Home of Greg Sanders Slash Fiction
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SUNDAY AFTERNOON:
Shifting the shopping bag she carried from one hand to the
other, Catherine knocked quietly on the door to Greg's room. When he
responded, she slipped inside, set down her burden and moved to
gently embrace him.
"Hi, kiddo. You look better today."
"I'm awake. That's a big deal, believe me. Talk fast, 'cause
I might not stay that way long." He joked faintly, shifting position
and grimacing at the pain caused by the movement. As she dropped into
the bedside chair, Cath frowned in sympathy and reached out for his
hand. He clasped her fingers gratefully and sighed.
"Do you want me to call a nurse?"
"No. No way.... It's not that bad." He told her, suddenly
nervous.
"But if you're in pain...."
"Forget it, okay? I don't want the meds unless I really need 'em.
They knock me out and... I don't like how it feels."
"You need your rest, though. How else is your body supposed to heal?"
"I know. It's.... I just feel weird about the drugs. I can't explain
it. Hey, what's in the bag?" he asked, finally spotting the item by
the door and happy to have a change of subject.
"I stopped by your place on the way over and grabbed a few
things. I got your book from your nightstand, your portable CD player
and a few disks.... mostly stuff I thought would boost your spirits a
little."
"Wow. Thanks. I won't be able to take advantage of any of it
for a day or two, but.... it means a lot that you thought about me."
"Of course I was thinking about you. Everybody at work is.
You should be drowning in get well cards any minute now."
Abruptly, Greg's expression darkened. For a moment, he turned
his eyes away from Catherine's and when he looked at her again, she
saw desolation and confusion.
"What? What is it? Are you worried if you'll be okay? I
promise, you will. It'll take a few days, but you'll be just
fine...."
"It's not that. Cath.... what happened? Was it the lab again?"
"No. Nothing like that..."
"If it was my fault this time, you can tell me. If I'm in
trouble I'd rather know now...."
"Greg, you're not in trouble. It's alright. Someone hurt
you.... beat you pretty badly. We don't know who yet, but we're
working on it and we *will* find them. Count on it."
"So... I have a job to go back to? I didn't mess up?"
"God, no, Greg. Everything at work is fine. Your job will be
waiting when you're better."
"Gris isn't mad that I missed my shift Thursday?" he asked,
sitting forward slightly.
"He was worried, yeah, but he wasn't mad. I mean, as far as being on
time, you're Old Faithful. When you didn't show we all got concerned,
but nobody's angry with you, least of all Gil. Trust me, everything's
alright."
The tension flowed out of Greg and his shoulders dropped visibly as
he lay back, closing his eyes.
"Okay. Okay, that's good.... I'm just so glad to hear that, you know?"
Realizing Greg was shaking, Cath gripped his hand a little tighter.
"Hey... you were really wound up over that, weren't you? You
seriously thought..."
".... that I was unemployed and soon to be homeless? Yeah, I guess
so." He joked weakly.
"Greg.... I'm so sorry. It hasn't been that long since... since the
assault and none of us were really sure what you were ready to hear."
"No problem. The way I'm feelin' right now.... maybe you're right to
wonder. Hey... what CD's did you bring?"
Catherine rose, retrieved the bag and returned, pulling out the
player and disks. She recited the titles as she flipped through the
cases.
"Kenny G, Journey, Metallica, Limp Bizkit and all the Animaniacs
albums I could find. You do know you have way too many of those for a
grown man, right?" Catherine asked, laughing.
"You only say that 'cause you've never heard the music. Here, you
take this one home and listen to it. Don't play it straight through
from beginning to end, though. First play ' The Quiet Song ', then
switch it to ' I'm Mad '. I swear, it'll remind you of every family
road trip you ever tried to survive." He assured her, stifling a
yawn. "Damn it, I'm fadin' out already...."
"Go ahead and sleep. I'll be here when you wake up."
"You sure? You don't have to...."
"I want to. Go on. Close your eyes. I'm not going anywhere."
"Hmmm... thanks. Bein' alone.... makes me jumpy.... better to know
someone's around...." he admitted as he slipped into sleep.
Catherine's brow furrowed as she pondered his words and thought about
how much worse his nerves would get when he discovered what had
really happened to him.
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TWO HOURS LATER
When Greg next opened his eyes, he smiled when he found Catherine had
kept her promise. She was deeply slouched in the hard plastic
visitor's chair by his bed, on the point of dozing off herself.
"Cath..."
"Hmm? Oh... sorry. Didn't mean to conk out on you. Since you were
hurt... it's been a rough couple days for all of us."
"It's okay. You should go home... get some real sleep."
"No way. I said I'd stay with you and I will. I'll even read to you
if you want."
Greg suddenly looked uncomfortable.
