CHAPTER 12: PAIN
When she made it back to the living room, she found her brother lying down on the couch. He looked flushed and in pain, as if he had a fever. She crouched beside him.
-Horatio? Can you hear me?-, she called.
He slowly opened his eyes, struggling to focus his gaze on Flavia. –I'm here. –
-Okay, listen. It's gonna be painful, I'm sorry. I'll try to keep you cool and help you with your spasms. Your bones will readjust themselves in order to be stronger, to support you while you transform. When you wake up, you could find you physique a bit… changed. –
Horatio was barely listening. Instead, he focused all of his attention on forming a precise sentence. –Flavia, I-I want you to… go away w-when I c-change. I don't want to hurt…-
As soon as she understood his meaning, she stopped him mid-sentence. –You're not gonna transform tonight. It's just your human body that's slightly morphing, don't worry. Come morning, you'll be fine. You won't notice anything amiss in you, I promise. –
-Okay. -, he said, exhaling a labored breath. He closed his eyes, wincing in pain. Flavia hurried towards the kitchen, where she retrieved a clean cloth and splashed it with cold water, then returned to her brother's bedside. She started massaging Horatio's arms and neck with the damp cloth and felt him relax beneath her gentle ministrations. His breath was just starting to normalize when he suddenly arched his back, howling in pain through gritted teeth. His movements became violent and jerky, the muscles in his neck tense and swollen.
Flavia was barely able to free Horatio of his shirt that her phone started ringing. She grabbed it from the left pocket of her jeans and threw it open without checking the ID of the caller: her attention was focused completely on her brother.
-Yeah?-
-Hi honey. How are you?-, the voice of her boyfriend sounded terribly cheerful. Flavia gritted her teeth.
-Hi. It's not a good time…-, she replied, hoping her voice would make him realize just how bad the situation was.
-With you is never a good time. -, he reproached her. –You don't start your job until Monday and I'm pretty sure you're not studying… you aren't studying, are you?-
God, what a stupid question! He knows perfectly well that my mind shuts down around eight o'clock in the evening…
-That's not a joke, Jonathan. My brother isn't feeling well. -, she explained, hoping now he would catch on her predicament.
-Oh. I'm sorry. -, he commented flatly. Obviously he had absolutely no intention whatsoever to hang up.
Frustrated, Flavia sighed irritably. As if sensing her distress, Horatio started squirming and moaning.
-Really, Jona, I gotta go. He's not feeling well. -, she pressed on. She was positively desperate.
-Okay. Call me when you're free?-, he asked, hopeful. To Flavia, he sounded like a child asking Santa to visit him on Christmas Day with a lot of presents only for him.
-Sure. Bye. -, she responded without much conviction. She flipped the phone shut and gave her whole attention back to Horatio. He had started trashing rather violently, menacing to fall off the couch.
-It's your damn fault. -, she cursed under her breath, caressing his brother's stomach. She didn't feel so embarrassed anymore, she had done that before, and with a complete stranger at the time. Then, he had bitten her, but it wasn't really his fault. She felt strangely calm thinking that she was offering comfort to another human being, it made her feel useful; she just had to separate off from the particular situation she was in.
She embraced Horatio fully, in order to reach his back without turning his body on the couch. She felt his skin boiling literally under her touch, boiling and blubbing and gurgling. A loud CRACK resonated into the house, making Flavia jump. Oh, God, his bones…!
CRACK, CRACK, CRACK !!
Horatio shouted in pain, rolling and arching his back. He shouted, screamed, yelled, cried out, he was never still. His hair, damp with perspiration, were a darker shade of red, plastered to his forehead. His breath was labored, he inhaled large gulps of air through his mouth in between his laments. And his bones kept cracking with a horrible dry noise.
When she saw blood coming from his mouth, Flavia nearly lost it. Without any rational thought, she called Calleigh. The blonde responded in less than a heartbeat.
-Flavia, is that you?-, she asked without beating around the bush.
-Yeah. Sorry for calling, you left only an hour ago…-, Flavia suddenly felt very stupid, but the feeling didn't last long, for Calleigh interrupted her mid sentence.
-How's Horatio?-
-Not good, Calleigh. Listen, would you mind…?-
-I'll be there in fifteen minutes. See ya. –
While listening to the dead phone, Flavia realized that her decision, even if a bit rushed, was for the better: obviously Calleigh cared a great deal for her brother and her gentle touch had proved to be more shooting then hers when it came to Horatio.
-Shh, baby, Calleigh's on her way. Everything's gonna be alright. -, she murmured while softly wiping Horatio's forehead.
Seven minutes later, the doorbell rang. Horatio was still trashing and moaning and occasionally a bone popped loudly, eliciting more cries. Heaving a sigh of relief, Flavia opened the door for her friend.
