Chapter 14
They all instantly rose.
"Nathan tell me the good news baby." Alexx said intently, waiting for his words.
"I managed to stop the bleeding, she had re-opened the wound that had penetrated her stomach and the exterior wound, causing major blood loss… we had a few complications during the surgery, but we sorted it out. She's young, so that helped pull her through the surgery." Nathan said looking at the blood on all 3 of them. "She's had a lot of blood transfusions and is now currently sedated. It's too early to tell if she's going to make a full recovery. But she's stable and alive. As I say, she's young and generally healthy, so my hopes are high." Nathan said with a small unsure smile. He looked at them and awaited their response.
"So, she's okay?" Ryan asked looking at him crossing his arms.
"Yes. How did this happen?" Nathan said lowering his eyebrows.
"She caught one of the criminals she left here to catch, but they made it difficult." Horatio said as he had his hands on his hips and looked at Nathan and the floor.
"And you said you drove all the way from the Everglades? It's a miracle how she managed to hold on for that long!" Nathan said crossing his arms.
"Honey, can we see her?" Alexx asked impatiently.
"Sure, follow me. She's sedated at the moment and probably will be sedated for some time." Nathan said as he turned around.
"Do you guys want some scrubs to wear? Ryan, you're dripping with blood." Nathan said as he looked down at the blood drops and smears. As they walked up to Zoë's room, they were getting a lot of looks because of the sheer amount of blood that they were covered in.
"I'm good thanks, Nathan." Horatio said.
"I think that may be a good idea." Ryan said as he looked down at his stained red suit and shirt.
"Not for me honey, thanks" Alexx said with a small smile.
"Sure thing" Nathan said as he walked into Zoë's room.
"We have stitched up the interior and exterior wounds and stemmed the bleeding. She's going to be weak for the next few days, and I'll know more about her injuries in time. She has been very lucky!" Nathan said as he walked over to her bed as a nurse was checking her obs. The nurse walked out giving Nathan a nod. Ryan walked up to the left side of her bed as Alexx followed him. Horatio and Nathan stood at the right.
"Oh honey, I'm so sorry." Alexx said stroking her hand. Ryan placed his hand on her shoulder as he just looked at her sleeping face.
"How long are you going to keep her sedated for?" Horatio asked, Nathan noticed that Horatio was slightly pale and a little clammy.
"She's definitely going to be sedated for a few hours; I'll then see how she is when she comes around. I think she's going to need more sedation." Nathan said as he crossed his arms.
"I do expect her to make a full recovery, should nothing serious happen." He added.
"Thank you honey" Alexx said to Nathan with a smile.
"I'll leave you all to it, if you need anything just give me a ring, or if you have any questions, please don't hesitate to ask. Ryan, I'll be back with some scrubs for you in just a moment." Nathan said as he uncrossed his arms and slowly made for the door. They all gave him a nod and he left. Alexx and Ryan both looked back at her while Horatio walked over to the window and looked out. Alexx rubbed Ryan's back a little and gave him a small reassuring smile. Nathan walked back in with some scrubs and handed them to Ryan. Ryan thanked him and then went through to the en-suite to put them on. He washed himself up and cleaned the blood off his face and hands. He picked up his blood saturated suit and binned it. He walked out and back over to Zoë's bed.
"Hey, you should think about transferring over to surgery." Alexx said with a small cheeky smile, lightening the mood. Ryan gave her a small smile as Horatio then went and washed the blood off his hands. He leant on the sink and just looked at himself in the mirror and realised just how close he came to losing Zoë. He splashed his face with water and dried up. He came back out and walked over to the window, listening to the sound of the room.
Alexx pulled up a chair and sat Ryan down; Ryan leant on his arm with his head in his hand just listening to the ventilation machine push the air into her lungs. Alexx sat the other side observing both Ryan and Zoë.
"She's going to be okay." Alexx said softly. Ryan looked up at her and then over to Zoë, he nodded a little. Alexx's phone rang and she had to go as her husband was due to leave on business in a few hours and she had to be home for her children. "I'll see you later, ring me if you need anything and let me know if anything changes. Okay?" Alexx said as she stood up and looked at both Horatio and Ryan.
"Okay, thank you Alexx." Ryan said as he nodded at her and Horatio then nodded at her too. She looked at Horatio for a while longer, but he just looked back out the window, dismissing any comment she thought of making, he didn't want a fuss. Alexx left and Ryan sat back looking at Zoë. Nathan walked back in about 5 minutes after Alexx left.
"She's going to be sedated until the morning, I've spoken to the night doctor and we've agreed that it's best if we keep her sedated until I can take her off the sedation tomorrow morning." Nathan said as he looked at both Horatio and Ryan. He studied Horatio a little while longer, knowing something was up.
