Disclaimer: Not mine

Ten

It was hard for all of them to get back into the swing of things after spending a wonderful two weeks together. It had been even harder to let Kyle go when he had to get back to work; the kids were enamored with their older brother and couldn't wait to see him again, extracting his solemn promise to return as soon as possible. Calleigh had found a day camp with the local YMCA where Austin and Patti could spend their days while she and Horatio were at work, and the kids made friends quickly and enjoyed everything from basketball and swimming to horseback riding and video games.

Likewise, Horatio and Calleigh didn't want to return to work either. It had been a wonderful respite, and it made Calleigh think very seriously about taking a leave of absence. Horatio laughed when they talked about it. "You love your job!" he'd told her. "I do, handsome, but spending my days with our kids was just too much fun. If I was as close to retirement age as you are," she joked, "I'd be counting the days."

He'd looked at her in horror. "I'm not retirement age!" Calleigh had giggled at that, and at his righteous indignation. "I didn't say that you were, handsome, just that you're getting there."

"You had better watch out, because when I do retire, I'll recommend you for my replacement and then you'll be stuck there day and night." He'd smirked at her. "Maybe I will retire and play Mr. Mom for a while, see how you like it." She had stuck her tongue out at him at the time, but she secretly thought it wasn't a bad idea. She had thought he was one step away from burning himself out before they had gotten together, and while he seemed much happier now, it was still something to think about.

The weeks since they'd returned to work stretched out painfully slowly. They were knee-deep in work, stressed like they'd never been away, and more just kept coming in. All of them were swamped, staying late and pulling all-nighters. Calleigh and Horatio were juggling work and home responsibilities with moderate success, though Calleigh felt that Horatio was getting the short end of the stick and staying late far more than she was. She had to find an alternative. She felt like they rarely saw each other these days.

Horatio had just returned to the lab and was examining evidence, leaning over the table in his lab coat, when Frank found him. "Horatio, I just heard from the prison. Apparently the Noches are doin' a little restructurin' in ranks. Memmo Fiero's dead, Horatio."

Horatio looked at him, the wheels already turning. "We'll need confirmation it's him, and that he's really dead."

"Already got it, Horatio. He was found dead in the hole. Eviscerated. No way he can walk away from that. Body was long cold when they found him. It's him, Horatio. Warden's confirmed it himself. It's his DNA. No mistake."

Horatio's eyes narrowed. "Frank, if he was killed in the hole, they had help. Inside help."

"I'm headed out there, now, Horatio. You comin'?"

"Yeah, Frank. Just let me…" he broke off, irritated. Something was niggling…

Shit. Elsa. Ivonne. He ripped off his lab coat as Frank looked at him in shock. "Horatio, what the hell?"

"Time of death, Frank?" he called over his shoulder.

"Uh… We don't have that yet. Horatio?"

Damn it! He thought. It's probably already too late.

He found the team going over evidence. He forced a calm into his voice that he was far from feeling. "Eric, Ryan, you're with Frank. It's Memmo. At the prison." His eyes met Eric's, and his brother-in-law nodded. "Frank will fill you in. Take back up. A lot of back up." He looked at Calleigh. "I need you with me. We leave now." That he didn't go into specifics told her it was urgent. She followed him as he practically ran to the Hummer.

"Tell me," she said, sliding in with the same urgency.

"Memmo's dead, Calleigh. If it was a Noche hit, they've already gone after Ivonne and Elsa."

Calleigh's eyes filled with dread. "Do you have a number for her?" she asked as he pulled into traffic, switching on the light bar.

"Here. It's under Hernandez." Calleigh scrolled through his contacts, finding it, and looked at him as she got a dial tone. "The line's dead."

He drove faster as she called for backup, telling him that there had been no calls reported from the residence. They saw the smoke as they entered the subdivision, flames shooting high into the air as they pulled onto her street. They were first on scene, beating out even Fire Rescue. Hope flared, and they raced for the house. It was fully engulfed. Horatio kicked in the door and they entered, finding Ivonne with a single GSW to the head in the living room. She was gone.

They split up, looking for the girl. It was too early to hope she'd already left for the day. Breakfast sitting half eaten on the table told Calleigh they'd been interrupted. Acting on a hunch, she moved quickly through the kitchen as she heard Horatio shouting the girl's name in the bedrooms. The house wasn't that large. There weren't that many places left to hide. Unless they'd taken her. With Memmo dead, though, that wouldn't be their MO. They didn't need a bargaining chip.

Flames reached out to her from the curtains as Calleigh yanked open the cupboard door. It was an old house, with an old-fashioned walk-in cupboard. "Elsa? It's the police, Elsa, you can come out, now." She saw movement, and then the girl hurried out, and Calleigh wrapped an arm around her. "It's okay, sweetie, but we've got to get out of here right now."

