A/N: No, we're not there yet! Let's see what we've got.... we've got an Horatio, who's not feeling so hot, we have a Calleigh who's worried sick, we have the guys who are very angry and we have poor Frank who's worried about how to catch those students.... I hope you're still enjoying this. My thanks goes to the reviewers.... and now on with the story.


11. PROCESSING THE SCENE.

Tim Speed and Eric Delko were still processing the scene, when Detective Frank Tripp and his men arrived.

"Hi," Tripp greeted the criminologists, his eyes scanning the scene. "We've done a pretty rough search around this area, but came up empty. The rangers will keep their eyes open and I'll be the first to know if they find anything. What have you got?"

"There's a cabin back there," Speed started, pointing in the right direction. "It's owned by Ned Sante's parents. Inside, I've found H's shirt and jacket, so I guess they have kept him there last night."

"Anything else inside?" Tripp wanted to know.

"Wooden floor, oak... No visible traces of a struggle. We're going to comb it later. The path down here is muddy, but we think at least six or more people crossed it last night. No useable foot prints, though." Speed's face showed his frustration.

Eric pointed with his hand. "Over there we found the ground flattened, and there's several footprints. We've taken samples of them. I think the group was standing there, watching, as one or two of them..." Eric briefly looked at the branch where his boss had been hanging and was unable to finish his sentence.

Tripp threw one glance at Alexx Woods and the young man, seated near a tree, then stepped forward to study the way the ropes were scattered over the ground. "So you found him here?"

"Uh, yeah," Speed responded, moving a bit closer. "They'd tied a rope around Horatio's chest and hauled him over this branch," he indicated the right spot. "Then there were also ropes around his wrists, which they had tied to those trees."

The parts of the ropes still lying on the ground confirmed Speed's explanation. "We've probably damaged the scene..." Speed apologized.

"You were saving H's life," Frank said sharply. "We'll just have to work with what we got. We're going to get them. I swear we are going to get them."

His face set to a grim mask Tripp threw one last look up at the tree, then turned. "So the kid thinks the rest will be back tonight, huh?"

Eric nodded. "That's what he told Alexx. Why?"

"Would you?" Tripp threw him a quick look, then glanced at his watch. "Still... we'll be ready. Are you guys done here?"

"I just need to bag the ropes and then we're going back to the cabin," confirmed Speed. "What about Barbosa?"

"My sources told me that Barbosa has left the country on an early flight this morning. He's back in Colombia."

"Shit," Eric cursed.

"We'll get him. Someday," Frank promised. "The moment he sets another foot in this state he'll be in jail so fast he won't know what hit him. Okay, you guys just finish up here. I'm going to instruct my men, then I'll escort Alexx and the boy back to the department." He pointed casually to the student still sitting on the ground. "I want to have a little talk to this man."

XXX-XXX-XXX

Calleigh Duquesne was pacing in the family waiting room at the hospital. She'd been waiting for almost three hours now and she was getting impatient, let alone worried sick.

In her hand, she had her fifth cup of coffee, taken from the machine in the corner of the waiting room. It was almost cold, but she sipped it nevertheless.

Familiar clicking of heels drew her attention to the door. "Alexx," she called out, rushing forward to meet her team mate.

"Frank just dropped me off. Any news yet?"

Calleigh shook her head. "It's taking ages," she muttered.

Alexx grabbed hold of her hand and squeezed it gently. "Hey, let's think of that as a good sign. If he'd died, they would have been out here to tell us."

Calleigh simply nodded and stared at her friend, who headed for the coffee machine to get her own cup of caffeine. "So, what have you guys been up to?"

Alexx waited for the black liquid to stop dripping in her cup, then took it in her hand. Motioning with her head, she guided Calleigh with her and sat down. When Calleigh sat next to her, Alexx started to fill her in.

She was barely finished when a dark-haired man in a white doctor's robe entered the room. "Mrs. Caine?"

