Summary: When one is overcome by grief, for whatever reason, they look for ways out, for ways to express (or suppress) the pain. They worried that the grief-stricken would harm him or her self. Horatio and Alexx are together through the pain while they wait during Eric's critical moments.
Author's Note: Yeah, this is not a romantic fic, just a somber kind of together thing. Which doesn't make any sense. This is my first posting to a CSI fandom, and I probably shouldn't do it since I'm not happy with this. Some of it yes, but it… Well, I won't start critiquing my own work before you all read it. You can save judgment until after you're done, besides it's quick. I'd love some feedback, though.
Disclaimer: Not mine, shouldn't even borrow them like this…
When one is overcome by grief, for whatever reason, they look for ways out, for ways to express (or suppress) the pain. They worried that the grief-stricken would harm him or her self. That's why they always stay with the pained soul.
He was alone. He knew, in all honesty, that this was not one of the times you should be alone. That it was bad, that he could hurt himself. They might worry that he would cut himself, do something drastic, or worst of all, he might do something out of character.
They were right.
He was crying.
Well, in normal standards he wasn't crying, so to speak. But the slightest idea of him shedding a single tear was what was shocking. And that's exactly what he was doing.
"Horatio?"
He glanced up; embarrassed that he had been caught in such a primal and simple display of emotion. Another thing unexpected of him. "Alexx."
"It's not fair, Horatio." She, too, was crying. And this was in the normal standards. Her eyes were red and puffy, her face stained in different hues because of the drops. The eyes were bloodshot, too. She hadn't slept since Eric had been shot, she hadn't closed her eyes since Eric got shot.
"What's not fair?" He knew, she knew.
"They keep taking my babies. All those poor kids… I know that they're aware of the dangers and that they know they're putting their life on the line… But" She began to choke up. Still standing at the door, she stared at the blank wall across the hall. Horatio was sitting in a chair, oddly placed in the middle of the room. He, too, stared at the wall. The perfectly lined rows and columns brought a sense of order to the room. A rare thing to find in a hospital. Both of the older members of the lab regained their composure as they stared upon the blocks.
"Ryan got shot in the eye with a nail; his vision was threatened. Calleigh lost her father; almost quit. Tim got shot, and… died." She choked back a sob, "Hell, I almost got blown up. And now, now we're waiting. Eric… Even if he does come back, it might not be him. He might always be some new, foreign and strange Eric, and there's not a thing I can do to help him!"
"I just don't want another one ending up in my room. I can't take it."
Horatio walked to Alexx, and took her hand. He pulled her into a hug and they both stopped talking. They were silently consoling one another. The two stayed with each other throughout the rest of the night, until Eric's prospects looked brighter, grim still, but brighter.
They gave each other what no other could they were there. They understood because they felt the same thing. They offered support, and maybe they saved each other from the grief. Maybe they prevented from another team loss.