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Enjoy another chapter!


After a quick examination and a reassuring word that Horatio was doing as well as could be expected, the doctor left the two men alone in Horatio's room. Horatio still was very weak and his wound was causing him a lot of pain, but he was more alert. He had to be – he was about to hear the whole story of the events that led to him and Natalia being in a hospital. Eric sat down on a chair beside the bed. Horatio tried to sit up a little bit but he stopped trying and put his head down on the pillow when a new wave of agony coursed through his body. So much about moving. Eric was waiting for him to get settled comfortably and when Horatio gave a little nod Eric started relaying the story.

"I got your call from the pier and when I heard you I instantly knew something was wrong…" Eric started and he also was remembering everything all over again.

After Horatio's call, Eric called everyone on the team and informed them of the situation. They got into two Hummers and drove down to the pier, where Horatio and Natalia were supposed to meet Randy North. They didn't know what to expect when they got there, but what they saw was beyond everyone's imagination. Horatio was laying in a huge pool of his own blood, unmoving. Natalia was nowhere in sight. Eric, after hearing Horatio's call for help and that Natalia is in a sinking car, was well prepared with a group of divers. He was first kneeling at Horatio's side, not noticing that the blood was quickly saturating his pants. Calleigh, Ryan and Walter were right behind him.

"H, can you hear me? H!" When Eric got no response, he frantically felt for a pulse and luckily found one, although it was slow and thready. Horatio was still hanging on.

"He's alive." Eric said with a loud exhale. When they rolled him slowly onto his back, everybody could notice a big hole in a shirt on his abdomen. Horatio's clothes were soaked in his blood. Operating on instinct Eric wanted to stop the still flowing blood with his hands, but before he could done it, Ryan got into action and used his own folded jacket to press onto the wound.

"Eric, go and find Natalia!" Ryan said but Eric, still in shock after seeing his longtime boss and friend so seriously injured, he simply couldn't move from his spot.

"We've got him, Eric. Go!" Nodding his head at Calleigh, Eric ran to the edge of the pier, where other divers and Walter were standing, looking at the water. He saw bubbles coming to the surface and hoped that Natalia was still alive. How long it was since he got H's call? 15-20 minutes? Maybe less, maybe more, he couldn't tell. He got only one task to do now – save Natalia. He was handed the necessary equipment, and in a matter of seconds he was diving with others, looking through the dark water for a car that held Natalia prisoner.

"After I got into the water and saw the car that was still sinking I had only one thing in mind – I needed to find Natalia. I knew that the ambulance was coming, I could already hear the sirens, so I knew that you will be taken care of. I wanted to stay with you and make sure that you'll be fine, H, but…" Eric was interrupted.

"You did the right thing, Eric," Horatio said in a weak voice. "I don't remember a lot from that pier, but I do recall that after I called you, I hoped, that if I couldn't be saved, maybe you'll be able to save Natalia at least. She was the priority. I… I failed her. I was supposed to protect her. And I failed." Horatio's voice cracked at the end. He was the team leader. They were his family and his job was to protect them. That's why he went to the meeting with Natalia. And he failed. He failed them all. He felt so tired suddenly.

"H, it's not your fault that you got shot and it wasn't you who sent Natalia into that water." Horatio heard Eric say in a calm voice. Eric could understand that Horatio felt responsible for not stopping North from hurting Natalia. They found the bullets and shell casings that came from Horatio's gun. None of them had hit their mark. "You were wounded and there was nothing you could have done to stop that psycho" Eric tried to reason with Horatio but probably there was nothing he could say that would help.

"I know, I know." Horatio said and closed his eyes for a moment. Eric knew that his brother won't be getting rid of that guilt of his anytime soon. He just knew Horatio too well. After a moment, he went back to the story.

"So after we got to the car…"

There was no sound. No banging, no shouting. Eric hoped to hear Natalia fighting with the trunk lid but there was nothing. That could of course mean that she was only unconscious, but it could be worse. And he didn't want to think about that other possibility. His job was to get her out and on the pier where she could receive the needed help and medical attention. With some difficulty they managed to open the trunk. Natalia was lying inside and just by looking at her Eric could tell that they had to act quickly. Her pale, almost white complexion contrasted with filthy, dark water. Eric grabbed her under the arms and started swimming fast to the surface. There was no time to waste. Once on the dry land, he handed her unmoving body to the medics that were waiting anxiously. Removing pieces of his diving equipment, he didn't want to look at their attempts on reviving her. They were performing CPR, that he could tell. But when he heard words such as "no pulse", "hypothermia" and "possible coma" his head, that was resting in his hands, while he was sitting on the ground, snapped back up. He saw the paramedics loading Natalia on a stretcher and to the ambulance. He felt someone's presence behind him. He knew who was that someone.

"How could this happen, Calleigh?" Eric asked in a low voice. She came to stand beside him, looking at the leaving ambulance.

"I don't know, Eric, I don't know," she said, grasping his hand. They might have been broken up for a while but she still loved him. And she hated to see him like this. Eric looked with a still visible shock on his face. They all were shaken up by everything that happened.

"They took Horatio to the hospital while you were in the water. They didn't want to waste any time," Calleigh said after a moment, knowing very well Eric's next question.

"How is he?" he asked, little afraid of her answer.

"They said it's bad. He's lost a lot of blood and was still unconscious when they took him. It wasn't a through and trough so they wouldn't know anything about internal damage done by the bullet until they get him to the hospital," she replied, trying to sound calm, but not doing very good job. Her voice was cracking, but she was at least succeeding at keeping the tears at bay. There would be time later. Now they had to get to the hospital. The crime scene would be handled by another team – they were too personally involved.

"Which hospital?" Eric asked, already walking to the Hummers, were Ryan, Walter and also Frank were waiting for them.

"Mercy," said Calleigh, while running after him. They climbed into their cars and drove off to be as close to the rest of their family as they would be allowed to.

"Then we waited. When we got here, you were already in surgery and they didn't want to tell us anything. As for Natalia, they got her heart beating, but she was, and still is on a ventilator. She is now stable, they say, but in a coma. They don't know yet when she will wake up. There is no telling for now if there is brain damage, but all of her scans are clean. Or so they say. We just have to wait." Eric stopped talking and looked at Horatio, who had his eyes fixed on the ceiling.

"I need to see her," said Horatio, breaking the silence after a while.

"H, I don't know if you are up to it as yet," Eric said, not at all shocked by this request. He knew it was coming. He just had to persuade Horatio to postpone that for the time being. Horatio was seriously injured and the doctors would probably be against it.

"Eric." Horatio had this look on his face that said he was done discussing that subject. He had to see Natalia. What happened to her was, in Horatio's mind, all his fault. Eric wasn't sure what good would come out of this, but he knew that there was no changing his boss' mind. He simply nodded and after giving Horatio's hand a reassuring squeeze, he left the room to talk to the doctor. Horatio, left alone, started to pray quietly. He had only one wish. If one of them had to die, Horatio begged God to take him.