Chapter Twelve: Back in the Game

The last five days of Horatio's convalescence passed swiftly. Alexx and Dr. Reynolds came by that Friday during Calliegh's shift. They gave the CSI a final check up, then Dr. Reynolds prescribed an emergency inhaler, until Horatio's lungs had completely healed, and light field duty for a few more weeks. Together, he and Alexx went over a recommended physical regimen to bring Horatio back to full health.

Horatio took it in stride. He clearly wasn't pleased with the limitations he was under, but he accepted them, and his mood improved when the doctors agreed that he no longer needed round the clock watchers.

Yelina and Ray Jr came by that Sunday to visit. Ray Jr was a little shy at first, but Horatio welcomed him with a smile and an offer to watch a ball game while he cooked steaks, and the young man cheered up instantly. He headed inside, intent on setting up the TV station. Yelina smiled after him, then turned to look at her brother-in-law. "How are you feeling?"

"A little tired. But I'll live." He flashed her a brief smile, but she saw the shadows in his eyes.

She could guess what he wanted to know. "What do you want to tell Ray Jr?"

The smile flickered away. "What does he know?"

"That you had nightmares. That you were delirious, and mistook Eric Delko for his father at one point. That you wanted him to run, but not from what. I kept him away after that. I assumed that it was something you would not want to talk about." She met his eyes.

"And what do you know?" He held her gaze, his own shadowed and tension filled.

"That you and Raymond had very good reasons not to talk about your father. And that it wasn't just protectiveness that made you respond to the way Stetler treated me when he was drinking."

He looked away. "That...is very true."

She reached out and touched his hand. "I won't ask, Horatio. You don't have to tell me anything more. It won't take much for Ray to think you were dreaming of Mala Noche, and what they did to his father."

"No. But I don't think I should lie to him." He sighed. "I'll tell him the truth. But not until he asks. If he does."

"All right." Yelina nodded. Then she smiled. "Inside. You're still too pale. And you need to rest before you go playing around with a hot stove to cook those steaks." She gave him a small push down the hall. Horatio smiled back, a small upturn of the corner of his mouth, and did as she commanded.

They spent the rest of the evening relaxing. Horatio made steaks and baked potatoes. He'd lost weight during his illness, enough to concern the doctors, and Yelina didn't protest when her son and his uncle both loaded their baked potatoes with butter, cheese, chives and bacon bits. She normally tried to get her son to eat healthier, but it was worth the temporary lapse to see Horatio eat a full meal. And to watch the two of them smiling and chattering together as they watched the football game, critiqued the plays, and criticized the commercials.

The next day, Horatio arrived at work early. His suit was a little looser than normal, and his face was a little pale, but those were the only outward signs of the toll his illness had taken on him.

Alexx met him at the door. "Horatio."

"Alexx." He slipped his sunglasses off, letting her see his eyes, and the lack of tired shadows under them.

She studied him. "You feeling okay?"

"Perfectly fine. Not even winded."

"You remember all the rules?"

Horatio smiled tightly. "Of course. Desk work only for the first week, light field duty for the next two, no chasing the suspects or getting shot at. Observation Deck only in Autopsy. And no mixing chemicals in the labs for at least another ten days."

She nodded. "And you'd better behave, or I will slap you in quarantine so fast your head will spin." She shook a finger at him. "You know I will." He ducked his head in acknowledgment, and she relaxed. "You got your inhaler on you?"

"Inside pocket of my jacket, safe and sound and within easy reach."

"All right." Alexx smiled. "I can tell you're impatient, so get inside." She swatted at him. "And Horatio?" He paused to look at her. She smirked. "Good to have you back, sugar."

"Thank you. It's good to be back." Horatio smiled and ducked inside.

The Chief was waiting in his office, seated at his desk. He rose as Horatio entered. "Horatio. How are you?"

Horatio shook his hand. "Doing well sir. Thank you."

The man nodded. "Heard from CSI Dusquene that you were pretty sick there for a while. Everything all cleared up?"

"I've been medically advised to stay on light duty for a few more weeks. But it's mostly preventative at this point."

The chief's mouth curled in a smile. "Well, listen to your doctor, Lieutenant. Your people are competent, and your department may have run fine in your absence, but we still need you here. And we need your team focused. You're the best we've got, and I don't want any more life-threatening illnesses taking you out of the picture again."

Horatio smiled back. "I'll do my best sir."

The other man clapped him on the shoulder. "You always do, Horatio, you always do." With that final parting statement, the man left. Horatio watched him cross the labs, then settled behind his desk.

He spent most of the morning catching up on his paperwork, and making a to-do list of things he needed to check on. A month of sick leave meant he'd need a physical evaluation, though that could be delayed until he came off his current restrictions. He'd also need to run through a weapons test, to check his shooting accuracy and handling, make sure he hadn't slipped up too much while confined to bed. There had been a new update into lab protocols as well. Calliegh had brought over a copy, but he set aside some time to refresh his memory and do a walk through in the lab to make sure he remembered everything.

