Chapter 8
Nathan then got the sense that he was treading on thin ice.
"How long have you known Alexx for then?" He asked trying to lighten the mood.
"A fair few months now. How about you?" She asked.
"Oh, we're going back years now… got to be about 15 years now, she knew me as I started out in medical school." Nathan said with a small chuckle. Horatio exhaled and moaned. Zoë instantly stood up. Nathan stood and called Horatio's name. Horatio didn't respond to his name so Nathan shone the light in his eyes to see if they'd react normally. He opened Horatio's eyes and shone the light. Horatio moaned and tried to move away from it.
"Horatio, can you open your eyes please? It's Nathan." Nathan asked as he put his hand on Horatio's shoulder. Horatio's eyes fluttered as he tried to open them. He opened his eyes and looked up to Nathan standing over him, Horatio began to squint as the lights were too bright for him.
"Do you know where you are Horatio?" Nathan asked him softly. Horatio let out a small moan, Nathan didn't know whether he was trying to answer or was just simply moaning.
"Do you want me to turn the lights off?" Nathan asked softly.
"mmm" Horatio moaned and nodded. Nathan quickly turned the lights off and returned to the left side of the bed.
"Horatio, you're in hospital, you're unwell." Nathan said with his hand back on Horatio's shoulder. Horatio just took a deep breath and exhaled. Zoë began to stroke the back of his left hand. Horatio turned his head and looked at Zoë.
"It's okay; you're going to be okay Horatio." Zoë said calmly. Horatio smiled behind the oxygen mask and began to close his eyes. He quickly fell asleep.
"You'll find that he'll wake up for a few minutes and then drift back off to sleep again soon after. His body is a war zone at the moment and he's going to be exhausted, not to mention that the bacteria actually make him very drowsy and tired. It's nothing to worry about." Zoë looked up at Nathan she seemed a lot happier knowing that Horatio was okay and relatively coherent considering what he's going through. She sat back down and held his hand still.
"Can I get you anything? Coffee? Food?" Nathan asked.
"A coffee would be brilliant thank you." Zoë said stifling a yawn.
"I'll be back with it in about 10 minutes; I've got to check on a few other patients." Zoë nodded at him and he left. Zoë lost herself in thought again and was interrupted by Nathan walking back in with two coffees in hand. He handed one to Zoë and walked back round to the left side of the bed, he placed his coffee on the tray and checked Horatio's temperature.
"37.2 – that's almost perfect, the blanket is doing wonders." Nathan said with a smile as he wrote a few things down in Horatio's notes. Nathan sat back down.
"He's going to be alright. He seemed pretty with it for someone who has just come round after suffering from meningitis and sepsis." Nathan said reassuring Zoë.
"Yeah." Zoë stifled another yawn.
"You saved his life earlier, you know that? Alexx told me you found him and did everything right. Not a lot of people would have known what to do or what it was. You'd be surprised about how little people know about such a serious illness." Nathan said trying to praise her.
"I've had advanced training; I know what to look out for and what to do." Zoë replied.
"It's a useful skill to have! Where did you learn?"
"I learnt at a private clinic which runs courses for anyone that wishes to learn."
"It's good to know that people take those courses!" Nathan seemed impressed. Zoë nodded and yawned again.
"I'm terribly sorry; I'm just a little tired."
"Don't worry about it, you should get some rest, you've had a very long and stressful day. I'll be in and out every now and then to check on Horatio, I'll try not to wake you." Nathan said as he got up. Zoë sat back and lost herself in deep thought again. Her eyes began to slowly close as she drifted off to sleep. Nathan popped in every now and then and tried his best not to wake Zoë whilst he checked up on Horatio. About an hour later Eric and Ryan pulled up in their hummer. They found Horatio's room and walked up. They slowly opened the door and found both Horatio and Zoë fast asleep. Eric picked up a blanket and gently covered Zoë. She stirred slightly and Eric took a quick step back. Nathan walked in again.
"Hi, I'm Nathan, Horatio's doctor, can I help you?" Nathan said quietly as Ryan looked him up and down.
"Hi, I met you briefly this morning and a few months ago when Zoë was in here, I'm Eric Delko, CSI." They shook hands.
"I'm Ryan Wolfe; I also met you a few months back when Zoë was in." They shook hands too.
"How's he doing Doctor?" Eric asked.
"Please, call me Nathan. Horatio is doing very well, he's on the road to recovery, there's a long way to go yet, but the outlook is looking good." Nathan said with a smile.
"That's great news, thank you." Eric said with a big smile.
