Disclaimer: My best friend is a lawyer and says I need to tell you that Horatio and Alexx are not mine, no matter how much I want Horatio to be mine. I am making no profit on this (see the sad state of my students loans and you'll believe me) and certainly no copyright infringement is intended.
Everyone Needs Someone to Talk With
The office door closed with a sharp "snick." Horatio raised tired eyes from his paperwork to see Alexx standing on the other side of his desk, arms folded, a worried look etched across her face.
"Can I help you, Alexx?" he asked. Horatio tried to remember if he had called for her earlier in the day. It was unusual for the medical examiner to come to his office; he was the one who went to her lab, her domain, when they shared information.
Yet she stood in the middle of his office, arms still folded, with an expression of weighing her words carefully.
"Horatio," she said at last, "what is going on? Every member of your team has been in my lab the past two days, worried about you. And Yelina looks like she's about to cry when she's not down-right hostile to whoever is nearby."
Horatio sat, stunned, for a long moment before rubbing at his eyes. Alexx took a seat in the chair near his desk, her eyes never leaving him. His jacket hung from the back of the desk chair and he had rolled his sleeves up while writing by hand. Alexx scanned these, noting them as signs of greater stress than usual.
"I'm fine, Alexx," Horatio said at last. "Just tired."
"No, sugar," his friend said firmly, "that's not it. Not when there are messages from Suzie, asking you to come to the hospital." Alexx made her voice soft and compassionate, her best bedside manner.
Horatio gave a wan smile, recognizing what she was attempting to do. "Just some family problems," he tried again.
Alexx reached across the desk and took his pale hands in her dark ones, holding them gently. "Is something wrong with your daughter?" she asked. "What can I do?"
The question registered sadly in Horatio's eyes. He stared at their intertwined hands, wondering how many other members of the department assumed Madison was his daughter.
"Madison," he said at last, the words a struggled to bring forth, "is my niece. And she has AML."
Alexx's eyes grew wider at the two admissions and her lips parted slightly. She gently squeezed Horatio's hands.
"Acute Myelogenous Leukemia," she said at last. She shook her head sadly. "Horatio, I'm so sorry." Alexx waited until Horatio met her eyes. "What treatments is she on? It's rare that children contract this disease."
"Well, the Cains are a rare family," Horatio said with the ghost of his usual humor. He looked out the window. "Madison is on chemo now. The doctors have said she needs a bone marrow transplant." He sighed heavily and Alexx thought him close to tears. "Yelina – Yelina has agreed to allow Ray Jr. to be her donor."
Alexx nodded, the medical portion of her brain racing beside the maternal portion of her heart. "So, Yelina knows now?"
"Yep." The response was short, clipped. Alexx waited for the rest. "She is not happy I kept Suzie and Madison from her."
Alexx nodded again. Dennis, her husband, was a good man and treated her family with love and respect; she couldn't imagine a deeper betrayal than waking up one day and learning he had a second family somewhere else.
"Madison is Ray-Jay's sister," Horatio numbly continued, reading her thoughts so well. "Raymond met Suzie when he was – undercover. He protected her from her abusive husband."
"Bob," Alexx filled in. "He's the one who killed your brother." Alexx inhaled deeply. "Horatio, when you said it was complicated, you didn't mean that lightly, now did you?"
Horatio slipped his hands from Alexx and began to unroll his sleeves. "I never take family lightly."
"I know you don't, honey," Alexx reassured him. She folded her arms again, this time thinking through what he had just told her. "Horatio, two things: Your team, and I, consider you to be family. You do not need to go this alone. Second; I am more than just your medical examiner – I'm your friend. Everyone needs someone to talk with. If you are going to be the strong uncle for these children, than you will need someone who offers you support." Horatio opened his mouth to protest what was coming next, but she held her hand up to stop him, the slight New York City accent tinting her words. "I am going to be that friend. I'll come here twice a day to check on you, and you're going to talk with me, not keep this in any longer. Doctor's orders."
Horatio stared at her, trying to decide on a response. Finally, he slumped and looked at Alexx meekly. "Yes, ma'am," he told her.
"Good," she said firmly, again taking one of his hands and gently squeezing. "Now, what you are going to do is leave this work until tomorrow and come home with me and have dinner with me and Dennis and the kids, before you go back to see Madison." She sized him over. "I swear you haven't eaten in half a week."
Again Horatio considered arguing. The memory of Alexx's cooking, especially compared to his own bachelor-style dinners, was tempting.
"I'll send you with a plate for Suzie and some coloring books for Madison," Alexx said, sweetening the offer.
"Thank you, Alexx," he said at last. "Let me just close up a few things here."
Alexx stood back up, walking around the desk. Horatio stood, momentarily confused. She took him in her arms and pulled Horatio close to her. First he was surprised and then he wrapped his arms around her back. He rested his head on her shoulder and Alexx stroked his red hair.
Something in Horatio released, the tears he had denied, some of them more than five years old, burned in the corners of his eyes. Those tears leaked out on Alexx's shoulder, silent and pained. She just held him, giving him time to let go of the frustration that had built in his chest.
Finally, sniffing, he pulled away from her, pulling his handkerchief from the pocket of his jacket and blotted his eyes. Alexx let him regain his composure, saying nothing. When he was ready, she softly said, "Horatio, you were there for me this fall when Tim died. Now let me be there for you."
Horatio slid on his sunglasses and nodded. "We all need someone to talk with sometimes," he echoed and followed her from the office.