Previous part of The Protector.

"I still can't believe Alexx doesn't approve of me living here," Speed grumbled once they were alone.

Horatio pulled Speed into a tight hug. "I think it's more that I'm your boss and she's worried you'll get hurt because of that," he replied. "Alexx doesn't understand our relationship, Tim, and if we shut her out, she never will."

"But you saw her, Horatio, she doesn't believe a word we said," Speed said. "And I'm sure that she's worked out some logical explanation for for the dead enforcers she worked on today, too. It just makes me so mad."

"Now you see why I wanted to keep quiet about all of this," Horatio said. "Including not telling you about it either. When I first took you to my bed, it was out of desire and lust, and i never thought I'd find the other half of my soul. I think it might be for the best if Alexx and Calleigh think we're crazy."

"Not really, because it'll make work that much harder," Speed commented dryly. He shifted a little so he could rest his head on his lover's shoulder. "If they really do think we're crazy then they won't trust our case work and then things could really get messy."

"I trust them to trust us, Tim," Horatio said. "I'm going to lock up. Why don't you head on into bed?"

"Are we really safe for the night?"

"if the fish faces dare come into our home, Tim, they'll see exactly how powerful I am," Horatio said seriously. "And how how much I value my privacy."

Speed grinned and kissed Horatio quickly. "I'll lock the doors in the bedroom."

Horatio let his lover go and turned to the front of the house, checking not only the door locks but all the windows too. He knew that anyone the others sent could, theoretically, just break a window or one of his glass doors, but he wasn't too worried about that. Fish didn't have windows. Plus Horatio would hear the glass break and have time to prepare for any attack.

"What's going to happen now?" Speed asked when Horatio joined him in their bed.

"Whatever you want," Horatio replied with a smile.

"H!"

"We have to just wait and see, Speed," Horatio said. "This meeting the others are holding will last a while, they're not ones for quick decisions. We just need to remember the threat is out there, but we can live as if it's not."

"Sounds like a good way to get killed if you ask me," Speed muttered. "That's probably just what the fish faces want us to do, and they'll strike the second our guard is down."

Horatio leaned in and kissed Speed softly. "They are fish, Tim," he said. "I think you're giving them a little more credit than they deserve."

"They've tried to kill us how many times?"

"And failed every time," Horatio smiled. He kissed Speed again. "I won't let anything happen to you, Tim; I swear."
*************************

The prison break annoyed Horatio to no end, he hated to have innocents threatened because people who were supposed to be safely in prison managed to do something and get out. Speed watched Horatio as the red head pushed himself to the very limit to get everyone recaptured and locked away again. There were a couple of times that Speed thought his lover was going to have a nervous collapse, especially when they went directly from tracking and recapturing criminals to a case where the suspects had diplomatic immunity.

He finally pulled Horatio into the red head's office and pushed him down on the couch. "Not now, Tim," Horatio murmured trying to stand back up.

"I know," Speed replied. "When was the last time you actually ate something. And don't tell me it was this morning because I saw you dump your plate in the trash."

"I just haven't been very hungry," Horatio said. He slumped back against the cushions with a sigh. "There's been too much going on and my senses are overloaded."

"Horatio Caine, you told me there was no threat from the others, fish faces, enforcers or whoever the hell else lives in the ocean," Speed snapped.

"There isn't, but I keep having the same dream, Tim, and that's never happened before," Horatio said. "It has to be a warning, but it doesn't tell me anything."

"Do you want to tell me about it?"

"It involves a boat and a harpoon," Horatio said. "But it's vague, Tim. I can't get an idea of what's going to happen, only that there's something. Someone is going to die and the case is going to change everything for us, but that's all."

Speed knelt next to Horatio and started rubbing his shoulders. "So it's not one of your warning dreams?" he asked.

"I don't know, Tim. I don't know anything any more. I have a feeling that the decision at the meeting the other's were holding didn't go in our favor and this is the start of them pulling their power from us. But without Finns to take a message, I don't know what else I can do. I've written to them several times since that first note and haven't heard anything. It's worrying."

"And you have that on top of everything going on here in the city," Speed said. "It's like the city exploded over the past couple of weeks. Do you think that has anything to do with the others and this strange dream?"

"No, I think that's just people being stupid," Horatio smiled. "Tim, would you tell everyone that I'm doing paperwork and don't want to be bothered for a couple of hours?"

"Sure, but what paperwork?"

"I need a nap," Horatio admitted with a small shrug. "And I can't go home until some other test results come in, so this is the best it's going to get for a while."

Speed kissed Horatio softly. "Sure," he said. "call me when you wake up and I'll bring you some food. Maybe you'll be able to handle some soup."

"Thanks, Tim."
************************

It wasn't long before Speed found out exactly what Horatio was talking about. He couldn't believe it when he saw the victim pinned to the hull of the boat with a harpoon. What bothered him even more was that when he stepped onto the boat to investigate the crime scene, he could feel his powers lessening. It threw him off balance because he hadn't realized how linked to the earth he'd become since his powers as a Protector awakened in Horatio's arms, but he felt almost sea sick.

"Breathe, Tim," Horatio whispered.

"How do you live like this?" Speed asked in an undertone as he took pictures of the blood pool and victim.

"I enjoy the rush of power when I go into the water," Horatio smiled. "But I don't know that I could live with it all the time, especially with how much my powers have grown in the past few years. I think it's a good thing that I have no contact with the earth as you do, otherwise I wouldn't be able to work nearly as well as I do."

