Title: How to Wake Up a Human

Author: Aeon Cole

Rating: FRT

Warning: Implied Slash (nothing explicit)

Fandom: CSI: Miami

Pairing: Horatio/Speed

Challenge: 10pergenre

Prompt: #10 A picture's worth a thousand words

Word Count: 460

Summary: How to wake up a human. This is a Cloe the Cat ficlet.

Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

Author's Note: This is for Dino.

ooo

Horatio walked into the house after a long day at the lab expecting to find Tim in the kitchen, but he didn't smell any food cooking. He also noticed that their little cat Cloe was conspicuously absent. She usually came running to the door when either of them entered the house.

He wandered in and poked his head in the kitchen, confirming that Tim was not there before heading into the living room. He paused in the doorway when he noticed Tim asleep on the sofa. He hadn't been feeling well that morning and decided to stay home and rest. He was lying on his back with one arm draped over his chest.

He also found Cloe. She was sitting on Tim's chest staring at his face. She leaned in and sniffed at his chin then sat back again and watched. Horatio slipped out of the room and jogged up the stairs to their bedroom. He grabbed a small digital camera out of the bureau drawer and went back downstairs.

Cloe was still sitting there and he snapped a quick picture. She barely took any notice of him, remaining focused on her prey. She meowed and Tim muttered something unintelligible in his sleep. Horatio smirked. Then she reached up with one paw and gently tapped Tim's chin. Horatio snapped another picture and tried not to laugh when Tim's hand swiped across his jaw. Still he remained sleeping.

But Cloe was determined to wake him and moved further up on his chest getting closer to his face. She leaned in and sniffed at his eyes as Horatio snapped off another shot. This time Tim rubbed his eyes and stirred just a bit. Horatio remained quiet wanting to see how this was going to play out. Cloe sniffed at Tim's mouth and as Horatio snapped one last picture she meowed right in Tim's face. That finally did it.

Tim muttered a curse. "Jeez, Cloe. Cat breath," he said as he pushed the little cat back onto his stomach.

That was the final straw for Horatio. He started laughing and walked over to the sofa. Tim's eyes were open now. "She was very determined," Horatio said.

"How long have you been standing there?" Tim asked as he sat up.

"A few minutes," he answered with a chuckle. "I wanted to see what she was going to do."

Tim rolled his eyes then noticed the camera in Horatio's hand. "What's the camera for?" he asked.

Horatio sat on the sofa next to Tim and showed him the pictures he'd taken. Tim shook his head. "That would explain the dream I was having of things crawling all over my face," he said.

"Just think of her as an organic alarm clock," Horatio replied.

Fin