Chapter 52

Horatio started the engine and drove North, to Hollywood. He drove his way through town, and stopped at a large, two story, two toned tan and brown house. He got out of the car and took a casual look up and down the block. Most of the houses appeared to be styled similarly to RJ's house.

Down the block the other direction, Horatio can very easily make out the beehive of activity at the Home Makeover site.

The red head shook his head ruefully as he walked up to the house, with a smile. He knocked twice and after a minute, a male voice called out.

"Hold on! We'll be right there."

A minute or two later, the door opened. A younger man stood there, holding a very young infant. The man was slender, where his father was heavy set, but RJ was his father's son, with the same brown hair and eyes, and the same twinkle in them.

"Hey, there, Lt. How are you, sir?" RJ asked as he smiled.

"I'm doing very well, thank you. Is this the little angel that has made your life so full?" Horatio indicated the infant in the younger man's arms.

The younger man looked at the baby for just a moment, then looked back up at the red head. "Yes, sir, it is. Please come in."

Horatio wiped his feet on the doormat, then stepped into the house. "Thank you."

Turning to the young woman standing beside him, RJ made the introductions. "Vicky, this is my Dad's friend, Lt. Horatio Caine." He turned to Horatio. "Lt., this is my wife, Vicky."

Horatio held his hand out to her. "How do you do, Vicky?"

She shook his hand. "Very well, thank you, Lt." She turned to her husband. "So, this is the 'mighty' Lt Caine? Dad sure knows how to embellish a story, doesn't he?"

RJ chuckled. "You're just now figuring that out, Honey. Yes, he knows how to embellish a story, especially where Lt Caine is concerned. The basic story is the same. We had a gangster that was trying to elbow us out of the restaurant. Lt Caine, who was only a beat cop at the time, worked undercover for just about a week, before he got the gangster, dead to rights. The gangster went to prison for a very long stretch and Lt Caine had a friend who owned a Construction company that helped us rebuild for a small discount on the cost. We have had several other attempts to move us from the sight, but, thanks to the Lt, we've always been able to stop them.

"Both of the younger people noticed that Horatio was looking a little embarrassed.

Vicky chuckled, then asked. "Can I bring you something to drink, Lt.?"

"Just a cup of coffee, please, if you have it. If not, I'm fine. Don't make a pot on my account."

"Not to worry, sir. How do you take it?"

"Black is fine, thank you."

RJ motioned toward the living room. "Please, come with me, Lt. Make yourself at home. Can I take your jacket?"

"No, thank you." Horatio told him as he sat in the chair opposite from RJ. "How are things going for you, RJ?"

"Things are going very well. I have two very healthy children, my wife and I are very happy, and the business is expanding."

Horatio's eyebrows climbed into his hair. "When did your Dad decide to expand?"

"Approximately a month ago." RJ told him. "We agreed that it didn't make any sense for me to commute from Hollywood to Miami and back again. Especially when I brought up the idea of having my own restaurant. We checked it out and the new building is being worked on as we speak."

"Very good." Horatio commented. "Who's doing the work?"

RJ looked down at the baby for a minute, then looked up at Horatio. "A friend of that friend of yours from Hunter Construction. A company called B.C. Construction."

Horatio pulled out his notebook, opened it, wrote in it for a moment, then closed it and replaced it in his pocket.

Vicky brought three cups of coffee and set one in front of each man, first Horatio, then her husband, then sat beside RJ with her own cup of coffee.

"What about you, Lt? How are things going with you?" RJ asked. "Dad said something about that you had been in the other night?"

Horatio nodded. "Yes, I was. I was telling your Dad about the young lady I wanted to ask to date me."

RJ nodded. "He said you were feeling a little nervous about that. How did it go, by the way?"

Horatio grinned shyly and looked down at the floor for a moment, then looked up to the younger couple. "It went very well. Amazingly enough she agreed to date an old man like me."

