Out Sick
a CSI story
by Tina
Warrick Brown slowly opened his eyes and glanced at the clock. "Damn." He mumbled hoarsely when he noted the time was 3:00pm. That only gave him an hour to get up, showered and back to work. As he took inventory of his body's aches, his pounding head, sore throat and congested nose he realized the cold he had been fighting the night before had hit in full force. He got up slowly and made his way to the bathroom for a hot shower. As he slowly dried off and dressed after his shower he wanted nothing more than to crawl back into his warm cozy bed, but he didn't want to leave the shift shorthanded. Besides, he told himself, even if he really wanted to call out sick, it was too late now.
He was halfway to work when the sneezing started and he realized he didn't have any tissues." Etchhhhhhh!!!! Etchooooo!!!!! ETCHHHHH!" He fumbled around the glove box, finally finding some napkins. He blew his nose forcefully wishing he had taken something for his cold before leaving home. He considered stopping at a convenience store for something but checking the clock he realized he wouldn't have the time.
He had known that agreeing to work a double shift the night before had been a bad idea when he was already feeling lousy, but he had really hoped that somehow sleeping all day would have left him feeling a little better than he did. This bug had been working it's way through the department for the last two weeks and there hadn't been a day in the last week that there wasn't at least one person out sick, often two or more. His head had been aching the night before, and his throat had been feeling scratchy and he had been looking forward to nothing more than heading straight home for a hot shower and going to bed as soon as his shift ended. But when he headed back to the lab around 9:00 to follow up on some fibers from a crime scene, Gil Grissom, his former supervisor and friend, had caught him in the hallway and asked if he could work the night shift because he had two CSI's out sick.
He had really wanted to say no, and he knew Grissom would understand, but he had too much loyalty to the man to leave him that shorthanded if he could help. He could also tell from Grissom's congested tone that he too was sick, sicker than Warrick had felt himself at the time and that had sealed it for him. The night had been long and extremely busy due to working with one less CSI than usual, and he still felt exhausted.
He made it in to Catherine's briefing just in time and pulled up a chair next to Nick Stokes. Catherine sent him and Nick out to the desert to investigate a shallow grave with several bodies that had been unearthed there.
"You guys will want to bring rain gear and the tarps just in case, Catherine called after them. "There's been some wild storms predicted for tonight."
"Oh great, "Warrick mumbled more to himself than Nick as they grabbed their gear and headed out.
Nick chatted about his day off as they drove out noticing Warrick's unusual silence. "You alright man? "He asked his friend. "You're pretty quiet."
"I'm fine, just tired." He sniffed wiping his nose discreetly on the back of his hand. "Did a double last night."
Nick nodded and continued chatting with Warrick listening but not adding much to the conversation, which was soon interrupted by his sneezing, "ETCHOOOOO!!! hehchoooo!!!! Etchoooo!"
"Bless you, " Nick glanced over and looked more closely at Warrick. "You're getting sick aren't you?" Warrick nodded feeling more and more miserable with every passing minute. "You should've called out tonight."
"Didn't want to leave you guys shorthanded."
Nick just shook his head knowing there was no point in further discussion Warrick was not the type to call out sick unless he was half dead.
They arrived at the site and set about processing the scene as fast as possible before the unstable weather set in. They had a couple of hours to work on the bodies and have them removed before the rain hit. The storm was unusually violent for the desert and both were soon soaked despite their rain gear, as the tried to gather as much evidence from the scene as they could before it was washed away. They didn't make it back in until late that night, both were wet and shivering with cold by the that time.
They headed immediately in to the locker room to get changed into dry clothes . By that time Warrick was sneezing frequently and continued to shiver despite the dry clothes and warmer environment. "Hehchooooo!!! etchooooo!!! etchhhhhhh."
Nick looked at his friend sympathetically. "You sound horrible, why don't you head home early. I'm sure Catherine wouldn't mind and I can finish up here."
Warrick shook his head, "No, I'm fine, but thanks Nick."
Nick stopped on his way towards the doorway to head back to his locker. "Wait a minute I have something for you." Warrick paused as Nick rummaged around in his bag producing a white vial with "AIRBORNE" printed on the side. He tossed the vial to Warrick.
He caught the vial and looked at his Nick questioningly,"What's this Nick?"
