A/N: Thank you for your reviews. I hope you don't mind that some chapters are quite long, but I don't necessarily want to divide them into several parts.
On a second note: Someone asked if there will be a sequel of "Twist Of Fate" and since the comment was anonymous I will answer it here: There are some ideas floating around, but nothing concrete yet. I can't promise if there'll be a sequel in the near future, because I'm currently writing another story. But never say never.
Chapter 7
It was a week later, to be exact late Friday afternoon, when Horatio was busy concentrating on the two bullets he had to compare under the microscope. The week had been a long one; not because there had been so many cases, more like the opposite. It had been so quiet, that they had decided to work on some cold cases and the case file from one of those was currently lying next to him on the work bench.
The boys had already signed off and as far as Horatio had understood it, were ready for another night in the clubs. This time though, he had made it perfectly clear that they wouldn't meet him again. This one night a week ago had been enough for him and there was no way that he would let them interrogate him again. It was a good thing that alcohol had pretty much no effect on his system – since they had tried to make him more talkative with it – and so he had kept all of his secrets to himself. Well, at least most of it anyway. The good thing was though that some nice girls had appeared later on and so their attention had changed from his non-existing love life to the two girls at the bar. Thank God!
Even now he couldn't help but rolling his eyes at their poor attempts to find something out, even though there was actually nothing to find. He was a single man, with no secret girlfriend as they had claimed and so it was pretty hard to find some dirty secrets.
"Boys will be boys," he whispered to himself, though he knew that he was alone in the room. The continuous sound of a gun being fired told him that Calleigh was still busy in the adjoining firing range and it also meant that there soon would be even more bullets waiting to be compared by him and his Bullet Girl.
Well she wasn't his of course, but she definitely was the Bullet Girl of the team, he corrected himself and scribbled down some notes on a piece of paper. For now they hadn't found anything useful, but then again, everything was more useful than sitting alone at home with nothing to do.
With a sigh he straightened himself up from his bended position and rolled his neck to ease the tension that was slowly building there. A loud crack told him that he had done it correctly and the same time that it was probably time for a break. His tired eyes agreed wholeheartedly and so he gave in the temptation to watch Calleigh for a moment.
He had seen so many people with weapons, good and bad ones, but not once in his life he had connected this sight with something sultry, until he'd met Calleigh Duquesne that is. The fact that she was all in black today made it even better, because his opinion still stood – she looked good in all black. Leaning against the glass window, he watched her and the way she precisely hit the bull's eye over and over again. He had never met someone who was so brilliant at shooting, except of himself maybe and that she was a woman made it even more spectacular.
Not that he was the opinion of women being weaker and not good at shooting, but he was quite sure that this wasn't the typical women's sport, so a woman in this position was quite a rare sight. He was glad though that he had found her all these years ago and that he had convinced her to come to Miami with him. He didn't even want to imagine what would have happened if she'd said no to his offer.
He was so deeply in thoughts, that the ring of a cell phone made him jump lightly and cursing him for getting so easily distracted. He quickly reached for his own and was about to open it, when he noticed that it actually wasn't his cell that was ringing. Torn between calling Calleigh, ignoring the ring or taking the call he looked around and saw that Calleigh was still absorbed in her shooting.
In a normal case he wouldn't answer someone else's phone, but when he noticed that it wasn't a familiar number, he decided that it would do no harm. You never knew if it was important after all and he hoped that Calleigh wouldn't be mad at him.
"Caine?" he answered the phone and was quite surprised by person's name on the other side of the line.
"Oh, I think I misdialed the number. Here's Pamela from McGinty's Tavern. I actually tried to call Calleigh Duquesne, but-"
"Oh no, no," Horatio interrupted her quickly. "You dialed correctly; it's just that she can't take the call at the moment."
"Oh okay," the woman said confused and didn't know what to do.
Horatio sensed that, so he just continued. "Want to leave her a message? I can tell her as soon as she's back again," he offered and wondered why some bartender from a local waterhole would try to call Calleigh.
