Chapter 2

Silence. That's what Horatio liked. No street noises, no building sites in his near, no cell phones chirping, and no neighbors cutting the grass at 7 in the morning. Just silence. Every now and then there was a low ripple of the waves against the boat and sometimes the cry of a gull. Yes, that's what he loved. Casually, he lay in his chair on deck, wearing his fishing hat, pulled down low over his face, a sight no one but his son would ever see, and let himself be lulled by the waves. The fishing poles were standing in their gadgets, waiting for a bite. It wasn't about the fishing itself, but more about the togetherness with his sprig, who was currently below deck, getting them something to drink. When they caught a fish, they'd be happy, if not, it wouldn't decry their trip. They had enough food and still a lot of time to catch a fish.

Laden with two cans of limo, Elijah closed the small door of the cabin behind him and slumped down next to his dad. He wasn't entirely sure if his dad was still awake, but there was a good way of finding out. "Dad?"

Horatio knew that tone and most of the time it spelled trouble. At least for him. How easy it would be to feign sleep? But this would go against everything he believed in, so he lifted his hat a bit to peep out under the brim. "Mhm?"

"When did you have your first girlfriend?"

He knew it! He knew that this would lead into such a direction. A direction that made him still feel uncomfortable, even at his age. They already had had The Talk a few years ago, when Horatio had almost died of embarrassment. And now his son came up with such a question? Life was unfair. "Why do you ask?"

A shrug of the shoulder was everything he got as an answer.

And this told him, that Eli was serious about it. "I was a bit older than you. Why do you ask? Do you have one?" If he did, it was even better that Samantha hadn't allowed him to stay home alone. If his ex-wife knew about it anyway. Boys weren't known for talking about such things with their mothers.

Playing with his baseball cap and putting it on again, Elijah tried to stall for time. "Well...probably," he muttered, not sure of how to deal with the situation. Actually, yes. I think."

"You think?" Horatio was confused, but really interested. "Hm, this means she isn't your girlfriend yet, but you wouldn't mind?"

"Yes," the boy nodded. "I like her a lot. And she likes me too. But we only just met at the start of the school year. Her parents moved to Miami and she came into my class," he explained freely. He knew he could trust his father with the information and be taken seriously at the same time.

"That's wonderful, Eli. I'm happy for you. Does mom know?" When she found out, he was pretty sure she would ask him to have another talk about the birds and bees with his son. He knew Samantha, she was a bit overprotective. Then again, he wasn't so keen on becoming a grandfather right now, if and only if the two love birds would get that far.

Sheepishly, Elijah looked out to the ocean before answering. "No, mum doesn't know. I've only known Amber for 3 weeks, dad." If he would have told his mum, she'd have told him to talk about certain things with his dad. But he already knew about those things.

"Then she won't hear it from me, as long as you promise me to tell her some day." He would never abuse the trust of his son. It was too precious for him. "Then I do hope that Amber is The One for you," he smiled. "And you won't make me a grandfather, okay? Not now anyway." This was really serious. "You can think about such…things…when you're older."

"Man…," he rolled his eyes, grinned, but quickly became serious again. "We didn't uhm..," he cleared his throat, "…well you know…" Even though there was nothing to be ashamed of, the topic wasn't so easy for him, but there had been nothing more than a kiss on the cheek.

"That's how it should be. You're far too young for it anyway," Horatio stated. "You should take your time until you're…30."

He was about to say something, when it dawned to him. "Ah. So like you dad?"

"Right," Horatio nodded and laughed. "Okay, let's say not until you're 30, but definitely till you're older than now. It's a big step; no one should take lightly, no matter how old he or she is." Eventually he could just build on his son's prudence. But when the hormones gained the upper hand, he couldn't do anything against it.

"Was mum your first girlfriend?" Elijah asked.

"No," H answered truthfully. "But she was my second. I met her in college, while I had my first girlfriend in High School."