"Horatio, could I have a word with you outside?" Nathan asked softly. Horatio nodded at him and followed him out while Ryan continued to look at Zoë.
"Horatio, are you feeling alright?" Nathan asked as he crossed his arms.
"Yes, I'm fine." Horatio said as he looked at Nathan, then down to the floor.
"Are you hurt?" Nathan asked taking a deep breath.
"No" Horatio quickly replied looking back up at Nathan, standing side-ways.
"Well, that blood on your shirt is telling me different, that wasn't there when you came in earlier…" Nathan said looking at Horatio's side where the bullet had grazed him.
"It's transfer from my jacket." Horatio said, not wanting a fuss and wanting all attention on Zoë and getting her well again.
"Then why are you pale and clammy? You're either hurt or your coming down with something, both of which I'm going to check you over for so you're not going to hide it from me if you are hurt." Nathan said uncrossing his arms and placing his hands on his hips. Horatio exhaled.
"Just concentrate on getting Zoë well, please." Horatio said dismissing his comments.
"You're coming to my office Horatio." Nathan said as he began to walk down the corridor.
"Horatio…" Nathan said sternly, looking back at him as Horatio wasn't walking with him. Horatio reluctantly gave in and walked over to him and followed him in to his office.
Nathan shut his door after Horatio walked in.
"Are you hurt or are you feeling unwell?" Nathan questioned.
"The bullet that went through Zoë grazed my side. It's nothing." Horatio said looking at Nathan, not seeing why he had to make a fuss about something trivial.
"Well, I'd like to see it please." Nathan said as he walked over to Horatio who stood at the window. Horatio turned around and exhaled.
"It's nothing, Nathan." Horatio said, a little more sternly.
"If it's nothing, then there shouldn't be a problem with showing me." Nathan said looking back at him, just as sternly. Horatio exhaled and began to unbutton his shirt, pulling the side away to reveal a blood soaked bandage.
"That's Zoë's blood." Horatio said, seeing blood everywhere. Nathan gestured over to the bed as he pulled on some gloves. Horatio sat on the bed and Nathan peeled the bandage away.
"Horatio, this is more than nothing." Nathan said as he threw the bandage away in the hazardous bin. Horatio looked down at it, he didn't know if it was any worse than earlier as he just watched Zoë while Alexx bandaged him up. Nathan pulled a stool over and began to clean the wound, cleaning up the blood that surrounded it too.
"You should have mentioned something earlier Horatio, you could have lost a lot of blood through this, it's quite deep, but it's a clean cut." Nathan said as he threw the blood soaked swabs away and continued to clean it.
"Alexx dressed it earlier and wasn't too concerned about it, I could have possibly done more damage to it as I carried Zoë back to the hummer." Horatio said, knowing that if it was as bad as Nathan said it was that morning, Alexx would have sent him to the hospital. Nathan nodded and threw the swabs out again. He got out a packet of steri-strips.
"I'm not going to suture it, but these will help it heal nicely and quicker." Nathan said softly as he applied the steri-strips to the already bleeding wound.
"It's been bleeding all day Horatio; it's still bleeding - which explains your lack of colour and clamminess." Nathan said looking up at him. Horatio nodded, not really listening to Nathan and let him get on with it. Nathan put the strips on then placed a bandage over it to protect it for the time being and to help with stopping the blood.
"There, take it easy, okay?" Nathan said as he pushed the stood back and stood up.
"Thanks Nathan" Horatio said as he quickly buttoned his shirt back up. They walked out and into the corridor and then back into Zoë's room.
"You should both try and get some sort of rest. When she comes around, she's going to need support whether she likes it or not." Nathan said jotting down her obs one last time before he made his way home.
"I'll see you both tomorrow." Nathan said as he left, they both nodded at him and then he exited.
Horatio finally sat down knowing that Nathan was right and that rest was the best thing they could do to help Zoë. Horatio sat back in the chair and looked up at the ceiling listening to the sound of the heart monitor and the ventilator. He went into a daze and was replaying the day back in his mind. Ryan just watched Zoë, willing her to wake up and everything be okay. Horatio soon fell asleep and was absolutely knackered. He woke up 3 hours later and it was early morning. He sat up and straightened himself out.
"Mr Wolfe, you need to get some rest. Perhaps it's best you go home and sleep for a few hours. You're not going to be any good to Zoë if you're severely sleep deprived." Horatio said softly yet firmly. Ryan looked over to Horatio with very tired eyes. He blinked and then gave him a nod.
"You're right H." Ryan said as he took a deep breath and rubbed his face.
"I don't want you driving home, get a taxi." Horatio said.
"Yeah, call me in the morning please. If anything changes, let me know." Ryan said as he tiredly exhaled.
"Certainly Mr Wolfe" Horatio said as he sat back again.