"Uhm... no, actually I am Miss Duquesne. I came in with Lieutenant Caine," Calleigh responded, jumping off from her chair.

"So you're not family?" the doctor asked, throwing a questioning glance at both women.

Alexx, also standing now, stepped forward, reaching out her hand. "Hello. My name is Alexx Woods. I'm the ME from the MD police department and a close colleague of Lieutenant Caine. Miss Duquesne also works at our department." She shook the doctor's hand, showed him her ID and looked him straight in the eyes when she continued. "I'm afraid Lieutenant Caine has no relatives, we're the closest to family he's got."

"Well, all right then," the doctor agreed after glancing at the ID. "My name is Dr. Stevenson. Let's sit down." He waited for the women to sit down, took his file and opened it up then carefully picked a seat so he could face them both.

"Were either of you present when the Lieutenant was found?" he started.

Alexx nodded. "I'm the one who found him. Shortly after we got him down the Lieutenant went into circulatory collapse, followed by cardiac arrest. I've performed CPR, which brought him back. A little while later, he went in respiratory arrest, but again, I managed to keep him breathing until the medics arrived."

The doctor threw her a faint smile. "Good job. This means you were aware of the pleural effusion. The Lieutenant's oxygen saturation was too low, so we've performed a thoracentesis and drained almost fourteen hundred milliliters of fluid, after which his breathing has much improved. We have your colleague on oxygen along with some medication to help him breath and to dry up secretions. We've also used some epinephrine to stimulate his heart, and the machines are monitoring his vital functions but he's able to hold on so far. I understand Lieutenant Caine has been hanging by ropes in a tree. For how long?"

"Approximately eleven hours," Alexx answered.

The doctor's eyes widened before he returned his gaze to the file on his lap. "Unbelievable," he commented. "That explains the symptoms of exposure. We've got the hypothermia under control and carefully have been giving him intravenous fluids to treat the dehydration. He has also received one unit of blood to restore his volume. It was touch and go there for a while."

Stevenson looked up to see two concerned faces waiting for him to continue. "We've just run some tests. MRI's, X-rays... there's no head injuries and no damage to his vital organs. However, three ribs are cracked. Plus, the Lieutenant's lower legs are badly bruised and swollen. I assume he has been hit by something heavy."

"A chain," Alexx said, remembering Ned telling her some details.

Dr. Stevenson gave a faint nod. "We found a fracture on the left shin. Also, four toes of the left foot are broken."

"Oh, my," Calleigh looked shocked.

Alexx just nodded, thinking back how her touching Horatio's left foot had been the first sign that he was still alive.

"Both Lieutenant Caine's back and front are covered with abrasions and welts. Some are minimal, some deep and will have to be stitched. There's some marks on the left arm and there's extensive bruising to the ribcage as well, as if something heavier was used on that side. That's what probably cracked his ribs, but fortunately, without further internal damage. Also, we've had to relocate the Lieutenant's left shoulder. I'm guessing that shoulder has been dislocated before... I don't think it will become a problem."

He paused briefly, and closed the file on his lap. "The rope burns on his armpits and wrists, while painful, will heal perfectly given time. This leaves my last worry. Muscle and nerve damage."

"What damage?" Calleigh hurried to ask.

"When somebody is tied up for that long, circulation will be impaired. The Lieutenant's arms have suffered from the lack of blood and oxygen and we just need to see how much damage has been done. Maybe, with extensive therapy, all movement will eventually return, but at the moment, I can't really tell."

"Alexx?" Calleigh turned to her friend, her eyes wide.

Alexx placed a hand on Calleigh's thigh. "Sweetie, calm down. Like the doctor said, we just have to wait and see, okay?" She wished she had more to reassure her colleague, but at the moment, she didn't have it.

"Can we see him?" Calleigh resolutely turned her head and looked at the doctor.

