A/N's: this is for all those who've asked for a sequel to this story, camper65, Jahnick, LadyNightWind, SerenLunarEcho, and anybody else I have forgotten. Then, of course, for Hgirl, the best reviewer in the world. Be ready for the surprise of your life!

All rightie, see if you still remember this story line: Horatio was kidnapped and tortured by Prof. Adam Metzger's students, and found, barely alive, by the team. The investigation continued and in the end, Ned Sante was killed by the others before Frank and his men arrested the sorry bunch. Horatio, still recovering, came to HQ to nail them himself, and in the end, Alexx checked him over and discovered he was developing a fever. She and Calleigh had to take him back to the hospital. I was leaving it at that, but some of you wanted more, so here it is. More, I'm working on getting him home. Be warned, this is nothing more than Cal playing a sweet nurse, so if you don't like that, stop at chapter 18, okay? Read at your own risk, you've been warned.

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Calleigh was worried. The last couple of hours she'd been watching how Horatio grew more restless as his temperature slowly rose. She didn't want him to thrash around, as it could re-open the wounds on his back.

She sat with him, her fingers intertwined with his, her thumb gently stroking the back of his hand. So far, her voice had been enough to quiet him down, but by the looks of it that soon wouldn't be enough.

He shifted and muttered in his sleep and she couldn't understand a word he said.

He tossed and moaned, his face set in a grimace and she talked soothingly, hoping to keep him still.

"He..." he suddenly called out. His eyes shot wide open and he stared at the ceiling. "He controls you."

Calleigh frowned. Horatio obviously was reliving something and seemed unaware of her presence. His hand was still in hers, so she squeezed it gently. "Shh," she spoke softly, trying to draw his attention to her. "It's all right."

His head turned and he glanced at her, droplets of sweat dotting his forehead, his eyes bright with fever. "This is wrong," he muttered.

The words to tell him otherwise got stuck in her throat as she realized he didn't recognize her and he was talking about something from when he was held captive by the students.

"Don't worry about that now, Horatio," she tried to reassure him. "Just try to relax, okay?"

He wasn't listening. Shaking his head, his eyes drifted close. "Do you hate your dog?"

Calleigh sighed. Letting go of his hand, she got up and headed for the sink. She opened the cupboard and found a pile of towels and washcloths. Grabbing one of the latter, she soaked it under the tap, then wrung until no more water dripped from it. She returned to the bed and gently wiped Horatio's face and neck before folding the cloth and placing it on his brow.

"The roles are reversed now, Ned," Horatio mumbled. He opened his eyes and his unfocussed glance was directed at the wall opposite of the bed. "How does it feel?"

"Let it go, Horatio," Calleigh pleaded, her voice soft but urging. "Come on, it's all over now. You need to rest, all right?" Leaning forward, she took the cloth from his forehead and turned it around. "You can sleep now. I'll be right here."

A shiver ran through the sick man, then his eyes slowly closed as he fell into another restless sleep.

Sighing, Calleigh leaned back in her chair. She knew Horatio as a strong man, always in control, although at occasions she'd witnessed him being so furious that she'd wondered how much more he could handle before he lost it. Seeing him like this was weird, scary and unnerving. On the other hand she didn't want to be anywhere else at the moment, not wanting him to be alone.

Glancing at her watch, she was surprised at how late it was already. "I'll be right back," she whispered softly to the sleeping man. "I'm just going to get some coffee." She got up and made sure her heels made no clicking noise by walking on the balls of her feet. She left the room and headed for the coffee machine, threw in some coins and placed a cup under it.

"Still here, huh?" a familiar voice called out to her.

Calleigh looked over her shoulder and smiled at the nurse she'd seen earlier that evening. "Yes, I can't leave him like this. I'm Calleigh Duquesne, by the way," she offered her hand, introducing herself.

The nurse took her hand and shook it briefly. "I'm Nathalie. And it's all right, you're free to stay as long as you like. When you need me, just push the call button and I'll be right there."

"Thank you, Nathalie," Calleigh responded. She took her coffee and quietly went back to Horatio's room.

Sipping her coffee, she sat, thinking over the events of the past two weeks. It had all started with the DB of Professor Metzger, who'd been tortured to death. It had been obvious that one of the students had snapped, but no-one had foreseen that each one of the students had been capable of the evil that had followed, torturing the head of the crime lab, plus torturing and killing one of their own when he refused to play along.

