Twice the Love-Chapter Four
Horatio held the elevator door for Calleigh's mother and sister in law, and then inserted the key to lock the door.
"Where'd ya get that?"
"One of your nurses was kind enough to lend it to me."
"Well, you might as well hang on to it, just be careful who see ya use it."
Calleigh's mother headed for the lounge to warm the food. "Horatio, you'd better go wake her up, that girl could never eat as soon as she wakes up."
He chuckled. "Well, she was complaining about being hungry earlier, so I'm sure she'll be ready to eat."
"Well, you tell her I won't be long. Then I want to hear about that boy who was causin' such a ruckus downstairs."
"Mom, let's not upset Calleigh just yet, she's still havin' small contractions."
She eyed Horatio. "Did I say I was gonna ask her?" She entered the lounge and closed the door behind her.
Ruthie laughed. "Well, welcome to the family, Horatio. When Mom gets the full story, she's gonna personally toss Eric all the way back to Miami, drag Dad out here and have a local judge out to the house for a wedding."
He rewarded her last remark with a wide grin. "Well, then, I'd better talk to her right away."
"No, you'd better do what she said first. If she comes out and Cal is still sleepin' she's gonna have your freckled hide."
"Now I see where Calleigh gets her feisty side. Her dad sure isn't full of spunk."
"Oh, he was…before the drinking and the divorce. I wish you coulda known him back then."
"You'll have to tell me about it sometime, when I'm not under orders from the boss." He headed down the hall to find Calleigh still sound asleep. He climbed on the bed with her and drew her into his arms gently, trying not to hurt her battered body. "Calleigh, Sweetheart." He ran his hand slowly down her cheek.
"Mmm…is it morning already?"
"It's past morning, remember your sister gave you a sedative and made you take a nap?"
"Mom was gonna bring food…did I miss it?"
"No, can't you smell it? She's in the lounge warming it up right now. Are you ready to sit up?"
"Can't I go into the lounge and eat?"
"What part of complete bed rest have you forgotten?"
"I was hopin' that you had."
"Not a chance." He pulled her brush out of her nightstand and began to brush her hair.
"Thanks, I must look like Hell...I need a shower, and make up and…"
"How about we do a sponge bath? And you look fine without makeup."
"You're gonna give me a sponge bath?" She batted her eyes at him.
"Unless you'd rather bother a nurse. Like I told you before, it's nothing I haven't seen, and I can assure you I'll be much gentler than a nurse." He got her comfortably situated in the middle of the bed and moved her tray over so she could eat.
"OK, since it looks like it's you or nothing, I'll let you give me a bath…I just wish I had my stuff from home."
He picked up a plastic grocery bag from under his bed. "You mean like this stuff?" He pulled out her body wash and lotion. "I had Ruthie bring it in with her."
"Ya know, you keep spoiling me like this, you're gonna be stuck with me."
"Well, that's good, because I intend on spoiling you for a long time." He leaned over to kiss her, but was interrupted by the door opening.
"Are you two at it again?" Ruthie laughed as she came in with a tray of food, followed by Marie Duquesne.
"Are they at what? Calleigh Marie, you're supposed to be resting, not playing around with your boyfriend."
"Yes, Ma'am." Her eyes fell for a second, until she got a whiff of the food. "So what'd ya bring me, Mama?"
"Your favorite, Honey, I couldn't let my baby eat hospital food." She sat the tray down in front of Calleigh, and Ruthie set the second tray down for Horatio. "You ever fed this boy grits?"
"I sure have, he loves 'em! I'd never fixed him etouffe, though. Jackson gave him some the day he came in…he's crazy about it."
"I thought I'd given you that recipe."
"You did, I've just been too busy, well, probably too lazy, to make the roux, and we can't find the canned junk in Miami."
"Well, I'll just have to teach Horatio, here, how to make it while he's here, won't I? You'll be the one takin' care of my child once she goes back to Miami, right?"
"Yes, Ma'am, that's right. I told Calleigh I'd like her to move into my house, since there's room for the nursery." He gave Ruthie a look, knowing she was dying to tell the news about the twins. "I'd love to learn how to make Calleigh's favorite foods."
"You DO cook, don't you?"
"Oh, Mama, leave him alone…he's a great cook. We just eat take out a lot because by the time we get home at night, it's too late to do anything but eat a quick bite and fall into bed."
"Which is how you got yourself into this mess."
"Mother…please?"
"Mom, she's not supposed to have added stress, remember?"
"Yes, I'm sorry…you'll just always be my little girl."
Ruthie and Marie continued to make small talk while Horatio and Calleigh inhaled their meals. "Why don't your grits taste like this, Calleigh?"
"Oh, shut up, or I won't make them for you again!" She smiled, letting him know she was teasing.
Ruthie laughed at the two of them and went to check the monitor. "Well, this looks good. Keep this resting up, and you can go back to the house in a day or two."