"Thank you H." Ryan said sincerely. "Not a problem." Horatio said with a small smile. Ryan got up and pulled out his phone and walked out of the room with his phone out. Once he got out he rang for a taxi and went home. He got into the shower and washed off Zoë's blood that had seeped through his shirt, jacket and trousers and dried on his skin. He then got straight into bed.
Horatio sat back in the chair and looked over at Zoë to make sure everything was okay. Through his peripheral vision he caught a glimpse of her wrists. He stood up and picked up her left hand. He studied her wrist closely and saw that faint bruises were beginning to develop from where Jack had grabbed her. Horatio sighed and sat back down lightly tracing the bruise with his fingertips. He felt incredibly guilty and appalled that someone could do such a thing and do it within his lab. Anger swelled inside him as he leant on the bed and bowed his head with her hand still engulfed in both of his. He calmed himself as he stroked her hand and then gently placed her hand by her side and sat back rubbing his face with his hands. He crossed his legs at the ankles and relaxed back into the chair. He watched Zoë sleep until his eyes closed. A doctor came in after Horatio had fallen asleep to give Zoë another dose of sedative. Morning quickly came around and Nathan walked in to see how she was doing. While he was in he accidently woke Horatio by being a little too loud.
"Sorry." Nathan said as he saw Horatio waking up.
"Don't worry." Horatio said as he sat up, he instantly looked away as Nathan was about to pull the gown up. He pulled it up just so it exposed her stomach. He looked at the wound and re-dressed it and then pulled the gown back down.
"Horatio…" Nathan began but stopped to think about his words.
"Yes, Nathan?" Horatio said as he stood up, hearing the seriousness in his voice.
Nathan picked up Zoë's hand. "What are these?" Nathan questioned as he observed the now darker bruises around her wrists.
"Those… those are from yesterday morning, Zoë was…" Horatio looked down at her, not sure whether he should share this with Nathan, he thought for a bit.
"Zoë was assaulted." Horatio said lowly looking back up to Nathan and exhaled.
Nathan's eyes grew wide. "Assaulted? How?" Nathan said gently placing Zoë's hand down by her side.
"She was assaulted by our new CSI, who has now been arrested and charged."
"Was she…" Nathan paused as he took a breath and swallowed.
"No, she fought him off before he had the chance to do anything." Horatio said looking down at her.
"He had to have held her pretty hard to cause these bruises." Nathan said also looking down at her wrists.
"He was a very strong man." Horatio said lowly, feeling even more guilty now. Nathan shook his head.
"One of your CSI's did this? How? Why?" Nathan said as he looked at her. "Do you not do background checks on your staff?" He added as he looked over at Horatio disgusted and confused.
"We always do background checks, he had no record. He will not be getting anywhere near another woman again." Horatio said as he stood strong. "I've made sure that he won't be getting out any time soon, and I'd appreciate it if you didn't tell her I told you anything about it." He added.
"Of course not." Nathan said as he looked back down to Zoë.
"How is she?" Horatio asked as he looked over to see her sleeping face.
"She's doing the same, I'm not going to top up her sedative, I'm going to leave it and she'll be coming around soon. I'm just going to try and take her off the ventilator and hopefully she'll cope well." Nathan said as he looked back up to Horatio, Horatio gave Nathan a nod. He then gently took out the tube and observed her a little. She was breathing well and Nathan told Horatio that she was doing well.
"She's going to come around sometime, it could be in 30 minutes, it could be in 2 hours. I don't know. It depends on how quickly her body metabolises the drug. She's had a very high dosage of a very strong sedative so she's going to be extremely confused and perhaps delirious. She more than likely won't know where she is, she's probably not going to remember much to begin with either. She's going to be extremely weak and more than likely very agitated and feeling vulnerable. I'll be in and out, but if she comes around, you should call me." Nathan said as a warning.
"Thank you Nathan." Horatio said as he looked over at her then walked over to the window and peered out.
"Where's Ryan?" Nathan asked curiously.
"He went home early this morning, he needed some sleep. I'll call him a little later; he should sleep for at least a few more hours, he was exhausted last night and couldn't sleep." Horatio said as he looked out the window and glanced over at Zoë.
"That's probably the best thing." Nathan said as he checked her eyes and her obs.
