A/N This is the first of two Christmas one shot stories I wrote and was my first attempt at writing, and thus before my series of stories were published. But in between I wrote the second one and as it slightly recapped on the first I published the second one last year. However as Christmas is once again around the corner and as the story line is prior to Horatio getting married, thought I would publish this now and hope you enjoy.

WHITE CHRISTMAS IN MIAMI

I'm dreaming of a white Christmas
Just like the ones I used to know;
Where the treetops glisten and children listen
To hear sleigh bells in the snow

I'm dreaming of a white Christmas
With every Christmas card I write
May your days be merry and bright
And may all your Christmases be white

Composer Irving Berlin.

Let me introduce myself. I am Saint Nicholas, otherwise known as Father Christmas or Santa Claus, and I'm going to tell you the story of what happened in Horatio Caine's household last Christmas, 2008. The angels above and I had decided that this good man's dream of a white Christmas in Miami should come true. But, let me start at the beginning...

Horatio Caine (now Lieutenant Horatio Caine) was born in New York, where he lived and worked in his early years and was therefore used to having the odd white Christmas, though not always guaranteed. But in Miami where he now lives and works, a white Christmas is most unlikely although it did snow once. The first and only ever recorded snowfall in Miami was in January 1977, when winter had decided to drop a surprise gift of light flurries of snow dancing through the air and dusting the ground briefly, and almost a quarter of a century since, it has not been repeated. So while Horatio has fond memories of white Christmas's in New York, particularly when he was a young boy, he is resigned to the fact that it's more likely to be a warm and sunny Christmas in Miami, although at this time of the year temperatures can fall as low as 40-50 degrees in the evenings. However, this doesn't stop him dreaming that just once he could experience snow at Christmas in Miami.

T'was the night before Christmas Day and Horatio not known for having guests for dinner at his apartment had broken the habit and invited his CSI Team members, Calleigh, Eric, Natalia, Ryan and Frank to an evening dinner party, along with some family members; Kyle his beloved son, Yelina, his sister in law and Ray Junior, her son and his nephew. He would have invited Alexx but knew she would not leave her family at this special time of the year. The team of course knew Yelina well having worked with her for a while.

Deciding to take some holiday due Horatio had taken the entire day off from work and spent his day getting prepared opting for a traditional turkey dinner instead of ham and beef as he had not been able to celebrate thanksgiving earlier due to work commitments, and which he personally felt more festive for Christmas anyway.

Kyle arrived earlier in the day and had placed a few decorations on the pre lit artificial Christmas tree Horatio had picked up just two days previously; positioned a few decorations around the lounge that had doors leading out to a large tiled Patio, and also placed a few candles around ready to be lit when the guests arrived at around 8pm. He then placed his Christmas present for his father under the tree. Satisfied that he had done all he could Kyle then joined his father in the kitchen. Horatio smiled at him and asked him if he wanted a coffee. Kyle nodded, and they took their coffees into the lounge; sat down and had some father and son conversation while they sipped their coffees. Kyle not coming into Horatio's life until he was sixteen meant he had missed so much of his son growing up but in getting to know his son during the past twenty months, and prior to him enlisting in the army, he had formed a strong bond with him, and Horatio loved these precious moments alone with his son.

As the turkey was in the oven and all other preparations were as complete as they could be at this stage Horatio had time to spare; so he turned the television on and the classic film Miracle on 34th Street was showing, which is a story of what takes place in New York City following Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade and people are wondering whether or not a department store Santa might be the real thing. Horatio being a sentimental man at heart told Kyle he loved these old movies, so they settled down to watch, though Horatio nodded off half way through the movie.

Kyle glanced at him from time to time and smiled to himself as his father although asleep had a smile on his face, and guessed his father was dreaming about something nice and that he was...

