Title: The Fake Engagement [4/?]
Author: Dylan
Rating: PG-13
Disclaimer: I don't own anything, but the plot, Maria Rodriguez, Mackenzie
Adams and Sally Johnson, Jackie, Tyler, Chloe, and Zachary...
A/N: Yes, I admit it...I'm obsessed with gum, spearmint gum to be specific...BTW, "Sueños dulces, mi amor" is Spanish and it means "Sweet dreams, my love." Now I think that 'amor' is the male version, but I couldn't find the female version, and I didn't want to put my own version, or what I thought 'female lover' meant in Spanish so I left it. Enjoy! Toodles!
"Would the passengers of Flight 476 please begin to board? Les passagers du vol 476 commenceraient-ils s'il vous plait à embarquer?" The announcement blared over the exclamations of voices, some happy greetings, and some sad farewells.
"Looks like we came just in time," Horatio murmured in Calleigh's ear, for they had just walked through the sliding doors of the airport when the announcement was made.
Calleigh flashed him a smile, "Your timing is always impeccable."
She looked at her ticket, tucked it into her purse, and grabbed Horatio's hand with her free one. "C'mon, our plane is taking off, all the way across the airport!"
As they raced through the throes of people, Calleigh glanced up at him, and marveled how calm and cool Horatio always managed to look. Even while running through a packed airport.
They stopped in front of a baggage-loading desk, and quickly got their suitcases boarded. They got to the boarding desk, when Calleigh saw two people, a man and woman.
The thing that caught her attention was that the woman had long blonde hair, while the man had auburn hair. Calleigh hid a smile, it wasn't everyday when you saw your identical twin in the airport.
It seemed the women was leaving, judging by her suitcases, and the man was probably her close friend.
All of Calleigh's platonic thoughts crashed when the woman turned, dropped her suitcases, wrapped her arms around the man's neck and gave him a deep, long kiss. It was the sort of kiss lovers gave each other in the movies.
Calleigh had to look away; the image was too familiar for her to bear. It saddened her that that was what she wanted but couldn't have.
She tried to look up at Horatio discreetly, to see if he saw the couple.
If he did, he did when she wasn't looking because now he was looking at her with such intensity in his eyes.
Horatio mentally shook his head, "Let's go, Cal...or else we won't be able to see Hagen and his wife."
Calleigh rolled her eyes, but a smile graced her lips, "God forbid anything like that would happen."
With a final glance at the two lovers, Calleigh followed Horatio to the desk. She smiled at the women behind the check-in desk...Chloe, her nametag said.
She handed their tickets back, and gave them a smile, talking to Horatio, when Calleigh appeared at his side. "You...and your wife have a good time."
Chloe paused at their silence, and suddenly looked embarrassed. "Oh, are you two not married?" A flush rose to her cheeks, and she looked completely flustered. "I'm sorry, it's just that...well, you two compliment each other."
Calleigh laughed, and lay a hand on Chloe's arm, comfortingly, "We're engaged, so you were close." Horatio gave her one of his half-smiles, as they left.
Chloe waved at them as they walked off. When they were out of sight, Calleigh let out a deep breath. Horatio, taking this the wrong way, nudged her. "Don't worry, if we can fool the airport lady, we can definitely fool Hagen and Sally."
Calleigh sighed, but curling with happiness inwardly, "If you say so..."
Horatio turned, and grasped her shoulders so she could look at him. She silenced, his piercing gaze searching her face. "We can and we will." His voice was soft, yet hard at the same time. "Believe me when I say this...with you by my side, Cal, we are able to do anything." He dropped her shoulders, and stuck out his elbow, his voice producing a teasing lilt. "Shall we, Miss Duq---Caine?" He grinned at his mistake, and how the ending of her last name sounded like his.
Calleigh gave him a true smile, "We shall, Mister Caine," she replied, slipping her arm through the crook of his. Her hand hovered over his, pausing uncertainly.
Horatio caught her hand with his and threaded his fingers through hers. Together, they walked through the door of the plane.
Settling into their seats, Calleigh couldn't help but giggle at the gurgling baby in the seat next to her. Turning to the mother, she introduced themselves. "I'm Calleigh, and this is my fiancé, Horatio...your child is absolutely beautiful."
