Disclaimer: I own nothing. CSI: Miami and CSI: Crime Scene
Investigation belong to whomever they belong to. The songs belong to Enigma and Micheal Cretu.

Synopsis: Angst fest. Tim loves Eric and Eric doesn't love him. It's Horatio to the rescue… sort of. (Timothy Speedle/Horatio Caine)

Archive: Long as you ask and make sure my e-mail address is with it... :)

Pairing: Horatio Caine/Timothy Speedle

Rating: R because of allusions to sexual content and very little
strong language. Rating will probably go up later due to sexual
content. (LOL)

Authors Notes: This was supposed to be a Eric Delko/Timothy Speedle
fic but for some reason it didn't work out. Then I was going to make
it Speed/Greg Sanders-- but my muse demanded that I write a
Horatio/Speed fic. So, here is the first part and I hope you enjoy.
(Be forewarned... it takes me a long time to post the chapters
afterwards... LOL. I'm bad about that...) Ah, and it is extremely
disjointed... it's supposed to be.

Chapter 7: Playing With Fire

((Look into the others eyes, many frustrations. Read between the lines, no words just vibrations. Don't ignore hidden desires. Pay attention, you're playing with fire. Silence must be heard, noise should be observed. The time has come to learn, that silence ... silence must be heard or diamonds will burn, friendly cards will turn… 'cause silence has the right to be heard.))

The plane touched down at Reno International Airport after a relatively smooth flight. As people disembarked from the plane, Speedle was lost in thought a little bit as he moved on auto-pilot to the exit and towards his luggage. He waited at the luggage depot, wishing for his luggage to get there faster. The longer he stayed in the airport, the more he wanted to book a flight back to Miami. Far away from home, he was scared… he flashed back to his first memories of being in Miami when he came from New York. He sighed, a sigh of relief, as he saw his duffle bag enter the conveyor-belt type thing and he grabbed it. He wasn't sure where to go, but he knew that one, he needed to find a job, and two, he needed to find a place to live. Of course, he couldn't really get an apartment if he didn't have a job and he didn't really know anyone either. So, he went outside and hailed a taxi. As he slid in the back seat of the taxi he cocked his head slightly.

"Take me to Las Vegas… the Crime Lab there… please." The taxi driver merely nodded and sped the car in the direction of the strip. Speedle looked out the window, watching the desert landscape roll by him, tears stinging at his eyes. The cab pulled up in front of the Crime Lab and Speedle paid the driver, not waiting for his change. He grabbed his duffel bag out of the trunk and walked into the crime lab, wondering if he could get a job.

"I need to speak to the Supervisor here." Speedle said, trying to hide his sadness as well as his fear. He fished deep into his pocket to pull out his resume which he had folded carefully and placed in his pocket before he had left. He wasn't sure if he was going to stay here forever, but he knew that he would go stir crazy if he did nothing. The woman at the desk put a phone up to her ear and dialed a number.

"Mr. Grissom, you're needed in the front of the building please. There is someone here to see you." She said, her voice sounding monotonous and professional. Thinking about that, he remembered the receptionist on his shift. He smiled slightly, biting back bitter tears. A fairly nice looking older man walked into the front of the building. He was wearing a black button up shirt and a pair of black dress slacks. His hair was salt and pepper gray and a beard squared off his jaw nicely. A pair of wire-rimmed glasses sat halfway down his nose as he read something off a sheet of paper.

"Can I help you?" He asked, looking up from the paper and Speedle stared for a moment before shaking his head to clear his mind of impure thoughts and the sadness threatening to overcome his being. He breathed in deeply.

"Mr. Grissom… Hi. My name is Timothy Speedle." Speed started, handing Grissom his resume. "I'm interested in getting a job here…"

°.°

Horatio sat at his computer, waiting for his e-mail inbox to load up. He was drumming his slender fingers on the black wood of his desk. He wondered where Speed was, as he looked out the bay window in his living room, he hadn't heard from him since the little confession he had done. Horatio wondered if telling Speed so soon was a bad idea, but he also realized that he needed to build their relationship on trust and honesty. He sighed and looked back at his computer screen, seeing his e-mail had finally been received.

From:Subject:

Lexi DaighNaranja AKA Fuzz Ball

Yelina SalasRe: Family Picnic…?

Teryl CaineRe: Family Picnic…?

Trace NilesThe Gathering!

Kallen JunvaFree Porn For You!

Shadowed DreamerAbout The Situation…

Horatio rolled his eyes and immediately deleted the e-mail for porn, before clicking on the first link to read his e-mails.

To: Horatio CaineFrom: Lexi Daigh

Subject: Naranja AKA Fuzz Ball

Horatio,

Hey you! Silly man, how come you haven't come by lately? You're missed by me and Donovan. You need to come over more! We miss you, Horatio! Well, anyways, just wanted to give you an update on Naranja… he's adjusting well to the new environment even with Cuddles there still. Since he was YOUR cat, I thought you should know! Come over for dinner some time!

Lexi

Horatio sighed, shook his head, and went on to the next e-mail.

To: Horatio CaineFrom: Yelina Salas

Subject: Family Picnic…?

Horatio—

Ray Jr. and I will be coming to the picnic. I was wondering if it was okay for Ray Jr. to bring a friend… he wants to invite his friend Billy to the picnic so he has someone to interact with. So, can you get back to me ASAP. Thanks Horatio.

Yelina Salas

Horatio hit the reply button and typed in "sure" before hitting send. He didn't really like composing long e-mails.

To: Horatio CaineFrom: Teryl Caine

Subject: Family Picnic…?

Horatio,

We'll be there as well. Thanks for thinking of this, dear.

Mom

To: Horatio CaineFrom: Trace Niles

Subject: The Gathering!

H,

Sorry… Tina and I can't make it. We're gonna be out of town for my sisters wedding. Have fun man.

Trace

To: Horatio CaineFrom: Shadowed Dreamer

Subject: About the Situation…

Horatio,

I know I've never contacted you this way before, but it's Speed. Um… this is probably the last contact you and I will be having for a while. First thing, I want you to know that I am not mad at you, I was a little upset, but I'm not angry with you nor upset anymore… I just need to get away for a while. I'm not telling you where I'm going because I don't want you to come after me just yet. I think that we need some time apart to make sure this is meant to be… to make sure this is really what we want.

Secondly, I'm glad you told me about what you did with Eric. I probably wouldn't have reacted as badly had it been with someone else. As you know, Eric is my best friend… and I couldn't bear the thought that both of you had done that together while I was in the hospital… though after giving it some thought I realize why you did it. I understand that you were both stressed and probably lonely… and I forgive you… both of you.

I just wanted to let you know that I wouldn't be in for a while… but to not make any permanent arrangements because I might come back… I'll call or e-mail if that situation changes. I just wanted to let you know that I was leaving for a while so you wouldn't worry… and to let you know I still love you. Don't write back 'cuz I won't have internet access for a while, until I can get things settled where I am. Please urge Eric to tell Warrick about what happened… Warrick deserves truth as well. Please, wait for me.

Love,

Timothy Speedle

Horatio stared at the computer screen, re-reading the e-mail as silent tears streamed down his face. He wasn't sure whether he should be angry or not because he had just found Speedle and for the second time… he was gone again. He slammed his fist into the wall next to him, growling slightly in his throat as he realized that this time, it was no ones fault but his own. He put his head in his hands and began to cry.