"If you'd do that," the woman said relieved. "Just tell her that I'm sorry to interrupt her afternoon, but Duke is acting up again and he needs someone to take him home."
Duke? Wasn't that her father's name? This sounded suspicious and got his full attention. "Okay, I'll tell her. Wanna give me the address?"
"Believe me when I say, that she won't need it, it's not the first time that…," she started but then stopped abruptly. "Well anyway, please tell her to come and thank you for taking the message."
"That's not a problem," Horatio replied and flipped the cell shut after he said goodbye. It wasn't the first time that Calleigh had to go there? So did this mean that Duke was drinking a lot? Maybe even an alcoholic? This thought rocked him to the core, but he couldn't think further about it, since he realized that the firing had stopped and this meant that Calleigh was on her way to him. Carefully he put her cell on the working bench again and did his best to concentrate on the comparison again.
Calleigh was in a very good mood; well she always was when she could spend time in the firing range but today it was even better, because she could work together with her boss. She'd been surprised when he'd entered her refuge a few hours ago, but she certainly hadn't minded at all. Spending time with him had always been a pleasure and it still was, even after his confession about his true nature. To be honest, if she hadn't seen and heard it with her own eyes and ears, she would have never believed that Horatio was a vampire at all. He was still the same as always, but then again…he'd been a vampire since she'd known him, so this didn't mean anything.
Of course she'd been very cautious around him at first, because everything she knew about vampires was from horror movies or books and so it had been no surprise that she'd also been a bit afraid of him. The evening the team had spent together at his house and the fact that Alexx had shown them her trust in Horatio had made it easier for her to adjust to this new situation. Now it was almost like it'd been before his confession and this also meant that her feelings hadn't changed; though she had to admit, that she was now even more cautious if not to show them in any way.
"I'm back again," she announced when she stepped into the room and reached for her white lab coat. "Have you found something?" she asked and walked to him.
With a small smile he stepped away from the microscope and shook his head. "Sadly but no," he replied and watched her. She was smiling, she obviously had a great time and he hated the fact that he would probably destroy this mood. He hated being the bearer of bad news.
"Too bad," she sighed and showed him the other bullets. "Maybe we can find something with these ones here."
"Yeah," he replied and knew that he had to tell her the sooner the better. "Your cell rang while you were in the firing range," he told her without preamble and waited for her reaction to it.
"Yeah?" she asked and reached for the small phone next to her. Noticing that she didn't have a call in absence she looked confused at him.
"I took the call, I hope that's okay. I didn't know if it was important and since I didn't want to interrupt you," he shrugged a bit helplessly, but was stopped by her.
"That's fine, Horatio. Don't worry about it," she smiled reassuringly. "So who was it?"
"Actually," he took a deep breath and fidget with his fingers, "it was Pamela from McGinty's Tavern," he continued and noticed the immediate change in her whole demeanor.
Calleigh just stood there and felt the world crumbling around her. McGinty's Tavern meant only one thing – her dad was drunk again. "No," she said so softly that Horatio wasn't sure if she'd actually said it or if he was imagining things. "No…are you sure? Are you really sure that it was Pamela?" she asked him almost desperately, because this couldn't be true.
Horatio ducked his head and nodded slowly. "I'm afraid so, I'm sorry Cal. She told me that Duke…your father is there and that you need to pick him up." He felt so bad for telling her, but he didn't have any other chance.
"I can't believe it!" she suddenly slammed her hand on the working bench and startled Horatio by doing this. "I can't believe it... not again.. NOT AGAIN!"
"Cal," Horatio tried to calm her and tried to hug her, but Calleigh wouldn't let him.
"Don't Horatio, just don't." Furiously she pulled off her lab coat and slammed it onto the ground. She was furious, hurt, disappointed and incredible sad.
Unsure of what to do, Horatio just watched her. He wanted to reach out, but feared that this would make things even worse. It broke his heart to see her like this. He noticed the turmoil in her, he felt the emotions radiating from her and he also saw the barely hidden tears in her eyes. "Cal," he tried a second time, but was once again stopped by her.