She was pleasantly surprised at how easily that line slipped out of her mouth.
The mother smiled, "Hey...I'm Jackie and this little fellow is Zachary. Say hello, Zachary..." She shook the knee on which the baby was on, and Zachary squealed in delight.
"May I?" Calleigh asked, holding her hands out. Nodding, the beaming woman placed her child in Calleigh's arms. "Hello, Zachary..." She turned to Jackie, the baby waving slightly at Horatio, "Do you have anymore children?"
A lump formed in Horatio's throat when he saw how beautiful Calleigh looked with a baby in her arms.
Jackie smiled proudly, "Actually, I have a 6 year old boy who just left to go to the bathroom. You know how kids are...they don't go at home, but then they nee----"
"MOM!!" A small boy with dark hair jumped into the seat next to Jackie, interrupting her. "Mom, did you see the way the toilets FLUSH?"
Horatio raised his eyebrows at the boy, clearly amused at his fascination.
"Tyler, not so loud, please..." Jackie admonished the child, "First say hello to Calleigh and Horatio." Tyler smiled shyly at Calleigh, and turned to Horatio when he saw the gold corner of Horatio's badge peeking out.
"Whoa!" His green eyes widened, as he stood between Horatio's legs and the seat in front of Horatio. He suddenly paused, his manners kicking in.
He looked at Horatio and stuck his chest out importantly, "My name is Tyler, sir, and I'm the man of the house. That's what Dad says...until we meet him. We're meeting Dad today, right, Mom?" Tyler asked, then without waiting for an answer, pointed to Horatio's belt.
"Can I see your badge, Sir?" Tyler made a gun with his thumbs and forefingers, and fired it. "Do you have a gun? Are you a cop?" His eyes switched to Calleigh's smiling face, his eyes full of respect and admiration. "Are you a cop, Miss?"
Horatio locked eyes with Calleigh, silently shaking his head. He knew it wasn't smart or safe to let everyone around them know they were investigators.
Calleigh turned to Tyler, ready to divert his attention from the previous question. She smiled charmingly at the boy, "Do you want to be a cop when you grow up, Tyler?" She made her voice extra Southern-y, knowing Tyler had more than a slight crush on her. She mused at the thought ironically, *Cal, you get crushed on by 6 year olds, but the man you want barely thinks of you in more than a platonic way*
Horatio glanced at Calleigh and her bright smile that was directed at the little tyke, and mentally smacked himself. He was *not* jealous of a SIX year old!! He tuned back into the conversation.
Tyler was nodding vehemently, "Yeah, and I'm going to catch all the bad guys and throw them into the slammer!!" When he said that, Horatio released a deep chuckle that traveled down Calleigh's body, and tingled at her toes.
Tyler climbed back into his seat, his eyes drooping. Apparently, all questions of Horatio's and Calleigh's occupation long forgotten.
The plane began to skim the runway, lifting up, and resulting in a loud, grinding noise. Calleigh shot Horatio a terrified look, her fingers turning white due to the death grip she had on her armrest.
Horatio furrowed his brow; Calleigh hadn't told him she had a phobia of flying. He leaned in close to her ear, "You alright there, Calleigh?"
Calleigh blinked, and looked up at him scathingly, "Oh, sure, Horatio, I'm just fine and dandy."
Horatio frowned, and began to peel her fingers off of the nearest armrest. "Okay, Cal, you need to relax. I'm just going to ask you to calm down. Nothing's going to happen to you...I'm here. Forget everything. Focus on my voice. C'mon, Cal, you can do this." He murmured soothing nothings in her ear, as Calleigh slowly let go of the armrest, with Horatio's assistance.
Her eyes closed, she froze in realization, when her hand was taken off the armrest, and was now enfolded between Horatio's steady hands.
Horatio grazed her face with his thumb, and said comfortingly, "Cal, you need to open your eyes." *I need to see them*
Fully aware of the concerned gaze of Jackie, she opened her eyes and began to breath regularly. "I'm okay..." She said softly, mostly to herself, but Jackie heard her, smiled and turned to her sleeping sons, to leave the 'couple' alone.
Calleigh felt a sharp pain shoot through her ears, and she winced. Horatio figured her ears just popped, and offered her a piece of spearmint gum.
