A week had passed since the shooting and Horatio was home again. Jessica was making sure he didn't disobey the orders from the doctor, which was to rest. She had barely let him out of her sight. Horatio wasn't used to being helped so much and usually he would argue with whoever took care of him to be left alone, but now he was starting to be amused by seeing Jessica act like a mother hen.
"Sweetheart, I am just going to use the bathroom. I'll be fine." Horatio smiled as he opened the bathroom door and Jessica was right by his side in just a second.
"Okay, well call me if you need anything." Jessica said.
She smiled as the door closed. She brought some of the pillows from their bed to the living room couch and decided to make some tea for herself and Horatio. They were going to watch a movie and she wanted to make sure that Horatio was comfortable.
As soon as Horatio exited the bathroom, Jessica was all over him again and lead him to the couch. Horatio chuckled as he sat down and Jessica went to get the tea.
"I am a grown man you know." Horatio smiled.
"Well, even a grown man needs to be taken care of sometimes." Jessica said and kissed Horatio's cheek.
She snuggled close to Horatio and started the movie. Halfway through the movie, Horatio fell asleep. Jessica was starting to get tired as well and decided to wake Horatio up.
"I think it's best if you sleep in the bed." She said.
Barely awake, Horatio managed to get to the bedroom before he fell asleep again in the bed. Jessica smiled and checked if he had a fever. He had developed a fever after two days at the hospital and that's why he had stayed longer than he normally would have had to.
"Dad okay?" Kyle asked from the doorway.
"He's fine." Jessica smiled.
Kyle nodded and disappeared to the kitchen. Jessica joined him a while later and together they cooked dinner. They set the table and then Kyle woke Horatio up.
"Dad, dinner come on." He said and gently shook his father's unharmed shoulder.
"Not hungry." Horatio yawned.
"If you don't get to the kitchen in two minutes Jessica will drag you there." Kyle grinned.
Horatio didn't reply, instead his soft snoring was soon heard. Kyle shrugged and told Jessica what they had both expected; Horatio was trying to avoid eating.
"Well, we'll just drag him there then." Jessica said and grabbed the mattress.
Kyle chuckled and helped. It wasn't easy to drag a big heavy mattress with a person on, but eventually they made it to the kitchen and they heard Horatio sigh heavily.
"You can't force me to eat." He mumbled and buried his head in the pillow.
"Yes I can, I am the woman in this house." Jessica grinned, "I already let you escape from eating lunch. If you don't eat I will call Alexx."
Horatio was up before she had even finished her sentence. He sat down by the table and smiled at his son and girlfriend.
"Dinner, smells goods." He said.
"You're afraid of Alexx." Kyle smirked, "You're afraid of Alexx, you're afraid of…"
Horatio rolled his eyes as his son teased him.
"I am not afraid of Alexx, I'm afraid of what she will do to me if she finds out I'm not eating properly." Horatio said.
"Alexx is like the sweetest person in the world." Kyle said, "She wouldn't hurt a fly."
"She has a soft spot for her oldest boy." Jessica grinned.
Alexx treated everyone like they were her children, even Kyle.
"But she won't hurt him." Kyle said.
"But her threats to do it are scary." Horatio said and Kyle burst out laughing.
When Horatio groaned in pain as the pain killers wore off, Jessica gave him a glass and a pill before he could even blink. Then she made sure he swallowed the pill. Kyle chuckled at seeing his father being treated like a child.
"Just wait for the day when you get sick and you'll see what it's like to be treated like this." Horatio said and glared playfully at his son.
"I only make sure you take the pill because I know you won't swallow it if I turn my back on you." Jessica smirked, "I know all your little tricks mister."
Horatio smiled and ate most of the food on his plate. After dinner he, Kyle and Jessica dragged the mattress back to the bed. Kyle soon went to his room to study or listen to music, or whatever he felt like. Jessica filled up the bathtub for Horatio.
"I can shower on my own." Horatio smiled.
"I want to spoil you with a bath." Jessica grinned.
