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"I don't want to come home." Horatio sighed, as he unlocked the front door and stepped inside his and Mac's beach house.
The truth was that he missed his friends and his job, but now that he was home he missed Venice a bit more. The two weeks that he and Mac had been in Venice had passed so quickly and it felt like they had barely even been there.
"On the flight home you told me how much you missed our friends." Mac said, "Horatio Caine, you change your mind more often than people change their underwear."
"No, I don't." Horatio huffed and then added after a few seconds, "Only sometimes."
Mac grinned and shook his head amused at his lover as he carried their bags inside. Horatio followed him to the bedroom and they started unpacking their stuff. Horatio kept on telling Mac how much he missed Venice and wanted to go back. Mac promised that they'd soon take another vacation; even if it was only during a weekend.
When the doorbell rang Mac went to open it to find a tired-looking Ryan outside holding Elvis in his arms. Ryan handed Elvis over to Mac, who put the cat on the floor and let Ryan inside.
"You look horrible." Mac said.
"I know." Ryan yawned and slumped down on a chair in the kitchen.
Mac started making some coffee, while listening to Horatio cursing as Elvis attacked his feet. Ryan grinned when he heard his boss chasing Elvis in the living room. After a few minutes the redhead joined the other two in the kitchen.
"Thanks for looking out for Elvis for us." Horatio said.
"No problem." Ryan smiled.
"Really?" Mac asked amused.
"Well… let's just say that after these two weeks I kind of have a hate-love relationship with Elvis." Ryan said, "And he really is a monster."
"The spawn of the devil." Horatio joked, "Elvis just need to get his head examined."
Elvis walked into the room and meowed. He jumped up on the table and started rubbing his head against Ryan's hand. Ryan scratched his head and Elvis lied down on the table, purring loudly.
"How was Venice?" Ryan asked.
"Amazing." Horatio sighed.
Ryan looked confused at him since Horatio seemed so sad.
"He didn't want to go home." Mac explained.
"You didn't either." Horatio said.
"Well, I think I wanted to go home a teensy-weensy bit more than you." Mac smiled.
"I want a vacation too." Ryan said, "Preferably to a warm place, with a girl and no cats."
Horatio and Mac laughed. Ryan told them what had happened in the lab, which wasn't much. The team was working under Eric's supervision with Ryan as his second in command since Calleigh, whom was usually in charge when Horatio was gone, was on maternity leave. She was only five weeks away from giving birth and Eric was more nervous than ever before.
"He calls her twice every hour." Ryan said, "I swear one day soon she will rip his tongue out so he can't speak."
"I can imagine how annoyed Calleigh must be." Horatio said, "Is my lab still intact?"
"Well, uh…"
"Ryan?" Horatio asked.
Ryan blushed and told the two older men that although the lab as a whole was still intact, the fingerprint lab wasn't. The glass walls surrounding it were gone after Walter and Ryan had performed a test to make glass break with sound (which was part of a burglary case they had been working with). They had forgotten that the whole lab was made of glass and instead of the sound just breaking their piece of test-glass, they ruined the fingerprint lab.
"The Chief wasn't very happy to find out about it." Ryan blushed.
"I can imagine." Mac chuckled, "So what was your punishment?"
"We had to clean it all up, and then pay for the new glass to be put there. Which is being done tomorrow." Ryan said.
"That's fair." Horatio said, "So what did you learn?"
"To not perform tests in a lab made of glass when the test is meant to break glass." Ryan smiled proudly.
"Good boy." Horatio grinned amused.
-I-
Horatio was furious. It was the day after he and Mac had come home from Venice and thus also his first day back at work after their honeymoon. He was immidiately told by fellow cops that Detective Jed Carter had been talking behind his back during the time he was gone. And not only had he told everyone who disgusting Horatio was, he had also talked about his brother Raymond.
Horatio would be the first one to admit that Raymond had become addicted to drugs when he had gone undercover; as much as it pained him to know what his little brother had gotten into and that it had eventually gotten him killed, he didn't deny it. But dirty or not, Raymond was his brother and he wouldn't allow anyone to talk negatively about him.
