Title: A Mother's Love

Author: LadySmithCaine

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters off of CSI: Miami; they belong to CBS and the producers of the show. If I did, Cal and H would already be together.

Pairing: Horatio/Calleigh (Of course!)

Rating: K+ for this chapter.

Summary: She was her baby, how could she have failed her like this? If the bastard laid a hand on her, she knew there would be hell to pay.

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Horatio smiled at his best friend as they walked down the hallway together. He chuckled after Calleigh told him about another one of her fourteen year old daughter's 'discussions'. "Jaelee called me earlier today and asked me to talk to you about it. She said that I could probably get you to let her go to that party."

"Are you serious?" Calleigh glanced up at him with a shocked expression. Her daughter was definitely not shy, that was for sure, but to call her boss and tell him to talk to her about letting her go to her friends' party was really crossing the line. She wasn't angry, she had seen it coming... kind of.

Calleigh had Jaelee fourteen years ago with her ex - fiance, Richard Anderly. She broke it off with him and left with her daughter after he had started drinking and became abusive. It was only verbal, but Calleigh had gone through the whole cycle as a child and she knew what came next. Her daughter was not going to go through what she had and she wouldn't put up with it. Her daughter was just a baby when Horatio had asked her to join his team in Miami, so it was practically everything that her daughter knew. Their resemblance was shocking, both had the same wavy blonde hair, the vibrant green eyes, and they had the same bright personality and smile. Alexx was always joking about how they could pass off for twins.

"Yes, I'm serious. She called me when you were out at the crime scene this morning. She's really somethin', Cal." Horatio grinned.

"Oh my goodness, I'm so sorry."

"No need to apologize. I like talking with her; she has some good info that I can use to blackmail a certain colleague of mine." He continued grinning at the petite blonde right next to him. She gasped quietly, but he picked it up and started laughing.

"What did she say?" She asked him cautiously as she stopped right in front of him, wide - eyed.

"Oh, nothing... Just that you talk in your sleep and such."

"Horatio!" She groaned. "How could you listen to her? She's my teenage daughter; of course she'll tell you things to make fun of me."

"How could I not? And, really, I wouldn't call it 'making fun' of you. It's more like... making interesting conversation."

"Well, it isn't very interesting to me." She muttered as she walked out through the crime lab's glass doors. "Did she ever tell you what I say?"

"I thought you said you didn't have any interest in it." He pointed out as he stopped at the top of the steps and smiled gently at her. He settled his hands on his hips and tilted his head as he caught another blonde rushing to meet them. "Speaking of which, here comes Mini - Duquesne now."

Calleigh glared at Horatio as she moved around to see her daughter was indeed hurrying up the steps to the front entrance where they were standing. "Hey, Sweetie." She called to her, but Jaelee didn't respond with her usual cheery smile. In fact, she looked rather angry. She huffed up the steps, wearing a blue tank top, jeans and blue flipflops. Her hair was pulled back into a ponytail, which she had straightened, and she had on a blue head band that matched her shirt and shoes. Her usually green eyes were a light blue, not a good sign, and her face was turning redder by the second.

"Mom, my dad called me. He said that he wants me this weekend so I can go to his girlfriend's birthday bash thing. I don't wanna go; but he won't listen and he said he's going to be calling you tonight." She spat out angrily. She never spoke of her father as 'Dad' or 'Daddy', because to her, he was far from it. He never even spent time with her when she was over, he was too busy with Juliana, his girlfriend, or he was out getting drunk with his friends.

Calleigh frowned and Horatio brought a hand onto Jaelee's shoulder. She seemed to calm down a bit, but the look in her eyes was still there. She crossed her arms over her slim body and and stared hard at the floor as she waited for her mom's answer.

"Then you won't go. I'll tell him that we have things to do this weekend and that I need you here." Calleigh frowned as she processed what Richard had told her daughter. He was pratically forcing her to participate in Juliana's birthday bash; where acohol would probably be present. She was always so afraid when she sent Jaelee to Richard's home. The reason they had left in the first place was because of the alcoholism, and it wasn't an easy thing to get rid off; her mother and father were proof.

"Thank you, Mom." She said, thankful. Jaelee brought out her gorgeous smile and flashed it at her mother then turned to Horatio. "Hi, by the way, Horatio." She added with a small laugh.

"Hello, Jaelee. I told her..." He said with a small smile and ducked his head when he caught Calleigh's look.

"About the party that you will not be going to. Carlah and Jazmeen's parents are out of town, and I'm sure that they have no idea, right? If they were here, that'd be a different story. I don't want you to get in trouble with anyone."

Jaelee just nodded. She learned long ago that by talking back or arguing, she'd only get in trouble. Plus, once her mom had made up her mind, there was no changing it. "Okay, Mom. But it was worth a shot!" She gave Horatio another smile and leaned up to give him a kiss on the cheek. "Thank you. I didn't actually think you would ask her. But you did, and I really appreciate your help."

"You're very welcome." He smiled and tilted his head again as he looked at Calleigh's daughter.

"Well, me and Mom have something very important to discuss, so we'll talk to you later?" She asked him with an all too innocent look. When she got a nod, she practically dragged her mother by her hand down the steps. "Bye, Horatio!"

