Eclipse

Horatio sat down heavily on the couch in his office and gave a huge sigh. It had been a busy day, interrogations, high speed chase, autopsies, waiting for DNA, and the most annoying of all things, Stetler. It seemed that that man loved to see him miserable. Sometimes Horatio enjoyed ruffling his feathers, but today was not one those days. Horatio gave another huge sigh, 'maybe the heat wave has messed with all of our minds.'

He was happy that the weather was back to normal again and the heat wave had come and gone. Normal was by no means cool, but the heat was bearable again. But instead of heat wave there seemed to be a crime wave going on. He had precious little time to spend with his daughter these days and he regretted it. He knew she didn't mind, they had both sworn to serve and to protect, this was his city to protect as New York was hers. 'I wonder if New York is still hers…'

Horatio was startled when his phone rang once again. 'No rest for the wicked, eh?' He thought bitterly.

"Caine." he barked, ready to see some heads roll.

"Jeez, dad. Don't bite my head off!" Jackie growled.

"Jackie?" Horatio asked her.

"Who else calls you dad? Never mind, don't answer. Just get here quickly, like yesterday." Jackie hissed her voice gaining a metallic edge to it.

Horatio knew that voice well; something was going on, something less than pleasant. He jumped to his feet and started walking briskly."On my way, tell me what has happened."

"Our house has been broken into. I am outside unarmed, did not go in. I hate being unarmed!" Jackie growled and Horatio couldn't help, but grin.

"Stay where you are hon. I'll be there soon." He ordered and ended the call. Horatio soon reached his Hummer and jumped behind the wheel and drove of like the hounds of hell where after him, sirens on full blast. People might be stupid, but they had some self preservation left and they made way for him.

Meanwhile Jackie stood outside their house, her eyes searching for any sign of someone else being there. She did not spot anything and sighed in relief when she heard the approaching sirens, they were still far away though. She was restless; she was not used to waiting, not like this. She wanted to go in, she was burning with desire to do so, but common sense and her training told her to wait for backup. 'Oh crap. I miss my Beretta.' she sighed, resigned to her fate.

Horatio was seething. How dared someone enter his home uninvited? How dare they, the very people who he tried to protect? And he pushed the pedal to the floor and still he could not get there fast enough.

Jackie turned around when she heard the sirens and the car turning into their driveway. She breathed a sigh of relief again when Horatio stepped out. He threw her into a tight hug, silently thanking God that his little girl was alright. He kissed her on top of her head.

"Jackie? Are you ready? He asked looking her in the eyes.

"Only with a gun." She told him, her eyes determinate. He smiled and bent over to retrieve his second gun which was always in its holster around his left ankle. He had needed it more times than he cared to remember.

He handed her the gun and she took it weighing it, getting the feel of it. With the familiar weight in her hands, it was like she found a missing piece of herself. She smiled at Horatio and nodded her head towards the door in silent question.

"Here we go." he smiled and took the lead. Right now he was more than her father, he was her commanding her officer and they worked well as a team. They worked quickly their way through the house securing it and found no one.

Horatio had called his team at some point and soon enough they parked their cars and jumped out. Calleigh was trembling with suppressed anger, she felt violated. Someone had been in her home; someone had taken her haven from her. Her home had always been a place where she could feel safe, now that feeling of security was gone. Horatio knew how his women felt and hugged them both close, offering them all the comfort he could and gave a small sense of security.

Eric with Ryan and Natalie worked inside the house, searching for anything the culprit might have left behind. There was always forensic evidence; teeny tiny pieces that most did not know existed.

Frank on the other hand was debating should he interrupt the family moment or wait awhile. Horatio solved his dilemma before he had decided.

"Jackie, darling, Frank needs to speak with you, with us. It's his job to ask questions." he nudged her towards Frank.

Jackie smiled at her dad. "I know. I am a cop you know." Horatio just winked at her.

"Hey Frank." She smiled at him, suddenly feeling very tired.

"Hey there bug. Are you alright?" He smiled back feeling a bit worried. He had known her ever since she was little and annoyed him with endless string of questions. She was his bug and he hated that she had suffered so severely

"I am tired Frank. So tired. " She sighed. "And I guess the beginning is always the best place to start, eh?"

Frank chuckled. "It usually is, bug, it usually is. So why don't you start from there."

"After my morning routines I was bored. So I figured I should catch up with my emails. I have been answering some of them, but not really telling anyone anything. So I thought this was a good day to tell my friends how sorry I am and all that. So I spent most of the day reading and answering the mails. I sat on the terrace with my laptop. I was there for hours. And at one point I got this weird feeling, like someone was dancing on my grave. I felt eyes on me. I stood up and walked around trying to figure out who was watching me and why, but I found out nothing and the feeling was gone almost as soon as it had came. Since I did not see anything or anyone suspicious, I went back to my emails. After few hours I decided to go for a run." She explained her day to Frank.

"Few hours?" Frank asked.

"Two hours, give or take few minutes." She answered and Frank wrote it down.

"Ok, and then?" he prompted.

"I went inside and changed into these clothes I am wearing and left. I locked the door and checked the time. It was a quarter past three. I ran for 45 minutes and came home. That's when I noticed that the door was unlocked. I did not go in, but backed away slowly and called dad. He took almost 20 minutes to arrive." She shivered.

Frank nodded and continued writing his notes. "And then?"

"When dad got out of his car he hugged me and asked me if I was ready. I told him that yes I was, but only with a gun. I knew he meant if I was alright to go in with him after all that has happened to me." Frank nodded and she continued.

"He gave me his second gun and we went in. We searched and secured the whole house in less than 20 minutes. We were careful about the possible evidence and dad called you guys and then we just waited for you to arrive."

"Thank you bug." Frank smiled. Jackie nodded and Frank patted her shoulder, showing his support in his own way. Frank left to speak with Horatio.

Jackie sighed again. She seemed to do that a lot. She swayed slightly on her feet. 'Why me? Why always me?'

"Come on Jackie." Calleigh said as she grabbed her friend preventing her from falling. She led her to Horatio's Hummer which was the closest and sat her in the backseat.

"I know it's only five o'clock, but you should try to catch some z's." Calleigh told her.

"Don't wanna." Jackie mumbled, already half asleep.

"Hush honey. Close your eyes." Calleigh smiled gently as Jackie's eyes closed and her head fell to Calleigh's shoulder.

Calleigh watched her friend sleep, she looked so fragile. She was strong Calleigh knew, but right now, all she wanted to do was to protect her. 'Why this had to happen now? Jackie was smiling again, laughing. She was in such a good shape. I hope this won't hinder her recovery or I will see that the culprit lives to regret it.'

Horatio smiled tenderly when he saw his fiancée looking after his precious daughter.