Author's Notes: Thanks to everyone who has read my fic so far and reviewed. I really appreciate the feedback. Sorry this chapter is a little late, but I had real life issues so Horatio had to wait. A big thanks to my beta, whose love for Ray Junior made me think twice about my chapter. Thank you for all your help and encouragement, Olly.

Disclaimer: Don't own it, so don't sue me for it.

No Other One
Chapter Nine: Apologies and Explanations
By Duckie Nicks

"In some families, please is described as the magic word. In our house, however, it was sorry." – Margaret Laurence

He was nervous – not shaking thankfully but almost. When Yelina was angry, she could be so unnerving, Horatio thought. Not that he was ever truly comfortable around her. But now that the redhead was in the wrong, now that he needed her help, he felt more anxious than ever.

The car ride had been anything but relaxing. Driving in rush hour traffic was bad enough; worrying that the food would get cold and that she wouldn't help him amplified the flips his stomach was making. His jaw remained clench so tightly that he worried his teeth might break.

Pulling up to her house, Horatio sighed in relief when he picked up the warm bag of takeout. One less thing to worry about at least.

Yelina quickly answered the door, her hair damp and body stiff. Looking at her, the redhead noted that the bruise from earlier was no longer visible thanks to the top she was wearing. And he vaguely wondered how many other times she had hid bruises from him.

The redhead forced the thought into the back of his mind. Right now he needed her help, not to make things any worse than they already were.

His eyes meeting her own, Horatio could see a small spark of surprise flit through the hazel irises. But Yelina didn't say anything, and he watched, entranced, as she leaned against the wooden door expectantly. She wasn't going to make this easy. And the brother-in-law understood that he really didn't have the right to ask for it to be simple, but… sometimes, he wished to be given things that he hadn't earned.

The words seemed to be caught in his dry throat, but she seemed willing to wait him out. Finally, Horatio managed to push out, "I… I brought food." He held up the bag for her to see. "Are you hungry?"

She raised an eyebrow, clearly unimpressed, and folded her arms across her chest. He sighed once more. He'd hoped, against his better judgment, that the act itself would be all that needed to be said.

But this time, the redhead understood that he'd gone too far. Yes, he had pushed past this particular boundary, her privacy, before. And truth be told, Horatio didn't really understand what made this instance worse. Maybe she'd just gotten sick of it. Or perhaps Yelina now felt that, after being so wrapped up in his own pain, he had no right to… waltz into her life with the need to protect her.

Not that it really mattered now. Horatio was simply going to have to do better than lure her with food.

"All right," he said quietly in defeat. Shifting on his feet, the brother-in-law began, "I shouldn't have…" His voice trailed off; he had no idea how to finish what he wanted to say. Quickly, Horatio berated himself. He should have rehearsed what he was going to tell her.

Wriggling around some more, he told her, "I didn't listen to you earlier… and I'm very sorry for that." The redhead looked down and away from the brunette as he apologized. He wasn't sure what he expected her to do or say. But Horatio understood all too well that if she rejected him now, that if she refused to forgive him, the situation would be unbearable. His blue eyes focused on his dark shoes against the light cement. Waiting for a response, the man quickly worked at building a wall around him. If Yelina said no, he would not give her access to his disappointment. Or any more weapons to use against him.

Mentally guarded from her, his eyes looked up towards Yelina once more, searching her face for an answer she would not verbally give. He'd prepared himself for her anger – he was used to that by now. Horatio had anticipated smugness tainting her beautiful features. But what he saw was something completely different.

A slight smile played on her lips, mirth dancing around her now vibrantly green eyes. He could tell immediately, by her appearance, that he'd succeeded, and Horatio mentally made a note to remember how to apologize to her. Because once she learned the truth about Kyle, the new father was going to be doing this over and over.

But Yelina didn't immediately let him in. Instead he watched as her eyes traveled over to the bags, reading the name, trying to hide a smile. Finally, she asked, "Did you get the little –"

"Chocolate cakes," he finished for her. "Uh huh. I did."

