A/N: First of all, let me say thank you to all who reviewed! Your guys are absolutely amazing! I love hearing what you think should happen and I love the feedback you give me. It's all marvelous!
This chapter is my favorite of all the chapters in the story. Actually the idea for this chapter was what prompted me to write the story in the first place. This is the climax of To See Her Smile, but not the end by any stretch of the imagination. I hope that you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it! Also, if you are any kind of a romantic, you might want to have a tissue nearby when you read this. ;)
It took Horatio two hours to find a flight to Maine and then another hour until takeoff. He paced the airport the whole time, his mind wandering in circles. He was going to find her and bring her home after all. Finally they could be a family again.
He boarded the airplane and couldn't seem to relax the whole flight. He studied the maps that Cooper had given him and tried to figure out exactly where she was.
He had ordered a car to be waiting for him at the airport when he landed, and an hour later he was on the highway headed for Rock Harbor. As he raced towards her, he prayed that he could talk some sense into her and that she would come back with him. It was about 9 o'clock PM by the time he got in to Rock Harbor. He hadn't realized what a small town it was. He searched the streets first, almost as if he expected there to be a huge sign that said "Calleigh Caine This Way" with an arrow pointing him which way to go.
He finally stopped some people that were taking an evening walk. "Excuse me," he said, getting out of his car, "I'm looking for a woman named Calleigh Caine. Do you know where I might find her?"
"Well, I don't know any Calleigh Caines," the man said, scratching his chin, "But I do know a Calleigh Duquesne. Pretty girl. Works at Marty's diner just down the road."
"Would she be there at this time of night?" Horatio asked.
"She usually closes on Friday night, so she's probably there," another man finished.
"Thank you so much," Horatio said hopping back in the car and flipping a 'U', heading back toward the diner he had passed a few minutes ago. To think she had been there the whole time. In just a few minutes he would see his wife again.
It had been a long day and Calleigh was beat. Her long blond hair was twisted up into a messy bun and her black uniform was wrinkled from having worked all day. It was her turn to close up for the night and that meant scrubbing down all the tables and making sure everything was in its place. Jerry, her boss, was in the back working the books and she only had two tables left before she could go home to a nice bubble bath.
She was bent over a table, back to the door, when she heard the chime of the bell at the front of the diner. She ignored it, thinking that it was just Cindy come to pick her up. She continued scrubbing the table until a voice interrupted her thoughts.
"I always thought you looked good in black"
Her heart stopped cold and she straightened up slowly, willing herself to turn around. She recognized the voice; it spoke to her every night in her dreams. She turned around and dreams became reality as there before her stood the one man in the world that she wanted, no...needed, by her side. She couldn't bring herself to say anything or make any move towards him, for fear he'd vanish like every other dream.
He rushed towards her and enveloped her in his strong embrace. She melted into him, sobbing. It suddenly felt as if everything that was wrong with the world was right once again. In his arms she felt safe and protected, and most of all, loved. She held onto his shirt and cried into his chest, his arms never slackening their hold on her.
How long he held her there, they would never know. All sense of time ended and it was just the two of them, together at last.
Eventually he pulled away slightly. Cupping her face in his hand, he wiped away the tears with his thumb. "Calleigh, my Calleigh," he whispered as he leaned down to kiss her.
The feel of his lips on hers was enough to awaken a part of her that had been long dead and she felt a great peace and love enter her heart again. She wrapped her arms around his neck, deepening the kiss.
When they parted, she was breathless. Had her knight in shining armor really come to rescue her from her demons and doubts? She looked up into his eyes and saw nothing but pure happiness and love reflected there.
"Why Calleigh?" he asked quietly after a moment, "Why did you leave?"
"Because I don't deserve you. I failed you Horatio," she said ducking her head, ashamed.
"You're wrong," he said raising her chin to meet his eyes again.
"But Horatio, I killed our baby. How can you love me after something like that?"
"Calleigh, I don't know how to make you understand that it wasn't your fault," he said, compassion in his every tone, "I never blamed you for that and I never will. It was an accident and we just have to accept it and move on."
"I can't shake the guilt. It haunts me every day," she said, tears spilling down her face again.
"And you thought that running away would make it easier?" he asked quietly.
"I just couldn't face you anymore, knowing what I did to your dreams, our dreams. You deserved a world I couldn't give you."
"Don't you know you are my world?" he whispered, looking into her eyes.
She shook her head and a sob escaped her throat. He pulled her back into him tightly and kissed her hair.
They stayed that way for a long time, a kind of healing transpiring between them. He was teaching her to trust herself again and to let the guilt go. She was healing him just by being near him and filling his lonely heart.
"Will you come back to Miami with me?" he asked, pulling back only slightly.
"But how will I face everyone? I ran away like a coward," she said, ducking her head again.
"We'll do it together, one step at a time," he promised, "And everything will be alright."
"But we're not together " Calleigh admitted, suddenly remembering her request to him in the letter.
Horatio smiled. "I couldn't go through with it Cal, I love you too much. But I do have something that you left behind in Miami." He pulled her diamond wedding band out of his pocket and showed it to her. "May I?" he asked.
Calleigh smiled, her eyes swimming with unshed tears, and nodded. He grinned and slipped the wedding band on her finger.
"Finally back where it belongs," he said, kissing her hand.
"I'm ready to go home, Horatio," she said looking up, "Back to where I belong."
TBC
A/N: Awww, Calleigh and Horatio are finally together again at last! "I always thought you looked good in black", how good is he? ;)
Questions remain, however... Has Calleigh truly forgiven herself? Will a return to Miami make the problem resurface? And most importantly, can Calleigh and Horatio ever have their fairy tale ending?