Title: I'll Never Let You Go
Author: AllOverTheWorld
Summary: Horatio and Calleigh are at a crime scene when something unexpected happens that puts Calleigh's life in danger. Can Horatio save her?
Authors Note: This was intended to be a one shot but I am considering adding another chapter if my readers so desire.
Normally the Miami skies were a shining crystal blue and the sun would be out, casting light and eave after wave of heat onto the already sweltering city. This was not one of those days. The sky was dismal grey color, remnants of the storm that had swept any and all evidence away from the crime scene Calleigh currently found her self at. As the camera snapped pictures of nothing she looked around at the rest of the construction sight at which she and Horatio were the only ones. He was leaning over the body trying to get anything useful for identification without actually touching it because Alexx would kill him if he dared. She smiled at the sight of his read hair matted down to his forehead and small water droplets beaded and dropped down onto his shoes, which was already dotted with small splatters of the reddish brown mud.
Looking up to the skies she hoped the second storm the weatherman had predicted would hold off until after they were done at this crime scene and she got a chance to change into something dry. For the moment it seemed like the clouds would hold their load but in Miami you could never tell so Calleigh figured she had better get back to taking more crime scene photos. She took pictures of the disturbed mud near a metal brace but at this point she couldn't tell if any of it was from the rather violent storm or the murder of their brown haired, female victim.
The call had come in just as Calleigh had started up her hummer's engine and she gladly volunteered to drive straight to it. When she arrived she was not surprised to find Horatio already there and waiting for her to arrive and he had greeted her with a pleasant 'Morning Calleigh'. However the morning had taken a turn for the worst as a small shower poured from the heavens for five or six minutes forcing both Horatio and Calleigh to abandon any hopes of staying dry and set up a black topped CSI tent to protect the body from the rain.
After snapping pictures of the body and the ground nearest it Calleigh had struck out to find anything at all that could help them figure out why this girl's body had been dumped at a construction site. So far she had found absolutely nothing of use and was quickly getting irritated. Turning away from the print free metal support she turned to the pile of dirt that was a few away. She saw a few planks of wood sticking out from the bottom of it but thought nothing of it because this was a construction site after all.
She thought maybe her luck had changed when she saw a black object sticking out of the dirt. After taking a few before pictures she began to gently brush away the dirt but as she went to grab it she took a few steps closer to the pile. It was as her right foot came down onto the ground she heard the crack and felt the ground begin to give way. Even as she turned and tried to get off of the unstable ground she felt herself beginning to fall and reached out wildly for anything to stop her from plummeting to her death.
Lucky for her, her flailing right hand and caught a seemingly stable wooden plank sticking out of the dirt a few feet under the surface. She hissed as the splinter edges cut into the palm of her hand as she placed her left one over her right in an attempt not to get speared by the metal supports at the bottom of the hole "Horatio!" she called and she could feel the plank beginning to bend and slide under her weight.
Horatio heard the crack that had echoed around the abandoned site like gun fire and instinctively reached for his gun. However all thoughts of his weapon left him as he saw a gaping hole where an enormous pile of dirt had once been. Quickly scanning the area for Calleigh his heart began to beat faster and faster as he ran, sliding slightly in the mud as he did so, over to the pit. When he saw Calleigh, dangling desperately from a wooden plank sticking out of the ground, his heart stopped.
Without thinking about the risks for himself he extended on of his hands and said "Grab my hand!"
She stared at it for a second before the plank she was grabbing gave her no choice and snapped and she grabbed his hand. The unexpected combination of Calleigh's weight and the mud almost sent Horatio tumbling and sliding into the pit with her but he deftly grabbed the metal pole Calleigh had just been photographing and used it to stop him self from falling.
Ignoring the burning sensation's in both his arms and legs he concentrated on trying to heave Calleigh out of the pit. This feat he would have to do one his own because the ground by the rim of the hole was too slippery with mud for her to grab. That, matched with the fact that every time he tried to pull her up towards the top of the hold he, himself, began to slide, left it near impossible.
Heart thudding in his ears he looked down at Calleigh whose knuckles were white as she gripped his arm tightly. She looked into his eyes and he saw a type of desperation he thought he would never see in his best CSI "Horatio." She said her voice laced with fear "I don't think I can hold on much longer."
Horatio gripped her tighter and said "I'll never let you go."
Calleigh looked down the tears began to roll down here face, carving tracks in the mud, as she saw the fate that lay before her. Her arms burned as she tried to hold on but it didn't seem possible for much longer. She didn't want to die, not like this.
Horatio's fingers began to slip away from the pole and he knew that he would soon loose his own grip and send them both tumbling into the depths of the pit it he didn't do something "Calleigh, sweetheart" he started "Don't let go, hold on for just a little bit longer."
She nodded concentrated on keeping hold of his arm.
Suddenly the sound of a second Hummer entering the lot reached the duo's ears and Horatio looked over to see Ryan and Natalia stepping out of the car, looking confused but running over to him. When they both saw the sight before them Natalia gasped while Ryan bent over and stuck out his arm which Calleigh grabbed gratefully.
Together Ryan and Horatio hefted Calleigh over the side of the pit and onto the muddy earth. Ryan let go and allowed Horatio to take her up in his arms. For a moment Calleigh just sat there in his gentle grasp before the shock of how close she had come to death hit her. Horatio pulled her away from the edge as she sobbed shamelessly into her chest.
