Part 10 - The conclusion
The bomb technician that had remained behind at the control center was the one announcing the good news. "They're safe!" he called out with a raised voice.
A loud cheering and clapping of hands was the immediate result.
Tim Speedle turned to Tripp and raised his right hand. Tripp mirrored the gesture and swung his hand forward, meeting Speedle's with a sharp clap.
Tripp then looked at the member of the bomb squad and held a thumb up. "Good job."
"Indeed," agreed Chief Jackson with a wide smile as he glanced around the command post, briefly meeting everybody's eyes. "Well done, everybody."
"What happens to the bomb?" Speed asked. He knew he had a job to do in the lab, but wasn't too keen on coming near the explosives.
"Sergeant Orrick has a special container. He will deposit the explosives in there and then we'll be able to transport it without risking an explosion. You can process the pieces once we've rendered it safe," the bomb technician explained.
"Okay," Tim nodded in understanding. A small punch on his arm made him turn around. It was Frank, drawing his attention to the opening doors of MDPD.
They both waved at Calleigh and Horatio. Horatio had one hand pressed against his head, but seemed okay and Calleigh was smiling widely. They made their way over to the command center.
Frank quickly checked them both out. "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine," Calleigh said, still smiling.
"H?" Frank pushed on, looking at Horatio with a frown.
"Oh, I'll be all right," Horatio answered without revealing too much and continued, diverting everybody's attention to another subject. "How's Eric doing?"
"Alexx took him to the ambulance," Speed informed his colleagues. "She said they could treat him there, he refused to go to the hospital."
"He was being stubborn?" Calleigh asked, rolling her eyes.
"Horatio, Calleigh," the deep voice of Captain Jackson demanded their attention.
Responding to the Chief's voice, Horatio turned around. The abrupt movement appeared to be too much for his pounding head as black spots suddenly clouded his vision. The dizziness intensified and he staggered before his legs buckled and his world went black.
"Horatio!" Calleigh jumped forward, caught the tumbling man under the armpits and, unable to hold the limp body upwards, she bent to her knees and guided him to the ground.
"Medic!" Before his CSI leader was even stretched out on the ground, Chief Jackson had already hollered for assistance, while Speed just stood there, his eyes wide with surprise and concern.
Frank had dropped to one knee and pulled Horatio's right arm into a more comfortable position. Looking from his unconscious friend to Calleigh he shook his head in dismay. "Remind me not to believe him when he claims he's fine."
Calleigh had carefully placed Horatio's head in her lap, and she'd taken over the gauze from his limp hand. Gently, she replaced the bandage at the still oozing head wound.
A medic knelt on Horatio's other side and immediately started taking the unmoving man's vitals. After making sure his patient was showing a steady pulse and breathing properly, the medic removed Horatio's sunglasses and handed them to Tripp. Next, he lifted the eyelids one by one, shining into the eyes with a penlight to check the pupils.
"How is he?" Calleigh had no patience and needed to hear something.
"His pulse is strong, he's breathing on his own. His pupils are responding properly..." the medic answered, meanwhile signaling for his colleagues to bring the stretcher. His hand indicated at the head wound. "When did this happen?"
"About an hour or two ago," Calleigh guessed then glanced at Tim.
Speed nodded, confirming the passage of time. "He was knocked on the head with the butt of a gun and slammed into the pole of a desk. He was unconscious for about fifteen minutes, woke up retching, but seemed all right otherwise."
"We'll check him out back at the hospital," the medic explained. "We'll get that wound cleaned up and sutured... He's concussed. Has he been moving around too much?"
"He dove behind a shield with me, dragging me away from the bomb that was in the lab," Calleigh quickly informed the medic.
"Hmm, that would explain his collapse," said the medic. "Abrupt movements with a concussion are usually the cause of that."
"So he's going to be fine?" Captain Jackson joined in.
"I think so, sir," nodded the medic, then made room for the personnel approaching with the stretcher. "We'll run some tests to make sure, though."
