Note: Once again I find myself wondering if I should bother with this story...
Chapter Twelve: That's what she said
Horatio was sitting in his office sorting through a stack of paperwork, his mind not really on the task at hand. He was thinking about the one thing that was always on his mind as of late; Timothy Speedle. He cared so deeply for his friend that he couldn't help but worry about him almost all of the time. He didn't care to think about that day months ago when he'd nearly lost Speed because of a malfunctioning gun. Nobody knew how much Speed's getting shot actually affected him. While his friend fought for his life in the hospital Horatio typed up a draft of his resignation. For weeks he thought about handing it in and leaving the lab behind. He couldn't get it out of his head that the shooting wasn't his fault. He was the one that led them to the jewelry store that day, but he wasn't the one that opened fire. Eventually he was able to put the events out of his mind, especially when the news came that Speed had finally awakened. Many changes came that day. He learned that it would be a long time before Speed healed completely and he wanted to be there every step of the way. His resignation forgotten, he hired on Ryan Wolfe to pick up the slack and tried to live every day for what it was.
Now Speed was out of the hospital and back on the job. But the threat for danger was still there. Horatio had been the one to pick him up from the hospital the day he was released. That day he and Speed were told something they decided to keep a secret. Speed's health would never be a hundred percent again. There was a chance that too much exertion would cause him to have a heart attack due to the weakening sustained by the bullet. He might experience bouts of shortness of breath. There was a slight chance he might have trouble remembering things due to a loss of oxygen when he died on the operating table for a few minutes. And then one had to take into account the fear and anxiety issues that would arise from the situation. He wasn't entirely sure that Speed should have returned to the job but it was what the younger man wanted and who was he to say no? He'd known Speed longer than the others, thought of him almost like a son.
There was a knock on his door. He called the person in, surprised to see that it was the man he'd just been thinking about instead of doing his job. "Speed, what can I do for you?"
Speed fell into one of the chairs facing the desk. He was happy to see that Horatio had drawn the blinds over the large windows because he wasn't really in the mood to see that sun. His head had started hurting shortly after finding the dead disc jockey. Good thing he'd grabbed his sunglasses before leaving the lab. "That murder you sent us out on? We found another body. Looks like someone killed the DJ. I'm waiting on Alexx to tell me who died first, thinking it might give us a clue."
"Is that what you really wanted to see me about?" H asked as he leaned back in his chair, studying his friend.
"Well," he started off, licking his lips, "I…Have you spoken to Delko?"
"He called me about an hour ago to inform me about his case," answered Horatio. "Aside from that, I haven't really spoken with him. Why do you ask?"
"A couple of days ago he told me something and…I told him that we'd talk about it but…" For once he was actually having trouble talking to his boss about something. Though Horatio knew all about his past, mainly why he'd run away from New York, this made him feel…uncomfortable and slightly exposed. "It was after that officer got shot. He drove me home and we…he left me a note that really didn't make any sense to me. But he…." He licked his lips again. "He said he loved me, Horatio."
Horatio tried not to smile and managed to pull it off. He knew that it would only be a matter of time before Delko finally got around to saying those words. "May I ask what you said?"
"I told him to stop, that I didn't want to talk about it."
"Why?"
Speed shrugged. "Maybe because I was still trying to deal with the fact that an officer got shot and it brought back all the memories and the feelings…Maybe I just didn't want to talk about it."
There was another possibility. "Could it be that perhaps you don't want to get close to him?" Speed gave him an odd look so he went on to explain. "I've noticed that since you've returned that you like to keep yourself a little distant. I don't know if it has something to do with what happened back in New York all those years ago or not, but I wouldn't be surprised if it did. And as much as I'd like to help you with this I believe you should be speaking with Delko. This isn't a problem I can really solve, Speed."
"I know," he said, getting up, running a hand through his hair. He headed toward the door but stopped short of opening it. "Oh, I decided to let Ryan be the lead on the case. I wanted to get a feel of how he works."
"That's fine," Horatio said, a faint smile playing on his lips.
--
He was walking down the hall, heading toward the Trace Lab so that he could start testing the fibers from their crime scene when he walked into Calleigh, literally. She dropped the envelopes of evidence that she'd been holding. At the sight of him, though, she just smiled. Together they picked up the scattered evidence envelopes. "Good thing I ran into you," she smiled. "Delko's in the locker room. He wanted to know if I'd seen you. I have a feeling that he wants to talk to you." She stood on her tip-toes and kissed him on the cheek. "I wish I could stay in chat but there's work to be done." And then she was gone.
He watched her walk away, a hand going to his chest. There was a low throb in the area of his scar. His mind went back to the conversation he'd just had with Horatio, replaying the whole thing in his mind. Twice now he'd been told to talk to Delko but he didn't know what to say to his friend. There were things in his past that he had to deal with, not to mention the fact that he was trying to deal with being back at work. Still, he found himself heading toward the locker room so that he could have a word with Delko. If anything he would explain that right now he didn't want to get into a relationship.
Pushing open the locker room door he found Delko sitting on the bench. "Hey…" He stepped into the room.
"I just talking to Calleigh about you," Delko replied, looking up.
"So she says…" He was starting to feel increasingly uncomfortable. But he couldn't tell if it was because of the conversation they were about to have or because his head hurt. "Look, Delko…" He never got the chance to finish the sentence as a bolt of searing pain raced through his skull. Instantly his hands went to his head, his vision blurred.
"Speed!"