"I need to go, Horatio. I'm sorry," she said and tried to get her emotions under control again. "I hope you don't mind, but I need to get my father home." With that she left the room in one swift motion, leaving her cell, badge and weapon behind.
Horatio, noticing this, made a quick decision and ran after her, catching up with her after a few meters. Thankfully the night shift hadn't arrived yet and so the lab was quiet. "Cal wait, please," he called her and gently took her by the arm.
"What is it, Horatio?" she snarled and just wanted to leave the lab, drive to the Tavern and drag her father out of it.
Horatio just ignored her tone, because he was sure that she wasn't mad at him in particular. "You left this here," he said softly and showed her her belongings. "You might need them, when you… I mean…you never know," he shrugged a bit helplessly.
Looking down at her things in his hands, she took a deep, calming breath. Reaching for them without a word, she placed them at their usual places. "Thank you," she muttered quietly and started to walk again.
Surprised by this, Horatio didn't have any other chance but following her again. "Cal, is everything alright? I mean," he pulled a face when she gave him an incredulous look, "I mean I know you're not alright, but… can I help?" he asked.
"No," she quickly shook her head. She didn't want to pull him into things he didn't deserve to be pulled into, plus it was already embarrassing enough that he had taken the call. "I can do that on my own." She had done that a million times before.
"Do you want to talk about it?" he tried again, because he hated seeing her like this. All he wanted was to lend her a broad shoulder, something to lean on.
"Horatio, I really don't have the time now and-"
"No, I mean after…after you picked him up," he interrupted her calmly. "My door is always open for you, Cal. This goes for my office door, but also for my front door…so to say," he added with a small smile.
"I don't know….I…" she had never talked about this situation before with anyone and it probably wasn't good if she told her boss about her father's drinking habits.
"You don't have to be alone tonight, if you don't want to that is," he explained and rested his hand on her shoulder. Her body was almost vibrating due to all the tension running through her. "We can talk as much or as little about it… whatever you like best. I just don't want you to be alone tonight," he said in earnest. "We could just watch a movie," he shrugged. "I don't mind at all."
To be honest, she didn't want to be alone tonight, because she knew what that meant. It meant nothing more than taking her father home, making sure that he was alright, leaving him afterwards and then drive home to her own apartment. There she would curl up on her couch, fall apart and sometime later going to bed, where she wouldn't find any sleep. But still, as much as she wanted to accept his offer, something prevented her from doing so. He was her boss after all and she didn't know how he would react to it, how she would deal with it.
Feeling her hesitation he squeezed her shoulder lightly and smiled at her. "We're friends Cal and I hate to see you hurting like this. It would make me a happy camper if you'd come over or… well I can also come over."
"No!" she quickly said and cringed when she saw his face. "I mean…no, it's better at your place, if that is okay for you."
"Of course it is," he nodded. "I offered it, right?"
"You did, yes," she confirmed. "But now I really have to go before he does...stupid things…," she sighed.
"That's fine, just come over after you got him home; it doesn't matter what time it is," he told her and watched her go. This time he didn't follow her, but waited until she disappeared in the lift. "Well you'd better clean up the lab, Horatio," he talked to himself. "And then you need to get home, maybe with a little detour at the video store and the supermarket." Calleigh wasn't heartbroken by some lover, but she still was heartbroken and as far as he knew, women loved cookies and ice cream then. It was at least worth a try, especially when it came to Calleigh.
It was about three hours later, when the last scenes of Breakfast at Tiffany's were flickering on the television. It wasn't the typical type of movie Horatio would watch on his own, but Calleigh had decided on it after she'd arrived at his house. He had picked out three very different movies at the video store, because he had no idea what she'd like or not and because he'd wanted to play it safe, he had lend them all.
At least it hadn't been Gone with the Wind or something similar, because as far as he knew this was a very romantic and dramatic movie and probably not what Calleigh needed at the moment. And in Breakfast at Tiffany's there was at least a happy ending and Audrey Hepburn was a wonderful actress in his eyes.
