Once again, thanks for all the great reviews and comments, it really does make writing this seem all worthwhile to know that so many people are getting enjoyment from reading it. I'll try my best to keep up the quality and not let you guys down.
The three of them met outside Horatio's hospital room 48 hours later, each sitting in a hard plastic hospital chair nursing a cup of vending machine coffee. Calleigh was the first to speak up, "We need to get him out of here, and maybe a change of scenery would help lift the funk he's in."
The men nodded their heads solemnly, they too had noticed how much more withdrawn the redhead had become since he'd learnt about his past. Eric cast his mind back to the previous evening when the ward nurse prevented him from entering Horatio's room. "He doesn't want any visitors I'm afraid," she told him sadly. Trying to reason with the nurse proved fruitless and after an hour or so of waiting outside his brother in law's room he admitted defeat and returned home.
"What do you suggest?" Andy asked as he took a swig of his coffee and grimaced at the foul taste.
She ran her finger around the edge of her cardboard cup as she spoke, "I'll take him back to my house, we all know he can't go back to his." A shudder ran through her as she recalled the crime scene photos from Horatio's house at the lab yesterday.
"But the Malucci's have got eyes on all of us, what makes you think he'll be any safer at your place?" Eric couldn't keep the bitter tone from his voice.
"He's not safe anywhere until we catch these animals!" she responded, her voice rising. She took a deep breath to calm herself, "It doesn't matter where he stays as long as we keep him guarded at all times."
Andy interjected, "We all have our own lives, we can't stay with him 24 hours a day."
"Then we'll take it in shifts," she responded defiantly as she stood up. "We owe it to Horatio to do whatever we can, whether he likes it or not."
Horatio sat on the edge of the hospital bed as Calleigh handed him a clean set of clothes from the bag Eric had collected earlier in the week. "Where are we going?" he asked as pulled the t-shirt over his head and winced as the cloth made contact with the stitched wound on the back of his head.
"It's time to get you out of here," she said as she passed him a pair of black Italian leather shoes. "Put these on, I'm going to sign your release forms before we go. I'll be back soon."
His spirits sank at the clinical tone of her voice; he'd been filled with a small sense of hope when she told him he was being released as he ate breakfast this morning. He detested hospitals; they always reminded him of sorrow and death. The doctor had told him that they'd been reducing the painkillers in his system over the last few days and it had certainly helped him to think a bit more clearly. The drugs in his system had left him weak and emotional and the lack of control over his own body left him feeling frustrated. The bandages around his head had been removed yesterday and he'd been allowed out of bed for the first time since he'd woken up from his coma. He grimaced as he remembered seeing his reflection in the mirror for the first time, the bruises on his face had turned into a mixture of fading greens and yellows. He was glad to see that they hadn't shaved all of his hair off, only a patch at the back of his skull where they'd operated on him. He was shocked to find how old he looked, he'd asked the nurse who tended to him after breakfast what year it was and was taken aback when he heard her response. Gone was the youthful looking face he remembered, it had been replaced with a worn and weathered visage that he barely recognised. The lines around his eyes and mouth told him that the last 18 years of his life had been far from easy and had taken its toll on his appearance, the only thing that softened the blow of his own mortality creeping up on him was the fact that his hair was still the same fiery red as that of his thirties, age had not touched that at least.
He tensed as the door opened but relaxed as he saw the beautiful blonde woman re-enter the room, Calleigh had been a constant in his life since he'd woken up. He had no idea how he'd met her or what their history was but he knew deep inside that he was drawn to her like a moth to a flame. Her sweet lilting voice and the intoxicating smell of her perfume affected him more than he cared to admit, he resigned himself to the fact that she could never feel the same way about him. Looking at his worn appearance in the mirror yesterday had only served to reinforce his belief that he would never be good enough for her as he hung his head in disappointment.
She watched him as he sat on the bed, his head held low. "Come on, let's go," she said as she walked over to him and held her hand out.
He looked at her for a few moments before accepting her offer of assistance and pulling himself from the bed. He groaned as he swayed slightly on his feet, not prepared for the wave of dizziness that hit him as he stood. He kept his head down as he waited for the woozy feeling to dissipate, "I'm fine," he told her as she gave him a worried look, "Just got up a bit too quickly."
She said nothing as she placed an arm around his waist and helped him from the room, ignoring his feeble protests that he was fine and could manage on his own. He felt a wave of shame wash over him as he saw Andy and Eric standing in the waiting room looking at him with pitying eyes. It was bad enough that the woman of his fantasies was helping him to walk without having an audience to watch it too. They walked in silence through the corridors of the hospital until they reached the large grey Hummer parked at the entrance, standing guard by the vehicle were several uniformed officers and their patrol vehicles. "Is all this really necessary?" he asked as Calleigh shooed him towards the Hummer.
"Yes it is. We're keeping you under constant guard until we've caught those lowlifes."
"I'm not worth all of this fuss," he whispered quietly.
She stopped in her tracks and stood in front of him, "Don't ever say that. We'll deal with the Malucci's together; you're not alone this time."
He looked at her and could not deny the sincerity in her words but he knew that he could never put her in harm's way just to protect himself. He'd gotten into this mess and it was his duty to get himself out of it again, even if that meant doing it on his own.
She glanced in the rear view mirror repeatedly as she drove back to her house and with one patrol car in front of her and another bringing up the rear she was moderately satisfied that the Malucci's would not try to ambush them on the short trip home. She watched as he sat quietly in the back of the Hummer, his head turned towards the window to his right as he looked out at the view of the city of Miami. She jumped when she heard his voice, "None of this looks familiar," he told her quietly as he sat with his hands in his lap.
She didn't know what to say to that, they had worked together for over a decade and no one knew Miami better than Horatio. Although he wasn't a native over the years it had become his city, it was what kept him going, keeping the streets of this great city safe. It pained her to think that he would never remember all of the good times they had shared together, their flirty banter and that boyish grin he would give her as they spoke.
"What happens if I never remember my past?"
She wasn't sure if he was talking to himself or asking her opinion but she felt she had to answer. "Then we'll make new memories, maybe it's best that you don't remember what happened to you back then."
He let his head drop, "I wish I could remember."
In all of the years that she had known him she'd never heard him sound so dejected, it took all of her self-control not to pull the Hummer over and hug some sense into him. She willed herself not to cry as she returned her attention to the road.
"We're here," she said as she pulled up at her beachfront home and put the vehicle in to park. "Wait here for a moment, I'm just going to check it's all clear."
She returned a few minutes later, opened his door and held her hand out to help him from the Hummer. He opened his mouth to protest but closed it when she raised an eyebrow at him. She held on to him as he swayed slightly on his feet and kept a steadying arm on him as they made their way to the front door and into the house.
He stood in the hallway and took in his surroundings, disappointed to find that none of it looked familiar to him. "Do I live here?" he asked as she led him by the arm into the lounge.
She shook her head, "No, this is my place. You've been here plenty of times though, are you sure nothing looks familiar?"
His gaze swept the room but he felt nothing, no memories trying to force their way to the surface of his conscious mind. "No, I'm sorry." He sat heavily on the couch and clasped his hands together between his knees.
She stood in the doorway watching him as his shoulders slumped, "Listen, I need to pop out for a little while. I shouldn't be too long; Frank's going to stay here until I get back."
"Ok," he replied quietly. He had no idea who Frank was but it was obvious that he was meant to know him. It wasn't until he heard the gruff Texan voice that his head shot up, his eyes widened as he saw the tall and imposing detective standing next to Calleigh. He felt a physical pain shoot through his head as hundreds of images and sounds assaulted him all at once.