Fic: Last Seen Wearing, Chapter 11 (CSI, Nick Stokes / Greg Sanders)
Title: Last Seen Wearing, Chapter 11
Fandom: CSI
Pairing: Nick Stokes / Greg Sanders
Rating: PG
Disclaimer: Not mine, etc.
Feedback: Always Welcome
Notes: Inspired by Jared Cade`s book The Eleven Missing Days
CSI Las Vegas Main List
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
“Nicholas.”
Nick’s head snapped up.
“Mama? What are you doing here?”
Jillian walked across the waiting area and sat down next to him.
“I went to your apartment, but the neighbour said you had left with an ambulance. How is Greg?”
“I don’t know, they’re still examining him. When did you get to Vegas?”
“About an hour ago. Is it about the car accident?”
“I guess.”
“Stokes?” A nurse with a deep frown and a clipboard approached them. “Are you here for Greg Sanders?”
“Yes, how is he doing?”
“This is situation is little bit unusual. I’m only telling you this because you were listed as his contact person. There’s a possibility that the injuries from the head injury is more serious than we thought. Has he had any similar seizures before?”
“Nothing like that. But he did have a smaller one.” Nick took a deep breath. “We were getting…. excited, and suddenly he started moaning and holding his head. It lasted maybe half an hour.”
“Did you see a doctor after that?”
“No. I thought it was part of the whole recovery.”
“Did he take pain medication for it?”
“Yeah.”
“Do you know what kind?”
“I have the bottle here.” Nick pulled a pill bottle from his pocket. “I thought you’d ask about it.”
“How often does he have pains?”
“Not often. I think I’ve seen him taking those three or four times, that’s all.”
“Then you’re obviously out of the loop.” The nurse pointed to the label on the bottle. “The prescription was filled less than a week ago, but the bottle is half empty.”
“You mean he’s had pains more often than he said.”
“Seizures like this are a warning sign. His injuries will heal with time, but not without rest. Too much stress and the next seizure will be a lot worse.”
“Can I see him now?”
“That’s what I meant about the unusual. I told you about his condition because you are listed-”
“You already said that!”
“He has specifically asked that you’re not allowed to his room.” The nurse finished with a determined nod and walked away.
“What is going on?” Jillian asked, eyeing Nick carefully. “You call me to tell us you found him and after that you don’t even answer our calls. And now this.”
“Mama-”
“Don’t t try that tone with me. I’m your mama, but I can see when you’re hiding something. If Greg doesn’t want to see you when he’s laying in the hospital, something is definitely wrong. Is this about those newspaper stories?”
Nick didn’t answer.
“You told me they were just stories. Did you lie to me?”
“Yes.” He admitted.
“Nicky….” She rubbed her temples, letting it all sink in. “Get up.”
“Why?”
“We will go to the cafeteria, I saw it was empty when I came in. I want to hear the whole story from the beginning, and don’t you dare lie to me again.”
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“Greg?” Jillian stepped into the room, trying not to scare the half awake man on the bed. “Are you awake?”
Greg looked up. He stared at her for a minute.
“Jillian?”
“You remember me?”
“Yeah. It’s been coming back to me. Little pieces here and there.”
“I talked to Nicky. He told me about…..”
“Parson? I remember that too.” He sighed. “First I thought it was just some bad dream, but when I saw his face on the newspaper and the stories they wrote, it came back to me.”
“Do you remember your accident?”
“I think so…. I kicked Nick out of my place and…. I wanted to get away from the whole mess. I told my buddies I couldn’t go with them to Lake Mead, but….” He pressed his eyes shut, till the pain went away again. “I remember I wrote two letters, my request for a transfer and a letter to Nick. I wanted far away from him.”
“Sweetie, I know he did a horrible thing. I am not going to even try to defend him, but I hope you two can get over it. He was stupid and irresponsible, but nobody could have guessed where it would lead to.”
“I know.”
“Nick was really happy with you and I think you were happy too.”
“I was.”
“I can’t tell you how to handle this, but….” She looked slightly uncomfortable. “Can I tell you something? Just between us. Nicky doesn’t know about this.”
“Go ahead.”
“You know Nick was our youngest. After he was born we had a house full of kids and Billy and I…. We drifted apart. I stayed home with the children and he had his work. Then I started to notice little things. He got bizarre phone calls at odd hours. He didn’t came to dinner on time. That was not like him at all.”
“He had another woman?”
“Yes. One of his little secretaries. I didn’t found out who it was till she became pregnant. She came to the ranch and told me everything.” She swallowed the lump in her throat. “Billy didn’t know about it. I gave her some money so she could leave Texas. And when she was gone I confronted Bill.”
“What happened?”
“He knew there was no way around it, so we made an agreement. We would stay together because of the children, but our married life was put on hold. He moved to the guestroom and for a long time we didn’t see each other except in the dinner table.
We didn’t even really argue about it. We just didn’t talk about it. Or anything else.”
“Did it get better?”
“It did, but it took a long time. I was a young girl when we got married and I trusted him. I believed every little thing he said. And that made it even worse. I had someone I trusted completely and suddenly I doubted everything he did.”
“Do you still doubt him?”
“Sometimes. I do trust him, but not like I did before.” She clutched her bad nervously. “I am trying to say that… If there is even a small chance that you two could work this out…. Please do it.”
She got up from her chair. “I could get you something from the cafeteria. The hospital food is always awful.”
“I could eat something.” Greg admitted.
“Good, I’ll be back in five minutes.” She went to the door. She paused and turned to give Greg a long look. “Don’t think I’m asking you to take Nicky back for unselfish reasons. He was happy with you and I want him to be happy. And I want you to be happy too.”
TBC