Title: The Box
Author: Aeon Cole
Rating: FRT
Genre: Angst
Warning: SLASH
Fandom: CSI Miami
Pairing: Horatio/Speed
Disclaimer: I don't own them.
Summary: The resolution to an almost three month cliffhanger. What's up with the box? Horatio finally has a talk with Yelina.
Horatio walked up the block from where he'd parked his car and glanced in the window of the small café. He saw Yelina sitting at one of the tables. He looked down at the file folder in his hand and debated with himself for just a moment about turning and going back home. But he couldn't put this off any longer. He needed to know the truth and so did Yelina.
He took a deep breath and walked into the café. A waitress approached him with a menu in her hand. "Table for one, sir?" she asked.
Horatio smiled at her. "No ma'am, I'm meeting someone," he said and waved his hand in Yelina's direction. She waved him over.
He took a seat opposite her and laid the file down on the table. Yelina eyed the folder but didn't ask him about it. She knew Horatio was hesitant about talking to her about whatever this was about. She only knew that it somehow involved Ray.
"So," she said, deciding to break the ice. "How is Tim's mother settling in?"
Horatio smirked and ducked his head. "Like a native. She's found a condo in Miami Beach and closes in a couple of weeks."
"So she's definitely staying here," Yelina said. "How does Tim's father feel about that?"
Horatio shrugged. "Don't know. He hasn't spoken to his father in years," he answered. "But they're divorcing so I imagine it doesn't really matter that much. She's happy here."
Yelina eyed him carefully and smiled. "You like her, don't you?"
Horatio smiled back and nodded. "Let's just say that I see where Tim gets a lot of his personality from." They both chuckled.
"It can't be easy having two of them in the house right now," she observed.
"Well, it is entertaining," he replied beginning to relax a little.
After the waitress came over and took their orders, Yelina decided it was time to try to get Horatio talking. "So what exactly did you want to talk to me about?"
Horatio stared into his cup of coffee as he spoke. "Um, I was wondering, how much did Raymond tell you about our childhood?"
Yelina wrinkled her forehead. That wasn't what she was expecting and she had to think for a moment. "Well, he didn't talk about it much. At least I don't recall him talking about it."
"Do you remember anything that he may have told you?"
Yelina shook her head. "Not specifically. Why is this important?"
Horatio sighed. "Did he ever mention to you how our parents died?"
Some memories were beginning to return to Yelina. "He said they died in an accident a long time ago, when Ray was eighteen." She thought for a moment then added, "I remember a conversation we had once. He was angry with you about something that happened back then." She thought again for a moment. "It had to do with you not being there after the funeral. That he had to deal with everything himself."
Horatio didn't say anything for a few moments. He was lost in thought. He'd never talked to Ray about the events of all those years ago. He'd suspected that his brother blamed him for everything that had happened.
Yelina continued. "He made a comment that day that you had abandoned the family, Horatio. What did he mean by that?"
Horatio had a sudden flare of anger toward his brother but he quickly pushed it away. This explained a lot. He tried to decide the best way to explain to Yelina why he'd left when he had all those years ago. He finally decided to just tell her the truth. She was a cop after all, she would be able to handle the truth.
"Yelina," he said. "I left because I had to. I didn't want to leave Ray alone in that house but at the time I felt that I had no choice. I saw my opportunity and I took it." He could see by the look on her face that she didn't understand and he realized then that Ray had really never told her the truth.
"Our father was an alcoholic." He ducked his head, not able to meet her eyes. He spoke very softly so that Yelina had to strain to hear him over the noise in the café. "He was violent and abusive, especially toward me and our mother. I left when I turned eighteen. Ray was only twelve. I knew he wouldn't understand."
Yelina reached across the table and took his hand. He dared a quick glance up at her. He hadn't told her this to gain her sympathy and was relieved to see a thoughtful look on her face.
"You know," she said. "I always wondered why Ray didn't talk about his childhood in much detail. I always thought that there was something there that he didn't want to remember."
Horatio nodded. "I didn't find out until years later that after I left, my father turned his anger on Ray. I think he blamed me for that too."
Yelina gave his hand a squeeze. "Horatio, why are you telling me all of this now?"
Horatio glanced at the file folder sitting on the table. "After I left home, I went off to college then I joined the New York City police force. I kept in touch with my mother and after the academy I was assigned a foot patrol that was near my old neighborhood."
He glance over at Yelina. "Ray said our parents died in an accident. He lied." Yelina looked at him expectantly. Again he continued in a very quiet tone. "Our father killed our mother," he said then he handed the file over to Yelina. "It's all in here."
Yelina cautiously took the file from him. She opened it and began reading. She carefully went through the entire file. When she was done she looked over at Horatio not quite believing what she had read.
"Is this all true, Horatio?" He nodded. She knew his tendency toward self recrimination and could see by the look on his face that he still felt guilty. "Horatio, you did what you had to do."
Horatio knew she was right but it really didn't help. "I received a package a couple of months ago. It was from our old parish priest. It was full of stuff from our parents apartment. I had told him, after the funeral, that I didn't want anything from their apartment. I told him to donate everything to the church, put it to good use. I told him that because I knew he would respect my wishes.
So you could imagine my surprise to get the package from him twenty years later. At the bottom of the box, I found that folder. The complete case file. I couldn't imagine why Father Pat would send that to me so finally I called him and asked. He had no idea what I was talking about. He said Ray had given him the box, already packed, to hold for me."
Yelina was beginning to understand. "But why would Ray pack this away for you? He had to know…"
"Exactly," Horatio interrupted her. "He was angry and upset with me. He blamed me for our parents death. He wanted me to remember." He looked Yelina in the eye. "Thing is, I've never forgotten. It's always with me."
"Horatio, I don't know what to say." Yelina was at a loss for words. She couldn't believe that her husband would have done something like that. Though, in a way, she realized it wasn't all that out of character.
Horatio had a sad smile on his face. "No worries. I just thought you should know. And I was wondering, do you still have Ray's things."
Yelina nodded. "In storage, yes."
"Did he have anything from back then?"
"I don't think so," she answered. "I've been through all of his things and I don't recall seeing anything that would have been from his childhood."
Horatio shook his head. "Doesn't surprise me."
888
Horatio walked into the house and Tim met him at the front door. "How'd it go?" he asked.
Horatio shrugged. "About how I expected. Yelina pretty much confirmed my suspicions. And Father Pat was telling the truth."
Tim pulled Horatio into his arms. "You okay?"
Horatio laid his head on Tim's shoulder. "Yeah. Now I am."
FIN