It would be pointless to spend all day crying over something that she could no longer change, that was what she had told herself anyway as she sat at the desk in Horatio's office signing off on the countless reports and files that had landed on the desk. She had tried calling and texting her lover but to no avail, she knew that he was well within his rights to be furious with her at the moment, her only hope was the once he had cooled off that he would at least be willing to talk it over with her.

He had kept himself busy during the morning as he processed evidence from several different cases, yet try as he might he could not take his mind off of his earlier conversation with Calleigh. How could she have been so foolish and thoughtless as to risk everything for him?

How could she risk the reputation of the Lab and everything he stood for?

He'd been angry, livid even, that she could have done such a thing. What had made it even worse was that she had gone behind his back and done it, it felt like a betrayal of the trust that he had placed in her. Why hadn't she just been honest and told him last night, before he bared his very soul to her?

Maybe it had served to validate that he was right not to trust other people, that keeping his distance was the most effective way to keep him from being hurt yet again. Once the anger had dissipated he began to see things in a slightly different light, realising that she had done it because she loved him and not because she wanted to hurt him.

His ego prevented him from accepting any overtures of forgiveness from her, perhaps it had been callous of him to ignore her calls and attempts to get in contact all morning but a small part of him wanted her to hurt just as much as he did.

He cursed his over-active conscience as he began to feel bad for snubbing her attempts to apologise, locking away the evidence he had just processed, he made his way to his office.

Her office, he corrected himself as he made the long walk, wondering exactly how they would move on from here.

Standing outside the office that used to be his own private domain, he felt slightly nervous, as if he were a naughty schoolboy being summoned to see the headmaster. He knocked firmly on the door and waited for the invitation to enter.

He entered the room with the intent of sorting out their earlier disagreement; all thoughts of doing so exited his mind as he saw the second figure sitting on the couch in the corner of the room.

Sargent Hillary Craig pulled the cell phone out of her attaché case and read the message she had just received.

How much longer are you going to keep ignoring me?

Until you get the message and leave me alone, she thought as she shook her head and threw the phone back in her bag. She didn't want to hear from him, not after the way he had spoken to her last time. She thought they were friends yet he viewed her in the same way as every other cop did, that she was not to be trusted.

She had a job to do, she needed to concentrate on the task at hand not spend her time trying to justify her career choices to someone she hadn't spoken to in years. Her superiors were expecting answers, the investigation into the actions of the Miami Dade Police Department's Crime Lab were already taking longer than she had expected. She'd been stonewalled at every turn, no one willing to give her even the smallest piece of evidence to go on.

All of the evidence she'd collected so far was circumstantial, a few attendance records here and there and a handful of second-hand gossip that she had gleaned from unsuspecting officers. So far there was no substantiated proof that either CSI Duquesne or her superior, Lieutenant Caine, had done anything wrong.

It could be entirely possible that there was no dirt to be dug on either of them; perhaps her findings would show that both of them were capable and trustworthy leaders of the laboratory department that they supervised. Questions still had to be asked, physical evidence underpinned every case that was tried in court, there simply had to be irrefutable proof that the Lab was above suspicion, its reputation had to be beyond repute.

It was her job to prove that, and to do it she would have to ask questions, questions that a lot of officers might not want to be asked. She would dig, and keep on digging, until she had proved one way or another that the correct people were in charge of the department.

He stood by the open door of his office, sunglasses in a tight grip.

"Simon, it's been a long time," Horatio said as he kept his gaze towards his hands.

The younger man stood up and straightened himself, holding his hand out, relieved when Horatio took it.

"It's good to see you, Lieutenant," he replied as he smiled at him.

"Forgive me for asking…..what are you doing here?"

"Miss Duquesne called me," Simon paused as he saw his former bomb squad colleague's eyes shoot towards the blonde woman sitting behind the desk. "I'm the MDPD union rep; I understand that you've been called before Internal Affairs?"

Horatio's gaze returned to his ever-present sunglasses. "That's correct; I'm expecting a call from Sargent Craig any moment now."

"I'll be accompanying you to the meeting," the younger man said confidently.

"Simon…..that won't be necessary."

