Disclaimer – Please see chapter 1
A/N – Thank you so very much for all the continued support of the story and the wonderful reviews you so kindly post to tell me that you are still reading it. Story is beta'd by myself so any remaining mistakes are all mine, so I apologize in advance. R & R Enjoy!
Fall Out Boy – Chapter 44 – Son of a bitch
"Sorry to take so long getting back to you both, Mr Grissom, Miss Sidle" The friendly young doctor said as she entered the examination room of the ER.
Sara was stretched out on her side, wearing hospital issued scrubs, semi lying on the hospital bed with Kye wearing a rather large, spare plain t shirt of Gil's, snuggled right into her side sleeping heavily again.
Sat by her hip, facing her, Gil sat on the edge of the bed stroking the boys back soothingly, wearing his clean change of cloths.
Greg had been into the ER, he had nervously collected the three's clothing, depositing them in various labeled evidence bags, his usual bright jovial manner absent, as he observed the awkward organization of the two adults taking their turns seeking some degree of modesty as he turned his eyes elsewhere in the room.
In a gesture to make Kye feel a little more comfortable, and less exposed, Gil had given Sara one of the spare form fitting t shirts, he kept in his duffel bag, to dress the boy in rather than the starched open back hospital gown .
Stating that he was just dropping of the evidence at the lab, then heading on home for some down time before his next shift, after working a double, Greg uncomfortably stuttered through a goodbye, but was stopped by his bosses voice calling him back, as he all but bolted for the door.
"Greg?"
"Uh, Yeah Grissom" Greg said looking over his shoulder as he grasped the door handle.
In a rare show of trust, Grissom asked his young CSI to do him a personal favor as he glanced at his watch "Hank and Bruno, should have been picked up a couple of hours ago......" he said thoughtfully.
"The dog's right" Greg interrupted, as he turned fully to his boss with a smile blooming on his face.
"Yeah, but as you can see we have been otherwise engaged, more importantly here" Grissom said stumbling through explaining.
"You want me to pick them up for you, yeah?" Greg asked enthusiastically, finishing for Grissom, with a huge grin on his face.
Sara smiled fondly at Greg and his excitement.
"If you really wouldn't mind, we don't know how much longer we'll be here for yet....And we'd really appreciate it" Grissom said feeling a little awkward at asking.
"No problem, anything to help" Greg beamed.
Reaching into his trouser pocket, Gil pulled out the veterinarian practice address and telephone details scrawled out on the piece of paper, handing it to Greg.
Then he pulled out a key fob from his jacket, he unclipped a second copy of his house key from the chain passing it over "Take them back to the house, and If you look under the sink in the kitchen you'll find a bag of kibble, thats if it hasn't been taken in as evidence. Could you give them both some with a drink of water, then let them out in the yard please".
A little shocked at being given the key to enter Grissom's personal inner sanctum, his home, his refuge, alone, Greg could only nod dumbly, until he then had a thought "Then do you want me too...........?" he asked, but trailed off not knowing what he was supposed to do after feeding the dogs.
Understanding Greg's question, Grissom added "Would you mind staying with them until we return, or call you to let you know when we'll be back?" he asked.
"You can grab a drink and take a nap on the couch Greg" Sara added in a soft tone, so as not to startle Kye.
"Yeah, sure, its really no problem for me" Greg said still smiling "Besides I'll just chill out in the yard with Hank and Bruno, catching some rays while I've got the opportunity to do so" he added with a smirk.
Greg left the hospital with a new spring in his step at the thought of the responsibility his boss was putting on him, and his eagerness not to let him down.
The couple had quietly voiced to each other on the drive over to the hospital, their immediate concern for the fact that Kye seemed to be unusually lethargic and desperately needing to nod off into slumber.
Gil suspected foul play right away, but didn't voice it to Sara in order to try to keep her stress levels down if at all possible, and for once he hoped he was wrong, the mental image of someone having drugged the boy needlessly like the two dogs had been, had his pulse rate reaching almost 95.
Although unvoiced by Gil, Sara picked up on some of the strong emotion undisguised in his eyes as he spoke, and that he was in fact thinking along the same lines as her, that someone may have doped Kye up with something harmful to his system.
Taking a gentle hold of Sara's hand resting on Kye's shoulder, Gil gave it a little squeeze to reassure her as he looked up at Dr McKenzie "That's okay, he's still resting" he said indicating with a tilt of his head towards the the sleeping form on the bed "You have his bloods results back?" he asked.
