Title: Two Lives

Author: innocent choir girl (ff-dot-net), shannyfish (From Out of the Lab/Miami Heat)

Summary: Calleigh Duquesne is kidnapped and isolated from the world. She's trapped between trying to escape and protecting what she treasures most. Crossover with CSI.

Category: Crossover – Ship Ahoy! Calleigh/Horatio

Genres: Established Relationship, Suspense

Characters: Horatio Caine, Calleigh Duquesne

Warnings: none

Rating: PG-13

Chapter: 13 "A New Day"

Author's Notes: This is the very last chapter of this story…which is sort of sad, but there may be a sequel…I have no decided on whether I should tack a certain story idea onto this one or make it it's own independent storyline… Thanks be to the betas: Riley and Opal as always!

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"They weren't happy," Calleigh commented as they sat in his office. The warmth of his hand over hers made her smile.

"I don't care," Horatio told her. "We'll show them that they're wrong. That we can live together with our daughter and still remain professional in our jobs."

Her smile brightened, "You just like proving them wrong."

Smiling, he squeezed her hand. She was nervous; her southern accent seemed a bit thicker than normal. "You like it just as much as I do," he teased. When he got a laugh in response, he felt that his job for the day was done. He loved when she smiled and laughed…it made Horatio feel like she was doing better…adjusting…and possibly happy.

She liked their times like this…when it was just them and they could just sit. Calleigh didn't even mind the silence; she knew that Horatio knew exactly how she felt. They had worked together for so many years before and she had let Horatio into her life more than others. Calleigh sighed, "I should go and look over the lab…"

"You start tomorrow," Horatio told her. He didn't want her to push herself; he knew she'd do that on her own later. "That's an order."

Calleigh looked down, and then looked back up at Horatio. She had been thinking seriously about her lab and what she was expected to do and doubt clouded her head. "What if I can't do it?"

"Do you think I'd support you if I was worried that you couldn't do it?" He reached across his desk and cupped her cheek, and smiled at her. "Just give yourself some time, Sweetheart. I've watched you. You haven't lost it. You just need to get back into the lab and out into the field."

"What are we going to do if we have to work late on a case?" Calleigh asked worried about Emma. She didn't want her daughter raised by a nanny.

Taking her hands into his, he nodded knowing that her concern was for their daughter. "I suppose we'll have to stop being workaholics."

Calleigh smiled brightly, "Hard habit to break, isn't it?"

"Yes, yes it is," he said thinking that it would really be hard. Though, he had been cutting down his hours since Calleigh had been brought back to Miami. So, maybe not so impossible… "If one of us has to stay and finish evidence on a case, then the other will be able to go home. It'll work out." He finally had his own family and he wasn't going to mess up, not like Ray had. Horatio was determined to be one of those dads that their kids always loved and to always be there for Emma…and Calleigh.

"Alright," she responded nodding.

"You hungry?"

"Yeah, but would you mind us eating at home?" Calleigh asked. She knew he would tell her that any place she liked was fine, but being their last night before diving back into the lab, she wanted to enjoy time with her family. "How about something simple?" she asked.

"Simple works," Horatio responded with a smile.

"I'm feeling like grilled cheese with tomatoes and soup," Calleigh threw out. It was something easy that was more of a comfort food and it just sounded good to her.

"Haven't had grilled cheese for a while," Horatio commented and when he saw her open her mouth to say something, he quickly added, "And it sounds wonderful."

Calleigh smiled, "Are you sure? I can always make you something else."

"No, no…" he told her with a smile. "We'll have grilled cheese." It was food that as an adult you would only really have if you had kids…or at least that was the way he saw it. "Emma too?"

"Emma too."

……………………………………..

Putting his daughter to sleep was one of the highlights of Horatio's day. He sat with Calleigh and Emma on the small white couch in the nursery room. He watched his daughter, who was on Calleigh's lap, while her mother read from Doctor Seuss. His daughter enjoyed the sound of her mother's voice at the very least, he noted.

