Horatio, Frank, Walter, Eric and Ryan beat the ambulance to Jackson Memorial Hospital. They rushed in the front entrance of the hospital and surrounded the receptionist, each of them talking a mile a minute trying to find out if Natalia was there yet, and what floor she was on.
The young man behind the desk couldn't get a word in because the five of them would not stop talking. Right as they stopped talking waiting for an answer, the double doors flew open on the left side of room.
They watched as Alexx Woods ran across the room and burst threw another set of double doors. Without hesitation the five men took off after her. They knew the only reason why she would be running threw the hospital was she got wind of what happened to Natalia. She might not be their M.E. anymore, but she still loved and cared for them like family.
They were two feet behind her as she rushed thru the general emergency room passing beds, nurses and other doctors. They made to a larger set of double doors that went outside to the ambulance loading bay.
There wasn't much time for talking because the minute Alexx ran outside Natalia's ambulance was there. "How's my baby doing?" Alexx said as her and a team of other doctors and nurses started running back down the same hall.
"Let's see her name is name is Natalia Boa Vista, 35 year old female. She was stabbed in the lower stomach, and has got a gunshot wound to the knee, a broken elbow and a broken jaw." The paramedic continued as ran to keep up with Alexx. " I think the knife nicked her aorta, she was stable till a few minutes ago. I started an IV and hooked her up to the heart rate monitor."
That was all the paramedic could say because not to long after he spoke Natalia's monitor started beeping like crazy. "Her vitals are dropping." a nurse said "BP is 86 over 10... her pulse is dropping... we are losing her!"
"Natalia you hang in there baby girl," Alexx said as they turned to go down another hallway. "I'm taking the first operating room I see, if other doctors have a problem with that I will deal with them later." she said with a raised voice.
As they entered the surgical wing of the hospital Horatio and boys were stopped, while Calleigh managed to slip by. She was still holding her hand until they pushed her into operating room.
Calleigh was about to walk in when Alexx stopped her, "Please," Calleigh whimpered.
"Look honey, she is in my hands now, I promise I will do everything I can to bring her back to you. Now in order for me to save her life I can't have you in there getting in the way and asking questions every two seconds. So Calleigh." Alexx said looking her in the eye.
Tears were rolling down Calleigh's face as she swallowed hard and shook her head "Okay." She said in a soft whisper.
Alexx left Calleigh and walked into the scrub room to get ready for surgery. Right before the doors closed to the operating room Calleigh saw as the nurses and doctors from before lifting Natalia's body from the stretcher to the operating table.
As hard as Calleigh tried to fight it, she couldn't anymore. She turned around and started crying.
The boys were still standing at the entrance of the surgical wing, watching as Calleigh was crying. It was unusual for them to see her actually crying, she such a strong independent woman that never seemed to get emotional.
"It's been a long night so I'm going to get some coffee," Eric said as she turned to walk down the hall.
"Wait up Eric, I'll join you." Ryan said running to catch up with him.
Walter looked at Calleigh then over to Horatio, "Coffee seems like a good idea right now."
"I'm going to call Christine and Anya, let them know we found Natalia and that she is in the hospital." Frank said as she turned around and pulled out his cell phone.
Horatio just nodded and watched as one by one the boys left. He looked over to Calleigh one last time before joining the other in the waiting room allowing Calleigh to have time to herself.
It took Calleigh a little while to get herself together, but when she finally did she joined the others in the waiting room.
She was pacing back and forth, looking at the clock every 5 seconds. It had only been an hour but it felt like an eternity.
Giving a long sigh she plopped down on the seat next to Ryan. Her hands covered her face for a few moments then ran threw her hair as she glanced up at the clock, one minute passed by.
She couldn't help but go over this morning events in her head. 'It was stupid for me to run threw the complex, I should have just drove, it would have been faster.' she kept repeating herself. 'Then I took my time downstairs looking thru the rooms. If I hadn't have done all those things I bet we wouldn't be sitting here wondering if Natalia was going to make it.'
Calleigh was deep in thought asking herself what if questions she was completely unaware that her boss was studying her. She gave another sigh and looked at the clock again, 5 minutes passed by this time.
Before she got back to questioning how everything went down Horatio spoke, "It's not your fault Calleigh. You couldn't have know where she was in that house, just be thankful you were able to stop Brian before he could do anything else to her."
Calleigh shook her head agreeing with him; after all he did have a point. Her leg started shaking so she decided to go back to pacing around the waiting with Eric and Walter.
