Hey guys thank you for sticking with me and this crazy story of mine. This story is starting to wined down but don't worry there is still one more twist on the way. Enjoy!
Natalia and Horatio were waiting outside surgery in the chairs. Alexx had come back and took Ryan back to his room. They were seeing what they could do in getting Ryan in the room right next to Emily's. Natalia leaned her head against Horatio's shoulder and slowly fell asleep. Horatio smiled when he glanced over at her and saw her asleep. They waited and eventually Horatio's eyes closed as he followed Natalia and fell asleep. A few hours later a loud thud startled Horatio awake. Natalia jumped when she felt Horatio jump. Horatio looked around for the source of the sound and saw the retreating forms of nurses taking someone down the hallway. Horatio looked straight up and saw Jay standing in front of them. "How is she?" Horatio asked standing up. Natalia was right behind him. Jay smiled. "The surgery went well. She coded on us but she's a fighter. I want to keep a close eye on her but I believe that now that we repaired her lung, she will be getting better really soon." "Thank you." Horatio said with a nod of his head. Jay tipped his head in acknowledgment.
"You two can sit with her as soon as we get her settled and I will notify Alexx so she can tell Mr. Wolfe." Jay informed them as they walked down the hallway. "Thank you." Natalia said when they reached Emily's room. The nurses got Emily settled and Jay followed Horatio and Natalia into the room. Jay checked the oxygen level and her IV line. "I will be back later today to check her. If you need anything just page me." Jay said leaving the room. Horatio smiled when he heard Emily breathing almost regularly. Natalia sat down in the chair and watched Emily with a smile growing on her face. Horatio's phone buzzed. "Caine." "H, we found a partial match to the DNA from the hair that Calleigh found in the room." Eric said. "Partial match?" Horatio asked curious. "Yeah, a familial match and you are not going to guess to who." "Eric…" Horatio had an idea about who's DNA it was comparing to. "It is a familial match to Rex Colter. It's a brother." Eric said. Horatio's jaw flexed. "His name is Max Colter and we have a bolo out on him but so far nothing." Horatio pinched the bridge of his nose. "Thank you Eric, keep me posted." Horatio hung up.
"They got a DNA profile on the man that poisoned Emily and Ryan." Horatio said sitting down heavily in the recliner. "Who?" Natalia asked worried. She could see that he was trying to decide if he was going to stay here with Emily or go after who they had identified. "Mr. Colter's brother Max. They haven't been able to find him but they are still searching." Natalia's eyes widened. She had totally forgotten about Mr. Colter's informant from the beginning. "When they get a location on him are you going after him?" Natalia asked. Horatio nodded slowly. "Yes I am and I need you to stay here with Emily and keep her safe." "I want to go with you when you get a location." They both jerked their heads over to the door and saw Ryan leaning on the door frame. "Ryan what are you doing out of bed?!" Natalia exclaimed standing up and helping him over to the chair. "I am fine and doing a lot better and in a few minutes the drugs will be out of my system that Alexx pumped into me earlier." Ryan said with some sarcasm. Natalia rolled her eyes and Horatio chuckled under his breath. Ryan looked over at Emily. "How is she?" He asked quietly.
"She will be just fine but if you go off without being fully healed you will be a lot worse and what would that do to Emily?" Natalia asked sternly. Ryan sighed. "It won't matter as long as we get the guy." Horatio shook his head. "No. It does matter. The team needs you and I plan on keeping you as a part of this team because it is where you belong." Horatio told Ryan seriously. Ryan looked at Horatio in surprise. He knew that Horatio cared considering what he did when Ryan was framed for murder but what he just said told Ryan that he cared as much for him as he did the rest of the team. "Alright." Ryan said with a dip of his head. "You will still come along when we get a location." Horatio said looking at Emily. Ryan glanced at him and smiled. "You got it H." Natalia rolled her eyes and looked at the ceiling. "You two are not only to kill yourselves; you are going to kill me and Emily." Natalia said under her breath. "Hmm?" Horatio asked looking at Natalia. "Both of you are going to be the death of both of us!" Natalia exclaimed first pointing at Horatio and Ryan then to her and Emily. "Whatever do you mean Nat?" Ryan asked with a smile on his face. She narrowed her eyes at him. "Just you wait. As soon as you get this guy I am going to kill both of you." Natalia threatened.
