Chapter 12

The Next Day

Calleigh tried to talk to Horatio the next day but Horatio won't have any of it. He avoids her as much as possible. It seems like his walls whom Calleigh had broken down before is now starting to build again and its becoming more stronger and tougher. He doesn't do casual talks with his colleagues anymore, he only talks when needed, and doesn't spend much time in the lab. It seems like he's isolating himself.

Calleigh was worried about him and because of her worry she also forgot about herself. Like Horatio she spends almost all of her time working except that she always spend it inside her ballistics lab. She eats less and her reason always is that "I don't like to eat or I'm not hungry".

There colleagues and friends are worried about the two of them but what can they do if no one will open up. So, they just let it be and hope that whatever they are going through right now they can fix it eventually.

Days passed and turn into weeks...

Three weeks later

It had been a rough three weeks for Calleigh and Horatio, and the only time he would talk or listen to her was when they were working and it was about the case. The team was seeing a different side to Calleigh, she looked weary and sad all the time. They tried getting her to talk, but she would brush off their concern and said she was fine, even though clearly she wasn't, but they really couldn't do much without her opening up, so they promised that they would be there for her when she wanted to talk, which she appreciated. They also noticed Horatio acting a little different and a little more rougher around the edges, but they knew they would never get anything out of him, so they kept their thoughts to themselves, hopping that their team dynamic could go back to the way it was a few months ago.

It was towards the end of shift and Calleigh was walking toward Horatio's office with some files in her hand when she saw a beautiful, fair skinned woman who was two inches taller than her and around her age at the receptionist desk asking if Horatio was in his office. She stopped her feet and watched, but also acted like she was looking down at the files.

"One moment please, what is your name, Ma'am?"

The woman smiled and moved a piece of her long, dark, wavy hair behind her ear as she replied. "I'm Sarah Parker."

The receptionist smiled and nodded before picking up the phone. "Lieutenant Caine, Sarah Parker wants to see you...Ok Sir...bye."

After she hung up the phone, she looked at the young woman and continued. "He's in his office."

The woman smiled with a nod. "Thank you." Before walking away from the receptionist and headed for Horatio's office.

Curious on what was going on, Calleigh followed her.

When Horatio saw Sarah at his office door, he gives her a little smile and waved her in as he stood up.

She smiled a little as she walked into his office, then when she sat down in the chair in front of his desk, he asked as he sat back down. "What can I do for you Ms. Parker?"

Sarah looked in his eyes for a second, then cleared her throat and asked. "I was wondering if you had any plans for dinner tonight." He paused and she continued. "I wanted to thank you for helping my family out."

A case that involved her second cousin had ended thankfully on a happy note.

Horatio shook his head. "I was just doing my job, You..."

She cuts him off. "Well your job saved a family's heartache, and buying you dinner is the least I could do." Then she gives him a smile before continuing. "I mean you do eat right?"

Horatio chuckled and held up his hand in surrender. "Ok, Ok, I would love to have dinner with you."

Sarah smiled again as she stood up, which he stood up too. "Excellent, so do you want to meet me there or will you be picking me up?"

"I can pick you up."

"Ok, I'll see you at six?" He nodded, and after another smile between them, she turned and walked to the door while he watched her.

Once Sarah opened the office door she stepped out, but when she turned she almost ran into Calleigh who had been standing away from the glass door so neither one could see her because the blinds were closed in his office today. "I'm sorry, Excuse me." Calleigh smiled a little with a nod as Sarah walked by her, then she walked toward the doorway of his office.

Horatio looked at her, and after a few seconds of an intense moment, he asked. "Can I help you?"

She cleared her throat, walked into his office, hands out the files she had in her hand and said. "Here are the files you asked for."

He took them as he sat down in his chair. "Thank you." Then as he opens them up, he felt her presence still in the room, so he looked up and asked. "Is there anything else?"

She wanted to talk, she really did, but she knew this was not the time or place, so she mentally sighed and shook her head. "No." Before she turned and walked out of his office.

He looked at the emptiness in front of them, then sighed and shook his head as he looked down at one of his flies, he couldn't believe how fast things had changed.

