My Way is Clear

by Simply Ginger

Nick meets a paramedic after getting injured at a crime scene. In an AU, this is their story. This is not a slash and all the characters from CSI show up eventually.

41. Ain't No Sunshine When She's Gone

Chapter 41 – Ain't No Sunshine When She's Gone

Bryan

Not even giving the doctors a chance to object after we signed Aggie over to them, I stayed with her as they were giving her the once over. One of them started to argue with me to get me to leave, but I adamantly refused. He ignored me and went back to treating her for the time being.

I had been watching for about half an hour when I felt someone behind me and knew immediately who it was, "Cathy."

"Oh, God." Cathy moved forward to get a better look at Aggie but saw the tear stains down my dirty face, "Did they…Is Nick…Did he…"

She was trying to ask me if CSI Man was alive, "Yeah. He's alive." I pawed at tears falling down my face as I yanked the earpiece to my radio out of my ear. I couldn't take the distraction of every police officer in Clark County constantly radioing about how CSI Man was, "I don't know how he's doing though. Aggie was having contractions at the nursery where they found him. I had to sedate her in the truck so she wouldn't wake up on the way here to keep her rates down." One of the ED nurses shoved me back and Cathy took my hand and pulled me to the corner of the trauma bay, "Her water didn't break though, but she was having contractions and they were pretty bad." The effort to fight back tears was making throat hurt, "That's about all I know right now."

Cathy put her arms around my waist as I put one of my arms across her shoulders and held on to her, "She'll be okay. They'll start the magnesium drip as soon as she's stable so they can stop the labor. Anna and the baby will be fine."

I've known Cathy long enough and I noticed that she wasn't so sure of herself about the docs being able to stop Aggie's labor but I didn't say anything. I just kept watching as Aggie's OB came in and started to do her exam. Cathy excused herself from the room and I followed her outside and leaned against a wall to recoup. It was the first quiet moment I had had in over twenty hours. It was a mistake for me to work the extra day without Aggie given how tired I was right now and I still had two more days to face after this. After a few minutes of silence, I looked around and didn't see anyone near me. Cathy had disappeared, "Cathy?" She was gone, "Hon?"

When I finally found her, she was three doors down in another trauma room watching through the window as they were working feverishly to save CSI Man, "They've just intubated him. I can't tell from here what they've done other than that. Was he conscious at the scene?"

"Yeah." I choked back more tears, "He was but barely. I know he heard Aggs screaming for him, but he was in so much pain from the ant bites that I don't know if he was even aware of what was going on. When Aggie collapsed, I ran with her to the other ambulance and didn't even see them loading him in. I had one of the guys call the hospital MedComm to find out how he was doing, but even then, it was grim."

With us quietly watching, the doctors in the trauma room continued to work on CSI Man. I was just about to leave to go check on Aggie when I saw Catherine and another CSI standing in the doorway towards the trauma room. Without an ID badge or the code to get in the doors, that was as far as they'd go. Cathy hit the button on the inside where we were and the doors swung open. Catherine took a step in but didn't go very far and had to take a step towards Cathy so that the doors would close, "Is he in there?"

I cast a forlorn glance over at the windows to the trauma bay where CSI Man was, "Yeah."

"Do I want to know how he is?"

"Intubated. That's about all I know. Anna is three doors that way." I pointed to the left of where we were. "I had to sedate her in the rig to keep her calm. She passed out at the nursery, but I didn't want her to wake up."

The four of us stood in silence, keeping our vigil over CSI Man, until one of the docs that was working on him came out, "Cathy?"

She looked over at him when she heard her name, "Russell? How's Nick?"

"And these are…" The man looked at us.

"Oh, my husband, Bryan who is Nick's brother in law and these two are from the crime lab."

Catherine stepped forward and held out her ID, "Catherine Willows, assistant supervisor. This is CSI Greg Sanders. We work with Nick and were at the scene where he was found. His parents are on their way up here."

"I see." He held out his hand and I shook it, "Dr. Russell Toll. I'm the ED attending tonight. Should we wait on his parents to get here? I noticed he wore a wedding band from the tan line. Where's his wife?"