"It relieves the pain. It'll help. Trust me." He explained, handing the small, green stick to her. Calleigh gave him a slight smile, and popped the gum in her mouth.
After chewing it for a bit, she fiddled with her hands, avoiding Horatio's curious gaze. "I...I just wanted...to say...thank you." Calleigh cursed at the simplicity of the sentence, but went on, "You've been so...helpful. Not only with this fear of flying but agreeing with the whole pretending to be a husband charade."
Horatio cracked a smile, and lifted her chin up so Calleigh had no choice but look into the eyes she saw in her sleepless nights. "Thank you, but I can't take the full credit." He nodded to the sleeping Tyler. "You handled Officer Tyler there very well."
Calleigh shrugged, a smile appearing on her face, "It was nothing...I guess the Southern accent is an appealing thing to males."
*I agree* That almost slipped out of Horatio's mouth, but he thought it instead. His attention was caught when Calleigh turned away, and her shoulders rose as she stifled a yawn.
As she turned back, Horatio suggested teasingly, "Why don't you catch some shut-eye? To my knowledge, you woke up unusually early today." Calleigh flushed, but nodded. "Wake me up when we get there?" She asked, as she squirmed, trying to find a comfortable spot.
"Of course," Horatio replied, when Jackie saw Calleigh try to produce a comfortable spot and suggested, "Calleigh, dear, whenever I can't find a nice spot, I always snuggle up to my husband."
Calleigh blushed at the idea of *snuggling* with Horatio Caine. Horatio drew his arm around her, after pushing up the armrest that separated them, and pulled her close.
"I won't bite..." He assured her, under his breath, and then paused before continuing.
"Unless you want me to."
Calleigh's head shot up, and she had an uncertain, yet brazen look on her face. Afraid he had crossed the line, Horatio loosened his grip on her and was about to pull away when Calleigh caught his arm.
"Not in front of the nice passengers, Baby," She replied, giving him a soy wink from under her lashes. Horatio swallowed at her come-hither stare, as she pulled his arms around her securely.
Horatio looked down at her, and with sudden inspiration, leaned down and gave her a tender kiss on the cheek, while whispering in their secret language.
"Sueños dulces, mi amor"
A/N: Yes, I admit it...I'm obsessed with gum, spearmint gum to be specific...BTW, "Sueños dulces, mi amor" is Spanish and it means "Sweet dreams, my love." Now I think that 'amor' is the male version, but I couldn't find the female version, and I didn't want to put my own version, or what I thought 'female lover' meant in Spanish so I left it. Enjoy! Toodles!
"Would the passengers of Flight 476 please begin to board? Les passagers du vol 476 commenceraient-ils s'il vous plait à embarquer?" The announcement blared over the exclamations of voices, some happy greetings, and some sad farewells.
"Looks like we came just in time," Horatio murmured in Calleigh's ear, for they had just walked through the sliding doors of the airport when the announcement was made.
Calleigh flashed him a smile, "Your timing is always impeccable."
She looked at her ticket, tucked it into her purse, and grabbed Horatio's hand with her free one. "C'mon, our plane is taking off, all the way across the airport!"
As they raced through the throes of people, Calleigh glanced up at him, and marveled how calm and cool Horatio always managed to look. Even while running through a packed airport.
They stopped in front of a baggage-loading desk, and quickly got their suitcases boarded. They got to the boarding desk, when Calleigh saw two people, a man and woman.
The thing that caught her attention was that the woman had long blonde hair, while the man had auburn hair. Calleigh hid a smile, it wasn't everyday when you saw your identical twin in the airport.
It seemed the women was leaving, judging by her suitcases, and the man was probably her close friend.
All of Calleigh's platonic thoughts crashed when the woman turned, dropped her suitcases, wrapped her arms around the man's neck and gave him a deep, long kiss. It was the sort of kiss lovers gave each other in the movies.
Calleigh had to look away; the image was too familiar for her to bear. It saddened her that that was what she wanted but couldn't have.
She tried to look up at Horatio discreetly, to see if he saw the couple.
If he did, he did when she wasn't looking because now he was looking at her with such intensity in his eyes.