"So now that your powers have grown, what do you feel?" Speed asked.

Horatio looked around slowly. "Danger, Tim," he replied. "I won't leave you here alone and I want your promise that you'll stay in the lab if we do have to be apart for any reason."

"You think they won't attack the lab?"

"It's too far inland for the enforcers to come to without a major storm," Horatio said. "And we're both alert to that fact. No, if they are going to attack us, it'll be near the water. I need to know you're safe, Tim. Promise me."

"I promise," Speed said. "But how are you going to convince Tripp you need to stay here?"

"I'll just find something to work on," Horatio smiled. "Besides, it'll be good training for Eric to do something other than lab work. Maybe I'll send him along with Tripp for some of the questioning."

"He won't like it," Speed grinned.

"But you know he'll do it," Horatio replied. "Besides, if this case takes the direction I think it's going to, I'm going to have to let him in the water sooner rather than later."

Speed almost dropped his camera. "Are you serious?"

"I'm not real happy about it either, but I can't think of another diver I can trust," Horatio sighed. "I'll be there to keep him safe, Tim. I won't let anything happen to one of our own."

"What about you? Who is going to keep you safe out there?" Speed demanded.

"I'll be fine, Tim. The others won't attack me just yet. And, if they do, I'll be able to counter it." He walked over and wrapped his lover in a hug. "I'll always come home to you, Tim. You're the other half of my soul and we'll never lose each other. That much I can promise you."
*************************

Speed was in the trace lab working on the computer trying to track some of the items they thought had been recovered from the wreck when Horatio came in to let him know that he was heading out with Eric to the site to see what they could find. Speed couldn't figure out why he felt so worried about Horatio going out on a ship, out into the middle of what was essentially enemy territory, but his heart was heavy in his chest as he worked on the computer.

He managed to lose himself in his work, even though he kept part of his senses on the weather, a connection he'd only recently forged with Horatio's help, both fearing a storm and hoping for one because it would mean the battle was closer. Speed hated living with all the uncertainty that the others were causing in their lives. He wanted to be able to go to bed and wake up with Horatio without having to check all the locks in the house; worrying about constant attack from the ocean; from enemies that Speed had never seen before but hated him with a passion that seemed to only be able to be slaked by his death. He didn't know if it was because of their smaller brains, the fact that they were fish rather than human, or just because they hated him, but he really wanted to beat it into them that he was there to stay and was a part of the Protector. The city of Miami was as much his as it was Horatio's and there was no way in hell he was going to give any of it up.

"Speed."

"Eric, when did you get back?" Speed asked glancing at the clock. He was shocked to see that hours had passed while he'd been thinking. "Where's Horatio?"

"Speed, Tim, I don't know how best to tell you this," Eric said stumbling over his words.

"Eric, where is Horatio?" Speed asked softly, with steel in every word.

"He's gone," Eric replied. He sank down into one of the free chairs and rested his head on the back. "I've never seen anything like it, Speed. One second Horatio is on the deck with me talking about what I saw and the next this huge shark comes out of nowhere and takes him into the ocean. We couldn't shoot it because we were worried about hitting H. We searched for his body, but didn't find anything. The Coast Guard is going to keep looking for the next couple of days, but he's gone."

Speed wanted to scream that it wasn't a shark that took his lover, it was an enforcer, but didn't want Eric to know what was going on. "I'm going," he said.

"What?" Eric jumped up and tried to stop him. "The case needs to be finished."

"Then you do it," Speed snapped shrugging off Eric's hand. "I'm out of here."
*************************

Speed rode his bike through traffic not even caring if he was in an accident, just wanting to get back to the beach house he shared with his lover. He wasn't going to be there long, his promise to Horatio was too important to him and he'd stay with Alexx for the next few days, until Horatio came home, but he had something he wanted to say first. And the beach was the only place he'd be able to say it.

He stormed out onto the sand and down into the surf, for once not caring about the man made crap that was floating there. "Damn you all to hell!" he yelled out at the water. "You've left Miami without it's most important Protector! GIVE HIM BACK you fish faced bastards!"

***

Alexx was worried about her baby. Speed wasn't sleeping and he wasn't eating, no matter how much she nagged and coaxed and begged. He just sat on the deck and stared out towards the ocean. It wasn't even possible to see the ocean from her house, but he just sat there and stared off into the distance. He wouldn't go inside at night, he wouldn't shower or change clothes. He just sat there. She knew it was grief, that he was in mourning for his lost lover, but, as a doctor, she was thinking that she would have to do something more drastic than she really wanted.

Except that when she went out on the deck, he was gone. So was his bike from the garage. Alexx sighed deeply and went back inside to the phone. "Calleigh, sweetie, could you do me a favor and go to Horatio's house and see if Timmy is there, please?"

"Sure, Alexx, but I thought he was with you."

"He was, but he's vanished. He's really torn up over Horatio's death and I'm going to check him into the hospital when I get him back here."

Calleigh snorted. "That's probably why he left, Alexx. You know he hates being cooped up."

"I don't care. If he won't eat and drink on his own, I'll make him. I refuse to lose him too."
************************

Calleigh parked in the driveway behind Speed's yellow bike and bit back a sigh. She knew how much he missed Horatio, how hard losing the lieutenant was on him, but didn't know what she could do to make it better for him. She walked around the side of the house out onto the beach and stood for a minute watching. Speed was sitting in the sand, his bare feet buried and building a sand castle next to him. The only catch was that he wasn't using his hands and the sand was completely dry. "Tim?"

