-1Next chapter! This one is longer than the last one, don't worry. It's not violent either. R&R!

Caught

Horatio stood at the large window, looking out at the tall buildings. It had been four hours since Ryan had been rushed to the emergency room in serious condition. He had crashed in the ambulance, and it took everything the medics had to revive him. The doctors had been at work to pull seven bullets out of his side.

Behind Horatio, Eric had finally forced Calleigh into a chair. He attempted to comfort the sobbing woman. "Cal, please calm down. Ryan's gonna be fine, he's tough."

Calleigh looked up, tear stains on her face. "Eric, he was shot seven times! How will he be ok?!"

Eric frowned. "I know this is bad, but you have to believe he will get through it." He knelt down in front of her. "Please, just keep believing he'll be ok. Can you try?"

Calleigh nodded slowly. "Ok, I'll try."

Eric smiled slightly. "Good girl." He stood. "I need to talk to H for a minute, I'll be back." He went over and stood next to Horatio. "H, you ok?"

Horatio nodded slightly, his expression never changing. "It's my fault, Eric."

"H, don't say…"

"Eric, I was the one who put him in that situation, so it's my fault he got hurt." He turned to face Eric, his eyes looking sad. "I'm not losing another member of my team."

Eric was silent for a moment. "H, it was an accident. He was just trying to protect Cal."

"I know, but…" he was cut off when the doors to the emergency room opened. He quickly rushed over to the doctor. "Doctor, how is he?"

The doctor looked calmly between the three CSIs in front of him. "Well, it's been a long, difficult surgery. Mr. Wolfe has suffered severe internal damage, it was difficult to patch him up without causing more bleeding. I won't lie to you, we lost him several times during the surgery."

Horatio nodded solemnly. "Will he be ok?"

The doctor frowned. "As of now, he's in a coma. It…it doesn't look as if he's going to wake up any time soon. His body has a lot of recovering to go through."

Horatio nodded as the doctor turned to leave. Turning to Calleigh and Eric, he frowned. Eric was fighting back his own tears as he held Calleigh, who was now shaking and sobbing uncontrollably. "Calleigh, I'm so sorry."

Calleigh looked up. "It's ok, Horatio." She brushed some tears off her face. "I want to go in and see him now."

Horatio nodded. "Ok." He quietly followed Eric and Calleigh into Ryan's room. Although he had been around death for many years, he was not prepared for what he saw. Ryan lay in the hospital bed, pale as a sheet. He looked lifeless, but they could hear his shallow breathing. He had an oxygen mask over his face, and was connected to more machines than they wanted to count.

Calleigh slowly approached the bed and sat down in a chair next to it. She took Ryan's hand and held it tightly. "Ryan," she started. She quickly put her head down and resumed crying. Eric walked over and put his hand on her shoulder. She looked up at him. "He promised…he promised me nothing would go wrong."

Eric looked down at Ryan sadly. "Cal…he had no control over what happened. He was trying to protect you."

Calleigh nodded slightly. "I know, but…I just wish he was ok." She looked up to Horatio. "I want to stay here with him."

Horatio nodded. "Ok." He walked over to the bed for a moment and stared down at Ryan. "I'm sorry," he whispered. He turned to Calleigh. "Take as much time as you need." He turned to leave, followed by Eric.

Once in the Hummer, Horatio finally spoke again. "We need to run through everything again. The evidence, Todd's interrogation."

Eric nodded. He looked at Horatio, sensing the older man's sadness. "H, Ryan's going to be ok."

"We don't now that…" Horatio started, cut off when his cell phone rang. "Caine."

"Horatio? It's Natalia. The police just called…they caught Elliot Michaels. They're bringing him in."

Horatio smiled slightly. "Thank you." He hung up and stepped on the gas. "We got him."

Eric grinned. "Good." The two men sat in silence as they sped back to the lab.

TBC

Ok, so Ryan's not dead. He's just in serious condition. Read on, my friends, and see what interesting things happen next. Don't forget! I like reviews!