Her white teeth bit down on the soft flesh of her lip. The redhead knew he was in, but watched as she pretended to vacillate. She was without a doubt making this as difficult for him as possible, but there was no malice behind it. And Horatio couldn't help but relish this part of her personality.

These days he rarely saw his sister-in-law at all, and when he did, it was always about business. The redhead hadn't thought about it all that much – he avoided thinking about Yelina as much as possible – but now in this moment… it was a welcome change of pace.

She sighed, stepping out of the entrance way and letting him in.

The dinner that preceded was achingly normal. Though they hadn't done this in a long time, Horatio and Yelina, along with Ray Junior, slipped back into their normal places. After the adults had set the table, the teenager had chosen to eat the fattiest meals of the take out Horatio had brought. The brunette chose the fish – probably because she knew there was cake, he thought. The brother-in-law took what was left, a dinner of beef that he didn't particularly like.

But the redhead couldn't help but savor the whole experience, because it would surely be an even longer time before he would be allowed to do this again. And a thought hit him then that maybe… if there was a next time, Kyle would be here with them as well.

Thinking of what was to come, Horatio watched the mother-son pair in front of him. Carefully, obsessively, he observed each moment exchanged between the two. Though he'd seen them interact regularly over the years, this time it was different for the redhead. Because now he was studying them.

Perhaps a father should be different with his son, but this was the best the redhead had at the moment. He hoped the rules of parenting could be applied to either sex.

It wasn't easy to look at his family with scientific disinterest. Yelina and Ray Junior were close in a way that Horatio had never been with either of his parents. The brother-in-law always felt like an intruder, someone who did not deserve to stand in the mere presence of this kind of love. And he had to forcefully push aside his feelings as he looked upon them.

Now was the time to learn how to be that kind of parent – not to stare dumbly, fascinated, at it. Parenting 101, Horatio supposed bitterly. It was so… pathetic, he thought, the way that he had no idea how to do this instinctively.

But this was not a time for self-pity. It couldn't be. What the redhead didn't understand intuitively (which was everything) he'd have to learn. His own father had left him empty-handed, but Horatio wouldn't do that to his own child.

He would just… figure out how to do this.

At that moment, Ray Junior asked him a question. And as his lips replied to the small talk, his mind sought to absorb everything around him: the way Yelina would sometimes brush a stray curl out of her son's face or absently touch the boy's forearm. It didn't seem forced, Horatio thought; this wasn't for his benefit. Nor did her actions ever seem overdone.

His sister-in-law was an aberration in the Caine family. That much the redhead realized. In that moment, Yelina was not trying to manipulate the teenager, wasn't putting on a show, or waiting until something had gone horribly wrong to give affection. No, this was so… natural, unconscious almost. And the way Ray Junior paid absolutely no attention to it told Horatio that this kind of doting was welcome. Or at least, the boy had learned to accept it as a fact of life.

Eating a bite of his dinner, the redhead couldn't help but think he would never have that kind of relationship with Kyle. Too much time had passed, and… well, Horatio hadn't made up for that in any way. But surely anything he could pick up would be helpful.

At least there was the knowledge that Horatio couldn't really make things any worse. And with that in mind, for the rest of dinner, the brother-in-law pushed aside his doubts and watched his two companions.

Part of him thought eventually that it was interesting studying them like this. He'd never noticed it before, but now he could see just how good Yelina was. She could be commanding and domineering, he knew, and yet Horatio had never realized just how subtle she could be. Instead of dirty looks or yelling, there were only small manipulations, quiet admonishments, and tiny acts of encouragement. And from that came Ray's confession about failing a test.

The teenager looked to his uncle for help, and Horatio thought sadly that at least that was something he could do. And if he could be of some use to his nephew, then maybe those results could be… replicated for his own son. The idea of which carried him through the rest of the dinner.

As Yelina cleared their plates, Horatio followed Ray Junior to the teen's bedroom. The brunet had said he'd wanted help, but the redhead had recognized immediately the mischief in the boy's eyes.

And when they seemed to be out of his sister-in-law's range of hearing, Horatio waited for Ray to start talking. But when he did not, the uncle asked more bluntly than he would have liked, "So what happened with the test, Ray?"

