A/N :Sorry for taking so long. This would be the last chapter for this story. It's kinda getting too draggy so i decided to end it.
Hope you enjoy the story.
I had taken a shot at Eric.
"OFFICER DOWN! OFFICER DOWN! GET ME PARAMEDIC RIGHT NOW! GET ME A PARAMEDIC!" Calleigh shouted in panic.
"I'm sorry Cal. I'm really sorry."
"Horatio. No. It's not your fault Horatio. It's not your fault."
"Cal, Eric's asking for you. He said he needs to see you. Cal, he's really fighting hard to stay alive."
"Oh my god. Not now Ryan. I'm not going to leave Horatio here! He needs me. He needs me." Calleigh replied in desperation, trying to control her tears.
"Horatio! Horatio! No no. You're getting out of here ALIVE! You hear me Horatio! You're not going to give up! You can't give up now Horatio. Please. Not now." Calleigh begged. "Dammit where's the ambulance! We need the paramedics!"
"Cal, I don't think Eric's gonna make it out of here. I think you should go to him now."
"Oh god Horatio. I can't do this. I'm not going to leave you Horatio." Calleigh said, unable to control her tears anymore.
"Gg-go Cal. Jj-ju-*cough*-just go." I pleaded.
"Alright I'll go. But you better still be here when I get back. Please Horatio. Please fight. Do it for me please." Calleigh begged again.
"Calleigh I'm so sorry Cal. I..I.. didn't mean t-to do this to you. I didn't…" Eric's words trailed off as Calleigh shushed him, not wanting him to exert anymore force on himself.
"Shhh… just don't say anything else alright…don't force yourself."
"I..I'm so sorry…" Eric apologized as he gave off his last breath.
"I know Eric. I know." Calleigh reassured herself.
-Meanwhile, with Horatio-
I know I was already coughing blood. I can feel the sting in my chest. I can feel the heat of my blood trickling down my body. I shot Eric. I had taken the shot at Eric but I missed. His car was moving too fast. But Eric's shot didn't miss me and I didn't see whose shot was it that hit Eric. Everyone was aiming at him including me. But I know that my shot was a miss.
*cough cough*
Once again, blood was trickling down my body. And now blood was trickling down my chin; blood I coughed up. I need to stay alive. For Calleigh.
"Hey Handsome. I'm glad you fought. Eric didn't make it Horatio. He couldn't fight any longer. The shot had punctured his lungs. I'm so sorry." Calleigh sighed.
*cough cough*
"Oh god Horatio!"
"Cal, the paramedics are here to take Horatio. Allow them Cal. He'll be in good hands." Ryan said while pulling Calleigh towards him.
-In the hospital-
"He'll be alright Cal. He's a fighter." Natalia tried to soothe Calleigh.
"I don't know Nat. I'm afraid. I'm afraid of losing him. I can't lose him Nat. I love him. Oh god. If anything happens to him, I will never forgive myself." Calleigh broke down.
"Hey…He'll be alright. I'm sure of that alright. He's a hell of a fighter Cal. You won't lose him. We all knew you've always loved Horatio. What shocked us was that you chose Eric instead." Calleigh looked up, surprised.
"Any of you here Calleigh?" The doctor barged into the waiting room.
"YES! I'm Calleigh! Is this about Lieutenant Caine?" Calleigh asked in panic.
"Yes ma'am. I'm Dr. Hudson. I'm the attending doctor for Lieutenant Caine. Now if you'll follow me, he's right now in an induced coma to let him recover from the major blood loss that he suffered. Fortunately for him and for us all, the bullet had missed the vital organs by a few inches. So, right now, we'll let him rest for a while and wait for him to wake up." Dr. Hudson explained.
"How long will it take for him to wake up?" Calleigh asked in desperation.
"It really depends on his will to fight. We have no idea how long it would take. But right now, he's in a stable condition."
"Alright. Thank you Doc."
"Hey Cal, you've been here almost half a day. Go home. Get some rest. You look really burnt out Cal."
"No Frank. I need to be with him. I need to make sure he's safe."
"Cal, I'll do that. I'll make sure he's safe. You know me. I won't let anyone hurt him. None of us will."
"But he still got hurt Frank! He still got shot! He's lying here motionless, pale, fragile!"
"I know Cal. I know. But I'm not going to let that happen again. No one will. At least get changed into a fresh set of clothes alright. You're a mess now. I don't think you want Horatio to wake up and see you like this. Now go on. Ryan will drive you back to the lab. Natalia and I will stay here." Frank pleaded with Calleigh.
"Take care of him for me alright." Calleigh reminded as she left the room with Ryan.
Ryan accompanied Calleigh back up to the lab and followed her to the locker room to get his belongings before giving her the privacy to clean up and change into a new set of fresh clothes. As Calleigh opened her locker, an envelope slipped through. Gently, she picked it up and it read "Calleigh". She opened the white envelope, exposing the letter. She started unfolding the piece of paper and began to read.
Dearest Calleigh,…
"I'll wait for you back in the car alright.." Ryan said as he left.
"Yeah yeah. Alright." Calleigh responded before continuing to read the letter.
I am writing to you this letter as a form of closure. Be assured that after reading this letter, you will find me as a different man. I have to let go of you. You're someone else's fiancé and about to get married. I can't hold on to you anymore because I know there is no way I would ever get you back. I may let you go but let me be honest to you that I can never and will never stop loving you Cal. Whatever your decision is, I will respect it and I hope you're happy now. I wish all the best to you.
Yours Truly,
Horatio
As Calleigh folded the piece of paper and placed it back into the envelope, tears had started rolling down her cheeks. "I have to let go of you". Those words keep coming back to her.
