Family of Heroes
Kyle stepped out of the car and into the Miami dusk. He was free of jail, of probation, of everything. He now was going to live with his dad, who he knew nothing about. What would he say to his dad? What would he even call him? How would he live with him? He knew nothing about the elder Caine, and his dad knew nothing about him. That was all he was sure of right now. How could his new found dad make up for sixteen lost years? He couldn't. It was that plain and simple. All Kyle had to do was survive two more years with this man and then he would go. He would fly somewhere, anywhere. He would be free to do as he pleased.
Kyle sighed heavily and leaned against the roof of his dad's car. He looked at his new home. It was two stories; a white house with dusty red trim. It had mowed lawn and little landscaping. It had a paved path up to the front door and looked too neat and cut to have even been somewhat lived in. The man is a workaholic, Kyle concluded, turning to look at the rest of the neighborhood. The houses all looked relatively similar, close to the beach with similar trims and colors. Kyle noticed some movement on the sidewalk.
A girl about his age walked hand in hand with a young little girl. The older girl had dark blonde hair and a thin, round, tan face and body. The younger girl had raven black hair and a young, childish round face. The elder girl looked up and noticed him. She gave him a small smile and turned back to the younger girl. Kyle smiled back and began walking towards the pair. He jogged across the street effortlessly and met the pair on the sidewalk.
"Hi," he said shyly at the girl. He realized that he was a good five inches taller than her, if not more.
"Hi. You must be Lieutenant Caine's son," she said, offering her hand to him.
"Yeah," Kyle shook her hand, a little surprised he didn't find himself even a little angry at the girl's statement. "I'm Kyle."
"Alex James. Pleased to meet you, Kyle. And this is Hannah," she said, picking the little girl up in her arms.
'Hi Hannah," Kyle said softly to the little girl. The little girl hid her face in the crook of Alex's neck.
"Hi," she replied.
"Hannah, this is Kyle, Lieutenant Caine's son. Tell Kyle how old you are," she said to the girl gently.
"Me two years old," the girl said shyly, holding up two fingers. Kyle chuckled softly. Alex set Hannah down and turned to face Kyle again.
"She just turned two last week. She's getting so big," Alex stated, sighing happily.
"She's only two, though," Kyle replied quizzically.
"I know," she answered, gazing up at his face. "I'm sixteen. How old are you?" she asked suddenly.
"I'm sixteen too. Do you go to Dade Intermediate?" he returned.
"Yeah, will you?" she asked.
"I think. He wants to visit a couple of private schools, but I'm pretty sure that's where I'll end up," he replied.
"Cool." Alex responded. Alex's face suddenly went pale and moved past Kyle quickly.
"HANNAH!!" she screamed. During their conversation, the little girl had crossed onto the other side of the street and was chasing after a piece of paper blowing in the wind, moving closer and closer to a spot behind a car backing out of its driveway. She didn't seem to be focused on anything else but the piece of paper.
Kyle sprinted across the street and grabbed Hannah and crossed into the next yard just as the car pulled out of the driveway, over the spot Hannah had been standing just moments before. Hannah began to wail at the feel of being in a stranger's arms. Alex was immediately by Kyle's said. Setting Hannah on the ground, she searched all over Hannah's body for any marks or scratches. Alex to Hannah into her arms and breathed a sigh of heavy relief, seemingly satisfied that Hannah had not been injured after being checked over.
"Never do that again. You are in so much trouble Hannah Faith. You could have been killed! Never ever do that again," she told the young girl. Hannah's cries had ceased and she hugged Alex's neck tightly. The little girl giggled and smiled widely; wrapping her arms around Alex's neck, unaware of the life-threatening danger she just narrowly escaped. Alex cracked a small smile and clutched Hannah back to her chest, burying her face in the little girl's hair.
Alex moved Hannah in her arms and faced Kyle. "Thank you so much. You saved her life. Oh my God, thank you. Thank you," she said softly, wiping a stray tear from her eye.
Horatio appeared at the teen's sides. "Is she alright? Do I need to call an ambulance?" he asked quickly, his eyes sweeping over Hannah.
"No, she's alright Lieutenant. Your son saved her. Guess you guys must be a family of heroes then?" she tried to joke, her voice cracking a little under tension.
Horatio gave a small grin and touched Hannah's face gently. Hannah giggled as his finger brushed under her chin. "You must be more careful, Hannah," he said gently, cupping her face with his hand. Hannah giggled again. "Otay," she replied.
H smiled and gave Alex's arm a squeeze. "I'll drive you home," he whispered to her.
"No, it's alright Lieutenant. I can take her home. But she isn't walking," she added.
H half-smiled. "I need to file a report on that car. The driver didn't see Hannah and didn't stop," he said quietly, standing at the spot on the driveway.
"Thank you," Alex whispered to Horatio. H nodded and walked back towards the house, pulling out his cell phone.
Alex turned to Kyle and smiled gratefully. "You'll never know how grateful I am. Thank you for saving Hannah. That was almost too close," she ended in a whisper.
"She's alright and that's all that matters right now," Kyle responded gently, surprising himself.
Alex nodded and rubbed Hannah's back softly. Kyle noticed how grey Alex's and Hannah's eyes were. Almost like pale, streaked silver Kyle thought to himself.
"Are you alright?" he asked quietly.
Alex nodded, not trusting her voice to speak. "Thank you," she whispered. Alex crossed the street and walked down to the end of the block before turning. Kyle watched her and jogged back to the house.
"Need help unloading?" Kyle asked H unsurely.
"If you want," he answered slowly. Kyle took a deep breath and grabbed a bag out of the trunk.
"Alex's little sister is cute," Kyle volunteered, trying to make conversation. Horatio looked up and there was an awkward silence. Horatio responded gently, unsure how to handle the situation.
"Kyle, Hannah isn't Alex's little sister. Hannah is Alex's daughter."