"My birth name was Emma," Kaitlin whispered, "Emma Hannah Keaton," letting her mid-long brown hair sway on the warm evening breeze. She had both of her arms wrapped loosely around herself. Her eyes came to rest upon the man right next to her, who was toying with his sunglasses.
"My parents both died, soon after one another, when I was barely thirteen, four years after the incident. I didn't have anyone left, and was forced to live alone and take care of myself. I never really felt a connection with any of the foster families I was put up with," Kaitlin said, now pulling her simple black vest tighter over her light gray tank top. "When I turned nineteen, I couldn't bear it anymore and went to live alone."
Horatio nodded. "Do you still have memories of them, your parents?"
She quietly turned more towards him, nodding. "I do, but only the ridiculous little things, it seems," Kaitlin answered. "Like how I used to collect ladybugs and how I once forgot to close that little container in which I kept them. There were ladybugs about everywhere in the house."
The red haired lieutenant chuckled, then reached out his warm hand, laying it upon hers, squeezing it. "Well…" he spoke. "Sometimes… Sometimes it's just the little things that make it worth fighting for, no?"
Kaitlin nodded, quietly turning towards Horatio, leaning her head slowly against his shoulder as she looked out over the waves of the sea. Horatio's arm went protectively around her waist, and slowly his lips dropped onto her forehead. Kaitlin looked up with a little smile, then suddenly looked serious again before standing up on her tip-toes and hesitantly kissing his lips. "I'm sorry," she whispered, looking away immediately.
"Hey," Horatio's low rumble sounded, making her eyes meet his again. The red haired police officer couldn't cover up a smile. His calloused hand gently reached out, raising Kaitlin's chin slowly, before bending down and letting his lips brush against hers, before pulling her into a heated kiss. When the two adults eventually broke apart, Kaitlin looked into his bright blue eyes, finding truth as he said, "You have nothing to be sorry about." She actually believed him; she only wished there had been someone to say just this when she was attacked, and when her parents both died.
Horatio tenderly tucked a strand of brown hair behind the young woman's ear, kissing the tip of her nose. She giggled, then asked, "Is there even a possibility about this ever being more than–" "If you would like to, everything's possible, Kaitlin," Horatio whispered into her ear. "And that means even for you. Everyone's got the right to a bit of happiness."