"Airborne," Nick replied . "It's a holistic thing. It's to help shorten your cold and lessen the symptoms." Warrick looked doubtful. "Look there's nothing bad in there even if it doesn't work. I felt like I was getting a cold over the weekend, I took it for two days, and I never got sick."
"Well, I guess it can't hurt,"Warrick relented, "And anything that could make this thing go away faster is worth trying. "
Nick got him a cup of water to drop the tablet in, and instructed him to drink up. Warrick did so without complaint, but did make a face at the horrible orange flavoring. He tucked the vial into his jeans pocket after reading the directions to repeat every three hours.
They were headed to the morgue to find out what Dr Robbins had discovered so far about the bodies when the ran into Catherine in the hall. She handed them each a cup of hot coffee, "How was it out there? She asked. They filled her in on the preliminary details of the case, Warrick sniffling discreetly and trying not to sneeze was still shivering as well.
She looked at him with concern, "Warrick are you ok?"
Warrick started to respond but was interrupted by the need to sneeze. He tried to sniff it back but was unsuccessful. He looked furtively for somewhere to set the cup of hot coffee and Nick, realizing his dilemma quickly took the cup from him. Warrick nodded his thanks before exploding into several forceful sneezes into the crook of his arm, "HEHCHOOOO!! ETCHOOOOO!!! ETCHOOO!!."
"He's sick," Nick stated the obvious to their supervisor.
"I'm fine,"Warrick stated sounding less than convincing.
"You sure don't sound it," Catherine said with concern in her voice as she reached out to feel his forehead."Warrick, you're burning up with fever!"
"I'm fine Mom, "He grinned at her.
She shook her head. "I'm serious Warrick, you need to go home!"
"Catherine's right Rick, I can finish up here."
"I'm fine to finish up tonight guys, but thanks."
Catherine shook her head with determination and put her hands on his shoulders turning him back towards the locker room. "I'm serious Warrick you need to get home to bed. I can help Nick finish up with the evidence." She noticed him starting to protest again. "Warrick I'm telling you as your supervisor, and your friend,"she added more softly. "You need to go home now."
Finally he relented, "If you two are sure you can finish processing the evidence tonight....."
"We can, "they both replied.
"And you my friend are off tomorrow." Catherine ordered in her don't you dare argue with me voice.
Warrick agreed realizing that unless Nick's Airborne was truly a miracle cure he'd never be able to work the next day. "Ok, you win. Thanks guys."
Warrick headed straight home, he debated stopping at the pharmacy but was too tired to drag himself out of the car. He was relieved to find an almost empty bottle of Nyquil in his medicine cabinet which he finished off in one swig before heading to bed.
He woke late the next morning, his head heavy with congestion, his throat feeling raw and sore. The sneezing started moments after he dragged himself out of bed in search of something to drink. "HEHCHOOOOOOO!!!! Etchoooooo!!! Ishooooooo!!" The sneezes were powerful causing him to feel slightly lightheaded. He slowly made his way to the kitchen pausing to sneeze frequently. "Ishhhhhh!! Heh....heh...CHOOOO!!!"
He had stopped to steady himself in the kitchen doorway and wait for the dizziness to pass when he heard a knock at his front door. "Warrick are you up?" He heard Nick calling.
He moved quickly to answer the door but had to stop to steady himself again as the dizziness returned. "Be right there.." he tried to call out to Nick, but he was surprised to find his voice merely a croak and he was sure Nick didn't hear him. He made his way slowly through the living room, holding on to the furniture to steady himself until he reached the door and let Nick in.
Nick looked at his friend with some surprise and definite sympathy. "You look awful man..."
"Thanks a lot Nick, " Warrick whispered and smiled weakly.
"Sorry, " Nick grinned back ," But you know what I mean. I came by to check on how you're feeling. Not so good I guess..."
"You got that right. Ishhhhhh!!! " Warrick sneezed, swayed slightly and leaned against the wall, (discretely he hoped.)
But Nick saw him fading immediately and took him by the arm."Come on buddy, let's get you back to bed before you drop. " Warrick allowed himself to be led back to the bedroom. "I'm sorry you had to get up to answer the door." Nick told him apologetically.
"S'ok, I was up looking for a drink."
"Let me get you something, what do you want?"
"Just water, " Warrick's voice was fading by the minute. "Thanks, Nick"
"Have you been taking the Airborne?" Nick asked as he returned with a large glass of cold water which Warrick gratefully accepted and quickly downed.
