Horatio slowly opened his eyes, wincing in pain as he attempted to sit up when he saw Alexx enter the room. He opened his mouth to talk, but she cut him off.
"Don't you even think about saying a word, Mister, and lay down. If you move, you'll tear out those stitches. You need your rest. Calleigh is fine, as I'm sure that's what you were going to ask," she smiled at him. She pulled a chair up to the side of his bed.
He nodded when she said Calleigh was fine, then looked away toward the window in his room. He knew there was a way that he should have been able to prevent what happened to her. That didn't need to happen. He should have protected her. He should have expected the guy to have a knife. He should have called the cops sooner. If they were there, Calleigh wouldn't have gotten injured. He should have known...
Alexx knew that look all too well. She had known Horatio much too long to not be able to notice that look.. his downward tilted mouth and his sad eyes with furrowed brows.
"Horatio, there's nothing you could have done. You didn't know the guy had a blade on him. You did what you could to help her. Don't beat yourself up about this. She's absolutely fine. She's with Speed, and she's talking and smiling. She's going to be just fine," she said carefully. She knew that Horatio blamed himself for everything, even if the situation was out of his control. She looked up as Tim walked in the room.
Horatio glanced at the door and saw Speed. He cast him the most apologetic glance he had. "Speedle, how's Calleigh? I'm sorry, I should have protected her better," he whispered with a scratchy voice, trying to maintain his constant composure.
"Hey, we're going to leave if you talk again," Alexx scolded. Horatio gave her a small smile and nodded, then looked at Tim, expectantly.