Promises of Someday 2/5
By koaladeb
Disclaimer information in part 1
~~~~~~~~~~
Calleigh offered a small wave and Horatio internally winced when her attempt made both adults aware of the fact that her right elbow had been scraped in the fall. Her long-sleeved shirt was torn and blood was dotting the ragged edges of fabric.
Recovering from his shock, he quietly set Maddy on the ground and helped Calleigh to sit up, checking for other signs of injury and picking broken leaves off her back and out of her hair. He pulled a handkerchief out of his pocket and placed it against Calleigh's elbow, all while keeping one eye on Maddy, who was walking slowly over to where the sunglasses were lying. Picking them up, she returned to the still-silent pair sitting on the ground.
Horatio battled feelings of guilt as he watched Calleigh look at her miniature assailant, now eye-level, and compare Maddy to himself. He knew of the resemblances that would become apparent upon close examination, and he knew what Calleigh would conclude. Aside from her hair and eyes, there was no mistaking the fairness of Maddy's skin and the slight but familiar tilt of the head when she was thinking.
He sighed, feeling his heart twist at the traces of pain he could read in Calleigh's gaze. He turned to his niece. "You need to apologize, Maddy."
"I'm sorry, Uncle Horatio."
Maddy was staring up at him, her expression completely serious and blue eyes enormous as she waited to see the effect of her apology. Horatio was torn between wanting to be stern and giving in to the urge to pick Maddy up and tell her all was forgiven. He settled for drawing the little girl close, placing a gentle kiss on her forehead and telling her, "I'm not the one you knocked over. Miss Duquesne is."
He looked over at Calleigh and met her confused stare with silent apology. She had picked up on the title of "uncle" as quickly as the resemblances he shared with Maddy and did not know what to think. In an effort to help her understand, Horatio made formal introductions.
"Calleigh, this is Madison Keaton, my niece. Maddy, this is Miss Duquesne."
Maddy pulled away from his arms to stand right in front of Calleigh, stumbling over her name but making up for it by attempting to carefully put her sunglasses back on. Horatio smiled as he observed his niece working her charm, now attempting to fix strands of Calleigh's hair, fascinated by its length and beauty.
He watched Calleigh offer Maddy her forgiveness and receive an exuberant hug that probably brought to light the presence of some bruises previously unnoticed. But the irresistible child had managed to work her spell again, and received nothing except a warm hug in return.
Horatio helped Calleigh stand. "Thank you for protecting Maddy from falling. Are you alright?"
Calleigh shrugged carefully and tried to hand back the handkerchief. "I'm fine, just a couple of scrapes. I'll just go home and..."
Horatio stopped her before she could get away. "There's a drugstore across the street. Maddy and I can run over and grab some peroxide and band-aids and be right back. The least we can do is patch you up. Please."
With silent prompting, his request was echoed by Maddy, whom he knew Calleigh would be unable to refuse. Nodding her agreement, Calleigh allowed herself to be led to a bench. Horatio picked up Maddy. "We'll be right back," he said. "Don't move."
~~~~~
Horatio made his way across the street, putting Maddy down once they were safely inside the drugstore. He answered questions about how he knew Calleigh's name and the length of time he had known her; he affirmed the fact they were friends. The warning bells in his head did not begin to go off, however, until she asked, "You like her, don't you?"
Horatio tried to avoid the question, wondering why the four year old at his side suddenly reminded him of a certain quazi-clairvoyant medical examiner.
"What makes you say that?" he asked neutrally, picking up some gauze pads.
"You wanted her to stay with us." It was a challenge more than an answer.
Horatio stopped looking through the selection of band-aids and knelt down to face the little girl. "Does that bother you? That I wanted her to stay?" he asked, considering for the first time that Maddy might not like Calleigh, that she might view her presence as an intrusion.
Maddy looked back at him with open, honest eyes. "No," she answered seriously. "She caught me. I like her. I think she's pretty."
Horatio grinned and dropped a kiss on his niece's head before turning back to the band-aids. "I do too."
"So you do like her!" Maddy announced, victoriously.
Busted, Horatio could only shake his head in wonder. He looked down at Maddy with a mock-frown. "Yes, I like her," he answered. "But that has to stay between you and me, okay? Our secret---no one else can know."
She nodded, giggling and drawing a pretend zipper across her lips.