"Hey."

"You scared Alexx."

"I just couldn't take being away from the beach any longer," Speed said. He didn't look over when she sat down next to him. "I needed to be here. I don't know when H is going to come back and I need to be here when he does."

"Speed, he was taken by a shark," Calleigh said as gently as she could. "They haven't been able to find his body. There's no way he's coming back."

"It wasn't a shark," Speed said. Sand swirled up around the castle in a mini sand storm. "It was a fish-faced enforcer from the Others. They were having some kind of a meeting to decide our fate here and they had to have taken Horatio for some reason. I just wish I'd been able to go with him. Then they would have either left him alone or taken both of us."

Calleigh didn't know what to make of his rambling. It all sounded completely insane to her, even more so than the explanation for the guys with the gills who had attacked Horatio and Speed and part of her just wanted to smack him to make him see sense. There was no way Eric wouldn't know what a shark looked like and he'd seen it take Horatio over the edge of the boat himself. "Tim."

"Just don't, Calleigh," he said. "I know you and Alexx didn't believe us the other night, I could see it in your eyes when you were leaving. I know Alexx didn't want me to be living here with Horatio, but it's all I want. Go tell Alexx I'm okay and I'll manage here."

"Speed, when was the last time you ate something?"

"I don't know."

"Don't you think you'd feel better if you tried to eat something."

His laugh was so hollow it made her chest hurt. "I might as well just eat the sand here on the beach," he said. "I'm not leaving here again, Calleigh. Horatio will find me here waiting for him when he gets back and then we'll show those fish faces that we mean business. I can't believe they would just leave Miami defenseless like this. I'm not powerful enough to take care of the city. I have the wrong half of the soul for that. Horatio has to be here to keep Miami safe. If he's not here, we're all doomed and there's nothing I can do on my own to stop it." He finally turned and looked at her. "You might want to leave if any major storm warnings come our way."

"Now what are you talking about?"

"Ancient accord with the Protector says the city won't be destroyed by a hurricane or storm," Speed said softly. "But with Horatio gone, with us going against the Others like we have, I don't know what will happen to Miami when hurricane season starts. There might not be a city here when the Others and the ocean are done with us."

"Tim, now you're starting to scare me."

"Good."

"No, I mean like you sound like you need to go see a doctor and have some tests run," Calleigh said standing up and reaching for his arm. "Come on, let's go and see Alexx. I'm sure that she'll be able to help you out."

She jumped back as a wall of sand leapt up between them. Speed snorted softly. "I told you, Calleigh, I'm not going anywhere. And I'm not sick. There are days I think I'm the only sane one left here in the city. Go talk to Alexx and leave me alone."
****************************

A part of Speed felt bad for treating Calleigh like he had, but he couldn't really find the energy to care. He hadn't realized exactly what it meant when Horatio said they were two halves of the same soul until his lover was taken away from him. Speed felt hollow inside, dead, and couldn't find the energy to deal with anything other than working with the sand. It was when he felt the calmest, when he was on the beach with his bare feet covered in the warmth and shaping castles with his mind. Speed wished that Horatio had been able to finish teaching him his lessons before he was kidnapped so he would be stronger when the red head returned to him, but figured he would just have to keep working on what he knew until it was second nature to him; like working with water was to Horatio. That was the best thing he could do.

What hurt the most wasn't that the Others had attacked the Protector and taken him away, but rather how quickly all of Horatio's co-workers were to believe he was dead. No one would listen to Speed when he said that Horatio was still alive and going to come back to them. They were even starting to talk about buying Horatio a head stone in the cemetery near his brother's and holding a memorial service for him. Speed had almost punched Eric when the other man approached him about the idea at Alexx's house. He didn't know if Calleigh and Alexx had told Eric the truth about Speed's relationship with Horatio or not, but that didn't stop the anger that flared through Speed any time he heard Alexx and the others talking about the proposed memorial service. It was one reason he'd left like he had. He just couldn't handle it anymore and he was going to say something that he'd regret - eventually. At the moment he was just too dead inside.

"You might as well join me," he said with a small sigh. "Who else is Alexx planning to throw at me?"

Eric sat down next to his best friend. "She's just worried about you, Speed," Eric said. "We all are. You haven't been yourself since Horatio died. I keep wondering if I'm going to find you dead one of these days."

"Not until I have my revenge," Speed said.

"Speed, what the hell are you talking about?" Eric asked. "You can't take revenge on a shark. How would you even know you had the right one?"

"I have my ways," Speed said darkly. "And they're going to regret the day they ever messed with me and Horatio."

Eric bit back a sigh. He'd been warned that Speed wasn't making a lot of sense, but he hadn't been ready for exactly how crazy his best friend sounded. "Hey, Speed, isn't that the dolphin that Horatio befriended?"

Speed glanced down at the ocean. "No," he said. "I don't know who that is, but it isn't Conch."

"He named the dolphin?"

"Wouldn't you feel silly talking to someone without a name?"

"Well, yeah, I guess, but still...."

Speed stood and moved a little closer to the water, eyes scanning for any traps. He didn't know who the dolphin was, but he had a feeling that the tidings weren't going to be good. "State your business," he said.

"You should come to the water, human," the dolphin said head only just out of the water.

"And get sharked, I don't think so," Speed replied. "I'm not stupid enough to fall for that trick. You got anything else?"

"We have the Protector."

"Yeah, I know, you want everyone here to think him dead," Speed said. "You're not going to fool me with that one. I know he's alive and fighting. I just can't work out why you took him like you did."