There was also a small stack of administrative paperwork for him to catch up on. Calliegh had done an excellent job of getting him up-to-date, but there were always a hundred little things to be seen to, to take care of, and there was an inevitable pile from over the weekend.

He spent the afternoon visiting the labs, saying hello to his team, checking in on the cases they'd managed to catch. Two were robberies, fairly straightforward, one an assault case that was a little more difficult. The team had everything under control, but they greeted him enthusiastically, each member taking time to give him a through briefing on the case, the evidence they'd collected so far, the leads they were pursuing and the suspects they had on their respective radars.

The next few days passed in a similar manner. Horatio helped with paperwork, assisted in looking over evidence, and offered his advice and experience. He remained in the lab, but he was constantly on call, answering phone calls from his team when they went into the field. He attended all the autopsies, leaving his team free to work on other pieces of evidence while he took notes from Alexx and collected physical findings. It wasn't usual procedure, but all of them understood. Getting involved prevented him from going crazy.

Even Frank stopped by the lab more than usual, consulting on the run of the mill cases that didn't need to be brought to the CSI's, but still had to be worked over.

The following Monday, Horatio was cleared for field work. Alexx gave him a thorough examination, checked his inhaler dosage, and released him. Horatio left the ME's office radiating satisfaction.

Rick Stetler was waiting for him by the elevator. Horatio's smile dropped, his posture changing from relaxed to wary. "Rick."

"Horatio." Stetler called the elevator, then jerked his head. "Come on. We can talk on the ride up."

Horatio joined him in the compartment. Stetler watched the doors close before he spoke. "So, cleared for duty I assume?"

"That's correct. Barring some basic constraints for safety reasons." Horatio's voice was icy.

"Yeah. Figured." Rick sighed, then slapped a palm on the stop button. "Look, I know you're probably upset with me. Telling Delko..."

"You had no business telling Eric anything, and especially not about that." Horatio's voice dropped, his expression thunderous. "Those files were confidential Rick. And they were sealed for a reason, a reason you understood very well when you chose to hand them over to my subordinate."

"I didn't. I chose to hand them over to your brother-in-law." Rick sighed. "Semantics, I know. But if you could have seen yourself...Horatio..."

"That matter was private. If I'd wanted Eric to know about it, I'd have told him myself, either before or directly after I married his sister." Horatio leveled a glare at the taller man.

"I know. I know. Bad call on my part. But you have to know why I did it." Rick's eyes searched his. "You were delirious Horatio."

"A fact you would never have known if you hadn't broken into my house." Horatio's glare was unyielding.

"Point." Rick held up his hands in surrender. "Point. I let my professional curiosity get the better of my courtesy. But you've never stayed out for anything before Horatio. You have to know how suspicious it looked for you to suddenly take off for weeks, with no prior warning." Rick huffed. "Look, we don't like each other, but even I'll admit, you're pretty damn good about keeping your paperwork in order about things like that. You have to understand why I was surprised when you went MIA."

Horatio's jaw clenched. "Perhaps. But that doesn't excuse what you did. That secret...was not yours to reveal."

"It was the only way I knew to help you and your team." Horatio didn't say a word, standing stone-faced in the dimly lit elevator compartment. Rick threw up his hands. "Okay. Okay. I admit, it was a bad call on my part. I shouldn't have told Delko about your family and your personal history. I should have left it alone. I just thought it might give them a way to help ground you, prevent some of those hallucinations." He shook his head. "You were a mess Horatio. You mistook me for your brother, that's how bad you were. I figured, maybe Delko and Yelina could keep you calmer if they knew what the hell was going on inside your head. That's all. I swear on my badge, that's all."

Horatio stood silent for several long moments. Then the muscles in his jaw relaxed. "You did help Eric, so...apology accepted. As long as you understand that the next time you disperse my personal information without my consent, I will take it up with you. And I will not use words." The blue eyes flashed dangerously. "Do I make myself clear?"

"Crystal. It won't happen again." Rick tapped the button to restart the elevator, and the rest of the journey was made in strained silence.

The doors opened to reveal Ryan, standing impatiently. The young CSI blinked, then his expression lightened. "Horatio. I was just about to call you. We got a call out. Shots fired, mid downtown, one casualty. Eric's already on his way, and I just called Alexx. So..."

"So, we have a crime scene to process, and a criminal to catch." Horatio smiled. "Hang on a minute, let me grab my keys, and I'll meet you in the garage."

Ryan grinned. "Yes sir." He darted away.

Stetler removed himself from the elevator. "I'll see you later, Horatio."

Horatio smiled tightly. "I'm sure you will." Stetler left, and he went to his office to grab his gun and badge, and the keys to his Hummer.

Ryan met him in the garage, practically vibrating with eagerness. Horatio nodded. "Got the address?" Ryan reeled it off, looking at his phone for confirmation. Horatio settled behind the wheel of his Hummer as Ryan ducked into the passenger side.

He slipped his sunglasses on, gave his junior team member a small smile as the Hummer roared to life. "Let's go."

The End.

Author's Note: And that's the end of it folks. Thank you for sticking with me through this story!