pippylongstockings - hello and welcome. Thank you, and I hope you continue to love it!
Nienna Tinehtele - I am getting a little carried away with the cliffhangers, I admit it! But no, I see an ending in my head, and it's not near it yet!
Chandra Nalaar - lol, thank you. And don't worry, there is more!!
Bmangaka - Well, we shall see...!
ambercsiny - well, in terms of ending, I think it will be a while before you'll be crying about it. But I'm glad you're loving it!
demolished-soul - No, that was a one off thing. I think I'd overload her if I gave her that ability. And the prize for reviewer number 2000 goes to you!
sparkyCSI - And the best bit is that I don't remember adding them! But I'm glad it works! I've added to the end of this one... so I hope you like what I've written!
RK9 - No, I'm not ending it. But there have been many occasions where I've thought about ending it there! I'm glad you enjoyed your holidays!
meadow567 - I tell you something, you've given me the idea of doing a sort of spin off with the alternative option. I may have to think that one through because the idea is definately growing! And I've finally watched Miracle! I can't believe I've been missing out on this one for so long!! I've had to watch it a couple of times over.
Alana Xavier1 - *cowers in fear* Yes, I know that! I'm continuing. And darn it, I wanna write that wedding! No, I think there's still a bit to go with this baby.
Axellia's Note: My medical knowledge comes from fourteen seasons of ER and four and a bit of Grey's Anatomy. If it's wrong, it's because I don't have a medical degree!
What The Eyes Can't See
Chapter 203: What it feels like to be a ghost
Flack watched in horror as Taylor fell backwards through the railing. He ran over to the edge, only to feel Mac's hand on his shoulder preventing him from going any further. 'Let go of me!' he cried angrily, shaking Mac's hand off of him.
'Down the stairs, Flack,' Mac told him, pulling him to the door from whence he came. Flack charged down the stairs, Mac and Danny close behind him, Danny calling through for medical assistance. The three of them burst through the doorway and into an enormous room.
In the centre was a pool of inky black water, still rippling from where Taylor had fallen in. Without even thinking, Flack dove in. It was just as dark in the water as it was out of it as he swam blindly trying to find Taylor. He sensed her long before he saw her, grabbing tightly to her and pulling her back to the surface and over to the side.
Danny and Mac leant over and hauled her out. 'Mac, she's not breathing,' Danny told him as he checked for a pulse.
Without a word, Mac began CPR and the chest compressions.
'Mac?' Flack cried after he had eventually pulled himself out of the water.
'Don, go wait outside for the paramedics,' Mac barked, barely looking over at the wet detective.
'Mac!'
'Now, Flack!' Mac ordered, snapping his head around at him. He turned to Danny. 'Get him out of here if you have to.'
Danny nodded and pushed Flack backwards. 'Don, you don't want to be here. Go make sure the ambulance can get here.'
Flack glared at his friend. 'Don't make me shoot you.'
'Nice try. Now get out,' Danny told him firmly, not breaking his stare.
'I'm not going anywhere,' Flack told him.
'Danny, get back here,' Mac called. 'Flack, you stay, but you stay there.'
Danny hurried over. 'What's the matter, Mac?'
'I need your jacket. She's too cold,' he told him through compressions.
'Mac, this doesn't look good, does it?' Danny asked, glancing down at the journalist's blue tinged face.
Mac looked at him, before returning his attention to Taylor.
---
'Mac!' Stella shouted at the first person she laid eyes on as she ran across the hospital followed closely by Hawkes, Lindsay, Peyton and Angell. 'How is she?' she asked as they stopped in front of him.
Mac shook his head. 'She's in surgery. The doctors haven't told us anything.'
'How's Don?' Angell asked, glancing over at the still wet detective.
'Not good,' Mac sighed. 'He's going nowhere.'
Angell nodded and headed over to the detective who was sitting so still he would have been able to give a statue a run for its money. 'Hey, Don.'
Flack blinked and turned his head, but looked straight through her, before returning his attention to the wall opposite.
Angell bit her lip before reaching over and taking his hand in hers and squeezed it. Flack squeezed it back as the tears began to stream down his face.
