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Post by gonsy on Dec 28, 2008 10:01:47 GMT -10
Good chapters NV Oracle! Waiting for more. Gonsy
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Post by jessica on Dec 28, 2008 10:05:40 GMT -10
I agree with the others. Who's calling? Dr. Fitzgerald? Jessica? Maybe Frank? Hmmm, well I hope it's good news, no matter who it is.
Nice chapter Oracle. Can't wait for the next one, especially after this littel cliffy.
Jess
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Post by NV Oracle on Dec 28, 2008 18:05:46 GMT -10
Yes, Margaret, that phone does always seem to go off at the wrong moment. LOL
I'm glad you liked the legnth, Sandra. For right this moment, the brain is writing in that length. Yes, Ernie is the guy with the guns, and, yes, that part of the discussion is coming up.
Ok, Jess, here's the answer to that question.
Please enjoy. Here we go.
********************
Chapter 75
Horatio leaned over and pressed a button on the phone. “Horatio.”
“Lt.” Paula’s voice came over the speaker. “I’m sorry to interrupt. There is a Doctor Fitzgerald for you on line 1.”
“That’s fine, Paula, thank you. I‘ll take it, ma’am.”
“Yes, sir.” Paula disconnected her part of the call.
Horatio pressed a different button on the phone. “Dr Fitzgerald? This is Horatio Caine. What can I do for you?”
“Yes, Lt. I wanted to bring you all up to date on Stevie’s progress.”
That got everyone’s attention.
“We’re listening, Doctor.”
“That last cleansing treatment did the trick. Stevie’s white blood cell count is almost back up to where it should be. I have two conditions, but I am going to release him to go back in the pool and the gym.”
The group heard Stevie as he celebrated.
“Yeah! Wooohoooo!” The youngster clapped.
The team also celebrated.
After a few minutes, the celebration on the other end slowly died down.
“Dr Fitzgerald, what kind of conditions were you going to require?” Horatio asked.
“Well, one, that you wait another day before you jump into the pool, and two, that, especially with the pool, you allow me to check bandages and incisions, etc, just to make sure that everything stays status quo.”
“We can do that, can’t we, Stevie?” Horatio asked the youngster.
“Sure.” The youngster agreed quickly.
“Dr Fitzgerald, I also wanted to tell you that we have found a replacement physical therapist for Stevie.”
“Ok. Who?” Fitzgerald wanted to know.
“Ernie.”
“That’s ok, Dr Fitz.” Stevie’s voice came over the speaker. “If it’s the person I‘m thinking, I‘m pretty sure I’ve met Ernie before.”
“You’ll be fine, Stevie.” Ryan told the youngster. “Ernie’s a friend of mine, and we’ve been friends for a long time.”
“So, no danger of him not fitting in with our motley crew?”
Ryan laughed. “No, Stevie. There’s no danger of that. In fact, we would probably vote him President.”
Stevie also laughed. “We probably would Mr Ryan.” His tutor, Kelly, walked in to the room just then. “I’ve got to go, Gang. Kelly’s here from school.”
“That’s fine, Stevie. Concentrate on your schoolwork, and we’ll talk to you later.” Horatio told him.
“Ok, H. I’ll see you guys later.”
Dr Fitzgerald hung up his phone, just before Horatio pressed a button on his disk phone, ending the call.
Ernie chuckled. “We have got our hands full, don’t we?”
Horatio also chuckled. “We certainly do.” He pulled the folded sheet of paper from his inner coat pocket, and unfolded it. “I also wanted to ask you about this, Ernie.” He passed the sheet of paper across his desk.
Ernie turned the sheet of paper around, and looked at it. After a few minutes, he looked back up at Horatio. “Ok, what about it, Lt? Yes, I do own those weapons, and yes, I do have them registered, just in case, Heaven forbid, anything should ever happen.”
Before Horatio had the opportunity to answer the young man, Calleigh beat him to the question. “Why those particular weapons, Ernie? Is there something special about them?”
