Chapter 8: Open your eyes

Horatio walked into Miami Dade Memorial to check up on Aimee, who had been found on a dirt road in the Glades yesterday. If he was really honest, he was also checking up on Calleigh, he knew she was probably still at the hospital.

When he arrived at the room Aimee was lying in, he saw Calleigh sitting at the younger woman's bedside, holding her sister's hand. The blonde CSI had pouches under her eyes and she looked like she hadn't slept all night. Horatio quietly entered the room and closed the door behind him.

Calleigh looked up to see her boss standing there, she smiled at him. She hadn't slept all night because she had been watching Aimee, she wanted to be there when Aimee woke up. She had been watching Aimee like she did when they were kids, just to protect her while she was sleeping.

"How much did you sleep last night" Horatio said without greeting the blonde.

"Horatio, I want to be awake when she wakes up, I owe it to her" Calleigh replied.

"Listen Calleigh, I know you want to be here now. But we really need your help with the shootings. I owe it to her to find who out who did this to her, but I need your help"

Calleigh sighed. She wanted nothing more than to stay with her sister, but it was also important, maybe even more important that they found who did this to her.

"I will stay with Aimee, you go home and get some rest. I will call you the second something happens ok?"

Calleigh didn't really want to go but her body was agreeing with her supervisor. She definitely needed some rest. She slowly got up and stretched.

"Ok, I will be back in a couple of hours" she said, still a little reluctant to go.

As Calleigh left the room, Horatio sat down on the chair that Calleigh had occupied the past hours. He sighed and looked at the hardly recognizable young woman in the bed.

"Hey Aimee, remember me?" he said, hoping she would hear him "I'm sorry I failed you. I promised your sister that I'd protect you and I failed. I heard you left a message for us, that was very smart."

Calleigh wasn't the only one feeling guilty about what happened to Aimee, Horatio also felt he had failed his new bullet girl. He realised he was babying the young woman now, pure out of guilt.

Just as he wanted to continue talking to Aimee, the door to her room was opened. Horatio looked up, wondering who it was.

Ryan Wolfe hesitantly entered the hospital room. He wanted to see his colleague and apologize to her for telling about her to his friend. He never thought she would use it as news, he never thought it would have consequences this big.

"Hey Mr. Wolfe" Horatio said, motioning to the young man.

"She looks pretty bad" was all Ryan managed to say. The way his colleague was laying there made him feel even guiltier.

"She is a fighter, she will be ok" Horatio replied.

"I know I'm suspended" Ryan said "But I just wanted to apologize to her. I never knew she would use it on the news and I never knew…."

"I know Ryan, I know" Horatio said

"Jesus, they weren't very gentle with her" Ryan mumbled as he inspected Aimee.

At that moment, the doctor walked in to check on Aimee.

"Gentlemen" he said politely before checking Aimee's vitals.

"How is she doing?" Horatio asked him

"We don't know exactly. She should wake up soon and only then we can determine if there is any damage to the brain"

Ryan looked at the floor, it felt like someone had just stabbed him in the heart. It was his fault Aimee was here in the first place, and brain damage, that was big. Calleigh was right, he was a bastard.

"Horatio" Ryan said, disturbing the conversation the man was in with the doctor "what can I do? I'll do everything to catch those bastards"

"Ryan, you are on leave. What you can do is come and see Aimee when she is awake and apologize"

Ryan nodded and quietly left the room, leaving the doctor with Horatio and Aimee.

When Calleigh arrived at her apartment she realised how tired she really was. She quickly ate something and went to bed, she wanted to be there when Aimee woke up. When the doctor had checked on Aimee earlier he promised Calleigh her younger sister would be ok again, but she did have to wake up soon.

Horatio sat at Aimee's bed, he was looking at the young woman and he seemed to be thinking about things. He had a sad look on his face, he felt guilty that he couldn't protect Aimee from what had happened to her and that one of his own was partially the cause of what happened.

After a couple of hours of sleep Calleigh felt a lot better. She decided to go to the lab to examine the shell casings and the bullets they found, maybe they would lead to Aimee's kidnappers or the gang they belonged to.

Calleigh also really wanted to find out with the last bit of the note meant. She had no idea what CD LY sis meant. The sis could stand for system, but she wasn't sure. After staring at the picture with the code for a while, she decided to ask someone else, or maybe Aimee herself when she woke up.

As soon as she could Calleigh went to the hospital. Horatio had been with Aimee all this time, something she appreciated very much, but it was time for her to take over for him. After all, Aimee was her sister and she had finished her work. She had found some distinct marks on the bullets matching them to four guns that were used in all three shootings. So if they found the guns they could tie their owners to all shootings and maybe even Aimee's kidnapping.

"Hey" she said to a sleepy Horatio Caine "any news?"

"Hey" he replied while he shook his head "her condition hasn't changed" he added with a sigh.

Horatio got up and offered his chair to the blonde CSI. She looked very tired, even though he knew she actually went home. He had checked with the lab to see when Calleigh arrived. Of course he could never check if she had slept or even rested a little but at least she had been at home for a while.

