Luna I didn't mean to make you like Kermie, but I must admit I love crazy Kermie as your ava.
I'd better put a PG-13 warning to this update for some violence.
It was late evening by the time Horatio and Frank got to Danport's other house at South Beach. The street lamps were beginning to flicker on. Twenty-four hours would be up in 15 minutes. Not knowing if there was an acomplice Horatio and Frank drew their guns. Frank kicked open the door and they entered. It was dark in the house and their eyes took time to adjust to the dim light. Horatio nodded upstairs, indicating that he would go up while Frank searched the ground floor.
Room by room, Horatio searched. His heart raced when he reached the last bedroom down the hallway. He saw the form of a body lying on the far end on the floor, partly obscured by the bed, so that he only saw two feet. With his heart pounding in his chest Horatio made his way to the motionless body on the ground. He bit back a gasp, it was Yelina, lying half-naked, covered in her own dried blood. Her face had been beaten such that one of her eyes swelled, with her hair matted to her forehead with blood.
"Get rescue!" Horatio yelled to Frank, "I found her!"
Hands trembling, Horatio slipped off his jacket and wrapped Yelina in it. Her skin was cold to touch, and her lips deathly pale. With trembling hands his fingers moved to her neck, there was a pulse, but it was very faint. Horatio could breathe again. He gently lifted her head, then cradled her limp body in his arms. He didn't like the way her head slumped on his chest.
"I've got you." He whispered, not caring if she could hear him. "Hang in there... you hang in there." He held her tight as if afraid that she would disappear again.
The paramedics arrived soon after and Yelina was taken to the hospital. Horatio paced the floor as the doctors worked on her. When they were done, one of the doctors delivered Horatio the news. She had two broken ribs, and a contussion to the brain. She had been sexually assulted, something Danport had already admitted to. The swelling in her brain would subside, she would wake, the bruises on her face would also disappear with time. She would make a complete recovery, physically. Emotionally, the doctor couldn't say.
Horatio thanked the doctor for his help, then phoned Yelina's mother and Ray to tell them that she had been found. It was agreed it would be better that their two young sons not see their mother this way, and that they would stay with their grandmother until Yelina got better. Horatio had requested Calleigh to come in, to process Yelina before she woke, he felt it would be less tramatic for her.
Horatio waited while Calleigh gathered the necessary evidence. Seeing her like that had shaken him considerably. He felt as if he had failed in his duty to protect her. He buried his face in his hands, letting out a deep sigh. He felt hands gently touch his shoulder.
"I'm all done." Calleigh said taking a seat next to Horatio.
"Thank you."
"You ok?"
"Yeah." Truth was, he wasn't sure, but he had to be, for Yelina's sake.
"Listen, IAB's looking for you, for what you did to Danport. You gave him a broken nose."
Anger flashed across Horatio's face. He had expected repercussions, but not so soon. "What I did to him was nothing compared to what he did to Yelina.... or to those other women he killed."
"We'll hold them off till Yelina gets better, we won't let them put you under investigation while she's in here." Calleigh assured.
Horatio nodded. "I need to be with her now."
"I'll get the evidence back to the lab. If you need anything..."
"Thank you."
Horatio pushed open the door to Yelina's room and pulled a chair that was sitting in the corner. He leaned over and gently kissed her forehead. He sat close to her, not wanting to leave her side. The blood had been cleaned from her face and the swelling seemed to have lessened. He didn't think it possible but even her olive coloured skin looked pale. Even in unconsciouness she wore a slight frown on her face. What did that monster do to her? He watched the gentle rise and fall of her chest, assured that she was alive and taking comfort that she would recover from her injuries. The state she was in reminded Horatio of his mother, what her face looked like, when his father was through with her. Not a good memory. He let out a breath, this was not the same.
He gently took her right hand, the other hand had an IV line running into it. He brought her palm to his mouth and gently kissed it, then held in firmly in his own.
"I'm not going anywhere sweetheart." He said.
With her hand still in his, Horatio hunkered down for the wait. He wanted to be there when she woke.