A/N: Here's the next chapter, as promised! This chapter takes place a few hours before Horatio enters the hospital room. It is told mostly from Calleigh's viewpoint. Thank you all so much for the wonderful reviews! I should be posting the next chapter soon, so watch for it! Enjoy!
Calleigh Duquesne Wolfe had never had such a headache in her whole life. She groaned and brought her hands to her face. When her fingers touched cloth bandages, her eyes flickered open. She was looking up at a white tiled ceiling, florescent light bathing the scene. Her forehead wrinkled in confusion; 'Where am I?' she thought. Her left arm felt heavy and when she looked at it, she was surprised to find it in a large cast. Suddenly it all came back to her, the hurricane, the weeks on the island, the attempted escape. She sat up quickly, feeling a little woozy as she did so, and looked around the small room.
"Ryan?" she called, anxious to hear his voice, "Ryan?" When no answer came, she began to panic. She pulled back the covers, and got out of bed. She stood, but a wave of dizziness engulfed her and her legs gave out. Luckily a nurse came bustling around the corner just then and caught Calleigh mid fall.
"Miss," the nurse said with a heavy accent, "You shouldn't be out of bed. What were you doing?" She helped Calleigh back into the hospital bed.
"Where's my husband?" Calleigh asked, frightened and confused, "Is he all right?"
"A man was brought in with you. I assume that's the one you are talking about."
"Yes," Calleigh said, "Where is he?"
The nurse went over to a curtain on the other side of the room, and pulled it back revealing a man lying in bed with all sorts of tubes and wires coming out of him. He was very pale.
"Ryan!" Calleigh exclaimed, tears coming to her eyes.
The nurse came back over to Calleigh and gently forced her back down on the bed. "You really must rest," the nurse said, "You've both been through a lot."
"Is he going to be alright?" Calleigh asked, her eyes never leaving her husband's prone form.
"He suffered a broken leg, and a concussion. He hasn't regained consciousness since he's been here. His vitals are steady, but at this point we aren't sure if he's going to completely recover. We are keeping him sedated for his own protection. I'll be back in a few moments, miss. Please just stay in bed until I get back."
As the nurse left the room, Calleigh's eyes filled up with tears. Ignoring the nurse's orders, she slipped out of bed again, and after steadying herself for a moment, walked over to his side.
"Ryan," she said quietly, taking his hand in hers, "Ryan, come back. Don't leave me here. I need you." She sat on the edge of his bed and stroked the side of his face, "I love you."
When the nurse came back she resisted being led back to her own bed. "Where am I?" she asked, as the nurse checked her vital signs.
"You are near Matanzas, Cuba," the woman said.
"Cuba?" Calleigh wondered out loud, "What day is it?"
"It's September 16th."
'September?' Calleigh's mind was reeling. They had been gone over a month! What must their kids think? At the thought of her children, Calleigh really panicked. "I need to use a phone," she begged the nurse, "I've got to call my kids to let them know I'm alright."
"Later, miss," the nurse said, taking Calleigh blood pressure, "Right now you need to rest."
"I don't need to rest!" Calleigh practically screamed at the nurse, "I need to talk to my children!"
"If you don't calm down, I'm going to have to sedate you," the nurse said, putting a hand on Calleigh's arm, slowly forcing her to lay down.
"I am calm!" Calleigh yelled with fire in her voice, "Let me talk to my kids!"
The nurse sighed, and pulled out a needle, put it in Calleigh's IV and released th liquid into the line. A few moments later Calleigh fell back on the bed, wiped out and sound asleep.
Calleigh awoke several hours later, still slightly agitated, but more calm than she had been. She looked over at Ryan's bed and was very glad to see that the nurse had left the curtain open. His face had a little more color now, which gave Calleigh hope. She sighed, leaning back against her pillow. A whole month. She had missed out on a whole month of her children's lives. What must they think? What must her friends and co-workers be going through? She needed to call them to let them know she was alright. She went to move her left arm to push the nurse's call button, when a stab of pain shot through it. She grimaced and looked down at her hand. It was then she noticed her wedding ring was missing. She pushed the call button with her right hand, and a moment later the same nurse from earlier came into the room.
"What can I help you with?" the nurse asked.
"Where is my stuff, my clothes, my ring?" asked Calleigh.
"Your clothes were really torn up and so we discarded them, but your other personal effects are right here," she said picking up a small sack from the bedside table.
Calleigh took the sack from her and rummaged through it until she found the white gold band she was looking for. She put it on her right hand, as the fingers of her left hand were too swollen for it to fit. As she did this, the nurse went over to check on Ryan.
"How is he?" Calleigh asked worriedly.
"His vitals are a bit stronger now. He seems to be trying to wake up, so I'll reduce his medication so that he can." the nurse said, fiddling with some of the knobs on the equipment beside him.
"Can I sit by him?"
"Well, you are looking better than you did earlier, so I don't see why not. As long as you stay seated, it shouldn't be a problem." the nurse said, moving a chair close to his bed. She helped Calleigh out of bed and into a robe, and then helped her into the chair.
When the nurse left, Calleigh took Ryan's hand again, and whispered, "Please wake up soon. I love you." She sat like that for several minutes, touching his cheek with her good hand.
A moment later she heard the door open softly. She turned to see a tall red haired man standing in the doorway, a smile of relief on his face.
"Horatio!"
A/N: I know this chapter didn't go into much detail about the last month of Calleigh and Ryan's life, but I promise that will be coming up soon, within the next chapter or two.