Horatio raised his eyebrows and Ryan laughed. Natalia shook her head and smiled. Jay walked in and saw them all in there. Jay raised an eyebrow at Ryan who just shrugged at him. Jay walked over and listened to Emily breath for a bit. "If she keeps this up maybe either tonight before I leave or tomorrow morning we can take that uncomfortable breathing tube out." Jay said happily. "So she is getting better?" Natalia asked pointy ignoring Horatio and Ryan. "Yes. Her breathing is pretty good and her blood pressure is almost normal." Everyone was happy at this news. Jay pulled Horatio aside. "You have one fighter with you." Horatio looked at Jay curiously. "What do you mean?" Jay smiled. "Emily could have given up twice during that surgery but she didn't. She could have not wanted to breathe on her own and she could take even longer to heal but she hasn't." Horatio smiled. "I agree she is a fighter. I think that she had something planned before this happened and probably wants to finish it before she leaves." Horatio said thoughtfully. Jay smiled and patted Horatio on the back. "You are a lucky man Mr. Caine." Horatio chuckled and shook his head. He patted Jay back. "Horatio and I know I am to have a wonderful daughter like Emily." Jay laughed and leaned forward so he could whisper in Horatio's ear.
"I was meaning the woman that has not left your side but Emily is good too." Horatio looked at Jay in shock. Jay walked out of the room laughing. Horatio shook his head. When he turned around he found Natalia looking at him curiously. He shook his head at her and shrugged. The next few hours past slowly for the three. They chit-chatted for a while and then they all started to fall asleep. Periodically a nurse would come in and check on Emily but other than that they were left alone. It was beginning to get dark out when Alexx came in. "Come on Ryan. It's time for you to go back to bed." She said quietly seeing that Natalia was asleep and Horatio was struggling to keep his own eyes open. Ryan sighed and gave Emily's hand a kiss. He gingerly stood up and followed Alexx back to his room. Horatio watched them leave but soon he was also asleep. Jay came in and smiled when he saw that everyone was asleep. He gave Emily his last check up for the day and decided that if she was doing this good in the morning he would remove that tube first thing in the morning.
Eric rubbed his eyes. They still haven't found Max and it was way past the time that Horatio would have had his ass for being so late. He jumped when he felt a hand on his shoulder. "Chill it's me." Calleigh said. "Oh hey." He said. Calleigh wrapped her arms around him and he hugged her back. "Are you okay?" She asked looking up at him. "I don't know Calleigh. We still haven't found Max and I am worried." Calleigh reached up and kissed Eric. "Come on. We are going home. You are going to stay at my place and if they find Max they will call us alright?" Eric sighed. "Alright."
Horatio woke to someone shaking him awake. He blinked his eyes open ad saw Jay leaning over him with a smile. "Hey, I figured you would want o be awake when we took the tube out." Horatio nodded and covered a yawn. Jay chuckled and walked back over to bed. Maria was on the other side. "Ready?" Maria nodded. "Okay Emily if you can hear me I need you to cough when we pull this tube out alright. It is not going to feel the best but when we have it almost out I need you to cough." Jay gave Emily a second and then he nodded to Maria. They worked together and gently pulled the tube out. They had just got it out when Emily began to cough. They were weak coughs but it was a couple coughs. Jay shook his head and smiled while Maria beamed. "She heard you." Maria said excitedly. Jay just continued smiling. Horatio had a quiet smile on his lips as he watched. "There we go all done." Jay said patting Emily hand. Emily quiet trying to cough. Jay gave Horatio a smile as he and Maria left. Horatio stood up and walked over to Emily's bed side. He held her hand and talked to her for a bit. He told her about what had happened so far and how Ryan was doing.