Ernie thought about it for a moment, and realized what she was talking about. He chuckled, then asked. “You mean why a muzzle loading pistol, a replica Hawken muzzle loading rifle, a Colt Single Action Revolver, and an 1866 Winchester rifle?” When the group nodded, Ernie chuckled, then went on to explain. “I like the feel of working with the old style guns, but my primary reason is that I’m a Living History Reenactor. I work with two different groups. One is a Old West town group that does shootouts and things of this nature. To show what town life was like post Civil War, up to approximately 1875. The other group that I work with is dedicated to the French and Indian war period to approximately just before the Revolution, so approximately 1750 to 1776.”
The team nodded their understanding.
“Wow. That’s impressive. Do you have a favorite one that you prefer to do?” Alexx asked.
Ernie shook his head. “I like them both for pretty much the same reasons, Dr Woods. They both allow me to escape our complicated 21 Century life for the weekend. Sometimes we go hunting with our muzzleloaders, and other times we work on our quick draw contests. Other times, we just do research on our characters, and ‘fine tune’ our ‘acts’.”
“That sounds an awful lot like work.” Eric remarked.
Ernie shook his head. “It may sound like it, Eric, but it‘s not. It can be really interesting sometimes.”
“I can imagine.” Horatio agreed. He stood up and walked around his desk, as he held his hand out to the younger man. “Thanks for coming by, Ernie. Will you be going back to the Hospital today?”
Ernie shook the man’s hand, as he told Horatio. “Yes, I will. I’m going to want to introduce myself to Dr Fitzgerald, since it sounded like he didn’t quite know who I was. I want to meet Stevie, too. There‘s a couple of tests that I want to do with him, just to see what he can do for himself at this point. Just for comparison’s sake, later.”
“I understand.” Horatio told him. “Please hold off on introducing yourself to Stevie, until we‘re there, though.” At Ernie’s confused look, Horatio explained. “Stevie doesn’t trust too many people due to his experiences with Dennis. We want to prove to him that we are comfortable with you as his therapist, and that we trust you.”
Ernie nodded. “I was actually going to ask you guys to come in with him, at least for the first few days, so that he would be more comfortable with me, so that‘s not a problem, Lt. I‘ll be in the hospital later on today. Just page me, and I can be right there.”
Ryan opened the door to Horatio‘s office, and led Ernie down the stairs, to the elevator. As they waited, he turned to his friend. “Thanks again for coming by Ernie. We really needed to find Stevie a new therapist, and when I saw your name on the list, I just knew you were the one.”
“It’s not a problem, Ry. I’m more than willing to help out. Dennis was the exception rather than the rule, and Stevie needs to know that. He’ll be fine.”
“I know.” Ryan admitted. “You and H will show him.”
Ernie shook his head. “No. We’ll all show him together.”
The elevator ‘dinged’ at that moment, and the door opened. Ernie stepped into the car, and waved bye to his friend, then pressed a button on the control panel that closed the door, and took him down to the first floor.
Ryan raced back up the stairs and went into Horatio’s office.
*****************
Please let me know what you think. I'm all ears.
Your friend NV Oracle
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Post by sanne on Dec 28, 2008 20:42:52 GMT -10
Well...at least he was able to give a good and plausible statement about the guns. Glad he didn't hesitate 1 moment. That would/could have looked like he was making up some story, but he didn't. So Stevie has another threapist and a better one than Dennis was.......Now....let's continue the game of getting to the truth behind the accident........AND *puppy-eyes* a little more DuCaine, PLEASE ;D ;D Sandra
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Post by jessica on Dec 29, 2008 1:34:06 GMT -10
Uh I was right about this Living History thingy. *yay me* ;D Nice chapter Oracle, I liked it a lot. Ernie seems to be a good guy, something that Stevie really needs. And I'm with Sanne, a little more Ducaine... would never hurt *joins in the puppy eyes* Jess
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Post by margaret1234 on Dec 29, 2008 4:24:18 GMT -10
Clever girl Jess. It does sound like they have another good man on board in Ernie......Stevie certainly needs to be able to trust his therapist. Personally I would like to see Horatio back with Stevie that relationship is a bit special. I can wait for DuCaine LOL.
Margaret
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Post by gonsy on Dec 29, 2008 7:49:06 GMT -10
Nice chapter again NV Oracle! Gonsy
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Post by michelle on Dec 29, 2008 11:59:17 GMT -10
Oracle it's taken me two weeks to read your story, you've had me hook linr and sinker, you've had me sat here with years in my eyes; and had me giggling. This is one brilliant story.
