A/N: It's so great to post chapters again.. I must say, this second part and the way it ended took me by surprise. But to me, as I wrote it, it seemed kind of natural. Up to you guys to decide what you think.. Anyways, thanks for reviews for part one, and i hope you'll enjoy this part too. Here's the second part of my two-shot.

Disclaimer: Nope, don't own a thing.

Part II: Opening up

Yelina Salas was back in her home, unsure what she had really been doing since she had come home, several hours ago. Her mind was spinning and she just walked around absently. Ray Junior had come home about two hours ago, dropping off his school stuff and saying 'hey' before heading off to his girlfriend. He hadn't even noticed anything was wrong with his mother and left only ten minutes later. She was alone again. The phone call she received from Ryan thirty minutes ago had calmed her down and made her pacing slower, but it had also made her boil with anger once again. Why was it Ryan, and not Horatio, calling and telling her that Horatio was alright? Why wasn't Horatio in her home now, explaining everything, giving her a chance to talk openly with him? She kept on pacing in the kitchen, glancing out through the window without being aware of it every minute to look for any trace of her brother-in-law.

She stopped the pacing after a while and leaned against the wall. What was she really expecting? What had made her so foolishly expect that Horatio would come home to her now? Why would he? He knew she was fine, he had no duty as a brother-in-law to check on her when he knew she was okay. He had loads to do after the shocking turn the search for Saris had taken.

She sighed, still leaning against the wall, and looked down at the floor. It was foolish of her to expect any of that. He was too busy for her.

With another sigh she walked to the cupboards over the sink, took a pair of plates and started to lay the table. Ray was bound to come home within an hour and she hadn't even started with dinner yet. Absently she started preparing dinner, hardly aware of what she was cooking. The sound of the doorbell interrupted her chopping of the onions and she glanced towards the hall. She put the knife down on the sink and went to open the door.

Even after hours of pacing and waiting for the man, she could hardly believe what she was seeing when she opened the door to find Horatio on the doorstep. He was holding his sunglasses with both his hands, and looking at her sideways, a small smile upon his lips.

"Hey," he said softly, still smiling. Those eyes of his, the deep blue eyes which used to be dark with deep sorrow, actually seemed to hold less sorrow than she was used to. He almost looked happy and also a bit shy from the look upon his face.

"Horatio," she said, surprised. "Hi."

"I uh…" The lieutenant hesitated, glanced down at his sunglasses.

Oh, those bloody sunglasses.

"Would you like to come in?" Yelina asked slowly, although she had no idea why she actually was inviting the man in. She should slam the door in his face.

He smiled slightly again and looked up at her. "Thanks."

The two of them walked into the kitchen and Yelina made a half-hearted gesture towards the table, inviting Horatio to sit down. He remained standing and studied Yelina in silence. Yelina looked out through the window awkwardly for a second.

The moment Horatio opened his mouth to speak, she looked back at him. "It was good to see you earlier today, Yelina," he said quietly. "It's been a long time."

"Yeah, it has," she said coolly, crossing her arms on her chest.

Horatio seemed much taken aback by the way she treated him and froze for a second. He glanced over her shoulder and at the food by the stove. A smile crossed his lips for a second, "Spaghetti Bolognese," he observed, smiling slightly.

Yelina wanted to kick herself. The Lieutenant's favourite. "Maybe you'd like to have dinner with Ray and me? Ray would be very glad." She turned to the stove and started chopping the onions again.

Horatio seemed unsure what to answer. For the first time in Yelina didn't know how long, she had actually made the Lieutenant uncertain of what to say next. But it wasn't for the same reason as it used to be.

"Yelina, I know I've not been a very good brother-in-law and uncle these last-"

Yelina spun around to face Horatio hastily, her eyes glowing. "Not been a good brother-in-law? Not been a good uncle?! Horatio, you've not been around for months. You've not said a word in months. I mean, I can face it if you don't talk to me… But Ray…" she paused in pure frustration, shaking her head, her voice filled disappointment. "Horatio, Ray might be getting older, but you've always meant a lot to him. And all of a sudden-"

"Yelina, I'm-"

"No, wait, I'm not finished, Horatio," Yelina said fiercely. She was standing with her hands in the sides, looking angrier than Horatio ever had seen her. "You all of a sudden have a son and of course, there's no real explanation! You just don't talk to me, you never seem to do! It's just superficial discussions, never the truth, never what you really think… And then there's the ex-lover, and-"

"Yelina, I'm sorry," Horatio interrupted, looking at her with a horrified face. "I know I have a lot to explain…"

"And today I get a phone call," Yelina continued as if she hadn't heard him. "Today, Frank Tripp calls me and tell me you're dead!" She was close to screaming now. "You have no idea what it was like, Horatio! You have no idea."

"Yelina, I called you, I-"

"HOW THE HELL could you fake your own death and let me believe you were dead?!" She was screaming, pointing a finger at Horatio. She couldn't stop herself now, not once she had started. Years of the suppressed anger had reached the surface, and all she could think of was getting it all off her chest. "You're no better than your brother, Horatio! Ray and you are just the same! How could you do that to me?!" She was crying now, but didn't even seem to notice the tears.

"I couldn't tell any-"

"Horatio, you know as well as I do that you could've said something! If you had tried, if you had…" she shook her head as tears once again were flooding up in her eyes. She couldn't stop them anymore. The anger, the disappointment, the sorrow... It was all coming now, at the same time. "If you had tried, you would have realised that there were ways to let me know about your plan." Yelina paused, trying to hold back the new tears threatening to leave her eyes. Horatio remained rooted to the spot. "And then you let me walk around here for hours without telling me what's going on, and then you let Ryan Wolfe call me! You couldn't even take time to call me and tell me you were alright by yourself! I helped you, even though I was so mad at you! I couldn't stop myself from helping you, because I was so happy that you were alive. And you couldn't even call me and say that you were okay… And after all of this, you come to my house and tell me that it was good to see me again." She gave him a withering stare, unable to believe she had said all of that to him.

