Disclaimer: I don't own these characters and I'm not making any money from this so please don't sue(

I don't mean for it to be this long, it just kinda turned out that way. Please RR, any feedback is appreciated.

Speed walked purposefully down the corridor, so deep in thought that he didn't notice Calleigh coming around a corner until he walked in to her and knocked her down. Speed reached down automatically but Calleigh was struck by the look on his face.

"What's up Speed?" she said breathlessly, her southern accent strong in the shock.

"I just got a call from Delko. He was at crime scene with H, the perp came back. H's been shot, they're on their way to the hospital now, Delko just called to ask me to pick up a few things then I need to get to the hospital, they're extracting the bullets so we can match them up, put this guy away. Calleigh? Are you ok?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. I'm coming with you. No arguments, you might need a ballistics expert." She spoke in a steely tone, and Speed knew better than to argue with her. They moved quickly toward the elevators and down to the parking lot. Calleigh moved towards her car out of habit but Speed jumped in to his SUV and started the engine, leaving her no choice but to get in beside him. As they peeled out of the parking lot Calleigh seemed to suddenly wake up to what Speed had said.

"Do you know what happened? How bad is the shooting?" Calleigh tried to sound merely professionally interested but her stomach was churning at the thought that Horatio could be dying even as they moved to his home.

"He was checking out a crime scene with Erik, a domestic shooting, husband shot his wife four times with a shotgun, then left the scene in his car. Cops were searching for him when he came back; apparently thought Horatio was his wife's lover, judging from the things he was yelling. I guess it's just cos H was in their bedroom, that's where the guy killed his wife. He fired two shots before he was brought down by officers on the scene, one to the abdomen, the other...Calleigh, the other hit his left chest. They're planning to operate as soon as he arrives. That's all I know. I guess Delko just needed to feel useful, getting a few things organised, but it's an excuse to go up there."

They drove to an unfamiliar part of town, near the waterfront, and stopped outside a tall apartment building. A plaque announced that a 'H. Caine' lived on the top floor, so they rode the lift to the penthouse and stepped out. Calleigh looked around; noting that the apartment looked like the kind of place Horatio would live. It was divided in to distinct areas, work and recreation, useful and Spartan versus beautiful and graceful. The whole place had the same personality as Horatio, two-sided, with neither side sure which one was truly in charge. Calleigh had never been to Horatio's home before and she had to give herself a mental shake He's in hospital, he might be dying. That thought alone was enough to kick start her mental processes and she began to look around for things he might need. The apartment was open plan, with a large living room and kitchen area. On one side was a high work table and shelves full of books and papers dedicated to the latest developments in forensic technology.

"So that's how he does it" she murmured to herself.

Then, stepping back in to the living area, Calleigh called for Speedle, who had disappeared during her reverie. His voice answered her from the upper level, up some free standing stairs into what was obviously Horatio's room, and any other spare bedrooms. Calleigh went up to see where Speed had got to, and found herself in Horatio's bedroom. Speed was getting some jogging trousers out of a draw and consulting a list, so Calleigh took a look around. She opened the French windows and stepped out on to a rooftop veranda. The view simply took her breath away, she could see right to the ocean. A worn chair was the only piece of furniture on the terrace, indicating that Horatio had loved it too. Does love it. DOES. Don't you dare start thinking about Horatio in the past tense.she reprimanded herself sternly.

With that Calleigh turned and re-entered the room, closing the doors behind her. She suddenly caught sight of two photographs on a bedside table, one of Horatio's brother Raymond, the other of his sister-in-law and nephew, Raymond's wife and son. Calleigh suddenly felt like she was invading Horatio's personal space. She hadn't been invited here, she felt like she had forced her way in where she was not wanted. She felt like she had violated the area he kept solely to himself, and had to get herself out of there as soon as possible. She went downstairs and remained by the front door until Speed had finished collecting clothes for H. It seemed like an age, but when she looked at her watch Calleigh saw that only 15 minutes had passed since they started out from the CSI building.

They left the building and headed straight to the hospital. The whole time she had been eerily calm about her friend and mentor being shot, possibly killed, but as they neared the hospital panic started to rise in her. Calleigh forced herself to breathe regularly, not to show her fear, but Speed wouldn't have noticed anyway. He was as worried as Calleigh about Horatio. Despite being somewhat aloof, he had touched and influenced the lives of those who worked with and for him. With all this and more still whirling in her head Calleigh stepped through the ER doors and immediately saw Erik in the waiting area. "We brought the things you asked for. How is he?" out of the corner of her eye she saw Speed come through the doors and vaguely waved to him, not taking her eyes from Erik's, as if she could sense any attempt at deception.