After Horatio was lifted onto a stretcher, Calleigh climbed back to her feet. She stared at gurney that was being rolled towards a nearby ambulance, then looked back at her Captain. "Sir, permission to..."
"Granted," Jackson interrupted her with a brief wave of his hand. "Go with him and make sure he stays put until he's being released."
"Thanks!" Calleigh called over her shoulder, already rushing. She followed the medics to the waiting ambulance, and ran into a concerned looking Alexx.
"What happened?" the ME asked, as she shifted her gaze from the stretcher to her female colleague.
"He said he was fine, but then he suddenly collapsed," Calleigh explained, while she kept her eyes on the medics that were carefully loading the gurney inside the ambulance. "They said abrupt movements combined with a concussion would be the cause of that and they are going to check him out at the hospital. How's Eric?"
"Eric's going to be fine. Are you going with them?" Alexx asked, pointing at the ambulance. Taking in Calleigh's nod, she continued. "I'll collect the others and as soon as we're finished here we'll be there, all right?"
"Okay, see you later!" Calleigh greeted her friend, then quickly ran to the ambulance, jumped in the back just before they were about to close the doors.
She found a small spot to sit and was able to grab Horatio's hand. Absentmindedly, her thumb caressed the back of his hand while she watched how the medic cleaned the head wound. From where she was sitting, Calleigh thought it looked deeper than it had before and she hoped he was going to be okay.
The ride to the hospital didn't take long. Horatio hadn't stirred at all during the trip, and Calleigh could do nothing but stare after him while he was being taken away as soon as they got out of the ambulance. A nurse guided her to the waiting room, and told her somebody was coming to inform her about her boss's condition as soon as they knew more.
Sighing, she looked around. The waiting room looked pretty familiar and she recalled having waited for several hours the last time Horatio had been brought in. Although it was already two months ago, it seemed more like last week to her. The fear for him, that he wasn't going to make it, it was all fresh in her mind.
This time was different, she firmly told herself. He'd be all right. Just a few stitches, a headache, but nothing too serious. He'd said so himself, hadn't he?
Walking over to the cabinet, she took a plastic mug from the dispatcher and filled it with coffee before finding a seat at the table.
----
Horatio Caine woke up in confusion. He was lying in a bed, but couldn't remember how he'd gotten there. The last thing he recalled was Calleigh and him reaching the others on the parking lot outside MDPD head quarters.
It took him a while to open his eyes and focus. The world looked fuzzy at first, but after a while things got clearer and he knew he had to be in a hospital.
A silhouette approached the bed, and, his vision slowly improving, Horatio now recognized the man. It was Dr. Stevenson, the same doctor that had treated him last time he'd been injured.
"Lieutenant Caine," Dr. Stevenson's gentle voice greeted him. "I seem to recall letting you out of this hospital with the strict instructions of taking good care of yourself. Now this isn't what I meant by that."
Horatio smiled. "I'm sorry," he apologized. "I didn't do it on purpose."
"I hope not," Stevenson grinned. "How are you feeling?"
Considering the question for a moment, Horatio lifted his hand and brought it to his head. Carefully, he touched the bandage that had been applied there while he was unconscious. "Apart from a headache I feel fine," he answered. "What happened?"
"From what I've been told, you collapsed," Dr. Stevenson explained. "Do you remember how you got that head wound in the first place?"
"Hmm, yes," Horatio said. "The perp in the lab knocked me out. He'd placed a bomb in the lab, under the chair of one of my CSI's. We had to dive behind a shield while the bomb technician cut the last wire."
"Good," Stevenson nodded in satisfaction. He'd already been given a brief summary on what had happened and the fact that his patient remembered everything confirmed his diagnosis. "You've got a nasty concussion. We ran some tests, and luckily there's no further damage. Well, besides the neat row of stitches behind your ear to close that cut, of course. Sudden movements when concussed are no winning combination, as you've found out, so try to keep still for a few days."
