The New Recruits: Cha Cha Changes

Chapter 9

Calleigh had finished with her phone call, when she entered the emergency bay again, her intentions on getting to Eric's room. Her intentions were short lived when she saw the fiery red hair. His back was turned to her, but she could clearly see that it was Horatio. Barely containing her smile, she walked over to him and lightly tapped him on the shoulder. He turned around and she was taken by the scratches on his face, gasping at the sight of him.

" Oh my word, Horatio, what happened?" she asked with a hand to her mouth.

" It's nothing, Calleigh. What are you doing here? Is everything alright?"

" You look like you got into a fight with a cat, and the cat won."

Horatio smirked lightly at the southern beauty and shrugged his shoulders, replying, " You didn't answer my question, Calleigh. What are you doing here?"

Calleigh's demeanor changed when she thought about the reason why she was here and she moved closer to Horatio as if revealing some secret, " It's Eric. He's had a mild heart attack. The doctor says that he's going to be fine, but he needs a lot of rest."

" A heart attack?" Horatio responded in a whisper. " When did this happen?"

" This afternoon, close to shift change. Tim found him on the floor of the fingerprinting lab and started CPR. He saved his life."

Horatio began to put two and two together and glanced at the floor in thought. Jen must've been talking to her father when he had the heart attack. Suddenly, it hit him that he had to let Eric know that Jen was okay.

"Calleigh, what floor is he going to?"

" The second. Maddison and Max are already up there, and Tim and Alexx are on their way,"Calleigh returned as Horatio moved into action. She followed him through the corridors, striving to keep up the pace. "You know, everyone has been wondering where you went off to. We've missed you."

Horatio stopped walking and turned to look at Calleigh, his regrets resurfacing. He knew that he had abandoned them in their time of need, but his guilt clouded that realization. His eyes remained focused on Calleigh as his body sagged slightly. He knew it was time to face them.

"I'm sorry, Calleigh. There were things that I had to deal with by myself, and I couldn't face Speed or Raymond. I was to blame for their deaths. I was the reason."

" Horatio, you cannot blame yourself for what happened to Yelina or RJ... You had no hand in this, they died because of some maniac's actions, not yours."

" I wonder if Speed or Raymond feels that way," Horatio said quietly as he broke his gaze. It had finally came out, and he felt vulnerable at his admittance .

" They are more worried about you. You up and disappeared on us, Horatio. No one knew what to think ," Calleigh said as she saw him begin to move. She stepped in front of him and glared at him. " I'm not letting you go until you realize that no one is blaming you ."

"Calleigh, I have... I have to go tell Eric something," Horatio returned with sadness in his voice. He knew that Calleigh was right, he had to give up the idea that he was the sole blame for the missing people in their lives, now more so than ever, because someone else needed him now.

" Horatio,..."

" I understand , Calleigh. I have to start thinking about those who are still here," Horatio stated as he glanced at her, a small twinkling coming from them. Calleigh smiled, apparently happy with what she saw. She sidestepped and allowed Horatio to pass. When they got to the elevator, Calleigh stepped in first, then Horatio.

As they rode in silence, Calleigh turned to him and said, " Glad to see you again Horatio."

Horatio nodded and let a small smile appear on his face. He was glad to be among the living once more.

TNR

Alexx handed Speed the cup of coffee as she sat down and smiled at him. It had been a long time since she had actually sat down with him and talked. It was something that she held close to her, the relationship that they had, and she wanted it to continue to thrive, especially now, when he was in need of it. Her smile faded some when she thought about her godson, and the potential he had. His death was something that had shaken Alexx to the core, and she had a hard time recovering from it. Meanwhile, Timmy was paying the price of her weakness. Now was the time to get it out.

Speed gazed into the cup of steaming liquid losing himself in memories of his son, his family. Since RJ's death and Robin's absence, his life had stopped. Nothing else had mattered to him, least of all the relationships that he had with his friends. Now as he sat in front of his dearest friend, he began to realize what a huge mistake it was to shut them out.

Alexx cleared her throat and looked up at him, feeling the tears as they approached her lids. This was something entirely new to her, speaking about herself, and she didn't know how to start, but her voice came anyway, and she found herself speaking through the tears that started to fall.

