"He's barely said a word since he came out of his room," Andy remarked, helping Kyle carry the basket from the porch and down to the side of the lake.

And it was true, the man they both loved and cared for had hardly said a word since he'd emerged from his room and joined them in the kitchen. Kyle knew his father too well; the telephone conversation that he'd just had had likely been an upsetting one.

"I think he might have finally called Calleigh," Kyle responded, keeping his voice low and hoping that his father didn't overhear their conversation. He needn't have bothered, Horatio was so distracted that it was unlikely he was even capable of hearing them let alone listening to what they were saying.

"'Bout time," Andy huffed. "Guy's been walking around like a bear with a sore ass since we left Miami."

Kyle winced at the crude analogy before distractedly wondering how Andy knew what a bear's sore ass felt like.

"I don't think it went all that well," Kyle said, motioning his head in the direction of his father.

Andy's eyes fell on the form of his old partner, seeing the familiar slump of those shoulders; shoulders that once had been so strong and reliable. It saddened him to think that John was still suffering. It exasperated him when he realised how much of that inner turmoil was the man's own doing.

"Your old man is tough, kid. I dare say that it'll take more than a few cross words from Calleigh to keep him down for long."

"You think she's pissed with him?"

Andy let out a snort. "Wouldn't you be? The guy just packed his bags, upped and left her. Calleigh ain't the type of woman to take that lying down."

"He did it for the right reasons," Kyle responded, a hint of anger in his voice. He felt the need to defend his father's honour even if the man himself wouldn't.

Andy held his free hand up in surrender. "I'm not saying he didn't. I've been on the wrong end of that woman's temper enough to know that she's a tough cookie. Maybe a dressing down is what your old man needed to hear."

Kyle remained silent, pulling items out of the basket and thumping them down on the ground with slightly more force than necessary, watching his father's distracted pacing from the corner of his eye.

After laying the fishing rods on top of the basket, Kyle let out a frustrated breath before pinning Andy with narrowed eyes. "Do you think they'll be ok?"

Andy shrugged his shoulders. "Who knows, kid? They love each other, that much is clear. Hopefully they'll work it out." Pulling the packet of cigarettes from his pocket, Andy cast a quick look at his old partner. "They're kinda good for each other. She keeps him on his toes and won't take any crap from him and I like that about her….you tell her I said that and I'll kill you," he added as an afterthought, tempering his words with a brief smirk.

"I think she kinda likes you too."

Andy let out another snort, taking a drag from his cigarette. "She does a damn good job of hiding it then. I guess it must be my natural charm when it comes to women."

The two of them shared a smile before turning their attention to a deep voice behind them.

"You shouldn't be smoking, Andy. It'll scare the fish off." The words were chiding but the tone of the man who spoke them was light.

Andy huffed in response, watching his old partner thread the line through the rod with practiced precision. "How they hell am I gonna scare the fish off by smoking? It's not like they've got a nose to smell it with."

The younger man refused to take the bait, walking down the shallow decline towards the edge of the water. "It's not good for you," he called from over his shoulder, casting a line.

"Says the man who barely eats or sleeps," Andy retorted, immediately regretting the words as pain flashed across his friend's face.

Cursing his big mouth, Andy distracted himself by casting a line of his own, keeping his gaze centred on the wide expanse of the lake ahead.


It was morning again, judging by the light streaming through the hospital room's small window. Things had got fuzzy last night; Sally remembered Kelly sitting with her, trying to comfort her after it dawned on her as to what Brad had done.

Both of them had been crying – she recalled that much. After a while, shock had turned to shame at the thought of how her ex-boyfriend had violated her body. Maybe he was right, no one would want a piece of trailer trash like her, especially now that she was tainted.

Had that been Brad's plan when he beat down her door? Had he wanted to make her undesirable to other men just because he couldn't have her himself?

She could only remember bits and pieces from that night, but one of the things she would never forget was the unfocused look in his eyes. Eyes she'd once loved that now seemed dead, as if the real Brad had been locked deep inside and the monster who had taken over his body was in full control.

But surely there had been some small part of the real Brad still in there, beneath the drink and drug addiction? Surely there was still a spark of the decent man she'd once known; the man she'd once loved.

Blaming it on the drugs and alcohol would not provide her any comfort as she realised that there must have been some part of the real Brad that had wanted to hurt her in the way that he did. Maybe the kiss between she and Kelly had been the catalyst for the demons inside her boyfriend to finally break free of their human shell.

As much as she'd suffered at the hands of her boyfriend, Sally had been thankful that it had at least brought her and Kelly closer together. She'd half been expecting her best friend to blame her for what had happened; to tell her that she'd brought it on herself with her foolish actions. She'd been surprised when Kelly had come to her room, full of contrition, wanting to make up for not being there when Brad attacked her.

