Thanks again for the great reviews, here's the next chapter for you. I've put in a little somthin' somthin' for all the DuCaine fans out there, I hope you enjoy...
Frank left Horatio's room to give the other man time to chew over his words, maybe he'd been a little harsh on him but someone needed to pull Horatio's head out of his ass as the man sure wasn't going to do it himself. He felt more than a little guilty at shouting at someone who had nearly died a few days ago but reasoned that his actions were justified given the circumstances. Frank was debating whether or not to go back in and apologise when Eric entered the waiting area, a cup of coffee in each hand.
"Hey Frank. I thought you were going to sit with H for a while?" Eric enquired, puzzled to find the Texan wandering around.
"Ah, yeah. About that" he began , unsure of whether he should be honest about what had just happened. "Things got a little heated in there, I figured we both need time to cool our jets, Delko" he admitted, contritely.
"What happened, Frank?" Eric pressed, eyeing the older man warily.
"I told your man a few home truths. He didn't like it" Frank replied succinctly, standing his ground.
Eric looked the other man in the eye and smirked, "About time someone did" he told him, patting him on the shoulder as he walked past him and into Horatio's room.
"Hey, H. Thought you would appreciate some real coffee" he told the red head brightly, trying to lighten Horatio's dark mood.
Still stinging from Frank's words he tried his best to smile and seem appreciative, "Thanks Eric, that's very kind" he said, then cursed as his hand shook holding the hot beverage.
Seeing the look in Horatio's eyes Eric tried to reassure him, "It's just temporary H, you'll get through this" he told him earnestly, "The doctor says you'll be transferred out of the ICU later today"
"Sounds good" Horatio replied, trying to sound happy for Eric's sake.
"Then hopefully by the end of the week they'll let you go home"
"That sounds even better" Horatio raised a weak smile.
"You might not feel like that when I tell you that you're coming home with me" Eric added, waiting for Horatio to argue back.
"Eric, I'm sure you have much better things to do than sit and play nursemaid to me" Horatio replied, tiring of the conversation already.
"I don't actually. Remember when I got shot?" Eric said as Horatio nodded his head slightly, "I remember you being there with me every day, looking after me until I'd recovered. It's time for me to repay the favour, H"
"Do I actually get a choice in this?" Horatio sighed, sensing his imminent defeat.
"No" Eric smiled victoriously, "Not really"
Having been transferred out of the ICU that evening, Horatio was taking in his new surroundings and admiring a new set of stains on the ceiling tiles. He was still smarting over the chewing out that Frank had given him earlier in the day but realised that maybe the big bald-headed coot was right, he really didn't have the energy to be fighting his colleagues as well as himself. He was regaining a little strength but his complete lack of energy was galling to him, even having a short conversation with somebody drained him to the point where he couldn't keep his eyes open afterwards. He felt weak, old and useless.
He was disturbed from his wallowing by a soft knock on the door, Natalia meekly popped her head through, trying to assess Horatio's mood. "Is this a bad time?" she asked, unsure of herself. "I can come back if it is" she said, starting to close the door again.
"Natalia" he started, "Please come in. I'm sorry for the way I spoke to you" he told her remorsefully, "You didn't deserve my anger. I'm sorry" he sat propped up in bed, surrounded by pillows, twiddling his shaking hands together.
She carefully made her way over to his bedside and placed her purse down by the chair, "its ok, Horatio. I understand" she told him, placing a reassuring hand on his arm. "I should have cut you a little slack; I shouldn't have run out and left you like that"
"After the way I spoke to you Natalia, I deserved it. Forgive a weak old man of his sins?" he tried to joke half-heartedly.
"You're not old and you're certainly not weak" she responded with conviction, "You'll be back up on your feet in no time"
"I hope you're right, Natalia" he replied, willing himself to believe her.
Natalia sat with Horatio for a few more hours, giving him updates on what was going on at the lab. She wasn't sure if it was a good idea to talk about work at first, worrying that she might be making Horatio feel worse about his current situation but he was insistent that she told him everything. He certainly looked a hell of a lot better than he did a few days ago, after being transferred from the ICU most of the monitors, tubes and wires were removed from his body. The doctor informed them earlier that he would begin physical therapy tomorrow in an effort to regain his lost strength and prepare him to be released from the hospital.
Horatio was dozing lightly when he heard the door to his room open; he opened his eyes and saw Calleigh standing in the doorway with a bag of toiletries in her hand. "Hello, handsome" she said brightly, giving him a warm smile.
"Calleigh, what are you doing here?" he asked, puzzled.
"I've come to see my favourite boss, what's wrong with that?" she replied, perkily, setting the bag down on the end of the bed.
"I'm your only boss, Calleigh" he told her patiently.
"I know, but you're still my favourite" she said as she winked at him.
Deciding it would be easier to play along rather than arguing he asked her, "To what do I owe the pleasure, then?"
"I've decided that although you look ruggedly handsome with that beard it just has to go. It's just not you, Horatio" she answered, taking a can of shaving foam and a razor from the bag and setting them down on the tray on Horatio's bed.
He recoiled him horror as he realised what Calleigh wanted to do, "You're not coming anywhere near me with that!" he told her firmly, eyeing the razor in her hand.
"Fine" she said, placing the shaving foam and razor into his hands. "You do it"
She sat and watched him struggle with the items in his hands for a few minutes and smirked when she saw him struggle to get the shaving foam out of the can. A few seconds later he threw the items down on his bed in defeat and groaned, "Arrrgh!" furious at himself for his weakness in front of Calleigh.
When he finally raised his head to look at her she gave him a pointed look and raised her eyebrow. Satisfied that she had made her point she sat down on the bed, lathered the shaving foam in her hands and applied it to his face. She was so close to him now that he could smell her perfume, he had to admit that she was stunningly beautiful and told himself to sit back and enjoy it, and most men would kill to be tended to by such a gorgeous woman.
As she gently massaged the foam into his cheeks Calleigh couldn't help but be affected by her close proximity to her boss, she had always thought he was handsome with his twinkling eyes and cheeky smile. It saddened her that it had been far too long since she had seen him smile, he gave so much of himself to others and he deserved to be happy too. She picked up the razor and gently started removing the greying beard from his face, he swallowed nervously as she got closer to him, her face mere inches from his. Calleigh tried to keep her hand steady as she worked, forcing herself to concentrate on the task at hand rather than daydreaming about running her hands over Horatio's face. Horatio felt ashamed that he was having visions of himself placing his hands lovingly on Calleigh's face and kissing her softly, he shook himself from his thoughts as she placed the razor back down on the tray and admired her handiwork. Rubbing the excess foam off of his face she held a small mirror in front of him, "There, much better. Don't you think?"
He smiled shakily at her, trying to keep his thoughts on his clean-shaven face rather than on the achingly beautiful woman perched tantalisingly close to him on his bed."Definitely. Thank you, Calleigh" he told her earnestly, gazing into her emerald eyes.
They sat looking intently at each other, neither wanting to avert their eyes from the other. Coming back to her senses slowly, Calleigh cleared her throat and began packing the toiletries back in the bag trying to distract herself. "My! Is that the time?" she said, making a point to look at her watch and not at the man in front of her, "I must be going. I'll see you soon, Horatio" she told him as she made a hasty exit from his room.