A/N: And here is the second part of the chapter. Thank you for your reviews and I hope you're not sitting on the edge of your chairs after reading this part. Please be aware of the fact that some…adult..vulgar language is used in this chapter.

Chapter 10.2

"You're one of them aren't you?" the man asked. "One of the men my so called wife did in our bed!"

Well if this man was Mr. Donovan, then Horatio had his suspect, but this didn't mean anything right now. "My name is Horatio-"

"I DON'T FUCKING CARE WHAT YOUR NAME IS," the man roared.

"This is certainly going just great," Horatio sighed to himself and took a deep breath. There was no way that he could escape out of the room, since the man was standing near the entry, while he himself was standing on the other side of the room. "Please calm down, Sir," he tried again and feverishly thought about a way out.

"You're asking me to calm down?" the man blinked. "My wife, the whore was sleeping with men behind my back and you tell me to calm down?"

"You'll make things only worse by killing me," Horatio replied seriously and let his hand trail down towards his gun.

"No, it will make things even better."

"Hey we have a back door," Natalia grinned and waved at the two other women.

"That's great, maybe the suspect took this way to get into the house," Calleigh grinned and took a few pictures.

"Well it's open, so there's a good chance for that," Stella agreed and winced when a shot rang out.

"This came from upstairs," Ryan whispered to Eric. "Where's H?"

"Upstairs," Eric replied and motioned to the police officer to take the lead.

"Damn it and he didn't call that-"

"Shut up, Wolfe," Eric hissed. He didn't need to hear that it probably wasn't Horatio who had used his gun. Carefully the three men approached the noises which came from the bedroom.

"And now you're going to die just like her," he laughed and aimed at his second victim. "Goodbye."

Another shot rang out and only seconds later, three men ran into the room. "Damn it, H," Eric rushed to his boss's side. "We need paramedics immediately," he yelled at Ryan who had checked the other man's pulse but didn't find one. Quickly he stumbled to the window, opened it and shouted for the paramedics who were still waiting down on the street.

"Hey H, come on...wake up for us, will ya?" Eric patted Horatio's cheek and pressed his other hand on his friend's shoulder.

"What happened?" three women stormed into the room. "Where's- Oh no Horatio!."

Stella was faster than the others and kneeled down next to him. "What happened?"

"We have no idea, but I guess we found our suspect," Ryan answered the question and nodded towards the dead man lying on the ground only a few steps away. If it hadn't been for the police officer's quick reaction, it might have been Horatio being dead.

"I think H hit his head when he fell down," Eric pulled a face when he noticed the blood oozing from a head wound. It didn't have to be a big wound, but on the head they were always nasty and bled a lot.

Before anyone could say something else, two paramedics stormed into the room and stopped next to the dead body.

"It's too late for him," Ryan said, on which the two men nodded.

"We need some room, please stand back," one of them said and crouched down next to his patient. "Sir, Ma'am," he looked at Stella and Eric. "Please let us do our job."

Sitting on this uncomfortable plastic chair felt like an eternity and yet it had just been two hours at the most. Sighing, Stella wrung her hands together and couldn't help but feel utterly helpless. They hadn't heard from Horatio since he'd been wheeled into the ER and even though they said that no news were good news, she just needed to hear something, anything from the doctor.

"Here's a coffee," Calleigh sat down next to her.

"Thank you," she replied silently and sipped on it without noticing.

"You know that Horatio is too stubborn to give up, right?" Calleigh asked her and gave her a reassuring smile.

"I hope so," Stella mumbled and leaned back into the chair.

"He is; I've known him for over 10 years now and the first thing I realized about him was his stubbornness."

"Which can be pretty unnerving from time to time," Stella smiled lightly.

"Oh yes," Calleigh giggled, "but this time it would be for the best so we should allow him to be stubborn from time to time."

"Yeah," Stella nodded and looked up from her cup when she heard Kyle's voice.

"Stella, Calleigh...where's my dad?" the boy rushed into the waiting room.

"Kyle," Stella stood up and without thinking she hugged the boy. "He's still in surgery and we don't know how he is."

"But that's not a bad thing," Calleigh continued. "If his condition had worsened, they would have told us."

"What happened to him? Dr. Price couldn't tell me anything, just that Dad had been alright when she last talked to him."

Looking at Calleigh, Stella tried to find out how much they could tell the boy about the incident. On the one hand, it was an ongoing case and the less knew about it the better, but then again, Horatio was Kyle's father so he had a right to know.

"Why don't you tell him and I'll drive to the lab to see what the boys have found out?" Calleigh used the easy way out. For one thing, Stella seemed to get along pretty well with the boy and for another thing, she was now in charge of the lab and she could already hear Stetler sharpen his knives. Knowing the weasel he'd use any opportunity to hurt Horatio and the lab.

