A/N: You know the drill...see the intro for all that standard stuff. Spoilers for a bunch of epis here...Killer Date, 10-7, Rio. Well at least, Perdita, the bunnies and I appropriated bits from these epis. Maybe a few more. This is your warning. This is me beggin.. Please read and review. I don't know if I've gone too far unless you tell me.

This chapter is kind of long, not in the grand scheme of fic wiriting, but for this story. It couldn't be broken down though.

RS: Yeah, it's been a long day.

The sun had dropped behind the high-rises as Annabel rounded the corner near her apartment. She spotted a familiar Hummer dwarfing her little Crossfire. She came to an abrupt stop and got off of her bike. Red hair pressed against the driver's window. He was resting his head against the window? A little panic crept into her mind. He never rested. Not even on vacation. You know that's not entirely true, Annabel. You've seen him completely relaxed and resting. Annabel closed her eyes. Suddenly, the pain rippling through her body had nothing to do with how she had just been pushing it. She took a deep breath and watched Horatio again. His head moved and Annabel released the breath she had been holding. He was just resting. Annabel pointedly ignored Horatio and walked her bike inside. She could feel his eyes boring into her back. She steadfastly refused to turn around. If she caught his eyes… She shook her head and continued walking.

As Annabel passed in front of the Hummer, Horatio straightened in the seat. She had been out. He had pictured her curled up in the hammock on her balcony. He watched her walk her bike inside. He glanced at the clock. Had she been biking the whole time since the end of her shift? A wave of guilt washed over him. She was going to be hurting in the morning. She was hurting now. The physical pain was nothing. She was gone. Horatio settled himself into the seat.

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The dark night was still steamy as Annabel stepped out onto her balcony. Warm, wet air assailed her as she made her way to the rail and looked over. The Hummer hadn't moved. Annabel looked up and the moonless sky and shook her head. She sighed heavily and leaned on the rail. She ran her fingers through her damp hair. Annabel knew he was looking straight at her. She almost considered waving. What would the point of that be? Annabel straightened up, still looking at the Hummer. He wasn't going to spend the whole night out there was he? Annabel went back inside. She paced back and forth. Don't get yourself all worked up again. It's too late to ride it out. Annabel ran her fingers through her hair, standing it up on end. She grabbed the wireless headphone off the kitchen counter, jammed it in her ear and tapped it on. She fought to calm her racing heart. Do or do not. She took a deep breath.

"Horatio," she said clearly.

The ring of his cell phone shattered the silence inside the Hummer. Horatio picked it up and looked down. He thumbed it open.

"Are you stalking me, Lieutenant?" Her voice was strained. She'd asked him that once before, a lifetime ago. Horatio closed his eyes.

"No."

"What would you call sitting outside my apartment for several hours? Don't you have a case you're working on? Or did you wrap it up?" Annabel moved back out to the balcony. She leaned against the wall of the building and crossed her arms over her chest.

"Eric is still working on it."

"You never walk away from a case," her voice was barely above a whisper.

Horatio took a deep breath. "I had some more important business to take care of." His voice cracked and Annabel winced.

"The phone call you took earlier?"

"The fallout from the phone call."

"Oh."

"You skipped lunch. You never skip a meal."

"I wasn't hungry."

"Did you skip dinner too?" He could hear Annabel's sigh on the other end. "Annabel."

"You asked me to talk. In the middle of a case. You got empanadas from my favorite place. You took me to the ocean. You took a phone call." Annabel's voice raised in pitch with each sentence. Way to keep yourself under control. She took a deep breath.

"I can't justify my actions, Bella."

"No, you can't." There was silence on the other end. Annabel went back inside, grabbed her keys and padded downstairs. Horatio was still silent as she walked up to the Hummer. His eyes were closed and his head tilted back. Annabel tapped on the window. Horatio straightened, looked out at her and snapped his phone shut. He rolled down his window. "Come inside."

"Annabel…"

"Don't even start, Horatio. Don't make me ask again. Just keep your mouth shut for just a little while longer and come inside." Horatio nodded slowly. He got out of the Hummer and started to close the door. "Wait." She took the cell phone off his belt and tossed it on the seat. "That is staying here." She turned and headed back to the building. Horatio shut the door and followed behind her.

