It didn't take long for Eric and Speed to arrive. Immediately after they
stepped out of the H2 they had been driving, Horatio noted the less than
thrilled expressions on their faces. He didn't need to guess to know that
the reason they had those looks on their faces was because they weren't
happy to be there. Who could blame them though? They had just gotten home
with the promise of the weekend off and then suddenly they get a call that
they're needed at a crime scene. It was simply Murphy's Law at work.
"So, I presume you have an absurdly good reason as to why you dragged us down here, right H?" Speed questioned somewhat grumpily as soon as he and Delko walked up to Horatio.
The lieutenant's face showed no sign of emotion as he replied, "This is your job. You go where the crimes are. Isn't that a good enough reason?"
"Normally, yes," Eric said, "But this time it's a bit different."
"Please enlighten me," Horatio said almost dryly.
Speed and Eric looked at each other, both getting the feeling that something was up with their boss. "It's just that," Delko began gradually, "you gave us-or more like forced us to take the weekend off, H, and now you have to have us here. I mean, well, it's not like you couldn't have just passed this case off to the next shift."
Speed slowly nodded in agreement. "Yeah, so it's kinda giving us the feeling that something more is going on here," he stated. "So, would you care to fill us in on the importance of this crime scene?"
Horatio paused a moment before answering them. "No, I wouldn't care to fill you in," he said causing both Speed and Eric's face to drop, "but I will since the information is somewhat relevant to the case." He paused again purposely, trying to think of the exact words to say. "The reason I called you two down here is because the victim in a good friend of Calleigh's."
Tim and Eric both looked completely aghast at the news,
"Oh my God," Delko said, seemingly dismayed. "Did you call her? Does she know?" he asked, obviously to the fact that Calleigh was actually there.
Horatio nodded slowly. "Yes, she knows," he replied before glancing over at the Hummer he and Calleigh had brought. "She came with me to the scene."
The men followed his gaze and saw the blonde woman sitting in the vehicle looking positively...broken.
"Did she see her friend-her friend's body?" Eric asked, his tone and features concerned.
Horatio nodded sullenly. "Yes, she didn't tell me she knew the victim until we went inside," he replied before glancing back at Calleigh again to make sure she was till where he had left her.
"Ok, well we'll get to work," Speed said upon noticing the hidden look of near-desperation on Horatio's face to get back to the woman in the Hummer. "Come on, Eric."
Delko gave him a questioning look, but Speed only shook his head, silently telling the younger man not to ask questions.
"We'll see you later, H," Tim said before dropping his voice to a whisper, saying, "Take care of Calleigh."
Horatio nodded and then three men went their separate ways.
Walking back over to the H2, Horatio opened the driver's side door and got inside. He sat there for a moment, staring out of the windshield. Finally he spoke up. "Speed and Eric will do a good job." He cringed inwardly at how lame his weak attempt at assurance sounded.
"Just drive, Horatio," Calleigh said very softly before she turned her head away from the lieutenant and stared out the window.
Horatio frowned slightly before he started the engine and pulled out onto the street.
The whole ride to Calleigh's condo was done in complete silence. Both occupants of the vehicle had been in such deep thought, or shock in Calleigh's case, that neither could say anything. Slowing the H2 down, Horatio pulled it over to the side of the rode and then turned the engine off. Getting out, he walked over to Calleigh's side and opened the door for her. "Come on," he said softly, stepping back so the blonde could get out.
Calleigh moved slowly as she unbuckled her seatbelt and got out of the H2. It looked as if she were in some sort of trance, but Horatio knew in was actually the shock of seeing her friend dead that was making the usually energetic and peppy blonde seem like a robot on autopilot. They slowly moved to her front door and just stood there.
Horatio looked down at Calleigh who was just staring at the door. He thought about reminding her to unlock it so they could go in, but decided against it. Instead he pulled out his own keys and flipped through them looking for the front door key Calleigh had given him in case of emergencies. Finding it, he put it in the lock and turned it, unlocking the door. He pushed it open and watched as Calleigh slowly walked inside. He followed her in and closed the door behind them.
Calleigh looked around her living room, a glazed expression across her face. "I'm- I'm gonna go in my room...to change...or something," she said slowly, pausing a few moments before heading down the hall to her bedroom.
Horatio watched her go before sighing. This wasn't going well at all. He could only speculate what was going though the ballistic expert's mind. It was painfully obvious that the murder of Riley McBane was hitting Calleigh very hard. Horatio was glad he had held his ground against her wanting to work the scene because it was easy to see now that she wouldn't have been able to do it.
Heading into the little kitchen, he looked around in the cabinets for some mugs to put tea in. He had only been to her condo a few times before, but only to drop her off. He had never been inside before.