Horatio briefly looked at the IV running to his left hand. "Can I go home?" he asked.
"Well, I don't see why not," Stevenson answered. "But you do need somebody with you for the first twenty-four hours, as I'm recommending a waking up procedure of every two hours, just in case."
Horatio seemed to consider the idea for a brief moment.
"There's some people outside waiting to see you," Dr. Stevenson informed him. "One of your colleagues has already offered to stay with you, so I'll go and arrange your release. Please, lay back and rest a while longer until all is taken care of, all right?" With that, the doctor left the room, and shortly after, the door opened again. Alexx, Calleigh, Eric and Tim quietly stepped inside.
"H," Tim greeted his boss. "Hi, there," Calleigh joined in. Eric just nodded. He had his injured arm in a sling, but looked fine otherwise.
"Horatio," Alexx spoke up. "How are you doing?"
"I'm all right," Horatio answered her then shifted his attention to his injured CSI. "How about you, Eric?"
"I'm fine, H," Eric said. "They removed the bullet and said no permanent damage was done. They said I should be able to use my arm again in a few weeks."
"That's good," Horatio replied. He was about to get up, but Calleigh stepped forward, ready to push him back down.
"Oh no, you don't," she spoke firmly. "Stay down and rest. I already caught you once and I don't want to have to do that again today."
"Hmm," Horatio smiled. He carefully lay down again. "I guess I need to thank you then."
"You'll be going home with her, so you better listen to her, H," Speedle grinned. "Not to mention the fact that Chief Jackson has told her to keep you still."
"Now why would he do that?" Horatio had to ask.
"He probably knows you better than you think," Alexx teased. "Anyway, now that you're okay, I think we should get back to work."
"Yes, I need to process the scene," Tim remembered.
"I'll help, I'm okay," Eric added.
"Are you sure?" Tim asked with a frown.
"As long as you do the heavy lifting," nodded Eric.
"Let's see if you can find anything on the surveillance tapes, Speed," Horatio told his CSI. "It might give you some information on how Keith got that bomb into the lab. He's got to have had some help there."
"Frank was already onto that, H," Tim explained. "Relax."
"Let's also ask Sergeant Orrick for help in processing the remainders of that bomb, shall we?" Horatio continued, unable to let go. "I don't think Keith could have made that bomb all by himself. Then do a background check, all right? There's got to be a good reason why he wouldn't go to jail."
"Horatio," Calleigh interrupted him with a stern voice. "I'm sure the guys can handle it from here. Now why don't you give that stubborn head of yours some rest or I might just have to consider leaving you here overnight."
"Oops," Speedle coughed, his eyes betraying his amusement.
"She's right," Alexx said, and she started moving towards the door. "Come on, guys. Let's go."
"Now what about dinner?" Eric said, meanwhile following Alexx towards the door. "I thought Cal got to pick a restaurant for tonight?"
"I'll take a rain check," Calleigh answered. "Or you know what? You can all stop by at my place tonight, if you bring some pizza?"
"Good idea," Speed replied. "Take care, H. We'll catch you later."
Horatio lifted a parting hand and watched three of his team leaving before turning his attention to the blonde woman. "So, guess I'm stuck with you, huh?"
"Only if you behave, handsome," she teased.
"I always do, Calleigh," he responded, throwing her a faint smile. "Don't I?"
--------
Calleigh had been waiting for her colleagues to arrive at her house and opened the door before they had the chance to ring the doorbell. Pressing one finger at her lips she whispered, "Horatio's asleep."
Alexx, Tim and Eric silently stepped inside, took off their jackets and followed Calleigh to the kitchen where they all sat down at the table.
"How long has he been sleeping?" Alexx asked.
Checking her watch Calleigh answered. "One hour and forty-eight minutes. I've got to wake him up each two hours so I planned on letting him rest for another ten minutes or so."
