A/N: Hello everyone! First of all let me thank you for all the wonderful reviews! It means a lot to me!
As for this chapter, this one doesn't start with a return to the day of the wedding; it's just a flashback. I'm running out of conversations leading into memories, but I promise I will eventually get back to the wedding! Enjoy!
Chapter 10: Sweet Sixteen
Sweet 16 today
She's looking like her mama a little more everyday
One part woman, the other part girl
To perfume and makeup from ribbons and curls
Over the past few years Horatio had noticed a change in the way he and his daughter were regarded. It used to be that people saw him and recognized him from news reports, or that they focused on him because he was this tall, imposing, tough looking guy. Now when he went out with Izzy, all eyes were focused on his daughter, and he didn't like it one bit. He was very much aware of the fact that she was beautiful, and it seemed that more and more young men were noticing that same fact. When they went walking, Horatio often glared at the young men goggling at Izzy, but Izzy seemed completely oblivious to their advances. If she did notice it, she didn't give them the time of day, other than the occasional wink here and there when her father wasn't looking. Horatio was terrified by the fact that his daughter was no longer a little girl; she was growing up. She had already replaced all her Barbie dolls with makeup and cell phones, and he knew it wouldn't be too much longer before he was replaced with Friday night dates and the boyfriend of the week. And so it was with a great deal of apprehension that he approached her sixteenth birthday.
He had planned for months for this day. He wanted it to be a very memorable event for Izzy and he knew this could be the last time he would be seen as "cool" by his daughter. Horatio had gotten up early and made some last minute phone calls to make sure that everything was ready. Now all that remained was getting the birthday girl to the party.
"Izzy, are you ready yet?" Horatio called up the stairs.
"Yep, Dad, almost finished," Izzy answered, "But why are we in such a hurry? It's just us today."
"I know," Horatio said, smiling, "I just thought you'd want to make the most of your sixteenth birthday."
"All set," Izzy said as she came to the top of the stairs. Horatio's breath caught in his throat as he glimpsed what his wife must have looked like at sixteen. There was no denying that Izzy was Marisol's daughter. Izzy's hair fell in the same lazy waves and the dimpled smile was all too familiar.
"There's my girl," Horatio said with a smile as he hugged her, "Look at you all grown up."
Izzy blushed modestly and grinned, "Where are we off to today?"
"It's a surprise," Horatio smiled, pulling a piece of fabric out of his pocket, "That said, I think you're going to need this."
"A blindfold? What am I, ten?" Izzy asked.
"Just play along," Horatio said, turning her around and tying the blindfold securely around her head, "I promise it will be worth it."
"But now I can't see anything," Izzy whined.
"That's kind of the point," Horatio laughed, "Now just take my arm and I'll lead you to the car."
"It's a good thing I trust you," Izzy teased as Horatio led her from the house.
Twenty minutes later Izzy was getting restless. It seemed as if they had been driving in circles for hours. She assumed the drive would have been much more enjoyable had she been able to view the scenery.
"Are you lost?" Izzy commented after a minute, "Cause this is sure taking an awful long time. I can't exactly go ask directions for you either, since I don't know where we're going."
"We're here," Horatio announced quietly, as he pulled the car into a parking spot.
Izzy fiddled with the hem of her t-shirt as she waited for her dad to come around and open the door for her. Horatio once again took her arm and they walked a few steps forward. With her vision still impaired by the blindfold, Izzy used her other senses to explore their present location. The first thing she noticed was the smell of salt in the air. She could hear waves crashing against something, but it didn't sound like a beach exactly. She could feel the warm sun on her skin and she could hear sea birds sounding off.
"Are you going to take the blindfold off?" Izzy asked after a moment, looking in Horatio's general direction.
"Alright," Horatio said smiling and reaching for the blindfold. "Happy Birthday Izzy," he said as the blindfold fell away, revealing their destination.
Izzy's squinted her eyes as the sunlight momentarily blinded her. When the fuzziness disappeared Izzy gasped at what she saw before her. Docked just a few yards in front of her was a beautiful yacht, silver railings sparkling and colorful flags blowing in the wind. There was a large banner on the side of the vessel that read "Happy Sweet Sixteen Isabelle", and there were bunches of balloons tied in strategic places. Izzy couldn't breath for a second. This was far beyond anything she had been expecting.
"Now before you get too excited," Horatio said, cutting into Izzy's thoughts, "This is just a rental for the day; I wouldn't want to be accused of spoiling you too much."
"Is this real?" Izzy asked, still gaping at the ship.
"It is," Horatio assured her grinning, "She's yours for the day. She'll take you and your guests anywhere you want to go."
"Guests?" Izzy asked, confused.
"What's a party without a few friends? Right guys?" Horatio said, addressing the yacht with the last statement.
At this a group of people popped up from various places on deck and began singing 'Happy Birthday'. Izzy grinned as she recognized some of her friends from high school and others from her dance studio.
As soon as the song was over, the teens headed down the gangplank, led by Miss Melissa Delko herself.
