Disclaimers in Chapter 1.
~~~~~ Chapter Five: The Rose ~~~~~
Two Days Later
Alexx stood at her autopsy table, scalpel in hand, ready to make a y- incision. When she heard the door swing open behind her, she waited, a knowing smile drifting across her face. She knew he'd be here eventually.
"How are you coming with the Huffman results, Alexx?" He spoke abruptly, his attempt at sounding casual falling short.
The half irritated, half amused medical examiner shifted around to face him and grumbled, "Child, I've been done for hours. Those IAB folks stood over me until I finished the post last night. It wasn't a 'kill shot,' Horatio. He bled out."
She watched as Horatio closed his eyes briefly, a bit of relief registering there, but his face remained pinched, complete absolution continuing to elude him.
She spoke up quickly, yet comfortingly, to impart words of wisdom she knew he needed to hear.
"Competition makes men possessive, Horatio. He wanted what he couldn't have." Alexx sighed, glancing across the morgue toward the still-tormented leader of CSI. "And from what I've heard, the monster got what he deserved. I'm just sorry you feel guilty for giving it to him."
She knew, even if Horatio wasn't willing to say so, that short of his own death, nothing would have stopped him from getting to Calleigh before it was too late. He wouldn't have let Huffman take her away from him.
"Mmm...yes, what he deserved. That's for IAB to decide, now, isn't it?"
When his cell phone trilled, Horatio excused himself and stepped into the hallway, grateful this time for the interruption.
Frank Tripp began speaking at once, his imposing voice filling Horatio's ear.
"It's over--fastest IAB inquiry in the history of the department. They ruled it a justifiable shooting, 'in the line of duty' and all that jazz. You're off the hook."
"What about Calleigh?" Horatio asked immediately, pretense no longer necessary.
"She'll have to see the department shrink--that's procedure--no getting around it. But other than that, it looks like she's in the clear too."
Horatio audibly released a shaky breath.
Tripp snickered, "That must have been some speech you made to the panel. They're not planning to go after her for obstruction of justice, withholding evidence or anything else."
"I would have done the same for anyone on my team. It's my job."
Tripp wasn't buying it. "It's more than that, and you and I both know it. You can't kid a kidder, Horatio, so don't even try."
Horatio could hear the grin in Frank's voice; nevertheless, he steered the conversation onto more serious ground.
"I hope I have your word, Frank, that this stays between us."
Tripp huffed exaggeratedly. "Horatio, man, how long we known each other, a couple days short of forever?"
Twin chuckles echoed across the cell phone waves.
"Something like that, yeah." Horatio replied, his tension beginning to ease slightly.
"Okay, then you know you've got my word. Hell, I'll even go you one better...if I was gonna give you up, I'd have done it last year during the Otis jailbreak. The whole department was on to you two like white on rice back then!"
Horatio groaned. "*Goodbye* Frank." Then, much more sincerely, "And Frank...thank you."
"No problem. It's the least I can do since you've pulled my ass out of the fire more times than I can even remember."
The comrades-in-arms clicked off the call.
Horatio turned to rejoin Alexx, but found he didn't have to go far since she was standing just behind him blocking his path back to the morgue.
"I work better alone, Horatio," she grinned. "Besides, I happen to know you have somewhere else you'd rather be."
Her pointed stare brooked no argument.
"Not you too, Alexx?" Horatio groused.
Her patented omniscient smile would have been funny if Horatio hadn't known she was right.
"Yes, me. Now go--and don't give me any of that 'she doesn't want to see me' crap, either. I drove the girl home from the hospital this morning-- you're the *only* one she wants to see."
Horatio leaned down and placed a feather-light kiss on the ME's forehead, to which Alexx winked affectionately in return.
"I hope you're right, Alexx. I hope you're right," Horatio murmured as he turned to leave.
"Sugar, I'll tell you like I tell my kids...I'm *always* right!"
~~~~~
Horatio, his sunglasses dangling precariously from his fingertips, paused to admire the craftsmanship of Calleigh's new front door. The workmen he hired had finished the job in record time. The newly installed pine wood barrier was one of two obstacles standing between him and the woman on the other side--the woman he loved. He could finally admit it...he did love her...now it was time to let *her* know. The door was an obstacle he could easily overcome. Calleigh's fragile state was quite another story.
