I may have wandered these two a little bit out-of-character here, but I'm kinda wanting to move things along a little bit… R&R please!
Chapter 8
Horatio awoke quietly sometime later to the most delectable sensations. It felt absolutely wonderful. He fluttered his eyes open, but he didn't stir. He just laid there, perfectly still, absorbing it.
He felt Calleigh's hand softly wandering across the back of his neck and the side of his face, languidly drifting her fingertips across his skin, running her slender fingers slowly through his hair. She had certainly touched him before, but not like this. This was something different. This wasn't just a purely comforting or calming touch, although it certainly had that effect on him. No, this was much more sensual. She was caressing him… touching him… feeling him… just like… like a lover.
It had been so long since he had felt such a deeply soulful touch; he thought that maybe he was dreaming. That maybe his drug-hazed brain was inventing it. He hoped like hell that it wasn't just a dream, but if it was, he didn't want to miss a single moment of it. He closed his eyes again, and let himself get lost in it. It just felt so incredibly good.
Then, despite his best efforts, he took in a lightly shuddering breath and quickly exhaled it… The hand on his neck stopped abruptly…..
Calleigh had been lying there contentedly after Kyle had left, silently delighted that Horatio didn't have to worry about how his son would find out what had happened to him or how the young man would cope with the situation. Horatio had every right to be very proud of his son, Kyle really was a terrific kid.
She soon recognized the slow, shallow breathing pattern of the man in her arms, and knew that Horatio was asleep once again. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes, and allowed her mind to wander, drifting into a half-awake state herself. And her mind definitely wandered… way past every single boundary. Her sub-conscious apparently took over, and began to travel along a forbidden path in her mind…
Thoughts and images began to blossom up… and she allowed them to…
She was relaxing on a secluded beach, the warm ocean breeze gently tugging at the wispy thin wrap she was wearing. Suddenly, a warm muscular frame hovered over her, his bare chest brushing against her scantily clad skin. His arms wrapped themselves around her, his hands gently roaming along the curves of her body, pulling her close. And then her mouth was captured in a romantically sultry kiss. When their lips parted, she opened her eyes and looked up, gazing into the sparkling blue eyes of one very healthy Horatio Caine. She flashed him a brilliant smile. He smiled warmly back at her, then she heard his smooth deep voice, the voice she knew so well, purring in her ear. It was that voice that sent delicious longing coursing through her.
"Mmmm. Calleigh," he said lowly, nuzzling her neck with hot kisses. "Sweetheart…"
His loving tone and the feeling of his lips nibbling along her neck made her heart swell with affection for this wonderful man. She sighed deeply, and ran her hand sensuously along the back of his neck, touching his face, toying with his soft, silky hair. She felt a warm wave of desire rush through her. She wanted to hold him right there, caressing him, touching him, conveying her deepest feelings through her fingertips, feeling him so warm and close and intimate…
Then she heard him take a ragged breath, and her eyes opened and she recognized the hospital room and it instantly snapped her back to reality. She immediately stilled her hand on him, feeling her cheeks slightly flush as the images from her mind slowly faded. She wondered just how awake Horatio was… and how long had she been touching him like that?
Once again, he managed to surprise her. He didn't move. He just laid there, quiet and still in her arms.
"You don't have to stop," he said quietly.
She moved her hand on his neck again, but not quite as sensually as before. The magical spell had once again been broken.
"How are you feeling?" She asked lightly, re-focusing on the fact that this was an injured Horatio and they were laying in a hospital room, not frolicking on a beach somewhere. "Are you doing OK?"
He unwrapped himself from her just enough to lean his weight to his side and look deeply into her eyes.
"Calleigh," he said sincerely, "it's been a long time… since anyone touched me… the way you just did."
She realized that he had been awake. Very awake.
Even with the painkillers drifting through his system, it didn't dull the fixed intensity of his gaze. He finally braved the question. "What do you think… is happening here?" he asked her, his expression serious.
