A/N: Chapter 6 needed some time to complete due to time constraint. I managed to squeeze in some time for the story and I hope it was worth the wait.
Enjoy
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8pm and the case have finally been closed. It has been an exhausting day for all of them. The swing shift have been hit with a contagious case of the flu. There weren't any extra helpers to back them up so Horatio's team was called up. They have been working for more than twelve hours straight. When Eric came and announced that the killer have evidently confessed to the murder case they were working on, everyone breathed a sigh of relief. A total of three, strenuous cases were closed. Eric and Ryan had departed together, off to the bar for a welcoming drink. Alexx stayed, claiming she still had bodies to tag. Horatio and Calleigh were left alone as they sat in the Hummer. Thinking of where to go next. Horatio shifted in his seat and turned to face her.
"Calleigh, I uh, need to talk to you about something," he started.
"Spill it Horatio. I know something's been bothering you the whole day," she smiled.
"Okay. Yelina returned together with Ray Juniour yesterday," he spoke bluntly.
"Oh, uh, that's great. So now they could come to our--wedding," she looked away.
"Calleigh," Horatio tilted his head to look at her. "Calleigh, Yelina is my sister-in-law. I'm over her. I have you," he took her hand gently and watched as their fingers entertwined.
"What about her?" Calleigh turned and faced him.
"How she feels about me, is something I cannot prevent or change," he spoke softly. "I love Yelina, but only to the extent of a brother-in-law to a sister-in-law. Do you see what I mean?"
"I do," she sigh and covered his hand with hers. "It's not that I'm afraid but, it just--feels unnatural for me to get in the way."
"What's unnatural is that if she still has feelings for me because she has Ray now and we're family. There is nothing unnatural about us. I love you and if she can't accept that, I can't go anything about it."
Calleigh smiled and tucked her hair behind her ears.
"Calleigh, I'm happy with you. And I want to be happy with you for the rest of my life. Don't ever think otherwise," he smiled.
With that, they drove to Yelina's house. It has been some time since Horatio had last stepped into that house. A bitter-sweet feeling suddenly engulfing his thoughts. He glanced over at Calleigh who looked back at him, smiling. She knew Horatio was right and she trusted him with all of her heart. Yelina was her friend and she would feel dreadful to be the cause of her unhappines but she had Horatio now and if Yelina couldn't see the joy they shared, it would be her loss. The drive lasted for a few minutes and the next thing they knew, they were standing in front of Yelina's door.
"I love you Calleigh," Horatio breathed and held her hand.
"I know. I love you too," she smiled and tighten her hands around his.
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The doorbell rang. Yelina looked up from the papers she was reading and stood up.
"Who is it Mom?" Ray Jnr came into the living room.
"I'll go check who it is," she smiled and opened the door.
"Uncle Horatio!" Ray Jnr beamed and ran towards his uncle.
"Hey there buddy!" Horatio greeted back and hugged him.
"Horatio? Calleigh?" Yelina smiled, obviously surprised.
"Yelina, how are you?" Calleigh smiled back and felt herself being pulled into a hug.
"I'm fine," Yelina spoke above Calleigh's shoulder and released her. "You never changed," she teased and turned to Horatio.
"Yelina," Horatio greeted.
"Hi Horatio," Yelina smiled at him and they embraced warmly.
"Uncle Horatio, do you want to see the photo albums of the pictures we took?" Ray tugged on Horatio's arm.
"You bet I do," he let himself get pulled into the living room.
Calleigh smiled and stepped in. Horatio was pulled down into the sofa and a box of photo albums was placed on his lap. Ray Juniour talked unremittingly of how wonderful Brazil was and all the friends he made. Horatio smiled and laughed along with him as they flipped through the albums.
"How's the lab doing?" Yelina asked her as she poured them each a cup of coffee.
"Oh, it's been great. Very tiring but that's the job," she smiled and politely accepted the coffee. "How was your stay in Brazil?"
"Wonderful. We had a lot of fun there. It's really nice to see the faces of people I used to work with though. Oh, I can't even describe how much I missed being a detective," Yelina smiled.
"Well, it's a satisfying job," Calleigh sipped her coffee.
"And this was when Mom and Dad had dinner by the sea. I took the picture," Ray smiled proudly.
