000

Chapter 7

000

As Horatio walked on the sidewalk with Calleigh's hand in his, the sun, high in the sky, shone down on them making their clothes stick to them. Luckily, the cool sea breeze blew once in a while, giving them a break now and again from the intolerable heat.

They came across a bunch of burly construction workers with their soaked shirts clinging to their backs going off on their lunch break. God, Calleigh thought, they must be dying, working in this heat. Walking pass them, one of them, a dark tall man facing Calleigh, smiled and tipped his hard helmet. Three others that were grouped in front of him, turned to see who he was saluting. One said, "Look there," elbowing the one beside him.
The three walked over to the sidewalk, going by Calleigh, whistling in approval and one commented, "I like what I see."

With a wan smile, Horatio gave them a nod, "Gentlemen."

The dark tall man lagged behind the others and when he passed Calleigh, she stopped to tell him, "That's a fine job you're doing." The other workers turned around, listening.

The man wiped his sweaty forehead, "Thank you ma'am. It gets pretty tough with the beautiful weather we're having."

"I bet." She smiled and asked, over the whistling of the other men standing a few steps away, "What are you building?"

"A hotel for mister Trump."

"Really? Wow, well, good luck with that."

"Thank you. Take care, ma'am," he looked at Horatio, "Sir." Then audaciously said, "You're a lucky man."

"Don't I know it," Horatio squeezed Calleigh's hand.

"Nice talking to you... ah..." Calleigh trailed off.

"Joe. People call me big Joe... for obvious reasons."

"Have a nice day, Joe."

"You too." Joe replied.

"Keep up the good work, fellas." Calleigh said loud enough for the men listening close by to hear.
They continued walking and Horatio mulled over how happy he was. They had a lovely morning together, sharing the shower, eating breakfast together and walking down to the fruit and veggie market. The strawberries smelled so good, Calleigh couldn't resist buying some and eating them as they walked along, shopping for fruits and vegetables. They had stopped at Art&Home because Calleigh loved browsing the new contemporary furnishings and decorating accessories. She told him she was seriously thinking of getting one of those tall white vases to put fresh flowers in every day.

Calleigh, equally deep in thought, looked up at the sky and then at the flowers in front of expansive hotels and restaurants. She never thought she could be so consumed by love. Everything took on a new meaning, everything looked beautiful and, lighthearted, she took the time to see the natural beauty of life.
She had her hair down today and had curled her wavy locks; something she hadn't done in a long time. She looked completely different, but, to Horatio, as always, completely divine.

Walking along the street, they encountered someone they knew and weren't too thrilled to see, but it happened all too quickly that they hadn't found the time to act fast. Calleigh had seen the black dog coming straight for her and had held onto his collar to hold him and pet him. Seeing the owner, Horatio instinctively froze, squeezing her hand. Calleigh lifted her head from her crouched position where she caressed the dog.

"Calleigh, hi." John Hagen had recognized her face.

"John - " she said, removing her sunglasses, pretending to be happy to see him. She left Horatio's hand and straightened.

Horatio glanced at his empty hand and Calleigh noticed. Knowing what she had done, she regretted it a second later.

"I barely recognized you, what with ah... what's different?" John asked.

"Must be the hair," Calleigh explained.

"Yeah! That's it. It's nice."

"Thanks."

"John." Horatio, courteously, gave John a nod, removing his shades.

John greeted him dryly, "Horatio."

Breaking the cold looks, Calleigh said, "I didn't know you had a dog, John."

Still staring at Horatio, John answered, "Ah, no." He sweetly looked at Calleigh, "He's my friend's. Just taking care of him while my buddy's out of town."

"Oh, I see. What's his name?" she patted the dog and he wagged his tail in response.

"River."

"That's a nice name for a pretty boy like you, yes, yes it is." Calleigh cooed.

"He's a regular chick-magnet if you ask me. He has no sense of personal space and goes directly to anyone we cross."

"Nice way of meeting people. Who could resist that face?" she stroked the dog's muzzle.

"Well, I should get going - " John said feeling the intensity of Horatio's perusal.

"Have a nice walk, River. Bye, John."

"Seeya Cal. Take care, Horatio."

"Always." Horatio watched him walk in the opposite direction John had come then fingered his sunglasses again, saying, "Well, that was unexpected."

Calleigh, unsure if he was referring to bumping into John or to her leaving his hand because of John, placed a comforting hand on his arm.

"Horatio, I - "

He shook his head and repeated the words she had told him, "You don't have to say anything. I know John and I know how he is."

"So, we're okay?"

"Yeah," he locked eyes with hers and offered her his hand. She willingly gave hers and they started walking again.

Horatio knew there were a lot of men after Calleigh and he was happy to be the one she had chosen; the one she looked at so lovingly; the one who made her laugh and smile like no other.

000

Monday had come quickly and Horatio's heart sunk when he reached over and discovered he was alone. He got out of bed, remembering Calleigh and him had both gone their separate ways last night, in order to get ready for work this morning. They knew they would have to figure out how they were going to play this... With John having seen them together, keeping it low profile wasn't going to last very long.