"Okay," Stella said and motioned the boy to take a seat.

"Please call me immediately once you know something, will you?"

"Of course, Calleigh. Talk to you later," she waved at the woman, before she turned her attention back to Kyle. "Do you want something to drink?"

"No! I want to know what happened to my dad," the boy replied impatiently, but Stella didn't blame him. Not knowing what had happened to their father had habit to make people behaving differently.

"We were at a crime scene and until now it looks like the suspect came back and confused your father for one of the…victim's affairs."

"What?" the boy asked incredulously.

"The husband killed his wife because he believed her to be unfaithful; then he saw your father in their bedroom and...well…"

"But…shouldn't a crime scene be cleared before the team arrives?" He wasn't a CSI or a police officer, but he had learned a few things from his father.

"Yes and I can't tell you how this happened. He probably hid somewhere in the house or the garden maybe… I can't tell you, Kyle," Stella sighed.

Nodding, the boy accepted her explanation. "The man shot him?"

"Yes, it looked like your father had been hit in his shoulder and when he fell to the ground he also hit his head on the nightstand. He was unconscious when Eric and Ryan found him and he didn't come back during the ride to the hospital. So all we can do is speculate what happened in the bedroom."

"I see," Kyle mumbled and stared at his hands. "Do you think he will die?" he asked, the fear in his voice and eyes was more than obvious.

"I'm not a doctor Kyle," Stella wrapped one arm around his shoulder, "but as Calleigh pointed out only moments before, he's stubborn. So even if his injuries are threatening, he won't give up." Now they just had to believe in those words.

"Yeah," Kyle sighed and didn't want to think about what happened if Horatio didn't stick to his usual stubbornness.

A few minutes later, the waiting came to an end when the door of the OR was opened and Alexx stepped into the room.

Immediately, both Stella and Kyle rose from their chairs and looked at her worriedly.

"How's my dad?" Kyle asked. He needed answers and he would get them, no matter what.

Grasping his arms, Alexx gave him a reassuring smile. "Your dad is one hell of a lucky man," she said. "The bullet didn't hit anything major and except of the fact that his arm and shoulder will be sore for the next couple of days, he'll be fine. His head wound got me more worried actually, but it's a good thing that your dad is pig-headed. He's got a mild concussion and some nice headache, but as I said before, he'll be fine."

"Thank God," Stella breathed in relief. A sore arm and a headache; compared to being seriously injured or dead, this was like nothing at all.

"Can we see him?" Kyle asked hopefully. Hearing that his dad would be fine was good, but seeing it with his own eyes even better.

"Yes, you can," Alexx nodded. "He's transferred to his room as we speak; but he's still out of it."

"I don't care," the boy quickly replied. As long as his dad was breathing, he really didn't mind.

"Let me bring you to his room then," Alexx smiled at them reassuringly and motioned them to follow her.

When they reached his room, Stella didn't enter the room. Seeing two curious faces directed at her, she shrugged sheepishly. "There's a phone call I have to make."

"You do that, Sugar," Alexx smiled and then turned to Kyle. "Just go inside, I'll be back in about twenty minutes."

"Okay, Alexx," the boy just nodded and entered his dad's room.

A few meters further away, Stella reached for her cell and keyed in a familiar number. Only seconds later the other person answered the phone.

"Stella, now this is a nice surprise. How are you?"

"Hey Mac," she sighed and leaned against the wall behind her.

"I know this tone. What happened?" Mac asked immediately alarmed.

"There was a shooting…" she trailed off.

"Stella, don't stress this out. Just tell me what happened. Are you alright?"

"Yes, I'm alright," she nodded even though he didn't see it. "Well, as okay as I could be," she then added silently to herself. "Horatio's been shot."

At first there was only silence on the other side of the line, before Mac carefully asked. "Will he make it?"

"Yes, according to Alexx he'll only have a sore arm and head."

Mac had no idea who this Alexx was, but this didn't matter. It made him wonder though how far Stella was already accepted by Horatio's friends. But finding out had time, there were other important things now. "Good," he sighed in relief. "Do you want me to come down to Miami?"

"Uh..no..Mac. But I'd ask you for another favour."

"Just name it, Stella."

"I wanted to ask you if I can stay a bit longer in Miami. You know...my flight goes on Wednesday and.."

Oh Mac definitely knew. "Let me check that," he answered and had a brief look at the labs schedule. "You can stay until Sunday, Stella. But I need you back on Monday for court."

"The Johnson case," she said in recognition.

"Yeah, you've been the head leader in this case and they want you to testify in person. I'm sorry, if I could, I'd try to switch places."

