Chapter 10 – Ashes, ashes we all fall down

Wednesday afternoon, 3:55 pm

A much calmer Horatio was in the Hummer, heading for the bookstore to see Emily on her dinner break. He had had a long chat with Alexx. Typical of her, she had coaxed the whole story out of him, listened carefully, then sat back and smiled at her friend.

"It looks like someone has finally found the key to open the door of that prison cell you built for yourself Horatio. The question is, are you going to come out and enjoy your freedom?"

"Alexx, I tried … Emily is a free spirit … sooner or later she is going to resent all the … limitations that come with a … relationship with me."

'Don't you think she should have a say in this relationship as well, Horatio?' Alexx had asked, arching her eyebrows at him.

"What if I can't protect her?" he had countered softly.

"She's lost a spouse Horatio, and gotten through it. She sounds like she's … capable of looking after herself. And, though you want to protect her, you have to accept that she may not want protection – and respect it." He had looked away from her, staring unseeing out the window.

Drumming his fingers on the steering wheel while he waited at the red light, Horatio knew Alexx was right. He just wished he knew how he was going to accept it and not go crazy with worry in the process. The ringing of his cell a moment later brought him back to the present. Answering it with the hands free option, he heard Emily's voice, caught the word Fire and then could make out nothing but the sound of her coughing.

Once back inside the pet shop, Emily went to the bird cages and opened the doors. She had no idea if the birds would leave their cages and fly out of the shop, but she needed to give them a chance to escape. It was getting harder and harder to see in the smoke. She went to the hamsters and gerbils next, feeling her way around the cages to the handle at the top of each one.

"One, … two … three … four." She counted under breath and quickly carried them to the door and opened it, setting the cages onto the sidewalk, hoping the birds would see the open door and make their way out. Emily vaguely heard shouts, but chose to ignore them, slipping inside the store once more. Her throat burned with every breath and she went immediately to the other side of the store where 3 dachshund puppies and 2 kittens were in cages by the windows.

A brief vision of Emily lying lifeless on the floor flashed in front of his eyes before Horatio hit the lights and the Hummer sped up, reaching the book shop a minute later. Judging by the gathering crowd outside the pet shop, he had found the fire. Horatio flashed his badge and made his way quickly through the crowd. He felt the door. It felt warm to his touch and gingerly he opened it just a crack.

"Emily?" he shouted her name, hoping she would appear out of the smoke. When she didn't, Horatio opened the door and went inside the shop shouting, "Emily, where are you? Emily?"

Wednesday afternoon, 4:00 pm.

Emily had taken off her long sleeved shirt, and using it as a sling quickly scooped up the two mewling kittens and put them in the improvised basket. She was moving over to the dachshunds when she heard Horatio's voice. Turning she could just make out his form through the smoke. She saw the fire creeping closer, separating her from the door. She grabbed one puppy and called "Horatio! I'm over here." Turning back to the cage, Emily felt around for the second puppy, finally locating it beneath the shavings covering the bottom of the cage.

He was relieved to hear her voice and started towards her. Where, he wondered, was the sprinkler system? It should have been raining in here by now. Emily was just turning back to the window for the last puppy when Horatio touched her arm. It was all he could do not to take her into his arms right then and there. Instead, he shouted, "We need to get out of here now!" and gave her arm a tug. She was methodically searching the bottom of the cage with her other hand for the last puppy and shook her head.

Her throat raw from smoke, Emily tried to answer him, "Not yet, I need to find the last one."

"Emily, we need to get out of here." Horatio had felt the heat of the flames in front of him and realized their escape route was blocked. He leaned close to her, "Is there another way out, back there?" He pointed to the display window. Finally locating the third puppy cowering in the corner, she pulled it out and tried to add it to her bulging shirt, while answering him with a negative shake of her head. It hurt too much to speak.

Horatio was looking around in the smoky darkness. He couldn't see well enough to get an idea of the layout of the room. The flames were now licking the floor directly in front of their feet. He touched Emily's arm to get her attention and pointed in the direction of the front of the store, motioning her to follow him. Clutching her wriggling shirt full of puppies and kittens, Emily finally realized the danger as she glimpsed the flames flickering in front of them. She focused on Horatio's back and quickly they made it to the front of the store. Their exit was still blocked by the flames however. It was then she remembered the fish tank.

Touching Horatio's back with her elbow, she motioned him to come closer when he turned to look at her. When he leaned his head towards her, she rasped, "Fish tank, water left." He nodded that he understood and quickly felt his way to the left. Sure enough, it was a 100 gallon tank on a stand. He turned back to her, smiling in spite of the danger they were in.

