Chapter Eleven

A/N: I apologize for the huge delay in updating. School and life in general have kept me very busy and I will be doing my best to update whenever I can. To those of you reading my Ducaine series, I'll have a new chapter for you very soon. Thank you all for the support!

Horatio sat next to Mel as they both waited for the papers allowing her release from Grace Memorial. The redhead himself had been released a week ago, spending every available moment at her side as she regained her strength.

Considering she had nowhere else to go for the time being, she was perfectly content with staying at the redheaded Lieutenant's house. Not only was he her only option, but she had undeniably developed a strong trust for him.

Since it was the beginning of the summer, there was no need to stress about balancing her recovery with her education for the time being. Mel knew that she'd be spending a large amount of her summer vacation at Horatio's. That is of course, if a new foster family didn't decide to take her in first.

Quite truthfully, Melissa had never been shown such care and concern in regards to her health, life and safety since entering the foster care system. Her preference was to stay with the Lieutenant for as long as possible, but she knew deep down that he had a very demanding job and a duty to the citizens of Miami and in turn, didn't have very much time for anything other than work.

Pushing the negative thought from her mind, she watched as the papers were signed by her doctor and stood. Before leaving the room, she took in a deep breath, and couldn't help but let the corners of her mouth drift upward in a content smile.

In that moment, she decided to push aside the worries of the future. As of now, it didn't matter, and neither did the past.

She finally had the chance to live in the present.

As much as he'd hated it, Horatio had to make a run to the lab after helping Mel get settled at home to sign off on a few mandatory lab reports. The lab had been increasingly supportive in his absence, knowing that their leader was spending much of his time caring for Melissa.

His eyes cast towards the Miami skyline, just as vibrant in the dark that he drove in as it was in the daytime. His heart was undeniably warm with anticipation, knowing that this was the start of a new journey, one that involved him making a difference in the life of someone in need.

The chance that a new foster family would eventually take her in was always there, but until then, the redhead hoped to make Melissa feel at home - a feeling that she hadn't truly felt in years.

As soon as she heard the keys jingle from the other side of the front door, Melissa forced herself to wake up from her impromptu nap. He walked in the door, grocery bags in hand, just as she was filling a glass of water at the kitchen sink.

"Hey, you alright?" He asked as he set his keys and the bags down on the table.

"I'm fine, thanks. What's all this?" She spoke kindly.

"I'm making dinner. Lasagna. Hope that's okay?" She nodded, and he went about preparing everything. Mel insisted on helping him, and an hour later, they were sitting comfortably in the living room eating, and lightly conversing.

"So has everything been fine at the lab? I just...feel bad that you missed so much time after you got cleared," Mel admitted. Horatio set his now empty plate on the coffee table, and she did the same.

"I don't want you to worry about it, okay?" he spoke kindly. Mel simply nodded, and the room grew silent. At some point, the redhead picked up their dishes and wandered off into the kitchen to clean up. When he returned, it was only silent for a moment before Melissa voiced the question that had been on her mind since first meeting the kind Lieutenant.

"Why did you help me?" As soon as he heard the words escape her mouth, he felt his heart ache. It was as if she thought that she was undeserving of anyone's kindness, but he knew for sure that she deserved nothing but the best. Aside from his own mother and brother, nobody had ever put effort into making life better for him growing up, so naturally, he wanted to see to it that someone did for her.

"Nobody deserves to go through what you did alone, sweetheart. Nobody." He watched as a lone tear ran down the side of her face, her hand rising to wipe it away in the process.

"Something tells me you aren't just talking about the shooting." Mel looked on intently as he turned his head and took in a deep breath. His expression grew sad, as did the tone of his voice.

"Growing up, my father was uh...he was an alcoholic. He hurt my mom, me and my brother a lot. I spent the better part of those years trying to protect them from him. Sometimes it worked, and other times...other times it just made things worse."

"One night, I was coming home from my shift at the precinct. I found my mom...she'd been stabbed," he whispered sadly. The redhead swallowed hard before continuing, determined not to lose his composure.

"Before I could get to her, he came after me. We fell to the floor and he pinned me down. When he held that knife to my chest, all I could think about was my mom and Raymond. I grabbed for my waist, and pulled my service weapon," he admitted.

"I crawled over to her...but it was too late. I found my brother unconscious in our bedroom. By then, the cops had already got in the door. After everything happened, my actions were ruled self-defense. But it didn't matter to me. Ray and I lost the one person who cared about us."

