A/N: if anyone has any suggestions as to who should attend the wedding besides Horatio, Sandra, and Kyle, let me know. I need a maid of honor.

Chapter 38

After the rather intresting introduction, Horatio properly introduced Kyle to Sandra, who proved to be open and welcoming, not fake like some of his mom's friends. Bear turned out to be a black furball with a punched-in-nose face and a short stub of a tail, hence the name. There was another cat, Moe, whom Kyle noticed seemed to favour his dad based on the way the orange female greeted him. He noticed she, too, had no tail, making her look like a round ball of fur with an impish attitude.

Their condo was cool and had a pretty nice view and he was fascinated by the movie posters Sandra had acquired over the years, some of them signed. When asked about where she'd gotten them, she said she had a friend who knew people.

Over a simple dinner of flavoured rice, steamed vegetables, and coated boneless chicken, with a side salad, Kyle got to know his soon-to-be stepmother. He asked her about her family and was told she had none, having been raised primarily in foster care.

"Have you lived in Miami all of your life?" Kyle asked.

"No, I'm originally from Chicago," Sandra said. "A friend offered me an opportunity to come to Miami and I took it."

"So what do you think of Miami?" he asked.

"Other than not caring much for the hurricane season or the wet season, it's not bad. My first month here, I went through more sunblock in a month than I'd ever gone through in my entire life," she said, grinning. "Good thing I don't burn easily."

"Do you drive?" he asked.



"Yes I do; my job occasionally requires that I be able to do some traveling throughout the city, even though I am the manager of the store."

"What for?"

"Bank deposits, store change, emergency shift coverage at my store, and the occasional emergency coverage at another store," she said.

"Dad said you were involved in a bank robbery recently," Kyle said.

"That's right; that's how I got this," she said, indicating her forehead, where the stitches had finally been removed but the cut was still pretty visible.

"Ouch," he said, wincing. "How did that happen?"

"From what I understand, a piece of the bank tile ceiling fell on me; I don't really remember," she admitted.

"When and where are you going to have the wedding?"

That Horatio answered. "There's a small section of beach that's a favourite spot of ours," he said. "We've arrange for a Justice of Peace to perform the marriage ceremony and then after that, we'll probably head to a restaurant or some such place."

"No party or anything like that?" Kyle asked.

Both Horatio and Sandra shook their heads. "Not our style," Horatio said. "We would very much like it if you were there, however, you are welcome to decline and join us for dinner later."

"What about a honeymoon?" he asked.

"It's going to be a while before we do that; neither of us are able to take any time off work right now," Sandra said.

Kyle wanted to go, but he wasn't sure what his mom might think about him attending his dad's wedding, whether or not he liked Sandra. He might for his dad, but that depended on when the wedding was and if it was during the week, if could he get out of school for it. "When is it?" he asked. Horatio told him; it was on a Saturday at approximately 1 p.m. No school. Kyle knew Ron didn't like Horatio and he wasn't too sure why, except that his dad was a cop and Ron was probably up to no good, especially since his mom got nervous around Ron sometimes; not a good thing in his eyes. He knew Ron wouldn't like him attending his dad's wedding. Screw that; if Ron doesn't like me being with Dad, then I am definitely going to the wedding. Just means I'd better find a suit of some kind. "I'll be there with bells on," he said.

Horatio and Sandra smiled. "I'm glad to hear that. I'll pick you up at your place about quarter to one and we'll head to the beach together," Horatio said.

Kyle nodded. "Do you need me to bring anything?" he asked.

"Just yourself and make sure you're in a suit," Horatio said.

"Already planning on it," he said, grinning. Maybe he could find them something nice as a wedding present, he thought; his mom might be able to help them. Suddenly, a set of sharp needles found their way into his ankle and he yelped in pain and surprise, causing him to slam his knee into the underside of the table, making him yelp again.

"Are you okay?" Horatio asked, concerned.

"I think I just got nailed," Kyle said, trying to rub his knee and ankle at the same time.

Sandra looked under the table and spotted a familiar black face peering out from between Horatio's feet. "You got Bear Clawed," she said simply.

"Is that what happened?" Kyle asked, wincing.

"That's the polite version," Horatio said. "What Bear gets called in the early hours of the morning, that," he said, "that is a different subject."

"Little devil," Kyle muttered.

"That's politer than what I've called him on some occasions," Sandra admitted, grinning ruefully.