"In that case, I'll call for pizza. It takes at least half an hour before they will deliver anyway," Tim decided. He got up, took out his cell phone and moved over to the window to make the call.
"What time did you get home?" Eric asked.
"About two hours ago. Horatio barely made it to the sofa before he fell asleep," Calleigh informed them. "I removed his shoes, pulled his feet up and covered him with a blanket and he never even noticed."
"The man was exhausted," Alexx concluded, then looked at Tim who'd rejoined them at the table. "I hope you didn't order too many pizzas. Horatio won't be eating much."
"I took that into account," Speed said. "Can I have a beer?"
"Sure you can," Calleigh nodded then she looked at Eric. "Hmmm, no alcohol for you, I'm afraid."
"Pepsi's fine," Eric responded.
"I'll have Pepsi as well," Alexx joined in. "Let me help you with that."
Together, the women collected the drinks and put them on a tray. Calleigh had also filled a glass with water from the tap and then took two pills from the bottle the doctor had given her. "All right," she announced. "I'll wake Horatio up now."
Carrying the tray over to the living room, she put it on the coffee table. Glancing sideways, she found Horatio still sleeping deeply, he hadn't moved at all. She'd rather have him rest for another few hours, but the doctor had explained to her that it was safer to wake him up after a certain period. With a sigh Calleigh knelt beside the couch, and softly called out to the sleeping man. "Horatio. Horatio, you need to wake up now."
Her words didn't seem to rouse him at all, so she placed her hand on his shoulder, shaking him a bit. "Horatio!" Raising her voice a little, she watched in satisfaction how his eyelids started to tremble slightly. "The guys are here, and there's pizza coming so you might want to wake up now."
Slowly, Horatio opened his eyes, then quickly closed them again with a grunt. Lifting an arm, he brought his hand to his face and covered his eyes before opening them again.
"Hi, there," Calleigh smiled at him, as soon as he shifted to throw her a faint smile.
"Hey," he responded, blinking his eyes a few times.
"Do you know who I am?" she asked, following the doctor's instructions. Each time she was waking him up, she needed to check if he was lucid.
"Now how can I forget you, Calleigh?" he asked. "What time is it?"
"Pizza time," she laughed. "The guys and Alexx are here already. Can you sit up?"
"Hmm," Horatio replied. "I think so." Slowly, he placed his feet on the ground then pushed himself up until he was sitting up straight. His hand reached for his head. "Whoa..."
"Dizzy?" Calleigh asked.
"A little," he admitted. Leaning with one elbow on his knee, Horatio rested his head in his hand and closed his eyes.
"You know, you don't need to be sitting up that straight," Calleigh offered. "Why don't you put your feet up and lean back, that might be more comfortable." She quickly rearranged the pillows in the corner of the arm- and backrest and watched how he repositioned himself. "There you go," she said, while grabbing the water and pills. "Now take these, they might help as well."
"Thank you," he said before swallowing the pills with some of the water.
"You're welcome." Calleigh headed towards the kitchen and invited her colleagues in to the living room. Eric and Tim greeted their boss then found themselves a chair to sit while Alexx couldn't help herself by checking Horatio out, she first grabbed his wrist to take his pulse, then checked how his pupils responded and finally nodded in satisfaction when he smiled at her and told her he was doing fine.
Meanwhile, the pizzas were delivered and Calleigh and Eric quickly handed out the plates.
Horatio waited a while, giving them the chance to eat. Then, his curiosity won. "So," he started, looking around at his team. "What did you find today?"
"Everything we were looking for, H," Tim answered, smiling widely.
Eric finished his bite from his last pepperoni pizza slice then glanced at the man on the couch. "Keith Reynolds isn't really Keith Reynolds. His real name is Keith Cunningham."
"Interesting," Horatio commented.
"How did you figure that out?" Calleigh wanted to know.