When they got to the check-out counter, he felt a small pull on his jeans. Looking down, he saw pleading eyes and a bag of M&M's being held up for his approval. He was about to shake his head and refuse the silent request when Maddy said, "For Miss... the lady I ran into. To say sorry and make her feel better."
With that reasoning, Horatio was helpless to refuse. He gave the bag of candy to the check out counter and tried not to take the woman's knowing look too hard.
~~~~~
When they returned to the park, Calleigh was in the same place as when they left. Putting down the bag of supplies, Horatio told Maddy she could play on the nearby slide while he cleaned up Calleigh's arm.
As the delighted child skipped away, Calleigh said, "She's beautiful."
The wistful tone of her voice echoed his own longings and Horatio had to look away. He watched Maddy climb up the slide ladder for a moment and silently agreed before turning back, ready to explain, but was stopped by the trusting expression on Calleigh's face.
"You don't have to tell me," she said.
"Yes I do," he answered, picking up the drugstore bag and sitting on the bench. "If only because I need to share this with someone and I've wanted to tell you about her ever since I found out."
He turned his attention to Calleigh's elbow. There was no way of getting to the scrape without removing her shirt, a faded grey tee with the name "Tulane" printed in classic collegiate font across the front. Calleigh saw his dilemma.
"Just rip it," she said. "It's already halfway there. Besides, it was time to get rid of this old thing anyway."
Horatio obeyed and ripped the fabric, removing the sleeve a couple of inches above the elbow. He could see the scrapes were not bad; the bleeding had stopped, but there was some light bruising that was also beginning to appear.
"I'm sorry," he said to her, looking at the discoloration of her skin. "I shouldn't have let her get away from me."
"As if you could have stopped her," she laughed. "Look."
Horatio looked up to see Maddy going down the slide, laughing and waving her arms, and could not stop the indulgent, affectionate grin that crossed his face. He looked over at Calleigh, who was watching for his reaction, and blushed.
"Yeah, I guess you're right." He took out the peroxide and gauze and began to clean the blood and scrapes. Knowing Calleigh was keeping an eye out for Maddy, he began to tell her about his niece. He used the story and his self-assigned first-aid task to keep his mind off how soft Calleigh's skin was, how warm it felt under his fingertips.
By the time Calleigh's arm had been cleaned up and antibiotic ointment applied, she knew about Raymond's affair with Suzie Barnam and how he was sending the girl's mother money to support herself and Maddy, all while hiding their existence from his sister-in-law.
As he applied band-aids, Horatio explained the phone call of two weeks ago: Suzie had to go out of town for a management training seminar and needed someone to watch Maddy while she was gone. He had asked Alexx privately for guidance. On her advice, he had babysat a couple of times to get used to Maddy's routine, falling in love with the little girl and his role as uncle more and more.
"I guess that explains the daydreaming," Calleigh said, amused.
Horatio glanced over at Maddy, who was running back toward the bench. "Guilty as charged," he answered.
When the little girl reached them, she asked, "Did Uncle Horatio make you all better, Miss Doo ... Du ... uh..."
"Just call me Calleigh."
Maddy practically glowed. "Okay! So did he ... Calleigh?" The last word was spoken quietly, as she tried out the name.
"Yes, he did. See?" Calleigh answered, displaying her band-aids proudly.
Maddy looked from the cloth stripes to her uncle. "Did you kiss them better too? My mommy always does that."
Horatio blushed, looking from his precocious niece to an equally embarrassed Calleigh. "Um... no. You see..."
His denial was met with folded arms and a remarkable impression of what he looked like when facing down a criminal. "You *have* to kiss it better, Uncle Horatio," Maddy demanded.
"Yeah, Horatio," Calleigh chimed in, laughing. "You have to." She offered her arm and a challenging grin.
Rendered just as powerless by the tag team effort as Calleigh was earlier, Horatio conceded. He took her proffered arm and placed a gentle kiss over top of the band-aids. Calleigh stopped laughing and gasped. He tagged her eyes with his own over the rim of his sunglasses and saw she was just as affected by the action as he was even as he felt her tremble beneath his fingers.
Maddy cleared her throat, and Horatio tore his eyes from Calleigh to look at his niece. She had an overly innocent look on her face, and he wondered whether the "kiss and make it better" routine was, in fact, a ploy. He narrowed his eyes in suspicion.
"She's cold," Maddy said quickly. "I saw her shiver, and she doesn't have a sleeve anymore, and I think you should give her your jacket."