I couldn't say it. I pointed towards the other trauma bay as Cathy spoke up for me, "She was brought in right after Nick was. Premature labor."

"Damn." Dr. Toll passed a glance back towards the trauma room, "We've given him paralytics plus massive doses of steroids and antihistamines to keep the swelling down as well as a double dose of the anti venom to counteract the ant stings. We've also started him on fluids to deal with the extremely severe case of dehydration plus pain medication and antibiotics. There are several other doctors in with him now." He took a step towards the wall when a tech came through, pushing a portable x-ray into Nick's room, "He's serious. Very serious. We're doing all we can for him to keep him out of multiple organ and system failure and feel that a medically induced coma is the best way to handle his condition for now. How's his wife?"

I shook my head, "I had to sedate her in the ambulance on the ride over. She collapsed at the scene after going into premature labor. She was in labor probably a few hours but kept lying to everyone until the contractions got pretty bad."

"I'm looking for Bryan Brooks?"

"Me." I turned around and saw a woman in surgical scrubs looking out of Aggie's room, "What's wrong?"

"Patricia Stokes is here. She asks that you meet her up front."

"Be right back." I left Cathy, the two CSIs and Dr. Toll where they were and went up front to get CSI Man's parents.

They were hugging in the waiting room with the CSI bug guy and Warrick beside them. The other CSI woman who was at the scene was behind CSI Man's mother but I couldn't for the life of me think of her name right now. Susan? Serena? Stacey? I knew it was an S name but I'll be damned if I could remember it right now, "Mr. and Mrs. Stokes?"

"Bryan." CSI Man's mom walked to where I was and pulled me into a hug, "Where's my Nicholas? Where's Anna?"

"Nick is in there." I pointed to the trauma room down the hall, "And Anna's down that way. I don't know much. The ED doc working on Nick knows my wife and said he's sedated, intubated and heavily medicated."

"And Anna and the baby?"

Cathy told us to come on back, "We don't know." She turned her attention back to the window into the room where Aggie was, "Her OB is in there with her now, but we don't know. No one has told us anything about Anna yet."

Sara. Her name was Sara. It dawned on me while I was watching Aggie until a nurse drug a standing curtain over and blocked our view, "No…"

"What?" Patricia and her husband looked at me, "What?"

I didn't answer. A million thoughts were running through my head. Emergent c-section. Aggie crashed again. The baby was in distress. Aggie was dead. The baby had to be delivered right now. The baby was dead. Without saying a word, I found the nearest bathroom and threw up. My best friend was in danger and there wasn't a damn thing I could do about it. She was about to get the ass kicking of her life when she woke up for not listening to me and for not going to the hospital earlier in the night. I deserved one myself for not drugging her and taking her myself.

An hour later, Aggie's doctor finally came out and said they were moving her up to the OB floor to monitor her and the baby, "Her labor hasn't stopped yet, but I promise you, we will do everything to stop it." She took me by the arm and pulled me into an alcove with the other CSIs and Nick's parents following us, "Anna is still unconscious after we sedated her again. She grew quite combative and very unreasonable. That's why we had to use the curtain. She was waking up and we didn't want her to see anything."

In the midst of everything going on, I had to smile. That was my Aggie. Stubborn and pig headed as always. "I take it the sedatives I gave her in the ambulance wore off?"

"Yes. Sedating her again keeps her calm and it is keeping her rates down, protecting the fetus."

Right on cue, one of the orderlies shoved the trauma room doors open and pushed Aggie out in the hallway, "Aggs?" I picked up her hand, "Anna?" She didn't respond and before I had a chance to argue, they shoved her away from my grasp, "Can I go with her?"

Dr. Lindley looked at me, "And you are?"

"Her brother." Patricia spoke up as she put her hand on my shoulder which surprised me, "This is my daughter-in-law's brother. I'm her mother-in-law and this is my husband, Bill. The rest of them are with the Crime Lab. Her husband, my son, was brought in earlier."