"Yes, we do. Does Kye have any known allergies that he was being recently medicated with, by another physician?" Asked Dr McKenzie.
Looking at each other and frowning, then looking at the young woman, both Gil and Sara answered at the same time "No"
"Not that we are aware of" Sara said worriedly.
"Why, has something shown up?" Gil asked, his pulse quickening in his building anxiety.
Smiling gently at the couple Dr McKenzie delivered their findings "Traces of the drug Doxylamine succinate was found in his system, it is one of the many sedating antihistamines used by itself as a short-term sedative, also used in a combination with other drugs as a night-time cold and allergy relief drug".
Letting go of Sara's hand and jumping off the bed quickly, Gil cursed "Son of a bitch!" as he started to pace the room, while running his hand agitatedly through his Grey curls.
"It wasn't enough that they just ripped his favorite teddy bear out right of his hands, while he was frightened out of his wits.............They had to go and senselessly drug him up too.....Just like they did with the dogs....What sort of scumbag............" he broke off as he caught the startled look of the Doctor watching his outburst, and came to a halt.
Knowing he needed to reduce his pulsing heart rate, and get himself under some semblance of control, in order to manage the anger now coursing through his veins with the news, Gil decided he needed a 'time out' of the room to do this, without an audience watching him.
"I'm sorry" he said feeling embarrassed, then shot a worried glance over to Sara looking at him with concern "I'll go get us some coffee honey.......I'll be right back" he said then left the room in a hurry.
"He's not used to......To.........It's...It's a little hard for him right now" Sara explained, speaking softly as she watched the door close slowly.
Pulling a chair over and seating herself Dr McKenzie spoke "I expect it is Miss Sidle, for yourself too, with the jobs you both have, and now having a personal involvement can't be easy on anyone".
"No, your right" Sara admitted, her own mind and emotions had really been through the wringer this last couple of days, so she only guessed that Gil was finding it just as difficult to cope with.
"This is all still new to us both" she added lowering her voice as if be ashamed at the admittance.
Adjusting her hold on Kye, Sara looked right at the doctor "You were saying" she prompted.
The doctor had basic details of the boys disappearance, plus the knowledge that the child was not the couples biological son, but in their foster care at present, but she perceived that they had both become very emotionally attached to him, and this was hurting them, more than they were ever used to.
Smiling gently at Sara, the Doctor spoke again "The levels of Doxylamine succinate we found in Kye's blood, would indicate he was probably originally given more than a normal child's appropriate dose of the drug to subdue him. It's a drug that can be obtained easily over the counter in several preparations such as NyQuil, Somnil, Dozile, Donormyl, Dormidina and Restavit. Which one exactly was used, can be established by your crime lab toxicology department, when I send them the sample they have requested".
Sara listened carefully to the details.
"But in saying that, there is no need to be as worried now. The levels are no longer elevated to a point where we should be concerned enough to want to administer any kind of extra treatment, or admit him as an inpatient" she said reassuringly.
Letting out a sigh of obvious relief, Sara leaned down to kiss the top of Kye's head as she closed her eyes, before looking back up again.
"So you should be able to take him home in the next hour or so, pending the rest of his other test results coming back okay, and us having all of the necessary paperwork ready" the doctor added as she stood up, setting the chair back against the wall again.
"Kye can carry on sleeping as long as he needs to, but you'll need to keep waking him up every couple of hours to check his responses, and to give him regular drinks, because one of the side effects of the drug is a dry mouth" Dr McKenzie stated.
"We will make sure to do that. Is there anything else we should know?" Sara asked, her full attention on the doctor.
"You should be aware that he might experience some extended period of insomnia over the next week, until the drug has been completely expelled by his body. Plenty of drinks should help do that" DR McKenzie relayed as she walked to the door.
"If your at all worried after you get him home, please don't hesitate to contact me here. I'll get all your paperwork together now and include my contact details Miss Sidle" She said grasping the door handle.
"Sara.....Please, call me Sara" Sara said with a friendly smile.
"Okay Sara, your doing fine and please don't worry" the young doctor replied leaving the room.
"Thank you" Sara said with a more confident smile now.
Outside in one of the relatives waiting rooms, after going into the rest room and splashing water over his face, then closing his eyes to try to calm down, taking five to regain control, he was on his cell catching up with Catherine on the case, letting her know about the drug found in Kye's blood test results.
Catherine informed him that Wendy had gotten DNA matches from several pieces of evidence from the three cases to Nelson Carlton, making a more solid case for the DA to file credible charges against the man.