"Well, your superior seems to think otherwise," he said good naturedly as he pointed to Calleigh. "She's still in charge of the Lab at the moment, I'm sure you know that her word is final."

Calleigh watched nervously as Horatio gave her a patented stare, noticing how the muscles twitched in his cheeks, a clear sign that he was not pleased with her.

He painted a smile on his face as he looked at Simon, "Would you give us a moment please?"

"Sure."

He waited until Simon had left the room before making his way towards the desk that used to be his, leaning forward as he spoke. "Don't make the mistake of thinking this is over, Calleigh. We will talk about this….you can be sure of it."

He didn't give her a chance to reply as he left the room, shutting the door quietly behind him. She would take his anger though, if it meant that by the end of the day he still had a job and career. Simon Hutchings was a good man and just so happened to be the union representative for the Department, after the help he had provided when Horatio had been abducted she knew that she could trust him, she just hoped Horatio would too.

He had received the call from Sargent Craig not long after he had left Calleigh speechless in the supervisor's office. It had perhaps been the first time that he had ever been pleased to be summoned to a meeting with Internal Affairs, the small talk with Simon had been awkward at best. He entered the interview room with Simon following closely behind, the younger man making himself comfortable at the desk as they waited for Sargent Craig to arrive.

They were not left waiting long as the smartly-dressed young woman entered the room a short while later, her navy blue power suit giving the image that she was a woman who would get straight down to business.

"Lieutenant Caine, how nice to meet you at last," the young woman drawled as she gave him a smug grin.

"Sargent Craig," he replied by way of greeting as he stood in the corner of the room, adopting his favoured side-on pose.

"Please, take a seat," she offered as she made herself comfortable at the table, sitting opposite the room's other inhabitant.

"How nice, Lieutenant, you brought a friend."

Not by choice, he thought as he kept his head pointed slightly downwards whilst maintaining his view of the woman who was about to grill him.

"I'm Sargent Hutchings," the other man said as he introduced himself only to receive a frosty response from the IAB officer.

"Yes, I know full well who you are, Sargent. What I would like to know is why are you sitting in on this interview? I'm sure the Lieutenant is more than capable of handling this on his own." Her eyes darted to the silent and stiff figure standing in the corner of the room who was watching her distrustfully.

"I'm the Department's union rep. I know that Internal Affairs seem to have somewhat of a penchant for targeting the Lieutenant, I'm here to make sure that nothing untoward happens."

"How sweet," she deadpanned as she flipped her folder open and perused the pages inside, drawing out the process in an effort to heighten the tension in the room.

"Let's begin shall we?" she asked as she pinned the Lieutenant with her steely gaze. If it had affected him, he failed to show it as he matched it with one of his own.

"Several months ago you were approached by FBI Agent Richard Collins, correct?"

"That's correct," Horatio replied, deliberately evasive.

"What did the two of you talk about?"

"It wasn't a discussion, I asked Agent Collins to leave and not to return."

"Did he warn you of the Malucci organisation's intention to track you down in Miami?"

"He did."

"And why did you not heed his warning?"

The Lieutenant had opened his mouth to reply but was unable to utter a word before Hutchings had spoken for him.

"You should know, Sargent Craig, that the Lieutenant was injured the very same day that Agent Collins visited him here at the Department. The Lieutenant simply had no time to take any sort of action before he was incapacitated."

The IAB officer gave Simon a withering glare before directing another question at Horatio.

"I have spoken to Agent Collins and he informs me that he had tried to contact you several times before he met with you. So I will ask you again, why did you not heed his warning?"

"The Lieutenant does not have to answer that question," Simon interjected. "Do you actually have any pertinent questions to ask him? Otherwise, this conversation is over."

She could feel herself getting increasingly frustrated; the interview with the reluctant Lieutenant Caine was not turning out the way she had hoped. It certainly didn't help that he had brought a guard dog in the form of Sargent Hutchings to protect himself with.

Even through the outward display of a calm and confident man, Hillary Craig could sense a certain level of uncertainty in the head of the Crime Lab. Perhaps it would only take a few carefully worded questions or accusations to crack the monosyllabic man open wide.

"Let's talk about you current living arrangements. You own a house in the South Beach area, is that correct?"

