Author's Note: I've managed to finish this fiction. Thanks again to Carolina for beta-ing this for me.  Please leave feedback and let me know what you think.

Rated: R

Horatio opened his eyes again; it was still daylight out. He looked around the room. Calleigh was sitting in the chair by his bed.

"Calleigh? How long have I been out?"

"Not quite 24 hours."

Horatio shook his head and tried to sit up in bed again.

"And Yelina? How is she?"

"She's still in critical condition. The doctors have slightly increased her chances of survival."

Horatio had finally gotten himself into a sitting position in the bed.

"What about Ray?"

"Eric has been staying with him. He doesn't know much about what occurred. Just that you weren't going to be able to get back to him for a while. Eric helped him call his grandmother. She arrived at your apartment last night. Ray wanted to stay there, so she is staying there with him, now."

"Okay. Calleigh, I am ready to get out of this room."

Calleigh looked closely at Horatio. She knew his body wasn't up for getting out of that bed, his face told her he was going to get up out of it anyway. There wasn't going to be any stopping him.

"Alright, Horatio, I'll go let the nurse know. Oh, I took the liberty of getting you some clean clothes from your apartment. They're on the foot of your bed."

Calleigh walked out of the room, shaking her head. Horatio still looked so, what, numb? He was still holding everything inside. Only thing that showed through his face was the pain he was in. And his eyes, they were so sad. She looked back again at Horatio, and closed the door.

Horatio reached over and got his clothes off the foot of the bed. He had to move slowly, gritting his teeth to keep the pain from getting the better of him. He slipped his pants on, standing unsteadily to pull them up. Sitting back down, he took the hospital gown off, catching sight of the large bandage on the right side of his chest. He ran his hand over it briefly, and set about putting his shirt on.

The nurse walked in with the discharge papers and a sling in her hand. Calleigh was behind her in the hallway. The nurse helped Horatio finish putting his shirt on, and put his right arm in the sling. He signed the discharge papers, and she left. Calleigh walked into the room.

"Would you like some help, getting up to Yelina's room?"

Horatio glanced at Calleigh, the anger, the pain and the sadness showing on his face for the first time. He looked back down at the buttons he was fastening. "No, no, thank you. I want to do this on my own."

Calleigh nodded her head, understanding. She had thought that he would.

Calleigh stood by the door as Horatio left the room, and they walked down to the elevator together. It took Horatio up to Yelina's floor first. Calleigh watched Horatio walking slowly down the hall as the doors closed, to take her down.

As slowly as Horatio had to walk, Yelina's room felt so far away. It was taking him forever to get there. She was across the hall from the nurse's desk. He stood by the desk for a moment to catch his breath. Then he walked into her room. What he saw made him gasp. He stopped short, catching onto the chair close by for balance.

Yelina was extremely pale. The only things that really held any color were her hair and the wounds on her face. Were it not for the respirator, Horatio could not have even said she was breathing. The heart monitor beeped slowly. His face lost all of its color as he slowly pushed the chair closer to her bed, and edged around it until he could sit down.

He reached for her hand resting on the blanket. It was so cold. He rested it in his hand, running his thumb over the back of it, before he closed his hand gently around her fingers, trying to warm them up. He leaned over, placing his forehead on their clasped hands. Tears fell and his shoulders shook as the sobs racked his body.

He silently berated himself. I didn't do enough. I didn't protect her from this. I didn't keep her safe. I'm going to lose her. God, don't let me lose her. Help her.

Slowly regaining control of his voice, Horatio whispered to Yelina through his tears, "I'm sorry, I am so sorry."

Alarms started sounding in the room. Horatio's head flew up. "No!" Nurses and doctors flew into the room; Horatio was pushed out. He stood in the hallway and watched through the glass as they worked on her. He was watching the heart monitor anxiously. He released the breath he didn't know he was holding when he saw that her heart was beating again. A doctor came out to talk to him.

"Sir, we've got to take her back to surgery. It looks like she may be bleeding internally."

