's Jason Morley?" Morgan asked.
"A few years ago...just after Warrick died... There was a big shoot out in this little neighbourhood... A seven year old boy got caught in the crossfire... His dad wouldn't let his body go. I had to persuade him to let his dead seven year old son be taken away by the coroner. The little boy was called Jason Morley. He got caught in the crossfire. Reuben's got caught in the crossfire because of my job and... Morgan, I could have lost him. I nearly lost him..." Greg's voice broke and his head flopped into his hands.
He was ashamed to cry in front of Morgan, but he couldn't hold it in anymore. He could have lost his baby. He sobbed into his hands, and he couldn't help but draw parallels with the broken sobbing of Jason Morley's broken father.
Suddenly he felt a pair of warm, small but strong arms wrap around his shaking body. Greg allowed Morgan to pull him towards her.
Morgan didn't know what to do other than to hug Greg to her chest tightly. She rested her chin on his head, almost as if he was her child. "You know what. You almost did lose him. But you didn't, Greg, you protected him and that is matters. You didn't lose him. You did everything you could."
"Wasn't enough!" Greg sobbed.
"It was enough to save his life." Morgan said firmly.
Greg took a deep breath. "Thank you."
"No problem." Morgan shook her head and Greg stood up, wrapping his arms around her.
"Really, Morgan, thank you. For being here, for helping me, for looking after Lola..." He whispered. "I have no idea what I'd do without you."
"Crawl into a dark hole somewhere..." She started, before changing her mind and hugging him tightly. "It's not a problem. Where else would I be?"
Greg peeled back and stared at Morgan. "Really?"
Morgan rolled her eyes. "No, I'm lying to you."
"Honestly, though Morgan, I'm so grateful. It means a lot to me."
"And honestly, Greg it's no problem." Morgan smiled.
Greg looked at the two children lying entwined on the bed. "God..."
"Don't even think about it, Greg." Morgan said firmly, her own eyes falling on the twins. She laughed softly. "They look like angels. Off of a Christmas card or something."
Greg couldn't help but smile. "Yeah."
"You have too beautiful kids." Morgan smiled. "I guess Lisa wasn't too ugly."
Greg shrugged. "I've seen a lot prettier."
Morgan fiddled with the patient information seat on the side of the bed. Reuben Warrick Mark Hojem Sanders. "Greg, Mark was your dad's name, right?"
"Yeah, why?"
"Tell me about him." Morgan asked as they both sat down.
"Why?"
"I'm interested. And nosy."
"Well, his name was Mark Jakob Sanderson. He was born in Harstad, Norway and his family moved to California, and his father shortened the family name to Sanders. My dad grew up, met my mom, got married at eighteen and had me a year later. He was a pretty good father. Looked after me, taught me how to ride a bike, play sports. When I was six he left to do a tour of Iraq. He came back, went away again... And he did the same thing almost all of my life, progressing up the ranks... Then, about...about eight years ago I got beaten up on the job. Strange, doesn't feel that long ago..."
Morgan frowned. "What do you mean, you got beat up?"
"It was bad. I also killed a collage kid in self defence. I hit him with my truck."
"Demetrius James? I heard about that, that it wasn't your fault... I had no idea that you got beaten up though." Morgan frowned.
"I was in hospital a while...well, about three weeks."
"Oh my god!" Morgan's mouth fell open.
Greg shrugged. "Anyway, my dad told me that he loved me in the hospital, and then he left again. He's missing in action. Presumed dead. My Papa Olaf told me when I got the twins that he was going to quit but he had to do one more tour to double his salary, so..."
Morgan sighed. "Greg, I'm sorry... I didn't mean to pry."
Greg snorted. "Of course you did. You're nosy, Morgan Brody, and it's one of the things that makes you so good at your job. And one of the things that sometimes makes you a good person to talk to."
She opened her mouth to retort before closing it again and smiling sheepishly. "Okay. I guess I am."
"When the guy came to tell us he was missing, do you know what the first thing I thought was?" Greg said softly, staring into space with the memories.
"What?"
"Grissom will find him. Just ask Grissom. Grissom could find anyone." He laughed softly and humourlessly. "The next thing to come into my mind was that I'd never give up. I swore that I'd just, well, wait I guess. And that if I found a way to find him I'd take it. I didn't wanna believe that my dad was dead, y'know? Now I've accepted that he's dead. If not dead then he's not coming back anytime soon anyway."
Morgan sighed. "What...what about your mom? What does she think?"
"She's not going to stop believing until she sees a body. 'I've seen the film Castaway!'" Greg raised the pitch of his voice for the last part.
"She said that?"
"Well, not in those words."
"You miss him." It wasn't a question.
Greg looked her dead in the eye for the first time in minutes. "Yeah. Yeah, I do."
CSIVCSIVCSIV
"They took my babies?"
"Lisa, calm down-"
"Calm down? Sir, they're four days old!" she shrieked. "They t...t...took them?"
"Yes. Enrique Martinez."
"ENRIQUE MARTINEZ? That fucking drug lord has my babies!"
"I don't know why you're so worked up, Lisa, you didn't want them, they were just an accident now they're out of the way."
Lisa shrieked in anger and slapped her boss around the face.
"Cooke! Two week suspension!"
"No! I have to get my babies back, he's gonna kill them!" she sobbed.
"We'll look into it when we can."
Her boss' face disappeared and transformed into that of Enrique Martinez.
"You what, bitch, you're gonna shoot me? You're hands are shaking so hard you'll just hit little baby here." The man held a tiny three month old girl up to his face.
Within two seconds Lisa's finger tightened around the trigger tightly. The man fell to the floor and the woman caught the baby girl before she hit the floor. Then she kicked open the door and grabbed a baby boy the same size as the girl out of a crib that was right next to a steaming beaker.
Her son. She double checked the building and ran outside, strapping the two babies into the car seats and speeding to Vegas. When she pulled up outside the apartment building she unstrapped the seats from the car, wrapped a necklace around her neck that would vibrate if anyone came within two metres of her car.
Then she knocked on Greg Sanders' door.
Alyssa awoke with a soft gasp. She groaned and flicked on her light. The trouble with her nightmares is that they weren't exactly nightmares. They were memories.
She slipped out of bed and made her way into the kitchen to grab some coffee. Her phone rang and she picked it up lazily.
"Hello?"
"Hey, Alyssa, it's Catherine..."
"Hey Cath, what's up?"
"I just got a call from Portson, they need us in now."
"Okay...any idea why?"
"Jeremiah Sampson's murder, the one that got tied up with the prisoners of war in Afghanistan."
"That case went cold in my first few months!"
"I know, but apparently it's urgent."
"Okay, just let me get dressed, then I'll be in."
"I'll see you soon."
Within the hour Alyssa was at work. Catherine met her walking down the hall. "Hey."
"Hey."
They walked in to look at James Portson, their boss. "Glad you could make it."
"What have you got for us?" Catherine asked.
"Jeremiah Sampson, 52, murdered in his own home three years ago. Did a tour of Afghanistan eight years ago and through our investigation was suspected of betraying a group of five of his colleagues, none of whom have been heard of since."
"I remember." Alyssa nodded. "What have you got that's new for us?"
"A dead body has turned up in dumpster three blocks away from here with the body of one of the men inside. Callum McPherson."
"Really?" Catherine raised an eyebrow.
"Metro kicked it over to us as soon as they made an ID."
"Remind me of the other missing men's names?" Catherine asked.
The man looked at the file. "Pedro Martinez, James Durrant, Mark Sanderson and OJ Williams."
"Let's go to work." Catherine grinned.
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