"What I'd like to do is get a wheelchair ride around the grounds. I'll have a wonderful bodyguard pushing me around."
Horatio exchanged nervous glances with Ruthie and Marie. "OK, what's going on? Horatio? Ruthie? Mom?"
Ruthie grabbed the trays and herded her mother in law out the door. "We're gonna go and let you two talk."
Horatio watched the door close. "Well, they were helpful."
"What's going on? Why can't I get up? What's wrong with the babies?"
He moved the trays away and sat on the bed facing her. "Nothing is wrong with the babies, Sweetheart."
"Horatio, if you're keeping something from me, I swear…"
"Calleigh, the babies are fine, look at the monitor. It's about Eric"
"What about him? Oh, God, he's here, isn't he?"
"He was downstairs while you were napping earlier. He created such a scene that by the time I got downstairs to the lobby, the Sherriff had him in cuffs, and he was fighting three officers."
"Did you tell him?"
"I told him about the accident, and that you couldn't be under any stress. I also told him that when you regained consciousness, you asked for me, which is why I was called and not him, and that not wanting to see him is your choice. He still believes that I came out here to steal you from him."
"If anyone did any stealing, it was him. I mean, you side of my bed was barely cold, and he was trying to take it over. I wasn't ready for that kind of relationship yet…he just kept pulling."
"And I didn't help the situation by pulling you the other way."
"You were just trying to pull me back where I belonged. So did he go back to Miami?"
"I don't think so. He said he'd be back, and that he wasn't leaving Louisiana without you."
"Do you think I should call him? Maybe if I asked him to leave he'd go."
"Give him some time, Calleigh. He was pretty upset, especially when Ruthie told him that only family could see you, and that included me."
"I never should have agreed to go out with him. I mean, I've always loved him, but like a brother. I tried to get over you and think of him as more, but I always felt like I was cheating on you."
"That's how I felt, and he made a point of rubbing my nose in the fact that he was taking you out. He'd always say, 'leaving H, I'm taking Cal to dinner.' I just wanted to knock him down my stairs some nights."
"I'm sorry, Horatio, I had no idea he was taunting you like that."
"You know, Ruthie said something interesting earlier…before breakfast."
"What?"
"Your mom saw the end of the episode with Eric, and Ruthie said that if she knew the whole story about everything that she'd have your dad out here and a judge out at the house for a wedding."
"You know, you always seem to work that into our conversations lately."
"What do you think?"
"That was a proposal? You're gonna have to do better than that, you know that, right?"
"Just keep it in the back of your mind…I'll work on it. I've never proposed before."
"What about Marisol?"
"She was the one who proposed."
"Now why is it so easy to believe that?" She laughed and grabbed her ribs. "Do you want to tell me about it?"
"Well, we had always talked about doing what WE wanted to, not what others said we should do…so one day she's in my office, and she asked me if those things included marriage. So we got married."
"That's so sweet. But why the courthouse? Why not a small family and friend wedding?"
"That's how she wanted it. I think she knew she didn't have much time."
"But she thought it would be the cancer that got her, not those damned gangs."
He took a long breath. "All right, enough of the past. I promised you a bath. Do you want it before or after your nap?"
"Another nap? I guess before the nap, I'll sleep better if I'm clean."
"Hang on; let me go check something with the nurse." He left the room, and was back in a flash with a wheelchair.
"What's this? I thought I couldn't go outside?"
"You can't…but after I bathe you, I can wheel you around the floor and into the solarium for a bit, and that will give the nurses a chance to put clean sheets on your bed. How does that sound?"
"You just scored more points, Handsome!"
"I aim to please, Ma'am." He pulled the curtain around her, and then headed into the bathroom for a basin of warm water. "You ready?"
"Knock yourself out."
He gently pulled the snaps of her gown, opening the side of her dislocated shoulder, and then pulled the gown off her body, leaving her under the sheet. Picking up the washcloth, he soaked it in the warm water and added a bit of her Warm Vanilla Sugar bath gel. She closed her eyes as the smell reached her, and reveled in the feel of his touch all over her body. It had been so long since he'd touched her like this, yet this was nowhere close to sexual. It was simply the loving, gently caress of the man who loved her. He moved the cloth over every inch of her body, watching her face for signs of pain. He turned her gently and washed her back, making sure not to wet the wrap on her shoulder.
"I'm going to go get clean water to rinse you now. Are you cold?"
"Hmm? Oh, sorry, I was just enjoying it so much. I think you have a job for life."
"I'll take that job." He pulled up the sheet to cover her still damp body, and then went into the bathroom to change the water. "OK, let's get that soap off of you, shall we?"
"This feels so good, Horatio."
"I'm glad. I was afraid you might feel uncomfortable."
"I was at first, but I just closed my eyes and realized that it was just a bath, and then just added it to the many chores I'm gonna line up for you when we get home."
"Your honey-do list, huh?"
"Yep, and that sponge bath is right up there at the top."
