A/N: I do not own CSI Miami or any of it's characters, affiliates...etc. This is just my imagination running with it! I hope you all enjoy!
Chapter Four
Waterspouts
There was a soft knock on the door a few hours later and she heard a familiar voice. Smiling when the woman walked in, she sat up a little straighter on the couch. "Betty." she said softly.
"Hey kiddo. How are you feeling?"
"Tired. Seems like I should be getting some of my strength back."
"You've been shot and stabbed less than a week ago. Give yourself some credit."
She shifted and cleared her throat. "I just hate feeling like I'm squatting. It's bad enough that I owe for the room and board and then..."
"Whoa, whoa, wait a second." Horatio popped up. "What do you mean, you owe for room and board?"
Looking at him as if she was unsure if he was serious or not, she took a quick breath. "Really? Nobody gets something for nothing. I'm not stupid enough to think that I am using resources that are going to cost you money in the end for my staying here. Electricity, water, food..."
"As you put it earlier today, I'm not hurting for much. I didn't offer my house, with thoughts of how you were going to somehow pay me back."
"Well I can't take advantage of the situation."
"Take advantage of what? It was offered to you free and clear. You took it! You owe me nothing for helping you. You want to pay me back? You can sit your butt here and rest."
"I can't." she whispered.
"Is this how you're going to act every time I offer to help you?"
"Act?" and she shielded the hurt in her expression, that would give her away. "I don't know. Maybe." she said a little louder.
Searching her eyes for some sort of explanation that he knew would never come, he turned around and stepped into his kitchen.
Struggling to get up, she slid out the patio door and walked down to the beach. She was amazed at how cold she was, even though the sun was beating down on her. The sand was warm on her bare feet and she was grateful that there didn't seem to be anyone around her.
Calleigh looked out at her and was standing at the door when H came back around the corner. "Poor kid. She's never had anything of her own has she?"
Taking a breath, his gaze followed hers to the small figure sitting in the sand. "Probably not. Or at least, not in a long time." Inhaling softly, he let it out and slid the door open again, walking toward the stoic figure. "Watson?" he said softly, approaching the girl.
Wiping the tears from her eyes, she turned her head, looking down the beach.
She wouldn't look at him. And to an extent, he could understand why. Though admittedly, a part of him didn't want any part of it. It bothered him when women and kids were subjected to things that made them wary of the entire world around them. And thats what she was. Sitting in the sand semi close to the kid, he wrapped his arms loosely around his knees.
She sat there silent for a long time before finally turning her head toward the water. She'd sniffled a few times but he hadn't said a word. She could just feel him there, and truth be told, she wasn't sure she liked it at all. "I told you anyone helping me was a foreign concept to me." she finally vocalized softly.
"And I'm sorry I didn't realize the extent of that. Admittedly I've never had anyone flat out refuse help when it's genuinely offered."
"No one genuinely offers to help me." she whispered.
"I did."
She looked at him finally, knowing he would see nothing but frustration and sorrow in her eyes. She hated being weak and vulnerable. And she hated that he actually saw things when he looked at her. No. That was wrong. She didn't hate it. But a part of her damn sure didn't like it.
"Sweetheart, not everyone on this planet wants you for only what you can give them. You haven't talked a lot about your dad, but I know you were fond of him by the way you seem to get this light in your eyes when you're thinking about him. Surely he didn't want anything from you."
Damn the tears again. What right did he have to talk about her dad? Feeling a soft warmth come over her, she could swear it was her dad telling her it was okay. Shaking it off internally, she cleared her throat. "Besides, I accepted your help didn't I?"
Shaking his head he answered. "No, you didn't. You're still trying to figure out how to pay me back for it. That's not accepting an offer. I'm talking about letting someone help you, without feeling guilty or that you're a drain to someones resources."
She took a deep breath and looked back out at the ocean. "It's all I've known."
"Except for your dad."
Impossible to argue that point, she conceded. "Except my dad. But he's the one that taught me to never take anything for granted, to always work for and deserve what's being given to me, and to always pay back my debts."
"Well I'll tell you what, do you know what I want from you, to repay your debt?"
Looking up at him, she was almost afraid of what he was going to say.
"An honest effort, on your part, to get better and rest. I know it's not what you're used to, the doctor said that you've been running on empty for a while. If you want to pay me back, then make a real effort to not waste my offer. Get yourself on track. Gain fifteen pounds. Get your diploma. Stop trying to live in an adult world and be a seventeen year old for a little while. Argue and fight with me about it not being fair that I don't want you going out with your friends."
"I don't have any friends."
"I don't know. I know that there's at least two of us that would be honored if we were considered for the job."
Searching his face, she realized he was absolutely serious. All he wanted was for her to be...her. A kid. Someone who had a chance at a real life. Something she hadn't thought about in a long time. Something outside of struggling just to survive.
Trying to get her out of her shell a little bit, he asked her, "Do you have a hobby?"
Staring for a long moment before answering, she finally took a deep breath and blew out softly. Shrugging she looked out at the ocean. "Weather fascinates me. Thunderstorms, tornadoes, lightening, weather. And I'm good at it."
"Really?"
She nodded and pointed to a cloud. "You see the way that cloud is just kind of hanging?"
Looking to where she was pointing, he nodded.
"Bet there's a dark spot in the water somewhere under it."
"Okay?"
"If we sit here long enough, a waterspout is gonna appear."
"What?"
"A waterspout. A tornado on the water?"
"I know what a waterspout is."
She smiled. "Don't worry, if it pops up it'll be what they call a non-tornadic waterspout. It's not out of a thunderhead for one, and two, it wont move much if at all, because the cloud is still building."
