Title: Reconciliation Part 8
Author: Aeon Cole
Rating: FRT
Warning: Slash
Fandom: CSI Miami
Pairing: Horatio/Speed
Challenge: 20estrelships
Prompt: #19 Future
Word Count: 1370
Summary: Tim gets a phone call that changes his outlook on life and gives him the chance to reconcile with his father.
Chapter Summary: Horatio and Michael come to an understanding.
Disclaimer: Arya and Michael Speedle belong to me. The rest do not.
Author's Note: For the 20 Established Relationships challenge on LiveJournal.
Horatio walked into the room behind Tim and stood at the end of the bed while Arya stepped up next to her husband. Tim introduced them. "Dad, this is Horatio Caine," he said as he reached out for Horatio's hand. "Horatio, my dad."
Horatio drew himself up to his full height and looked Michael in the eye. "Sir," he said. "It's good to finally meet you," he continued rather stiffly.
Michael held his gaze and said, "Same here."
But there was something about Horatio's body language that got Michael's attention. He was polite, cordial, but the look in his eyes and the way he carried himself was screaming something else. He decided that it would be better to get whatever it was out in the open sooner rather than later.
He glanced over at his wife then to his son. "Ary, Tim, would you give us a moment alone?"
Tim glanced over at Horatio who simply nodded. He was a bit concerned about what his father wanted but he knew Horatio was more than capable of handling himself. He leaned over and whispered in Horatio's ear, "Be nice," before he left the room.
Once they were alone, Michael said, "You don't like me very much. I can tell."
Horatio, very politely, responded, "I have no feelings one way or the other."
"You're not a very good liar, Mr. Caine. Especially for a cop," Michael said. "If you have any concerns or something you want to say to me, just say it."
Horatio didn't soften his expression at all. "Fine," he said. "I have one concern and one concern only. Tim's happiness. As long as he's happy and safe, I'm happy. But if he's upset or hurt in any way by you again, you'll be sorry we ever met."
Michael looked him in the eye and didn't flinch. "I admit I've made some mistakes, some whoppers actually, but I'm not stupid. I'm an educated man, Mr. Caine, and in some ways that makes things much worse. You see, I know and understand exactly what I did to my son. I know how much I hurt him. But, it's taken me a long time to admit that to myself. And the last thing I want, at this point in my life, is to see Tim hurt again. So, that warning you gave me, it goes both ways."
Both men locked eyes, neither backing down. Each could see the truth of what the other had said. Michael held out his hand. "Truce? For Tim's sake." Horatio gave a quick nod and shook the older man's hand. Both men relaxed a bit.
Horatio glance back at the door. "I, uh, should I get Tim?" he asked.
"Hang on for a bit," Michael replied. Horatio turned back to face him. "Can we talk for a minute?"
Horatio nodded. "If you like," he said and took a seat next to the bed.
"Are you a religious man, Mr. Caine?" Michael asked.
"After a fashion, I suppose."
"I was raised Catholic. I was an altar boy," Michael said.
"As was I," Horatio commented, not quite knowing where Michael was going with his train of thought.
"I've learned to put a lot of my beliefs aside recently. I've come to realize, in my old age, that my son is more important to me and while I admit that I don't understand your life together, I want you to know that I accept it."
"Tim and I have done a lot of talking over the past few weeks," Horatio said. "He's told me something of your relationship with him when he was younger. I know that it was a good one, then."
Michael nodded. "Did you get along well with your father, Mr. Caine?"
"Horatio," he offered.
"Horatio," Michael repeated then waited for an answer to his question.
Horatio drew in a breath. Oddly enough, this was almost the same conversation he'd had with Arya a couple of weeks back. "No," he answered plainly. "My father was an alcoholic and abusive. I did everything in my power to avoid him."
Michael eyed him carefully. "Any positive memories at all?"
Horatio's expression hardened again as he answered. "He beat the shit out of me and my little brother on a regular basis. My mother was a strict Catholic, didn't believe in divorce. When you married, you married for life, and you made the best of it. That was what she believed."
"Your parents, they're no longer alive?" He was asking a question that he already knew the answer to, though Arya hadn't told him the circumstances.
"No sir. My father killed my mother. I was twenty-three, my little brother was eighteen. And I was forced to make a split second decision that I've had to live with for more than twenty years. So, to answer your previous question, no. Any positive memories I might have had were wiped out by that."
Michael was silent for a few moments while he allowed what Horatio had told him to settle in. "Tim said you tended to be a bit overprotective of him. I guess I can see why."
"I don't like to see people hurt," Horatio responded.
Michael nodded his approval. "That's an admirable quality," he said. Satisfied for the moment, he added, "You want to let them back in?"
Horatio moved to the door and as he opened it Tim, who had been absently leaning up against it, stumbled into the room. Horatio caught him before he hit the floor. Michael rolled his eyes and muttered, "Nothing's changed."
888
They spent the next few days preparing Michael for the idea of moving to Miami. Since he had no family left in New York, it didn't really take much convincing and he only put up a token resistance. It would be a couple of weeks before he was ready to travel and the doctors wanted him to go through his first round of chemo before he left. After that, they would coordinate things with the hospital in Florida.
Horatio and Tim had to return to Miami, by special request of the sheriff, to handle a big case. But they returned two weeks later to help Arya pack up Michael's things in preparation to sell the house and Horatio got his first look at the place where Tim had grown up.
"So this is it?" he asked as they walked into the house. It was smaller than he'd imagined, but typical for that area of Queens.
Tim smiled and glanced around. The place hadn't changed all that much in twenty years even if the neighborhood had. He wandered through the living room and stopped in front of an open door. He stared inside.
Horatio walked over and asked, "What is it?" He peeked in and saw that Tim was staring into a bedroom that seemed to be decorated to suit a teenage boy. He glanced at his partner. "Yours?"
Tim nodded, unable to speak for a moment. He was stunned to find out that his parents had left his room basically untouched for almost twenty years and he was once again assaulted with memories of the last time he'd seen it. He could see himself as a boy, angry and upset, furiously stuffing his clothes and a few possessions into a duffle bag. He could hear his mother crying, begging him not to leave. Then he felt a hand on his shoulder and he shook his head.
"Sorry," he said as he turned to Horatio. "Flashback," he added with a sad smile.
"You sure you're up for this?" Horatio asked.
"Yeah," Tim answered. "Wanna help?"
Horatio took his hand and led him into the room. Tim knew that this was the next step in putting his past behind him. In two days they would be taking Michael to Miami and his last ties to New York would be severed. A whole new chapter of his life was about to begin and he really wasn't sure what to expect. But the one thing he did know for certain was that whatever the future held for him, he would have his family with him and they would face it together.
Fin
Note: Before you all start asking, this is just the end of this story. There will be more.