Disclaimer: I don't own CSI: Miami (I work for Papakura PD, not Miami PD!). Nor do I own any of the characters. I do own overplayed videos, my ideas, I sort of own Angela and Jennifer (They're my cousins), and a pile of paperwork screaming for me to get it finished - anyone who wants that last one is more than welcome to it!
A/N: This is the sequel to "Come take a ride with me", if you haven't read that one, I suggest you do so before starting this one. When I wrote the original story, I had no intention of continuing it. However, a couple of people suggested it would be a good idea, and then I got some parts of it in my brain that refused to die, so here you go!
First Date
It finally got to Friday night and for once both of the workaholic CSI's from Miami Dade both left right on time at the end of shift.
"Did you see that?" Speed asked incuriously to Eric as they came out of the lab together.
"What?" Eric queried.
"H and Calleigh both left on time." Speed replied
"Wow."
"Yeah, miracles never cease" Speed said. "Anyway, that's me off - enjoy your weekend."
"Yeah, you too." Eric replied as he slowly made his way towards his vehicle.
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Calleigh for probably the first time in her life couldn't wait to get out of her beloved gun lab.
'I'm going out with Horatio tonight' She thought, dizzy with the prospect.
"Right" She said out loud as she drove home. "Unpack your work bag, sort your stuff for the morning, shower, find something to wear - damn I hate that part, how am I going to do my hair?"
Calleigh was so preoccupied with the upcoming evening she almost forgot to turn into her street.
"Oh yeah, that would have been a great way to start an evening with Horatio, having someone call him from the casualty ward cause you couldn't remember where you were going and ended up causing an accident." Calleigh thought. "Get a grip, and concentrate on what you're doing."
Luckily she made it home and started working through her mental list of things to do before the handsome lieutenant picked her up.
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Across town, Horatio wasn't fairing much better.
He'd got home alright; driving wasn't the hard part in his case. Oh no, it was when he got home that the problems started.
Horatio had basically the same list of stuff to do that Calleigh had been reciting to herself on her way home. He slipped in the shower and nearly broke his ankle, his hair wouldn't stay where he combed it, and then he couldn't get his tie to sit properly.
'Why the hell am I so nervous?' He thought. 'It's not like I'm a teenager on my first date - I've been out with people before!'
'Yes,' His brain argued 'but not on dates with Calleigh'.
Horatio couldn't believe his luck, that he was actually going out tonight with his beautiful blond bullet girl.
Two nights ago Horatio had shown Calleigh his most secret and private place, somewhere he'd taken no one else, and as a result they'd finally been able to express their true feelings for each other to the point of Horatio finally getting the guts to ask her out at last.
By quarter to seven, Horatio finally got himself together and deciding he was ready for the evening went to pick up Calleigh.
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Once Calleigh got in the door, practicality over took her nerves and she headed to the shower to start getting ready for her date with Horatio.
She let her mind wander as water streamed over her, thinking about the upcoming evening with the man she loved so much.
Standing in front of the bath room mirror doing her hair and make up a sudden thought struck her.
"What on earth am I going to wear?" Calleigh said out loud to her reflection.
"Ok, think. Skirt, pants, dress …ah, dress that's it. A little black dress would be perfect; you know how much Horatio likes you in black."
Calleigh finished applying her makeup, and then slipped through to her room to get dressed.
Calleigh decided on a simple yet elegant black sleeveless shift dress that fell to just above her knees. It had delicate beading around collar, which was its only adornment. It was tight enough to show off her great athletic figure, without being too tight.
'Perfect.' Calleigh thought.
She added a small silver pendant necklace her father had given her and plain silver hoop earrings. Now she slipped into a pair of strappy black sandals and looked at her reflection in the mirror again.
"Yeah, I'll pass." She said.
At five to seven she heard a knock at her door. Calleigh took one last look in the mirror before going to let Horatio in.
When she opened the door, her heart skipped a beat and she was sure she was going to faint. Horatio looked even more handsome that ever to her, which was saying quite a lot.
