There's a brief section in this chapter that has an adult theme, but it's nothing bad, still T rated.
Chapter Three: How to Determine if You're Sane without Medication
Horatio rode with Lisa in the unmarked CIA car, the forensic scene unit vehicle behind them. They pulled up to the charred remains of a small shipping warehouse, two bronze Hummers and a patrol car already there. The doors sounded loudly as they walked up to the building, several people emerging to see who was there.
"Excuse me," Frank said, walking towards them, "Can I help you folks?" he asked, as if he didn't even know Horatio anymore.
"Agent Stevenson, Agent Caine, CIA," Lisa said, displaying her credentials. "We're here to check out our crime scene."
"Your crime scene?" Frank repeated. "I believe Miami Dade was called out to this one."
"Well we have reason to believe it's the same person responsible for three other bombings that we're investigating."
"Oh yeah? How long have you been doing that?"
"Two and a half years," Lisa responded. "And we've made quite the headway with our new explosives and weaponry expert."
"And who would that be?" Frank continued to harass them.
"Agent Caine, of course," Lisa informed him. "Now, if you'll kindly leave the evidence and the crime scene we'll take over."
"No," Ryan said, stepping forward, "This is our scene."
"Lieutenant Wolfe," Lisa said with a fake smile, "How nice to see you again."
"Yeah, same here," Ryan retorted, staring her down, not even looking at Horatio.
"Lieutenant, we're going to ask you again to kindly take your crime scene team and leave," Lisa said in a determined voice.
"No," Ryan said again, "We're not leaving our scene. We were called out to this so we're finishing it through to the end."
"Have you made headway on your bomber case?" Lisa inquired.
Ryan stood there for a moment before he answered. "No," he quietly said, "We haven't."
"And that's why we were called in," Lisa said with a smirk. "Now, pack up your kits, leave the evidence, and leave the scene now, or I'll have you arrested for interfering with a federal investigation."
"No," Ryan snapped, "We're not leaving! My CSI team was called out to this scene so we have jurisdiction!"
Horatio couldn't take it anymore. He walked over to Ryan and grabbed him by his left upper arm.
"Mr. Wolfe," he hissed in his face, "I don't want to arrest you in front of your team. That's the last thing you need as Lieutenant. If you don't leave in the next sixty seconds I will be obligated to forcibly remove you from the scene. If you think I'm joking, which you should very well know I'm not, then you will regret your decision as you sit inside a federal prison."
Ryan looked at him, anger burning in his eyes. He pulled his arm from his grasp and took a step back.
"You're not the Horatio I used to know," he whispered. He turned and walked back towards the other CSIs. "Come on guys, pack up your stuff. Leave any evidence you already have bagged and your notes." He grabbed his crime scene kit and walked back towards one of the Hummers. "We'll email you the photos we've already taken within the hour," he called out to Horatio and Lisa.
"Thank you Lieutenant Wolfe," Lisa yelled to Ryan as he started his Hummer and pulled away from the scene.
Horatio watched as Calleigh and Eric loaded their kits into the second Hummer and drove away, Frank following close behind in his patrol car.
Horatio stood there alone, Lisa already leading the crime scene team into the warehouse. He watched the Hummers drive away as Ryan flipped him off through the open window.
"You handled the Lieutenant very well, Horatio," Lisa said as they loaded evidence into the crime scene vehicle.
"Yeah, sure," Horatio muttered as he walked back towards the warehouse.
He was doing one last walk through when he heard something clatter. He turned to see someone running down the charred hall.
"Hey!" Horatio yelled, drawing his weapon and following after them. "Mia- CIA, stop where you are!"
The person dashed around ruined walls and through an open door, back outside.
"Federal Agent, stop right there!" Horatio tried again.
He watched the person in black pants and a black hooded sweatshirt duck into a car. Horatio raised his gun, but felt his blood run cold as her hood fell off. Her brown eyes locked with his for a moment before she gunned the engine and sped away.
Lisa ran up next to him, panting for air, her gun in her hand.
"What the hell, Caine?" she snapped. "Why didn't you shoot? That could have been our suspect and you let them drive away!"
"I'm sorry," Horatio whispered, "I don't know what happened."
"Have you lost the audacity to shoot a gun?" Lisa asked in an angry tone.
"I don't know what's going on with me," Horatio quietly explained.
