Thanks very much for the reviews!
His head was pounding. His ribs hurt and on ofe his leg felt like it had been run over by a truck. He could move his toes, at least he thought he felt that he could do it, but it hurt more than he would ever admit to do it. His muscles ached and his whole mind was screaming at him to wake up; open the eyes! He needed to move and get out the bed he was lying in. He could feel the soft fabric of the sheets and the pillow. He could feel the oxygen mask over his face and hear the beeping of a heart monitor.
He remembered crash!
Someone, most likely Missus Reardon, had crashed into his and his lover's rental car! He hoped his lover was alright. He had to open his eyes and find out. He had to speak to someone on the team. Someone had to tell him what was going on! Someone had to tell him something; anything!
His fingers twitched and he grabbed onto the sheets as hard as he could. He started growing worried, angry and scared. His eye lids felt like they weighed a ton and he couldn't open them. He tried to speak but nothing would come out and he couldn't lift his arms. What was happening? He had to make sure his lover was safe.
Wait… someone was speaking to him. He heard a voice; a male voice. He recognized that voice. Sheldon!
"Mac, calm down. Here, squeeze my hand and try to open your eyes." Sheldon said and grabbed onto Mac's hand.
Mac moaned and rolled his head to the side that Sheldon's voice was coming from. It felt like an eternity but finally Mac opened his eyes and saw a blurry figure standing next to his bed.
"Mac, finally!" Sheldon said with great relief, "We've been waiting for you to wake up for hours."
Mac blinked the blurriness away and focused on Sheldon. He looked around the room and saw that he was the only patient in it. Sheldon took the oxygen mask away and let him take a sip of water; it helped Mac a great deal as he opened his mouth to speak.
"Where is Horatio?" He asked, "Where is he? And where the hell is Mrs. Reardon?"
Sheldon sighed and sat down on the chair next to the bed. He had only been in Miami for three hours; after Eric had called him and told him that Mac and Horatio had been in a car crash. The Miami team was still processing the car and there was a BOLO for Mrs. Lacey Reardon. But so far there was no sign of her. She had to be feeling the effects of the crash too. She could be seriously injured. Sheldon didn't care about that right now though.
"Sheldon? Tell me the truth." Mac pleaded, suddenly fearing for both Horatio and their baby's life.
The car had crashed into his side of the car so Horatio hadn't taken he biggest hit. Hopefully he was okay. Maybe he had just been sent home to rest? Maybe he was in a room down the hall?
"He's alive." Sheldon said and saw the relief in Mac's eyes, "And the baby is doing fine."
"And Horatio?"
"He's in worse shape. He still hasn't woken up." Sheldon sighed, "He has a severe concussion, a broken rib and a dislocated shoulder."
"Can I see him?" Mac asked.
"Not yet. The doctor hasn't allowed any visitors for him."
"Why?"
"Stress. They're worried about that the accident will have caused delayed stress to the baby and they don't want to overcrowd Horatio or the child."
"But you said the baby was fine." Mac said, trying to ignore his headache and his aching body.
"Yeah, but his doctor is being very cautious." Sheldon said and noticed Mac wincing, "You want pain killers?"
"No!" Mac exclaimed angrily, "I want to see Horatio and I want Mrs. Reardon behind bars. She must have been the one that crashed into our car."
"Yeah, we think she is. No doubt about it."
"But?"
"But we can't find her. She's gone." Sheldon said.
Mac felt his blood boil. He was grateful that he had been the one to drive the rental car and not Horatio. They hadn't thought that she had noticed them renting a car. They had underestimated her a great deal and now they were paying for it.
"You have two broken ribs, a concussion, massive bruising and cuts on your left leg, as well as cuts from broken car glass over the rest of the body as well. Nothing fatal though and nothing that will cause permanent damage as far as the doctor can tell." Sheldon said.
Mac looked up at the ceiling. He had to see Horatio. He knew his lover would recover much quicker if he was allowed to see him. He just knew. Mac was the same way; he would feel a lot better and recover quicker if he could just be with the redhead.