Horatio was dressed in a silvery grey suit with a pale blue silk shirt (which made his eyes look even bluer) and a dark blue tie with bronze stripes that made his hair look even more brilliant than usual as well.
"Wow" Calleigh stated breathlessly.
"Indeed." Horatio replied with a slight smirk in his half smile, eyes twinkling.
"You look amazing, Cal."
"You're not so bad yourself Handsome."
"Are you ready to go?" Horatio asked her.
"Most definitely." Calleigh replied. "Just let me get my handbag and coat."
Calleigh picked up her coat and bag from her table, and then took Horatio's pro-offered arm as he walked her to his vehicle.
Horatio opened the door and helped Calleigh up into the passenger side of the Hummer, before walking around and climbing in the drivers side, while Calleigh tried once again to calm her nerves, little knowing that Horatio was having exactly the same problems with his nervousness.
They drove thought the streets of Miami, Calleigh between her nerves and looking up at the sky, didn't really notice where Horatio was taking her.
After what seemed like only a few minutes Horatio was pulling up outside a small Italian style restaurant down a small back street.
Ever the gentleman, Horatio climbed out and went around the vehicle opening the door for Calleigh.
After locking the vehicle, Horatio once again offered her his arm, and they walked into the restaurant together. Once inside Horatio approached the head waitress.
"I have reservation's under 'Caine', party of two." He said to the tall curly haired woman behind the counter.
"Certainly sir" She replied while look at the reservation book. "Come with me."
She led them to a small table in the back of the restaurant, and informed then that a wine waitress would be over shortly to take their beverage orders.
"Thank you … Angela." Calleigh answered looking at her name tag.
Not long after Angela had left, a tall young man approached their table, and Horatio ordered them a bottle of the house red.
As they were looking at the menus they both started to relax, and enjoy the fact that they were out together, away from work.
A young brunette woman with a pleasant smile approached their table.
"Excuse me sir, madam," She said when she came up next to them. "I'm Jennifer, your waitress this evening. Have you had enough time to decide on your appetisers?"
Horatio glanced toward Calleigh and motioned for her to go first.
"I'd like the garden salad for starters, and then the Chicken Alfredo please." She replied.
Jennifer wrote down her order, and then turned to Horatio.
"I'll have the garden salad also, then the beef lasagne, thank you." Horatio said.
"Not a problem," Jennifer replied with a smile. "I'll bring your salads shortly."
They talked about funny incidents from the lab, being a police station there was plenty in that subject to keep them occupied until their salads arrived and also through them.
While they waited for their main courses they broached the subjects of childhood, friends and family.
They were talking about there tastes in music, books, and movies when Jennifer came back with their Main courses.
"Here you go madam, sir," She said. "Enjoy."
"We will thank you." They both replied before beginning the feast laid out before them, while continuing their easy conversation. The fact that they were already such good friends meant that there was none of the uneasiness and uncomfortable silences that often came with first dates.
"That was absolutely wonderful" Calleigh said as the waited for their desert order. "Thank you so much for this evening handsome."
"No Calleigh, thank you." Horatio replied. "I'm so glad I finally got the courage to ask you out."
"Yes, that did take awhile didn't it?" Calleigh said smiling.
"It does sometimes take me awhile to discover what's right under my nose Cal," Horatio replied.
"You're a man; none of you can get that." Calleigh returned. "Except when you're processing crime scenes." She added as an after thought
Horatio looked into Calleighs gorgeous green eyes, feeling he could see right into her soul. 'I still can't believe this is happening' Calleigh thought as she stared back into his beautiful blue eyes. 'I'm sure this is just a wonderful dream and any minute I'm going to wake up alone again.'
"Excuse me," Jennifer interrupted their moment as she brought their desert to the table. "Here's your fresh fruit platter."
"Thank you very much." Horatio said, tearing his gaze from Calleigh to look at Jennifer. "It looks delightful."
Jennifer gave them a small nod, then turned and left them to their platter they were sharing, savouring every mouthful of the enticing strawberries, mangos, pineapple, pawpaw and other exotic fruits in front of them.