Truth be told, it sounded almost accusatory, and Horatio kicked himself mentally. He wasn't good at this – not with Ray or anybody else.

Yet the boy didn't seem to mind. Ray Junior carefully shut the door closed behind Horatio. "I failed it," he said with a shrug. It was such a cavalier answer, like one the boy's father would have given in his youth.

The unimpressed redhead trained his blue eyes on his nephew.

"Fine – look, it was an accident. I would have done fine on the test, but… I fell asleep."

Horatio nodded his head up and down, but not for a second did he believe the teenager. "Raymond," he said in warning.

"I slept through the damn thing," Ray Junior repeated insistently.

"If you need help" the uncle started, "then all you have to do is ask. But…" He wouldn't accuse the boy of lying, just allowed the insinuation to hang in the air.

The brunet looked away from Horatio, and for a moment, the man wondered if he'd gone too far. After all, today seemed to be the day to do that. First Yelina, then Kyle, and now his nephew. He sighed.

But looking at the boy in front of him, Horatio couldn't help but watch curiously. Ray wasn't fuming silently or turning away in shame. Instead, he was searching through his knapsack.

And a triumphant, "Ha," filled the air when the teenager yanked sheets of paper stapled together from the black bag. Turning around, Ray handed Horatio the test.

Skimming it, the redhead could see that aside from the first question and the place to put your name, Ray had left the thing blank. But looking at it further, the CSI could see a watermark, which had trickled its way down the page. All around the line was smudged ink. And even more noticeable was the way Ray's handwriting on his sole answer became messier and messier. Before stopping all together.

The cop inside reminded Horatio that this easily could have been faked. If Ray Junior hadn't wanted to take the test and fail, then he could have pretended to fall asleep. But to what end? Either way, it was a failing grade. And this was his nephew…

Horatio wouldn't ordinarily take this at face value, but… all day he'd been trusted his instincts, only to be proven wrong. And if he was going to try and make things right with his son, then he was going to have to get used to trusting his family.

Still…

"Why were you sleeping in class?" Horatio asked out loud.

"It's not like I planned on it," Ray responded hotly.

They stood in heated silence until another question plagued the redhead. It struck him as odd, the whole thing. And so he asked, "Why would you tell your mother that you failed then?"

"I did."

"Ray."

"If I told her that I'd fallen asleep, then you know she'd just be all, like, tucking me into bed at 8 o'clock." Horatio opened his mouth to disagree, but Ray continued, "Oh, come on, Uncle Horatio. You know she would. Crap, she'd probably sit and watch to make sure I did go to sleep."

"So you'd rather your mother think…" Well, the redhead didn't really know how to finish the thought.

"That I don't know how to balance an equation?" He nodded his head emphatically. "I'm sure her heart's really broken."

They seemed to be at a stand still. What exactly was Horatio supposed to do now? Telling Yelina the truth was hardly appealing. It felt like he'd be ratting his nephew out – probably because he was. And in any case, he could hardly get information from his sister-in-law if she was yelling at Ray.

But letting his nephew go unchecked seemed just as wrong. Yet, the idea of dealing out an admonishment or punishment himself wasn't any better than staying quiet. Because Horatio was only an uncle and hardly a good one at that. He sighed.

"You won't do it again?" His voice was more pleading than he would have liked.

"You're not going to tell her?"

"No."

"Cool."

"Tell me you won't do it again," he said once more.

"Yeah, okay." The boy shrugged his shoulders.

Horatio put his hands on his hips. "Well, that sounded convincing," he said sarcastically.

Ray hesitated before reaching into his knapsack once more, the sound of the zipper and clutter being shifted filling the air. Feeling around the bag, the teenager grabbed a CD. He twirled it around on his finger as he asked Horatio, "Can you keep a secret?"

The new father wanted to say, "You have no idea," but instead, he nodded his head.

"Cool. Truth is… I've been a little busy lately, and… I totally forgot that the test was this week." The teenager sat down at his computer and put the CD inside the disc drive.