"I have to see Horatio." Mac said.
"I'll talk to his doctor."
"I don't care what he or she says, I want to see him." Mac growled.
Sheldon nodded, "I'll be right back."
He left the room to go talk to Horatio's doctor. Mac ignored the pain he felt and focused on remembering the crash in as many details as he could. He hadn't seen any headlights from Mrs. Reardon's car so she had to have turned them off. She had probably waited for them in the intersection or else Mac would have most likely noticed her.
Or had he missed her? Had he missed the headlights? Had he contributed to the accident, or rather attempted murder, by not seeing her headlights and therefore not being able to stop the car before she could crash into it? Had he made a mistake and contributed to Horatio's injuries?
"Mac, you can see him." Sheldon smiled as he peeked into the room.
Mac sighed in relief.
-I-
Her body was aching from the crash, but that was not why Mrs. Reardon was angry. She had seen on the news that Horatio Caine and Mac Taylor had survived the crash and Mac Taylor had been named as the driver of the car she crashed into. She had hit the wrong side! She could accept that Mac was alive, but not that Horatio and the baby were as well.
However, there was nothing she could do about it. She had no friends, no contacts and she couldn't leave her apartment. It was an apartment she had bought in her sister's name and even her husband didn't know about it. Here she could hide; but not for long. She would have to leave eventually to buy food or get out of the state.
She threw the TV remote control at the TV and angrily sat down on the couch. Her body ached and she had a terrible headache. She had ditched her car in an empty parking lot and been careful to not be seen by anyone on her way back to her hideout.
She would have to think of another way to have her revenge on the redhead.
-I-
Mac stared at his lover in the hospital bed. He was hooked up to so many machines and a nurse was doing an ultrasound to make sure the baby was still doing fine. She smiled at Mac and moved away a little so he could see the monitor. He smiled as he saw his and Horatio's child. Sheldon patted Mac on the shoulder and wheeled him closer to Horatio's bed.
Mac grabbed onto his lover's hand and squeezed it softly. Horatio looked like he was sleeping. Now Mac knew how Horatio had felt when he had been sitting by his bedside after Mac had been shot in the robbery. Sheldon and the nurse left the room to give Mac some privacy with his lover.
"Love, please wake up." Mac whispered, "I am so glad that I was driving the car."
Mac caressed the redhead's cheek with his thumb.
"I would take a bullet for you." Mac said, "Horatio, don't leave me alone for too long okay? I need someone to hold when I go to sleep and that someone has to be you."
Mac squeezed Horatio's hand and kissed his cheek. There was a knock on the door and the nurse came back inside with Horatio's doctor. When the doctor had told Sheldon that the visit had to be short he hadn't been joking. Mac appreciated that the good doctor was only thinking about his lover's health and their baby's health. But Mac felt it was such a short visit. He couldn't relax unless he was with Horatio.
Sheldon walked into the room and grabbed the handles to Mac's wheelchair. Mac gave Horatio one last kiss on the cheek before letting Sheldon wheel him out of the room.
"Mac, he's going to be okay." Sheldon said.
"I know. But I need him to wake up before I can believe it." Mac sighed, "And I need someone to take my statement."
"Are you sure you want to do this now? You should be resting."
"Hawkes, I… I have to do this now. Get it out of my system." Mac said, "And then I need to talk to Horatio's doctor. He can't keep me from him."
"Well, technically he can." Sheldon smirked, because he knew what Mac meant when he said "talk" to the doctor.
"He can try but I've been a marine so I have encountered far more dangerous things than a doctor." Mac growled.
Sheldon chuckled and wheeled Mac back to his room. On the way he called Frank and told him that Mac wanted to make a statement.
-I-
It had been over 24 hours since the crash. Horatio had yet to wake up and Mac's "talk" with the redhead's doctor had probably left the young doctor scarred for life with mental images of what Mac could do to him. On the bright side Mac was now sharing a room with Horatio. The team worried that the former marine would never rest as he spent all his time on the chair next to his lover; he refused to rest and barely ate anything. No one had been able to change it either, not even Alexx had managed to get the tough brunette to rest or eat anything more than a tiny bagel.
