A/N: I know I've said that this is the end of the series and it is. However, that being said, I opened the door in this last chapter for some side stories to be written. I left a couple of things unfinished and unsaid on purpose. So don't complain to me after you've read it all about "why didn't you do this" or "why did you do that". It just means I'll touch on it later in some side stories. But the main arc is complete.

If you need to catch up on the first two parts of this story, they are available at my website.

Title: Club Descent: Accused (1/11)

Author: Aeon Cole

Beta: sharpiesgal/Dino

Rating: FRAO

Warning: Slash

Fandom: CSI: Miami

Pairing: Horatio/Speed

Spoilers: None

Challenge: 50 Dark Fics

Prompt: #34 Broken

Word Count: 2200

Summary: A discovery in a quarry lake brings back some old memories and puts Max in a tight spot.

Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

Monday, July 12, 2004

Darkness. That was his world now. He hadn't seen the light of day in… well he didn't have any idea anymore how long it had been. His tormentor had kept him in complete and total darkness. In the beginning he'd wondered how he'd managed it, not even one pinprick of light in the room. At least he had assumed it was a room. He could feel a floor beneath him, definitely not stone or dirt. In the beginning he'd tried to figure out his surroundings but he was quickly and painfully prevented from exploring any further and soon the darkness had consumed him.

Light was painful to him now. He had so adapted himself to the darkness that he was certain his eyes no longer worked. The only light he was granted was when his captor entered or left the room. But that light blinded him, a bright white flash that caused a searing pain at the back of his skull, even when he'd learned to keep his eyes closed. Afterward he would see spots until the darkness returned. The brief flashes of light never once revealed the face of his captor only a vague outline.

He had realized in the beginning that his captor was wearing some type of night vision goggles, as he seemed to be able to navigate the darkened room and carry out his torturous acts without faltering. He had no idea who this man was but to be able to overpower him was no small feet so he had believed the man to be military trained, probably Marines. But after so long in captivity, his strength was completely sapped and whatever modicum of sanity he possessed when he'd stormed out of the warehouse that morning so long ago was gone.

His body had been ravaged. He'd been given only enough food and water to keep him alive. He'd been beaten, whipped, raped, and kept naked in total darkness. The man he used to be, he was no longer. Simon Cole was dead. All that remained was a shell whose heart still beat, whose body still functioned to an extent, but whose mind was completely gone.

He heard a noise and immediately plastered his hands over his eyes but it did little good. The bright light streamed into the room and Simon screamed as the sharp pain bit into his eyes. He heard a chuckle as his captor walked toward him. The pain didn't fade and he couldn't figure why. The darkness always returned quickly, but this time his captor had left the door open and Simon curled into himself trying desperately to get away from the light. He felt a boot land on his side and press down crushing his ribcage.

"It's time to end this," his captor said.

This was the first time the man had spoken to him and somewhere in the back of what was left of Simon's shattered mind he thought he recognized the voice. But his recognition came too late. As the weight on his ribcage grew heavier and heavier he heard and felt bones snap. He screamed in pain just before losing consciousness for the last time.

ooo

Sunday, October 10, 2004 (Three months later)

Tim awoke with a start as a loud clap of thunder sounded outside. He could hear the rain beating down on the roof of the house and feel the ache in his leg. The bone had healed but he was told that it would never be a hundred percent again. The break had been too bad and he would probably always have a barometer in his leg. And true to the doctor's predictions, every time it rained he could feel his leg throb.

He glanced over at the clock and saw that it was still early. He slipped out of bed and limped into the bathroom to down some aspirin then returned to bed and snuggled in next to Horatio. The redhead's eyes fluttered open.

"You ok?" he asked groggily.

"Yeah," Tim replied. "Leg hurts. I just took some aspirin." He snuggled in closer. "Go back to sleep. It's still early."

Horatio pulled him in closer and kissed his temple. Tim rested his head on his lover's shoulder and tried to go back to sleep. After a short while he heard Horatio snoring lightly again. He lay there for a few minutes longer before giving up on getting back to sleep. He carefully removed Horatio's arm from around his waist and slipped out of bed.

He hesitated for a moment at the top of the stairs glancing around the living room before heading down. There were still a lot of things he was working out with his psychiatrist since he'd been rescued six months earlier. One of those things was a sometimes-overwhelming fear of being alone in the house. He always kept the security system turned on and he'd made Horatio put up a set of vertical blinds over the sliding glass doors in the kitchen. He still loved being outside but he preferred to have Horatio or Max with him.

He made his way down the stairs and into the kitchen. He could see through the blinds that the sun wasn't up yet but it would be soon and the rain had stopped. He started a pot of coffee then sat down at the kitchen table to wait for it to brew. He stared at the blinds covering the glass doors. He wanted to go outside and watch the sunrise. He remembered how much he used to love to do that. But each time he thought about going out onto the beach alone, fear flooded over him.

Horatio inhaled deeply as he rolled over in bed. The smell of coffee filled his senses. He instinctively reached for Tim but was met by an empty space on the bed. He sat up and looked around. Once his sleep filled mind had cleared he realized that Tim must have gone downstairs to make coffee. It was still early but he decided to get up and join him.

Tim heard footsteps descending the stairs. He turned and smiled as Horatio walked into the kitchen. The redhead leaned down and gave him a kiss.

"You're up early," he said.

