Truth in Sickness

Summary: Horatio returns from a case in New York and comes down with a serious case of pneumonia. His friends gather round to tend him. But taking care of Horatio when he's sick isn't as easy as it sounds. When delirium and circumstances start to hint at Horatio's most closely guarded secrets, what can his friends do?

Chapter One: Emergency

Horatio Caine stared down at the figure on the autopsy table, his eyes shadowed with concern. The young woman lay still, blood dried in her hair and on her chest. He studied the still face for a moment, then looked up at the woman across the table from him. "So, Alexx, what have you got for me?"

Alexx snorted. "Horatio, I haven't even started yet. I just got this baby girl on the table. All I can tell you is what I said at the crime scene. Initial impression is COD caused by sharp force trauma. Anything else is gonna take a little time."

"Understood, Alexx." Horatio turned away, stifling a cough in one hand.

Alexx looked up. Horatio was turned away, his hand over his mouth. The red-head's shoulders were tense. "Horatio honey, you okay?"

Horatio took his hand from his mouth and offered her a small smile. "I'm fine Alexx." Then he covered his mouth once more, stifling another cough.

Alexx snorted. "Horatio, you don't look fine." She studied him, noting the paleness of his features, and the slightly strained look around his eyes, then pointed to the glass walled window of the upper deck observation room. "Well, fine or not, you're going to observe from there today."

Horatio's eyebrow rose. "Alexx..."

"No argument." Alexx shook her finger at him. "If you keep coughing like that, you're going to contaminate my evidence. So...upstairs with you."

Horatio smiled. "It's just a little dryness."

Alexx smiled back. "Dryness or not, Horatio, you're going up there. I'll talk you through it as usual. And you can see just fine, so don't fuss about the view."

Horatio smiled, his head tilting sideways with a quirked grin. "Doctor's orders. Don't start without me."

"Of course not. Get going." Alexx made a shooing motion.

Horatio's smile widened, then he turned and disappeared through the doors, reappearing a moment later in the observation theater. Alexx waited a few minutes until he'd gone through the motions of turning on the monitors. "You ready up there?"

"Ready and waiting." Horatio's voice came through, a faint air of amusement still in his tone.

"All right then. I'm getting started." Alexx turned her attention back to the body.

It took her about half an hour to wash down the body. Then she began a careful study of the wounds. "Looks like a short knife, but it nicked an artery. But these wounds...they're a little rough. It's like the knife was...well, almost dull."

"That sounds almost like the attacker wasn't planning to use it, doesn't it?" Horatio's voice was thoughtful.

"Well, I can't say for certain. Might just be something that doesn't hold an edge real well. Or maybe the killer was too inexperienced to use it properly. I'll need to get a complete casting of the wound to say for certain." Alexx glanced up at the observation port. "I've got some trace here too, Horatio. I'll have it ready for you in just a moment."

"Thank you Alexx."

The ME smiled, then went back to her work. Carefully, she collected the trace from the victim's nails and hair, then began filling in the castings of the knife wound, carefully searching for other wounds. At each step, she spoke out loud, cataloging her work. She sighed. "This girl didn't go down easy. She's got defensive wounds, trace, and the killer got her more than once before he finished the job."

Silence greeted her remark. She looked up, but Horatio was no longer at the view-port. Alexx sighed. She knew Horatio could be impatient, and often looked at several angles of a case at once, lining things up in his head in a way only he seemed able to do. And given that he'd been watching the entire thing, it was likely he'd made another of his intuitive leaps and simply gone to pursue it. She smiled, slightly exasperated, then turned back to the body.

She was just finishing up an hour and a half later when Eric strolled into the morgue. "Hey Alexx."

"Hey yourself." Alexx grinned at him. "What brings you down here?"

Eric grinned back. "Just coming to collect any findings you might have from our victim. You find COD?"

"Nicked artery from sharp force trauma, just as I suspected." Alexx grinned. "Horatio finally send you down here for his trace and DNA samples?"

Eric stopped, the smile dying away from his face, into a thoughtful frown. "No. Haven't seen H since we got back. Was he down here?"

"Yeah, hour and a half ago. Watched me start the preliminary from the observation deck, then just took off." Then the younger CSI's statement registered, and she looked up. "Wait a minute...didn't he go back to the lab?"

"Nope." Eric sighed, then frowned. "Observation area? Was there something wrong?"