'Is there anything we can do?' Lindsay asked Mac quietly.
Mac nodded. 'Someone needs to get in touch with her family.'
'What about Cordelia?' Lindsay asked.
'Sasha agreed to watch her when we told her what had happened. I'd best give her a call and get her up to date with what happened,' Hawkes told them. 'Cordelia doesn't know anything.'
'I've got a spare key for Flack and Taylor's place,' said Lindsay. 'I'll grab some clean things for Cordelia and find a contact number for her family. Will someone call me if anything changes?'
Stella nodded. 'Don't worry.'
'I'll come with you,' Danny offered.
Lindsay nodded her acceptance and the two of them left.
---
Lindsay and Danny had returned before Taylor had come out of surgery and the group of them were waiting somewhat impatiently when the doctor finally came out to talk to them in the family room that they had been moved into.
'Taylor experienced significant trauma to her abdomen and she lost a lot of blood as well as sustaining some serious internal bleeding. We managed to repair the injuries, but we're worried about the amount of time she wasn't breathing for. She's being moved upstairs to ICU now.'
'Is she going to be alright?' Flack asked. He had leapt to his feet the second the doctor had walked through the door.
The doctor took a deep breath. 'At this point, I couldn't tell you for certain. Currently, we have a machine breathing for her and she is still unconscious.'
'Can I go and see her?' Flack asked.
'For a while,' the doctor agreed. 'The neurologist will be in to see you soon.'
With his face still as white as a sheet, Flack turned on his heel and headed up to the ICU.
Following the nurse's directions he found himself outside Taylor's room and pushed open the door. The sight inside made his heart break. Taylor was laying on a bed, with wires and tubes everywhere, her face so gaunt, it made the white sheets she was lying upon seem dazzling. Her hair was still damp, and the parts of her body above the sheets were covered in bandages.
'Oh god,' Flack choked on the sob caught in his throat. 'Taylor?' He walked over and sat down in the vacant chair, staring at her body which wasn't moving, save for the rhythmic steady rise and fall of her chest. Tentatively, his hand crept to meet hers, half scared that he might hurt her to touch it. They too were wrapped in bandages, a small gap for her drip. 'Taylor? It's me. Open those beautiful eyes and tell me I'm doofas for worrying about nothing,' he pleaded.
'Mr Flack?' a doctor interrupted from the doorway.
Flack quickly wiped his eyes and looked over at the doctor.
'I'm Dr. Singh,' the man introduced himself. 'I'm Miss Turner's neurosurgeon. I understand Miss Turner has listed you as her next of kin and power of attorney?'
Flack glanced down at the unconscious woman, a little surprised at the news, but nodded. 'How is she?'
Dr. Singh licked his lips. 'It's not good news, Mr Flack.'
'But she's gonna be alright, though. Isn't she?' Flack asked him, a hint of desperation in his voice.
'Mr. Flack, we have done everything we can. We have repaired the liver, and removed the spleen. But she was under the water for too long.'
Flack shook his head, his grip tightening around Taylor's limp fingers. 'No,' he told him. 'I got her out of there.'
Dr Singh sighed. 'Mr Flack-'
'It's Detective,' Flack snapped. 'And Taylor is going to be fine.'
'Detective Flack. I'm sorry, but the only thing keeping your fiancé alive is that machine,' Dr. Singh told him. 'Have the two of you talked about keeping her alive by artificial means?'
'Get out!' Flack roared. 'Taylor is going to be up soon and I don't want to wake up and hear you talking about turning off her machine!'
'Detective-'
'OUT!'
---
Taylor could feel the warmth long before she stretched and opened her eyes. As the smile spread across her lips, she opened her eyes to see the bright sun in the clear, cloudless sky.
'Hey,' a familiar voice greeted her.
Taylor turned her head, her smile turning to a frown as she found Maddy sat next to her. Slowly, Taylor pulled herself into a sitting position and looked around. She was sat on a beach of sand so white, it was blinding in the sun. Using her hand to shield her eyes, she surveyed the view; the turquoise sea, and the palm trees just behind her. Looking down, she was wearing a simple white bikini and sarong,
Taylor turned her attention back to her friend. 'I was shot?' she asked, rather than stated. 'How did I get here?' Taylor's brown eyes widened as the realization set in. 'Am I dead?!'