He lifted the doorknocker and tapped it softly on the strike plate several times. When that brought no results, he pressed the doorbell button. After an eternity of seconds, the door came open slowly, the scene of Calleigh's ordeal laid bare before him.
Calleigh stepped timidly out from behind the door looking more haggard than Horatio had ever seen her. A small gauze bandage taped near her temple covered most of the damage, but she couldn't hide the bruising on her cheek, so dark and ominous-looking. What shocked Horatio the most, though, was her eyes--they were sad and lonely, distant--empty, almost. She wouldn't look at him; instead, she focused on the floor near his feet.
He opened his mouth, but nothing came out. He knew that if he did speak, he should say something worth the words. Deflecting for a moment, he tucked his sunglasses into his suit coat pocket then looked back to Calleigh. Not trusting his voice just yet, he cautiously reached up and cradled her face in his hand, his thumb caressing her uninjured cheek as gently as a whisper.
When she could stand it no longer, Calleigh looked upward, her eyes coming to rest on his like a butterfly on a flower, the expression on her face like a sigh, though she said not a word.
A ripple of heat passed through her body and into his, lodging itself in his heart.
"The IAB inquiry is finished," he stated simply.
Calleigh was dangerously unemotional. "I talked to Tripp a little while ago. He told me everything."
Horatio took her by the hand and led her to the living room, its space still vibrating with the tensions of the insidious acts that had taken place there.
Not sure if she'd be comfortable sitting on the sofa, he guided her toward one of the side chairs. She stopped walking and tugged on his arm.
"It's alright. I can use the sofa, if you'll sit with me."
He didn't hesitate for a second...he walked her over to the couch and sat down slowly, urging her to join him, which she did willingly, moving in close to him-not touching, but near enough to be able to draw from the warmth radiating off his body.
Horatio watched the internal struggle play out on Calleigh's face; it was as though she was taking stock of herself and a tidal wave of guilt was crashing over her because of the things she was seeing.
Calleigh throbbed on the inside, the thrill of Horatio's presence at war with intense feelings of shame. She had compromised the investigation and very nearly paid for it with her life. Over the past couple of days, she had been catapulted into an emotional place unlike any other and now she was perched on the edge of an echoing abyss, about to fall, to be lost forever. But Fate stepped in, just in the nick of time. When Calleigh couldn't get to Horatio, Fate brought him to her.
Love clutched at her left hand, helped her reach out to him with her right.
Calleigh launched herself into the safety of his arms, her tears flowing in a cathartic release of irrepressible emotions.
Horatio was mesmerized. He held her close, taking her into his heart, into his very soul.
As her crying began to subside, she tried to pull away from him, but he wasn't ready to relinquish his hold. Instead, he rocked her tenderly within his embrace for a few moments, and when he felt her begin to tremble under his touch, he lowered his arms and let her go with his eyes.
In a hoarse voice, his throat covered with cobwebs, he whispered, "You won't always be a secret to me."
"I'm *so* sorry, Horatio. I should have told someone about getting the roses," she admitted tearfully.
"You should have told *me*," Horatio corrected gently. "Don't you trust me?"
The words stung bitterly.
Calleigh hung her head, a veil of hair concealing her face from him.
Horatio carefully lifted a few of the golden strands and tucked them behind her ear, his touch lingering on her bruised cheek too long, yet not long enough.
"Oh, God, Horatio. I do. I do trust you. I just didn't want the team to think less of me. I didn't want to be treated like a victim...and look what happened. I became one anyway."
She quickly sprang from her seat and took a few steps away from him before he could stop her.
"I messed up big time, Horatio. I let you down. I let the team down. I could have lost my job...but, I *do* trust you. I lo-"
Calleigh froze, afraid to finish the word. She looked at him, her eyes as wide as saucers.
Horatio's soft smile and glistening eyes told her instantly that he understood, and, in fact, felt the same way.
"You can say it, you know," he prodded gently, a note of hope in his voice. "I love you, too."
She kept silent, bewilderment etched across her face. She was afraid to hope for it, afraid to believe it.
"Oh, Horatio, how? How could you possibly, after all this? *I* don't even like what I see when I look in the mirror now."