"I see." Dr. Lindley looked at the group of people crowded into the hallway. I was standing close to Cathy and the two CSIs were standing behind her. CSI Man's parents were off to one side with an OB nurse behind them, "The brother and in-laws can go. The rest of you can stay in the waiting room on the floor and take turns. I don't want too many people crowding her when she wakes up." Without another word, she turned and started towards the service elevators.

I led the way up the service elevators and to the fourth floor where the OB wing was. We were told to wait out in the hallway until they got Aggie settled in, then one of the floor nurses would call us in.

It was a long four hours before we were finally allowed to come in. After many more exams and adjustments to the medications, Dr. Lindley told us it was safe, but for us not to stay too long.

CSI Man's parents stayed with me for about ten minutes but left to go check on their son who was also just brought up to a room on the ICU floor which was one level down from where I was with Aggie. Patricia gave me her cell phone number and asked I call if there was any change with Aggie. I gave her mine and asked that she do the same if there was any change with CSI Man.

I had one of the OB nurses bring me a reclining chair and settled in. It was about to be a long night.

I was about half asleep when a thought jarred me awake. Aggie's parents.

"Damn it." I groaned. I know they probably wouldn't care, but I had to call them. Reaching in my pocket for my phone, I dialed their number and began to explain what had happened. Aggie's frigid mother answered the phone and her only response was that she'd pray for Aggie's safety as well as the safety of the baby and CSI Man.

"Merci I pensent." I shoved the phone back in my pocket and exhaled a heavy sigh, "Je devine qu'elle n'est pas importante." Dealing with Aggie's parents was never on my list of top things to do, but they deserved to know what happened to not only CSI Man, but also their daughter. Too bad they didn't give a shit.

I knew when I called that the response would be a bit brash, but not this bad. Rather than being concerned about their daughter, Aggie's mother said she'd tell husband, Samantha and Aggie's grandmother and that they'd all pray for her. I balled up my hands into tight fists and leaned against the concrete wall in the hospital room. Fighting back the tears, I calmed my nerves and turned around to see Patricia in the room with me, "How long have you been here? I didn't even hear you come in."

She stayed on the opposite side of Aggie's bed but picked up one of her hands, "A few minutes. I gather from the conversation, that was some of Anna's family? What was it you said?"

"Yeah." I resumed my post over Aggie as I sat down, "Her mother. I said 'Thanks I think. I guess she's not important.' That's par for the course. My parents are worried sick."

Patricia took the seat on the opposite side of the bed, "And they'll be here when?"

I let out a bitter laugh, "Her parents aren't coming. Said they would pray for her and for me to email them with updates. I hate dealing with her family. They do whatever they want and it never involves Anna. I told my parents to stay where they were and I'd let them know."

"I'm sorry, Bryan. I truly am. No child deserves to have parents like that." Patricia put down Aggie's hand gently on the bed, "How is she doing?"

"Sedated." I let out a sigh as I rubbed the sleep from my eyes, "Still sedated. The magnesium drip has been going for a while now. Anna's OB has been in and out all day and said the labor has slowed down, but not stopped. She wants to keep Anna sedated for at least another day. How's Nick?"

"The same. Doctors are still worried about the severity of the ant bites and keep whispering behind our backs that they're not sure if he'll even pull through. Their main concern is kidney or liver failure from the toxins from the venom." Patricia was quiet as she watched Aggie, "He will pull through though. They don't know my son."

Shortly after that, Patricia left but said Bill would be in sometime in the next hour to check on Aggie. Until she woke up, they were going to take turns sitting with CSI Man as well as Aggie. I told her I wouldn't leave Aggs alone and that made her feel better.

My parents called about an hour later and in the middle of the phone conversation, Bill came in and saw me holding Aggie's hand. He told me to finish my phone call and took a seat next to me while I told my parents what was going on. When I was finally finished, I asked how CSI Man was.

"Same. Sedated, swollen and covered in ant bites. He's got a long road ahead of him." Bill looked at me and crossed his arms, "I know you're not really her brother, are you?"

I turned around to see Bill staring hard at me, "Not biologically, no."

"Then why do you say you are?"

"How much has Nick told you about Anna's family?"

"Only that they're not close. Why?"

