Thanks very much for the reviews!
Ryan had stayed with his mother while she calmed down; in the meantime Horatio had gone back to Roger's room. Horatio tried not to get affected by what Melinda had said, but he couldn't help but to think that maybe he had done something wrong and Charles was now hanging on by a thread because of him. When visitor hours had been over Horatio and Ryan had gone home. Neither man had spoken and they had gone to bed without as much as saying goodnight. Horatio wondered if Ryan blamed him for Charles's condition; it would break his heart if the younger man did.
The next morning Ryan woke up to find the that he was the only on in bed. On the nightstand he found a note from his lover saying that had been called in for work early. Ryan shut off the alarm clock before it had the chance to even start and climbed out of bed. He took a shower, but didn't bother to eat breakfast before he went to the hospital to visit Roger andCharles before he had to work. He didn't blame his lover; Horatio had tried to help save both his fathers and it was not his fault that Charles was in critical condition at the hospital. Ryan couldn't possibly imagine that Horatio would in any way be responsible for anything regarding the car crash; much unlike his mother, whom thougth it was all Horatio's fault.
Ryan parked his car at the hospital and went to Roger's room, but when he found the older man asleep he went to the ICU instead where Charles was. Melinda met him outside the door and she did not look happy.
"What are you doing here Ryan?" She asked.
"Good morning to you too mom." Ryan rolled his eyes.
"Charles is in a coma thanks to that boyfriend of yours." Melinda growled.
"Horatio couldn't have known that dad's brain was swelling." Ryan said.
"There are always signs of brain swelling and he should have seen it." Melinda said.
"Can I see dad?"
"No."
"What?" Ryan asked stunned.
He and his mom hadn't met in months before yesterday, but that she wouldn't even allow Ryan to see the man that had raised him was a shock.
"Not until you and Horatio break up." Melinda said.
"I can't do that."
"Then you can't see Charles."
Ryan knew that it was Charles that was the one behind his mother's homophobic behavior; the woman that had raised him had been an overall open-minded person. Charles had changed her as the years had gone by; it was the reason Ryan hadn't called his parents for three years before he and Horatio started dating. Perhaps Melinda had so long refused to believe that her son was gay and she couldn't yet cope with it, but his mother was so unlike what Ryan had for kind of a mother during his childhood years.
"Why were Roger and Charles meeting?" Ryan asked.
"To help you of course."
"Help me?"
"Yes, Charles wanted to meet you and get you out of that relationship you have with that- that man!" Melinda exclaimed, "We look after our son and he's not a toy for some old dirty bastard."
"I'm not toy!" Ryan growled, "I love him."
"Well, love has made you blind." Melinda snorted, "You think for one second that he will stay with you if he finds someone younger? Please, that man will dump you the minute he gets attention from a younger man."
"Horatio is not like that."
"They're all the same. All those old men want is to be with someone younger because it makes them look good in the eyes of others."
"You're wrong."
"Charles was going to get you out; he was going to save you." Melinda said, "He is willing to do whatever it takes to set you on the right path in life."
Ryan was fuming on the inside; it wasn't his mother that was talking, it was Charles. He had brainwashed his mother into believing that Ryan was somehow unhappy and in a bad relationship. They couldn't see how happy Horatio made him.
"You're wrong. Dad has brainwashed you." Ryan said and turned to leave.
"Just wait Ryan, that man will leave you one day." Melinda called after her son.
-I-
Across Horatio sat the only man he was not in the mood to see; Rick Stetler. IAB had quickly responded to the case and was investigating Horatio to see if he could have caused Charles's condition to worsen by not getting him help first. The two men were in an interrogation room and behind the two-way mirror stood Ryan and Eric. The rest of the team was still working on the case, but so far it seemed to be that the car that Horatio had met on the road yesterday evening was the car that had crashed into Roger, The driver had fallen asleep at the wheel and fled because it would have been his third strike; he had a previous conviction for driving under the influence and speeding. Some evidence still needed processing and the other driver hadn't confessed yet.
"What happened when you arrived at the crash site?" Rick asked.
Horatio sighed and started telling the same thing he had told Roger, Ryan and Frank; as the older man had taken his statement the same morning. Rick listened, but Horatio knew that he wasn't going to let it go away so easy.
"So you helped Roger Dobson out of the car first?" Rick asked.
"Yes."
"Even though Charles Wolfe was awake and could have helped you?"
"He was awake and I asked him if he could manage to stay in his seat while I helped Roger out." Horatio said.
"Why not help Charles out first?"
"Because Roger was unconscious and I made the decision that he needed to get out first." Horatio said.
"Okay, so you got Roger Dobson out and up on the road, then what?"
"I told you; I helped Charles get out of the car." Horatio said.
"And he was able to walk with you up to the road?"
"Yes."
"Did he at any time get dizzy?"
Horatio hesitated and tried to remember what had happened. He remembered Charles swaying slightly and admitting that he felt a bit dizzy. However, he had claimed he was still fine and hadn't seemed to be in a life threatening condition.
"Lieutenant Caine?" Rick asked.
"Yes, he swayed slightly."
"And you didn't think that was serious?" Rick asked.
"He admitted to having a headache and feeling a bit dizzy, which is not so strange after being in a car crash." Horatio said.
"Some signs of brain swelling are headache and dizziness." Rick said, "Charles had both."
"They are also signs of a concussion, fatigue and hundreds of other injuries or illnesses." Horatio said, getting frustrated, "I'm not a doctor; I am not trained to spot brain swelling."
"But you could have helped Charles first. Roger was unconscious, surely he wouldn't have minded to wait a few minutes in the car while you got Charles out first?"
"Probably not." Horatio sighed.
"So you could have done it the other way around?"