The dolphin splashed some water with his nose. "We took him to end his life," he said. "He broke the vows of the Protector and it was time for Miami to have one who cared only for the city in the role of Protector. A role you do not fit either."

"Bring it on," Speed said. "I think you'll find that you're underestimating me. And my message stands. Bring Horatio back. He's the best thing that ever happened to Miami and every day he's away the city suffers a little more. You're all just too stupid to realize that."

"I think you're the one who is stupid," the dolphin said. "Did you forget that you're not alone?"

"No, I just don't give a damn," Speed said. "Without Horatio, nothing matters."

"Which is why the Protector may have no mate," the dolphin said. "Horatio Caine is no more. And we are coming for you as well, interloper. If you know what's best for you, you will leave Miami immediately."

Speed crossed his arms over his chest and glared at the dolphin. "Yeah, so not going to happen. So you just swim back to the Others and tell them that they're messing with the wrong human. And maybe I'll see you beached. All of you."

"Um, Speed," Eric said. "You're arguing with a dolphin."

"Yeah, so?" Speed asked. He looked back at the dolphin. "You're still here?"

"This was your last chance, human."

"Protector; my name is Tim Speedle. You tell the Others that Miami still has a Protector and they do not want to mess with him."

Eric watched the dolphin swim off and shook his head. "Okay, you want to tell me what that was all about?"

"Just sending a message," Speed said. He sat back down and covered his feet with warm sand again. "Horatio is not dead. I'd know it if he was."

"I think you've finally flipped," Eric said. He sat down and stared at Speed.

"What?"

"Just wondering if I should try and take you to Alexx."

"No."

"You going to tell me what's going on?"

"No."

"I didn't think so." Eric sighed. "Tim, when will you be willing to believe Horatio is dead?"

"When I see his body."

"If they haven't found him by now, they aren't going to. You know that. The shark probably dragged him into a current and he's halfway out into the Atlantic by now."

"No, he's not," Speed said. "He's with the Others, somehow, and he'll be back. There's no way he won't be."

"Okay, I'm seriously freaked out by all this and I'm not leaving you alone any time soon," Eric said.

Speed snorted and laid back on the sand, letting it run through his fingers. "I won't have your blood on my hands, Eric. You need to go."

"You sound like you're going to be fighting a battle here soon."

"I am," Speed said. "But I don't know when or how many creatures will be showing up. I can stay alive, but I don't know if I can keep you safe. You need to leave me alone. I'll be fine."

"Tim, you've lost your mind. You don't need to be alone."

"Horatio will be back soon."

Eric sighed and ran his hands through his hair. A padded room was starting to look more and more likely. He just didn't know if it would be Speed in it or the rest of the team. He knew that he didn't feel overly sane at the moment just from watching Speed fight with the dolphin. And all the poor thing had done was click and whistle at him. Eric wondered exactly how delusional Speed was becoming. It seemed like losing Horatio had driven the other man over the edge into complete insanity.

***

The nights were the worst, Speed finally decided. He hated being alone anyway, but not being able to see clearly just made things worse. For all he knew there were enforcers creeping around the house trying to figure out the best way to get inside to kill, maim, kidnap, drown, or otherwise hurt him and that made it kinda hard to sleep. He really wanted to be out on the beach working with the sand, but knew that it wasn't safe for him to be out there, and that made him cranky. So he finally worked out a compromise. He sat in bed with the doors onto the beach shut and all the lights out and focused on the buckets of sand he'd put next to the house. Speed had added some food coloring to each bucket and, after he cleared off a spot on the beach, he set about drawing with the sand, placing no more than five grains of any given color at a time to hone his fine control. He couldn't remember exactly what Horatio had wanted him to do, but this seemed like the easiest way, not to mention it kept him focused on something other than the hole in his heart that only seemed to grow each day. It was hard to believe that a week had passed since Horatio had been taken by the Others, and Speed was really starting to wonder how and where they were keeping him.

If the dolphin had been telling the truth, H was dead and lost at sea. But Speed knew that wasn't true because he would know if Horatio was dead. Their connection through their soul was that strong and he could almost feel H breathing, his heart beating, and knew that he was still alive. He just didn't know where he was. It seemed impossible that Horatio was being held under the water at whatever lair the Others had or on an island that no one had been able to find. If the Coast Guard really was looking for Horatio like they said they were - or at least Eric told Speed they were - then if he was above the water then they should have found him. Speed had a feeling that the search had been called off and no one wanted to tell him about it.

He must have fallen asleep while drawing because the next thing he knew was that the sun was shining on his face and the connection to the weather that he'd developed was screaming at him. There was a massive storm coming towards Miami. Speed jumped out of bed and hurried to turn on the television to see what the weather forecasters said about it and felt his heart freeze in his chest. Hurricane Anthony was heading right for them. And Miami had no Protector with a water connection to protect her from the storm.
****************************

"I'm worried about Timmy," Alexx said as she sat down next to Calleigh in the break room at the lab. "I think we're going to have to drug him and admit him to the hospital against his will if he doesn't talk with one of us soon."

"Alexx, have you thought that some of this might be true?" Calleigh asked quietly. "I mean, we both did see the guys with the gills and I can't think of any other logical explanation for them. I don't know why Horatio and Speed would lie to us about something like this."