Horatio couldn't complain, so he sat down in the bath and rested as Jessica massaged his head and hands. Jessica liked to do massage on others. He almost fell asleep, until Jessica splashed some water in his face.
"Getting tired Red?" Jessica grinned.
"No, Blondie." Horatio teased and splashed water at Jessica.
Jessica splashed back and soon the bathroom floor was covered with water and Jessica had been pulled down in the tub to rest against Horatio's chest.
"How come every time we get close to water we end up getting each other wet?" Jessica asked.
Last time had been after an evening on the beach, when Horatio had carried her out in the ocean and dropped her in it. Jessica and Horatio had splashed each other down that time too.
"I have no idea." Horatio chuckled, "Guess we have to clean up now."
"I can do that, you should rest." Jessica said and got out of the tub, "Don't argue with me on this one Horatio, doctor's orders."
"But the doctor ain't here."
"Doesn't mean you can disobey him." Jessica smiled and gave Horatio a kiss.
Before Jessica started cleaning up the floor, she made sure Horatio was comfortable in the bed, resting. After she was done cleaning, she joined him in bed and snuggled close to him.
"Have you ever slept out under stars?" Horatio whispered.
"No."
"We should try it." Horatio smiled, "It's quite amazing."
"Now?"
"Yeah, sure."
"Horatio, your injury…"
"Will be fine sweetheart." Horatio smiled widely and stood up.
Horatio went to the basement to get a tent and two sleeping bags. He had gone camping with Raymond several times and still kept their equipment. Horatio and Jessica didn't go very far from the house. Once the tent was up, they sat and just watched the stars.
"What brought this idea on?" Jessica asked, "Why tonight?"
"Because tonight there are a lot of stars in the sky." Horatio smiled, "And because you are the star in my life that guides my way."
"You're so sweet to me!" Jessica grinned, "You are my hero."
"Really?"
"Yeah, absolutely." Jessica said, "My mom always told me the stars were fireflies that had got stuck in the big black sky when I was a kid."
"My mom said that too, but when I didn't believe her, she said it was Santa Claus and his elves."
Jessica laughed and after a while Horatio joined in.
"I used to tell Ray it was aliens waiting to get him and take him to a planet far away." Horatio smirked.
"Why did you say that?" Jessica laughed.
"Because he had got more ice cream than me one day. I told him the aliens wanted a boy that loved ice cream and it was with ice cream that they tricked their victims in to entering their space ship. He didn't eat ice cream after that until he was 12."
"How old was he when you told him that story?"
"Around 5." Horatio grinned, "The best part is that he told his friends the same story. I think I managed to scare all the little kids from eating ice cream for a long time."
"That's horrible!" Jessica laughed, "Yet funny. Didn't he ask why the aliens didn't want you?"
"Yeah and I told him it was because of my red hair." Horatio smiled, "When he understood I had been lying he poured sand in my bed."
"Did you fight a lot as kids?"
"Nah, we just like to pull pranks on each other sometimes." Horatio smiled.
Horatio and Jessica kissed deeply and were in the middle of making out when they heard footsteps from behind them.
"Are you guys going to sleep in a tent?" Kyle asked.
"Yes." Horatio said.
"You have a king size bed inside the house and you choose to sleep in a tent?" Kyle asked in disbelief.
"Yeah, sleeping out in the nature is good for you." Horatio said.
"You're on a beach dad."
"It's still outside."
"Why are you sleeping in a tent? Besides for the reason that it's good."
"We want to sleep under the stars." Jessica smiled.
"That sounds like taken from a romantic movie." Kyle said and rolled his eyes.
"Well, it is supposed to be romantic." Horatio grinned.
Kyle shrugged and went back inside. He preferred his warm bed. Jessica and Horatio watched the sky and the stars in silence as their eyelids got heavier and heavier. Jessica looked over at Horatio before falling asleep. He was already in deep sleep.
"I'm glad I met such a romantic man as you." Jessica whispered in his ear.
Both she and Horatio loved romance and since Horatio was very creative, she knew there would be more times when she would be blown away by what he would do and how many different ways he liked to express his feelings for her.
Jessica snuggled closely to Horatio and fell asleep.
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