He picked up the towel and blotted her dry, and then rubbed her body with the vanilla scented lotion. "I never get tired of this smell." The gown was next…he put it on carefully making sure the snaps on her bad shoulder weren't too tight, and then put on a gown backwards, creating a robe. "That should cover your beautiful backside."
She flashed him a bright smile. "Thanks."
"OK, ready for the wheelchair?" He pulled it over to the bed and locked the wheels, and then moved her IV to the back of the chair. He then slid her carefully into the chair, and then handed her the fetal monitor.
"I have to carry this?"
"It's attached to you…and you're really not going to like this." He held up her catheter bag. "This is attached, too."
"Oh, God, can't you cover it up?"
"Let me see…if we put it here, yes, this will work…and I put a blanket over your legs…there you go, all covered. This IS a medical facility, you know?"
"Yeah, but I still don't want people to see me carryin' that thing all over the place."
Horatio shook his head and laughed, and then pushed her out the door into the hallway. He smiled at the nurses at the nurses' station. "She's all clean, and we're taking a walk around the floor. We'll probably be in the solarium for a bit, since she can't go outside."
"Thank you, Mr. Caine; we'll get her room changed right away."
"We'd appreciate that." He wheeled her slowly down the hall, stopping at the nursery to see the babies. "It won't be long for us." He leaned down and kissed the top of her head, and then continued down the hall to the large solarium."
"You know, this is my favorite room in the hospital. Look over there…" She pointed to a large grove of oak trees. "Keep looking past the trees and you'll see a space with just a few trees, and then the corn fields. Our house is right in the middle of all that. If you had binoculars, you could see it."
"It's beautiful." He pushed her next to a large chair and locked her wheels, and then sat down next to her. "I see why you like it so much."
"Yeah, you can see just about everything from up here." She looked down in the parking lot and sighed heavily. "Just about everything."
About that time Horatio's phone rang. He looked at the caller ID and sighed. "Guess who?"
"I know, he's in the parking lot."
Horatio gritted his teeth and barked into the phone. "What do you want?"
"I want to see her. I know her mother left, you're the only one keeping me from her."
"I'm not keeping you from her, Eric. This is her choice."
Calleigh put her hand on his. "Horatio, give me the phone."
"Not a good idea, Calleigh."
"Please?"
"Fine, but the minute you get upset, or that monitor beeps, you're hanging up."
"Deal…now wheel me closer to the window."
Horatio now had an idea as to what her plan was, and moved her over to the windows that opened to the parking lot side of the building, and then handed her the phone.
"Hello Eric."
"Calleigh, they won't let me in to see you. Tell them I won't upset you or hurt you…you know me better than that."
"I know you won't mean to. I also know what you pulled in the lobby. Are those the actions of someone who doesn't want to upset me?"
"What did Horatio tell you?"
She sighed into the phone. "I got it from Horatio, my mom and my doctor, so don't play innocent. Now you want to see me? Look up at the solarium windows." Horatio opened the window where she was sitting. "See…I'm fine, just in a lot of pain."
"What about the complication?"
"What?"
"Horatio said there was a complication, but we'd talk about it later."
"And we will, but right now I'm tired and I need to get back to bed. If my doctor sees me out of bed she'll have my hide. Now, Eric…go HOME, I'm serious. I meant what I said about going back to Horatio. I have a history with him, one that goes way, way back, and he's the one I'm going to spend my life with.
"Calleigh…"
"Eric, go home, go back to work, before Stetler gets on your butt for walking off the job."
"But, Cal…"
"I'm hangin' up." She clicked the phone closed. "Wheel me back away from the window please."
"Are you ready to go lay down?"
"Yeah, I think I am thanks."
"What in the Hell are you doin' outta bed?"
"The nurses had to change her bedding after her bath, so I piled everything onto the wheelchair and brought her in here for a bit."
"Who gave you a bath?"
"I did."
"Can she talk?"
"Yeah, Ruthie, sorry, I was just going so nuts in that bed…and I didn't walk one step."
"What about the shower?"
"It was a sponge bath."
"OK, fine, then…but back to bed. I want to see you asleep for at least an hour before lunch."
"Mom bringin' lunch?"
"You know it!"
"Horatio…back to the room! It's nap time!"
Ruthie helped Horatio put her back into bed, and then moved the wheelchair out of the room. "Just in case you're tempted later." She laughed as she left the room.
"Where ya goin'?"
"I was going to sit here and read while you napped."
"You don't want to sit up here with me?"
"No place I'd rather be."
"Good, 'cause when you're holdin' me, my shoulder doesn't hurt so much."
He moved her over carefully, and then climbed into bed next to her, softly rubbing her sore arm. He tried to read his book, but the soft sound of her breathing lulled him right to sleep.
TBC
Yeah, I still haven't let poor Eric in on the secret. At least I let him talk to Calleigh! Thanks for reading!!
Cal