"Hey Belle," Mel said, throwing her arms around her best friend, "Isn't this the greatest?"
"This is awesome!" Izzy exclaimed, "Who came up with the idea?"
"Believe it or not, your dad did," Mel said, nodding Horatio's direction, "I just helped make sure it would pass the cool test."
Izzy laughed. "It did that. Well, what are we waiting for? Let's get the party started!" she said as the teens headed back up the gangplank.
Horatio smiled as he watched his daughter. He had succeeded in making her birthday a great one, and that was all that mattered. Putting on his sunglasses, he walked into the boat and headed for the cockpit.
Eric Delko was already seated in a comfortable chair when Horatio entered the room. "Hi H," Eric said, putting away his paper and standing up.
"Hi Eric," Horatio said, giving his brother in law a one armed hug, "Thanks for coming today."
"No problem," Eric said with a laugh, "When my boss asks if I can take time off to go on a day cruise, I don't ask questions."
"Well, I appreciate it," Horatio said, turning to the navigation equipment on the boat, "First of all, I needed someone who had lots of experience with yachts and second, I didn't want to be the only adult on this party ship."
"And I might come in handy if someone tries to drown on us," Eric added.
"Well, let's hope you don't have to put those expertise to use today," Horatio said wryly.
With Eric's help, the yacht was soon headed for open water and the party started hopping. Music played loudly from some speakers that Mel had confiscated from the drama department. The open deck of the yacht was crowded with teenagers dancing and swinging to the music. Horatio wrinkled his nose as he watched Izzy dance a little too closely to one young man. Horatio had assigned the task of guest list to Mel, as he was unsure which friends to invite. He had mentioned that he'd prefer it to be an all girls party, but apparently Mel had ignored her uncle's wishes. That was nothing new. Nothing could be done now that the boys were here, so Horatio decided to let Izzy have her fun. After all, how crazy could things get with her father on board?
A few hours later Horatio and Eric were relaxing in the cockpit, playing poker with hard candy instead of chips. They had anchored the yacht less than a mile or so out and had let the party run its course. They had gone up a few times, to watch Izzy blow out the candles on her cake, and to check the status of the party, but other than that they had been making themselves scarce. They were in the middle of a very intense round of their game when Mel popped her head in.
"Hey Dad, Belle wants to head a mile or so south for a little while. Is that cool?" Mel asked, already knowing the answer.
"Yeah, I think we can do that," Eric said, standing and walking over to the controls. Mel disappeared around the corner as soon as the answer was given. "Hey H, you want to do a quick status check since our game has already been interrupted?"
"Sure," Horatio said, heading for the deck, "But no cheating. I'll check those cards for fingerprints when I get back if I have to." He heard Eric chuckle as he went topside.
Horatio surveyed the deck and the sprawl of teenagers still dancing and laughing. There were about 15 to 20 in all, at least 7 of which were the male variety. Currently his daughter was over by the side of the boat, laughing and talking to Mel and a couple of boys. He smiled when he saw her. It looked as though she was having the time of her life.
He adjusted his footing slightly as the boat began to move, the swaying motion changing. The teens cheered and then went back to their partying. Horatio leaned against the railing and watched the ocean for a few minutes before turning back to head down to the cockpit. He glanced over to see Izzy leaning over the edge of the boat watching something in the water with Mel on one side of her and her friend Heather on the other.
Just then the boat hit a large wave, jarring all the passengers on deck. Horatio stumbled down a few stairs, catching himself on a rail before he fell too far. He heard a scream as picked himself up. He quickly turned to look at the place where Izzy had last been standing, only to find empty space. He felt the blood freeze in his veins as he heard Melissa's panicked voice scream "Belle!"
"Izzy!" Horatio didn't even register that it was is own voice yelling as he raced to the side of the boat. "Go get Eric," he said quickly to Izzy's friend Brittany. Brittany took off towards the cockpit as Horatio reached Mel.
"Uncle H, she..she fell off the boat," Mel stuttered in her panicked state, "She hit her head on the side of the boat. I haven't seen her surface yet."
Horatio scanned the water, searching desperately for some sign of his daughter. He noticed the engine had been cut and a few moments later Eric was at his side.
"Where is she H?" Eric asked, watching the waves.
"I don't see her. She shouldn't be..wait a minute!" Horatio said suddenly spotting Belle's colorful t-shirt, "There she is!"
Eric dove off the side of the boat the moment he got a visual on Belle. Taylor and Garret, two boys from the party, dove in right after. Horatio hurried to the ladder leading up from the water, straining his neck to see where his daughter was. His heart was pounding a million miles a hour. He couldn't loose her, not now, not after all they'd been through together. Minutes ticked by as the swimmers raced towards the still form.
Eric reached Belle first. She was face down in the water and completely limp. "Come on Belle, don't do this!" Eric yelled as he flipped her over. He began to pull her along after him, heading back to the yacht with the other two boys close by.
"She's not breathing H," Eric yelled as he got closer.
