H: A Time for Healing

Chapter 25

"Help us! Help our friend! Help us!" Jo saw that Horatio had almost reached the first of the young people in the water. The moon and clouds seemed to be engaged in a crazy game of Hide-And-Go-Seek, as moonlight once more suddenly flooded the lagoon and beach with beams of light. As she waded deeper after Horatio, Jo saw that two of the young men were desperately trying to keep a third afloat in the water. Horatio must have realized it as well, she noticed, glimpsing his ginger hair glimmering in a moonbeam before he was setting out with several powerful strokes to reach the exhausted swimmers.

"Help our friend, please. He's passed out." Taking in the situation in a glance, Horatio ordered the young men to pass their friend to him. It was only after he had begun to swim to shore with the dead weight of the third young person, that Horatio saw Jo heading toward him in the water. He found his footing as he reached her, but before he could bite out an order to get back to shore, Jo was passing him in the water, her hands reaching for the young men who, now that their friend was safe, were floating listlessly, all the spirit gone out of them.

"Your friend is in good hands. I can help you in. That's it, we'll get you in." Her summers working as a lifeguard at the beaches on Lake Calhoun gave her voice the reassurance the young men needed to hear. Horatio had heard it as well. In spite of the gravity of the situation, he smiled, glancing at her in the moonlight. Jo had a sudden sensation that she was being watched, and found Horatio looking at her, his eyes deep blue. There was the slightest hint of a smile on his face and she smiled back quickly before turning away.

Diners and staff at the restaurant had reached the shore by now, several splashing into the surf to lend a hand. Jo quickly relinquished the young men, before heading over to the unmoving form Horatio was pulling up on the sand.

"I can help him, Horatio. There's still one more out there!" Jo was kneeling in the sand, her nurse's training taking over as she made a quick assessment of her patient. She felt the warmth of Horatio's hand on her shoulder before he turned back into the water. Then all her attention was focused on the young man lying unmoving on the sand as she heard someone call out that 911 had been called and Fire and Rescue were on their way.

By the time Horatio had located the fourth person in the water, draped over an air mattress that barely kept his head above water, two waiters from the restaurant had appeared beside him, and together they dragged the air mattress to shore. As he rested on one knee on the sand, catching his breath, Horatio heard the sounds of sirens fast approaching. He wiped the water from his hair, noticing that some of the people who had come down from the restaurant were performing CPR on the young man Jo had been assisting earlier. She darted by him just then, heading for the young man lying unmoving on the air mattress.

Jo fell to her knees in the sand, running down the same checklist of signs and symptoms that she had performed on the first man. As she was taking the man's pulse, Horatio appeared beside her in the sand, resting on one knee. Whatever he was saying was drowned out by the wail of the sirens as the Rescue Squads roared onto the beach, bathing the sand in a dazzle of blue and red lights. Shaking her head to show she couldn't hear him, Jo glanced up to see an EMT approaching them, stretcher in hand. With a sigh of relief, she motioned that the man was breathing, but had a shallow pulse. A touch on her arm from Horatio had her looking up and he motioned for her to follow him. The EMT nodded when she looked at him questioningly.

Fifty-five minutes later, Jo was seated at a table in the restaurant she and Horatio had dined in earlier. Gone were her wet clothes, in their place she was wearing a sweatshirt from the Grille and bright pink sweatpants one of the waitresses had been kind enough to give her. She held the steaming cup of coffee in both hands, the welcome warmth helping to stop her shivering. The smiling waitress that had served them dinner earlier stopped by the table, setting down a plate of crispy, practically sizzling fries as well as some fresh fruit and divine-looking dark chocolate brownie. Motioning to her coffee mug, she asked kindly,

"Would you like some more coffee?"

"No, thank you," Jo smiled gratefully. "This tastes wonderful. Thank you for the coffee and the dry clothes. I feel much better."

"It's the least we could do. You and the Lieutenant saved those two young men, I've heard. They are lucky you were on the beach. Although," the waitress grinned, "I imagine wading into the water in the lagoon was probably not how you expected the evening to end. I saw the Lieutenant carry you down to the beach. I wish my boyfriend had been here to see that." Jo felt her face grow warm. Before she could come up with a suitable response, the friendly waitress began to pour coffee in the second cup on the table. "Here comes the Lieutenant now." Glancing up, Jo watched Horatio weave his way through the tables in the dining area. He was impeccably dressed, the only telltale sign that he might have gone for an unexpected dip in the ocean was the dampness to his red hair. Moments later, he was seated across from her, his blue eyes dark with concern.

"How are you feeling Sweetheart?"

"Kind of like one of Roxie's stuffies that she brought in from the yard after it has been left out in the rain." Jo moved to push some hair behind her ear out of habit and found nothing but a few strands plastered to the side of her face. She had wound her long hair up in a knot and managed to pin it to the top of her head with the few clips and holder she'd had in her small bag. "Thanks to the nice manager here, I've got dry clothes and it seems, a snack." Jo gestured to the plates of food. "How do you manage to look so …" words failed her and she shrugged, "normal?"

"Occupational hazard Josie," Horatio sipped his coffee. "I keep a change of clothes in the car. I find it comes in handy." Horatio watched as Jo bit into one of the ripe strawberries on the fruit plate, but he didn't miss her eyeing the brownie.

"Does that mean you've found yourself in the water when you've taken a woman out for dinner before?" She grinned and bit into another strawberry, her blue eyes wide and innocent.