He also told her how she was going to have to help her dad figure out how to get Natalia not to kill him when she woke up. Horatio looked over his shoulder at Natalia after he said this. Ever since that night at her house when she had a fever, they had grow closer but nothing more had happened. Horatio wanted more but he didn't want to push her. He was afraid that if he did she would leave. As much as he loved Natalia, he couldn't live with her leaving the lab. He would not even be able to see her or work with her if that happened. Horatio sighed and turned back to Emily. His phone buzzed. "Caine." "H, we have a location on Max!" Eric said. Horatio looked up in surprise. "Where?" Horatio wrote down the address on a slip of paper. "Alright Eric I will see you there and call Frank." Horatio hung up and saw Ryan at the door. "Got a location?" Horatio nodded. "Let's go." Ryan said and turned on his heel. Horatio wrote Natalia a note and left it for her on the side table. Once he was done he followed Ryan out to the hummer.
The address was a closed theater. There were cruisers parked out front and Horatio immediately knew that Frank was already there and he had brought some reinforcements. Horatio parked the hummer. He slipped out of the hummer and Ryan follow just a little less smoothly. "Horatio." Frank said when he saw them walk over. "Do we know exactly where he is?" Horatio asked. "Eric is working with the owner and they are trying to pinpoint him through the security cameras." Frank informed them as he led them over to where Eric and a balding man were looking through computer screens. "Eric?" Eric pause one screen and asked the owner if he could enlarge that image. "I think I found him H." They all watched the screen as the owner enlarged the screen. "Yep that's him. He is in the second room on the left just past the restrooms." Frank started hollering getting people ready for entry. Horatio checked his gun and gave Ryan his back-up. Ryan checked it and got comfortable with the way it felt in his hands. "Ready?" Horatio asked looking at him. "Yep." Horatio, Ryan and a few officers took the front while Frank and Eric took the back and other officers took all the other exits. Horatio nodded and they burst through the door. Horatio and Ryan went straight to where Eric had found Max. They went in to the room and found Max trying to get into the air vent. "MDPD Stop!" Ryan yelled. They both had their guns trained on Max.
Max slowly turned around holding a grenade. "You let me go and no one dies." Max said with a smile. "We can't do that so why don't you put the grenade down." Horatio suggested. Max shook his head. "That is not going to happen." Max went to pull the pin when two shots rang out. Max was flung backwards and dropped the grenade. Horatio carefully picked up the grenade. Ryan checked Max for a pulse and didn't find any. Frank and Eric finally came in and got a bomb squad member to take the grenade from Horatio. "Are you okay?" Frank asked walking up to Horatio. "I am fine." Horatio said. "How about you two go back to the hospital." Frank suggested. "Yeah we got this." Eric said. "Alright." Horatio said knowing that Frank and Eric were not going to let him stay. Yes he was their boss they were just being his friends. "Wolfe." Horatio said getting his attention. Ryan looked stood up and followed Horatio outside. They got in the hummer and Horatio started the hummer. He didn't drive away just yet.
"Thank you." Horatio said quietly and then he pulled the hummer out of the parking lot and drove back to the hospital. Ryan looked at Horatio in surprise. All he did was go with Horatio to catch the man that poisoned Emily. Yes he had poisoned Ryan too but Ryan was more focused on the fact he hurt Emily. Ryan shook his head. They were at the hospital in no time. They parked the hummer and went into the building. They checked in and were about to get in the elevator when a voice stopped them. "Caine! Wolfe!" Horatio closed his eyes in annoyance. "Rick." Horatio said turning around. "I just got wind that both of you were just involved in shooting." Stetler folded his arms across his chest and tapped his foot impatiently. "Both of you need to give me your statements and your guns." Ryan snorted. "Our weapons are with detective Tripp and he also took our statements now if you will excuse us, we have someone waiting for us." Horatio said turning back around and getting in the elevator. As soon as Ryan was on the elevator with him, Horatio closed the doors and had it take them to the correct floor. Ryan breathed heavily through his nose. "I don't know how he got his job back but he is still a major pain in the ass." Ryan commented. Horatio sighed. "I agree but we need to keep our heads until we find out everything."
