20th and final chapter is up!!! This has no spoilers for anything, whatsoever, so ENJOY!!! Oh, and I changed Alexx's husband and kids names in here, but not in the last chapter, because I'd rather get this one up first, then go back and fix the other one. Now you can ENJOY!!!

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"You want me to do what?" Henry asked Alexx incredulously, and Alexx said hurriedly,

"Go by the hospital. Please, hon, do it for me. I can't talk long, here comes Horatio." Alexx hung up with a click and Henry said with a grin into the dial tone,

"Sure, Alexx, no problem. Love you too sweetie, bye." He snapped the phone shut and sighed, switching directions to go to the hospital. When he pulled up at the entrance, a familiar blonde was sitting in a wheelchair, arguing good-naturedly with a nurse. Henry hopped out of the car and jogged over to the blonde, who he knew as Calleigh Duquesne, and her trademark bombshell smile appeared on her face.

"Alexx got you to come get me, didn't she?" She asked as she stood up and pulled Henry into a hug.

"Of course. You got discharged already?"

"Uh huh," She said with a grin, easing back and added, "For the last few days, I built up my strength by walking around my room and sometimes sneaking out so when I argued to be discharged, they couldn't argue."

The nurse nodded with a smile and said her goodbyes as she took the wheelchair back into the hospital. Calleigh took Henry's arm and he helped her into the passenger seat. They picked up the pizzas and then went back to Henry and Alexx's house.

Henry went to put the pizzas in the house and then hurry up and help Calleigh up the stairs that led to their house, but by the time he got back to Calleigh, she was already at the door and hugging Brian and Jaime.

"You okay, Calleigh?" Brian asked in concern, and Jaime looked at her in concern too.

"I'm fine," Calleigh said with a smile, adding, "Thanks for the concern though you two." They nodded as Alexx and Horatio heard someone else come in. Horatio was a little confused, but Alexx's smile widened as she said,

"Oh, Henry must've picked up a straggler…" Then her attention got diverted to something standing behind Horatio, and she said, "Hey! Long time no see!"

"Yeah. Didn't I see you today?" A southern voice teased, and Horatio turned around quickly in his seat to see a pale but smiling Calleigh Duquesne. Her smile faltered a bit when her eyes locked with Horatio's, but he quickly smiled back and stood up, pulling her carefully into a hug.

"I'm sorry, Cal." He said quietly, and she replied just as soft

"No worries." They broke apart as Jaime and Brian shouted,

"Pizza time!"

Alexx, Calleigh and Horatio walked into the dining room where the pizza was all set up. An hour of pizza eating and conversation between everyone except between Horatio and Calleigh, who talked to each other but not in a separate conversation, and then it crept closer to 8 o'clock, and Calleigh kept glancing at the clock.

"Somewhere to be, Calleigh?" Alexx teased, and Calleigh smiled slightly before saying,

"Actually, yeah, because Miami-Dade lockup doesn't accept visitors past 9." Everyone fell silent, and Henry said incredulously,

"You're going to see the bas…" He trailed off as Alexx shot him a pointed look and he hastily revised, "You're going to see the jerk that did this to you?"

"Yes, I am. He wanted me to die, I want to prove to him that I'm not dead, and that he will never have me again." Calleigh said firmly, and hesitatingly looked at Horatio. "Would you…" She started to ask quietly, and he said immediately,

"Absolutely." She was shocked, but recovered and smiled at him.

"Go on then, get outta here. Slap him for me, would you Cal?" Alexx said with a cold look as she thought of the jerk that hurt Calleigh. She couldn't help but hope that someday she would see the jerk on her table.

"Sure." Calleigh said as she hugged everyone, as did Horatio. As they left, Horatio's hand protectively hovered over her lower back, and Alexx looked at the pair, hoping they would get their act together, soon.

Calleigh got into Horatio's Hummer and then he got in the driver's seat. The ride to the lockup was silent, until Calleigh spoke up, "Did he confess?"