The team had finished processing the rental car and the car Mrs. Reardon had been driving (they had found it in an empty parking lot a few hours ago). Paint transfer from the rental car to Mrs. Reardon's car proved that she had crashed into them. She had left her hair behind in her car and fingerprints. All they had to do now was to figure out where she had gone after dumping the car.
"Maybe we can check the surveillance cameras." Walter suggested.
The team was in the layout room completely exhausted but they refused to sleep until they had caught Mrs. Reardon. Sheldon had joined them while Alexx was keeping Mac company at the hospital.
"Well, the parking lot where we found the car doesn't have any." Ryan yawned.
"But what about surrounding stores?" Walter asked.
"It's a big parking lot." Ryan said, "Not a store anywhere near where the car was found."
"True, but she had to leave the parking lot too." Sheldon said, "And to do that she had to have passed by one of the stores."
"We can't get a warrant to look at all those stores' surveillance cameras." Eric said, "And that neighborhood has very few cameras anyway."
"We could always ask the store owners." Calleigh suggested.
"Worth a shot." Frank said, "We have to try anyway. Sheldon, Calleigh and I will take the stores on east and north side of the parking. Eric, Ryan and Walter you take the south and west."
Everybody split up into their groups and hurried off to the area. Frank, Sheldon and Calleigh had no luck with the owners and it looked like Ryan, Eric and Walter didn't either, but then someone approached them. A young girl whom had been filming her dog in the alley, (which she admitted she used for dog fights and that's why she hadn't said anything earlier), had caught a woman in a hooded sweater, jeans and high heels walking passed the alley.
She gave the video to the CSI's and in return they chose to give her a free pass on her illegal dog fight training... for now.
-I-
Missus Lacey Reardon was enjoying some afternoon tea when she heard footsteps outside her front door. Faint steps as if someone was sneaking around outside. She didn't have a spy-hole, but she would have needed one now. She stood up from the couch and listened carefully. She lived on the bottom floor and had a second exit through the kitchen out on the small back porch and from there she could escape down the street.
When the door burst open she ran through the kitchen and knocked the door open in an officer's face just as he was about to enter through that way. She was barefoot and the ground was hot, but she didn't stop. She kept on running and heard raised voices behind her. She turned around a corner and down an alley. The voices were becoming fainter and she looked back over her shoulder.
She never saw it coming and didn't even have time to react as someone tackled her to the ground. She tried to fight but was quickly handcuffed and lied down on the ground on her stomach. Ryan Wolfe and Sheldon Hawkes had been hiding on the other side of the alley behind a dumpster, just in case Mrs. Reardon would show up that way. Lucky for them she had and now they finally had her under arrest.
"You thought you were smart, huh?" Ryan asked.
"I was smart enough to follow Caine and his lover from work to where they rented the car. Did they really think that I was stupid enough to not follow them? I saw the police cruiser outside their house and knew I couldn't attack them there." Mrs. Reardon growled, "And I crashed into them. I only wish that Caine had been the one driving and maybe he had been hurt far worse."
"Was that a confession?" Sheldon asked.
Mrs. Reardon realized what she had said and shut her mouth quickly. She glared at Ryan and Sheldon as they sat her up against the wall
"You were almost going to make it you know. If it wasn't for a witness catching you on tape as you left to go to your apartment after you had dumped your car, we wouldn't have found you." Ryan smiled, "She caught you limping your way back here and we saw what street you were walking on too because you passed the pizza place known as Lucino's."
"And then we asked your neighbors if they had seen you and they had. You live next to a paranoid woman who sees everyone that comes and goes." Sheldon said.
"You picked the wrong place to hide in." Ryan said, "And now you're under arrest for the attempted murder of Lieutenant Horatio Caine and Mac Taylor."