"No no. Horatio cannot do this to me." Calleigh sobbed in the shower. Knowing that no one will be able to hear her, her sobbing were getting louder. She just couldn't imagine the thought of Horatio letting her go. She couldn't live with it because she knows deep down, she still loves him and Eric was just a rebound for her.
How could I do that to Eric! I lied to him. I played with his feelings! I even hurt the person I love the most! Oh dear God. Please forgive me and give me another chance to be with Horatio. I can't live without him. I need him. I love him. Yes. I love him. I love Horatio.
"Cal, you done yet?" Ryan popped his head into the changing room.
"Yeah yeah. I'll be… in 5. Sorry to keep you waiting."
Quickly she rinsed the soap off her body and got ready to meet Ryan back.
"Hey I thought you were waiting for me in the car?"
"Yeah I was. But you kinda took quite long. So I came to check up on you. You alright?"
"Yeah. Don't worry Ryan. I'm just a little shaken up. Who's arranging for Eric?"
"Well…he's still in autopsy. His mother is flying in."
"Okay. Can we get back to Horatio?"
"Yeah yeah. Let's go."
The ride back to the hospital was silent, but not the awkward silence. Calleigh needed the quiet time to think. She couldn't help it but think about Horatio. About what she would do if Horatio were to be dead. She was glad that the shot had missed any vital organs. If it hadn't, Horatio would have been dead already. And she wouldn't be able to forgive herself ever.
"If anything happens to you, I will not be responsible." That was what she said to Horatio before leaving his office the other day. She couldn't get her mind off that day. She shouldn't have said all those things to him. She didn't mean it. And now that Horatio is fighting for his life, Calleigh regretted whatever she had said to him.
She sat in the car, replaying the event of the day. The whole shooting event. If it hadn't been for Calleigh's shot, Horatio might have been dead already. Taking the bullet through his heart. Thankfully Eric's shot had missed the vital organs because of Calleigh's shot. Calleigh didn't mean to take the shot to kill but she didn't get the clear view of the vehicle and the driver. However, when she realized that the driver was aiming the gun directly at Horatio, her instincts kicked in and she dashed forward and had taken a direct shot without realizing that the driver was Eric. It was that moment after she had shot the driver that she realized it was Eric, but it was already too late. She had shot Eric to the chest. And Horatio had taken a bullet from Eric's gun. Eric had taken the shot the same time when Calleigh shot him but fortunately he couldn't focus and had missed the shot to kill.
As they reached the hospital, Calleigh quickened her pace to reach to Horatio's room as fast as possible. To see Horatio and make sure he's safe. As she entered the room, she sees Frank and Natalia seated on the couch, sleeping.
"They must be exhausted after what happened today." Calleigh mumbled to herself as her eyes went to check on Horatio. He looked so fragile. His handsome face had gone pale.
"Hey Frank, Nat, wake up. I'm back already. I'll take over from here. You guys go home and have a good rest alright." She said, smiling to them.
"You sure you okay Cal? I can stay if you want." Natalia offered.
"It's okay. I'll be fine here. But, thanks Nat." She smiled.
Calleigh then took a seat next to Horatio's bed. Cradling Horatio's hand in hers, she started sobbing.
"Oh Horatio, what would I do without you. What if you were the one who's actually dead? What if it was you in the morgue right now. What if Eric hadn't missed the shot and got you killed, Horatio… What were you thinking standing in the line of fire… please wake up Horatio. Wake up. I can't do this anymore. I need to feel your kiss. I need to feel your touch. Your embrace. How can I ever go on without you Horatio. Please wake up. I need you. I love you Horatio. I love you."
At that moment, Horatio's eyes flickered. He was waking up. Calleigh's love had given him the strength to fight. He fought for her. He stayed alive for her.
"Calleigh sweetheart…"Horatio spoke up weakly.
Calleigh looked up. "Oh god Horatio. You woke up! I love you Horatio. I love you. Please don't do this to me again Horatio. Please don't go. " Calleigh clung to him as if her life depended on it.
Horatio winced. Calleigh had clung onto him too hard that it hurt him. "Calleigh. I'm not going anywhere. I'm staying here."
"Don't let me go? Please?" Calleigh pleaded as her tears were already at the brink of her eyes.
"No Calleigh. I'm not letting you go. Not this time Calleigh."
-A few months later after the funeral-
"I've been missing you so much Calleigh. I tried to be strong but I couldn't because I know I need you. There's no place to belong without you Cal. I've missed you so much. And Cal, don't hurt me again. Please. I can't live without you." I pleaded her with the most sincere intentions. I never want to lose her ever again. Once was already enough and it had hurt so much.
"Horatio, I'll never leave you again. I'll never hurt you again. I promise. I love you so much Horatio. And promise not to leave me alright."
"Never Calleigh. Never."
From that day on, I promised I will never hurt her. I couldn't. I love her and I will.. for eternity. I want to spend the rest of my life with her. Waking up to her kisses, her touches on my skin, her scent, her whispers to my ears, her blond hair all over my face. I want to wake up having her just beside me. I want to love her like she deserved to be. I want to hold her forever in my arms and making sweet passionate love to her just like she wants to. I want to have my kids with her. I can definitely see my future being with her. I will never ever let her go. Never again. Marisol may be my past, but now, Calleigh is my present and definitely my future.
"I love you Calleigh. I love you."
"I love you too Horatio." She whispered back.
Thank you for reading. Hope you enjoyed. and Thanks for even staying with the story. See you soon XoXo.
R&R please?