Horatio was startled from his sleep when the door to his room opened. Envy was standing over him at the time,smirking. Horatio noticed the cuffs and the long chain that extended to the floor and instantly began to yank on it. Eric,Frank,and Ryan came in,and Envy tried to fight them off.

Myth or not,it was still worth a shot when Frank fired his gun at the vampire with a silver bullet. Envy fell,eyes wide with shock. Ryan dug out the key to the cuffs from Envy's pocket. Frank and Eric looked at the small table in the corner of the room,and,pulling on a pair of gloves,Eric picked up one of the syringes.

He stared at the liquid inside and then looked over at Horatio. Ryan was getting ready to set him free,but he wasn't paying any attention to the brunette.

Instead,he was staring at the syringe in his hand hungrily. The key slipped into the cuffs easily,and before the metal could even hit the floor,Horatio launched towards the table. Eric dropped the syringe and did his best to pull the redhead away from it.

''LET ME GO!'' Frank grabbed Horatio's other arm just as he was about to reach the syringe.

''H,YOU DON'T NEED IT!''Eric yelled. ''LET GO OF ME,DAMMIT!'' ''FRANK!''

The Texan did his best to pull the redhead away from the table. Ryan bagged the syringes to prevent Horatio from getting to them,but before his friends could even warn him about being too close,Horatio's arm swung free,catching the young man on the back of the head.

Ryan fell like a stone.

Frank and Eric hauled a kicking and screaming Horatio outside to the ambulance. There,the EMT's had to restrain the man to the stretcher. Horatio thrashed violently on the stretcher and pulled through the straps around his wrists. Eric handed Frank a set of handcuffs,and with his own,they cuffed the redhead's wrists to the stretcher.

The EMT's managed to get an oxygen mask on Horatio's face before they loaded him into the ambulance.

Eric came in behind them. ''Give him a sedative.'' ''But we-'' ''Do it! It'll save you from the headache of getting him into the ER while conscious. The EMT's looked at each-other,understanding the logic.

The needle slipped into his arm effortlessly,and the redhead relaxed with a sigh. Eric finally stopped to breath while Frank rushed inside to help with Ryan.

Natalia gazed upon her love's sleeping face once more. The hospital had gotten him off of the heroin,and now he was sleeping.

She looked down into her hand at the golden rings she had just bought. Engagement rings. Rick had helped pay for them. Smiling softly,she slipped one onto her finger and gently slid the other onto his. Then she took his hand and squeezed it softly. She didn't expect a response. Who would? But he stirred and returned the feeling as he opened his blue eyes to look at her.

''Feeling better?''

Horatio smiled. ''I'll feel better once I'm out of here. I'm not a huge fan of hospitals.''

''Why not?''

''Aside from the bills? I spent my childhood practically living in them.''

Natalia nodded in understanding. Suddenly Horatio's smile dropped. ''How much did I take in?''

Natalia stared. ''Horatio,don't do that to yourself.''

''Natalia,I have to know.'' ''Horatio,you-'' ''Please.''

She sighed. ''Just under one thousand milligrams. You were well on your way to an overdose when we got to you.''

''And Envy?'' ''On Alexx's table.'' Horatio sighed in relief. ''When do they plan on letting me out?'' ''Tonight actually.''

''That's good...Now where did this come from?'' Horatio held up his hand,the light in the room bouncing off the golden ring.

''I bought it...Stetler helped pay.'' ''What'd you do to talk him into it?''

''Nothing. He was more than happy to.'' Horatio smiled at her. He knew what the ring was for,and he couldn't have felt happier.

Natalia had proposed to Horatio,who had excepted,and neither of them could have been more happier. That's why Natalia was thrown onto Horatio's bed when they got home.

Horatio savagely climbed on top of her,his hands pinning her wrists to the bed as he crushed his lips against hers. The kiss was ruthless,and Natalia winced when her bottom lip was split open by Horatio's teeth. Not that she minded,though.

It didn't take long before the redhead had successfully painted Natalia's lips red with her blood. A small trail began,sliding down her cheek onto the bed.

Horatio pulled away slightly and licked her cheek,cleaning the blood off. From there he began exploring her body,tearing her shirt and bra away and treating her as a delicate rose. Natalia slipped her hands free and ran her fingers through his soft red hair as his lips reached her breasts. There was a heavy sigh of enjoyment,and Horatio looked up at Natalia.

Her brown eyes were glazed with lust,and she had a strange little smile on her face. ''Is something wrong?''

''...No...''Horatio released a sudden groan at the feeling of a knee pressing against his groin.

Horatio's eyes slammed shut at the feeling. ''Y-you know my feelings on being tortured-'' ''-And now you know mine. Lie down.'' It was an order,not a request;and when he refused to move she slipped free from his hold,causing him to fall against the mattress. Natalia flipped him over onto his back.

Natalia chuckled. ''You're too slow.''

When morning came and Natalia heard Horatio's cell phone ring,she had no choice but to vacate the shower. Wrapping a white towel around herself,she stepped into the bedroom and answered it.

''Hello?''

''Nat? I called Horatio's phone. Why did you answer?''Eric asked.

The brunette smiled and looked over towards Horatio,still asleep under the covers with his back turned to her.

''He's still in bed.''

''Does he plan on coming to work,today?''

Upon hearing the conversation interfere with his dreams,Horatio opened his eyes and payed as much attention as he could in his state of drowsiness.

''No. He didn't rest properly last night,''she said as she smiled mischievously at Horatio,''I'll be staying with him to make sure he doesn't hurt himself.''

Horatio smiled and closed his eyes.

''Well,let me know how long it took for you to wash the bedding,then.'' With that,he hung up. Natalia stared at the phone.

Please Review! I'm well aware it took long enough. Never really had the time to get on the computer to do any writing.

High school and homework will do that. ;)