Before she could answer him, the door slid open and two doctors walked in. One stood mutely by the door, clearly an underling of the other Doctor. This quiet man gave them both a light grin and a nod, but never said a word and stayed right by the door, apparently where he had been instructed to stay. The Senior Doc snapped up the chart at the foot of the bed and walked briskly around behind Horatio.
Calleigh felt Horatio's stress level ramp up at having someone come up behind him so quickly, but he didn't show his reaction, he stayed still and calm, but she could definitely tell that he was not at all happy or comfortable with this rapidly developing situation.
All her senses swung into full alert mode.
"Hello Mr. Caine, I'm Doctor Warren, this is Doctor Corbin," he said rather dismissively, not so much as acknowledging that Calleigh was even in the room. "I'm just going to check your back… let's see how you're healing…"
Calleigh rapidly took it all in. The one by the door, she didn't mind him. But this other guy… she was quickly developing a very strong dislike for him. She saw him as a potential threat… someone who could hurt Horatio.
He hovered over Horatio's back, no presence of gentleness, not announcing his intentions, and certainly not caring how agitated he was making his patient. Calleigh slowly began to disengage herself from Horatio's embrace and sliding herself closer towards the edge of the bed, her fierce stare never wavering from the arrogant Doctor. Horatio seemed to understand, and let go of her to give her some room, albeit hesitantly.
"You appear to be doing well," the hovering Doctor said, leaning just a bit closer. "Hmm. But there are a few areas of concern, right here…" he made a move like he was going to touch Horatio's back, Horatio closed his eyes, clenched his teeth and tensed up, and Calleigh sprang into action.
In one smooth motion, Calleigh leapt up from the bed, reached over, and grabbed the offensive man's wrist. She wrenched it over, away from the bed, and shoved him backwards, releasing his wrist at the same time. The stunned Doctor tumbled back, losing his balance, tripping against several pieces of furniture, and nearly fell to the floor.
"Don't you touch him!" She said loudly, glowering at the stumbling man.
He managed to grab hold of a chair back and kept himself from sprawling on the floor. He snapped back up onto his feet and struggled to regain his composure, brushing himself off and smoothing his ruffled white coat.
"What the hell was that all about?" he demanded. "What the hell are you doing?"
"Protecting him," she replied evenly. "From assholes like you."
"Asshole?" he shot back indignantly. "Look lady, I'm his Doctor…"
"Not any more you're not," she interrupted. "Get out. And don't come back."
He opened his mouth to say something, but no words were coming out. Apparently he had never come up against anything like the forceful fury of Calleigh Duquesne.
The Doctor attempted to salvage what little of his dignity he had left, and stormed from the room. The other Doctor watched him leave, and lingered just a moment before walking out the door behind him. The quiet Doctor Corbin turned and looked at Calleigh.
"Ma'am, I'm really sorry about that," he said, looking genuinely concerned. "We'll make sure that nothing like that happens again."
"Damn right you will," she shot back, giving him a searing glare as well.
When the room was empty once again, Calleigh took a deep breath to calm herself down, then turned back to look at the man lying in the bed in front of her. She reached out and took his hand. He wrapped his hand around hers and squeezed it gently.
"You OK?" she asked, searching his eyes for any sign of pain or stress.
He met her gaze, and a knowing smile slowly came to his face.
"How could I not be, with protection like that?" he replied, grinning a little wider.
She smiled back, and chuckled softly.
"Too over the top?" she asked, raising her eyebrows.
"Not at all," he answered. "It was just what the Doctor ordered."
This time she allowed herself to actually laugh out loud, and he chuckled softly along with her.
Their lighthearted banter was interrupted by an annoying alarm tome coming from her jacket. She pulled her cell phone out, and saw the little battery bar flashing red.
"Oh damn. My cell's almost dead and I don't have my charger," she said with a sigh. "Tell you what, I'm just going to run down to the nurse's station and find out what the phone number is to your room here. Then I can put some calls out and touch bases with everyone at the Lab, OK? I'll be right back."
"Sure," he said, he released her hand and watched her leave the room.
He settled on his side on the mattress, fully aware of how much he missed her warmth, and how much he was anxiously awaiting her return to his bed…
