In the morning, Horatio awoke alone in his bed. The only evidence that Julia had been with him were the tearstains on the pillow she'd used and the subtle scent left in the air of his room. He swung his feet to the floor and checked his watch. It was a little later than usual, but there was still enough time for him to dress and then take Kyle to school.

Horatio frowned and stood, thinking over all that Julia had told him in the night when he'd held her. The story she'd told rang of truth, the deep fear and shame she'd carried for so many years...he could understand her better now but the way to reuniting their family was not clear. Horatio still wasn't sure if he could trust the woman, and he doubted that she would want a closer relationship with him- she was still hurt that he'd lied to her while undercover.

Well. Not all of it was a lie, he reasoned to himself as he readied for the day. Only the name I'd used, the minor details. What we shared had been real. At least, I thought it was...

Pushing those thoughts out of his mind, Horatio slipped the knot of his tie and moved down the stairs to find Kyle. The boy was already in the living room, shoving a binder into his backpack. "Morning son, are you ready?"

Kyle glanced up and smiled. "Yeah. Late start today."

Horatio shrugged. He didn't know what to make of what had happened with Julia the night before, so he saw no reason to give Kyle a hint at her visit to his bedroom. "I just didn't hear my alarm. Slept in. Let's get going." Horatio urged.

Kyle nodded and followed him out to the car in the driveway.

"I heard you guys last night." Kyle said abruptly as Horatio braked for a red light.

He raised his brows and turned to the boy, caught off-guard. "You did? When?"

The boy shrugged and kept his eyes on the road ahead. It had been an effort for him to bring up the subject at all, let alone look his father in the eye while they talked about it. "In the backyard, when I was doing my homework. I heard mom yelling. Then later, I heard her talking in your room."

Horatio cleared his throat, wondering how to go about this conversation. Kyle obviously wasn't a child anymore, but he didn't know how to explain the situation to the boy. Hell, Horatio could barely understand it himself. Silently, Horatio parked in front of Kyle's school. Together, they watched as dozens of other students milled about in front of the building, laughing with friends, comparing their homework before classes began for the day.

"Kyle, your mother and I- we have a complicated past, and in talking about that past, things got a little heated in the backyard. Julia came to talk to me last night, but nothing happened. I wouldn't pressure her that way. I don't know what you heard, but-"

"I couldn't hear much with a wall between us, but I heard her talking about Ron. Is that who did this, dad?"

Horatio nodded. "Yes. Yes, it was him."

Kyle felt a hard knot form in his stomach. "The man with the scars on his face. That was Ron. He's alive."

"Yes. The police are looking for him, but he's been laying low for weeks. We don't know where he is yet."

Kyle seemed genuinely upset at the news, at knowing the identity of the man that had attacked him and nearly killed his mother. He took a shuddering breath. "Dad?"

"Yeah son?"

Kyle grabbed his backpack and got out of the car. Two sets of bright blue eyes met each other through the heated Miami air. "When you find Ron, make sure you kill him this time, because if you don't, I will."

The boy slammed the car door and was in the school building before Horatio found the voice to stop him. Staring after his son, Horatio slipped on his sunglasses. "I'll get him, Kyle. This time, I'll get him."

After checking in with the lab and finding no new leads for the case, Horatio moved on to other assignments. It was frustrating, but he could not allow Julia's case to distract him from new cases. There were numerous murders in Miami, all of them leaving evidence. Horatio had faith that his team would be able to track Saris and the other man involved in the attack, but as they had so little to go on, there was no choice but to move on to the more immediate cases while the evidence was still fresh.

"It's been nearly two months and we don't have anything?" Horatio demanded. It wasn't that he was angry with Eric or Calleigh, he was only venting a touch of frustration at the lack of credible leads.

Calleigh shook her head. "I'm sorry, Horatio. Saris and Peters haven't made a ripple since the day of the abduction. None of our informants or UCs have been able to turn up anything on either man."

Eric nodded. "The other man, Darren Peters, we're still not even sure how he connects to this case. The only crimes on his file were misdemeanors and he showed no past associations with Saris. I think we're looking at a forced accomplice here, but without a testimony it's only a theory."

Horatio tiredly glanced at his watch. "Listen, check out everything you can on Peters, all right? I have to get Kyle."

Eric nodded and Calleigh moved to walk Horatio out to his car. "Horatio, listen, I know you're determined to get Saris-"

"You have no idea, Calleigh. You didn't see what he did to her." Horatio returned evenly.

Calleigh moved in front of him, ceasing his stride. "Yes I did, Horatio. We all did, the crime scene photos, the victim report. We know what this means to you."

"Do you? Did you know that Saris has been terrorizing Julia for over a decade?"

Calleigh's pretty face frowned slightly. "He has? I thought their association was only in the past few years."