"I would say you've got some skills there buddy," Horatio smiled and so did Ray.
"Ray, why don't you prepare the table," Yelina spoke and Ray obeyed. "We haven't had dinner. Would you like to join us?" she smiled.
Horatio turned to Calleigh who smiled and nodded.
"We'd love to Yelina. We're sorry if we're troubling you-"
"Oh no, it's no trouble at all," Yelina beamed and went into the kitchen.
Dinner was nothing special but indeniably delicious. It was quiet but comfortable. By the end of it, Ray retired back to his room. The adults sat in the living room.
"I wanted to congratulate the both of you," Yelina broke the silence. "I'm very glad you could finally find someone you would want to spend the rest of your lives with."
"Thank you," Calleigh smiled.
"Oh and," Horatio slipped out a card from his jacket. "The invitation to our wedding. I hope you can make it."
"Of course I can Horatio. I would not miss it for anything," her hair bounced as she spoke.
Calleigh eyed Yelina for a while. Guilt took over. She turned to look at Horatio who shook his head a little. No, she can't be there. She decided it best if she left the two alone.
"I need to use the restroom for a while," she got up without waiting for a single response.
She hurried to the kitchen and took her time. They were alone now and it would be a good time for them to settle anything that might have been left behind in that hanger months ago. She heard voices as she closed the bathroom door.
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Yelina looked at her feet and avoided eye contact. Horatio stared at her and smiled.
"How's Ray?" was the first thing he asked.
"He's doing great. Being away from the chaos of the city have really helped him to start over," she answered.
"Mhhm. Ray Juniour seems happy to return."
"He missed you. Everyone did. Including me," their eyes met.
"I missed all of you too. I'm, uh, glad you could make it to the wedding," he smiled.
"I want to be there. For you. For Calleigh," her eyes bore into him. "I'm sorry, for leaving you so suddenly-"
"No, I made you leave. Remember," he spoke.
"Yes but still I, you-" she paused. "We, were almost heading somewhere and then Raymond's case came up and I just got confused so-"
"Yelina, it's okay. There's nothing to be sorry about. Raymond is alive and that is all that matters," his voice was low, almost whispering. "I'm happy we can have him back in our lives."
"Horatio, please don't. I never told him about us and it was hard, each day having to live with the lie. I--I find that I don't love Raymond anymore," Yelina looked away, Horatio's frown deepened.
"When did you realize this?" Horatio asked gravely.
"When you told me of what could have happened if I had not married Raymond. That was when I started thinking. It came to me in my sleep and when I woke up, I just knew I-" she looked at him.
"Yelina, I love Calleigh. There have been days I've asked myself this question and when you left, you gave me your answer. Calleigh have been right under my nose and I was so blinded by you that I didn't see her," he tilted his head. "Now, I find myself loving her. With all of my heart."
Yelina's eyes turned glassy. Horatio gulped and his hands played with his sunglasses.
"I'm not asking you to come back. I can see that you two are very happy together. But Horatio, for as long as I live, I will never love another man like I love you. And I always will," came her reply.
Horatio stared at her. The woman he once loved but left him for another man who shared hisown flesh and blood. Now they sat there, talking of the yesteryears and how drastically it has changed, emotionally. To Horatio, Yelina is a beautiful woman and sister-on-law. She has a heart of gold. Her sonwas the most amazing nephew he could have. Calleigh is a whole different matter. She's also beautiful but he wanted her. He wanted to spend the rest of his life with her. He wanted to grow old with her and have a family with her. Calleigh is not like Yelina. Calleigh is his wife-to-be and he glowed at the simplicity of it all. He smiled softly.
"I hope you'll find happiness Yelina. I really do but it would not be with me. It would be with someone great and someone you truly love," he blinked.
"Thank you. That almost happened with Rick though. I am so glad I left him," Yelina smiled softly.
"Rick's in jail," he spoke.
"What?" her eyes widened in shock. "What happened?"
"It's a long story," he retorted just as Calleigh returned.
"Hey, hope I didn't miss anything good," she smiled wryly at Horatio's wink.
"I can't believe Rick is in jail. Of course, not entirely surprised. I always knew he was a little, ignorant of the law sometimes," Yelina shook her head.
