Disclaimer: Not mine.

Author's note: To reduce confusion, I'm informing you up front that the scenes in Part I aren't in chronological order.

Thanatosis

"We really are on the same side this time, Horatio," Rick Stetler insisted. "You have to agree that if a cop killed someone, he can't be allowed to walk free."

"From what I've heard of Detective George Gorski, he seems to be highly respected."

"He's been with the force for ten years. There are a lot of people who aren't going to be happy if they find out he's a person of interest in a missing person's case. That's why we think it's best to have CSI take a look at the hotel to determine whether there was a crime committed there before we even let the police department find out we're investigating." Stetler spoke reluctantly. Asking for the CSI lab's help on this was not his idea.

Horatio didn't like the situation, but it was true that a rogue cop in the department had to be stopped. And he saw an opportunity to possibly solve another problem at the same time. "I'll put Calleigh and Eric on it," he said, looking over the file in front of him.

Stetler blinked. "Are you sure that's a good idea?"

"They are my two best and most experienced CSIs. If a murder occurred at that hotel, they will find evidence of it."

"But it's only been six weeks since Calleigh accidentally shot Delko. I can't imagine they're working together smoothly after that."

"They aren't letting the incident interfere with their professional relationship," Horatio assured him, and if he put a little more emphasis on the word "professional" than he meant to, Stetler didn't notice.

"Working undercover with someone takes a lot more than working together in a lab. Are you sure they're personal issues won't get in the way?"

"I'm sure they're the best team for the job," he replied.

Calleigh's footsteps always slowed when she passed the DNA lab. It reminded her of the day Eric went missing...the day she shot him...

Valera analyzed the blood from the car. "It's a match," she said solemnly. "It's Eric."

Calleigh turned and left the room. Horatio followed her. In the hall, she wrapped her arms around herself and couldn't keep from weeping.

"There's no way to know..." Horatio began, trying to find words to comfort her.

"Eric is out there somewhere, bleeding," Calleigh said. "Because of me."

"We'll find him," he promised.

Her voice was small. "In time?"

Calleigh drove the car as Eric read through their assignment. "Paloma Saavedra, eighteen, worked as a housekeeper at the White Lotus Hotel. She lived with her parents who reported her missing three days ago. Her boss said she hasn't been to work in four days."

"What's the story with Detective Gorski?"

"He checked into that hotel the night before she disappeared. IAB was watching him for misuse of funds. He's suspected of keeping a mistress and listing her as a confidential informant."

"Saavedra?"

"That's the story. It's a poor neighborhood. Lots of crime, lots of drugs, lots of illegal immigrants. Someone working in that hotel would have an inside scoop on anything big going down."

"Makes sense."

"The thing is, the day before she disappeared, Saavedra made a post on her Facebook that she was going to see her boyfriend."

"What does Gorski say?"

"He reported that he met with Saavedra at the hotel without incident. IAB is keeping him from finding out she was reported as missing. They want to move quickly on this case, and find out if Gorski is involved without giving him a chance to cover his tracks more than he already has."

"And that's where we come in."

"There was an initial search of the hotel that didn't turn up anything. Saavedra's key card was used to clock out Friday night. Her parents last saw her Friday morning, but she told them she would be out late Friday night, and they said she usually left for work before they woke up, so they didn't know she was missing until Saturday night."

"Okay. So we search the hotel to find what everyone else missed."

Eric smiled at her. It was nice that they were starting to get some of their old easy banter back. "If anything happened in that hotel, we'll find out. The trick will be not letting anyone know we're looking for it. What?" he asked when she chuckled.

"This could be fun."

When Eric first awoke in the hospital after being shot at the armory, he found Horatio in the room with him.

"Eric," he said when he saw his eyes open. "How are you feeling?"

He was dizzy from pain killers, disoriented, in pain from the gunshot and resulting surgery, and distressed at Calleigh's absence. "Calleigh," he said, "Where is she? The shoot-out...Was she hurt?"

Horatio took a couple of seconds to answer. "Not physically."

Eric had lied to her, had gotten caught in a crossfire and taken one of her bullets. If she wasn't there, it had to mean she was so angry at him she wanted him to suffer. "Where is she?" he repeated plaintively.

