Title: A Summer to Remember
Part 10:?
Pairing: E/C
Rating: T which may progress to wannabee M
Summary: The summer kicks off with Horatio in the hospital, Calleigh in charge and UST making humidity a thing of the past.
Spoilers: Up to Born to Kill
Disclaimer: Don't own the characters. CBS and the other dolts do. Coast Guard is definitely not mine. Jeff is mine.
NOTE: This hard for me to post. I decided to keep it in two parts instead of the one I originally planned on. The next part will be posted by Wednesday morning. If it is lacking in suspense, I apologize. I found I was not nearly as good as writing this as I hoped. Suggestions are always appreciated. Enjoy.
O-O-O-O-O
The wetsuit clung to him tightly as he stood on deck with other coast guard officers who were wearing ineffective ponchos. Rain drops hit his face like tiny daggers, sharp and painful. He turned away to protect his face, grasping the side as he made his way back into the cabin.
Waves reaching 11 feet were currently posing a problem for the aquatic aspect of the rescue attempt. The coast guard dispatched two helicopters and two boats for other problems, leaving them with two HH-65 Dolphin Helicopters and 4 cutters. The problem was that it was almost too windy for the choppers to be out, and soon, they'd have to go back inland.
In the forty-five minutes since they'd left, nearly everyone had gotten some form of sea-sick. It was a hazard of the job. Still, it was something they could have done without.
"I think we got something!" said the co-pilot from chopper two. She stated the coordinates and all four boats followed course.
Five endless minutes later and Eric let out a breath he didn't know he was holding. He was the only person from his team on the boat, mainly because he was experienced in recovery. But that was the problem. It was recovery, not search and rescue. One of the other coast guard officers threw him a look of curiosity and skepticism. Yeah, I feel that way myself.
"There she is!" yelled the captain, it was like an electrical stimulus to his heart. He could feel his pulse speed up and his breathing grew fast and shallow. His head was pounding relentlessly, something he hoped was a byproduct of the mounting stress.
If Encantador Encantador was considered to be in disrepair ten years ago, it could hardly be considered a sea worthy vessel now. It wasn't completely dark outside as lightening storms littered the seascape miles away. However, he didn't see signs of life on board. At that point in time it started to hit home for him that they might not be okay. That perhaps they were all in over their heads and this whole crazy rescue attempt was the most ill conceived idea in a while.
His breath hitched a little as he thought of Calleigh in that boat, probably sitting there fearlessly, knowing somehow that this would all turn out fine. He didn't want to think about her though. It hurt too much. Little did he know, he'd begun the instinctual process of self preservation days ago. Ever since his cookout, his heart had slowly become gradually more detached from Calleigh, and from reality. He couldn't handle anymore loss or trauma at this point in time.
His mind however, was more than happy to compensate for his heart's shortcomings. As he braced himself against the wall when the boat heaved with another high wave, he quickly analyzed the situation and made mental adjustments to the way he would approach this whole ordeal.
Procedure and protocol. That's what Horatio said when they exited the hummer and boarded the boats. He wanted to ensure that if anything went afoul during this recovery, it wouldn't be because they had something wrong. Eric shook his head at the whole idea.
They were out on boats right before a tropical storm. How could this not go wrong?
"I see someone moving," said the Lieutenant Commander beside him as he peered through his binoculars. That was a feat in itself. Visibility was very poor.
"Alright, we do this now or after the storm, so let's get a move on," said the Captain as the Master Chief prepared to steer them close to the boat. As the two boats rocked back and forth Eric watched the Master Chief frown as he tried to bring them close.
"What are the winds at now?" asked the Captain.
"Dropped off considerably. We're at 23 MPH. Calm before the storm"
"Why don't we try the choppers?" asked Eric.
"We're gonna have to," said the Master Chief. "I can't risk it. No way are we going to get close enough for a boat walk."
Eric frowned. He wanted to get on that boat. He needed to get on that boat.
"Is there anyway you could take us in closer and we could climb aboard?"