Horatio was dreaming about a white Christmas in New York City no doubt triggered off by starting to watch the movie. In his dream he was slowly walking around Manhattan taking in the Christmas atmosphere that was in abundance in this city. It was snowing lightly, but it had been snowing heavy and there was at least a foot of snow underfoot. He started on 34th Street and stopped outside Macy's and looked at the spectacular window Christmas display. As a kid he had been spellbound by them. He then wandered on to the Rockefeller Center and gazed up at the Christmas tree; with its lights illuminating the surrounding area. The tree, traditionally a Norwegian spruce is lit up at the end of November until early January the following year.

He watched the skaters on the ice rink in the Center for a while and then moved on to Central Park one of his favourite places. He loved the ambience of the place. The ice skaters on the pond, the surrounding high rise buildings all lit up, and people wandering around smiling all gave him a warm feeling for this city he had once loved so much, despite many family problems. Horatio could skate, and in his dream decided he would take a turn on the ice but just as he hired some skates; laced them up and had stepped on to the ice; he fell over, and woke up. In reality he woke up because Kyle shook him to wake up as the time was creeping on and he knew his father would need to get moving in the kitchen again.

Horatio gave Kyle a warm smile and told him he had just spoilt a really nice dream as he had been dreaming about a white Christmas just like the ones he used to know when he lived in New York. And, very different to the ones he had known in Miami, where the sun is shining; the grass is green and the palm trees sway in the breeze. He also told Kyle that when Christmas was approaching he often dreamt of having a white Christmas in Miami, and sighing told Kyle it would be a dream come true if only miracles could happen. Horatio then returned to the kitchen leaving Kyle wondering what it would be like to have a Christmas with snow.

As the time approached for the arrival of his guests Horatio pulled the blinds across the patio door windows, and Kyle lit the candles which together with the Christmas tree lights gave a lovely glow around the lounge. Horatio also made a last check to ensure that the dining table placements were correctly set as he was a perfectionist and wanted everything to be just right. Once satisfied he returned to the kitchen leaving Kyle to greet the guests as they arrived.

Yelina and Ray junior arrived first, and Yelina walked straight into the kitchen and asked Horatio if she could help. He gave her a kiss on the cheek and a hug, and sent her back to the lounge telling her he was just fine and didn't need any help. Calleigh and Frank arrived next, with Ryan, Eric and Natalia following soon after. Because it was unusually cool in Miami that evening they had all arrived in jackets which Kyle took from them and hung up in the hallway. Little did they know these would be needed later on and before they went home?

Then Kyle handed them all a glass of sherry and they sat down making themselves comfortable and Horatio came out of the kitchen for a few minutes to welcome them and told them dinner would be served shortly. He took the time to ask how the day had gone and Calleigh told him that things had been generally quiet which was good news to his ears. Smiling at him she then told him that they had however had a little mystery in the lab that morning. She had taken a box of homemade cookies in for a Christmas treat, to have with a coffee break, which she had arranged to be in the main office area at 11:00am. But, when the time came to hand them around she found a third of the cookies had disappeared. Ryan and Eric who were with her at the time both looked at each other and exclaimed "FRANK!" They all knew Frank had a weakness for cookies.

Knowing Frank had this weakness they had decided to see if they could catch him in the act, Calleigh having first placed a note in the box that said, "Be sure your sins will find you out." They all moved away out of sight, taking their coffees with them and sure enough they saw Frank creep into the office, and unaware they were around, he dipped his hands in the box, but after reading the note he found he looked around furtively and nearly jumped out of his skin when they jumped out and yelled "Gotcha."

Everyone was laughing at this point and Frank having gone all pink in the face looked at Horatio in embarrassment. Horatio just gave him a benevolent smile. He did not attempt to embarrass Frank any further. He and Frank got on particularly well. He also knew that everyone has little weaknesses from time to time, and his own weakness was chocolate so he was not about to make Frank squirm anymore as he knew full well that had he been in that day and chocolates were for the taking he would probably have been as guilty as Frank.

So as he said, "I had better get back to the kitchen now," he gave Frank a wink of understanding as he passed him.

