A/N: Youall may need a flood light for this one.
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Chapter Eleven
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When Doctor Maria Kitts walked through the door Sara was a little surprised. For some reason, which she could not quite figure out, she hadn't expected the older, pleasant looking woman that stood before her with a warm smile and an extended hand.
"You must be Miss Sidle."
"Yes, but please, call me Sara."
Sara felt relaxed and comfortable in Maria's presence. Unlike any other doctor that she had seen.
"I'm Maria Kitts, the neurologist, and you can call me Maria."
Sara nodded and motioned to Jim.
"This is Jim Brass, he's family and you can share your findings with him as well."
"Pleasure to meet you, Jim."
He shook her hand and returned her warm smile.
She stepped over to the bed and let her eyes run over Gil's injured body.
"This must be Gil." She said with a touch of sadness in her voice.
"Yes." Sara replied quietly.
"I won't beat around the bush." She looked back at them. "I've seen his CT scan and his brain injury is very serious. Let me do a general exam and we'll see where that takes us, okay? Then I'll want to talk to you about possible aftereffects when I'm done."
She looked at Sara and Jim and when Sara nodded she stepped over to the bed.
She stood in silence for a long minute and watched Gil's chest rise and fall. The she took her stethoscope and listened to his breathing. When she was satisfied, she finished with his chest and moved up to his head. She pulled a fundoscope out of the pocket of her lab coat and gently parted his eye lids, examining one eye at a time. He cringed, ever so slightly, when she opened his swollen right eye and she finished her exam with a wide smile on her face.
"Good news." She announced as she turned to look at them. "Gil is not in a coma."Both Jim and Sara were relieved and it was evident on their faces.
"He is what we consider borderline. Which means that he is not in a coma but because of the type and amount of damage it is still possible that he could slip into one."
A trembling sigh escaped Sara's lips and Jim took her hand and gave it a gentle squeeze.
"However, under the circumstances this is probably the best for him right now." Maria explained. "When a patient suffers severe injuries and trauma there are occasions when we induce a coma to allow the body to heal itself. His body has done that naturally for him. So, for now, we'll monitor him closely and just wait for him to wake up."
"How long do you think it could be before he wakes up?" Sara asked.
"It's too difficult to say, Sara, and I don't want to instill false hope." She put her hand on Sara's arm and gave it a gentle squeeze. "Like I said, we'll monitor him closely and when he is ready he'll come back to you."
She reached into her coat pocket and pulled out a pamphlet.
"I want you to read this when you get a minute. It explains what some of the symptoms are that patients who have suffered serious concussions may experience afterwards. Most of these symptoms will only last a few weeks, but it is possible that some could last a few months. That is if he experiences them at all. If you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask."
Maria promised to return in the morning and left them alone in troubled silence.
"I'm sure the others would like to see him." Jim quietly suggested after a long moment.
Sara nodded her head and he left the room. The others were grateful to be given their turn to see their friend and to remind Sara that they were there and ready to help in any way. Greg had been the last to go in and he did so reluctantly. He kept himself at a distance and his teary eyes never left Gil's bruised face. Sara watched him carefully and when he spoke to her he never took his eyes off of Gil.
"I'm so sorry, Sara." His voice trembled. "If there's anything I can do."
He didn't give her time to respond. He hurried out of the room and down to the end of the hall.
Catherine sighed as they watched Greg hurry past the waiting room.
"He's taking this pretty hard." Nick said with a sad shake of his head.
"I'll go talk to him." Catherine sighed as she stood from her seat on the couch.
Greg stood at the end of the hall, in front of the large bay window that overlooked part of the city.
"Greg?"
She put her hand on his shoulder and gently turned him around. He looked back at her with sad, tear soaked eyes.
"He doesn't blame you, Greg."
He didn't speak, only hung his head, and she gently embraced him in hug.
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Jim had convinced the others, after a lot of arguing, to go home and get some much needed rest. He told them that they could return in the morning and relieve he and Sara. He said that he would try to get her to go home in the morning and get some rest, but they all agreed that she would not leave.