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Post by NV Oracle on Dec 30, 2008 17:12:28 GMT -10
Wow! Thank you very much, Michelle. I hope you continue to enjoy their adventures.
Oh, yeah, and ladies, you're probably going to get some more Stevie/H time, than you will some more DuCaine time, just to let you all know. You'll see.
Here's the next chapter. Please enjoy. Here we go.
Oh, yeah, and I'm going to give a cliff hanger warning. Most of the other times, it's been completely unintentional on my part (wicked grin), but not this time (evil grin) LOL.
******************
Chapter 76
“Ok. What have you got for me, Frank?” Horatio looked up at the Texan.
Frank passed a file to Horatio. “The mystery’s not getting any clearer, H. Of the four Jordan Millers in the system, there was only one that had been convicted of Attempted Robbery.”
Horatio opened the file and began reading.
Ryan walked in just then and heard the last of Frank’s statement. “Does the file say where the robbery was attempted?”
Horatio nodded. “Yes, it does, Mr Wolfe, and yes, it was attempted at the Lab. It also says that there were others in the gang that made the attempt at a robbery, but the file does not give any names.“ Horatio looked up at Frank. “Why isn’t there any specifics in this file, Frank. It only gives the general outline of the crime, no specifics.”
Frank nodded, then wiped his finger across his upper lip. “I noticed that, too, Horatio. It appears to have been sealed, but I can’t tell by who.”
Horatio turned to his computer, and laid the file on his desk. He logged in to AFIS and brought up the file. With his security clearance, he was able to see more of the file, than Frank had been, but it just brought with it more questions than answers. He stared at the computer screen for several minutes, trying to get his mind to wrap around the idea that Megan and Adele would seal a file, together. “Here’s what I need for you to do, Mr Wolfe. I need for you to search on the date of the robbery, see how many others may have been involved, if they were convicted, and how long they served, if you can. Eric, according to this, young Mr Miller spent some time at the Miami Dade Minimum Security Correctional Facility, however, it doesn’t say for how long, or for how long his probation was, or anything. Do me a favor, and run out there, and see what you can find out, if anything. If he’s still there, try to talk to him. See if he’ll shed any more light on this mystery for us, will you, please?”
Both younger men looked at each other, briefly, then turned back to Horatio.
“Sure thing, H.” Eric replied.
“Yeah. We’re on it, H.” Ryan agreed.
As they moved toward the door, Horatio told them. “Thank you, gentlemen.“
Eric closed the door behind himself, and walked with Ryan down the stairs. At the bottom of the stairs, Eric looked over at Ryan. “Good luck.“
“You, too. Be careful.“ Ryan told him.
Eric walked over to the elevator, as Ryan made his way toward the lab.
Hours later, Horatio opened the door.
“What do you have for me, Mr Wolfe?“
Ryan jumped at the noise, and looked up. “I’m sorry, H, but I don’t have much, yet. I am still working on it, though. Of the 10 arrests that happened on that date, 5 don‘t have anything to do with this, but the other 5 all happened at the lab. One of them was, in fact, Jordan Miller. I’m still working on the other 4, thought.”
“That’s fine, Mr Wolfe.“ Horatio replied. He thought about it for a minute, then suggested. “Put that to the side for a minute, and come with us to the hospital.“ At Ryan‘s confused look, Horatio explained “Since Ernie is your friend, I thought you’d like to be the person to introduce them.”
Ryan nodded. “Sure, H. I can do that. Give me just a minute, and I’ll be right there.“
The red head nodded, and turned and walked out of the room.
In the meantime, Eric drove out to the Miami Dade Minimum Security Correctional Facility, and walked in to the Administrative wing of the facility. He walked down the hall until he came to an office labeled ‘Warden’ and a secretary in the front lobby.
“Can I help you?” The blonde woman asked when she looked up.
“Yes, I’d like to see the Warden, please?” Eric asked.
“Yes, sir. May I tell him who wishes to see him?”
“Yes, ma’am. Detective Eric Delko from Miami Dade CSI.”