"Talking to IAB. Stetler had to threaten her with arrest to get her to leave your side."

"She's not in trouble, is she?" Eric's quiet voice creaked with worry. "They have to know...it was my fault."

"It wasn't your fault. You were trying to help your father."

Worry about Calleigh had superseded any thought of Sharova. "What happened to him?"

"Sharova was cleared by the paramedics. He's in protective custody now."

Eric sank back into the pillow. His eyes closed. "I lied to Calleigh."

"I figured as much."

"She must hate me now."

"No." Horatio paused again. "Not you."

Eric returned to work nine days after getting out of the hospital. Horatio was waiting in the lobby to greet him, ask him how he was doing, and instruct him to take it easy for a while. Ryan saw him in the locker room and welcomed him back, Natalia and Maxine stopped him in the hall to say hi. He didn't see Calleigh until that afternoon, by which time he was convinced she was deliberately avoiding him.

"Hey," she said at the door of the fingerprint lab. She had waited hours before working up the courage to see him because she was afraid he'd still be angry at her. She didn't know what he would say. She harbored a spark of hope that they still had a chance. Maybe he didn't mean what he'd said in the hospital, under the influence of severe pain and powerful drugs. She couldn't be sure he even remembered it. But she was scared. After all, what can you do after someone you loved and trusted says something so cruel but think that you never really knew them at all? "I heard you were back."

He looked up. "Yeah."

"How are you doing?"

"Fine," he replied. His injuries were still sore, but their estrangement hurt more. He had thought--half feared and half hoped--that now, after what she said to him in the hospital, he would finally stop being in love with her. Now she was in the same room with him, but he still wasn't sure how he felt. He hoped they would at least still be able to work together.

Calleigh was hurt and disappointed by his cold reception, but tried not to show it. "What are you working on?"

"I'm trying to figure out a suspect's shoe size and weight from an impression in a carpet."

"That's from Natalia's B&E case, right?" She moved closer to look at the carpet samples on the table in front of him.

"Yeah. Horatio doesn't want me in the field yet." He tensed at her closeness. In spite of how much she'd hurt him, he'd missed her the past week.

She noticed him stiffen, and thought it was irritation at her presence. "That might be a good idea," she said, not entirely hiding the pain in her voice caused by the guilt of being the cause of his medical leave. "I'll see you later."

"Yeah. Later."

He turned to watch her leave. When she paused a few steps down the hall to look back, he met her eyes for a second, then turned his attention back to his work.

"Which means this is definitely the same gun," Horatio said.

Calleigh nodded. "The bullets from the drive-by were definitely fired from this weapon, which is definitely the same caliber as the gun that killed Bryce."

"So he probably killed himself after finding out he'd shot the wrong person," Eric speculated. "His were the only prints on that gun."

"But to confirm that, we'll need the bullet from his body," Horatio said. "Eric, go down to autopsy and see if that bullet has been recovered yet."

"You got it."

Calleigh glanced after Eric as he left the ballistics lab.

"He seems to be recovering well from his injury," Horatio said, noticing her look.

"Yeah. He's tough."

Horatio spoke more softly. "How are you doing?"

"I'm not the one who was shot."

"There are a lot of wounds besides the ones we can see," he said.

Calleigh contemplated for a moment how much she wanted to admit. "I've been having this dream."

"Want to talk about it?"

"Not really much to talk about. I just...in the dream he's dead. That's all. I guess it's not even really a dream, because nothing happens. It's just...I know he's gone. It's empty. And I wake up feeling like every cell in my body is breaking apart."

Horatio nodded as she described how he felt when he lost Marisol.

The White Lotus Hotel was a gray brick building off the highway a few miles outside the city. It was nestled in a poor, relatively sparsely populated area, where tall trees and clumps of kudzu encroached on the roads and yards from all directions. The hotel itself was surrounded by gardens and tall brick walls.