"Only you, Josie." Horatio answered. "I believe this is the second time since I met you that I've gone home with wet clothes." His eyebrow lifted as he regarded her, his eyes serious, but the grin lurking on his handsome face indicated he was having a bit of fun with her.

"This one you can't blame on Roxie, or me." Jo nibbled on a crispy fry. "That was my favorite dress too." The wistful words were out before she could stop herself. "Sorry, I didn't mean for that to sound so whiny. I couldn't have sat on the sidelines any more than you could Lieutenant."

Reaching for one of the small plates the waitress had left on the table, Horatio set the decadent looking treat on it then slid it in front of her.

"I think," he said quietly, "you earned this tonight Sweetheart. You knew what you were doing out there." Jo heard the admiration and respect in his voice and felt a warm glow spread through her that had nothing to do with the hot coffee. "You've been in that situation before?" Horatio's eyebrow went up as he sipped his coffee.

"Well, if you insist," Jo murmured, reaching for her fork as a grin spread across his handsome face. "Yummy. This is so good." Horatio still seemed to be waiting for an answer. "Not exactly, THAT situation," Jo prevaricated, slicing off another chocolatey bite. "Minnesota is proud of its 10,000 lakes but even Lake Superior can't be called an ocean. Of course, up along the North Shore, it is referred to as a Sea by some of the old-time locals. Want a bite? I'll share." Jo offered him the delicious morsel, wondering if he would take it. Horatio leaned forward, his blue eyes never leaving hers as he took the offered tidbit.

"Mmmm, delicious, and clever, but you didn't answer my question, Josie," Horatio's voice was almost as velvety as the inside of the brownie Jo had been eating. Carefully setting down the fork and dabbing her lips daintily with the napkin for any errant chocolate bits, Jo considered how she was going to answer.

"I was a lifeguard every summer from the time I was old enough until I was out of college. Add that to my time spent as an ER nurse, and I guess it's like riding a bike."

"You kept your head and knew what had to be done, Jo." Horatio nodded at her, his expression serious. "Some people, even with training, don't always react well to a situation that is sprung on them like that. You probably saved that young man's life, Josie." Horatio sipped his coffee, watching as Jo's face flushed at his compliment.

"What about the other man, Horatio? The one on the air mattress?" Jo asked, stirring her coffee idly with her spoon. Almost to herself she added, "I wonder what happened to them? I don't think their condition was entirely due to being in the water this evening." She looked up quickly at the sound of Horatio's voice.

"I agree. The officer that was on scene tonight is a colleague. If I hear anything I can pass along to you, I certainly will do so."

Reaching for another strawberry on the plate, Jo said thoughtfully, "At the time, I didn't realize it, but the symptoms were similar to overdoses I used to see when I worked in the ER at HCMC." She bit into the ripe berry, shivering slightly at the possessive look that flitted across Horatio's face, leaving her in no doubt that he hadn't forgotten what they had been doing before the excitement in the lagoon.

"How long did you work in the ER, Jo?" Horatio asked, curious to hear the answer.

"A few years longer than I should have, I think." Jo replied, sadness lurking in her beautiful blue eyes. "I was burned out, and I fought it with everything I had. But it just got to be too much." Jo toyed with a slice of mango from the fruit plate, studiously inspecting it so she wouldn't have to look at him. Her voice was flat as she recited the rest of her story.

"We patched up the stabbing victims, the gunshot wounds, overdoses. And then they would leave and two nights later, we'd see them again or their friends. When we started seeing children coming in with gunshot wounds from all the drive-by shootings that were going on in the northern part of the city, I couldn't do it anymore." Horatio watched her blink back a tear and regretted his question that seemed to dredge up painful memories. Reaching his hand out, he covered hers and she looked up at him.

"It's late Sweetheart. Let's go home." Jo nodded, and they got up to leave, Horatio's hand warm at her back as he guided her from the dining area. They stopped on the way out to thank the manager, and staff for their kindness. As Jo watched Horatio graciously accept the compliments for rescuing the young men, she realized that he would much rather have slipped away quietly without the attention. Then he was helping her into his car, instructing her to relax and close her eyes if she'd like, he'd wake her when they arrived.

"I should probably call Aunt Flo," Jo murmured. "I'll wake half the house when I let myself inside."

"No worries, Sweetheart." Horatio's voice floated over the soft strains of classical piano that drifted from the sound system. "I called your Aunt while you were changing. She's aware of what happened. You can sit back and relax."

"Oh, thank you, Horatio." Jo didn't know what else to say, an incredible tiredness overtaking her now that the adrenaline rush from earlier was wearing off. She closed her eyes and soon drifted off to sleep and didn't see the tenderness in those blue eyes as Horatio glanced at her. He already admired her spirit and the unselfish way she looked after her family. Tonight he had seen another side of her, professional and cool-headed in a tense situation. Horatio knew that Josie was special person. There was a physical attraction between the two of them as well. He was feeling more comfortable with the idea that she should have a place in his life, but wasn't as confident that she was having the same thoughts.

When Jo felt the car slowing some time later, she opened her eyes, sitting up straighter in the seat, her hand automatically going to slide stray strands of her hair behind her ear.

"Horatio, this isn't Aunt Flo's house or," Jo looked out the window, turning her head to peer into the darkness behind them, "her neighborhood. Where are we going?" Horatio felt her blue eyes on him in the dimness of the interior of the car.

"We're home, Sweetheart," was all he said as he turned the car into the driveway of a brick house, tall trees shading the front yard, their branches serving as an umbrella over the drive.

TBC