Mardi Gras Mambo

Calleigh sighed as she crossed the state line into Alabama. In just a couple of hours she would be back in Louisiana, and celebrating Mardi Gras with her brother and his family. She'd told Horatio that she needed some time off, didn't even tell him where she was going, just that she needed to get away for a few days. Things had been so strained between the two of them lately, she was sure he'd welcome her being gone. Little did she know that the minute she'd left the building, he was on the phone to her father. Kenwall was more than happy to give him the address and phone number of where she was heading after Horatio told him why he needed it.

Leaving Eric in charge, Horatio left early and went home to get packed. Calleigh had a few hours head start, and he didn't want to show up at her brother's house too late. Kenwall had offered to phone his son and let him know to expect another guest, but not to breathe a word to his sister. He looked down at the GPS in his Hummer. Her car was stopped at the state line going into Louisiana. There was a rest area there; maybe she'd stay long enough for him to catch up.

Calleigh walked into the restroom and splashed some water on her face. She'd almost fallen asleep going over the bridge, and she needed to stop and rest for a bit. She let the security guard know she'd be in her car, and lowered the seat to sleep for a bit. As an afterthought, she called her brother to let him know.

"You sure, Cal?"

"Yeah, I just need an hour or so. The speed dots woke me up going over the bridge."

"You shoulda waited until tomorrow, like Mamma said." Her brother couldn't wait to get off the phone and call Horatio to let him know that she would be right there waiting for him.

"Yeah, you're right, Big Brother. Is Mamma down here yet?"

"No, not until tomorrow. I'll be up waiting for you."

"Thanks." She yawned into the phone.

"Don't mention it." He hung up the phone, grinning from ear to ear, and dialed the number his father had given him.

"Horatio."

"Lt. Caine, this is Calleigh's brother."

His heart almost stopped with fear.

"Don't worry, nothing's wrong." Horatio let out the breath he'd been holding. "I just wanted to let you know that Cal just called me, and she had to stop and the state line and take a quick nap. That should give you a chance to catch up with her."

"Is that safe?"

"Absolutely. It's a rest area right on the Mississippi-Louisiana state line, totally patrolled by armed security guards. Knowing our Cal, she already told them she'd be nappin'."

"I saw that her car had stopped on my GPS, I'm glad that's all it was."

"Cal's always on the safe side. She's probably better armed than those security guards, so I'd be careful if you're plannin' on wakin' her up."

"I always am with her, Mr. Duquesne, I always am."

Horatio hung up the phone smiling. He gave his GPS a quick check and saw that the town of Slidell was just inside the state line, and it was just across the lake from New Orleans. That would be a perfect spot for them to stay. As he crossed the bridge, he could see how easily she could have fallen asleep; there were few lights on the road, and nothing over the Pearl River or the West Pearl River. He was relieved when he finally saw the sign for the rest area. Calleigh's brother was right; this was a very nice area. He saw the patrolmen walking the grounds, a row of eighteen wheelers set for the night, and down toward the end of the building, right next to the security office, was Calleigh's Jeep. He pulled in next to it, and got out to talk to the guard. After assuring him that he meant Calleigh no harm, he slowly opened her door. There was no sense in locking in, as anyone wanting in could just cut her windows. As the door opened, she sat up with her gun pointed at Horatio's head. He knew that would be the case, and quickly moved the barrel upwards.

"Damnit, Horatio! I could have killed you! What are you doing here?"

"Well, I felt like going to Mardi Gras, and I saw your car here, and thought I'd check on you."

"More like you followed me. I didn't tell you where I was going intentionally. How did you…", she sighed loudly. "You called my dad, didn't you?"

"I did. I thought this might be a good time to re establish our friendship…maybe take it a step further."

"Friendship…a step further. Horatio, you have treated me like crap for the last year, no make that two years. I've been going through hell, and you've never been there for me, you just push me at Ryan and Eric."

At Eric's name Calleigh could see him grit his teeth. "Oh, I hit a nerve, did I? You have no one to blame but yourself."

"Calleigh, I wanted to get closer to you. I went to the chief, and Stetler overheard it. He threatened to have you tossed out of the department."

"Me? Why me?"

"Because he knew it would hurt me more."

She sighed deeply. "So now what?"

"How close have you and Eric become? Honestly."

"He's a very good friend."

"I want you to stop sleeping with him."

"You have no right to say that to me!"

