Ok guys, after a lot of people said they wanted a sequel to Fear and Loathing I have come up with this for you. I hope you enjoy...
He sat in Calleigh's lounge, wringing his hands together. He daren't look at her face, he knew what he would see if he did. He'd see the pity she had for him, he was weak and pathetic. He knew that she was only staying with him out of duty, some kind of misplaced loyalty that he must have mistakenly earned along the way.
Jeff had left an hour ago, Alex made her excuses and left not long after, it left him alone with her, he felt deeply uncomfortable as the silence stretched between them. "It'll be ok, Horatio" Calleigh said softly, trying to reassure the broken man in front of her, "We won't let you go through this alone"
He turned his head and looked at her, "I'm not worth it. Can't you see that?" he told her, pleading with her to understand.
"Of course you are!" she told him, her voice rising. "You need to understand that we all love you, you need to let us help you"
"I'm not worth it" he replied tiredly.
"Why do you think that?" she asked him, tears threatening to fall from her eyes.
He looked at her again, his eyes full of sorrow. "Because it's true"
"Who told you that?"
"Does it matter?" he said, sighing and closing his eyes. "Look, Calleigh. I'm tired; it's been a long day. I'm going to have a lie down, ok?" he told her as he left the room, not giving her time to reply.
She heard him trudge wearily up the stairs, enter the bedroom and close the door quietly behind him. She had hoped that Jeff had talked some sense into him but he remained distant and emotionally withdrawn from her. She prepared herself for the long battle to come, vowing to stick with him no matter how hard he tried to push her away.
Calleigh busied herself preparing a light dinner in the kitchen; she kept glancing towards the hallway and kept an ear out for any movement from upstairs. She dished up enough food for herself and then took a tray upstairs for Horatio. She knocked softly on the door and entered, he was lying fully clothed on the bed, his eyes closed and his head to one side muttering under his breath. She debated whether or not to wake him up, she almost jumped and dropped the tray when he bolted upright opening his eyes and panting, looking frantically around the room. She put the tray down on the dresser and walked over and sat beside him on the bed, "Its ok" she crooned as she took him in her arms, rubbing a hand across his back in an effort to soothe him. She held him until he got his breathing under control; he pulled back from her and then looked away, trying to concentrate on anything but her. "Look at me" she said to him, when she got no response she tried again, firmer this time. "Horatio. Look at me" She took his head in both her hands, cupping his face lightly; still he refused to look at her. "Horatio. Look at me" she said fiercely. Reluctantly he raised his eyes to meet hers, "You've got nothing to be ashamed of. You don't need to hide anything from me" She stared at him intently, willing him to believe her.
He nodded his head slightly but instantly regretted it; he held a hand to his forehead and groaned softly. The pain reminded him forcefully of the concussion he had given himself a few days ago, Calleigh let go of him and brought the tray to the bed and laid it on his lap. "Here. Eat this" she said as he looked at the food on the plate.
"I'm not hungry, Calleigh" he told her tiredly, pushing the tray away.
Determined to stand her ground, Calleigh pushed the tray back towards him. "Well I'm not leaving until you've at least tried to eat something" She returned his glare, neither willing to back down and admit defeat. Eventually he gave in.
"Fine" he said sighing as he reluctantly picked up the fork and prodded at the pasta on his plate. He placed a forkful in his mouth and chewed slowly. He hadn't realised how hungry he was until the first mouthful of food hit his stomach. He ate the rest of the food quickly; the satisfaction of a full stomach was short lived as he bolted from the bed to the en-suite bathroom. Calleigh winced as she heard him retching, throwing up the food he had just eaten.
He returned to the bedroom a few minutes later looking queasy and miserable, Calleigh helped him get into the bed and drew the covers up around him. She stroked his hair as he closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep. Leaving the room quietly she made her way back downstairs and called Alex, concerned at what had just happened to Horatio.
"I wouldn't worry too much Calleigh" the doctor told her, "I'm not surprised he's nauseous with the concussion he gave himself"
"So it'll pass?" Calleigh asked hopefully.
"Give it another couple of days, Calleigh. If he's still having trouble keeping food down then we'll have to look into it further. The best thing you can do for him right now is just be there, I'll come over tomorrow evening after my shift to check on him"
"Thanks Alex. I really appreciate it" Calleigh said, feeling better for talking to her friend.
"Not a problem, sweetie. Jeff will come by the house at about 10am tomorrow. Just make sure you and Horatio get a good night's sleep"
"Okay Alex. We'll try" Calleigh replied. Ending the phone call she walked back into her kitchen and stared at the plate of food on the kitchen table. After watching what had happened to Horatio she suddenly didn't feel that hungry herself anymore. Telling herself that she needed to keep her strength up for him she picked up the fork and forced herself to eat something.
After flicking through a dozen channels and finding nothing interesting to watch Calleigh turned the TV off and made her way upstairs to her guest bedroom. After brushing her teeth and changing into her night clothes she gently opened the door to the master bedroom, Horatio was lying on his side with his arms wrapped around himself, she could hear his deep breathing and satisfied herself that he was sleeping peacefully. She closed the door as quietly as she could and returned to the guest bedroom, she lay down on the bed and took the book mark out of the trashy novel she had been reading.
Calleigh realised that she must have fallen asleep at some point, she woke up with a start, the open book falling to the floor as she sat upright on the bed. She heard low moans emanating from the bedroom across the hall, her heart sank as she realised that Horatio was caught in the grip of another nightmare. She ran across to his room and opened the door, he was lying on his back, breathing heavily and repeating the same phrase over and over again, "I'm sorry. I'm sorry" each time he repeated the sorrow in his voice increased, even though his eyes were closed it looked like he was crying as the tears rolled down his face.
She walked timidly into the room, wanting to soothe him but wary of startling him whilst he was so emotionally unstable. She watched him as he shook his head from side to side, grimacing. "Stay away from her, I'm warning you!" he growled menacingly, his eyes still closed. "Get back or I swear I'll kill you!" he continued as he balled his fists into the bed sheets, his face was turning bright red and Calleigh feared that he would hyperventilate if she did not step in. Taking a deep breath to summon her courage she walked towards Horatio, standing and leaning over him she placed a hand on his arm. She was completely unprepared for what happened next.