Horatio was pleased that he'd finally managed to work out all the details regarding Noah and her living arrangements. She would be arriving on Friday and would be living with him and Christi permanently. Another month had gone by since he'd learned about Noah and he and Christi had moved in together. At first Speed wasn't happy about the fact that they were living together. However, he relaxed once Christi told him it was what she wanted and to stop protecting her so much. Walking into his and now their house Horatio took a deep breath. It was now Wednesday, two days before Noah was due to arrive. He knew the time had come for him to talk to Christi, but he was afraid of her reaction. Taking a deep breath he went in search of his girlfriend. XXXX
"Christi, where are you?" he called out.
"I'm in the kitchen," came the reply. Walking into the kitchen he smiled. She was standing at the sink drinking a cold glass of lemonade as she stared out the window. Walking up behind her, Horatio began kissing her neck.
"Hi, sweetheart, you're home late," she commented.
"Yeah, I had something to take care of," Horatio explained.
"What could that be?" Christi wondered.
"Can we sit down?" Horatio requested. Nodding Christi went to the table and sat down, Horatio following suit. The lieutenant clasped his hands nervously.
"What did you want to talk to me about?" Christi prompted. Deciding to just get it over with he spoke.
"Why didn't you tell me you have a three-year-old daughter named Noah?" Christi's jaw dropped and her eyes widened.
"H-How do you know about Noah?" she stammered.
"I heard Speed talking about her and I asked him. He explained who she was and that she'd been living with Andrew's parents. I called them and we talked. Michelle explained how Noah came to be and that you love her very much." Horatio stopped talking. He could tell Christi was angry and he could understand why but at the same time he couldn't believe she'd kept the fact that she had a daughter from him.
"I can't believe you went behind my back to find out who Noah was. You could have just asked me," she growled.
"Would you have told me about her if I asked?" Horatio challenged. Christi had to think. Honestly she wasn't sure.
"Well, I don't know. But that should have been my choice to make," she replied angrily.
"Be that as it may. I have a right as your boyfriend to know about her," Horatio argued. Christi sighed, he was right and she knew it.
"Yeah, I guess so," Christi reluctantly admitted.
"There's more," Horatio said cautiously.
"What else?" Christi questioned warily.
"I've worked it out. Noah will be living with us. You're her mother and she needs to be with you. Plus I know you miss her and I'm sure she misses you." Tears filled Christi's eyes. Both tears of happiness and tears of fear. Horatio could see the happiness but also the fear in Christi's eyes. Reaching out he cupped her face in his hand.
"What's the matter, sweetheart? I thought you'd be happy to have her live with us? I'm confused, help me out here."
"I am happy that she'll be living with us. It's just that Mickey swore he'd get revenge and I'm afraid that Noah will be his target," Christi explained.
"I'll do everything in my power to protect both of you and I know the rest of the team will as well. Why don't you draw a sketch of him and we can show it to everyone at work. If they see him, they'll make sure to intercept him before he gets to you or Noah. You'll both be safe," Horatio swore.
"You'd do that for us?" Christi asked incredulously.
"Of course I will. I love you and even though I haven't met her yet, I love Noah. How can I not with you as her mom, I'm sure she's a wonderful little girl," Horatio complimented.
"Thank you, you have no idea how much I want this," Christi said hugging him and kissing him soundly.
"I'm glad I can make you happy. She gets here Friday. I was thinking we could both take the day off tomorrow and get the things she'll need. Like furniture for her room," Horatio suggested.
"That sounds wonderful," Christi agreed. "Does Speed know she's going to be living here?"
"Yeah, he helped me put all this together."
"Thank you again," Christi repeated kissing him once more.
"What do you say we go out to dinner to celebrate," Horatio offered. Nodding, Christi jumped up and hurried off to get ready. XXXX
They were sitting in one of their favorite restaurants enjoying a bottle of wine.
"You look beautiful," Horatio whispered staring at his girlfriend. She was wearing a red dress that showed off her curves.
"You don't look too bad yourself," she complimented. They'd finished their salads and their main course and were just waiting on dessert.
"I'm going to run to the bathroom. Excuse me," Christi said politely.
"Of course," Horatio replied with a gentle smile. Making her way to the bathroom, Christi couldn't help but think about the fact that her little girl would be with her forever in just two days. XXXX
Christi's eyes grew wide when she arrived back at the table to find the largest slice of cheesecake she'd ever seen. On top of the delicious dessert was the most beautiful ring she'd ever seen. It was tied to a ribbon that was tied to an unlit candle. Her eyes filled with tears as she stared at her boyfriend who had just removed it from the cake and was now down on one knee in front of her.
"Christina Rebecca Speedle, will you do me the honor of becoming my wife? Christi, will you marry me?"
TBC?
A/n, does she say yes? Review to find out. Also, please check out the country song prompts forum and write stories from the prompts given there. A link to the ring will be on DerekMorgansGirlForver's profile.