It had been another hour when Anya showed up. She gave Calleigh hug and explained that Christine and Alex were at home with kids; the three of them were going to watch them in shifts.
The wait for Natalia's surgery progress was long and painful. Every time the doors would open everyone the team would look up with a little glimmer of hope, but that soon disappeared when it wasn't Alexx.
Calleigh tried her best to think positive, they had been waiting now of over 6 hours and Alexx hadn't come out which had to be a good thing.
It was another 4 hours till Alexx walked through the door and found herself surrounded by everyone on the team and Anya.
All she did was smile and nod, it seemed all seven of them were holding their breath and when Alexx gave an approving nod they all relaxed.
"She is alright for right now, the knife did hit her aorta but we were able to get to it before the cut got any bigger and we stopped the bleeding. The bullet completely shattered her kneecap so we had to replace it with a titanium one. She did break her elbow; she must have put up one hell of a fight, because the bone that broke off from her elbow broke into smaller pieces, too small to repair. So I replaced it with a titanium one as well. From what I could tell, sustained a head injury and on the way over here she lost consciousness which you guys know is not good." Alexx paused before she continued; "Because of this we put her in a drug induced coma. I'm going to keep her in a coma till I know that her brain will not swell and that her body accepts her replacement body parts and the changes I had to make to her aorta."
Everyone stood there in silence as they let Alexx's words sink in. Natalia may have been in safe hands now but she wasn't out of the woods just yet.
"Can we see her?" Calleigh finally asked.
Alexx gave a weak and shook her head no, "Not right now sweetheart. She is in post op right now, and I want to leave her there for another two hours so I can closely monitor her."
Alexx took a silent breath hoping that no one would question her explanation, but then again nothing ever got past this group of CSI's.
"Two hours? That's a long time Alexx." Eric started to say.
"I was kind of hoping to get around the this part, but she flat lined when she on my table. I was able to bring her, but it happened again when she about to go to her room. So I'm going to keep her there just till I know everything is okay." Alexx said raising her hand gently.
Alexx took a minute to look at each of them, "You guys look exhausted. Why don't you guys go out and get some fresh air, eat something, maybe take a quick nap. I will call you when she is in her room."
"I'll wait" Calleigh said as she turned around and went to her corner of the room and began to pace back and forth again.
Slowly one by one everyone went back to what they were doing before Alexx had entered the room.
Alexx just sighed and turned back around. All she could do was smile to herself and shake her head, "Something's never change." she said to herself as she went back to recovery to check on Natalia.
Like she promised 2 hours later Alexx came and got them, and she brought them up to Natalia's room. It was a single bedroom and big, but with eight people in there it seemed pretty packed.
Alexx was standing at the foot of the bed writing in Natalia's chart with Anya by her side. Calleigh, Ryan and Walter were on the left side of the bed. Eric, Horatio and Frank on her right side.
The room was quiet expect for the constant beeping of the heart rate monitor, the image in front of them was quite a site to take in. Natalia just looked so helpless, she was connected to so many machines, a ventilator to help her breath an IV drip going into her arm, and her arm and leg were elevated on a sling.
No one wanted to be the one to break the silence so they just stood their watching Natalia till Alexx got a page and left the room.
No one spoke for an hour, till a nurse came in and pushed her way by Eric, Horatio and Frank.
She sat a needle and bottle down on the table before she turned her attention to everyone in the room. "It's 8 p.m. visiting hours over. I'm going to have to ask you guys to leave now."
"Do we all have leave?" Eric questioned.
The nurse took a few moments to look around before she spoke again. "Normally I would tell you that only one family member can stay. But seeing how you are all police officers and you guys treat each other like family, I will let one of you stay." she said with a smile.
It was no question who was going to stay with Natalia overnight. One by one everyone left the room each getting one more glance at the helpless woman lying in front of them.
Finally Calleigh was alone with Natalia and the nurse, Calleigh found Natalia's hand and held it while she took a sit next her. She looked at the nurse and studied her as she filled the needle some type of clear liquid.
"What is that?" Calleigh asked as she watched the needle enter Natalia's IV tube.
"It's barbiturate, the drug that is keeping her in a temporary coma."
Calleigh eyes shifted from the nurse to Natalia, the nurse didn't need to know Calleigh to see the worry and distress in her eyes.
"I have been a nurse here for the past 30 years, and I have given this drug to a lot people. I can promise you this when drug is completely out of her system she will wake up." She said with a smile before leaving Calleigh alone in the room with Natalia.