"Tim, first I want to start by saying , I'm sorry..."

"Alexx, there's nothing for you to be sorry about," Speed interrupted. She put a hand up to silence him and he obeyed.

" I hadn't been there when you needed me. At the most devastating part of your life, I was unable to help you, mainly because of my overwhelming grief over losing RJ myself. I felt like there was so much that I could've done. Something that I could've said. But instead ,I did nothing. And in doing nothing, we lost someone so important to us. But you lost more than that, Timmy. Not only did you lose your son, but your wife and daughter. All of this because of what I couldn't do."

"Alexx, there was nothing that you could've done. Robert was just like me, impulsive ,passionate. It was what made him who he was. There was nothing anyone of us could've done to keep his destiny away from him. As bad as it sounds, Alexx, there was a reason for his death. I can't quite put my hand on it, but there was," Speed said as he placed a comforting hand on hers." It's taking me some time, but I'm learning to deal with it , and I still have a way to go. But as long as I have you and others around me to talk, then I think that I'm going to be okay."

Alexx smiled at him as she wiped her tears away, " It seems as if I needed this talk more than you did Timmy."

" No, I think we just needed to connect again. I can tell you that it's been hard on me with out Robin. I miss her so much. It's true that you never know what you have until it's gone. I never knew how much Robin meant to me until I lost her."

" Don't you think that you can find your way back to her again, Tim? I don't think that she is that unreasonable."

"She's already filing for divorce and moving back to England. I think that time has come and gone."

" You shouldn't give up on those you love , Timmy. She's worth fighting for. Your marriage is worth fighting for," Alexx said as she smiled at him. She had already began to feel a thousand times better.

" That's all well and good , Alexx, but how am I supposed to fight for her if she won't listen to me? Every since Robert died, she's had nothing to do with me. She hates me," Speed returned as he lowered his head.

Alexx lifted his chin and looked him in the eyes, " That woman loves you with all her heart, Tim. You of all people should know how grief can change people. It's up to you to make that change for the better. Are you going to just let her walk out of your life? You can't, not when there is still so much love there. Call her, Tim. Let her know how you feel."

" I 've tried that Alexx! She shoots me down every time."

" Try it with your heart and not your mind, Tim. Talk to her from here," Alexx responded as she put a hand to his chest. " I guarantee that you will get further if you do that. Trust me, honey."

Speed nodded and took a drink of the coffee. He then looked up at Alexx and saw that her demeanor had changed through the course of their talk. She now resembled the Alexx that he had grown to love over the years. The woman who had been more of a mother to him than his own.

" So, you are feeling better?" he asked.

" Tons. Now that we got that out, there's one more thing," she said as she sipped the last of the warm liquid.

" What's that?"

" Time for you to stop making like Grizzly Adams and lose the beard. Half the time, I don't recognize you until you speak. Shave , Timmy."

" So you are telling me that you don't like the new look?" he asked in a mocking tone.

" I prefer the old one better, and so do many others. It's scary."

"Alright, alright , I got the point. I'll shave as soon as I get home."

"Oh and we are going to have a talk about your grandchild when we get a chance," Alexx said as she got up from the table.

"How did you find out?" Speed asked as he glanced at her in surprise. There was no way she could've known, no one had talked.

" When have you ever known me not to know what's going on with you?" she asked as she stopped midway to the trash can.

" Never."

"Exactly, and I don't see that changing anytime soon," she quipped as she walked to the door. "I've got to make a phone call, Timmy. I'll be right up."

Speed smiled as she walked out the door and nodded his head. It was wonderful to have that connection again.

Alexx dialed the number with her intentions steady. If it was the last thing she did, she would see him happy once more. Putting the phone to her ear, she heard the sounds of the ringing, then the voice as it answered on the third ring.

" Hello?" an accent came.

Alexx smiled to herself and spoke lightly, " Robin, it's Alexx. We need to talk."

TBC...

A/N: So now ends another installment to The New Recruits. There will of course be a new one in the coming weeks. So stay tuned!