He finally located her mugs and pulled two out. He smirked slightly when he noticed that the one in his left hand had a picture of a Beretta with the saying "Gun Control is Being Able to Hit Your Target" on it. Typical Calleigh. He placed them on the counter and then filled the kettle with water. That task complete, he started to heat the water while searching for the tea bags.
In her room, Calleigh sat on the edge of her bed, deep in her extremely troubled thoughts. She couldn't believe Riley was dead. She had just talked to her friend on the phone the night before and now she was gone. Dead. Murdered.
She couldn't get the image of Riley's lifeless body, completely riddled with bullets, out of her mind. She had known Riley since she had been three. They had grown up together, shared secrets together, had an unbreakable friendship together...but now she was gone.
Tears stung at Calleigh's eyes as she began to remember all the good times she and Riley had shared. "She can't be dead," she whimpered softly to herself, still in disbelief. A few tears escaped her eyes before she finally covered her face with her hands. She couldn't hold it in anymore. She started crying.
With the tea now made, Horatio picked up both mugs and headed down the hall to find Calleigh. Being that he had never been in her condo before, he wasn't exactly sure which door was the entrance to her room. So he stopped a moment to listen, hoping to be able to find the correct room by following any noise Calleigh was making, but that's when he heard it. He heard his beloved ballistic expert's muffled crying.
He followed the sound to the last door on the left. He paused a moment to listen before he knocked softly and then opened the door. His heart suddenly broke when he saw Calleigh sitting there, still in her work clothes, sobbing into her hands. He had never seen her like this before. He had never seen her looking so small and helpless.
Horatio set the two mugs of tea down on one of the side tables in Calleigh's room before he moved slowly, almost hesitantly, over to her. He had dealt with many grieving people before, but this was different. The people he had dealt with before hadn't captured his heart like Calleigh had. And while he usually had the perfect words to comfort all the others, he was at a loss for words now.
He wanted nothing more than to gather Calleigh into his arms and tell her that everything would be ok, that he'd protect her, but he was so afraid that she'd pull away, reject him, that he just couldn't seem to do it. He loved her, he knew that, and he desperately wanted to help her, but she was so fragile at the moment that he figured any comfort he tried to offer by means of physical contact would do nothing more than worsen the situation.
"Calleigh," he whispered softly as he kneeled down in front of her. Even if he couldn't hold her in his arms, he was going to try to help her some way.
Calleigh just shook her head, not removing her face from her hands. She just couldn't bring herself to actually look at Horatio. She didn't want to seem weak in front of him. She didn't want to disappoint him.
"Please Calleigh," Horatio begged. "Look at me."
She shook her head again, sniffing loudly.
"Please, honey, please look at me. You have nothing to be ashamed of." Horatio knew the reason she wouldn't was because she had spent so much time proving to everyone that she could handle anything and she didn't want to make, most of all, him think otherwise. "Just look at me, Calleigh. Please."
Hearing the desperation in his voice, Calleigh finally lifted her head from her hands and gazed at him with tear-filled eyes.
The look of utter anguish on the blonde's face spurred Horatio to do what he wanted more than anything to do, but vowed he wouldn't in fear that he would make things worse. He leaned forward and pulled Calleigh into his arms.
Calleigh didn't do a thing for a moment until her brain finally registered what was going on, but as soon as she realized, she immediately wrapped her arms around Horatio and held onto him for dear life as she started crying hysterically into his chest.
Her cries soon became heaving sobs so in an effort to calm her down, Horatio pulled her into his lap on the floor and cradled her in his arms. He gently rocked her and whispered soothing things in her ear as he held her close to him.
Eventually, sometime later, Calleigh finally calmed down and just sat there in his lap with her head resting on his shoulder. Now that her hysteria has subsided, the fact that she was in Horatio Caine's arms, sitting in his lap, and listening to his soothing voice soothing voice finally dawned on her. She smiled slightly despite the despair she was feeling due to Riley's death. She was being held by the man she loved. It was simply too good to be true.
Horatio looked down at the woman in his arms and gave her one of his small, reserved smiles. He gently brushed an errant strand of blonde hair out of her face and placed it behind her ear in a tender gesture of his affection for her that he usually hid so well. It actually surprised him when she leaned into his touch.
"Horatio?" she whispered softly.
"Hmm?"
"Thank you."
To Be Continued...