Eric stepped off the bus and looked around. Calleigh had dropped him off at a bus stop a few miles down the road and gone on ahead with her car to drive around and get a feel for the area. She would arrive later with bags and suitcases stuffed with forensic equipment. Eric carried only one duffel bag. Unlike Calleigh, he'd called ahead to make a reservation, requesting the same room Detective Gorski had been in. IAB had seen to it that the room wasn't released until just before Eric called, ensuring no one else would contaminate the possible crime scene. The next time he saw Calleigh, they would pretend to be complete strangers.

Eric hadn't expected the place to be appear so beautiful and cozy. He strongly suspected Horatio had given this case to him and Calleigh in a plot to reconcile them, especially in light of the conversation he'd had with Horatio less than a week ago.

"You are the bullet queen," he'd said as he looked through the file Calleigh had handed him.

She smiled and shrugged away the praise. "It's nothing."

"No one else could have possibly found a stria pattern embedded in plaster. I didn't think it was even possible."

"Well, the bullet had been slowed by passing through the body. It was a fluke, and it might not even hold up in court. But your suspect doesn't have to know that."

"Thanks Cal."

She smiled at him. "Anytime."

His eyes followed her as she walked away, impossibly graceful on her high heels, impeccably dressed, perfect in every way he could think of.

He didn't notice Horatio come up behind him. "Eric."

"H?" He reluctantly took his eyes off Calleigh. "Yeah?"

Horatio had been trying to think of a subtle way to tell Eric he was being an idiot. "I'm glad to see you and Calleigh aren't having trouble working together."

"Of course we're not. She's too much a professional to let what happened affect our cases."

"And what about you?"

"I'd never do anything to risk our working relationship," he answered. After a moment, he explained much more quietly. "It's all I have left."

"And you're satisfied with that?"

"It's what I started with. I was in love with her for two years before...she gave me a chance. And then, after just a few months--the happiest months of my life--I throw it all away. I ruin the best thing that ever happened to me, and for what? To save a criminal from the Russian mob just because he knocked up a woman in Cuba years ago?"

"That's a rather cynical way to characterize your relationship with your father."

"You know, there are a lot of contenders for worst mistake of my life, but..."

"Do you really think," Horatio asked, "That someone who could sit back and let his father die is the kind of person who would deserve Calleigh?"

"I can't think of anyone who deserves Calleigh."

"Maybe not. Maybe what you should be asking is who would make Calleigh happy."

"That's not me," Eric stated. "Not anymore."

"Have you talked to Calleigh about her opinion on the matter?"

"I don't have to. I know what she'd say. I lied to her. I let myself get caught in the crossfire, and put her in a position to shoot a police officer. She'll never forgive me for that." He shook his head. "Working with her is all I can ask for, and better than I deserve. I can't risk losing that."

"And how long do you think you can settle for that before you start resenting her?"

"That can't happen." It was unclear whether he meant that couldn't possibly happen, or he couldn't let that happen. Maybe it wasn't clear to him, either.

"Tell me, you're so sure she blames you, but is that the evidence talking, or your fear?"

"She can barely even look me in the eye."

"Maybe that's because she feels responsible. She feels guilty for what happened to you."

Eric frowned. That couldn't be true, could it? "She seems fine."

"You only see her when she's with you. When she's not with you, she's different. She only focuses on the cases, she doesn't smile, she's not happy. She misses you. Why do you think she works so much overtime since you've been back?"

Eric was having trouble believing what Horatio was saying. Hope stung too much. "Why?"

"Because work is the only time she has with you. Eric, when two people who care deeply for each other are torn apart, it's very painful. But when those two people are both still alive, living in the same city, and working in the same building, it's also senseless." He'd resisted using the word "stupid," or "pathetic." "You're hurting her and torturing yourself to no purpose. Talk. To. Her."

Horatio left. Eric stood in the hallway, thinking. Was it true? Was it possible Calleigh changed her mind about what she said in the hospital? He couldn't think of any way to ask her.

"Let me see him. Where is he? I need to see him." Calleigh pushed her way through the hospital doors.

Horatio caught her in his arms. "He's still in surgery. The doctors...they're hopeful."

She blinked rapidly. "If he dies...if I killed him...how can I live with that?"

"You didn't."

They waited in the hall until Eric was taken to the recovery room. They went in together.