"Thanks" Calleigh said with a soft voice

"Anytime" Horatio replied, resting his hand on the younger woman's shoulder.

Calleigh, who had sat down, looked up at her supervisor and smiled at him. He was a great boss, he cared deeply about everyone in his team and that was clearly visible. She knew that he would go to great lengths to save her sister, just like she did, although she would go to even greater lengths if she needed to.

When Horatio left the room she turned to her sister. The young woman still looked the same, as if she was sleeping peacefully, but the bruises and bandages made it look less peaceful. A tear ran down Calleigh's cheek as she gently took Aimee's hand in hers.

"I'm so sorry little one, not just for this, but for all the times I let you down. I was so busy with getting away and leading the life I dreamed of that I never thought of you. I knew you were good, I knew you would get out of the mess too, just like I did. I always wanted to take you with me when I went to college, so I could have you around and look out for you."

"Remember all those nights we spend away from home? All those nights I watched you sleep, I watched you until I couldn't keep my eyes open anymore, because I was afraid someone would hurt you."

Calleigh sighed. Even though the environment they grew up in wasn't very good, they at least had a good bond as sisters.

"I spoke to dad the other day, you know when you were angry with me? I picked him up from the bar, he was drunk because he was upset about seeing you on the news. He was upset I hadn't told him about you coming back home. He knows he failed you little one, he knows and now he turns to the bottle again to drink away all the guilt he feels for making you feel like you did. He has regrets and he wants to see you Aimee"

Calleigh thought Aimee was reacting on what she said, but when she looked again it was just her mind playing tricks on her.

"Daddy changed you know, he is really trying his best. I think you should give him a chance"

Still there was no reaction from Aimee. Calleigh had hoped so much that Aimee would wake up. A single tear rolled down her cheek as she squeezed her sister's hand.

"Open your eyes Aimee" Calleigh pleaded "I don't want to loose you now I just got you back." As Calleigh looked at her sister, she saw how much the younger woman really looked like her. It seemed the only difference was their height, and their age of course.

"I need you little one, please open your eyes" she said again while tugging a strand of hair behind Aimee's ear.

As if Aimee heard what her sister asked her, she started stirring.

Calleigh looked at her sister's face and saw her move. "That's it little one, open your eyes." She quickly dried the tears from her face, she didn't want her younger sister to wake up and see that she had been weak.

"Aimee" Calleigh whispered.

Aimee tried to open her eyes but the light was blinding. She heard her sister talk to her and she wanted to reply but her voice seemed to have gone on vacation. The words she said where barely a whisper.

"Cal"

Calleigh smiled. "That's it Aimee" she said, squeezing her hand.

"Light" Aimee mumbled again.

Calleigh got up and closed the blinds so the room was dark. It was a sunny day outside and she realised that the light would indeed hurt Aimee's eyes. She immediately sat down again and took her sister's hand in hers.

"It's dark now, you can open your eyes"

Aimee's eyes fluttered open. She looked around the room for as far as possible and then turned to see her sister. Aimee had a terrified look in her eyes, she had no idea where she was and was panicking.

"It's ok little one" Calleigh said "I'm here, its ok. You're in the hospital."

"What…" Aimee closed her eyes and sighed.

"You were kidnapped remember? They hurt you bad but we've found you" Calleigh said to calm her sister down.

Aimee smiled for as far as she could. Her body ached all over, but she knew she was safe now.

"Thanks" she mumbled.

"That's my job" Calleigh said "I'm sorry this happened to you"

"It's alright"

"Hey" the older blonde said with a smile "you were right about the caliber"

Aimee smiled "I know"

Calleigh chuckled "Smug"

"I'm good with my ears and eyes. I heard it. I'm not smug"

"Are too"

"Am not"

"Shut up"

"You shut up"

Both women ended up laughing. Aimee didn't laugh for long though, every time she moved it hurt like hell.

"Are you ok Aimee?" Calleigh asked when she saw Aimee's grimace with pain.

"Yeah I'm fine. Just don't make me laugh again" she said with pain in her voice.

Calleigh smiled. "I'm glad you're back"

"Me too sis" Aimee said while putting her hand in Calleigh's.

"One thing"

"What?"

"What does CD LY sis mean?"

Aimee chuckled. "You don't know?" she said while raising her eyebrow at her sister.

"No, I figured out the whole message but not that" Calleigh really had no idea what it meant.

"Where were you in high school and college?"

"What do you mean?"

"CD is you Calleigh Duquesne and LY means well, you know…" Aimee stopped in the middle of her sentence. Calleigh was basically hanging on her lips.

"LY means what?"

"It means love you"

Calleigh smiled and couldn't hold back the tears that welled up in her eyes. It was so sweet of Aimee to leave a message like that in code, it was so Aimee to do that. Calleigh started blushing.

"You are such a dork" she said "using high school code?"

Aimee smiled "I'm not a dork, just don't want the whole police department to know"

"I love you too Aimee, even though you are dorky" Calleigh said with a smile. She hadn't told this to Aimee in ages, and now it was time. "I've always loved you"

Aimee smiled "I know sis"

Calleigh bent over to hug her sister.