Later, when they had finished dining and the table cleared they all sat around the lounge very comfortable and happy together. They had all enjoyed the meal immensely and praised Horatio for his culinary skills.

Kyle told them all that his father had fallen asleep for a while in the afternoon and had had a dream about a white Christmas in New York; and as none of them including Yelina and Ray had ever experienced such a Christmas they all started asking questions. So Horatio started to tell them of his experiences when all of a sudden they heard a terrible gust of wind outside followed by such a loud clatter; and they all sprung up out of their seats in alarm. Horatio rushed to the window to see what the matter was; opened the blinds and stepped back in amazement. He was absolutely enthralled with the sight that met his eyes. The ground and trees were covered in snow; the sky was a beautiful indigo blue, and the moon shining on the breast of the new fallen snow gave the lustre of mid day to the ground below. The others crept up behind Horatio, all of them speechless and utterly spellbound by the sight of snow.

Horatio was still puzzled by the clatter they had heard so he opened the doors; stepped outside and on seeing a shadow over the patio he looked up and to his surprise saw a sleigh and eight small reindeer on the roof, and me climbing out of the sleigh and ready to slide down the roof and on to the patio below.

Unfortunately, as I lifted my sack off the sleigh I missed my footing, and slid down the roof in an ungainly manner and landed on the patio with a heavy bump on my butt, and I heard Horatio say, "OUCH." By this time Kyle had joined his father together with his cousin Ray and they both ran over and helped me to my feet although nearly hysterical with laughter. But they were good lads and concerned they checked that I was alright. Horatio came up to me smiling and said "I guess you are Saint Nicholas, although I can't believe what I am seeing. You are surely in the wrong place?" Then on hearing the prancing and pawing of hooves on the roof he expressed concern about the safety of the reindeer and I told him they would be fine as they were all sure footed and would not be as silly as me to slip off the roof.

Horatio then shook my hand; invited me into his home and gave me a glass of sherry and a mince pie which was most welcome as it was an unusually cold night in Miami. I shook hands with his guests who were still in a mesmerized state, and gave the two boys a friendly pat on the back. These two had come around to believing what they were seeing and were having fun taking in the whole scene playing out before their eyes.

Horatio offered me a cigar, but I declined preferring to puff on my old stump of a pipe.

It was most comfortable being with Horatio and his guests who were all most welcoming when they recovered from their shock. While I didn't want to leave these friendly people, I heard the reindeer getting restless on the roof and this was them telling me to buck up as I still had a busy night ahead. So I handed out a present to each of them; perfume and chocolates to Yelina, Calleigh and Natalia and a bottle of whiskey each to Eric, Frank and Ryan. And I presented both Kyle and Ray junior with a video game; and one to test the abilities of teenagers. They all expressed their thanks but not one of them could understand how I knew they were going to be there on this occasion. But laying my finger alongside my nose, and giving them a wink I told them I knew exactly where everyone was on Christmas Eve night.

Then I turned to Horatio and told him that his present was the gift of a white Christmas thereby fulfilling his dream. He tilted his head slightly and looked at me all knowingly; smiled, and gave me a hug whispering in my ear that a miracle had surely happened in Miami this night and to say thank you to the angels above. The happy contented look on Horatio's face told me that granting him his wish was simply one of the best presents that I and the angels could have given him.

Then leaving the happy scene within the apartment, I went back outside with Horatio and Kyle following to see me off. The others retrieved their jackets and also followed within seconds. However, I could not climb up on to the roof as there was not a darned drainpipe in sight and there was no chimney in the air conditioned apartment to climb up, so I called out to my reindeers...Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Donner and Blitzen to come down off the roof and collect me from solid ground. In a twinkling they were down and as I jumped on the sleigh and looked back I saw them all waving goodbye. It was time to go so I whistled to my reindeer and as we moved up and away I waved goodbye and shouted "Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good-night!"

I looked back before disappearing out of sight and saw Horatio standing to one side of the others his head tilted to one side, and with a glass in his hand raised to the sky I heard him say "Thank you Saint Nick for making this man's dream come true tonight."