"Not close." I shook my head, "Not close is an understatement." I returned to keeping my vigil over Aggie, "Not close is a gross understatement. Did he tell you she basically lived with us after she turned six?"

"No."

"Well, she did." I sighed. I hated bringing these memories up. I knew Aggs didn't like people in her Kool-Aid and I wasn't comfortable devouring her personal information, but this man was her father in law and I didn't want to be thrown out of the hospital seeing as how he had the power to do that since I wasn't technically what anyone would legally call family, "I don't know how much Anna wants everyone to know, but the story in a nutshell is that she didn't have the happy childhood that you and your wife provided for your children. Anna has an older sister that her parents adored and doted over. When Anna was born, she was ignored. Her parents hired an au pair to tend to her until she was about five years old, then the nanny left to go back to England. After that, she and I became inseparable."

Bill turned his chair to an angle where he could watch me, "I still don't understand why you pass yourself off as her brother."

"Because until Nick came along, no one else gave a damn about her but me. That's why. Her own parents don't care. Her sister doesn't care. No one cares but my family and me. If you ask my mother, she's got two daughters and me. My sister Jenna, Anna and me. My parents gave Anna the happy childhood she didn't have at home. We've done everything together and I love her like I love Jenna. There's nothing romantic there and there never has been."

"I see."

I was beginning to get annoyed, "No, I don't think you do. I called her mother earlier and Patricia came in when I was ending my phone call. Anna's mother basically said she'd pray for her daughter and then hung up the phone. She had even forgotten Anna was pregnant. My mother and father have been calling me about every hour wanting to know how she is. My phone battery died from talking to them so much which is why I've got Anna's iPhone. I sent an email to Anna's sister and have yet to hear back."

"So they're not coming?"

I shook my head, "Doubt it. They don't care about her the way you care about Nick. You heard he was in trouble and what did you do? You hired a charter plane to get you to Las Vegas. What did Anna's mother do? Offer to pray. You see who's sitting here with her, don't you? Me. I'm the only one here besides Cathy, Patricia and you who give a damn about her."

"Look." Bill sighed, "I don't mean to sound harsh but I was just trying to understand you better. That's all. It hurt Patricia and me that you took Anna to the nursery to find Nick knowing about the contractions earlier."

"I took her because if I didn't, she'd go alone. She would have gone alone and God only knows what would have happened to her. Anna's a very, very stubborn woman and I knew she was going to that nursery with or without me, one way or another. No, I didn't want to take her. I wanted to keep her at CSI, but she insisted on going and trust me when I say, she would have found a way to get there, even if she hitchhiked. Because I was there, I was able to treat her on the way here. I was able to sedate her to keep her labor from progressing to the point of delivering a baby that in all likelihood wouldn't have survived."

"Then I guess I owe you a debt of gratitude."

"For what?"

"For keeping my daughter-in-law safe. For being there for her when Nicholas can't. For being her brother."

Finally I think he got it, "You don't owe me anything. Anna would have done it for me if the situation was reversed."

"You don't normally call her that, do you?"

I shook my head, "Nope but if I call her by her nickname around most people, it just confuses them."

"I see." Bill stood up, "I'm going to go check on my son. Patricia will be in here in a bit to check on Anna. If anything changes, please come get us."

I told him I would as I listened for the door to shut behind me before I leaned back in the recliner and tried to sleep.

Anna

I grumbled and tried to turn over, but couldn't. I fought a bit harder but my hands wouldn't move. "Anna?" I heard a female voice calling to me, but it was foggy. I did know the voice, but couldn't place it, "Anna?"

With my mind swimming in a sea of something, I managed to come to the conclusion that because my muscles were stiff, I had been unconscious for a while, but the more I pulled, the more I realized I was tied down. My first question was how long was I out and my second was why was I tethered to the bed? "Nick?"

The female voice was replaced by a male voice I recognized instantly, "Aggs?"

I blinked against the sunlight coming in through the window on the west end of the room and saw Cathy sitting in the window ledge. The sun was in the western sky, so it was some time in the mid to late afternoon, "How long have I been out?" I tried to pull my wrists up and couldn't, "And why am I tied to the bed?"