"He's not good. They won't tell me anything because I'm not family, Yelina is on her way, we'll know more then" he said, resignedly.

Twenty minutes later Yelina arrived, breathless and shaken. She had already lost one Caine brother; to lose a second would be catastrophic. A nurse came and took Yelina away to a relatives room, but she quickly came back to fill the others in on Horatio's condition.

"He's still in the OR, but they've got the bullet out of his chest. They told me it missed his heart but punctured a lung, so it's still critical. They haven't managed to get the second bullet out yet, but they know where it is. He's stable at the moment, thank God"

They all jumped as first Speed, then Erik's pager beeped loudly; reminding them that life had not stopped because they were occupied with something non-work related. Each man called in to the office, a small homemade bomb had been detonated in a nearby shopping mall, killing two people. They were needed to process the scene before valuable chemical evidence was destroyed. Yelina was going to stay at the hospital, to wait for further developments. Calleigh took Speed a little to one side and asked if she could stay too. She couldn't explain it, but she felt like she belonged with Yelina during her vigil. Speed knew it seemed heartless, but he could only cover for Calleigh for a short while. He promised he's give her as much time as he could, but if another big case came in, so would she.

Hours passed, with very little conversation between the two women. They spoke a little but there was a tense atmosphere that neither was happy to break. A nurse came in with an admissions form to be filled in, but most of Horatio's health records were owned by the state anyway, held at the CSI building in case of emergency.

Finally a doctor came to see them, cast an enquiring glance at Yelina, to check that it was ok to speak out in front of Calleigh. At her nod, he began to fill them in on the extent of Horatio's injuries and what they had done so far to help him. The outlook was good; they had recovered both bullets and had repaired the damage to his lung. There would still be an extensive recovery period, and he would not be able to leave to hospital for at least a week, as there was some concern that a bullet fragment may have caused internal damage which was as yet undetectable. Both women let out the breath they hadn't realised they were holding, then Yelina asked if she could see him. The doctor explained that they had administered a powerful general anaesthetic and Mr. Caine would not be awake before the morning. He advised them to go home and get some rest, promising to call them if any changes occurred. Calleigh asked if she could take the bullets for comparison, which Doctor Lopez agreed to, then she turned to say goodbye to Yelina. Yelina looked hard at Calleigh, then thanked her for staying. Yelina asked if Calleigh would come back tomorrow, they could go to see Horatio together.

"Thank you, that means a lot, of course I'll come. I'm going back to CSI, so I can process these bullets right away. We need to match up the bullets to the gun, since no one actually saw the shooting. We need to get this guy put away, fast." Calleigh took a taxi back to the CSI building and threw herself in to work. Two hours later the ballistics evidence was in, and the man in police custody, already preparing an insanity plea.

The next morning Calleigh arrived early at the hospital, where she asked at reception what floor Horatio was on and if she was allowed to see him. The clerk on duty looked up, "Calleigh Duquesne?"

"Yes, that's me."

I have a message for you from a Yelina Caine" (AN: I don't know if that's still her surname). The clerk handed Calleigh a message slip, then turned back to patient charts.

The message was short and to the point; Yelina couldn't get to the hospital, she was hunting a suspect in (A/N an out of the way place, I'm English and my American geography is lousy) having been requested the previous night. She thanked Calleigh again for being with her the night before. The note ended with a request that someone stay with Horatio until she could get herself released, or the case ended.

Calleigh read the note through twice then crumpled it up and threw it away as she headed to the elevators, and up to ITU. Horatio was in a private room, Calleigh was shown in by a nurse. Horatio was lying in a high bed, monitors beeping softly. He looked much younger asleep, without the constant stress on his face. Calleigh stood for a moment, just looking at him, then a sudden hiss from one of the machines recalled her to herself. She settled herself down in to an armchair and took out some reports she was planning to read to pass the time. She read them carefully, glancing only occasionally at the clock, and before she knew it five hours had passed. Calleigh began to leaf through the papers again but found herself unable to concentrate. She found herself thinking about Horatio, the times he had helped her, the thrill that ran through her when she heard his familiar "knock, knock". Hagan had been right, she did go above and beyond for Horatio, in a way that she didn't do for him. Calleigh sighed and looked toward the bed, then started as she noticed Horatio's eyes were open, staring at her.