Maddy looked out at the water. 'There's someone who wants to talk to you.'
'Maddy, am I dead?' Taylor repeated a little more forcefully.
'He wanted to talk to you somewhere... neutral.'
'Maddy,' Taylor snapped. 'Am. I. Dead?'
'Well I suppose it depends on how you look at it,' Maddy sighed.
---
'Hey Don, how you holding up?' Stella asked, pushing a cup towards the detective who was still clinging to Taylor's hand as though he could somehow transmit the strength she needed through their touch.
'She's gonna wake up, Stell,' he croaked at her.
Stella set the coffee down on the sighed and placed a hand on Flack's shoulders. 'Don, the doctor has spoken to us-'
'He's wrong,' Flack snapped, glaring up at Stella. 'She just needs to rest a bit. She hasn't been sleeping much,' he added as he smoothed down Taylor's hair.
Stella watched the action, feeling the tears well up, and quickly wiped them away. 'You should go home for a bit, Don. Get out of those wet clothes.'
Flack gently shook his head. 'I'm not leaving her Stell. I want to be here when she wakes up.'
Stella watched him for a moment and walked out of the room to where everyone crowded around her.
'Well?' Angell asked.
Stella shook her head. 'He's not listening.' She turned to Hawkes and Peyton. 'Is there any chance the doctor is wrong?'
'We've both looked over the charts and spoken with him,' Hawkes replied. 'He's right. The only thing keeping Taylor alive is that machine.'
Behind them, Lindsay burst into tears.
'What about her parents?' Stella asked.
Danny looked over at Lindsay and pulled her to him. 'Her mother is getting the next plane out. She was trying to get a hold of Taylor's dad. He's back out in Middle East.'
Mac looked over at him. 'I'll see if I can get anywhere with that,' he muttered before heading to the door, pulling his cell phone out as he went.
---
'Maddy?' Taylor shouted helplessly. She was still on the beach, still in the bikini – it would have been a tropical paradise, all things considered. 'Maddy!' she cried again. The only response was the gentle sound of the waves lapping against the sand.
'Hello Taylor.'
Taylor started, whirling around to find an insanely good looking guy staring at her. With a face that would have suited a teen school drama a la The OC, and a body that was perfectly defined, he stood there holding a surfboard, dressed only in board shorts with a white and gold swirling pattern. 'Who are you?' Taylor demanded.
'Lucas,' he told her. 'But you can call me Luke.'
'And you can call me the first flight out of here,' Taylor told him.
'I don't think there's going to be a plane heading her for a while yet,' Luke shrugged, his \eyes staring searchingly at her.
'You got me here. You can get me out of here,' Taylor pointed out.
'And where do you think here is?' he asked her.
Taylor glanced around. 'Somewhere I'm not supposed to be.'
---
As Cory finished up the paper work that came with rescue of Taylor, the memories that she had been working hard to ignore starting coming to the surface. After filing the last report, she knew that she needed to go to the hospital; her conscience would not allow her to do anything else. She sighed as she climbed into her car, knowing that if Detective Flack saw her, he'd probably try to kill her, so she decided on an alternate plan.
Quickly, she picked up her personal cell phone—she didn't want to chance the FBI to have a record of what she was doing by using her work phone—and dialed the hospital. When the receptionist answered the phone, she put her best drawl into her voice. "Yes, ma'am. My name is Special Agent Corinne Reid with the FBI and I am checking on the status of a patient so that I'll know exactly what charges I need to file against the assailant."
"I'm sorry, but we are not allowed to disclose patient information over the phone," the pleasant voice on the other end of the line said.
Cory sighed. She'd expected this. "All right, then can you please tell me what room she is in, so I can consult with the doctors?" Cory smiled as the woman readily gave her that information and as soon as she parked in the hospital garage, she was already making her way to the floor. Quickly surmising that since Taylor was in ICU, there could be only one person in at a time with her, she knew that she had a chance of seeing her.
