A/N: I made a cover for this story and I hope you liked it :)

Previously

He killed those men in the warehouse and they had no evidence that the men had lured him there to do their dirty work. They were on the losing end.

Calleigh called the whole team down except for Horatio to the conference room. The chief had informed her that he was coming down to get the full information on the case. They made a deal. The chief had agreed to let Horatio work in his office in exchange for information. Once they were all gathered in the room, Calleigh gave them a briefing on what was going on and what will go on during the discussion. They would inform the chief about the case and the progress of the case. They all agreed. However, neither of them knew that Calleigh was hiding something from them. There was no lead on the case. They were literally stuck. With nothing on Horatio's past and nothing on Hermanos Españoles, they couldn't move on with the case.

"Just remember, don't tell the chief you knew about what he was doing. He only went on a personal business and neither of you knew about it. Got it?" All of them nodded.

"Wait Cal, if we don't know what went on, how is it that we are on the case?" Ryan spoke up.

"Wolfe come on. We're only handling the evidences. And the case to get to the real truth. We don't know the truth. Only Horatio does."

"Right. Sorry Cal. Gotcha now." Ryan glanced over Calleigh's shoulder and saw the chief making his way into the conference room. "He's here."

"Alright people. We got this." Calleigh muttered under her breath.

When the chief entered the room, everyone went silence and neither of them made a single sound until the chief began.

"You know why I'm here. Bring out the case file. I want to know every single thing. Whatever you've got on the case." They nodded and each of them, holding a file, placed them on the table. "Oh by the way, where is Lieutenant Caine?" All of them turned to look at Calleigh, waiting for an answer.

"He's in his office. I've given him some paperwork to complete." The chief nodded.

Calleigh started the ball rolling. She began explaining the events sequentially. She began with the letters. She laid all the letters on the table and explained that every each of the letters were sent to Horatio personally through the lab and that there were no traces or evidences that could link it to sender. There were no return address on the letter and there were no leads on the sender. She even explained that even the receptionist had no idea who sent it. The letters were left on the reception desk for her to find and to deliver to Horatio. Even the cameras could not detect any images of the sender. The person was very careful not to get caught.

Eric was next. He explained about the kidnapping that happened. As soon as he started explaining, he gave Calleigh a quick look. She had a pained look on her face. Calleigh caught him looking and she silently nodded, telling him to continue. Eric continued talking; explaining the situation during the kidnapping and told the chief that they could not find any traces. Eric however, had some news. The bomb used on Calleigh had signatures on it. However, they couldn't connect it to any bombers. They were technically back to square one.

"So you're telling me you have nothing on this guy?" The team nodded solemnly. "How about the New York counterpart? Have they got anything?"

"They've got a lead on the people that got Horatio into this situation."

"Calleigh. Let me." Frank interrupted all of a sudden as he entered the conference room without anyone noticing him.

"Sergeant Tripp. What have you got for us?"

"The rest may not know this but I knew what happened. Horatio told me about it. He informed me of his plans. I never told anyone until today." Calleigh looked at him questioningly but he ignored. "I'm sorry but I had to protect him." Frank paused for a moment, sorting out his thoughts. "But I guess I can't keep it with me anymore…On the day he came back to see Calleigh in the hospital, he told me everything." Everyone in the room had their eyes wide opened. "Yes. He came back. Not the point."

"What did he tell you?"

"He told me of the plans. Hermanos Españoles was the name of the organization. He was threatened to rebuild their organization after busting them 20 years ago. If he didn't do as they say, they would get to Calleigh and the children. And believe me, they have. Once. And that was why I agreed to keep it a secret." He turned to Calleigh. "I'm sorry Cal. But the Hermanos Españoles have been surveilling you and the children. They did get to you but Horatio made sure they didn't hurt you."Calleigh was stunned. She never knew about this until Frank confessed.

"His first task was to cook the drugs for them before they moved on to other tasks which were not yet disclosed. Horatio had a plan in mind to destroy the warehouse and blow the whole place up by overheating the chemicals… He was supposed to get out of that warehouse before it blew up. We don't know what happened in there that stopped him from escaping. We were there when the explosion happened. That was why we managed to get him out on time."

"So let me get this straight. You of all people, were somehow involved in this but never came forward?" Frank nodded remorsefully. "What about the rest of this team?"

"They know nothing sir." Calleigh stepped up and defended them. "They're just helping with the case."

"So now what do you expect me to do? You have broken probably all protocols. Especially Horatio. What the hell was he even thinking?" Calleigh and Frank both hung their heads in shame. "It has been brought to my attention about the integrity of this lab. Of this team particularly." The rest of them immediately turned towards the chief. Eric almost wanted to speak up when Calleigh beat him to it.

"The team has got nothing to do with it. If anything, it was me and Horatio. We put them in this situation. And if you're going to suspend the team, or even fire us, please…They're not involved. Let them keep their jobs. I am willing to hand in my resignation letter right now." The chief shook his head.