“Yes, sir.” She picked up the phone, and pressed a button. “Yes, sir. Detective Eric Delko, from Miami Dade CSI is here to see you.” She listened for a moment, then replied. “Yes, sir.” She put the handset back down on the phone, then looked up at Eric. “Please go right in, Detective.”
Eric cracked a grin as he nodded to her. “Thank you, ma’am.” He walked over to the door, and knocked.
The door opened to an African American man, just about Eric’s height. “Detective Delko?”
Eric nodded wordlessly.
The man stepped aside, and opened the door wider. “Please come in.”
“Thank you, Warden.” Eric walked in and took the offered seat across the desk, as the other man closed the door, and took the seat behind the desk.
“What can I do for Miami’s Finest, today, Detective?”
“Well, Warden, you had an inmate by the name of Jordan Miller, however the computer file is incomplete. We want to know if he’s still here, or if he’s been released.” Eric explained. “If he’s still here, I’d like the opportunity to speak with him, if I may. If he’s not here, we need to know if he was paroled, who his P.O. is, and, more importantly, why his file was never updated.”
The African American man looked puzzled. “His file should have been updated, Detective. I can’t explain why it was not. Let me take a look and see what I can find for you.” He turned to his computer, and typed for a minute. He, apparently was not liking what he was seeing. A very soft “What the…..” came from the other side of the desk. The man stood, and walked over to his file cabinet. He opened one of the drawers and flipped through several of the files, then pulled one out. He read for a moment, and nodded, then looked up, over at Eric. “I don’t understand why his file was not updated, Detective. It would only have taken a minute to type in the material. Unfortunately, it’s not possible to speak with him, because he’s not here anymore, but he wasn’t paroled either.” He walked over to Eric and offered the file.
Eric took the file with a puzzled look. “I don’t understand, Warden. If he’s not here, and he wasn’t paroled, then where is he?”
The Warden leaned against his desk and folded his arms across his chest. “He’s dead, Detective.”
*********************
Please let me know what you think.
Your friend NV Oracle
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Post by sanne on Dec 30, 2008 22:19:41 GMT -10
And now the question is.....WHAT was the cause of death and WHO was responsible for his death if it wasn't a natural cause (and somehow I think it wasn't natural).....and maybe even more important: who was responsible for not updating the file.... You better get that next chap out very quick, NV Oracle.....or I won't have any nails left to bite......... Sandra
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Post by margaret1234 on Dec 31, 2008 6:43:26 GMT -10
Well I think Sandra has said it all really so I guess I agree with her...the next chapter had better be quick NV. I am really wondering what is going on here. Looks like it is a definite cover up to me.
Margaret
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Post by jessica on Dec 31, 2008 6:56:26 GMT -10
Ooookay....what is going on there?? Why did Megan and Adele seal the file? What has happened and why wasn't it updated. There's something shady about it, I'm sure.
I agree with the ladies, you'd better update soon Oracle. ;D
Jess
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Post by gonsy on Dec 31, 2008 8:07:51 GMT -10
Very interesting NV Oracle! Waiting with the girls for more! Gonsy
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Post by NV Oracle on Jan 4, 2009 7:25:05 GMT -10
Hey there, ladies. Here's hoping you all had a safe New Year's.
Here's the next part of the story. Sandra, althought I didn't intend for it to be, this chapter is a bit longer than the last few have been. Please enjoy. Here we go.
******************
Chapter 77
Horatio, Calleigh, and Ryan made their way over to the hospital, and up to Stevie’s floor and into his room, to find Stevie working on his laptop computer.
Horatio watched the boy as he worked with it for a moment, then asked. “Hey, partner, what’re you doing?“
The youngster looked up. “Oh, hey, H.” He also saw that they weren’t alone. “Hi, Aunt Calleigh. Hey, there, Mr Ryan.“ He looked from one to the other. “What’s going on?”
Horatio grinned. “We found a replacement Physical Therapist for you and we wanted to introduce him to you.”
“Oh? Cool.” Stevie replied, as he closed down his laptop. “You definitely have my attention.”