To be honest, he hadn't so much concentrated on the movie itself, but on Calleigh. She'd done her best to hide her emotions when he'd opened the door for her, but he could read her like a book. He'd asked her if her father was Okay and the small 'mhm' he'd got in return could have meant anything and nothing. But since he didn't want to force her into anything, he'd decided to leave it alone and to wait for her to approach the subject. He'd told her that they could talk as much or as little about it and now he wanted to keep his promise.
With a sigh, Calleigh leaned forward and put the ice cream bowl onto the couch table when the closing credits appeared on the screen. She was sure that she'd blushed furiously when Horatio had told her that he'd bought some cookies and ice cream, but had nevertheless accepted them gratefully. The fact that he had also eaten some ice cream and nibbled on a cookie had made her smile and wondering if he actually needed to eat or if he'd just done it for her. She hadn't dared to ask him though.
"This was a nice movie," she declared and looked at her companion, who was casually resting with his back in the corner of his soft leather couch. "Thank you for that."
"You're more than welcome, Cal," he smiled at her and turned down the music a bit, so they could talk easily. "I'm glad that my choice of movies was to your satisfaction. Not to forget the choice of ice cream and cookies," he laughed softly.
"Most definitely," she blushed again and leaned against the back of the couch again. "I have to admit that I was and still am surprised about that though," she confessed. Never in her life before, did she have a boyfriend or male friend who'd shown so much careful consideration.
"Well yeah, I thought that you might need some comfort food and ice cream and cookies seemed to be the best choice in my eyes," he shrugged.
"You just forgot the chocolate," she teased him playfully.
"Mhm, okay, I'll think about it next time," he grinned at her and lost the grin when her smile faltered as well.
"I hope there won't be a next time," she said to no one in particular. The bad thing was that she knew that this could and probably would happen again from now on and that she couldn't run to Horatio every time. It was not fair to drag him into her family mess. She was sure that he had enough problems in his own life and he didn't need hers too.
"I'm sorry, Cal," Horatio replied and gently laid his hand on her shoulder. "I didn't mean it like that."
"I know that, it's just that…I'm sure that it will happen again and this makes me angry and sad the same time."
Horatio just nodded and hoped that she'd elaborate it, but she didn't. So he took matters in his own hands. "Don't you want to talk about it? I'm sure that it'll help to get it off your heart. We're friends Cal and I hate to see my friends hurting."
"I'm not sure if you can look at me the same after I told you, Horatio," she said sadly. Even though it wasn't her fault that her father was an alcoholic it still cast a poor light on her as well.
"Believe me when I say that there's nothing that could make me think less of you," he told her in a serious tone. "Nothing, okay? I've seen so many things in my life, that there's nothing that could shock me." He waited a few moments so the words could sink in and then he continued with his gently probing. "So I take that your dad was drunk tonight and that's why Pamela called you? And the fact that she knew your cell number means that…that it wasn't for the first time?" He was a CSI after all and there wasn't a lot that get unnoticed by him.
Calleigh just looked at her hands and nodded slowly. "Yes and….yes," she said softly and when she didn't hear anything coming from him, she dared to look up. All she saw was the compassion in his eyes and once again she found herself lucky that she agreed to his offer. "My father is…an alcoholic, Horatio. We're not proud of it, but it's just like it is," she told him quietly. "That's the reason why he and my mom are divorced, but then again, my mom also is an alcoholic, just a different one," she huffed and took a deep breath.
"Oh Cal." His heart was breaking at what he saw and he couldn't help but gather her in his arms. "I'm so sorry about that," he whispered and rested his chin on her head.
"It's not your fault, Horatio. It's nobody's except of their own," she said and unconsciously snuggled further into his embrace.
"So when you say that she's different one, what does that mean?" he asked and wasn't sure if he wanted to hear the answer.
"It means," she started and wasn't sure if she should tell him, but then again, she was also sure that he wouldn't leave the topic alone anyway. "It means that while she gets sleepy when she'd drunk too much and just goes to bed, he wouldn't. He's more the…aggressive drunk, or used to be anyway."
