AN: Thank you for the continued support, here is the next chapter. Warning: One questionable word.

Chapter 10: Not going to disappear again?

Hours later

Once Grissom arrived in Vegas, he rented a vehicle and headed straight to the hospital, then after he got there, he parked his vehicle before heading to the entrance to the building, stopping at the receptionist so he could know what room Catherine is in. And after knowing the room number, he headed for the elevator, got in and pressed the button to the correct floor.

When the elevator had stopped, he gets out and heads in the right direction, and when he turned the corner and looked down the hall, he could see Nick standing outside of the door with a shocked look on his face, like he just realized something. But what that was, Grissom wasn't sure.

He got the younger man's attention a second later. "Hi, Nick."

Nick looks over at Grissom, then there was a moments pause, like he was coming back from a daze, before he cleared his throat and held out his hand with a small smile. "Griss, nice to see you again. I'm just sorry it's under these circumstances."

Grissom nodded as he shook the younger man's hand. "Me too."

As they were releasing hands, Grissom asked softly. "How is she doing?"

Nick cleared his throat again as he replied softly. "Still no change."

Grissom took a breath before asking. "And how are you doing?"

"I'm ok, just worried." While Grissom nodded in understanding, Nick continued. "But you should go in, let her know you are here, she can maybe feel your presence."

After Nick shrugged at his own comment Grissom nodded again as he headed for the door, then he stopped while placing his hand on the doorknob and looked at Nick again as he turned it. "You coming in?"

Nick shook his head. "Nah, I'm going to get some air."

"Ok, I'll see you later."

Nick nodded and turned to walk away while Grissom watched him for a moment before opening the door all the way so he could walk into the room, seeing Warrick sitting by Catherine's bedside with Lindsey, who was now 9, sitting in his lap.

Grissom cleared his throat and spoke softly, even though he didn't think it would disturb Catherine either way.

"Hi."

Lindsey looked over Warrick's shoulder at the sound of Grissom's voice and smiled before climbing out of Warrick's lab and running to Grissom.

"Uncle Grissom!"

Grissom smiled in return and kneeled down so he could hug the little girl.

"Hi, Lindsey."

The little girl wrapped her arms around Grissom tightly before she started sniffling. "Hi. Mommy's still sleeping."

Grissom took a breath as he tried to reassure the little girl. "I know. But I'll tell you what, your mother is a very strong woman, and she has a lot to fight for. Like you and your dad."

The minute he said that last mention the air felt like it had shifted, and Warrick, who was now out of the seat and behind Lindsey, cleared his throat before kneeling down so he could place a hand on the little girl's back. "Hey sweetheart, why don't we let Grissom have a little time alone with your mom?"

Lindsey nodded as she pulled back from Grissom to get into Warrick's arms, who scooped her up with one arm as she wrapped her arms around his neck while he stood up. Grissom stood up a second later and Warrick held out his free hand. "Thank you for showing up. I would have called you, but Nick beat me to it."

As they release hands, Grissom nodded. "No problem, and I'm here until she wakes up, so anything that you need, let me know."

After he nodded, Warrick carried Lindsey out of the room, and as the door clicked shut, Grissom had finally looked at the woman in the hospital bed with the wires attached as the sound of machines doing its thing.

He took a breath and shook his head as he walked to the chair Warrick had been sitting in, then sat down with a deep sigh, seeing her still like this was just not right, she had been a feisty one from the day he met her. She was passionate about her work, especially once she got out of the lab and became a CSI, she took whatever assignment was given to her, no matter how gruesome, or less 'fun' it was with no complaints.

He took a breath and spoke to her, hoping he could get through to her somehow. "This isn't you Catherine, laying down on the job, you need to wake up soon because you still got a lifetime to live, you have to see your daughter grow up and get married. Become a grandma so we all can tease you about your new title that you would proudly wear. You have a lot of people who love and care about you and would be devastated if we lost you." He took a deep breath and leaned forward before placing his hand on hers and finished. "So, find that inner strength that I know you got and come back to us."

While there was nothing but friendship between them since they met, which mostly that was due to the fact that she was married, he always cared for her and would be devastated if he had lost a good friend.

Later that evening

Grissom goes back to Catherine's hospital room after having a bathroom break and calling Sara to update her, which nothing had changed since he's been here, but they were still optimistic, so no one was giving up. He then stops at the door and took a breath before he opens it, and when he stepped in the room, he saw Warrick standing there with his hand halfway in the air like he was either getting ready to touch Catherine's arm or he was pulling away from it. He walked further into the room while Warrick's hand was now at his side and acknowledged the younger man.

"Warrick?"

Warrick cleared his throat with a nod, but was still looking at Catherine when he spoke softly, sadly. "I was just coming to visit her before shift."

