Trouble with Friends

Chapter 10

Frank eased down in a chair next to Calleigh. The expression on his face reflected the shock and pain of learning that Horatio was injured in a shoot-out. Gingerly, mindful of his own wound, he put an arm around Calleigh and began,

"Linda and I stopped by the lab after leaving the airport and found out about Horatio. Everyone there is extremely upset. Is he…" Frank couldn't finish his question.

Calleigh attempted a small smile, but her heart wasn't in it. "He's in surgery. It's bad Frank."

"Was he shot?"

"No…what we think happened was that he attempted to stop a large truck and fell on a concrete floor, hitting his head near his previous injury." Then she searched his eyes as she added, "He…he died Frank, just as he arrived at the hospital. They were able to bring him back, and stabilize him for surgery, but the doctor told me he might not survive…" with those words, her lips began quivering and Frank pulled her close.

"That's not going to happen, Calleigh," but Frank didn't even have the confidence of his own words. He looked across at Alexx on the other side of Calleigh and noticed that she looked worried, which signified the situation was grave.

Calleigh pulled back from Frank's embrace, wiping the tears from her cheeks. Needing to know for sure, he asked, "Who did this Cal? Was it Miller?" She slowly shook her head yes.

Frank gritted his teeth and looked away. Damn son-of-a-bitch, I'll kill him if I get the chance.

The three sat in silence until Linda joined them. She walked up and Calleigh stood and embraced her friend.

"How is Horatio?" Linda asked as they stepped back still holding hands. Calleigh quietly told her as they sat back down, Linda on Frank's opposite side.

Later, Ryan, Natalia and Walter walked up, all anxious to know about Horatio. They all greeted Frank and were surprised to see him back; he'd arrived home from Georgia a couple of days early. Calleigh filled them in on the latest update she'd been given, which was about an hour ago, by a nurse that came out of the OR. Calleigh expressed that she was relieved and thankful that Horatio was still alive, that he still had a chance.

Another long hour passed and Eric had joined them, having finished securing the scene at the loading dock. They each passed the time waiting in their own way. Frank and Alexx stayed by Calleigh. Linda and Natalia had gone and gotten everyone some coffee. Eric was restless, sitting some of the time, and then at times he would quickly jump to his feet and pace around the room staring at the doors to the surgical suites. Ryan and Walter sat staring, watching the others.

Then, to everyone's surprise, Captain Nause walked in.

"How is Horatio doing Ms. Duquesne?" The Captain asked as he stopped in front of Calleigh.

"He's holding his own right now."

The Captain shook his head and bowed his head. "I'm sorry this happened to him. He just put in for retirement yesterday."

Calleigh's head shot up, staring in disbelief. "He did what?" Everyone's attention was now focused on the Captain.

"We um, we had a discussion," Nause looked around the room before speaking in a low voice, "Perhaps we shouldn't discuss this matter here."

"No, please go on everyone's family here," Calleigh encouraged. "What reason did Horatio give for doing that Captain?" Calleigh almost snapped suddenly wondering if he'd been forced.

Feeling uncomfortable discussing the conversation he'd had with Horatio, Nause abbreviated the exchange between the two.

"He made the decision because he told me he could not end his relationship with you as I told him the department would require." He felt the angry stares that were directed at him, but continued, "For you and Lieutenant Caine to have a relationship while working together, would be detrimental to the safety of the others on the team."

Eric quickly stood, "I can assure you that wouldn't be the case." The Captain turned toward Eric.

"CSI Delko, why are you so sure of this?"

Eric looked into Calleigh's sad green eyes before answering. "Because today, CSI Duquesne followed procedure and backed me up when I was under heavy fire, instead of backing up Horatio, as her heart probably wanted to. She followed procedure and her heart has paid a heavy price for that." Eric looked at Calleigh when he finished and now felt ashamed of the things he'd said to her before.

Calleigh couldn't believe what she was hearing. She gave Eric a faint smile, hoping the gesture relayed her thanks.

Alexx stood, "Captain, if I may say something. I've known Horatio Caine and Calleigh Duquesne for several years, and I have never known them to be anything but professional. Did Horatio come to you and tell you about his feelings for Calleigh?"

"Yes…yes he did." The Captain admitted as he stretched to his full height.

"I thought that was probably the case. Horatio could have hidden the fact that he had feelings for Calleigh; yet, his professionalism prevented him from taking that route. He came to you to have everything out in the open. Horatio Caine is like that; he has character. He takes his job very seriously and that is why his lab has such a high solve rate, one of the highest in the nation, am I right?"

"Well…yes, but…"

Frank, Ryan, Natalia and Walter then stood and each spoke highly of both Horatio and Calleigh, confirming the fact that they knew nothing would change on the job, just because their boss and teammate had fallen in love.

Alexx smiled slightly as she saw the perplexed expression on the Captain's face and asked, "And you were saying Captain?"

At that moment, the door opened from the surgery department and Dr. Green appeared with a tired expression. He slowly walked toward Calleigh, but as he did he looked around noticing how the support for Lieutenant Caine had grown. Calleigh braced herself for what the doctor was about to tell her. Everyone in the room fell silent.