"You've been in and out of consciousness for about three days now." He pulled a chair over closer to me and started to undo the restraint on my right wrist, "You were sort of combative."

"So someone tied me to the bed?"

Bryan shrugged his shoulders as he reached over me and took the restraint off my left wrist, "You didn't give us much choice, hon. You were in labor, which I understand, but you wouldn't calm down, so your doc sedated you and tied you to the bed a couple days ago when you woke up in a hot mess of a fit in the ED. Good news is you can have the restraints off because the magnesium drip has done its job. Your labor has stopped."

I rubbed the spots on my wrists where the restraints were as Bryan sat back down, "What did I do?"

He smiled, "You did what any human being would do if they were in your shoes, Aggs. You went postal."

"So we had to sedate you. It was the only way that we could control you. Actually, the decision was made to tie you down after Dr. Lindley agreed to let you wake up from the sedative." Cathy moved off the ledge and sat down on the left side of my bed, "Like my husband said, your labor has stopped which is a very good thing, but you've got to stay calm and Dr. Lindley has ordered you on bed rest until the baby's born. No work."

"Fine." I remembered why I was here and started to panic but calmed myself before I got another dose of loopy juice again. Last thing I needed was someone to pump my IV full of Propofol and I wind up sleeping until next week. I vaguely remembered someone telling me before I was sedated again in the ED that Nick was alive, but unconscious, "Nick?"

"Hasn't woken up yet. His mom and dad have been in and out since you got here. Nick's downstairs in the ICU. I just got off work half an hour ago and wanted to stop by to check on you before I left."

"Okay." At least Nick was alive. I started to wring my hands together and I saw my wedding ring was gone, "Where's my rings? My wedding ring and the engagement ring?"

"I've got them." Bryan pulled the collar of his shirt out just a little bit to reach a necklace he wore. Like most firefighters I knew, myself included, he wore a Maltese pendant around his neck, just under his shirt, "I have them both." He took the necklace off and shook my wedding rings off of it before handing them to me, "They had to cut CSI Man's off him, so I couldn't save that, but I did save yours on the way to the hospital and I held on to them."

I held the rings in my hand but didn't put them on right away, "Can I go see Nick now?" I saw Cathy and Bryan both exchange a glance, "Look, I know he's bad. That much I remember from my brief fit of hysteria before I was sedated. I just want to see him for a few minutes. I haven't seen him in three days." I slid my rings on my finger while I watched them mentally debate, "Please?"

Cathy stood up and sighed, "We both knew this was coming." She put her hand on Bryan's shoulder as she left the room, telling him to keep an eye on me and use any force necessary to keep me in bed, "I left him with a little milk of amnesia, but I hope you won't make him use it."

Propofol. The milky white medication we used to sedate patients in the field. I caught sight of the IV pole hanging next to my bed and the empty bag of magnesium hanging from it, "I won't." I put my hands across my middle, hoping to feel the baby kick, but she wasn't moving, "Is Leah okay?"

Bryan reached behind him and pulled out a binder that was on top of something just out of my sight, "According to this, he's fine."

He handed me the binder and I flipped through the fetal heart rate printouts, "Looks good. I missed a whole lot. What'd the docs say about me? About Nick?"

"You'll be fine. Thing will be fine as long as his mother stays in bed the next few months."

I noticed he didn't mention Nicky, "And my husband?"

"CSI Man…" Bryan trailed off and took my hand in his, "I don't know, Aggs."

It was hurting to keep my composure, but I also didn't want to be sedated again. I managed to choke out a plea to get Bryan to tell me what was going on, "Tell me."

"He's pretty bad. Like on a scale of one to ten, he's a seventy two. He's really bad. He's still sedated and unconscious. The biggest concern was organ or system failure from the ant venom. I would tell you if something happened to your husband. I'd give you the truth, straight up, no chasers."

"What have his docs said?"

"They don't know much other than it's a miracle he's alive. It's even got the CSI that is the bug guy, you know the one with the pickled pets in his office…"

I knew who he was referring to, "Grissom."

