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Mac was pacing in the waiting area. Sheldon and Ryan were sitting down watching him. The rest of the team was helping the night shift process the crime scene as well as trying to locate Missus Reardon. The news had already heard about Horatio being found. Erica Sykes was as usual reporting the most.

IAB was working hard on trying to find out who leaked the story to her. Horatio's disappearance had been a secret at first, but the most important thing was that someone from MDPD had told Erica about the governor's decision not to release Mister Reardon from jail. Sykes wasn't willing to give up her source, of course, but the team was confident that Rick Stetler would be able to find out who the leak was anyway.

Horatio had been in surgery for hours now and with each passing hour Mac grew more and more worried. He couldn't eat or think straight. He couldn't even take care of the twins (he was eternally grateful for Alexx and her husband for taking care of Caylee and Noah). He felt ashamed that he wasn't being a good father, but everyone had told him that right now Horatio needed him more than anyone.

"Why is taking so goddamn long?" Mac growled.

"Mac, sit down and have something to eat." Sheldon pleaded.

Mac shook his head. He couldn't concentrate on anything other than Horatio; his lover. What made him angry was the fact that Missus Reardon had yet to be found. Nobody knew where she was. She could have left the country by now and then they would never find her. What was worse was that if she had left the country then she could come back later and finish the job. Mac couldn't stand it. He was not going to let his lover live in fear again; they already had for so long.

"Mac." Sheldon said.

"I won't sit down."

"Why not?" Sheldon asked, "Pacing won't make time pass faster and you need to eat something."

"I'll buy a sandwich and coffee for you." Ryan said and left to go to the cafeteria.

Mac sighed and sat down next to Sheldon. The younger man had been a great support all along.

"Thank you for being here, Sheldon."

"Anytime Mac. You would do the same for me."

When Ryan came back Mac ate as if he had never seen food before. He must have been more hungry than he realized. It took another hour before a doctor finally showed up.

"Hi, I'm Doctor Lynda Pines." The woman shook hands with all three men, "Lieutenant Caine is semi-conscious right now; he slips in and out of consciousness all the time."

"He'll be okay, right?" Mac asked.

"I believe so. He has two broken ribs, cuts on his arms, legs and chest; so he's lost a lot of blood, he also has a concussion as well as slight spasms from the electric shocks." Doctor Pines said, "However, it is unlikely that they will have caused permanent damage. Although the shocks were probably painful, I don't think the charge was very high."

"Thank God." Sheldon mumbled.

"No permanent damage?" Mac asked, just to be sure.

"Well, he might have to go through physical therapy because of the muscles in his arms. They are badly damaged from the deep knife wounds and it is unlikely that he will be able to grip things until he's had physical therapy." Doctor Pines said, "He might be able to hold a baby if he can also support the baby's weight against his chest or other body parts, but he will not be able to lift heavy things with only his arms."

Mac nodded. Nobody wanted to hear that their lover would have to go through physical therapy, but it was better than Mac had imagined. At least Doctor Pines was sure that physical therapy would help Horatio recover.

"Can I see him?" Mac asked.

"This way." Doctor Pines smiled, "Be sure that you don't overcrowd him."

The three men nodded and followed the doctor to a private room. She opened the door and they stepped inside; the room was dimly lit and only the beeping of the heart monitor was heard. Horatio was awake and moving slightly in his bed; clearly feeling uncomfortable to be in a hospital.

Mac quickly approached the redhead and sat down on a chair next to his bed; he grabbed his lover's hand and for a few seconds Horatio looked at him and smiled the smallest of smiles he could; but a smile nonetheless.

"Hi, love." Mac whispered.

An oxygen mask covered Horatio's face, but he mumbled something and then closed his eyes. Ryan and Sheldon went to the other side of the bed. Ryan bent down near Horatio's ear.

"H, it's Ryan... I just want to let you know that we're going to catch her. In fact, I'll be going to the lab now to help the team find her." Ryan said and gave his friend's hand a quick squeeze.

"Horatio, I will stay here with Mac for a while, but I'll also be heading to the lab later. You keep on fighting and stay strong, my friend." Sheldon smiled.

Horatio was already asleep though. Mac nodded gratefully at his friends. Ryan left while Sheldon stayed for a while.

-I-

"Are you completely insane or did you do it on purpose?" Rick growled.

Rick was in an interrogation room and he was yelling at his colleague Gary Turner, a young man that had just transferred to IAB a week earlier; he was the one responsible for leaking the story about Horatio's kidnapping and the governor's decision about Mister Reardon to Erica Sykes.

Rick had found out when he had caught Turner on the phone with Erica telling her that Horatio had been found in a ditch and that he was in the hospital.

"I'm sorry, sir. I-"

"Didn't use your head! Erica Sykes reported on the news about the governor's decision not to release Mister Reardon before the team's time, that Missus Reardon had given them, had even run out." Rick growled, "Thanks to you, Erica could warn Missus Reardon that her husband would remain in jail and thereby she also knew that the team was trying to trick her when they dressed Sergeant Tripp up as her husband. Because of you she dumped Lieutenant Caine in the woods to die!"

"I didn't know she was going to report it, sir!" Turner exclaimed.