They walked into Emily's room and found Natalia awake and watching Jay as he adjusted Emily oxygen mask. "Hey I was wondering where you two went. I am just giving Emily some more oxygen just to help her so she doesn't have to work as hard right now." Jay said when he saw the boy's worried looks. Natalia glared at Horatio but her glare didn't last long. "You are so dead." Natalia whispered to Horatio when he got closer. He raised an eyebrow and Natalia slapped his arm and glared at him again. Horatio chuckled. Ryan walked over and by doing so got himself slapped on the arm too. "Hey what was that for?" Ryan asked rubbing his arm. "That is for both of you going off not your best." Natalia said fiercely. A quietly and slightly muffled chuckle startled the three of them. They spun around and found deep brown eyes laughing at them. "Emily…" Horatio breathed and walked over to her and grabbed her hand. "You are so busted." Emily said through the oxygen mask. "Who me?" Horatio asked putting a hand to his chest. Emily nodded her head. "You and Ryan." Jay laughed.
"Okay you. For now I want you to stop talking and just rest. This way you can talk all you want once your lung heals." Jay said giving Emily a smile as he gave her a little bit more oxygen. Emily nodded her head and smiled at everyone in the room. Her eyes started drooping and she immediately looked over at Jay. HE just smiled at her and shrugged his shoulders. Emily tiredly shook her head and finally caved and let her eyes close. "Why did she look over at you?" Natalia asked Jay once Emily was out. "I am pretty sure that she knows that I gave her something to help her sleep." Jay said with humor in his voice. Horatio chuckled. "You are going to get a tongue lashing when she wakes up." Horatio informed Jay with a smile. Jay just shrugged. "I think I can take it." "I am sure you can." Horatio patted Jay on the shoulder. "Thank you." "Yes thank you." Natalia and Ryan replied. "By the way Wolfe, Alexx was looking for you and she didn't seem too happy." Ryan smiled sheepishly. Horatio looked over at Ryan. "I kind of checked out without consulting with her first." He explained. "Of you are so dead when she finds you." Natalia said trying to hold back her laugh. As if she could hear them, Alexx walked in. "Ryan!" Ryan jumped and spun around with a surprised look on his face. Alexx put her hands on her hips and looked at Ryan expectantly. Horatio laughed and Alexx looked at him with her 'you are in trouble' look. Horatio held up his hands. "What do you two have to say for yourselves?" Alexx asked.
Both men were at a loss for words. Alexx sighed. "Did you at least get the guy?" Horatio nodded his head slightly and Ryan confirmed it with a 'yes'. "Alright I will let you off the hook but you had better not be giving her any ideas." Alexx said pointing at the sleeping red head. "We won't Alexx. I don't think she knows that we left." Ryan says. "Umm… I think that she knows." Horatio said. "What!" Ryan exclaimed. "Well… she said that we both were busted." Horatio said with a small sly smile. Ryan put his head in his hands and rubbed his face. Crap. She is so going to kill me. Ryan thought. "Don't worry I am in the dog house too." Horatio said trying to reassure Ryan. "Yeah well I have a feeling that you will get off lightly because you are her dad." Ryan replied. Natalia and Alexx laughed. "Alright, well I am going to check my other patients and you two had better stay out of trouble." Jay left with Alexx. Natalia and Horatio sat down on the recliner while Ryan sat in the chair.
Emily woke a few hours later and found everyone asleep. Horatio was leaning against the back of the recliner with his shoulder and Natalia was leaning against him. Emily smiled. She could tell that they would be so happy together but something was holding them back. Emily was going to have to ask Alexx if she would help her. That is once she was able to leave the hospital. She glanced closer to her and saw Ryan asleep in the chair. He had his head resting on his hand. These people were her family and they were here for her. Emily couldn't help it and her smile got bigger. The door opened and Jay walked in quietly. "Hey how are you feeling?" Emily opened her mouth to speak and then remembered what he said earlier. She closed her mouth and just smiled at Jay. "Are you alright?" He asked. He had seen her open her mouth but then she closed it. Emily's smile got bigger as she nodded to him that she was alright. "Oh." Jay said when he himself remembered what he had told her earlier. He shook his head and smiled. "You can talk a little bit." Emily smiled. "I feel fine but I am sure that the sleeping aid that knocked me out." Jay raised his eyebrows. "Oh I believe that they were. How about we make a deal? You keep the mask on and I won't give you anymore drugs." Emily nodded her head. "Deal."