Warrick shook his head, "Forgot, been sleeping." He voice was so far gone he didn't even bother which the rest of the words but gestured to his dresser where he had placed the bottle when he had undressed the night before.
Nick went back to the kitchen and returned with a small glass of water to which he added the tablet and gave to Warrick to drink. He then looked at his friend critically, he could tell from Warrick's glassy looking eyes that he must have a fever, he was clearly still congested and sneezing and he looked just miserable. He leaned over and felt his forehead.
"You feel like you've got a pretty high fever. Have you taken anything?"
Warrick shook his head, "Not since the Nyquil I finished last night, I don't have anything here."
"Do you have a thermometer?" Nick asked. Warrick shook his head.
"I'm going to run to the pharmacy and pick up some stuff for you, is there anything you want while I'm out?" Nick asked.
"Nick, " He whispered, "You don't have to..."
"Of course I do, you'd do the same for me. Besides Catherine would kill me if I didn't take good care of you, she wanted to stop over too, but she's in court this morning."
Warrick smiled at the thought of Catherine and Nick both looking out for him. "Ok, thanks. I can't think of anything..." " You stay in bed, "Nick ordered, "I'll be back in half an hour." Warrick nodded and leaned back his eyes closing almost immediately.
Nick, true to his word was back in half an hour, his arms loaded down with bags not only from the pharmacy but also from the small market around the corner. He peeked in to check on Warrick first, and finding him asleep set the pharmacy bags on the dresser and brought the grocery bags into the kitchen. He had noticed Warrick's refrigerator was pretty empty when he had filled his water earlier, so he had decided to get him a few things at the market. He unloaded a large jug or orange juice, some cans of soup, some ice cream and a few other items which he put away. He also had a large container of fresh hot chicken noodle soup of which he poured some into a small bowl for Warrick to eat for lunch.
He thought about letting him sleep but after gently checking Warrick's forehead again and feeling how hot it was he decided to wake him. "Hey buddy, wake up , I've got some soup for you."
Warrick slowly opened his eyes and pushed himself up in bed. "Th....ESHOOOOOO!!!! Ishoooooo!!!! Thanks, Nick."
"Bless you, " Nick said sympathetically, putting the soup on the bedside table and reaching into the pharmacy bagging and pulling out a box of Kleenex which he pulled open and handed to Warrick who nodded his thanks. Nick meanwhile continued to rummage around in the bag pulling out various medicines until he finally reached a small box. He opened the box and pulled out a flat strip.
Warrick finished blowing his nose and looked questioningly at Nick. "It's a thermometer."
"Doesn't look like a thermometer." Warrick croaked, clearing his throat.
"It's a forehead thermometer he pressed it against Warricks' forehead and waited for the reading. "101 degrees, you've definitely got the bug man."
"You don't need to tell me, I feel like crap."
"I know, I'm sorry, " Nick replied sympathetically. "I got a bunch of stuff, hopefully it'll help you feel better." He picked up a bottle of Advil first, "This should help your fever, and headache if you have one." He looked questioningly at Warrick who nodded. "Let me get you some more water first."
He took the empty glass from the table and returned with another large glass of cold water. He handed Warrick both the water and two of the tablets. After overseeing Warrick taking the Advil he picked up another box. "Cold medicine, "he answered Warrick's questioning look. "They're strips, I hate the taste of the liquids and I thought and the pills might hurt your throat so these looked good. He opened the box and handed the package inside to Warrick so he could get them out for himself. "Take two and let them dissolve on your tongue." Warrick rolled his eyes but silently complied. While Warrick placed the strips on his tongue Nick opened yet another box and plugged the contents into a wall socket.
"Now what on earth is that?" Warrick demanded.
"It's a Sudafed vapor plug. It should help with your congestion." Nick replied.
"Doesn't that box say children's?" Warrick asked., somewhat amused.
"Yeah, it was the only kind I could find, but my sister swears by these."
"For her self?" Warrick asked still slightly amused.
"Well no, for the kids but I thought..." Nick looked a little embarrassed, " I thought it might help you feel better."
"Thanks Nicky, you're the best, " Warrick smiled weakly at his friend truly appreciating all he was doing for him.
Nick smiled back, "Now eat your soup before it gets cold. Do you need anything else?"