-Hi. Thanks so much for coming. –
-Anytime. How's he doing?-
Just then they heard a loud pop. Calleigh shuddered instinctively.
-Was that…?-
-A bone, yes. –
-Oh God…!-
Flavia led the blonde towards the living room. Calleigh's heart skipped a beat at the sight. Bare-chested and glistening with perspiration, Horatio lay brokenly onto the couch. His delicate features were distorted by pain and his flash looked as if it was going to explode.
-What…-, Calleigh cleared her throat. –What's happening to him?-
-His bones are breaking and strengthening before reassembling themselves. They are going to have to sustain more weight and muscles. –,Flavia explained, gulping.
-What can I do for him?-
-What you did at the hospital should be enough. I noticed your touch seems to calm him down. –
Calleigh flushed a lovely pink, but squatted beside the white leather couch and started rubbing Horatio's arms with vigor. Together, the two women gave Horatio all the support he needed, effectively acting as members of his pack.
Through his hallucinated state, he could feel his pack's presence, and that comforted him immensely, lessening his pain. His sensible nostrils caught two scents, both familiar but so very different. One of the women, for they were two females, smelled like family, while the other one smelled of vanilla, of honey, of everything sweet and loving. She smelled like his Alpha counterpart.
Horatio growled, rolling onto his stomach. Flavia instantly recognized the signs of sexual excitement, so she blocked Calleigh's hands. The older woman looked at her questioningly.
-That's enough, I think. Look, now he's sleeping, and he's rather quiet. –
Calleigh conceded her that point, but when Flavia suggested she go home she refused firmly.
-I'll spend the night, so I'll feel better knowing he's alright. -, she stated, her eyes as hard as the steel. No need for intimidation, Flavia thought, a little cut to the quick.
-Okay. I'll take an armchair and you'll take the other one?-, Flavia suggested.
-Fine by me. -
Flavia slumped rather unceremoniously on "her" armchair and closed her eyes. She was very tired, after all: she had gotten up around five o'clock to catch her plane, direction Miami, and after an almost three hour flight she had rushed to the Miami Dade Crime Lab to see Horatio; she had wanted to surprise him, for he knew she was coming that week, but not the specific day. On the road, she had managed to hire a motorbike, a stunning Kawasaki, even if a bit old. She knew firsthand that bikes were faster and great for desperate escapes and, well, she wanted to impress her brother and his coworkers. The rest of her day was history and because of it, she was soon asleep.
Calleigh, on the other hand, was wide awake. She could still feel the texture of Horatio's skin upon her fingertips, the smoothness of his abdomen and the tiny red hairs on his arms a striking contrast. The lights were still on: amazing how quickly Flavia had fell asleep, almost as quickly as a cat. Oh well, that gave her the unique opportunity to admire her boss's body without interruptions or embarrassment: he was slim, just as she had always suspected (God, but he sure loved hiding himself beneath all those layers of clothes) and his body looked flexible more than muscular; his shoulders weren't as broad as, say, Eric's, but they complimented well enough his slender waist; whereas his chest was almost hairless, his forearms were full of red hairs and freckles. His delicate face was freckled, too, and that endeared him to the blonde's eyes all the more. She rested her gaze upon his full, rosy lips: they were so darn kissable… she had started wondering how they would taste upon hers the moment he had first spoken to her, a little over a year ago. When she had first met him she had instantly thought he was a handsome man; she had never cared much about redheaded men before , so the realization that she was physically attracted to him had came as a shock. Following her outgoing personality, she had instantly started flirting with him, but her approach was never direct and her witty remarks never offensive or vulgar: she was just trying to make him smile, and, knowing this, he had responded back, sometimes with just as much enthusiasm, sometimes rather flatly, depending on his mood.
She watched him, and her heart ached for the man who had risked his own life in order to protect hers. As the months passed by, she had started to realized that her boss had a fierce personality and a remarkable thirst for justice. He was dedicated and passionate in his job, hard as a rock and impassive with criminals, gentle and caring with the victims' families. He was a caring man, above all, and she admired him for that.
She silently got up from the armchair and went towards the pale yellow curtains on the back of the living room. She drew them. The moon was shining above the sea, but she was not interested in the lovely view, she just needed some suffused light, in order to turn off the artificial one. That done, she returned to the center of the room, but this time she moved the armchair so that it was in direct contact with the couch onto which Horatio was sleeping. She sat gracefully and watched for a brief second how the moonlight played with the man's features. It was enchanting, and the steady rhythm of his breath lulled her into oblivion. Before surrendering to exhaustion, she reached out with a hand, blindly going for his face. As she found it, he rolled over once again and his own hand darted instinctively towards hers, enveloping it in a warm cocoon. They both sighed in pleasure and delight.
***CONTINUES***
Some Cal/H interacting, finally! What do you think?
Love, Elisabetta
