Looking out of the window around him, Horatio began to get acquainted with the English countryside. London itself intrigued him – the city was a blend of old and new, with various eras of architecture displayed wherever you looked.

As Derek drove, he thought about the team he would be working with, and smiled to himself, Mich had been right, his first week here was going to throw him so many curve balls as he adjusted to a new way of doing things, he probably would appreciate the peace and quiet.

Derek informed him that the place they would be living was out in the suburbs away from the city. "I hope you don't mind commuting in Horatio, but with Mich needing to be at the training yard by 8.00 every morning, I found somewhere a little closer to her base than yours."

"It's not a problem Derek, I'm quite used to getting up early, I really don't mind."

H had been surprised that he wasn't expected to arrive early at the lab. Most of the team usually came in at around eight, finishing between four and five. Sam and Jo had explained things to him. In the UK, things were far more compartmentalised, each lab working independently, passing their findings up the line to the detective in charge of the case.

When he asked how they followed up leads, Jo had chuckled, "We don't, that's the detective's job, we work with the science. Well... most of the time."

Sam had chuckled, "What Jo means, is that we are only supposed to work the evidence, but in the past all of us here have been guilty in digging a little deeper than we should – following up a hunch that something is not right, I have to be honest – we've all landed in hot water a few times…"

"That's why you're here, the force needs us to be more integrated, more of a team… It's the way you work, so you can help us."

H raised his eyebrows, he hadn't realised that his being on the exchange was that important, thinking it was something that Derek had set up so he could be near Mich.

"It's also why Rhys has been sent to Miami, so when he comes back he can continue what you have started. He's the supervisor on this new section – and the 'investigative' part." Horatio started to smile, it seemed that things were going to be a lot more interesting than he had thought.

"The first thing we need to do is be able to bring all the labs together… If you're all in different buildings, it doesn't matter how much you work together, integration is not going to be complete."

John, the AV tech, chuckled, "I wouldn't worry about that Horatio, you just follow us, it's about time we got to work anyway."

Curious, H had followed the rest, and then found himself in what was obviously a brand new lab.

"This used to be where the old computer system used to be housed, but the records section has been moved elsewhere – leaving this nice big space for us to play with." Frank grinned, and handed H a thin card coated in plastic.

"This is yours – forget it at home, and you won't even get in through the door. State of the art computer system, your prints have already been registered. Put your hand on the plate and swipe the card. It's the only way in."

H tried not to smile, he bet Mich could find another way if she had to…

&&&

Joining Derek for lunch, H was surprised when they went onto the motorway. "There's a really good pub in Windsor, and as it's about halfway to where you'll be living, I thought we'd take advantage of it."

After a lunch, which had H pleasantly surprised at the size of the portions - he'd heard that American sized portions were unusual in the UK – they continued their journey, taking the M4 motorway, which Derek told him would ultimately lead to Wales and Mich's childhood home.

About thirty minutes later, Derek pulled off the M4 and headed into the countryside, H looked about him with interest, realising that they were close to their journey's end.

"I'm sorry to drop this on you H, but Mother insisted. I'll take you up to the house first, before we move on to the lodge where you and Mich will be staying."

H gave Derek a quizzical look, "What do you mean Derek?"

Derek Foster looked at H curiously and then started to chuckle, "You mean she hasn't told you? Then I'm really sorry about this, but her grandmother wants to see the 'young gentleman' that has kept her grand-daughter away from the family."

H began to feel wary, Mich had not spoken much about her family, except to tell him that her mother had been killed in a car accident when she was ten, and had then been brought up by her father and his family. Horatio now began to realise that Mich had deliberately changed the subject when they spoke about her life in Britain.

He had thought it was because of her work for Scotland Yard, and '5', but now he was almost sure that there was another reason, if the smile on Derek's face was anything to go by.

Passing a village by the name of Theale, H noticed that anyone living in this area was most likely well off, basing his thoughts on the number of high-end cars he could see passing through the streets.

Mercedes, BMW and Land Rover were the transport of choice in this neighbourhood, and he asked Derek what car he had hired for himself and Mich to use.

"Well as you'll be commuting in, I would suggest that you use the train rather than drive, otherwise it'll take you over two hours to get to the yard – we've already got your season ticket sorted – you can draw a car from the yard pool if you need something to get around in, though I'm sure one of the guys will drive you anywhere you like.

"For the next few days, I've arranged for the estate manager to drop you off at the station. As for hiring a car, it's not necessary, you can use one of the estate's Discovery's for the weekends."

"Estate?" Derek chuckled at the question, but said nothing as he turned off the main road through a large ornamental gate. Horatio's eyes opened wide as Derek continued along the driveway, passing through a large open area, before pulling up outside a large stately home.

"This looks like it should be in a film…"

Derek burst out laughing, "It was, 'Pride and Prejudice' was filmed here in 2005. The producers asked our permission to use the house. Mother agreed immediately, she's a big Jane Austen fan."

Horatio got out of the car and stared at Derek, "Are you telling me, you LIVE here?"

Derek shook his head, "No, I live in London, I'm only the third son, but Mich grew up here – we lived in the lodge when I was home. My eldest brother is the Earl now… Welcome to Basildon Hall Horatio."

As Derek went inside, H was stunned and paused near the door. "Derek, are you telling me that Mich is part of British aristocracy?"