"Busy with what?" the uncle asked. But the question was moot as the disc started whirling around inside the computer. Quickly, the screen started to flash animated acts of violence to punk music. "You've been playing videogames," Horatio said disdainfully.

"No!" Ray said quickly. And then under the pressure of the redhead's piercing blue eyes, the teenager backtracked, "Okay, yeah. But this isn't just a videogame."

"Really?" His voice was filled with incredulity.

"Okay, it is just a videogame," he admitted. "But I wasn't playing it." And then he sighed. "Okay, I was but –"

"Why don't you start at the beginning?" Horatio suggested.

"Okay." The boy sat down in the chair in front of his computer. "One of the radio stations has a contest where you design a videogame, and then on Halloween, everyone gets together, plays each other's games, and the winner gets a cash prize." The teenager held up a hand. "And before you say it… look, I know I should have realized the test was this week."

"But you got wrapped up in what you were doing," the redhead finished.

"Sort of..." Ray seemed to hesitate, but Horatio knew better than to force a confession. Because at least in this respect, the teenager was easy to handle; he was very rarely reluctant to say anything, and usually when he seemed that way, it was an act.

The boy ran a hand through his loose curls. "I work on it at my friend Todd's house. He takes care of the storyline; I do the technical stuff."

"Right."

"Anyway, he had a really good idea the other night so I… you know, snuck out. We worked till school started, and I… fell asleep" He shrugged again.

"Does your mother know about this?"

Ray laughed derisively. "Yeah, you think I'd be alive if she did?"

Horatio narrowed his eyes on the boy. "She has a right to –"

"And what am I supposed to say? 'Sorry, Mom, but I snuck out the other night and didn't come back till 6:30 so you wouldn't know I'd left'? I might as well pick out my funeral plot now." His voice was filled with sarcasm, as if to say that the redhead had been clearly mistaken for wanting to tell Yelina.

The uncle sighed.

"You can't tell her," Ray said insistently.

"Raymond."

"Uh uh. You can't tell her." The teenager smiled then, looking exactly like his father. "You're already in the dog house." Horatio must have bristled visibly at the idea, because Ray continued, "Oh don't even. I've lived in this house long enough to know when my own mother is mad at someone." The brunet stood up once more. "Don't worry. You were only psychotic-cleaning fodder."

The boy started to head for the door, but Horatio wasn't finished with this conversation. "Ray, do you really expect me to keep this from her?"

He turned around. "Well… yeah. Cause I also know you pretty well, Uncle Horatio. And you wouldn't be here unless you knew you'd screwed up." The redhead opened his mouth to disagree, but it was no use. "Oh, come on! You come here for two reasons, and since I haven't done anything really stupid – well you didn't know about the test. So that only leaves room for you to have messed up."

"That's an interesting theory," the uncle started to say. "But –"

"More than a theory cause I'm right," he said smugly. "And you know I'm right because why else would you show up unannounced with food Mom loves?" The redhead had no response for that. "Face it, Uncle H. You can't tell her what's going on, because she'll kill us both."

And Horatio didn't know what to say then. Part of him couldn't deny that there was some logic in Ray's argument. But more to the point, the redhead was here for a reason – to learn more about Kyle – and telling her the truth now would make that impossible. Sighing inwardly, he decided one more secret couldn't hurt.

"So… are we done?' Ray asked.

Looking the boy over, Horatio thought he looked agitated. "What's wrong?" he asked, his voice filled with concern.

"Nothing," the brunet replied. "It's just… well, Mom stopped doing the dishes five minutes ago."

"Uh huh."

"Which means she's been alone with the dessert for just that long." Well, when the boy put it like that… "And call me crazy, but I don't think her willpower –"

"Yeah, all right," Horatio agreed. The teenager jerked the door open and walked out as though nothing had happened.

But for the redhead, the task was not quite so easy. He could keep this a secret, but maybe that wasn't such a good thing. Because this either made him the world's greatest uncle… or potentially the world's worst prospective parent. As he reentered the kitchen, Horatio just didn't know which anymore.

End (10/??)