"Hey Handsome, how're you feeling?" she asked softly.

He groaned and tried to move his left arm but winced in pain. He was obviously still groggy from the medication and didn't seem to recognise that Calleigh was in the room. She got up and went to fetch a nurse, but as she moved to the door, a hoarse voice whispered,

"Yelina?"

Calleigh didn't stop, but went on out the door and fetched a nurse. She said she'd wait outside while they examined Horatio, and she went right outside, on to the rooftop terrace of the hospital. Calleigh couldn't ignore the deep feeling of disappointment that had swept through her when Horatio had asked for Yelina and not her. She felt that there was something else behind the protectiveness Horatio always showed to his sister-in-law, and this seemed evidence to prove that he had some form of romantic attachment to her. Calleigh tried to analyse the feelings coursing through her, realised that the disappointment had to come from somewhere. Was it because she wanted her vigil recognised? Did she want credit for being there? Or was there something deeper?

face up to it girl, you were jealous. Calleigh sighed and pushed the thought away, as she had many times before. Romantic attachments only complicated things.

Horatio looked around, not quite recalling where he was. Seconds later a nurse entered the room, checked something and shone a pen light in to his eyes, making him squint and flinch. Then the doctor came, examined the dressing, checked the wounds. He smiled, "you've had a very patient visitor, where's she gone?"

"Visitor? My sister-in law?"

"No, I don't think so. She is Latina, yes?"

"Uhh, yeah" Horatio was still under the effects of anaesthesia.

"Then no, this woman is white, blonde, slightly built, with a Southern accent. She arrived almost as soon as you did last night and she has been here all morning."

The talk then moved on to discuss Horatio's injuries and the likely recovery time. He was already desperate to get back to work, but the doctor wouldn't hear of it.

"You will have to take at least two weeks off work once you are released. There will be no arguments, or I will speak to your superiors and have you put on leave, is that clear?"

Knowing he was defeated, Horatio sunk back in to a doze, until her heard the door open and soft footsteps enter the room.

"Hey Calleigh", he said without opening his eyes. He heard a soft intake of breath, then, "How'd you know it was me?"

Horatio turned over in to a more comfortable position "The doctor told me that you had been here for a while. How are you, Calleigh?"

She almost laughed at that, asked how she was, when he was lying there with two bullet holes in him! But that was Horatio, always the gentleman.

"I'm fine, how're you? Still in pain?"

"No, the pain meds are still working." Horatio shifted uncomfortably in the bed, not liking the obviously subordinate position, lying looking up at Calleigh. She recognised the signs and got a chair, bringing her down to his level. They sat in companionable silence, then Calleigh got out her reports, in an effort to cheer Horatio up by distracting him. She mentioned that they had caught the man who shot him, but was unprepared for the look on Horatio's face. It flickered across before she could analyse it properly, and he answered with almost his usual voice. But Calleigh had not missed the reaction, and stored it up for another time. At five o'clock she got a call on her pager and had to leave, but she promised that she would come back. They were hoping to release Horatio in the next few days, but Calleigh felt uncomfortable re entering Horatio's home, having been there already without his permission.

A murder case involving a local councillor prevented anyone visiting Horatio for the next three days while they analysed the evidence. Calleigh was the first CSI to come and visit him, only to find that she had missed him by hours, he had been discharged and sent home. Sighing, Calleigh got back in to her car and drove over to Horatio's apartment building. She rang the bell at the main door and his familiar dry voice answered,

"Yes?"

"Hi, Horatio, it's Calleigh, can I come up?"

She could feel him thinking, then "yeah, sure". The door buzzed and she went in, a little apprehensively. He was waiting for her at the door to his apartment, leaning against the doorjamb. It was clearly a defensive posture; he was keeping her out of his personal space. This discouraged Calleigh slightly, but she forged ahead.

"Hey there Handsome, back home again. I went to the hospital but they told me you'd been discharged, so I came to see if there was anything you needed."

His scientist's brain went straight to the key point of her speech, "but you've never been here before. How did know where I lived?" he asked the question slowly but precisely, leaving Calleigh with no choice but to be truthful with him.

"I came with Speed, the day you were... the day you went in to hospital."

"Ah"

That syllable was accompanied by a flicker across his face, the same expression Calleigh had seen there before, except this time it was there long enough for identification. It was like anger, but anger at himself, but there was also an element of humiliation in the look. Suddenly Calleigh understood, he was ashamed of having been seen in such a vulnerable position. She was determined that he should not feel bad about his injury, she had read the crime scene reports and there was nothing that he could have done differently which would have changed the outcome of the altercation.