Horatio now knew he was being played, but he went along with Maddy's idea anyway. He removed the light windbreaker he was wearing and helped Calleigh put it on, drawing it up around her shoulders from behind. Part of him thanked the deviousness of his niece when he was afforded the privilege of pulling Calleigh's hair out from where it was trapped underneath the jacket and settling it on her back.
"What now, oh great healer?" he asked Maddy, letting her know he was not being fooled.
The little girl grinned. "You know," she whispered conspiratorially. "The candy."
Horatio made an "Oh" with his mouth and nodded. Digging into the bag filled with supplies and garbage, he pulled out the M&Ms.
"For our hero," he said, offering the small bag to Calleigh.
Calleigh smiled and her eyes shone. "Why thank you kind sir, miss," she replied, accepting the reward. "I would open these now and share, but I don't want to ruin my lunch."
Maddy looked crestfallen and Horatio silently applauded Calleigh for seeing through his niece's plan. He shared a knowing glance and wink with Calleigh, who was trying to hide a smile.
He should have known better than to underestimate the power of a four-year old mind.
Maddy's head snapped up, inspiration written on every feature. "We were going to lunch too when I ran into you," she said. "Why don't you come to eat with us, and *then* we can share the M&Ms!"
Caught in their own trap, the adults looked helplessly at each other.
"I... I couldn't," Calleigh finally stammered. "I've taken up enough of your time together as it is, and I should really get home and change my shirt..."
But Maddy was on a roll, shoring up her argument before anyone could put together a solid refusal. "But we were going to eat at the mall, and you can go with us and find a new shirt there, and this way if I have to go to the bathroom you can take me. And I want you to spend more time with us, because I like you and I think you're pretty, and Uncle Horatio said..."
Horatio saw where Maddy was going with her train of thought and before she could let slip his "secret," he dropped off the bench and covered her mouth with his hand, sweeping her off her feet, returning to his previous position and settling a giggling Maddy on his lap. He could tell Calleigh was extremely interested in "what Uncle Horatio said" and was more than willing to spend time with his niece in order to discover that information.
Horatio knew he was trapped, and so took the only road open to him. "So Calleigh," he said casually, "would you care to join Maddy and me for lunch?"
Disclaimer information in part 1
~~~~~~~~~~
Calleigh offered a small wave and Horatio internally winced when her attempt made both adults aware of the fact that her right elbow had been scraped in the fall. Her long-sleeved shirt was torn and blood was dotting the ragged edges of fabric.
Recovering from his shock, he quietly set Maddy on the ground and helped Calleigh to sit up, checking for other signs of injury and picking broken leaves off her back and out of her hair. He pulled a handkerchief out of his pocket and placed it against Calleigh's elbow, all while keeping one eye on Maddy, who was walking slowly over to where the sunglasses were lying. Picking them up, she returned to the still-silent pair sitting on the ground.
Horatio battled feelings of guilt as he watched Calleigh look at her miniature assailant, now eye-level, and compare Maddy to himself. He knew of the resemblances that would become apparent upon close examination, and he knew what Calleigh would conclude. Aside from her hair and eyes, there was no mistaking the fairness of Maddy's skin and the slight but familiar tilt of the head when she was thinking.
He sighed, feeling his heart twist at the traces of pain he could read in Calleigh's gaze. He turned to his niece. "You need to apologize, Maddy."
"I'm sorry, Uncle Horatio."
Maddy was staring up at him, her expression completely serious and blue eyes enormous as she waited to see the effect of her apology. Horatio was torn between wanting to be stern and giving in to the urge to pick Maddy up and tell her all was forgiven. He settled for drawing the little girl close, placing a gentle kiss on her forehead and telling her, "I'm not the one you knocked over. Miss Duquesne is."
He looked over at Calleigh and met her confused stare with silent apology. She had picked up on the title of "uncle" as quickly as the resemblances he shared with Maddy and did not know what to think. In an effort to help her understand, Horatio made formal introductions.
"Calleigh, this is Madison Keaton, my niece. Maddy, this is Miss Duquesne."
Maddy pulled away from his arms to stand right in front of Calleigh, stumbling over her name but making up for it by attempting to carefully put her sunglasses back on. Horatio smiled as he observed his niece working her charm, now attempting to fix strands of Calleigh's hair, fascinated by its length and beauty.
