For the past few weeks since Jessica had been saved, Horatio had rarely left her side for anything unless he had to. Guilt had ridden him hard, and he didn't want to end up making the same mistake twice in a row, not with her. A week after the kidnapping, she'd been released from the hospital, grudgingly agreeing to stay with Horatio at his home. The first two days had been hard for each of them, both adjusting to having the other be so close so them.
At the moment, Jessica was sleeping peacefully in the room she was sharing with Horatio, sleep being the aftereffects of her medication. The lieutenant was sitting on the bed beside her, watching over her as she slept. She was healing very well, and fast, which was a good sign for someone in her condition. Carefully, so he didn't wake her, he got up from the bed and walked out of the room. Pushing his light red hair out of his eyes, he walked down the stairs into the living room. Clavo, and the two men from the warehouse were behind bars for a very long time now because of what they'd done to Jessica.
That didn't satisfy him though; there was a reason why it had been her and not someone else. It concerned him that they had been able to find out where he was the weakest. She'd only been in Miami for a month when she'd been taken from the crime lab parking lot. The only thing he could come up with was that someone knew about their past in New York. If that was the case, and he was sure of it, he needed to find out where they had gotten the information from. Problem was, he had no idea who would have that information, and no leads as to where to start searching.
Taking his cell from his side, he dialed Eric Delko's number, waiting for an answer. "Delko." Came the voice of one of his most trusted CSI's. "Eric, I need you and Taylor to come watch over Jessica for a while." Horatio said as he glanced out of the window to the small children that were playing on the sidewalk. "H, is everything alright?" The younger man asked, clearly worried over his boss, as well as his friend. "She is just fine, but I won't leave her here alone again so soon." He said carefully, not wanting to get too deep into this right now. "Alright H, I'll call Taylor and we'll be right over." The line went dead and Horatio sighed, he needed to explain this to his team soon, they had the right to know now.
A light sound from upstairs brought his attention back to Jessica and he turned, climbing the stairs and walking into his room to check on her. She was sitting up in the bed, a slightly pained look on her face from the movement. He walked over and put a hand on her back, letting her lean back against his hand to help ease the pain she was in. "Its still early for you to be sitting up by yourself yet. I don't want you to get hurt even more than you are already." His words were chosen carefully so he didn't make her mad, that was the last thing he needed to deal with right now. Jessica looked up at him and nodded a bit with a light sigh, "I'm so tired of staying in this bed all the time, Horatio, I can't handle it."
Reaching down, he carefully slid one arm under her knees, the other resting behind her back as he lifted her out of the bed and into his arms. Her eyes closed and she rested her head against his shoulder. He carried her outside onto the balcony and put her down carefully so she could be outside for a little while. Moving behind her, he carefully put his arms around her waist to hold her up so she could stay on her feet, resting his chin on the top of her head with a light sigh. She smiled and leaned back against him, glad to just be outside and out of the bed for a little while. Being a CSI brought her all over Miami, and being confined to one spot was just annoying her to no end.
Eric and Taylor pulled into the driveway, and Jessica lifted a hand to wave at them with a smile on her face. Taylor grinned and hopped out of the car, waving back to Jessica a little frantically before coming up the steps that led onto the balcony. "Jessica, its so good to see you out of a bed." Both of the women laughed and then Jessica nodded a bit. "Trust me, I'm glad just to be out of one for a while." They smiled at each other and Taylor glanced up at Horatio, smiling at him as well.
Horatio nodded to her and shifted a bit, letting Jessica rest against him more comfortably, "Eric, Taylor, pleasure to see you both, thank you for coming." Eric came up the steps and smiled, leaning over and placing a soft kiss on Jessica's forehead, "Its no problem H, we're always willing to help a friend." Frowning a bit, Jessica turned her head to look at Horatio over her shoulder, "What's he talking about, Horatio?" He looked down at her, still holding her gently in his arms, "There is something I need to check up on, Eric and Taylor will be here while I'm gone."
Jessica's frown deepened and she turned in his arms, holding onto his suit jacket so she didn't fall, "You didn't tell me you were leaving, Horatio." Lifting his hand, he slid his fingers through her soft, brown hair, momentarily forgetting they had an audience watching them. It wasn't really a secret that they were together, its just that they hadn't told anyone except Frank. Her head tipped into his touch, but the frown stayed put on her face, "I don't want you to leave, you said you wouldn't, you promised me that much, Horatio."