She also informed him that Wendy had isolated another unknown DNA donor, that both Catherine and Brass strongly suspected to being that of Frost, but without other substantial evidence to gain a warrant for the mans DNA sample, they were unable to prove that suspicion at present, but were still working on it.
Telling Gil that they had lots of mounting evidence associated with the attorney, and that Brass was now using this to his advantage in another re-interview with Carlton as they were on the phone, Catherine then told him she would keep him updated before she said her goodbyes.
Closing his cell and sliding it into his pocket, Gil proceeded to set about getting the two drinks from the vending machine that he had told Sara he would get, he just hoped the doctor had now left the room after his embarrassing display of emotion.
Returning to the room, Gil pushed open the door using his elbow whilst carefully carrying the two hot drinks, he looked up connecting his eyes instantly with Sara, who smiled warmly at him.
"Hey" she greeted cheerfully, as she maneuvered Kye into her lap whilst trying to wrap a small child's blanket around him, a nurse had been in to give the couple something to take the boy home in rather than just the over sized t shirt he wore.
Setting the cups down on the bedside table, Gil assisted her with the still deeply slumbering Kye, who was oblivious to the movement as they covered the boy securely.
Swinging her legs over the side of the bed, Sara motioned for Gil to take Kye, which he did without question, bringing him up against his chest, the boys head tucked under his chin.
"We can take him home shortly, we just need to wait for his discharge papers then we can go" she beamed as she picked up her cup to take a sip, then stood to stretch her legs.
Walking slowly around the room, Gil, without conscious thought that he was doing so, began to sway, and gently rock Kye up and down in his arms, as any loving parent would naturally do.
Stopping to look at Sara, Gil looked a little surprised, he'd expected an over night stay at the very least, until she explained to him all that the doctor had told her a short time before, reassuring him that it was really okay, and they would be fine.
Letting out a relieved sigh, Gil lowered his chin and kissed Kye's temple lightly, then looked up at Sara again with uncertainty reflected in his eyes.
"Hey, we're getting a contact number for DR McKenzie, besides there's always Doc Robbin's or at a push, even Catherine, if we need any advice" Sara managed a weak chuckle at the last comment, never in her wildest dreams expecting that she would have ever consider consulting Catherine on child matters related to her own parenting.
'Her own Parenting', now that was a thought that she hadn't even had the time to really comprehend yet with all that had happened in a very short time, she'd just got stuck into the very important task without the time to second guess herself.
With her own past, and the way her own Mother and Father had poorly parented and cared for her, she had just assumed, even resined herself to the fact that she 'wouldn't' nor 'couldn't', ever be a good Mother herself with the role models she'd had.
Thinking back over the last week or so, Sara now smiled to herself at her recent achievement of doing everything right by Kye "Don't worry, we can do this Gil" she said feeling a lot more confident, offering her reassurances to him that they really could do 'this'.
Sara stepped up to him, stood on tiptoes, placing one had on the boys back as she kissed Gil's cheek, then stood back beaming at him "Okay?" she asked.
Gil's eyes softened lovingly, as he took in her look of renewed confidence and esteem, coupled with that special Sidle smile that she only flashed his way, this was the Sara he'd fallen in love with all those years ago, and he was so encouraged to see that, she seemed so happy right now.
"Okay honey" Gil replied in his smooth 'Intimate Sara tone', one that was always laced with the unspoken, intense love and affection he had for her.
An hour later the three of them we en-route back to the town house, after calling Greg to let him know they were due home shortly.
Another twenty saw them enter the house, and the two dogs eagerly coming up bounding to Gil who was carrying Kye.
With a sternly spoken 'Stop', then 'Sit', both Bruno and Hank obeyed sitting on their haunches by Gil's feet, facing him and awaiting their next command, as they eyed the man of the house enthusiastically.
Taking the initiative, realizing that they really didn't want Kye disturbed right now, Greg went and opened the door to the yard calling over to the dogs to go out, which they hesitated to do so at first, until Grissom said 'Outside', which they dutifully did so quickly.
Greg stayed for a little while, watching enthralled as the pair disappeared down the hall to settle the child in his bedroom, then return, Sara wandering over the the couch to speak with him, while Grissom proceeded to make drinks and prepare food for them all.
Eventually saying his goodbyes, after making the offer of any help he could assist them with, Greg headed back to the lab, a little worse for the lack of sleep, but happy in the knowledge he had been able to help his two friends.
Meanwhile back at LVPD, Jim and Catherine sat in his office with a much earned coffee, and shared relief that the three cases now looked to be in the bag after the latest round of interviews with Carlton.