(I hope y'all liked this chapter! Sorry it took me so long to get it up. Remember to review! LOL! I want to give a shout out to everyone at the CSI: Miami – Horatio & Calleigh yahoo group!!! Hgirl, Marianne, Lorelei, Dylan, Deb, Karen, Mel, Sarahliz, Emma, Lanah, EVERYONE, y'all ROCK!!!! I'm so honored to be apart of the best yahoo group EVER CREATED!!! I love you guys!!! H/C 4 LIFE!! ~ (one of your newbies!) Emily)
"So, I presume you have an absurdly good reason as to why you dragged us down here, right H?" Speed questioned somewhat grumpily as soon as he and Delko walked up to Horatio.
The lieutenant's face showed no sign of emotion as he replied, "This is your job. You go where the crimes are. Isn't that a good enough reason?"
"Normally, yes," Eric said, "But this time it's a bit different."
"Please enlighten me," Horatio said almost dryly.
Speed and Eric looked at each other, both getting the feeling that something was up with their boss. "It's just that," Delko began gradually, "you gave us-or more like forced us to take the weekend off, H, and now you have to have us here. I mean, well, it's not like you couldn't have just passed this case off to the next shift."
Speed slowly nodded in agreement. "Yeah, so it's kinda giving us the feeling that something more is going on here," he stated. "So, would you care to fill us in on the importance of this crime scene?"
Horatio paused a moment before answering them. "No, I wouldn't care to fill you in," he said causing both Speed and Eric's face to drop, "but I will since the information is somewhat relevant to the case." He paused again purposely, trying to think of the exact words to say. "The reason I called you two down here is because the victim in a good friend of Calleigh's."
Tim and Eric both looked completely aghast at the news,
"Oh my God," Delko said, seemingly dismayed. "Did you call her? Does she know?" he asked, obviously to the fact that Calleigh was actually there.
Horatio nodded slowly. "Yes, she knows," he replied before glancing over at the Hummer he and Calleigh had brought. "She came with me to the scene."
The men followed his gaze and saw the blonde woman sitting in the vehicle looking positively...broken.
"Did she see her friend-her friend's body?" Eric asked, his tone and features concerned.
Horatio nodded sullenly. "Yes, she didn't tell me she knew the victim until we went inside," he replied before glancing back at Calleigh again to make sure she was till where he had left her.
"Ok, well we'll get to work," Speed said upon noticing the hidden look of near-desperation on Horatio's face to get back to the woman in the Hummer. "Come on, Eric."
Delko gave him a questioning look, but Speed only shook his head, silently telling the younger man not to ask questions.
"We'll see you later, H," Tim said before dropping his voice to a whisper, saying, "Take care of Calleigh."
Horatio nodded and then three men went their separate ways.
Walking back over to the H2, Horatio opened the driver's side door and got inside. He sat there for a moment, staring out of the windshield. Finally he spoke up. "Speed and Eric will do a good job." He cringed inwardly at how lame his weak attempt at assurance sounded.
"Just drive, Horatio," Calleigh said very softly before she turned her head away from the lieutenant and stared out the window.
Horatio frowned slightly before he started the engine and pulled out onto the street.
The whole ride to Calleigh's condo was done in complete silence. Both occupants of the vehicle had been in such deep thought, or shock in Calleigh's case, that neither could say anything. Slowing the H2 down, Horatio pulled it over to the side of the rode and then turned the engine off. Getting out, he walked over to Calleigh's side and opened the door for her. "Come on," he said softly, stepping back so the blonde could get out.
Calleigh moved slowly as she unbuckled her seatbelt and got out of the H2. It looked as if she were in some sort of trance, but Horatio knew in was actually the shock of seeing her friend dead that was making the usually energetic and peppy blonde seem like a robot on autopilot. They slowly moved to her front door and just stood there.
Horatio looked down at Calleigh who was just staring at the door. He thought about reminding her to unlock it so they could go in, but decided against it. Instead he pulled out his own keys and flipped through them looking for the front door key Calleigh had given him in case of emergencies. Finding it, he put it in the lock and turned it, unlocking the door. He pushed it open and watched as Calleigh slowly walked inside. He followed her in and closed the door behind them.
Calleigh looked around her living room, a glazed expression across her face. "I'm- I'm gonna go in my room...to change...or something," she said slowly, pausing a few moments before heading down the hall to her bedroom.
Horatio watched her go before sighing. This wasn't going well at all. He could only speculate what was going though the ballistic expert's mind. It was painfully obvious that the murder of Riley McBane was hitting Calleigh very hard. Horatio was glad he had held his ground against her wanting to work the scene because it was easy to see now that she wouldn't have been able to do it.
Heading into the little kitchen, he looked around in the cabinets for some mugs to put tea in. He had only been to her condo a few times before, but only to drop her off. He had never been inside before.
He finally located her mugs and pulled two out. He smirked slightly when he noticed that the one in his left hand had a picture of a Beretta with the saying "Gun Control is Being Able to Hit Your Target" on it. Typical Calleigh. He placed them on the counter and then filled the kettle with water. That task complete, he started to heat the water while searching for the tea bags.
