22.

His cell phone started ringing as he eased the Hummer into the Medical Center parking lot.

Not bothering to see who it was, he just flipped it open and jabbed the receive button. "Horatio Caine…"

"It's Alexx, sugar. Where are you at?" she asked, sounding severe.

"I'm in the parking lot of the Medical Center," Horatio said as he frowned, trying to find a place to park the big rig he was driving and seriously considering the use of the 'brass pass'. "Is everything all right, Alexx? You sound…"

"Pissed off? You had better believe it. I just happen to be in the main lobby, can you meet me here?"

"I'll be there in a few minutes," Horatio said and hung up. He frowned as he wondered what Alexx would be upset about. Nothing more could have possibly happened to Schell, could it?

He found her moments later, arms folded, and glaring out the window of the lobby, tapping one foot as she waited for him to arrive. She was clutching something in her hand. He could see, just from her body position alone, that she was agitated.

"Alexx?" he said as he approached, slowly removing his sunglasses. She turned and he could see on her face that she was barely containing rage. "What is it?"

She paused, considering her words. "I need to tell you something, and I don't want you to do anything until you listen to what I have to say. Will you promise me that?"

Horatio, his brows still knit in a frown, tipped his head to the right and carefully studied her. "Does this involve Schell…?" he started, but she raised a hand to stop him.

"Promise me you won't do anything until after you listen to what I have to say," she said flatly.

He looked at her carefully a moment then nodded, "All right, Alexx. What is going on?"

"Promise me," she said.

They locked eyes for a moment, then Horatio conceded. "For you Alexx, I promise. What has this got to do with Schell?"

"Rick Stetler," Alexx spat.

Almost immediately a frighteningly hard and dangerous look filled Horatio's eyes, darkening them and she raised a warning finger to stop him. "What did he do?" Horatio demanded.

"You don't do a damn thing, until after I finish talking…" Alexx replied.

"Alexx, what did he do?" he demanded in a low growl. He was suddenly all attention, and seemed to grow a little taller, all ready imposing at six foot tall.

"Sugar, I know that there are things about you that you would do anything to protect her from," Alexx said, indicating Schell, "I know how much you care about that girl upstairs."

"Alexx…" Horatio growled.

"Don't you growl at me, Horatio, you listen to me," Alexx snapped back, lifting her chin in defiance. "I know there are things you would not want her to know…"

"Alexx…" he started again.

"Rick Stetler was in her room waiting for her to wake up from recovery… he interrogated her about you," Alexx said, never breaking eye contact with Horatio. "She was so upset, it made her sick, and she came that close," Alexx held thumb and index finger pinched together, "That close, Horatio, to tearing out all those stitches in her abdomen. I just spent the last hour calming her down. He is on such a witch hunt against you that he doesn't care one damn bit who he hurts in the process."

For a brief second Alexx actually saw Horatio stunned, his jaw dropping open.

"Now before you go and do anything, I want you to know that that girl up there needs you. Despite what that rat bastard just tried to do…" she hesistated. "She has been asking for you. She wants you."

Alexx's face softened in understanding and compassion. "Don't you go thinking for one minute, sugar, that she's thinking the worst about you. Just you rest assured that she knows you better than you realize," She waited, holding his appalled gaze.

"What did he tell her, Alexx?" Horatio's low, strained, voice asked as he took in what she was saying.

Alexx hesitated a moment. "He questioned her about Rachel; he told her you were still the prime suspect in her murder, that you two were dating. He tried finding out if she knew anything about Yelina, and then he questioned her about what happened in New York in regards to your mother. He told her about Madison. He left no stone unturned."

Horatio could only stare at her in growing horror and rage, before she reached up and gripped his arm.

"You promised!" she said sternly, "Now you listen to me."

"Where is he!" Horatio insisted, his voice so low it was nearly unintelligably as he struggled to contain his rage.

"Horatio, you need to go upstairs and see Schell," Alexx said, firmly. "Don't let that son-of-a-bitch drive a wedge between you and her."

"Where is he, Alexx?"

"He's someplace where I am going to deal with him. You are going upstairs!" she fired back, her dark eyes daring him to defy her. "You let me take care of his sorry ass!"

Horatio, a snarl on his face, turned his head abruptly from her. He gripped the butt of his pistol in a vise grip and ran his other hand down his face as he struggled to keep his composure. He drew in a deep breath, and glanced at Alexx.

"That's it, sugar…" She said to him. "You just get up there and see to Schell. Trust me, Horatio, she's not gonna turn you away because of what he told her. She's smart enough to see what Stetler is up to. Now get yourself up there and let me handle that bastard…"

Horatio's eyes roamed the walls as his mind raced, processing what she was saying. He finally focused on her concerned and very determined face.

"Go on, Horatio," she said, nudging him towards the elevator. "I'll hook up with you in a while."

He nodded, still not speaking.