The seasoned Master Chief gave him a skeptical smile, one that indicated exactly what he thought of the young CSI.
"Kid, you think you can just hop in and out of that water? You jump in, we ain't fishin' you out."
"Now, now, Master Chief, is that any way to treat a guest aboard our ship?" admonished the Captain. He looked at Eric and gave a commiserative smile.
"I just spoke with Dolphin 1. They're gonna drop down two guys and see what they find."
"Oh God," uttered the Lieutenant Commander at Eric's side. "He's out there. With your girl. She's uh, I think he's got her tied up to something."
"Let me see," said Eric as he grasped the binoculars. Struggling to focus, he saw William Redding looking extremely agitated as he carefully paced back and forth. Calleigh's wrists were tied together and held above her head. No, she was hanging on a hook of some sort by whatever was holding her hands together.
He scanned the boat for anyone else, and he saw the other brother, Mark coming up the steps from the cabin. It looked as though he were pleading with William.
"William Redding, this is the Coast Guard. I am Captain Tate. We need you to put your weapon down."
Eric looked outside as the captain braced himself against the rail, speaking over the PA system. He peered through the binoculars again to see William gesticulate forcefully. Yelling between the two bothers ensued.
Calleigh yelled something and they shut up. Eric couldn't tell what they were saying. But he watched as Mark nodded and went below deck, the re-emerged with Tomika and Dante in tow. Andre followed behind them, holding a gun.
Andre got on their VHF radio and made contact. It was broken and garbled, but still clear enough for them to get the general meaning.
"…take – kids …but get … soon… boat starting sink… don't think… Willie … make it…"
"We need you to put your weapons down before we come aboard."
Andre yelled to William who shook his head forcefully. Calleigh was speaking again but he started yelling at her and she stopped. Andre tossed his gun over board and held his hands up in the air, then put a hand behind Dante to steady him as he wobbled a bit. At least they didn't seem to be putting up a fight. Of course, the only one they really needed to worry about was William.
Eric was getting tired of watching the events unfold. He needed to get on that boat.
As if reading his mind, the Captain looked over at him.
"Okay, Delko, you want to get on that boat? Here's your chance. Your LT wants you to get aboard."
"I thought it was too dangerous."
"We can get you on; I just don't know if we can get you off."
"I'll take what I can get."
"Okay we're going to hook you onto our extendable line, then you get on our catwalk and get across on all fours. Unclamp once you get aboard. Your LT will also be on the boat, as well as two of our guys from Delta Chopper. First, you take the kids, then you get Andre and Mark. As we already figured, he's using Calleigh as a hostage."
"Got it."
"Hey Delko," said the Master Chief as he watched Eric put on a harness.
"Yeah, Master Chief?"
"No time for heroics. You get on, you get off. I ain't bringin' back any bodies tonight."
"Don't worry Master Chief. Not on my watch."
"Ha," he said with a laugh. "Your watch? Kid, this is all about me. Now get the job done. I want to be back in time for desert."
"My pleasure," he said with a smirk. "Captain, thank you for the trip."
"No problem Delko, it's been an honor. We still have contact with Andre and they are fully willing to cooperate. Just keep an eye on William. He's on the edge right now."
"Understood."
Eric mounted the catwalk and held his breath as the boats both swayed and rocked in the waves. Although they'd gone down a little bit, any sort of choppy water made this difficult. This was not choppy water. This was mountainous bursts of wet.
Feeling the tug of his belt on the safety line above him, he let out a slow breath. Half way there, ten more feet to go. He crawled a bit further on the sticky material that helped him maintain his grip. A sharp wave hit his boat broadside, causing it to move closer into the Encantador. He silently thanked God and kept moving, his breathing slow and careful.
Mark was standing at the end of the catwalk, waiting to help him on.
"Sir I need you to step away," yelled Eric.
"I'm just trying to help you man, give me your hand."
Eric got a bit closer and waved off his hand, choosing to hold onto the boat instead.
