Chapter Text
Lieutenant Horatio Caine had been sitting at the bar for... well he wasn't really sure how long he'd been sitting there or quite how much he'd had to drink. Signalling to the barman another scotch appeared in front of him. Horatio paused for only a moment and then downed the contents in one go.
"I think it's time to call it a night, H."
The soft, deep voice startled Horatio momentarily while his sluggish brain attempted to identify it.
"Speed," Horatio raised his now empty glass in greeting.
"C'mon H, let's settle up and get you out of here." Horatio made no effort to move in response to Speed's request. Speed sighed and glanced around the dark bar before reaching towards Horatio. "Fine then," Speed grabbed Horatio's wallet out of his jacket pocket. He was glad to see that H had removed his gun and concealed his badge within the inside pocket. Speed pulled several bills out of the wallet and passed them to the barman, "Don't worry about the change, he's feeling generous tonight."
Slipping the wallet back inside Horatio's jacket Speed then used the lapels to pull him to his feet. Horatio didn't put up a fight and rose obediently.
"I can walk out of here on my own." Horatio's quiet statement was directed to his feet but Speed got the message and took a step back. As they walked towards the exit Speed was surprised at how steady Horatio was considering the sizeable bar bill Speed had just settled up for him.
They walked in silence to Speed's car, allowing Tim the opportunity to study his Lieutenant. Horatio's head was down and his shoulder's slumped. Tim had watched over the last few weeks as Horatio had sunk deeper into his introverted personality. Horatio was spending more and more time holed up in the lab, he was there when they arrived and still there when they left. Tim strongly suspected that Horatio now only returned home for the bare minimum of sleep and a change of clothes. The most troubling element in this was that Speed had no idea what had caused Horatio's decline. There was no sudden switch or easily identifiable cause, but there was definitely something weighing heavily on the Lieutenant's mind.
As they drove towards Horatio's house Speed continued to think over Horatio's recent behaviour while the subject of his scrutiny stared blankly out the window. Neither spoke, and in all honesty Speed had no idea what to say.
Speed pulled up outside the building and they both climbed out of the car. Horatio made no protest as Speed followed him. Horatio pulled out his keys and fumbled with the lock while having difficulty getting his eyes to focus.
"Here," Speed reached out and took the keys from Horatio and opened the door.
Horatio studied his shoelaces before walking through the open door, "Thanks."
"I'll put some coffee on," Speed offered as Horatio pulled off his suit jacket, laying it over the back of a chair.
Horatio slumped down into his couch and buried his head in his hands while Tim disappeared into the kitchen. Speed returned a few minutes later and placed a mug of coffee on the table in front of Horatio before sitting in the chair opposite.
"I have absolutely no idea what to say to you right now, Horatio." The frank confession startled Horatio enough to lift his head and regard Speed with curiosity.
"I didn't really expect you to say anything," Horatio mumbled, mostly to himself.
"What? You honestly thought that I was gonna get called out to some crappy bar at one o'clock in the morning to come get you, then when I do find you, you're drunk off your ass and have nothing to say about it?" At that Horatio once again raised his head, this time to protest but Speed carried on before he could. "Don't try to deny it, H. You hide it well, but you are so close to passing out right now. I have no idea how you thought you were gonna get home tonight, but you sure as hell wouldn't have been able to make it here on your own. You can't focus your eyes, and you can barely manage to walk in a straight line. Drink the coffee; you've got five hours to sober up before we have to be back at the lab."
For a moment Speed thought Horatio was actually going to object to drinking the coffee but then he picked up the cup and began sipping it absently.
"I didn't intend to drink this much."
Speed regarded Horatio gently hoping he would open up to him. Unfortunately this hope was in vain, Horatio continued to drink his coffee in silence.
Speed took a deep breath. "H, what's been going on with you lately?"
"Not a lot."
"H!"
"What do you want me to say?!" Horatio exclaimed loudly flinging his arms out wide, narrowly avoiding throwing coffee across the room. It was a rare occasion that Speed had heard Horatio raise his voice, but this was something different. There was a sense of desperation in those words and Speed wasn't sure what to say to him. Thankfully he was spared the dilemma when Horatio carried on talking. "Look, you're right I'm drunk and I have no idea what's going on in my own head right now. Can we please, not have this conversation tonight?"
"You need to have this conversation."
"That, is becoming apparent."
"You gonna be alright for the rest of the night?"
Horatio nodded. Speed lifted himself out of the chair and gathered up the coffee cups and took them back out to the kitchen. Before walking out of the apartment Speed turned back to Horatio, "We are going to have this conversation."
The door closed quietly after Speed leaving Horatio to stare after him for a long moment, "I know." Horatio could still feel his head spinning and knew that he would be feeling the effect this night come the morning. Kicking off his shoes Horatio sprawled out across the length of the couch and passed out where he was.