Broken Rebel
Disclaimer: I don't own CSI: Miami. Just Solana.
START
Horatio looked into the girl's brown eyes, and she was shocked, and scared.
"Sir…Let the girl go." He said.
The man, Dean Smith, didn't move.
"Please, Sir, let her go. She didn't do anything wrong." He said again.
Dean paused, then pushed her towards the CSI, and shot.
"NO!" Horatio yelled, and the girl screamed, and covered her head with one arm.
Her other hand was bloody.
Dean took off down the street.
Horatio rushed to the girl, shouting orders to his partners.
"Speed! Wolfe! Follow him!"
The said people ran past him and Horatio dialed 911, kneeling beside the crying girl.
"My name's Horatio. What your name?" He asked her, in an attempt to keep her conscious.
"S…Solana…" She said slowly.
"Solana, that's a very nice name. Can you tell me your parent's name please, Solana?" Horatio said, trying to answer the operator's questions and keep the girl awake.
"D…Don't have…any…p…parents…"
Horatio blinked for a moment, and then continued.
"Where do you live, Solana honey?" He asked.
She stared at him.
The ambulance's sirens were here, and the next moment Horatio was standing next to the girl while paramedics loaded her onto a stretcher.
Her free hand immediately grabbed Horatio's, and her eyes found his.
"Don't…leave…me…" She said, and it faded as she went unconscious.
Horatio looked at the paramedic, who nodded and followed him into the ambulance.
At the Hospital, Horatio was in the waiting room when Alexx, Eric, Wolfe and Speed came in.
"How's the girl?" Speed asked, and Alexx peered into the operation window.
The bullet was successfully removed and they were bandaging it up.
"Ooh…poor girl." She shuddered.
"Can't be older than thirteen, can she?" Eric asked, looking over Alexx's shoulder.
"Her name's Solana." Horatio said, looking at the girl in the room.
The doctor came out.
"Mr. Caine? She's coming too. Would you like to talk to her after we've got her settled into her room?" He asked, and Horatio nodded.
A few minutes later, the team was standing in a white hospital room, and Solana was staring at them wearily.
"Solana, do you remember me?" Horatio asked, moving to sit down.
She nodded, and her voice was hoarse when she whispered.
"Horatio."
He grinned weakly.
"Yes. Do you remember what happened?" He said again.
And, again, she nodded.
"That Son of a- that man shot me." She censored herself.
"Yes. We've apprehended the man, and he's going to end up behind bars. But then there's you. You said that you didn't have any parents, but then where do you live?" He asked gently, and she stared at the other people in the room, staring in their eyes.
"These are my team mates, Tim Speedle, Eric Delko, Ryan Wolfe, and Alexx Woods." Horatio said.
Alexx waved, and smiled.
Speed grinned.
Ryan said hi and Eric just nodded his head.
"Where do you live, Solana?" Horatio asked, and Solana turned back to him.
"Not in an orphanage, that's for sure. Never wanted to, Never did, Never will," She said firmly, her voice still hoarse, but continued, "My home is the Miami streets." She said, quietly.
Horatio blinked understandingly.
"Where are your parents?" He asked, as Alexx gasped, Speed took a step back, Eric stared at her and Ryan looked aghast.
"Which hospital are we in?" She asked, looking curious.
"St. Anne's," Horatio said, "Why?"
She smiled a bit.
"My Momma's here." She smiled, and her good hand pushed her hair back.
"My Father's elsewhere in the country and Momma's in a coma." She said, answering the unasked question.
"So…your mother went into a coma, your dad couldn't cope, and left you to move away?" Eric said bluntly.
"Eric!" Alexx said, staring at him in disbelief.
"In a nutshell, yes." Her voice was losing her hoarse whisper and becoming stronger.
"Is that why your clothes are like that, Hun?" Alexx gestured to the outfit that was sitting on the table beside her, and Horatio noticed that the hospital had washed it for her.
She nodded, and swung her legs over the side of the bed.
"Where are you going?" Ryan asked, and she smoothed the hospital dress out.
"To find my Momma. I haven't seen her for years." She said, and she teetered on the spot a little.
"You shouldn't be up!" Alexx tried to reason with her, but brown eyes flashed like fire.
"And if I am, you'll do what? You all can stop pretending to care; my résumé is one long hospital bill." Horatio knew that was the street girl talking as she walked down the hall, ignoring the stares and mutterings of the nurses.
She disappeared around the corner, and Alexx put a hand on her chest.
"Bless her, she's so confused." She whispered, and Horatio raised himself out of the chair, exiting after the girl that had no one to lean on for a long time.
Exit