"Did you have this prickle…?" It was very interesting for Elijah, since they never had the chance, or the reason to talk about such things.

"Oh yes," Horatio smiled dreamily, being 20 years away. "I couldn't eat, because I got sick thanks to the anxiety and I stuttered because I was so nervous. I'm still surprised that she didn't think I was an idiot," he laughed heartily about himself. "Believe me, there is nothing better than being in love, in case it works for both ways."

Elijah nodded. His feelings were the same, yet different. "How do you know, that you found The One?"

"You just know it. I don't think it's the same with everyone. If you're looking forward to see this woman every day, if you feel this prickle while thinking about her…if you want to share everything with her…these are all signs for it. It can be love or not…you'll see in time. Lucky ones find them immediately, others…need a bit longer."

Mindful, the boy listened to him. What his father said made sense, but he still couldn't explain why he was still single. Apparently, Samantha Fisher had not been The One. Or they'd still be married and his mother wouldn't have a boyfriend. "So that means, you're not one of the lucky ones, right?" He carefully asked, because he didn't want to destroy this special moment.

Horatio had to think about that for a while. Probably not, right? He wasn't sure about it. He was happy, but something was missing, no, someone he could share his happiness with. Someone who accepted him like he was. Someone who was…unreachable for him. "No, I don't think so," he denied in the end, a small spark of regret in his voice.

Despite everything this surprised Elijah. "Have you been happy with mum at all?"

"Yes. You wouldn't be here, if I hadn't. Believe me," he smirked. "Besides, I wouldn't have married her. I was very happy with her, but through different circumstances…," he shrugged his shoulders. "I guess she wasn't The One for me. But I don't regret a thing."

Thoughtfully, Elijah played with his fishing pole. He had recognized the sad undertone in his father's voice. Once again a typical Caine character trade – empathy. "Do you think you will find her some day?"

"Maybe…I do hope so. According to aunt Alexx I already have, but I think she's wrong about this."

The fishing pole was forgotten immediately and the boys' head turned into his father's direction. "You found someone?" That would be fantastic. He so wished that his father would find a girlfriend. He could see that this whole situation was hurting his dad a lot, even though he didn't want to admit it. This was a bad Caine character trade – being a lone wolf and not talking about your feelings openly.

"If you mean that I'm dating someone, then no," he quickly shook his head. "It wouldn't work. It's too complicated. But tell that aunt Alexx, she doesn't want to hear it," he rolled his eyes playfully.

The boy blinked confused. If his father wasn't going out with her, they were no couple, right? "I don't get it. You have a girlfriend? But you're not going out with her?" Adults were really weird sometimes.

"What?? No, no. I don't have a girlfriend. Alexx just said she was the right one. That's all. But what I think is that it's too complicated, but you know aunt Alexx, she doesn't want to hear such things." Once Alexx smelled a rat, you were lost.

"Complicated?" Now he was totally confused, which was plain to see. He narrowed his eyes he run the back of his hand over his forehead, showing a glimpse of his blonde hair. "How do you mean?"

"For one thing, this woman is younger than me...," Horatio started and took a deep breath. "And the biggest problem is that we work together. And work relationships aren't really wanted. Furthermore, I highly doubt she's interested in me. She can have any man in the lab, she just needs to snap her fingers and ta da she has them at her feet."

Quickly he went through the group picture he had seen once and since there was only one other woman except of aunt Calleigh in his father's team, he didn't have any problems to pick her out. "The blonde?"

Horatio frowned. "How do you know?"

Oops. "Uhm…am I right?" Elijah ignored the question. Best defence.

"Yeah, you are, but I ask myself what you're doing in your free time, Junior," he chided him playfully. "Her name is Calleigh, she's my ballistic expert."

"Wow. Cool." Elijah was pleased with himself, apparently he had inherited his father's CSI talents. Or he had been incredible lucky. "And? You wanna ask her? I mean for a date, not the other important question," he grinned.

