A/N: Sorry for making you wait so long! But finally getting around to the next part of the story. Enjoy.
Horatio pulled into the parking lot at the marina, his mind a flurry of activity. The day had started out nice and sunny, much like most days in Miami. It went south very quickly as a storm promising to pack a powerful punch came sweeping in off the shore. He had been watching it for the last half hour listening to the weather reports as it drew closer and closer to shore. Mainly because he worried about the aftermath. Things were going to be messy. It would no doubt make it harder on his people when they had to deal with traffic accidents and whatever else popped up when the storm finished walloping the major city.
Out with Frank he gave little thought to what his team members were doing knowing them to be fully capable of getting their jobs done. Then Delko rang him with concerns about Speed and Calleigh. They were down at the marina investigating a murder on a boat. Horatio barely heard the end of the conversations as he excused himself and hopped in the Hummer. He raced toward the marina watching the sky get darker and darker with each passing second. The vivid lightning streaked across the clouds in great contrast. The rumbles of thunder were akin to small bombs going off. It seemed to be taking forever to come in, but he knew once it hit the storm would blow over in a matter of minutes. It seemed to happen all the time.
At one point he called Calleigh warning her to get off the yacht, not in the least worried about the crime scene and what might befall it on a storm ravaged boat. Some things were more important to him. He waited for her to call him back with the all clear, to let him know she was fine and heading back to the lab with Speed at her side. But the call never came and as he pulled into the marina he spotted their Hummer still in the lot. The mere sight of the company vehicle brought with it a jolt of unease.
He practically jumped out of the vehicle and headed toward the dock. At least he managed to get the name of the yacht out of Calleigh and a rough estimate of its location. As he raced down the docks he spotted his southern friend with her blond hair pulled back in a pony tail. She was on the deck, crime kits in her hands, trying for all her worth to keep her balance. Horatio spotted Speed a few feet behind her having a bit more trouble. His steps came faster as he watched a violent wave rock the boat sending Speed crashing into the cabin wall and then careening toward the railing.
"Calleigh," Horatio yelled out hoping to get her attention. The increasing speed of the wind must have drowned out his voice. Why did it seem to be taking him forever to reach the damned yacht? It was like being in one of those stupid cartoon clips where the hall appears never ending when it's actually of normal length. He felt he would never make it to them in time.
The waves rocked the yacht again. Calleigh managed to stumble onto the dock, slipping on the wood. She went down on one knee, both kits hitting the wood. At preciscly the same time the railing behind Speed gave under his weight. Horatio felt his heart leap into his throat as he watched the young man fall from the yacht crashing into the wild waters.
"Speed!"
Somehow he found an extra burst of speed racing toward the dock. By now Calleigh had seen him and realized from his panicked body language that something was amiss. She turned to look back at the yacht no doubt searching for Speed. She looked frantically for her friend without much luck. Horatio raced by the kits, managing to undo his tie. He threw off his suit jacket discarding the tie as well. Fat droplets of rain began to fall from the sky. A streak of lightning hit nearby with a loud crack. The storm sounded angry.
"Where's Tim?" Calleigh called as she raced up behind him.
Horatio was standing on the edge of the dock trying to figure out where Speed had gone in. "He fell. Call for an ambulance."
"Oh my god," he heard Calleigh utter as he dove into the water.
It wrapped icy fingers around him. he could feel the tug of the current, the churning of the storm. The water hurt his eyes but he had to find Speed. His heart beat loudly in his ears, his thoughts frantic. He recalled every little thing that happened over the last year or so. All the terrible things that seemed to befall Speed. From the shooting in the jewelry store that nearly killed him to the events that finally threw him into the arms of Delko. The two of them had been so happy over the last few months. Horatio felt great pride when he saw the two of them together, to see their love blossoming further with each and every day. He felt for sure theirs was going to be a relationship that lasted.
Not that there weren't problems. According to Delko there were a lot of nights when Speed had trouble sleeping, the nightmares keeping him awake. They had the occasional fight, what couple didn't? At least they managed to work through them time and time again. And Speed was making progress. He was returning to his former self. Making bets with Delko while at work, even going so far as to include Ryan. For the last four months it felt like their family, their crime solving family, had finally gotten the chance to be happy.
He should have known something terrible was brewing on the horizon.
Theirs was not a job that allowed for many days of peace.
As he fought the waters now in search of Speed he tried to keep at bay the one thought he refused to entertain. Having to call Delko to tell him the man he loved had drowned. It brought him right back to the shooting in the jewelry store. He held Speed in that moment, remembered what it felt like to have Speed clutching at him out of panic, to have the warmth of his friend's blood on his hands. He had thought he'd lost Speed then, feared how he was going to tell the others, but somehow Speed made it through. A fighting spirit. He had a fighting spirit.
So Horatio was hopeful of finding Speed.
His chest began to burn, his body aching for him to take a breath. In a matter of minutes he was going to have to swim back to the surface. Precious moments would be lost. He pressed on keeping close to the dock and the yacht allowing the water to tug and pull, hopefully sending him in the right direction. Suddenly his eyes caught on the movement of a shadow, something vaguely human shaped. He swam toward it. A body. A dead body. With relief he realized it wasn't Speed, but where was his friend? A man he often thought of as a son?
The need to breathe became stronger, his chest hurting. His vision blurred momentarily. Something grabbed him around the ankle. Seaweed was his first thought. He tried to bring his leg up finding it hard. Bending Horatio meant to free his ankle then swim to the surface for some air before diving back under, but when he reached for the supposed seaweed he felt fingers. A hand. Someone clinging to his ankle. He grasped the wrist attached to the hand and tugged swimming up with a flash of lightning to guide the way. It may have been Speed, it may not, either way he needed to get some oxygen into his lungs.
When he broke through the surface he gasped, drawing oxygen into his lungs. Calleigh was on her hands and knees on the dock obviously searching the water for her friends. The storm had let loose, torrents of rain washing down to soak her almost as though she'd fallen into the ocean with them. With a measure of relief, though short lived, Horatio saw that he was indeed holding onto Speed. There was a small cut on the side of Speed's head. His eyes were closed.
The camera had been lost, but what did that matter? It was trivial.
"Help me get him up," Horatio said as he tread water near the dock.
Calleigh looked around for a way to help heave Speed onto the relative safety of the wooden dock when a man in his fifties suddenly appeared at her side. He wore a hat, somehow the wind had yet to take it, and looked like a good ole grizzled sailor. He yelled something at Calleigh that failed to reach Horatio's ears in the rage of the storm. Then they were both leaning over to grasp Speed in order to haul him free. As soon as Speed was on the dock they turned to help Horatio. It was wonderful to feel the wet wood under his hands, to see his jacket and tie lying a few feet away. Why had he bothered to take them off before diving in? It was not like they had been spared the damage of water.
The grizzled sailor was trying to say something to him, but Horatio couldn't focus. His eyes were on Calleigh who leaned over Speed. She was administering CPR, the expression on her face frantic, her blond hair plastered along the side of her face, her neck. The sight of Speed once again in the clutches of death made Horatio feel sick. He spotted the paramedics racing in their direction doing their best to be careful in the rain. It wouldn't help in the least to have one of them slip into the water. Calleigh continued her efforts.
Horatio leaned over the side of the dock and empty his stomach of all content.