Grissom nodded with a small smile as he moved further in the room and to the other side of the bed, studying the young man, then a comment he made earlier about Lindesy's dad and the reaction he felt from it came back to him, which not seeing him the whole time he had been here was also a little strange, so he finally asked. "Can you help me try and understand something?"

Warrick looked over at Grissom and asked. "If I can, what is it?"

"Why Eddie hasn't been here to see his wife?"

It was almost unnoticeable, but there was a slight shift in Warrick before he spoke, his jaw clinching while his hand was flexing to make a fist. "That statement is no longer true."

Grissom raised an eyebrow. "Wait, they are no longer married?"

The younger man nodded. "The man messed up, I caught him cheating on her. And let's just say their divorce has been very hard on her, it turned nasty in court."

Grissom shook his head in surprise. "I had no idea, why didn't she..."

He cuts him off as his eyes went back to Catherine's, which they turned softer than Grissom ever saw. "She didn't want to bother you, you were happy, starting a new life."

Grisom then took a breath. "Yeah, but still, I could have..."

Warrick cuts him off while looking at him again. "What? Call every once in a while to see how she is holding up? She needed more than a few comforting words over the phone, she needed someone there for her, she needed someone's shoulder to cry on, to get mad at, to lean on. She needed..."

Grissom cuts him off, seeing how the young man was looking now as he was saying these things to him. "It looks like she found you."

If that comment affected Warrick like Grissom thought it would, he didn't show it, he just took a breath and replied while looking at Catherine again. "Nick and I both tried to help, hell the whole team did. But I think, while she didn't voice it, she really needed you, needed your friendship more."

Grissom took a breath as he looked at Catherine again. "Well, I'm here now."

"And thank you for that."

"Of course." There was a moments pause before Grissom spoke again. "Hey Warrick, you don't think that..."

Warrick shook his head, feeling like he knew what Grissom was going to ask/say. "As bad as things got between Eddie and her, he had nothing to do with her accident. I know he didn't turn out to be the nicest guy, but I never believed he could have anything to do with this, especially knowing this could hurt Lindsey too. He does love his daughter and I couldn't see him hurting her like this either." Grissom nodded, a little ashamed that his thoughts went there, but it looked like he wasn't the only one. Then Warrick spoke again, breaking Grissom from his thoughts. "It was just one of those accidents, she was so tried she just wanted to make it home." Now Warrick was getting mad again, but this time at himself. "I should have just taken her home myself, I could see how exhausted she looked before I left the lab, even though she said he was fine to drive, I should..."

Grissom had walked next to the younger man and placed a hand on his shoulder, cutting him off. "It's not your fault Warrick, you know how stubborn she could be."

Warrick smirked with a nod. "Yeah she is, but that's what makes her Catherine, and so many other things that we probably wouldn't change a thing about."

Grissom chuckled as he shook his head, squeezing the younger man's shoulder before finally letting go of it. "You are right."

In the next moment the door opened, and a nurse walked in wanting to check on Catherine, which that's when Warrick took his leave so he could go to work, then when it was just the nurse, Catherine and Grissom, the young redhead looked at Grissom with a smile. "Ms. Willows is a very lucky woman, that man and the other one had barely left her side, especially when she was first brought in. When one wasn't here the other one was, and they stayed for hours on end."

Grissom just nodded while watching the nurse do her job, not surprised by her comment at all, especially after watching how they interacted with her since he's been here. He could tell Nick and Warrick cared for her, had always cared for her for that matter, and he might even say cared for her more than a friend should.

He just took a breath and shook his head, hoping that Catherine can pull through this, not just for herself or him, but for the two young men that's been watching over her since they joined the lab, or else there were going to be some very heartbroken people.

A few days later

Grissom was sitting by Catherine's bedside working on a crossword puzzle when he first heard a moan coming from the woman in the bed before machines started to go off, and before he knew it he was being ushed out into the hall, where he stood by the door waiting to get an update.

While it did feel a lot longer than it actually was, the head nurse finally walked out of the room, took her mask off and smiled. "Our girl is finally awake."

Grissom took a relieved breath before asking. "She's ok?"

"She's still tired and will be groggy when you go back in there, and while we'll know more in the upcoming days, her recovery looks very promising right now."

He took another breath. "Thank you. Can I see her now?"

"Yes, but only for a few minutes, she still needs her rest."

"I got it."

Grissom followed the nurse back into the room while the doctor was finishing up asking questions, then he spoke. "Ok, that's it for now, I'll be in later to check on you."

Instead of Catherine speaking, Grissom did as he gave the young man a handshake. "Thank you doctor."

He just nodded with a smile before walking out of the room.