Horatio nodded his head, but he wasn't looking at the doctor. He was watching Yelina as she was being pushed down the hall. He moved past the doctor as he struggled to see her before the doors closed behind her.

Horatio was heading down the hallway to follow her and wait for news when he met Frank.

"Hey, Horatio. I came by to see how you were doing. The nurse said you had been discharged and I came up…" Frank had just then looked at Horatio's face. "What's going on?"

"Yelina's headed back to surgery, Frank."

"What! Why?"

"The doctors think she is bleeding internally."

"Aw, man. I am sorry to hear that. You want me to wait with ya'?"

Horatio shrugged his shoulders and walked away from Frank, towards the O.R. Frank followed closely behind him. They waited in the reception room for any news. Horatio sat in a chair with his head in his hands. Frank sat in a chair opposite him.

After what seemed like ages had past, a doctor came out pulling off his mask.

"Lieutenant Caine?"

"Yes?"

"We found the bleeder, and small fragment of the bullet that was still in her. Don't know how we missed it the first time. She should have an easier time recovering now."

"Alright, thank you."

"Sir, she's going to be in recovery for a while." He pointed to Horatio's shirt; blood was showing through where his bandage was. "Maybe you should go down and have someone replace that bandage for you. Get out of the hospital for a little while. We'll call you when she's out."

Horatio looked down at his shirt, numbly. He hadn't even realized he was bleeding. He looked at the doctor and nodded his head. Frank stood up.

"C'mon Horatio. Let's go downstairs and get that thing replaced. I'll give you a ride to your apartment."

"Yeah, thanks, Frank."

Horatio walked downstairs and a nurse replaced his bandage for him. He walked with Frank back to his car and slumped into the passenger seat. Frank looked at Horatio, he felt he should say something, but he didn't know what. He started the car and drove out of the parking lot towards Horatio's apartment. When they arrived, Frank parked and looked at Horatio again.

"Look, man. I'll stick around here until you get that call, and I'll get you back to the hospital."

Horatio nodded his head and stepped out of the car. He walked slowly up the steps to his apartment and walked in. He saw Ray Jr and his grandmother at the table playing a board game.

"Uncle Horatio!"

"Hey, Ray. How you holding up?"

Ray ran to Horatio and gave him a hug. He cut the hug short and looked at the sling on Horatio's arm and his shirt.

"What happened? Nobody's telling me anything. Why are you bleeding? How's mom."

Horatio looked sadly at Ray and led him over to the couch, sitting by him. Yelina's mom walked into the living room and sat in the chair, looking askance at Horatio. He leaned over and looked Ray in the face.

"Stetler came back. Your mom and I were shot. She's had to go into surgery, twice, again. She's in recovery right now. She should make it. Stetler is gone."

Ray looked at Horatio and curled into his arms. Yelina's mom put her face in her hands, and cried. Horatio leaned back on the couch with Ray in his arms and held him as tightly as he could. Ray's head was hidden in his shoulder; he could feel the wetness through his shirt. Horatio clenched his teeth and rested his chin on Ray's shoulder. He held on tightly to Ray and let him cry. If Stetler weren't already dead, he'd kill him himself. He felt tears rolling down his cheeks and clenched his teeth harder to try to fight them. His body was shaking from the effort to hold his tears in, and Ray's body was shaking from the force of his tears as they came out.

After a while, Ray pulled away from Horatio. Horatio rubbed Ray's back, told him to hang in there, and got up to change his shirt. Yelina's mother went into the bathroom to wash her face. Horatio came back out in the living room and saw Ray sitting there alone on the couch. He sat down again, for a minute, and gave Ray another hug.

"Hey, I'm going to fix myself some coffee. You want some hot chocolate?"

Ray nodded his head and Horatio went into the kitchen. Ray's grandmother came back out and sat down next to Ray. Horatio came back in with hot chocolate for Ray, and a cup of coffee for her. He sat on the chair and sipped at his coffee.

A little while after they were done with their drinks, Horatio's cell phone rang.