"But Calleigh, honey, evil fish monsters ruling the ocean with an ancient promise to protect Miami from storms?" Alexx asked in reply. "And both Horatio and Tim with magical powers because of it? I just can't believe it, no matter what I saw. I don't know what's going on, but I think they both need some help."

"We all need help," Speed said from the doorway. "There's a hurricane heading towards us and the city will be destroyed. You need to take your kids inland as fast as you can, Alexx. And all of us need to board up as securely as possible or leave the city. I am not kidding about this. Hurricane Anthony will be five times as bad as any storm we've had in the past ten years."

"Timmy, sweetie, they're calling it category 2 at the most," Alexx said patiently. "We just need to board up our windows and head to the safe areas, we'll all be fine."

Speed punched the wall. "You don't understand and you're not trying to," he yelled. "I can't lose anyone else and you're sitting there trying to tell me that I'm sick! I am not sick, I am not crazy. I'm probably the sanest person in this city right now and I am telling you that this hurricane is going to be worse than anything we've ever seen. There's a good chance that Miami will be gone once it's over. The Others are coming to take back what's theirs and I don't have the power to stop them. They've set us up and broken the ancient accord."

Alexx stood up and started towards Speed, only to stop when he backed away from her. "Timmy, honey, you need help," she said. "Why don't you come with me and lay down for a while and you'll feel better once you've gotten some sleep. I know how hard it was for you to lose Horatio like you did, but you have to accept that he's gone and start to heal."

"He's not gone," Speed snapped. "I can't force you to leave, Alexx, but if you love your kids, you'll take them somewhere safe and stay with them. I have things to do."

Calleigh sighed. "Eric told you that Speed was arguing with a dolphin, didn't he?"

"Yeah," Alexx said as she sat back down. "I don't know, Calleigh. I think that losing Horatio pushed Speed over the edge into a full-blown psychotic state and only time and help will bring him back, if that's even possible now."

"So what are you going to do, sedate him and take him to the hospital?"

"If I can get him to stand still long enough, yes," Alexx said. "But you saw that he didn't want to let me near him? It's possible he doesn't trust me anymore and this is the end of our Timmy."

"Well, for arguments sake, what if he's telling us the truth?" Calleigh asked. "I mean, is it possible that the storm is going to be worse than they think it is? Hurricanes can build up speed in the ocean and hit harder than expected. I've seen it happen."

"I have too, but I can't understand how Speed would know about it," Alexx replied. "I'll be on call at the hospital during the storm, but my family will be at one of the shelters. We'll be fine."

"I'm on call here with the rest of the team," Calleigh said. "Eric is going to help me get things ready. And we should probably start working on that now, shouldn't we? I really hate hurricane season."

"Don't we all?"
*************************

Speed didn't know how he was going to get boards over all the windows and glass doors at the house, but he knew he had to because he had to have a place for Horatio to come back to. All of Horatio's things were in the house and there was no time for him to pack up everything and get it to a storage facility. Or some other kind of secure location. Speed could feel it, the storm was growing every second and it was going to hit Miami before they were ready for it. The Others were behind the energy of the storm, there was an evil feel to it that sent shivers through Speed's bones as he worked as quickly as he could, securing boards and clearing off the deck. Moving things into the garage and then stacking food and bottled water in the closet in the guest room. It was the most central location in the house with the fewest windows and Speed figured it was the best place for him to hide from the fury of the storm. There was no way he was going to let the fish faces run him off.

When he was finally ready and knew he didn't have anything else to do, Speed retreated to the closet and shut himself in. The storm was going to break around midnight when no one in the city was expecting it, and there was no way he could warn anyone that it was going to be early and worse than anything they were expecting. Miami was doomed.

***

If there was one thing in Miami that everyone knew, it was not to piss off the read head. Horatio Caine was a sweet man who cared deeply about his city and helping the victims of crimes no matter how much it hurt him in the end. He loved his other half and a dolphin named Finns. Miami was his city and anyone who threatened him, his family or his city was doomed.

When the Others broke all the bonds and protocols between them and the Protector of Miami by sending an enforcer after Horatio and taking him away from his city, there was something they didn't realize. The Protector had been keeping his own council for years on how much his powers were growing and changing. Horatio was above all else a private man who didn't like to let anyone know too much about him. He hadn't even told his lover, his other half, everything. There was a part of him that would only rise to the front when Miami was in danger from the Others, a part that he had been nurturing and caring for in secret for years because he just had a feeling that there was something wrong with the way things had been going, and that he would have to betray the Others and the ancient accord one day to save the city from certain doom. He just hadn't counted on them making the first move.

While Horatio was away from Miami, when the shark enforcer released him, he found that he was on a small island that wouldn't show up on any map because it was a send off point for the more human enforcers, under the control of the Others, and supplied to hold him for months. Horatio knew that the search for him would be called off after two days because Eric would believe that a Great White shark had taken him from the boat. He would be left for dead both by his own people and the Others. But Horatio wasn't going to let himself be taken out of the equation that easily.

It didn't take him long to explore the island and his meager supplies. He walked around the island daily, looking out at the water and planning. Horatio wasn't stupid enough to think that the Others would be sending anyone to check on him any time soon and he thought that it would be possible to escape before anyone realized what he had done. It would just take some planning and subterfuge. The hardest part would be getting back to Miami and his Speed without the Others realizing he was in the water. Horatio figured that there were guards in the water that he couldn't see, sharks and dolphins spying on him at all times. He hated that the dolphins had thrown in with the Others, but understood why they had. The Others had the sharks under their command, not to mention the other predators of the sea. The poor dolphins would have been blackmailed into working for the Others or suffer the same fate that Horatio's best friend had. Just thinking about Finns was enough to make the waves hit the shore harder as the water responded to Horatio's strong emotions.