In her room, Calleigh sat on the edge of her bed, deep in her extremely troubled thoughts. She couldn't believe Riley was dead. She had just talked to her friend on the phone the night before and now she was gone. Dead. Murdered.
She couldn't get the image of Riley's lifeless body, completely riddled with bullets, out of her mind. She had known Riley since she had been three. They had grown up together, shared secrets together, had an unbreakable friendship together...but now she was gone.
Tears stung at Calleigh's eyes as she began to remember all the good times she and Riley had shared. "She can't be dead," she whimpered softly to herself, still in disbelief. A few tears escaped her eyes before she finally covered her face with her hands. She couldn't hold it in anymore. She started crying.
With the tea now made, Horatio picked up both mugs and headed down the hall to find Calleigh. Being that he had never been in her condo before, he wasn't exactly sure which door was the entrance to her room. So he stopped a moment to listen, hoping to be able to find the correct room by following any noise Calleigh was making, but that's when he heard it. He heard his beloved ballistic expert's muffled crying.
He followed the sound to the last door on the left. He paused a moment to listen before he knocked softly and then opened the door. His heart suddenly broke when he saw Calleigh sitting there, still in her work clothes, sobbing into her hands. He had never seen her like this before. He had never seen her looking so small and helpless.
Horatio set the two mugs of tea down on one of the side tables in Calleigh's room before he moved slowly, almost hesitantly, over to her. He had dealt with many grieving people before, but this was different. The people he had dealt with before hadn't captured his heart like Calleigh had. And while he usually had the perfect words to comfort all the others, he was at a loss for words now.
He wanted nothing more than to gather Calleigh into his arms and tell her that everything would be ok, that he'd protect her, but he was so afraid that she'd pull away, reject him, that he just couldn't seem to do it. He loved her, he knew that, and he desperately wanted to help her, but she was so fragile at the moment that he figured any comfort he tried to offer by means of physical contact would do nothing more than worsen the situation.
"Calleigh," he whispered softly as he kneeled down in front of her. Even if he couldn't hold her in his arms, he was going to try to help her some way.
Calleigh just shook her head, not removing her face from her hands. She just couldn't bring herself to actually look at Horatio. She didn't want to seem weak in front of him. She didn't want to disappoint him.
"Please Calleigh," Horatio begged. "Look at me."
She shook her head again, sniffing loudly.
"Please, honey, please look at me. You have nothing to be ashamed of." Horatio knew the reason she wouldn't was because she had spent so much time proving to everyone that she could handle anything and she didn't want to make, most of all, him think otherwise. "Just look at me, Calleigh. Please."
Hearing the desperation in his voice, Calleigh finally lifted her head from her hands and gazed at him with tear-filled eyes.
The look of utter anguish on the blonde's face spurred Horatio to do what he wanted more than anything to do, but vowed he wouldn't in fear that he would make things worse. He leaned forward and pulled Calleigh into his arms.
Calleigh didn't do a thing for a moment until her brain finally registered what was going on, but as soon as she realized, she immediately wrapped her arms around Horatio and held onto him for dear life as she started crying hysterically into his chest.
Her cries soon became heaving sobs so in an effort to calm her down, Horatio pulled her into his lap on the floor and cradled her in his arms. He gently rocked her and whispered soothing things in her ear as he held her close to him.
Eventually, sometime later, Calleigh finally calmed down and just sat there in his lap with her head resting on his shoulder. Now that her hysteria has subsided, the fact that she was in Horatio Caine's arms, sitting in his lap, and listening to his soothing voice soothing voice finally dawned on her. She smiled slightly despite the despair she was feeling due to Riley's death. She was being held by the man she loved. It was simply too good to be true.
Horatio looked down at the woman in his arms and gave her one of his small, reserved smiles. He gently brushed an errant strand of blonde hair out of her face and placed it behind her ear in a tender gesture of his affection for her that he usually hid so well. It actually surprised him when she leaned into his touch.
"Horatio?" she whispered softly.
"Hmm?"
"Thank you."
To Be Continued...
(I hope y'all liked this chapter! Sorry it took me so long to get it up. Remember to review! LOL! I want to give a shout out to everyone at the CSI: Miami – Horatio & Calleigh yahoo group!!! Hgirl, Marianne, Lorelei, Dylan, Deb, Karen, Mel, Sarahliz, Emma, Lanah, EVERYONE, y'all ROCK!!!! I'm so honored to be apart of the best yahoo group EVER CREATED!!! I love you guys!!! H/C 4 LIFE!! ~ (one of your newbies!) Emily)