A/N: Thank you all for your reviews. So Horatio and Cal made up, let's find out how the team will react to their relationship. Plus.. we're also going to find out a bit more about H's past and our killer. Hope you like it.

Chapter12

When a chirping tone woke Horatio a few days later, he knew that his sleep was officially over. With closed eyes he reached for the cell phone and flipped it open. "Horatio?" he mumbled sleepily and tried his best not to fall asleep again. Something his bed companion didn't seem to have any problems with, because Cal hadn't even moved.

"Uh..H?" Speed asked confused when he heard his boss's voice.

"Yes, Speed. What is it?"

"I…actually wanted to call Calleigh," Speed replied uncertainly. Had he called the wrong number? He took a quick look at the cell in his hand and suddenly started to grin. He had called Calleigh, so if Horatio was picking up the phone in the morning this had to mean that… "Well," he grinned, "I think I can also talk to you and you can tell her afterwards."

Groaning Horatio opened his eyes and realized that he had indeed picked up Calleigh's cell in his sleepy state of mind. He would never hear the end of this he was sure. "Speed..," he warned the young man.

"Oh come on, H. We all knew that it was bound to happen and I can already tell you that we're happy for you both. Ha, this will cost Delko a few Dollars," Speed laughed. "But don't you dare to hurt her, or we'll kill you...well…as good as we can, but you know what I mean."

"I do," Horatio rumpled, "and you don't have to worry about that. So why did you call?"

"We have a case. Alexx is already on the way, so is Frank. Actually I'm just about to leave the house as well."

This was interesting. "Why didn't he call me?"

"Apparently he tried to, but you didn't pick up," Speed smirked.

"This morning is getting better and better," Horatio groaned again and could already feel a headache coming his way.

"Just tell him that the battery is dead, no need to tell him that you were to groggy to pick up the phone." Speed replied amused.

"Speed!" he growled. "That's not funny!"

Speed just laughed. "Oh but it is, believe me." Knowing that he shouldn't annoy his boss too much, he became serious again. "It's a beach victim again."

"Okay, this is it. This is officially a bad morning now."

"Yeah, let me give you the address and I'll see you two there."

Reaching for a sheet of paper and a pencil, Horatio wrote down the address quickly. "We'll be there in 30."

"Okay, see ya later H and oh...don't forget to recharge the battery," he snickered.

"Funny," Horatio rolled his eyes and ended the call.

"What's funny?" a sleepy voice next to him asked and soon a petite blonde was snuggling up to him.

"Speed is. I picked up your phone by accident and he's having the time of his life."

"Why did you pick up my phone?" she asked but then it hit her. "You picked up my phone and Speed was on the phone?" she shrieked and sat up.

So this was a way to wake her up. Interesting. He had tried a lot of things during their time together, but nothing had ever really worked. If Calleigh was asleep, it was pretty difficult to wake her up again. "Uh-huh," he nodded slowly. "We were both confused, but then...let's say…things made sense for both of us."

"So he knows that we..," she pointed at him and herself.

"Yes, he does," Horatio nodded again and got out of bed. "And he said that they're all happy for us, Delko will lose some money and that if I hurt, they'd try to kill me...or whatever comes close to that," he chuckled.

"That sounds like them," she sighed and followed him. "So do you really think they're happy?" she asked when she entered the bathroom behind him.

"Absolutely. Alexx will be thrilled and the boys will tease us in their oh so lovely way. There's no need to worry about them, Cal."

Wrapping her arms around his waist, she took a deep breath. "It was about time to tell them anyway, right?"

"Mhm, it was," he replied and started to stroke her back.

Enjoying his gentle ministrations, Calleigh felt no need to leave his embrace. "So why did he call?"

"We have another beach victim and the team is already on its way. I told him that we'll be there in 30."

"30 minutes, huh? Well I guess we can only make it if we share the shower, don't you think?" she looked up and batted her eyelashes at him.

"Looking so innocent from the outside, but being so devilish inside," he grinned down at her. "I'm not sure if having a shower together won't be counterproductive, but it's worth a try."

Slapping his chest, she wiggled out of his embrace and stepped into the shower. Once inside, she turned on the water and grinned at him. "It's a good thing that I'm not the only devil here. So are you going to just stand there and watch me Handsome, or will you come in and help me with my back?"

"I love being your knight in shining armour," he laughed and quickly joined her in the shower.

As chance would have it, it had taken Horatio and Calleigh a little longer than 30 minutes to arrive at the crime scene and the smirks that Speed and Eric were giving them, when they got out of the Hummer, told them that Speed had spread the news about their relationship. Not that they minded though, in a way, they were relieved that they were out in the open. Of course, playing hide and seek and keeping their relationship private had also been nice, but sharing it with their friends and family was even better.

"Horatio, I really hope you recharged the battery," Frank greeted them in his typical way.