"Yeah, him. Apparently, he's some sort of bug expert and all and even he's baffled as to why Nick's still alive."

Cathy reappeared with Dr. Lindley and another doctor I didn't recognize, "I found your doc as well as the doc that has been treating Nick." Bryan handed the syringe full of Propofol back over to his wife, "And I appreciate the fact he didn't need to use milk of amnesia on you."

Nick's doctor took the seat next to Bryan and I braced myself for what he was about to tell me, "Anna, I'm Dr. Joshua Tripp and like Cathy said, I've been treating Nick since he got here."

"How is he?"

Dr. Tripp cast a sideways glance at Dr. Lindley who nodded her head ever so slightly. They were having a mental discussion about whether to tell me or not, "He's grave. His condition is extremely critical. I don't know what all you've been told, but Nick should not be alive. No one with that much venom in their veins survives, but he did. He's still alive and his rates have steadily improved since he's gotten here. I'm not comfortable weaning him off the sedatives just yet, but I feel confident that will come in the next few days."

"So…" I was trying to wrap my head around what was going on while still trying to remain as calm as possible. I tried to speak with a sense of calm but my voice cracked, "So, you're saying…"

"Look, I don't want to get your hopes up. There is still a great possibility he won't pull through this…" Dr. Tripp saw my face fall and corrected himself, "But if Nick stays on the recovery course he's on now, I feel confident that he will continue to improve and like I said, once I see enough of an improvement, we'll wean him off the sedatives and wake him up. Like you being sedated, it's what's best for his body right now. Ant venom can be a very tricky poison. It plays tricks on the mind as well as wreaks havoc on internal systems. Just like with you having to be sedated a few days ago when you were brought in to protect the fetus, sedating Nick is what's best for him." He stood up to leave, "I know Dr. Lindley wanted to look you over now that you're awake, so I'll excuse myself, but the front desk has my pager number if you need me or have any questions. Just keep positive that Nick will pull through this. He's got a large support system on his side not only from us here at Desert Palms, but also from you as well has his family."

"Thanks." I started to relax a little better, but the 'great possibility he won't pull through this' kept weighing in on my mind.

Bryan excused himself while Dr. Lindley checked me out, but I made Cathy stay in the room with me and hold my hand. Last thing I wanted or needed was to be alone.

Half an hour later, and a few murmurs from Dr. Lindley, she pronounced the baby and me to be doing much better, but reinforced what she told Bryan about bed rest, "I mean it. No work. No play. Nothing. I want you on strict bed rest until closer to your due date, then we'll discuss delivery dates whether we need to move it around or do a c-section or something. I don't want to see or hear about you doing anything other than watching TV, sitting down or lying down. The only time you're to be up is bathroom duties, got it?"

She handed me the blanket and I tucked my feet back under, "Got it."

"Good. I'll be back in a little bit to come get you for some more tests, but until then, I've given your friend here permission to take you downstairs to see your husband for ten minutes. Got it? Ten minutes. Then I want you back in bed and if you don't comply, I'll sedate you again and forbid you from leaving this room."

"Okay."

"Anna, I mean it. Your body can not handle going through labor again. You don't know how close you came to losing this pregnancy. I don't mean to scare you, but sometimes, scared straight is the only way. Your nurse will follow you downstairs and bring you back up in the allotted time."

With the typical air of doctors, she let that be her last words before quietly shutting the door behind us. Cathy moved a wheelchair over towards the edge of the bed and said she was heading home to take a nap, but would be back up later on when her shift started, "Bryan will take you up to see Nick, but I expect you back in this bed in ten minutes."

"Ten minutes." I started to get nervous. This would be the first time I had seen Nick since this all happened, but ten minutes was better than what I had now.

Right on cue, the OB nurse who had been in the room with Dr. Lindley took hold of the IV pole while Bryan maneuvered the chair. While we were waiting on the elevator to get to my floor, she introduced herself as Stephanie and said she'd be with me until later on tonight. Reinforcing once again what Dr. Lindley said, Stephanie said I had exactly ten minutes then no questions asked, I was to be brought back to my room and put back in bed.

