Chapter 3

"Zoë, get out!" Horatio yelled as several more noises were heard, then an almighty rumble sounded as they began to make their way out. Horatio had a hold of Zoë as they ran, the house was shaking. They could see that the house was going to collapse, and they were no-where near the exit.

Zoë spotted the sturdy looking table in the dining room; she pulled on Horatio and almost dragged him into the dining room, he turned to her in confusion as his heart thumped against his chest wall. The house was coming down as she pushed Horatio on the floor under the table and dropped her kit. As they hit the floor, the whole house came down.

3 of the table legs had broken, their legs hadn't made it fully under, and the end of the table was crushing both of their legs as they interlocked. The house was reduced to rubble.

Horatio's left arm and Zoë's right arm had gotten trapped by the heavy rubble that had fallen and shifted under the table. Zoë's left arm had gotten pinned to the floor at the end of the table by rubble as she tried to protect Horatio's head.

Zoë's body was laying on Horatio's as they lay there still and silent. The area silenced as the rubble settled and dust began circulating in the small space that occupied the area around them. 3 floors of the house had come down, including the loft. It had left debris everywhere. Horatio could feel Zoë's body on top of his; he felt her body move with the rising and falling of his chest.

His heart beat rapidly as his first thought was about Zoë. He couldn't care less about himself. He wanted to know that she was okay.

"Zoë?" He asked quietly.

"Sweetheart?" He asked again. It was pitch black, he couldn't see anything. All he could feel was her on him.

"Sweetheart?" He asked again as he brought his right hand up to her waist and rubbed her side. His heart rate going wild as all manner of things ran through his head as he began to panic, fearing the worst.

"Zoë, sweetheart." He said as he brought his hand up and placed two fingers on her neck to feel for a pulse. "Sweetheart, answer me." He said getting a little stressed.

He finally felt her pulse, he let go of her neck and gently lifted her head by her jaw and turned it, so her mouth was against his cheek. He could feel her breath against his cheek and he let out a sigh of relief. He began to cough from the dust, he soon cleared his airways. He heard Zoë let out a small moan and she began to move a little. Horatio held her head up to try and keep her airways clear as best he could.

"Sweetheart, can you hear me?" He asked softly, as he began to feel the pain as the adrenaline was beginning to wear off. His legs were the worst, but his arm wasn't far off.

"Yeah" Zoë said softly as she slowly exhaled as she began to come around and move her head.

"Are you okay?" He asked.

"Mmm… what happened?" She mumbled as she tried to move.

"Sweetheart, you need to stay calm, don't move, okay? We're in a building that's collapsed. Stay still for me beautiful. We're going to be okay." Horatio said softly as he brought his hand back down and placed it on her waist. She picked her head up and her face brushed against Horatio's.

"Horatio?" She asked as her breathing accelerated.

"Yes, try and stay calm beautiful." He said softly.

"Are you okay?" He asked and she coughed twice.

"I can't move my arms or legs Horatio." She said against his lips and then hissed in pain. "Are you okay?" She asked worrying about him.

"Okay sweetheart, don't worry, I'm good. I'm going to try and get my phone, okay? Try not to move." He said as his hand slid off her waist and into his front right trouser pocket. He pulled it out and it illuminated a small part of the area. They looked around, they could see that the table had collapsed and rubble was everywhere, dust particles flew past the screen. They saw the strain on the one remaining leg and the rubble which had come under the table, under the bit that was held up by the leg. He looked at his phone.

"No signal." He sighed.

"Try mine; it's in my right breast pocket." She whispered against his lips in severe pain.

"Okay sweetheart, stay still, it doesn't look too stable." Horatio said as Zoë tried to pull herself up slightly to create a gap between their bodies so Horatio could get his hand into her pocket. He pulled her phone out and looked at the signal. She continued to try and stay up, so she didn't add more pressure to him.

"No signal again" Horatio sighed and then coughed a little.

"Put the torch on, it'll last a good few hours." She said as he clicked the torch on and placed the phone on the ground beside them, brightening up the area. Zoë turned her head and coughed again, Horatio could feel her stomach muscles tightening as she coughed.

"Are you okay sweetheart?" Horatio asked.

"Yeah" she said softly as she hissed in pain again at the pain in both of her arms and legs, Horatio also hissed in pain.

"Are you okay honey?" She asked against his ear as she dropped her head, unable to keep herself up anymore.

"Yeah" he said softly.

"Can you get a look at our legs?" Zoë asked.

"I can try." He said as Zoë moved her head to the other side of his while he tried to look down.

"Looks like we're both pinned under the table" Horatio said looking back up at her.

"Is that… is that a ceramic bathtub on my arm?" She questioned, looking up at her left arm. Horatio moved his head a little to try and get a look, his eyes widened in shock, seeing a bathtub on its side crushing Zoë's small wrist and hand. He immediately knew that she had to be in quite a bit of pain.

"Sweetheart, just try and stay calm. It's all going to be alright." He said softly, hoping to keep her calm. She took a deep breath, trying to bear the pain and then nodded at Horatio.

"I love you sweetheart and we're going to get out of this okay." Horatio said softly, his lips brushing against hers.