The kid literally lit up, talking about storms. It was almost as fun to watch as when she was staring at his aquarium. And as they sat there, sure as he was a man, a waterspout started and created in front of them. As much as he'd seen, he'd never seen a tornado develop in front of him. Sure he'd seen them before, several times in fact. They were fairly common in the ocean. But he'd never actually seen one begin before his eyes.
Watching, with both satisfaction as well as fascination, she barely noticed him stand. He touched her shoulder. "Chase?"
She inhaled. "I've never seen one this close before."
"Sweetheart, you should probably come in."
"But it's not going anywhere. We're safe here."
He glanced out again at the spout that was probably a hundred yards from the shore. "If it shifts, you wont have time."
She stayed, staring. The power. The majesty. Seeing it this close was...exhilarating. She didn't want to leave.
He watched the wonder in her eyes before reaching for her shoulder again. "Watson? Come on. It's close enough for me to be concerned."
"But...there's nothing to be afraid of. It's probably no stronger than a gust of wind. It's simply a natural phenomenon that..."
"Is close enough that I'm uncomfortable. Come on. You can watch it from the porch. If it's really not going anywhere then it'll be here when we get to the deck. Now please, come on."
Keeping her eye on the weather anomaly she walked back, at a slower pace than he cared for, and kept turning around to look. When they finally made it back to the house, he noticed she never stopped looking. Something so potentially dangerous and volatile, but it absolutely enthralled every aspect of her being. Admittedly, it was nice to see her actually brighten up about something. Anything. She turned as soon as the door was closed and watched it for another six or seven minutes before it died out.
Calleigh and Horatio had been talking the entire time, and she hadn't heard a single word they'd said. And they had talked primarily about the case and finding out who attacked her.
The blond stepped up beside the girl. "Chase?"
Coming back to reality, she turned to face the woman. "I'm sorry, what?"
Unable to keep herself from smiling, she took a step back, giving her a little space. "Can you remember the person who attacked you? Did you get a look at them?"
Her eyes shifting once more to the ground, her lids closed for a moment. "He was about five foot ten, five eleven. I couldn't see much because he had a ball cap and sunglasses on. And I remember thinking, it was cloudy. There was no reason for him to have sunglasses on." She wrapped her arms around herself as she turned and stared back out the window. Clearing her throat, she continued. "I knew I was begging for trouble by asking around, but I couldn't help it." then she looked up into the blue eyes cautiously watching her, laced with concern. "You looked so tired." and she shrugged. "I don't know why I wanted to help you but...I saw Calleigh sitting down on the bumper and you looked like you were ready to fall out and..."
"Wait." Calleigh cut in softly. "You saw me sitting on the bumper of the Hummer?"
Shifting her gaze to the woman, she nodded, shame marring her expression.
Stepping closer, Horatio asked. "Sweetheart, why were you there?"
Turning back toward the window, she closed her eyes as a tear rolled down her cheek. "I don't know. You believed in me. I felt bad about the way I talked to you at the hotel. I wanted to say I was sorry. I had no right to talk to you like that." and she shrugged as she finished even more softly than she had. "I should have been smarter."
She felt him take another step closer and saw his reflection in the sliding glass door. Shaking her head and clearing her throat, she reached up, wiping the tear from her cheek and turned back to Calleigh. "Anyway, I'm sorry, I didn't get a great look at him. I know it was a guy, his chest was flat and he looked like he was pretty well kept." and she closed her eyes again. "I remember someone calling out to the side of him, telling him to move, and that's when I felt the shots. I don't think I even heard them." Her lids opened. "I knew you would be the only one to help me." and she shrugged while looking at him. "So I walked to the Hummer and prayed the door was unlocked. Then I waited." and she finally made eye contact. "I will never forget the voice of the one who shot me. It was deeper and very authoritative. Sort of like yours was when you walked me into the hospital."
His breath caught. "You heard me?"
Nodding, she couldn't help but smile. "I think the whole state of Florida heard you."
It had come out so quietly, he could tell she was tired and was wearing thin. Offering his hand like he'd done, though expecting her to reject him, he smiled when she put her hand in his. "Come on, sweetheart. You need to relax. Sit down and I'll fix something to eat."
Nodding, she realized she was too tired to argue. Man what was wrong with her?
Taking in the expression in her eyes, Calleigh asked, "Sweetie, are you alright?"
Sitting down, she yawned. "I was okay, then all of a sudden I'm just...I feel like I can barely keep my eyes open."
"The doctor said that was likely to happen with you being as close to...well, death...as you were. You were in bad shape Chase. He said you have been running on bare minimum for a long time now. You're malnourished, you've been at least slightly dehydrated for months, and Lord knows you don't sleep much as it is, I can't imagine how little you sleep in the streets."
Not willing to get worked up, she laid on the arm of the couch and closed her eyes. Maybe he was right. Maybe she could take this opportunity to get stronger. But what if she dreamed again? What if she woke up and instantly ran for the closet again, only this time she would be on the couch. She should get up. She should go to the bedroom just in case...in case...her lids closed and the world around her faded with them.
He glanced at the kid when dinner was done. "I'm not going to wake her up to eat, though Lord knows I probably should."
Sitting down after being told by her superior to stay and eat, she grabbed her fork. "You're getting attached Horatio."
Staring into the other room and the figure on the couch, he nodded. "I know. Hard not to."
"She seems to connect to you." she added lowly.
"I know."
"It's not a bad thing."
Turning to look at her, he smiled sincerely. "I know." he repeated. Then his brows furrowed. "If I can get her to see in herself, half of what you and I see in her..."
Covering his hand gently, she smiled once she met his gaze. "Why don't we try, together."
His smile broadening, he nodded. "Alright."
