He came back to awareness slowly, groaning deeply as he tried to lift his head. He managed to lift it slightly before his strength gave out, not even wincing as his wounded face made contact with the cold and unforgiving marble floor. He hadn't realised that he had closed his eyes, the next thing he became aware of was a fireman placing a hand on the shoulder that wasn't buried under debris, he opened his mouth to speak but coughed as he inhaled a lungful of dusty air.
"Don't try to move, we'll get you out of here in no time." The voice above him spoke in a reassuring manner, before ordering his colleagues to help lift the rubble that had him pinned to the ground.
He coughed weakly again and opened his eyes, trying and failing several times to get the words out. "Hutchings….." he stopped as he coughed again, "Hutchings….have you found him yet?"
He felt the hand on his shoulder move up and down slightly, "Take it easy, we've pulled him out already. A few cuts and bruises and a bang on the head but other than that he's fine."
"Good," he let out in a breathy whisper as the darkness came to claim him once more, the ringing in his ears intensifying with each painful breath he tried to take. Soon he was seeing stars as his vision began to cloud and then, nothingness.
Horatio woke with a start, gasping for air. Waking up in a pitch black room did little to ease the unnerving sense of claustrophobia he felt, grabbing wildly for the bedside lamp he switched it on and tried to calm his breathing. He ran a shaky hand over his face and hoped that he hadn't cried out in his sleep and disturbed Calleigh. Minutes passed and he heard no movement from the other room, as his heart rate returned to normal he began to feel the pounding of his head increase. What would I do without Calleigh? he thought as he eyed the painkillers she had left on the bedside table for him, he swallowed them and took a swig of water, laying his head back down gingerly on the pillow he closed his eyes and waited for sleep to claim him once more.
The sound of soft knocking woke him; he opened his eyes slowly and allowed them time to gradually adjust to the daylight streaming in through the windows. He pulled himself up higher in the bed and beckoned his visitor to come in; he couldn't help the smile that crept across his face as Calleigh entered the room.
"I thought you might like to wake up to a coffee," she suggested as she held the mug up.
"Thank you, Calleigh. You didn't have to bring it up; I would have come down for it."
"Nonsense." Walking over to the bed she placed the coffee down and sat on the opposite side of the bed. "How did you sleep last night?" she asked as she took a sip from her own mug.
His gaze dropped, he wasn't quite sure how to answer her, most of yesterday had passed in a jumbled blur and his muddled mind was still trying to make sense of everything, he remembered snapping at Eric even though the poor man had done nothing wrong. "About yesterday…." he began, "It was a lot to take on board, I probably acted like an ass to you and Eric. I'm sorry."
She placed her mug down and took his face in both her hands, "You have nothing to be sorry for. God knows how I would be reacting if I were in your shoes," she mused out loud and then instantly regretted it as she saw the pain flicker across his face, removing her hands she quickly changed the subject. "I have to go to the lab today, I'm not sure how long I'll be away but I've asked Andy to come over and stay with you."
He knew she meant well but he felt as if he were being treated like some kind of weak old man, "I'm a grown man, I can take care of myself, you know," he growled as he scowled at her. His heart and head were waging an internal battle with each other, his mind telling him that the deep connection he felt to the beautiful woman sitting across from him could not be reciprocated by her. He had seen his reflection recently and had not liked what he saw, a haggard old man. Why would Calleigh want to spend her time with some old fool like him? Life had passed him by and left him in its slipstream, tossed aside like a piece of garbage, old, obsolete and unwanted. He was a man and although he may have lost his memory he still had his ego and his pride, Calleigh meant well but he felt smothered by her insistence that he be babysat twenty-four hours a day, to a man such as him it felt emasculating.
She sighed and rose from the bed, "We've been through this before, there are people out there who want you dead and I'm not leaving you here on your own until we've got them in custody."
"You don't think I can look after myself?" he asked like a petulant child denied his favourite toy.
"Not with a hole in the back of your head, no!" Horatio leant back against the headboard shocked at her outburst, it was the first real show of anger he'd seen from her since he'd woken up in the hospital. "You can barely walk a few yards without someone holding you up. Right now there are a gang out looking for revenge against you, they're just waiting for the opportunity to strike, whether you like it or not you need someone here to protect you if they try."
His reaction took her by surprise too, "Ok," he said as he nodded, his head hung low as he clasped his hands together. "I'm sorry; I just don't like the thought of you all being put in danger for me."
"This may come as a shock to you but you have a family around you that cares. It kills me to think of what you went through back in New York, whatever the Malucci's throw at us we'll face it together, ok?"
He raised his head to look at her briefly before dropping his gaze again. Satisfied that she had got through to him she closed the door and told him to come down for breakfast when he was ready.
Horatio sat at the dining table as he watched Calleigh potter around in the kitchen cooking breakfast, he had already tried to persuade her that he didn't feel that hungry but she had refused to listen. He took a deep breath to sigh and caught a smell of something burning it was then that his dream from last night assaulted him again.
He felt the pressure on his legs and back release suddenly and then found himself being lifted and placed on something much softer and comfortable than the cold marble floor he'd been laying on. He opened his eyes and looked into the eyes of the man who had spoken to him earlier.
"You back with us, Mr Caine?"
The voice was muffled and drowned out by the intense ringing in his ears; he blinked a couple of times to try to remove the haziness from his vision. Dust floated in the air around them like a shower of fireflies as the strength of the Miami sun lit the powdered remnants of the federal building as they fell back down to earth haphazardly. He tried to move his head to look down at his body but found himself unable to; he looked at the face above him quizzically as he felt the presence of a neck brace.
"Just a precaution 'til we get you checked out at the hospital, just keep still and let us do the work."
He tried to block out the high pitched squealing in his ears but worse than that was the acrid smell of burnt hair and flesh which combined with the dust and detritus that had been disturbed by the search and rescue team's attempts to free his pinned body had left his stomach feely decidedly queasy.
He could barely make out the words and quickly gave up on trying to move, he closed his eyes and allowed himself to be carried away, not really caring where he was being taken.
"Horatio?"
He could have sworn he heard a familiar voice calling his name. With an extreme amount of effort he opened his eyes and found himself looking into the face of his boss, Al Humphries.
"Horatio, thank God." He felt the older man grab his hand and give it a squeeze, "You're going to be alright, kid." Al's visage was then replaced by that of a paramedic who placed an oxygen mask over his face and started spouting medical jargon that he didn't understand. He felt himself being lifted again and then strapped down, the vile stench from the building being replaced with the sterile smell of an ambulance. He heard someone calling his name again but his strength had deserted him as the darkness claimed him again.
"Horatio, can you hear me?"
He blinked as he came crashing back down to reality, the smell of burnt bacon still lingering in the air. Slowly his eyes focused on the woman crouching down in front of him, looking at him with grave concern.
"Did you have another flashback?" she asked as she leaned back on her haunches, relieved that he was back with her.
He was saved from answering by the sound of the doorbell ringing, Calleigh left the room to answer it and he winced as he heard the familiar voice in the hallway.