have we paid our debt in heartbreak? (or does the universe still demand more?)

By: AndiKaneUnderwood

The title comes from a poem by gallixie on Tumblr. I just felt it set the mood.

I did mess with the timeline a little bit, Ray is older than Horatio.

Horatio Caine [Code Name: Augur]: innate capability (Mentality), Alpha

Calleigh Duquesne [Code Name: Arsenic]: poison generation (Physical), Alpha

Tim Speedle [Code Name: Rot]: disintegration (Molecular), Beta

Eric Delko [Code Name: Livewire]: electrical manipulation (Elemental), Omega

Ryan Wolfe [Code Name: Kinesthesia]: superhuman senses (Physical), Beta

Alexx Woods [Code Name: Carbon-Copy]: duplication (Physical), Beta

Natalia Boa Vista [Code Name: Nameless]: invisibility (Physical), Omega

Horatio doesn't remember ever feeling so helpless.

Well, that's not entirely accurate. He'd felt like this twice before. Once after Tim Speedle had been shot at and they'd nearly lost him. The other time was when he lost his brother, Raymond, who had a wife and a young boy at the time.

They had been lucky with Speedle, the bullet had hit his shoulder. The doctor had told them that if the bullet had been a few inches lower, they'd be planning a funeral instead of PT appointments. The only bad part about it was that Speedle's shoulder had restricted movement now, he'd been Medically Retired before his Hero career had even begun. He complained about it sometimes when he was particularly upset. The team was just thankful that Speedle was still around the complaint.

That may not be the case this time.

They'd been on a mission. Horatio and Eric were going after Clavo Cruz, a man with the power to create precious jewels out of any kind of material. The entire team had been after him for several months after he'd killed a young girl for no reason. The government hadn't sanctioned it, because of Clavo Cruz's immunity, but the Headmaster had asked them to look into the family. Horatio had taken this one very personally, going after Clavo with everything he could. Clavo had made a promise when he'd finally been put in jail, that because Horatio had taken something Clavo loved, Clavo would take something Horatio loved.

When he thought about it metaphorically, Horatio likened Clavo to a gambler who played with lives rather than money. He just never thought that the life Clavo gambled with wouldn't be Horatio's. Horatio burned with anger now that he thought about it. Clavo was a spoiled rich boy, he didn't know anything about being a real man. He sought to take and take and give nothing in return. And take Clavo did. They'd been on a mission, with Horatio and Eric on the ground with Speedle in the van as tech support and backup if needed. Clavo had "kidnapped" a woman and they needed to find her before she ran out of oxygen and died. They'd been looking through car after car, trunk after trunk, Mercedes after Mercedes, and found nothing. The woman was running out of time, they had to pick up the pace.

They hadn't even noticed the flashing metal above them until it was too late.

When the shots rained down, Speedle was immediately in their ears asking for status, "Team, status."

Horatio had radioed immediately, "Augur reporting, no harm. I'm fine," but Eric hadn't responded.

"Livewire, report," Speedle snapped over the radio, worry crackling in his voice.

"I'm fine, Rot," Eric grunted back, hands sparking with electricity he'd siphoned from the underground phone lines. "I'm not hit."

The firefight they'd been engaged in was mostly bullets with the occasional shot of electricity from Eric and the projectiles from Horatio's standard-issue dart gun(1). It was fine, they could handle it. That is until Eric got shot through the leg with one of those bullets. He'd been crouching in the open, unable to get to shelter because the gunman had him caged. When the shot hit his leg, Eric had cried out, agony tangible in every inch of his pain. He'd rolled, put himself flat on the ground, getting the pain under control and shooting off more electric charges.

"Livewire!" Horatio called. He glanced over, then made a split-second decision. He darted out to get Eric, grabbing Eric's arm and helping him drag himself behind the cars. "Are you alright?" the ginger asked, shooting off another dart.

Eric panted through the pain, electrically charged hands still crackling with energy where they were pressed to his bloody wound, gritting his teeth with a nod, "I'm fine."

Horatio fire three more bullets before the gunman was hit with the dart that put him out. He'd turned to speak to Eric, but another shot cracked, splitting the air around them and Eric fell to the ground. "Livewire?"

"Augur, what happened?" Tim demanded, "Augur, status, please."

"Eric?" Horatio murmured, kneeling next to the Omega and leaning in, he heard a heartbeat, felt weak breaths against his cheek. "Rot, call the paramedics and get the Headmaster down here! Call for the rest of the team and make sure Carbon-Copy is with them."

"Yes, Augur," Tim replied, fingers flying over the keys. The air around him hissed and steamed, but he paid it no mind, refusing to let anything distract him.