"It is, Sargent," Horatio replied as he kept himself in the shadows of the room, only glancing up at the rooms other occupants occasionally.

"I have it on good authority that you have not resided there for the last four months, any particular reason for that?"

Again, Simon interrupted before Horatio said anything that could be construed as incriminating. "Lieutenant Caine was severely injured as a result of his abduction and subsequent torture, there was simply no way that he could've cared for himself after being discharged from the hospital."

"But as we can see, the Lieutenant is fit enough to return to his duties in the Department. I'm sure by now that a grown man such as he can look after himself." Sargent Craig's tone was snide and insinuating.

"My living arrangements are none of your concern, Sargent," Horatio growled menacingly.

The IAB officer smiled, knowing that she had hit a nerve. "You do know that it is against Department policy to fraternise with a subordinate?"

"Lieutenant Caine's personal life is not up for discussion, Miss Craig. Should there be any 'fraternisation' between the Lieutenant and one of his subordinates that would be a matter for the Chief to decide on, not a Sargent in the Internal Affairs Bureau."

Damn, this guy is good. Sargent Craig gave her counterpart a stiff smile before returning her attention to the file on the table, attempting to gather her thoughts before she tried chipping away at the figure standing off to the side in the shaded darkness of the room, an unwilling participant in her ploy to find something to pin on him.

"I've been perusing the shift logs, Lieutenant Caine. It appears that you've not spent much time out in the field since your return, would you care to explain why that is?"

Here it comes. He knew that he would have no other option than to lie to her, it was of no consequence that he was still incensed with Calleigh and her foolish actions, but he would not sacrifice her career along with his own. It pained him to be dishonest, it had been something that he had been forced into almost twenty years ago and now here he was, being forced to do the same thing again.

"You've already had this discussion with CSI Duquesne; you know that the Lieutenant suffered an adverse reaction to discharging a weapon in the firearms lab. He has been advised to rest his recently injured arm for a number of days until he is certified by his physician as fit enough to return to field duty."

The whole situation was becoming more farcical by the minute, now Simon had implicated himself in the whole sorry affair by reiterating what Calleigh had obviously schooled him into saying when they had met earlier.

"Perhaps you should meet with Dr Woods, she's the doctor who has been in charge of the Lieutenant's care during his recovery," Simon suggested a few moments later.

I already have. Meeting with the outwardly friendly doctor had been an exercise in futility, she had given her nothing in the way of evidence to suggest that what she had been told by CSI Duquesne and now Sargent Hutchings was anything but the truth.

Making her way into Dade Memorial hospital, Sargent Craig shifted the case she was carrying and walked across to the main reception desk intent on speaking to the doctor who had been in charge of Lieutenant Caine's care and recovery. She sat on an uncomfortable plastic chair in the waiting area when directed to and waited for the elusive Dr Alexx Woods to arrive.

"Sargent Craig?" an athletic-looking black woman dressed in a white doctor's coat asked her as she stood up.

"That's correct, Dr Woods I presume?"

The doctor nodded her head and narrowed her eyes at her unexpected visitor. "Was there something I could help you with?"

"Yes. I'm here to speak to you about Lieutenant Horatio Caine; I believe that you were the physician in charge of his care when he was brought in approximately four months ago?"

Alexx visibly shuddered at the thought as images flew unbidden her mind of the sorry state her dear friend had been brought in. "That's correct, perhaps we should take this to my office?" she suggested as she motioned to the other woman to follow her.

Once they were safely ensconced in her office, Alexx dropped the outwardly friendly demeanour that she had previously given off. "What is it that you want?"

"I have some concerns as to the actions of some members of the Miami Dade Crime Lab; I believe that you worked there several years ago in the capacity of Medical Examiner?"

"That's correct."

"And why did you choose to leave? Were there issues that caused you to end your employment?"

"Yes."

"Was it because you found yourself unable to work with some of your colleagues anymore? Were there clashes in personality between yourself and more senior members of the team?"

"No, there were not, young lady. I left because I wanted to spend more time with the living than I did the dead. My decision to leave the Crime Lab had nothing to do with Horatio or Calleigh if that's what you're insinuating. I have nothing but respect for the both of them."

"Were you close to the Lieutenant during your time at the Department?"

