CHAPTER 13

Ryan and a member of the rescue crew had emerged with Natalia's limp form from the cold depths of the flooded basement with no time to spare, quickly followed by the remaining crew and, finally, Horatio.

While much of the floodwaters had penetrated the bottom floor now, the water on the first level still rose to above knee height. This explained why the extraction team had retreated to higher ground—there was no dry land in sight.

"Bring her here!" Horatio called, pointing to the platform between flights one and two.

Everyone save the rescue team's medical officer withdrew to the second flight of stairs to make room for Ryan to collapse with Natalia on even ground. The medic had waited at the ready in anticipation of an emergency, and she immediately jumped into action, aided by Ryan and Horatio.

Eric felt Calleigh surreptitiously link her hand with his. He could see the worry in her eyes as she watched her friend fight for her life, and he knew her concern was reflected in his own.

A tense minute later, the trio managed to help Natalia expel the water from her lungs and she weakly regained consciousness.

She rolled to her side, coughing hard against the sea water burning her chest.

"Ms. Boa Vista?" Horatio's concerned voice inquired. "Are you with us?"

Somehow Natalia gathered the strength to nod her head and mutter, "Let's not do that again."

A round of relieved sighs and "thank God's" erupted from the surrounding group, and the medic set to work evaluating Natalia's vitals.

"You'll need to start a round of antibiotics as soon as you can," she told Natalia. "This water is a hazard. That is, when you can get access."

"What do you mean, when she can get access?" Ryan asked. He hovered protectively over Natalia while she attempted to take deep breaths.

A heavy pause ensued before Horatio spoke up in a grave voice.

"A third of the city is either leveled or under water, Mr. Wolfe."

Calleigh felt Eric tense next to her and she squeezed his hand in support. They were trapped above the floodwaters at HQ, unable to leave to check on his family, and Eric had to be panicking at this point.

"We managed to withstand the worst of it," Horatio went on to explain.

"The bulletproof glass," Calleigh concluded.

Horatio nodded. "The upper floors still sustained some damage and we're about three feet under the storm surge at ground level."

Eric chanced a glance in Calleigh's direction, even though their LT stood only feet away and was currently scrutinizing their conjoined hands. He made no move to release his fingers from Calleigh's.

She stood next to him, clothes drenched, blond hair soaked and sticking to her skin which was covered in goosebumps from the cold.

They no longer found themselves within the relative privacy of the locker room with just Natalia and Ryan to observe them, but he needed to maintain that connection with her, both for his own comfort and to reassure himself she was okay.

Calleigh happened to look up at the same time and her burning gaze told Eric she needed the same, no matter who saw. Given the look on Horatio's usually inscrutable face right now, he was more pleased with the development than dissatisfied.

As an officer of the law in the midst of a widespread crisis, Calleigh knew she must maintain her composure. As a woman who nearly just lost her life, she was shaken. And like Calleigh, Eric may be worried about his family, but he'd sworn an oath to protect this city he loved.

Eric felt Calleigh thread her fingers in his and give them a gentle squeeze, then she let him go. He understood—as much as they longed for it, the time for comfort must wait. Right now they needed to shift into action.

"What's the full sit rep, H?" Eric asked.

"All units are deployed. We took a direct hit from a storm twice the size of Andrew. It's a worst case scenario."

Horatio glanced down at Natalia to assure himself she rested in good hands before he stepped toward Eric and Calleigh.

He lowered his voice and said, "I sent a unit to check on Carmen and Pavel, Eric. The cell towers are down, so communication is limited, but when I hear something, I'll loop you in."

Horatio could face serious repercussions for diverting resources during an emergency on this scale, and Eric couldn't put words to his gratitude in that moment. He let out a breath he didn't know he was holding, and he felt Calleigh do the same beside him. She ran a soothing hand up his back.

"We'll know something soon, Eric," she said softly.

Horatio turned his head to survey Natalia.

"There's a blanket in my office," he explained. "Will you two bring it here for Ms. Boa Vista?"

While the request seemed odd at first to Calleigh, since it shouldn't take both of them to retrieve the blanket, she caught on when Horatio added with a gentle smile: "Oh, and take your time."

Eric and Calleigh returned his smile with grateful ones, knowing he was giving them time to regroup, together, from the traumatic ordeal in the basement before they immediately entered go-mode.

The partners made their way down the second floor hallway to Horatio's glass-walled office overlooking the lobby.

"I'm going to run this back down to H so Nat can start warming up, and I'll be right back. Don't go anywhere," Eric said when they found the blanket.

Calleigh, distracted by the view outside Horatio's west-facing window, didn't respond at first.

"Cal, what is it?" Eric asked.

"It's pitch black out there, Eric. This storm, it took down power city-wide."

Eric walked toward Calleigh, dropping the blanket on Horatio's desk along the way. He wrapped his arms around her from behind and rested his chin against her temple.

"We'll get through this, Calleigh. Miami has rebuilt from hurricanes before, and we'll do it again."

Calleigh knew Eric's attempts at reassuring her were made in an effort to also calm his own unsettled spirit, so she didn't relay any of her other fears just yet.

How would they get out of HQ to help with rescue efforts? How much more could the city take from the remnants of the storm still raging overhead? What about their homes? Both her house and Eric's condo were relatively close to the harbor and beach. And she knew from past hurricanes that Little Havana, where Eric's family resided for the past 30 years, was highly susceptible to flooding.

Even though Calleigh didn't put voice to her fears, Eric could hear her wheels turning and feel the tension in her body, so he gathered her closer and placed a kiss to her cheek.

"I'll be right back, and then we can talk, okay?" he murmured.

She turned in his embrace and wrapped her arms around his waist to pull him into a tight hug before she released him.

"Okay."

With one last kiss to the top of Calleigh's head, Eric hurried out of Horatio's office.