"Well you better get over it, because if you can't grow a pair and shoot at a woman then I'm going to drop your ass faster then you can apologize next time!" She turned and stormed off back towards the warehouse.
Horatio stood there alone, wishing he knew what it was he was really seeing.
Horatio quietly stood in the entrance to Lisa's cubical, watching her type on her computer.
"I hope you know I have to include in my report the part where you chickened out and didn't shoot the car," she said, still fuming from that afternoon. "This isn't Miami Dade. We don't cover each other's mistakes."
"No one covered my mistake," Horatio quietly retorted. "It just wasn't deemed necessary for the investigation to include the fact that I didn't fire at the suspect's car."
"Well around here we think everything's necessary until proven otherwise."
Horatio sighed and continued to linger in the doorway. "Lisa, I wanted to apologize again for what I did this afternoon. I should have taken the shot, no matter what she looked like."
Lisa stopped typing and slowly turned in her chair. She looked at Horatio with a soft expression.
"What did she look like?" she quietly asked.
"Short brown hair, about chin length," Horatio began describing, "With brown eyes and olive toned skin. Young, maybe mid-thirties, slender build, very fast on her feet."
Lisa looked at him, listening carefully but not taking notes.
"Who was she to you?" she finally asked.
Horatio looked at her, dread filling his veins. "My wife," he whispered, "My wife who was murdered."
"Oh Horatio," Lisa quietly said, standing from her chair. "I wish I had known." She carefully wrapped her arms around him and held him gently.
"It's ok," he whispered, hugging her back.
She pulled back from their embrace and looked deep into his eyes.
"Do you want to have dinner with me tonight?" Horatio quietly asked her. "It's the least I can do after letting our only suspect get away."
A small smile graced Lisa's face. "You know what, I think I don't hate you just enough to accept. Just let me finish this up and I'll come find you at your desk."
Horatio smiled and nodded his head. "Alright, um, great," he quietly said. "I'll be waiting for you."
He walked back to his desk, suddenly feeling like he was floating on cloud nine. He sat in his chair, one not quite as comfortable as his old office chair. He leaned back and just smiled. He hadn't felt this excited in a long time; over three years if he was honest with himself. He stared off into space, just thinking about Lisa.
He realized he still had a report to finish. He opened a new internet window and navigated to his email. He entered his new CIA email address and began scrolling through his inbox, looking for an email the DNA analysis said she would send him. He felt like his heart had stopped when he saw the familiar username.
MarigoldDelko
He had a new message from the account. His stomach twisted into knots, afraid someone was playing a cruel joke on him. He hesitated but opened the message. There was an image document attached. He clicked on the link and waited only about three seconds for the image to fill the screen of his computer.
Horatio stared at a picture of himself, standing outside the charred warehouse from that afternoon. He was holding his gun in his hand, a perplexed expression on his face, as the wind blew his blazer open, revealing the CIA badge clipped to his belt. He examined the picture. He could tell that from the angle it was taken at and the scene around him the photographer would have had to have been facing the backside of the warehouse.
"Ready to go?"
Horatio jumped and quickly closed the picture. He spun his chair and looked at where Lisa stood, peeking her head into his cubical.
"Um, yeah," he awkwardly said, closing the internet browser and turning off his computer.
"What was that picture you were looking at?" Lisa inquired as they walked along the hall to the stairs.
"Um, just something someone from MDPD sent me," he quickly lied. "I guess someone snapped a shot of me when we were walking onto the scene this afternoon."
"I didn't see any of you in the file Lieutenant Wolfe sent me," Lisa said, the confusion evident in her voice.
"Eric took it on his cell phone," he lied again.
"Why didn't he just text it to you?"
"I changed my number."
They walked out into the parking lot together in the evening dusk.
"Where did you park?" Horatio inquired.
"Over there," Lisa said, nodding her head to the left. "But I was wondering if maybe you'd like to ride together instead." A shy smile graced her face as she looked at him.
Horatio smiled, knowing what exactly she meant.
"You know, I think I'd like that," he said, opening the passenger door on his maroon Audi A6 for her.
"Wow, nice car," Lisa said, clearly impressed. "I didn't think MDPD paid you guys this much."
"They don't," Horatio chuckled, "But the bomb squad pays you quite a bit if you can stay alive long enough for your next mission."