Warrick shook his head, "No, I'm good. Thanks for everything Nick, I really appreciate your coming over and picking up......ISHHHHHHH!!!!! Ishooooo!!!!.... Excuse me, all this stuff." Warrick grabbed a handful of tissues and blew his nose again.
"Bless you, and your welcome. You can take the strips and the Advil again in four hours, I also bought you some more Nyquil for tonight. The plug is good for eight hours."Warrick nodded, still blowing.
"I'm thinking I might stop over after work tonight, just to check in on you...." Nick began.
Warrick started to protest."You don't need to stop over Nick, I'm ok..."
"I know Rick, but your fever's pretty high already and you are here alone, and it would make me feel better. I'll take your key so you don't have to get up to let me in."
"Ok, if you want... I guess." Warrick relented, actually feeling comforted that Nick would be back."There's an extra key on the hook on the side of the refrigerator."
"Want me to bring you anything tonight?" Nick asked as he prepared to leave. Warrick shook his head. "Remember to take the Airborne, and there's more soup out there and some ice cream and juice."
Warrick smiled at his friend's thoughtfulness. "Thanks man, I really owe you one."
"Don't worry about it, I'll be back after work."
Warrick finished his soup and drifted back off to sleep for several hours. He woke later feeling hot and sweaty and desperately thirsty. He started to get up and was immediately hit by a wave of dizziness. He sat quickly back down on the bed and lied down until the dizziness passed. He tried again getting up very slowly and carefully and the dizziness seemed much better. He found he was able to make it into the kitchen if he once again held on to the furniture to keep his balance. He poured himself a large glass of water and sat at the table to drink it.
"Etchhhhhh!!! Etchooooo!!!!" He sneezed forcefully feeling another wave of dizziness. He put his head down on the table until it passed and then sniffed wetly realizing that the tissues were in the bedroom. Feeling exhausted he rested his head back on the table a moment after sitting back up and drinking his water. I'll just rest here for a minute....he told himself.
He awoke sometime later shivering with cold. Realizing he needed to get himself back to bed he stood up, but was once again overcome with dizziness. He stood for a minute clutching the edge of the table until he felt steady enough to move. He made it from the kitchen into the living room, clutching the furniture and doorways as he went.
He realized halfway back to bed that the weakness and dizziness were too much for him and decided to head for the couch instead. He barely made there before dropping. Still shivering wearing only his boxers and a tee shirt he curled himself up on the couch trying to get warm.
Nick was surprised to find him there on the couch when he stopped in after work. He touched Warrick's arm to rouse him and help him back to bed and was surprised at how hot he was. "My God man, you're burning up."
Warrick stirred, opening his now glassy eyes, "Hey Nick..." he whispered.
Nick helped him up slowly, "Let's get you to bed." Warrick leaned heavily on him on the way back to bed. Nick tucked him in and put the thermometer to his forehead. He was shocked to read 102.8.
He went to the kitchen and got some more water he them brought Warrick some more Advil and some Nyquil are discerning that he hadn't taken either while he was gone. He helped Warrick sit up and take the medicine then settled him back into bed. He made sure that Warrick seemed comfortable and brought a fresh glass of water to leave at the bedside. He then changed the sudafed insert in the vapor plug realizing it had been on for well over eight hours.
He stood watching his friend for several minutes before making the decision to stay overnight. He was worried that Warrick might try to get up during the night and fall due to his weakness and disorientation from his high fever. He debated pulling a chair into the bedroom but since Warrick seemed to be sleeping soundly he found an extra blanket in the closet and settled himself on the couch.
The shrill ringing of the telephone awoke Nick the next morning. He fumbled for the phone on the end table. "Hullo." He answered sleepily.
"Nick ?" The voice on the other end questioned, "Is that you?"
"Hi Cath, it's me."
"Did I dial the wrong number or are you at Warrick's?"
"No you dialed right, I'm at Warrick's." Nick paused yawning.
"Is everything ok Nick? How is he?" Catherine asked with concern in her voice.
"He was burning up last night when I stopped in to check on him, his fever was almost 103. I found him curled up on the couch shivering. I didn't want to leave him alone overnight."
"You're a good friend Nick, I'm so glad you were there. How is he today?"
"Dunno yet, "Nick got up on the couch and carried the cordless phone with him towards the bedroom. " Just woke up, I'm headed in to see now."
