Thanks again to all of you who have taken the time to read and review my work, I really do appreciate it. Here's the next chapter, nice and angsty, just how you like it...
Eric was sitting by Horatio's bedside, he had once again fallen into an exhausted sleep, the tremors, cramps and vomiting running their course over the last few hours. Horatio's doctor came to check on him mid-afternoon, looking at the readouts on the monitors and checking the nurses notes on the chart at the end of the bed he turned to face Eric, "It looks like Mr Caine has reacted pretty well over the last 48 hours"
"You call what he's been through reacting well?" Eric asked incredulously, his voice rising in anger.
Kicking himself for his lack of tact the doctor tried again, "I'm sorry. What I meant was that considering the stress and trauma that his body has been through he has come through the withdrawal process quite well. To be quite honest I was not expecting his heart to be able to deal with the added stress of the last 48 hours" Seeing that the anger in the other man had abated somewhat, he continued. "Mr Caine is on a very low dose of morphine now and the worst should be over quite soon. We'll stop administering it completely over the next 4-6 hours. All being well, we can start running tests to assess for any long-term damage to Mr Caine tomorrow morning" The doctor made a note on the chart, placed it back on the end of the bed and left the room.
True to his word the doctor had discontinued the morphine pump by early evening, Calleigh and Frank had stopped by and spent a few hours with Horatio whilst Eric took a break to stretch his legs and grab something to eat from the hospital cafeteria. For most of the evening Horatio had rested comfortably, it appeared as though he had finally made it through the detox but Eric silently wondered if Horatio would remember any of it when he next woke up.
He was reading the newspaper when he heard Horatio sigh softly and raise his hand to his face, the oxygen mask had been removed at the same time as the morphine pump and replaced with a nasal cannula. Eric put his paper down on the bedside cabinet and leaned over the railing of the bed. "H? You awake?" he asked, placing a hand on the other man's shoulder.
"Eric, where am I?" Horatio looked at him, clearly confused.
"You're in Dade Memorial Hospital" he told him, not wanting to overload him with information.
"What happened?" he croaked as he rubbed a weary hand over his eyes.
"The warehouse raid, it went south. You got hurt, H"
"How long?"
Eric wasn't sure how much he should say, Horatio had only just woken up and the doctor had warned him again not to expect too much from him for the time being. "You've been here for about 10 days, you're going to be ok though" What Eric really wanted to say was that these had been the longest 10 days of his life, watching his friend fight for his life.
"Tired, Eric" he slurred, the effort of the conversation clearly sapping the older man of his energy. He closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep again as Eric sat back in the chair and returned to reading his newspaper.
The next time Eric opened his eyes it was daylight, Natalia woke him from his slumber as she entered the hospital room. "Hey Eric" she smiled at him, "Have you been here all night again?" she gave him a wry smile.
He rubbed a tired hand over his head and face, "Yeah, guess I must have fallen asleep. Sorry about that" he said, slightly embarrassed to be caught napping.
"No worries. Go home and get some rest, I don't need to be at the lab for another four hours. I'll sit with Horatio whilst you're gone" she told him as she shrugged out of her jacket and placed her purse on the floor beside the bed.
Eric reasoned that Horatio had rested comfortably for most of the night and that the worst was finally over, he knew he needed to be at his best to help his friend over the days to come when his support would be more important than ever. "Thanks Natalia, I'll be back at lunchtime" he told her as her grabbed his jacket and left the room.
Horatio was woken from a dreamless sleep by an annoying beeping noise that appeared to be coming from above his head. He opened his eyes and then groaned as the light hit him causing a shooting pain to go through his head. "Urgh" he groaned as he turned his head to the figure sitting beside his bed, although the image was blurry he would recognise that flowing dark hair anywhere. "Natalia, where am I?" he asked her confused, his heart rate increased as he looked down at his body and found numerous tubes running in and out of him and a multitude of wires connected to his chest. "Natalia" he repeated, panic starting to creep into his voice, "What happened?"
Sensing his unease she placed a reassuring hand on his arm, "It's okay, Horatio. You're in the hospital, you got hurt but you're going to be ok"
"How? What happened, Natalia?" he asked her again insistently, wanting an answer.
Knowing that her boss was a master at interrogation she knew that he would find out the truth sooner or later, she just wished Eric was here to be the one to tell him. "You got attacked at the warehouse raid" she started, hoping that he wouldn't question her further.
"But what happened to me, Natalia?" his tone becoming impatient.
"You…um…you got hit from behind, a couple of the gang members set upon you….." she stammered, clearly uncomfortable with where the conversation was heading.
"Natalia" he growled, his confusion and complete lack of energy doing nothing to lighten his current mood.
"One of them…one of them had a needle. It was full of heroin, it ended up in your leg Horatio. I'm so sorry" she told him, closing her eyes and bracing herself for his reaction.
Panic flooded him, visions of his brother and his fall from grace in the narcotics division flew through his mind. He had always been anti-drugs and hated to see the way it affected those who used them. "Oh God" he whispered softly, "How long have I been here, Natalia? Tell me the truth" he told her in a tone that would brook no argument.
"Eleven days Horatio" she told him, taking a deep breath before continuing. "We've all been here, sitting with you in shifts. I'm so glad you've woken up, we were all really worried about you. Eric's been here pretty much all the time since you were brought in, I had to force him to go home and get some rest this morning"
Horatio let his head fall back into the pillow, he felt sluggish and weak but most of all he felt frustration at his body's lack of strength. It had taken all of his energy to open his eyes and speak to Natalia, lifting a shaky hand to his face he cursed his weakness, screwing his eyes shut and muttering quietly. He was meant to be the strong one, their leader; he could barely lift his own head let alone lead a team. A wave of shame washed over him and his cheeks reddened, a fiercely independent man he hated the idea of having to rely on other people to help him, it was one thing to let the hospital staff do their job but another entirely to have his team nurse-maiding him too. Feeling bitter and depressed he told Natalia, "I'm tired, Miss Boa Vista" calling her by her surname in an effort to distance himself from her, "I'm sure you have better things to do than babysit me" he couldn't keep the bitter edge from his tone.
Sensing his dark mood, Natalia spoke softly to him, "its ok, Horatio. I'm not due at the lab for another couple of hours. I don't mind sitting with you"
"Well I do" he growled tersely, hating himself for being so harsh on her."Excuse me?" she said taken aback, recoiling from the angry redhead.
"Please, Miss Boa Vista" he tried again, trying to soften the tone of his voice, "Please just go, I need to be on my own" he closed his eyes once more, willing the tears to stay put.
"Horatio. I promised Eric I would stay with you until he got back" she said, trying to reason with him.
"Well he's not here, and I don't want you here either!" he spat, raising his voice.
Shocked by his outburst, Natalia grabbed her purse and threw her jacket on. "Fine. Have it your way" she told him, wiping at the tears on her face. She glanced at him and shook her head sadly before leaving the room.
Hearing the door close, Horatio let out a deep shuddering breath as the tears fell from his eyes.