Calleigh removed a strand of hair from Natalia's face before she leaned in and gave her kiss on the forehead.
"Hey Nat it's me. The nurse made everyone else leave; you know if they could they would be here with you... I don't know if you can hear me, but I'm not leaving. I'm going to stay here with you like I promised."
For the next week Calleigh stayed planted in her sit by Natalia's side. Every eight hours a piece of Calleigh would die when the nurse would come in give Natalia her shot. Most of the team and Natalia's sisters would stop by every now and then. Each time they came they would always bring breakfast, lunch or dinner for Calleigh.
Whenever someone came that was from the lab Calleigh couldn't help but ask how things were going. She knew that when she came back the ballistics lab would probably be a mess because Jim was in charge of it while she was away, and seeing how things went the last time he was in charge of it, she didn't have much faith in him.
As they entered their second week, Natalia was slowly eased off of her ventilator and she no longer needed a heart rate monitor.
It wasn't till Friday afternoon when Alexx competed her usual tests on Natalia that she gave Calleigh some good news. She told her that her body has accepted the new changes made to it, and that there was no longer a threat of her brain swelling. So she could come out of coma, and that there was a high possibility that she would wake up by Sunday or Monday.
It was Sunday evening and Calleigh was flipping threw the channels trying to find something to watch to help pass the time. She stopped at Comedy Central when she saw that Reno 911! was on. She just grinned and chuckled to herself before looking at Natalia.
"Keep a secret? I love the fake cop shows on T.V. and I don't know why." She continued with a light smile, "Reno 911! it's my favorite, I think it's because all of the crazy stuff they get away with. Kind of ridiculous when think about it, if we pulled anything like that we would be in a lot of trouble. I even went to go see the movie theaters by myself, that's how much I love the show. I don't know what's crazier going to go see Reno 911! when it was in theaters or going to a movie by myself."
Calleigh was quiet for a few more seconds staring off into space with Reno 911! in the background.
"I think I have told you my whole life story in the past two weeks. Some of the stories were deep secrets that not a lot of people know about... I really wish you were awake to make fun of me and crazy childhood days. See your smile, hear your laugh, or just stare into your eyes..." Calleigh just sighed as she took Natalia's hand with hers and leaned back in the chair and eventually fell asleep.
The room was quiet for the most of the evening, the nurse came into to check on Natalia and saw that Calleigh fallen asleep so she turned off the T.V.
For most of the day Natalia could hear Calleigh's voice come in and out at random times, and now it was quiet maybe a little too quiet the brunette thought to herself.
It was at that moment fear and panic set in over her. She thought that she was still at the condo that Brian had locked her up in. That hearing Calleigh's voice was nothing but her imagination, her subconscious trying to calm her down.
Whatever it was, it made her not want to open her eyes. She was scared about what the end result would be. She tried to recall the events that happened to her two week ago, but the only thing she could remember was her and Brian fighting on the stairs. She could have sworn that she saw Calleigh's face before everything went fuzzy, but she couldn't be too sure.
After a few moments she was able to brace herself, to see were she was. She swallowed hard, and soon realized how much of a mistake that was. Her throat was on fire, as the saliva worked its way down it left nothing but a fiery trail in its wake.
She slowly opened up her eyes, and she felt a little more relaxed when she saw that she was in a semi dark room. Looking straight ahead she could see a white board that said, 'Natalia Boa Vista, 35 year old female, allergies none, current nurse on duty Claire.' Looking over to her right she could see her right leg and arm were in a sling, but when she looked over to her left all fear and panic went away. There she saw sitting in a chair holding her hand with her head tilted to the side and blonde hair over her face sleeping was Calleigh.
Natalia tried to open her mouth but soon realized that she couldn't, running her tongue on the inside of her mouth she felt wires all around. At that time she knew that her jaw had been wired shut. She tried to reposition herself to something a little more comfortable but stopped suddenly as an intense pain ripped though her body causing her squeeze down on Calleigh's hand.
Calleigh felt the pressure on her hand and jolted awake. She looked over to Natalia to see her in pain looking up at the ceiling while groaning.
Calleigh stood up and reached for the call button while shouting "Claire!"
A few seconds later Claire came running into the room, it took both woman a little over 10 minutes to get Natalia to relax. Once Natalia was settled down Claire left the room telling them that she would be back with something to help ease the pain.