Horatio mentally shook his head, "Let's go, Cal...or else we won't be able to see Hagen and his wife."
Calleigh rolled her eyes, but a smile graced her lips, "God forbid anything like that would happen."
With a final glance at the two lovers, Calleigh followed Horatio to the desk. She smiled at the women behind the check-in desk...Chloe, her nametag said.
She handed their tickets back, and gave them a smile, talking to Horatio, when Calleigh appeared at his side. "You...and your wife have a good time."
Chloe paused at their silence, and suddenly looked embarrassed. "Oh, are you two not married?" A flush rose to her cheeks, and she looked completely flustered. "I'm sorry, it's just that...well, you two compliment each other."
Calleigh laughed, and lay a hand on Chloe's arm, comfortingly, "We're engaged, so you were close." Horatio gave her one of his half-smiles, as they left.
Chloe waved at them as they walked off. When they were out of sight, Calleigh let out a deep breath. Horatio, taking this the wrong way, nudged her. "Don't worry, if we can fool the airport lady, we can definitely fool Hagen and Sally."
Calleigh sighed, but curling with happiness inwardly, "If you say so..."
Horatio turned, and grasped her shoulders so she could look at him. She silenced, his piercing gaze searching her face. "We can and we will." His voice was soft, yet hard at the same time. "Believe me when I say this...with you by my side, Cal, we are able to do anything." He dropped her shoulders, and stuck out his elbow, his voice producing a teasing lilt. "Shall we, Miss Duq---Caine?" He grinned at his mistake, and how the ending of her last name sounded like his.
Calleigh gave him a true smile, "We shall, Mister Caine," she replied, slipping her arm through the crook of his. Her hand hovered over his, pausing uncertainly.
Horatio caught her hand with his and threaded his fingers through hers. Together, they walked through the door of the plane.
Settling into their seats, Calleigh couldn't help but giggle at the gurgling baby in the seat next to her. Turning to the mother, she introduced themselves. "I'm Calleigh, and this is my fiancé, Horatio...your child is absolutely beautiful."
She was pleasantly surprised at how easily that line slipped out of her mouth.
The mother smiled, "Hey...I'm Jackie and this little fellow is Zachary. Say hello, Zachary..." She shook the knee on which the baby was on, and Zachary squealed in delight.
"May I?" Calleigh asked, holding her hands out. Nodding, the beaming woman placed her child in Calleigh's arms. "Hello, Zachary..." She turned to Jackie, the baby waving slightly at Horatio, "Do you have anymore children?"
A lump formed in Horatio's throat when he saw how beautiful Calleigh looked with a baby in her arms.
Jackie smiled proudly, "Actually, I have a 6 year old boy who just left to go to the bathroom. You know how kids are...they don't go at home, but then they nee----"
"MOM!!" A small boy with dark hair jumped into the seat next to Jackie, interrupting her. "Mom, did you see the way the toilets FLUSH?"
Horatio raised his eyebrows at the boy, clearly amused at his fascination.
"Tyler, not so loud, please..." Jackie admonished the child, "First say hello to Calleigh and Horatio." Tyler smiled shyly at Calleigh, and turned to Horatio when he saw the gold corner of Horatio's badge peeking out.
"Whoa!" His green eyes widened, as he stood between Horatio's legs and the seat in front of Horatio. He suddenly paused, his manners kicking in.
He looked at Horatio and stuck his chest out importantly, "My name is Tyler, sir, and I'm the man of the house. That's what Dad says...until we meet him. We're meeting Dad today, right, Mom?" Tyler asked, then without waiting for an answer, pointed to Horatio's belt.
"Can I see your badge, Sir?" Tyler made a gun with his thumbs and forefingers, and fired it. "Do you have a gun? Are you a cop?" His eyes switched to Calleigh's smiling face, his eyes full of respect and admiration. "Are you a cop, Miss?"
Horatio locked eyes with Calleigh, silently shaking his head. He knew it wasn't smart or safe to let everyone around them know they were investigators.