"Bye." Calleigh also called over her shoulder with a laugh as she followed her daughter, like she really had a choice. "Wait, the Hummer's over that way." She told Jaelee as she pointed in the opposite direction.

"I wanna walk today. We need to talk."

"About?"

Jaelee gave her a michievous grin that shined straight through her eyes as well. "Jaelee Monique Duquesne, what are you up to?"

Horatio smiled as he watched "his girls", as he silently refered to them in his mind, walk away. He shook his head and turned around to head back into the lab.

"When are you going to tell him?"

"What?" Calleigh looked over towards her daughter as they walked down the sidewalk, dodging people in their way as they went.

"When are you gonna tell Horatio you love him?" She asked innocently as she stopped and looked into a store window, seeming very interested in a vase all of a sudden.

"What?! Who told you that?" She asked her daughter, completely mortified. No one knew how she felt about Horatio, and she didn't even know it all either. She knew she had strong feelings for him, but then again, Calleigh had a habit of lying to herself a lot. She knew that it was more than just 'strong feelings'. She was in love with her boss and mentor; her best friend.

"So you do love him, although I already knew that. You should tell him. I can tell he loves you too." Jaelee glanced over at her mother with wide green eyes and a small smile.

"N - " She was completely horrified right now, especially because she had almost said 'no'. She couldn't move or even talk. A million thoughts tumbled into her mind and all she could do was finally move her hand into her straightened blonde hair and run it through. Jaelee, a fourteen year old, had picked up on it, how many others had as well? She looked around her for a moment before suddenly bringing her attention to the same vase Jaelee had been examining earlier. "I, Jaelee... Ugh!" She groaned at herself as she closed her eyes. She quickly grabbed her daughter's hand and pulled her along until they came to one of the corners of an intersection that was less crowded by the other people rushing to get home. "I... do..." She stressed out. "Was it that easy to read?"

"Nope." Her daughter answered simply. "I was going to get something to drink one night and I heard you talking." Her daughter's eyes instantly lit up with humor. "I thought you were on the phone with Alexx or Grandpa, but turns out you were dreaming about Horatio." She giddily explained as she skipped across the street. "You really should tell him though, Mom. Y'all aren't getting any younger, not that y'all two are old, and I think Detective Salas has a thing for him. You should go for it before you lose him forever."

Calleigh stared at Jaelee when she reached the other side of the street and shook her head. "You said you think he feels the same, how do you know? Did he tell you himself?"

"No. He's being just as thick - headed as you and won't come to realize the truth." She turned around to look back at her mom with a nod. "But he does love you; I know it. I wouldn't be telling you this or even leading you on if I thought he didn't. I don't want you to get hurt, Mom, and you really seem to be so happy when you're around him. Sooo... I thought I'd bring up the subject."

"Is this why you wanted to walk?" Calleigh asked quietly as they continued down the sidewalk, only five blocks from their condo.

"Kinda. I didn't want you to blow a gasket behind the wheel. That would have been pretty scary." Jaelee moved her hand up to pull at her head band and tuck in a stray strand of her blonde bangs back underneath it.

Calleigh smiled, remembering how she had reacted when she had first asked her. "I'm glad you thought it all through."

"Yup, me too. Seeing as how you almost passed out cold on me back there. So are you going to tell him?"

"No."

"MOM! Did you not hear what I just said, this is, like, your last chance?!" She stopped and exaggerated her movements as she slapped her hand across her forehead.

"It's much more complicated than that, Sweetie. If we were to have something together, it would be forbidden. The rules clearly state that no two officers, colleagues, could ever share a romantic relationship. Why should we be an exception?"

"'Cause you two, like, belong together on so many levels!"

"We'll see..."

"You promise? Plus... I kinda set up an appointment with Horatio tomorrow to talk about this." She cringed as she picked up her pace, hoping to make it into the building before her mother could catch up to her. Sadly, she did.

"You didn't." Calleigh grabbed her daughter's shoulders gently and turned her around to face her.

Crap. "Mom, before you murder me and dispose of my body where no one could ever find me, please know that this is for your own good. You deserve to love and be loved back by someone like Horatio, and him the same. I don't know what you two are thinking when you don't say anything to each other about this. You've been best friends for thirteen years. You're love's only grown in those years. Why do you keep avoiding it? He loves you, Mom! And you love him. Don't let stupid Stetler get in the way of that. Chief Anderson would probably agree with me. He always smiles when he sees you two working side by side. That says a lot. And he's got like the highest command post in the whole force! All you need is his permission, and there ya go!"

"Not that simple." Calleigh sighed and let go of her daughter. She honestly wished it was that easy, but life and fate had their own ideas.

"Yes! It is that simple! Mom, don't do this to yourself. Please..."

"Fine. I'll talk to him. But I want to know what goes on tomorrow first. I just don't want to get hurt, not by him and not now." She whispered to an exasperated Jaelee.

Jaelee gave her mom a firm nod and a quick kiss to the cheek. "You two are going to be so happy together, I swear! Then, I give it maybe a year and a half tops, I'll have a baby sister or brother!" She exclaimed cheerfully before running off the last block towards their condo.

Calleigh blushed furiously and let her head fall, trying to hide the embarrassed smile on her face even though Jaelee was almost to their building. "My Lord, what a day."

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TBC? R&R!