"Caine."

"Lieutenant Caine, Detective Salas is back in her room."

"Alright, thank you."

Horatio closed his phone and looked at Ray. "I'm going with you!" Ray said.

"Alright. Detective Tripp is waiting out in the parking lot for us, he'll drive us there. Let's go."

They got into Frank's car and drove to the hospital. Yelina's mother followed them there. She, Horatio, and Ray Jr walked up to Yelina's room. Horatio stood out in the hall and let Yelina's mother go in first, Ray stayed by him. Horatio watched them through the window as Yelina's mom touched Yelina's hand, and her face, combing her fingers through her hair and gave her daughter a kiss on the cheek. She wiped her hands across her face and came out.

Ray headed into Yelina's room. "I want you to go with me, Uncle Horatio." Horatio nodded his head and followed him in, leaving his grandmother standing in the hall. Ray stopped a little inside the door; Horatio put his arm around Ray's shoulders. Ray looked up at him, and he nodded his head. Yelina was not moving, still unconscious, but her color was better, Horatio thought. Ray walked close the bed, touching his mom's hand. He gently rubbed his hand up her arm to her face, then to her hair. He was crying again. Horatio heard him whisper "I love you, mom. Get better." After a while, Ray turned and walked back to his uncle. Horatio gathered him in his arms, hugging him tight again as he cried. Tears were running down his cheeks again, it tore him up inside to see them both hurting so much. They turned and walked out of the room. Ray went to his grandmother, and they both walked down the hall to go back to Horatio's apartment.

Horatio walked back into the room and stood by Yelina's bed. He took her hand again; it was warmer this time. He sat down in the chair, not letting go of her hand. He rubbed it with his thumb, brought it to his lips and kissed it, and placed it back on the bed, still in his hand. By all that he had in him, he would see that she would make it.

As nurses went in and out during the day, he stayed by her bed, holding her hand. It was early evening when a doctor came in. Horatio gently placed her hand back on the bed and stood up as he watched the doctor. When the doctor was done, he gestured for Horatio to step outside in the hall with him.

"Well, how is she doing?"

"Better, much better, I'm pleased to say. She keeps on at this rate, come morning, we could take her off the respirator."

"Good. Thank you, doctor."

Horatio watched the doctor walk down the hallway. He was going to go back in there and stay with her, but he was getting a cup of coffee first. Frank found him by the coffee machine as he was finishing his coffee.

"Horatio. How she holding up?"

"Better Frank, thank you."

"Listen Horatio, are you up to talking? I need you to tell me what happened, close this case."

"Yeah, alright Frank."

Horatio told Frank everything that had happened. When he was done, Frank closed his notebook and put it in his pocket. He looked at Horatio, he looked haggard, his face was drawn and his eyes were red. Man, he looked like he needed some rest so he could get better himself; but he wasn't going to be the one to tell him that.

"Okay, thanks Horatio. Hey, you let her know we're rooting for her, ya' hear?"

"Okay, thank you Frank. I will do that."

Horatio went back into Yelina's room and sat with her through the night. The nurses were in and out regularly; a few times they brought him coffee.

In the morning, the doctor came back in and told Horatio they needed him to go for a little while, about an hour or so. There were some things they needed to do. Horatio nodded his head, glanced at Yelina again. She looked better. He walked out of the room, and down to his Hummer. He drove to the apartment to see Ray for a little while and get into some fresh clothes. He changed his bandage again. He sat down and had a little breakfast with Ray Jr and his grandmother.

Horatio got up from the breakfast table, glancing at Ray's grandmother and thanking her for all that she was doing to help. She nodded her head. He looked down at Ray, who was still sitting at the table.

"I'm going to go see your mom again. They were taking her off the respirator this morning…"

Ray nodded his head, but he wasn't quite ready to go back yet. Horatio nodded and pulled Ray into a hug. "She's going to make it Ray, you hear me? She'll be back, as good as ever, real soon. I promise. I'll come back in a little while and let you know how she is, okay?" Ray nodded his head again and sniffled a little bit.