"Yes, but I didn't know that Charles was dizzy until after he got out. He never once told me how he was feeling." Horatio said, "At the time it seemed like the best decision."
"You didn't ask how he felt either, did you?"
"No, but he could have told me." Horatio said.
Rick looked down in his papers for a moment and then smirked as he looked back at Horatio.
"Charles and you don't get along do you?" He asked.
"No."
"He hit you after you and Detective Ryan Wolfe admitted to having a relationship to Charles and Melinda Wolfe, yes?"
"Yes."
"So it's safe to assume that you would have rather helped Roger than Charles because of your history of disagreement?"
"No, absolutely not." Horatio said, "There was smoke coming from the engine of the car and at the moment when I arrived I thought that Roger needed to get out first, Charles could wait while I got Roger out; he even said so himself."
"The problem is that we only have your statement." Rick smirked, "Roger Dobson can't remember what happened and Charles Wolfe is in a coma. All I have is your word to go on and you could be lying."
"The nurse at the hospital didn't spot the brain swelling either."
"Your point is?"
"My point is that it took a while before Charles's condition got worse and I can't be blamed for it because I didn't help him first; it wouldn't have made any difference if I had helped him first anyway." Horatio said.
"As you so cleverly stated earlier you are not a doctor so you can't be sure of how and if it would have made a difference." Rick said.
Horatio took a deep breath to stop himself from punching Rick in the face. Rick smirked as he saw how annoyed Horatio was getting.
"All I'm saying is that you had motive to prioritize Roger Dobson and not help Charles Wolfe as much as you could have." Rick said, "And I am going to hear from a doctor about if you could have done anything to prevent Charles Wolfe from ending up in a coma."
Rick stood up and Horatio growled quietly. Maybe Horatio could have helped Charles out of the car first, but at the time he arrived the most logical plan in his head had been to get Roger out first and not Charles. It wasn't because he and Charles didn't like each other, but because Roger had been unconscious and Horatio had felt it would take longer to get him out and therefore he had started with him.
"You will hear from me later." Rick said and left the room.
Behind the two-way mirror Eric was fuming with anger. Nobody liked Rick, but that the other man even thought to accuse Horatio of deliberately prioritizing Roger was enough to make Eric mad.
"You think he did it on purpose?"
Eric's eyes widened and he looked to his right. Ryan shrugged while Eric stared at him for a few seconds.
"Did what?" Eric asked.
"Helped Roger first on purpose." Ryan said, "Subconsciously I mean."
"Have you lost your mind? H would never do anything like that."
"But what if he didn't think about that he did it?" Ryan asked, "Rick has a point you know. If Charles had been helped first he could in turn have helped Horatio with Roger."
"That's it? It's not related to his medical condition." Eric said.
"No, but that too. What if, just if, Horatio had helped Charles first, maybe it would have made a difference?" Ryan said.
"Are you seriously blaming Horatio for this?" Eric asked.
The glare he gave Ryan let the younger man know exactly what his friend thought of him for even considering such an absurd thing.
"No, I'm just saying that maybe Horatio subconsciously chose to help Roger first because he doesn't like Charles." Ryan shrugged, "And maybe that led to Charles now being in a coma."
"And the nurses at the hospital then? They didn't do anything wrong is that what you're saying?"
"Of course they did, they missed it too."
"So then it's not Horatio's fault."
"I'm just saying maybe he contributed to it as well as the nurses." Ryan said.
Eric just looked at him and left just as Horatio joined them. Horatio looked confused at Eric, but the younger man said nothing as he walked past his boss. Ryan felt ashamed; he knew he shouldn't doubt his lover. He wasn't trying to put the blame on Horatio, but he was just wondering if maybe the older man had contributed to Charles's condition by helping him last without thinking about it; if it was subconsciously then Horatio couldn't have done anything to change it anyway. Ryan just wanted to get everything right; he wanted everything to be fine again.
"What's up with Eric?" Horatio asked.
"We had a little disagreement." Ryan shrugged, "Nothing big; I'll talk to him later."
"You want to tell me about it?"
Ryan shook his head; he couldn't tell the redhead, he knew how sad Horatio would be then. Instead Ryan told Horatio about what his mother had said; how Charles had wanted Roger to help him get in contact with Ryan so that Charles and Melinda could get Ryan away from Horatio.
"Mom said that Charles was willing to do whatever it takes." Ryan said.
"Sounds dangerous."
"You think Roger knew he was being used?"
"No, no way." Horatio said, "He would never let Charles get between us."
"She won't let me see da unless we break up." Ryan sighed.
For a moment Horatio panicked as he wondered if Ryan was willing to break up with him to see the man that had disowned him. He knew that Ryan still loved Charles even if it hurt him to have a father that didn't even want anything to do with him; a father that couldn't accept him for who he was.
"Are you, um, are you going to break up?" Horatio asked nervsouly, "Even if it's only momentarily."
"No, god no." Ryan said and embraced the older man, "I'm not letting her win; if I do that mom and dad will think that they got me away from you."
Horatio sighed in relief and gave the younger man a kiss on the lips.
"Let's go visit Roger, last I heard Kyle was there too." Horatio smiled.
"Yeah, let's go see him." Ryan smiled.
On the inside Ryan was not happy though. He knew Eric was beyond pissed at him and he suddenly felt so ashamed that he wanted to hide for thinking that his lover was the reason Charles was in a coma. He had to stop himself from thinking like that. Horatio would never do anything to harm someone else.
Or would he?
Ryan wondered if Horatio was willing to deliberately keep Charles in the car and help him last as a way of protecting him or as some sort of payback for disowning Ryan. Horatio was a bit overprotective after all.
Horatio wouldn't do that, Ryan thought, would he?
Please review!