"May I come in?" She asked tentatively, seeing that her earlier intrusion was also a sore point with Horatio. He stepped back and opened the door a little wider, allowing her to enter. He offered a drink, and asked her to sit down, but there was still a constraint in his manner which was most unusual. Calleigh decided to tackle the point straight on

"Horatio, there's nothing you could have done to stop this, and we don't think any the less of you for it.' at the look on his face she smiled, 'I can read you like a book."

He sighed, "Calleigh, I've been involved with the police force for...a long time, and I've seen far too many people killed by guns, but I've never been on the receiving end before. Being in that hospital, being fussed over by nurses and doctors and generally treated like a child, it was my worst nightmare, and I am only too happy that only you saw me in that state. I thank God that no one else came to visit. But...thank you for coming, it meant a great deal to me that you were there that first day."

"Hey, I couldn't leave you there all alone. Did Yelina come back to see you?" Her voice changed slightly as she asked this last question, she was trying to keep her voice level, and the effort showed.

"No, I understand she's still on a case. But I didn't want to put her through all that again, she shouldn't be stressed by this so soon after losing Raymond. Did you speak to her?"

"Yeah, the first night, I was with her, waiting for some news. You...you called for her when you were waking up, you know."

"I did? I guess I assumed that no one else would be there with me. I don't have any other family, or people to care for me, so I didn't think it could be anyone else."

"Hey, I care about you" she smiled

"Thank you Calleigh, but I meant care for me like family, not like a work colleague"

He was gently but firmly finishing the conversation, shutting her out. Calleigh decided to take the hint, she got up, said goodnight and left him. He sighed at he closed the door behind her, feeling empty and alone.

For the next few days Calleigh went about her job in the ordinary way, but she felt that something vital was missing from her daily life. It did not take her long to realise that she missed Horatio terribly, that he filled a gap in her life that no one else had ever come close to filling. She had loved him for a long time, but had never allowed herself to act on her feelings, nor even to acknowledge them most of the time. When a week had passed, she couldn't stand it any longer. Her life, without Horatio in it, was getting unbearable. At the end of her shift on Friday she found herself at Horatio's apartment, without really knowing how she got there. She was up at his door before she could lose her nerve, and as he opened the door she simply burst in, for once not asking for permission.

"Well hello Calleigh" he said, trying to explain her actions by resorting to humour. He closed the door and stood facing her, waiting for her to speak, tell him why she was there. But now, having violated his home for a second time, she was lost for words. It was impossible to articulate the complicated mass of feelings she was having.

"When will you be coming back to work?" she blurted out, desperate to have something, anything, to say.

"Not for another week or so. Is that really why you came over Calleigh?"

Damn him, he's laughing at me "umm...yeah, we were all wondering when you'd be coming back, Tim's running things and he's getting a little stressed. I also came over to see if you needed anything, but I can see you're getting about much better now, so I'll go. I didn't mean to just invite myself in, that's the second time I've done that and I feel really bad about it. I'm sorry, I'll just...just go." Cringing with shame Calleigh started to the door but was stopped by a hand, brushing her shoulder.

"Do you think I'm mad at you for coming to my house?" the question was quiet, but penetrating.

"Well, I know I would be if someone came to my house uninvited. This is your personal area and I had, have, no right to be here. Please Horatio; I don't even know why I came over here. I'm sorry."

"What if I told you that there is no one I'd rather share my personal space with?"

Calleigh looked sharply at him, but his head was bowed, as if expecting anger. She had one thing to clear up,

"What about Yelina?" "Yelina is my brother's wife. She and I are friends, but I will never see her as anything but a sister." he spoke with finality, but there was a vague suggestion of surprise, surprise that anyone could mistake shared grief for romance.

"I'm sorry Horatio, I had to ask"

"Stop apologising and come here", his words were authoritative but tender as he opened his arms to engulf her in a tentative hug.

"Horatio, nothing in my life feels right without you, I need you to be there with me. That's why I came over; I needed to tell you that. This...you and me...just feels so right that I can't ignore it any more. I want to be with you"

Calleigh looked up to see Horatio smiling faintly, "Calleigh, I love you, I have for a long while, but I didn't think you felt like that. I am never going to let you go, now that I have you."

They stood gazing in to each other's eyes for what seemed like an age, then Calleigh gently but firmly pulled Horatio's head down, his lips to hers, and the two of them melted in to one.