It took ten minutes for the paramedics to get there and another five before another pair of heroes, Quake and Sparkplug, came to take over. Sparkplug offered Horatio a smile and Horatio nodded back, grateful that others understood. When he knew the scene was safe, Horatio turned and asked the paramedics which Inhuman hospital they were taking Eric too. The paramedics told him and Horatio nodded, "I'll meet you there." He looked at them imploringly like he wanted to say more, but he held his tongue and sighed, racing off to find Tim and get to the hospital.

Tim was shaking by the time they got to the hospital. Horatio covered Tim's hand with his own, "Eric's going to be okay, Tim."

Tim nodded, blinking away his tears, "He got shot in the head, H. How is that okay?"

"Speed, he was breathing when they loaded him in the ambulance, he was breathing and his heart was beating. If anyone can survive a bullet wound like that, it's Eric." Horatio soothed the distressed Beta, rubbing his thumb over the back of Tim's hand.

Tim buried his face in his free hand, "It's just..." he sighed, "I don't want the last thing I said to him be a status demand."

Horatio understood. Ever since they'd begun their triadic relationship, both Timothy and Horatio had become more protective over Eric. Truth be told, it was hard not to worry about him, he was such a trouble magnet. It was hard for Horatio and Tim to not be worried about Eric no matter what he was doing, where he was going, or who he was with, for the sheer possibility that he found himself in some kind of trouble. It was especially apparent when they went out on missions because despite the scent blockers every Secondary and Inhuman person was required to wear on missions, the bad guys always seemed to know it was Eric to go after. Tim was especially worried over Eric because he wanted to make damn sure that if he couldn't protect Eric the same way an Alpha could, then he'd protect him in the Beta way and make sure to check on him often, make sure he was healthy, and ensure he was safe enough for a person in their line of work.

Horatio sighed, "It's going to be okay, Timothy. I promise, no matter what happens, everything will be okay."

Tim nodded, then sniffled and wiped the tears from his eyes. He met Horatio's eyes, the dark brown of his irises pools of unspeakable pain, and whispered, "Okay."

They pulled up to the hospital, and a kind nurse was immediately right there at the door, "You're here for Livewire, right? I'm civilian, so I can only offer a few updates." Tim drew in a sharp gasp, but the nurse smiled, "No, don't worry, all the regular civilians are gone now(2), this hospital is safe, few of them not read onto the HPA. I just volunteered to stay and wait for you. Livewire's always been a favorite hero of mine, saved my life once or twice."

Horatio offered a small smile, "What can you tell us, ma'am?"

"They've taken Livewire in for surgery, it's touch and go, right now, he's lost a lot of blood, and with that head wound, the doctors are apprehensive. We've got the best surgeons and doctors in their field working on him. They sent me out with these papers." She handed Horatio a small stack of papers, "If you could fill them out and give them to one of the nurses with the stars on their badges, that'll take care of him on your end." She leaned in to whisper, "Just be sure you only give those papers to a nurse with the stars on their badges, they've got the clearance to know the person behind the mask. There have been a few leaks in the past relating to civilian nurses." She offered a comforting smile.

Horatio smiled, "Thank you, ma'am."

She smiled, "Just call me Kelly. I'll come back tomorrow." Kelly left, slipping into the back and out of sight.

Horatio steered Tim to the waiting room, where they found the rest of their team with a duffle bag full of clothes. Tim took the bag and disappeared into the restrooms after a quick look around. They may have been in the Hero's Wing, but some people would do anything to see the people behind the masks. Horatio stayed behind and began filing out the papers, letting the rustling and scratching take over the sound of other worried Heroes. When Tim came back, dressed in his normal clothes, Horatio handed over the papers and took the bag. He dressed in his civilian clothes quickly and rejoined his group.

Calleigh came over first, spoke to him Alpha to Alpha, "What happened?"

So, Horatio explained. He began from the start of the mission, telling Calleigh how he had investigated as he was told, how he was led to the car lot, and how the firefight had started. He explained that Eric had gotten shot in the leg, then in the head. He explained and Calleigh listened, then hugged her leader hard. "I'm so sorry."

Horatio said nothing until Tim held up the papers and murmured, "Let's go find a nurse, H."

Horatio looked at the Beta and nodded his agreement, "Let's go then."

They stood, Horatio only having the glance at Calleigh before she was nodding and promising to call with any updates. Horatio wrapped his arm around Tim's waist and they set off for the nurses' station. Horatio asked quietly if Kelly was still there and the nurse working checked her records. "No. Sorry, boys, she's been off a while now. Is there anything I can help you with?" She flicked her head, her hair swinging away from her shoulder and exposing the name on her badge, three little stars shaping the end.

