What Brought You Back (H/Y)

Sorry for the delay.


Horatio couldn’t tell how long he was under the heat lamps. It could have been ten minutes. It felt like ten hours.

Every cell of his body was screaming for it to be over. His sweat rolled off his chin and drenched his shirt. He thought he would pass out, but somehow, he stayed awake, his eyes opening and closing to rid them of the sweat that dripped into them. His body was drenched, and his hair was plastered to his face. He tried to open his mouth, to suck in air, but his chest tightened. He couldn’t breathe.

Eventually, he stopped trying to free himself. Time slowed down, the thrashing stopped, and he felt more at ease. The pain continued, but he adapted to it, and he didn’t feel any of it. He was able to breathe, quick, shallow breaths that drove needles into his chest. The heat became so natural and a part of him that when the doors opened and the wave of cool air streamed through, Horatio screamed and began to thrash about again, tipping the chair over. He longed for the heat to return, to engulf and surround him. To be alone again.

Dale was quick to approach Horatio. Horatio was shaking, his body going into short fits. He couldn't take any more of this.

And to make matters worse, Dale leaned down with the short, shimmering blade in his hands and an evin grin spreading across his face.

Crap.

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Back at the crime lab, Horatio’s Hummer was discovered, abandoned. There were signs of a struggle. Horatio was nowhere to be found, and he was reported missing.

The team got along without him, but their worries increased every minute he wasn’t discovered. They had no leads, no evidence to go by, and no heart to work that day. The first twenty-four hours were slow ones, and by the end of it, when they all went home, their hearts were full of worry and a longing to see him again.

The sun set over Miami.

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In Brazil, the day was slow for Yelina. Ray had been dead for at least two months now, and even though her heart was in Miami, her son and his life was here now. She felt caged in this beautiful city, her husband dead, her friends and job left behind.

Even though she was in mourning, she thought of the one person who would make her happy now, and it wasn’t her husband. Her brother-in-law Horatio was probably content in Miami, working, maybe dating again after his own loss of his wife Marisol.

She tried to convince herself that he hadn’t really loved Marisol- but how was she to know? He had chased her killer all the way to Brazil, and she thought they had been happy together. To know that Horatio had kissed someone else, had even been around her… jealousy boiled in her veins, and she clenched her jaw.

Of course, she knew he never could love her. They had been as close to siblings as it came when she lived in Miami. He had always been there for her, back when she thought Ray had been killed. Those long, cold nights when she slept alone and longed to have Ray beside her, she had always known that there had been someone there, someone who felt this pain as well and who she could relate to, talk about it with.

And then when she got Ray back, she thought of him again. She was no longer alone, but Horatio sending her back to Brazil secretly hurt her. No longer could she call him up and have him come over for dinner, she couldn’t be able to pass by his office at PD and have him smile at her like she was the greatest thing in the world.

And now here she was, again. This time she knew Ray was really gone- Horatio had brought back the word to her. And now he was gone, back in Miami, and she was completely alone. The thought of this drove Yelina to tears. She put her head in her hands and cried. Gazing out her window, she could see the beautiful city of Rio stretch out before her. How could this paradise only bring her sadness?

Yelina’s phone rang. She was startled- no one around here would call her except for Ray Jr., and he was at school. The caller ID read ‘Miami PD.’

Immediately she thought of Horatio. Maybe he was calling her to ask her to come back. To say he would visit. Her heart leapt, and she smiled to herself. Here she was thinking she was alone and forgotten by him, and he was thinking of her too.

“Yelina Salas,” she said. She thought of his voice- she remembered it even though she hadn’t heart it in months. To know that here he was, so close to her yet so far, made her long to be next to him, to be in his strong embrace.

“Yelina, it’s Frank.”

Her heart dropped like a stone. A lump formed in her throat and she resisted the urge to burst into tears. Her voice quavered, her hands shook. “Frank, um… is something wrong?”

He sighed. Yelina was worried now. Had something happened with Ray? She didn’t need to hear any more about what he had done while he was alive, or something she would have to deal with.

“I’m sorry to bother you, but I thought you should know, because of your relationship with him- Horatio’s gone missing.”

Yelina couldn’t hold the tears back. She dropped the phone and broke down, crying into her arms. The shock of Horatio going missing combined with the excitement she had built up destroyed her. She couldn’t hold it together any longer. Her mind was made up in an instant. She picked the phone up from the floor.

“Frank, I’ll be there soon. I’m coming back to Miami.”
 
Yippyyyy, thanks for the update. I was worry that you forgot us.
Poor Horatio, poor Yelina, also. She has being through a lot also.
Thanks cainesugar.
 
