Damaged

I need to preface this one with a warning. This is my rather dark take on one way Fannysmackin' could end. It is harsh, painful, and unpleasant. You're probably going to hate it, but for some unknown reason I had to write it. Probably the OCD acting up again.

I haven't forgotten about my other stories in process. Got major writer's block going on. I hate it!

iwishicouldjustleaveaspaceratherthandoingthis

His own mother wouldn't have recognized him, not all swollen and covered in dirt, bits of garbage, and thick, clotted blood, his clothes cut from his broken body and deposited in neat brown grocery bags for processing. Gil Grissom watched with feigned impassiveness as the boy - man, he corrected himself, though a part of him would always think "boy" when faced with Greg Sanders - succumbed to the merciful morphine slumber the nurse had injected into the IV. "What are his injuries?" he asked quietly.

The doctor sighed. "Quite a few ribs are broken, and both lungs are punctured. He has a simple fracture to his left arm and his left leg is a mess - multiple compound fractures of the tibia and fibula, and the leg is flattened from where the car tire passed over it. Nearly everything from mid-calf to below his ankle is severely damaged. It's cold to the touch and numb, and the angiogram shows zero blood flow. I'm going to try to rebuild it if I can, but I imagine we'll be doing an amputation. Doesn't look to be a lot for us to work with. Broken jaw and facial lacerations. He's stable since we put in the chest tubes, but we're worried about infection because he WAS found in a pile of garbage. We'll be taking him to surgery shortly. The face, arm and ribs should heal up very nicely, but I will be amazed if that leg is salvageable. He said they used a crowbar on him, hit him over and over with it, then drove over the leg with a car as they pulled away. Wanted to make damn sure he didn't follow them, I guess. Damn shame."

Grissom's jaw tightened. "Have you called his family?"

The doctor cleared his throat and looked away. "At his request we left that to you. You were actually listed as his next of kin. You're his supervisor?"

Grissom nodded tightly.

"Well, if you want you can speak to him for a moment before we take him back. When he's done they'll take him to the ICU. You can wait for him in the ICU lounge if you like."

Grissom nodded tightly and fished out his cell phone. They were all in for a long, awful night.

aspacewouldbesomuchneaterdontchathink

Three hours later, the haggard, tight-lipped expression of the surgeon told the outcome even before he opened his mouth. "He's awake and leaving recovery. Should be in ICU in a few minutes." he said softly. "Arm and jaw are fixed and should heal nicely. The leg was another matter. We, ah, we were able to do the amputation low enough he should do very well with a prosthetic. He's young." He looked from Grissom to the others. "We did our best, but the damage was irrepairable. I'm sorry the news isn't better. At any rate, he's awake and leaving recovery. Should be in ICU in a few minutes."

Warrick Brown walked to the window and looked out. "DAMN it! Why the HELL did he have to get in the middle of it? Why?"

"Would either one of us have left those people to die? We would have done the same thing, Warrick, the same thing."

"Yeah, but we carry guns."

"I carried a gun the night Walter Gordon got me. Don't blame Greg for this. It took more than one person to do what got done to Greg and those other people. If it had been one of us the others might be standing around at the morgue rather than hanging out here. Greg's still alive, Warrick, and he needs us."

Warrick sighed. "Yeah, he's alive, but what kind of life is he going to have?"

"Whatever kind of life he makes for himself, Warrick. Remember that."

Warrick dropped his head in embarassment.

Grissom looked around the room - Nick, Warrick, Catherine, Sara, Brass, Archie, Jacqui, Sophia, both Davids. And sitting by the door, the man whose smooth, calm answer had caught everyone's attention, Dr. Al Robbins.

"They just wheeled him into ICU. I'll go in first." Catherine stepped forward and looked around. "If everybody's okay with that."

"That's fine, Cath. I'll need to go next, though." Grissom sighed. "His family won't be coming. I'm sure he knows that, but it might help him to speak to his grandfather on the phone."

"Greg almost died here. Why the hell aren't they coming?"

"His grandfather is his only living relative. He's living in an assisted living center." Grissom's voice was quiet. "At his request I will be spending the rest of the morning trying to find him a spot in one here in Vegas. Greg's going to need him."

"He's going to need all of us, Grissom." Sophia spoke softly, her eyes on Brass as she spoke. "This is going to be the hardest thing he's ever had to deal with."

"True. And he's going to need for ALL of us to remember that he's still Greg, still a whole man in spite of the changes to his body." Robbins glanced pointedly at Warrick. "Anyone who can't manage that needs to stay away until they can."

"Um, Griss, I was wondering something." Nick's voice was hesitant. "Can he still, can he still be a CSI now?"

"I'm not sure. There's no firm rule regarding this sort of situation. It won't be my call." He sighed heavily. "If he has to go back to DNA, I'll see to it he'll return at the pay scale he was on when he left. That may be the best I can give him."

"But Griss, it's not fair. He was injured on the job. He was saving someone's life..."

"Life's not fair, Nick. Life's not fair at all."

"Fair or unfair, he might not be physically able to do the job any more." Warrick glanced almost apologetically at Dr. Robbins. "All due respect, Doc, but this is a pretty physical job. A CSI's got to be able to climb into small spaces, go up and down ladders, wade in the sewers. If he can't do what the position entails, he can't do it."

"Whether or not that will be the case is something no one can predict. He won't know himself for many, many months." Grissom shook his head. "I want Greg back - but only if he can do the job, and do it safely."