A/N: Sorry for making you wait so long! But finally getting around to the next part of the story. Enjoy.

Delko ran through the hospital though he knew by all rights he should have taken it slow. But his heart threatened to beat a hole in his chest, break free of his ribcage, if he delayed his arrival any longer. When he got the call from Calleigh, saw her number flashing on his cell phone, he figured it had something to do with the case. She had taken it upon herself to call him every once in a while when she worked a scene with Speed to let him know how his lover was handling the situation.

They all worried about Speed.

Perhaps him more than the others, for certain reasons, of course.

Even now, months after the last incident, the last time he got hurt, Speed was still being directed to have meetings with the department psychologist. They could be stopped at any moment, all Horatio had to do was sign off. But their boss was weary, afraid something might get missed, and wanted to cover all his bases. Could any of them blame him? Speed dealt with some crazy months, nearly dying and battling with his own misgivings.

Delko stood outside the elevators bouncing from one foot to the other with pent up energy. With Speed, his beloved Timmy, he had to take things one day at a time. He learned that shortly after they moved in together. There were days, the good days as he liked to think of them, when Speed was like his old self. Always ready to do his job, eager to hang out with his friends. And then there were the off days when he got all quiet, sullen, spent most of his time with his dog Mite. Yet still each month Speed experience what Delko could only think of as the dark days. Those days when Speed was better off left alone but under constant watch.

Dark days. Delko hated the dark days.

At least by now he figured out a pattern, understood when one of those days was going to rear its ugly head. All he had to do was wait for the nightmares, the terrors that roused Speed from his sleep and sent him into a full fledged panic attack. Perhaps loving Speed, finally having the relationship he always wanted with his friend, was not exactly what he expected, but in the end he would change nothing. Speed was his after all these years. They were finally a couple. They did all the things most couples did like going out on the town together. On the good days they often stopped at a few clubs with Ryan and Calleigh just to dance and let loose, to forget about the horrors of their job.

As he stepped onto the elevator he smiled sadly, his hand trembling as he pushed the button. A doctor and nurse talked in hushed tones off to his right. Meanwhile all he could think about was the past weekend. It had been so wonderful, the perfect two days any person could ask for or even want. They spent Saturday down at the beach with Mite playing games and strolling along the fringes of the water. Dinner was cooked on an open fire with the whole gang present. Between him and Speed they managed to get hold of Calleigh, dragging her against her will into the cold waters of the ocean. The following Sunday turned into a lazy at home kind of day. The two of them spent hours in the morning reading the newspaper and doing the crossword together.

Sometimes they were like an old married couple.

Married.

The word stuck out in stark contrast in his mind. for the last month he had been hemming and hawing, privately, about whether or not they were ready to take the next step. It may not have been legal in the state of Florida for him to marry Speed or even to enter into a civil union, but they could take a trip up north. He had been formulating the perfect plan. With the recent news coming out of New York he thought it would make a perfect trip, visit Speed's parents, get hitched. What more could he ask for? Except he kept getting cold feet. Something kept making him wait. Deep down inside he knew it was fear. The fear of being rejected. The fear of Speed shaking his head and turning down the proposal.

Maybe he should talk with Horatio. The man knew everything. He was the perfect source of advice.

If it wasn't too late.

The butterflies flittered nervously in his stomach as he got off the elevator. The hospital buzzed around him but none of it mattered. The call had set him on a designated path. When Calleigh told him about Speed falling overboard, about him hitting his head before crashing into the water, he felt his heart skip a beat. In a flash he mentally prepared himself for the worst news possible, that the storm had prevented them from rescuing Speed, that he was lost to the ocean forever. So he barely heard it when she told him to get down to the hospital.

Maybe he would still have a chance, he hoped as he embarked down the hall toward Horatio, who he could see in the distance. Perhaps he might still be able to buy a ring and ask the ever important question. But first he needed to make sure Speed was okay because the thought of his lover being gone when things were finally working out…It would be like a cruel joke from Fate.

The first thing he noticed was that Horatio was wearing a different suit, his hair a bit messed up. It didn't take him long to figure out it had been their boss who jumped in to pull Speed to safety. Always waiting in the wings, always arriving in the nick of time to keep them safe. What would they do if they ever lost him? It was a thought he decided was not worth entertaining. Before he got a chance to say anything Calleigh suddenly appeared. Her hair, usually up in a ponytail; hang loose around her shoulders, still drying from the rainstorm.