Two weeks later

Calleigh was in the break room trying to eat the sandwich she had made from home when Ryan and Eric came into the room talking.

"I just saw her leave his office."

"Really?"

Eric nodded as Calleigh speaks. "You saw who left whose office?"

They sit down at the table as Ryan answered. "A woman that Horatio helped with a case a few weeks back, what was her name?"

Eric didn't waste time answering. "I think her name was Sarah Parker."

Ryan nodded with a smile. "Yeah her."

A cold shiver went down Calleigh's back as the guys continued to talk, not knowing that every word they said about that woman and Horatio together hurt deeply. "That's how many times these last two weeks she dropped off lunch for him?"

"At least four or five, I think I even saw a smile or two from him, which hadn't happened in awhile."

Before they continued, Calleigh stands up from her spot at the table, and said. "Excuse me." Then grabbed her lunch and tossed it in the trash as she walked out of the room, not having much of an appetite now, leaving the guys confused.

When the room was empty but the two of them, they looked at one another and Eric asked. "Something we said?"

Ryan shrugged his shoulders, equally confused and worried about her.

Eric sighed and continued. "I wish there is something we could do for her."

"I know, but unless she tells us what's wrong there isn't anything we can do."

Eric nodded in agreement, then after a few seconds pause they continued back to the subject they were talking about a few minutes ago.

After Calleigh walked out of the break room she didn't feel like going to her lab at the moment, and since she still had a little while before the lunch break was over, she walked toward the front door to the lab building, needing some fresh air. Unfortunately she had to pass Horatio's office to get there, and when she did, she couldn't help but look in that direction.

Horatio turned his head just then and saw Calleigh walking by and their eyes met, which the contact may have been just a second but they saw the deep pain in them before Calleigh looked away and continued on her walk toward the exit while Horatio looked down at the half eaten sandwich in his hand.

Sarah, who had been talking to him, noticed he now looked distracted and turned toward the office window to look out in the hall and she caught a glimpse of who had walked by. Then she looked at Horatio again. He had never talked about his past relationships, but she knew that the latest one had hurt him bad, which she didn't know 100%, but she thought it could have been Calleigh. It was just something about those two when they were in the same room together, even when they weren't talking to one another.

She mentally shook her head as she placed her hand on top of his. "Are you ok?"

Horatio cleared his throat as he looked into her eyes, then smiled a little. "Yeah, sorry, what were you talking about?"

Sarah waved it off and replied. "It wasn't important. So will you be free for dinner tonight?"

"We'll see, my schedule, as you know by now, can get pretty unpredictable."

She nodded with a smile. "Don't I know it, but we make it work somehow, especially when mine becomes that way too." She was a doctor so she was known to cancel a few herself. Horatio gave her a short nod, then she removed her hand from his as she stood up, and he stood up too. She smiled at him as she picks up her trash from her lunch. "Then if we can't make dinner, how about Breakfast?"

Horatio walks around his desk and started walking Sarah toward his office door. "Alright, that sounds like a plan."

They stopped at his office door, then he opens it, and before she walks out, she cups his cheek and kisses him on the other one before pulling back and seeing his blue eyes, which normally was sparkling but had lost a little of that sparkle in the last month. "Be Safe, and I'll see you soon."

"Ok, bye, Sarah."

After one more smile, Sarah walked out of his office.

He removed his hand from his door so it would shut a few seconds later then he walked toward his desk, passing his window in the process and seeing Calleigh talking to Sarah, so he stopped and watched the interaction. Then he sighed as Sarah walked away and his eye remained on Calleigh, he really liked Sarah, she was fun to be around with, she provided a distraction when he wasn't at work, she even helped dulled his pain a little, but his damaged heart was still calling out for Calleigh and he didn't know what to do.

Before his thoughts could go deeper, his phone rings, so he sighed as he turned toward his desk so he could pick it up and answer. "Caine...OK, I'll be right there." He closed his phone, takes care of his trash, wrapping his half-eaten sandwich up before leaving his office, it was time to catch some back guys and not think about his turmoil.