Twice the Love-Chapter Three

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Horatio woke first, rubbing his eyes to get his bearings. Then he remembered, he was at the hospital watching over Calleigh. He sat up in the bed and looked over at her, still peacefully sleeping. He sat up and leaned toward the fetal monitor, smiling when he saw no contraction activity. He started to move away when he felt her hand on his.

"Hey."

"Good morning. Are you feeling any better?"

"Not really, I still ache…but maybe I can find me a handsome man to give me a massage, I might feel a bit better."

"Well, I don't know about a handsome man, but will I do?"

She swatted his hand playfully. "Considerin' where it hurts, I think you're the only one who I'd let give me my massage."

"You got that right." He had a stern look on his face, but his eyes were twinkling. "Do you want the massage before breakfast?"

"Absolutely. I don't think I can sit up without getting' these sore muscles awake. Did you check the monitor?"

"Yes, I did, and there are no contractions right now. The medication that you've been complaining about must be doing its job."

"OK, so I'll stop complaining."

"You are entitled to complain all you want, you're in pain and can't take pain medication."

"Tell that to poor Ruthie and the rest of the staff." She looked up and saw the look on his face. "Horatio, I was jokin'!"

He picked up the lotion and sat on the edge of her bed. "I wanted to talk to you about the phone call from Eric." He opened her gown and pulled down the sheet.

"I thought we agreed not to talk about him."

"I wouldn't put it past him to come out here to find you. We need to decide what we want to do if that happens."

"I'll send him home. Didn't you tell him that we'd talk to him once we got back to Miami?"

"Yes, but you know how impatient he can be. He doesn't know that you're in the hospital." He started rubbing the lotion into her back.

"Oh, that feels so good. I'll give you about a year to stop that!"

He leaned down and kissed her head. "How about I take a lifetime?"

"You might want to change your mind when I'm all post partum hormonal with two screamin' babies."

He chuckled, and then kissed her again. "I think I'll find you even more beautiful then."

Ruthie opened the door and greeted them with a grin. "Maybe I should come back later."

Horatio quickly closed Calleigh's gown and pulled up her sheet. "I was just giving her the first massage of the day, she was sore from sleeping in one position."

She had seen where his hands were when she walked in. "Uh-huh. You almost made me forget what I came in for. I need to check the monitor."

"I didn't see it registering any contractions when I woke up." Horatio was hopeful.

"You're right…no contractions."

"So I can go home?"

"Sorry, Sis, think again. I need to make sure that the contractions have stopped for good, and you haven't even tried to walk yet. Also, now that you've stopped threatening all the staff, the Orthopedist needs to come in and take a look at your shoulder, and the Neurologist needs to check you out."

"What's wrong with my shoulder…and why do I need a Neurologist?"

"You really have no memory of that first day, do ya? Ok, your shoulder is dislocated, and you have a couple of hairline fractures in your skull."

"That's why I have this wrap thing on my arm?"

"Exactly." Her phone chirped. "Oh, you have GOT to be kidding me. OK, call security and the Sherriff, I'll lock the elevator. I'll be right back."

"Need any help?" Horatio's police radar was activated at the sound of possible trouble.

"No, you stay here with her; I just need to lock off this floor."

Horatio and Calleigh looked at each other and sighed deeply. This could mean only one thing. "Eric." They said in unison.

Ruthie was back in no time. "OK, that was Jackson on the phone. Your buddy, Eric was at the house, and your sweet niece was nice enough to tell him that you were in the hospital. She also offered up the fact that your friend with the red hair was there, well, here, with you. So he took off like a bat outta Hell, and is probably downstairs as we speak. He won't be able to get up here, unless he gets someone to unlock the elevator or the stairwell."

"Can my room be locked?"

"No, sorry, the only rooms that can be locked are on the psych floor."

Calleigh looked over at Horatio who was smiling at her. "Don't you even think it, Caine!"

"Well, you're the one who brought up being hormonal!" He laughed as he helped her turn over. "So what's the plan, Doctor?"

"My plan is to keep my patient as calm as possible, which means keeping that ex boyfriend of hers away from her." She watched the look that passed between them at the mention of Eric as an ex boyfriend. This didn't look to end well. "I'm gonna step out and find out what's happening downstairs, and give you two time to talk things over in here."

"OK, thanks, Ruthie." Calleigh watched her sister in law walk out the door and then burst into tears. "Horatio, I am so sorry. This is all my fault. If I hadn't broken up with you and then rushed into another relationship, especially one with someone that was fixated on me, this wouldn't be happening."

Horatio rushed to her side. "Shhh…Shhh…you need to relax. This is NOT your fault, Calleigh, I want you to get that out of your head, can you do that for me, Sweetheart?"

