Title: In God's Hands

Author: Nicksfriend

Rating:

Spoilers: Grave Danger

Disclaimer: They do not belong to me...that is for sure.

Author's note:This is my first CSI fic. Please be gentle.

Chapter one

The ambulance came to a quick and jolting stop. He had started feeling pressure in chest just minutes before and the sounds of his friend's voices were becoming distant white noise. The audible wheezing in his chest was drowning out any other sound and he knew that he must be gasping for air because a mask was quickly placed on his face and he was moving from the vehicle.

There were voices all around him but he did not recognize them and just as he thought he would not be able to take another breath hands grabbed him and pulled him over to a different location and placed a tight fitting mask over his face, some improvement. He could not stop his jerking movements and his face, arms and legs were on fire. Now he knew what Hell must feel like.

"Mr. Stokes, my name is Dr David Fuller and you are at Dessert Palms emergency room. You are having difficulty breathing and there are some things that we are going to have to do to get you feeling better." Dr Fuller placed his stethoscope to Nick's chest and noted the raspy sounds and the expiratory and inspiratory wheezing sounds that explained why his patient was in respiratory distress.

Nick nodded because uttering a word was not going to happen. He was having to concentrate too much on just breathing right now. He could feel nausea stirring in his gut and he was dizzy.

"Good, first I need to get an intravenous line started and looking at your arms and neck that will not be an easy task." The doctor was taking in his patient's swollen face and arms which were covered with multiple ant bites, possibly hundreds of ant bites."Let's cut these clothes off and someone get me a central line kit." While he awaited the arrival of the kit he reached into the cabinet and withdrew an epi pen and quickly injected the medicine into his patient's upper left thigh. His patient reacted to the intrusion of the needle with a small moan.

As the clothing was quickly cut away he noticed that his patient's lower extremities were worse than his upper. This concerned him,his medical knowledge telling him he had a dire situation on his hands. The nurses were quickly attaching monitor leads and inserting a foley catheter. The doctor cleaned an area on his patient's femoral area on his right leg and quickly placed his hands into the sterile gloves from the central catheter kit.

Nick tried to open his now swollen eyes attempting to see what was going on and why he could not breathe. He was feeling a definite panic building up inside him and he started to move around on the small table, his voice too hoarse to yell for help but he felt the need to let them know that he was having a problem,he could not breathe.

The doctor saw his patient starting to panic and motioned to his nurse who placed a comforting hand on his shoulder."Listen," she whispered in a soft and gentle voice, "My name is Nicole, the doctor needs to get medicine into your system and he needs to start an IV. You will need to lie still."Her patient acknowledged her by quietening his movements as best he could on the small gurney.

Dr Fuller continued to place the line, cutting the opening into Nick's skin to get to the femoral vein and then placing the tube into the small hole, threading the catheter then stitching it into place, his patient definitely feeling the pain he was inflicting but it was necessary."What is his O2 sat?" Dr Fuller's question was more in response to the blue tint that had developed around his patient's lips since he arrived.

Nicole looked at the monitor and read the numbers, "Sats are 82 on a 100 rebreather, heart rate 120, blood pressure 90/40 and respirations 58." Her eyes reflected the concern that the doctor was also seeing in his patient.

"We need to get him a patent airway, he's going into shock, I need 10 milligrams of etomidate now!" He grabbed the laryngoscope and moved to the head of the gurney. Mr Stokes, we are going to have to get you breathing better because right now you are having a lot of difficulty. I will be giving you some medicine to assist you in relaxing and I promise you will not remember this later."

The twitching in his arms and legs was uncontrollable and the desire to vomit now was becoming overwhelming. What were they saying about a tube? All he could feel was numbness overcome his thoughts and he drifted out.

" Dr Fuller quickly inserted the larynogoscope into Nick's mouth and slid the plastic tube down his throat and a nurse placed an ambu bag to the end and quickly gave him two good breaths. "Get me a ventilator and let's get some blood work, a cbc with differential, a cmp, hepatic panel, urine with culture and sensitivity and let's go ahead and get a chest xray and an xray to check placement of this central line. Let's also give a breathing treatment, use Xopenex, his heartrate is too fast for the duonebs."

The emergency room staff and respiratory quickly got to work and soon the xray was done. Nick was placed on the ventilator and the bloodwork was on it's way to lab. Dr Fuller continued to assess his patient and ordered intravenous fluids and antibiotics with a loading dose of steroids. The reaction was severe so he ordered benadryl 50 milligrams IV stat.

"Let's get him moved to ICU, I want a cardiology and a respiratory consult. Let's get him started on a Valium drip, I do not want ICU placing restraints on him to keep that tube in place, he has been through enough." Dr Fuller had been informed of his patient's burial for the past twenty-four hours and the near death from explosives buried beneath him. His patient did not need anymore trauma.

Nicole turned and removed the medicated bag from the narcotic cabinet and affixed the tubing and connected it to a new pump and placed it one of the available lumens from his central line. She bent down when she was finished and whispered into his ear."You were a very brave man Mr Stokes. Hang in there." She gently stroked his sweaty forehead and started the process of getting him moved to ICU.

Dr Fuller picked up his patient's chart and headed towards the waiting area, he needed to inform the family how Mr Stokes was doing.

End of chapter one...hope you like! Feedback is always helpful...teach me!