Horatio stroked the back of her head and whispered words of comfort into her ear and gently he took on of her bleeding hands and inspected the damage. There were multiple splinters pierce the soft white skin of her palm and a few more that extended into her fingers. He was surprised how well she was handling the pain she was no doubt in. Her inspected her other hand and saw similar damage had been done, Alexx would need to take a look when she arrived.
Still in Horatio's arms Calleigh looked up into his eyes and asked "Did you mean it when you said you'd never let me go?"
It was such a simple question and Horatio answered without thinking "Of course." He said and continued speaking "Calleigh Duquesne I would die for you."
That sentiment, while not completely surprising (the two CSI's trusted each other with their lives), but to hear it in words brought to the surface a whole new dimension of feeling for her boss "Thank you." She said and any further words went unspoken as Alexx walked hurriedly over to her.
Relinquishing his grasp on the mud spattered CSI Horatio helped her gently to her feet and stepped away to give Alexx some room "Let's get away from that damned hole and over to my truck." She said and they walked over, Horatio following the two women.
"Sit." Alexx commanded and Calleigh sat down grateful for the opportunity to sit down, her legs were still shaky from shock "Now I'm not going to lie to you, this is going to hurt."
Calleigh nodded "I remember back from when I was a kid."
Alexx smiled and pulled out some alcohol wipes "First I'm going to try and get as much of this blood and dirt off as I can before I start pulling out the splinters."
Calleigh nodded again and was reassured when Horatio walked over and sat down next to her, wrapping one arm around her "Talk to me." He said quietly and turned her face towards him so their eyes met.
Green eyes still shining with tears Calleigh met his cobalt blue ones and began to talk "I remember the first time we met." She started and a smile flickered across Horatio's face as he remembered the day fondly "I was in the ballistics lab reorganizing all the guns to how I wanted it and your former gun tech stormed in." she hissed in pain and closed her eyes for a moment, then continued "He blew a gasket and called you in here, demanding you fire me."
More stinging and burning in her hand as Alexx wiped away the blood "Keep talking sweetheart." Horatio said softly
Nodded Calleigh strained to hold back the tears and continued speaking "I was so scared that you would fire me." She admitted and Horatio laughed
"And miss out on having the best ballistics expert in Florida in my lab, I don't think so."
Calleigh smiled, it turned out more of a grimace because of the pain but she continued talking, realizing that it helped the pain go away "You told him that it was my lab and I could arrange it however I pleased."
"You're forgetting the part when he told me that you were an incompetent Barbie."
"Howwwwww" Calleigh said as how turned into a gasp of pain as Alexx pulled out the first splinter, conveniently ignoring the conversation unfolding in front of her "Did I forget that?" she said
"I told him that you knew more about guns than any person I had ever met."
"I remember now." Calleigh said "He stormed out and never came back."
Horatio smiled and a silence fell between them as Alexx continued to remove splinter after splinter from both of Calleigh's hands. After six minutes of tedious plucking and then wrapping of both hands and providing ice for the bruises on her arms from where Horatio had held her Alexx turned to the pair "You'll survive but it will be a couple of days before I even want you thinking about shooting a gun, those wounds will probably get infected as it is."
Calleigh sighed, that was going to be hard because her life was guns, how could she go two days without them?
Horatio on the other hand spoke up for her "That shouldn't be a problem."
Alexx laughed, as did Horatio after Calleigh elbowed him in the ribs "Not a problem for you maybe." She said and turned to look at the crime scene, not wanting to go near it.
Horatio seemed to sense this and as Alexx walked over to the body he turned and said "I'll drive you home."
"Home?" Calleigh said
"Yes." Horatio said "Relax, take a break. You deserve it after all that has happened."
"First no guns and no now work. I'm going to explode." She said
"I'll drive you home." Horatio said and smiled as Calleigh's expression was indignant.
"They're splinters, not a gunshot wound!" she protested
"For me?" he asked
Something about the way he said it gave her no choice but to agree "Fine." She said and headed towards his Hummer.
Horatio walked over to Ryan who asked "Is she okay?"
Horatio nodded "I'm forcing her to take the rest of the day off and I'm going to drive her home. It's bad for her hands, at least right now to be bent."
Ryan nodded "We'll take care of this" he paused considering his word choice "crime scene until you get back."
"Thank you Mr. Wolfe" he said and pulled out his sunglasses so he could drive Calleigh home "and remember to be careful."
Ryan nodded, turned back to Natalia and continued working.
Sliding into the drivers seat of his car Horatio turned to Calleigh who asked "What about the hummer?"
Horatio considered then answered "Mr. Wolfe or Ms. Boa Vista will drive it back to work and I'll swing by in it later, with dinner." He added, almost as an after thought.
Momentarily taken by surprise Calleigh nodded "Sure." She replied "That sounds nice, I suppose I owe at least that to the man who saved my life."
As they pulled onto the interstate Horatio turned to Calleigh "You never owe me anything."
Ummm…yea….This idea came to me during the day and lucky for you (bad for me) I just had to write it down. So here you go! However this story ended up being longer than I thought and I now have a pile of homework I have to do so anyone who reads Solace you will get another chapter tomorrow! *Maybe today but don't count on it*
Also, do you want a second chapter?
Thanks,
AllOverTheWorld
