I feel mean teasing the 'will they, won't they' so I've decided to put you all out of your misery. I hope you enjoy...
Horatio had spent the afternoon sleeping, exhausted from his therapy session and his emotional outburst with Calleigh. He felt awful for the way she left earlier in the day, he promised himself that the next time she visited he would apologise and make it up to her, "If she comes back, old man" he thought to silently.
Eric had stopped by in the evening and Horatio forced himself to smile and seem interested in whatever the younger man was saying, too often he found his thoughts drifting back Calleigh, her beautiful smile, her luscious long hair and the way she made his heart skip a beat when she looked at him.
"Anyway, Natalia says that there's this great new restaurant out on South Beach…." Eric stopped talking when he noticed the faraway look on Horatio's face. "H? You listening to me, man?" When he got no response he gently placed a hand on the other man's arm, "H? You ok?"
Horatio gasped and jumped at the physical contact. "I'm sorry, Eric?"
"You zoned out on me there, H. You ok, or do I need to go and get a doctor?" the younger man asked, concerned that his friend was having some sort of relapse.
Horatio shook his head slightly and closed his eyes, hoping that when he opened them again that the visions of Calleigh would disappear. "Uh….It's been a long day, Eric. Guess I'm just feeling a bit tired" he said, hoping that Eric wouldn't press him further. Seeing the look on Eric's face he tried to reassure him, "I feel fine, honestly. I'm just tired" as he yawned for extra effect.
Eric eyed him warily, he knew that Horatio was keeping something from him but he couldn't seem to put his finger on it, he knew better than to push the stubborn redhead in his current state, the last thing either of them needed was another angry outburst. "I guess that's my cue to leave then" Eric said, rising from his chair, "I'll come and visit you again tomorrow, H"
"I'm looking forward to it, Eric" he replied, fixing a smile on to his face. As soon as the other man left the room he allowed the smile to fall, he sighed and took a deep breath as he pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration. "Get over it, old man" he admonished himself, "Calleigh Duquesne is way out of your league" Horatio let his head fall to one side on the pillows as he tried to fall asleep without dreaming of her.
He had slept well last night apart from the fact that a certain blonde ballistics expert haunted his dreams, Frank had come to visit before breakfast this morning and the two had apologised to each other awkwardly. Neither of them were the touchy-feely type and certainly not the kind of men that sat and talked about their feelings. It was more a case of a raised eyebrow and a nod of the head but both men felt better for making their unspoken apologies to each other. Frank left when Horatio's therapist arrived, giving Paddy a grunt and a nod as he passed him.
"18, 19, 20 and we're done" Paddy said as he took the weights from Horatio's shaking hands, "Really good work today, Horatio" he told him encouragingly as he handed him a towel. "I'll give you a few minutes to get your breath back and then we'll see if you can take a few more steps"
"Fantastic. Can't wait" Horatio retorted sarcastically as he threw the sweat soaked towel to the ground beside him. "And this time next week I'll be doing the Irish Jig"
Paddy wiped the sweat from his own head with a towel as he prepared the parallel bars, "You should be good at that, being Irish and all"
"And what makes you think I'm Irish?"
Paddy stopped what he was doing and laughed, "Please, the name Caine, the red hair? Not to mention you look handsome in a pug-Irish kind of way"
Horatio's eyes widened at the last statement, "You think I look handsome?! Should I be worried about you, Paddy?" he asked with a hint of smile.
"Definitely not" he told Horatio as he took a swig of water from his bottle, "Now, that hot blonde chick that came to see you yesterday, that's more up my street"
Horatio felt a flash of anger surge through him, more at himself than anything as he realised that his therapist would have more of a chance with Calleigh than he would. Given a chance he knew Calleigh would pick Paddy over him, Paddy wasn't an invalid for one, Paddy was younger, better looking and didn't need help getting in and out of bed.
Seeing the sudden change in the other man's demeanour, Paddy walked over to Horatio and crouched down so that he was at eye level with him. "Hey look, Horatio" he started, "I'm sorry if what I said upset you. She's your colleague; I should have spoken about her with more respect. I'm sorry"
"It's fine" he told Paddy succinctly, "Don't worry about. Let's just get on with it, ok?"
Forty minutes later Horatio was being wheeled from the rehabilitation centre and back to his hospital room, the conversation between the two men had been strained since Calleigh had been mentioned. The only positive that seemed to have come from the incident was that it spurred Horatio to work harder and put more effort into walking a few more paces at the end of the session. Horatio was just about to resign himself to another afternoon dozing in his bed when he caught sight of her at the end of the corridor, their eyes met and he couldn't help the smile on his face as she approached him.