"I love you too." She said as she then hissed in pain again. 'Try and think about something else, you can do it Zoë.' She thought to herself. She turned her head to cough again, coughing produced more pain in her arms and legs. 'Ignore the pain you wimp. It's not that bad. Stop being such a fool.' She grew angry at herself and took another deep breath, and began to ignore the pain.

"Are you okay sweetheart?" Horatio asked softly.

"Yes, I'm good. Are you okay? I'm not hurting you, am I?" She questioned.

"You're not hurting me and I'm okay." Horatio said quietly, also telling himself to bear the pain.

"I think I can get my right arm out." She said softly as she shuffled herself around a little.

"I think I can too. On the count of 3. 1…2…3." They both yanked at their arms and they both came free. Zoë's left arm was still trapped, there was no way she was getting her arm from under the tub unless someone picked the tub up. The table came down as the last leg broke. Zoë brought her right hand up over the top of Horatio's head to try and protect him as best she could, their faces in contact all the time. Horatio put both of his hands up on the back of Zoë's head to protect her. The table stopped about an inch above Zoë, the rubble that had fallen and rolled under the table had wedged itself, so the table didn't fall anymore, but it still looked highly unstable. They both hissed in pain from the table shifting on their legs.

"How's your arm?" She questioned in pain.

"It's okay, only a few scrapes and bruises." He said softly as he let go of her head, he knew the back of his hand was bleeding and it really stung, but he didn't want to worry her. Zoë's arm was just resting on the floor beside Horatio's head.

"How about yours?" He questioned.

"I don't know, I can't feel it Horatio." She said as she lifted her head to look over at her arm, it seemed to be bloody, but they couldn't see the full extent as her jacket was covering most of her hand. She turned her head away from him and coughed a little more.

"Okay sweetheart, I'm just going to have a look at it." Horatio said as he moved her jacket sleeve up.

"It doesn't look too bad beautiful. Can you move your fingers?" He asked. She tried.

"No, it's just numb." She said looking back over at her hand.

"Okay beautiful, don't worry about it. It's probably from the pressure of the debris, it'll come back soon." Horatio said softly trying not to panic her. He placed his right hand on her shoulder and his left on her waist to keep her calm. She turned her head away from him again and began to cough more.

"Zoë, sweetheart, are you okay?" He asked worrying about her. She stopped coughing and turned back to him. Their faces not even an inch away from each other as the table was so low now, she couldn't move further away. He could hear her quietly wheezing and he coughed a little also.

"Horatio, the dust" she said as she turned and coughed again.

"Asthma?" He questioned, not sure if it was just the dust or if the dust was aggravating her asthma. She nodded as she stopped coughing and her wheezing got louder.

"It's been getting worse… since we… went under." She said between staggered breaths, trying to stay calm. 'Stay calm, just stay calm. You'll panic him, just stay calm. Slow deep breaths.' She thought to herself, not wanting to panic Horatio.

"Sweetheart, where's your inhaler?" He asked softly, but she heard the slight panic in his voice. He could feel her struggling to breathe and it was quickly getting worse, Horatio was struggling himself, let alone Zoë's asthma aggravating the situation.

"My other… pocket" she said against his lips. He could feel her muscles contract as she took each breath; it was telling him that this was a bad one.

"Which one?" Horatio asked as he checked her jacket pockets on the outside with both of his hands.

"Inside, on the left… your right" she said as she weakened. Horatio pulled out the inhaler.

"I've got it, what do I do?" He'd observed her take it a few times, but it had all escaped his head as his mind went blank and began to panic more so.

"Calm down Horatio… I need you to take the cap… off. Then on 3 push the canister down." She said brokenly.

"Got it? Just calm… down" she said looking at him in the dim light.

"Yes, okay sweetheart." He said calming himself, knowing he had to remain calm for her sake. He popped the cap off and Zoë turned her head to his hand. She placed her mouth over the mouth piece and Horatio began to count to 3.

"1…2…3" on the count of two, Zoë began to inhale and on 3 Horatio pressed the canister. She held her breath a little then released it. They repeated it again and waited for it to work. She began to breathe easier but not to full capacity, she knew she'd quickly get worse if it wasn't resolved there and then.

"Horatio, I need it again, please." She asked as he saw her still struggling. They did it again and she calmed herself down, and breathing became easier. He had placed his left hand on her waist in some vain hope of comforting her, even if it comforted her a little.

"Okay?" Horatio asked, then coughed himself.

"Yeah, thank you honey." She whispered against his lips. Horatio slipped the inhaler into his jacket pocket, for easy access in case it was needed later.

"Sweetheart, I need you to tell me when you first start to feel an attack coming on, okay? You do not need to hide it from me." He said quietly.

"I know, I'm sorry honey" she said softly, knowing she needed to tell him for both of their sakes.

"I know this probably isn't the time for it, but why do you hide it from everyone? Your asthma doesn't change anything about you, sweetheart." Horatio said softly, but he needed to know because he thought he could help her overcome it. She looked at him for a few seconds and thought. 'Do I tell him? He's going to find out sooner or later, I do trust him… but it'll only lead him to more questions.' She thought to herself.