I'm glad all of the DuCaine fans enjoyed the last chapter, there will be more to come, I promise you...
Horatio was sat up in bed propped up by pillows pushing his unwanted breakfast around his plate, even though he wasn't feeling nauseous he still couldn't bring himself to take more than a couple of mouthfuls of the bland hospital food. He looked up when he heard the door open and saw a man standing in the doorway, he placed his fork down on his plate, "Can I help you?" he asked the stranger.
"I guess it's going to be more of a case of 'can I help you?'"
Whoever this man was Horatio had decided that he was far too tired and irritable to tolerate someone that perky at this time in the morning. "I'm sorry, but I have no idea who you are. Am I supposed to know you?"
"Nope. But you will do soon. The name's Paddy, I'm your physical therapist" the other man replied brightly, extending his hand to Horatio.
He eyed the stranger warily, he was well-built, late 30's to early 40's with short greying hair. The therapist smiled at him, after so many years in the police force Horatio knew better than to judge people on appearances, still he couldn't help but be irritated by the man's seemingly permanent sunny disposition. "Are you always this perky in the mornings?" Horatio asked him testily.
"Well that depends" Paddy replied, "Are you always this tetchy?"
"Well, I would get up and give you the grand tour" Horatio started, sarcastically.
"That's ok, Mr Caine" Paddy said, unfazed by the other man's negativity. "May I call you Horatio?"
"Call me whatever you want" Horatio muttered, closing his eyes and pinching his nose with a shaky hand.
"I can see that you're going to be lots of fun, Horatio. Let's get started shall we?"
Ninety minutes of gruelling physical therapy later, Horatio laid back on his pillows and took a deep breath. He was covered in a thin layer of sweat, "Here" Paddy told him as he passed him a hand towel, "Dry yourself off with this"
Horatio felt embarrassed, all he had done was sit upright in his bed and completed a few leg exercises but he felt as if he had just run a marathon. "You've done well today, Horatio" the therapist said as he packed his kit back into his bag, "Once we've got a bit of strength back in your legs we'll think about getting you up and out of this bed"
"When will that be?" he asked impatiently, getting tired of his lack of independence.
"If all goes well, maybe the day after tomorrow" Paddy handed Horatio a rubber ball, "Here, squeeze this in your hands. It'll help build your strength back up in your arms" he told him as he walked to the door, "You're gonna need strong arms when we get you out of that bed. Trust me" he smiled as he left the room.
Eric stopped by at lunchtime, Horatio was insistent that now he was on the road to recovery that the team stop spending their every waking moment with him, they had the lab and their own lives to worry about. Although he wasn't being kept company twenty four hours a day it didn't stop his team turning up in their lunch breaks, after their shifts and on their days off.
"Hey H, how's it going" Eric asked as he sat down in the chair beside the bed.
"Eric, what are you doing back here?"
"Relax H, I'm on my lunch break so I thought I'd swing by and check on you" he smiled easily, "So, are the nurses hotter on this floor, H?" he asked with a devious glint in his eyes.
"Well, considering I'm usually asleep when they come in I wouldn't know, Eric" Horatio responded, not willing to take the bait.
Snagging a grape from the bowl on Horatio's tray Eric decided to change tacks, "The doctor tells me you started physical therapy today, how'd that go?"
"I managed to sit upright for ten whole minutes and did half a dozen leg exercises. Perky Paddy says it's progress" he muttered, growling the last part.
"You'll get there, H" Eric said, trying to reassure him.
"If I'm lucky I might even be able to get out of bed the day after tomorrow. That'll be fun" Horatio grumbled, clearly still galled by his lack of strength. "Anyway" he said, wanting to change the subject, "Tell me about what's going on at the lab"
For the next few days Horatio fell into a routine, his team would visit him at breakfast, he'd then spend a couple of hours being tortured by the physical therapist, spend the afternoon sleeping and wake up to find a member of his team by his bed again. They had all visited him but Calleigh was conspicuous by her absence, Horatio made a mental note to ask the next person who visited him if everything was alright with her. Clearing his mind of thoughts of the southern blonde bombshell he squeezed the rubber ball, changing hands every few minutes. Tomorrow would be the day when he would finally be able to get out of this Godforsaken bed, he told himself.
"Right, here we go Horatio" Paddy said as he helped him to sit upright in the hospital bed, "On the count of three I want you to swing your legs around. One….two….three" Horatio couldn't believe how much effort it took to get his body to obey his commands, Paddy steadied him with a firm grip on the red head's shoulders as he took several deep breaths in an effort to control his breathing. "Just sit there and take it easy for a minute. I've got you" the physio told him.
Having regained his composure Horatio tried to get up onto his feet under his own steam, "Whoa there tiger!" Paddy said as he steadied the other man and helped him to sit back down on the bed before Horatio's legs gave way. "Let's do this together, ok? Unless you want to end up in a pile on the floor that is" Paddy chided gently.
"Ok Horatio, on the count of three I want you to put your feet on the floor push up from the bed with your arms, I'll help keep you steady. Ok, one….two….three" He was wobbling and his legs were shaking uncontrollably and he knew that it was only Paddy's strong grip that was keeping him upright but he got a small sense of satisfaction that he was finally out of bed.
They stood like that for a couple of minutes,"Ok, as much as I'm enjoying this tender moment with you Horatio, I think it's a good idea if we get you sat back down before we both fall over" Paddy told him good naturedly as he prepared to support Horatio back down to the bed.
"Please" Horatio began, "I've just got out of that damn bed, don't make me get back in it just yet" he looked at the other man, his eyes pleading. "Can't you just let me sit in the chair for a while?"
"I don't know, Horatio. If we push things too far you'll end up back at square one" the physio said warily. Against his better judgement Paddy agreed, as he helped Horatio sit down in the armchair, he knew he had made the right decision when he was rewarded with the look of contentment on the other man's face, it was the first time he had seen a glimmer of something positive from his stubborn patient.