"Not with the victim. But he was coughing some, so I had to send him up there. I can't have him contaminating my body." Alexx frowned. "Has he been coughing a lot recently?"

"Well, not around us. But Calliegh noticed yesterday he looked a little off, and he seemed a little more tired than usual at the scene today." Eric's frown was more pronounced. "Alexx, you think something might be wrong?"

"I don't know." She sighed. "I love that man, but if he's not feeling well, he's harder to catch than a criminal with no record and no fingerprints."

"Yeah, tell me about it." Eric was frowning up at the clear windows. "You said he left?"

"Yeah. Over an hour ago. Why?" Alexx looked up, feeling a trickle of unease.

Eric's eyes were serious. "No one's seen H in the lab for almost three hours." His gaze came back to her. "Call it a hunch, but I think I'm gonna go take a quick peek around the observation area."

Alexx nodded, a sudden twist of concern knifing through her. She stripped off her gloves. "I'll come too."

The door to the observation room was closed. Eric tapped it. "H almost never closes this." He glanced at her, then turned the knob and pushed it open. All at once, he stiffened. "Shit. H!" He took a running step forward.

Alexx gasped. Horatio was lying crumpled on the floor, a small pool of blood formed around his head. The red-haired CSI was pale, and even from the doorway, she could hear the roughness of his breathing. Shock held her still a moment, then she was dashing across the few feet that separated them. "Horatio?"

Eric's hands were already on his superior's neck, then they shifted upward. "Pulse is a little uneven. Fast too."

Alexx shuddered. "Did someone attack him?" It was hard to imagine someone doing so, especially here, but still... "How could this have happened?"

"I don't know, but I don't think it was an attack. There's blood on the counter there. Looks like he hit his head." Eric's hand touched Horatio's face again. "Alexx, he's burning up."

Alexx nodded. Her mind was already shifting from shock into medical mode, noticing the slight trembling of Horatio's hands. "He's shivering too. I'm gonna go get a thermometer and a blanket. Stay with him."

"Yeah. I'll call Calliegh, Frank and Ryan. We're gonna need help. And Alexx..." Eric's eyes met hers. "Better bring some disinfectant and gloves for us too."

"Right." She was already moving, her mind inventorying what she needed, and where she could get it in her office and morgue. She dashed down the stairs in record time. Even so, she could hear Eric making calls, and he was talking in rapid fire. She collected two clean morgue blankets, a box of gloves, the hand sanitizer she used for scrubbing up before and after an autopsy, and the nearest thermometer she could find. Then she was racing back to the room.

Calleigh and the others met her at the door. "Alexx, Eric said it was an emergency."

"It is." She shoved the gloves and bottle of sanitizer at the younger woman. "Clean your hands and put the gloves on before you come in." She snapped a pair onto her own hands, sprayed a pair for Eric, then strode inside. "How is he?"

"Shaking, and it feels like he's getting hotter by the minute." The younger CSI had already removed his jacket and laid it over Horatio's trembling form. He'd also wrapped a makeshift bandage around the head wound to stop the bleeding. "Alexx, what do we do?"

"You put these on, then hold him still so I can get a temp reading." Alexx was already prepping the thermometer. "Calleigh, you got my blankets, honey?"

"Right here." The other three stepped inside. "What's going on?"

"Don't know yet. He just collapsed." With Eric supporting Horatio's head, Alexx gently manipulated the thermometer into his mouth and under his tongue. "Hold him still."

Frank stared at her. "Alexx...I don't mean to be rude, but...is that an autopsy thermometer? That liver temp thing, or whatever, that you've got stuck in his mouth?"

"Don't fuss. It's the most accurate tool I could get my hands on in a hurry." Alexx was watching the gauge.

"No problem. Just seems a little creepy is all." Frank shifted uncomfortably.

"Yeah well, got any better alternatives?" Alexx frowned at the gauge. "That ain't good."

"What's it say?" Ryan stepped forward.

"His temp is 103 and rising." Alexx looked up. "Frank, go get me one of the cold storage bags or sheets from autopsy. We gotta start trying to cool him down, or he's gonna overheat and go into shock, if he hasn't already."

Frank nodded and ducked back out the door. Ryan frowned. "What about the blankets?"

