Title: Reconciliation Part 5
Author: Aeon Cole
Rating: FRT
Warning: Slash
Fandom: CSI Miami
Pairing: Horatio/Speed
Prompt: #15 Reflection
Word Count: 1000
Summary: Tim gets a phone call that changes his outlook on life and gives him the chance to reconcile with his father.
Chapter Summary: Michael does some reflecting.
Disclaimer: Arya and Michael Speedle belong to me. The rest do not.
Author's Note: For the 20 Established Relationships challenge on LiveJournal.
It was four in the morning and Michael Speedle lay awake in his hospital bed. His surgery was scheduled for ten that morning and though he would never admit it to anyone, he was nervous. He wasn't so much nervous about going under the knife as he was about not coming out again. He worried that he wouldn't get his chance to make things right. He kept thinking of his son and all of the wasted years.
He picked up the picture his wife had brought him and stared at it, trying to take in every little detail of his son's appearance. In the photo Tim was standing next to Arya. He was at least a half a head taller than his mother which would put at a bit over six feet. Probably as tall as Michael himself had been in his younger days. He also seemed to carry Michael's perpetual five o'clock shadow and unruly hair. Unconsciously, he ran a hand over his face feeling the stubble. Tim had always been thin as a child despite the fact that he was constantly eating. Apparently that hadn't changed. In his face he could see his wife's eyes and his own smile. He had always thought that his son was a perfect blend of he and Arya.
As he stared at the photo, he tried to picture what Tim's life was like now. Arya had described his house and something of his relationship with Horatio. And from his phone conversations with Tim he'd learned something about what he did for a living and how he spent his days at work. Michael was proud of the fact that Tim had taken his love of science and his natural curiosity and turned them into something good, something that helped people. He had always wondered, when his son was young, what he would become when he grew up.
He found his mind drifting back to some of the times that Tim's curiosity had gotten him into trouble when he was a child. He'd had to rescue his son more than once from his mother's wrath when he'd taken something apart or created some other type of havoc. He recalled the time when Tim was six and had taken his mother's favorite radio apart to try to find where the voices came from. It had taken him most of an afternoon to get the thing back together again before his wife found out what the boy had done. After, he'd made the young Tim promise to ask before doing anything like that again and they'd agreed to keep the incident as their secret so Tim wouldn't get in trouble with his mother.
Arya had been young when Tim was born and she was ill equipped to deal with a child as curious about the world as Tim had been. She saw his curiosity as disobedience while Michael recognized it for what it was, having been such a child himself. He tried to keep Tim's active mind occupied. He taught him to play chess and got him interested in reading which he took to with an enthusiasm rarely seen in most young children. It was something that had carried him throughout his life. And he taught him to cook. Apparently, from what his wife had said, despite their falling out, Tim had decided to continue with that particular aspect of his life and had become quite adept at it.
Michael sighed and closed his eyes. He was happy to hear that Tim would be coming to New York, that he wanted to visit with him. There was so much that he wanted to say to his son that needed to be said in person. In particular he needed to apologize for being such a stubborn ass and missing out on nearly twenty years of his son's life.
888
Horatio rolled over in bed and glanced at the clock. It was four in the morning and Tim was restless, again. But, he chose not to wake his lover this time believing that a restless sleep was better than no sleep at all. He gently rubbed a hand over Tim's back and whispered soothing words until he calmed. He laid back down but knew that more sleep would not come easily. He stayed long enough to ensure that Tim was sleeping peacefully once again then he got up, threw on a pair of sweat pants, and headed down the hallway to the study. He would do some work until he either tired enough to go back to sleep or Tim woke up.
While he sat at the computer he had some time to think. Michael Speedle was dying, it was just a matter of time and he worried how Tim would handle that moment when it came. Tim knew and understood what was coming but knowing something and being ready for it emotionally were two different things. Horatio knew this from personal experience. It had taken Tim three years to let himself deal with David's death. The situation with his father had been brewing for almost twenty and he still didn't know how thing would play out over the next few weeks.
He was concerned about their trip to New York. He didn't know what to expect from Michael Speedle. Tim had said that his father's attitude seemed positive toward their coming to visit. But Horatio still had some reservations about meeting his father-in-law. He tried to keep an open mind but he had trouble separating himself from all of the pain he knew the man had caused his son over the years.
Horatio was pulled from his thoughts by a noise at the door. He turned and found Tim standing there clad only in a pair of boxers. "I woke you up again, didn't I?" he asked.
Horatio smiled at him. "S'okay. I had some work to do."
Tim walked over and stood between Horatio's legs looking down at him. "You're a terrible liar," he said with a smirk.
Horatio brought his hands up and brushed them along Tim's sides. Tim leaned down and placed a kiss on Horatio's lips. He took his hands and pulled him up off the chair. "Come back to bed," he said. Horatio smiled as Tim led him by the hand back to their bedroom.
TBC