"Calleigh, I plan to make it my right. Can you give me a chance while we're here? Or have I lost the chance for you to ever trust me again?"

"Horatio, I never stopped trusting you. You are the only man that I trust completely, that's never lied to me."

"Even Eric's lied to you?"

"Yeah, something about his father, I ask him and he skirts all around it. At least you give it to me straight, even if I don't like it."

He took her by the hand and pulled her from the Jeep. "So, now what?" He rubbed her arm gently.

"I'll have to call my brother and tell him you're coming. I don't know how Mamma's gonna take it."

Horatio looked down at the ground sheepishly, and then met her eyes with a grin. "Well, they're all expecting me, but when I talked to your brother about an hour or so ago, he suggested we stay in Slidell and then just drive across the lake into the Quarter."

"Oh, you and my brother, huh?" She laughed and put her head on his chest. "All right, Slidell it is. There's a hotel by the marina just off the I-10, you want to follow me?"

"Lead the way, Ma'am." He watched her get back into her Jeep, and then followed her to the motel. They parked side by side in the parking lot, and he hurried over to help her out of her vehicle.

"Hey, look, a Waffle House!"

"Are you hungry?"

"Yeah, a little. I guess we should check in first, so I can get my luggage out of this car that screams 'ROB ME' every time I take it anywhere."

"One room or two, Calleigh."

"Um, get one, but get two beds, then we can decide later."

"Good call, Sweetheart." Not thinking, he kissed her gently before going inside to register. The kiss left Calleigh reeling. When he came back outside for the luggage she had a different look in her eye. "What's wrong, Calleigh?"

"Nothing. I guess I'm just hungry. You want to walk over?"

He reached for her hand and held it gently. "Sounds good."

They walked over to the restaurant, and were seated in a booth. Calleigh didn't even pick up the menu. When the waitress walked over, she knew exactly what she wanted. "I'll have an All American, with a Pecan Waffle, with chocolate chips and bananas, grits, eggs over medium, and coffee, please."

"And for you, Sir?"

Horatio just stared at Calleigh.

"What? I told you I was hungry."

"What's good here?"

Calleigh shook her head and smiled. "Sorry, he's originally from up north, I haven't gotten him broke in yet. He'll have steak and eggs, medium rare for the steak over medium for the eggs, hash browns instead of grits, and coffee."

The waitress looked back at Horatio. "She's right." He watched the waitress head behind the counter and start repeating the order to the cook. "So you haven't gotten me broken in yet. And just how do you plan to do that, Ms. Duquesne?"

"Well, I thought we'd start here at Waffle House, it's one of my favorite places when I come home."

"And tomorrow?"

"Well, I was planning on hangin' out with the boys, but since you're here, I'll show you around, that is, after you take me to my favorite place for brunch."

"Is it close by?"

"Nope, it's in the Quarter. The Court of Two Sisters. It's absolutely amazing, Horatio. After that, we'll drive around and I'll show you some plantations, we'll play tourists if that's all right with you."

A whole day with Calleigh Duquesne. "It sounds wonderful, Sweetheart. What brought all this on?"

"You said you wanted a chance. You're never gonna get one hiding behind that desk of yours and by sending me out on calls with everyone but you all the time. This is our chance. We'll have tomorrow for quiet time, and then Monday and Tuesday you're gonna see me in a whole new light."

"Calleigh gone wild?" He smiled at her.

"Something like that. You didn't bring a camera with you, did you?"

"Just the one in my phone."

"When we get to Bourbon Street Tuesday, that phone goes into my pocket."

"What if I get a call?"

"Then my butt will vibrate." The waitress laughed at the comment as she placed the meals in front of her. "Could I get some Tabasco, please?"

Horatio watched as she put the spicy liquid on her eggs. "You're not going to put in on your grits?"

"No, but you should put it on your steak, your hash browns and your eggs." She reached over to sprinkle his meal.

"You do it, and you eat it, Calleigh. You know I hate that stuff."

She batted her eyes at him. "Then can I have a bite of your steak?"

He shook his head as he cut her a chunk of the rarest part of his steak, and laughed as she smothered it with Tabasco before shoving it into her mouth. "Why didn't you order steak if you wanted some?"

"Because I knew I could have some of yours." She giggled as she stabbed her waffle. "Anyway, a whole steak would have been too much with all of this."

"I don't know how you do it, Calleigh. You eat like a horse, and stay so slim."