Derek roared with laughter, "You mean she never told you!"

He calmed down to a chuckle, "Mind you, I'm not surprised, she always wanted to make her own way in life and said she would do it without using the family name. Foster is my grandmother's maiden name – that's why we both used it when we were working for '5'. Everyone was so used to calling her Mich, it was easy to start calling her Michelle."

He paused and looked at H, "Do you know what her name actually is?" H shook his head,

"We never discussed it, and to be honest, I don't really think it's necessary – she'll still be Mich to me."

Derek nodded, "But to her grand-mother, she's not, she will always be Kerys, just so you know."

"So where does the Mich come from?"

"Micheline, it was her mother's name." Derek continued along the corridor, saying nothing more, but H had seen the pain in his eyes. Saying nothing, he followed trying to absorb all this new information when he chuckled to himself, he was going to have some fun out of this one.

&&&

Mich was going crazy. Everything was ready – paperwork for the horses, trunks full of equipment – saddles, bridles, rugs and bandages, plus everything else the horses needed for the trip. Her own things had also been packed and sent, all checked off on the list that had been safely looked after by Nicky, but something was missing, Mich could feel it in her bones – she had forgotten to put something in her luggage, something important.

Nicky sighed, "Mich, I checked and double checked everything – it's all there, everything on the list is accounted for…"

"Oh my God… That's it; give me the list a minute." Scanning through quickly, Mich nodded her head, "I forgot to write it down, that's why it's not here."

Running upstairs, she opened her jewellery box, and took out a smaller black box. Opening it she smiled softly, the pin inside was solid gold, given to her by her grandfather when she had won her first three day event as a junior.

"I made it Grampa, after all these years, I finally made it, and just in time too…" Looking up she saw her face in the mirror, a little older – and more tired than she should be. Though she hid it well, Mich knew that the falls of the past were now taking their toll, weakening her body. Before long she would have to take the decision that all riders hated.

"I have to make a choice Grampa, and whichever path I choose will affect my future and my family. I cannot put it off any longer; I just hope that Horatio will understand."

Walking downstairs, she put the small box carefully into a riding boot where it would be safe during the journey. Closing and padlocking the two trunks, she called the workers from the international carrier so they could load them onto the truck for transport to the UK.

Walking to the sofa she paused and picked up a picture of herself and Horatio, taken a couple of years before at a BBQ Mich had held at the farm. Neither of them had known the picture had been taken until Eric had handed it over. Smiling, she sat down, tracing a finger around H's face…

&&&

Horatio followed Derek into a small drawing room, he had mentioned that his mother had three rooms to herself – all on the ground floor. The drawing room was the largest of the three, where she 'entertained', and along with a bedroom (along with en-suite) and her conservatory was now her 'suite' until she decided she was tired of life.

"She has the Scottish blood Horatio, and as tough as they come… Ruled the family with an iron hand, if the truth be said, she still does. Just be yourself."

For some reason, the comment made H more wary than anything else…

"Hello mother," Derek bent and gently kissed the grey haired old woman that was sitting near the open fire. Horatio almost smiled, the tenderness in his eyes showing that while the Dowager Countess may have ruled over her family with an iron fist, it must have been wrapped in a velvet glove.

"Come forward you man, let me see you." Horatio raised his eyebrows; he hadn't been called 'young man' in many years. "So, you are the one who has kept Kerys away from me. If my husband were still alive, he would be telling you off right about now. Take a seat, make yourself comfortable… Derek, would you do the honours…"

Winking at Horatio, Derek acknowledged the Countess' request and disappeared. "He's just going to get a light snack for us, so while he's out of the room, you can tell me the story. All anyone tells me is that my only grand-daughter is in the States and never coming home."

Seeing the blue eyes twinkle Horatio began to smile, within the frail body, the Countess' mind was still strong. Chuckling to himself, he now realised where Mich got her character from.

"Something funny young man?"

"Well ma'am, first of all, I don't think of myself as a 'young man', my name is Horatio, but finally meeting you, I can see that Mich certainly follows your side of the family."

The Countess glared at him stony faced, but just as H wondered if he had crossed some kind of invisible line, she began to chuckle, "So, Horatio, you no longer consider yourself young, that is a shame. I am 92 years old, so in my case, you are a young man, and a flatterer too, no wonder my grand-daughter fell for you, all that charm, and a red-head too… Finally her good taste has come out."

H chuckled, he had noticed some of the pictures around the room and realised that the late Earl had also had the tell-tale features of being red-haired in his younger life.

"So, Horatio, tell me what Kerys has been up to, and don't you leave anything out." Looking H in the eye she smiled softly, "Derek said you've been looking after her for us, I'm so glad she found someone who could, I was never happy with her going to work for the Secret Service, but she was very close to her father after her mother died."

H was startled, "You knew?"

The Countess chuckled, "Nothing happens under this roof without my knowing Horatio, when Kerys began working for MI5, this estate became her sanctuary between operations. It's almost a family tradition, her father and uncle both worked there, and my husband worked with the French resistance during the Second World War."

"She tried to hide it from me, but I knew the signs, though I have to admit, I was surprised it came out in her and none of the others. Mind you, I might have guessed, she was always a dare-devil and my husband encouraged her. Now… let's change the subject, and talk about something more recent. I want to know how you two met."