Vicky looked him up and down then replied. "You're not that old, Lt Caine."

Horatio stood up. "I'm glad you think so." He walked around to RJ and held his hands out. "May I?" He asked indicating the baby.

RJ very quickly gave him the infant. "Of course. Here you go, sir."

Horatio looked down at the infant in his arms, then looked over at RJ. "What's her name?"

RJ told him. "Her name is Monica, but her big brother has given her the nickname of Neeka." RJ chuckled.

Horatio cracked a grin and looked down at the infant. "That's a terrific name for a pretty little girl, like you." He walked over to the window with her. As the sun shown into the house from behind a small bank of clouds, she smiled and reached up towards him, giggling and cooing at him. "Well, Little One, I'm hoping that you and I will become much better acquainted. I'm Horatio, a friend of both your Grandpa's and your Dada's. I'm a police officer. If you ever need my help with anything, your Dada and your Grandpa both know how to get in contact with me."

A little boy, not more than about 5 or 6 comes running down the stairs. "Dad!! Dad!! It's time!!" He saw Horatio standing there. "Who are you?" The little boy asked.

Horatio cracked a grin. "Hi. I'm Horatio. I'm a friend of your Dad's and your Grandpa's. What's your name?" Horatio slowly dropped to his knees so that he was more or less eye to eye with the little boy.

"Mikey." The little boy replied.

Horatio saw a little boy with lighter brown hair than his father, and hazel eyes.

Mikey noticed that the strange man was holding the baby. "Why are you holding Neeka?"

Horatio's eyebrow's arched and he looked briefly over at RJ and Vicky, who also looked surprised at the boy's question. "Mom and Dad said that I could. I just wanted to meet her, and talk to her for a minute. Am I not supposed to hold her?"

"It's not that." The little boy told him. "It's just that you have to be careful. She's only a baby."

Horatio smiled. "That's right, Mikey. Right now, she is only a baby." He looked over at the little boy. "You're going to make a terrific big brother."

The youngster walked over to stand next to the red head and looked over the man's shoulder, down at the baby, then back up to Horatio. "Are you a big brother too?"Horatio sensed that their conversation was about to take a serious turn. "Yes."

"What if I'm a bad big brother?" The little boy asked. It was as if RJ and Vicky didn't even exist.

"You won't be Mikey. Unfortunately, being a big brother sometimes is guesswork and there isn't a book on how to be a big brother."

The boy looked confused. "There's not?"

Horatio cracked a grin at the boy. "Nope. Most of the time all you have to keep in mind is, what would Mom or Dad say, or what had Mom or Dad said to you before."

"That should be easy to remember." Mikey commented, mostly to himself.

The three adults laughed at the little boy's comment."Mikey, Horatio and I have an errand we need to go run, so I'm not able to watch TV with you right now, but I will be able to later."

Horatio opened his mouth to say something but noticed that RJ subtly shook his head.

"Oh. Ok, Dad." Mikey thought about it for a minute. "C'mon, Mom. Let's go take Neeka to watch 'Bob the Builder'." He turned and ran from the room.

Horatio stood as Vicky also stood and walked over to him.

"Thanks a lot, Honey." She snarked as she took the infant from Horatio. "Just what I've always wanted - a trip into 'Bob the Builder' land."

Both men laughed at her, as RJ also stood and walked over to her. He leaned in and gave her a quick kiss on the cheek., then offered her a mischievous grin. "Aww, come on, Honey. I shouldn't be the only one to have that much fun with him."

She returned his kiss, then looked over at the red head. "You two get yourselves out of here. See if Horatio can speak with Mr Pennington."

"Ok, Sweetheart, but if you need me, I'll have my cell phone with me."

"That's fine. You're not going very far anyway. I can hold the fort down until then." She turned to H, and held out her hand. "It was nice to meet you, Horatio. Don't be a stranger, you're always welcome."

Horatio returned the hand shake. "You as well, Vicky. Take care."