"What the fuck did you think she was going to do?" Rick asked.

"Rick calm down!"

Turner and Rick turned to look at Frank in the doorway. Frank glared at Turner as he sat down across the table from him.

"Tell me everything from the beginning." He said.

"Look, she called me and asked about the case. I told her that she couldn't report anything that I told her; that it was just between her and me." Turner said, "I had overheard Sergeant Stetler talking to you about the case and the governor."

"And you thought that a reporter calling you wouldn't use that as a story?" Frank asked, "Are you stupid for real?"

"Well yeah, she... we are friends." Turner shrugged.

"Erica Sykes doesn't have friends. She only has people she uses to get stories so she can show her ugly face on TV." Frank said, "You could have cost Lieutenant Caine his life because you're so damn stupid."

"I'm sorry, I just... I-I thought I could trust her." Turner sighed.

"Friend or no friend, you can't talk about cases with reporters or anyone else." Rick said, "IAB deals with a lot of sensitive cases and we don't tell anyone outside of IAB about it."

Turner at least had the decency to look ashamed. Frank left while Rick told Turner what would happen now. Stetler believed in second chances, but it was up to the Chief to decide if Turner got to keep his job. Stetler decided to suspend Gary Turner for now, without pay.

While Rick and Frank had been talking to Turner, Ryan was talking to Erica. He walked up to her just as she was about to be live on TV outside of the lab.

"Hey Sykes!" Ryan called out, "You are the most selfish person in the world; did you know that?"

All the cameras and reporters focused on Ryan and Erica.

"That's sweet of you to say, Detective Wolfe." Sykes smirked.

"You could have cost Lieutenant Caine his life." Ryan said, "Because of your report that the governor decided not to release Mister Reardon from jail, Missus Reardon dumped him in a ditch in the rain and then escaped. We could have caught her if you hadn't done your report and just kept your mouth shut for once."

"Detective Wolfe-"

"No you shut up and listen! All you think about is getting our face on TV; you don't care if somebody dies because of it. Lieutenant Caine could have died because of you. We were trying to catch Missus Reardon but because of you we couldn't."

"What do you want me to say?" Sykes said, blushing because everyone was able to see the confrontation on TV.

"You can start by apologizing." Ryan said, "Lieutenant Caine is a father. You could have made someone a single-parent today. You should focus more on other people and less about yourself."

Ryan turned and walked back to the lab. Erica Sykes turned towards her cameraman and had the decency to apologize for her behavior; although it was unlikely that she would change.

-I-

"What's wrong with him?" Mac asked worried.

Sheldon had to literally pull Mac away from Horatio as Doctor Pines and the nurses tried to help his lover. Horatio was moaning and writhing on the bed; holding his abdomen. His heart beat was irregular and he even cried out in pain sometimes.

"I think he's bleeding into his abdomen." Doctor Pines said and turned to a nurse, "Call the OR and tell them he has to have emergency surgery right now!"

"Bleeding?" Mac exclaimed.

Sheldon finally got the older man out of the room and soon after Doctor Pines and the nurses wheeled Horatio out and quickly went to the elevator to take him to surgery. Mac kicked a bench and sat down. Sheldon patted his back.

"He'll be okay." He said.

"He was doing so well. One minute he was awake and looking at me, then he suddenly started groaning in pain." Mac said, "He was fine and now... now this."

"They'll find what's wrong and fix it. He will be fine again Mac." Sheldon said.

A setback was never fun or good, but Sheldon firmly believed that Horatio would recover from it in no time. Mac sighed and ran a hand through his hair.

"I want to see the twins." He said, "I have to see them."

"Alright, we'll go to Alexx." Sheldon said.

He knew that seeing Caylee and Noah would make Mac feel better. The twins could always lift his spirit. And Mac also needed to get out of the hospital for a while. Horatio would be in surgery for a few hours anyway.

-I-

Missus Reardon was so satisfied with herself. She had no idea if Horatio had been found yet, she had been too busy boarding the small aircraft that she had rented in her mother's maiden name. She had been flying for a while and even stopped to fill up the gas at a very small airport in northern Florida. Nobody had even noticed her.

Now she was almost in New York. She would land at a small airport in New York and from there she had rented a private jet and two pilots, with her husband's money, that would take her to the Bahamas. The best part about her plan was that nobody knew about it. Even if the Miami team found out that she had rented a plane they would be too late to stop her now.

"Ah, here we are." She said to herself as she saw the airport she would land at.

She turned the plane and started going down. She wasn't a particularly good pilot, but she found that as she was now flying her skills were quite good. Maybe it was because she had managed to finish the job and was so happy with it.

Even with the dogs, she was sure that the cops wouldn't find Horatio. She had noticed the rain shortly after she had heard the dogs in the woods and if her internet sources were right, then a little rain could made the dogs lose track of Horatio's scent.

She sure hoped that he was dead. Maybe they had found him and he had passed away in the hospital. Maybe he was in a coma; it was better than being awake even though she preferred that the redhead was good and deceased.

She landed the plane and smiled widely. She hummed happily as she left her pilot seat and opened the airplane's door. She took a deep breath of fresh air as she stood on the top step of the stairs and looked towards New York City. Then she started climbing down the steps.

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