"No. He's been stalking her, hunting her, for years. She told me about it last night. Saris is the reason I never knew about Kyle. She left him because she was terrified he'd kill them both." Horatio ground out. "I have to find him before Julia disappears again."

The ride back to the safe house from Kyle's school was quieter than usual. Kyle was obviously still trying to process the fact that a man he thought was dead had come back, determined to kill his mother. Horatio could understand; nothing was as it seemed. Just the night before he'd thought that Julia had taken their son as a way to hurt him- the thought that she'd only been a girl, terrified by a violent criminal, had never once occurred to him.

He wanted to know more, but he had to wait until Julia was ready to tell him the rest of her story. It was hers to tell, not his to demand.

He paused in the driveway and stopped Kyle from getting out of the car. "Kyle, don't tell your mother what you know, all right?"

He frowned. "Why? I want to ask her-"

"Son, listen to me. She doesn't know that you heard us last night. It may be difficult for her to talk about this. Please, don't bring it up."

"Why? So you can talk to her?" The boy asked.

Horatio cocked his head to the side. "She told me things about her past last night, I need her to tell me more. I need you to give us a little space tonight, son. Please. What she tells me may help in catching Saris."

Kyle sighed. "You want me out of the house? Well, what I am supposed to do while you're talking to her?"

Horatio blinked, thinking, but then an idea came to him. "Why not call that girlfriend of yours?"

"Kiera's not my- call her? Why?"

Horatio laughed a little and reached into his pocket for his wallet. He took out a few $20 bills and handed the money to Kyle. "Here. I'll let you use the department sedan. Call her, take her to dinner- no fast food, take her somewhere nice. Pull out her chair, open every door for her. After dinner, take her to a movie. Get her candy, a soda. You do that, Kyle, and I'll try to get your mother to talk."

The boy sighed slightly, considering. "You really think mom knows where he is?"

"I'm not sure, but she may remember something, some little detail that would help us in the investigation."

Kyle took a deep breath, thinking over his father's offer. He didn't want to leave his mother; there still remained a great deal of guilt that he hadn't been able to protect her during the morning of the attack, but if Horatio was right, and in speaking to Julia, alone, there could be a clue...

The boy relented. "All right. I'll call Kiera and see if she wants to hang out."

Horatio nodded, smiling slightly. "That's a good boy. Go on, give her a call. I'll let your mother know you'll be out for the night."

Julia had been napping when Horatio went looking for her upstairs. He saw her, lying on her side over the covers of her bed, a book by her hand. He nearly left her room, but the sight of her compelled him to go closer, to take in the sight of her in such a vulnerable state. His eyes drank in the soft curves of her body, the gentle contours of her relaxed face. She'd fallen asleep reading her novel, wearing only a camisole and a pair of shorts. The scant outfit exposed her to his assessing eyes.

A spear of pain arced through Horatio at the sight of her bruises; the mottled spots were still there, heavy and dark against her skin.

He swallowed his anger at Ron Saris and backed out of her bedroom, closing the door behind him. Yes, he would speak with her that night.

"Kiera wants to see me."

Horatio turned to see Kyle step out of his bedroom. He smiled, happy for his son. "That's great. Go ahead, get cleaned up and I'll arrange the detail."

Kyle frowned. "The detail? Dad, come on, don't make a cop follow us! How can I have a date with someone shadowing us?"

"Kyle, I'll have a plain-clothes officer follow you just to make sure things don't get out of hand. Trust me, you won't even know he's there."

The boy rolled his eyes as he went back into his room, readying himself for his first date.

One hour later and Horatio had confirmed with the UC officer that Kyle had picked up his date and the two were on their way to dinner at a seaside cafe. Horatio smiled to himself; it was far from an ideal start, but the relationship with his son was heading in the right direction. He glanced outside. The Miami sky was changing, from the brightest of orange and blue to the calmer pinks and purples of sunset. Horatio shrugged out of his suit jacket and set it aside.

He stretched slightly, feeling tension leave his shoulders. The case was on his mind, always, but Horatio didn't want to think about Ron Saris. He didn't want to recall Julia on the floor of that warehouse, covered in blood and nearly unrecognizable for her wounds. He longed to think of something pleasant. Something warm and familiar. Unable to stop the flow of memory, Horatio's mind turned to the night before, to how it had felt to have Julia beside him in bed.

Nothing physical had happened between them, not so much as a kiss; but she'd been beside him, her body long and lean, radiating life and recovering strength. There had been women before Julia and there had been women after her, but he still remembered their time together- the feel of her body against his, her scent, her sighs...

"John?"

Horatio turned around to see Julia standing at the bottom of the stairs, back to wearing her jeans and long top to cover her body from him. He raised a brow at her. "John was a long time ago, Julia."

The woman blinked, then smiled, chagrined. "I'm sorry. I knew that, I just forgot for a second. Where's Kyle?"

