Hide

Pairing: H/C

Rating: T

Spoilers: None

Genre: Comfort/ Romance

A/N#1: Once again, thank you to Lieutenant Caine for your insight and feedback!

A/N#2: After yet another dry spell, my muse awakens once more to run rampant

A/N#3: The idea popped up so fast, I haven't decided whether this will extend beyond the one shot. Reaction determines how far this may go…

Hide

Watching her had become something of an obsessive habit, a habit Horatio found hard to break. Years had passed since he'd brought her from Louisiana to work with him and yet his heart still fluttered as if he were meeting her anew. Each morning had been an exercise in futility; like an apparition, Horatio hovered the corridors of the lab, waiting for a glance of the blond beauty. It never ceased to amaze him how Calleigh still enticed him; her quirky smile and luminous eyes quickened his heart beat and the sound of her laughter caused warmth of explosion from deep within. Horatio could admit to himself that he was a coward; he was in love with Calleigh Duquesne and had been for years but he hadn't had the courage to approach her. Remaining hidden had been a far better choice than facing her and the inevitable rejection. No, his fantasy would forever remain perfect. Calleigh would continue to toss him shy smiles and flirt shamelessly, none the wiser that her Lieutenant continued to hold an insatiable hunger for her.

Horatio had perfected hiding in plain sight; avoiding her inquisitive gaze and erecting a stoic, unaffected façade to shield her from the darkness that had taken over his life. Pain and turmoil was all he could offer her; years of chasing ghosts and playing a game of comeuppance with Miami's scum left him desolate. The only ray of light he had left was the thought that at exactly seven thirty, Calleigh would step off of the elevator and grace him with her presence. It's all he had left and he wasn't willing to risk that to satisfy his desires. He couldn't taint her with his inner demons.

Horatio checked his watch and slowed his gait at the sound of the elevator arriving on the floor, glancing to see her emerging from the small compartment. Horatio felt his heart crash against his chest, his breathing becoming labored. She was beauty and perfection personified; her long blond hair cascaded down her back, while her spellbinding eyes added a certain potency to the innocent yet seductive gaze that enflamed his loins daily. As always, the sight of her took his breath away and as always he flirted with revealing his true feelings to her. But as always, he remained in the shadows, stealthily following her to the break room where she would prepare the first of many cups of coffee. By nature, Calleigh was a morning person but Horatio had figured out that her effervescent spirit was buoyed by a fountain of caffeine that she replenished throughout the day. Horatio couldn't count the number of mornings he made it his business to be in the vicinity of the break room, knowing she wouldn't be far.

The staccato rhythm of her heels on the polished floor matched the rhythm his heart took up and as he followed her, the hypnotic sways of her hips taunting him. Her lush body remained taut in all the right places and briefly, Horatio glanced down at his own body and regarded the extra pounds pitifully. Calleigh was the complete opposite of him in every way; where she was light and personable, he was reserved and standoffish. Her youth flew in the face of his age and even though she'd seen the worst of men, he could still see hints of that innocence in her eyes. She was untainted and he was the epitome of darkness. It simply wouldn't work.

Silence echoed through the deserted corridor and Horatio realized that she'd stopped walking and was now looking directly at him. In all of his years of watching her from afar, he'd never been caught and now as her gaze centered on him, he knew he could no longer hide. Horatio was paralyzed and pinned by her questioning stare, his heart threatening to bottom out as she approached him. His mouth suddenly went dry and his mind emptied, rendering him helpless. It wasn't a feeling that he liked.

Stopping just inches from Horatio, Calleigh tilted her head and narrowed her eyes at him as if she were making a decision. Without warning, she reached to touch his cheek and exhaled heavily, a small smile rising on her lips.

"All of these years, Horatio, and you thought I didn't notice you slinking in the shadows? Why are you hiding from me?" His silence surprised Calleigh and she arched a brow, "Well, I never thought I'd see the day that the great Horatio Caine would be rendered speechless. Wonders never cease."

"Calleigh…"

Calleigh shook her head and ran her thumb over his cheek, her eyes softening at the hint of fear in his eyes. Years had passed between them and try as he might, he couldn't hide from her. No matter how much he thought he was burying his emotions, Calleigh always saw the truth of who he was.

"Have coffee with me, Horatio. You deserve it after all this time of playing cloak and dagger." Laughing at his nonplussed expression, she went to his side and looped her arm with his, tugging in the direction of the break room. "You can plead your case as to why I shouldn't string you up for target practice. First lesson in wooing a southern woman- never make her wait."

Led by Calleigh into the break room, Horatio remained silent, still trying to process what had just happened. Calleigh had taken him by surprise and pulled him out of the shadows, forcing him to tear down the wall that he'd erected all those years ago to hide him away. As he looked down into Calleigh's eyes and saw hope and love within them, he realized that he didn't have to hide any longer.

End