He looked up just in time to see the two Coast Guard officers land on the ship from their chopper. They nodded to Eric and approached him carefully as the boat tossed about.
"Delko, right?" yelled one of the officers through the torrent of rain.
"Yeah, which kid should we take first?"
"Actually, we'll take them both, we just need to get them harnessed real quick."
Eric looked over to see Horatio also getting on the ship, a little worse for wear, but still making a strong showing. He was on the opposite side with his gun drawn, speaking with Andre who was keeping the kids somewhat shielded from the rain. The two Coast Guard officers walked over to speak to Horatio and Andre, Mark in pursuit.
Glancing over to Calleigh, Eric saw William standing behind her, using her as a shield. She was barefoot and standing on her tip-toes. It looked as though William had raised the hook high enough to where she had to either stay on her toes, or dangle by something that was an excuse for rope.
"Eric, I've already spoken with William. We get the kids, Andre and Mark off, then we can get Calleigh."
"But-"
"Eric," he said sternly. "We only have five minutes tops."
He nodded and assisted the officers as they harnessed the kids. The youngest, Dante, started crying.
"Calleigh!" he yelled, causing her to turn and smile at him warmly. They were too far away for her words to carry through the storm.
Andre grabbed him before he could run across the boat to her. For someone who 'kidnapped' these kids, he clearly had affection for them.
"Stay here little man, we have to get out of the storm and get you back to your parents," said Andre as he bent over Dante, rubbing him on the back.
"Okay Andre, I need you to step into the harness," said Eric as he waited for Andre to step through the harness on the ground.
"Are we leaving by the bird? I don't do heights man," said Andre as he shielded his eyes from the spotlight shinning on them.
"No, you and Mark will be joining us on the boat, this is a safety precaution" said Horatio steadily as he watched one of the coast guard officers, LT. Davis, grab the line hanging from the helicopter.
"This is what's going to happen. I'm going to take Dante up with me and my partner is going to take Tomika," motioning to the other officer, who was strapping herself to Tomika and preparing to go up. "After that, we'll take off and Dolphin 1 will move into position to provide cover."
"Understood. We'll try to move Andre and Mark over to my boat."
The group braced themselves as another wave came over the starboard side, which was slowly being approached by Horatio's boat. The officers on board dropped the bridge over, and prepared for the arrival of Andre and Mark.
Tomika, who had been silent since their arrival, started to yell as Dante was separated from her and was attached to LT. Davis. As they begin to rise in the air, Eric watched Dante's small fists tighten around Davis' neck, closing his eyes tightly.
"Tomika, hey," soothed Horatio. "Tomika, your brother is going right up there," he gestured to the helicopter hovering above the boat. "Soon you will go right up with him."
"But, I don't want to go. I just want my mama!" She started to cry as well.
"Tomika, we need you to go with this nice woman and she will take you straight to her."
"Why can't Calleigh or Andre take us?"
"They can't come right now. Ma'am," he gestured for the remaining Coast Guard officer, a Lieutenant JG.
"Tomika? Hey Tomika, my name is Laura, I'm going to attach this to you," she latched a carabiner to the younger girl's harness and watched as LT. Davis lowered the line to the boat from above.
Eric had a precarious journey walking to the bridge and helped stabilize it as Mark and Andre slowly made their ways over. What seemed like an eternity later, Eric finally directed his attention to Calleigh and William, who were talking again, loudly over the noise of the storm raging around them.
Watching Horatio as he approached William from the stern with his gun drawn, Eric mirrored his actions and came from starboard. Before Horatio could start speaking, William grabbed Calleigh by the cheek and said something in her ear, then pushed away, keeping the gun trained on her head and obscured from their aim.
Eric saw that in his other hand, William held the control switch for the hook, which was fed by a thick chain connected to a small crane suspended about 12 feet in the air.
"No closer!" he yelled as they stopped abruptly, in no way wanting to make the situation worse.