Annabel held her apartment door open and Horatio went inside. She shut the door and leaned against it with her arms crossed over her chest. Horatio stood quietly watching her. Despite her anger, her absolute fury, she couldn't help but ache at the sight of him. He was pale beneath the slight tan he had acquired through years of living under the South Florida sun. He looked like he had aged. Annabel knew it was impossible, but he looked years older than he had in the morning. The veneer he usually layered on was gone. He looked raw. Annabel blinked slowly. It took all she had in her not to forget how much she hurt and take Horatio in her arms and try to erase his pain. Horatio just stood still and watched her through his lashes.

"You wanted to talk earlier. About what?" Annabel looked at him, searching his appearance again from head to toe. She wondered if she truly knew the man in front of her. There was something almost fundamentally different. His gaze focused on the floor.

"My brother Raymond." Horatio's voice was soft and not the least bit steady.

Annabel frowned and shook her head. "There's no news there. Nothing that should have you this worked up. He's dead."

Horatio's eyes flickered briefly up and then back down. "He isn't dead."

Annabel shook her head harder. Her arms dropped to her sides. "What do you mean he isn't dead? You told me several times he had been killed. This is a well established fact, Horatio."

Horatio shook his head. He looked Annabel straight in the eye. "It was and is a fabrication." He took a deep breath. The whole truth and nothing but. "Ray was a dirty cop and a user." Horatio looked down at the floor. "Criminals aren't the only ones that resort to blackmail. Sometimes those we put our deepest trust in think the ends justify the means. He had been forced undercover. I…I didn't know. I didn't know for along time. But I knew something didn't fit. You were right, I kept digging. I wouldn't let it go. A case that I was on, probably about the time you transferred down here, it gave me new information. Information that proved Ray was alive. Information I kept to myself."

"You didn't tell Yelina her husband was alive?" Annabel was incredulous. Her knees weakened, but she stayed rooted to the door. She thought about how she would feel if someone had done the same to her. If someone had watched her heart and soul ripped out and then denied her the means to put things back to order. Here was the man she loved, the man she had promised her life to telling her he had done just that.

"I thought I was protecting her and Ray, Jr." That isn't the whole truth, echoed the mocking voice in his head. Horatio looked at Annabel. He could see in her eyes that she knew there was more.

Annabel had to ask. She had to hear the words. She cleared her throat. "Were you in love with Yelina, Horatio?" She inwardly winced at the squeak that came at the end of the question.

"She is my brother's wife."

"That's not the answer to the question." She shook her head hard.

"I was. For a long time," he answered his voice barely audible. Annabel looked at the floor. She bit her lip and nodded. Her head swiveled. She looked anywhere but at him. Annabel wrapped one arm tightly across her torso and raked her other hand through her hair several times. She pressed her back hard against the door willing her body to stay upright. She couldn't stop the tears that spilled over. Horatio felt sick. Physically ill at the pain he saw etched in her features. A part of him wanted nothing more in that moment than to hurt whoever had hurt her. But what do you do when that person was you? He pushed himself to continue. "I haven't been in love with her for quite a while."

Annabel raised her eyes. "How convenient." Venom dripped from her words. Horatio took the blow. He deserved it.

"In the end, I put Ray Jr. and Yelina in danger because I kept things secret. I had to fix it. I took care of them. Always." Horatio paused. "There was another case." There was always another case. "Raymond was directly involved. They took Ray Jr. as a bargaining chip. So, Raymond and I arranged another "death" for him. He was free from the government. Free from the drug cartel. He was free to join his family."

"In Brazil. You said that Yelina and Ray Jr. were in Brazil."

"Yes," Horatio said simply. They both stood there silently for several minutes. The gulf between them stretched wider than the few feet they were apart. Annabel finally raised her eyes. They were dull, gray as lead.

"Why now, Horatio? Why can I be trusted now?" Her body shook as burning emotion poured through her. "You told me you loved me. You took me to your bed. Hell, you even married me without breathing a word of this. Steadfastly standing by your lie that your brother was dead and Yelina left because…" Annabel shook her head. "I don't know what excuse you used for Yelina leaving."