Calleigh turned to Tyler, ready to divert his attention from the previous question. She smiled charmingly at the boy, "Do you want to be a cop when you grow up, Tyler?" She made her voice extra Southern-y, knowing Tyler had more than a slight crush on her. She mused at the thought ironically, *Cal, you get crushed on by 6 year olds, but the man you want barely thinks of you in more than a platonic way*
Horatio glanced at Calleigh and her bright smile that was directed at the little tyke, and mentally smacked himself. He was *not* jealous of a SIX year old!! He tuned back into the conversation.
Tyler was nodding vehemently, "Yeah, and I'm going to catch all the bad guys and throw them into the slammer!!" When he said that, Horatio released a deep chuckle that traveled down Calleigh's body, and tingled at her toes.
Tyler climbed back into his seat, his eyes drooping. Apparently, all questions of Horatio's and Calleigh's occupation long forgotten.
The plane began to skim the runway, lifting up, and resulting in a loud, grinding noise. Calleigh shot Horatio a terrified look, her fingers turning white due to the death grip she had on her armrest.
Horatio furrowed his brow; Calleigh hadn't told him she had a phobia of flying. He leaned in close to her ear, "You alright there, Calleigh?"
Calleigh blinked, and looked up at him scathingly, "Oh, sure, Horatio, I'm just fine and dandy."
Horatio frowned, and began to peel her fingers off of the nearest armrest. "Okay, Cal, you need to relax. I'm just going to ask you to calm down. Nothing's going to happen to you...I'm here. Forget everything. Focus on my voice. C'mon, Cal, you can do this." He murmured soothing nothings in her ear, as Calleigh slowly let go of the armrest, with Horatio's assistance.
Her eyes closed, she froze in realization, when her hand was taken off the armrest, and was now enfolded between Horatio's steady hands.
Horatio grazed her face with his thumb, and said comfortingly, "Cal, you need to open your eyes." *I need to see them*
Fully aware of the concerned gaze of Jackie, she opened her eyes and began to breath regularly. "I'm okay..." She said softly, mostly to herself, but Jackie heard her, smiled and turned to her sleeping sons, to leave the 'couple' alone.
Calleigh felt a sharp pain shoot through her ears, and she winced. Horatio figured her ears just popped, and offered her a piece of spearmint gum.
"It relieves the pain. It'll help. Trust me." He explained, handing the small, green stick to her. Calleigh gave him a slight smile, and popped the gum in her mouth.
After chewing it for a bit, she fiddled with her hands, avoiding Horatio's curious gaze. "I...I just wanted...to say...thank you." Calleigh cursed at the simplicity of the sentence, but went on, "You've been so...helpful. Not only with this fear of flying but agreeing with the whole pretending to be a husband charade."
Horatio cracked a smile, and lifted her chin up so Calleigh had no choice but look into the eyes she saw in her sleepless nights. "Thank you, but I can't take the full credit." He nodded to the sleeping Tyler. "You handled Officer Tyler there very well."
Calleigh shrugged, a smile appearing on her face, "It was nothing...I guess the Southern accent is an appealing thing to males."
*I agree* That almost slipped out of Horatio's mouth, but he thought it instead. His attention was caught when Calleigh turned away, and her shoulders rose as she stifled a yawn.
As she turned back, Horatio suggested teasingly, "Why don't you catch some shut-eye? To my knowledge, you woke up unusually early today." Calleigh flushed, but nodded. "Wake me up when we get there?" She asked, as she squirmed, trying to find a comfortable spot.
"Of course," Horatio replied, when Jackie saw Calleigh try to produce a comfortable spot and suggested, "Calleigh, dear, whenever I can't find a nice spot, I always snuggle up to my husband."
Calleigh blushed at the idea of *snuggling* with Horatio Caine. Horatio drew his arm around her, after pushing up the armrest that separated them, and pulled her close.
"I won't bite..." He assured her, under his breath, and then paused before continuing.
"Unless you want me to."
Calleigh's head shot up, and she had an uncertain, yet brazen look on her face. Afraid he had crossed the line, Horatio loosened his grip on her and was about to pull away when Calleigh caught his arm.
"Not in front of the nice passengers, Baby," She replied, giving him a soy wink from under her lashes. Horatio swallowed at her come-hither stare, as she pulled his arms around her securely.
Horatio looked down at her, and with sudden inspiration, leaned down and gave her a tender kiss on the cheek, while whispering in their secret language.
"Sueños dulces, mi amor"