Heading out but wanted to post this before I left, I hope you all enjoy it! Please review, let me know what you think.
Undertow
(5)
The tension was thick in the air as the heavy smell of coffee filtered through the break room. Those closest to Greg had gathered hoping for answers as to what was happening to their friend. Sara stood next to Brass, her hands in her back pockets rocking back on her heels as she let the detective talk.
"So we know Greg didn't kill Sara" He said in a low voice his. He paused casting his eyes over the room the silence giving them to figure out what it was he was going to say next. They all waited with baited breath looking to Sara as she scowled at Brass, her eyes burning through him warning them that his attitude was not going be easy to swallow. "But we don't know if he's hurt someone else..."
"He hasn't" Sara announced firmly making sure that her voice was heard by everyone in the room.
"Either way" Russell paused meaningfully meeting Sara's eye letting her know that it was neither the time nor place to start an argument about the possibilities. As criminalists they knew only too well that you couldn't judge a person at face value. Some of the sickest killers they had put away had been able to blend into society as just another face in a crowd. "We need to find out what made Greg walk into work this morning and confess to raping and murdering someone."
"It could be medical" Hodges suggested his hands tucked into his pockets leaning forwards slightly with wide eyes. "A brain trauma... a tumour..." He stated quietly realising the alarm it would cause, a consensus spreading throughout the room that it was a likely possibility.
"Or something psychological" Morgan added. She took a quick breath meeting Sara's eye before looking at Brass. "Or side effect... of some kind of medication... or drug"
"Greg is not a drug addict" Sara shot back looking towards Nick for support but he remained quiet not wanting to discount any of the suggestions. Something was up with their friend and they couldn't just ignore it and hope whatever it was would go away.
"Sara I know you want to see the best in Greg, we're all trying to do the same... but it's something that we have to consider" Russell said, gently touching her shoulder but she visibly flinched away the dark look in her eyes giving away her clear stance. "I think we need to organise a psych evaluation, get a blood test see if there's anything weird in his system, and then take him to the hospital"
"We should take him to the hospital first" Sara growled. "What if he's seriously ill"
"It's only going to take a couple of hours and we'll take him to the hospital" Russell paused meeting her gaze not finding himself intimidated by the hostility she was clearly displaying. She sighed, her shoulders slouching as she evidently gave up realising that it was more important to find out what was wrong with Greg.
She followed Hodges as he made his way to lock up a kit for the blood test in his hand. Hodges shot an irritated glance over his shoulder, shaking his head before looking away. Sara took note of his resistance at accompanying him to see Greg but she did not plan of giving him what he wanted and walking away.
"You know I can do this by myself" Hodges muttered beneath his breath just loud enough for her to hear. "I don't need you to hold my hand"
"Of course you can" She raised her eyebrows. "And don't worry I have no intention of holding any part of you."
"You can't go in there. You know that" He stated firmly, closing the door behind him leaving Sara to look in. Greg refused to meet her eye focusing on the floor as he let Hodges take a blood sample- he looked exhausted, dejected. Shadows of stubble were creeping up his cheek bones, dark circles framing his eyes. There was a slight shake in his hand as he ran his fingers through his hair, light sweat gleaming across his skin. Greg didn't say a word to Hodges watching as the lab tech left, glancing at Sara before looking away.
"You should go home" Russell's voice caught her off guard. Sara turned on her heels attempting to think through what he had suggested it didn't seem right when her best friend was struggling with something he had been trying so desperately to hide from them all until this point.
"I can't" She shook her head. "Not until I know Greg's okay" Russell simply just nodded.
"I've called the departmental psychiatrist- he should be here any moment. He knows how urgent this is" The older man informed her hoping that the information would relax her slightly.
The sound of clicking heels filled the almost silent hall pulling their attention away from Greg. A tall smartly dressed man approached them, a bundle of files in his arms and a grim expression crossing his features.
"Dr Mason" He offered his hand to DB and then Sara in turn not bothering with formalities. "I've heard that this was urgent"
"Yes...Greg Sanders" Russell indicated to holding room Greg was in. "He confessed to a crime he hadn't committed, he's not himself, he's not acting like himself and I, amongst others, would like to know what is going on"
"I can conduct a psych evaluation and give you my initial thoughts" Dr Mason told them. "And we can figure out what is the best thing way to go about treating whatever it is." He silently nodded a goodbye at them opening the door and stepping inside. Greg remained firmly in his place barely registering the presence.
"Hi Greg, I'm Dr Mason, I'm here to ask you some questions" He smiled sitting himself down. "Can you talk me through what happened the other night?"
"Sara, you should get some rest, Greg is going to need you later" Russell urged her to leave once again. She reluctantly glanced into the room knowing that for the moment there was nothing else she could do. All they had at the moment was waiting.
Sara nodded studying Greg once more before making her way towards the break room closely followed by Russell. They glanced in to the DNA lab to see Hodges hovering by Henry as he worked with the blood sample they had collected. She sat herself down on the sofa, lifting the newspaper onto her lap attempting to focus for a moment on something, anything but Greg.
She leant back in her seat, resting her head against the sofa closing her eyes attempting to let all of the feelings of foreboding that were filling her body pass. But despite attempting to push everything out she couldn't help but picture Greg in his current state. The reel of images seemed to fade out into darkness as the exhaustion took over as she drifted off to sleep.
Sara woke with a jerk, her whole body falling forward, her eyes slowly adjusted to the light and the sounds that surrounded her. Russell was standing by the doorway with a sombre expression waiting for her to be fully conscious.
"We know what's wrong with Greg" He announced gravely.