They ran to the front door as she heard the trucks race up, handing her over even as she turned back to call for Horatio, but he was there. They dragged Ivonne out of the house and then turned to each other. "She's okay," Calleigh rasped, frantically dragging air into her lungs even as she reassured him.

"Thanks to you," he told her with a smile.

"Actually, I think it's thanks to you," she corrected warmly. "Your hunch was dead on, as usual."

He wanted to wrap his arms around her and kiss the life out of her, but he couldn't. Her warm brief touch on his arm let him know that she knew, and she was waiting as well.

Calleigh watched him with the little girl and sighed. For most people it would take at least a couple of days for their minds to make the leap that his already had. If they ever made it at all, in this case. And her husband wasn't most people. She could already see it happening. She rubbed her eyes for a minute. She didn't think she'd inhaled all that much smoke, but she still wasn't feeling all that great. Could she do this, she mused, and smiled. Life was really crazy sometimes.

Calleigh waited while Horatio spoke with the paramedics. When he strode over to her, she looked at him with concern in her eyes. He just shook his head. "Not here." They waited while Elsa was checked over, and Horatio assured her that they would follow her to the hospital. He and Calleigh got back into the Hummer together, before she turned to him. "Horatio, this little girls's father killed Marisol. Can you live with seeing her every day, knowing..." She trailed off, searching his face. She was on his side in whatever he wanted to do, she knew he knew that, but she wanted to make sure he was thinking this through.

His look was fierce. "She's never to know that, Calleigh. She's never going to know anything about that. She didn't even know him. There's no way I'll ever let this touch her."

Calleigh sighed. He was already deeply into overprotective mode. "Horatio, just think about it." And this was a pointless conversation, because she could tell by the set of his jaw that he'd already made up his mind. And she wasn't against the idea, but she had to make sure.

"This little girl deserves a chance, Calleigh. Her parents are dead. She has no one." He raised his eyes to hers. His voice softened, as did the utter desolation that he hadn't been able to hide from her. "You know my history, Calleigh. You know I won't hold against her what her father did."

He reached for her, wrapping his arms around her and kissing her softly. "Sins of the fathers don't have to be revisited on the children, Calleigh. You taught me that."

She shook her head. God, this man really overwhelmed her sometimes. Who was she to argue with him? She'd seen him with Austin and Patti, and she had no doubt that he loved them completely. Their father had almost killed him and Natalia. And had maybe, though indirectly, been responsible for them finally getting together. Maybe she owed the man a debt of gratitude. She definitely owed him one for his incredible children. They had brought her so much joy. She loved being their mother. "Horatio, you want to adopt this little girl, don't you?"

His eyes met hers, and now that the emotional storm had passed, she could see the humor in them. "You do know me," he said softly.

"I do, and yet the depth of your capability for love never ceases to amaze me. Yes, Horatio, I would love to have another daughter with you." She kissed him. "You are the most amazing man."

He knew better than to argue.

At the hospital, Calleigh stumbled as they walked through the doors of the ER, suddenly overwhelmed with a wave of dizziness. She looked at him, as he looked at her suddenly with alarm in his eyes. "Cal?"

She shook her head. "I'm not okay," she whispered as black spots began to encroach on her vision. "Stay with me." Only the necessity that he stay calm gave him the strength he needed to do it. He held her steady in his arms as he conveyed her situation to a nurse, who quickly put her in a bed. She was put on oxygen as a precaution, and she started to feel better right away. Her blood pressure was extremely elevated, to the point that it was triple-checked to make sure the reading was correct. She was quickly given an injection to bring it down. After half an hour, she looked at Horatio, who looked like he was about to chew through his lip. "I'm fine, handsome. Why don't you go check on Elsa? She's got to be freaking out. Get some coffee." Her eyes focused on his face. "I didn't even ask about you. How do you feel? And I swear to God, if you say 'fine,' I'll pull my gun."

"My throat's a little sore, and my eyes burn a little, but my breathing's all right," he said, not even trying to lie to her. "Okay," he finally conceded. "I would like to see how she'd doing. Are you sure ?"

"I'm feeling a lot better, handsome, and I have my phone. If I have any more problems I'll text you right away. Promise. Have you heard from the guys?"

That shot a pang of guilt straight through him. He'd been so caught up with Elsa, and then Calleigh, that the situation at the prison had been pushed from his mind completely. He stood up in a rush now. "No. I need to call them." He was out the door before she could reassure him, and she laid back against the pillows with a sigh. She needed a vacation. Again.

TBC...