Chapter 54

As Horatio pulled into the parking lot of the hospital, he saw Calleigh as she walked toward the front doors of the hospital. He honked and she turned toward the sound. She waved when she saw the Hummer had pulled in and parked.

Calleigh waited at the door, but when she saw who was with the red head, her eyes went wide in recognition. "Please, don't tell me you did what it looks like you did?"

Horatio looked over at Ty briefly, then turned to Calleigh, with a decidedly wicked gleam in his eyes. "Ok, I won't."

"But you did." She glanced briefly over at Ty and the others. "Horatio? The team from Extreme Makeover: Home Edition?"

The red head looked down, that shy, embarrassed grin making a quick appearance. "Yeah, well. It was the only way that I knew of to get Stevie's and Jessica's house back on schedule."

Calleigh shook her head ruefully. "You're crazy, you know that, don't you?" She laughed.

He chuckled as well. When he turned to her, she could see a wicked gleam in his eye. "Yes, ma'am, 100 certifiable."

After they shared a hearty laugh over the comment, he indicated Ty and his team, and made the introductions. He then turned to Ty and explained. "This is Det Calleigh Duquesne. She is the lady I was talking to on the phone earlier. Besides being my right hand at the lab, she's also the boy's adopted Aunt and his godmother."

Ty nodded his understanding. He then pointed to the box. "What's this?"

Horatio picked up the box. "It's a present for Stevie. Speaking of which, let's go."

The group made their way upstairs to Stevie's room, just as he was waking up.

"Hey, there, Sleepyhead." Horatio and Calleigh walked around to stand on either side of the bed.

"How are you feeling, Stevie?" Calleigh asked him.

Stevie shrugged. "Better, but not quite 100 percent, just yet."

"Ok, partner. I'm going to check with Doctor Fitzgerald to see if we're going to have to do another cleansing." Horatio set the package on the table and rolled it over to the bed and pressed the control on the side of the bed to recline the head of the bed.

As the head of the bed came up, Stevie noticed his other visitors. He looked over at Horatio for a moment, then softly asked. "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition? I didn't think we were that bad off, H." The bed stopped and he also saw the box. "What's this?"

Horatio motioned toward the box and explained. "I had two very interesting visitors at the lab the other day. They had heard about the robbery and that someone had been injured, so I told them about you. They asked if you were ok. I told them that ultimately you would be, but that you were going to be a very uncomfortable young man for awhile. They said that this was for you and that they hoped you liked it."

Stevie pulled the sheet of paper out from under the ribbon and unfolded it. He scanned it and his eyes went wide and then he looked up at the red head. "'Special K' Daley and 'Hollywood' Turner?" His little voice rose in excitement. "The Globetrotters? H? You can't be serious."

That mischievous gleam came back to the red head's eyes. "I can't, huh?" He chuckled for a minute. "Oh, yes, I can. Just watch me." Horatio gestured toward the box. "Open it up, Stevie. I'm curious to see what it is."

The youngster lifted the lid and pulled the item out. "Whoa!!" He breathed. A brand new, red, white, and blue basketball, with the Globetrotters logo, as well as handwritten signatures covering the entire surface of the ball came out of the box. "Mom!! Look at this!! The entire team signed it!! Whoa!! This is fantastic!!"

"I see that, Stevie. 'Whoa' is right." Jessica is very quick to agree with her son.

The youngster and his mother both looked over at the red head.

Horatio saw their looks and put his hands up. "What? I didn't do anything. They were waiting for Eric and I when we came back to the lab the other day. It was already boxed and wrapped up when they handed it to me. Ask Aunt Calleigh. She's my witness."

"That's true, Stevie. It was." Calleigh admitted. "He's innocent. This time, anyway." She winked at him.

Stevie chuckled as he watched as Horatio blushed, almost as red as his hair. "That time, maybe, but not this time." He pointed toward the door, then looked up at Horatio. "H? The design team from Extreme Makeover: Home Edition?"

"You recognized them?" Horatio asked.

The youngster nodded. "Mom and I watch their show from time to time." Stevie fought not to blush as he waved them in. "If I had known you were coming, I would have scrounged a shirt. Please try to ignore how bad I look."

Ty stepped up to the bed, offering the boy his hand. "Don't worry, Stevie. You're fine. How are you feeling?"

Stevie shook the man's hand. "Better, thank you, but not quite 100 percent."

Horatio's eyebrow climbed into his hair. "Ok. I'm going to check with Doctor Fitzgerald. Let's see what your white blood cell count looked like."

"Do you mind if we tag along, Lt?" Tanya asked, as she motioned towards Michael, and herself.

"We'll be right back, Stevie." Horatio moved toward the door.

"We're ok, H." Stevie told him, then turned back to Ty.