A large clap of thunder sounded as it followed a large bolt of lightening. They needed to move fast. Eric and Horatio were still about 10 feet away, but with the way the boat was rocking, the low visibility and the risks involved, both were unable to get a sure shot.
"William, we need to get you and Calleigh off this boat. The storm is already here, and if we wait any longer, we will all go down with this ship."
"Oh shut up Lieutenant!" yelled William. "I don't care what you have to say. I want to know what he has to say!"
Eric froze as William gestured towards him, waiting for Eric to make some articulate response. He'd been watching Calleigh the whole time, who looked like she was about to lose consciousness. She wasn't even reacting much. Rivulets of dark pink were slowly running down her wrists. Was that, was that blood?
He swallowed against the thought and tried to come up with some form of reasoning.
"I don't know what your reasons were for doing this, William, but I imagine you didn't start out trying to do any fatal harm to anyone. Right now, we just need you to put the gun down."
"God what is with you people? Disregard the firearm! Tell me what is WRONG WITH THIS PICTURE!"
"We're in the middle of a storm and you decided to kidnap a bunch of people," returned Eric forcefully.
"No, you moron. Your concern should be the woman in front of me. Look at her, does she look okay to you!?"
Eric and Horatio's gazes both scanned Calleigh, who feeling the attention turned to her, stood up straighter and raised her head towards William.
"Will, I am fine. You need to end this. We need to get off this boat," she said one more time, clearly repeating herself. "Just go with Horatio so they can get you to safety."
"You still don't understand do you?" he said only to her as he turned her completely around to face him, getting more agitated. "I need you to do something for me," he said as he brushed her hair out of her face and looked her square in the eyes. "I need you to tell Mark that I love him, tell Andre too. And I need you to take care of Charlie for me. I need you to make sure he gets out. I need you to tell them what really happened."
"Tell them yourself," she was afraid where this was going.
"You know I can't do that Cal, not with all I've done. I tried to make it up, I really did."
"I know you did, Will, I know," she said quietly. She said something else, but Eric couldn't hear.
"William, I'm coming closer, we need to get you in a harness."
"Stay back!" he yelled as he pulled Calleigh with him. "You stay back!"
Horatio stopped and paused, waiting for William to calm down.
There are actual moments in life when time slows down. When everything seemingly occurs in slow motion. When every heart beat lasts ten seconds and every breath of that sweet fresh air, is like the last.
He watched as William continued to yell, though now Eric couldn't decipher the words. William turned with the gun, Calleigh's gun, in his hand and pointed it at her forehead, then quickly swiveled it around and shot himself point blank between the eyes.
Shock could not even begin describe what they felt.
Before they had time to digest what just happened, Calleigh was suddenly lifted into the air by the hook she was hanging from. Not even giving Horatio or Eric a chance to get a hold on her slippery feet, the crane turned her slightly to leave her dangling over the boat, wobbling back and forth from the momentum of the ferocious waves.
And without so much as a warning, the chain quickly lowered itself into the water, with Calleigh attached. At first she hit a pocket of air, formed by the fluctuating height of the waves. Then another wave swept over her and they lost sight of her.
Without even giving it a second thought, Eric put the safety on his gun and tossed it to Horatio and dove in, ignoring Horatio's protests. Horatio gave the signal to the helicopter to drop another coast guard officer in the water.
Then Horatio began looking for the control switch that William was holding. Searching the deck of the boat, Horatio frowned at the quickly increasing pool of blood forming around William's head. The controller was not in William's hands, nor was it anywhere around his body. A loud clicking sound above him drew his attention upwards, where it had gotten tangled in Calleigh's chain and was jammed in the pulley attached to the crane that raised and lowered the hook/chain contraption. Panic was not an option, but increasing fear certainly was taking over. His two best CSIs were in the water and coast guard had just lowered another officer into the water with a caged looking backboard.
"Lieutenant Caine!" yelled an officer behind him. "We need to get his body and get aboard the boat sir. The helicopter can take her, but we still need to get your other CSI out of the water."