The frantic search still fresh in her mind, Calleigh praised herself and the whole shift lucky that they had been able to find their boss in time, although barely. She couldn't imagine continuing her job at CSI if Horatio hadn't survived.

She shivered. Better not to think about that, she told herself.

All that mattered now was concentrating on Horatio's condition. He still had a lot of healing to do, and getting that fever under control was the first important step. Doctor Stevenson had spoken to her earlier that evening, explaining to her that a couple of welts on Horatio's back had become infected. They had to re-open those wounds, allowing them to drain, while another stronger antibiotic was being administered through the IV in order to get the infection under control. Doctor Stevenson expected that the upcoming night would be the hardest, as the antibiotics wouldn't have kicked in yet. Then, starting from tomorrow, the fever should start to show a slow but steady fall.

If all went well, the doctor estimated that they could do the skin crafts just before the upcoming weekend, in which case Horatio would be released from the hospital sometime during the next week.

Interrupted from her thoughts Calleigh looked up as Horatio once more started thrashing. She took the now dry cloth from his brow and walked over to the sink to re-wet it before returning to the bed. A glance at the monitors told her his fever was even higher than last time she'd checked.

"Ssh," she tried to reassure the restless man. Gently, she wiped the sweat from his face and his neck, placed the material on his brow and ruffled his damp hair in a comforting way. "Take it easy, okay?"

He didn't respond to her voice, but shifted in the bed, the arms flailing. Then, completely taking Calleigh by surprise, he jerked until he was sitting up straight. His eyes went wide with shock and his mouth fell wide open as he cried out. "No! Mum!"

Calleigh winced at the rough, hoarse sound of his voice, the deep anguish plainly visible etched on his face. Although he'd never spoken of it to her, Alexx had told her once about the murder of Horatio's mother. The blonde CSI bit on her lip, momentarily unsure how to pull him back from this horrible event from his past.

Slowly leaning forward, she tried to enter his line of vision. "Hey... easy there. You're almost pulling out the IV-line." She grabbed his hand and gently gave it a squeeze. "I think you'd be more comfortable lying down, Horatio. Come on."

A shudder shook him before he became aware of the hand grabbing his. His mouth closed now, the expression on his face softened as he slowly relaxed. Turning his head a bit, his glazed eyes searched and found her. He stared at her for a long time, his eyes bright, his skin damp with sweat and his vision still blurred as he fought to focus. It took him some time to recognize the vague figure with his mind still trapped in another time and another place but slowly the mixed up images from years back faded and he frowned in surprise. "Calleigh?"

Calleigh smiled in relief. "Yes, it's me, handsome."

Lifting a trembling arm, Horatio tried to run a weary hand over his face, but couldn't manage. He let the arm drop back onto the bed, still staring at the blonde woman as he tried to comprehend what was going on. "What happened?" he rasped.

"You're in the hospital. You have a very high fever, but the doctors are working on it and it should come down soon, all right?" Calleigh spoke slowly, deliberately keeping her voice steady. She let go of his hand to take the glass from the stand and held it in front of him. "Here. You're probably thirsty. Can you drink some water?"

He sipped automatically, then licked his lips. "Thanks."

"You're welcome," she responded, putting the glass back. "Now why don't you lie down, Horatio?"

He shifted his gaze from her to the bed and gave a slight nod. His heavy eye-lids already slid shut while she carefully guided him back into the pillows. From the way his breathing evened out she knew that he was asleep and that he didn't even notice how she covered him up with the blankets.

She remained there, watching the fine tremors shaking his body before she got up to rinse the wash cloth once more. Satisfied he was quiet for now, she sat back, yawned and without really reading, she flipped through the pages of another magazine. She drank more coffee to stay awake, but before she could finish it, he was tossing and turning again, in the midst of another feverish dream.

Calleigh closed her eyes in despair at the hoarse sound of his voice as he relived another part of what had happened to him. He mumbled, bits and pieces, and names like Ginny and Ned, and whispered words like humanity and respect. He shook his head, softly murmuring, then called out, "don't let him win!"

Nurse Nathalie came into the room for her round and read the monitors. "I'll be right back," she announced, only to return shortly after with a cooling blanket. Draping it over her patient, she glanced at Calleigh. "Hope this helps. Are you all right here, Calleigh?"

Calleigh nodded. "It's scary, you know. I've never seen him like this."