"Good girl. When I tip it over, you run for the door." He sensed she was beginning to tire and was probably getting weak from the lack of fresh air. "You can do it. On three, OK?" He encouraged her. Emily gave him a weak nod, she could feel one of the puppies squirming its way out of her makeshift basket and tried to tighten her grip. She watched as Horatio moved over to the fish tank, put his shoulder to it and counted.

"One, two, three." He shoved with all his might and after teetering just a moment, the tank tipped, sending its contents spilling toward the door. Emily froze.

He looked over at her and saw that she hadn't moved. "Emily!" He reached for her and at the touch of his hand around her waist, her feet at last began to move and they ran side by side across the slippery floor, bursting out into the sunlight just as the first responders arrived on the scene.

Wednesday afternoon, 4:05 pm

Horatio half carried, half dragged Emily through the crowd and across the street to the tree-lined boulevard, his only thought to get her away from the smoke and flames. She needed to be looked at by an EMT. He cast a worried glance at her. She had not said a word, just clutched the wriggling shirt of puppies and kittens to her chest protectively.

"Medic, over here please." He switched over to his crime scene mode, partly due to his training and partly so he could push down the panic he was feeling over seeing Emily's reaction to their escape from the flames.

She was aware of Horatio finding her a spot on the bench in the shade, and gently easing her down on it. He was shouting something, but her brain was too foggy to know if he was yelling at her or someone else. She only knew it hurt to breathe and she was terribly tired. Though she wanted to let go of the puppies and kittens she held, her arms didn't seem to want to unclench themselves from around her bundle.

Easing down on his haunches in front of her, Horatio gently touched her face, tipping her chin up so he could look into those hazel eyes.

"Look at me sweetheart. Look at me Emily. Come on sweetheart." Slowly, Emily's eyes focused as his voice broke through the fog in her brain. She saw those beautiful blue eyes full of worry and concern looking into hers and the numbness began to leave her as reaction set in.

"Let me have your shirt sweetheart. Some people are here to take the animals. You got them out safely. Now let them go get checked out. OK? There's my girl." As he gently eased her shirt from her arms, a small dark head popped out and looked at them. The puppy quickly squirmed away and ran up Horatio's arm to hide in the shoulder of his suit jacket. As he moved to get the puppy, it nimbly turned and ran behind his neck, biting him his nape, as it ran beneath his suit jacket, headed for his other shoulder.

"Ouch!" He could feel the tiny claws through his shirt and once more those sharp puppy teeth latched onto his skin, this time his left ear.

Emily had been watching the whole scene as if on TV but now she began to laugh. She couldn't help it. He quickly glanced at her. She reached over and disengaged the puppy laughing all the while.

"I'm sorry, Horatio. But this bite wasn't my fault." And then as he took the puppy from her, she began to shake. Emily leaned over and put her face in her hands. She couldn't seem to stop shaking. She felt gentle hands lay his suit jacket over her and rub her back soothingly, heard his soft voice say her name again and again, asking her to look at him. Forcing herself to take a few deep breaths, though they hurt, she finally got herself under control and managed to look at him. Horatio was relieved to see her stop shaking, and said softly,

"Emily. Calleigh and Eric are here. I need to go talk to them. The EMT is going to check you out. Can you tell me what happened?" Her throat was parched and she could barely talk. "I'll be right back." Horatio disappeared and quickly returned with a bottle of water. "Little sips, now." And he held it up to her lips as if she were a child. Emily took a small sip and another before he set it down, picking up one of her hands and squeezing her fingers. The gesture reminded her of their car ride home from the beach last Sunday and she had to blink back tears. With her eyes on their linked fingers, she began,

"I… I went in … to get cat treats for … Mrs. Jenson ... Mr. Green …. Mr. Green …" she faltered, remembering how he had looked lying on the ground. She felt Horatio squeeze her fingers again, and she swallowed. He offered her some more water and received a small smile in return.

"You found Mr. Green lying on the ground, where?" he asked her, helping her get back her train of thought. She frowned. "By the door to the grooming salon in the back of the building," she remembered. "And then I smelled smoke. I didn't … it was coming under the grooming salon door… I didn't see a … fire extinguisher… I pulled Mr. Green up to the front door. But I couldn't remember if I was supposed to open the door." She began to relive the experience and he squeezed her hand and soothed,

"Hey, you did great Emily. I'm going to see how Mr. Green is doing in a moment. But you were very brave and probably saved his life. Look at me sweetheart."

Emily looked at him, seeing the soot in his hair and on his face. His blue eyes were bright and she said, "I want very much to go home, take an hour long hot shower, drink a very large iced coffee and curl up under my comforter with those blue eyes of yours." Her hands flew to her suddenly hot cheeks, "You didn't hear that?" she asked hopefully. "My voice is kind of croaky. Maybe I meant to say 'blue isles of York'?" Judging by the rising blush in his cheeks, he did hear it.

