Title: Bad Day

Author: innocent choir girl (ff-dot-net), shannyfish (From Out of the Lab/Miami Heat/LJ)

Summary: After a lab accident, Calleigh relies on help from her father, but could it be the last thing she does?

Category: Ship Ahoy! Calleigh/Horatio

Genres: Angst, Drama, Friendship, Hurt Comfort, Pre-Relationship, Suspense

Characters: Calleigh Duquesne, Alexx Woods, Frank Tripp, Kenwall Duquesne (Other Character)

Warnings: none

Rating: PG

Chapter: 4 "Luck"

Author's Notes: fanfiction (dot) net is FINALLY cooperating!

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Alexx was the only one allowed to go along since Kenwall Duquesne was also in the ambulance. Frank and Horatio were following, but Alexx had promised that she'd update them once they got to the hospital. Calleigh had been quiet, but conscious when they had finally pulled her. The leg that had been twisted up in the metal needed to have some surgery on it, Alexx was sure, but Calleigh seemed okay overall. She was glad that her friend had her seatbelt on or it would have been another story entirely. She watched as the EMTs wrapped Calleigh's leg to keep pressure on it, and then another checked her vitals. "You're doing good, Honey," Alexx told Calleigh as she squeezed her hand.

Sobering up the hard way had drained Kenwall, and he had started to wish he had died in the car crash. His little girl was laying there…quiet, fragile, broken…and he wondered what he had done to deserve such a daughter. Calleigh was his very own guardian angel, but now he'd broken her. Horatio had been right to want to charge him… He wished they'd handcuffed him and taken him down to the station rather than making him witness what he was seeing.

"Baby Girl, you gotta keep those eyes open," Alexx coached when she saw Calleigh's eyes starting to slump closed. She reached up with her free hand and smoothed Calleigh's hair away from her face, "Hey hey…keep'em open." She was worried that she'd slip into a coma or something if they weren't careful. Calleigh had done so well through the whole ordeal though, and she hated to make her suffer anymore than she already had.

"Daddy?" Calleigh mumbled.

"Here's right here," Alexx said reaching over and taking the reluctant hand of Kenwall Duquesne and placing it in hers. Alexx wrapped her hands over theirs before pulling away. She figured it was about time that Kenwall acted like a father. Calleigh needed him right now, and from what Horatio told her…Calleigh didn't know that her father was drunk and was the cause of the accident. Though, she knew Calleigh would find out…even if the memories of the crash didn't come back to her. Alexx still wasn't sure, there had been so much that had gone on, and it seemed like a big blur…

"I'm here, Lamb chop," Kenwall finally spoke up squeezing his daughter's hand a bit. "You gotta stay awake." Tears fell down his face as he stared at his daughter. He was supposed to be helping her…not making things worse… What had he done?

………………………..

Horatio stood out in the waiting room with Alexx and Eric. The others were on their way, but for now…they stood vigil. He hadn't sat down, he had been pacing the area or he'd stand in the corner with his head down. He just wanted information on Calleigh, but since she was still in surgery, there was no news. When he saw Frank walking out with a couple of officers and Kenwall between then, he approached Frank. "What are we doing, Frank?"

"Holdin' him?" Frank offered. He knew that Calleigh had good chances with the surgery, but there could be other injuries that they didn't know about. The least they could do would be to hold Duke in a holding cell until they knew exactly what was going to happen.

Nodding, Horatio took a step to the side, closer to Detective Tripp, "Frank…don't book him just yet. Let's just keep him there. We might be able to get away with just scaring him…" He didn't want to make things worse for Calleigh if she found out that he'd thrown her father in jail, but it needed to be dealt with just the same.

"Do me a favor, and keep me updated on Calleigh's condition," Frank requested.

"Of course."

Heading back over to the officers, Frank headed with them out to the car. They hadn't cuffed the elder Duquesne, but Frank didn't think they'd have any problems getting him into the car or into the building. The man had practically wanted to be taken away, which told him that he knew what he had done was wrong and that they had consequences.

"Who's here with Calleigh Duquesne?"

That caught his attention and Horatio…like the others…quickly relocated to the woman's position. "We are."

"Are any of you family?"

"We all are," Horatio responded. When the woman just looked at him funny, he could tell she didn't understand. They'd worked together for so many years, and were so close…they knew each other inside and out…and Horatio had a feeling that Calleigh would declare them her family more proudly than her father.

"Husband? Either of you? I can't release information to non-family members without Ms. Duquesne's consent."

"Her father was the one who landed her in here," Eric said bluntly. "And no, Calleigh's not married…"

"Please?" Alexx pleaded. "We're the closest thing to family besides her father that she has here." She watched as the woman thought about it, she could tell that the woman wanted to tell them, but was torn. She knew that feeling…

"She's out of surgery. It went well. Her leg's broken in two places, and she's going to need time to heal, but that was the only major damage. She's going to need time in here and time at home to recover."

Horatio nodded, "Can we see her please?" he asked softly putting his hands on his hips as he adjusted his position.

"Only for a few minutes. She really does need to rest. We'll be monitoring her."

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TBC…