Back at the hospital, Horatio walked back into Yelina's room. She had been taken off the respirator, as well as the heart monitor. It was quiet in the room, save for the slight sound of her breathing. He moved around her bed, straightening the bedclothes, and stopped at the head of her bed. He brushed his fingers over her hair, and looked closely at her. Her lips had their color back; her breathing was strong and steady. His fingers trembled as he gently touched the wounds on her face, and brushed her lips. He traced them down her neck and toward her left shoulder. His eyes welled with tears as he saw the top edge of her bandage and remembered all that Stetler had done to her. He followed the edge of the bandage with his fingers until it disappeared under her gown. He leaned down, lightly brushing his lips across her eyelids and her mouth. Then he stood back, and gazed upon her. A slight smile lifted at the corners of his mouth, she was so beautiful.

He sat down in the chair by her bed. He was hoping she would wake up soon; he was still worried about her. He took her hand, just to hold it. He dozed off. He woke up a little while later; he had felt her fingers move. He looked up at her; her eyes were still closed. He gently squeezed her fingers, and she weakly squeezed his hand back. Horatio stood up and moved closer to her bed, looking down at her hand, and her face.

"Yelina? Come on, baby, show me you're okay."

Yelina squeezed his hand again; he could see her eyes moving slowly behind her eyelids. Her mouth opened slightly, taking a little deeper breath. She winced at the intake. Horatio lifted her hand to his lips, bending down to kiss it.

"It's okay" he whispered. "Take your time."

Her fingers closed around his hand, stronger than before. He squeezed her hand back, tears falling heedlessly at the effort she was making. His girl was strong; she was going to pull through.

He reached up, brushing her hair with his fingers, running his fingers along her eyebrows. He could see she was struggling to open her eyes. A side of his mouth lifted, she wasn't giving up. He brushed his thumb gently across her eyelids.

"It's alright, Yelina. I'm here"

She reached her arm weakly up, her questing hand found his arm, sliding along it until she found his hand. He held tight to her hand, feeding her his strength. She opened her mouth again and took another deep breath. She cracked her eyes open slightly; she was able to see him. Her vision was blurred, but she could see him. She gripped his hand harder and took another deep breath.

"Horatio?" her voice came out in a whisper.

"Yeah, yeah Yelina, I'm here," Horatio's voice cracked.

She pulled his hand to have him come closer. She couldn't see him well; she wanted to see him better. He leaned over her, getting closer. A tear fell on her face. "You're crying," she whispered.

"Yeah, I guess I am." He smiled a little. "You had me worried."

She blinked; she was able to see a little better. She was able to see the sling on his arm. She touched it with her fingers.

"You were shot." Her voice was still a whisper

"Yeah…um, yeah, I was. You too. I'll be okay."

She closed her eyes, whispering "Me, too," as she drifted back into sleep.

Horatio stood up and wiped his eyes. "Yes, Yelina, you too. Now, you get some rest. I've got someone at my apartment worried sick about you. He's going to come see you."

Horatio drove back to his apartment, his heart feeling lighter than it had this morning. He walked quickly up the steps and opened the door to his apartment. Ray Jr and his grandmother were cleaning up from a late lunch.

"Hey, buddy."

"Uncle Horatio!" Ray ran over to Horatio and looked up at him. "How's mom?"

Horatio bent down and looked at Ray, holding one of his arms with his hand. "She's going to be okay. She was awake for a little while. She's asleep again, but I thought you might like to go and see her in a little while."

Ray hugged Horatio, and said "Definitely."

Horatio looked up over Ray's shoulder and saw Yelina's mother smiling and crying. He nodded his head at her, understanding completely, and smiled a little back at her. He stood up, putting his hand on Ray's shoulder.

"Okay buddy. Let's get ourselves cleaned up, and your grandma back into her house and go see your mom."

It was a couple of hours after that; Horatio and Ray were sitting in his Hummer in the hospital parking lot.

