A/N: So, I've bowed to public pressure and decided to do a sequel. This picks up a few weeks after Just Another Fed? finished, so it might be best to read that one first. Anyway, thought I should start this one with some fluff, as fluff is always good, before the main story starts. Hope you like this, and remember: please review!
Disclaimer: I own nothing but the plot and Frankie herself.
Frankie lay in bed, pretending to be asleep. If she kept her eyes closed, then she wasn't really awake, she reasoned. Horatio had woken up hours ago – if there was one thing she would never understand about that man it was how little sleep he could survive on. She snuggled down deeper under the covers, warm and drowsy.
She heard the door open quietly, and a few moments later the bed dipped as Horatio sat down beside her. He touched her shoulder gently. "Chessie? Are you awake?"
She kept her eyes tightly closed. Horatio chuckled. "Come on, Chess, I know you're awake."
"No I'm not."
Horatio chuckled again. "Open your eyes Chess." She shook her head, biting her lip to prevent herself from grinning. She felt Horatio stand up, and strained her senses to hear where he had gone. She couldn't hear anything. She was just about to give up and open her eyes through sheer curiosity when something ice cold slipped down under her t-shirt.
Frankie leapt out of bed, shrieking with a mixture of laughter and shock. The ice cube fell out on to the floor and she turned to face Horatio, who was shaking with laughter. "I cannot believe you just did that!"
"You needed to get up," he pointed out reasonably. Frankie was not in the mood for reasonable. She advanced on him, her face dark with anger. Horatio backed away, into the hall, trying to look serious and failing miserably.
"That was unnecessary. Wholly and utterly unnecessary. And you will suffer for that," she promised. Payback would be sweet, she swore to herself. She continued following him down the hall, into the living room and stopped short.
Horatio had laid out a vast breakfast: toast, jam, strawberries, sliced melon, bacon and fried eggs, and a large pot of coffee. She turned to him with tears glittering in her eyes. "See, I told you that you needed to get up. Otherwise your breakfast will get cold," he said, grinning in triumph that his surprise had worked.
"Oh," was all she could think of to say, as she sat down, her knees suddenly weak. Horatio sat beside her and poured out two cups of coffee. She took a grateful sip of hers, and leaned her head against his shoulder. "You really didn't have to do all this, you know."
"Today's your first day back at work. You need to keep your strength up." A slight catch in his voice let her know that he was deeply concerned about her return to work.
She touched his hand gently. "Everything will be all right Horatio. I'll take it easy, I promise, and you know that Alexx will barely let me lift a cup of coffee without help. She's just as bad as you are."
He sighed and put his arm around her shoulders. She was still too thin, he decided. She really shouldn't feel that fragile. Doctor Robinson and he had butted heads numerous times about Frankie's health. The doctor, for reasons that Horatio would never work out, seemed to think Frankie was well enough to go back to work. How he came to that conclusion was a mystery to Horatio. It was only six weeks since she had been in Intensive Care after been shot three times, and losing a kidney along the way. How could she possibly be well enough to go back to work?
Oh well, he thought, there was nothing more he could do. Frankie had decided that she was going back to work today, and that was final. All he could do was keep a very close eye on her. "So what are you going to have first?"
Frankie took a deep breath before she stepped out of the Hummer. In all honesty, she was terribly nervous about going back to work, although, she suspected, not for the reasons Horatio would think of. He was worried she wasn't well enough, or that someone else would try to hurt her. Frankie, on the other hand, was far more concerned about people's reactions to her relationship with the boss. She knew her team were more than fine about it, but what would the other techs think? What about the detectives – would they tease her, or, worse, would they treat her differently now?
Walking into the building, leaning on Horatio's arm, she felt her face heat up as one of the detectives gave her a strange look. She swallowed hard, and Horatio turned to look at her in concern. Her heart skipped a beat, as it always did, whenever he looked at her. His blue eyes, bluer than the Miami sky she mused, were troubled, and she could see his anxiety.
"If you don't feel well, I can just take you home," he offered, and she heard an unspoken plea. Please go home, please stay safe, his eyes said.
She stretched up and gave him a brief hug. "I'm fine. Just first-day-back nerves." They made it through the front door before she was almost bowled over by Frank Tripp giving her a bear hug.
"It's real good to see you back Frankie," the big Texan said warmly. He laughed suddenly. "All right H, don't glare at me like that! I ain't gonna squeeze her to death!"
She giggled, feeling suddenly much better. Tripp escorted her up to the lab, Horatio forming the other side of her honour guard. A delighted squeal when they entered the lab told her Calleigh had spotted her. The petite blonde was looking lovelier than ever these days, Frankie mused, due in no small part to a certain Eric Delko.
"Frankie! It's so good so see you!" That might be a bit over the top, Frankie thought, as Calleigh and Eric had come around for dinner two nights ago.
The women hugged each other tightly. Frankie turned to grin at Horatio, her arm linked through Calleigh's. "Don't you have work to do?" she smiled. And winked.
He gave her a calculating look, as though assessing whether he thought she could survive for a few short hours. Then he nodded once. "I guess you're right. Are you sure you'll be okay?"
"I'll be fine," she assured him. He turned to make his way to his office. "Hey!" Horatio half-turned back. "See you for lunch?"
He smiled at her, and she fought the urge to walk over and kiss the hell out of him in front of the entire lab. "Count on it."
Frankie turned back to Calleigh. "So where's Alexx? I think we have some serious catch-up gossiping to do!" She sighed with happiness as they set off in search of the coroner. Everything was back to normal. It probably wouldn't last, but she would enjoy normality while it lasted.