"You and Calliegh tuck those around him right now. It'll keep the moisture from the cold packs from getting to him so much." Alexx looked up. "We gotta get him to a hospital, right now. I don't know what he's got, but he's dangerously sick." Her hand touched his throat. "Pulse is still uneven, and that's way too fast. If we don't get this under control, he might start having heart complications."

"You mean like a heart attack?" Calliegh's voice was sharp with concern.

"I mean exactly like a heart attack." Alexx frowned. "Eric, call an ambulance."

"No time." Eric's eyes were dark, focused. "If he's that bad...we don't have any time to waste." He rose. "I'll get my hummer, bring it around to the back entrance close to the morgue. When Frank gets back, have him take H down the stairs, get him on a gurney. We'll load him into the hummer and drive him in ourselves. We can call it in route."

Alexx debated the wisdom of that, but then her eyes went back to the temperature gauge. 103.5. And she could feel the fast beat of his pulse under her fingers, and the trembling that shook him. Her gaze slipped to the waiting CSI's, all hovering in the background. They were all first responder trained. She nodded. "Good thinking. Let's get moving."

"All right." Calleigh rose as well. "I'm gonna go back to the lab and tell Natalia. We'll secure the evidence from the case so they can't say it's compromised, and try to buy you a little breathing space. We'll join you there when we can."

"I'll ride with Horatio." Alexx grimaced. "I sure as hell don't intend to let him end up on my table for something like this."

Eric nodded and strode out of the room, his pace a fast walk just barely short of a run. Calliegh was only a step or so behind, her face set in lines of determination and concern.

Frank was back a few seconds later, a cold sheet in his hands. "Got one straight out of the fridge for you." He handed it over. "What are we gonna do with that?"

Alexx gestured. "Ryan, help me spread this out." The two of them flattened the sheet on the floor. Then Alexx looked up at the homicide detective. "Can you pick him up?"

"Horatio? Yeah, sure. Man doesn't weigh more than 180, soaking wet, I don't think." Frank moved over. "Where do you want him?"

"We need to put him on the sheet, and wrap it around him,as much as we can, to try and slow down this fever. Then we need to carry him downstairs and get him to Eric's car."

"Got it." Frank crouched beside his friend. With surprising gentleness, he lifted the slight form into his arms. A frown creased his face. "Alexx...you sure about this? He's shivering pretty hard."

"I know. That's why I got the blankets. But we've still got to arrest that fever, before it damages his heart."

"You're the doctor." Frank braced himself, then looked up at Ryan. The younger CSI was standing uncertainly near the door. "Mr. Wolfe, why don't you go down and get a gurney ready for me to take him out on?"

"Right. I'm on it." Ryan managed a short jerk of his head, then he was out the door and running.

Frank lowered Horatio's still form onto the cooled sheet, then pulled the edges around the slight frame. Horatio moaned, shifting slightly, his head twisting to one side. His arms, already wrapped in the material, shifted as if he were trying to push them away and hadn't the strength. Frank exchanged a quick, concerned look with Alexx, then lifted the body of his friend into his arms. "Let's get him out of here."

Frank took the steps as fast as possible. Ryan was waiting with a medical gurney. He looked up, eyes sharp with worry. "Eric's out back. The hall's clear. I'll stay behind and keep people from coming this way."

"That's a good plan. Get on it." Frank lowered Horatio onto the gurney, then snapped the straps in place. Horatio moaned again, and his eyes fluttered. He didn't seem conscious, but there was no mistaking the agitation. Frank laid a hand on his arm. "Sorry Horatio, but we can't let you fall again."

The eyes closed again, tension leaving the shoulders as the man slipped back into unconsciousness. Frank looked up. "Isn't he supposed to stay awake if he's hit his head?"

"Normally, yes. But there's not a lot I can do about it now. Let's get him to the hospital."

"Right." Frank took one side of the gurney, Alexx the other. Ryan gave them both a last look, then turned to go the opposite direction. Together the two of them shoved the gurney out into the autumn sunshine of the morgue entrance.

Eric was there, motor running and all the doors of his vehicle open. He helped them stop the gurney on the passenger side, then gestured. "Alexx, you climb in that side. Frank and I will pass H to you through this door. We'll lay him at an angle on the back seat. We need to keep his head up, right?"

"That's right." Alexx was already climbing into the driver's side back door. She moved over, then held out her hands. "Give him here, honey."

