Title: Solace

Author: AllOverTheWorld

Shippers: Horatio/Calliegh

Summary: Calleigh takes solace in firearms, as strange as it seems to most; she finds comfort amongst Sig Sauers, Colts, Sniper Rifles, and Shot Guns, Machine Guns, exploding rounds and gun powder. Most, if not all, on the CSI team know where to find her after a particularly long or hard (most times both) case: her ballistics lab. What happens when that solace is shattered? When her one sanctuary is no longer what it was? Where will she go? Who can she turn to?

Authors Notes: Thanks to sunshinebulletgirl, LA Calleigh, NiteJasmine, Amythest Lilly, Pinkyster, ladyd10, ajay10 and muddpupp10 for all reviewing! Anywho, I would like to mention that as far as I know they never actually give Horatio's address so for my purposes I made it up. Nor do I know anything about Miami streets so that to is made up.

Horatio was going to kill him, Eric just knew it as he slowly pulled himself up from the ground. His groin was still radiating pain from where Calleigh had kicked him but currently that was not his biggest problem. Taking a shaky step Eric proceeded to attempt and find out where Calleigh had gone to after taking him out with a rather painful kick. He had been in a mind blowing pain for about two minutes, maybe more and it was only after that period of time he started to regain enough composure to realize that Calleigh had fled the kitchen.

"Calleigh!" he called out slowly, not sure if she was still in the throws of a flashback or just recovering but when he heard nothing he started to get worried, what if Calleigh had left the apartment?

"Calleigh!" he called out again as he wandered down the long hallway and let out a sigh of relief when he saw a closed door. Walking over to hit he knocked once "Calleigh?" he said again.

From the other side of the door he could hear Calleigh's soft cries and muffled shouts as she was obviously still in the throws of a flashback. He was about to open the door when he heard the clank, a clank that he recognized as a gun being lifted off of the linoleum "Calleigh don't shoot!" he called out, foolishly (Calleigh was so far gone at this point that his shouts only furthered her into the nightmare).

Throwing himself to the ground Eric winced as the breath was knocked out of him, just in time too because a single shot rang out and it wasn't his gun.

The cold metal barrel of the hospital guards gun was pressing firmly into Horatio's temple as the two men stood in the now abandoned waiting room. Tristan's hand was shaking slightly but there was a look in his eyes of pure defiance mixed with glee at the prospect of finishing his project "Do you know" he started, his voice, like his hand, shaking from lack of sleep, food and blood loss "how long Gunnar and I planned this whole thing out?"

"I don't." Horatio said, hoping to keep Tristan talking long enough for Frank to get around to the rear entrance into the ER. It had been no easy task relaying the message across to Frank but Horatio had managed it when he had placed his own gun on the ground (with the barrel distinctively pointing towards the back door).

"Thirteen years, thirteen god damned years we planned revenge. He did the first three years of it alone but then I got busted and joined him in prison."

"Why are you continuing what he started?" Horatio asked and winced slightly as the barrel moved from the temple to being shoved roughly under his jaw.

"You wanna know why Caine? I'm doing it because that bitch" he spat vehemently "took away the only person who didn't beat the shit out of me. You see growing up in the south isn't as picturesque as everyone seems to think. Being the youngest in the family puts me at the bottom of the totem pole and with seven older brothers well" he broke off "It was a living hell."

"You bonded with Gunnar." Horatio said

"Damn straight" Tristan said jabbing the gun farther into the soft flesh under Horatio's jaw "He didn't beat the crap out me when the others did. I spent more time at my aunt and uncles house then I did at my own. Then Gunnar got locked away and I had nothing left, no money to get an education with, nothing."

"That left you with plenty of time to plan your revenge."

"Exactly. At first it was going to be something simple, stupid, like robbing her house. Then I got locked up and I met up with Gunnar. Being locked in a cell for twenty hours a day left us with a lot of time to plan."

"And here you are. Gunnar's dead and you're holding a gun to a police officer's head."

"You're stalling Caine, trying to delay the inevitable. Just face the fact, you're buddy isn't gunna save you and Calleigh gunna feel real guilty when she finds out your dead. Everyone wins, well except you and Calleigh." He said and Horatio could hear the pleasure and smugness in Tristan's voice as he took the safety off the gun in his hand.

The sound of the safety clicking off the gun sent a shiver down Horatio's spine, his mind flashed to Calleigh, tears streaking down her face as she clung to his chest like he was the last honest thing in the world. He thought about all the times he had wanted to tell Calleigh he loved her, the times they had spent drinking coffee after pulling all nighters at the crime lab. His ears rung with her laugh, and he thought about the look of complete control she wore on her face when she was handling a gun.