He shook his head. "Not yet. At the moment, my staff is straightening out his toes and putting a cast around his leg. Then they're going to disinfect and stitch the welts and clean up the rope burns. That's going to take a while. I suggest you both go and grab something to eat. You can come back later."

Rising to his feet, the doctor shook hands and then left.

Calleigh simply turned to Alexx and sobbed on her friend's shoulder. Alexx just hugged her, gently rubbing her back.

XXX-XXX-XXX

After dropping Alexx off at the hospital, Frank Tripp had taken Ned Sante to the interrogation room.

The conversation with Ned didn't give the detective any more information. Instead, it left Tripp wondering what to do with the nervous young man. He didn't have any evidence to hold against the student, and he also didn't have a statement from Horatio yet. Also, it was clear to the detective that he really needed to catch the other students. After talking the different scenarios through that Ned would have to face as soon as the bureau had more against Metzger's class, Tripp was confident the kid wouldn't run off. The detective arranged an escort to take Ned home after giving him strict orders to stay at home, definitely not leave Miami and call in sick at the University.

Later that afternoon, Eric and Speed returned from Chekika. While Speed received a phone call, Eric met Frank Tripp in the lab.

"Anything?" Eric asked curiously, referring to Tripp's conversation with the student.

"No new information," Tripp said, shaking his head. "I guess we'll just have to see what happens tonight. What about the cabin?"

"It was empty. Guess Ned Sante's parents weren't planning to come there this summer. We've got fingerprints from the door, and from the inside. Hairs from the floor, including red ones, which no doubt belong to Horatio."

"Let's hope there are prints of those students amongst the ones you've found," Tripp said. "That would tie them to the scene."

"Then the entry was muddy, as if somebody with dirty shoes or boots had marched in recently. There were traces of somebody being dragged along, but I couldn't get any useable prints."

"Hmm. Hopefully the hairs and fingerprints will do." Tripp looked up at Speed, who entered the lab.

"That was Alexx," Speed informed the others, then gave them a brief summary of what their ME had told him.

Hearing the gruesome details of his boss's injuries, Eric clenched and unclenched his fists, barely able to control his anger.

Tripp looked grim. "We're going to get them, gentlemen. Hopefully Horatio will be awake enough to tell me something tomorrow. With his statement and Ned Sante's testimony we have a pretty solid case. For now, you keep working on the evidence. Get me something. Anything."

The two crime scene investigators nodded determinedly.

"Oh," Tripp called over his shoulder as he was almost out of the lab. "My team has brought the Hummer in, from the University. Check it out too. Maybe we get lucky."

XXX-XXX-XXX

It was late afternoon, when Alexx and Calleigh arrived back in the hospital. They'd gone out for a late lunch, both of them too lost in her thoughts to start a real conversation.

"Hello," Alexx approached the desk in the ICU and greeted the nurse. "We're the friends of Lieutenant Caine. Dr. Stevenson had told us to come back around this time. Can we see him?"

The nurse eyed the two women, then looked at her chart. "Hmm, yes. Mr. Caine has been brought to room 357. Down this hall," she pointed into the right direction. "Fifth room on the left. Mr. Caine is sleeping, though."

"We won't disturb him," Calleigh reassured the nurse. "We'll just sit there for a while."

The nurse gave them an affirmative nod, and the two women strolled down the hall.

"Oh, ma'am?" the nurse called after them. The two ladies from the crime lab turned around. The nurse held a plastic bag in her hand, gesturing. "I was told to give you this." She waited until Calleigh stepped closer, taking the bag from her. "It's a little piece of something they found in the patient's back. They said it might be important."

Calleigh smiled. "Thank you. We'll take it back to the crime lab." She then turned around and followed Alexx down the hall.

Alexx carefully opened the door of room 357 and they both silently stepped inside.

Horatio had a private room. The head-rest of the bed was slightly elevated and three monitors above the bed made soft beeping sounds. Alexx immediately started reading the signs, while Calleigh simply stood staring at the deadly silent figure on the bed.