"You got it." Frank and Eric looked at each other, then moved simultaneously, carefully lifting the wrapped form and angling him through the door. Two sets of hands cradled the bandaged head until Alexx could take his head and brace it against her body. Then she moved back carefully, supporting Horatio as they maneuvered him into the car.

It was awkward, and Frank cursed as he stumbled and knocked Horatio's arm into the door. Even so, within minutes, Horatio was lying at a diagonal across the seat, his head and shoulders resting on Alexx's chest, the rest of him draped as best they could manage. It looked terribly uncomfortable, but Horatio didn't give any sign of noticing. He was almost completely non-responsive. Alexx wrapped an arm over his shoulders, then gently stuck the thermometer into his mouth again. She watched the gauge and bit back a curse. "Eric honey, you'd better step on it. His temp's still going up."

"Roger that." Eric took a deep breath, and the engine revved hard, tires squealing. Frank slammed the door. The car was already in motion and rocketing toward the main road as the big man snapped his seat belt in place. Eric jerked his chin at the dash. "Frank, call the hospital. Let 'em know what's going on, will you?"

"Already on it." Frank snapped his cell phone out, dialing quickly. "Yeah, hello? Miami Dade Memorial Hospital? Yeah. This is Frank Tripp, MDPD. Bringing in a co-worker of mine. Yeah. He collapsed, he's got a serious fever and he's shaking like a druggie in withdrawal." A frown sounded in his voice. "No, I don't think that's the problem, you think I'd still be working with him if it was? Look, we're pretty sure he's sick with something. His fever's something like 103. ME thinks it's an illness of some kind." Exasperation again. "No I don't know where he got it. Look, all I know is, he collapsed, he's got a hell of a fever, he's shaking, and he hit his head when he went down. Probably has a concussion on top of everything else." He sighed. "No, I can't verify that, he's unconscious at the moment." he paused. "Yeah. Yeah. Thanks. We'll be there in a few minutes. CSI Hummer."

Frank snapped the phone closed. "They said to bring him to the ER entrance. They'll have someone waiting for us." He looked at the speedometer. "Eric, go faster."

Eric blinked. "Frank..."

"I'll handle any speeding tickets, just move your ass." Frank gestured.

"Okay. But you pay." Eric tossed a glance back over his shoulder. "Alexx, you'd better brace him."

"Already on it, honey." Alexx pulled Horatio closer, stabilizing his head with an arm and hand wrapped round his jaw. "I agree with Frank."

"You got it." Eric tightened his grip on the wheel, then slammed his foot on the pedal. The car shot forward.

Within minutes, they were pulling up to the ER entrance. A couple technicians were waiting with a gurney. Frank just barely waited for the car to stop rolling before he jumped out. "Frank Tripp. I called in a few minutes ago."

"Yes sir. Doctor sent us down to wait for you. You got a patient for us?" The taller of the two young men stepped forward, eyes sharp with concern.

"Yeah." Alexx was already shoving the door open. Frank caught her, braced her, then reached in to take Horatio's weight from her. "His name's Horatio Caine. Came down sick about two hours ago, we think. He's got fever, chills, and a head wound. Probable concussion. He's been unconscious for at least half an hour, probably longer." Alexx stepped down. "I've got him wrapped in a cooling blanket, but his fever's still climbing."

"Yes ma'am." The ER techs helped her load the unconscious man carefully onto the gurney. One of them touched Horatio's forehead with a gloved hand and hissed. "Damn, that's hot, even with Miami temperatures." His gaze touched Horatio's face. "No perspiration, even at this temp...he's dehydrated already." He looked at his partner. "Let's roll it. We need to get this one in, stat."

"Right." The other tech looked up. "Fourth floor. Doctor Reynolds. He'll be the one to see this guy. You should wait for results up there."

"Fourth Floor. Got it." Alexx nodded, and the techs turned and disappeared inside the building, Horatio lying motionless on the gurney between them.

Frank sighed. "Great. Now what?"

"We wait." Alexx sighed.

Author's Note: First of all, a very big thank you to all readers. Reviews are always appreciated, so please share!

This is actually version two of this chapter. I would like to thank Mrs Caine and HEHC4evr for their very helpful constructive criticism in getting some of the details straight for a more accurate story. Some things I've gone back and changed, as suggested. Some I haven't. So, if these two reviewers are reading the revision, I would love to hear from you again about whether or not this works out better.

Again, thanks to everyone who is taking time to read and support this work.