"Oh Rick. He has many surprises up his sleeves," Calleigh spoke sadly. "Horatio, I think we better head back. The swing shift is still having the flu and I have a feeling we'll be called in early."
"Hmm, true," he stood and so did their host. "It was nice seeing you and Ray Juniour again."
"Same here," Yelina smiled.
After Horatio said goodbye to Ray Juniour, they headed out. It was already half past ten by the time they were on the road back to Calleigh's house.
"How did it go?" Calleigh asked.
"She, uh, she told me she was happy for the both of us and-"
"Horatio, don't stall. I won't be surprised if she actually still has feelings for you. I'm a woman and I know this things," she smiled softly, her voice held no grudges but genuine concern.
"She does and I was even more surprised to learn that she's kept that feeling for a long time," Horatio sighed.
"Is she okay, about us getting married?"
"Well, even if she didn't approve, I couldn't tell. She seemed happy for us," came the reply.
"Horatio," a warm hand braced his shoulder. "Are you okay?"
"I uh, I'm okay. I just thought she would have gotten over me--like I did," his voice low and soft.
"Sometimes, a woman's love could last for a lifetime and I have to hand it to her, she seemed to take it all very well," Calleigh spoke grimly.
"Hmm, I just wish I didn't get in the way," Horatio spoke remorsefully.
"It wasn't you that got in the way. It was your heart telling you what to do," Calleigh spoke as a matter of fact.
Horatio glanced her briefly and than back to the road.
"I'm glad I'll be marrying you," he spoke after a while.
"Well, the feeling is mutual," she smiled.
The car stopped by Calleigh's front gate. They got out. As they stood there in the night, they stared into each other's gleaming eyes and happy faces.
"Yelina will be okay with it Horatio. I'm sure," Calleigh smiled.
"I know. I only see her as my sister-in-law now and it--scares me to know she dosen't feel the same way," came the unexpected reply.
Calleigh felt her features soften as she looked at him. She hugged him tight and felt his body trembled. Again, she had brought out a different side of him. He was afraid. Something in her melted. He could be so vulnerable sometimes. Afterall, he was just human when it came to feelings and getting hurt. She wondered how often he felt that way when he was alone; miserable and disheartened by all the terrible ordeals that he have experienced. All the insults he have heard being thrown at him for being the brother of a bad cop. All the rumours that he was after his brother's wife. All the things that could easily condemn a man's life and send him to perpetual state of insanity. Confusion clouding his mind and words getting swallowed away simply by imagining a life without the woman he loved and cherished.
Horatio hugged her back. The warmth that exudes off her sincerity calmed him. He released her and caught her mouth in his. When they parted, her hands cupped his face and her thumb tenderly carassed his cheek.
"Whatever happens, we stick together." her smile made him gulp.
"We will," he smiled back.
She nodded and leaned her cheek into his chest, just to hear the calm, rhythmic beating of his heart. Then she turned, and went through the opening gate. Horatio gazed at her back and blinked as she disappered behind her front door. Yes, Yelina would understand. He slipped back into his car and drove off into the night.
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"What if it rains? The lanterns would get soaked," Ryan spoke as he untangled the wire of the lanterns.
"The lanterns would be the least of our problems. The tents need to be secure or else if it rains, it would accumulate water," Eric squinted under the brightness of the sun.
"How are the tents?" Horatio spoke came from the reception area.
"They're being set up well away from the sea. Papers stated it will be high tide at that time," Eric smiled. "Alexx have managed to clear up a section of the road for cars. Some of them would have to be parked on the grass though."
"That's fine. Where's Calleigh?" Horatio asked.
"I saw her talking to Jake," Ryan spoke.
Horatio nodded and left them to their own work. He walked up the sandy pavement back to the road and spotted Calleigh talking to the wedding food supplier, Jake.
"Oh and for desert, it would be better if it was something dry and not soupy. Do you have any suggestions?" she asked and smiled as Horatio stepped beside her.
"Well, I'll have to leave that to the boss. I'll get this menu list to him and he'll ring you up by tomorrow to confirm it," Jake tipped his hat and climbed back into the lorry.
"You know, not everything have to be perfect-"
"Oh but Horatio, I want it to be. I want the memory to be lasting, so it always comes down to the food. If the food's good, than everyone will be happy," Calleigh beamed.