Horatio closed his eyes at that and had pretty good images in his mind, when she talked about aggressive. "You mean he used to hit you?" he asked and did his best to keep his anger in check.
"Me, my brothers, my mother…who ever had dared to mess up something," she answered. "But then again, it was our own fault, because we all knew how he got once he was drunk."
"No Cal, don't you say that. It's not your fault," he answered definitely. He had seen so many victims of abuse and they all thought that it was their fault. The fact that this woman in his arms thought the same, made him incredible sad and mad at her parents. "It's not your fault; it may not even be his, but the alcohols. But it's so not yours, don't even think about it."
"Yeah," she replied unconvinced and rested her head against his chest.
He knew that a few spoken words, wouldn't convince her of her innocence, but he vowed that he'd do his best to convince her some day. Calleigh didn't deserve that; nobody did, but she in particular. Carefully he leaned back into the corner of the couch to make it more comfortable for both of them and let his arms wrapped around her. "So for how long did you have to pick him up? Does it happen often?"
"It started when he moved to Miami, after he and mom got divorced," she sighed. "It always depends on his mood. Sometimes it's only once or twice a week, sometimes it's every day. You never know before… The bad thing is that it also affects his job of course and he doesn't have clients anymore and well this makes him drink even more…"
"A vicious circle," Horatio summed it up and started to run a hand through her golden hair. He rather felt than heard her soft crying and had no idea of how to help her.
"The worst is that he always promises me to stop. He promised me a million times and then he starts drinking again, like his word doesn't mean anything," she sniffed and furiously wiped away the tears. She had cried so much about him and she had promised herself to stop it and yet she was doing it again.
"He'd been dry for two months now and I had hoped that he'd finally made it and then…and then I get a call again," she continued and felt so angry about him. "He'd promised me that he would make it this time, that he'd do anything for me and see what happened. He broke his promise, again and again and again," she talked herself into rage and started to hit Horatio's chest with her fists. "He doesn't care about anyone except of himself and this stupid alcohol."
Horatio just kept quiet and let her hit him. It wasn't that she could actually hurt him anyway and he knew that she needed to let go. She was lost in her sadness and fury and now it depended on him that she'd find her way back again. And he was more than willing to be her lighthouse.
"It so unfair. So unfair Horatio. Why does it have to be me? Why does he always call me? Why is this the only time that he makes me a compliment when he's drunk? Am I not worth enough to get one when he's sober?"
"Of course you are, Calleigh," Horatio insisted. "You're so much more worth than just a compliment here and there. You should be treated like you deserve it. You're a very special woman, you have a heart of gold and it pains me to see that your dad is imposing your kindness." Right now he'd loved nothing better than going to her father and giving him a piece of his mind, but he knew that it wasn't his place to do that. Plus, Calleigh needed him right now and he'd never leave her alone in this state.
These words surprised her. Did he mean them, or did he just tell what he thought she wanted to hear? Carefully she looked at him and tried to read his face. "Do you...do you mean that?"
"Of course I do," he said sincerely and wiped away the last remains of her tears. "You deserve better and even though I can understand that you're trying to help your father, I wish you wouldn't because it's hurting you."
"I'm the only one who's still in contact with him," she admitted and averted her eyes, not wanting him to see how much his words meant to her.
"This is also a reason why he shouldn't treat you like this," Horatio pointed out. "But I don't blame you, rather the opposite. I know that family means a lot to you, so trying to help your dad is very noble from you. I just wish that he would realize it, especially the fact that he's hurting you with his behavior."
"Yeah," she replied a bit unsure and took a calming breath. "He's the best daddy in world when he's not drunk. He'd done so much for me and I feel like I need to repay that…in a way," she tried to explain her behavior.
"It's his duty as a father to do everything for you, Sweetheart. You don't have to repay anything. But as I said, you have a big heart and when someone needs you, you're always willing to reach out. There's nothing wrong with that, you just need to make sure that your help doesn't get misused," Horatio replied and gave her an encouraging smile.