"Believe me, I wouldn't ask her that," Horatio laughed, bur became serious again. "I don't think so, no. There's just too much against it. It's not like…I'm not interested in her but.."

"Then there is no but," Elijah shook his head. "Daaad are you scared??"

"Of course not." Of course he was. When he was interested in a woman, he still got nervous like 20 years ago. "I just think that it's going to be too complicated, I'm her boss after all."

He knew his dad was lying. "Of course you are."

"And even if I were scared…it's not a bad thing…purely hypothetical of course. There's a lot at stake for me…and since she doesn't seem to be interested in me, it's not worth thinking about it." Why did he agree to have this conversation?

"So you already asked her? Or how do you know, that she's not interested in you?"

"I just know it, okay? There's nothing that says she does." It wasn't quite a rational thinking, but when someone was in love he didn't use his mind.

Since his dad started to block, Elijah stopped before he would overstep the mark. "You never know. But I'd be happy for you," he whispered and looked out to the sea.

Horatio smiled and squeezed his son's shoulder. "Thank you. You wouldn't mind? Me, having another woman in my life other than your mother?" Elijah was the most important person in his life and if he had to decide between his son and a woman, the woman would always lose.

His head turned to his dad. "Why not? Mom's got Paul," he shrugged at the mention of his mother's boyfriend.

"Right. I just wanted to make sure. In case I ever ask her out."

"As long as you're still there for me," the boy said. "It's fine."

"I will be for as long as you want me, son. No matter when, where or how late it is. You know that and nothing will change it." There was no doubt about it. "So when will I get to meet Amber?" He asked mischievously.

He was silent for a moment and tapped with his foot. It wasn't that easy. "Am I allowed to?" Sometimes he felt like being part of a witness protection program. Always needing to ask what he was allowed to say or not. "I mean…I haven't told her about you."

This was an awkward situation. Normally, Horatio did everything to avoid telling people that Eli was his son. But…he also wanted to be a part of his life and that meant that he wanted to meet the girlfriend. "You know we talked about that, son," he said softly and let his hand rest on the boy's shoulder. He had promised Elijah, that he could decide when he turned 21 whether he wanted to stay a Fisher or become a Caine. "And I really want to meet Amber. If you trust her, then so do I."

Taking a deep breath, Elijah bit his lip. "I've…only known her for a short time, so I don't really know what do to," he admitted with a hint of melancholy in his voice. On the one hand he was curious about his father's opinion about Amber, on the other hand he didn't want to risk their secret by accident. That was one reason why he had never visited the lab, even though he really wanted to see it some time.

Difficult. This was really difficult. It hurt him badly that his son always had to cut back because of his job. "What about waiting for a bit and see what happens. And then you two come to visit me, or I'll come over. And if she asks who your dad is…tell her the truth and if she asks about my work…tell her the truth again."

He could live with that. "Okay," he nodded and laid his hand on his father's. "Sounds like a plan."

"Very good. Now let's see if we get a bite or not, okay?" Horatio smiled contently and winked at his son. "And don't you dare to team up with aunt Alexx, hm?"

Enraged by that, Elijah straightened himself up. "Me? Team up with aunt Alexx?! No way!"

"I'm not sure if I can believe you," Horatio grinned. "I don't think so. If I ask her out, then it's in my pace."

"That will take forever," the boy whined playfully. "I should ask aunt Alexx for advice."

"No you won't. You…you have no idea what will happen with Alexx if you do. She'll transform into a match-maker and that is dangerous," he said melodramatically. "And now enough of my non-existent love life and back to fishing."

Elijah liked that. "So you have at least one sense of achievement, hm?" He nudged his dad and nothing remained of the shy boy a few minutes ago.

"Positive, Junior. I'm gonna show you how to catch a fish. Watch, learn and take notes," he laughed. He had needed this fishing trip.

tbc