"I'll be back in a little while." Nathan said as he put his pen light away and Horatio gave him a nod. Nathan walked out and Horatio walked over to Zoë. He looked at the marks on her wrists again and sighed. He sat down and put his head in one of his hands. He sat there for about an hour just thinking, Nathan came in a couple of times but saw Horatio in deep thought and didn't want to pull him from it. Horatio didn't even seem to notice Nathan coming in. He was thinking about everything that had happened. He was replaying the CCTV footage of the locker room in his head, then seeing Zoë shot and then seeing her jump on Mason to stop him. He was replaying some of her words over in his head. He then saw images of Ryan saturated in her blood and the back of the hummer. He felt her grip loosen around his neck again and then was pulled out of the daze when his phone began to ring in his pocket. He answered it and Eric began to speak to him about Mason and the charges that he'd be facing and the sheer amount of evidence that they have against him, with the evidence from killings in New York and Zoë's husbands murder also. They were on the phone for about 10 minutes when Zoë began to stir. Horatio told Eric that he'd call him back. He got up and looked out of the door and asked a nurse to get Nathan. Horatio walked back in and up to the side of Zoë's bed. Zoë turned her head and brought up her right hand to her head. The drip in her hand had begun to twist.
"Sweetheart, are you with me?" Horatio softly said as he studied her behaviour. She flicked her right hand to try and get rid of the annoyance. She was out of it and obviously didn't really understand what it was.
"Sweetheart, try and stay calm for me." Horatio said softly. Zoë moaned and pushed herself up and sat on the bed. She looked around; she looked like she was in a daze. Everything was blurry and fuzzy and she couldn't make sense of her surroundings.
"Sweetheart, lie down for me please." Horatio softly said as he placed a hand on her shoulder. She looked at his hand then up to him. She wasn't hearing his words properly, she felt like she was in a dream. She studied his blurry face and blinked a few times, listening to his muffled voice. Horatio looked towards the door hoping for Nathan to come through soon. Zoë looked around a little, she looked a little dizzy just sitting there.
"Can you hear me Zoë?" Horatio asked. She looked back around to him and let out a groggy moan.
"Okay sweetheart, can you lie back for me please?" Horatio asked now knowing that she could hear him, he wasn't sure if she was aware of what he was saying, but thought it would be best to try and get through to her. Zoë then looked down at the gown she was wearing and then looked around again.
"Horatio?" She asked quietly and dryly.
"Yes, it's me sweetheart." Horatio softly said as he gently swept her hair out of her face as she looked back round to him.
"Ryan?" She asked, looking round. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath as Horatio threaded his hand in her hair and again swept her fringe back. She felt something on her finger and pulled it off.
"Sweetheart, I need you to stay calm." Horatio said softly as he moved his hand from her hair to the side of her neck with his thumb on her cheek. He saw the confusion in her eyes as she looked up at him. She had begun to breathe heavily as she started to panic, not recognising her surroundings and the unfamiliar beeping sound that was her heart beating on the monitor. As she moved she felt the wires attached to her chest which frightened her even more. She pulled them off as Horatio brought his hand away from her, not wanting to panic her any more. She looked up at Horatio confused and blinked a few more times and then swung her legs over the bed, the bed didn't seem to have safety bars so she could freely get off.
"Sweetheart, it's okay." Horatio said soothingly. She looked up to him and tilted her head hearing his soothing words.
"You're okay." He said softly as he stood back giving her space. He wasn't sure what she was thinking or feeling but knew when she felt enclosed and vulnerable she could snap at any point.
"Can you lie down for me please sweetheart?" Horatio softly said looking at one dazed and confused Zoë. She slid herself off the bed and stood there, uneasy on her weak legs. She looked down and saw some blue trousers on she looked at them confused. Nathan had put them on her after they had cut her trousers off her. She held on to the bed as she swayed, her legs were shaking. Horatio stepped forward and placed a hand on her shoulder.
"Sweetheart, I need you to get back on the bed." Horatio said softly. She looked at him and her legs began to slowly buckle from underneath her. Horatio quickly moved in and caught her. He quickly brought his left arm under her right arm and around her back and pulled her into him while he held on to her left arm with his right hand. She leaned against him putting her head on his chest.
"You're okay sweetheart." He softly said, with his chest vibrating against Zoë's head. He could feel how weak she was as she didn't make much effort to support herself. She took a breath and began to try and stand up herself; she took some of her weight, as much as she could and pulled her head away from his chest. He saw the drip become taught as it stretched across the bed.
"Okay?" Horatio quietly questioned. Zoë brought her right arm up and planted it on his shoulder. She looked up at him and her legs began to buckle again. Horatio let go of her arm and placed his hand against her ribs under her arm to hold her up. He held her into him and he could feel her heartbeat against his chest. Zoë began to recognise his cologne and general scent.
"Horatio?" She questioned as she pulled her head away from his chest. She planted her hand back on his shoulder and with her left gripped onto his right arm. This time, Horatio was not going to let her take any of her weight and held on to her. She flicked her hair out of her face as she looked up at him, looking drained and uneasy. She still couldn't make sense of her surroundings or the situation.
"Yes, it's me sweetheart." Horatio answered softly, quietly and slowly, allowing her to absorb the information.