"I couldn't get back to sleep," Tim replied with a shrug.

Horatio stood at the counter. "You want some coffee? It's done."

"Yeah, thanks," Tim said.

Horatio poured two cups and place one on the table. "You mind if I open the blinds?" he asked. Tim shook his head. "It looks like the rain stopped. Feel like sitting out on the deck?"

There was a time when Horatio wouldn't have had to ask him that. He would have simply found him out there when he came downstairs. It still pained him that the one thing Tim used to enjoy more than almost anything else now caused him so much anxiety. But he also knew that it would take time for Tim to get past his fears, especially with Simon still out there. At least he knew his lover could still enjoy the outside as long as he wasn't alone. He opened the door and held out his hand.

"Come on. The sun's coming up."

Tim took his hand and allowed Horatio to lead him outside and over to one of the lounge chairs. He pulled the cover off the chair and sat down pulling Tim with him to sit between his legs. Tim rested his back against Horatio's chest and together they watched the sunrise.

ooo

Eric Delko and Ryan Wolfe stood in front of the car that had just been dredged up by the divers. The body in the trunk was in pretty bad shape. Eric glanced over at the newer CSI and noticed he looked a bit green. He smirked.

"Your first floater?" he asked.

Wolfe nodded and wrinkled his nose. "Yeah," he choked out.

Eric snickered. "Well, if you're gonna puke, go over there," he said pointing away from the body. "Don't want to contaminate the scene."

Ryan glared at him for a moment. "I'm fine," he said. He was getting a little tired of always being teased about being the new guy. He might be a new CSI but he'd been a patrol officer for years. He wasn't green. "Come on, let's get to work," he said trying to sound confident.

"Don't touch the body," Eric warned him.

Ryan pursed his lips. "Yeah, Delko, I know not to touch the body 'till the coroner gets here. I wish you guys would stop treating me like I don't know what I'm doing."

Eric sighed. "That's not what I meant. He's been under water for what looks like a long time. The body is full of bacteria and bloated. One wrong move and…"

"Pop," Alexx chimed in from behind the two men.

"Ugh. You mean he could just…"

"Blow like an over filled balloon. Yeah," Eric said.

"Great, so, what do we do?" Ryan asked.

"You stand back," Alexx said as she approached the body with a large needle. "While I try to let the air out slowly."

Both men stood back while Alexx drained the fluid and air from the body. Ryan glanced around the area then asked, "Where's Horatio?"

"He's got a few days off," Eric answered.

"Must be nice," Ryan said.

"Perks of being the boss," Eric replied.

He didn't say anything about his boss spending a couple of days with Tim because it was their one year anniversary and Tim had taken off and didn't like to be home alone, or for that matter, why he didn't like to be home alone. Ryan was too new to the team and other than the light gossip that still floated around the precinct at times, Eric didn't know just how much Ryan actually knew about Horatio and Tim.

ooo

Horatio placed his empty coffee cup down on the deck and wrapped his arms around Tim. The sun had come up and the clouds had cleared out. He leaned in and nibbled at Tim's ear.

"So what do you feel like doing today?" he asked between nibbles.

Tim leaned back and tilted his head giving Horatio better access. "This is good," he muttered. "Just sit here all day."

Horatio chuckled into his neck and nipped at his ear one last time. "I have an idea. Seeing as how it's almost our first anniversary, how about you take me for a ride on your bike. We could go back to the spot we went a year ago, have a picnic. It looks like it's going to be a nice day."

Tim turned and curled into Horatio's embrace. "You want to recreate a moment?" he asked as he nuzzled Horatio's neck.

"Something like that," Horatio breathed.

Tim smirked and ran his tongue up Horatio's neck. "I can think of a couple of moments I'd like to recreate."

He leaned up and captured Horatio's mouth for a slow kiss. It was times like these when Tim could forget about everything and just let himself enjoy the moment. He ran his tongue over every surface of the redhead's mouth pulling soft moans from him. When they finally pulled apart they were both breathless. They rested their foreheads together for a moment while they got their breath back.

Horatio cleared his throat then said, "How about it? Wanna take me for a ride?"

Tim chuckled. "We don't need the bike for that," he said with a slight leer.

Horatio grinned. "Come on. It'll be fun. It's not often that we actually get to take time off, without something being wrong."

"You know I can't say no to you," Tim said as he stood up and held out his hand. He pulled Horatio to his feet and into his arms. "I haven't been back there since that afternoon a year ago."

"I know. That's why I thought it might be fun to do again."

ooo

Ryan stood in front of the open trunk looking in on the body and said, "He's naked." Eric glanced at him. "Ok, I suppose I'm just wondering why he's naked," he added at Delko's look.

"Well I guess that's just part of the mystery we have to solve," Eric said. "I'm going to go check out the front of the car, now that we know that this guy's not going to blow."

Ryan grimaced at Eric's remark as Eric opened the front driver's side door. There wasn't much to see on the surface of things so he walked around to the other side of the car and opened the glove box. After the water drained he pulled out a stack of papers and placed them on the roof of the car. He flipped through them carefully finding the car's registration and insurance information and a couple of fast food menus. At the bottom of the pile of papers he found something he didn't expect. He held it up and examined it carefully.

Ryan walked over to him. "What did you find?" he asked. Eric held up a small card. Ryan looked at it carefully. "Club Descent? Is that supposed to mean something?"

TBC