It looked like Speed had actually told him this little lie and Frank had believed him as well. "I can assure you Frank, that my battery is now full," he smirked and winked at Calleigh who was making her way to the boys.

Not really getting what was going on, Frank just furrowed his brows and mumbled something under his breath that sounded like "crazy scientists and their weird kind of humour".

"So what do you have for me?" Horatio became all business again. "Another beach victim? Is it our killer?"

"It definitely looks like it," Frank nodded. "Young, blond woman, no weapon so far and no witnesses."

"Wonderful, so who found her?" Horatio asked and they both walked to the victim where Alexx was busy working.

"Life guard actually. He was early today and wanted to climb on his tower when he almost stumbled over her."

"And here I thought that I had a lousy start in the morning," H commented lightly.

"I think he won by length," Frank chuckled. "There's one thing though that is different from our other victims."

"Which is?" H asked intrigued.

"He left us a message."

"A message?" Now this was a surprise.

"Yep, have a look at her," Frank nodded and pointed at the victims stomach.

The moment he saw the message, Horatio's blood ran cold. The perp had used the victim's blood to write his message, a message that Horatio understood all too well.

"We have no idea who he's talking to though," Frank interrupted his thoughts. "I mean "Too Late Childe"…that could be anyone. Is the victim this childe? Or someone else? I actually can't think of anything."

But Horatio could. He knew the meaning. He knew exactly who he was dealing with. "Yes that's pretty weird," he agreed with Frank. "He's probably playing some crazy game. I'm sure we'll find out."

"It definitely is a crazy one, Horatio. And look at the word "childe" who uses such a word in our days?"

Oh Horatio knew many of them, but he didn't want to share this information with Frank. "Maybe he's into history? As I said, we'll find out Frank," he patted the other man's shoulder and crouched down next to Alexx. "Same COD as always?"

"I can't say for sure, but it looks like it. Time of Death was in the early morning…"

"I'm sure we'll find a stamp on her and the club will be Silent Sinners," Horatio mused and shook his head.

"We need to stop this animal, Horatio. He's spinning out of control."

"I know," he nodded. He quickly looked around and saw that Frank was talking to the life guard again. "Meet me in my office once we're back. I'm afraid that I'll have to tell the team about our guy here."

"I'll be there," she stated and squeezed his arm. "It's about time you tell them," then she couldn't help but smile, "and it's about time that you and Cal made the last step." This was typically Alexx. The world could fall around them; she would still have this momma bear attitude and be happy for her grown children.

"I see that I need to talk with Speed about being a chatterbox," he rolled his eyes theatrically. "I'll see you later, Alexx," he patted her shoulder and stood up to see his team. With any luck, they might find a lead today.

When Horatio closed the door to his office behind him, his team was already waiting for him. A difficult path was lying ahead of him, but after today's new development he had to come clean. Alexx was smiling reassuringly at him; little did she know that she was also going to be surprised like the rest of the team. "Thank you all for coming here," he greeted them and leaned against his desk. "The reason of this meeting is the newest development in our beach case." Seeing their nods, he continued. "I think you all read the message on the last victim's body."

"We certainly did," Speed nodded and the others agreed. "I thought that we might do a handwriting examination, but then again, I don't think that we have that many samples from writing on bodies."

"But it's still worth a try. I mean, what else do we have?" Eric chimed in.

"This is certainly a good idea, but I don't think that we'll find a match there. Actually, it's unnecessary, since I know who our killer is."

A long silence followed and the team was staring at their boss. Calleigh was the first one to recover. "What...what do you mean…you know who he is?"

"I'm sorry that I didn't tell you earlier, but…a few weeks ago, Alexx and I found out who…or rather what our killer is; he's a vampire," he dropped the first bomb.

"A vampire!" Speed exclaimed. "Damn, this makes sense. No blood on the crime scene, the brutal killings. I knew that those creatures were lowli-"

"Tim!" Alexx interrupted him, before he could say something stupid.

"What?" he asked back and then realized what he had almost said. "I'm sorry H…I didn't mean it...well…I didn't mean you, but those creepy kinds of vampires who are…well…uh…"

Horatio just pressed his lips together. He had expected such a reaction, especially from Tim. "It's okay…I can't say that I'm always proud of my kind." Did those words hurt? Yes they did, but he couldn't blame them. This special vampire was particularly cruel. "Anyway, as I said we have to deal with a vampire."

"So no prints, no blood…nothing will help us, since he's already dead," Eric summed it up.

"True," Horatio acknowledged.

"But how can we find him? I mean…we have to stop him somehow," Calleigh said urgently.

"You've said that you know the vampire Honey," Alexx chimed in and eyed her "eldest". "What exactly do you mean by that?" He had never told her that he knew this vampire personally, she knew that for sure.

"Just that. I know him, since…he's the one who turned me," he dropped the second bomb.

Alexx was never at a loss for words, but this time Horatio had made it.

"His message was directed at me. I'm his childe. It's the way vampires call their children, the ones they turned. He's playing with me as he'd done before."