After they had finished, Horatio motioned to their waitress as she passed en route to the kitchen from one of her other tables, and asked her for their bill.
"Here you go sir," Jennifer said as she arrived back at their table with their bill. "Was everything to your satisfaction?" She queried.
"Absolutely," Horatio replied. "You've been a wonderful host."
"Thank you sir," She replied as she cleared the last of their dishes from the table. "Enjoy the rest of your evening."
"We will." Horatio answered with a smile.
"Are you ready to leave?" Horatio asked Calleigh after Jennifer had left their table.
"Yes, thank you." She said. "And I must say again that was wonderful H."
"You are more than welcome." Horatio replied as he came around the table to pull out Calleigh's chair for her. He offered her his arm, and they walked back to the reception together.
Angela smiled at them as they approached the desk.
"Did you enjoy your meal Mr Caine?" She asked him as he came to pay their bill.
"Yes, very much so." Horatio replied. "Please also let me commend your waitress Jennifer - she was a wonderful host."
"Yes sir. I will certainly pass on your commendation to her." Angela said. "Thank you very much for your patronage, and we hope to see you again sometime."
They walked out together, and again Horatio opened Calleigh's door for her, helping her back into the passenger side of the hummer.
"Where to now Handsome?" Calleigh asked when they were both settled and on the road again.
"Why, back to our beach again beautiful, let's watch the moon rise together."
They drove in silence back to there secret place, but it was not uncomfortable. Again it was the easy silence of friends who were as close as they were.
He got to their destination and parked the hummer in the same spot as two nights ago. And again they walked down the path to their beach in silence.
The moon was just coming up over the water when they reached the sand, the perfect picture of nature before them made the moment together almost surreal.
They sat down on a soft sanded part of the beach, back by the vegetation that surrounded them, arms around each other as they watched the moon come up, casting it's golden shadow on the still waters in front of them.
'Life couldn't be more perfect than at this moment,' Horatio thought as he looked down at Calleigh, whose head was tucked into his shoulder. Little did he know that Calleigh was having exactly the same thought at the same moment.
He was silent for a moment more, before gaining the courage to say again what he really wanted to.
"Calleigh." He started. "Tonight has been one of, no the best night of my life. Just being in your company, away from work, no pretences of who we're supposed to be." He paused, and then spoke again. "I just feel like I don't want tonight to end."
"Me neither Handsome." Calleigh said as he paused again. "I don' think I could ever stand going back to how we were before, even if you were and are still my best friend."
"I also Cal." Horatio replied. "Believe me when I say, I really want this to work. We're meant for each other Calleigh."
"Yes, we are." She said. "It just took us awhile to figure it out, didn't it?"
"We have now," Horatio replied. "And that's the main thing."
They sat once more in silence, looking up at the moon. Neither wanting to break the magic of the moons spell, a bright full moon that seemed to be shining directly on them, encouraging the life they were starting together.
When the moon was fully in the sky, high above them, and they had been sitting together on the sand for goodness knows how long, Calleigh pulled back and turned her face up to Horatio. Horatio looked down into her beautiful blue eyes, and drew her into a passionate kiss.
When the need for air over took their love for each other, they pulled back and smiled into each others faces.
"Come on Cal," Horatio said, standing up and pulling Calleigh with him. "Let's take you home before you freeze in that beautiful, but not particularly warm dress." He finished with a slight smile.
"I guess I'll just have to count on you then to warm me up, won't I handsome." Calleigh replied cheekily to him as they walked together back up the path to the road.
"Hmm. I'll see what I can do." Horatio replied with a wink, which made Calleigh's heart once again skip a beat. "But I meant what I said. I don't want you catching cold. There will be plenty more moon rises to watch together."
"Is that a promise Horatio?"
"You can count on it." Horatio replied softly, his gaze never leaving hers. "We can watch them together forever."
The end.
A/N: ok, so the ending isn't the most brilliant, but I couldn't think anymore, and it leaves the potential for me to do a sequel to this one sometime as well. Please tell me what you think though, thanks.