Disclaimer:The characters belong to CBS, I just wish the Bruck would treat them with a little more TLC.
xxxxx
The young MDPD officer in charge of booking for the Tuesday afternoon shift dragged the unarmed and subdued suspect away, handcuffs now securely in place. Behind him CSI Ryan Wolfe stood shaking his head and chuckling.
"Nice save H," he complimented, glancing sideways at the older red haired man standing next to him. "Good thing you were here."
"Kids," Horatio grumbled. "Shouldn't be allowed on the force until they're thirty." A grin started as he remembered who he was with but when Horatio turned to continue the joke he was forced to make a sudden grab for the edge of the booking counter in order to stay on his feet. "Whoa."
"H?" Ryan reached for the boss's arm and steadied him. He saw blood beginning to drip down one side of Horatio's face and immediately steered him toward a bench along the wall. "Sit down, H, take it easy. God, I didn't know you were hit."
"Neither did I," Horatio admitted, "until the walls started to move." He sank down gratefully on the bench, closed his eyes and leaned his head back while Ryan located the source of the bleeding on his temple.
"It's a graze," Ryan reassured his boss. "Doesn't look too deep."
The young officer reappeared behind the counter. "Do we need an ambulance?" he asked urgently, not certain just how much of this was his fault but suspecting that most of it probably was.
Ryan wasn't sure about the ambulance. "H?"
"Hold off on that, Mr. Wolfe. I'm just a little dizzy."
Ryan frowned. The lieutenant sounded okay, but …
"I'll be fine in a minute, Ryan," Horatio reassured him.
The young uniform was still hovering anxiously, waiting for instructions. In actual fact he was older than Ryan was but at the moment he was perfectly happy to have someone else calling the shots.
"Just a first aid kit I guess," Ryan decided, "and call the M.E., ask her to come down right away will you?"
"You got it."
"H, open your eyes. Look at me," Ryan insisted, but Horatio didn't respond. The bleeding was getting worse and Ryan began to worry all over again. When an open first aid kit finally appeared at his elbow he reached hastily for a thick wad of gauze, pressing it against Horatio's temple.
"Mmmm …" Horatio's head lolled and then snapped upright as he caught himself. Ryan frowned, about to yell for someone to call that ambulance after all, when the elevator doors slid open and Alexx appeared. Her eyes widened when she saw them.
"Alexx, am I glad you're here," Ryan admitted with considerable relief. He continued to apply steady pressure to the wound while Alexx sat down hastily on Horatio's other side. "Bullet graze on the temple but he's conscious. More or less."
More or less wasn't really what Alexx wanted to hear. She cupped Horatio's face with her hands and turned it gently towards her. "Horatio? Can you look at me?"
It was a struggle but Horatio's eyes blinked open after a moment. Slowly he focused on her face. "Hi, Alexx. I'm okay I think."
"How about I think and you just work on keeping your eyes open for me?" Alexx countered. "Ryan, what the hell happened?" she asked, still supporting Horatio's head between her hands and studying his pupils intently.
"Suspect made a grab for the booking officer's weapon …"
"… and got it?" Alexx finished incredulously. Horatio's lips quirked and the young uniform, now safely back behind his counter, blushed profusely.
Ryan grinned. "Well, not for long. Horatio …"
"Never mind, I can fill in the rest." Alexx did her best to sound disgusted for Horatio's benefit. "Did he lose consciousness at all, even briefly?"
Ryan shook his head. "Came close, but no."
"Good." Alexx nodded and her stress level went down several notches from seriously concerned to cautiously optimistic. "Okay, close your eyes and relax," she said to Horatio. "Ryan, let me take a look."
Ryan carefully eased the pad away and was pleased to see that the bleeding had slowed considerably from earlier. He got more gauze ready and hunted around in the kit for tape while Alexx examined the wound for herself.
Horatio flinched but didn't pull away from her fingers. "Ouch," he said mildly.
"Serves you right," Alexx grumbled as she bandaged the wound gently and cleaned up the worst of the blood. "Next time, Horatio, take a second to think about the consequences before you disarm someone who doesn't really want you to. Okay?"
Horatio grinned a lopsided apology. "Do my best." He reached up and gingerly felt the edges of the bandage. "Are we done?"
"I am," Alexx told him. "But unless you want a nasty scar you're going to need a few well placed stitches to close that."
"I'll drive you," Ryan volunteered instantly.
