Mind of a Fanatic
Chapter 10
What were they saying? Who are they? Why are they touching me? Oh dear God, they're hurting me. Get away from me! Calleigh panicked and thrashed with all her might, which in her weakened state wasn't much, knocking aside the trauma center staff. One attempted to get her free wrist into a restraint. Calleigh screamed. Suddenly, a warm, calm, familiar voice rose above the din.
"Step away from her immediately; you're scaring the hell out of her!" Alexx commanded, fierce protectiveness making hers a tone no one wanted to argue with. She approached a whimpering and shaking Calleigh. Ever so gently she reached out and stroked the younger woman's cheek. "Calleigh, baby, open your eyes. It's ok. You're in the hospital. Take it easy."
Calleigh opened her eyes to see Alexx's kind face. "Alexx."
"That's right, baby girl. You're going to be alright now," Alexx said her voice a soothing balm. Her educated physician's eyes took in her friend's condition and she was sickened by what she saw; what Dupree did to her. "You sure put up a fight just now."
'I'm sorry; I panicked. I didn't hurt anyone, did I?" Calleigh whispered. She knew she should feel bad about her behavior, but she didn't. Hadn't anyone told those people what she went through? Didn't they know not to grab and twist and pull? Didn't they know that it was agony to just breathe?
"No, Calleigh, you didn't. But I don't think they expected you to fight with them. They're a trauma team and should have known better. Are you better now?" Alexx asked, seeing the pain in Calleigh's eyes.
"No; I think I made it worse. I know my…my…"
"Sh-h-h, I'll get the doctors. Try to relax now." Alexx said, moving out into the corridor. She leveled a steady gaze at them. "Ms. Duquesne is calm and perfectly rational, no thanks to any of you. You frightened her badly, she panicked and that's why she fought. Understand that this woman has been kidnapped, held in restraints, tortured and beaten. For her sake as well as your own, be gentle with her; talk to her and tell her what you're doing. If she knows what to expect she'll remain calm."
"Doctor Woods, since you know the patient, will you stay and keep her calm?" Doctor Evans asked. He rubbed at an already blackening eye. He was rather young and it was his first trauma center rotation.
"I'll stay with her as long as I'm welcome." Alexx replied. "You better put something on that eye."
My fault; this is all my fault. Horatio paced outside the trauma center doors, Calleigh's screams still echoing in his ears. Calleigh said she doesn't blame me but I blame myself. It was my watch and now she's beaten and broken and in a level of pain that I can't even begin to imagine.
He sat on the hard plastic seat and put his head in his hands.
"She'll be fine, Horatio. She's too stubborn to be anything else but fine." Frank said, sitting next to him and holding out a cup of coffee. "You're still blaming yourself, aren't you?"
"I can't help it, Frank." Horatio took the coffee, sipped and grimaced at its bitterness. "How can I not feel responsible?"
"Well, you didn't beat the living hell out of her; Dupree did that. The fact that that bastard had to hit you from behind tells me that deep down he's a coward. He beats up on women, for Chrissake. Only a coward would ever raise a hand to a woman." Frank said, trying to ease Horatio's conscience. He had no idea how badly Calleigh had been hurt, but the trauma team had been working on her for a long time. He looked up as Alexx exited the doors.
"How is she, Alexx?" Horatio asked, rising and going to meet her.
"I'm not going to lie, Horatio; she's not good. That son of a bitch really did a number on her; I'm glad found her when you did, he nearly beat her to death." Alexx steered them back to the chairs and sat down. "She lost a good deal of blood and is very weak. Dupree managed to dislocate her right shoulder and nearly dislocate every major joint and he broke three of her ribs. She has bruises, abrasions and contusions over most of her body. Her back has been torn open. The gashes are long but shallow. She won't need stitches, but there may be some scarring. It's too early to know if she has any internal injuries, but I'll bet my paycheck for the next year that there are. She's got a long road ahead of her, but she'll heal."
"She was lucid at the crime scene, but she was screaming in there. What happened?" Horatio asked in a tight voice.
"They scared her; she panicked and gave a doctor a black eye. She'll be fine; the doctor's ego, not so much." Alexx allowed a small smile to cross her lips. ""Although with a wake-up like that, I'd suggest that one of us in with her for the next couple of days just so she won't wake up alone in an unfamiliar place and panic again."
"I'll take the first shift." Horatio volunteered. "She was taken on my watch; I'll stay,"
"Now Horatio, you haven't slept since Friday. You need to go home and get some rest." Alexx said reasonably, knowing it would get her nowhere. "You're no good to any of us unless you close those eyes for a few hours."
"I'm still taking the first watch." Horatio replied in a quiet but firm voice that dared Alexx to contradict him. "I'll sleep in the chair."