Silently, Melissa got up from her seat and sat down next to him on the couch. Wordlessly, she opened her arms to him, and embraced him sweetly. After they pulled apart, she breathed a hefty sigh and began telling her own story.

"I grew up in West Palm Beach with my mom, dad and brother. We always spent time together, especially me and my brother Joel. He taught me how to play hockey when I was nine, and it was something we all loved. Everyone in the house was a Rangers fan, except mom."

"She grew up in Boston, so she was a Bruins fan. But any other time the Rangers weren't playing her team, she was cheering for New York. When I was nine, my brother left for Afghanistan. He was a Corporal in the Army, so we knew it was going to happen sooner or later. It didn't make it easier of course."

"A couple of years later after I turned twelve, I was outside playing hockey and this car pulled up. These two guys in uniform got out, and they asked where my parents were. They told me they were with the Army, so I let them inside. After we came in, my dad sent me upstairs. I remember hearing my mom hysterically crying a few minutes later and I think part of me knew that something bad had happened. Later after the guys left, my dad came upstairs and told me that Joel had died and I lost it."

She looked up when she felt his gaze upon her, and she saw nothing but pure understanding. Mel closed her eyes tightly, hoping to ward off the oncoming flow of tears, and continued.

"It was hard for all of us after that, but we stuck together and it helped. A few months later though, my life changed for the worst. My neighbor had come over to watch me while my parents went to dinner. They were on their way home and a drunk driver blew a red light."

"An officer came by the house, and he had to help tell me what had happened because my neighbor was so distraught. They had died on impact. I was...devastated. That night, they started the process of getting me into the foster care system since I had no grandparents, no aunts, and the uncles I had were overseas fighting. The first two homes I lived in were horrible. They beat the crap out of us, repeatedly. I had to go to the hospital a few times and of course, they made up excuses. I knew if I said anything, they'd hurt me even more."

"The last one I lived in was with the Calbert's. They didn't beat me or Tim, but they pretended like we didn't exist. One day, I opened a kitchen drawer to look for a pen, and there was this envelope addressed to me. It had been opened. There was a letter inside, and it said that my uncle Robert had been killed in action by an IED explosion. By then, the day of the funeral had already passed and everything. I confronted Brian and Sarah about it, and they blew me off."

"I don't even know where he's buried. And as far as I know, my uncle John is still somewhere overseas." Horatio watched her as she removed a chain from her neck containing a set of dog tags and two rings. He'd seen it among the bag of personal effects during her time in the hospital, but he'd never questioned it. She sat quietly staring at them for a moment before speaking again.

"I still have Joel's tags, hat, and folded flag. And after mom and dad died, I put their wedding rings on the chain."

"God, I miss them so much," she choked. This time, it was his turn to offer a kind embrace, and she gladly accepted. His heart broke as she sobbed quietly into his shirt and in turn, he rubbed soothing circles on her back in hopes of bringing her comfort.

"I'm so sorry, sweetheart. I'm so sorry," he whispered. Soon her sobs died down, and she pulled away gently, all the while thanking him.

"I lost my brother too. But before that I uh, I lost a friend...and my wife," he began despondently. "One of my CSIs was shot in the line of duty. He...he died in my arms. He was like a son to me."

"A few years before he died, my brother worked Narcotics and went undercover for MDPD. He ended up being killed. At least, that's what we thought. It turned out that he faked his death and after we got reunited, him and his family left for Brazil for the sake of protection. He...he died a few years later at the hands of the man who ordered my wife to be killed."

"The day after we got married, my wife was shot by a member of the Mala Noche. She...she didn't make it. They wanted to hurt her because it would hurt me. And it did."

Melissa listened intently as he told her about Rio, and when he went to talk once more, he could no longer hide the pain from his words.

"When I got shot a few months ago...I saw her. She kept telling me to go back, but I didn't want to. She died because of me and I'll never forgive myself for it," his voice caught, and that was all it took for him to lose his composure. The tears ran freely from his eyes, and he covered his face with his hands as he sobbed heavily.

Melissa's heart broke as she watched the scene unfold before her. She reached for him, pulling him into her arms and holding on for dear life. As she listened to his cries, tears of her own streaked down her face.

She knew that they both were damaged souls. And of all the other things that she knew, one of them proved to be even truer tonight. He'd been there for her. Now,

It was her time to be there for him.

TBC