AFTERMATH

Chapter 1

Horatio was back at work on Monday - not at all sure he should be. He prided himself on his physical toughness, and his ability to handle pain, but the poisoning had been unbelievably gruelling. With his digestive tract ulcerated and bleeding, he had simply been unable to eat. Barely able to absorb nutrition at all. The hospital had kept him going, and kept the pain under control, but, at home, he was still reduced to eating what he thought of as 'mush' - baby food, high-protein milkshakes… And he was still on a huge amount of medication.

Now, walking into the crime lab, he felt peculiarly disoriented, weak, and vulnerable. It wasn't a feeling he liked. Clearly, he wasn't fit for fieldwork. He wondered briefly if he was fit for anything, but he hated being at home.

He went into his office, and sat down. The desk was clear and spotless. He pulled the laptop over and switched it on. Current case files looked unfamiliar - he knew he couldn't leave the place for three weeks without everything changing… He picked up the phone and called Calleigh.

"Fancy bringing me up to date?"

"Horatio! You're back… I'll be right up."

He noticed Calleigh's barely hidden look of shock when she came in.

"Is it that bad?" he said softly.

She sat down and forced a sympathetic smile. "Yes… frankly…"

"I've lost a bit of weight, that's all."

"Really? That's all? Have you had a medical?"

"Don't think I'm required to have one." It was always a matter for debate. If you'd been off with flu, clearly no medical was needed to resume work. If you'd been in hospital with a gunshot, say, it was. He wasn't sure where poisoning fit in to that. But he was also fairly sure that, given a department medical just now, he'd fail.

"So how do you feel?"

"Not great." There was no point in pretending. "Weak."

She was staring at him. "Sorry, Horatio, but you look terrible."

"Thank you - boost my confidence, why don't you?" He smiled. "I'm going crazy at home…"

"I understand, and I'm glad to see you. Just don't do too much, that's all…"

"Well, I'm not going into the field, if that's what you mean. I can look at current cases though, can't I?"

"Of course. I'll go through what we've got…" She was still looking at him. "Oh, Horatio… What did she do to you?"

"Hey, Calleigh, sweetheart… I'll get over it. Look… why don't we leave you in charge? I'm not sure this old body can actually take a full day yet… But let me at least feel useful again."

She nodded.

They went through the current cases.

"Anything you fancy?" she asked.

"This one… The supposed accident, on the school trip?"

"It may well be an accident…"

"Yes, but it may not. Let me look at it."

"Of course. It could do with fresh eyes." She stood, came round the desk, and kissed the top of his head. "If you need me, just shout."

Horatio felt like crying. He accepted that his mental state was tied up with his physical weakness, but Calleigh's shock at his appearance had startled him. He supposed he had gotten used to how he looked, but realised it had to be bad. Maybe he should have stayed at home. Though it was hard to see how he'd start to look better any time soon.

With a sigh, he opened the files on the school trip case, and tried to concentrate.

During the morning, he was interrupted by several members of his team. No one reacted as badly as Calleigh, but he suspected Ryan was hiding it, and Eric had seen him more recently anyway. When Frank Tripp came in, he didn't mince his words.

"Well, you look like crap."

"Thank you, Frank."

The detective, his long-time friend, had visited him a few times at home, so there was no surprise.

"You shouldn't be here, should you?"

"Frank, I'm going mad with nothing to do. I'm only going to work in the office. And Calleigh's still the boss, so if it gets too much, I'll just go home."

"You eating yet?"

"Not really. I'm totally pissed off with milkshakes. Never did like them."

"I came to see if you wanted a break… Don't suppose you want lunch, but we could drive out to the beach…"

Horatio raised his eyebrows. "Not like you, Frank…"

"Well, I bumped into Calleigh… who seemed to think you were about to keel over…"

"Not that bad. She worries too much." He hesitated. "Yeah, I'll watch you eat lunch, if you like. I've been indoors far too much these last weeks…"

"Is there anything you'll eat?"

Horatio reached into a desk drawer, and took out a flask. "Protein drink… er… strawberry-flavored, I think… Oh, and these…" and he held out a baggie with several pills inside.

"You're still taking all that?" Frank shook his head. "I'll collect my lunch - see you downstairs…"

They sat in the car, windows rolled down, overlooking the ocean. Frank took out a sandwich, and inspected the meaty contents. "This isn't going to upset you?"

"Not at all. I wish I could eat. It just either hurts like hell, or I throw up… Sorry, too much information…" He looked at the sandwich. "Tacchi's? Thought you'd stay away from there."

"I was tempted to. But the owner's a nice guy. He didn't deserve that sort of publicity. No reason his business should suffer because of what happened."

Horatio smiled. "Frank Tripp, beneath that gruff exterior beats a heart of gold."

The detective snorted. "Wouldn't go that far!" He tucked into his sandwich, while Horatio poured a little of the milkshake into a cup and sniffed it suspiciously. After a while, Frank said, "Have you got to testify?"

"At her trial? Yes. You?"

"Yes. Not really looking forward to seeing her again."

Horatio smiled ruefully. "Me neither. Still can't believe I fell for it, you know."

"Don't beat yourself up about it."

"But I am. Frank, I ignored your warnings, and I was careless to the point of incompetence."

"Rubbish! You've been thinking too much, as usual."