The doctor pulled up a chair in front of Calleigh and sat down. "He made it through the surgery. All I can say is that he's a strong man with a will to live."

Calleigh felt her body collapse with relief and she felt Alexx's hand squeeze her hand. Calleigh could not stop the tears from spilling from her eyes.

"I drilled a hole in his skull to relieve the pressure. A drain was inserted which he'll have for several days until we're sure there's no more blood pooling. I just left him in recovery where he regained consciousness for a couple of minutes, before going back to sleep. Actually, he won't be fully awake for several hours; for the most part he'll be in and out as far as being cognizant of his surroundings. I'm going to keep him in ICU for at least a couple of days so he can be monitored closely and then if he's progressing satisfactorily, he'll be moved to a private room. The next few hours will be important." He paused regretting having to tell her, "He may have some possible long-term effects from the injury mainly in his speech, along with confusion – we won't know for sure until he's awake. We'll then run an evaluation and see where we stand."

"Can I see him?" Calleigh asked meekly as she wiped tears from her eyes.

The doctor looked at everyone around them before answering, "I'll let you for just a short time." He smiled as he took Calleigh's hand.

"We'll be here when you come back Calleigh," Natalia assured her.

Dr. Green led her to a glass enclosed room, one of many in a circle around a nurse's station. Stepping into the room, Calleigh's eyes immediately fell on Horatio. Two nurses were scurrying around him, taking his blood pressure and checking the IV, but as she walked closer, they finished their duties and nodded toward her as they passed, leaving her alone with Horatio.

Pulling a chair close to the bed, Calleigh sat down and picked up his hand that was lying still beside him and softly said,

"Hey Handsome," determined to keep her emotions under control, although it was extremely difficult at the moment she continued softly, "everyone is here waiting for you to wake up. They send their love." Her voice almost quivering as she added after pausing for a deep breath, "I love you Horatio. Please don't leave me…please…" she hung her head as tears silently escaped down her cheeks.

Calleigh's head snapped back up when she heard him grunt. Quickly noticing his eyes were open, she stood and leaned over him so he could see her,

"Handsome…I'm here," she cooed before planting a soft kiss on his cheek. Horatio reached up with his hand and felt his bandaged head. Then his eyes focused on Calleigh.

"You're going to be alright Horatio," she smiled as she wiped her tears with the back of her hand.

"Don…don't…cry," his voice rough from surgery. Calleigh laughed slightly, and then fell silent as his hand touched her cheek while his thumb tenderly wiped her tears. She put her hand over his and pressed her cheek against his palm.

"I won't if you promise me you'll be alright."

Horatio's lips curled into a faint smile and he whispered, "Promise…." His eyes closed and he drifted back to sleep. Calleigh kissed the back of his hand and then a nurse walked up and said,

"He is going to be asleep more than he'll be awake. Why don't you go and get some rest and come back in the morning? We'll take good care of him."

Calleigh walked back into the waiting room, her eyes still glassy from the tears, her eyes scanned all of Horatio's friends waiting to hear how he was doing. To her surprise, even the Captain was still there.

"He woke up for a minute, but he's in and out like the doctor said. I know Horatio wouldn't want us to be sitting here while the man who's responsible for this is loose in the city. We need to go to the lab and track down every lead to find him."

Calleigh walked over to Eric as everyone began leaving.

"Thank you for standing up for us. I know it was hard for you."

Eric looked across the room and then down into her eyes, "Don't hurt him Cal. On the outside he comes across like he's superman, but inside he's very vulnerable."

Looking straight into the Cuban's large brown eyes she replied, "He's safe with me."

They both stood in silence for a moment until Calleigh asked, "How is the officer that was shot?"

Eric's expression became demure as he shook his head in the negative. Calleigh whispered, "Another reason we need to find Miller."

Calleigh and the team worked until nine that night tracking down several leads on Joe Miller and found more information about his business life. They found out that the Coast Guard stopped one freighter after it had left the Port of Miami loaded with crates of cocaine and automatic rifles. Interestingly, the freighter flew a Dominican Republic flag just as the one that was at the loading dock. Some of the crew, mainly the captains and first officers were being held in MDPD lock up for the night. In the morning, the team would begin their interviews with the men, hoping that one of them would talk.

Reaching a point where they could not go forward until obtaining more information, they all went home to rest so they could resume early in the morning. Calleigh didn't want to go to her condo for the night. Horatio's house was the only place she wanted to be right now. Natalia had insisted that she didn't need to be there alone and told her she'd swing by her house to pick up a few things and be right over to Horatio's. Being part of a family is nice, Calleigh thought.

Early the next morning, Calleigh was at the ICU desk requesting to see Horatio. This time when she entered his room, he was awake.

"Good morning Handsome," Calleigh greeted as she walked over to his bed and leaned down to give him a kiss, but stopped abruptly when she saw his troubled expression. "Hey…how are you feeling?"

Horatio squeezed his eyes closed and answered, "Why…am…I…here? Are…you…a nurse?"

TBC…