As he headed down the hallway,Rick prepared for the worst of Horatio's outburst. The redhead had recovered from his lack of blood and was now officially complaining and fighting with the nurses. It had only been a few days since Envy was arrested.

He neared Horatio's room and the redhead's shouting and yelling started to echo off the walls.

''I SAID I'M FINE! CAN'T YOU PEOPLE LEAVE ME ALONE?!''

''LIEUTENANT,PLEASE SIT STILL!''

There was the sound of glass breaking,probably a syringe,and then a tray followed by a doctor came flying out of the room.

Rick gulped. He almost wanted to turn around and leave. But he continued his path. He entered Horatio's room and told the few remaining nurses to leave.

''I swear they want to turn me into a pin cushion...''Horatio mumbled.

''Well,you are getting up there age wise.''

''What do you want,Rick?''

''I came by to see how you were doing and...uh...''

''Who did what now?''

''Miss Boa Vista...she uh...'' Rick emptied his pocket of his poor phone and dumped it into Horatio's lap,along with the bullet.

''Well...that's new.''

''Damn right. That was a new phone,and she just told me to go buy a new one.''

''I don't see the issue here,''Horatio said smiling,finding it funny that Rick came in to complain that Natalia had shot his phone to pieces.

''I do! That was a two hundred dollar phone!''

''Was. Now it's a piece of junk.''

''You're not gonna say anything,are you?''

''What do you want me to say?''

''I don't know,'I'll put Boa Vista on suspension?'''

''What did you do to get your phone shot to bits?''

''I called hers because I didn't approve of her method of interrogating Envy.''

''She got the info she wanted,I'm sure. I don't see an issue,but-'' Suddenly he stopped,an explosive wave of desire for sleep hit him.

''But what?''

''...I...suppose I can speak with her at least.''

''You do that... By the way,how are you feeling?''

''Doc says I should be out of here in the next day or two...If I behave and let them do their work.''

Rick smiled,for once with a kind heart. ''That's so good to hear. The office has been awfully boring since there's been no one to question.''

''Rick,''Horatio warned,a strange little smirk on his face. For once they were getting along.

''Oh. As far as you and Natalia go,it is against MDPD regulations to have an affair with a college,but,''Rick paused,seeing the expression on Horatio's face as he held his breath with worry boiling in his blood,''I'm not going to bring it up. I've got your back on this one. She needs someone to go to since her husband's dead,and you need someone to lean on while you finish recovering.''

''What are you saying?''

''If it comes to that point,I'll help pay for a wedding.''

Suddenly Natalia came into the room. When she saw Rick,she panicked. ''Rick?! What's going on?! Horatio?!''

''Natalia,please have a seat. I guess I need to speak to you about this...''he held up a part of the phone that had a few pieces hanging from it,''unfortunate piece of technology.''

''...Oops?''she laughed nervously. Rick scowled at her.

''You will be paying for half the cost of his new phone. Is that clear?''

Natalia grumbled. ''Don't give me any of that. You knew better.''

''Fine,''she whined. Rick stood up and gently placed his hand on the woman's shoulder.

''You made a wise decision on who to cling to,''he whispered in her ear. At that point he left the room.

Horatio looked at Natalia for a moment,then beckoned her to come and sit beside his bed.

''You've got quite the voice for singing,young lady.'' Natalia's eyes grew wide,and then she looked away when her face started to turn red.

''There's no need to be ashamed by it,''he said when he saw her bite her lip.

''...''

''Natalia?''

''Um...thank you.'' The woman reached into her pocket and dumped her phone on the small table when it started ringing. She was relieved when Eric leaned in and told her he needed to talk to her. She got up,and they took a walk through the hospital.

Horatio looked at her phone for a minute and remembered Frank's words. ''Make off with her phone sometime. You should see her collection of pictures. I've seen them. She'd make a good photographer.''

He picked it up and began going through her pictures. He smiled when he saw that several of them were of him sleeping at his desk with his head down. A few of them were of him sleeping on the couch. Hell,Natalia made the pictures look almost beautiful.

Silently he closed the phone when he saw that the rest of the pictures could be considered inappropriate and blushed. Natalia came back in shortly after. She sat down next to his bed and saw that his face was turned away,as if he was hiding something.

''Horatio,what's wrong?'' The redhead visibly stiffened at the sound of her voice,and bent one of his legs to hide a hardening erection.

Natalia watched and thought about this for a moment. Smiling to herself as she had figured out what was going on with her boss,she got up and locked the door. She pushed her chair a little closer to his bed and sat down.

''Does someone need a little help?''she asked,her voice laced with a dangerous amount of lust.

Horatio turned his head abruptly to look at her,his face almost as red as his hair. Then he became aware of how close they were. Natalia pressed her lips gently against his,and Horatio's eyes widened.

But soon he fell into it,and the kiss deepened. While they fought for dominance,Natalia slipped her hand under the blanket and began stroking him through the confines of the cotton pants the hospital had dressed him in. At the same time,she pushed the collar of his shirt out of the way slightly.

She noticed with amusement that the man practically jumped when she began touching him.

Her hand slipped into his pants,and he broke the kiss,dropping his head against the pillows. He suddenly couldn't get enough of what she was doing to him. Natalia smiled and gently kissed the bite marks on his neck. Horatio jumped and his head tilted,giving her more access. She took the opportunity and licked the scar.

Horatio shuddered,and Natalia's brain stored the memory for later. Deciding to pick up the pace,she sped up her hand,drawing a loud groan from the redhead. Horatio arched on the bed,his hands launching up to grasp the sides of the pillow. A few more seconds and Horatio groaned loudly and went limp against the bed.

Natalia removed her hand and licked it clean.

Horatio looked over at her,his chest rising and falling rapidly as he attempted to calm down from his high. His eyelids felt heavy,and he tried to call her name. But he didn't have the energy and began to drift off. Natalia smiled and pulled the blanket over him. Pressing a gentle kiss on his forehead,she stood,and grabbed her phone and took a picture of her sleeping boss.

Envy glared with enraged eyes at the unconscious redhead and young brunette through the window from his perch on the ledge. He'd just watched the whole thing unravel,and it hurt him to know end. With a heavy sigh,Envy dropped his most recent and now dead victim to the ground below. At the prison,the warden decided that since he hadn't been causing any trouble,he could be let out of his confinement cell.

Envy took complete advantage and made one of the prisoners 'disappear.'

Why Horatio would run to someone for help after he promised he would keep his mouth shut was beyond him. Envy's eyes turned red,signalling his mood. He would make the redhead pay...with his life. But he wasn't going to kill the man now where cameras would catch him.

His plan was to wait until Horatio was discharged from the hospital and then see to it that he never made it home.

Please review.

It took a while,I know. No internet at family cabin. Sorry.

Chapter six might be a while.