Horatio looked at Ray, "You ready?"

Ray nodded his head. Horatio looked at him close, "Hey, it'll be okay. You'll see." Ray nodded again. Horatio rubbed Ray's back and got out, walking around to Ray's side and helping him out. They walked into the hospital, Horatio's arm around Ray's shoulders. They walked into Yelina's room together. Her eyes were closed. Horatio led Ray to the side of the bed, and said "Yelina." Her eyes moved a little. "Yelina, somebody is here to see you." She opened her eyes slowly.

"Hey, kiddo." Her voice was a little stronger now. "How you holding up?"

"Hey mom, I'm okay," Ray's voice cracked a little.

"Come here," she said and held her arm out to Ray.

Ray moved into the shelter of her arm, hugging her gently, afraid to hurt her. She wrapped her arm around him and cradled his head where it was pushed into her shoulder.

"Mom. Mom, I love you. I'm so glad you're okay," Yelina heard Ray say through his tears.

"It's okay, it's okay Ray. I'm alright."

She hugged him as tight as she could and looked over his head. She saw Horatio standing close to the door, watching them, smiling. She smiled back. He left the room for a little while, letting mother and son have a little time together. He came back in as Ray was telling his mom goodnight. Horatio smiled at them. He looked at Yelina.

"I'll take Ray home and get him into bed. Then I can come back in the morning and check on you after Ray is off to school?"

Yelina nodded her head, "That would be nice. Thank you, for everything."

Horatio smiled at her and said, "My pleasure."

Horatio took Ray home and fed him dinner, and got him to bed. He sat on the couch for a little while, until he was sure that Ray was sound asleep. He walked back up the hall after he checked on him, pulled a blanket from the closet, and lay on the couch to sleep. He tossed and turned during the night, his shoulder prevented him from getting comfortable, and he worried about Yelina. When Ray woke up, he got off the couch to help him get ready and drove him to school.

From the school, he drove to the hospital. He looked up at the windows, locating Yelina's. Smiling, he got out of the Hummer; bringing a bouquet of flowers he had bought for her with him. He rode up the elevator and walked down the hall. He walked into her room, and saw that she was sitting up in bed and eating a light breakfast.

"Hey."

"Hi, Horatio." Yelina looked at Horatio and wondered what he was hiding behind his back.

"Brought you some flowers." He brought them out from behind his back, smiling at her.

"Hey, thank you. They're beautiful." She smiled briefly and watched as he put the flowers on the table by her bed; he had to move other vases out of the way to set his down. "I see the department has let you know they're glad you're okay." Horatio chuckled.

"Yeah. All the flowers, they're very pretty. It was very sweet of them, and you."

Something in the tone of her voice caught his attention. He looked at her carefully. "Uh… Yelina…?"

"Look Horatio, it was very sweet of you, really. All those things you said, you know to get a person's heart, make them want to fight harder to survive. Really, thank you."

Horatio looked down at the floor and looked at her. He was glad he had shut the door behind him. "Yelina…"

"No, really, Horatio, it's okay, it helped, really. But it is time for me to face the music, right? When are you going to tell me the truth, eh?"

Horatio shook his head, slowly, and sat down in the chair, facing her. "I was telling you the truth, Yelina." He reached for her hand, which she let him take. He brought it to his mouth and kissed it. "I love you, that is the truth." He turned her hand over and kissed her palm.

She smiled a little at him and closed her fingers, without pulling her hand away. "I want to believe you. I really do. But…"

Horatio raised his eyebrows, "But?"

"Oh, Horatio." Yelina sighed. "I'm sorry, but is what Rick told me true? That little girl, Madison, she's really Ray's daughter not yours?"

Horatio winced and nodded his head. "Yeah, yeah, she's Ray's."

"Why didn't you tell me, huh? He knew, but you couldn't tell me? You wanted to protect me? You thought the right thing to say then was nothing, to let me continue to believe she was yours?"