"Alright I will leave you to rest. It is late and you should sleep so you can leave sooner." Jay said patting her hand. "Do you think that I can leave tomorrow?" Jay looked at her wondering if she was serious. "If everything checks out may be I will consider letting you go." Jay teased. Emily gave Jay a bright smile. She watched him leave as quietly as he came in. Emily looked back over at her father. He looked so tired she didn't dare make any noise. She heard Ryan mumble something and she looked at him. He mumbled again and slightly moved his hand and his head fell. He was immediately awake. He felt eyes on him and looked around the room. No one was awake so he looked at Emily. His eyes widened in surprise. She was awake and staring at him. Emily smiled. Ryan smiled back and leaned forward and grabbed her hand. "Feeling better?" he asked quietly. Emily nodded her head. He glanced at the clock and saw that it was late. "Go back to sleep." He said rubbing circles on the top of her hand with his thumb. "Only if you do." Ryan smiled and chuckled quietly. "Alright." He moved his chair so he could lean back in it and keep a hold of her hand. She gave his hand a squeeze. In no time Ryan was asleep again. Emily watched him for a bit before her own eyes closed. Emily smiled. She had a feeling things were going to start looking up.
Jay walked in the next morning to find everyone up and laughing. Emily was quiet but she was sporting a giant smile. He shook his head and walked straight to Emily's bedside. He listened to her breathe before he gave her a smile. He helped her sit up and gently took the mask off. "There we go. Now what in the world has those three laughing their guts out?" Jay asked. "Ryan has a hand print on his face and it is still there. He slept on his hand." Emily informed him. Ryan was trying to get the mark to go away but it wouldn't. Horatio and Natalia just sat there laughing at him. Jay smiled himself when he caught a glimpse of the mark. Horatio turned slightly and saw Jay. They all walked over so they could pay attention to Jay. "Well I think that as long as you take it easy and do nothing extraneous I think you can go home." He said with a smile. Emily beamed. Natalia smiled and pulled a bag out from under the recliner. "I go some cloths for you earlier." Natalia said and handed the bag to Emily.
"Thank you." Jay stood up. "Once you have finished changing I am going to listen to your lung one more time and then you can go. I will go get your papers now." Jay stood up and left with Ryan and Horatio on his heels. They waited outside. Emily slowly got out of bed and headed to the bathroom with the bag. "Leave it unlocked." Natalia said. "Okay." Emily said and gave Natalia a smile. Emily slipped into her t-shirt and a comfortable pair of jeans. She smiled triumphantly when she got them on without much difficulty. She came out with a big smile and found Jay talking with Natalia explaining things that she probably shouldn't do. Emily rolled her eyes but still couldn't stop smiling. Jay turned and smiled at Emily. "Alright come sit right here for me." He said patting the end of the bed. Emily hopped up and sat straight for Jay. He did a complete work through and found that Emily was ready to go. "Alright you are set. I want you back in next week to make sure that everything is healing just fine." Emily agreed and followed Jay out to the lobby where Horatio was waiting.
Emily tilted her head curious wondering where Ryan went but smiled when she saw her dad waiting for her. "Hey." He said when he saw the three of them. "Wolfe went to grab the hummer." Horatio said after they thanked Jay. On cue Wolfe brought the hummer to the door. They all piled in and went straight to Horatio's. "Can Nat and Ryan stay the night?" Emily asked Horatio. "Sure." Emily smiled happily. They spent the rest of the day watching comedy movies in the living room. Horatio stuck Ryan on the couch and let Natalia have his bed. Emily slept in her own bed and Horatio decided to sleep on Kyle's bed since he wasn't using it. He had tried to get Wolfe to take the bed but he said he was good. Horatio sighed tiredly as he fell on the bed. Emily had been happy just to be with the three of them. Horatio was just worried that Emily was going to be too much like him and in a couple days would get impatient. He shook his head and laid back. Horatio smiled when he thought of Emily's laugh and Natalia's smile. Soon he was out like a light.