Ryan grinned. “Ok. Here we go.“ He walked over to the land line phone and picked up the hand set. He typed a number into the keys, and put the hand set to his ear. After a moment, once the phone was answered on the other end, he said, into the phone. “It’s time. Can you come up to room 525 West, please?” He put the hand set back down on the cradle, and turned to look at Stevie and Horatio. “He’s on his way. He’ll be here in a few minutes.”
Sure enough, after a few minutes, there was a knock on the door. “You in here, Ryan?”
“Yup. Come on in, Ernie.“ When the man walked in, Ryan angled him over to the bed. “Stevie, this is my buddy, Ernie. He works as a Physical Therapist here at the hospital. He’s agreed to help you with your therapy as well.“ Turning to Ernie, Ryan continued with the introductions. “Ernie, this is Stevie. He’s the patient we were telling you about.”
Ernie held his hand out to the youngster. “Hey, there, Stevie. It’s my pleasure to meet you.“
Stevie shook the man’s hand. “Same here, Ernie.” Stevie chuckled as he shook his head.
Ernie traded a quick, confused look with Ryan, as he turned back to the youngster. “What’s wrong, Stevie?“
Stevie chuckled once again. “Nothing, Ernie.“ He looked up at the man. “If you’re Ernie, does that make him, ‘Bert’?” He pointed toward Ryan.
Ryan rolled his eyes as Horatio and Ernie laughed.
“Stevie, you are so bad.” Horatio told the youngster with laughter in his voice.
Stevie looked surprised at the men. “Me? You guys caught the joke. I wasn’t sure you’d get it.”
“We actually get it fairly often, Stevie.” Ryan told him. “Yes, I’m ‘Bert’ to his Ernie.”
“Did you ever play the ‘Q’ game with him, Ernie?“ Stevie asked, innocently.
Horatio and Ernie laughed heartily at the youngster’s question, and Ryan looked confused for a moment.
“You know, ‘Bert’. ‘10-Q’, ‘10-Q’, ‘10-Q’.” Ernie reminded Ryan.
Ryan laughed, then replied. “Oh, yeah. I remember, Ernie. ‘You’re welcome, Ernie, You’re welcome.” Ryan mimicked ‘Ernie’s laugh from Sesame Street.
Now it was Stevie who laughed so heartily. “That’s the one, guys, that’s the one.“
When Stevie’s laughter slowly died down, Ernie casually looked the youngster over. He noticed that they had been working in the gym, but how much pre-gym testing had the fake PT done before hand was anyone’s guess.
“Stevie, Aunt Calleigh tells me that you’ve been in your chair for just about six months, right?” Ernie slowly asked.
Stevie nodded, unsure of where this was going. “Yes, sir.”
“Ok. Before you got into your chair and went to the gym, did Dennis do any kind of testing on you, to see where your threshold was, or your spasticity, or if you had any feeling below your threshold, anything of this nature?”
Stevie thought about it for a moment, then slowly shook his head. “None of that sounds familiar, Ernie. Why?”
Ernie shook his head, then turned to look at Horatio. “That alone tells me that, yes, he was most definitely a fake. This testing is mandatory, not only for the patient’s safety, but also as a measurement of any discomfort that the patient may experience.“ He walked around the bed, then looked over at Horatio. “Lt, could I get you to come over for a minute?”
As Horatio stepped up to the bed, Ernie moved the roll-a-way table out of the way, then lifted the blanket and top sheet to see if Stevie was clothed decently, or if they needed to move it out of the way discretely. When he saw that Stevie wore a pair of gym shorts, Ernie moved the blanket, and the top sheet down to the foot of the bed, completely out of the way. “Ok, Stevie. Here‘s what we are going to do. I‘m going to run some of those tests I was asking you about.”
Ernie sat Stevie’s file on the table. He then turned back to Stevie and Horatio. “Here’s what we’re going to do. First, we’re going to test your threshold.” He pulled an ink pen looking item from his pocket, then held it up for Stevie and Horatio to see. “This is a stylus. It’s not sharp at all. Here, feel.” He offered the stylus to the youngster, then to Horatio. Each of them felt the tip and noticed that it was not sharp at all. “What I’m going to do is to poke you with the stylus, gently, and the object of the exercise is for you to tell me when it changes.”
