Disclaimer: Not mine, no profit made.
A/N: I realise I'm probably about to get lynched. Just promise you'll wait for the next couple chapters before you all kill me.
-DT-
Horatio winced as he opened his eyes. Sweet Lord he was hung over. He groaned as the blood started pounding in his ears and he glanced at his watch. Calleigh was going to kill him – they were getting married in six hours, and Horatio was fairly sure he was going to still be seeing double.
-DT-
As soon as Eric, Speed and Frank turned up on his doorstep, Horatio knew he was in trouble. Frank was looking far too innocent, and the boys were wearing their tell-tale smirks. He turned to Calleigh, who was putting the finishing touches on her makeup in the hall.
"Cal, permission to stay home and hide from whatever it is these three have planned?"
"Not granted," Calleigh calmly replied. "Now go. Have fun. Just don't get arrested."
-DT-
From the looks of the cell he was in, Horatio hadn't exactly followed Calleigh's instructions. He racked his brains, trying to figure out what it was that he had done to end up here alone… with a traffic cone next to him.
-DT-
First stop had been a waterfront bar for a few drinks, to 'loosen him up' as Eric put it.
"Is this really necessary, Frank?" Horatio had asked his friend.
"Of course it is," Frank nodded. "This is your stag night, you need to get wasted."
"And visit a strip club," Eric interjected.
"And if the night goes really well, end up in jail." Speed finished.
-DT-
Apparently, Horatio thought as he slipped on his sunglasses to reduce his headache, the night was a success.
*Insert title sequence here*
-DT-
Horatio had already been decidedly tipsy when they had arrived at El Sleazo Café, one of Eric's favourite strip joints. He didn't remember much of the place, beyond some very fit and attractive dancers on the stages. He seemed to recall Speed getting a lap dance… though that may have been his imagination.
The last thing he could remember clearly was Frank pouring the beer, and Eric pressing another glass on him. He silently cursed the fact that Eric always seemed able to get him to drink more. This made twice that the younger man had gotten Horatio passed-out drunk.
-DT-
Several feet away, Horatio's three friends were getting the coffee ready. They figured he would need it.
"Do you think he remembers much about last night?" Speed asked as he sipped his cola.
"I doubt it," Frank shrugged. "By the time he passed out, he'd had more than enough to impair his memory."
"Heh, think we should let him out?" Eric raised an eyebrow. Frank glanced at his watch.
"Yeah, I think we've worried him long enough." The detective fished the keys to the cell out of his pocket and nodded at the duty officer on the way down the hall.
Inside the cell, Horatio was sitting with his head in his hands. What if he missed the ceremony? Calleigh was going to go ballistic. And what was it that he'd done to end up here?
He raised his head upon hearing male laughter, and saw the three men from the previous night standing at the door to the lock-up. He shot them a glare, which just made them laugh harder.
"Okay, fess up. I didn't get arrested, did I?"
"Nope!" Eric grinned at him.
"Then what the Hell am I doing here?" He growled through gritted teeth.
"'Cause we thought it'd be funny," Frank shrugged, earning another glare.
"Frank, you're lucky I don't have the power to fire you. You two, on the other hand…"
"Oh, lighten up, H," Speed rolled his eyes. "Here's your coffee. Drink up, we need to get you ready. You're getting married in five hours, and Calleigh will kill us all if you're not presentable."
As Eric helped Horatio to his feet, Frank turned to the scruffy young man next to him.
"So, where did you head off to after we dumped H here?"
Speed shrugged, quickly covering the brief flash of guilt on his face. Frank caught it though, and grinned.
"You went home with a girl, right? That stripper?"
"Something like that," Speed muttered. He couldn't look Frank in the eye, though. It went unnoticed as Eric and Horatio moved between them, the older man leaning heavily on the younger and muttering curses under his breath.
Falling to the back of the group, Speed swallowed hard. What had he done last night? He couldn't remember the details, but he'd probably ruined the most important friendship in his life, that's what he'd done. Because as he inhaled, he could still smell Calleigh's scent on his shirt.