"But, Horatio…"

"But nothing, Calleigh. We're together now, that's all that matters. I can handle Eric, I don't want you thinking about it." He looked over at the fetal monitor, which had started to beep. "All right, now you have to relax, you've started with the contractions again. I'll go get Ruthie to order another injection."

"That will knock me out."

"What's your point, Calleigh? That medicine is keeping our children alive."

"I'm sorry, you're right. I definitely need to sign something giving you permission to make my decisions for me, because right now I am NOT thinking straight."

"There's a solution for that, Calleigh." He smiled at her as he pushed the button for the nurse.

"Yeah, it's called Medical Power of Attorney."

"No, it's called being your husband."

She started to argue, and then thought better of it. She knew she was going to give in and finally marry the love of her life. "Ya know, you keep sayin' that, but do you know you've never even asked me?"

"Don't worry, I will. I just need to get your father's permission first."

"Oh, you have got to be kidding. My father. He's upset enough that I'M a cop, let alone let me marry one."

"Calleigh, he's the reason I'm here. I never would have known if he hadn't shown up at the station. Do you know he actually threatened me?"

"What? Was he drinking?"

"No, he was completely sober. He was terribly worried about you, he didn't want to come out here and start fighting with your mom and upset you, but he told me how you had been asking for me, and told me you were pregnant. That's when he told me in no uncertain terms that I was going to do the right thing."

"So that's why you want to marry me? Because my father threatened you? Just get out, Horatio."

"Calleigh, I've told you before that I want to spend the rest of my life with you. I may not have asked the question, or gotten down on one knee, but the feelings have been there for years."

"What about Marisol?"

"You had walked away…again. I met her and fell in love with her. I even told her about us, and told her that I'd probably never stop loving you, but that I'd always be faithful to her."

"Oh, I'm sure that went over well."

"It did. She asked me if it was all right if she could be your friend, too. She wanted to get to know you."

"She never got the chance, though."

"No, I told her to wait until after the wedding, I was afraid that all her pre wedding happiness might hurt you."

"It did, but I swore I'd never tell you. I wanted to be happy for you…I tried to get on with my life."

"And when you needed me the most, during all those failed relationships, I wasn't there for you."

"We needed each other, and there was no way I was going to swoop in to comfort you like I was waiting for something to happen to her. First she was killed, and then you lost Ray…again. I felt so helpless."

He gently moved her over on the bed and sat next to her, slowly gathering her into his arms. "That's all behind us now, Calleigh. We're here for each other, and nothing will change that."

Ruthie came in with the nurse and smiled as she saw her sister in law in the arms of the man she loved. "You two are just too precious for words. What's up…you rang?"

"Oh, her monitor was beeping."

Ruthie looked over just as the monitor blipped again. "So it is." She asked the nurse to prepare another shot. "You need to keep her relaxed, Horatio."

"It's not his fault. He was telling me how my dad came by the station and told him to come out here, and I over reacted…as usual. Speaking of coming out here…"

"Yeah, he's downstairs talking to the Sherriff. He got pretty excited when he was told he couldn't see you."

"Do you want some help with him?"

"No, Horatio, I think you're the last person he wants to see right now." The nurse came in with her shot and injected it into the IV line. "Now, you're gonna be pretty mad at me, but shortly you're gonna fall asleep. I ordered you a mild sedative…safe for the twins, but just enough to let you get the rest you need."

"Thanks, Ruthie, I appreciate that."

"Oh, thanks, Horatio, take her side." She turned her head and kissed his cheek.

"Well, it looks like she's not gonna kill ya, Horatio, so I'll leave her in your capable hands."

"What about food?"

"Take a nap, breakfast will be here in a bit."

"I thought hospitals served breakfast early."

"Mom's cookin' us your favorite breakfast…grits, bacon, eggs and waffles."

"What, no fresh fruit?" Horatio was laughing at the two women.

"No, that's Miami style. This is Mama's breakfast, and you'll eat it and love it. Oh, that shot is startin' to work."

"So get some sleep, I'll call Mom and let her know that you are nappin' and she can start cookin'. We'll reheat it when she gets here." She waved as she left the room.

Calleigh stifled a yawn as Horatio started to get up. "Just where do ya think you're going, Mister?"

"I thought maybe I'd get dressed before your mother gets here. I'll come back and sit with you as soon as I'm done." He gave her a light kiss. "I love you."

"Love you too." Her head tilted to one side…she was already out.

Horatio grabbed his bag and headed into the bathroom. He took a quick shower and shaved, and then brushed his teeth before heading back to the bed. As he moved onto the bed next to her, he heard her whimper in pain. He gently drew her to him and rubbed her back, and then felt her relax as she fell back into a deep sleep. He reached over and put his phone on vibrate, knowing that as soon as Eric found out his path was blocked, he'd be calling. Sure enough, no sooner had he placed the phone back on the nightstand, it started to buzz. After the tenth call, he shut the phone off completely. All the calls were from Eric, it was obvious he wasn't going down without a fight. He carefully got up and made Calleigh as comfortable as he could, and then made his way down the hall to the nurses' station. "I'm going downstairs for a few minutes, can you let Dr. Duquesne know?"

