Down to One
Author: NotasboredasIlook
Rating: M for profanity, violence and adult situations.
Disclaimers: CSI: Miami and the characters belong to CBS and Jerry Bruckheimer and they have far more time and money than I do. I'm just using the products of their genius for nonprofit fun.
Category: DuCaine. Angst/Drama/Romance
Summary: Her heart was the traitor.
Timeline: CSI: Miami Season 8 through "Bad Seed." After that I take our team in a different direction. No Kyle in Afghanistan and no more Delko and Calleigh rendezvous'. This is a continuation from "Her Dark Life." If you haven't read that, you may get a bit lost. There will be a minor reference to S7's "Smoke Gets In Your CSI's."
Status: Work in progress.
Chapter 10
It didn't matter how many times he watched it, the end result was the same.
Ryan pushed the pause button in the video playback program and leaned back in his chair. Vigorously rubbing his face, he glanced at his watch, noting the early hour and debating on whether or not it was worth it to go home when he would have to be back in the office soon anyway.
He had started examining and breaking down the courtroom security footage about mid-afternoon yesterday and hadn't left the AV lab since, with the exception of coffee and corresponding restroom breaks.
Leaning forward again, he ran his hand over the touch-screen computer and rewound the video. He yawned and stretched, working the kinks out of his neck, then he returned his focus back to the large screen. Reaching over, he pressed "PLAY."
He didn't expect to see anything new. What he had already seen was tragically disturbing enough. But still, Ryan's OCD had kicked in with full force sometime after midnight. His own mind wouldn't let him rest until the information from the video was properly logged and his report was finished.
Once again, his eyes watched Jenna Landon burst into the courtroom, surrounded by the press. Once again, he watched the shock and dismay on Gwen Landon's face as several uniformed officers tried holding her enraged daughter back. Once again, he watched Horatio and Calleigh simultaneously rise from their seats at the exact same time that Jenna produced a gun.
Once again, he watched the muzzle flashes from the firearm as a 16-year-old girl haphazardly began to open fire on a room full of people.
And once again, he watched a young deputy take a bullet in the neck as he desperately tried to save the life of Ryan's boss.
Kramer didn't look like much of a cop. He wasn't very tall and of an average build. Seeing him in the earlier moments of the incident, he did not appear too intimidating. In fact, his stance was so relaxed, he looked positively aloof.
"Then again, he didn't know he was about to die," Ryan thought morbidly.
The CSI sighed and paused the video again, freezing it as Kramer and Horatio hit the ground. While it appeared by all counts that Kramer had died a hero, Ryan didn't know how comforting that would be to his had informed him that the deputy had gotten married six months ago. His wife was now three months along with their first child – a child that would never know his or her father.
If Kramer hadn't acted, then he would have most likely survived. But Horatio Caine – the boss and mentor Ryan admired more than anyone else in his life – would be lying on a table in the morgue instead.
For a split second, Ryan was relieved that the situation was what it was. And he felt like the world's biggest asshole for it.
He reached up and pressed play again, resuming the events of the video. He watched people scatter as several cops try to disarm Jenna as she continued squeezing the trigger. He watched Gwen Landon be thrown back against the desk as she took a round to the chest. He watched the judge slump over the bench as the next bullet hit him in the face.
Melee. Chaos. Anarchy.
"No matter what names you put on this," Ryan thought as he pushed pause again, "it all ends in tragedy. All in a matter of seconds."
He toggled forward, the next few frames showed officers continuing to struggle with the teenager. The video showed another muzzle flash, and Jenna slumping down.
Ryan stopped the footage once more. Natalia's report stated that MDPD Officer John Awkin was the one who shot and ultimately killed the girl, ending the lethal insanity unleashed in the small room. The look on the uniformed officer's face reflected the internal conflict he must have been going through as he ended the life of someone so young.
All of these things – these images – were troubling to Ryan, but he was able to keep the events in perspective. The courtroom was a crime scene. This video was evidence.
What he was having trouble separating himself from was an issue concerning the slender, blonde figure at the bottom of the screen.
Resolving this to be the last time, Ryan rolled the video back to just before the shooting started. Calleigh and Horatio sat in the second row as Jenna burst into the courtroom. They both stood as Jenna began shouting at her mother. As Horatio began to move forward toward the girl, Calleigh drew her firearm.
But when Horatio and Kramer went down, Calleigh froze. And for the next few seconds, as chaos and death ensued, Ryan's friend and co-worker stood unmoving, her firearm gripped tightly in her hand.