As Ryan read Mrs. Reardon her rights Sheldon called Alexx (who was still at the hospital with Mac) and told her the good news.
-I-
It had been hours since Mrs. Reardon had been arrested and Horatio had yet to wake up. Mac was growing more worried every minute that passed. He was alone in the room while Sheldon had gone to the cafeteria for something to eat and some coffee.
Mac entwined his fingers with Horatio's and used his other hand to run his fingers through his lover's red hair. Horatio looked so peaceful. The oxygen mask had been removed and replaced with a nasal cannula. Horatio's eyes moved behind his eyelids and every now and then his fingers would twitch as he dreamt something. But he wasn't waking up. Mac put the hand he had been running through Horatio's hair and placed on his 25 week pregnant belly. The baby was sleeping for once; it was in fact quite amazing how the crash hadn't affected the baby at all.
Mac rubbed his eyes sleepily and yawned. He got up from the chair and started pacing. He had to move before he fell asleep; he refused to sleep until Horatio woke up. Mac wanted the first face that the redhead would see when he woke up to be his. This should be the happiest time of their lives; a part from when their baby was actually born.
They should be at home looking through all the things they had bought, arguing about if they should change the color on the walls in the nursery, they should be looking forward to see the belly grow and for the baby to be born. Not be in the hospital. Mac should be at home with Horatio and have dinner by now, and then maybe they would enjoy a movie and a relaxing bath. He shouldn't be worrying about when his lover would open his eyes and wake up. Mac just wanted to see those amazing blue eyes again; those bottomless baby blue sapphires.
Mac heard a cough and turned around to face the bed. Horatio grimaced and sighed. He eyes didn't open, but he was clearly waking up. His head rolled to the side and he groaned before fighting to open one eye.
Mac sat down on the chair next to the bed and grabbed his lover's hands. He kissed Horatio on the cheek and the surprised redhead opened both eyes and frowned. Mac smiled at him.
"You're awake. I've been waiting." Mac said, "I was so scared."
"Scared of what?" Horatio asked, "I don't remember."
There was a knock on the door and Sheldon peeked inside, when he saw that Horatio was awake he rushed to the other side of the bed and started checking his pulse and vitals. Horatio looked confused at Mac and the younger man realized that Horatio didn't remember the crash.
"What happened?" Horatio asked, "I don't remember how I got here."
"What is the last thing you remember?" Mac asked.
"We were driving the rental car to Calleigh and Eric's house." Horatio said.
Mac sighed in relief. He had feared that Horatio's memory loss would be much more severe and luckily the only thing he had forgotten was the actual crash. Horatio was stunned to hear Mac tell him everything that had happened from the crash to when he had woken up.
"Is the baby okay?" Horatio asked.
"Yes, fine." Mac smiled, "You're worse though."
Horatio groaned when Mac told him about his injuries. Horatio hated being injured or sick. Even if he would spend several days at home with Mac he didn't like being on sick leave.
The two lover's peace didn't last long though. After Horatio and Mac had gotten a few hours of sleep, with Sheldon keeping them company in the room, they got some news that were very disturbing.
Frank arrived at the hospital with two uniformed officers, whom were placed outside the room to guard Mac and Horatio.
"I've got some bad news." He said, "Mrs. Reardon is gone."
"What?" Mac exclaimed, "How can that be? She was in custody!"
"She was on the bus to jail when somebody drove into it and forced it to crash against a railing. It ended up on its side and several prisoners escaped. Including Mrs. Reardon." Frank sighed, "We know that the driver of the car was going to save somebody else. We caught almost all of the escapees, except Javier Riviera and his cousin, who is the guy that drove the car and helped Javier escape, as well as Mrs. Reardon and Lucas Bedford."
"She's free." Horatio said.
"We got every cop available out looking for her and the others. You and Mac will have around-the-clock police protection. She won't be able to hurt you again." Frank said.
Horatio and Mac said nothing. Horatio just closed his eyes and prayed to the higher powers that Mrs. Reardon would stay away.
Please review!