Tornado

Lina looked up and smiled slightly at her. "Thank you," she said softly.

"For what?"

"Being here."

"Anytime."

It was them who found Ryan, twenty minutes later. "Ryan!" Lina and Natalia started shoveling debris off as the rest of them came running, including Alexx who had been keeping the girls company until they found him.

"Call an ambulance!"

"Ryan. Ryan, babe, can you hear me? Open your eyes for me, okay?" Lina made room for Alexx but kept trying to move things off of him.

Ryan mumbled something but didn't move. Walter and Eric took over uncovering Ryan, being careful not to move anything too suddenly and until they were sure it was okay. Calleigh ran back to the Hummer to tell Kaya he'd been found. Kaya smiled and tried to get out.

"Wait for me. We can't go all the way down to him because we'll be in the way." She got Mari out of her car seat, carrying the little girl facing backwards so she couldn't see.

"Lina!"

"Yeah, baby girl. We're going to go see Lina. She's busy taking care of Uncle Ryan so we'll see her later."

"Mama, where KK?"

By the time Calleigh looked around, Kaya was already down with her parents.

"Mama, want KK."

"Not right now, baby girl. Why don't we see if we can find Mami to sit with you? You want to go see Mami and Papi?"

"Yeah!"

Horatio started to argue when he saw his younger daughter there with them. "Where's Lina?"

"Down there with Ryan, sweetheart," Natalia told her daughter gently. "Aunt Alexx is down there and the ambulance is coming."

"Ambulance? Why?"

Horatio knelt to be face to face with his daughter. "The storm took him, sweetheart. That's why everyone was looking for him."

"Is he okay?"

"We don't know."

"I want to see him."

"Not right now, sweetheart. Right now Lina and Aunt Alexx need to be with him."

"Lina needs me."

"No, Kaya. Not right now."

"Fine. Can I help?"

"There's nothing we can do right now," Natalia tried to tell her.

"Help with anything at all?"

Horatio took Kaya's hand in one of his and Natalia's in the other. Calleigh held one of Kaya's hands and, when Eric and Walter came up, Eric stood with one hand on his daughter's back, one on Calleigh's, and Walter stood on the other side of Natalia so they formed a wall of support.

It was hard to tell whether Alexx or Lina seemed to have aged more when the medics came. Lina held her little sister briefly, kissing into her hair. "I'll see you later, okay?" She whispered as they checked Ryan out.

"I love you, sweetheart." She hugged Kaya and returned to Ryan. Kaya closed her eyes and wished for her sister to be happy.

"We're going to take the baby to Eric's mom," Calleigh told Horatio after the ambulance, with Ryan, Lina, and Alexx on board, left. "We'll meet you there."

"Okay. Take Kay too, please."

"I want to go with Lina," Kaya said, looking at her mom for help.

"I know, honey, but Lina needs to be with Ryan for now."

"She needs me too, doesn't she, Aunt Calleigh?"

"Of course she does, sweetheart, but she's going to be with Ryan right now. She'll need you more when he gets to come home." She hoped she was saying the right things, although there was no guarantee Ryan would be going home or when.

"Promise?"

"I need your help right now. Mari's glad she's going to see her Mami, but she's upset she doesn't get to see Lina and that her dad and I aren't going to stay with her. Can you keep an eye on her for me?"

"Okay."

She walked Kaya back to Eric and Mari. "You should talk to Walter." Natalia whispered to Horatio.

"About?"

"About how it's not his fault, he did the best he could, no one could have beaten a tornado, not even you..."

"On it." She squeezed his hand gently. "This is a nightmare."

"I don't know who I feel sorrier for. Ryan, Walter, or Lina." She paused. "Horatio...he's going to be okay...right?"

"Of course."

"How are you always so sure?" She asked with a hint of a smile, although her eyes still looked worried and sad.

"Practice."

She nodded. "It seems like we have more than our share of practice, doesn't it?" She held him, not worrying about who might see.

"And we take it in our stride."

She nodded. "Yes, we do."

"Why don't you go home a bit?"

"No, I need to be at the hospital with Lina. I'll...We'll...go later."

"You sure?"

"Yeah. I couldn't rest anyway, worrying about everyone."

"Okay."

"Do you want me to wait for you?"

"No. I might be awhile."

"Call me if you need me. I'll keep you updated." She kissed his cheek, going to the Hummer.

"Walter."

"Yeah, H?" The younger man asked.

"You okay?"

"I keep replaying it over and over in my mind."

"It's not your fault."

"Somewhere I know that, but..."

"Try to not blame yourself."

"Did Lina go with him?"

"Yes."

"I don't know how I can make it up to her, to either of them."

"No one blames you."

"I blame me."

"You don't need to."

"You should go to the hospital, H."

"Come with me."

Walter looked at his hands that looked like ground meat. He wanted to say yes, but it was hard for him. He finally nodded, wanting to be there when his friend woke up.

"Let's go." Walter walked with his boss to the Hummer.

*****

Lina had hoped Ryan would wake up before they took him away. "Please, Alexx. Please take care of him for me."

"Always." She tried to smile for her friend, but couldn't, wrapping her arms around herself and settling down to wait.

Natalia soon arrived and joined Lina. "Hey," she whispered.

"Any news?"

"He hadn't woken up when Alexx took him back."

"Want me to check?"

"She'll come get me when it's time." She paused. "Stay with me. Please."

"Sure."

Lina realized that her hands were hurting and looked at how sliced they were. The only thing she could think of was that she had hurt them digging Ryan out and hadn't noticed.

"Can...can we wait? Until Alexx comes back?" She thought about that for a moment. As soon as Alexx came back, she'd want to be with Ryan and she wouldn't want to leave him. "Or until someone else comes and can go? I don't...I don't want to be by myself." She knew she sounded like she was Kaya's age, or younger, but she didn't want to be alone, either with her thoughts or with the truth when Alexx came out.

Horatio and Walter walked in soon after. Walter still wouldn't look at Lina or talk much.

He looked worried at first and nodded. "Sure. Walter, come on. You can get yours looked at now too."

"Walter won't even look at me."