Horatio knew that Carter did it to piss him off and even though he knew he shouldn't react to it, he couldn't help it. Horatio found Carter at his desk and when he approached the younger man he was greeted with a repulsive smile. Horatio glared at him.
"Welcome back lieutenant." Carter smiled, "How was your honeymoon?"
"Cut the crap Carter. You know damn well why I'm here."
"No, I have no idea."
"You've been talking about me and about my brother." Horatio growled.
"You mean that dirty cop that got himself killed because of stupidity." Carter snorted.
Horatio grabbed Carter's collar and lifted him up from his chair. For the first time Carter looked genuinely scared and the other detectives watched while they carefully approached the duo; ready to intervene if things got ugly.
"You didn't even know Raymond and even though he was an addict and dirty, there is no need to talk ill about the dead." Horatio said, "You leave me brother out of this. This is about you and me."
"What a family you must have been; one dirty cop and another one a faggot."
Horatio's eyes darkened and Detective Harris put a hand on his shoulder.
"He's not worth it Horatio." He said, "We've been working together for ten years now. I know you're not going to let this piece of shit ruin your reputation or career."
Horatio glared at Carter and after what seemed like an eternity he let him go. Carter slumped down on his chair and smirked when Horatio walked away.
"Wipe that smile off your face Carter." Harris said, "One day you will get what you deserve."
Carter rolled his eyes and got back to his work.
-I-
Natalia and Carter bumped into each other as Carter was coming out of the men's room.
"Oh, sorry." Natalia said.
"Whatever." Carter muttered.
"Hey, you may not like my boss but that doesn't mean you have to be an idiot towards me." Natalia said.
"You work for him."
"Only because I have to." Natalia said, "You think I like working in the lab under the supervision of a gay-guy."
Carter eyed Natalia suspiciously. Natalia wasn't part of the CSI team; she was a lab tech specialized in DNA and more specifically cold cases. Carter had heard she was good at her job.
"You don't seem to have a problem with him." Carter said.
"Oh please, I just want to keep my job; that's the only reason I put up with him." Natalia sighed, "I don't like it anymore than you do."
"Really?" Carter said, still suspicious.
"Why would I? It's not natural for two men or two women to be together. We weren't made for that." Natalia said, "But I don't want to lose my job or get the reputation of being a homophobic."
"If this is true then you're a very good actor."
"Well, my mother always told me I should have been one." Natalia chuckled, "Look, when Mac and Horatio kiss it takes all my willpower not to say anything."
"Why are you telling me this?" Carter asked.
"Because I don't want you to treat me so rudely." Natalia said, "You may not like the others in the lab because they support Horatio, but you don't have to hate me."
"You really don't like him?"
"Nope. And not only because he's a fag, but because he hasn't offered me a spot on the team yet." Natalia growled, "I want to be a CSI, but there are no openings on the team right now."
"And you're hoping that by being nice he will let you become a CSI trainee?"
"Sure, why not? I can't become a CSI here if I tell Horatio that I don't want to work with him." Natalia said, "I'm thinking about my career. If that means I have to work with a man like him, then so be it."
"Why not apply to be a CSI somewhere else?"
"Because my family lives here in Miami." Natalia said, "And I don't want to move."
"I'm beginning to think maybe you and I have more in common than I first thought." Carter smirked.
"Well, if you think that Horatio is a disgusting man, who clearly doesn't belong here then yes we do." Natalia said, "He really gives the department a bad reputation. Who the hell wants a faggot to solve crimes? I mean how do we know he's not flirting with male witnesses when no one is around?"
"Good point."
"I don't trust him for one second." Natalia shuddered, "He creeps me out."
"I must say I'm shocked. This is very different from how you are in the lab."
"Well, I told you I have to act." Natalia said, "You know the others on the team would kill me if they heard me say this."