"It's not about that. I don't want to fire any of you. I know you all are good CSIs and you are good at what you do. My only concern is, can I trust all of you? Can I trust the team of your integrity?" This time, Eric spoke up.

"Rest assured nothing will change. You can still trust our integrity. But may I ask a favor, please let us work on this case. Horatio have always had our backs and he was always there for us when we needed him. Right now, he needs us and we won't back down. We will be there for him."

The whole conference room was silent. Neither of them said anything after Eric stood up for Horatio. The chief looked at them one by one; as if analyzing and trying to read what was going on in their minds. In the end, he sighed and relented. He did not suspend not terminate any of them. He even allowed the team to work on the case. He took a final look at the case files and before he left, he reminded every single one of them that he wanted to be the first to know if there were any updates. They all agreed. Once he left, Calleigh sighed in relief. She was relieved that none of them was dismissed and that they were still able to work on it. The only thing that worried her was that she still hasn't told them that the New York counterpart has got nothing on Hermanos Españoles or on Horatio's past. Just as Calleigh straightened herself up and started talking to the rest, the chief popped in again.

"Oh and Detective Caine, you are to attend a ballistics conference in New York next week. It was a last minute thing. Someone else from the night shift was supposed to attend it but he couldn't make it. You're taking over." Calleigh cursed under her breath and as she opened her mouth to speak, the chief interrupted. "No buts." Calleigh sighed and resigned to her fate.

She couldn't send anyone else. The chief gave her no choice at all. She was worried about Horatio. If she were to be gone for a week, how was he supposed to cope with the children alone? He was just getting acquainted with them. Although it had been a month, she was still worried about him. All these time, she was there to help him if he needed it. Besides, she didn't know when he would have a memory relapse and she was worried if he were to have it at home where no one was there to help him. She sighed again and continued packing the letters into the envelope.

"They've got nothing." She muttered under her breath. Neither of them heard except for Frank.

"What did you say Cal?" Frank asked, bringing the attention of the team.

"Mac has got nothing. Nothing on his past. Nothing on Hermanos Españoles. We've got nothing Francis." Calleigh sobbed and Frank, being a great friend, pulled her into him and held her there, waiting for her to calm down. He rubbed her back gently, waiting patiently. Once she calmed down, she pulled away from the big man and wiped her tears. "Sorry Francis. And thank you. I think I needed that." He nodded.

Calleigh pulled herself together and chided herself. She needed to be strong. Yet she realized that she wasn't as strong as she thought she was but she knew she had to be. She had to focus on Horatio and their children especially. It was her turn to save her family. Horatio had done enough. He saved their lives by putting his in danger. He even almost lost his life while trying to save theirs. She took a deep breath.

"Guys, before I leave next week, can we have a birthday celebration for Horatio? His birthday falls on the coming Friday but I was thinking we have the celebration on Saturday? Just a small celebration…we all know Horatio doesn't like parties." They nodded.

"We'll be there."

Calleigh sorted out the plans with Natalia. It wouldn't be a party per se. It would just be a small celebration where they can all gather as a team and reunite as a family. It had been a very long time that they came together in their own time. Besides, Horatio needed some time to get to know the team. She needed him to get closer to them after what had happened. Calleigh suggested a barbeque where they can all be together, chatting away while Natalia suggested a movie night after the barbeque. Everything sounded good. That way, they can spend quality time together without being too extravagant about the birthday celebration. It would be casual; just the way Horatio would prefer. That was until Frank came in and suggested poker for the boys. Calleigh frowned and looked at him skeptically.

"Come on Cal. You don't expect us to sit with you guys while you're enjoying some chick flicks do you?"

"Why not?" Frank, Eric and Ryan jeered at the same time. "Come on guys. We're supposed to spend some time together. It's not spending time together if the ladies are watching movies and you guys play poker. That's not fun at all."

"Okay how about this. We play first then we watch the movie? Fair?" Calleigh thought about it. Maybe they were right. The men need their activities too.

"Okay deal." The boys cheered and Calleigh just shook her head.

Unnoticed by the team, Rick Stetler was watching them from afar. He knew everything about Horatio. His past, his career, his family, everything. His efforts going to all kinds of trouble did not go to waste. Doing the investigation on his own was indeed a tough one but with the help of some people who still bore grudges against the man whom they knew as John Kelly. He was getting closer to Horatio. He was getting really close. He was going to make sure Horatio was going down for this one. The moment had arrived for Sergeant Rick Stetler to hold position as Lieutenant Rick Stetler. He had been waiting for this moment but he knew he couldn't make it obvious. He needed Horatio to suffer. He needed to make sure he wasn't caught and he needed to make sure that Horatio learnt his lessons.

To be continued...

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Hope you guys have enjoyed this chapter. If you have, drop me a review. If you haven't, feel free to hit me up with a critic or anything you want b/c I hope to entertain you with my stories and you might just be able to help me do that :)