Ryan stopped the video again, this time shutting down the program and ejecting the disc. Anyone with half a brain could watch the video and see Calleigh never had a clear shot of Jenna. There was no way she could have stopped what had happened.
Unfortunately, the fact still remained: She froze in the midst of a shootout, one where she very easily could have been killed. Ryan held the silver disc in front of him, examining its glossy surface intently.
"Something caused Calleigh to freeze," he thought. "But that won't be the worst of her problems if IAB gets a hold of this."
He glanced at his watch again. It was nearly 6:30 in the morning. Torn between duty and loyalty, Ryan placed the disc in a plastic cover, and put it in his coat pocket. Grabbing his cell phone, he dialed Calleigh's number, hoping that THIS time, she would answer. When he was again greeted with her voicemail, however, he swore under his breath and ended the call.
He needed to talk to Calleigh and Horatio both. And he knew he needed to do it before Stetler came looking for him. If he couldn't get a hold of Calleigh, he would start with Horatio. Perhaps his boss would know how best to handle the situation.
"I hope Alexx hasn't sprung him yet," he thought as he grabbed his coat and headed for the door.
Calleigh and Kyle were asked to relocate to the hallway as Alexx poked, prodded and probed Horatio for 15 minutes. And when she finished interrogating him about Calleigh, she finally began his discharge examination.
"Take a deep breath," she said as she held the stethoscope to his chest. "And when you let it out, tell me when you started looking at my girl like that."
Horatio flinched slightly at the touch of the cold metal and inhaled. He held his breath for a couple of seconds before he released it with a look of complete innocence.
"How … exactly … was I looking at her, Doctor?"
Alexx stood up and grabbed a light pen from her lab coat pocket. Glaring at him, she flicked it on.
"Uh-huh, no you don't," she said, shining the light briefly in each eye to check his pupil reaction. "You know what I'm talking about. You look at her like a kid in a candy store on 'free samples day.' How does your head feel?"
Horatio squeezed his eyes shut and then blinked rapidly as little dots from the light flashed in his vision.
"My head is a little tender, but fine," he said, his eyesight returning to normal. "However, you're going to have to explain that candy store analogy to me, Alexx."
Alexx sat down on the bed next to him. Pointing to the door, she fixed her eyes on his.
"You know: Like you want everything you see. Your eyes practically jumped out their sockets and followed her out that door," she reprimanded. "So tell me, what's going on with you two, because last I heard, you guys were barely talking."
Horatio furrowed his eyebrows in confusion. "When and – more importantly – where did you hear that?"
"I have my sources," she huffed. "Now stop evading the question. I'm not letting you out of here until you give."
Sensing that his friend was going to make good on that threat, Horatio sighed with a smile and leaned back in the bed.
"We're involved," he said slowly, "To be honest, I think it is still as much of a surprise to us as it is to you."
His friend sat silently for a moment, then shook her head and stood up, flipping Horatio's chart closed with a "snap". Walking briskly over to the window, she pulled up the blinds, letting the bright sunlight stream into the room.
In all the years the two had known each other, Horatio was well versed in Alexx's current behavior: She was unhappy … and it puzzled him greatly.
"Something wrong?" he asked, watching Alexx's deliberate movements. "… Or is it that you, you don't approve?"
Alexx turned and glared at her friend.
"It's not up to me to approve and you know it," she said sternly, crossing her arms over her chest.
"Alexx," Horatio murmured, running a hand through his hair. "Clearly, something about this latest turn of events upsets you. And I think I have the right to know why."
She looked away for a moment, before setting the chart down and sitting down in a chair next to his bed. She folded her hands together, put her elbows on her knees and leaned forward.
"Look, you and Calleigh are my dearest friends and I love you both," she responded in a low voice. "But … but I know how you are. And I hope that you've both thought this through because I would absolutely, positively hate to see either of you get hurt. Again."
Before Horatio could respond, Alexx put her hand up to stall him.
"Baby, I know what you are about to say, so let me stop you right there," she said, using her patented "mom" voice. "You are a wonderful man, but you quickly become invested in people who are in trouble. Victims, family members, friends …" her voice trailed off. She sat up straight and leaned back in her chair, never breaking eye contact with her friend.
"It's an admirable trait, and it is one that makes you who you are. Now, I know Calleigh has had a rough year between being injured in the fire, Eric leaving and whatever the hell it was you two were at odds about. That's a lot for anyone to have to deal with."
Shocked by what he was hearing, Horatio stared at her. "What are you saying?"
Alexx sighed. "I'm saying that I would hate it if you got involved with Calleigh simply out a misdirected urge to protect her. So now I'm asking: Are you sure you know what you want from her? Because if you don't, this whole thing could end very badly."