"I guess that's one of my weaknesses," she admitted and once again rested her head against his chest.
"Probably, but it makes you to the person we all know and love," Horatio answered and pressed a kiss on her hair.
Calleigh just relished the feeling of being safe in his arms. Even though she wasn't the type of woman who liked talking about private things, it felt good to do it once in a while, especially with someone who didn't judge her. "Thank you for listening, Horatio," she said softly and felt the turmoil of her emotions was now changing into exhaustion.
"You're more than welcome, Cal. Thank you for trusting me with this and accepting my offer."
"Right now, there's no place on earth I'd rather be," she smiled lightly and did her best to wrap her arms around him.
Carefully, if not to wake the other person in the room, Horatio draw the curtain a bit, so he could look outside. Some time in the night it had started raining and it didn't look like it would stop anytime soon. He didn't mind rain; rain was very important for nature and as long as he could watch it from the dry inside of his home he was okay with it. The sky was cloudy, the sun not able to be seen and so he decided to just close the curtains and slip into bed again.
Slowly he crawled under the covers and huddled up against the other warm body in his bed. Protectively he wrapped his arm around the figure and felt utterly comfortable like this. It had been some time that he'd shared his bed with someone, especially someone like this and so he savored the feeling that came along with it.
"Are you awake?" he whispered softly, in case he'd misheard the change of breathing and started to draw tiny circles on the blanket and the arm underneath.
"Mhmmm," came the quiet reply that made him chuckle.
"Is that a mhmm yes, or a mhmmm no?" he teased.
"Mhmmm both."
"Ah," he raised his brows and watched with interest as his companion became more and more awake. "Did you sleep well?"
"Perfect, I can't remember when I had such a good nights sleep to be honest," she replied and carefully stretched herself. "What about you?"
"I seriously can't complain," he grinned and lifted his arm in case she wanted to turn around, which she didn't.
"You sure know how to give a girl a compliment," she sassed and reached for his arm, so they could stay like this.
"Thank you," he played along. "I do my best." Realizing what she was trying to do, he happily obliged and once again wrapped his arm around her. "I'm glad you stayed Cal," he told her softly.
"Same goes for me," she replied honestly and in fact she was. It had been so nice on the couch with him, feeling safe and secure and she hadn't wanted to give that feeling up. So when he'd offered her to stay with him over the night she had readily agreed. There'd been no way that she'd have left that night and gone to her lonely apartment. That they had shared a bed though had been more or less a coincidence.
Actually the plan had been that she would sleep in his guestroom, but somehow they both hadn't wanted to break the spell between them. And to be honest, she hadn't wanted to sleep alone that night, because she'd known that sleep wouldn't come then.
"Good," he interrupted her inner musings about last night and nuzzled her neck; content about the situation they were in. "Have you heard about the newest rumor?" he asked after a while.
"No, which one?" There were so many rumors going around in the lab, it was like in high school again.
"Mhm, that we're a couple… I mean you and me."
"Oh? And who says that?"
"Speed and Eric," he replied and wondered what he had to expect now.
"I see. Well then it has to be true, right?" she smiled. Especially Eric was like the blackboard of the lab. If there was one rumor spreading around, then he was the first one who'd heard about it. Sometimes it was funny, when it didn't concern you, sometimes it was annoying when it did concern you.
"Yeah, I think so…," he replied uncertainly, because this was definitely not what he'd expected. He'd expected her to laugh about it and saying that this was ridiculous. But this reaction surprised him. What did she mean by that? That she was okay with them being a couple, though they certainly weren't? Or did she find it unbelievable and so this was meant more in a sarcastic way, than an honest one?
"Horatio?" she interrupted his thoughts this time.
"Mhm?"
"I can hear the wheels turning in your mind, what are you thinking about?"
"Do you have some super powers, like super hearing?" he asked amused and tried to distract her.
"No," she replied softly and turned around on her other side to look at him. "But I have good instincts. So what are you thinking about?"