"His fingerprints. Remember we only came up with two years of history through AFIS? We were planning to ask him about that when we'd brought him in for questioning, but we didn't get the chance. Anyway, we dug a little further and came up with his real name." Speed sipped from his beer then placed the bottle back on the table. "Old Keith was convicted for the murder of three hotel guests at the Grande Plaza, seven years ago. He was just out on parole."
"Hmmm, looks like he's going back real fast," Horatio guessed. He stared at the slice of Margarita on the plate Alexx had handed him but the thought of food alone made him nauseous.
"Keith wasn't treated very well in prison. Apparently he'd become the one the bigger guys picked on, so he wasn't too keen on going back," Eric filled in.
"Why, shouldn't he have thought about that earlier?" Calleigh rolled her eyes.
"He should have thought about that," Horatio agreed. "But what crime did he commit? Could you tie him to the murder at Castillo del Mar?"
"Yes," Tim said, then shook his head. "And no."
"Meaning?" Horatio demanded, feeling too tired to try to figure it out by himself.
"Meaning he was on the scene all right," Eric explained, "but we're pretty sure he didn't kill those people."
"Then who did?" Calleigh wondered, her eyes wide with surprise.
"That would be Ralph Cunningham," Speed said. He'd finished his slices and placed the empty plate on the table.
"Cunningham? As in?" Calleigh asked. Concentrating on the case, the blonde woman completely forgot to eat her last slice of pizza.
"As in Keith's little brother," Eric said with a smile. He indicated at her plate. "Don't let it get cold, Cal."
"Ralph Cunningham? Ralph Cunningham? Where have I heard that name before?" Horatio wondered.
"He worked as a desk clerk at MDPD," Alexx now joined in. "Tripp found out about his involvement and Adele already picked him up this morning."
"Ah," Horatio's face lit up. "I knew I knew him from somewhere. So Keith was protecting his little brother and Ralph helped him smuggling in the bomb into the lab."
"Yes," Eric nodded. "Keith planned to drive off with Alexx and me, heading towards Bal Harbour. A ship was already waiting to take him all the way to Mexico."
"So Keith actually planted his own prints at the hotel?" Calleigh wondered. "He wanted to take the blame and run like hell?"
"That was the plan," Tim acknowledged. "All to keep his brother from going to jail."
"Maybe... Maybe they will be placed in the same cell block. Then they can both discuss what was wrong with that plan," Horatio concluded. "Nice going."
Eric and Speed both smiled.
Alexx started gathering the empty plates, then looked at the filled one on Horatio's lap. "Guess you aren't really hungry, are you?"
Horatio gave her a faint smile. "No, sorry."
She took the plate away from him. "That's okay. I'm sure your appetite will be back tomorrow." She carried the plates to the kitchen. Upon returning, she turned to the others. "Thanks for the pizza and the company, guys. I've got to get going. My kids are waiting."
"Yeah, I think I'll be heading home as well," Eric said.
"And I'm your driver," Speed responded, while getting up. "Take care, H. See ya, Cal."
After saying their goodbyes, Calleigh walked her company to the door and let them out. Next she gathered the empty glasses and bottles and brought them to the kitchen. When she got back, she sat down and smiled at Horatio. "So... now it's just us."
"Just us," Horatio repeated. "I'm sorry to be a bother, Calleigh."
"Oh, nonsense. You're never a bother, Horatio."
"You sure you don't mind?" he had to know for sure.
"Of course not, silly," she laughed. "Sometimes you just need somebody to look after you and I'm glad I can help out."
"Just like old times, huh?"
"Yeah, about that," Calleigh remarked. "You know, next time you want to come and spend some time with me, you don't have to get knocked out first... All you have to do is ask."
"All I have to do is ask," Horatio repeated softly. "I'll keep that in mind, Calleigh. I'll keep that in mind."
THE END
A/N's: that was it, folks. Sorry to have kept you waiting for all this time, but I was on a vacation. Now while you've reached this point, why don't you drop me a note and let me know what you think? Thanks for reading. Corine.