"Loud and clear sweetheart. We'll discuss sleeping arrangements later." He looked at her a moment and dropped a gentle kiss on her surprised mouth, murmuring, "I'm going to find Eric and Calleigh. I'll send the EMT over to check you out. Be right back, sweetheart."

Wednesday afternoon, 4:20 pm

Across the street, Calleigh had been watching her boss and the woman on the bench. She hadn't been able to get a real good look at her, Horatio was keeping himself between her and any prying eyes. She smiled to herself as she saw him hold the woman's hand and kiss her. "I told you Eric. Look! I bet that's her!" She nudged Eric in the ribs, then quickly set about her work as she saw her boss turn and head towards them.

Emily watched as Horatio walked across the street to where his team members were beginning the long job of gathering evidence. His sunglasses had been around his neck the whole time and now he slipped them on as he went over to talk to Calleigh and Eric. His white shirt was singed a bit, and his hair was filled with soot. He had pushed his hands through it, only standing it more on end. He walked confidently, his badge clipped to one side of his waist, his ID and weapon on the other. The sight of the weapon made her shudder. She would never get used to guns. An EMT arrived and began to ask her questions and she lost sight of Horatio. As he looked her over for burns, she tried to find out where the puppies and kittens had been taken.

Horatio filled his team in on what he knew from his interview with Emily. While sketchy, they had some details, and he would make sure she came down to give a statement as soon as she was able.

"What was it like in there Horatio?" Calleigh asked, wondering if he would volunteer any information about the mystery woman. "Lots of smoke. Sprinklers never came on while we were in there. That will be something to look at Eric." Eric nodded and Calleigh's eyebrows went up at the word we. "Did you get hurt Horatio?" she asked, noticing several angry red marks on his nape and ear. He chuckled, "Just someone's way of saying 'Thank you' for rescuing them," he said mysteriously, changing the subject to more mundane crime scene matters.

Forty-five minutes later, Emily saw him start back over to where she sat. The EMT had checked her out and found nothing more serious than some minor burns and her sore throat and eyes. He had given her salve for the burns and drops for her eyes. She had refused his suggestion of going to the hospital. The next thing she did was find her cell phone in her pocket and call Jean. She hadn't seen Sally and Emily was hardly in any condition to close the store. A quick call revealed Jean was at the store, Sally having called her when Emily didn't return from her errand.

"Em, I've been so worried. Are you ok? Where are you? Do you need anything?"

"Slow down Jean," she said wearily. "I'm across the street on a park bench. It's a really long story. I'm OK. Was there any damage to your store?"

"No, nothing bad. We had some things fall down and there's a smoky smell inside. I'm trying to find out now how we get rid of it. We may need to close down for a day or two."

"OK by me, Jean" she said. "Oh, I need my bag and my laptop. Can I stop by and get them before I go home?"

"Of course, but Em, you're not walking home, surely?"

"I doubt Horatio would go for that, Jean." Emily said, much to Jean's delight. "However, I'm too exhausted to fight with him. I just want to go home and have a shower and crawl under my comforter and sleep for a week."

"OK, I'll be here another 30 minutes or so. Em, did you two make up?"

"We didn't even have a chance to talk about it Jean. I'll let you know. Bye."

Emily hung up just as Horatio reached her.

"So, the EMT tells me you refuse to go to the hospital." She nodded. "You should get checked out, Emily."

"Horatio, I'm fine, I'm just so tired. I just want to go home and have a hot shower and go to bed and try to forget about this day."

"Emily, you need to go to the hospital." His voice told her there would be no arguing with him.

"No Horatio!" Emily began to panic. The mere thought of a hospital was frightening. She didn't want to explain to Horatio the reason for her fear, but she knew if he made her go, she would probably become hysterical. He was watching her through narrowed eyes, twisting his sunglasses in his fingers. She looked away from him, at her feet, the ground, anywhere but those all too knowing eyes,

"What are you frightened of, Emily?" he asked her quietly.

"I just don't like hospitals," she muttered, still not looking at him. "I'll make an appointment with my doctor tomorrow and go to her," she suggested, looking up at him, hoping he would accept her compromise. Horatio regarded her thoughtfully for some moments. "OK, deal. However, I'm staying with you tonight." He put his hand up as she began to protest. "Either me or the hospital. Pick your poison." The look in his blue eyes dared her to say anything further.

"Hmmm… you would know all about those. Personally, I've always thought hemlock was kind of romantic. Of course, it is quite effective also. By the end of Hamlet, just about everybody is dead. Maybe that would be some good bedtime reading after the day I've had. How's your Shakespeare?" Emily looked up at him. "Oh, I need my laptop and my bag from the store. Jean has them ready for me to pick up."

"OK, I'll be right back."

She watched him walk away and sighed. Not exactly the way she had imagined their first night spent together. Sooner or later he was going to find out her secrets. It was just a question of when.