"Yes, I was."

"Surely you must feel some anger towards CSI Duquesne then? Lieutenant Caine was missing for over 48 hours and as I understand it, was subjected to some rather brutal treatment during that time. Perhaps CSI Duquesne could have taken different actions that would have resulted in the Lieutenant being found much more expediently."

Alexx had tried her hardest not to be riled by the smug woman standing in front of her, after listening to the barrage of snide accusations and insults she'd almost reached her limit. "Calleigh and the team did everything they could to find him; if it wasn't for them he'd probably be dead!"

Sargent Craig smiled in such a self-satisfied manner that Alexx almost wanted to reach over and smack the stupid expression straight off her face.

"CSI Duquesne tells me that the Lieutenant is unable to operate in the field due to an injury to his left arm, is that correct?"

It had been the question that the doctor had been dreading to hear ever since her heated conversation with Calleigh the previous day. She had agreed, begrudgingly, to go along with her plan and prayed silently to God that it wouldn't end up blowing up in their faces. "Yes, that's true," she answered finally.

"But the Lieutenant has just passed a physical evaluation; surely it would have been spotted then?"

Now it was Alexx's turn to plaster a smug smile on her face, the IAB officer obviously had little in the way of knowledge of the human body. Hopefully she would be able to blind the young woman with medical science and terminology.

"Have you ever had a baseball smashed down on your forearm, Sgt Craig?" She didn't wait for the other woman to respond before continuing. "Have you any idea how painful it is to have a shattered radius and ulna, to have them surgically repaired with plates and pins?"

"It took five hours of surgery to put the pieces of his arm back together, he's lucky he can use the arm at all. It took weeks of healing and physiotherapy to get a full range of motions back. It's not an exact science when it comes to injuries like that, it seems as if the everyday use of that arm has caused the pain to flare up again, it's not as strong as it used to be."

"But it will heal?" the IAB officer asked as she scribbled something down in the file in front of her.

"With time."

"How much time, Dr Woods?"

"Impossible to say," she replied, giving as little information away as she could.

"I'd like to see proof of the injury that is allegedly impeding the Lieutenant's ability to carry out his full duties as a police officer."

The doctor nodded her head curtly and made her way to a filing cabinet, searching through it until she had located one file in particular. "These are images of the injuries the Lieutenant sustained," she said curtly as she spread several gruesome photos of Horatio across the desk for her visitor to see, all of them being taken on the day he had been brought into her ER barely alive.

Picking up one photo in particular, she shoved it under the young woman's nose. "This is what his arm looked like after his torturers had finished with it."

The photo showed a heavily swollen lower arm and four bent and broken fingers, what little areas of flesh that weren't swollen or bruised were covered in cuts and burns.

"This is what a shattered arm looks like, Sargent Craig," she said firmly as she pointed her finger to the horrific picture.

Although unsettled by what she had just seen, Sargent Craig would not be deterred from the job at hand. "I'd like you to show me substantiated proof that this injury is still impeding the Lieutenant's ability to carry out his duties."

"No can do, Sargent. Unless you've got a court order or Horatio's permission I'm not showing you any of his current medical records."

"I will get a warrant for those records, Dr Woods."

"You do that then. Unless you have anything else, this conversation is over."

"Sargent Craig, this is obviously just a fishing expedition for you. You have nothing in the way of proof that Lieutenant Caine has done anything wrong, you have insufficient grounds for a warrant to compel his medical records and we have no reason to sit here any longer. This interview is over."

The two men had left the room before she'd even had time to ask another question and it wasn't until she heard the door slam behind her that she allowed her heavy shoulders to slump. Her investigation into the Crime Lab was heading nowhere fast; perhaps she was barking up the wrong tree and would find nothing untoward. It had been another fruitless day, she'd been unable to glean any new information that could be used against either of her intended targets and was unlikely to gain anything by staying in the Department a minute longer than she had to.

Loathe as she was to admit it, she had found nothing which she could take back to her superiors apart from her own suspicions which she knew would not hold much weight with the Chief. All that was left to do now was to write up her findings and place the report on her superior's desk. She knew one thing for certain though; the Crime Lab was firmly on her radar, something that was unlikely to change anytime soon.