Calleigh finished reading; she folded the book and set it aside. She smiled down at Emma and kissed her head. Looking over at Horatio, she smiled, "You want to give Emma her bottle tonight?" Calleigh offered.

Normally, he'd be merely an observer, but he wasn't going to pass up a chance to become part of his daughter's nightly routine. "I'd love to," he said as he reached out and retrieved the already made bottle. He took Emma as Calleigh set her into his lap and cradled her in his arms. He started to feed Emma the bottle, watching his little girl as he did so.

Moving closer to him, Calleigh laid her head gently on his shoulder and stared down at Emma. "She has your eyes, ya know," she whispered.

Horatio smiled, "I think everything else comes from her mother."

"I dunno, her hair could darken to a red," Calleigh told him with a smile. After a minute of silence, Calleigh started speaking again. "I've always thought she was perfect…like an angel…"

"She is," Horatio agreed. "Just like her mother," he added looking over at Calleigh.

She sat up and turned her head to hide the blush rising in her cheeks. "I'm not perfect," she told him. "Far from it."

Reaching over, he turned her face back to him. "To me, you've always been perfect," he told her with a smile. To him, perfect meant that she was a real person with problems and emotions… He'd seen Calleigh through a lot and they'd been through enough together for him to know that she was perfect to him.

Bowing her head, she smiled and changed the subject. "She's asleep."

Horatio smiled and looked down at their daughter. He set the bottle on the nearby small table before he started to get up with the sleeping toddler. He felt Calleigh get up with him and move over to the crib also. Carefully, he laid Emma down and pulled the thin blanket up to her chest. Leaning down, he kissed her forehead and then moved out of the way, so that Calleigh could say her goodnight.

Placing a kiss in the same place Horatio had, Calleigh smiled, "Goodnight Darlin'," she whispered. Carefully, she raised the railing as quietly and gently as possible. She stood there, just watching Emma sleep for a couple of minutes before she turned around and noticed Horatio was no longer in the room. She made her way out of the nursery and slowly closed the door until it was only open a crack.

Calleigh walked down the hallway and found him in his bedroom going through a drawer with his back to her. "You left," she said leaning against the doorframe.

"I wanted to get your other surprise," he explained. Turning around, he saw her at the perimeter of his room. The doorways of their bedrooms were borders that neither had crossed since they moved. "You can come in," he offered, and motioned for her to move into the room.

Calleigh was hesitant, but walked into the room farther. She had been able to see his dresser on the far wall under the window and his blue clad bed from the hallway, but being in the room, she was able to see pictures hung on the side wall. A bookcase with forensic texts on the other wall.

"We should really start taking pictures… She's going to be all grown up before we realize it." Horatio sat down on the edge of his bed and motioned for her to join him.

"I don't have any baby pictures of her…" Calleigh said taking a seat next to him and looking over at the wall of pictures. They were the ones from his old place with a couple of new ones of him with the team.

"I could arrange for you to have them," Horatio offered.

Calleigh shrugged for a moment.

"Are you afraid you'll be reminded?" he pressed wanting to know what she was thinking and feeling.

"I dunno…but he's in some of the pictures…" She sighed and looked over at him, "And you're in none of them…"

Horatio nodded, "Well, maybe Emma's baby pictures will be a surprise for another day." Reaching out, he took her hand and squeezed it, "You know how you've been nervous about Emma?" He watched as she shook her head. Turning her hand over in his, he left it palm up, and deposited a blue velvet bag into it.

She looked at him oddly for a moment before opening it. Inside she found a silver chain with an oval locket at the end. She examined it and smiled when she saw that her daughter's face had been engraved on one side and her first and middle name were on the back. "Horatio—"

"Open it," he insisted before she could finish what she had intended on saying.

Calleigh opened it and found a computer chip encased in an acrylic shell attached to one of the sides took up all the room on the inside of the locket. "What is it?" she asked quite confused.