When she arrived at the floor, she quickly looked around for any members on the crime lab, and seeing none, managed to get a nurse to give her the prognosis on the battled injured woman. When the kind woman was done, Cory's gut was tied into knots. Damn it. It will not turn out this way this time, she thought to herself venomously. She hid around a corner, watching the woman's room and when Flack left, she grabbed her chance to go in unseen.
As she walked into the room, the silence only broken by the beeping of machines, her mind brought back the one memory that she'd never let herself think about. Overlaid on top of Taylor was the image of another woman, seemingly in the same condition. Cory bit her lip as she sank into the chair beside the bed. "No," she muttered, shaking her head. "No. This will not end up the same." She looked at the pale woman in the bed. "Do you hear me Taylor? I will not have your death on my soul as well. You will live," she said forcefully, not realizing that she had company.
"So, you fully admit that this is your fault, SSA Reid?" Flack sneered from the doorway.
Cory stood. "Not SSA, not anymore. Try Special Agent, Detective," she said softly, not defending herself from the guilt.
Flack was barely listening to her, so angry at himself for going out with Danny instead of going to the party with Taylor that he just transferred his anger to her. "So, that's the only punishment you get? I lose my fiancée, Cordelia loses an aunt, the crime lab loses another person that they are close to and you just get demoted?" Flack practically screamed as he stood in her face.
Cory bit her lip. "I deserve that and so much more. Look, I hope that one day you'll accept the fact that I never meant for any of this to happen," she began, blinking back tears, "but let Taylor know that I apologize to her when she wakes up." She turned and walked out of the room, holding back the tears until she got in the elevator, when she covered her face with her hands, her iron control finally cracking.
Flack watched in shock as the FBI agent that had fought him tooth and nail just accepted the unfair accusations that he was flinging at her with only a flinch. He blinked, not sure that he had heard her correctly and in that time, she had left the room. Before he could even tell her that he never wanted her near Taylor again.
---
Mac had been pacing back and forth, only a few feet from Taylor's room. He was worried. About Flack. He had discussed the situation with both Peyton and Hawkes, who had admitted that there was nothing they could see that meant the doctors were wrong. He'd had is differences with the journalist, but he'd never wished this upon her. And although he'd never admit it aloud, he would probably miss her guest appearences in the lab. Even if she wasn't supposed to be there.
He'd seen something in her. Maybe if he'd have gotten to her before she'd gone to college, he could have convinced her to do a degree in science, and then guided her to becoming a CSI - she'd probably have made a damn good CSI with that intuition. Or ghosts as she'd like to refer to is as. But there was nothing he could do about that now.
Flack, on the other hand, he could do something about that. Or at least try. He'd overheard the conversation he'd had with Cory. Well, it was hard not to.
Giving Flack the time to cool down, Mac hurried off down the corridor, sliding his hand into the lift to stop it closing at the last possible moment. As the doors slid back open, he slipped in, taking the space next to Cory.
Cory quickly ducked her head away to wipe away the tears, sniffed, and stood upright, staring at her slightly disfigured reflection in the shiney lift doors.
'He doesn't mean it, you know,' Mac said, without looking at her.
'He does,' Cory responded, also keeping her gaze in front of her. 'And I don't blame him.'
'No,' Mac disagreed. 'He doesn't. He just doesn't know where to place his grief. And unfortunately you happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.'
'I wish you were right,' Cory muttered.
'You got demoted?' Mac asked her.
Cory looked up at him and nodded. 'I had a rouge agent.'
'What did you mean by not having Taylor's death on your conscience?'
Cory shook her head. 'It's just something that happened a long time ago,' she told him. 'And it's something I can't go through again. I won't.'
Mac studied her. 'What do you mean by that?'
'I don't think I can do this anymore,' she admitted.
'Let me give you some advice,' Mac said as the lift pinged open. 'Take a vacation. A sabbatical. You're good at what you do, Reid. Don't let a couple of bad experiences bring you down.'
Cory gave him a small smile and left.
Today, the UK ground to a halt. It turns out that people just don't know what to do when that white stuff falls from the sky... seriously... we had a foot of it and nobody could cope. At least my rabbits liked it.