Authors Note: Sorry this one took forever, I just couldn't make up my mind about these next few events. Anywho, here's this part hope you like it... Oh yah... and as far as I'm concerned Rebecca lives in some remote part of Sibera and doesn't even know where Miami is.
The rhythmic sound of someone's heels tapping the linoleum, as they walked down the hallway just outside the break room, clacked inside Horatio's head as his eyes struggled open to meet Calleigh's.
"Morning handsome." She said, already wearing a smile to match her shining eyes. Only Calleigh Duquesne could spend the night on an office couch and still wake up looking like Miss America, he thought.
"Good morning." He mumbled, his voice, rough from his sleep. He wished he had her kind of energy when he woke. "How long have you been awake?"
"Only a few minutes." She said brushing his hair back into place. "Why?" Honestly, it hadn't been more than a few minutes, but his question had her nervously wondering how he might take to knowing she'd been up, watching over him.
"Because you look as though you've been up for hours, recently dressed, had a shower, done your hair and put your make up on again." His teasing of her morning-person tendencies reminded him about her make up. She'd been wearing more eyeliner recently, and he couldn't help but wonder why. He was about to ask, but his compliment made her blush, and he lost his train of thought when he saw the beauty of her face, tinted with soft pink, against the golden morning sun that poured warmly through the blinds. He took his watch from the coffee table, only vaguely remembering when he had taken it off and placed it there. Seven thirty four, it read. People started coming in around six, and the office would be full by eight at the latest. "Why didn't you wake me?" He stood with much lethargy and unenthusiastically tried to smooth the thousands of winkles from his crumpled shirt.
"I might have, if I'd been sure of the last time you actually got some rest." It was becoming all the more evident that she was determined to look after him, seeing as how he didn't seem interested in doing that himself. She stood aside him and brushed at the creases on his sleeves, before deciding it was a fruitless effort and fetching his suit jacket from the back of the couch. "Here." She offered. "Wear this. No one will notice." He slid into the sleeves, and when she straightened his collar and tugged his jacket into just the right place, he couldn't help but chuckle.
"Did you pack a lunch for me too?"
"Wise guy." She countered his playful sarcasm. He'd watched her closely while she catered to his clothes, and despite remembering how he'd broken his promises, he desperately wanted to kiss her. The whole evening was a warm memory. He knew he they shouldn't have done it. Thou shall not covet…but he couldn't deny that he enjoyed their moments. Did that make him more or less guilty?
Standing intimately close they were quiet and still, reading encrypted words in each others eyes, when the door swung open and scattered all the pieces of the puzzle they'd been silently deciphering.
"Caine." Stetler announced, haughtily ignoring Calleigh's presence. "No one at reception could tell me if you'd gotten my messages."
"Good morning to you too, Rick." Horatio replied to the courteous greeting he never got. As he spoke, Calleigh pushed her hair back, hiding her flushed cheeks behind her hand in embarassment, as though Rick had walked in and caught them in the throws of something deeply intimate.
"The messages Horatio, did you get them?" He pressed his business, determined not to stray for idle chit chat. "Your meeting with the counselor. You missed it. Again."
"I didn't miss it Rick." He pointed out with clear contempt, resting his hands about his belt. "That would imply that my absence was unintentional."
Calleigh knew better than to end up in the crossfire of these two. They both had the potential to be utterly vicious, particularly to one another, and any attempt to mediate could very well turn a brief squabble into a verbal blood bath. As much as she enjoyed watching Horatio become passionately aggressive, his conviction could prove to be a blade that cut both ways; knowing he was standing his ground, was knowing he was jeopardizing his own career.
"This session is mandatory Lieutenant." Finally Stetler's eyes acknowledged Calleigh. "I hate to take you down a notch in front of your CSI here, Horatio…but if I have to tell you this again, I will request to have you suspended until you meet with the counselor. Is that clear?"
Horatio looked down and grinned to himself as though he'd found something in Rick's words to be quite humorous. The caustic undermining sound of Stetler's threat had made Calleigh grit her teeth, but the idea that Horatio still wasn't backing down had her gawking at him with wide eyed worry. What the hell was he thinking?
"I told you, Rick." He practically growled. "I don't need counseling."
"Being the officer with Speedle when he died, you don't have a choice here. Friday: five o'clock."
Calleigh felt her heart wince when she heard the accusative tone of Rick's statement.
"Don't hold your breath." Horatio suggested before walked out. Calleigh stood silently; her jaw somewhat slack.
"You can remind him that if he's not there on Friday, it's his badge until he does go." Stetler turned his authority against Calleigh, since Horatio had left with the last word again, and Calleigh's look snapped quickly to meet Rick's.
"And how do you propose we run this place without our L.T.?" She nearly hissed.
"No one is irreplaceable."