Horatio frowned. He needed to make sure Eric was okay. Jumping in like that was unacceptable. He was glad Eric had a safety vest on at least. Horatio bent at the knees and grabbed beneath William's armpit, mirroring the other officer. They managed to get a harness belt around him and watched as the other officers aboard his boat pulled William's body over.
Horatio followed them over and watched as the officer behind him expertly made his way over. The bridge was quickly withdrawn and Horatio walked to the bow to get a better view of what was going on.
Eric was desperate for air. Upon finally reaching Calleigh, who was submerged and being tugged roughly by the chain, he had to figure a way to get her above the water and undone. The chain that hoisted Calleigh into the air had considerable weight, and even in the salt water, it was not buoyant. The force of the moving boat and the swiftly moving water compounded the issue.
Needless to say, he was having difficulties unhooking her. He was also working twice as hard because he kept his life vest on, using the chain to guide him to Calleigh. As he started pulling at the hook, he realized it was a self-locking hook that was quite rusty and barely moved. He was going to need help in order to free her, or she was going to drown.
Just then he felt something grab his foot and for a moment he was afraid of aquatic terrors like sharks, but then he realized the coast guard officer from Dolphin 1 had finally reached him. The officer waved his hand in a calm way and took hold of the chain that was above water, noting that Calleigh was still below. Eric started to worry. She had only been able to come up for air once and that had to have been over a minute ago.
"I need you to go under when I do and wrap your arm around hers like so," he gestured towards Eric the way it needed to happen. "Keep your other hand on the chain and pull her forwards so we can get some slack. I'll unhook her, but you need to remain holding the chain."
"Understood," Eric yelled.
They both grasped the chain tightly and followed it down to Calleigh's arms, which they both wrapped around with their free arms. Pulling forward with all his might, Eric felt Calleigh's arms loosen as the officer managed on the second try to free her from the old hook. Immediately they surfaced, looking at Calleigh to see if she was alright.
"No time, help me get her to the medevac litter."
They battled the raging waters with all their might, pure adrenaline pushing them on. As they reached the backboard looking device with floaties, they carefully pulled her on and strapped her in tightly. He looked to Eric and motioned for him to attach his carabiner to an accessory line just as he was doing. Eric followed orders and soon felt himself being lifted out of the water, causing him to grab tightly to the Medevac litter.
He was too afraid to look at Calleigh, or anywhere else, so he watched the officer opposite him as he went about examining Calleigh. First thing, the officer used a utility knife and cut the plastic restraint from her wrists, which not only had cut into the skin, but had caused considerable bleeding. Her fingers were blue at the tips from hanging for so long; the lack of circulation to the area was evident. Without thinking he reached out and touched her arm and was surprised at how cool it was, cool and white.
Once they reached the helicopter, the officer swiftly maneuvered them all onto the craft and quickly got to work. First he handed Eric a helmet that had a microphone in it so he could hear what was being said between the officer and the two pilots. Eric was told to shut the hatch, which he quickly did, then moved out of the officer's way.
"Who are you?" asked the officer.
"Eric Delko, CSI, search and recovery."
"Ah, one main difference, mine typically have a pulse," said the officer as he pulled out a plastic bag from a compartment. Inside was a bag valve mask and oxygen tubing. He handed Eric the mask and hooked the tubing to an oxygen canister, giving 15 liters per minute.
"You current on your CPR?"
"Yeah."
"Then get to work," said the officer. "All I need are respirations. We got a pulse, weak but steady. You do that while I take care of the other stuff."
"You got it," Eric put the mask over Calleigh's nose and mouth then squeezed on the bag, thanking whoever deemed it necessary for them to receive CPR training. Last time he did this he was pulling a murderer out of a swamp.
The process of disassociation was thankfully in full swing as he watched the officer, whom he assumed was a medic or paramedic, perform all of these things on his best friend. Not right now she wasn't. To him, she was just another person to save. He couldn't make it more than that right now or he wouldn't be able to handle it.
