Chapter 12
Eric stopped at Calleigh's door and listened to the voices inside; relief flooded through him so hard that his eyes watered. He pushed the door open and stepped inside. Ryan was supporting her weight as the bed rose itself into a sitting position. Thank God she's finally awake.
"Eric!" Calleigh exclaimed, smiling brightly; wincing slightly as Ryan lowered her back to the pillows.
His heart eased further that despite the wince, her smile remained. "Hey, Cal; it's about time you woke up, lazybones."
"I'm going to go find a nurse and order you that meal," Ryan said, brushing past Eric. "Hey, Delko."
"Hey." Eric sat on the bed facing Calleigh. He leaned over and brushed a soft kiss on her forehead before resting his there. "You scared us all pretty badly, you know."
"Yeah," she breathed. She cleared her throat. "Ryan told me that y'all did a 'round the clock vigil in here since..."
"Yeah, we did. You'd do the same for me. Calleigh, when you got that infection, we almost lost you." Eric pulled back; the last thing he wanted was to upset her. "All I could think of is that I just lost Mari. I couldn't bear to lose you, too. You know how much-"
"Eric," Tears welled in her eyes and she looked down. She shifted slightly and let out a soft cry. "Please don't."
"What's wrong?" Flashes of early Monday morning danced before his eyes. "What's the matter? Should I get a nurse?"
"It's ok; really. I moved and I'm one big bruise. It's all just a dull ache compared to before. Anything is better than compared to...before." Ok, not handling my emotions really well here. Need to change the subject. She took a deep a breath as her ribs would allow. "So, do I look as bad as I feel?"
Eric held her hand, stroking her knuckles with his thumb. "No," he lied.
"You are so lying, Eric. I can always tell when you're lying. Look, I know I'm bruised and bloodied and my lip was split nearly half a dozen times. I know I have a nasty cut on my cheek. So how bad is it? No lying Delko." Calleigh said firmly, using the last name 'I-mean-it card'.
"You really want to know?" Eric said, eying her carefully. "You look like you went a couple of rounds with Mike Tyson."
"Yeah, but I still have both my ears," she joked, laughing, and then immediately regretted it. "Ouch; damn! Stupid broken ribs…"
Ryan opened the door, coming into the room. "Cal, you're tray is on the way up."
She gave him one of her sweetest smiles. "Thanks, Ryan."
"Listen, Wolfe, I'll take over here." Eric said. "Go home and get some sleep; you've been here all night,"
"Like you've slept any," Ryan challenged and then yawned.
"Beat it, Wolfe," Eric replied.
"Wait a minute here. What is this; the both of you not sleeping?" She looked the two men over carefully. They were both on the edge of exhaustion. "You should both go. I'll be fine on my own. Go."
"Nothing doing, Calleigh; I'm staying put. It's my turn." Eric said stubbornly. "Besides, you might need help."
"Well, then I'll go." Ryan said, opening the door. "See you guys later."
"Get some rest, Ryan and don't come back here until you do," Calleigh said sternly. Looks like I still need to take care of him after all this time. When did I become 'mommy' around the lab? Now for you, mister.
She turned her attention to Eric. "Eric-"
"Oh no you don't; if it had been me, you wouldn't have slept, either." Eric said stubbornly. "And don't you dare tell me no; knowing the case history and all, we were worried. I think H still hasn't slept much. Natalia lived in the lab until we found you."
"I-" Calleigh looked down, a huge lump in her throat. Horatio, Eric, Ryan, Natalia, Alexx...What did I ever do to deserve such people in my life?
Just then there was a soft knock and the door swung open. In strode a nurse carrying a meal tray. Eric swung the tray table over and the nurse deposited Calleigh's tray there.
"Welcome back to the world, Officer Duquesne. After your prolonged nap, I'll bet you're good and hungry. My name is Colleen and I'll be your day nurse; just ring the call button when you're done. Let me know if there is anything I can get you."
"Thank you, Colleen," Calleigh said as Eric lifted the lid of the tray. As he slid the cutlery from the napkin, she felt her mouth begin to water. Her stomach rumbled again. With a very shaky hand, she reached out and grasped the fork. It weighed a ton and fell from her grip. She tried again and again it fell.
Eric picked up the fork for her. "Here, let me do that."
He looked over at her when he heard a soft sniffle. He put the fork down and sidled in next to her, putting his arm gently around her shoulders. Eric pulled her to him. She rested her head on his shoulder, sniffling. "Hey, now; don't get upset. You've been through so much and you don't have your normal strength right now. So what that the fork is a little heavy? You're terminally right-handed anyway and can't use your left hand for shit and you know it. If I let you try to feed yourself with your left hand you'll take out an eye. C'mon, Cal, it's ok."
She nodded, knowing he was right. She wiped her eyes. "I'm just so embarrassed. I can't believe that I can't even feed myself or control my own emotions right now."
"It's ok; it'll get better. I promise I won't slop it all over you," Eric said, trying to cheer up his friend. It bothered him badly to see her so physically and emotionally vulnerable. C'mon Cal, I'm using my A material here. Give me a little smile to let me know you're going to be ok.