"Any last words from the great Horatio Caine?" Tristan asked

"Not today he doesn't." said the accented voice of Frank Tripp and never before had Horatio been so glad to hear his voice.

The surprise of having a gun pressed into the back of his own head momentarily threw Tristan off and gave Horatio all the time he needed to grab the gun from Tristan's hand "Hand in the air." Horatio said and at that moment there was a crackle from one of the other officers now in the vicinity:

"Report of a single shot fired at 3254 Monroe Ave, apartment 4f."

Horatio froze, that was his address.

"Go." Frank said, grabbing Tristan and gesturing for Horatio to take the call.

Turning and running out of the hospital the suddenly growing panic dwarfed the pain coming from the growing bruise just under his jaw line. As he ran to the hummer he and Frank arrived in he dialed Eric's cell number.

"Delko." Eric answered on the second ring.

"Eric." Horatio said "What's going on, I'm responding to a dispatch call for a gunshot fired at my apartment."

"Shit, one of the neighbors must have called." Eric muttered

"Is Calleigh okay?" Horatio asked, his impatience growing fast as he turned on the sirens and started driving towards his apartment.

"She's locked herself in the bathroom."

Horatio's voice dropped and he asked "Why?" in a tone so low, Eric almost didn't catch it.

"She had a flashback." Eric said and waited for the question he didn't want to answer but Horatio asked it almost instantly.

"How'd it start?" he asked as he pulled up in front of his apartment and jumped out of the van. Within about one minute he was outside his apartment and he nodded to the officer's outside his door "I've got this." He said and walked in.

Eric was standing rather awkwardly on the staircase, his gun in his hand but his head shot up as Horatio entered his apartment "H, listen I'm sorry."

At this point Horatio didn't really want to hear Eric's excuses so he simply said "Where's Calleigh?"

"Down the hall, in the bathroom, careful though because she's still armed."

Nodding Horatio made his way down the hall and stood outside the bathroom door "Calleigh." He said his voice soft and reassuring "Sweetheart."

Inside the bathroom Calleigh was now somewhere in between reality and flashback but that voice, that calming voice could only belong to one person "Horatio?" she choked out, her voice quiet.

"Yes, can you open the door?" he asked gently

Calleigh moved slowly as she reached across to unlock the door, Horatio's gun slipping from her grasp as she did so. As the door swung open Horatio moved in slowly and shut the door behind him "I'm sorry." Calleigh said quietly, looking anywhere but at Horatio.

"What for?" Horatio asked, moving closer to Calleigh, making sure she didn't oppose his entering of her personal space.

"I-I-I shot at Eric." She stammered "Stetler's going to have a field day." She said and a fresh wave of tears began to roll down her face "I couldn't stop myself. One second I was back with Gunnar getting smacked around the next I was in your apartment but then I was back with Gunnar. I didn't know what was going on. Gunnar was shouting my name and Eric was shouting my name, it all became the same thing." She said in one breath before breaking down completely and loosing all composure.

"Calleigh" Horatio said, cautiously wrapping one arm around her shoulders "do not worry about Stetler, he's already being investigated for his house call earlier."

Calleigh leaned into Horatio's chest and Horatio asked "How'd the flashback start?"

She took a shaking breath and said "I was filling up the teapot to make tea and he moved in behind me. He was agitated because I was 'ignoring what happened' or something, he said that I could trust him and that's what triggered it." She took another shuddering breath "He said that to me so many times. After each time he would hit me or punch me or-or-you know, he would make it up to me, say that I could trust him."

"Eric was trying to get you to talk about it?" Horatio asked again

Calleigh nodded "As soon as you left he started trying to get me to talk about it. At first I could just ignore it, tell him to buzz off, but then I began to notice how similar he and Gunnar were. Some of the things they said, how they walked, how they are built. I couldn't help it, then he got so close and…" she trailed off, once again unable to speak coherent sentences.

Resting one hand on her back and the other running through her hair Horatio did his best to comfort Calleigh, completely aware of the occasional shivers of fear as she slipped in and out of flashbacks. At the same time he mused silently what he could say to Eric, who had so clearly been taking advantage of the situation to try and better his relationship with Calleigh. Leaning back against the wall he closed his eyes, sleep was desperately needed but right now Calleigh needed him and he needed to deal with Eric.

I'm still getting through a bit of writers block so forgive if this chapter isn't very good. Also I will try to update as regularly as possible but the holidays are very hectic and aren't treating me very well as of right now. Thanks for reading,

AllOverTheWorld