No… no not again! Emily was flung into her nightmare once again. She did everything she could but she couldn't wake up. Her dreams always started out the same but half way through they would change. Sometimes there would be more people other times there would only be one. Occasionally the nightmare went further than it had ever before but the ones that scared her most was when her loved ones were in it. A few times it would be Horatio and Natalia or someone from the team but most of the time when those dreams happened it was Ryan. Tonight it was one of the nightmares that Ryan was in. Instead of just her getting hurt he was too. Emily thrashed and finally woke up when she rolled herself off the bed. She groaned and untangled herself from her blanket. Once she was free Emily went where she would always go when she had her nightmares. To the front room. It was dark but Emily knew the room like the back of her hand and sat down on the couch and jumped when Ryan groaned. "Sorry." Emily said nervously. Ryan blinked his eyes and made out Emily in the darkness. "Emily?... What are you doing up?" Emily backed away slowly. "Nothing I am sorry I just forgot for a minute that you were here, I'm sorry." Emily turned to leave but Ryan snagged her wrist. "Emily what it wrong?" He asked concerned. "Nothing." Emily whispered. Ryan pulled her to him. "No it's something. Tell me please." He gently pulled her so she was sitting on the couch next to him. "Emily…" Ryan tried again.
She chocked back a sob. "Ryan…" Emily couldn't hold it back anymore and told Ryan about her nightmares and how they kept changing for the worse. Ryan pulled her close to him and rubbed her back. "Shh… you are okay. He is gone." Emily nodded into Ryan's shoulder and cried into his chest. "How long have you had these dreams?" Ryan asked as Emily clamed a bit. Emily sniffled. "Every night since I came home from that place except when I was asleep at the hospital." Emily answered truthfully. "Why didn't you tell anyone?" He asked looking at her. He saw the fear that lingered in her eyes. "I thought that they would go away eventually and then it just became a part of my life so I dealt with it." "Oh Emily, you never have to just deal with things like that. Come here." Ryan said pulling Emily close again. Emily slid further onto the couch and laid against his chest. Ryan leaned back and soothingly rubbed her back until she fell asleep again. Emily sighed and snuggled closer to Ryan. He pulled them further on the couch. After a little while he fell asleep with Emily in his arms.
Natalia woke to sunlight peeking in through the blinds. She smiled recognizing Horatio's room. She got out of bed and found her cloths that she got yesterday. She changed and went out to start breakfast. She was almost to the kitchen when she saw two people on the couch. She quietly walked over and saw that it was Emily and Ryan. Ryan was slouched, almost laying down and Emily was slightly on top of him. She had a pretty good idea about what Emily was doing in here. She had heard Emily hit the floor and get up and go out into the living room. She had quietly followed and heard Emily talk to Ryan. Natalia caught a few words of what Emily was saying and knew that she was finally talking to someone about the time she spent with that Jack character. Natalia smiled and started breakfast. Bacon, eggs, toast, and some orange juice. Natalia walked into the living room and gently shook Ryan. He blinked his eyes open. "What?" Natalia smiled. "You may want to get up. Breakfast is almost ready and I am pretty sure that right now you don't want Horatio walking in." Ryan looked at her confused until Emily shifted closer to Ryan. His eyes widened in recognition.
"Thank you." Natalia nodded and went back to making breakfast. Ryan shifted but all Emily did was wrap her arm around his chest and held onto him. Ryan smiled. "Emily… Emily we need to get up." Ryan said slowly waking Emily up. "Hmm…?" Emily asked blinking the cobwebs out of her eyes. "We need to get up." Ryan said with a bright smile. In all honesty he didn't want to get up but he also didn't want Horatio to freak and make it so Ryan had to transfer. "Ok." Emily said and got off the couch. She stretched and went into the kitchen to help Natalia. Ryan cleaned up the couch and walked into the kitchen just as Horatio joined them. They sat down to a great breakfast. They ate and chit-chatted. Emily smiled as she looked around her. This was her family and they were all happy. She felt content and happy.
~ Review please! :D ~