The Breaking Point
folder
CSI › General
Rating:
Adult ++
Chapters:
17
Views:
8,929
Reviews:
14
Recommended:
0
Currently Reading:
0
Category:
CSI › General
Rating:
Adult ++
Chapters:
17
Views:
8,929
Reviews:
14
Recommended:
0
Currently Reading:
0
Disclaimer:
I do not own CSI, nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.
The First Hurdle
Summary: Grissom and Sara arrived at the hospital. The consequences of the shooting become all too clear. How far can true love reach? Does love conquer all?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The helicopter landed on the roof of Desert Palms Hospital. Working quickly but efficiently, the group moved into the rooftop elevator and down to the Emergency Room. Dr. Max signaled to her waiting surgical team, thanked the EMTs who left for their next case. Dr. Max turned to Sara. “Sara, I’m afraid you’ll have to wait outside now. We are going into surgery as soon as possible to repair the damaged arteries and veins. I’ll let you know what’s going to happen as soon as I can.”
Sara nodded her head but before she let go of his hand, she leaned over and kissed him on the forehead. “Gil, you listen to me. I’m going to wait for you outside. You understand? I’m waiting for you right here. Come back to me, Gil.” One more kiss and she went through the doors to sit in the waiting room.
Now with just the medical staff, there began a flurry of activity. The rest of Grissoms’ clothes were cut off and put into a paper bag and sealed. It was then labeled “CSI:LVPD:DR.GGRISSOM:050714” and put aside. A second smaller bag was filled with his personal effects and similarly labeled. A third bag held his gun which had been retrieved at the scene. All three were then handed to a waiting Las Vegas police officer who carried them out to Sara.
The first of twelve units of AB negative blood was hung and replaced the nearly empty bag of plasma from the crime scene. A Foley catheter was inserted; another line started for anesthesia and another line for antibiotics. Someone came hurrying in with Grissom’s medical records. Dr. Max quickly flipped to section detailing allergies. Her eyebrows went up when she saw the long list of counter recommended pain killers and anesthetics. But she knew there were at least two in the hospital’s arsenal that she could still use. “Where’s my x-ray machine?”
“Right here, Max.”
Grissom was barely hanging on to conscious thought at this point. People, machines were grey shadows flitting, fading in and out on the edges of his awareness. He felt cold, incredibly cold. He also felt incredibly tired. He just wanted to close his eyes and meet the incoming darkness head on. And the pain, now his body was becoming aware of the grievous injury he had suffered and it was protesting loudly. He was sweating by now. But he still felt incredibly cold. And the pain…every jolt as his body was moved and manipulated…fresh waves of pain
“Dr. Grissom. Hang in there. We’ll be going to the OR soon. I want some pictures, first.”
“Pictures…” Grissom thought. “I’m not dressed for pictures…”
Dr. Max kept checking the vitals on Dr. Grissom. The story they told made her purse her lips and put more frown lines around her eyes. “Here’s the film…Max.” the radiologist said. “Looks like two fractures in the femur. One’s displaced” the radiologist pointed to a piece of bone clearly out of alignment. “I’d say we are dealing with two high velocity bullets. One’s a through and through….here and here…the other’s fragmented looks like it shredded this vein, this one and that femoral artery. Surprised your patient still alive…Max”
“Thanks Jim…Dr. Grissom got some very good first aid…But lot’s of work to do today…Ah, Jim can you standby for a minute…I need to go talk to Dr. Grissom’s colleague before we go upstairs…People take Dr. Grissom upstairs and start prepping him for surgery. I’ll be up in about twenty. If he starts going sour on me, page me ASAP.” Dr. Max said as she gave her orders to her surgical team.
“Come on Jim; we’ve got to talk to Miss Sidle.”
The radiologist and Dr. Maxine Carruthers walked out to the ER waiting room and took Sara into a nearby office.