"Hey you, I'm glad you're awake, even if you tried to break my hand in the process." Calleigh whispered as she ran her free thru Natalia's hair. "We were all worried about, scared that you weren't going to wake up. Even if Alexx did her best to tell us other wise."
Calleigh was about to say when Claire returned with a bag of Morphine to help Natalia with the pain. It didn't take long for the effects to hit Natalia, and before she knew it she sleeping peacefully while Calleigh watched over her.
Once people found out that Natalia was awake she was getting a lot more visitors. When Alex and Christine came they brought the kids with them, who each gave her a hand made get well soon card. The boys would come by and tell both of the girls how much they were missed in the lab, that the DNA and ballistics labs were slowly going down hill.
Natalia was in the hospital for another week, before Alexx released. Even through she knew the answer she wanted to make sure the Calleigh would be there with her, because Natalia didn't have the strength yet to live and function on her own. She also told Natalia that she would have to come back to the hospital at least 5 times a week for physical therapy, and that she could not go back to work unless she said so.
Calleigh drove Natalia back to her house, where Natalia made her way slowly to living room with the help of her crutches. While Calleigh put her bags upstairs before joining Natalia downstairs on the couch.
Calleigh wrapped her arms around Natalia who rested her head in crook of Calleigh's neck, and the two them cuddled on the couch while watching T.V.
Natalia had the remote and was looking thru the guide when she came upon Reno 911! on Comedy Central.
Calleigh sat there and bit down on her lower lip. "Reno 911?" she asked.
Natalia lifted her head to look up at Calleigh who was looking at her with a confused looked.
"Don't pretend like you hate this, you told me it was favorite." Natalia said as she rested her head back down, "Oh, and just an FYI I think it's crazier that you went the movie alone. I would have gone with you to see it, granted I would tease till the cows came home, but I would have gone with you."
Calleigh looked down the Natalia with a slight grin, "You heard me when I was talking to you?"
"Bits and pieces. Hearing your voice helped me fight to wake up."
Calleigh looked down at Natalia before smiling to herself, Natalia was different from her past relationships, and for some reason she couldn't put a figure out way. Sure she had dated her fair share of people in past each of them unique as the last, but Natalia made Calleigh do things that were illogical.
She knew that she that she should have waited for backup to arrive before she kicked down the door at the condo. She did manage to clear two rooms downstairs before rushing upstairs to help Natalia, I guess she got lucky that Brian was working alone and no else was in the house. Who knows what could have happened if there were more people in the house or if Brian set up traps downstairs and upstairs. That really didn't matter now they found Natalia and she was safe now. I guess the next time she goes into work she will find out if she is in any trouble.
Calleigh just smiled to herself as she continued to watch the T.V. that she wasn't really paying that much attention to. She was too busy mindless over analyzing her relationship with Natalia. She didn't know why, she had already known the reason why Natalia was so different then all the other people she dated.
Calleigh was absolutely 100% in love with Natalia, and would do anything for her. Even if Natalia didn't feel the same way about her. She wanted to spend the rest of her life with brunette, have their own kids running around the house playing cops and robbers with nerf guns or drawing on the walls upstairs with washable wall chalk. Tan kids with caramel hair mixed with kids that had blonde hair and green eyes playing with Christine's kids. Granted that would be a lot of kids in the house, but Calleigh would love every moment of it. Even if that meant putting up with kids for 4 or more hours that probably won't listen to her or Natalia. But it would be the family that she always wanted, and in someway deprived herself from by hiding in her work.
For the first time ever, Calleigh was actually in love with someone. In all of her relationships never said those three magic words that seemed to make everyone happy or in Calleigh's case scared. It seemed like every time someone said it to her she would get scared and end the relationship; she did it with Jake, Eric and John.
Calleigh sat there staring blankly at the T.V. screen while she struggled with her inner turmoil. She didn't know how it happened but it did, without taking her eyes from the T.V. Calleigh's mouth opened and said those three, well in her case four magical words that seemed to have so much power.
"I love you Natalia."
The room was quiet expect for the T.V. the more the silence lingered the more nervous Calleigh became. She was so caught up in her thoughts she didn't realize that Natalia was sitting up looking at her.
Natalia grabbed Calleigh's chin and turned her head so they were looking at each other. The moment Calleigh looked into Natalia's warm chocolate eyes all inner turmoil stopped. "I love you too Calleigh," Natalia whispered before leaning in for a kiss.
The kiss was long and passionate as both women tried to pour all of their feelings towards each other into it. They didn't know what lay ahead of them, but what they did know, whatever it was they would face it together.