"Morning, Eric."

Horatio's low voice had caught him off guard. Walking into the break room after a particularly heavy night out, finding Horatio hiding in the shadows in the corner had not been what he'd expected.

"You're back?" the younger man asked, nodding his gratitude for the cup of coffee that had been handed to him by his superior.

"Were you expecting someone else?" Horatio asked, a hint of wry amusement in the question.

Eric shook his head. "I thought it would be at least a couple of weeks before they'd let you come back."

Horatio frowned. "I won't be out in the field until they've cleared me."

Eric grinned, knowing how impatient Horatio would be to get back in the saddle and back out on the streets of Miami.

"Hey," Speed remarked as he helped himself to a cup of coffee. It had been the type of welcome Horatio had been expecting from the dour Tim Speedle.

"Indeed," Horatio agreed, placing his hands on his hips, missing the feel of his ID card and badge. "What have I missed?"

Eric had begun running down a list of the lab's current cases when Calleigh entered the room.

"Are you boys starting without me?" she asked, elbowing Eric playfully. "No fair."

Speed shrugged his shoulders. "Just giving H and update on what we've been working on."

"We even saved you some coffee," Eric supplied, grinning.

"See how well drilled I have them?" Calleigh teased, glancing at Horatio.

"I do," he replied, a small smile tugging at his lips. "It seems I'm not needed here. I'll make a start on the pile of paperwork that you've left me, ma'am."

"Hang on a sec," she called out to him. "I have something for you."

His eyes caught the glint of light that shone off his badge. He took the ID card and gold shield from Calleigh and clipped them to his belt.

"Feels better?"

"Much," he replied as he gave the team one last look. "I'll be in my office if anyone needs me."

"I wasn't expecting to see him back so soon," Eric said, watching his superior leave.

Calleigh let out a dramatic sigh. "I'm fairly sure Alexx and his doctor thought it would be less stressful if he was actually doing something. Besides, she can keep an eye on him when he's here."

"He's gonna love that," Speed remarked.

"She's chaining him to the lab and his desk for the time being."

"I can imagine how well that went down," Eric mused.

"So keep any talk of fieldwork to a minimum for now. You know how he'll want to be out there front and centre."

"Yes, boss," Speed said, draining the last of his coffee.

—

"Having fun?" Calleigh asked, poking her head around the door to Horatio's office.

He grimaced as he took in the pile of case files and reports on his desk. "Is it me, or has it got busier since I've been away," he groused, dropping another file into his 'out' tray. "I don't remember having this much paperwork to do before."

Calleigh gave him what she hoped was her most sweet and innocent smile.

"You did keep on top of the paperwork, didn't you?"

"Of course I did, but I wanted to make sure you'd have something to keep you occupied when you came back, too."

"Hmmm. You and Alexx have been plotting against me, I see."

"Well, someone needs to make sure you're being reasonable."

"You think I'm unreasonable?"

She could hear the tinge of hurt in his voice as he spoke.

Sensing that she'd hurt his feelings, she quickly replied. "You should hear the things Alexx calls you behind your back."

He let out a small groan at the thought. "I can imagine."

"Anyway," she said, changing the subject. "Speed's working on some trace evidence downstairs. I was wondering if you wanted a break from the paperwork for a while?"

"I thought you'd never ask," Horatio said, closing the file he was holding and following her from the room.

—

"Ok, time's up," Alexx said as she let herself into Horatio's office.

He glared at her. "I still have work to do."

"I'm sure it's nothing that can't wait until tomorrow."

Horatio sighed. "I'm already weeks behind as it is."

"So another night won't hurt."

"Alexx - "

"You can't catch up on everything in a day, Horatio. Not even you."

He shot her a sour look before pinching the bridge of his nose. "I'm fine."

"Yeah, and I'm the Pope," Alexx shot back, folding her arms across her chest. "Go home. Now."

Perhaps she was right. The headache that had started as an annoying throb had slowly turned into a thumping pain behind his eyes. Yet he'd needed to push himself today. After weeks of doing nothing, he needed to feel useful.

"I get it, sugar," Alexx said, guiding him from the office. "You've done enough for today. It'll all still be here tomorrow."

—

Horatio felt his phone buzz as he entered his house. He smiled as he looked at the caller ID.

"Good evening," he said, a hint of a smile tugging at his lips.

"You're home?" the female voice asked.

"I am," he replied, "but I have a feeling that you knew that already."

He could hear her laugh softly. "I have no idea what you mean."

"I know you and Alexx are ganging up on me, Calleigh."

She could hear the tinge of mild annoyance as he spoke. Horatio would not tolerate being coddled by anyone.

"She cares about you, Horatio. We all care about you."

The silence seemed to stretch between them.

"I know," he replied quietly. "It's not something that I'm used to. I am trying though…I did warn you that I'm not the easiest person to know."

"It's a good job that I like a challenge then."

"Calleigh - "

"What are your plans for tonight?" she asked, cutting him off from whatever he had been about to say.

He let out a sigh, pinching the bridge of his nose and feeling his head pound. He was not going to admit to how bad he felt, knowing that Calleigh and Alexx would force him to stay away from work for longer if he did.