Brad was Kelly's brother, it stood to reason that she might want to protect him, yet Kelly had been firm in her assurances that he be brought to justice and made to pay for his crimes against her best friend. It seemed as if Kelly was finally showing why Sally had chosen her as a friend and confidant in the first place, their momentary falling out over the kiss all but forgotten as they clung to each other, taking strength from their renewed sense of friendship.

Several times during the evening she'd told Kelly that she would be ok on her own, even though she was terrified that he would come back and hurt her again. Kelly had refused and seemed content to stroke her friend's head as she watched the injured woman's eyes grow heavy with medication and fatigue.

Kelly must have left at some point as she now found herself awake and alone in the stark white room. The monitors connected to her body beeped softly but couldn't drown out the sounds of beds being wheeled through the corridors as she lay still, trying not to move for fear of causing herself more discomfort than she already felt.

"It's nice to see you awake," a soft yet recognisable voice said from the doorway.

"Dr Pearce?"

He walked slowly into the room, unsure as to how she would react to having a man in such close proximity after what had happened to her. "How are you feeling, Sally?" he asked, inching slowly into the room, taking her lack of reaction to his movements as a good sign.

"Bruised, sore….dirty."

The last word was no more than a whisper as the realisation of what had been done to her hit home again. Brad had beaten her senseless then taken the most intimate and precious thing from her.

The speed at which the doctor moved to her side caused Sally to gasp in surprise then wince in pain at the sudden movement. Jeff seemed to realise that his quick movements had scared her as he froze mid-way to her bed.

"I'm sorry, Sally. I won't hurt you, I promise."

She closed her eyes, feeling the shame wash over her. Even the man who knew her so well was wary of getting too close to her. Was he afraid that the dirt from her body would somehow transfer to him too?

"I know you won't, Dr Pearce. You just made me jump is all."

Her words were still slurred by the painkillers they were giving her, but at least it kept the worst of the physical discomfort to a minimum. The emotional pain was something else entirely.

"May I sit?" the doctor asked, pointing to the chair beside her bed.

She nodded her head as much as her stiff neck would allow.

He took her hand slowly, giving her a sad smile. "You are not dirty, Sally." The words were spoken quietly yet there was conviction in his voice. "What happened to you was not your fault, ok?"

She nodded as tears brimmed in her eyes. The doctor was wrong, she was dirty and used – like a piece of trash, no longer of any use to anyone. No one would look at her in the same way again. She would forever be remembered as the girl who got what she'd asked for, who let a man force himself upon her.

"I called the Watsons for you," he continued, squeezing her hand lightly, once again feeling a surge of anger as he took in the scuff marks on her knuckles. "Have they come to visit you yet?"

She shook her head ever so slightly. "Kelly says they're going to come visit today. They must be so disappointed in me."

The pressure on her hand was firmer this time. Looking into the doctor's eyes she could see that he was angry. Was he angry at her for being so foolish?

"No one is disappointed in you, Sally. You were attacked by someone you trusted….someone you cared about. This wasn't your fault."

Tears cascaded down her bruised cheeks as she felt her emotional defences crumble. "I allowed this to happen. Maybe if I'd just been honest in the first place…."

"What's done is done. You couldn't have seen this coming."

"I upset him," she argued. "I made him angry, that's why he lost his temper."

The doctor shook his head, running his free hand through his short grey hair. "The man that did this to you is an animal. There's no justification for what he did."

Sally's own cheeks coloured with shame, her boss had put into words what had been done to her. Would everyone know what had happened to her on that fateful night, would she ever be able to get away from a reputation that would follow her around like a bad smell?

"You know what he did?" she asked, closing her eyes, her voice shaking as she spoke.

The hand holding hers applied firmer pressure. "I do."

"What am I going to do?" She sounded so pathetic, so much like a needy child.

"You're going to rest and get better, then we'll work through this one step at a time, ok?" Sally felt his large hand on her cheek, tenderly brushing a few of the tears away. "You're not on your own. You have people around you that care a great deal about you; we won't see you go through this alone."

She opened her eyes just a crack to look at him, unable to doubt the sincerity shining in his eyes.

"I'm scared," she told him honestly, feeling her body start to shake.

"It's ok to be scared, Sally."

"What if he…..what if he comes back to finish what he…."

"That won't happen," Jeff replied firmly. "The police are out looking for him. They're gonna catch him and throw him in jail, I promise you."

She nodded her head, all the while terrified that Brad was still out there somewhere. What if he came back when no one was around, would he kill her this time?


