Disclaimer: Not mine.
A/N: Another short one, I guess, but it came to a natural break. More to come soon.
Horatio sat at his desk, immobile, waiting for the phone to ring. Downstairs in the holding cell, Mrs Andrews was trying to plead her innocence, saying that she hadn't known about the abuse. No one believed that for a moment – there was simply too much damage for it to have been going on under her nose without her knowledge.
Before his eyes, Horatio watched as his own childhood unfolded. He had come out of it alright. Not unscathed, but he had survived. How close had he come to not making it?
How close had Holly come?
He knew he should be trying to track down her older brother and other family, but he couldn't move. Cases like this hit far too close to home for comfort.
A knock at his door shook him from his reverie, and he turned to see Alexx waiting for him. Her wan smile told him that she was just as shaken as him, though she tried to put on a brave face.
"Horatio, you should be at home. You know that they'll call you when she wakes up, and you'll be no use if you're dead on your feet."
"I know," Horatio nodded. "I also know that I won't be sleeping for the next few nights."
"You need something to knock you out for a while?" The doctor gently offered, taking a seat in front of the desk. Horatio just shook his head.
"It's not the getting to sleep that worries me."
Alexx sighed, knowing what he was talking about. As much as she knew he needed the rest, she knew he didn't need the nightmares. None of them did, but Horatio always felt the after-shock more keenly than the rest of them in a case of child abuse or neglect.
The two sat in silence for several minutes, taking comfort from the other's presence.
--
At the hospital, Holly had been moved from emergency into the ICU. She seemed stable, but until she woke they wouldn't move her to the children's ward. The nurse watching her sighed as she checked the monitors, ensuring that her vital signs were still going strong. She wondered what Holly would be like when she woke up – and wondered if maybe staying asleep would be a better option.
After all, the girl had no parents, her aunt had basically abandoned her, and her uncle had abused her. She had murdered the man, and would be facing charges when she awoke.
It went against all her training, but nurse Janice O'Reilly was sorely tempted to ensure that she didn't wake. Surely a peaceful slip into eternal slumber would be preferable to suffering the rest of her life. As she shook her head and turned to leave, a movement caught her eye. She turned back, and saw Holly's hand clenching and unclenching.
After a moment, dark brown eyes opened a sliver, and for the first time in weeks, a whimper passed Holly's lips.
--
The ringing phone startled Horatio, and he nearly knocked it off the table as he reached for it. Composing himself, he spoke into the handset.
"Lieutenant Caine," his voice was steady. Alexx watched as Horatio's eyes narrowed, then cleared. It seemed it wasn't entirely bad news.
"Thankyou Doctor. I'm on my way there now." He hung up the phone without waiting for a response, and Alexx stood at the same time as him.
"Hospital. Holly's awake, she might be able to answer some questions."
"Maybe. But we both know that's not why you're going there," Alexx commented. "You just want to see that she's okay with your own eyes."
Horatio ducked his head, smiling slightly.
"You know me too well, Alexx."
"That could never happen. Now go on, you'll sleep better after."
--
Twenty minutes later, Horatio stood outside of the ICU and watched as nurse O'Reilly gave Holly some more painkillers. She hadn't spoken to anyone yet, and Horatio had to wait until the social worker was present before entering. He had no desire to charge Holly with anything, but knew he didn't have a whole lot of choice. He'd talk to the director anyway, once he'd spoken with the girl.
Inside, Holly looked around with half-lidded eyes. She was so tired, but determined to stay awake this time. Things were strange – she'd never been in a room like this before. There were strange machines around her, beeping at her. She was a little frightened, but kept quiet. Beatings at an early age had taught her not to question things.
Horatio paced the hallway, waiting for Child Services to get their act in gear. He was annoyed at how long this was taking, though it was difficult for a casual observer to know this. He kept his face the usual blank mask, while silently cursing whoever had been given Holly's case.
Eventually, a young man in a suit appeared, clutching a briefcase and looking perturbed.
"Lieutenant Caine?" He asked in a slightly breathless voice. Horatio nodded. "Jeremy Palmer, Child Services. Is the girl in there?"
"Her name is Holly," Horatio nearly growled through gritted teeth. "And she's awake, and probably terrified right about now, so I suggest you get in there and reassure her."
Jeremy looked very unsure of himself.
"Well, uh, you see…" he stuttered for a moment, then hung his head. "I've never done this before. I only transferred to Child Services a month ago, this is my first case going solo. I, uh…" he trailed off as Horatio pushed him aside and went into Holly's room, muttering under his breath.
Holly fought to open her eyes more as a tall man came into the room. He had red hair, similar to her own but much lighter, and was wearing sunglasses. He also seemed angry, and she tried to sink into the mattress to get away.
As he approached her, however, his demeanour changed, smoothing out the angry creases of his face and slowing his forceful walk. When he was a couple of feet away from her, he stopped and removed his sunglasses, his bright blue eyes meeting her dark brown ones. Holly didn't speak, waiting for him to tell her what she was meant to do.
"Hello, Holly," Horatio started, trying to be soothing. "My name is Horatio. I work at the Miami-Dade Crime Lab. Do you know what that is?"
Holly shook her head, looking a little confused.
"It's a place where we look at the evidence from crimes, and use it to catch the bad guys. This afternoon, we were called to your house. Do you remember why?"
Holly nodded this time. She had done a bad thing. She would have to be punished.
"Well, when we got to your house, two of my people found you. You'd been badly hurt, so we brought you here. We also examined you and the house, and found evidence that your uncle had been hurting you. Is that correct?"
Another nod, this time shaky. Her breathing was becoming erratic as well, as she imagined what the punishment would be this time.
Horatio noticed her starting to panic, and closed the distance between them, taking her hand in his.
"It's going to be okay, Holly. You're safe now. He's never going to hurt you again, and I'm going to make sure you're taken care of. I promise."
Finally, Holly broke down and started crying. She raised her free hand to her face in an attempt to hide it, but at the same time she clung to Horatio's hand with all her strength. She recognised his voice from the kitchen, and couldn't help but trust him. He was so gentle, and his voice was so calm. If anyone was going to look after her, surely it was this man.