He smiled with a touch of fatherly pride. "Our son is out on a date with a girl he knows from school, Julia. Don't worry, I sent a UC to tail them tonight." He added hastily at the look of concern on her face.

"Kyle has a date? Who is it?"

"Kiera Johnston, a girl he knows from history class. I think it's a safe bet that she's the reason he's fallen behind on his school work." Horatio reasoned.

She stared at him for a long moment. "So it's just us here?"

"Unless you're expecting a guest, then yes."

Julia blinked, looking away; there was no trace of playfulness in her expression. "After last night, do you think it's such a good idea?"

He shifted his weight slightly. "If you want to answer some of my questions, yes. If not, that's all right too. We can talk about other things. It's all up to you."

"You're not going to let me leave until I tell you everything, are you?"

The man shook his head. "Julia. I'm not holding you captive, I'm giving you the option to come clean with me now. I've waited years. If you don't tell me, I'll just go digging into your past myself, but I think it would be easier on us both if you just told me. Any detail you remember may be helpful in our search for Saris."

Horatio had effectively dismissed Julia's only means of distancing herself from him by sending Kyle out for the night. The man was nothing if not determined. Julia sat down on one of the low sofas in the living room, having relented to his determination for the truth. She took a breath. "If we're going to do this, I'd like a drink." She'd told him.

He nodded and turned toward the kitchen. "I'm sure you would. What will you have?"

"Is there more wine?"

"Yes." Horatio called over his shoulder. He surveyed the bottles available. "Red or white?"

Julia felt her nerves tighten; this was a discussion that had been put off for far too long, she'd dreaded being alone with him for exactly this reason. She'd cared for him once, loved him, but had spent so long running that she wasn't sure if she could stop. With Ron alive, ready to kill, she felt just as trapped as she'd been when she and Horatio had first met.

"Red, please."

Horatio poured two glasses and came forward, sitting across from her. The wine remained, untouched on the round coffee table between them. "So, would you like to start?"

Julia sighed, closing her eyes for a long moment. "I don't want to start. Do you think this has been easy for me? That I wanted to leave Kyle to move all over the country with Ron always a step behind me?" She asked.

Horatio leaned forward, bracing his elbows on his knees. "I don't think you've enjoyed any of this, Julia. But there are things I want to know, things I deserve to know."

She took another deep breath, knowing all along that it would come to this, the warring of wills between she and Horatio. Horatio Caine, not John Walden. There were things he deserved to know, but he was asking for the details of her life that she hadn't shared with anyone. Wasn't she entitled to know some things about him?

He would answer some questions tonight as well.

Julia cleared her throat. Hers was a story that had never been told, but she was tired of hiding the truth, exhausted with the lying. She, Kyle and Horatio had spent the past year more or less in peace; that Ron was still alive threatened her entire world. She looked across the table, into Horatio's eyes, and nodded once.

"All right. You win, Horatio." The woman took a deep breath, and began to tell her story. "I was seventeen when I first met Ron. He was doing business with my father, and he became a sort of friend of the family, he was over the house all the time. To this day I'm not sure of the details, but I came to understand that something my father did caused their deal to go sour. I didn't know about that until later. I had just graduated high school and started a nursing internship with the military...my first boyfriend Jason was a few years older than me, and he had joined the navy. I wanted to be close to him, so I went into the nursing program."

She stopped to lift the wineglass to her lips. Reliving the memories was proving to be more difficult than she'd thought. It was one thing to live the story, and quite another to be forced to lay her life bare before a man. Especially this man. Horatio only nodded, urging her on.

"When Ron found me, I was on my way over to my boyfriend's apartment. He coaxed me into joining him for lunch, and I got into his car. He didn't drive us to a restaurant, but back to his place. When we got there, he explained that my father had ruined a deal, that I would work off the loss, and then he..." Julia trailed off, lost in her memories for a moment. She turned her eyes back to him. "I was so scared, Horatio. Too afraid to tell the police, too afraid to report back to the naval office. I knew he would follow me if I ran, so I left. I thought if he followed me, at least he wouldn't be able to hurt my boyfriend or my mother."

"You ran to protect them."

Julia nodded, spearing frustrated fingers through her hair. "Yes. After a few weeks, I landed in Pensacola, and I started to think that Ron might have just given up looking for me. I started to think it was safe. Then I met you. John Walden." Her eyes met his steadily, seeming to see him for the first time all over again. "And you were so different. I'd only been with Jason, and he was just two years older than me. Still a boy. But you were a man, you were so different...so safe, and gentle. I thought you-"

Horatio watched as she stopped herself there, both to clear her throat and to swipe at the few tears that had escaped her eyes. He hated forcing her to relive these memories, but he had to know if she was being honest, if he could trust her.

Still, he knew what she'd been about to say. He reached across the table and took her hand, smoothing over her fingers with his own.

"I did, Julia. I did."