Disclaimer: At this point, you've already read it.

A/N: It's been a long ride (longer than I planned) and I'm very grateful you're still here to read it. It's now Friday afternoon and I plan one more day with Horatio and Madison. Thank you so much for your feedback and I hope you enjoy the following chapter. What would really help me, as an author and fanwriter, is if, when you offer me reviews, you could tell me what you liked, what parts (scenes, phrases, actions) you liked and why and if they worked the way I hoped they would. Thank you so much for reading my fic and sharing this time with Madison and Horatio with me.

Calleigh's yellow Jeep was already parked in Alexx and Dennis' driveway when Horatio and Madison arrived. He frowned slightly, wondering what time his team had left CSI but quickly put it out of his mind.

The Woods home was a graceful, newer house in South Beach, about two miles from Biscayne Bay. The afternoon sun lit up the red Spanish tiles on the roof. Horatio pulled his Lexus alongside the curb. With an announcement of "We're here" to Madison, Horatio stepped out of the car, adjusted his sunglasses, and opened the back door for his niece. Madison hopped out, steadied her own sunglasses in perfect imitation of her uncle, and slipped her hand into his.

Alexx was waiting for them at the door with a smile. She greeted them both with a brief hug and kiss on the cheek.

"Are you enjoying your visit with your uncle?" she asked Madison warmly.

Madison grinned and bobbed her head. "Yep!" she told Alexx. "We went to the beach and on a boat and I got to see a dolphin. And today we went for pancakes."

Alexx chuckled and led them inside. "That's good," she said. They walked through the house and out to the lanai. "I was hoping you would have a good time."

"I'm sure you were, Alexx," Horatio said. She flashed him a grin.

They stepped outside. Eric and Dennis were sitting at the table, each with a beer. Dennis stood up to shake Horatio's hand.

"Good to see you again," he greeted. "Can I get you a drink?"

Horatio smiled in return. "I'll have a beer, too."

Dennis stepped over to the small outside refrigerator. Alexx had gone to the side of the lanai and called to the two children playing on the swingset. "Janie, Bryan, I want you to come meet Madison!"

"Where's Calleigh?" Horatio asked, taking a seat next to Eric.

Eric waved his beer bottle toward the sliding glass doors. "In the kitchen, helping Alexx," he said.

Janie and Bryan ran across the backyard to the lanai door, where Alexx introduced Madison. The little girl looked at the two older kids shyly until Janie took her hand.

"Why don't you take Madison to meet Lizzie?" Alexx suggested.

Janie nodded and looked down to Madison. "You wanna see our cat?"

Madison grinned brightly and bobbed her head. The two girls ran into the house. With a wry glance at his mother, Bryan followed, muttering, "Girls and cats."

"Alexx says you've had your niece all week," Dennis said, handing Horatio the beer. "How've you been holding up?"

Horatio accepted the bottle and took a long drink before answering. "I have a new appreciation for my mother as a single parent," he told Dennis. "Madison is a handful on her own and Mom had two boys."

Dennis took his seat and grinned at Horatio. "I don't know what I'd do without Alexx," he said. "That woman works wonders with our kids."

"Not just kids," Eric chimed in. He stood up. "I'm going to go check on Cal. It can't take that long to fix a salad." He left the lanai.

Dennis watched him go and shook his head. "Are they dancing around each other again?"

Horatio took another sip and nodded. "Yep," he said. "Although I think this time they might actually make a go of it."

Dennis sat back. "Well, good." He checked his watch. "We're having ribs. I guess I should check with Alexx and get those started."

Alexx stepped through the door just then, carrying a tray with meat on it. Dennis moved quickly to help her through the door and laid a kiss on her check as he took the tray over to the gas grill. Callie and Eric followed her; Callie carrying her drink and Alexx's.

"Hey, Handsome," Callie greeted Horatio with a smile. "Nice to see you again."

Horatio chuckled. "I'm making up for lost time," he told her.

"I know," she said, "a whole three days away from the lab. I think that must be a first."

"He needed it," Alexx answered, returning from the grill, cutting off any retort Horatio would have attempted. Dennis was busy lighting and scraping the grill for dinner. "And what's this about a dolphin saving Madison yesterday? She's telling Janie about your boat trip."