His blue eyes met hers and his hand slipped to the back of her neck, his thumb brushing over her bottom lip in a gentle manner. Eric and Taylor were watching with wide eyes, their mouths nearly open down to the floor. A caring Horatio they could understand, but to see him with a woman like this, it was something they hadn't seen in a very long time. "You, sweetheart, you will be fine here. No one is going to hurt you, I promise." He said softly before leaning down and covering her lips in a soft, warm kiss, gently holding her up against his body.
A soft sound left her throat, her hands holding tightly to his upper arms, unable to hold him fully just yet. It was the first time in so long that he had touched her like this, and more so, kissed her the way he was doing now. All of her fear and uncertainty drifted away in the kiss, and she was left with her unending love for him. Slowly, he deepened their kiss for a moment, sweeping his tongue into her mouth to taste the sweetness that only she had. Jessica's knees trembled, her heart racing in her chest, desperately wanting this kiss to last forever.
He broke the kiss with her slowly, placing soft kisses against her lips as he leaned his forehead against hers. She licked her lips a bit, trying to calm herself from the emotions his kisses had stirred up inside her. Gently, he removed her hands from his arms, placing one last kiss on her lips, trailing it up over her cheek, stopping at her ear. "Jessica, I still love you." He spoke softly against her ear before letting go of her and leaving her in Eric and Taylor's care. His hand lifted his sunglasses from his suit pocket and he slid them into place over his eyes, stepping down the stairs toward his CIS Hummer.
She turned to look after him, wanting to reach out and pull him back, safety was with him, he was her protector. But his words had shaken her to the point of having no words, he still loved her, they were words she didn't expect to hear again. When he reached his Hummer, he opened the door, pausing to look back up to the balcony at her. Tears filled her eyes and she tried to take a step forward, stumbling and having both Eric and Taylor steady her.
Horatio almost ran back to her, but he held back, knowing that his CSI's would take care of her no matter what. Before he got into his Hummer, Jessica finally found her voice, tears in her eyes as she looked straight at him. "Horatio!" His name from her lips got his attention and he looked up, meeting her gaze, even from behind the sunglasses. "I'm still in love with you, I never stopped loving you!" The tears spilled down her cheeks as she said the words she'd wanted to say so many times in the past. A smile crossed his lips and he tipped his head toward her before getting into the Hummer and pulling out of the driveway.
Eric carefully lifted Jessica into his arms, carrying her back inside and putting her down on the bed before stepping back. Taylor stepped up and helped get her comfortable before she sat down beside the tearful woman. "Eric, I'm really thirsty, could you get Jessica and me some tea, please?" She asked softly as she turned to look at her partner, letting him know she wanted time alone with Jessica. Nodding, Eric smiled and left the room, heading downstairs to get them something to drink. When she was sure he was gone, Taylor looked back at Jessica and gave her hand a gentle squeeze.
The action brought the brunette's attention to her co-worker and friend, her eyes holding a questioning look in them. "Jessica, I didn't know you were in love with H." She said softly as a smile crossed her lips. A blush settled over her cheeks, it had been years since she'd talked to anyone about being in love with Horatio. "I've umm…I've been in love with Horatio for a very long time." Jessica said softly as she leaned back against the pillows on the bed, his scent wrapping around her, comforting her even while he wasn't there.
"You guys just met though, how could you have been in love with him for a long time?" Taylor asked as she looked at her friend, thoroughly intrigued now. "I met Horatio when he came to New York to follow up on a case." She said softly, the memories from New York coming back into her mind like watching a movie on tv. Some of the memories were ones that she didn't care to ever think about again, but they were back and nearly choking her. Taylor saw the switch in her friend and reached out, gently taking hold of her shoulders, "Jessica, are you ok?"
Her mind was racing, the events from New York and from Miami were crashing into her, making her panic. Eric had just come back into the room, taking in the situation before putting the drinks down and hurrying over to the bed. Taylor gently shook her, trying to get her to snap out of it, "Jessica its Taylor, you have to calm down." Helplessly, they looked at Jessica, unsure of what was going on in her head, but knowing this wasn't a good thing. If she didn't snap out of it soon, they would have to call Horatio, he was the only person she seemed calm around these days.