"Please excuse me." Nathan excused himself as he walked over to Horatio and gave him a quick check over. Eric and Ryan watched Nathan check Horatio over, Nathan glanced over at Zoë's sleeping form a few times.
"I've got to check on other patients now, if you guys need anything; call one of the nurses to get me or something." Nathan said as he began to walk out the room. They both nodded at him. After he left.
"What's wrong with you man?" Eric said with a smirk to Ryan.
"What? I just don't like the way pretty boy there looks at Zoë." Ryan said defensively.
"Pretty boy? Have you looked at yourself in the mirror lately and I think someone's jealous." Eric said with a snigger.
"Who's a pretty boy?" Zoë asked sleepily as she sat up.
"Ah… erm…" Ryan fell over his words.
"It doesn't matter, I was just teasing Ryan." Eric said with a wide grin. While Ryan glared at Eric.
"You're like children!" She said with a wide smile and a small snigger. They both grinned at her.
"Thanks." They both said simultaneously and sarcastically. Zoë got up and gave Ryan a hug and then hugged Eric.
"How're you doing on the case?" She asked as she walked back round to her seat and sat down.
"We've made progress." Ryan said with a smile.
"Good." Zoë said with a sleepy smile.
"How are you holding up? You look tired." Eric said casually.
"Well, isn't that the cutest thing to say, I think you need to work on your compliments there." Zoë said with a cheeky grin. Eric shuffled on his feet and laughed nervously.
"I'm doing okay, just a little tired." She said with a smile.
"I need to get off now, I just wanted to know that Horatio was okay." Ryan said pointing to the door as he looked at Zoë.
"Have you both spoken to Nathan?"
"Yeah, he left just before you woke up." Ryan replied quickly.
"Ahh… is that why you guys were talking about a pretty boy?" Eric laughed and looked over to Ryan. Ryan's face dropped. Zoë giggled a little then sat up.
"You're both pretty boys too, and you know it." She said as she laughed. Eric laughed knowing she was teasing.
"I've kinda' got to go now. I'll see you tomorrow." Ryan said nervously.
"You know I'm only teasing you Ryan." She said with a wide grin. Ryan's face lightened up.
"I'll see you tomorrow, give H my best." Ryan said as he smiled at Zoë.
"Will do, have a good night." Zoë said with a smile. Ryan nodded and made for the door Eric nodded at Ryan as Eric went to sit down.
"Do you want to go home? Get a shower and freshen up, and get some rest? I can stay here for a little while." Eric said kindly.
"My car is at work." She said with a small smile.
"That's okay, you can use mine." He said as he threw the keys over to her and she caught them.
"Thank you Eric, I'll be right back." Zoë said as she slowly got up.
"Take your time, you don't have to sit by his side all the time." He said with a gentle smile.
"I do, I'd do the same for you, or Ryan. It's nice to know that someone's there for you." She held the keys up and then said:
"You're a star, thank you honey." Eric nodded at her. Zoë slowly walked out of the room knowing that Horatio was in good hands. Zoë got into Eric's car and drove home and the sun had begun to go down. She arrived home and jumped in the shower. She got out feeling refreshed and picked out another suit and shirt. She got changed and then sorted out her hair. She quickly dried it and slipped her jacket on and picked up a few things. She got back into Eric's car and then drove back to the hospital.
Meanwhile, at the hospital, Horatio was resting peacefully, Nathan walked in a few times to check on him.
"You know, I don't think you could have picked anyone better to work with us. You've certainly got a good eye, I'll give you that!" Eric said with a small smile to Horatio. 2 minutes later, Zoë walked through the door.
"Thank you Eric, I really needed that!" Zoë said with a smile as she placed her bag down on the bedside table.
"I was expecting you to take longer. You should get some rest." Eric said.
"I can rest here; anyway it makes sense if I'm the one who stays here, because you've got work tomorrow. I've spoken to the chief, and he understands. He agrees that it makes sense for one person to stay rather than rotate. Otherwise we'd all have to be catching up on cases and more than likely won't be getting enough sleep with work and being here." Zoë said as she looked at Eric with a smile.
"Yeah, it does make sense really." Eric said. A nurse came in to check on Horatio as Nathan was preoccupied.
Sorry for the delay in posting this - busy weekend. I'm afraid that after this Thursday, my postings will slow down as I'll be heading back to University, which will inevitably be taking up the majority of my time, especially with re-freshers week! Keep an eye on my profile, I'll update that to tell you when they next chapters/stories will be posted.
Thank you :)