"It has," he started, "All of Emma's information in it… The DNA test results are in it…and her birth certificate… No one's ever going to be able to take her away from you, Calleigh…" Horatio thought of it as another peace of mind for her, and just hoped she'd see it that way, too. He also knew that if they were both going to be CSIs, that meant that they'd be making enemies and if Emma was ever taken, they'd be able to identify her DNA using the microchip. It was peace of mind in more ways than one.

"A microchip?" she asked and a smile spread across her face. "Ya know normally," Calleigh began, but couldn't help the brighter smile that took its place on her face before continuing. "People put pictures in these things…"

Horatio returned her smile and let his head fall down and he shook his head. She was getting better, he knew that much…and moments like these were proof of just that. "But we're not very normal people, are we?"

"No, I suppose we're not," she conceded and closed it. "And its waterproof I see. Very practical." Calleigh took the time to put the locket around her neck before reaching out to touch his face, and quietly whispered, "I love it."

"I'm glad," he responded as he lifted his head to look at her.

She fingered it as she continued to smile before speaking up softly, "But ya know…ya do too much for me…"

Smiling, Horatio looked over to the wall of pictures before looking back at her. "You've done so much for me…" he told her at barely a whisper. He knew that she probably didn't realize it, but she'd been his savior for the longest time… She was the one that he trusted with not only his life, but his heart and soul. Finding her again, and being given the gift of a family with her…it had been like she'd saved him all over again. Family was something he'd thought he'd lost…and now she was giving it back to him…

……………………………………

Calleigh opened her eyes and looked over frantically. Her heart felt like it was going to jump out of her chest and she was panting, trying to catch her breath. Sweat trickled down her neck and forehead. "It was only a dream," she reminded herself and got up from her bed, and headed for Emma's room. It was a short distance, but getting there and seeing her daughter rather than listening on the baby monitor would go a long way to easing her heart. It wasn't often she had this dream, and Calleigh had figured that it was most likely from the thought of leaving Emma with someone while she was at work.

Her daughter sound asleep was all she needed to see, and she felt silly having to see Emma, but she did feel better… Leaning against the railing, she sighed and wrapped her arms around herself. She knew that Emma was safe there…but for some reason whenever the nightmare popped up, she needed to see her to know for sure or else she wouldn't be able to sleep. "Love you," she whispered and leaned down and placed a kiss on her daughter's cheek. Turning, she walked out of the nursery and headed towards her room. Stopping outside, Calleigh looked down the hall towards the last bedroom. She wondered if he got up in the middle of the night, too, and checked on Emma… Letting her head fall so that her eyes were on the carpet, she stood out in the hallway thinking.

Minutes later, she found herself at his doorway. His door was open and practically inviting her in. Horatio always left his door open like that so that if she needed anything she'd be able to get to him quickly. Calleigh slowly padded in, and then sat on the edge of the bed. Touching his face, she smiled down at him when his eyes started to open. She could see them as blue even in the dark.

"What's wrong?" Horatio asked sleepily as he started to sit up.

Calleigh shook her head, "Nothin'." It felt odd to be there all of the sudden, but she didn't get up to leave. "Do you mind," she started and then looked right into his eyes. "Do you mind if I sleep in here with you…just for tonight?" she asked wondering if Horatio would be able to chase the nightmares away.

"You alright?" he asked scooting over slowly.

"Just…nightmares," she whispered as she pulled her pajama pant clad legs up onto the bed and under the covers. Calleigh looked over at him and then laid her head on his chest as her arms found their way around him. "This is much better…"

Horatio smiled, and wrapped his arms around her in response. "Sleep well…" he whispered happy that their boundaries had finally defaulted. Calleigh was pretty close to the Calleigh he had thought he'd lost…

Closing her eyes, she squirmed a bit until she found the most comfortable position. "I love you," she whispered. Calleigh felt like those two years hadn't passed there in his arms… It was so easy to relax in his warm embrace and to just let go.

"I love you," he told her softly before pressing a kiss into her hair. "Love you." Tears fell down his cheeks and into her hair as he thought about how far they'd both come along. Forcing his eyes shut, he let his head fall so that it was on top of hers. "Sleep well, my love."

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The End.