Catherine and Jim had presented their still mounting evidence before Nelson Carlton a short time earlier, showing the man that they now had enough to securely convict him on charges relating to all three crimes.
As their findings, accusations and statements mounted, Carlson sat quietly, unmoving, but almost visibly deflating before them, as piece after piece of information was explained to be directly connect to him.
Once that was done, he'd calmly asked for a can of soda with the promise of his confession to follow.
It took a over an hour for Nelson Carlton to admit his part in all three crimes, but what surprised both Jim and Catherine the most, was the, revealing of exactly 'who' he had been under orders from to carry out the crimes.
Jim even glanced over at the red and green lights on the wall to double check that the recording equipment was in operational mode while they listened with rapt attention, without the need of either of them offering prompts to get the man to elaborate further.
Carlton was singing away like a canary, spilling his guts and telling them everything they needed to know about Spencer Frost and his close knit group of associates, who often carried out the 'Ice-mans' dirty and criminal work.
Did Carlton expect to be protected by the Las Vegas police force for becoming an informant? Jim thought.
Against Frost and his now crumbling little empire of terror and intimidation.......
Enter a witness protection program perhaps?
Hoping to be able to cut a deal with the DA for his cooperation?
Who knows at this point...............Jim had thought as the minutes ticked by and the man clearly, but concisely revealed more, only taking the occasional sip from his drinks can to take pause.
Whatever reasoning for the guilty attorneys full confession, Jim simply didn't care, so long as they could nail 'Frost' and bring him down to where he belonged, rightfully banged up behind bars for a hell of a long time.
Finishing the last dregs of his coffee Jim set his cup on the desk, then stood grabbing his jacket off the chair back "You want in on the arrest Cath?" he said with a grin, no one had seen one on the mans face in days.
"Now?" Catherine asked finishing her own drink.
"No time like the present" he chuckled "I've been itching to do this for days" then looked at his watch, adding "Besides I just so happen to know that our Mr Spencer Aaron Frost is currently dining at the Venetian, about to close a big corporate deal with some very important people" the grin widened.
"Jim, I worry about you some days" she threw back, as she stood.
About to lead his friend out of his office, Jim halted abruptly, at the sudden loud, and persistent alarm sounding all around the station.
"Shit!" he cursed out, when officers started to rush towards a certain area of the building.
Following in hot pursuit of his now running subordinates, Jim yelled over his shoulder "There's an emergency in lock up" to Catherine who was struggling to keep up behind him.
Making it down to the cell area of LVPD, Jim gasped for breath as he watched one of his young officers cut the tightly twisted, and tied bed sheet away from the cell window bars.
The heavy, limp body being helped to the floor by many hands, ready for the emergency procedure of life giving resuscitation.
Catherine came to a stop, almost hitting Jim's back as she looked on, sucking in huge amounts of air to catch her breath again.
"Shit! Don't do this...Not now...Dam it" Jim cursed as another officer felt for a pulse, but anyone with an ounce of medical knowledge could see by the Grey pallor, bulging eyes and swollen, almost beyond recognition facial features of Nelson Carlton, that the man was beyond any reasonable attempts at saving life.
A large first aid pack was now wide open on the ground, its contents spilled onto the cold concrete floor.
Another person was on his knees rifling through the medical supplies, in search of the sterile mouth guard to use for the mouth to mouth process.
Catherine's hand came up to her mouth in shock at what she was witnessing, the pieces falling into place for her in her mind, for why Carlton had seemed so eerily calm throughout his last interview.
Many people now stood within, or just a short distance outside of the cell looking in.
"There's no pulse Captain Brass" the young mans voice said solemnly, looking nervously to his boss for guidance.
Stepping into the cell now, Jim took a better look, then he locked eyes with his officer, making a quick decision, he shook his head in the negative then spoke "All attempts at life saving at this point look to be futile, so I am
calling a stop to it now" he looked at his watch, then added in a determined tone "Everyone leave everything as it is right now, and step out of the cell please".
A/N – Gasp! Was you expecting that last little twist? Yep I killed off one of a characters in my story, (Naughty me! lmao) but not one of the main characters from the show, so I just hope you wont flame me for it!! More GSR and wrapping up the story in my next chapter, then of course an epilogue. But don't worry though, I have another lengthy, and I hope different idea for a story to write next, after a short break. I will try to post again next weekend.
Please take the time to review the chapter or story as a whole, they are very much welcomed and loved by me.