"Make myself something to eat, read for a while and then bed," he lied. "How about you?"

"I was gonna watch a movie but it doesn't seem right if you're not here."

He could hear the longing in her voice. He was painfully aware that he felt the same way. They had only spent a few days together and he was already finding himself consumed with thoughts of her. His house seemed far emptier without her in it.

"It'll be Saturday soon enough," he tried to reassure her. "What are your plans for the weekend?"

Calleigh paused for a moment before replying. "I was hoping that you and I could go back to that spot on the beach. It's beautiful there...and quiet."

He knew exactly the spot she was referring to - the night he'd found her in tears in the break room after her father had once again drunk himself into a stupor.

"That sounds like an excellent idea," he agreed. "Although you'll have to promise me one thing."

"Which is?"

"You let me buy you dinner. I know a place that does a great jambalaya."

"Be still my beating heart. You sure know how to woo a Southern lady."

She heard that sexy rumbling laugh of his.

"So it's a date?" he asked, unaware that he was gripping his phone tightly.

"It is."

—

Calleigh would lecture him if she'd witnessed tonight's dinner. The pounding in his head was making his stomach roll painfully and the most he'd been able to manage had been some leftover chicken and a salad he'd thrown together.

Despite his best efforts, every time he attempted to read a chapter from the book Calleigh had given him the words swam across the page, to the point that he couldn't focus on anything.

He'd placed the book down on the bedside table, thrown a couple of painkillers in his mouth and swallowed them, sighing in frustration.

Within minutes he was deeply asleep.

—

The first blow had come from behind and taken him by surprise. He felt the air rush from his lungs painfully as he fell to his knees before his face was grabbed roughly by the man who had set up the meet.

"What's the message?" he managed to ask as he gasped for breath, instantly knowing that the answer would be both painful and unpleasant.

The force of the backhand across his face made his ears ring. He could feel the blood filling his mouth as he looked at his attacker.

"Stop looking."

Another blow from behind had sent him to his hands and knees. Blows were coming from all angles and he knew he was in trouble. Against one or two he might have stood a chance, but there were too many of them.

He threw punches wildly at his attackers and felt at least a few of them make contact. As soon as his fist had connected with one attacker, another sent more punches and kicks his way.

His body was beginning to throb as his ability to defend himself slowly drained away with each blow that landed.

He'd made a grab for his gun as another kick sent him back to his hands and knees. He suddenly felt a bolt of pain shoot through his left hand as someone stamped on it.

This was it. He was going to die here.

The beating stopped momentarily as he felt himself being hauled against the side of his Hummer, his head making contact with the side of the vehicle. He could barely keep his eyes open and everything seemed blurry and distorted. He could feel the blood running down his face. He tried to take a good look at his attackers in the unlikely event that he got out of this alive. He'd need to ID them for sure.

There was something familiar about one of them. Through the ringing in his ears, he'd heard one of the men shout out. There was something familiar about the voice - was it the accent he recognised?

"Come on, man," the voice had said. "That's enough. You've made your point."

"It's enough when I say it's enough," the other man had snarled.

"He's no threat to you," the familiar voice pleaded again. "Please, you gave me you word!"

The other man laughed. "Then more fool you."

The hands holding him upright suddenly let go. Unable to support his own weight, his legs collapsed beneath him as he fell back down into the dirt. The punches and kicks began flying in again and this time he could do nothing but try to curl into a ball and protect himself.

He saw the vague outline of a boot before everything went black.

Horatio shot up in bed, gasping and holding his ribs as he tried to get his breathing under control.

His memories of the attack had been fractured and split since he'd woken up in hospital several weeks ago. Perhaps Calleigh had been right, maybe his mind was blocking the details of what had happened that night.

Try as he might, he had never been able to give an accurate account of what his attackers had looked like. Even in his dreams their faces had been blurred.

In all of the flashbacks he'd experienced regarding that night, he'd never once recalled any of the men pleading with the others to stop. It had always been the same - all of them had jumped in on him and shown him no mercy. They had simply beat him until he stopped moving. They had left him out on a deserted road to die.

Why would one of them have second thoughts?

Her knew that he'd made a nuisance of himself with the local drug runners since Ray's death. He'd been determined to get to the truth and prove beyond doubt that Ray hadn't been dirty. It hadn't mattered if he'd pissed people off along the way.

The truth would prevail, in the end.

It made no sense that one of them would plead for the others to show mercy. Surely it would have been in all of their interests to kill him.

So why hadn't they?

The voice seemed familiar to him, yet he couldn't place it. There was something about the way the man spoke that he recognised. The man's thoughts and actions seemed at odds with the rest of his attackers.

Whoever had set him up had known details about Ray that proved they had known the man while he was alive. It seemed a logical assumption that someone close to Ray had been behind this.

He might not be cleared to be out in the field yet, but that didn't mean that he couldn't dig deeper into what had happened to him that night. It was an inside job, it had to be.

If there was a mole inside the department, one way or another he would find them and make them pay.