Horatio took in her words and truly considered what she was saying. Alexx was right about several things: Both he and Calleigh had been hurt in the past, though they both had very different ways of dealing with that kind of pain. It was also true that he had felt very protective of Calleigh when she was struggling recently. She needed support and he had been determined to give it to her.
"I … I don't know, Alexx," he said, shaking his head. He paused and looked out the window, remembering the swell of emotion he had felt the night before when he had woken up to the feel of her warm body in his arms and the smell of her perfume in the air around them. It was true that he was protective of people when they couldn't help themselves …
But with Calleigh it was different.
"I don't know … why I never saw it before … HER before," he said as he turned his face back to Alexx. "But I know now, and I can tell you that I have never been so sure of anything as I am of this: Calleigh makes me feel alive again in a way I never thought possible. I'm happy with her, more than I ever thought I could be."
A smile spread across his face as he watched Alexx's eyebrows rise higher and higher.
"I want her to be as happy as she makes me. I'm … I'm in love with her, Alexx."
After a brief silence, the doctor reached over and took Horatio's hand.
"Well, it is hard to argue with that," she said, a knowing grin forming on her face. "Now, let's see about getting you out of here."
Calleigh dug into her pockets and pulled out a ponytail holder. Finger-combing her blonde locks, she swiftly pulled the fabric-covered elastic around her hair twice before releasing it with a sigh. From her other pocket, she pulled out her cell phone and turned it on. The display quickly lit up: 28 MISSED CALLS. NEW VOICEMAIL(S).
"Oh boy," she whispered, filling her cheeks with air and slowly exhaling. "This isn't good."
Hitting the button to play her messages, she pressed the phone to her ear and leaned against the wall. She stood that way, unmoving as she listened to the voices of Stetler, Ryan, Frank, Stetler again, Jesse, Stetler a few more times, Alexx, Natalia, her father, Walter, her brother, Stetler, Stetler and even more from Stetler.
"This is the last time I'm calling Detective Duquesne," his angry voice reprimanded her. "We need to talk ASAP. You are a witness to a crime scene and you are ignoring protocol. You are not to respond to any callouts until you meet with me. As of right now, there is an APB out for you, so I suggest you come in before I authorize the first officer who spots you to drag you into my office … in handcuffs if necessary."
Calleigh rubbed her eyes. That last voicemail had been made around 3 a.m. She had received another call from Ryan about a half-hour ago, but he didn't leave a message.
She kicked herself for not calling and checking in with the rest of the team. Listening to their messages, there was no doubt they were worried about her. However, if she had called in, it would have put them in Stetler's crosshairs and she didn't want to involve them in any IAB fallout that was about to come down on her head.
"You okay, Calleigh?"
Calleigh turned her head to see Kyle approach, three steaming cups of coffee in his hand.
"I forgot to ask how you take it so I brought a little of each," he said as he handed her a Styrofoam cup, a packet of sugar and a packet of creamer.
She smiled gratefully at the young man, and opened the packet of sugar, dumping into the dark brown liquid.
"Thank you Kyle," she said softly. "I have a feeling I'm definitely going to need this today."
Kyle watched Calleigh take a slow sip of her drink. Even though they both had slept, she still looked very tired … and sad. He took a drink of his own coffee and leaned against the wall next to her.
"I think Dad is chomping at the bit to get out of here," he said. "If the doctor doesn't release him soon, he may arrest her."
Calleigh chuckled. "Oh, I don't know about that," she laughed. "He and Alexx go way back. She can hold her own with him."
"Kind of like you, huh?" Kyle replied as he took another drink. "How long have you and Dad worked together?"
Calleigh looked down, remembering that infamous day so many years ago with a distinct fondness.
"Since late '97," she said, her eyes fixated on her coffee. "It's been a long journey for both of us … but I'm very glad to be on it with him."
Kyle glanced at her and then looked away. He debated asking her if she was, in fact, romantically involved with his father, but then thought the better of it.
"That's a talk I should have with Dad first," he thought, recalling the way he found them the night before.
They sipped their coffees in comfortable silence while they waited for Alexx to finish examining Horatio. Kyle quickly finished his drink and threw the cup away.
"I was thinking about interning with the M.E.'s office again," he said as he stretched his arms above his head. "Dad said Dr. Lohman is a smart guy. Do you think I would have a shot?"
Calleigh smiled, thinking back to a conversation that taken place many months ago.
