Frankie perched on a stool and watched Horatio work, feeling slightly guilty. After all, he had had a much longer, tougher day at work than she had, but then again, he had insisted on doing the cooking. She smiled suddenly and he turned to look at her.

"What are you so happy about?"

"I was just thinking how pleasant it was to be bickering with you over something so…normal. Next thing you know, we'll be arguing over who should do the washing up, or the laundry. It's like we're a proper couple." She laughed self-consciously, aware of how silly that sounded.

Horatio caught his breath at how beautiful she looked. Frankie's eyes had dark circles under them, her blonde hair was all spiking up in different directions and she was only wearing normal work clothes, but her eyes were alight with happiness, and she had regained her golden Floridian tan. He walked up to her and kissed her gently on the lips.

"I can't believe how lucky I am," he murmured, talking to himself almost. Frankie felt like singing, but contented herself with kissing him back, none too gently. He broke away, shaking his head regretfully. "I wish we could continue that, but now I'm hungry as well."

Frankie leaned against the counter top. "So, do you want a briefing on my parents?"

"Unless you're looking forward to seeing your father kill me…"

She laughed. "Well, Dad is a retired FBI agent, so that's always a possibility. He was based in New York, and headed up the Missing Persons department for a while. He worked in most areas though. Basically, he's your typical over-protective police father. He always threatened to fingerprint any boyfriend I brought home, just so he could run a full background check on them."

Horatio looked around, amusement sparkling in his eyes. "Did he ever follow through on that?"

"Not that I know of. Perhaps he did, but never found anything incriminating. I'm sure you'll get on fine with him. After all, you're quite similar in some ways." She tilted her head, studying him closely. In dedication to his job, Horatio did resemble her father, although their attitudes were very different. Where Horatio was always calm and in control, her father had tendency to lose his temper and snap at people.

"I was always the favourite with him, mainly because I was a tomboy who loved sports, while Lucy took more after Mom, and preferred dressing up in pretty clothes. When I joined the Bureau, I think he almost burst with pride. Mom was just as proud of Lucy when she got married, so they kind of evened each other up."

"What does Lucy do?"

"She is Darren's secretary at his consultancy firm." Frankie rolled her eyes. "She never wanted a career. When she was younger, she used to say she wanted to marry a rich man so she would never have to do anything. They don't have any kids yet, so she doesn't have that excuse, but when she gets pregnant, I'm sure she'll quit her job."

"You were always the ambitious one, then?"

She nodded. "Is that a bad thing, do you think? Maybe I take my work too seriously."

"Maybe, but so do I, so I can't comment really." Frankie smiled, but she knew they differed on that. She was ambitious, whereas Horatio took his job seriously because it was the right thing to do, not for personal gain. "So why do you hate her husband?"

Frankie snorted. "He's an arrogant pig, that's why! You'll understand perfectly when you meet him. My mom, unlike the others, is absolutely guaranteed to love you."

"Really?"

"You're going out with me, and we're actually serious about each other. Are you kidding? She'll adore you, especially if you hint that you would consider marriage. Not that I'm hinting anything like that," she added hurriedly, suddenly talking very quickly. "I mean, I love the way things are now, and I wouldn't want to change anything, unless you do. Oh God, do you?"

"Chess, stop talking. You're babbling." She shut up with a rueful smile. Horatio looked at her seriously for a moment. "I love the way things are too. And maybe we'll consider marriage in time, but everything is just perfect right now. And that is all that matters."

Frankie grinned, feeling absurdly happy. Her parents would undoubtedly burst her bubble when they arrived, but for now, Horatio was right. Everything was perfect. And then his cell phone rang.