Chapter 14

Author's Note: Woo Hoo, had time to type this chapter too. Unfortunately this is the last I have written, so I have to wait till the muse hits again. I know what I want to happen, but I have to figure out how to get there. I'll try not to keep you hanging for long.

The next morning Horatio was awakened by the sound of his cell phone ringing from the nightstand. Carefully he leaned over to get it while keeping Lexi firmly in his embrace.

"Horatio Caine," he said into the phone still a little groggy from a late night.

"Sorry to wake you H," Eric Delco's voice answered from the other end of the line.

"It's all right Eric," he told the younger man.

"I have some news about Hagen I thought you would want to know as soon as possible," Eric continued and Horatio eased himself away from Lexi and sat up on the side of the bed.

"Please tell me he hasn't managed to get out of lock up," Horatio said rubbing his hand over his face.

"No H, he's still in lock up and will be for a long time. We nailed his ass H and not just for what he did to Lexi."

"What do you mean?" Horatio asked.

"Well on a hunch and due to her own brief experience with the bastard, Calleigh ran Hagen's DNA through the database for unsolved cases. It seems Lexi is not the first woman he has done this to. His DNA came up as a match to an unsolved rape case from a year ago. The woman never saw her attacker's face and guess who the responding officer was when she called it in."

'Hagen," Horatio said with a curse.

"You got it, I don't know how he managed it, but somehow the DNA from that case never got ran against the MDPD database and so the match was never made them, but we got him now. The prosecutor is filing the charges for assault, battery, and rape on both cases as we speak."

"Thanks for calling me Eric."

"You're welcome H. Give Lexi my love and if either of you need anything you just give me a call."

"We will Eric and thanks again."

Horatio closed his hone and breathed a sigh of relief that Hagen wouldn't be getting away with what he had done this time. He felt a gentle hand stroke across his back and he realized that Lexi must have heard his conversation.

"What is it Horatio?" she asked and he turned toward her and saw the worry and fear in her eyes.

"It's all right Lexi, we got him, he's going away for a very long time," he told her and pulled her into his arms. He told her what Eric had told him and he felt tears falling on his shoulder as Lexi's relief that her attacker would indeed be punished overwhelmed her.

"God Horatio, I was so afraid that he would somehow get out of it and come after me again," she sobbed and his heart broke that she had been carrying that fear around.

"I'll never let anyone hurt you ever again," he told her holding her closer and stroking her hair which seemed to sooth her.

I awoke when Horatio moved away from me and sat up on the side of the bed. The loss of his warmth against me disturbed my rest. Even in sleep I was completely aware of him and my body and mind protested the fact that he had moved away from me.

"Please tell me he hasn't managed to get out of lock up," Horatio said and I realized he had his cell phone in his hand. Then his words sunk in and I had no doubt who he meant. My heart began to race and panic once more threatened to claim me.

"What do you mean?" Horatio said to the person on the other end of the phone and the confusion in his voice made my fear go up a notch. Not being able to hear the other end of the conversation was very frustrating.

"Hagen," Horatio said with a curse and I flinched at the mere mention of the man's name, not to mention the venom I could plainly hear in Horatio's voice.

"Thanks for calling me Eric," Horatio spoke again and I finally knew the identity of the caller.

"We will Eric and thanks again for calling," Horatio said and closed his phone. The sigh that escaped him made me move closer to him and I stroked my hand across his back wanting to ease the tension I could see there.

"What is it Horatio?" I asked and he turned toward me.

His deep blue eyes immediately held concern for me and my heart did a flip inside my chest. "Oh my god, he's going to get away with it," I thought and my fear and panic must have been obvious to Horatio even though I didn't say the words aloud.

"It's all right Lexi, we got him, he's going away for a long time," he told me and pulled me into his arms. He told me about what Calleigh had found and that the prosecutor was filing charges not only for my rape but for another as well.

I buried my face in his shoulder then and let the emotion I had been keeping at bay come flooding out.

"God Horatio, I was so afraid that he would somehow get out of it and come after me again," I cried and I felt his arms tighten around me.

"I'll never let anyone hurt you ever again," he whispered against my ear.

We sat for a long time and he stroked his fingers through my hair every stoke of his hand made me calmer and soon I was quietly lying against him simply enjoying the feel of his closeness.

"Are you okay?" he asked moving away from me slightly so he could look into my face.

"I will be now that I know John is going to be punished for what he did. Now maybe I can move past this and truly enjoy our life together," I told him and reached my hand up to caress his face. He placed his hand on mine against his cheek and closed his eyes for a moment then he moved my hand away and placed a soft kiss in the center of my palm sending a pleasant shiver up my spine.

"I look forward to our future together Lexi," he replied with a smile that I knew would always be for me alone. After a moment I saw his eyes travel to the clock and his expression grew more serious. "We're going to be late for your follow up appointment with Dr. Smith if we don't hurry up and get dressed," he said and brushed a gentle kiss over my lips as he got up to do just that.

I had completely forgotten about my appointment and I quickly got up and got dressed myself. Thirty minutes later we were out the door and on our way to Dr. Smith's office.