"Hmm," he started eloquently and watched his hand drawing circles on the blanket. "I just wondered how you mean what you said about Eric and Speed."
It took her a moment to follow him, but then it dawned her. "You mean that they're right about us being a couple?"
"Yeah," he nodded slowly. "Because we both know that we aren't and I tried to tell them that night in the club, but I'm not sure if they believed me."
"The club?" she asked intrigued.
"Yeah we met by accident in a club, Silent Sinners, you know the club where our serial killer is looking for victims. I was there in hope to catch him and the boys were out for clubbing. Eric had been a bit.. mhm.. tipsy I'd say and he started to ask me about my girlfriend."
"Which means me in other words," she summed it up.
"Actually no," he chuckled. "Mr. CSI thought I'm with Paula and no, don't ask me what led him to this highly interesting theory."
"You and Paula?" Calleigh laughed. "Now that's really interesting, I think I have to ask him about that," she said, but then came back to business again. "So when did he put me into the picture?"
"Oh well, Speed and Eric had a discussion about why there's no way I'm with Paula, respectively why I am and suddenly Eric asked Speed if he believes that I'm with you and you can imagine what happened then," he rolled his eyes.
"Interesting," she mused.
"Yeah very," Horatio snorted. "Then they tried to get me sloshed, which thankfully didn't work and then two girls appeared who suddenly had their full attention."
"Typical," she commented and could only wonder about the boys.
"Yeah, but this time it was to my luck, so I didn't mind at all. But I'm sure they still believe that they're right when it comes to us though."
"So is this a good or a bad thing?" she asked him.
Now he had to act carefully. Slowly he rolled onto his back and tried to stall time. "What do you think?" he asked cross his arms underneath his head.
Calleigh pushed herself up on her elbow and eyed him carefully. Then she started to grin and said cheekily, "What I think? Well I think that I asked you first, Mr. Caine."
Horatio just rolled his eyes and groaned inwardly. "Well it's not me who's supposed to be involved with a…well yeah with a vampire and my boss, so…," he shrugged. "But," he continued when she started to poke his chest, "I don't think that it's… a bad thing, you know?"
Calleigh nodded contentedly. "Good."
"Good?"
"Yeah, good. I don't think it's a bad thing either."
"Really?"
"Yes, really," she giggled and rested her head on his chest.
"O-okay," he replied somehow unsure and played with her hair. "So what does that mean then?"
"It means, that I wouldn't mind being with you," she said and then lifted her head to look at him. "To be honest I had hoped for that for a long time now."
Horatio couldn't help but being surprised by that. "I didn't know that..," he said and then shook his head like if he wanted to clear his mind. "I think I like that idea," he smiled, leaned a bit upwards and gave her a kiss. "Mhm, I think I like that a lot," he whispered after they broke the kiss and licked his lips.
Calleigh couldn't agree more so she just gave him one of her mega watt smiles and rested her head on his chest again. "You know," she said after a while, "this is somehow weird."
"What is?" he asked confused. "Us being together?"
"No," she quickly replied. "The fact that your heart isn't beating. I already noticed that yesterday evening and it's…well I'm definitely not used to that."
"I bet," he chuckled softly. "But there's no way that I can change it, I'm sorry."
"Don't be, I didn't say that it's a bad thing, it's just uncommon."
"Okay," he surrendered and wrapped his arms around her. "So what are your plans for today?"
"Well I didn't have any, but spending time with my new boyfriend sounds pretty good to me," she joked and if she could have it her way, she would stay in bed the whole day.
"I'm sure he wouldn't mind a bit," he chuckled. "What about heading to a park once it stops raining. The heat should have cooled down by then."
"This sounds very good. But for now, it's much too comfortable here," she sighed and adjusted her 'Horatio-pillow' so she'd be even more comfortable.
Horatio just grinned down at her. "Comfy?"
"Oh…very much so."
"Then I'm happy," he laughed and closed his eyes again. Asking her to come with him yesterday had been the best decision for a long, long time.
Tbc?