"Hey, I don't eat like a horse. A colt maybe." She reached over and picked another bite of steak from his plate and rubbed it in the hot sauce. "And you don't eat enough to keep a bird alive." She popped the meat into her mouth and grinned. The next time she reached for a bite, he blocked her fork with his, and the two of them sat dueling like a couple of children for the remainder of their meal.

"You want some pie, Calleigh?"

She looked over at the refrigerator. "Only if you'll share a piece with me."

"Chocolate cream?"

"You know me too well."

He called the waitress over and ordered a slice of pie, and had their coffee cups refilled. Once the pie was eaten and they'd finished their coffee, they walked back to the motel hand in hand. "It looks like a storm is tryin' to move in."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah, look out over the lake; you can't see the lights from the city anymore." About that time the clouds lit up with a flash of lightening. "Yep, we're going to get a storm, we'd better hurry and get inside, the rain comes on fast here."

Just as they stepped inside the lobby they heard the rain begin to fall hard outside. Calleigh checked at the desk for messages and found one from her brother. "Jack called…but you probably knew that, didn't you?"

"I haven't talked to him since we got here, Calleigh."

"I should call him back and, make sure everything is all right. Do you want to use the bathroom first?"

"I definitely need a shower. Tell your brother I said hello."

She watched him head into the bathroom and close the door before she dialed her brother. After answering his questions and giving him what for about inviting Horatio to Mardi Gras, she sent her family her love and hung up. They really meant well, but she hated them butting into her love life. She decided to brush her teeth and put her hair up before Horatio got out of the shower, then she could go right in when he was done and let him dress with some privacy. That's when she realized her makeup bag was in the same room with Horatio. "What the hell, he won't see me; I'll just slip in, grab it and slip out."

She quietly opened the bathroom door, careful not to allow too much steam to vent out at once. She couldn't believe her eyes. What had happened to those ugly plastic shower curtains? In their place was frosted glass, and what she saw through that glass left little to her imagination. She grabbed her makeup bag and quickly backed out of the bathroom, letting out the breath she'd been holding. Remembering what she needed the bag for in the first place, she quickly brushed her teeth and pulled her hair up into a knot, preparing for her shower. As she finished, Horatio emerged from the bathroom with a towel wrapped around his waist. "I left you plenty of hot water, Sweetheart."

She didn't know what to say. As he brushed by, he took hold of her waist and kissed her cheek. "Are you all right, Calleigh?"

"Yeah, I'm fine, it's just the storm, I guess. I won't be long; you can go ahead and go to sleep if you need to." She disappeared into the bathroom, and Horatio lay calmly in his bed trying to control his feelings. He could smell the vanilla of her body wash coming from the other room. He wanted nothing more than to return to the shower and help her wash every inch of that beautiful body. He'd be patient, though, let her set the pace. He asked her for a chance, and she was definitely giving him one. He heard the water turn off, so he grabbed his boxers and pulled them on before getting into bed.

Calleigh emerged from the bathroom in sleep shorts and a tank top, and Horatio's mouth went dry. He watched her move over to her bed and slip beneath the covers. "Good night, Handsome." She switched off her light and pulled the covers up around her neck.

"Good night, Beautiful." He set the alarm and then turned off his bedside lamp. "I set the alarm so we won't be late for brunch."

She yawned deeply. "Thanks."

Several hours later, Calleigh sat straight up in bed, awakened by a loud clap of thunder. The storm was right over head, and it felt like the room was shaking. When the lightening shook the room, she looked over at Horatio, who was sound asleep, oblivious to the ravaging skies outside. She made a snap decision. She threw back her covers and quickly moved over to his bed, slipping in next to him and pulling his arms around her.

"Calleigh?"

"Sorry, Horatio, it's the storm. Bad childhood memories. Do you mind?"

"Not at all, come here." He held her tighter. "You just relax, you're safe here. Close your eyes and try to get some sleep. We have a big day tomorrow."

"Thanks, Handsome." She rubbed the arm that was cradling her."

Before he realized what he was saying, he answered, "My pleasure, Sweetheart." She didn't tense up, so he wasn't too worried. He kissed her on the top of her head and rubbed her back until he felt her breathing return to normal. "I love you, Calleigh."

Apparently she wasn't as deeply asleep as he thought, because he heard her reply, "I love you, too."

He smiled and held her a bit tighter. Things were definitely looking up. He couldn't wait to play tourist with her tomorrow.