"Hold on a minute, Mr. Wolfe. In case you haven't heard yet it's a well known fact that I despise hospitals." Horatio raised a hopeful eyebrow in the M.E.'s direction. "I'm thinking maybe Alexx will do me a favor."
Alexx sighed. "I suppose I could," she relented, doing her best to sound reluctant when in actual fact she was pleased with Horatio's request. The M.E. hated the idea of him taking pot luck with whatever plastic-surgeon-in-training happened to be on duty in the closest Emergency Room. Although she would never have admitted it to anyone – well, except maybe Calleigh – that face was just plain too gorgeous to mess with.
"Thank you, Alexx," he said, eyes and voice in perfect sync, sincere as always.
"Don't thank me yet, Horatio. They have local anesthetic at the hospital. I don't." The M.E got to her feet. "Okay, let's see if you can stand up without falling over."
Ryan snatched one arm and Alexx grabbed the other as Horatio immediately got to his feet. "Slowly," Alexx cautioned strongly as he wavered ever so slightly.
"I'm fine," Horatio insisted, recovering his balance, and Ryan cautiously let go. Alexx kept a firm grip on Horatio's elbow as she steered him toward the elevator.
"Wolfe, grab that bullet for Calleigh will you?" he asked over his shoulder, "and stick a report in the file? Just in case."
"Way ahead of you, H. Don't worry, I'll take care of it."
The elevator doors opened and Alexx carefully steered her patient inside.
xxxxx
Ten minutes later Calleigh Duquesne walked into the autopsy theatre to collect a sample from Alexx. The M.E. was nowhere in sight but Calleigh knew an autopsy was scheduled and should all ready be in progress. Her eyes strayed inevitably towards the table to see how far along it was.
Calleigh screamed and the clipboard she was carrying dropped to the floor from suddenly numb hands. It clattered noisily on the linoleum along with several sample containers that had been resting on top of it. Calleigh's hands went up to cover her mouth as she immediately recognized the red headed figure lying prone on the M.E.'s table.
Horatio's eyes snapped open and he sat bolt upright. All he could see of Calleigh's face were two huge green blue green eyes wide with shock. Alexx came flying in from her office just as Horatio slid off the table and ran towards Calleigh.
"Calleigh, it's okay. I'm okay." He took her by the shoulders and squeezed gently, tilting his head to look into her eyes until he was certain that she saw him. "See? I'm alive. I'm fine."
"Oh my God," Calleigh breathed weakly. She was shaking from head to toe. "Horatio, what the hell are you doing? You scared me to death lying there."
Alexx reached them, threw her arms around Calleigh while Horatio reluctantly let go and stepped back. "Calleigh, honey, I'm so sorry. I forgot you were coming or I would have warned you."
Gradually Calleigh quit trembling and Alexx gave her a hug and let go, bending over to collect the clipboard and the sample containers from the morgue floor.
Calleigh glared at Horatio. "Hell of a place for a nap," she scolded her superior with a shaky laugh. Horatio's smile was just beginning when his blue eyes suddenly lost their focus on her face. He wavered and almost went down on the hard lino. Calleigh grabbed him hastily, noticing the blood stained bandage for the first time. "Alexx!" she gasped.
The clipboard hit the floor a second time as Alexx quickly stood up and helped Calleigh steer a dizzy Horatio back to the table. Shakily he eased himself up, lay down as flat as he could get himself and closed his eyes.
"Just got up too fast," he reassured the two women standing over him. "Be okay in a minute."
Alexx removed the bandage to check the wound, then lifted his eyelids and made a quick inspection. "He's right, for once. Nothing a few stitches and twenty-four hours in bed won't fix," Alexx reassured Calleigh, squeezing her elbow. "I'll be right back. See if you can keep him from jumping off the table again, will you?"
"Not much danger of that," Horatio mumbled, and both women smiled. A moment later he felt gentle fingers exploring his temple and tenderly drawing the edges of the wound together. Horatio assumed it was Alexx but when he opened his eyes he saw Calleigh bending over him instead. She smiled timidly, looking for all the world like a kid caught with her hand in the cookie jar.
"I'm sorry. I just wanted to see for myself," she confessed as the ends of her hair tickled his cheek. Horatio smiled back as Alexx returned with a stainless steel tray and unceremoniously snapped on a pair of latex gloves.
