Title: Breaking the Ice (1/2)

Author: scathingsarcasm

Summary: Greg almost drowns; Gil saves him.

Pairings/Characters: Gil/Greg

Rating: G – anyone can read this part.

Disclaimer: I do not own CSI or any related media.

Warnings: O.o Um… Greg almost drowns? He doesn’t, though, so… Near-Character-Death? None.

A/N: This was done completely on a whim, however, there will be a second part to kind of… wrap things up. Hope you enjoy!

Feedback: Welcome. Concrit, too.

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“GREG!”

‘How did I end up in this situation again?’

The frigid water was invading his lungs, prickling needles of pain shooting through every exposed piece of skin as he sunk deeper, deeper into the lake’s icy depths. The water, crystal clear and a pale blue, surrounding him, plunging his body temperature to surely unsafe levels. He tried to more his limbs, but there had long been numb with cold, and now floated heavy and unmoving by his sides. The weight of his clothes, a thick winter jacket, dragged him down, until he was staring up at the surface as if it were the sky. It was almost surreal – already, a spider web of icy tendrils were snaking across the hole from which he had fallen, attempting to claim him forever into their depths. The numb feeling had spread, so much so that he could no longer feel the painful cold, and he allowed himself to drift, motionless, through the calm he was immersed in. Something in the back of his mind screamed at him to kick his legs, head for the surface, move, breathebreatheBREATHE! But he couldn’t bring himself to care. Letting his eyes slip closed, the blue world around him faded to black.

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“GREG!”

He surged forward, wanting to dive in after the young man who had just plunged through the frozen surface of the lake, but his common sense held him back. The water had to be at least twenty or thirty degrees below zero – they needed to get Greg out fast.

“Somebody get me some rope! AND CALL THE PARAMEDICS! NOW!” He roared, and immediately found a rope placed in his hands. He quickly tied it around his waist, securing it with a knot, and handed the long spool to the shocked officer next to him. A line of others quickly formed behind him, ready to take up the excess. Taking a deep breath, he plunged through the newly forming ice, ignoring the shock of freezing cold that took over his body. This would have to be quick, or he wouldn’t be able to move his limbs.

Ten feet below him, Greg floated, limp and tinged a sickly blue. Forcing his arms and legs into motion, he swam sluggishly towards the motionless figure, desperate. Already, his lungs burned, and Greg’s eyes were closed, closed, as if he was already… Finally, he was there, where the water was deep and dark, and his head throbbed unpleasantly from the pressure. Grabbing the CSI around he waist, he yanked firmly on the rope, which started pulling them both slowly towards the surface. Red tinged the edged of his vision, and he needed to breathe, dammit!

Finally, they broke the surface, and the air was so, so sweet. Hands grabbed his reaching arm, the other latched tightly around Greg’s waist, and – Greg. He was yanked through the hole, up onto awaiting blankets, but Greg wasn’t breathing, just laying there, so still. The paramedics turned him on his side and smacked his back, and after a moment he coughed up what looked like half the lake – but still, he drew no breath. So they started CPR, three compressions on the chest and breathing into his mouth, and still, nothing. Again, and again, and finally, he gasped in a shaky breath, golden brown eyes snapping open and staring directly into his. He scrambled over, ignoring Sara who was trying to wrap a thick woolen blanket around his shoulders, trying to get to Greg – reassure him, tell him he was okay, because he just looked so scared. The medics let him through for a moment, and he crawled to Greg’s side. He was shivering uncontrollably, they both were, still blue tinged and deathly pale.

“G-Gil, I’m s-s-so c-cold…” he whimpered, numb fingers contracting around his own, muscles spasming, frozen.

“It’s okay, Greg, you’re going to be fine…”

“Sir, he’s going to go into shock, we need to get him to a hospital! You too, come on…”

He allowed himself to be dragged away, staring at Greg the entire time as if to reassure himself he was still there. Still in the illusion of safety, in his arms.

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:End of Part One:

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