She turned her back once again, hiding as much from herself as from him.
Horatio rose from the sofa and quietly stepped up behind her, lightly grasping her by the shoulders, giving them a little squeeze and prompting her to turn and face him.
With all the sincerity he could convey, he murmured, "Then look in my eyes, because I'm all the mirror you'll ever need."
With infinite gentleness he took her face in his hands and lifted it toward his own.
"I think I've loved you forever, Calleigh Duquesne," he whispered, his voice crackling with emotion.
Time hung in the balance, suspended from tethers held in the hands of Destiny. They came together as soul mates, lovers long denied the comfort of each other.
Their lips met again and again, sealing their future with tender, languorous kisses.
Arm-in-arm they made their way back to the sofa, cuddling there as though it was an oft-indulged habit. Stillness reined for a long while until Horatio broke the spell.
He gently pushed her up and away from him saying, "Please promise me you won't do anything like this again."
"You mean this?" she asked coyly, kissing first his left cheek, then his right, in a transparent attempt to distract him.
Horatio grew serious and took both her hands in his.
"I mean it, Calleigh. You can't go around putting yourself in harm's way all the time. My heart can't take it."
Calleigh's southern pride and independent streak came to light.
"How 'bout I promise to try my best not to keep from you any more of those secrets you talked about earlier?" She grinned impishly, waiting for his reply.
Horatio chuckled and cocked his head to the side.
"I have a feeling that's the best offer I'm gonna get." He smiled and drew her in for another kiss.
Calleigh pulled away from him suddenly, as though stricken.
"Oh, Lord, Horatio. I just realized something--I haven't really told you. I haven't *actually* said it."
"What?" Horatio was puzzled.
Her eyes held him deeply, potent emotions coursing between them.
A single tear drifted down her cheek and fell onto his chest.
"I love you, Horatio. So much."
The rest would come later, but for now they were content just to bask in this moment, to revel in their newfound joy.
He cradled her in his arms once again and buried his face in her hair.
"And I you, Calleigh, my beautiful rose..." he whispered, "And I, you."
~~~~~
Finis.
~~~~~ Chapter Five: The Rose ~~~~~
Two Days Later
Alexx stood at her autopsy table, scalpel in hand, ready to make a y- incision. When she heard the door swing open behind her, she waited, a knowing smile drifting across her face. She knew he'd be here eventually.
"How are you coming with the Huffman results, Alexx?" He spoke abruptly, his attempt at sounding casual falling short.
The half irritated, half amused medical examiner shifted around to face him and grumbled, "Child, I've been done for hours. Those IAB folks stood over me until I finished the post last night. It wasn't a 'kill shot,' Horatio. He bled out."
She watched as Horatio closed his eyes briefly, a bit of relief registering there, but his face remained pinched, complete absolution continuing to elude him.
She spoke up quickly, yet comfortingly, to impart words of wisdom she knew he needed to hear.
"Competition makes men possessive, Horatio. He wanted what he couldn't have." Alexx sighed, glancing across the morgue toward the still-tormented leader of CSI. "And from what I've heard, the monster got what he deserved. I'm just sorry you feel guilty for giving it to him."
She knew, even if Horatio wasn't willing to say so, that short of his own death, nothing would have stopped him from getting to Calleigh before it was too late. He wouldn't have let Huffman take her away from him.
"Mmm...yes, what he deserved. That's for IAB to decide, now, isn't it?"
When his cell phone trilled, Horatio excused himself and stepped into the hallway, grateful this time for the interruption.
Frank Tripp began speaking at once, his imposing voice filling Horatio's ear.
"It's over--fastest IAB inquiry in the history of the department. They ruled it a justifiable shooting, 'in the line of duty' and all that jazz. You're off the hook."
"What about Calleigh?" Horatio asked immediately, pretense no longer necessary.
"She'll have to see the department shrink--that's procedure--no getting around it. But other than that, it looks like she's in the clear too."
Horatio audibly released a shaky breath.
Tripp snickered, "That must have been some speech you made to the panel. They're not planning to go after her for obstruction of justice, withholding evidence or anything else."
"I would have done the same for anyone on my team. It's my job."
