So...hot...can't...breath! Seriously, it's at least 90 in here, and great news! My brother's out of jail! Well, I don't know if that's good news for you, but it is for me. Everyone in the family older than me has gone to jail at least once in their lives, I'm gonna try and break that tradition. It's a little hipocritical, well, a little, that I'm in love with law shows and everyone in my family is a convict. A ha. Well, don't you think that's a little hipocritical? Not from where I'm standing, Rick. I love that. Ok, then, I don't own CSI Miami or its characters, so here's chapter 14.

Chapter 14

Calleigh knew something was wrong the moment she reached his floor, and it didn't take a CSI to see that; his door was wide open. She went for her gun, only touching her belt, being off duty. She peeked around the doorway as fear and nervousness gripped her, but she had a job to do. Her heard skipped a beat when she saw Ryan on the carpet, face down, she couldn't tell if he was awake or unconscious, alive or dead, but she saw that the other man appeared to be unconscious. Damn, Ryan had done a number on his head. She quickly pulled her cell from her pocket and dialed 911 before calling Horatio.

"Horatio, it's Calleigh," she said when he answered, and she finally decided to enter the room, but cautiously, and she kneeled beside Ryan's still form.

"Calleigh, what's wrong?" he asked, hearing the shakiness and unusual quietness in her voice.

"I'm at Ryan's, I've called for an ambulance and backup, but I thought you would want to know," she said, checking for a pulse on Ryan's wrist, sighing in relief when she felt a faint, erratic rhythm.

"You thought I'd want to know what, Calleigh? What's happened, are you all right?" Horatio asked.

"I'm fine, it's Ryan. It looks pretty bad, I'm thinking that Benningzer's other henchman found him. They're both in here unconscious, and I have no gun. If he wakes up, Horatio, he's three times my size-"

"I'm on my way, already, I should be there in five minutes. Hang on, ok? Stay calm, and try to wake Ryan up, check him for wounds. They're in the same room; do you have your cuffs?" Horatio asked.

"No, I'm didn't bring anything with me," she said.

"All right, don't worry about it. Just take care of Ryan. If the ambulance gets there before I do, call me and let me know which hospital they're taking him to, and I'll meet you there, ok? I'm gonna let you go, now."

"Ok, bye," she said quietly, and closed her phone, pocketing it. She turned her attention back to Ryan. "Ryan? Ryan, can you hear me?" She received no answer. She set her hand on his forehead and ran her hand back through his hair. He was burning up. She was afraid to move him, but she had to get him on his back and check for injuries.

"Cal?" she heard suddenly. It was Ryan. His voice was light and weak, his eyes still closed.

"Yeah, Ryan, it's me. How are you feeling?" she asked, leaving her hand in his hair.

"Hangover," he said quietly.

Calleigh tried to stifle a laugh, but it slipped out. "It's a little more that a hangover. You don't remember what happened?"

His eyes opened slowly, his vision blurred, but he could see a large blob of a body on the floor just a few feet away. "No," he answered, becoming confused. "How long have I been out?" he asked.

"No more than a half an hour," she replied.

Ryan rolled over onto his back, then tried to sit up, attempting to block out the pain as he did so. The gauze around his torso prevented him from moving much in that direction, so he set a hand on the coffee table for help, and soon he was sitting up, leaning his back against the couch.

Calleigh noticed he was holding his damaged arm, and he had multiple bruises on his face, new overlapping the old ones, sweat coated his skin.

"Are you in pain?" she asked, and he just looked at her. "Where are you in pain?" she asked, rephrasing the question.

"Who's he?" Ryan asked, looking at the man on the ground.

"I'm thinking it's one of Benningzer's men. Answer my question," she said.

"Question?" he asked, confused again. He was squinting now, still not able to see anything clearly beyond the bridge of his nose. He couldn't even think without his thoughts jumbling together. He felt hot and tired, he just wanted to go back to how things were before he'd been kidnapped, before he started his drinking, before he felt alone, betrayed, and confused all the time. He wanted things normal, but he knew things wouldn't be normal for a long time, if it was ever normal, again.

"Ryan, where are you hurt?" Calleigh asked again, trying to hide her fear. "Ryan, can you hear me?"

"Yeah," he said, but sounded distant. His eyes were closing again, and Calleigh knew that wasn't a good thing.

"Ryan, you need to stay awake. The ambulance is almost here, but if you go to sleep now, you might not wake up," she said, taking his good hand. His eyes reopened and he tired to focus on her and ignore everything else, but it was hard.

"You're blurry," he whispered.

Calleigh's eyes watered as she avoided his gaze, but she took a deep breath and looked him in the eyes. "Ryan, you need to hold on, ok? If you won't do it for yourself, then do it for me. Hang in there, all right?" she said, squeezing his hand. She was a little startled when he squeezed back, but she smiled. He was looking around the room, his gaze returning to the body every so often, but it finally landed on her.

"Footsteps. I hear footsteps," he said.

Calleigh turned to the doorway to see Horatio, slightly breathless, but still his cool self. "How is he, Calleigh?" he asked as he neared them.

"He's...conscious," she said, but that was it.

"H?" Ryan said quietly. His eyes had closed again.

"I'm here, Ryan," he said, kneeling by Calleigh.

Ryan didn't say anything more, just turned his head slightly. And it was quiet.

Calleigh heard more footsteps, and saw Horatio pull his gun as Ryan's eyes snapped open. She put her hand on Ryan's tense shoulder, trying to comfort him, and he looked at her.

It was EMS. Ryan closed his eyes, letting out a painful breath he didn't realize he'd been holding. He was shaking from the tension, but he didn't notice, he just knew he was tired. He heard his name being called, but he couldn't find the strength to open his eyes.

Calleigh took Ryan's hand in hers and touched his cheek. His skin was still hot, he wasn't getting any better. "Ryan. Ryan, please open your eyes. Ryan," she said quietly, her eyes shining. His hand was limp, he seemed unconscious.

"Cal," he said quietly, and she barely heard it. She tightened her grip on his hand, and ran her hand through his hair. She felt weight on her shoulder.

"Calleigh. The paramedics will help him. He'll be all right," he said, helping her to her feet, and the medics rushed over.

She let Ryan's hand slip through her grip, and it fell to his side.

"It's all right. They'll take care of him. Ma'am?" he said, turning to one of the medics. "Ma'am, where are you taking him?"

"St. Jude's should have a spot open," she said, helping the others get Ryan onto the stretcher.

"Ok. Thank you," he said, and turned his attention back to Calleigh. "Come on. I'll drive."

She nodded, but remained silent as the medics carried Ryan into the hall. An officer walked into the room, followed by another larger one. "That him?" the larger one asked, nodding to the unconscious man, who was now on a stretcher, also.

"That's him," Horatio said, and they escorted EMS to the ambulance. "OK?" he said to Calleigh.

"Ok," she breathed.

He set a hand on her back and led her out of the room.

Yeah, I know I'm terrible, tell me about it, and REVIEW please! Thank you for reading, and at the risk of sounding like Arnold Schwartzenburgenslaughterdurgen, I'll be back!

BI