"What, uh, what are you exactly?" asked Delko as he listened to the pilot and the officer across from him converse.
"Oh apologies. I'm Lieutenant Brian Laughlin. Call me Brian. Been a paramedic for about 12 years now. Can you hand me that?" he motioned for the heart monitor behind Eric.
Eric watched in morbid fascination as he'd been speaking, Brian had cut off Calleigh's shirt and removed it completely, applied the electrodes for a 12-lead, and prepared to get an electrocardiogram. He wrapped a blood pressure cuff around one arm and a pulse oximeter on her finger, to get a read of the oxygen levels in her blood.
"Good, we're getting her O2 stats up. Her airway was stable when I checked. I was really hoping there was no lasting laryngospasm. It's always really messy when I have to intubate."
Brian pulled out what appeared to be an IV start kit and was setting up to start a line in her left arm. For some odd reason Eric could barely watch as he stuck Calleigh's arm, feeling as though he were the one receiving an 18 gauge needle in his arm.
"Her BP is real low. Not sure if she's had any fluids in a while. I may have to start another line in her other arm if it doesn't improve. Hey Dave? ETA?"
"We gotta go around some messy clouds ahead so I'd say another 10 minutes easy."
"Thanks. Delko you doin' fine on respirations over there?"
"Yeah," he said, a little fazed by all the activity around him. He watched as Brian proceeded to cut off Calleigh's soaking wet pants and dry her off with a towel, then use a thermowrap to heat her up as he elevated her legs a bit.
"Okay, I need you to be real still for a minute. Going to try to see if we can get a good read from my monitor over here."
Eric removed the bag from Calleigh's face and watched as Brian pushed a button that started to read her heart activity. Once it beeped and spat out a strip of paper, Brian motioned for Eric to start again with the respirations.
"You know her?" asked Brian.
"Yeah."
"Age?"
"33? I think."
"Does she have any allergies?"
"Not that I know of."
"Medications?"
"Not sure."
"Any medical conditions?"
"Nope."
"Excellent. Okay I'm going to call this in to the hospital, you keep on doing that, nice and steady."
Eric listened as Brian made his report to the hospital, rambling off all the necessary information in order for them to receive Calleigh. They hit an air pocket and the chopper dipped a bit, causing Eric to hold tightly to the side bar beside his head. It was then that Eric realized how bumpy their whole flight had been and how amazing it was that they were actually flying in this weather.
As soon as he finished his report, Eric looked down and saw Calleigh start to cough violently. They tipped her on her left side and watched as dry heaving ensued, which produced very thick saliva, but little else. She definitely hadn't eaten in a while.
"Wow, she already killed my bag. Look at that," gestured Brian to the IV bag which was nearly depleted. He hooked up another bag to the line and transferred the fluids over.
"Go on ahead and take off the mask, she's breathing on her own now. We just need to get this non-rebreather on her."
Eric watched Brian put on another mask that had a small inflated bag attached to the bottom that also had oxygen running through it. Eric watched as her chest rose and fell slowly, only about 10 breaths a minute. He was a little concerned. He knew from first hand experience what hypoxia could do to the brain.
Before he could say anything, he felt the chopper lowering itself onto a pad. He helped Brian put another blanket on her and ensured that none of the tubes would get tangled as they exited the helicopter. Once they opened the doors, he saw two people waiting at the edge of the pad with a transport bed. Ducking so as to avoid the propellers, he climbed out on Brian's instruction and helped transfer Calleigh to the bed.
As they transported her into the hospital, Eric couldn't help but falter. This could qualify as one of the craziest days of his life, and the worst part? He was walking around Miami in a wet suit. Fantastic.
O-O-O-O-O
"She's stable sir, we just need a few more minutes and we'll call you back," said a nurse in dark blue scrubs.
"Thank you ma'am," said Kenwall.
"That didn't take too long, that's a good sign," said Ryan as he continued pacing back and forth.
"Ryan, if you don't stop pacing I will surgically place you in this chair," said Natalia with irritation.