"I didn't give a reason."

"Well, I suppose that was a smart idea. Wouldn't want things to get too complicated." Annabel focused on a point past Horatio's shoulder. "I told you everything. I let you into places I let no one short of Chris into. And the whole time…." Annabel met his eyes again. "So why now?"

"When we came home yesterday…" Was it only yesterday? "When we were leaving the airport, I thought I saw Ray Jr. in a van."

"Here in Miami?"

Horatio nodded. "I called Yelina this morning…"

Annabel tilted her head. "You called her? When?" The anger that had warmed her left suddenly. The deep chill returned. He had talked to Yelina today. "You talked to her again, didn't you? At lunch. That's the phone call you took."

Horatio nodded. "She was panicked. Ray Jr. hadn't gone to school She called the friend he claimed to have been staying with. He was never there."

"The boy in the alley…"

Horatio shook his head. "We still don't know who he is. We traced him to a warehouse. While Eric and I were there, Yelina called again. Ray Jr. had turned up."

"Thank God."

"It doesn't mean that he wasn't here. The biologicals from the warehouse haven't been fully processed."

"Why would he be in Miami? Without anyone…"

"I don't know." Horatio answered honestly.

Annabel frowned. There was something else. She could hear it in his voice. "What?"

Horatio rested his hands on his waist. He looked at the floor. "Raymond has been missing for about a week. Yelina said this wasn't the first time, but it's been the longest and when Ray Jr. disappeared…"

Annabel looked at Horatio. "What are you going to do?"

Horatio head snapped up. Something had changed in her voice. He shook his head. "I don't know. I don't know what I'm going to do, Bella."

Annabel couldn't fight. She couldn't fight anymore. The effort to stay angry was too much. You're an idiot. Despite everything you love this man? Her mental voice shrugged. Be it on your head then. "The answers aren't here in Miami, Horatio." He made no comment. She closed her eyes. "I can't make you stay." Annabel looked at him.

Horatio looked up at her. His eyes were haunted. "Bella…"

Annabel shook her head. "You need to find the answers." She took a deep breath. "You aren't free until you settle this." She toyed with the rings on her finger. Horatio waited for her to take them off. To throw them in his face. Instead, she dropped her hands and drew herself up ram-rod straight. Annabel looked him in the eyes. Her eyes were clear and he saw a determination in them he didn't understand. "I, Annabel, took you, Horatio, to be my partner, loving what I know of you, and trusting what I do not yet know. I eagerly anticipated the chance to grow together, getting to know the man you will become, and falling in love a little more every day. I promise to love and cherish you through whatever life may bring us. I meant it when I said that. Did you?"

"Yes," he whispered his voice hoarse. "I don't…"

Annabel shook her head. Her voice was steady, unwavering, but he could still hear the underlying pain and anger. "No, you don't deserve me. You don't deserve to be forgiven. You don't deserve to be trusted. I know that. You know that. I also know that I love you. At the moment, God alone knows why. But it's not something I can just turn off. Although, you did a pretty good job of trying to kill it today."

"Annabel…"

She shook her head. "You need to let me finish, Horatio. You need to take care of whatever business you have. Then you need to come home. Yes, I love you, Horatio. Right now, I don't like you very much, but I will not give you up for lost." Annabel flashed him a weak smile. "You can't get rid of me that easily."

"I never wanted to."

"Could have fooled me." Annabel opened the door and stepped to the side. "Go on now. Do what you have to."

"What are you…"

"Gonna tell people about your sudden disappearance? Good question. I won't know until I'm asked. But I'm protected under spousal privilege. I don't have to say anything. No one can make me." Horatio started to leave, but stopped in the doorway. He reached out to touch Annabel's cheek, but drew his hand back. Annabel gave him a sad smile. "Be safe, Horatio." Horatio nodded and walked away. Annabel watched until he got on the elevator and the doors closed. She sent a silent prayer to heaven.

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A/N: PS: Perdita found a rope. And a light.