He watched Calleigh offer Maddy her forgiveness and receive an exuberant hug that probably brought to light the presence of some bruises previously unnoticed. But the irresistible child had managed to work her spell again, and received nothing except a warm hug in return.
Horatio helped Calleigh stand. "Thank you for protecting Maddy from falling. Are you alright?"
Calleigh shrugged carefully and tried to hand back the handkerchief. "I'm fine, just a couple of scrapes. I'll just go home and..."
Horatio stopped her before she could get away. "There's a drugstore across the street. Maddy and I can run over and grab some peroxide and band-aids and be right back. The least we can do is patch you up. Please."
With silent prompting, his request was echoed by Maddy, whom he knew Calleigh would be unable to refuse. Nodding her agreement, Calleigh allowed herself to be led to a bench. Horatio picked up Maddy. "We'll be right back," he said. "Don't move."
~~~~~
Horatio made his way across the street, putting Maddy down once they were safely inside the drugstore. He answered questions about how he knew Calleigh's name and the length of time he had known her; he affirmed the fact they were friends. The warning bells in his head did not begin to go off, however, until she asked, "You like her, don't you?"
Horatio tried to avoid the question, wondering why the four year old at his side suddenly reminded him of a certain quazi-clairvoyant medical examiner.
"What makes you say that?" he asked neutrally, picking up some gauze pads.
"You wanted her to stay with us." It was a challenge more than an answer.
Horatio stopped looking through the selection of band-aids and knelt down to face the little girl. "Does that bother you? That I wanted her to stay?" he asked, considering for the first time that Maddy might not like Calleigh, that she might view her presence as an intrusion.
Maddy looked back at him with open, honest eyes. "No," she answered seriously. "She caught me. I like her. I think she's pretty."
Horatio grinned and dropped a kiss on his niece's head before turning back to the band-aids. "I do too."
"So you do like her!" Maddy announced, victoriously.
Busted, Horatio could only shake his head in wonder. He looked down at Maddy with a mock-frown. "Yes, I like her," he answered. "But that has to stay between you and me, okay? Our secret---no one else can know."
She nodded, giggling and drawing a pretend zipper across her lips.
When they got to the check-out counter, he felt a small pull on his jeans. Looking down, he saw pleading eyes and a bag of M&M's being held up for his approval. He was about to shake his head and refuse the silent request when Maddy said, "For Miss... the lady I ran into. To say sorry and make her feel better."
With that reasoning, Horatio was helpless to refuse. He gave the bag of candy to the check out counter and tried not to take the woman's knowing look too hard.
~~~~~
When they returned to the park, Calleigh was in the same place as when they left. Putting down the bag of supplies, Horatio told Maddy she could play on the nearby slide while he cleaned up Calleigh's arm.
As the delighted child skipped away, Calleigh said, "She's beautiful."
The wistful tone of her voice echoed his own longings and Horatio had to look away. He watched Maddy climb up the slide ladder for a moment and silently agreed before turning back, ready to explain, but was stopped by the trusting expression on Calleigh's face.
"You don't have to tell me," she said.
"Yes I do," he answered, picking up the drugstore bag and sitting on the bench. "If only because I need to share this with someone and I've wanted to tell you about her ever since I found out."
He turned his attention to Calleigh's elbow. There was no way of getting to the scrape without removing her shirt, a faded grey tee with the name "Tulane" printed in classic collegiate font across the front. Calleigh saw his dilemma.
"Just rip it," she said. "It's already halfway there. Besides, it was time to get rid of this old thing anyway."
Horatio obeyed and ripped the fabric, removing the sleeve a couple of inches above the elbow. He could see the scrapes were not bad; the bleeding had stopped, but there was some light bruising that was also beginning to appear.
"I'm sorry," he said to her, looking at the discoloration of her skin. "I shouldn't have let her get away from me."
"As if you could have stopped her," she laughed. "Look."
Horatio looked up to see Maddy going down the slide, laughing and waving her arms, and could not stop the indulgent, affectionate grin that crossed his face. He looked over at Calleigh, who was watching for his reaction, and blushed.
"Yeah, I guess you're right." He took out the peroxide and gauze and began to clean the blood and scrapes. Knowing Calleigh was keeping an eye out for Maddy, he began to tell her about his niece. He used the story and his self-assigned first-aid task to keep his mind off how soft Calleigh's skin was, how warm it felt under his fingertips.