Jim had gone down to the cafeteria to get another refill of coffee and at the same time take advantage of the opportunity to stretch his legs which had begun to stiffen up on him. He stood in front of the elevator, waiting for the car to return and take him on his magic carpet ride. He chuckled to himself as he realized that he was now going to have that song stuck in his head for the rest of the day. As he stood watching the numbers light up someone called him from behind. He turned his head to see Conrad approaching.
"Hey, Jim."
"Hey."
Jim looked down at his watch and was surprised to see that it was already close to six in the evening.
"How's he doing?" Conrad asked as he joined Jim in his wait.
"He's alive." Jim said with a slight hesitation.
The bell dinged and the doors opened. They were both grateful to be the only ones riding this time.
"Did you find the third guy at the scene?" Jim asked hopefully.
"No, but we did find a set of tire tracks that didn't match the black van or the car that O'Tool was driving when he was picked up. We took castings to be analyzed at the lab and I'll interrogate O'Tool when I get back."
The elevator came to a stop and let them out on their floor.
As they neared Gil's room Conrad put a hand on Jim's arm, stopping him in his tracks.
"I think you forgot something." Conrad said as he held out Jim's badge.
Jim looked down at his badge and took it, somewhat reluctantly.
"Conrad… I know I lost my temper during that interrogation… but if you're looking for an apology-"
He was cut off when Conrad held up his hand for Jim to stop talking.
"Look, Jim, I know Gil and I have never really seen eye to eye and we've done our share of head butting, but…"
He had to pause and Jim thought he saw the man's eyes begin to mist.
"I don't know if you took a good look at that room or not, but… I did and it was brutal."
He looked away for a long moment before continuing.
"There were two sets of bloodied shackles hanging from the walls… a bull whip that was coated with blood… and a bowl of bloodied roach clips that had what looked like small chunks of flesh caught in the teeth."
Jim cringed at the images that were presented with each thought that Conrad's words entered into his mind.
"As far as I'm concerned," Conrad continued. "O'Tool threatened you and you had to restrain him."
Jim was humbled by what had just been revealed and was glad that they had an understanding and they silently acknowledged their pact.
When they entered Gil's room Doctor Diller was standing at Gil's bedside and Sara was pointing to the multiple gauze pads that were taped under his arms.
"What are these wounds here, doctor? I don't remember you mentioning them earlier."
"I believe they might be wounds that he sustained when he was whipped." He carefully lifted the sheet to reveal more patches on his inner thighs but nothing more. "But it looks like the skin was ripped off by something…jagged maybe…" His thought trailed off.
Jim and Conrad exchanged concerned looks.
"Could that have been caused by roach clips?"
Jim's abrupt question caught Diller and Sara off guard and they both looked at him, confused by what he said.
"I found a bowl of bloody roach clips at the scene." Conrad explained.
"I'm sorry, who are you?" Diller asked politely.
"Conrad Ecklie." He held out his hand which the doctor shook. "I'm the lead investigator on this case."
Conrad ignored Sara when she glared at him.
"So they attached the roach clips to his skin…" Diller began.
"And ripped them off." Sara finished.
Diller closed his eyes and sadly shook his head.
"It never ceases to amaze me." He looked at Gil. "He'll need a tetanus shot."
"He had one six months ago." Sara smiled at the memory. "He stepped on a nail in the garage."
"I remember that." Jim nodded. "We called him 'Ol Doc Hobble for three days. I believe his exact words were, "fucking nails."
Sara had enjoyed the smile. It had been her first unforced and happy smile in two days, but one look at Gil's helpless form again brought back the sadness that had taken its place in her life.
Then they heard it. From the bed came a soft whimper of pain. All four heads turned to see what it was that had made the noise. Gil still lay on his side, his facial features flinching and the fingers of both hands twitching. It lasted a full minute as they stood in shocked silence, but Sara came out of her surprise and went back to his bedside. When she took his hand and spoke softly to him his sleep calmed and the nightmare was chased away. Diller checked his vital signs and when he was satisfied he turned back to the others.
"Even though that was obviously a nightmare it's still a good sign." He explained. "Any brain activity is a good sign. I'll call Doctor Kitts and let her know."