"Hey there, handsome" she said as she smiled warmly at him, the events of yesterday seemingly forgotten, "Fancy taking another trip with me?"
"I'd love to" he told her, drinking in the sight of her. God, she was beautiful.
Turning to the therapist she smiled sweetly at him and told him, "I can take it from here Paddy, I'll bring him back soon"
Paddy looked from Calleigh to Horatio and made a mental note to tell the other man that this woman was hopelessly in love with his patient. He could see it in the way she looked at him, "Sure, Miss Duquesne. Make sure you don't tire him out"
As before, Calleigh pushed the wheelchair out into the hospital gardens and stopped under the same large tree as yesterday. Applying the brakes she sat on the bench beside him, "I managed to smuggle more treats in, Horatio" she told him teasingly, "Coffee and muffins, just how you like them!" she smiled as she took the brown paper bag out of her purse. She handed him his coffee and felt a warm glow flow through her when she heard his small moan of satisfaction as he took a large gulp of the dark liquid.
"Thank you, Calleigh. This is wonderful" he told her earnestly, "But I don't deserve your kindness after the way I treated you yesterday" He hung his head in shame, "I'm so sorry Calleigh"
She took his free hand in hers and squeezed it firmly, "You have nothing to apologise for, Horatio. You're ill, you can't help these mood swings" He looked at her now, his cheeks colouring in shame, "It will get better. I promise you" she told him firmly.
"Will it?" he asked her despondently, looking at the ground once more.
"Of course it will, you're getting stronger every day. A few more days and then you'll be out of here"
"And then stuck at Eric's for God knows how long" he said bitterly.
"Is there something wrong with Eric's place?" she asked, knowing that this was not the reason for his hesitance.
"No, nothing. I just don't want to be a burden on him. On any of you"
She placed her cup down on the bench and took his gently from his hands; she placed both of her hands on his face and lifted his head to look him in the eyes. "You listen to me, Horatio. You are not a burden on us. We're a family and families stick together. Understand?"
He closed his eyes and nodded his head as best he could with her still holding on to it, his heart sank again when she confirmed that the only love she had for him was like that of a sibling, "Or a father" he thought to himself.
Still holding on to his face she leaned in closer, so close that he could feel her breath on his face. "We love you, Horatio" she whispered, "I love you" He clenched his eyes shut; he couldn't bear to see the look of pity on her face. He was completely taken by surprise when he felt her lips softly touch his, he willed his body not to respond to her ministrations but his lust for her took over. He placed his shaking hands on her waist as she leaned closer to him and deepened the kiss, her hands moved from his face as she ran her hands through his short red hair.
This kiss was broken a few moments later, Horatio leaned back in the wheelchair and attempted to catch his breath as Calleigh returned to the bench, running her tongue over her bottom lip as if savouring the moment of passion that had just occurred.
"Wow" was about the only coherent thing he could say, Calleigh looked at him the light of passion still burning brightly in her eyes. "What was that for?" he asked her as he ran a finger across his lips.
"I told you, Horatio. I love you"
"Do you kiss your father or brothers like that then?" he asked, confused by Calleigh's actions.
"Of course not" she told him, giving him a dirty look. "I kiss my boyfriends like that"
"I'm sorry, Calleigh. I'm confused" he said as he ran a shaky hand through his tousled hair.
"I love you Horatio" she repeated, as if talking to a small child. "I guess seeing you almost die made me realise that life's too short to sit back and do nothing"
"What are you saying, Calleigh?"
"I'm saying that I love you and that I want to be more than friends and work colleagues. Would you be ok with that?"
"Of course I would" he thought to himself, she was stunningly beautiful , she could have any man she chose and so for the life of him he couldn't understand why she would waste her time with a man like him. "Calleigh, you could have any man you wanted. I don't understand why you want me; I've got nothing to offer you. I can't even look after myself at the moment, why would you want to lumber yourself with some old man like me?"
She loved this man more than anything in the world but God he could be a pain in the ass sometimes! "You're the most generous, kind and loving man I've ever met, Horatio. You always put others first and never think of yourself. You have no idea just how special you are"
"I'm not special" he told her, squirming uncomfortably at her words.
She leaned forwards and kissed him tenderly, "Well, you are to me. And if I have to spend every day for the rest of my life kissing you to prove it to you I will"
He realised then that his self-control had abandoned him as his body gave in to her ministrations and he lost himself in their passionate embrace.