Warrick stirred when Nick entered the bedroom. "Hey Nicky, you back again?" He whispered hoarsely smiling faintly at his friend. His eyes still seemed somehow distant.
"Actually I never left, " Nick smiled back at Warrick. "How're you feeling buddy? I've got the boss on the phone looking for a full report. " He grinned and Warrick smiled back weakly.
"I don't know, I feel really wiped. " He pushed himself up in bed with what seemed to be great difficulty, so Nick propped him up with pillows and straightened his blankets. He then reached over to feel his forehead which he was concerned to find still felt fairly warm.
"Well Cath, he's not looking so hot, and he still has a fever" Nick was still worried about his friend.
"I'm ok Nick, " Warrick managed to croak before being overcome by a fit of coughing.
"Here that Catherine?" Nick asked with concern, "It's not good." Once Warrick's coughing finally stopped Nick went to the kitchen and returned with some cold water which Warrick drank rapidly and requested more.
Nick continued to talk with Catherine about his concerns for Warrick as he went to refill the glass of water. She could hear the fatigue in his voice.
"Nick, " She finally asked ," Did you get any sleep last night?"
"Not much, " he admitted. "I spent half the night listening to Warrick toss and turn and worrying that he might get up and fall."
"You should get some rest before work tonight...." she began.
"I really don't want to leave him alone Cath, not until I have too..."
"I know Nick, I'm coming over. I should be there in about half an hour and I can stay until 3:30 and still make it to work on time. Hopefully by then he'll be ok to stay alone You need to go home and get some sleep. You don't want to be the next one down"
Nick reluctantly agreed, feeling completely exhausted. He knew Warrick was feeling really unwell because he didn't even argue when he told him that Catherine was on her way over. Nick dosed him once again with Advil and cold medicine strips, and another Airborne tablet figuring it couldn't hurt. Warrick denied being hungry but Nick pushed him to drink fluids and have some more of the soup. By the time Catherine arrived the Advil seemed to be kicking in and his fever seemed to be receding.
"You didn't need to come over Cath...." He whispered, feeling very glad that she had.
"I know Warrick but I wanted to. I needed to make sure that Nick was really taking good care of you." She smiled at him.
Warrick reached his hand out to Nick. "Thanks for everything Nicky. I don't know what I'd have done without you.
"Don't worry about it Rick, just feel better man. I'll check on you later." Nick gave his arm a quick squeeze.
Nick left and Catherine settled into a chair next to Warrick's bed slipping off her shoes and resting her feet up on the edge of the bed. She talked to Warrick for a few minutes about the latest news from work and then just watched him drift off to sleep.
He slept off and on for the next several hours. When he awoke Catherine forced him to drink and take more medication as needed. By late afternoon he seemed ok to leave on his own so she reluctantly went to work, promising to be back at the end of her shift.
When Nick and Catherine returned well after midnight they found Warrick sleeping peacefully and snoring softly. His fever seemed to finally have broken and from the dirty dishes in the sink it looked as though he had been able to make it to the kitchen and get himself some soup and ice cream. They shared a relieved smile over the bed and Warrick stirred looking up at them.
"Just can't stay away can you?" He grinned, voice still hoarse.
"We just wanted to check in before we headed home." Catherine smiled down at him.
"Are you feeling any better?" Nick asked still concerned.
Warrick nodded, "A little bit I think. I think I may need one more day off though Cath."
"I already took care of it. You just get some rest and get better."
She leaned down and kissed him on the cheek.
He pulled back slightly, "Be careful Cath, you don't want to catch this thing."
"Don't worry, " She grinned ."Nick's got me dosed up on Airborne, he's convinced that we won't catch it."
"Better watch out, it didn't work for me."
"That's because you started to late. We're going for prevention here man." Nick assured them both.
Nick refilled Warrick's water glass and set him up with medicines before the two left, promising to stop over the next morning. Warrick drifted ff to sleep with a smile, feeling grateful to have had his two friends taking care of him when he was in need.
I don't on any of these characters, I'm just borrowing them to play.
This story is in response to Plot Bunny #52 - Write a story which somehow involves elements from "modern" medicine today.
I've been wanting to write a CSI fic for a while now. I didn't come out exactly as I thought but I hope it's ok. Please let me know what you think.(good or bad)