Calleigh approached his bed slowly. He looked so pale. So still. He almost looked dead. "Eric." Her hand reached toward him, then stilled and fell to her side. "I betrayed him. He needed me. I should have been there for him. I should have helped him, but I told him..." She bit her lip and shook her head slightly. Tears were building in her eyes.

"Eric loves you. That's not going to change," Horatio quietly assured her.

She ran her hand over his hair. "I'm so sorry, Eric," she whispered. "For everything." It would have been better if she'd been the one to find him. That, at least, would have given her some measure of redemption. But it had been a canine search-and-rescue unit that found him in the swamp, on the verge of death.

Horatio reluctantly left the room, sensing that Calleigh needed a private moment.

"You said you'd stay with me as long as I wanted you to," she said. "I still want you to stay. Don't leave me, Eric. Please." She took a deep breath. She'd never loved anyone so much before. She'd never needed anyone so much before. Could she survive the pain and guilt if he died? Would they list "broken heart" as cause of death? "Darling, come back to me."

She wasn't sure he could ever forgive her after this. She'd made so many mistakes when it came to him, shooting him was likely to be the last straw. But at the moment she didn't really care; she just wanted him to wake up, to be alright.

A week after getting back to work, Eric was cleared to go in the field. His first case was an armed robbery at a gas station. Shots had been fired--one into the ceiling, one at the security camera--but no one had been hurt. Calleigh was already there when he arrived. He paused for a moment when he saw her. He'd been working with her in the lab, of course, but this was different. Now they were in the field where they could talk freely without fear of their colleagues overhearing. Horatio must have put them together deliberately, so they could prove they could still work together.

"Hey," he said, trying to sound cheerful.

"Hey." She stood up. "I've recovered the bullet from the wall. The one in the camera I think we shouldn't touch until we get it back to the lab. The cashier said the robber wasn't wearing gloves, so there might be prints on the door."

"Right. I'll get started on that." He was a little bothered by how casual Calleigh sounded, like she didn't see any significance to working together on this case at all, like it didn't even mean anything to her that they had once been lovers.

Of course, she always had been better at hiding her feelings than he was.

He got started printing the door, focusing on the handle but including the glass. They worked in uneasy silence, except for the word or two every few minutes about the case.

Someone once said it was better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all. Eric was pretty sure now that whoever said that was a vile liar.

The door of Eric's hospital room opened, revealing the unpleasant face of Rick Stetler. "I need to have a word with Delko."

Horatio stood and walked to the door. He saw Calleigh in the hall, there was fatigue and sadness hidden under her mask of calm resolve. "He's recovering from a bullet, Rick. Now is not a good time."

"I need to get his version of events while it's still fresh on his mind. This will only take two minutes."

"He's not talking to you without his union attorney present."

"I don't think you're getting the lay of the situation. Eric isn't in any risk of prosecution. There's no reason to think he had any prior knowledge of the robbery at the armory, but when one officer shoots another, there are going to be questions that need to be answered quickly."

He glanced toward Calleigh. Was Stetler implying she could be the one on the line? She was definitely more of a threat to his career ambitions than Eric was. Or if he knew about Eric and Calleigh's relationship, he could use Calleigh as leverage to get Eric to talk. But it could, as Stetler claimed, simply be a matter of standard procedure after an officer-involved shooting.

"You know," Stetler emphasized, "that nothing he says right now will be admissible in court, but if we don't talk to him promptly there are going to be questions about why."

"I'll tell you what," Horatio said as he set a countdown on his cell phone. "I'll give you exactly two minutes."

Stetler nodded and entered the room, closing the door behind him, leaving Horatio and Calleigh in the hall.

After a moment, Calleigh spoke. "You didn't call to tell me he was awake."

"I knew you would be here as soon as you could get away, regardless."

Her eyes were distant. "How is he?"

"His first concern," Horatio said, "was your well-being."

Stetler came out of the room a little over a minute after entering. "He's answered some basic questions, and says he'll cooperate fully when he gets out of the hospital. We should be able to clear this up in no time."

When Stetler walked away, Calleigh glanced at Horatio, who gave her a slight nod. She took a deep breath and entered Eric's room.