He had to plan and work everything out perfectly. Horatio wasn't sure how far away from Miami he was, but knew that he could get the water to take him wherever he wanted to go. Another search of his supplies turned up some rope and netting that had to have washed up on the island at some point, and was just what Horatio needed to set up some traps for the enforcers. He tested his theory by swimming in the morning before the sun got too fierce for him to be out in it without sunblock on, and he was left alone as long as he stayed within the reef that surrounded the island. But he could see the circling sharks beyond the coral and knew that they were his guards.

By his fifth day on the island, Horatio was ready. He'd used the net to fish the reef carefully and had enough fish to tempt the sharks with, hoping that they would fall prey to their more natural instincts and forget that they were supposed to be guarding him for just long enough for an escape. Horatio knew that he was going to be sunburned as hell when he got back to Miami because he had to escape during the day, he had to be able to see what was around him in the water as he was moving, and there was no protection from the sun. The other thing that was going to make life hard for him was that he had to take his gun and badge and other ID with him, which meant he had to stay in his suit pants. He abandoned the rest of his clothes just before he waded into the blue water and swam to the reef with his net of fish and other meat that he'd found on the island. Horatio stood on the reef and flung the net as hard as he could, aiming for the middle of the school he'd seen just beyond the reef and then dove off in the other direction.

Horatio found a current that he could work with and used a piece of driftwood as a small surfboard and set off towards Miami. He could feel the storm approaching and knew what the Others had planned. They were going to destroy Miami, eliminate the city to get to Speed. And that truly would be their last mistake.
************************

When Horatio came ashore in Miami, he knew that he had lost at least one toe to the sharks that had dogged him all the way home, but wasn't hurting badly - the salt water acting as a bandage until he could tend to it himself. He rode the current to a rocky shore and climbed up onto the rocks where he could be sure that no sand would get into his wounds. He tore up the lower parts of his slacks and wrapped things up as well as he could and started into the city. Horatio was pleased to see that preparations for the hurricane were underway, but knew that they would be too late. The storm was closer than anyone thought it was and he knew that he didn't have much time. Horatio had to get to the tallest building possible and get up on the roof. He would be able to stop some of the power from there, but he would also need some help.

He could tell that the cab driver wasn't happy to pick him up, looking like he did, but Horatio paid in advance and rode in silence to the house he shared with Speed. Horatio smiled to himself when he saw that the house was a mini-fortress protected to withstand the true force of the storm coming their way, and knew that Tim had developed his weather sense. He unlocked the door and went inside quietly. "Tim?" he called looking around.

There was a creak from the guest room and then Speed was in Horatio's arms, sobbing. Horatio wrapped his lover in a tight hug and rubbed his back. "I'm here, Tim, I'm really home and I'm okay," he whispered. "We'll take care of everything."

"How did you survive?" Speed choked out. "The dolphin told me you were dead."

"There's an island that the Others have for the enforcers to use," Horatio said. "I'll tell you all about it later, Tim, but we have a job to do."

"I know about the storm," Speed said. He pulled back and looked at his lover. "H, you look terrible."

Horatio smiled and kissed Speed's forehead. "I'll need aloe and some loving care later, Tim, but right now I need bandages, a quick shower and some clean clothes."

"And food and water," Speed said. "I'll make you something you can eat in the car. I can feel the storm, H. It'll be here at midnight and no one is ready for it."

"We are, Tim," Horatio said. "And that is all that truly matters. The Others don't know that we're back together or planning to fight them. We'll save the city, but it won't be easy."

"Just tell me what to do."
************************

Speed wasn't sure how smart it was to be out in the storm on top of a building when he could feel how strong the force moving towards them was, but he trusted Horatio. He could also feel the anger and power radiating off of his lover and felt bad for the Others. "Well?"

"I'm going to kill most of the energy in the storm," Horatio said, "and send it back at the Others. They haven't listened to anything else I'm tried to tell them since you came into my life, maybe this will finally get their attention."

"Or make them even more anxious to kill us," Speed said. "H, while you were gone, Alexx tried to put me in the hospital because she says I'm sick. She doesn't believe anything we've told her and wants to get me help."

"I'll have a talk with her," Horatio said. "If only to get her to leave you alone. But you can see why it's not a good idea for people to know the truth about us."

"No shit," Speed said. "They all think we're nuts. Oh yeah, and you now have a grave near Raymond's because everyone at the department gave up on you."

Horatio growled a little. "They'll be in for a surprise then," he said. "Let's take care of our city, Tim, and then we'll handle everything else. Okay?"

"I'm glad you're back, H," Speed grinned.

***

Speed wasn't sure how they got up onto the roof of the Four Seasons Hotel and Tower, but knew that Horatio had a plan that would keep them safe from the storm. Speed was sitting by one of the large storage boxes that seemed to be so necessary on all building roofs playing with some sand. He'd taken to carrying a bag around with him in his pocket to help keep him grounded. "H, it's almost time."

Horatio was out in the middle of the roof standing in his classic pose, hands on his hips, head tilted and looking out towards the sky. "I can feel it, Tim," he said with a small smile. "I need you to stay there no matter what happens, okay?"

"This is going to be dangerous, isn't it?" Speed grumbled.