"See, it's... it's not that I don't want you here. Like I said, it
makes me feel a lot better knowing I'm not alone. It's just... the
nurse is gonna be here any minute... to change the stupid bag...."
Her gaze slipping briefly down to the lump under the covers that
represented the temporary colostomy, Catherine understood his
reluctance for her to be in the room.
"Oh. Embarrassing, huh?"
"You have *no* idea."
"I get it. I can find somewhere else to be until she's done."
"You don't..."
"Greggo, quit with the 'I'm so strong' routine, okay? You don't have
to be. I give you my permission to fall on the floor, kick your feet
and scream "It's not fair!" at the top of your lungs if that's what
you feel like doing."
A single tear escaping his rigid control, Greg stared up at her and
replied so quietly Catherine almost couldn't hear him.
"Cath... don't give me any ideas."
"Greg..."
"You better go. If you really do feel like comin' back, it usually
takes about half an hour."
"Okay. Thirty minutes. You can time me." she responded tensely as she
left.
Catherine roamed the halls with a half full cup of coffee for most of
the half-hour, viewing the babies in the nursery and reveling in
memories of Lindsey when she was a newborn. She checked her watch
frequently, determined she would not let Greg down by being even a
few seconds late. When she did return, almost exactly on time, she
found her fears were unfounded. Warrick, also on a day off, had
arrived to spend some time with Greg as well. Her was perched on the
edge of the bed with his back to her, quietly talking with the
younger man. Hearing her footsteps, he half turned and greeted her
with a smile.
"There she is. Hey, Cath"
"Hi. Didn't expect to see you today."
"I know. I just.... thought I'd come see how he's doin'."
"How about that, kiddo. More company than you can shake a stick at."
Catherine chuckled as she moved for the visitor's chair again. Greg
held up a hand.
"Cath... it's okay. Go home and catch up on your sleep. You won't be
any good tomorrow if you don't."
"Are you sure? I can stay...."
"Positive. Warrick's here. I'll be okay. Tell you something, though.
If Sarah shows up in a couple hours I'm gonna think this is a
conspiracy."
"Sarah's workin' today."
Greg grimaced.
"On a Sunday? Damn...."
"She says she needs the overtime. I think it's more like kissing
butt." Warrick joked. Assured that Greg was comfortable with the
situation, Catherine slipped back out as the conversation really got
going and took the elevator back down to her car.
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SARA
Clicking the camera shutter over and over, Sara felt eyes on her back
and shrugged off the crawling sensation along her spine. Many of the
officers and techs moving around the crime scene seemed to know she
didn't have to be working on a Sunday and, combined with the general
knowledge that something horrible had happened to someone she knew
well, she felt they were judging her for being there at all. Pulling
her mind back to her current task, she focused more intently and
determinedly ignored the glances and frowns sent her way. Noone
understood and she didn't feel like taking the time to explain.
She'd been through too many tragic situations in her life; so many
that she found she was no longer able to react the way others did.
While those around her sobbed, gasped and embraced, she held back and
stepped back, feeling only discomfort and a need for distance. She
cared for and about Greg and she suffered with him more than any of
the others would ever realize, but her emotions were walled up,
shoved so deep for so long they no longer knew how to navigate the
snarled, complex maze that would lead them to the surface.
Rising out of a deep crouch, she took a deep breath and snapped
another picture or two from different angles then dropped the camera
to her side. As Grissom moved close to begin evidence collection, she
walked away to re-pack her equipment. Catching a few notes from the
SUV radio, she paused to listen, but couldn't quite make out what the
song was, so she walked around and sat half in and half out the
driver's seat, listening intently.
* .... I feel just like I'm sinking
And I claw for solid ground
I'm pulled down by the undertow
I never thought I could feel so low
Oh darkness I feel like letting go
If all of the strength and all of the courage
Come and lift me from this place
I know I could love you much better than this
Full of grace
Full of grace
So it's better this way, I said
Having seen this place before
Where everything we said and did
Hurts us all the more
Its just that we stayed, too long
In the same old sickly skin
I'm pulled down by the undertow
I never thought I could feel so low
Oh darkness I feel like letting go ..... *
"Sara? I could use your help."
"Huh? Oh. Oh, yeah. Sorry, boss. It was... I never heard this song
before. It's really beautiful."
Grissom listened to the last strains of the tune and smiled somewhere
into the middle distance.
"Sarah Mclachlan. It is lovely. One of my favorites. I'm thinking
about Greg too. No sin in it. Just don't...."
"I know. I shouldn't have let myself get distracted. What'd you need
me for?" she asked, standing and facing the house where the victim
had been found. Once Grissom gave her another assignment, she strode
away without comment, face devoid of expression. He watched her go,
wondering for the first time if she'd learned lessons from him that
he never intended to teach.
TBC.....