“Sara, we’ve got some very critical problems to take care of tonight. Dr. Grissom is going upstairs to the OR and being prepped for vascular surgery. We have to repair these veins and arteries as soon as possible. He was hit by two bullets. One was a through and through and the other fragmented and the fragments shredded several veins and arteries. He has a fracture and a displaced fracture of the femur. Our first job is to stem the shock and the bleeding. In a few days, probably three; we will stabilize the fractures. I am going to be blunt. He’s lost a lot of blood. We are facing the possibility of infection and/or blood clots. I’d say if he survives the next three days without any major mishaps his odds of 80% recovery go up considerably…Are you empowered to act for him?”
“80% recovery? Is that the best we can hope for…” She gulped as she tried to force the bile rising in her throat down. “Only 80%...ah, yes I am empowered to sign for him.”
“Look, Sara I would be lying to you to promise you a 100%...First, we are trying to save his life. Second, we will try to save his leg. I don’t know how much he may be impaired. A lot is going to depend on him. On hard he works. It’s going to be a minimum of ten to twelve weeks in the hospital. Probably, three maybe four more operations. He has a long haul in front of him. He is going to need all the support he can get.”
In that moment, Sara had a decision to make. In the four weeks, they had been together Gil and she had shared a lot of secrets. He had told her about his hearing problems, about his operation and recovery; she had told him the sad story of her parents, her mother killing her father; about the abuse she had suffered and the her trials in the foster care system. She had to decide; it had been one thing to envision the possibility that Gil would die. She knew if that happened or had happened; she would have grieved a long time. She probably would have always carried him in her heart.
But now would she have the strength to stand by Grissom, regardless of the outcome of the next few weeks. If he lost his job, if he lost his leg, if he were crippled and unemployable? Could she deal with the depression, the self-loathing? Could she make him do what was required to recover?
She knew as soon as he was conscious; he might push her away. He was a very private and proud man in his own fashion. Dr. Gilbert Grissom was used to functioning as the pillar of strength. as the glue that held the team together. He took care of people and their problems; his own problems he either ignored or handled alone, by himself.
Would he allow himself to be supported and helped? This would be a challenge. Was she up to it? She could foresee a lot of abuse she would suffer at his hands and at the hands of others. Could she be his shield and helpmate? Is her love genuine? Could it stand the test? All this passed through her mind at an accelerated pace. It was both complex and yet simple. Did she have the right kind of love? Did she love him, was she in love with him?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The helicopter landed on the roof of Desert Palms Hospital. Working quickly but efficiently, the group moved into the rooftop elevator and down to the Emergency Room. Dr. Max signaled to her waiting surgical team, thanked the EMTs who left for their next case. Dr. Max turned to Sara. “Sara, I’m afraid you’ll have to wait outside now. We are going into surgery as soon as possible to repair the damaged arteries and veins. I’ll let you know what’s going to happen as soon as I can.”
Sara nodded her head but before she let go of his hand, she leaned over and kissed him on the forehead. “Gil, you listen to me. I’m going to wait for you outside. You understand? I’m waiting for you right here. Come back to me, Gil.” One more kiss and she went through the doors to sit in the waiting room.
Now with just the medical staff, there began a flurry of activity. The rest of Grissoms’ clothes were cut off and put into a paper bag and sealed. It was then labeled “CSI:LVPD:DR.GGRISSOM:050714” and put aside. A second smaller bag was filled with his personal effects and similarly labeled. A third bag held his gun which had been retrieved at the scene. All three were then handed to a waiting Las Vegas police officer who carried them out to Sara.
The first of twelve units of AB negative blood was hung and replaced the nearly empty bag of plasma from the crime scene. A Foley catheter was inserted; another line started for anesthesia and another line for antibiotics. Someone came hurrying in with Grissom’s medical records. Dr. Max quickly flipped to section detailing allergies. Her eyebrows went up when she saw the long list of counter recommended pain killers and anesthetics. But she knew there were at least two in the hospital’s arsenal that she could still use. “Where’s my x-ray machine?”
“Right here, Max.”