By the time Calleigh's arm had been cleaned up and antibiotic ointment applied, she knew about Raymond's affair with Suzie Barnam and how he was sending the girl's mother money to support herself and Maddy, all while hiding their existence from his sister-in-law.
As he applied band-aids, Horatio explained the phone call of two weeks ago: Suzie had to go out of town for a management training seminar and needed someone to watch Maddy while she was gone. He had asked Alexx privately for guidance. On her advice, he had babysat a couple of times to get used to Maddy's routine, falling in love with the little girl and his role as uncle more and more.
"I guess that explains the daydreaming," Calleigh said, amused.
Horatio glanced over at Maddy, who was running back toward the bench. "Guilty as charged," he answered.
When the little girl reached them, she asked, "Did Uncle Horatio make you all better, Miss Doo ... Du ... uh..."
"Just call me Calleigh."
Maddy practically glowed. "Okay! So did he ... Calleigh?" The last word was spoken quietly, as she tried out the name.
"Yes, he did. See?" Calleigh answered, displaying her band-aids proudly.
Maddy looked from the cloth stripes to her uncle. "Did you kiss them better too? My mommy always does that."
Horatio blushed, looking from his precocious niece to an equally embarrassed Calleigh. "Um... no. You see..."
His denial was met with folded arms and a remarkable impression of what he looked like when facing down a criminal. "You *have* to kiss it better, Uncle Horatio," Maddy demanded.
"Yeah, Horatio," Calleigh chimed in, laughing. "You have to." She offered her arm and a challenging grin.
Rendered just as powerless by the tag team effort as Calleigh was earlier, Horatio conceded. He took her proffered arm and placed a gentle kiss over top of the band-aids. Calleigh stopped laughing and gasped. He tagged her eyes with his own over the rim of his sunglasses and saw she was just as affected by the action as he was even as he felt her tremble beneath his fingers.
Maddy cleared her throat, and Horatio tore his eyes from Calleigh to look at his niece. She had an overly innocent look on her face, and he wondered whether the "kiss and make it better" routine was, in fact, a ploy. He narrowed his eyes in suspicion.
"She's cold," Maddy said quickly. "I saw her shiver, and she doesn't have a sleeve anymore, and I think you should give her your jacket."
Horatio now knew he was being played, but he went along with Maddy's idea anyway. He removed the light windbreaker he was wearing and helped Calleigh put it on, drawing it up around her shoulders from behind. Part of him thanked the deviousness of his niece when he was afforded the privilege of pulling Calleigh's hair out from where it was trapped underneath the jacket and settling it on her back.
"What now, oh great healer?" he asked Maddy, letting her know he was not being fooled.
The little girl grinned. "You know," she whispered conspiratorially. "The candy."
Horatio made an "Oh" with his mouth and nodded. Digging into the bag filled with supplies and garbage, he pulled out the M&Ms.
"For our hero," he said, offering the small bag to Calleigh.
Calleigh smiled and her eyes shone. "Why thank you kind sir, miss," she replied, accepting the reward. "I would open these now and share, but I don't want to ruin my lunch."
Maddy looked crestfallen and Horatio silently applauded Calleigh for seeing through his niece's plan. He shared a knowing glance and wink with Calleigh, who was trying to hide a smile.
He should have known better than to underestimate the power of a four-year old mind.
Maddy's head snapped up, inspiration written on every feature. "We were going to lunch too when I ran into you," she said. "Why don't you come to eat with us, and *then* we can share the M&Ms!"
Caught in their own trap, the adults looked helplessly at each other.
"I... I couldn't," Calleigh finally stammered. "I've taken up enough of your time together as it is, and I should really get home and change my shirt..."
But Maddy was on a roll, shoring up her argument before anyone could put together a solid refusal. "But we were going to eat at the mall, and you can go with us and find a new shirt there, and this way if I have to go to the bathroom you can take me. And I want you to spend more time with us, because I like you and I think you're pretty, and Uncle Horatio said..."
Horatio saw where Maddy was going with her train of thought and before she could let slip his "secret," he dropped off the bench and covered her mouth with his hand, sweeping her off her feet, returning to his previous position and settling a giggling Maddy on his lap. He could tell Calleigh was extremely interested in "what Uncle Horatio said" and was more than willing to spend time with his niece in order to discover that information.
Horatio knew he was trapped, and so took the only road open to him. "So Calleigh," he said casually, "would you care to join Maddy and me for lunch?"