Disclaimer: Not mine, no profit made.

A/N: Takes place before and after Hurricane Anthony. I figured it was about time I explained some things about Yelina in my universe. I actually quite like her, but I don't like the H/Y pairing. I happen to side with Horatio on this one – dating your in-laws is just squicky.

-DT-

Calleigh stepped out of her shower, humming to herself. She had to dance around several boxes on the way to her bedroom. Just a few more days and she'd be moved in with Horatio, permanently. She sat on her bed and towel-dried her hair while thinking about the impending move.

Everything was moving so quickly, that she was a little unnerved. She'd only actually lived with a boyfriend once before, and she'd been dating him for over a year before moving in. She and Horatio, on the other hand, had been together nearly four months. Hardly a long-term relationship yet. But they had known each other for much longer, and Horatio had said that he wanted her to be the mother of his children, and she believed him.

And that was something she really needed to talk to him about. If he wanted to have other children with her… they were going to run into a problem. She sighed as she leaned forward, placing her head in her hands. She desperately blinked back the tears that threatened to fall, knowing she had to leave for work soon. And she'd cried enough over this particular problem already.

The cell phone she'd left on her nightstand rang, startling her. Glancing at the caller ID, she smiled. Horatio. Somehow, he always knew when she needed him.

"Hey there, Handsome," she greeted him. But there was less cheer than usual.

"Calleigh," she immediately knew something was wrong. "There's a hurricane on the way. Mandatory evacuation. I want you to take the twins and go with Yelina to stay with a friend of mine until it's passed."

"And what about you?" Calleigh felt herself steeling for an argument. "What are you gonna do while the women and children are off hiding?" She was being unfair, she knew it, but right now her emotions were still too near the surface.

"I need to help with evacuation, but I can't do that unless I know that you and the kids are safe. Please, Calleigh?"

She paused. Lieutenant Caine didn't often say please. Horatio Caine said it far more often. For him to be begging her like this, it had to be as the man who loved her, not as her boss.

"Okay, Horatio. I'll be there soon."

"Thank you, Sweetheart. I'll call you as soon as it's safe to come back, I promise."

-DT-

Horatio kept his word, and soon Calleigh was back in Miami helping with damage control and rescue. That evening, she sat in Horatio's lounge room, Rosie cradled in her arms as she reflected on the three major detectives she came into contact with.

She and detective Tripp got along well, and she had enjoyed working today's case with him. Part of the enjoyment, she had to admit, was the fact that Frank had no doubts as to her abilities, and respected her as a CSI. The fact that she was a member of the 'weaker sex' didn't even seem to register with him.

She'd asked him about it once, a couple of years ago. He'd just given her an incredulous look, as if he couldn't believe she even had to ask him.

"Cal, I'm from Texas. I know what Southern women are capable of. Plus, I'm married, and happen to believe in monogamy."

They'd gotten along great ever since.

Hagen, on the other hand, she was still having some trouble with. There was a great deal of tension between them, and Calleigh acknowledged that she was partly to blame. She had been giving John some definite 'go ahead' signals, and they'd gone out for drinks a couple of times, only for her to turn around and fall into a steady relationship with Horatio with no warning. Well, some warning, if Speed and Eric were to be believed. But he had every right to be bitter, she reasoned, just as long as it didn't interfere with their work. That was something she was not going to put up with.

And then there was Yelina. It was common knowledge that Yelina and Horatio had been attracted to each other for years, but neither had made a move to break the status quo, and now Calleigh was unsure how to act around the other woman.

Calleigh sighed and held Rosie tighter. She really did want this odd family to work, but she couldn't shake the feeling that maybe, Horatio had decided to settle for second best, that maybe Horatio had decided that if he couldn't have Yelina, he'd make do with Calleigh. If Horatio did still have feelings for his sister-in-law, then Calleigh knew this wasn't going to work out.

-DT-

"So how are thinks going with you and Calleigh?" Yelina asked Horatio as he came in from removing the boards from her windows. She was grateful as always for his help when it came to things like that.

"Good," he nodded, accepting a drink from the beautiful Latina. "She's moving in this weekend. Eric's going to help her."

"I'm glad," Yelina smiled. "It's been too long since you had someone in our life. And those twins will need a mother. Calleigh's a good woman, I'm sure she'll make a wonderful mother."

"Hmm…" Horatio started into his glass.

"Horatio? What's wrong?"

"I think… I think she's a little intimidated by you."

"Oh? Oh. Oh…" Yelina nodded in understanding. "The rumours around the lab, yes?" A nod from her companion. "Horatio, you need to talk to her about it, as soon as you can. Of course she feels threatened, after all, we are very close. But it's a closeness of necessity – I needed your help to raise Ray junior, and he's the only family you had left for a long time. Sure, maybe once we could have been together, but we chose a different path. You have to make sure she understands that."

"I know. It's just a little hard to talk about. She tries not to show it when she's feeling insecure, which makes it harder for me to reassure her."

"I know. Believe me, Horatio, I know. I've had men scared off by how close we are, too."

"Hmm," Horatio raised his eyes to hers, a devilish grin on his face. "And I do believe you have used our closeness to scare men away on purpose, haven't you?"

"Whatever works," Yelina shrugged. The two shared a smile, then she took Horatio's glass away from him without letting him finish it.

"Staying here all night isn't going to comfort Calleigh in the slightest. Go home to your girlfriend and make her feel special."

"Yes ma'am," Horatio grabbed his keys and turned to leave.

"And don't call me ma'am!" Yelina called out as she heard the front door close, then laughed to herself. "Men!"