"People being delirious are far from their usual self and strangely enough they choose that moment to relive some unpleasant moments from the past. It can be scary, I know," the nurse responded with a faint nod. "He's going to be okay, though. A few more hours and his temperature should drop some, pulling him back to the here and now. He probably won't remember much from this night."

"Really?"

"Yes, really. We see it all the time," Nathalie smiled as she prepared to continue her round. "Call me if you need me."

Calleigh watched the nurse leave the room, then looked back at the source of her concern. Natalie's words had brought some relief though, as she focused her hopes on the next day, when he would be doing better.

She kept cooling him down with the washcloth, kept talking to him when he thrashed and quickly left to get another coffee when he was silent. Hours and several episodes of feverish flashbacks, chills and nightmares later she was startled awake at the first sounds coming from the hallway indicating it was early in the morning.

Shaking her head in confusion, Calleigh realized she must have dozed off long at last. Glancing at her watch, she saw it was almost six o'clock. She wiped her sleepy eyes, then looked at the bed. Horatio was quietly asleep, his skin flushed and sweaty. The cloth she had placed on his brow had slipped sideways and the cooling blanket was gone and had been replaced by a normal one. She lifted her arm, turned her hand and placed the back of it against his forehead. He was warm, very warm, but she estimated it to be less than it had been during the night. A quick look at the monitors confirmed her guess as she found his indicated temperature had dropped by at least half a degree.

Calleigh headed for the sink and this time it was her own face she wetted, hoping to wash the tiredness away. Quickly, she loosened the clip that held her hair back in a ponytail, and brushed it before tying it behind her head again. Next she brushed her teeth with the brush she always carried with her in her purse. After rinsing her mouth, she looked at her image in the mirror, satisfied she at least looked as if she'd just had a good night's sleep.

Nathalie brought her a small breakfast with coffee. "I figured you needed that," she announced with a smile. "Dayshift is taking over now, so I'll be going home. Make sure you get some sleep yourself, all right?"

Calleigh smiled back at her. "I will. Thanks for the good care, Nathalie. Are you on duty tonight?"

The nurse nodded. "You aren't planning on staying another night, are you?"

"I might," Calleigh shrugged, throwing a quick glance at her boss. "It depends on how he's doing. I don't want him to be alone."

"He's not married, right? And no family?" Nathalie asked out of curiosity.

"He's divorced. I've never seen his ex. And no family... nobody I know of," Calleigh responded.

"You obviously care a lot about him," the nurse noted.

"Hmm," Calleigh smiled. "Maybe more than I should."

Nathalie frowned. "Why's that?"

"Well... he's my boss..." Calleigh tried to explain.

"So?"

Grinning now, Calleigh agreed. "You're right. So what."

The nurse batted an eye with a meaningful smile. "He's lucky to have you. See you tonight, then." With that, she left, leaving Calleigh alone with her thoughts.

After finishing her breakfast she brought her plate to the trolley in the hallway, then took her familiar seat and started reading a magazine. She'd just picked up the second magazine after finishing the first as Horatio gave the first signs of waking up. She quickly put the magazine aside and watched him closely. His fingers trembled and then his eyelids started fluttering. Slowly, he pried his eyes open, and she watched how he looked around in confusion before his tired gaze settled on her.

"Morning," she greeted him cheerfully.

A faint smile appeared on his face. He tried to say something but his throat was too dry so he swallowed a few times then tried again. "Hi, there."

She was already there with a glass of water, and held it in front of him so he could sip. "Better?" she asked when he was finished.

Horatio gave a slight nod. "How long have you been sitting there?"

"Oh, for some time," she said, deliberately keeping it vague. She was afraid he would be embarrassed if he knew she'd stayed all night. "How are you feeling?"

"Tired," he answered with a hoarse voice. "And cold."

Calleigh had already noticed that. "You're shivering. I'm going to get you another blanket." With that, she got up and returned shortly after with another blanket, which she draped over him. "There you go."

"Thank you. What day is it?"

"It is Tuesday morning."

He frowned in surprise. "What happened to Monday afternoon?"

She grinned. "You don't remember, huh? We took you back to the hospital and you fell asleep in the ambulance. You were exhausted. Then, your temperature went up... some wounds on your back are infected and they are trying to get that under control. As a matter of fact, your fever is still..." she glanced at the monitors, "hovering around 104."