Horatio's heart stopped. It was Marisol happening all over again. 'Not this time,' he thought, gritting his teeth.
The instant that Eric brought Belle close enough, Horatio leaned down and pulled her out of the water. He picked her up and carried her to the sturdy deck. Laying her down, he began performing CPR, trying to get her to breathe again.
"Eric, get a medical helicopter out here right now!" he yelled over his shoulder in between compressions. "Come on, come on! Stay with me Izzy!" Horatio said, pleading. He breathed into her mouth and continued the chest compressions. He repeated this over and over, his hands shaking and the adrenaline flowing.
Finally he heard a cough and Izzy moved underneath his hands. He helped her roll over as she coughed up sea water.
"Izzy, sweetheart, I'm right here," he said, voice shaking as he rubbed her back.
When the coughing subsided he moved so her head was in his lap. Relief flooded his heart when she looked up at him with hazy eyes and gave him a weak smile. "Daddy," she said quietly.
"Hi Angel," he said, tears in his eyes. She was alive. There was a large cut and bump on her forehead where she had hit the boat on the way over, and it was still oozing blood, but she was going to be okay.
"Some party, huh?" she croaked with a small smile.
"With you, nothing can be simple, can it?" he laughed, "Eric, get us to shore, and Melissa please bring me some blankets and towels, whatever you can find." Izzy was shivering and he was afraid that she might go into shock.
Several minutes later they reached land. There were boats and camera crews everywhere, trying to get the scoop on this dramatic rescue. A news helicopter circling the area had caught the whole thing on tape. Horatio had asked the rest of the guests to back off and give Belle some room. He had her sitting on one of the couches, wrapped in blankets.
"Sweetheart, how are you doing?" he asked.
"Besides being half drowned, you mean?" Izzy asked, showing a little more life than she had when she first came to, "I think you broke one of my ribs doing CPR."
"As long as it saved your life," Horatio said, taking her hand, "Nothing else matters"
When they docked, Horatio carried her off the boat and set her gently on a stretcher. The paramedics decided they wanted to take her to the hospital as a precautionary measure and so two hours later Izzy found herself in a hospital bed, an IV in her arm and a oxygen meter on her finger. Horatio came into the room from talking with the doctors and smiled when he saw that she was awake; she had fallen asleep in the ambulance on the way there.
"Hi Daddy," Izzy said as her father gave her a hug. He pulled away when she flinched.
"Sorry, I forgot about the broken rib," he said, sitting down next to her.
"It's really broken then?" Izzy asked. When she got a nod in the affirmative she sighed, "I can't believe you broke my rib."
"It was either that or let you die," Horatio said, smiling, "And I wasn't about to let that happen."
"I could have gone without the mouth to mouth," Izzy teased, sticking out her tongue. Horatio just shrugged.
After a moment Izzy became serious. "You saved my life Dad, thank you. It was the best birthday present I've ever gotten. You truly are my hero."
Both got a little misty eyed as Horatio leaned in and said, "I would do anything for you, Izzy. I love you that much. I'm really sorry your birthday got ruined though."
"It's alright," Izzy said, "At least I'll never forget my sixteenth birthday."
Just then Mel rushed into the room. "Hey check this out guys!" she said, flipping on the TV. The screen was filled with footage of the boat and the heroic rescue by Eric. It flashed to scenes of Horatio performing CPR and then to scenes of Izzy being loaded into the ambulance. The footage was on a repeating reel and the news anchors were discussing the "Sweet Sixteen Rescue".
"It's on every channel!" Mel said, flipping through to prove it, "You're the hottest thing in Miami right now Belle!"
"Oh no!" Izzy moaned, putting her face in her hands.
"I've gotta go, I'm being interviewed by the channel 4 news in a few. Get feeling better Belle!" Mel said as she raced back out the door.
"Dad, why does this always happen to me?" Belle whined, her face still buried in her hands, "I was born with the Miami sun in my hair and saltwater in my veins and I can't even keep my balance in a stupid boat? I'm never going to be able to live this down!"
"Oh sweetheart," Horatio said, wrapping an arm around his daughter, "With time this will all go away and no one will remember. You'll see."
"You're right," Izzy conceded grudgingly, "But it still makes me feel stupid."
Horatio knew her grumblings were now in good humor and so he felt he could tease her a little more. "You shouldn't feel stupid sweetheart, it happens to the best of us."
"Remind me of the last time you fell off of a boat," Izzy said.
"Good point," Horatio agreed with a smile, "But trust me, soon this will all be a distant memory."
"I sure hope so," Izzy said, "I'm never going to get a date if all the guys think I'm this uncoordinated geek."
"On second thought, maybe I'll keep that tape of the rescue coverage, to show to all your potential boyfriends. It would make for a great conversation piece, don't you think?"
TBC
A/N: Can't you just see Horatio being this protective father when it comes to his daughter dating? lol I hope you enjoyed this chapter!
Next chapter: Pomp and Circumstance