"So he does this all because of you?" Speed asked shocked.

Horatio shook his head. "No, he doesn't. It's just funnier for him to play a game of cat-and-mouse with me. He would kill the women anyway, but since I'm working here, he seemingly enjoys it even more."

"So if he's the one who turned you, then where is he?" Eric asked.

"I have no idea," H just shrugged.

"How can you have no idea? Don't you live as a happy family together?" Speed snarked.

"No we don't," H snapped back.

"Boys, please," Alexx tried to calm them down. "This isn't the time to fight. Horatio please tell us about this guy, because I agree with Calleigh, we have to stop him."

Sighing, Horatio nodded. "I haven't seen this guy since the night he turned me. All those years back, I worked as a police officer in New York. I was working on several homicide cases just like the ones we're working on right now. I had tracked him down, neither knowing what I was dealing with nor that it was a trap." Just thinking about his stupidity all those years back made his blood boil. "He attacked me and tried to kill me. I thought I was going to die that night and in a way I did, but instead of killing me for good, he turned me against my will and left me lying there on my own."

"But this isn't the normal way, isn't it?" Alexx asked, enthralled by this story, a story she'd never heard before.

"No it's not. When you turn someone, you have to take care of them. You're very vulnerable in the first days and a danger to yourself and others. That's also a reason why it's not allowed to turn humans against their will."

"But didn't you tell me that you had a mentor?" Calleigh asked confused. If his mentor wasn't the one who turned him then who was it?

"I have a mentor, yes," Horatio nodded. "She's not the vampire who turned me though, obviously. She'd found me after Gabriel had left."

"Gabriel?"

Horatio smiled lightly. "The one who turned me."

"What a perfect name for a vampire, shouldn't he be one of the good guys then?" Speed snorted.

"Normally, yes, but I think it's quite obvious that he isn't," Horatio smiled at Speed. "Anyway, she found me and became my mentor. She showed me everything I needed to know, for example how our society works, how I can control my other side, how to feed. If it wasn't for her, I would have gone insane."

"So if you don't know where he is, does she?" Calleigh asked and couldn't help but be a bit put out. Yes, he had told her about this mentor but never mentioned that this was a woman. And this woman had a great impact on her boyfriend's life. Maybe she was a bit jealous, well of course she was, even though she knew that she didn't have to be.

Horatio had lived long enough to notice the slight edge in her tone. "I'm not sure, but I'm going to ask her tonight. He's spinning out of control and I can't let this continue."

"Then I want to go with you," Calleigh stated.

He had expected that. Sometimes Calleigh was really easy to read. "I don't think that this is a good idea."

"Oh and why is that so?"

The others were clever enough not to interrupt the fight of stubbornness.

"Because I'm going to meet her in a vampire bar and I don't want you to go there," he explained her calmly and shook his head when she just huffed. "Please Cal, don't be difficult. A vampire bar is not exactly a wonderful place for a beautiful woman like you. Inside, you find good and bad ones and I certainly don't want to risk anything. That's why I'm taking the boys with me."

Their reactions couldn't have been any moiré different.

"YAY, nice vampire ladies," Eric grinned and clapped his hands.

"WHAT? No way I'm going there."

"Oh stop whining Speed," Eric grinned. "You always rant about why we never go to different clubs, now if this one isn't different enough for you, I don't know what is." Looking at Horatio, he smiled at him. "We're in H, just tell us where to meet."

"But I said that I-"

"Now hush Speed. So?"

"I'll pick you up, you wouldn't find it anyway," Horatio chuckled at the boys' antics. "There are some rules, but I'll tell you once we're there, so you won't forget them."

"Very funny," Speed mumbled. Why did those things always happen to him?

"I'm still not happy with you Handsome," Cal pointed out. "I'm a big girl and I can take care of myself."

"I know you can, Sweetheart. Believe me I do. But I don't want to worry about you while we're there, okay? You'll meet her one day, I promise, but tonight is not the night." Giving her a peck on her cheek, he grinned at her. "I promise I'll make it up to you, okay?"

"Oh I know you will, Mr. Caine," she grinned and turned a little red, when she heard the others clear their throats. "Sorry."

"It's fine," Eric grinned. He was always open to such things. "So when will you pick us up, H?"

"11 pm."

"What? So late?"

"Well this means that you have to keep your beauty sleep a little shorter, man," Eric laughed. "Not that a long one would help anyway."

"Say that again, Delko and I will kick your-"

"Children, please. Honey are you sure that you want to take those two with you?" Alexx interrupted the fight.

"No, not really, but it's the only option I have." If they would behave like this tonight, they would surely be for the high jump. He really needed to give them a talk about manners in a vampire club or something bad might happen.

"We're not that bad," Eric exclaimed.

"No you aren't. You're worse," Cal poked out her tongue, which Eric quickly returned.

Horatio just rolled his eyes. "This is going to be a very long day…"

tbc