Tripp wasn't buying it. "It's more than that, and you and I both know it. You can't kid a kidder, Horatio, so don't even try."
Horatio could hear the grin in Frank's voice; nevertheless, he steered the conversation onto more serious ground.
"I hope I have your word, Frank, that this stays between us."
Tripp huffed exaggeratedly. "Horatio, man, how long we known each other, a couple days short of forever?"
Twin chuckles echoed across the cell phone waves.
"Something like that, yeah." Horatio replied, his tension beginning to ease slightly.
"Okay, then you know you've got my word. Hell, I'll even go you one better...if I was gonna give you up, I'd have done it last year during the Otis jailbreak. The whole department was on to you two like white on rice back then!"
Horatio groaned. "*Goodbye* Frank." Then, much more sincerely, "And Frank...thank you."
"No problem. It's the least I can do since you've pulled my ass out of the fire more times than I can even remember."
The comrades-in-arms clicked off the call.
Horatio turned to rejoin Alexx, but found he didn't have to go far since she was standing just behind him blocking his path back to the morgue.
"I work better alone, Horatio," she grinned. "Besides, I happen to know you have somewhere else you'd rather be."
Her pointed stare brooked no argument.
"Not you too, Alexx?" Horatio groused.
Her patented omniscient smile would have been funny if Horatio hadn't known she was right.
"Yes, me. Now go--and don't give me any of that 'she doesn't want to see me' crap, either. I drove the girl home from the hospital this morning-- you're the *only* one she wants to see."
Horatio leaned down and placed a feather-light kiss on the ME's forehead, to which Alexx winked affectionately in return.
"I hope you're right, Alexx. I hope you're right," Horatio murmured as he turned to leave.
"Sugar, I'll tell you like I tell my kids...I'm *always* right!"
~~~~~
Horatio, his sunglasses dangling precariously from his fingertips, paused to admire the craftsmanship of Calleigh's new front door. The workmen he hired had finished the job in record time. The newly installed pine wood barrier was one of two obstacles standing between him and the woman on the other side--the woman he loved. He could finally admit it...he did love her...now it was time to let *her* know. The door was an obstacle he could easily overcome. Calleigh's fragile state was quite another story.
He lifted the doorknocker and tapped it softly on the strike plate several times. When that brought no results, he pressed the doorbell button. After an eternity of seconds, the door came open slowly, the scene of Calleigh's ordeal laid bare before him.
Calleigh stepped timidly out from behind the door looking more haggard than Horatio had ever seen her. A small gauze bandage taped near her temple covered most of the damage, but she couldn't hide the bruising on her cheek, so dark and ominous-looking. What shocked Horatio the most, though, was her eyes--they were sad and lonely, distant--empty, almost. She wouldn't look at him; instead, she focused on the floor near his feet.
He opened his mouth, but nothing came out. He knew that if he did speak, he should say something worth the words. Deflecting for a moment, he tucked his sunglasses into his suit coat pocket then looked back to Calleigh. Not trusting his voice just yet, he cautiously reached up and cradled her face in his hand, his thumb caressing her uninjured cheek as gently as a whisper.
When she could stand it no longer, Calleigh looked upward, her eyes coming to rest on his like a butterfly on a flower, the expression on her face like a sigh, though she said not a word.
A ripple of heat passed through her body and into his, lodging itself in his heart.
"The IAB inquiry is finished," he stated simply.
Calleigh was dangerously unemotional. "I talked to Tripp a little while ago. He told me everything."
Horatio took her by the hand and led her to the living room, its space still vibrating with the tensions of the insidious acts that had taken place there.
Not sure if she'd be comfortable sitting on the sofa, he guided her toward one of the side chairs. She stopped walking and tugged on his arm.
"It's alright. I can use the sofa, if you'll sit with me."
He didn't hesitate for a second...he walked her over to the couch and sat down slowly, urging her to join him, which she did willingly, moving in close to him-not touching, but near enough to be able to draw from the warmth radiating off his body.
Horatio watched the internal struggle play out on Calleigh's face; it was as though she was taking stock of herself and a tidal wave of guilt was crashing over her because of the things she was seeing.