Not wanting to jeopardize the chance to see Nick, I agreed, "Is this the only time I'll be allowed to see him?"

The elevator dinged and Stephanie and Bryan stepped in, pulling me in with them, "I'll have to ask Dr. Lindley." She hit the button to the floor right below ours, "It's up to her but it'll also depend on how much this affects you. You've got to put your baby and this pregnancy first. From what I hear, you really neglected it."

I felt a pang of guilt over lying to everyone while I was at CSI. When asked if my labor stopped, I said that it had, but I lied. I think the only person who remotely had an idea about my labor was Bryan, but he let it slide and I know he was beating himself up over it all, "I was worried about my husband."

Stephanie put her hand on my shoulder, "I know you were, dear. I do need to warn you before you go in though." The elevator stopped and we got off and she continued, "He's pretty bad. The swelling from the ant venom has gone down some since he came in, but he's still pretty bad. If you need to leave, I understand and we'll take you back to your room."

"I'm a paramedic. I've seen worse." I tried to keep my voice steady but in reality, I was scared of seeing Nick like this. I took a deep breath as we entered into the hallway just outside of the first set of ICU rooms.

"He's in there." Bryan pointed to the second room on the left, "Cathy made sure to have him transferred to one of the rooms she works."

There were eight ICU pods on Nick's floor and as a general rule at Desert Palms, ICU nurses are assigned at maximum three patients at a time. Each pod was divided into four rooms, with the fourth room being overflow only. Bryan slowly pushed me past one room with an older woman in it and stopped when we got to Nick's room, "Are you ready?"

I slowly nodded my head as Stephanie opened the door.

Mom and dad were on Nick's right side and Catherine and Greg were on the left. Greg was sitting in the window while Catherine was leaned against the wall. They both stood up and hugged me when I came in, expressing their well wishes about my health and the health of Leah. I gave them and mom and dad a quick run down on what Dr. Lindley just said when she examined me a few minutes ago and got in return a collective sigh of relief from all in the room about the labor stopping.

Stephanie moved me closer to Nick, but warned me not to touch him just yet, "The venom is still in his system and I don't want anything hurting you or this baby. I'll be right outside if you need me." She checked her watch, "You've got eight minutes."

With that, she set the parking brake on the wheelchair and left me alone in the room. Bryan excused himself with Stephanie and said he'd be right outside if I needed him.

Mom and dad filled me in on what was going on with Nick, telling me the same thing that Dr. Tripp had earlier in the morning. She was upbeat and was confident Nicky would wake up soon, but I noticed dad was a little more reserved.

Before I knew it, Stephanie was back in the room and was telling me I had to go. Catherine said she'd stop by later on to bring me something and told me to rest and that everyone on the team was keeping an eye on Nicky in shifts so he'd never be alone. Mom and dad said they'd be back later to check on me as well.

I didn't want to leave Nick, even as bad as he looked. Stephanie had warned me that Nick's body was still swollen from the ant venom, but she didn't prepare me for what I saw. He had easily gained ten to twenty pounds of fluid from the swelling, which puffed out his face. His arms were covered in healing scabs from the ant bites and from where he scratched. Nick's face was swollen and red and looked almost unrecognizable. I closed my eyes as Stephanie wheeled me out of the room and remembered Nick the last time I saw him which helped.

Stephanie said she'd relay to Dr. Lindley that I handled the trip well and would see about taking me down later tonight, but in the mean time, told me to settle in bed and try to rest.

Even though I wasn't tired and it was the middle of the day, it didn't take long before I fell asleep.

A/N: Sorry for the lack of Nick this chapter, but it's kinda hard when he's in a coma. He'll be back next chapter as will our mystery guest. A certain someone from the past comes to visit. Any idea who it is? Leave your guesses in your reply, which I hope to get lots of.

Speaking of Nick…anyone hear the rumors about George Eads leaving CSI after this season? OH EM GEE. Apparently GE's contract is up this summer and with the McKeen storyline coming up, the writers are leaving it open so if GE doesn't return because of contract disputes, the Nick storyline is settled like the Langston ending was if you could even call that an ending.