"Hmm, okay," he hugged her from behind.
"The tent will be set up over this side," she gestured towards the empty grass area just a few yards from the sea. "Cars will be parked across the street."
"Hi," someone spoke and they turned to face Yelina and Ray Juniour.
"Hi Uncle Horatio," Ray smiled and looked around.
"Hey Ray," Horatio smiled.
Ray looked at Eric and Ryan wrestling with the tangled wires.
"Can I help them Mom?" Ray turned to Yelina.
"Of course sweety. Don't stray too far," she spoke as the boy ran off to lend a hand. "This looks like it will be a great wedding."
"Thank you. Of course, the worst part is the planning," Calleigh chuckled. "But we try to make it fun."
"I can see that," Yelina smiled and stared at Horatio's arms on her abdomen. "I'm willing to help if you need an extra pair of hands."
"Oh. Well, it's either setting up the tables or decorating the tents," Calleigh spoke.
"I'll take both. I'm free for the rest of the week," Calleigh and Yelina walked away towards the mass dining area.
Horatio stared. The two women in his life, along with Suzie and Madison. His stomach churned excitedly and he smiled with glee. Soon, it will all become one. The circle will be complete and he could finally be happy. He turned and looked at Ray laughing with Eric and Ryan. His friends, his family. He could never feel more happier. The big day was in five day's time and everything was going smoothly. He turned around only to come face to face with a man he wasn't expecting to see in three years' time.
"What are you doing here?" he growled and slipped his sunglasses off swiftly.
"I came to apologize," the man spoke.
"For?" Horatio demanded.
"For everything Horatio. I know I was foolish. I can't believe I even tried to kill-"
Before he knew it, strong hands wrapped around his neck. Rick was pushed down onto the grass and strangled. His face turned a faint tinge of blue as his vision slowly became blur.
"H!" Eric yelled and ran towards his boss, Ryan trailing behind him.
Horatio was pulled away by four hands and was kept back at a safe distance. Rick coughed and squirmed on the grass, afraid out of his wits. Horatio lunged forward again but his friends managed to hold tightly onto their furious boss. Eventually, the tension ebbed away. Rick sat on the grass, staring blankly from one face to another. Alexx, Yelina and Calleigh joined them.
"What is he doing here?" Calleigh spoke, angered by the sight of the man she saw before her.
"I don't know. Why don't you tell us Rick?" Horatio spoke.
"I came, to apologze. To everyone. Especially Horatio and Calleigh. I, I was being stupid-"
"Hmm, I'm impressed you figured that out all by yourself. How did you get out of jail is what I want to know," Horatio sneered.
"I-I'm on parole for a week and this is just my first day," came the reply.
Rick looked at them. The faces of the team he tried to bring down and failed miserably, sending him to jail. He gulped. He deserved such hostility. He didn't expect much. He just wanted forgiveness and leave the place alive and in one piece. He looked at Yelina who stared at him, surprised and confused. Why were they treating him so aversely?
"What makes you think we'll forgive you after what you've done? It's not something people can forgive and forget Rick. You sent someone to kill Calleigh and Horatio," Eric blurted.
"You tried to kill them?" Yelina spoke, her eyes widened in bewilderment.
"No, I mean yes. I wasn't thinking straight. I didn't mean to hurt either of them. I swear," he held up his hands.
"Well if you were lucky, both of us could have ended up dead and that would have satisfied you wouldn't it Rick," Horatio's neck turned red, a sure sign he was boiling with anger.
"No, I, wouldn't feel that way. Listen, I'm sorry I sent someone to kill you. I went to jail for something I did and I guess I just needed to take it out on someone," Rick spoke, seemingly begged as he looked up at the people around him.
"Get out of here Rick and don't come back," Horatio spoke, wrapping has arms protectively around Calleigh.
"Yes Rick, you should go," Yelina looked at him coldly and turned away.
Rick opened his mouth to protest but nothing came out. He got up on his feet. Despite being taller than most of them, he still felt small and threatened. He turned and walked away. The tension suddenly gone as the sight of the loathsome man disappeared into the horizon. They exchanged glances and quietly went back to work. They just hope there won't be anymoreuninvited guests stopping by.
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Thank you for reading. Chapter 7 is still in progress. Reviews are welcome.