"Horatio told me you were thinking about a career in medicine," she said. "Tom is a good guy. A bit quirky, but definitely a good guy. And I understand he's an excellent teacher. I'd be happy to put in a good word for you, if you want."
"Thanks. I'd really appreciate it."
"It'd be nice to have you back at work."
Kyle looked around for a moment, then held the remaining coffee out at Calleigh.
"Can you hold Dad's coffee?" he asked. "I need to … uh …"
Calleigh glanced over at the nearby men's restroom and grinned.
"Sure thing," she said as she took the cup.
As Kyle walked away, Calleigh opened the door to Horatio's room gently so as not to spill the hot coffee in her hands. The drape was still pulled, and she wondered if Alexx was finished with her examination yet.
She was about to announce her presence when she heard Alexx talking.
"I'm saying that I would hate it if you got involved with Calleigh simply out a misdirected urge to protect her. So now I'm asking: Are you sure you know what you want from her? Because if you don't, this whole thing could end very badly."
Calleigh stopped cold at Alexx's words. It didn't take a rocket scientist to understand what the subject of conversation was, and Calleigh held her breath, weighing the magnitude of the posed question. The sound of her heartbeat thrumming in her ears almost drowned out Horatio's soft response.
Almost.
"I … I don't know, Alexx."
Confusion flooded her mind and heart. Stunned, Calleigh waited for him to say something – anything – that would make up for his previous statement.
But she was met with silence.
She backed out the room quietly. When she was safely on the other side of the door, she leaned her head against the wall and closed her eyes. Dropping the coffee onto the floor under her, she wrapped her arms around her midsection. Hurt and disappointment battled for supremacy in her mind as she felt her heart shatter into little pieces.
Just a short time ago, they were asleep in each other's embrace. She could still feel the warmth of his lips on hers from their kiss the night before.
She couldn't understand what had suddenly changed or why it had, but she knew all to well what would happen next.
This was a place she had been far too many times: Peter, Jake, Eric …
"I am so stupid," she berated herself, the familiar feeling of abandonment taking root deep within her. "I should have known. Why do I keep doing this to myself?"
Struggling to maintain control, she took a few deep breaths. Amid the screaming questions from her inner voice, she became cognizant of the sound of a ringing cell phone.
Working purely on autopilot, Calleigh took her phone out, holding it to her ear.
"Duquesne," she said, her voice flat and hollow.
"Finally Detective," Rick Stetler's deep and angry voice growled through the phone. "I don't know where you are, where you've been or what you're doing, but if you are not in MY office in the next half hour, you can consider yourself suspended without pay pending an internal review. Do I make myself clear?"
At any other time, Calleigh would have told Stetler to shove his threats where the sun didn't shine. Now, however, she couldn't find the motivation to fight with him.
Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Ryan approach.
"Crystal clear," she said before ending the call.
Pushing away from the wall, Calleigh turned and started walking toward her alarmed co-worker.
"Calleigh, where the hell have you-"
She walked past him without so much as a glance back.
"I have to go deal with IAB," she said loudly. "Can you give Lieutenant Caine a ride?"
"Wait a minute," he called out. "I need to talk to you."
Ignoring his plea, Calleigh rounded the corner and was gone. Bewildered and torn between following her and doing as she asked, Ryan finally opened the door to Horatio's room. He stepped in just as Alexx pulled the ceiling drape back.
"Well, hey there Sugar," she greeted him warmly. "What are you doing here?"
Horatio finished buttoning his shirt and looked up at his CSI. Ryan looked perplexed and smiled awkwardly at Alexx. Before he could respond, Kyle re-entered the room.
"Where'd Calleigh go?" the young man asked as he looked around. "She was here a minute ago. Why is there coffee all over the floor out there?"
Ryan put his hands in his pockets and looked at his boss. "Uh, she just left. She asked me to give you a ride, H."
Horatio and Alexx exchanged looks of confusion. Standing up, Horatio looked at his son and then back at his subordinate, his blue eyes narrowing in concern.
"She left?" he asked. "Where did she go?"
"Headquarters," Ryan responded with worry. "She said she had to deal with IAB. She was pretty upset."
Horatio frowned, wondering what had happened in the short amount of time that they had been apart. He picked up his suit coat and shrugged it on.
"H, I think we should go after her," Ryan urged. "She shouldn't go before IAB alone."
Horatio took his sunglasses out of his coat pocket.
"I would agree, Mr. Wolfe," he said, sliding the glasses on his face. "Let's go."
I hated the way the show took out Rick Stetler so I will definitely have my way with him. ;)
Thanks so much to my reviewers. You guys are so awesome. You don't know how much you really motivate me. :D