"Since when are you capable of that?" said Ryan as he took the chair next to her.
"I've watched E.R. since the beginning. With all those hours, I'm at least a third year medical student by now," she replied sensibly.
"Right," said Ryan sarcastically. "Remind me to never get injured near you."
Just then, Eric walked into the waiting room adorned in scrubs and hospital slippers. Every one stood and walked to him as though he were the father and his baby had just been born, looking at him like he held some deep secret.
"How is she?" asked Horatio succinctly.
"I haven't seen her since we got here. That Paramedic did a lot of stuff to her when we were in the chopper. She should be alright though, nothing too serious."
"I take it your wet suit is airing out?" asked Natalia, eyeing his scrubs in an odd way. My, my would he give George Clooney a run for his money.
"Something like that," said Eric as thought of the suit hanging precariously from a metal shelf down the hall. "Are we all going to get to see her?"
"Don't see why not," said Ryan as he crossed his arms.
"Ha," said Kenwall. "You don't know her very well do you? When she was 8 she was climbing a tree, retrieving her brother's kite. She jumped down and hurt her ankle. Two days later, she called us from the clinic in town asking us to pick her up. Turns out she'd fractured some of the bones in her foot. Thought she was fine at the time, but it didn't get any better, so she walked the two miles to the clinic to get it looked at. My baby hated people taking care of her, hated all that attention. Just wanted a ride home, and once we got there, she hopped out of the car and did her chores, hobbling the whole time. So, son, odds are, she's going to send y'all home without getting a look at her."
"But we just want to make sure she's ok," said Eric.
"Judging by what the nurse said, she's fine. Trust me. Calleigh won't want y'all back there. She hates for people to see her weak. It's her nature."
Eric shook his head and looked to Horatio who seemed to agree with this. Frowning, Eric saw Jake coming up behind Horatio. Did Duke know about Jake and Calleigh?
"Mr. Duquesne is right," said Horatio, "let's stick around a while longer, then head out."
"What the hell are you doin' here?" asked Kenwall, pointing at Jake.
"Checking on Calleigh," said Jake defiantly. Fantastic. It didn't bode well for Jake if Duke didn't like him. Eric could help but smile, and saw Ryan doing the same.
"Well, she's fine. She'd be even better if you'd let her alone."
Jake looked at him and laughed mirthlessly, muttering "You're not worth it," under his breath. He leaned against the wall, letting his head fall against it as he looked to the ceiling and closed his eyes and sighed. He looked the way Eric felt.
As a breeze passed by him, Eric looked to find Jeff standing to his right, looking a little discombobulated.
"How are the kids?" asked Eric.
"Like they just went on an exciting ride in a helicopter. They were glad to see their parents, but I think they're going to miss Andre. Apparently he made great pancakes in the shape of dolphins."
"And the parents?" asked Horatio. He didn't get a response as their attention was drawn to a PA who came out to get Duke.
"Is anyone else allowed back?" asked Ryan, shooting for it anyway. The PA opened Calleigh's file and scanned the sheet in front of her.
"I'm sorry," she shook her head. "It explicitly states that only her father is allowed back. If it's any consolation, she'll be out by the morning. We just need to monitor for the rest of the night to make sure her airway remains open. Right this way sir," motioned the PA as he walked towards her.
"Sorry, young man," he said with a smile to Ryan as he walked back towards Calleigh's room.
They stood around for a while longer, talking and going over what happened, none of them looking forward to writing their reports. Their spirits were considerably lighter, considering everything had been wrapped up and Calleigh and the kids were fine.
Eric watched from across the waiting room as Jake pushed off from the wall with his arms clasped behind his head. He looked so bad that Eric couldn't help but feel sorry for him. Jake walked back to the wall and returned to his prior position. In what was probably his most magnanimous gesture to date, Eric quietly offered Jake some advice.
"We're all going to head out soon, since Cal doesn't want anyone to come back." Jake didn't respond, just kept his eyes closed. For some odd reason, Eric persisted.
