Chapter 8

Once the medics arrived at Desert Palms they hauled Greg in leaving Nick in the waiting room just as Grissom and the others walked in for they rode right behind the medics all the way wondering if Greg made it or not. They walked over to Nick and sat down next to him just as he hung up the phone he turned to the others.

"I just called my momma and told her; they said that they will be here as soon as they could. They still have Katie so I told them to drop her off at my neighbors" Nick said they nodded, but said nothing for a moment. Then Sara placed her hand on his back and stared him in the eyes.

"Nick listen to me Greg will make it have faith I know he will" Sara said Nick nodded, but remained silent.

They waited and waited for about 5 hours then finally the Dr came out he greeted them with a handshake.

"Are you here for Greg Sanders?" he asked they nodded "I'm Dr. Wesley"

"How is he Doc?" Warrick asked.

Dr. Wesley looked at them for a moment then sighed he figured he would come out honest with them. So he sat down and explained the results.

"Well first of all Mr. Sanders had a bullet lodged in his left leg so it took a while to get him into surgery because of the hypothermia he suffered we had to rid him of it, then we needed to pump some blood into him because of the amount he lost and once we've done all that he was ready to be wheeled into surgery and that alone took at least 4 hours because the bullet was lodged so deep in his leg it took us a while to get it out he was lucky it didn't hit any major arteries unfortunately he won't be able to use his left leg for a while until it heals properly, but because his lower body was submerged underwater we are going to keep an eye out for infections that could develop. Also it appears that he was struck in the head with some sort of blunt object I'm surprised he didn't pass out from the concussion he sustained from the blow. He's sleeping now so you can go and see him now if you wish" Dr. Wesley said they nodded. He told them the room number and they made they're way to the room.

They entered the room and saw Greg lying there with his left leg propped up and wrapped in a cast. Nick tugged a chair from one of the corners and sat next to Greg facing the door as he took his left hand in his and squeezed it gently.

"Greg; you had me worried as did the rest! Don't ever do that to us again" Nick scolded gently with a smile. He then stroked his hair and placed a kiss on his forehead he instantly drew back in shock. He pushed the button to call for a nurse.

"Yes?" a male's voice came through

"Sir the patient seems to have a fever is there anythin' you can do?" Nick asked.

"I'll be right there" he said politely. 'Of course it had to be a male nurse' Nick thought

"Thank you" with that the conversation ended.

It didn't take very long for the nurse to come in. he walked over to where Nick was sitting and Greg was sleeping. Nick could see that he was a very attractive young man, but he only had eyes for Greg and Greg alone no one else. The nurse however looked at Greg very fondly as he gently gave him some medicine to help reduce his fever then he lovingly checked his forehead which caused Nick to become very possessive as he cleared his throat. The nurse looked up at him.

"You uh done checkin' my boyfriend there buddy?" Nick asked rudely the look on his face would have been comical if not for the fact that this nurse was feeling up his boyfriend. He nodded "Good then get yer hands off of him please" Nick said very calmly, but with a warning tone. The nurse back away as he looked at the others they nodded in agreement to what Nick said so he left without a word.

"Oh my gosh! I believe he liked Greg" Catherine said. Warrick snorted with a smirk.

"Yeah I believe you may have competition there Nick-O" Warrick stated Nick just shook his head.

"Oh no! There is no competition because if he even thinks about comin' near Greg again without doin' his job I will personally make sure he steers clear of him" Nick announced he smiled and looked down at Greg and frowned. "Now If only he would wake up"

3 days went by as Greg was still unresponsive the Dr gave a good prognosis insisting that he would wake soon, but only time will tell if he does. So day after day hour after hour Nick and the rest of the team came filing in to see him as did Nick's family who insisted on staying until the young man woke up as did Katie who wanted to see Greg more then anything. Katie approached Greg's bed, she took his hand into hers.

"Greggy please wake up! I miss you" Katie whispered she was now sobbing as Nick took her into his arms.

"Shhhh it's ok Katie, he'll wake up soon you'll see" Nick cooed trying to sooth her she nodded her head against his chest then looked up at him.

"This is all my fault" Katie said suddenly Nick quickly looked at her and shook his head.

"Oh no honey this is not your fault ok? It was your daddy who did all this not you so don't blame yourself understand?" Nick pointed out.

"But if it weren't for me Poppa..." Katie suddenly stopped she not only shocked herself, but Nick and the others too.

"Did you just call Greg poppa honey?" Nick asked sweetly Katie nodded numbly.

"You know I think he would have loved to hear you call him that" Nick said Katie looked at him as he nodded.

"Really?" she asked.

"Oh yeah! I have seen Greg get attached to people before, but your the first I have ever seen him emotionally attached too. He loves you like you were his own daughter" Nick told her she truly smiled for the first time in her life.

"I would love to have Greggy as my poppa and you as my daddy" Katie said this shocked Nick once again then he smiled with teary eyes and drew the little girl into his arms and hugged her.

"I would love to be your daddy, but we will have to wait and see what happens ok sweetie?" Nick said then asked she nodded.

"Hey little bro! How about I talk to some social workers and see what I can do about lettin' Greg adopt Katie" Ronnie said Nick looked at her and nodded.

"Yeah thanks Ron! That'll be great I really appreciate it a lot" Nick said she nodded and smiled.

"It's no problem just let me make a few calls and then set it up from there" Ronnie stated.

Nick nodded his thanks and began a deep conversation with his family as Grissom and the others came waltzing in they had smiles on their faces. They sat down and told Nick the good news that Bryan Simmons was going to be prosecuted to the full extent of the law with every evidence they had collected and with the testimony's they had it would be a sure slam dunk case. Nick smiled as he hugged Katie close. Suddenly a loud moaning came from the hospital bed everyone turned to see Greg's eyes opening. Nick got up and stood beside him as the two lovers made eye contact once again both smiling at each other.

"Hey sunshine welcome back"

tbc...