Title: His Last Case

Disclaimer: Violence. Hints of slash.

POV: Horatio Caine

Chapter Four: Covered In Darkness

Tuesday Morning- 3:15am

I wake from a deep sleep to something crawling on my arm. It's a little brown spider. Quietly I mover over o the window and let the little guy go on the sill.

Outside the sky is still dark. Lights in the city around us shine like the stars. Dawn is just a few hours away. I think of work.

Calleigh would be up early. She wanted so desperately to finish her backed up work. Hagen would probably be there to share a cup of coffee with her. I smile softly for a minute. Cal thought only Alexx knew. But no one on my team could keep a secret from me for long.

Yelina would be up by five. For the next hour and half she would be getting Ray Jr. off to school.

And somewhere, out in the vast state of Florida, hopefully nearby, Speed is sleeping. I turn my back on the window.

The small room is lit by a lamp in the far corner. I am able to see Delko stir in his bed. His eyes open and focus on me.

"H?"

"Hey, how you feeling?" I ask.

"I think my pain medicine is wearing off again. It's like someone is driving a hot poker into my side."

"Would you like me to call the nurse?"

"Please?"

I smile. "No problem."

Instead of using the call button I walk to the nurse station. My legs need the stretch. A nice brunette tells me she'll send someone in to see Delko in an hour.

"Excuse me, an hour?"

"Yes, that's what I said."

"That man in there is a CSI with the Miami-Dade Lab. He was injured while trying to save one of his own. I think he deserves better than an hour."

She nods. "Is fifteen minutes okay?"

"That's better. Thank you."

I go back to the room. Delko is gazing out the window.

"I can't help but wonder and worry about Speed," he says.

I say nothing; which peaks his curiosity.

"What's wrong, H?"

I walk the last few steps to his bed. "Delko-"

"No," he shakes his head.

"Listen to me, Eric. Speed's badge and ID were sent to Calleigh last night. The only prints on both belong to Speed."

"And the crime scene?"

"Nothing."

"What?"

"There's nothing. Oh, we found stuff. Like Speed's gun, your gun, and your blood. But it's not telling us anything we don't already know. There are no prints; finger or otherwise. No hairs or fibers. These people know their way around a crime scene," I explain.

"What about that piece of cloth? The stain?"

Before I can answer the nurse walks in. Without a word she injects the medications into Delko's arm. She leaves as quickly and as quietly as she came.

"The cloth wasn't there, Delko. Someone must have picked it up. And the stain was actually soda. Pepsi, to be in-fact."

"Damn it."

"This won't stop us. You know that."

Delko starts coughing. After a few minutes of waiting for it to go away, it gets worse. I pour him a cup of water. He drinks it quickly. But the coughing doesn't stop.

"H…I…I…can't…breathe," he gasps.

I run to the door. "Nurse! Nurse!"

"What?" It's the elderly lady from yesterday.

"He's having trouble breathing."

It's now 5:24am. I watch as the doctor walks toward me.

"Mr. Caine?"

"Yes, I'm Lt. Caine," I say.

"Mr. Delko will be okay. He's in his room resting now. You can go see him if you want."

Something doesn't feel right. "May I ask what happened?"

"Um. Sure. The nurse gave him the wrong painkiller. It reacted with another medication and sent him into anaphylactic shock."

"Thank you." He begins to walk away. "Hey doc, maybe you should get nurses that can do their job."