But the night did not end there. When I finished for the night and caught up with the angels and told them Horatio said to thank them, we all looked in on that household once more and saw that Horatio and his guests were all out in the snow having a jolly good time. They were making the most of the snow that had fallen in Miami that night. Horatio was building a snowman with Kyle and Ray Junior, and the others were having quite a snowball fight. There was a lot of happy laughter coming from that patio. After a while they all went back inside and Horatio made them a hot drink and they sat and discussed what had happened there that night. None of them had believed in Saint Nicholas before and now they were not sure as they had seen me before their very eyes and couldn't tell if they had dreamt it all. Horatio knew different though and assured them I was for real. But, was Horatio right or had he been dreaming again? Just teasing you here...of course Horatio was right - wasn't he?"

Anyway, everyone gradually started to leave telling Horatio as they left that they had thoroughly enjoyed their remarkable time together and that it was an evening they would never forget. There were hugs and kisses all around and all saying Merry Christmas to each other as they left.

Kyle did not leave; he was staying overnight as he was going to spend Christmas day with his Father. As it was actually Christmas day now, Kyle gave his Father the present he had placed under the Christmas tree earlier. Horatio loved poetry when he had time to read and Kyle had given him a beautiful leather bound book of poetry. Horatio was thrilled with the book and was about to place it down to read some time later on in the day but Kyle told him to look at the poem at the end of the book. So Horatio did as he was asked and was surprised to find the poem was called "Twas, the night before Christmas...Let it Snow." He laughed and said, "I think Saint Nick somehow had something to do with you choosing this present. Don't you Kyle?"

With that he put his arm around his son's shoulders and drew him over to the window, and they looked high up into the sky and Horatio once again said, "Thank you Saint Nick for making this man's dream come true tonight." He had a huge grin on his face, and I swear he could see me although this was impossible. But then Horatio's Guardian angel (yes he has one) told me our window had been opened for just a second to let Horatio see into our world.

Then Horatio sat down on the sofa and leaning back and relaxing with his hands behind the back of his head looked up at his son who was still staring out of the window and said, "I'm not ready to go to bed yet Kyle, but don't let me stop you going."

Kyle moving away from the window sat down in an armchair and said, "I'm not ready to go either Dad, and we don't have to get up early anyway. So shall we watch some television?"

Horatio nodded his head so Kyle turned the TV on and scrolled through a few channels and then laughed out loud when he reached a channel just announcing that the movie - Im Dreaming of a White Christmas, starring Bing Crosby would start after the adverts.

Kyle glancing at his Dad, said, "This is too weird Dad, do you want to watch?"

Horatio grinned and feeling fully relaxed after what had been a busy day for him, replied. "Yes, I may be living in modern times Kyle but I love those old nostalgic movies. This will finish the day off nicely."

When the movie finished two hours later at 3:00 am Horatio stood up; turned the TV off and smiling across at his son said, "Happy Christmas Kyle."

Kyle now standing up gave his dad a hug as he said "Happy Christmas Dad, this is the best Christmas ever, and I love you."

"Love you too Kyle, and absolutely the best Christmas for me also and that is because I have you in my life now."

Thirty minutes later while Horatio was already asleep, Kyle was lying in bed thinking that though it had taken a little time he had come to love and admire his father so much and was happy that he was having what was clearly a magical Christmas for him.

So that was last Christmas and with the next one almost here, you may wonder what Horatio has planned for Christmas 2009. Well, I can tell you that Kyle was so enamoured with the idea of a white Christmas in New York that Horatio has taken him to New York, and is this very day taking him on a tour of all the places that have always given him so much pleasure. He has been keeping his fingers crossed for several days now hoping it will snow in New York this Christmas...and I do believe he is going to be lucky. However, if mother nature doesn't oblige then I must make it snow for him again. We can't have him have a Christmas in New York without snow can we?"

A Merry Christmas to all from St. Nicholas.

The End.