"Only for those who want to try and hurt us and our city," Horatio said. "Tim, I know you've been practicing, I can feel it in your body, but I need you to not interfere with me. This is going to be more water-based than anything else, but if you see anything you can handle that I miss, you can deal with it, but stay there. Don't come out into the storm."

Speed nodded and put the sand away. "I'll keep my eyes on you, H," he said with a smile.

Horatio smiled and looked back out towards the ocean. He closed his eyes and spread his arms wide, feeling the water in the air, the thickness of the clouds and the underlying menace in the storm that was rushing towards them. The Others had decided to take out more than Miami with the storm, it was strong enough to eliminate most of the cities in Florida, and maybe up the east coast. There was no way that Horatio could let something like that happen to innocents, and he thought that he would be able to stop the storm's wrath before it did too much damage. But it was going to be a challenge.

Speed watched over Horatio was he let his head drop back, eyes closed, working with the energy from the storm. He wasn't sure exactly what his lover was doing, but he could see streaks in the clouds that seemed to be growing and shrinking as Horatio's hands moved, and Speed had a feeling that it was part of whatever the Protector was doing with the storm. It was all Speed could do not to collapse under the weight of the storm, hell, it had to be a category seven at least, and he wondered how anyone could have been stupid enough to report it as a measly category two. If it slammed into Miami at the force it was approaching at, with so many still in their homes, everyone in the city was doomed. Speed almost missed a tree branch flying towards Horatio, and reacted just in time to stop the branch, directing it back out towards the sky. He took a deep breath and focused on the air around Horatio, keeping his eyes open for anything else that the storm - or the Others - might throw at them. Literally.
************************

Horatio embraced the energy from the storm, the water hidden within the clouds waiting to pour down on Miami and the innocents she held within her buildings, and started to work with it. His body became the conduit to take it from the storm, lessening the danger approaching the city, and fed it back into the water creating a back current to the storm, one that would slam into the stronghold the Others had under the ocean. Faintly in the background he could feel Speed working with his own powers and knew that there were some dangers that he was missing in his focus to take as much of the raw energy out of the storm as possible.

He felt Speed move when Horatio fell to his knees, but his other half didn't come any closer, obeying what Horatio had told him and also the rhythm of the storm. Horatio hadn't realized exactly how much energy it would take out of him to stop the threat, but finally stopped and released his hold when the level fell to a more manageable level. And it was only then that Speed joined him.

"We need to get under cover," Speed said helping Horatio sit up.

"We'll be fine here," Horatio replied. "I need to be able to monitor the storm. It won't touch us, Tim."

"H, you can't even stand up. There's no way in hell you'll be able to do anything else tonight."

"Tim, trust me," Horatio said. "Please. We need to stay here."

Speed sighed and sank down on the roof next to his lover. "Then tell me what happened after the shark bastard enforcer took you from the ship," he said. "It'll help pass the time."

"Thank you," Horatio said kissing Speed's cheek softly.
**************************

The hurricane washed over Miami early but at the predicted category. Horatio hadn't been able to hold it back enough to get it to break when the forecasters has predicted and he could only hope that people had been ready before they went to bed. He didn't know what the death toll was going to be, but had a feeling it was still going to higher than he wanted, or anyone was expecting. He and Speed stayed on the roof until the clouds were completely gone and the sun was shining weakly on the city. "Did it work?" Speed asked.

"I think so," Horatio replied. "What do you sense?"

"Nothing close," Speed said. "And I know that's what you're feeling or you wouldn't have asked me."

"Guilty," Horatio smiled. "I'm proud of you, Tim. You managed to expand your talents and powers while I was gone and help me with one of the biggest tasks I've ever undertaken. I don't know what's going to come at us next, but I hope it will take the Others a while to recover. It'll let us have some time to put Miami back together."

"You want to go home?" Speed asked. "You look like you could sleep for a week."

"Lab first," Horatio said. "I need to let some people there know I'm alive and not really happy with them. Just tell me they didn't declare me dead and have all my paperwork filed."

Speed ducked his head. "I don't know," he said. "Alexx wanted to drug me so I stayed away from the lab after you were shark-napped. Hell, Calleigh could be running things now for all I know."

"Then we'll just have to find out."

Speed smirked and helped Horatio to his feet. "I can't wait," he said.

"Tim, evil doesn't suit you," Horatio scolded. "Leave that to me, please."

"Aw, H, you take all the fun out of everything."
**********************

Calleigh was in the trace lab putting together another field kit when she heard a small cough behind her. One she recognized. "Speed, where the hell have you been? I've been trying to get a hold of you for the past four hours," she said not turning around. "We need every hand on deck and out in the field on crime scenes. Dispatch is in an uproar and isn't able to prioritize anything yet."

"He was helping me with something, Calleigh."

She dropped the test tube she was holding and spun around. "Horatio?" Calleigh whispered. "No, it can't be, I'm dreaming."

"I'm here, Calleigh," Horatio said. "But I'm very disappointed in all of you."

"Horatio, what? How? I don't understand."

"Sit down before you fall over," Speed snorted. "I told you he was still alive, Calleigh, but none of you would listen to me."

"In this battle I was fighting, Calleigh, I underestimated my opponants and put myself in harms way," Horatio said softly. "They were able to kidnap and hold me, but not guard me as well as they should have. I escaped and made it back to Miami last night. I would have contacted one of you sooner, but there was something I had to do first. I had to save the city. You can believe me or not as you like, but I spent the night out fighting the storm to keep Miami standing."

"You mean, Speed, you were right about the storm?"