He started to leave but turned back.
"Um, forgive me but almost forgot." He cleared his throat. "We've taken blood samples and have sent them to our lab to test for AIDS and STD's and I had one of our nurses run a rape kit."
"I'll need that rape kit, doctor." Conrad spoke up.
Diller nodded and excused himself.
"So, what?" Anger and sarcasm seeped through Sara's voice. "You just, all of a sudden decide that you want to help Gil? Or are you doing this for you own personal gratification?"
She continued to glare at him and his face began to redden as his own anger grew, but he calmed himself before responding.
"The reason we're taking Gil's case on days is because when we get these bastards in court I don't want the judge to throw out the case because their lawyers said the investigating team was partial, because their boss was the victim. Also, because you guys are distraught over this and no one can blame you. I only watched the beginning of that disc and I know what it did to me so I can only imagine what it did to you guys to watch him abused like that."
Gil's eyes slowly fluttered open. He found himself looking at an empty chair, but when he heard voices his eyes began to slowly scan the room. He felt relieved to see the three familiar figures standing at the foot of his bed. He wondered if he was in a hospital. Then he vaguely wondered what disc it was that made them so distraught. As Conrad's last words reached Gil's ears and darkness overcame him again he was dragged back into the abyss.
"If you want to nail their asses to the wall," Conrad continued gently. "Then let's not leave any holes for them to bury us in."
Sara thought that maybe she had misjudged the man and let it drop. The doctor had returned and passed the kit off to Conrad. Jim said he'd walk him to his car and they would discuss putting an armed guard at the door, until the third man was found.
Sara sat down in the chair next to Gil's bed and toed off her shoes. She stretched her legs and wriggled her toes. She had barely slept since he had gone and now she tucked her feet underneath her and rested her head back on the chair. In seconds she was out like a light.
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Shelling watched from around the corner as Jim and Conrad walked out the front door discussing guard rotations. Once they were outside Shelling hurried over to the nurses station.
"Excuse me, ma'am?" His voice was coated with worry and desperation.
"Yes?" The young blond replied.
"My name is Aaron Grissom. I got a call about my brother, Gil. They said he was beat up and that I could see him here?"
"It's past visiting hours." She tried to explain.
He looked at the clock be hind her and it read just after eight.
"Please, ma'am," He pleaded. "I just drove here from Fresno and I just need to see him for a few minutes."
A tear formed in his eye and she paused before saying more. She hated refusing people to see their loved ones. She didn't become a nurse to be cruel. She became a nurse because she was compassionate and caring. She directed him up to Gil's room and warned him that he could only stay for fifteen minutes then would have to leave as it was past visiting hours. He thanked her over and over and hurried off to the bank of elevators.
When the elevator came to a stop he stepped off and peeked around the corner, smiling to himself when he saw the empty hallway.
"Not too smart for law enforcement." He thought aloud.
He quickly made his way to the end of the short hallway and slipped into Gil's room, quietly closing the door behind him. The only light in the room was the night lamp over the bed letting his eyes quickly adjust to the dark. As his sight fully adjusted he saw Gil's still form lying on the bed and beside him Sara slept soundly in the chair. Quickly and on quiet feet he moved to the other side of Gil's bed.
He looked down at Gil with blank eyes. As if he was not the one in control. As if… there was something in him. An explainable evil. He reached into the back of his pants and pulled out the eight inch bowie knife that was still nestled in its sheath. He slowly pulled the blade from its encasing and put his other hand over Gil's mouth. The blade glinted in the night light over Gil's bed as he purposefully brought it down to Gil's throat. He hesitated only for a moment. As the sharp edge cut deep into Gil's flesh his warm, sticky blood squirted onto Shelling's hand and coated the blade of the knife. The only noise heard from the dying form below him was a faint gurgling as he struggled for his very last breath. Then nothing. As Gil's life blood soaked the sheets that he lay on, Shelling turned his now hungry eyes towards Sara and started to make his way back around the bed.
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A/N: Floodlights, on! Don't give up one me, Sara hangs in the balance and they revive dead people everyday:)