Horatio groaned. He had hoped to avoid recapping that particular adventure. He was spared momentarily by the door sliding open again. Janie and Madison came through, carrying a calico cat. The cat did not seem at all pleased by the arrangement, as she was squirming in Janie's arms. Most likely because the girls had dressed the cat in doll clothes.

Janie was giggling along with Madison. "Mom!" she called. "Lizzie's dressed for dinner!"

Alexx looked the girls over and took pity on the cat. "Jane Marie, you get poor Lizzie out of those clothes. And get your brother and Madison ready for dinner."

Janie rolled her eyes and said, "Yes, Mom" before leading Madison back into the house. Callie let out a small giggle when the door shut.

"And you," she turned to Callie, "don't encourage her."

"Yes, Mom," Callie repeated but her eyes danced merrily.

Alexx knocked Eric's feet from the table. "That's right, baby," she said. "You could do with a little more mothering."

"I have a mom," Eric informed Alexx.

Alexx appraised him with her eyes. "And what does she have to say about this?"

"Que debo parar el ser un asno y tomar la oportunidad me ha dado de el Dios.," he muttered into his drink.

"Si," Alexx snapped. "Eso correcto. Escuches tu madre." She turned on Callie with an equal look. "Y tu, tambien."

With that, she opened the door and headed back to the kitchen.

Horatio watched the exchange with amusement. "And…what did you do now?" he had to ask.

Eric and Calleigh exchanged glances. Horatio waited patiently. Spanish from Alexx usually meant there was a good story behind it.

"We were late getting back to CSI," Calleigh admitted finally.

Eric abruptly stood up. "I'm going to see if Dennis needs any help." He quickly left the table.

"I'm going to check on the kids," Calleigh said, also leaving the table and heading into the house.

Horatio watched them go and stared at the empty table for a moment. "Glad we could have this conversation," he said to himself. He set down his beer and went to find Alexx.

Alexx was in the kitchen, taking plates out of the cupboard. She had an amused look on her face, which Horatio took to be a good thing after the outburst of Spanish and the advise to listen to one's mother. He stepped behind her, easily reaching up to the top shelf where Alexx had been stretching.

"Thank you, sugar," she said, taking the plates from him. She set them on the counter while he reached back up for salad bowls. "Now, what did you say to Eric this morning? He spent an hour down in autopsy doing everything possible to not talk about Calleigh."

Horatio reached next for drinking glasses. "Eric, ah, Eric mentioned he might like to have children," Horatio said softly, so they wouldn't be overheard. "I told him not to wait too long before talking with Calleigh."

Alexx let out a long sigh. "That explains it." She took two glasses to the refrigerator and added ice to them. She looked over her shoulder at Horatio. "Now, about Madison."

Horatio's shoulders slumped slightly. He handed Alexx two more glasses for ice.

"What happened yesterday?" she asked. "Because it sounds too fantastic that she was saved by a dolphin."

"Madison fell off the boat," Horatio said, not quite meeting Alexx's eyes. "I fell in after her when I tried to grab her. She was excited to see a real dolphin and we both lost our footing."

Alexx turned around and set the glasses on the countertop. "You fell in Biscayne Bay?"

"Yep," he admitted.

Alexx laughed. The image of a bedraggled Horatio Caine was too much; she leaned back against the counter and worked to catch her breath.

"It's not that funny," he told her, trying not to sound like a whining child.

"Oh," she waved her hand, trying to stop the giggles, "yes, it is."

He shifted his eyes from the floor to his friend. "Alexx –"

She hiccupped and quelled her giggles. "Right, right," she murmured and started to add ice again to the glasses. Another giggle escaped as her shoulders shook in amusement. "So, you're in the water?"

"We're in the water," he continued, ignoring her amusement. "And I can't see her, until the dolphin swims by. It – may – have pushed her toward me. I grabbed her and the tour guide pulled us back on the boat. End of story."

Alexx suppressed another bout of giggles while taking napkins from the pantry. "I see," she said. She filled one of the glasses with water and took a long drink. "Well, other than that fishing expedition, how has the week been for the two of you? Is she doing better?"

