Man it's been a long day, stuck thinkin' about it drivin' on the freeway, wonderin' If I really tried everything I could
Not knowing if I should try a little harder
Oh but I'm scared to death,
That there may not be another one like this
And I confess,
That I'm only holdin' on by a thin, thin thread
I'm kickin' the curb cause you never heard,
The words that you needed so bad
And I'm kickin' the dirt cause I never gave you
The things that you needed to have,
I'm so, sad.
- Maroon 5
Chapter Ten
"All we can do is wait." The words repeated themselves in her mind as Calleigh sat alone at the Palm Diner down the road from Grace Memorial. She nudged the bleak salad on her plate with a fork and took a sip of hot coffee. What had transpired today was taking a dark toll on the Bullet Girl. Today, she watched as her mentor and friend took a bullet and died before her very eyes. While he had fought and came back to them, there was no telling what the future brought for him.
She thought back to the remainder of Dr. Tyler's update on Horatio and rejected the oncoming flow of tears.
Twenty minutes earlier:
"All we can do is wait. The bullet only missed Lieutenant Caine's heart by an inch. Even so, it did enough damage for us to be concerned about." Natalia spoke up in instant denial and demanded further explanation.
"What exactly are you trying to say? He's going to be okay, right?" she countered. At that moment, they all turned their attention to the doctor to see what he had to say.
"As much as I hate to say it, there's still a chance that he may not make it." His words stung more than anything the CSI's had ever heard. That was the last thing they needed to hear and now, their hearts sunk in pure defeat.
"I have to remind you that Mr. Caine is healthy and strong. He's fighting with all he's got and we have to be hopeful for his sake. I'll be back in a while to see how you're all doing." Doctor Tyler stood from his seat and left the waiting area; Leaving a room full of despondent officers behind.
That's when Calleigh had gotten up and left.
After the team had been given such depressing news on their beloved commander, none of them were in a very healthy state of mind. While they previously had hope and encouragement, it all had been dashed. Each of them let their personal worry fester back at the lab. Everyone except Calleigh sat in a conference room trying to busy themselves in hope of obtaining some sort of distraction from the situation at hand. They wanted to stay at the E.R, but Dr. Tyler had advised them to wait while tests were run.
Eric Delko had been caught in between his emotions as both worry, and his unrelenting feelings of faith remained. I've already lost Mari. I can't lose him. I won't. He continued to deny reality and returned his attention to the piece of evidence that he fiddled with in his gloved hands. Calleigh hadn't returned yet, so Jason Hardenslo's .45 and Horatio's Sig Sauer sat in evidence boxes, awaiting processing. Eric questioned the reason for processing the handguns, especially since everybody had been very aware of this morning's incident. Truthfully, he felt very bad for Calleigh. To be there, and watch everything unfold the way that it did, was clearly unleashing hellish emotions on her. Lab coat still on, he caught the attention of an assistant Ballistics analyst.
"Hey, do you have a minute?" he asked. The scientist was ever reluctant and stepped into Delko's lab.
"Sure thing. How are you guys holding up?" Eric tried with all of his might and mustered a dull smile in response.
"We're all trying to keep our heads above water. I need a favor, though." he admitted with almost a pleading tone to his voice. The aspiring investigator nodded his head and accepted. "Anything you guys need Delko."
"I need you to do the processing on the shooting." The young man took on a slightly confused expression.
"I thought Calleigh was supposed to?" There was no hiding the slight ignorance in his attitude. Eric walked over to the door and gave it an acceptable shove closed.
"Look, Reynolds. How do you think she's going to feel logging, documenting and testing the gun that shot Horatio? They both almost died today, so the least you could do is take this off of her hands." Delko had grown easily agitated and it showed.
Reynolds finally nodded in agreement and apologized as he left the room. The fuming CSI ran a hand over his face with a sigh. He began to worry about Calleigh and phoned her.
"Calleigh? It's Eric. Doctor Tyler said he would call when we could come back to visit. We're back at the lab finishing up. Call me back when you get this." He left a message on her voice mail and returned to the conference room where everybody had moved on to paperwork. Nothing was said as he joined the ranks and grabbed a pen.
Just like that. She had turned, and walked away. His heart stung, a familiar bombardment of sadness overcoming him. And just like that chaotic day on the pier,
Marisol was gone again.
Why did I go back? he asked himself again and again. It wasn't fair to him at all. Even though the reasons to stay were obvious to everybody else, they weren't to him in the slightest bit. Suddenly, he became aware of dulled conversation and the putrid sanitary smell of a hospital. The darkness became lighter and his eyelids felt as if they were glued shut. When his crystal blue eyes fluttered open at last, he caught the eye of a nearby RN and she greeted him with a smile.
"Welcome back Lieutenant Caine."
TBC