Eric, after spending hours in Fingerprints printing every torture device from the chamber, entered DNA to bring his findings to Natalia. No one except Dupree had touched anything. His grimies were all over them. It made Eric sick. Five minutes, just give me five minutes with that guy.
He opened the door and his greeting died on his lips; Natalia sat at the lab table, head hanging and shoulders shaking. She had just begun processing the whip with Calleigh's blood on it.
"'Talia," Eric stepped up behind her and placed his hands on her shoulders. "It's ok."
"No, it's not. I started to process the whip," She turned to him, eyes puffy and red. "It's not just blood; there are bits of skin imbedded in the joints between the metal and the leather. Calleigh's blood, Then I looked over at your shirt and pants and I just couldn't take it."
She broke down in tears.
"I know. This one is personal. Evidence isn't just evidence here." Eric pulled her into a hug. "Calleigh is one of ours and although she still has her own voice, we need to let the evidence back her up. Believe me, every time I printed one of those….things, I got sick to my stomach just thinking of Dupree using them on Calleigh. I just want five minutes alone with him."
Natalia had never heard his voice so filled with rage before. "You two are really close, aren't you?"
"Yeah, yeah, we are. We go back almost ten years." Eric said, a slight smile on his face. "She was the first person I met here after Horatio,"
"From that smile on your face, it's a pleasant memory." Natalia pulled out of his embrace. "Tell me about it."
"H had just finished giving me the tour of Fingerprints and we were just about to go into Firearms when Calleigh came flying out like a bat out of hell. She crashed into us and nearly knocked us over. That was my first look at her; hip length hair, big green eyes all lit up with excitement. She opened her mouth and out came a list of firearms characteristics that made my head spin. She had just gotten a definitive test fire that completely broke the case that she'd been slaving over for two weeks. H introduced us and told me to partner up with her and go get the bad guy. We've been friends ever since."
"Were you, you know, ever more?" Natalia asked. "I don't mean to pry, but I've never seen such a tight friendship between people of the opposite sex before."
"No. We toyed with the idea a couple of years ago, then Calleigh started dating this Homicide detective, John Hagen, and things just fizzled out." Eric said. "They fizzled out too, but Hagen kept his hopes up."
"So, is Hagen still bugging her?"
"No. He'll never bug her again. Listen, don't let Cal know I told you this. Hagen committed suicide in front of her right on her firing range." Eric said quietly. "
That's why she was in DNA when you started here; she had to transfer out of Firearms to cope."
"I wondered about that. She transferred back to Firearms a few months after I started." Natalia nodded, understanding. "No one would tell me why. I guess you don't tell the new kid all the secrets, huh. I won't say a word." She sighed and looked at the whip again.
The shift in mood wasn't lost on Eric. "Want some help, being that you're a trainee CSI and all?"
"Yeah, thanks."
Horatio gazed at Calleigh peaceful features as she slept. The cuts and bruises stood out starkly on her pale features, but at least she was now being taken care of. Hatred for Dupree burned white hot inside him. The only thing that was sharper was his feelings of guilt.
"I'm sorry, Calleigh."He leaned over and stroked her hair. "This was all may fault I should have been more vigilant I should have kept a better watch."
A small sound escaped her lips as her eyes opened a crack. "No, not your fault, Horatio."
"Sh-h-h, rest; don't try to talk, Sweetheart." He said softly. "Save your strength."
Her eyes opened further and she looked around. "Why am I on my side?"
"Because your back needs to heal before you can lay on it. Now didn't I just tell you to not to talk?" he admonished gently. "Go back to sleep."
"That wasn't too bad." She shifted slightly, wincing. "Could I have some water?"
Horatio poured her a cup, careful to place a bendy straw in it before holding the end of the straw to her lips. "Take it slow. If you drink it too fast, it'll cramp your stomach."
She swallowed several times, the cool liquid like heaven in her mouth. It was a huge effort to stop herself. "I'm so thirsty. Dupree wouldn't give me anything to drink or eat. It's not your fault, Horatio. I don't blame you for what happened. Alexx said that he hit you from behind; you couldn't have prevented that. I didn't hear him either; I was just pulling out my firearm when I heard you drop, then he covered my nose and mouth and then I woke up ….there." She shifted again, jarring her right shoulder this time. She let out a small cry.
Horatio jumped up from his chair. "No, Sweetheart, don't do that! What do you need? Let me do it for you. You've been through enough pain already."
"I'm sorry; I was just trying to get a little more comfortable." Tears stood in her eyes.
Horatio took her hand. "Sweetheart, you've been through a lot. Go easy on yourself and rest. "Go on, close your eyes."
"Alright," she said, her eyes already drifting shut.