He stared at her in confusion.

"Don't worry about it, Horatio. It will be all right," Calleigh quickly tried to reassure him. She grabbed his hand and gently squeezed it.

"You're cold," he muttered.

Smiling, she disagreed. "No, I'm not. You're just a tad too hot. The antibiotics should kick in soon though, which will bring your temperature down. Hey," she bent forward, frowning in worry as his eyes apparently had trouble focusing and his eye lids started to close. "Horatio?"

Startled, his eyes fluttered open again and tried to concentrate on her. "Hmm? Sorry..."

"That's okay," she hastened to say as she realized the brief conversation had worn him out. "Why don't you go back to sleep for a while, huh? I'll be right here."

"All rightie," he said, dredging up a smile then closed his eyes and drifted off before she even had the chance to lean back in her chair.

Calleigh just sat there and watched him sleep. She was glad he'd recognized her and hoped he would get some rest without being disturbed by another nightmare. She'd lost track of time, then looked up as the door opened and her female colleague and friend Alexx Woods entered the room.

"Morning, Calleigh," Alexx greeted her. "You're early today."

"Hi, Alexx," Calleigh responded with a smile, then shrugged.

"What.." Alexx continued with a frown, quickly understanding. "You mean you were her all night?"

"Well, I couldn't leave him like that, Alexx," Calleigh apologized.

"Hmm," Alexx commented, shaking her head. She stepped closer to the bed to read the monitors before her gaze shifted to the sleeping man. "His temperature is still high. How is he?"

"Better now. He's been delirious all night and had some frightening nightmares. But he did recognize me this morning, although I don't think he remembered anything from after we took him back to the hospital yesterday afternoon."

"That doesn't surprise me," Alexx replied. She moved her hand and gently rubbed Horatio's arm. "You shouldn't have been out of bed yet. It was too much for you, sugar."

"He couldn't stay away, Alexx."

"I know, honey. He couldn't, and now he's paying for it." Alexx stepped back with a sad smile on her face. "Let's hope the new mix of antibiotics will work." She looked up as two nurses entered, one carrying a set of clean beddings. "Come on, Cal. We're going for some coffee."

"Morning routine," one of the nurses apologized. "We'll be done in twenty minutes. The doctor will arrive shortly after that."

"Thank you," Alexx said as she headed to the door. "Can you let the doctor know I want to talk to him? We'll be in the waiting room."

"Of course," the nurse nodded.

Calleigh closed the door behind her and followed Alexx. They both filled a cup with coffee, then sat down at one of the tables.

"Honey, you should go home and get some sleep," Alexx started, eyeing her blonde colleague in concern. Calleigh could think she was all right but Alexx didn't fail to notice the fatigue etched on her face. "Especially if you're planning to stay for another night..."

"He shouldn't be alone, Alexx," Calleigh protested in advance, in case Alexx was going to try to talk her out of it.

"With the antibiotics doing their job, he shouldn't be delirious anymore, Calleigh," Alexx tried to reassure her friend.

"I know, but he has nightmares, Alexx. He's reliving it, every time he closes his eyes," Calleigh argued.

"That's a normal reaction," Alexx said. "He's got to deal with what happened, one way or the other."

"But he shouldn't have to do that all alone," Calleigh spoke firmly.

Alexx grinned at Calleigh's determination. "I'm not saying that. All I'm saying is that you need to get some rest. How are you planning to stay awake for another night if you don't get some sleep today?" She looked up, trying to determine if her words had the needed effect. "Besides, what do you think Horatio would have to say when he finds out you got yourself sick while looking out for him?"

"All right, all right," Calleigh gave in, knowing Alexx had a good point.

"Look, Tom is doing the autopsies this morning so I can stay with him for a while," Alexx said kindly, patting Calleigh's arm. "Eric and Timmy have been called in to another scene, but I'm sure they will find some time to come and visit this afternoon. And Frank won't stay away either, so Horatio won't be alone much. Besides, he's probably going to sleep most of the day anyway, after what he's been through yesterday and last night."

"Promise?" Calleigh had to know.

"I promise. And I'll call you if needed, you know that. Now go on, sugar."

With a weary sigh Calleigh got up. "All right then. I'll call you as soon as I wake up."

"As long as it won't be before sometime afternoon," Alexx warned.

"Bye, Alexx," Calleigh grinned as she got up, preparing to leave. "And thank you."