"If I may offer a piece of advice, maybe you should make her some food tomorrow then take off and let her have her time alone. You know she isn't going to want anyone around her when she gets out."
"I'm well aware of what she does and does not want," said Jake forcefully. He sighed loudly and leaned against the wall again, shaking his head. "Look, sorry, I uh, thanks Delko. I appreciate it."
"Yeah. Just treat her right. I'm pretty sure you'd be the most hunted man in South Florida if you don't," said Eric as he looked away when Jake opened his eyes and looked at Eric curiously.
They stood together in silence for a few minutes, until Calleigh's dad emerged to give them an update. He'd finally removed his blazer and rolled up his shirt sleeves, looking a bit more haggard now that the excitement had worn off.
"She's fine. She was pretty dehydrated when they got her here. There's a scratch on her cheek and her arms are a little torn up, but otherwise she's fine."
"Is she talking?" asked Natalia.
"No, not right now. She's really lethargic. In and out sorta. They said they'd release her around 6 a.m. "
"Ladies and gentlemen, let's head back to the lab and get everything straightened out. Eric, you ride with me," said Horatio, his tone of voice not leaving anything to the imagination. He was clearly angry with Eric.
As everyone walked away Horatio remained speaking with Duke, making Eric wait for him like a child. He turned and grabbed his wetsuit, wrapping it over his arm and sighing in frustration. At least Horatio waited for everyone to leave before he tore him a new one.
"Young man, you have a nice night. Thank you so much for your help. Thank you all," said Duke, waving goodbye as they left the floor. Eric took a look around and didn't see Jake anywhere. That didn't mean he didn't sneak back to see her though, and was the most probable conclusion.
"Our pleasure sir, no problem at all."
Walking out to the garage in silence, Delko debated whether he should just lambaste himself so he wouldn't have to listen to Horatio. He didn't have the energy to defend his actions at that point. Just get it out there and be done.
Before they got to the hummer, Horatio stopped and Eric did likewise.
"Is this going to be a problem?"
"Excuse me?"
"You and Calleigh. Is it going to be a problem?"
Eric furrowed his brows, clearly confused. There was definitely no him and Calleigh. "I don't know what you're talking about."
"Suit yourself, Eric. But don't let it interfere with your work. Ever. First thing, you're suspended from diving for 30 days. What you did was incredibly reckless and dangerous. Second, you're now on Ryan detail. He has to be supervised for another month. He is your responsibility at all times."
Eric's jaw dropped. Was H actually punishing him? What was going on?
"H?"
But Horatio didn't stop, he climbed in the hummer and started it up, waiting for Eric to climb into the passenger side. They continued most of the way to the lab in silence, until Horatio broke it with not so great news.
"Tomorrow you'll have to write a report as to what happened specifically on that boat. Come in early and we can go over it so Stetler doesn't walk all over us."
"You think there is going to be an investigation?"
"Jeff told me that Dominic is thinking of pressing charges of negligence against him and Calleigh."
"Are you serious? They did everything right, documentation, notification, you name it. "
"Apparently, that's not good enough. He's still pissed, Eric. We're going to give them a few days to cool off, and hopefully this won't amount to much."
"What about Stetler?"
"You let me worry about him."
They drove off in silence, the tension rather unpleasant. Eric's mind ran over the conversation over and over. What was Horatio talking about? He would have jumped overboard if it had been anyone. It was a reflex. Well, almost anyone. But him and Calleigh?
Him and Calleigh?
Would there ever be such a thing?
O-O-O-O-O
So here's where it splits. Wednesday will give you a play by play of what happened on the boat. Throughout the next few chapters, flashbacks will be incorporated.
I really really hated using a Calliegh in danger! Sort of plot. But the thing is, she's the only one who hasn't really had this (except for that lame episode two from season five). Please go with me on this, it has more of a psychological purpose than anything else. Because let's face it, zombieCalleigh won't just disappear over night. Anyway, thank for reading!