A/N: Thank you so much for your enthusiasm! I'm feeling very loved now! It really is wonderful to hear from people who like the story, so keep reviewing!

Normality lasted precisely five days. Frankie had just returned home – and it still gave her a thrill of delight to think of Horatio's house as her home – to see a red blinking light on the answer phone. As well as the usual messages trying to sell something, and one from her doctor arranging a check-up, there was one other.

"Frankie! What the hell is going on? There are three messages on the machine here, saying you've been shot, you're in hospital and then you've moved in with your boss! Call your father immediately young lady!"

She winced and looked at Horatio, who raised his eyebrows. "I take it they're home from their cruise then," he commented dryly.

Her parents had been on a two month cruise around Alaska, something her mother had always dreamed of, as a fortieth wedding anniversary present to themselves. Her older sister and her husband had gone with them and Frankie had been invited too. Since she had been, at the time, in the middle of an emotional crisis over a certain redhead, she had not been in the mood for a family holiday.

"I suppose I'd better call them," she said heavily. She sank wearily into an armchair, and smothered a grin as Horatio instantly looked concerned.

"Do you want something to drink? Or eat? You're over-tiring yourself, you know." He was worse than Alexx, she thought.

"I'm fine. Just not looking forward to this conversation." She dialled her parents' number and the phone was snatched up almost immediately. "Hey Dad, it's me."

"Frankie! Thank God you're all right!" Her father sounded as if he was torn between relief and outrage. "Your poor mother has been worrying herself sick over you. What on earth happened?"

Frankie explained about the Fuentes' brothers as briefly as she could, trying to make it sound as everyday and commonplace as possible. She could hear her father repeating her story to her mother and sister as she told it, and from the muffled sounds she could hear, it wasn't going down very well.

Her mother obviously grabbed the phone from her father. "Yes, yes, yes. What I want to know, darling, is about this young man of yours. Tell me everything."

Frankie giggled. Trust her mom to go straight to the gossip. "Telling you everything would be a little difficult Mom, as he's in the room with me." Horatio flushed, and Frankie giggled again. Really, she thought, he was so easy to embarrass. All it took was a compliment. She hurriedly pulled her mind back to the conversation she was meant to be having. Her mother had been chattering away and Frankie had been so caught up with looking at Horatio that she had forgotten to listen.

"So, we'll come down in a couple of days then?" Frankie froze with horror as her mother spoke. They were coming here? To Miami? Oh god, oh god, oh god, oh god!

"Lucy and Darren can come with us. It will be so nice to have the family all together again."

"You're coming here?" Frankie squeaked, her voice failing her in surprise.

"Well of course we are darling. We want to meet this young man of yours. It's about time you settled down." Frankie leaned back, one hand covering her eyes in a gesture of despair. Her mood was not helped by Horatio's laugh. Her mother was still talking. "We'll stay in a hotel, of course. Well, I wouldn't want to get in your way! Won't that be nice?"

About as nice as a weekend in Hades, Frankie thought grimly. However, she smiled and said, "Lovely Mom, I can't wait."

Horatio perched on the arm of the chair she was sitting in as she hung up. Frankie automatically leaned into him, and smiled as he wrapped his arm tightly around her. "I gather your parents are coming down here then."

"Yeah, and they're bringing my sister and her awful husband." She groaned, and turned to bury her face in his side. "Make them go away."

"I thought you and your parents got on well."

"No, my dad and I get on well. My mom prefers my sister, and thinks it's about time I settled down."

"Don't you?" Horatio bit his lip, glad Frankie couldn't see his face. He had thought she was settled down, with him.

Frankie looked up and rolled her eyes. "You know, for someone who is drop dead gorgeous, sexy, clever and generally rather wonderful, you're very insecure sometimes. You and I are, to quote myself, exactly what I want. When my mom says settled down, she means get married, have kids, stop working and generally be a lot more like your sister."

Deliberately ignoring the first part of her speech, Horatio relaxed slightly. "You never really talk about your sister."

It was Frankie's turn to look uncomfortable. "Lucy and I don't get on very well. I'm a daddy's girl, while she was far closer to Mom. We were never close, but I feel guilty saying that, knowing you lost Ray. I don't want you to think I'm ungrateful for having a sister."

He really needed to tell her the truth about Ray, Horatio thought for what seemed like the thousandth time. Instead, he dropped a light kiss on top of her head. "My family history is just that: history. You can't censor what you feel about your family because of me."

A rumble of hunger from her changed the topic. Frankie grinned. "Come on, I'll cook tonight. I'm starved."

Horatio beat her to the kitchen. "You're exhausted. I'll cook."

"I'm not an invalid, Horatio. I can still cook!"

"We'll compromise. I'll cook, you can brief me on how to win around your dad, so he doesn't want to kill me for dating his little girl." Frankie didn't like to mention that her father had always been over-protective around her, especially when it came to dating. Winning him over would be very, very tough.