"Here we go," she warned him and he drew in a sharp breath as she cleaned his temple lightly but thoroughly with alcohol. He felt Calleigh grasp his hand in support and he squeezed her fingers back as Alexx began the first stitch. The needle stung sharply but it wasn't much worse than the alcohol had been. The thread, on the other hand, felt like a tiny, dull jigsaw blade rasping back and forth.
In spite of the discomfort Horatio was careful to keep his head perfectly still. His neck and jaw tensed up which did nothing to help his throbbing headache. "How many?" he managed to ask in between four and five.
"Shhhh," Alexx cautioned sharply.
Calleigh squeezed his fingers. "Five or six," she told him. "Almost there."
"Seven," Alexx countered firmly and Horatio's lips tugged upward, although he was quick to quell the motion.
True to her word, Alexx tied off neatly after the seventh stitch and snipped the thread. Horatio flexed his jaw and felt himself start to relax as she inspected her handiwork closely and then placed a neat row of butterfly bandages in place.
"You can shower in the morning but keep it dry tonight. Have someone drive you home and stay there tomorrow. If I see you within five miles of here before Thursday I'll call the ambulance myself and personally admit you to the hospital of my choice. For a week," she ended with emphasis.
Horatio raised an eyebrow at her tirade but he didn't say a word. Calleigh was openly grinning and Alexx finally relented. "I'll get you something for that headache," she told him.
"And I'll supply the ride home." Calleigh gave him a hand sitting up.
Horatio swung his legs over the edge of the table. "Thanks, but don't you have something better …"
"No. I don't. And you're welcome."
"Here you go, Horatio." Alexx handed him a glass of cold water and three caplets which he swallowed without question. She gave him three more sealed in a strip of foil for later and he pocketed them with a grateful smile.
"Alexx, thank you. I mean it. Above and beyond, as usual."
She just nodded fondly. "Calleigh, get him home before those pills kick in or you might have to carry him. Horatio, I'll see you on Thursday. Get some rest, please."
"I will." He slid cautiously off the table and took a few slow, experimental steps without incident. "Good as new," he told Alexx, scooping up his suit jacket and slinging it over his shoulder.
"I'll bring your vehicle around," Calleigh volunteered as they headed slowly down the hallway. "Why don't you wait …"
"Calleigh, I'm perfectly capable of walking as far as the parkade," he protested, and she gave in gracefully but rested a hand lightly on his arm just in case. "I thought you had the week off," he commented as they waited for the elevator to the lower levels.
"I do, technically. But I wasn't planning to go out of town and there was something I needed to finish up in the lab ..."
"Calleigh, how many times have I told you…"
"Oh, stop," she insisted, squeezing his arm as they stepped into the elevator. "I promise to take the rest of the week. Now pay attention and don't fall over until I get you home," she warned him as he wavered ever so slightly. "You're too big to carry."
When they got to his spot Horatio relinquished the keys wordlessly and climbed into the passenger seat with a barely disguised sigh of relief. He shut his eyes, just for a minute, and felt Calleigh reach across him for the seat belt. By the time she did it up for him and pulled the Hummer out onto the street he was fast asleep.
Comfortably settled on his white leather couch Horatio tried in vain to flex the kinks out of his neck. He didn't remember the drive home at all and it bothered him somehow. One minute they were in the parkade and the next the Hummer throbbed up his wide flagstone driveway and slid neatly into his garage. He did vaguely remember leaning on Calleigh more than a little and feeling slightly drunk as she helped him inside.
Calleigh came up behind him and when he felt her strong, competent fingers start to work out the knots in his neck and shoulders he groaned out load with relief before he had time to think.
What the hell.
"Feels fabulous," he admitted. "Please don't stop anytime soon."
xxxxx
Alexx poked her head into trace. "Ryan, what day is this?"
He looked up, slightly puzzled at the M.E.'s uncharacteristic question. "Last time I looked it was Friday, Alexx. Why, what's up?"
"Have you seen Horatio?"
"Uh … no. He did call yesterday but he won't be in until Monday. I just assumed you told him to stay home for the rest of the week." Ryan stared at her expectantly.
"Good," Alexx nodded, improvising quickly. "Just making sure. You know Horatio."
"Yeah." Ryan didn't look completely convinced and Alexx hastily backed out of the lab before she put her foot in her mouth a second time. It wasn't until she reached home base and the door of the autopsy theatre swung closed behind her that she allowed herself to stop, thought for a minute and started to grin.
FIN