Calleigh throbbed on the inside, the thrill of Horatio's presence at war with intense feelings of shame. She had compromised the investigation and very nearly paid for it with her life. Over the past couple of days, she had been catapulted into an emotional place unlike any other and now she was perched on the edge of an echoing abyss, about to fall, to be lost forever. But Fate stepped in, just in the nick of time. When Calleigh couldn't get to Horatio, Fate brought him to her.
Love clutched at her left hand, helped her reach out to him with her right.
Calleigh launched herself into the safety of his arms, her tears flowing in a cathartic release of irrepressible emotions.
Horatio was mesmerized. He held her close, taking her into his heart, into his very soul.
As her crying began to subside, she tried to pull away from him, but he wasn't ready to relinquish his hold. Instead, he rocked her tenderly within his embrace for a few moments, and when he felt her begin to tremble under his touch, he lowered his arms and let her go with his eyes.
In a hoarse voice, his throat covered with cobwebs, he whispered, "You won't always be a secret to me."
"I'm *so* sorry, Horatio. I should have told someone about getting the roses," she admitted tearfully.
"You should have told *me*," Horatio corrected gently. "Don't you trust me?"
The words stung bitterly.
Calleigh hung her head, a veil of hair concealing her face from him.
Horatio carefully lifted a few of the golden strands and tucked them behind her ear, his touch lingering on her bruised cheek too long, yet not long enough.
"Oh, God, Horatio. I do. I do trust you. I just didn't want the team to think less of me. I didn't want to be treated like a victim...and look what happened. I became one anyway."
She quickly sprang from her seat and took a few steps away from him before he could stop her.
"I messed up big time, Horatio. I let you down. I let the team down. I could have lost my job...but, I *do* trust you. I lo-"
Calleigh froze, afraid to finish the word. She looked at him, her eyes as wide as saucers.
Horatio's soft smile and glistening eyes told her instantly that he understood, and, in fact, felt the same way.
"You can say it, you know," he prodded gently, a note of hope in his voice. "I love you, too."
She kept silent, bewilderment etched across her face. She was afraid to hope for it, afraid to believe it.
"Oh, Horatio, how? How could you possibly, after all this? *I* don't even like what I see when I look in the mirror now."
She turned her back once again, hiding as much from herself as from him.
Horatio rose from the sofa and quietly stepped up behind her, lightly grasping her by the shoulders, giving them a little squeeze and prompting her to turn and face him.
With all the sincerity he could convey, he murmured, "Then look in my eyes, because I'm all the mirror you'll ever need."
With infinite gentleness he took her face in his hands and lifted it toward his own.
"I think I've loved you forever, Calleigh Duquesne," he whispered, his voice crackling with emotion.
Time hung in the balance, suspended from tethers held in the hands of Destiny. They came together as soul mates, lovers long denied the comfort of each other.
Their lips met again and again, sealing their future with tender, languorous kisses.
Arm-in-arm they made their way back to the sofa, cuddling there as though it was an oft-indulged habit. Stillness reined for a long while until Horatio broke the spell.
He gently pushed her up and away from him saying, "Please promise me you won't do anything like this again."
"You mean this?" she asked coyly, kissing first his left cheek, then his right, in a transparent attempt to distract him.
Horatio grew serious and took both her hands in his.
"I mean it, Calleigh. You can't go around putting yourself in harm's way all the time. My heart can't take it."
Calleigh's southern pride and independent streak came to light.
"How 'bout I promise to try my best not to keep from you any more of those secrets you talked about earlier?" She grinned impishly, waiting for his reply.
Horatio chuckled and cocked his head to the side.
"I have a feeling that's the best offer I'm gonna get." He smiled and drew her in for another kiss.
Calleigh pulled away from him suddenly, as though stricken.
"Oh, Lord, Horatio. I just realized something--I haven't really told you. I haven't *actually* said it."
"What?" Horatio was puzzled.
Her eyes held him deeply, potent emotions coursing between them.
A single tear drifted down her cheek and fell onto his chest.
"I love you, Horatio. So much."
The rest would come later, but for now they were content just to bask in this moment, to revel in their newfound joy.
He cradled her in his arms once again and buried his face in her hair.
"And I you, Calleigh, my beautiful rose..." he whispered, "And I, you."
~~~~~
Finis.