Horatio wished he had his sunglasses to play with. He settled, instead, for the dishtowel by the sink. "I think so," he told her. "She, uh, Madison wants to spend some weekends with me. She thinks I'm fun."

Alexx smiled and squeezed his arm. "Horatio, that's a good thing," she told him. "She needs a father-figure in her life. That's very important for little girls. And you," she took the towel from him, "need her in your life. I swear, honey, every time you talk about Madison, you show how much you need this child. She brings out your better angels."

Horatio met Alexx's eyes with his, a small smile on his lips. "Madison is like having my own daughter," he said softly.

Alexx studied Horatio intently for a moment and then placed a small kiss to his cheek. "I know, sugar," she replied. "Now, tell me what you've learned this week."

Horatio thought a moment, unsure what Alexx was asking. It had been an unexpected week, one that differed greatly from what he had originally planned when he agreed to watch Madison while Suzie was away from training.

Horatio nodded to himself. "Shells sink, dreams float," he finally answered. Then he added, "And keep one hand on the small child at all times."

Alexx started to laugh again.

MttS

They had just finished dinner when the whispering at the kids' table started. Dennis glanced across the two tables to make sure they were not causing trouble and saw Madison whispering into Janie's ear. Janie was nodding and grinning, then leaned over to Bryan's ear and whispered something. Bryan excused himself from the table and went into the house.

Calleigh stood up with Alexx and the women started to clear the table for dessert. Bryan returned with a small bug house and showed it to Madison, who grinned broadly. The three kids left their table and headed to the adult table, where they stood at Eric's elbow.

"Mr. Delko," Bryan said, holding out the "house." "Madison said you helped her catch a gecko on Tuesday. Can you catch one for us now?"

Eric looked from Bryan to Madison, who was grinning and twisting her hair. "I, uhm –"

"Bryan," Dennis said, "I don't think you need Mr. Delko's help to catch a gecko."

"Please," Madison pleaded, turning big blue eyes on Eric. "You're really good. Miss Calleigh said they taught you how to catch geckos in police school."

"Madison," Horatio attempted to intervene.

Eric shook his head and shot a glare through the glass doors, where Calleigh was cutting the pie for dessert. "Yeah, okay," he said. "We get one gecko and then have dessert."

Madison cheered and Janie grinned. Bryan handed Eric the "house." He left the table and followed the kids out the lanai door, with a parting shot over his shoulder to Horatio and Dennis. "Tell Calleigh I deserve an extra slice for this," he called.

After he left, the door slid open again and Alexx stepped through, carrying coffee cups and a fresh pot of coffee. "Where are the kids?" she asked, pouring coffee for Horatio and Dennis.

"It seems, Eric has been called on another gecko hunt," Horatio told her.

Alexx looked from him to Dennis. Her husband shrugged.

"Uh-huh," she said. "You didn't tell the kids there was pie for dessert, did you?'

"There didn't seem to be a need," Dennis replied innocently.

"You are still not getting a second piece, mister," she informed him and opened the door for Calleigh.

Calleigh stepped through, carrying four dessert plates with pecan pie and whipped cream. She set them down and noted Eric's absence.

"Oh good," she said. "More for us."

They were halfway through their dessert, and Horatio was savoring the Woods' choice in coffee, when they heard Bryan shouting, "Get him! Get him!" The adults all stood up quickly, in time to see Eric jump across the lawn, loose his balance and instead do a belly-flop behind the lanai screen. He emitted a pained moan from the ground.

"Oh Lord," Calleigh said and rolled her eyes. She sat back down and turned to Horatio. "Would you like another piece, Handsome?" she asked as though nothing had happened.

He chuckled and handed her his plate. "That would good," he said.

Alexx went to inspect the damage to Eric's knees and suggested the kids go swimming.

MttS

Madison was asleep, arms tightly wrapped around her bunny. Horatio checked on her for the third time that night and headed to his office. After a minute on the Google search engine, he clicked the link for the University of Miami. After a couple of minutes he found his way to the School of Communications and the advertising program pages.

Horatio printed out several pages from the website and looked them over thoughtfully before tucking them into a manila folder.

Dreams float, he thought to himself.