"Every single detail." Horatio said through clenched teeth, thinking of what Duke said he did to Calleigh. His hands gripped the steering wheel really tightly, and then he felt a soft and warm hand pull one of his hands off the wheel. He looked down and over at Calleigh and saw her looking at him with a soft smile. He managed to smile back and cooled his anger down.

They got to the lockup just in time and were let back to see Duke. When the guards brought Duke into the room, he saw Calleigh and his eyes bugged out. "Hello Duke." Calleigh said coldly, and Duke trembled, saying,

"You bitch! You're supposed to be dead!"

"What did I tell you?" Horatio said to the other man, and Duke fought his handcuffs, yelling,

"Just you wait, I'll get out one day, and I'll kill you! You hear me? I'll kill you! Bitch!" Duke snarled at Calleigh, and Horatio saw a sliver of fear in her eyes. Then she slammed her hands down on the table, shoved her face close to Duke's and said in a dangerous whisper,

"You won't get the chance. Bastard."

She pulled back as he tried to grab her but his hands were handcuffed to the table. "Get this piece of trash out of my sight." She said firmly as the guards took him back, shaking and screaming in rage.

"You okay?" Horatio asked Calleigh softly, and she shook her head slightly, then striding out of the lockup, getting out into the parking lot and taking a few deep breaths. She felt hands on her shoulders and she said,

"Now I'm okay."

"All right. Do you want me to take you home?" Horatio said softly, and she nodded, saying,

"Please."

They got back into the Hummer and the drive to Calleigh's condo was as silent as the drive to the lockup, only neither of them said anything this time. When they got to Calleigh's condo, Horatio walked Calleigh to her door. When he was about to say goodnight, she asked softly,

"Do you think he'll ever get out?"

"Hopefully not." Horatio said, wishing he could promise her that Duke would never get out, but that wasn't a promise he could personally keep.

"I'm scared of what he would do if he did get out." Calleigh whispered, and Horatio quickly opened her door and pulled them both inside, shutting the door and flipping the lights on. He faced Calleigh and took her hands, saying firmly,

"If he does get out, he will get nowhere near you. I promise." She nodded, tears evident in her eyes and he pulled her into his arms, murmuring, "It's okay, sweetheart, let go. I'll catch you, I promise."

With that, Calleigh's slim frame started wracking with sobs as she buried her face in Horatio's shoulder. Her legs started shaking so Horatio pulled her up into his arms and carefully carried her to her couch, where he sat down, Calleigh still cradled in his arms.

"You'll be okay, sweetheart, I promise, he'll never hurt you again." His voice cracked a little when he said, "I'll never hurt you again."

"You never hurt me, Horatio." Calleigh said softly, and Horatio let her sit next to him instead of on him.

"At the hospital room. I could see it, I hurt you."

"No you didn't. I just, I didn't think you could care about me like I care about you." She said hesitantly, and he looked at her strangely.

"What I was trying to say in the hospital was that I can't live without you, and I almost lost you twice. That made me realize that life is so short and precious, and I didn't want another day to go by before I told you that I love you." He said softly, cupping her face in his hands.

Calleigh opened her mouth to say something, but then changed her mind and said softly, "I love you too, Horatio." Her hands covered his as their lips met softly.

"I should go." Horatio said as they broke the kiss.

"Please don't," Calleigh nearly begged, adding, "I just need to feel safe. I feel safe in your arms. Hell, I feel safe in your mere presence."

Horatio smiled and shook his head, scooping her up in his arms and carrying her up to her bedroom where she pulled him close and they both drifted off, wrapped in each others arms.

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Thank you to everyone who stuck with this story! Thanks so much for reading, and I hope you enjoyed my story! I'm really glad so many people liked this story. And I'll go back and repost the 19th chapter with the right names in it, soon I promise! Adios mi amigos! (Bye my friends!)