When the door clicked shut, Catherine and Grissom looked at one another, then Catherine asked. "Gil, what are you doing here?"

He gave her small smile before replying. "My friend was in an accident, so I had to come. I hope it's ok that I did."

"Of course."

She stopped talking before a yawn came through, and she was going to speak again, but he spoke before she could. "Why don't you get some more rest, we'll talk later."

She gave him a frown. "What do you think I was doing before?"

He smiled. "Recovering, now you still need it, so don't fight it, and by the time you wake up everyone will probably be here, and you wouldn't want to be sleeping through their visiting times, do you?"

She sighed and closed her eyes. "I guess not." She then opened them again as she asked softly. "But you'll still be here right? You're not going to disappear again?"

"Yes, I'll still be here. Now sleep."

She nodded as she closed her eyes again, going out like a light in an instant.

Grissom stayed in the room for a few minutes before he turned and walked out, and continued to walk until he reached outside so he could get some air, then he pulled out his phone and called Sara.

She answered on the second ring. "Hey babe, everything ok?"

This was the first phone call to her since he's been here that he actually had a smile on his face. "Yes, I believe it is now."

At this point the only reason Grissom would be saying that is if he had good news, so she smiled in return on her end of the phone. "So, she woke up, that's wonderful."

"Yes it is."

When his tone changed slightly, she asked with a frown. "What's wrong? "

Grissom shook his head and smiled, only she could pick up his slight change of tone over the phone, then he cleared his throat before replying. "It was something she said before she fell back to sleep."

Trying to be reassuring over the phone with a comforting voice, she replied. "Oh babe, you know patients aren't always themselves when they wake up after something like this."

"I know but what she said is the truth. She asked if I would disappear again. And she's right, I mean we do talk on the phone every once in awhile, but when was the last time I seen her in person? And I only found out she got a divorce from her husband when I got here. Shouldn't I have already known this?" He sighed and ran a hand down his face. "Sorry, I..."

She cuts him off. "It's ok, I get it, you two were really good friends for a long time, you use to be in the loop on what's going on with her life." She then smirked. "Which from what you've told me, sometimes that happened whether you wanted to know or not."

He sighed again. "Yeah, I was, then like she said I just disappeared from her life. I want to try and be a better friend to her, and if you don't mind maybe throw in a few visits here and there."

She chuckled. "Babe, you don't need my permission to..."

He cuts her off with a smirk. "Well, it isn't like I can just pick up the vehicle keys and say I'm going to visit Catherine for a few hours then be right home."

She chuckled again. "Ok, you have point there, and no I don't mind. In fact, you should invite her and the guys over every once in a while too, as long as work allows it of course."

"That does sound good, but I have a feeling getting the guys in the same place after Catherine recovers will be a little difficult."

"What? Why? I thought you said they were best friends?"

"Yeah, they were, almost like brothers really, but let's just say the dynamics have changed since I've been around them on a daily basis."

"What would make that..." Sara paused for a second before she answered her almost question. "Oh no, one of them got involved with Catherine while the other might feel a little jealous over it."

Grissom couldn't help but mentally smile with proudness on his face that the woman he loved figured it out just like that, then he cleared his throat. "Now I don't have proof, but that's the feeling I'm getting."

"I know she was married at the time, but did you have any idea about the guys' feelings towards her?"

"No." He sighed again. "But that was probably because I was so wrapped up in my own life, thinking about my next visit to see you and Belle."

There was a slight pause, then just as Sara was about to speak, Grissom's phone beeps, indicating that someone was trying to call him, so he said. "Honey, I have to go, someone is trying to call me, no doubt looking for news, so I'll call you back later. I love you. Tell Belle I love and miss her."

"I will, I love you too, and I'm glad Catherine is ok. Tell her hi for me."

"I will, bye."

"Bye, babe."

After the call ended, Grissom gets the second caller. "Grissom."

"Hey Gil, any news about Catherine?"

Grissom smiled as he replied to Jim's question. "Catherine woke up and the doctor said the recovery was looking very promising."

Jim does a sigh of relief, then told his people the news and Grissom could hear cheering in the background before Jim gets back on the phone. "We'll be there after shift."

"Good, I'm sure she's looking forward to it."

"Thank you for being there for her, Gil. She wouldn't say it out loud, but I know she missed your friendship."

"I've missed it too, and you're welcome. I'm glad I'm here, I just wish it was for a better reason."

"Me too, but the important thing is she is awake and on the mend."

"Yes."

After they finished their talk a few minutes later, they hung up, then Grissom took a breath with a smile before walking back into the hospital and up to her room so he could watch over her again until the rest of them show up in the morning.

AN: Thanks for reading, and please review. I hope you all had a safe/good weekend, and until next time, GSR4ever!