After placing her phone down slowly, Calleigh had to pinch herself to check that what had just happened was in fact real and not a figment of her desperate and lonely imagination. Had Horatio just called her?

It was true; it couldn't have been a dream. They'd talked only for a matter of minutes yet she couldn't deny how good it felt to hear his voice, to hear him murmur 'sweetheart' in a way that made her insides tingle.

She'd been rightly angry at him and his continued silence of the past several days, letting him feel the full force of her displeasure at being discarded so abruptly. He'd attempted to apologise but she'd barely let him raise a word in his own defence.

The emotions that she'd kept bottled up recently had spilled over like a river breaking its banks, sweeping Horatio up in a tidal wave of her fury. At least he'd sounded contrite when she eventually let him get a word in.

He'd promised to return in a few days and that they would sit and talk. Would she be able to keep her emotions in check when she saw him or would she want to slap him painfully in the face for what he'd done to her?

A slap in the face had been what it had felt like to be rejected, cast aside like that, as if their relationship had meant nothing to him. He'd walked out and left her, continuing to ignore her while he returned to the city of his birth. He'd left her with nothing to hold onto except her own bitterness and pain.

He'd told her that he would return to Miami early next week and that he would explain his reasons for leaving, hopefully more adequately than he had the last time. He'd told her that he owed her that much at least but the truth was that they owed it to each other to try to salvage what was left of their relationship.

At least she had some good news to tell Moses now, until she realised that the breakdown of her relationship with Horatio would end in some kind of bizarre custody battle for their shared possession: the cat. The bond between Horatio and Moses was strong, she couldn't deny that. Would she deny both her pet and her lover the chance to be reunited just because her own heart had been bruised?

Given a choice, she knew that Moses would choose his master. The two of them were linked so closely, the bond between them so strong that she knew the cat instinctively gravitated towards the troubled man. Was the main reason that she wanted to keep hold of the cat because he was the last piece of Horatio that she still had in her possession?

She was getting ahead of herself, way ahead of herself. Their relationship might be fractured but there was still a sense of hope that the damage could be healed with time and effort. They still loved each other, that much she knew for sure, but would it be enough for them?

At least she had the weekend to galvanise herself for what was to come. She would be mentally and emotionally prepared for their reunion of sorts, able to view the situation with a sense of perspective that had been lacking the last time they'd spoken face to face.


Ryan felt feather-light kisses on his face, coming back to awareness slowly, shocked to find that they'd somehow made it to his bedroom after their passionate union on the couch.

"Feel any better this morning?" Hillary asked, her fingers dancing their way up his bare chest.

What could he say to that – that he felt like crap now that his supposed friends and teammates had all but accused him of selling out to IAB? How could they even think that he would ever betray Horatio like that, after everything the lieutenant had done for him?

No one understood him or respected him like Horatio did. He'd lay down his life for the man if he had to. How could anyone think that he'd ever cause the man he looked up to any harm, professionally or personally?

Hillary had sensed how upset he was and allowed him to use her body to seek a little comfort from wounds that had been cruelly inflicted by the people he thought he could trust. He'd been rough when he'd touched her, yet she'd allowed him that sense of control when he'd needed it the most.

"I'm sorry if I came on a bit strong last night," Ryan said by way of apology, leaning over and kissing the top of her head.

"Don't be, I kind of like it when you're all riled up. Who knew that little Ryan Wolfe had it in him?"

Her words were teasing, but did she have any idea how fast he was falling for her; how much he needed her?

Hillary Craig could be hard and blunt, yet there was a softer side to her that people either didn't see or didn't care to look close enough for. She'd been his rock last night, holding firm while his stormy emotions threatened to overwhelm him. Beyond that, she actually made him feel happy.

Difficult as she was at times, Hillary made him feel like a better man, as if she could bring out the best in him. At times she infuriated him yet he found her all the more irresistible when she insisted on being obtuse just to spite him. Hillary was unlike any other woman he'd dated and he found himself quickly becoming addicted to everything about her.

It was so hard to know what Hillary was thinking but he clung onto the small sense of hope that perhaps she felt the same way about him too. He'd seen it over the last few days, how she'd been happier than he'd seen her since they were wet-behind-the ears-rookies at the Academy. Had he been the one to put the smile back on her face?

Whatever this was, he was enjoying it and wanting more with each day that passed. He knew that he was losing his heart to her, yet he couldn't find a reason to care. He'd take whatever she was willing to give and show he just how much she was beginning to mean to him in return.

Quick as a flash Ryan pounced, holding his weight above her, gripping gently to the undersides of her wrists as he pinned her to the bed.

"Who said anything about being little?" he smirked, setting her body on fire with a trail of passionate kisses.