"I didn't…"

"You didn't what? Get a chance to tell me? It was not the only time my trust in you came up. And you could have told me, we've talked plenty since then."

"I thought…"

"You thought… you were protecting me. Let me think what I needed to think to keep from hurting me, no? And now you think the right thing to tell me now is 'you love me'. The right thing to tell me is the truth. Sure, I would have been hurt knowing she was Ray's, but I already knew about things he was doing, that would have been no far stretch. It hurt me far more thinking she was yours, that I couldn't trust you, that you couldn't tell me the truth. And now?"

"And now…? And now, I am telling you the truth. I have always tried to protect you. I am sorry I didn't tell you about Madison. After our initial conversation concerning her, there never seemed to be a good time to reveal who she was. I never saw an opportunity to discuss it with you that I didn't think it would hurt you, or hurt your chances at happiness. It hurt me to see you hurting. I had hoped you were making a choice that would lead to your happiness. That was most important to me. Like I said before, even when you were with someone else, you were still here. I could live with that. Whatever you needed to make you happy, I didn't want to stand in your way."

Horatio's voice began to crack. "But when I saw you on that floor, and I realized you might not even live for me to see you with someone else, my heart was on the floor by you. I couldn't have lived with that. I felt like it was my fault, I hadn't done enough. I hadn't stepped in strong enough when I suspected, hell, when I knew Stetler was hitting you. And for that, I was losing you. I don't want to lose you Yelina. I want you with me. You're in my heart; I want you in my life. I don't want to be a bystander anymore."

Horatio was still holding Yelina's hand. She could feel it shaking as he spoke to her. She looked up at his face. She had rarely seen him look so tired, and so sad. It hurt her inside to know that she was the cause of that. She thought about what he said; maybe a lot of it was true. Maybe she hadn't really given him a chance that night when she saw Madison. Had she jumped to conclusions and not realized it at the time? Would there really ever have been a good time to tell her, if his goal was to keep her from being hurt? It would have only added to her sense of betrayal, saddened further her memories of Raymond. She closed her eyes; she was too tired to think about all of this right now. She kept them shut; she didn't want to see Horatio's face when she said what she needed to right now.

"Horatio…"

"Yelina, let me finish. I didn't tell you how I felt simply to help you pull through. What I told you, what I said to you, I meant every word of it. I…"

"No, Horatio, please stop. I can't do this right now. I need time to think. I need to be alone, please."

He still held her hand, his hand shaking even more now as he gently laid it back on the bed. He took a moment to answer, clearing his throat. "Okay…um…alright Yelina. I…um… I guess I understand." Horatio stood up, looking at Yelina. "I…" He shook his head. "Okay. You…um… you let me know if you need anything, okay? Ray can stay with me until you're able to go home." Yelina nodded her head and kept her eyes closed. She heard Horatio open the door, and heard him step out. The sound of his footsteps dissipated as he went further down the hall. She lay back in the bed, and wiped tears off her face.

Over the next few days, Horatio drove Ray to school, and drove to the lab. He was not on active duty, and wouldn't be until he healed. But he was able to take the time to finish up his paperwork. Thankfully nothing that required his full concentration, so much of it was already devoted to Yelina and how she was doing. He was able to get out of the lab in time to pick Ray up from school. He would take him by the hospital first, so he could see his mom. Horatio would walk up with him, take a few minutes to find out how Yelina was doing, and then he would leave the two of them alone. He knew they needed the time together so they both could heal. He would come back to the room a while after, tell Yelina good night and take Ray back to his apartment with him. It was the second night that she told him before he left that the doctors had told her she could go home the next day. Horatio nodded his head and offered her a ride, which she accepted.

"I'll see you in the morning, then." Horatio said as he left the room.

That night after Ray was asleep, he left the apartment, got in his Hummer, and drove down the street. He stopped at Yelina's house, pulling into the driveway. He took a ragged breath, looking at the house. He grabbed the old towels he had brought with him, unlocked the front door and went inside.