“I can do that, Ernie.” Stevie told the man after he glanced briefly over at Horatio.
Ernie also looked over briefly at Horatio. When the red head nodded, Ernie looked over at Stevie. “Ok, Stevie. Close your eyes, please, and tell me when you can’t feel me poke you any more. Ok?”
“Ok, Ernie.“ Stevie replied. He reached up for Horatio’s hand. The red head reached down and gripped the youngster’s hand, nodding his support to Stevie
Stevie leaned his head back as he closed his eyes.
Ernie started poking Stevie just above the band of his shorts, then slowly moved down.
Stevie grinned, and tried to move away.
Horatio squeezed the youngster’s hand as he asked. “What’s wrong, Stevie?”
Stevie giggled then tried to squirm away. “I’m sorry, H, but that tickles.”
Horatio grinned. “I’ll bet it does.” Horatio’s cell phone rang just then.
“I’m ok, H. Go answer that.“ Stevie told the man.
Horatio turned to Calleigh, and motioned for her to take his place.
She nodded that she understood, and moved to take his place, just as he stepped away from the bed.
Ryan followed Horatio out of the room and out in the hallway.
Horatio looked at the Caller ID display, and saw that it was Eric calling him. He lifted the cover of his phone with his thumb and put the devise to his ear. “What have you got for me, Eric?”
“Well, H. I tried to speak with Jordan Miller, like you asked, but he was killed in a fight in the yard.“
“Ok. When?”
“Approximately 9 months to 1 year ago.“
“In other words 3 to 6 months before the accident?”
“Exactly. The Warden is photo copying the reports on the fight. I’ll be back as quick as I can.“
“Ok, Eric. Did the report say anything about what happened or why?”
“I’ll let you read it for yourself, H, but the short version is that a fight broke out in the yard, and Jordan was in the wrong place at the wrong time. The investigation ruled it an accident.”
“That’s fine, Eric. Go ahead and take the paperwork back to the lab and slip it face down, under my door.”
“No problem, H. How‘s Stevie?”
Horatio smiled. “He’s fine, Eric. In fact, I wanted to ask, are you doing anything tomorrow?”
“No. Why?”
“I was thinking that we’d try to get Stevie out of the hospital for the day.” Horatio explained.
“That sounds like a great idea, H. Count me in.” Eric agreed.
“Ok. Let’s meet over at the lab, then we can come over to the hospital together.” Horatio suggested.
“That’s a good idea, H.“ Eric replied. “It‘d be good to get him out of the hospital, at least for a little bit, anyway.”
“Well, you would think so, but if Dr Fitzgerald doesn’t agree, then we’ll have to come up with a plan ‘B’.” Horatio argued.
“I think he will, H.” Ryan pointed out. “I mean Stevie has made it very clear that he’ll jump into his therapy with both feet first.”
Horatio chuckled at the image. “That’s very true, Mr Wolfe.“ He turned back to his phone. “Ok, Eric. Drop off the paper work at my office and we’ll catch up in the morning, there at the lab.“
“That sounds like a plan to me, H.“ Eric hung up.
Horatio closed his phone, and put it back into his inner coat pocket. He then turned to look at Ryan. “What about you, Mr Wolfe. Would you be available tomorrow? If you have plans, just say so, I’ll understand.” He reminded the younger man.
Ryan shook his head. “Nope. No, plans, H. I’ll meet up with you guys at the lab.”
Horatio grinned. “Thank you, Mr Wolfe. It’ll mean a lot to Stevie. Let’s keep the plans just to ourselves, at least for the moment. Ok?”
“Sure, H. That’s not a problem.” Ryan agreed.
Horatio nodded. “Ok. Let’s go check on him.”
******************
Please let me know what you think.
Your friend NV Oracle
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Post by jessica on Jan 4, 2009 7:52:12 GMT -10
Oh my.. I think I'm a bit too young for the Q game.. at least I never heard of it. LOL But I do know Ernie and Bert (just wanted to make sure). Ernie really seems to be a good therapist.. thankfully, Stevie needs one. So H wants to "kidnap" him, huh? I'm really curious about what he has in mind. Maybe some basketball? Great chapter Oracle. Jess
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