It was almost as if she could read his mind. She gave him his sought after smile. "Promise?"
He smiled back at her, picking up a forkful of egg. "Promise."
"So help me, if you do 'Here Comes the Airplane'..."
Horatio dozed in the chair next to Calleigh's bed. He did manage to get a few hours of sleep in his office, but a call came out and he had to roll out into the field. He had only relieved Eric in the last hour, sending the man home to rest. The night shift could handle the evening portion of the investigation. In truth, the night supervisor didn't mind at all.
Both the night and swing shrift's teams had been overwhelmingly generous in their support of Horatio's team and very concerned about Calleigh's recovery.
Already Calleigh's room looked like a cross between an arboretum and a florists' shop with all the foliage crammed onto nearly every available horizontal surface. Her laptop with a stack of her favorite DVD's sat on the nightstand and the latest novel in the series she had been reading waited in the nightstand's top drawer. She was going to be here for quite a while and no one wanted a bored and restless Calleigh. That only spelled trouble for the hospital staff.
A sudden, distressed sound jolted Horatio to full wakefulness. He immediately looked to the bed; Calleigh was whimpering, making indistinct noises, head rolling side to side, obviously in the throes of a nightmare. Suddenly, she cried out and instinctively sat up, overtaxing her reserves. She slumped sideways as her muscles refused to hold her upright.
Horatio shot out of the chair and caught her, supporting her slight frame before she fell over and aggravated her injuries. She shook uncontrollably. "Easy, Sweetheart; I've got you."
She let out a pained groan and then a small sob, burying her face in Horatio's chest. "Hurts," she choked almost inaudibly.
"What hurts, Sweetheart?" Horatio coaxed, gently holding her. "Tell me; let me help you,"
"Shoulder...back," she whispered.
"Do you need the nurse?" Horatio asked, cradling her to him. She felt so fragile and slight, as if he could break her with one hand. He knew it was an illusion brought on by her injuries, but it was not a sensation that he was enjoying at the moment. He'd give anything to have her hearty and well again.
Unable to stop herself, Calleigh said, "No, just this." She let out another whimper and buried herself in deeper.
"Calleigh, you were having a nightmare. Do you want to tell me what it was?" he asked gently.
She shook her head. "No, it was just a bad dream. I've had worse. I can't even remember it anyway." She let out another groan.
"The nightmare's gone but you're still hurting."
"No nurse."
"Is it still your shoulder and back?" When she nodded, he asked, "Can I see? Maybe I can help." A brief memory of her showing him the nasty bruise that the exemplar spear gun gave her flashed through his mind. She had been hurt, yes, but it had broken the case in more ways than one.
Calleigh nodded, showing an enormous amount of trust. It was not lost on Horatio as he carefully untied the back of her hospital gown, gently laying it aside. What he saw apaulled him. Bruises darkened her skin and there were large gashes striping her back, mostly scabbed over, but some had broken. "Calleigh, you're bleeding. I really should get a nurse."
Her left hand weakly gripped his jacket lapel. "No, I don't want anyone; please. I just want this. I want to remember that touching doesn't have to hurt. I'm tired of being poked and pulled on." She began to cry softly.
"It's ok; it's going to be ok. You're going to heal and we'll get you through this." He cradled her closer, careful not to hurt her. Horatio allowed his fingers to gently skate across her injuries, not caring when they became slightly bloodied in the process. My God, that bastard tore her up. "Am I hurting you at all?"
"No."
He kissed the top of her head and continued his exploration of her wounds, willing his fingers to leave healing and comfort in their wake. Moving lower down on her back, he tenderly stroked on bruised and swollen hip and then the other. She whimpered. "Did I hurt you?"
"A little; I trust you Horatio." Her left hand let go of his lapel and snaked around his waist.
"You need to rest," he said into her hair.
"I need this until I fall asleep," she said drowsily, relaxing against him.
"Alright," he said softly, tying her gown back up. He laid his cheek on her head and held her until sleep claimed her.
"Hey, you over there; you that priest?" Hank Kerner said in the exercise yard of the Dade County Correctional Facility.
Dupree looked over at him. "I'm a priest, yes; Father Dupree."
"Boy, am I glad to meet you. I heard what you did to that bitch." Kerner sat next to him, giving him a slap on the back. "It's about time someone taught her a lesson."
"I will ask you to keep a civil tongue in your head." Dupree said sharply. "How do you know her?'
"She put me in here twice. There is nothing that gets to me more than her arrogance in the courtroom. Her 'holier-than-thou CSIness'. I just want to..." Kerner stopped himself. He wanted to keep this man on his team, his side after the tales he heard about him. "I just wanted to say that I admire what you did. She had it coming to her."
"She is arrogant and stubborn, yes, but she never really learned anything." Dupree admitted. "I didn't have enough time with her."
"But I heard you almost killed her," Kerner said. "You didn't have time to finish the job?"
"I didn't have enough time to bring her to God and now, I suppose she'll be His instrument in keeping me here. This is the second time I've failed at her hands."
"I know how you feel, Father. I know how you feel." Kerner nodded. "If I ever get out of here, I'm paying her a visit, myself. I have a little score to settle."