Everything was nearly the same as it was the night that he had left it in such a hurry. He found a spray bottle of cleaner; using it to spray the kitchen floor and wiping it clean with one of the towels. His hands were shaking when he sprayed it again, taking another towel and cleaning it again. He walked around the house, cleaning up the broken glass he found, wiping off all the fingerprint dust. He found the phone, and replaced in its cradle. When he was done and ready to leave, anybody that didn't know wouldn't think anything had happened here. He left the house, locking the door behind him; carrying the plastic sac he had put the towels and glass in. On the way back to his apartment, he saw a burn barrel in an alley. Pulling off the road, he threw the sac of towels in the barrel, and watched them burn. The firelight revealed his pain and anger in flashes. He returned to his Hummer, and drove back to his apartment.

Horatio got up the next morning and took Ray to school, reminding him he could take the bus to his own home today. Ray smiled and nodded, "It'll be great to have mom home again." Horatio ruffled his hair and told him he would see him soon. Then he drove to the hospital to pick up Yelina. When he arrived, she was ready to go. He walked with the nurse as she pushed Yelina's wheelchair out to his Hummer, and he helped her get in. They drove to her house, pulling into the driveway. He went around to her side, holding her door open as she got out. Yelina looked up at the house and back at Horatio.

"Will you come in with me?"

"Of course."

They walked into the house together. Yelina looked around, relieved that there were no signs of the other night.

"Thank you, Horatio, for cleaning it up."

"You're welcome"

She turned around. He had closed the door behind them, and was still standing close to it. He was holding himself distant from her, she understood why. And she had had plenty of time to think while she had lain in that bed. She moved to stand close by him. She took both his hands; he looked at her. She took a deep breath; she hoped she hadn't pushed him too far this time. She walked over to the couch, leading him, and sat down. Horatio sat down by her, and she turned so she could look at him.

"Horatio, you were right. I didn't let you explain things that night, I jumped to conclusions, I was angry. And there wasn't any other time that would have been good for you to tell me. I believe you, when you say that you would have told me given the right opportunity. I was upset, and I am upset. But I see that I was partly to blame for this too. And I am sorry."

Horatio compressed his lips and nodded his head. He was hurting inside, the pain showed in his eyes. He waited for her to finish.

"It meant so much to me that you were there. I think there were points where I realize I might not have made it. You were my lifeline; you helped me through. I could feel your strength when I didn't have any left. And I want you to know, if you don't already. Horatio, I love you, very much. I don't want you to be a bystander to my life, anymore, either."

She could feel his hands shaking; his eyes were searching her face, looking in her eyes. She smiled faintly, and pulled herself closer, wrapping her arms around him and hugging him. "Horatio, I believe every word you said. I am sorry I doubted you." He raised his arms and hugged her closely. She could feel his heart pounding through his chest, and felt her heart pounding as hard. He whispered, "I love you so much, Yelina, so much."

She kissed his neck, felt his pulse bounding under her lips. She felt him kiss her neck, right under her ear. He ran his hands over her back until he buried his fingers in her hair. She ran her lips along his jaw as he buried his hands in her hair and pulled her head back slightly. She looked in his eyes, and was lost in their depths. He gently placed his mouth on hers, kissing her. She opened her lips, letting him in. They were both breathing raggedly. She caressed his back; she could feel the warmth of his skin through his shirt. She wanted to feel his skin, and pulled his shirttails out so she could. She could hear him gasp slightly as skin touched skin. She rubbed her fingers along his abdomen. Horatio lowered one of his hands to the small of her back. Moving, he lowered her gently to lie on the couch, never breaking contact with her mouth. He raised his head from hers, looking into those brown depths. His voice was husky when asked her "Are you sure you are ready for this?" She nodded her head; she was ready for this with him. He smiled, kissed her again, gently. This first time was so special, it required gentle handling, and he made love to her in great tenderness.

They lay next to one another, spent, and covered with the blanket from the back of the couch. Yelina had fallen asleep when they were finished. He buried his face in her hair, whispering to her how much he loved her.

Fin