"Yeah," Speed snorted.

"Calleigh, what's the hold up?" Eric called from the hall. "We need to get a......"

Horatio and Speed stared down at Eric. "Didn't think he'd faint," Speed snorted. "That'll give me ammunition for a few months."

"Tim, be nice," Horatio murmured. "Calleigh, I understand that things are tight here, but Tim and I are going home. I've had a rough week and need to sleep and get some aloe on my skin. I want to know that you'll be able to run the lab and take care of any paperwork that might have happened because of my absence."

"Sure," she said weakly.

"Thank you," Horatio smiled. "Tim and I will be back in a day or two and I'll take care of anything then."

"Okay."

Horatio nodded and slipped on his sunglasses. He and Speed had one last stop to make before they went home. It was one that Horatio was really looking forward to.
***********************

Alexx was busy at the hospital. The storm had hit so early that the number of patients coming through had been tripled and she couldn't remember the last time she had been so busy. Not even pausing to read the name on the next chart she grabbed from the nurses' station, she went into the room and stopped dead.

"Hello, Alexx," Horatio said softly. "I was hoping you might be able to stitch up a wound for me."

"Horatio Caine, what the hell is going on here?" Alexx demanded shutting the door behind her and putting her hands on her hips.

"Nice to see you too, Alexx," Speed commented from the chair. "H lost a couple of toes to the sharks and he needs to get them stitched up before he heads home. We thought you'd like to take care of it for him."

"Sharks?" Alexx asked.

Horatio slipped off his shoe and indicated the bloody bandages. "It happened in the water, so I don't think I lost too much blood," he said. "But I've been feeling kind of woozy since the sun rose."

"Think that was because you took on the storm, H," Speed said.

"Perhaps," Horatio conceded. "Alexx, please? It does hurt now that I don't have anything else on my mind."

She slipped on a pair of gloves and started to unwrap the bandages Horatio had applied the night before. "I want to know where you've been," she said. "And why you didn't show up before this."

"I was kidnapped and held prisoner for a week," Horatio said. "And only just managed to escape yesterday. Tim is going to treat my sunburn for me, but this was beyond his abilities. And Alexx, speaking of my lover, I'm not happy to find out that you were talking about drugging him."

"You didn't hear what he was saying," Alexx said. "I was worried that your death, well, kidnapping had done something to him."

"Driven me crazy, you mean," Speed said. "I thought you trusted me, Alexx."

"Timmy, you were talking to dolphins and ranting about how the storm was more powerful than it actually was," Alexx said as she set to work. "What was I supposed to think."

"What dolphin?" Horatio asked, looking at his lover.

"Some random one that tried to get me to go into the water to talk with him," Speed said. "Like I was going to be stupid enough to fall for that one. Unfortunately, Eric was there when I had the argument. I guess he must have told Alexx about it."

Horatio sighed. "The Others have enslaved the dolphins," he said. "I'll figure something out, but it will take time. In the meantime, Tim, if you see one you don't know, tell me immediately."

"Sure," Speed agreed. "I haven't seen Conch around for a while though."

"I'm sure he's close by," Horatio said. "Ouch, Alexx."

"Sorry, Horatio, but this is infected and needs to be cleaned out," Alexx said. "You're lucky you aren't going to lose your foot. What were you thinking not coming to the hospital as soon as you escaped?"

"I had other matters on my mind," Horatio said. "Like lowering the force of the hurricane to a more reasonable level." He turned his head and looked directly at her. "I know you don't believe any of this, Alexx, but I will ask that you respect both Tim and myself and leave us alone about it. And not tell anyone else. All that will do is cause us pain."

"Horatio, I don't know," Alexx said.

"I could cite it under patient confidentiality," Horatio said softly.

She looked at him. "That's low."

"No lower than you trying to sedate my lover against his will," Horatio said.

"I guess we're at an impasse," she sighed. "Let me think about it?"

"Okay," Horatio agreed.

Speed sighed. There were days that his lover was a little too easy going. And days that his intensity threatened to burn everyone around him. Those were the days that Speed had the most trouble with because he just wanted to jump Horatio and not let him up for hours, if not days. He had a feeling that everything was going to work out just fine.

***

3 months later

Horatio stood on the deck at their house and looked around him. The ocean was quiet and he didn't sense any danger coming from it. Since he turned the power of the hurricane back around at the Others, he hadn't heard anything from them or their messengers. Neither he nor Speed had lost their powers, and had, in fact found that they were still growing the more time they spend together.

"Is Miami safe for another day?" Speed asked as he wrapped his arms around Horatio's waist.

"I think so," Horatio replied. "How was work?"

"Alexx seems to be handling being around me a little better," Speed said. "I don't know if I'll ever be able to have the same relationship with her that I did before, but she's stopped flinching every time she looks at me."

"I wish there was a way to erase their memories," Horatio sighed. "But it sounds like she's coming around."

"Yeah," Speed said. "Anything from the Others?"

"No, but they could never contact us again," Horatio said. "I'm trying to work out a way to leave a message for the Protector that comes after us so they know what a threat there is from the ocean, and that love only enhances the powers we're given at birth."

"You'll work something out," Speed grinned. "What about a book of some kind, or a story that you could put up online where a keyword search will hit on it?"

Horatio grinned. "I like that idea," he said. "We'll have to work on it when we have the time."

"True," Speed agreed. "Miami never closes, does it?"

"I wouldn't have it any other way," Horatio said looking back out at the water with a thoughtful expression. "Not any other way."

***