Horatio awoke the next morning, after falling asleep in the wee hours, and stretched, trying to relieve some of the kinks in his back from sleeping upright all night. He looked over at Josh, who was sleeping on the other end of the couch, and then it all came rushing back to him at once: the hurricane, Calleigh and Ryan's situation, and the night in the shelter, waiting out the storm. He noticed that he could no longer hear the sounds of the wind and rain, so he stood and walked to the door of the shelter. The door opened with a slight screech and bright Miami sunlight flooded into the small room.
Horatio stepped outside and surveyed the damage. The ground was littered with debris, mostly plant material, as well as the occasional shingle, newspaper and tarp. He looked towards his house, afraid that he would find his home ripped apart, but was surprised and very much relieved to find that, except for a few missing shingles and some other minor damage, the house had stood through the storm.
His next thought was of his daughter, Belle. He had called her on his way back from the beach, and had warned her of the danger, but the phone lines had died and he hadn't been able to get through again. He pulled out his cell phone, dialed her number,
and prayed she'd answer.
"Hello?" Belle's voice floated over the phone line and Horatio felt a wave of relief.
"Belle, it's me," Horatio said, although his daughter needed no introduction to the sound of his voice.
"Daddy!" a relieved and happy Belle answered, "Are you alright?"
"I'm fine sweetheart," said Horatio, "How are you and Gavin? Did you make it through the storm alright?"
"We were lucky," Belle answered, "Our apartment building has very little damage and nothing's missing or broken. How did you guys hold up?"
"The house is still standing," Horatio said, carefully making his way to his back to the shelter, "and physically we are all fine."
There was a slight pause as Belle debated with herself whether or not to bring up the one thing that was foremost on their minds.
"Daddy," she began slowly, "Have you heard any news reports this morning?"
Horatio stopped outside the door. "No. What...what kind of damage did the storm cause?" he asked, not really sure if he wanted an answer.
Horatio could hear the worry and sadness in his daughter's voice as she delivered the news. "Daddy, the Keys...the Keys are gone. The storm completely destroyed everything on the islands." she paused, then, with some difficulty, continued, "The Coast Guard searched the Keys by air, using heat detecting technology and...there's nothing alive there anymore. The authorities say that all 1,378 people vacationing there died in the storm last night."
Horatio closed his eyes as his heart sank. They were gone. Part of him refused to believe it, but yet, he'd never had such compelling evidence as he did in this situation. "Are you sure?" he asked quietly after a moment.
"Yes, I'm sure," came the answer.
There was silence for a long time. Eventually Horatio found his voice again, "I'm...I'm going to check on the kids. I don't know how I'm going to tell them. They'll be devastated."
"I'll be over there as soon as I can," Belle promised, "I love you, Daddy."
"I love you too," he said before closing the phone slowly.
Horatio stood outside for a long time battling with his own emotions. 'How could they be gone?' he thought to himself. In the decades that they'd worked together, Calleigh and Ryan had become family to him. In a single moment, they had been wiped away forever. He refused to let the tears fall now; he would save that for the next few hours, days and months ahead. He took a deep breath and walked back into the shelter to tell Josh, Emily, and Kelsi of their parents' death.
Three sets of weary eyes found Horatio as soon as he walked through the door. "Hi guys," Horatio said, crouching down beside them, "How are you doing this morning?"
"I'm alright, Uncle Horatio," Kelsi said climbing onto his lap, "But I miss my mommy and daddy. When are they coming home?"
Horatio cringed inwardly; he had to tell them. He sat back on the couch and gathered them around him. He paused, not knowing where to begin. "We need to talk," Horatio began, as he watched his nephew's face fall, "Your mommy and daddy...they are coming back. The storm got to them before they could get away." He had to pause again to gather himself enough to speak. "They died last night," he finished, the tears carving deep lines down his cheeks.
"No," Kelsi cried, trying to be brave, "No, Uncle Horatio. They have to come back. They have to."
"I'm so sorry sweetheart," he said, pulling her tightly to him as the sobs engulfed her small frame.
