The days that followed passed without incidence. Horatio ate well, for Calleigh was an excellent cook, and of course she didn't mind and naturally derived pleasure from it. The song would play in his mind every now and then, and as he did the first time he heard it, would wonder if she thought about him every time she heard it.

One night he dreamt of her...

...a moonlit winter evening...he was riding a horse, sporting armour with a sword at his side; a knight perhaps?...there were no city lights, no cars, no sirens, nothing but the naked trees...he could actually see the stars, millions of them illuminating the night sky...a silhouette of a mighty castle...something was drawing him to it...the moat was lowered so he rode his steed in...

"Hello?" he bellowed; the castle bellowed back. It felt empty, so he looked around hoping to find something.

...a red rose with a note attached...'My heart awaits by the light of the flame'...

He kept searching for more clues as to what he was suddenly pursuing.

...a trail of rose petals leading to the stairs...

He ascended the stairs and followed the obvious hint until it stopped at a closed door. He opened the door and walked into the flame-illuminated room. There she was, by the light of the flame, just as promised. She was beautiful...her long hair freely hanging off her bare shoulders, for the flowing white dress she wore was strapless...her lips, so plump and red and yearning for his...her green eyes, exploding with passion...

She stood up and walked over to him.

"You have my heart now," she said to him as he caught her in an embrace, slowly serenading her with kisses. She was about to take her dress off when he woke to a cold sweat.

"Wow," he said, panting. He looked down at his lap and saw that he was awake in another sense of the word as well.

"Damn." He walked to the bathroom and splashed his face with cold water. He undressed stepped into the shower and turned on cold water to relax his aroused appendage; the cold water actually felt refreshing to his wounds as the shoots of water hit them. When he had finally calmed down, he dressed and walked into the living room, surprised to see Ryan in the place of Calleigh.

"Ryan, hi," Horatio said. "Where's Calleigh?"

"Oh, I paid a visit and told her to go have some time for herself. Nothing against you, I just think that she needed some fresh air."

"Understood. Listen, Ryan, I need to discuss...something...with you."

"Sure, H. What is it?"

"I had...an interesting dream last night...about Calleigh."

Ryan's interest suddenly piqued. "What happened?"

"I was a knight, armour and everything, and I was in...a castle..."

What a ridiculous-sounding dream! Ryan said to himself.

"...and she had left a rose with a note attached...it said something to the effect of 'My heart awaits by the flame'...that part I can't really recall well...then I saw a trail of rose petals leading to her...she was so beautiful, Ryan. She came up to me and said 'You have my heart now,' and then she was about to take her...dress off...when I woke up."

"Wow, H," Ryan said, "that is some dream. I bet it was hot!"

Horatio blushed. "It was...I woke up to a cold sweat...and...an erection."

Ryan's eyes widened. "Oooh, H, what do you think of all this?"

"I...don't know," Horatio said uncertainly. "Everything is...so confusing. I know she's in love with me, but I don't know how I feel yet. I am almost certain I am too, but I'm...afraid."

"Why?"

"Because everyone that I grow really close to...I've lost. My mother, Ray, Marisol. I don't want the same thing to happen to Calleigh. Losing her would be devastating to the whole team, and I...I couldn't live with that."

"I understand where you're getting at," Ryan said, "but you can't think like that. If you just assume that you're going to lose everyone you are close to, then you're going to be alone for the rest of your life, because eventually you'll come to believe that the same will happen to your friends and the team and you'll drive yourself crazy, and I know that's not you, H."

"You're right," Horatio said with a returning confidence. "I just need to relax and let things happen."

"That's the spirit," Ryan said, giving him a gentle pat on the shoulder. "Are you going to talk to Calleigh?"

"Eventually," Horatio said, "once I gather up the nerve."

"H, you're killin' me. She's obviously into you, so what's the big deal? Just talk to her already."

"I've...always been shy around women. I get really nervous and...stutter."

"Stutter."

"Yes...stutter. It's very obvious and...embarrassing."

"H, you have nothing to be nervous about. Look, what I would do is take a deep breath, engage in light conversation for a few minutes, then get to the intended subject. You already know that she wants you, so you know you won't be rejected, so DON'T BE NERVOUS. Promise?"

"I promise."

"Good. So when are you going to tell her?"

"As soon as I can think of something to talk about."