"I totally forgot about the case," she sighed.

"That's understandable, Stella. Don't worry about it. Do you think staying until Sunday will be enough?"

"It has to be, doesn't it?" she replied and really wished that she could stay longer, but she knew that Mac's hands were bound in this case. And she certainly wouldn't want a murderer walk away freely just because she didn't do her job. "Thank you, Mac. It means a lot to me."

"You're welcome. Please give Horatio my regards and tell him that he's way too old to play Rambo, will you?"

"I will," she chuckled, "but I don't think that he'll listen. He's just like you...you know?"

"Ah that hurt, but I'll forgive you this time," he said playfully, before he turned a bit more serious. "If you need someone to talk, just call me. No matter what time it is."

"I will but I hope that I don't have to."

"I hope so too. And now go to him and get some rest as well. I'll talk to you later."

"Yes, later Mac," she smiled and hung up. Putting her cell back into her pocket, she quickly made her way back to Horatio's room and entered it this time. "Hey Kyle," she greeted the only awake occupant in the room.

"Hey," the boy replied but didn't look at her, which didn't get unnoticed by Stella.

"How are you holding up?"

The boy just shrugged. "My dad's been shot," he said as if this would answer everything.

"He has a dangerous job," Stella walked up towards Horatio's bed. "And sometimes such things just happen. No matter if we like it or not."

"Yeah...," he sighed. "But still I would feel better if he was awake."

"I know how you feel, but he needs as much rest as he can get," she stopped behind Kyle, who was sitting on a stool next to his father's bed. "And Alexx said that he'll be alright and you trust Alexx, don't you?" she rested her hands on his shoulders.

"My dad trusts her." So he trusted her as well in a way.

"And this means a lot, don't you think?" she asked rather rhetorically and eyed the sleeping figure in the bed. Horatio looked a bit pale, no wonder since he'd lost some blood and there were two stark white bandages, one around his head and the other on his shoulder. Stella didn't even want to think about the possibility that the bullet could have hit him just a few inches more downwards… then they probably wouldn't even be in the hospital any longer but in the morgue. Alexx was right; he really was one hell of a lucky man. And so were they, because they hadn't lost him today.

"Hey you two; are you watching over our sleeping beauty?" Alexx whispered when she joined them at the bed.

"When will he wake up?"

"Oh Honey, this will take a couple of hours," Alexx replied and checked Horatio's vitals. "That's why I'd suggest that you both get home and get some rest. We'll need all our strength to keep him in the hospital, that's for sure."

"Is he that bad?" Stella asked wondering.

"Even worse, Sweety. We probably need to handcuff him to the bed," Alexx sighed annoyed. "As I know him, he wants to leave the hospital the moment he reached consciousness again. You don't like being in the hospital, right Honey?" she patted Horatio's cheek.

"He must have been there a lot in his childhood," Stella assumed and so it was no surprise that he wasn't very fond of them at all. "Well we'll do our best to keep him here," she promised Alexx, but wasn't sure if she had the heart to say no to him. She knew about the impact his baby blue eyes had on her. It was a good thing that Alexx had the final word and that the woman seemed to be immune to his charm. "This must have taken her years and a lot of training..."

"Can't we stay until he wakes up?" Kyle interrupted her inner musings.

"This will be the middle of the night," Alexx smiled gently at him. "And I'm sure your dad wouldn't approve of you staying here half of the night just to watch him sleep, don't you think?" It was certainly a good thing that Alexx was a mother, so she knew how to treat the slightly disturbed boy.

"Alexx is right; there's no need to sit here for hours and don't get any sleep," Stella conceded and squeezed Kyle's shoulder to underline this.

"Okay," the boy sighed reluctantly and got up from his chair. "But we'll be back in the morning."

"That's perfectly fine, Honey," Alexx nodded. "But you need some rest as well."

"We'll bring some clothes and toiletries tomorrow; I guess he'll be happy to be out of this fashionable hospital gown," Stella laughed quietly and stroked Horatio's cheek. "Sleep well."

"You can bet on that," Alexx replied and opened the door.

"So have you eaten something?" Stella asked Kyle when they left the room.

"Uh...no...I kinda…forgot about that."

"What about some take out? How does pizza sound?"

"Sounds perfect," he smiled lightly.

"I'll leave you two alone then, have a good night."

"Good night, Alexx," both chorused.

"Did you come by car?"

"I did," Kyle nodded.

"Perfect, then you'll drive and I'll call Calleigh to tell them the good news."

Unknowing to them, Alexx watched the pair until they turned around a corner. Shaking her head, she took a last look at the sleeping man in the bed. "You really are a lucky man, even though you probably don't realize it."

tbc