"Yeah, being open about your opinions against someone like Caine isn't a good thing."Carter sighed.
"You don't get a lot of trust from anybody else do you?"
"No. Everybody pretty much hates me now." Carter said, "Good to know that I got at least one person agreeing with me."
"Just remember that I only act when I'm at work." Natalia said, "I really do agree with you. People like Horatio shouldn't work here."
"Well, I'm trying to get him fired or make him quit on his own will."
"How?"
"By making him angry. I talked a lot of shit about his brother while he was gone." Carter smirked, "That made him really mad."
"I can imagine. He really loves his brother." Natalia said, "What else have you planned?"
"Why do you ask?"
"I could help. I'm thinking about trying to mess with the evidence to make it seem like Horatio can't run the lab anymore. You know, make evidence disappear and make IAB investigate it." Natalia smiled, "That ought to make him lose some respect."
"Good idea. I was thinking about driving him to the point of going crazy, but maybe I can help you out a bit?"
"Yeah, mess up the witness statements." Natalia said, "Make it so he can't solve any crimes. That also makes the team look bad and maybe then he'll quit just to save them from being scrutinized."
"I like the way you think. Want to talk more after drinks tonight?" Carter asked.
"Sure."
"Seven at Harry's?"
"I'll be there." Natalia smiled and walked away in the opposite direction of where Carter was going.
When Natalia rounded the corner she was met by Ryan and Walter and they didn't look happy.
"So the truth comes out." Walter said.
Natalia sighed and moved her shirt up to reveal a microphone on her chest.
"I got permission from IAB to do this." Natalia said, "I wanted to bring that bastard down once and for all."
"Oh, sorry." Walter said.
"No worries." Natalia smiled, "Want to go with me to the Chief? Having two witnesses to the conversation will help."
Ryan and Walter grinned and went with Natalia. Carter was going down.
-I-
Natalia and Horatio had been called to the Chief's office together with Detective Carter. Nobody had any idea why except Natalia. She hadn't told Horatio about her plan to trick Carter. Since Detective Carter had been warned to start acting civilly towards Horatio or he'd be fired, the outcome of the meeting was pretty clear. Chief Samuel Baxter was not happy after he had listened to the recorded conversation between Carter and Natalia together with IAB sergeant Rick Stetler; he had nothing against Horatio and Mac.
Stetler was waiting in the Chief's office with the Chief when Horatio, Natalia and Carter entered it together. They all say down and Baxter started with playing the tape. Horatio looked shocked at Natalia; she only smiled at him.
"You did this for me?" He asked.
"You and every other gay cop in the department." Natalia smiled.
"Thank you." Horatio whispered.
"Sorry to interrupt, but I have more serious business to attend to." Samuel said, "Lieutenant Caine, Miss Boa Vista, if you'd be so willing to step out of the office for a while."
Horatio and Natalia nodded and stepped out together with Rick, because was going to tell them what the Chief was telling Carter.
"Thanks for letting her do this Rick. It means a lot to me and I'm sure every other gay cop in the department." Horatio said.
"Well, Carter has received so many complaints about his behavior that something had to be done. We just needed some solid proof that he had gone too far." Rick said.
"What's going to happen to him?"Natalia asked.
"He's getting fired." Rick said.
"Fired? Really?"
"Yes. He was warned before and he didn't change." Rick said, "We're aware that he's been talking about Horatio behind his back while he was on his honeymoon too."
"He's going to be pissed." Natalia said.
"He's brought this on himself." Rick said, "He only has himself to blame."
Everyone could hear Carter shouting at the Chief and demanding to know why he was fired when someone like Horatio could still work at the lab. After a few minutes the door opened and Carter walked out without his badge and gun.
"You two are going to pay for this." He growled.
"Is that a threat?" Rick asked.
"Fuck off, Stetler!" Carter growled and got inside the elevator.
Natalia and Horatio glanced at each other. Hopefully Carter would stay away from them. He didn't need to make any more mistakes than he had already done.
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