"Yelina, I…"

She considered her option of just turning around and continuing with dinner, but decided to keep looking at Horatio instead. She knew everything would be so much easier for him if she turned around. On the other hand, she really wasn't interesting in hearing what he was about to say. Because what was there to say, really?

"I never meant to hurt you, Yelina," Horatio whispered. "I know I've been very bad at showing that, but…" The Lieutenant shook his head, desperately searching for something to say. It was torture to stand in front of the woman he loved so much, hear her speak the plain truth and not be able to do anything. What could he say that would make things right? "I have a lot to explain, but please… listen to me."

She looked at him with an unchanged face, and took a few steps closer to him. Her voice was calm and under control, but she didn't entirely manage to hide the emotion behind the words. "If you honestly believe that your explanations will make any of the things you've done any better, then talk and I'll listen," she said quietly, taking another step towards him. They were so close now, she could smell him, and she could reach out and touch him. But she didn't.

The Lieutenant hesitated, seeming to fight an inner battle. He was looking at the floor and fingering his sunglasses, desperately searching for the words. Then he looked up at her, opening his mouth to speak. "Yelina… I've wanted to give you some space… After you got home from Brazil… It was all different. Ray was gone, once again, and… I didn't know what to do. I just figured that giving you space was the only right thing… and… I've wanted to come and see you so badly but… there has been so much… Kyle and Julia, both of them suddenly a part of my life. And all along, all I wanted was to see you and tell you…" He stopped and looked down, unable to finish the sentence. He glanced at her carefully, but her face challenged him to go on. "I have made many mistakes which I regret so badly," he continued carefully, but he could see in her face that she only wanted him to finish that sentence. "All along," he started quietly, "All along I just wanted to tell you how… how much I love you. And I want to do something about this, about us. I can't keep on having those… superficial discussions. I need to be honest with you now, Yelina."

Yelina's mouth was slightly open and she looked at the man in front of her with wide eyes. He had said it. After so many years, he had actually said it… But it didn't matter, she thought. It was too late now. "After all this time…" she started, but she couldn't finish the sentence. She didn't even know how to finish the sentence.

"After all this time, I'm telling you," Horatio finished it for her, nodding slowly. "I love you, Yelina, I do, and I've wanted to tell you for so long, but… It's been so…"

"Complicated," she agreed quietly. "I know, Horatio. But…" she stopped, hoping to find the words she needed. It was so hard to say what she was going to say. So much harder than she ever could have thought. She looked out through the window; the sun was starting to disappear behind the trees. A bird was chirping outside the window, and for a short moment, she wondered whether it was the same bird as the one that had sung earlier that day, when she had thought Horatio was dead. It seemed so long ago now, it already seemed like a distant memory… "I've shown you how I've felt for so long, and you've not said or done anything at all to show your feelings… Until now…" She paused and looked away from the window and back at Horatio. "But now…"

"But now…?" Horatio asked, and Yelina could hear the worry in her voice. He was starting to understand.

"It's…" There was no other option.

Nothing else would be right, she thought, unable to look Horatio in the eyes. She gave a weary sigh, and looked down at her feet for a second. Then, with a deep breath, she looked up at him. "Too much has happened… Too much has kept us away from each other for too long. It has become too much, Horatio," she said quietly, tears starting to fill her eyes again. "It's too late," she whispered, shaking her head slowly. "It's too late now."

The Lieutenant didn't seem to be able to understand what she just had said. He looked at her, unable to say a word, unable to move. The sound of the front door being opened reached the two of them, but none of them moved.

"Hey mom, I'm home!" Raymond Junior called from the hall as he threw off his shoes and started to walk towards the kitchen. Neither Horatio nor Yelina moved; they remained right where they were, eyes locked with each other.

"Is that Horatio's car outside?" he asked as he started to reach the kitchen, but he found an answer for his question the same moment as he walked into the kitchen. "Uncle Horatio!" he burst with surprise, a smile suddenly upon his lips.

Slowly, Horatio started to turn around, but he didn't let his now sad eyes leave Yelina until they had to. He forced himself to give the teenager a half-hearted smile. "Hey Ray, how are you doing?"

"I'm great! Why haven't you visited? It's been so long!" the teenager said accusingly as he gave his uncle a hug. Before the redhead could reply, the teenager glanced towards the food Yelina only had started to cook. "You're staying for dinner?" Ray was smiling broadly.

Horatio didn't reply immediately, but first looked at Yelina.

She wasn't really listening, her hand held onto the back rest of one of the chairs, looking out through the window and biting her lip, doing her best to keep the tears threatening to leave her eyes from falling.

The Lieutenant looked down at his feet and then back at Ray, giving his nephew a low reply without quite being able to hide the sadness in his voice. "I'm afraid I'm not staying, Ray," he mumbled. "I have to get going."

The teenager could hear from the sound of his uncle's voice that nothing he said would change this, but he didn't quite register the sadness in Horatio's voice. "Alright," he said shrugged a bit. "But you'll have to promise to come back soon, uncle H. We've missed you."

"Yeah," the lieutenant replied with a glance at Yelina. "You're right, I've been gone for a long time… But I'm coming back, alright, buddy?" He forced another smile upon his lips. "I've missed you and I'm planning to do better than these past couple of months."

He meant this in more way than one. One way or another, he had to win back the heart of the woman he loved. Because without her, he'd be lost.

FIN