Present day. Miami:
Calleigh let out a tired sigh as she signed off on yet another report that had crossed her desk this morning. Between signing off on case files, expenditure claims and annual leave requests, Calleigh wondered how Horatio had managed it for all these years.
She felt more like an administrator than a police officer, unhappy at the fact that she was spending more time chained to her desk than she was out in the field. It puzzled her how Horatio could complete all of the required paperwork and yet still spend so much time out on the front line.
Deep down she knew that it was because the redhead spent so much of his time at the lab, coming in early, leaving late and working weekends, something that had become a regular occurrence since the death of Marisol.
It was a typical Horatio response, to bury himself in his work in order to keep his thoughts from those of his late wife. It worried her how much he had changed since that fateful day that Marisol had been gunned down and she knew that he blamed himself for her death.
There would be no point trying to reason with the stubborn lieutenant, it was just the way he was. Each time something happened, he would take it as a personal failure on his part. He constantly strived to be better, to do better for the people he cared about and would then berate himself for inevitably coming up short.
Having knowledge of what Horatio had been through had helped her to understand the complicated man a bit better. He had more heart and courage than any man she'd ever met yet seemed to have little or no regard for his own emotional needs, constantly putting others before himself.
His past had taught him that it was better to keep people at arm's length and it was something that Calleigh had tried to make Horatio see was wrong. Over the past few months she had set about systematically breaking down the walls that Horatio had built around his heart, her progress was frustratingly slow at times as she struggled to make him accept the love and acceptance that was on offer. Each time she would instigate meaningful physical contact he would invariably shy away at some point. She knew that he felt the same way about her as she did of him but something stopped him from letting down his most intimate defences around her.
He had been deeply traumatised by his ordeal, of that there was no doubt. There were days when she wondered if she would ever see the return of the strong and stoic lieutenant that they had all grown to love and admire. She had seen him at his lowest point and on his darkest days, had watched helplessly as his dreams tormented him and held him as he woke from them screaming or flailing his arms in an effort to bat away the unseen demons in his mind.
Little by little, parts of Horatio's self-sufficient demeanour fell back into place. She would notice it when members of the team came to visit after their shift, the way he would put on his 'game face' and give the impression that all was well with him. It was only around Kyle and herself that he would allow the mask to fall away and she felt honoured that a man as private as Horatio would allow her to see the darkest corners of his troubled soul.
There were still times when Horatio would convince himself that she was better off without him which would lead to heated conversations between the pair, conversations that Calleigh would more than often come out on top. There were times when he needed her strength and the courage of her convictions as she battled to talk some sense into him, their conversation this morning a prime example.
Calleigh was disturbed from her musings by a knock at the door, straightening the papers on her desk she beckoned her visitor to come in. The smile spreading across her face as a familiar face walked in.
"Alexx, I'm so glad you could make it. How's work?" she asked as she walked around the desk to greet the doctor warmly.
"Busy, as usual. How about you, sugar?"
"The same," she smiled back.
"A little bird told me that a certain handsome redhead returned to work today. I had a quick peek in the lab on my way down but couldn't see our boy."
"He's working a case with Eric; they're out in the field at the moment."
"How did it go this morning, was Horatio ok?" the doctor asked, concern evident in her voice as she sat in the chair opposite Calleigh.
"He didn't sleep well last night; he was restless, tossing and turning. He was like a cat on a hot tin roof until we got here."
"That's understandable, honey. It's a big deal for him to come back, I take it that the team didn't make too much of a fuss over him?"
"I think that's what made him so nervous, having to face everyone again," Calleigh replied as she picked at a hangnail on her right hand.
"It'll do him good to break himself back in gently. Getting him to work with Eric was a good idea; we all know how close those two are."
"I know Eric will look after him but I can't help but worry about Horatio. I know it sounds silly…."
The kindly doctor interrupted her.
"Calleigh, we all saw first-hand what they did to him. It's no wonder that you're feeling overprotective of him, you've been by his side every step of the way."
"I'm not saying that you shouldn't worry about him because you always will, but Horatio needs to work this out for himself. You've gotta let go of the reigns and let him sink or swim."
"I know you're right, Alexx," Calleigh admitted after a short silence.
"I usually am, sugar," she smiled back. "Horatio is a proud man, Calleigh, his independence is important to him. You know how much he hates relying on other people.
Flashback. Miami, 12 weeks ago:
"Hey, Dad," Kyle said brightly as he let himself into his father's hospital room, happy to see that the oxygen mask had been removed and replaced with a nasal cannula.
Horatio gave him a week smile in response as he tried to adjust his position in the bed and became frustrated when his own body failed him.
Sensing his father's frustration, Kyle made a grab for the bed controls and used it to raise the head of the bed slightly.
"They're putting you back on food?" the young man questioned as he saw the untouched plate of food on his father's bed tray.
"They're trying to, I don't feel hungry though," Horatio admitted.
Taking a look at the plate, Kyle could understand why, the sloppy grey mixture looked completely unappetising even compared to the freeze-dried Army rations that he was used to.
"You've got to try to eat something, Dad. You need to keep your strength up."
And it was true; the redhead had all but withered away in front of their eyes. It certainly didn't help his appetite with the cocktail of drugs that he was still being administered which Kyle knew often left him in a doped-up daze and feeling nauseous.
"How about I sneak you in some real food, maybe a cup of coffee too?" he suggested, trying to raise his father's spirits. His face fell when the other man did not return his enthusiasm.
"Alexx says that I have to graduate to solid food slowly," he growled as he raised his uninjured hand to his eyes, pinching his nose in frustration and wincing when his fingers came into contact with the still-healing wounds on his face.
Kyle lifted the paper bag he had been carrying, smiling as he emptied the contents onto the bed.
"Alexx said the burns on the bottom half of your face are healed enough for you to have a shave now."
He eyed the items on his bed with a sense of horror as he realised that he would be unable to complete the simple task himself. He desperately wanted a shave, the beard that had grown over the last few weeks had become increasingly itchy as the burns on his face healed and his personal hygiene wasn't helped by the fact that the nurses had smothered his cheeks in a foul-smelling ointment at least twice a day since he'd been here.
He recoiled in the bed further as he watched Kyle pick up the can of shaving cream, squirting some into his hand.
"What are you doing?" he questioned, his voice rising as his sense of panic increased.
"I'm going to give you shave, what do you think I was doing?" his son returned with a smile.
"No," the redhead bit out.
"Dad, you need a shave. You're starting to look like a hippy."
The words were meant to be teasing but Kyle was dismayed to find that it had the opposite effect on his father as he began to get increasingly upset.
"You're not doing it," Horatio growled as he gave his son a fierce glare.
"Well, it's either me or the nurses," he countered, hoping that his father would back down.
"Then let the nurses do it."
The young man sighed in frustration.
"Dad, let me help you," he pleaded.
"No."
"I don't understand, why not?"
"Because you're my son!"
The unexpected outburst took Kyle by surprise; he'd never really witnessed his father losing his cool before. He was aware that he was in new territory now in his relationship with the older man.
"That's exactly the reason you should let me help. Families look after each other, you taught me that."
He watched on helplessly as the redhead's anger dissipated into sadness and shame, his breathing slowing as he screwed his eyes shut. A physical pain pierced Kyle's heart as he saw the hot tears beginning to leak from his father's eyes.
"You've got nothing to feel ashamed about, let me take care of you."
He felt the tears spring to his own eyes as he gently reached out and applied the cream to his father's face, saying nothing as he silently went about tending to the man he had grown to love so dearly.