Horatio's red hair stood out in the white surroundings of the room. The white walls, the light grayish floor, the white bed sheets, even Horatio's skin lacked all color, making the contrast with his hair shocking. An oxygen mask covered the lower part of his face and several lines were attached to him to monitor his condition and evenly administer fluids and medication into his system. His chest was bare, besides the numerous bandages and gauze covering the rope burns and welts. Dark patches underneath the various bandages showed the bruised ribcage. His left shoulder was wrapped in ice-packs and gauze covered the abraded wrists.

A white sheet covered the Lieutenant from the waist down, a metal construction over the foot end preventing it from touching the injured legs and foot. Looking up, Calleigh saw the fan on the ceiling, turning about silently and steadily, creating a soft breeze in the otherwise hot room.

She softly drew a chair closer to the bed and sat down. "Alexx?" she whispered.

Alexx gave her a reassuring smile. "His breathing has much improved. His heart-beat is sufficient now. His temperature is back to normal, and so are his oxygen levels. All in all, he's doing as well as can be expected, Cal."

Calleigh let out a sigh of relief. Like Alexx had done, she wanted to run her hand through his hair, but figured that would be kind of inappropriate. This was her boss, after all. Instead, she placed her hand over his. The cool and clamminess she'd found there earlier that day was gone now.

Following the IV line from the pole to Horatio's other hand, Calleigh faced Alexx. "What are they giving him?"

"Bronchodilators, to open his airway," Alexx started. She took another chair and sat down on the other side of the bed. "Probably some corticosteroids, also to assist his breathing. A muscle relaxant, antibiotics and something for the pain."

Calleigh looked back to the silent figure on the bed and sighed. "I should have gone with him."

"Oh, honey. Don't do that to yourself. There's no way of knowing what would have happened if you had been with him at the time."

"I know," Calleigh muttered. "But I can't stop wondering."

"Which isn't helping Horatio, nor you. Now let's concentrate on his condition and on catching the ones who did this, okay? I assume you want to stay for a while?" Alexx asked gently.

The blond woman nodded. "I need to be here, Alexx. I want him to see a familiar face when he wakes up. I'm staying."

XXX-XXX-XXX

Detective Tripp took no chances. He brought sixteen officers with him when he returned to Chekika late afternoon. Along with the five men who had remained there covering the area earlier that day it brought the total of officers to twenty-two. It was only six PM when they had taken in their positions at the campsite. There were enough officers to have the cabin and the crime scene area widely surrounded.

It was going to be a long night.

XXX-XXX-XXX

Around ten PM that evening Horatio Caine stirred.

Calleigh, still taking vigil beside his bed, sat up straight and anxiously waited for him to wake up. He'd been semi-awake before, when the nurses came in to reposition him in the bed, after urging him to cough and to take a deep breath. He'd just about managed to do as requested before drifting off again.

This time, it seemed he was waking up on his own, though. Calleigh didn't have to wait for long. The eyelids fluttered, then opened, and confused eyes blinked a few times before making eye contact with her.

"Hi, there," Calleigh smiled, once more grabbing Horatio's hand. She wasn't sure how coherent he was, his pupils were dilated and she saw no immediate recognition in his eyes. She continued with a soft voice. "You're in the hospital. Everything is going to be all right."

He attempted to say something, but the oxygen mask made it impossible for Calleigh to understand.

"Shh," she instructed. "Don't talk. Alexx was here and has just left. It's ten PM, and you need to rest."

She noticed he was tiring already, the medication probably making him drowsy. "It's okay. Go back to sleep and I'll be back tomorrow morning, okay?" Smiling encouragingly, she waited.

His eyes drifted shut as sleep claimed him.

Only once she was certain he was sound asleep did she let go of his hand. Satisfied he hadn't woken up alone, Calleigh now felt safe to leave the hospital. She'd be back first thing in the morning.