"Hey, looked for you in firearms - " Horatio told Calleigh as he hunkered behind her, closer than usual.

"I'm heading back, actually,"she said candidly, feeling his body heat around her. She momentarily closed her eyes feeling the same surge of happiness rush through her like the other night.

"Heading back where?" he asked resting his hands on his hips.

She spun around and gave him a faint smile, "Home. If my LT will let me - "

He swallowed quickly, "Sure." Then licked his lips, "May I ask why?"

"I'm not feeling so well. I asked Eric to drive me back."
Horatio sucked his lower lip under his upper one. She did look pale.

"You know what, I've got an errand to run, but I'll call you as soon as I can and see how you're doing, okay?"

He took a quick look around and kissed her forehead.
"If anything, I'll be right over, okay?" he whispered.

"Horatio, it's probably just something that's been going around, I'll be fine."

"I want you to call me without fail... will you do that?"

She rolled her eyes at his over-protectiveness, "Yes, Horatio."

"Okay." He nodded, "Good, then see you soon."

"Yeah," she moved by him.

Before exiting the lab, she turned to look at him one last time. She saw he was still standing there with his head low.

"Horatio," she called out.

"Ye-ah," he turned, an eyebrow raised.

"Don't worry about me."

"That," he lifted his eyes, staring with determination, "is impossible."

000

Calleigh arrived home, after being dropped off by Eric. She hated leaving work, letting the team down, but Eric had been able to convince her she was doing the right thing. It was true; she was of no use sick at work.

Feverish, her trembling hands couldn't hold up a firearm and the case demanded firearm testing.

Sweet, as usual, Eric told her not to worry and to concentrate on getting better.

She trudged towards the bathroom and felt worse now that she saw how pale her complexion had gotten since this morning. She had gotten sick during the night, but refused to stay home from work. Partly, because she was bull-headed; partly, because of Horatio. She didn't want him to think she was avoiding him.

Rubbing her temples, she decided rest was the best solution and went to her bedroom to un-holster her gun and change.

She walked back to the living room, with a big blanket to lie with, on the couch, wearing pajama pants and a long sleeved shirt. She knew without a doubt that she was sick because she was never cold like this in the middle of the day.

Setting the blanket down, she stepped back into the kitchen and got a glass of water, a thermometer and a few Aspirin for her head-splitting headache.

She popped two Aspirins and took her temperature. 101 degrees Fahrenheit - she did have a fever. She huddled on the couch, covering herself with the blanket. Switching sides a few times to find the right spot, she dozed off and within a few minutes, she was dead to the world.

Meanwhile, Horatio dwelled on Calleigh's health wondering if it had anything to do with what they ate yesterday, but they had eaten the same thing and he felt fine.

Bottom line was: he wouldn't belittle his Calleigh being ill, although he had to concentrate on guiding the team through the recent murder case and run an errand before he could completely commit to her.

After checking up on the team, he decided to run his errand before lunch. Best not to postpone what you can do now, he thought.

"Yelina. Hi." Horatio said, standing before her desk at the Miami-Dade Police Department.

"Hey," she said softly, standing over her desk, obviously getting ready to leave for somewhere.

"I was wondering if I could come by and see Ray Jr." He had made a promise to see him at least once a week and it had been a few weeks now since the last time he'd seen him.

"Um, yeah. Sure." She replaced her purse securely on her shoulder, pulling down on her sleeve at the same time.

It was too late. Horatio had seen the purple bruise on her arm.

"Yelina?" he crossed over to her side of the desk and gently brought his hand up, moving closer to examine the bruise.

"It's nothing." She whooshed his hand away.

"Nothing?" He held a steady gaze. "Who did this to you?"

"Horatio, it's not your problem."

"Since when is my family getting hurt not my problem?" Now, he was seriously concerned about her. "It's Stetler, isn't it?"

She shook her head.

"Yelina, don't lie to me." He was seething. Did she think she could lie to his face?

Tears threatened to fall, "I'd really like for you to take Ray for a few days. I know he will be alright at your place."

"What about you? He's done it once, he'll do it again. You can't go on like this."

"No, he said he was sorry and that he loves me."

"He's lying and you know that." Horatio's jaw flinched.

"I love him too."

"You're better than that, Yelina. You can find someone who truly cares about you - "

"What? You mean, someone like you."

His gaze fell, she had struck a chord.

"You know that - "

She cut him off, "You're dating Calleigh?"

Blinking, he looked at her in astonishment.

"She's a lucky woman."

"Not nearly as much as I am."

"You look happy."

"I am and I want you to be as well."

She fumbled with her purse's strap, "Ray needs a father."

"I know that, but do you think a man who hurts you and is a potential danger to your son is better than no father at all?"

She looked over Horatio's shoulder, avoiding his harsh look.

"I know. I'm thinking of breaking up with him."

"I think that would be a good idea - the sooner the better."

"Yeah, well, I gotta go."

"Alright. I'll pick up Ray after school. You take care."

"Thanks, I'll try."

She started to walk away, but Horatio made her stop and look back, "Yelina - "

"Yeah?"

"Don't hesitate to call me, okay?" It pained him to see her this way.

"Yeah."

TBC...