Horatio was held captive for a total of three days, during which he was given water, but very little of it, and assaulted on many occasions. He didn’t’ understand Dale’s actions, why Dale hadn’t killed him yet, why he was holding him for as long as he was, but the causes didn’t matter. All of the sharpness and the keen observance and curiosity he has acquired as a police officer melted away. By the end of the third day he had given up all hope and resolved to die.

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Ryan didn’t remember a longer three days. Each second Horatio was missing brought more sadness and a loss of hope to the team. He was forced to think about what would happen if his boss really were dead, how the lab would react, who would take his place, and what would happen to the team.

But he was Horatio Caine, so he couldn’t be dead. Instead, Ryan was busy running fingerprints found on Horatio’s car, during the second day Horatio was missing. Most were Horatio’s, but there had been a few that he had to scan through the databases to find a match. It had been an hour or so and he was beginning to doodle on a piece of scratch paper. When the computer finally found a match, Ryan was half-asleep. Jolting awake, he read out the name.

“Dale Coleman, Cal. He’s a former serial killer let out on…parole after a bad trial in New York.”

Calleigh nodded. “There’s out connection to Horatio. I bet he put Coleman behind bars to begin with.”

“And the guy got out on parole,” Ryan said, shaking his head. “And came after Horatio.”

Calleigh sighed. “Who knows what kind of things a psychopath serial killer could have done to Horatio? Ryan, we need a location. I’ll talk to Eric, see if we can track Coleman.”

Ryan nodded and waved to Calleigh as he exited the lab and turned into the elevator. Someone had recently arrived in Miami, someone who was good at getting information on people, and she needed a ride from the airport.

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By the time Yelina and the team found Coleman, everyone thought Horatio had to be dead. SWAT swarmed the warehouse and shot down Coleman as he tried to escape, but Yelina, her gun drawn, went straight to finding Horatio. She searched the warehouse’s exterior, each room inside, and the surrounding warehouses. It wasn’t until late that night that, through a heat sensor, he was found.

He had been dragged to the water’s edge by the docks and left in one of the tethered boats. Yelina figured that Dale planned to cut the rope that kept him at shore when they had arrived and shot him down.

Yelina pulled off the cover of the boat. Horatio was curled up at the bottom, and he wasn’t moving.

“Horatio, Horatio,” she said, tears in her eyes. She motioned for rescue and shined her flashlight down in his direction. His clothes were ripped, and he was covered with a mixture of dried and fresh blood. Her breathing sped up as he was taken away in an ambulance, and she followed close behind.

Horatio was in treatment for eight hours. He was cleaned up, his cuts all treated, and his heart-rate brought down to normal, but he was still dehydrated, had a high fever, and needed blood. Yelina promptly donated, and brought in the rest of the team for testing as well.

Injury-wise, it wasn’t as bad as she had feared. He had one gunshot wound to the leg and many shallow cuts and bruises. He was battered and bloodied, but none of his injuries were life threatening except for blood loss, which was quickly taken care of. It was more the malnutrition, his fever, and shock that had her worried. She also feared that he wouldn’t come out of this the same Horatio that she remembered.

Yelina stayed at his bedside all through the night, and into the morning. She had all of her things at a hotel, and knew she’d have to go back to Brazil soon, where Ray was staying with some friends. But for the moment, all the mattered was sitting next to Horatio, and softly stroking his hand every once in a while to let him know that she was there.
 
Yes they've found him! Everything is going to be okay. Glad that Yelina is back in Miami :D

Great update ;)
 
I know I've been gone for months and I'm sorry everyone... back with the final installment. :)


December brought cool rain and wind to Miami, as well as snow further North. While the southern states battled the bitter cold, however, the tropics still persued, and Miami stayed it's warm haven through a tough winter that devastated the Northern states.

New York being one of them. The streets were lined with slushy ice, that at least one person would slip in on their way across. Sleet fell and caused even more slippery pathways. The temperatures dropped below zero on bad days, with half-frozen snow falling and dampening your head and shoulders. Harsh winds stung your face, as Horatio and Yelina discovered when they stepped off the plane. From that point on, they never left the hotel without a scarf and hat wrapped around their faces.

It had been a long and hard road to recovery, and Horatio hadn't come out of it without scars, not just physically. His body was covered with them where Dale had inflicted the more severe torture methods on him, and he wasn't yet back to 100% strength, but he was getting there. He was allowed back at the lab after Christmas break, and allowed back in the field a week later. It had only been a few months, be he was ready to get back to work. He was just about ready physically.

Emotionally, he wasn't sure, and neither was Yelina, or any of the CSIs. He hadn't spoken much since being held captive, and he seemed more withdrawn. For long periods of time he would stare into space, or he would say something that no one else would understand. It was as if he had discovered some secret, some deep dark idea that no one else could ever comprehend, and he had no means of communicating it with those he loved. He wasn't the same, no matter how hard people tried to see him as if he was.