Grissom was barely hanging on to conscious thought at this point. People, machines were grey shadows flitting, fading in and out on the edges of his awareness. He felt cold, incredibly cold. He also felt incredibly tired. He just wanted to close his eyes and meet the incoming darkness head on. And the pain, now his body was becoming aware of the grievous injury he had suffered and it was protesting loudly. He was sweating by now. But he still felt incredibly cold. And the pain…every jolt as his body was moved and manipulated…fresh waves of pain
“Dr. Grissom. Hang in there. We’ll be going to the OR soon. I want some pictures, first.”
“Pictures…” Grissom thought. “I’m not dressed for pictures…”
Dr. Max kept checking the vitals on Dr. Grissom. The story they told made her purse her lips and put more frown lines around her eyes. “Here’s the film…Max.” the radiologist said. “Looks like two fractures in the femur. One’s displaced” the radiologist pointed to a piece of bone clearly out of alignment. “I’d say we are dealing with two high velocity bullets. One’s a through and through….here and here…the other’s fragmented looks like it shredded this vein, this one and that femoral artery. Surprised your patient still alive…Max”
“Thanks Jim…Dr. Grissom got some very good first aid…But lot’s of work to do today…Ah, Jim can you standby for a minute…I need to go talk to Dr. Grissom’s colleague before we go upstairs…People take Dr. Grissom upstairs and start prepping him for surgery. I’ll be up in about twenty. If he starts going sour on me, page me ASAP.” Dr. Max said as she gave her orders to her surgical team.
“Come on Jim; we’ve got to talk to Miss Sidle.”
The radiologist and Dr. Maxine Carruthers walked out to the ER waiting room and took Sara into a nearby office.
“Sara, we’ve got some very critical problems to take care of tonight. Dr. Grissom is going upstairs to the OR and being prepped for vascular surgery. We have to repair these veins and arteries as soon as possible. He was hit by two bullets. One was a through and through and the other fragmented and the fragments shredded several veins and arteries. He has a fracture and a displaced fracture of the femur. Our first job is to stem the shock and the bleeding. In a few days, probably three; we will stabilize the fractures. I am going to be blunt. He’s lost a lot of blood. We are facing the possibility of infection and/or blood clots. I’d say if he survives the next three days without any major mishaps his odds of 80% recovery go up considerably…Are you empowered to act for him?”
“80% recovery? Is that the best we can hope for…” She gulped as she tried to force the bile rising in her throat down. “Only 80%...ah, yes I am empowered to sign for him.”
“Look, Sara I would be lying to you to promise you a 100%...First, we are trying to save his life. Second, we will try to save his leg. I don’t know how much he may be impaired. A lot is going to depend on him. On hard he works. It’s going to be a minimum of ten to twelve weeks in the hospital. Probably, three maybe four more operations. He has a long haul in front of him. He is going to need all the support he can get.”
In that moment, Sara had a decision to make. In the four weeks, they had been together Gil and she had shared a lot of secrets. He had told her about his hearing problems, about his operation and recovery; she had told him the sad story of her parents, her mother killing her father; about the abuse she had suffered and the her trials in the foster care system. She had to decide; it had been one thing to envision the possibility that Gil would die. She knew if that happened or had happened; she would have grieved a long time. She probably would have always carried him in her heart.
But now would she have the strength to stand by Grissom, regardless of the outcome of the next few weeks. If he lost his job, if he lost his leg, if he were crippled and unemployable? Could she deal with the depression, the self-loathing? Could she make him do what was required to recover?
She knew as soon as he was conscious; he might push her away. He was a very private and proud man in his own fashion. Dr. Gilbert Grissom was used to functioning as the pillar of strength. as the glue that held the team together. He took care of people and their problems; his own problems he either ignored or handled alone, by himself.
Would he allow himself to be supported and helped? This would be a challenge. Was she up to it? She could foresee a lot of abuse she would suffer at his hands and at the hands of others. Could she be his shield and helpmate? Is her love genuine? Could it stand the test? All this passed through her mind at an accelerated pace. It was both complex and yet simple. Did she have the right kind of love? Did she love him, was she in love with him?