Horatio smiled and held out a hand. Tim handed him the papers and Horatio held them out. "These are for Livewire, ma'am."

The Nurse, Dani Kotters, gasped and glanced over her shoulder at the man at the other end of the station. She took the papers and began to quickly file them away. "These will help us immensely, boys. I just wish Edward wasn't here, he likes to try and peek at the paperwork knowing very well he isn't signed to the Act(3) yet. Thankfully, all of the Hero's Files are under lock and biometric keys. A nuisance to deal with when we have to add in new people but worth it to protect Heroes' identities." She looked up at them, "Relation to the patient?"

"I'm his Alpha, ma'am. Mr. Speedle can hear everything." Horatio replied, pulling Speed a little closer.

The nurse nodded, "Alright," she lowered her voice, "In all honesty, he isn't doing well. We're doing the best we can to save him, but with the head wound, we're worried about a lot of things. With this type of injury, it's usually a done-deal you understand. We're hopeful though, because of his power. He can harness electricity, right? With this in mind, we're very hopeful for him."

Horatio nodded, "What do we need to prepare for should he come out of this?"

"Well, with all head injuries, there's the possibility of brain damage and for that, you need to prepare for the fact that this may not be the same person you knew before all of this. And you also need to be prepared for the possibility that Livewire may not make it out of this at all," Nurse Kotters replied, offering the boys a sympathetic look and a sigh. "Livewire is a strong person, we're still working with him and there is every reason to believe he'll survive. Don't give up hope yet, boys."

Horatio nodded and began herding Tim back to the waiting area, "Thank you, ma'am."

She waved them off, silently gripping the cross she wore and sent up a silent prayer.

CSI Miami~CSI Miami~CSI Miami

Tim woke up to Horatio gently calling his name and shaking his shoulder. "Tim, there letting us see him. Come on." Tim shot out of his seat and knocked into Horatio, almost causing them to fall to the floor.

Tim gasped, "I'm sorry."

Horatio shook his head, "It's alright, Tim. Come on." He held out his hand and Tim took it, pulling himself to his feet.

They headed up to their injured lover's room and Nurse Kotters let them inside with no protest. She offered a sympathetic smile, stepping aside. "He's stable. We believe he'll fully recover. He's a lucky man, there were a few times we thought he wouldn't make it."

Horatio smiled, "Thank you, ma'am."

She nodded, "We'll come to get you when visiting hours are up." Then she was gone, disappearing as fast as any Hero could.

Horatio pulled Tim over to the bed and guided him to sit down in the chair, knowing that his shoulder would be bothering him after all this worrying. They sat there for a while in silence, taking in the fact that Eric was still alive and would soon come back to them. Horatio came closer and whispered, "Don't you worry about anything, Eric. You just concentrate on getting better, Tim and I have the others covered. You focus on getting better and coming back to us and we'll handle everything else."

Tim took Eric's hand and sniffed, rubbing his free hand over his nose, "We're here now, Eric. Take your time, we'll be here."

Horatio set a hand on Tim's uninjured shoulder and Tim glanced up at him with a sad half-smile. They both sat there, willing to stay until Eric woke up or they were asked to leave. Willing to stay as long as they were needed.

Horatio began to recite a poem he'd heard a while ago, hoping that his voice would help Eric to know that they were there.

For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. I think this is another way of saying that there is a price to pay for everything. And what is the price we paid, my love? Have we paid our debt in heartbreak? Or does the universe still demand more from us?

Tim's tears reflected the sadness in his heart and Horatio gave his shoulder a reassuring squeeze. "We've paid our debt in heartbreak, I think," he murmured to Tim.

Tim nodded his agreement, "The universe will still demand more."

They sat there in silence, hoping that their lover would wake up soon, but willing to be there even if he didn't.

(1) The kids with noncombatant powers like Horatio Caine, Ryan Wolfe, and Natalia Boa Vista are given weapons to help boost their abilities. Every Hero is given a wrist holstered dart gun and a belt holstered dart gun in case of them being unable to use their powers. Horatio also has a mini-taser in his boot and his phone can be used as a stunner if needed.

(2) So numbers 2 and 3 kinda go hand in hand. To prevent superheroes civilian identities from getting out, Nurses, Doctors, and other kinds of hospital personal have to sign the Hero Protection Act (HPA).

(3) The Hero Protection Act (HPA) was made when Heroes began getting their identities revealed by doctors and nurses who wanted to make quick money. The people signed to this Act have name badges with small stars next to their names, as stated in the story. There is an extensive process to ensure that secrets can be kept. If you break the Act, you are blacklisted for the rest of your career. It's a mess, haha.