She spotted him and raced over, throwing her arms around him in a comforting hug. He returned the embrace finding he needed it just as much as she did. His mind was bombarded with questions. He wanted to ask all of them at once and none of them. Dread circled around him as he feared she might pass to him bad news. News he never wanted to hear, but feared might come to his doorstep some day in the future.

"It was awful," she said, her voice filled with worry and fear and…something he could not quite put his finger on. "I was scared they were both lost."

He ran a hand up and down her back in a soothing manner somehow managing to keep his own fear at bay. "And yet here we are."

Calleigh looked up at him, her blue eyes shining with unshed tears. "I'm sorry, Delko, so sorry."

"For?"

"Everything. This shouldn't have happened."

He frowned. Was Calleigh, always practical southern girl Calleigh, actually blaming herself for what happened? The accident must have affected her more than he originally thought. "Did you murder the person on the boat, Cal? Did you cause the storm?" She stared at him. "Didn't think so. What happened happened, horrible or not, it's the way of life."

"How can you be so…calm?"

"He's not," Horatio said as he joined them. "Calleigh, hun, why don't you see about getting us some coffee?"

She blinked. Then slowly nodded her head. "Yes, of course."

Delko watched her go wondering if she would be okay on her own. She must have still been suffering some of the symptoms of shock; which of course only made him feel worse. Calleigh could usually be counted on to be the cheerleader when the team needed it most. Her always chipper attitude and bright smile lifting their spirits on even the darkest of days. Without her Delko probably wouldn't have made it this far with Speed. Despite her own troubled love life she did everything she could for her friends. One of the reasons he decided Horatio had fallen for her. Too bad their boss seemed reluctant to do anything about those feelings.

"Come on," Horatio said placing a hand on Delko's shoulder. He directed him away from the crowd of nurses and doctors and patients to a more secluded area. Did Horatio not want him breaking down in front of everyone? He waited with baited breath as his boss turned those blue eyes in his direction. For a moment he said nothing. "Relax," he ordered. "Breathe, Eric. Speed is fine. Calleigh's quick thinking got him breathing again as well as helped to get some of the water out of his lungs. He will be staying over night for observation, of course, but the doctors think he'll be fine."

"Think he'll be fine?" Delko echoed the words. For some reason they stuck out in stark contrast to all the rest.

Horatio stood with his hands on his hips. "He hit his head, Eric."

"How…how hard?" he practically whispered.

"Enough to cause a thin crack in his skull." Horatio was quick to keep talking when he saw the panic on Delko's face. "Now, now, it's nothing too major. The skull is not fractured, per say. Imagine it like a crack in the shell of an egg. It's minor. Not even the length of my pinkie finger, okay? They have already checked him. There are no signs of the brain swelling. No outward signs of damage."

Delko sank into a nearby chair. "Can…I want…"

"He's still out of it," Horatio explained sitting down beside him.

Shaking his head Delko stood. "I don't care, I want to see him."

He stood in the hospital room listening to the whir and buzz and beep of machines. How many times had he found himself standing in such a similar setting? Why did it seem that trouble followed Speed like a determined dog? He never used to mind visiting the hospital. But now, the place gave him the creeps. With each visit he grew to hate it more and more because he understood that one of these times the news was not going to be favorable.

Swallowing down his fear he walked toward the bed. Speed always looked so weak when tethered to all the machines and tucked underneath the blanket. His damp black hair made him look even paler than normal. There was a white bandage wrapped around part of his head no doubt put in place to help keep clean the stitches used to close the wound.

Delko reached out, taking Speed's hand in his own. He thought back to the conversation they had that morning. Er, well, the argument. Disagreement. He liked the sound of disagreement better, made it sound less harsh. The whole thing was stupid he saw that now.

"I'm sorry, Timmy," he said quietly. The storm having passed, sunlight filtered in through the blinds covering the window. "I am so sorry. It was petty, dumb, not even worth mentioning." He gave Speed's hand an affectionate squeeze. Suddenly he was speaking words he hadn't planned. "When you open your eyes there's something I want to ask you. Something that has been bugging me these last few weeks. You hear that? It means I am not going anywhere until you wake up. And you might want to do it soon because Mite's going to miss you."

He lightly ghosted his fingers over the bandage.

"They say you'll be fine," he said. "But I have this feeling…I just…please, wake up, Tim."