Alexx turned and retrieved her bag, then looked at him with a smirk. She held the voice recorder up. "I have every reason to pay him a visit in front of his superiors."

For a brief second, Horatio didn't react, then the faintest of smirks twitched across his lips. "Never underestimate the power of a pissed off doctor," he murmured, then gently set his hands on her arms and leaned over to kiss her cheek.

"You got that right!" she said, as she returned the affection.

As he started to pull away he added, "And don't think for one minute, Alexx, I don't know what you are up to."

"The only thing I am up to, sugar, is a little head hunting!" she replied, turning on her heel with a chuckle of intent.

Horatio could only snort softly in amusement as he turned away from her, heading for the elevators before losing all expression on his face as he continued to rein in the anger welling inside of him.

Stepping out of the elevators at the trauma ward, Horatio immediately spotted the policeman standing guard at Schell's room. He aimed that way before a doctor, signing paperwork at the nurses station, looked up and saw him. It was extremely hard not to miss seeing Horatio's badge on his belt, let alone the gun on his hip as he twitched his jacket into place as he walked off.

"Hold it, just wait one minute!" the doctor called, causing the nurses to look up as the doctor moved to intercept the lieutnenant's determined stride.

Horatio hesitated as a small, black-haired, woman in surgical scrubs, placed herself squarely in front of him.

"If you think for one minute you are going into that room you are sadly mistaken." The doctor said fiercely. "I will not have all that surgery ruined by the likes of the Miami Police Department interrogating my patients right after they get out of trauma surgery!"

"Uh, Doctor?" Horatio asked, looking at her questioningly as the nurses in the station discreetly vanished.

"Doctor Alcalá, Ydira Alcalá. And you are?" she demanded, her black eyes flashing.

Horatio unclipped the I.D. from his belt and handed it to her for a moment. "Lieutenant Horatio Caine, Miami-Dade Crime Labs. And I am not here to interrogate Miss Demereau," he added.

The doctor, taking his ID read it and said. "Damn right you're not going to interrogate her. You're not even getting into her room," she replied and handed back the ID to Horatio.

Taking it from her Horatio replied, "Um, Doctor Alcalá, I'm here to see Miss Demereau…" Horatio said, looking at the petite doctor with his brows raised.

"There isn't another cop going into that room until I am good and ready to let them in there. She's had enough trauma for the day. First a car accident then a police grilling? Uh uh! No more. Just turn around and leave," she ordered, pointing towards the elevator.

"Um…" Horatio paused, looking askance for a moment then faced the doctor again. "Doctor Alcalá, I don't think you quite understand…"

"I understand only too damn well that one of your officers was just up here upsetting my patient enough to make her physically sick, damn near tore her stitches out and with a recently removed spleen and liver damage? I am not going to risk that again!"

"Doctor Alcalá, that officer was not one of my CSIs. We're different departments. He was with Internal Affairs and had no business being in her room. As for Miss Demereau, she and I are…" Horatio paused and looked at the doctor hopefully, "Umm, we're uhh… friends," he let it hang and waited.

Alcalá stared at him a moment then grasped his meaning. "You two are…?" she started then she began to laugh. "Oh hell! Why didn't you just say so?"

Horatio just gave her a wan smile. "It's been a difficult day."

"Oh, of course, of course! I'm sorry…" Alcalá said, waving a hand in negation.

"What did you just say about removing her spleen?" he asked in genuine concern. His sunglasses, which had been in his pocket, ended up in his fingers as he toyed with the earpieces.

The doctor looked at him and could now see the deep apprehension and worry underlying the question.

"It had to be removed, Lieutenant. Seatbelt injuries of that nature can cause the organ to rupture, plus there was some tearing of the liver, which added to the abdominal bleeding. All in all, those were simple things to work with. She did, however, suffer a fracture of the collarbone, here…" She indicated the area where the seatbelt crossed the collarbone and neck.

"One part was driven in and the other part was driven up. That took a while to fix. We had to repair the muscle damage around the injury site then pin the bones together. For someone in a near rollover accident, she's a mighty lucky girl. She had a cut above her lip that required a couple of stitches, but otherwise she's going to be just fine. Sore as hell for the next month or so, but she's going to be fine. As long as she doesn't get interrogated by cops again!" the doctor added with a laugh. Yet she could see that there was very little humour in the face of the tall red head standing before her. If anything, he just looked that much more upset.

"You can believe me, Lieutenant," she said more soberly. "Miss Demereau is very lucky to have been wearing that seatbelt and having the airbag deploy. They saved her life," Alcalá reached up and reassuringly squeezed Horatio's hand. "She's going to be just fine. You can go in and see her, just don't agitate her, all right?"

"I won't," Horatio said with a nod. "And thank you, Doctor."

"Just doing my job, Lieutenant!" Alcalá replied. "Now go on…" she said and nodded her head at the door. "I got other patients I need to see."