The other two Wolfe children were in shock, tears dampening their faces. Horatio put one arm around Emily and held her tightly as they cried together. He looked up at Josh and the young boy leaned into Horatio, wanting comfort as much as his little sisters did. It was a long time before any of them moved, except for the shaking motions of sobs.
An hour later Belle rushed into the room and saw her father holding the three small children. Tears filled her already red eyes as she hurried over to the group. Little Emily, who was very close to her cousin, let go of Horatio and fell into Belle's warm grasp, still crying softly.
Horatio would never remember what happened in those first few hours after he learned of Calleigh and Ryan's death. There were flashes of people coming over to comfort the Wolfe children; Alex, Eric and Natalia, Mel and her fiancé, all coming to grieve over the mutual friends that they had lost. Mostly, though, Horatio remembered the deep stabbing grief that filled his whole soul. It was like reliving Marisol's death all over again.
The children sat listlessly on the couch, staring off into nothingness, Kelsi occasionally calling for her Mommy and Daddy. Horatio tried to be there for them the best that he could, but he felt so helpless. Day soon turned into evening, and Horatio watched the news reports, praying that through some miraculous event, Calleigh and Ryan had made it out alive. He had tried calling Calleigh's cell phone, but to no avail.
The next few days were spent trying to clean up the damage the hurricane had left behind; Horatio only wished it was that easy to clean up the damage the storm had done to their hearts. Each day Horatio prayed that some survivors had been found, but so far the only things that had turned up in the Keys were dead bodies. Twice a day Horatio would ride over to the community center and scan the postings of the bodies found and of unidentified people in the hospital, praying he would find their faces among those who were not yet dead. Each time he was disappointed to find no mention of the Wolfes, both in those who were dead and those still among the living.
About a week after the hurricane, there was a knock on the door. Horatio answered it and found a man in his early fifties standing there.
"Hello," Horatio said cautiously, confused by the presence of this man on his doorstep, "Can I help you?"
"Are you Lt. Horatio Caine?" the blond man asked.
"Yes I am," Horatio answered, still more confused, "What do you need?"
"My name is Daniel Monroe," the man answered, shaking Horatio's hand, "I'm Calleigh Wolfe's lawyer. I need to talk to you for a few minutes, if that's okay."
"Of course," Horatio said, "Come in."
Once the two men were seated in the living room, the lawyer began. "I guess you heard about what happened to Calleigh and her husband?" he said. When Horatio nodded he continued, "It is a very sad and unfortunate thing. I've been friends with Calleigh and Ryan for years, so this is especially hard for me. I was told that you have their children in your care."
"Yes," Horatio answered, "I was taking care of them while Ryan and Calleigh were on vacation."
"Good," the man said, "Well, this is a very unusual situation. Normally when I hear of the death of one of my clients, I have to actually see the body to proceed legally, but in this case, I doubt there will be any bodies to find. Calleigh and Ryan have had a will for years, due to the dangerous nature of their jobs, but I never expected to actually have to use it."
"We all have wills," Horatio said, "It's a requirement of the job."
"Yes, I know," the lawyer continued, "If it is alright with you, the will will be read in one month, providing that there are no other complications. In the meantime, however, Calleigh left this letter with me, and asked me to give it to you should something happen to her and Ryan." Mr. Monroe pulled an envelope out of his suit coat pocket and handed it to Horatio. "Everything in that letter is legally binding and will take effect immediately. If you have any questions, please feel free to call my office," he said, handing Horatio a business card.
"Thank you," Horatio said simply.
Both men stood and Horatio showed him to the door.
"Again, I'm sorry for your loss. The Wolfes will be greatly missed." Mr. Monroe said.
"Yes they will," Horatio sighed as he watch the man walk down the sidewalk to his waiting vehicle.
Horatio closed the door and sat on the couch. Belle had taken the kids for the afternoon, so he knew he would be uninterrupted as he read this letter. He broke the seal on the envelope and slowly pulled several pages of writing out. He unfolded it and glanced at the familiar handwriting covering the page. With a heavy heart, he began to read Calleigh's final words.
A/N: So what do you think? Reviews are always welcome! Next chapter: Calleigh's Letter