New York was Yelina's idea. Since he was held captive, she had brought Ray back to Miami, and they were staying in her old condo. She wasn't sure if they were staying for good or not, but Ray had gotten back in with his old friends, and was starting at his old high school after Christmas break. Being with Horatio through recovery had been hard on her, harder then she let on, and she believed that New York was the way in which he would regain his old self back. He had grown up here, and he had become a cop here. While Ray was back at the hotel, she and Horatio went for a walk in Central Park.

It was a nice day, for winter. The winds had died down a little, and the slush had been cleared away the night before. It would be back soon, but for the moment, New York was beautiful. The park was almost empty, and they strolled slowly, Horatio deep in thought.

"Horatio, here," she said, bringing him over to a hot dog vendor. "Let's get lunch, okay?"

He nodded, and took out his wallet to pay for lunch. They kept walking with their hot dogs, but Horatio didn't eat his.

"Horatio, please," she said, "eat. It's cold, it's late, and you need to eat something."

He took a bite of his hot dog, and kept walking. They passed the New York Police Department building, and Yelina steered towards it. Inside was Dale, in the small prison just beyond the NYPD building. Horatio didn't say anything, but he tensed up a bit. Yelina placed a hand on his waist, gingerly avoiding where she knew a large scar was on his side. Her encouragement pushed him on, and they left the park, crossed the street, and stepped inside.

People greeted them, recognizing Horatio from when he had worked there. Some stopped to talk, but they immediately sensed something was off, and left him and Yelina to make their way to the back, where the prison entrance was. It was a small holding area, for people awaiting trial that weren't allowed bail, as Dale was. Yelina had called beforehand, and the guards waved them in.

"Yelina..." Horatio said. "You don't have to stay, if you don't want. I know what you want me to do, but you can wait outside." He turned towards her as they approached the cell guard's desk. Dale was close by, in one of the few cells beyond.

She shook her head. "I'm staying." She rang the bell on the guard's desk. "Yelina Salas and Horatio Caine here to see Dale Coleman."

A guard led them to his cell, and brought up two chair a good distance from it. Dale had his head shaved down to a stubble, and his bones stuck out- he had lost weight. His orange jumpsuit was faded and stained. His features had hardened, as if he hadn't laughed in months. He was laying on his cot, staring at the opposite cell, which was unoccupied, and tracing his finger along the edge of the cot. As Horatio and Yelina sat down, his focus never changed.

"Pretty lady you found yourself, Horatio. I wonder if she knows what you look like when you've been beaten down, as I have."

Horatio smiled a bit. "She does, Dale. She found me, in fact, and stayed with me in the hospital, and through therapy."

Dale sat up, and drilled his eyes into Horatio's. "I wonder," he said, "I wonder if she's heard you cry out in pain, if she's heard your pleas for me to stop, if she's heard your whimpers and moans at the torture you went through, as I have."

Horatio nodded. "She has indeed. She heard a lot towards the end of my captivity, before you were arrested."

Dale stood up and clenched his fists. "I wonder if she's seen you sweat until you were dray, if she's seen you bleed yourself dry, if she's seen you curled up on the floor in your own waste, begging for mercy, as I have."

Horatio nodded again. "Of course. Video surveillance captured the three days we spent in the warehouse, and all of my CSIs have seen it."

Dale approached the bars, and curled his rough, dirty fingers around them. "I wonder if she's seen you at your weakest, Horatio. As I have."

Horatio stodd up as well. "She has, but you haven't. She's seen me make mistakes in my life, she's seen me fall for her, struggle through watching her with someone else, she's seen me when someone I cared for was murdered, and she's seen me when I sent her away to a faraway country, because I couldn't deal with what I was given. But you," Horatio stapped closer to the bars. "You haven't seen me at my weakest, Dale. Those days in the warehouse were not my weakest, not by far."

Dale lashed out at Horatio through the bars, landing a punch at his eye, which began to bleed. Guards rushed in and Yelina stood up, furious, but Horatio put his hand up, motioning for them to stop. Dale breathed in and out, clenching his fists around the bars.

"You think that your hate for me is the strongest feeling in the world, Dale, but you're wrong. Love is twice as strong as hate, and I'm telling you that I love this woman more than you could ever hate me. I feel bad for you, Dale, because you aren't capable of love, and without love we are nothing. You are nothing, Dale."

With that, Horatio took Yelina's hand and they left the police station. She didn't speak, and neither did he, but he was smiling. And when they got outside, she flung her arms around him, and he leaned down and kissed her for the longest time.


The End. :D
 
I can't believe I haven't found this fic much sooner! Anyway, great job cainesugar! This is really well-written. Can't wait to read what happens next. :)
 
It's a great fic but I doubt that Horatio would ever tell that to an inmate. He could get one of his lackies to kill of his love of his life so.. but still it's a great fic, well done!
 
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