"Oh, she's down there, Mr. Caine, we'll have to take you down, she gave strict orders that the elevator stay locked to protect Calleigh."

"Thank you, I'd appreciate that. This man is really no physical danger to her, he'll just upset her and she's not supposed to have any stress put on her."

"I understand, follow me, I'll take you down the surgical elevator, it's in another part of the hospital, and he won't see it open from the lobby."

"Thank you, Ma'am."

The nurse smiled as she escorted him to the back of the hospital. She wished he wasn't attached; this was one she'd love to take home to mama! She pulled a key out of her pocket and inserted it under the 'down' button, and then handed it to him. "Here ya go, this way you can come back when you feel like it. Ruthie said something about her mom bringing food, and she always brings enough for all of us."

"I had a taste of her cooking already when I first got here, etouffe, I think it was called. I can't wait to try her breakfast."

"You'll love it. If Calleigh wakes up, I'll tell her that you'll be right back."

He reached into his pocket for his phone and switched it back on, and then handed her his card. "Here's my cell phone number, I'll be right back up if she wakes."

"Thanks, I'll give you a call." Yeah, that Calleigh Duquesne was one lucky girl.

He heard the ruckus as soon as he stepped out of the elevator, even though he was on the opposite side of the hospital. He recognized Ruthie's voice, Eric's voice, and a voice that must have been the Sherriff. He quickened his pace to try to help calm Eric down before he did something he'd really regret. As he entered the lobby he saw Eric in handcuffs with three officers on him, and Ruthie trying to calm him. This was not good.

"Eric."

"H., what the Hell is this, tell them I'm not gonna hurt Calleigh, I just want to see her. Tell them to take these damned cuffs off me!"

"First you have to relax, Eric, I know you don't want to hurt Calleigh, but right now, any stress on her WILL hurt her. She's upstairs sedated and sound asleep. Her father isn't even here because he's afraid that he and her mother might argue and upset her."

"No one will tell me anything, what's wrong with her?"

"If you're ready to sit down and calm down, I'll talk to you, but until you're under control enough to have these cuffs removed, I'm going back upstairs."

"OK, OK, just please tell me what's wrong."

"I think we can lose these cuffs now, Sherriff, thank you for getting things in hand down here."

He reached out and shook Horatio's hand. "You're welcome Lieutenant. Anything for Calleigh. I've known her since she was about knee high."

Horatio watched the man leave, and then turned to Eric. "I thought that Calleigh asked you not to come."

"She did, but you can't expect me to just sit in Miami when she needs me. She wouldn't even tell me what happened."

"She was in an accident. A tractor broadsided her Jeep, and it rolled into a cornfield. It was a while before they realized she was missing, and then they took more time finding her. She's pretty banged up, her shoulder is dislocated, and she's got a few hairline fractures of the skull."

"And they called you, and you talked her into breaking up with me."

"Her father came to me and told me about the accident, apparently she had been asking for me. She was in and out of consciousness, so I'm sure she didn't even know what she was saying at first. Her brother was the one to find her, and she was calling him by my name. Right now, she needs rest and no stress…which means you aren't going up there and upsetting her about the break up."

Eric pointed to Ruthie "She said that only family was allowed in, but they're letting you in."

"That's a story for another day, Eric. Now the best thing you can do for Calleigh is to just go home. We'll all sit down and talk then."

"But I want to just see her."

"I'm not letting anyone but family up there. Speaking of family…" she motioned to a woman entering the building with several large bags… "Here comes breakfast, so it's time for us to go back upstairs. As soon as the smell makes its way down the hall to Cal's room, she'll be up demanding her mama's cookin'."

"But why are you letting him up there? He's not her family."

"Eric, I'm sorry, but she wants him there. She's also made it clear to me that she does NOT want you there. Horatio is right; the best thing you can do for her is to go home."

Eric's eyes grew dark as he glared at Horatio. "Fine, I'm leaving for now, but I'll be back. I'm not leaving Louisiana without Calleigh. You can't just follow her out here and steal her from me."

Horatio was tired of arguing with him. At least he was leaving for now. He smiled apologetically to Ruthie. "Well, that was pleasant. I'm truly sorry for that."

"Why? You didn't do anything. You were the one that calmed things down." She pulled the key out of her pocket. "So, how about we go upstairs and heat you up a real Cajun breakfast?"

"That sounds wonderful. Lead the way, ladies."

TBC

Sorry this chapter ran a bit long, I got carried away a bit.