Lisa giggled and smiled at him as they rode together through the streets of Miami.
"You're funny," she quietly said.
"Thank you," Horatio replied, "I was only half serious about that."
Horatio and Lisa sipped wine as they sat together in Horatio's living room.
"You have a beautiful home," Lisa said, taking in the impressive expansive windows and exposed oak beams.
"Thank you, it took some time, but I finally found a place I actually like going home to," Horatio said with a smile.
Lisa smiled at him and scooted closer to him on the couch. She rested her hand on his thigh, trailing her fingers along the inside of it. Horatio smiled back at her, as he tentatively leaned in towards her.
Their lips met in a timid kiss, just barely brushing against each other. They smiled at each other, the tips of their noses touching. Horatio leaned in and cautiously kissed her again. It was soft and tender, as the electricity between them grew.
Then, before he could even realize it, they were together in his bed, naked and tangled within each other. Lisa gasped softly as Horatio tenderly thrusted into her.
"Oh god, Horatio," she said, running her hands across his strong back. "Oh god, you're so big."
Horatio smirked to himself as he kissed her again and again. They hit their release together, afterwards falling asleep in each other's arms.
They awoke the next morning to Horatio's alarm. He sat up and looked at Lisa as the sleep slowly left her eyes. She smiled up at him and he gently stroked her cheek.
"Interdepartmental relationships are forbidden," she quietly said, getting straight to business as she always did. She sat up and looked at him, still naked and his hair messed with sleep. "But I think you would be worth it," she said as she kissed him.
"Are you sure?" Horatio asked, his hands wandering across her body.
"Yes, we just have to be careful," Lisa quietly said. "We can't do anything that would suggest otherwise. No holding hands, no driving together, nothing together that's obviously a date."
"I think we could manage," Horatio quietly said, guiding her back onto the bed.
"I need to go home," Lisa said between kisses. "I have to shower and change. Someone will notice if I come in wearing the same thing from yesterday."
"Shower here," Horatio said, "Then we'll swing by your place so you can change."
"Someone will notice we drove together."
"Your car is at the CIA," he pointed out. "Maybe you should have thought about that last night."
Horatio sat in his Audi A6 outside Lisa's townhouse. He watched as pedestrians passed him by; some jogging, some walking their dogs, others just enjoying the early morning sun. He watched a mother jog past on the sidewalk, pushing a baby stroller in front of her. Another runner easily dodged her, making room for the young mother and her child. She glanced at Horatio's car; something several people had done since he had been idling there for ten minutes. She looked at him with her brown eyes before she took off running.
Realization suddenly hit him and Horatio leapt from his car. He ran after her, yelling for her to stop. He grabbed at his belt and realized he didn't have his CIA issued weapon. He tore through the crowd, trying to catch up to the familiar woman. He could see her short brown hair bouncing with her strides as she tried to escape him. He ordered for her to stop, but she ignored him. He rounded a corner but lost sight of her. He stood there, panting for air, wishing he could have been quicker.
A maroon car pulled up beside him and the passenger window rolled down.
"You know," Lisa said with a smirk, "Leaving your car with the keys in the ignition is never a good idea no matter where you live."
Horatio continued to pant for air as he opened the passenger door and climbed in. Lisa looked at him apprehensively.
"Don't you want to switch places?" she inquired.
"Just drive," Horatio said, buckling his seat belt.
"Are you sure?"
"You're already driving my ridiculously expensive car. What's it matter?"
"Is something wrong, Horatio?" Lisa inquired as she pulled back onto the road.
"Yeah, the bomber suspect just jogged right past your house."
Lisa hit the brakes hard. Someone blared their horn as they swerved to avoid rear ending her.
"You saw the bomber?" she snapped.
"Yeah, hence the reason I was running."
"Why didn't you drive after her?"
Horatio sat there baffled. He hadn't thought of that.
"I, I, I don't know," he quietly said. "I panicked and instinct took over and I just ran after her."
"You're sure it was her?" Lisa asked again as she began driving again.
"If it wasn't, my dead wife's out jogging right now," Horatio muttered in a bitter voice.
So I had several people comment and send me private messages about my making Ryan Wolfe Lieutenant. Here's my reasoning behind the decision: Horatio left so suddenly everyone was kind of in shock and no one really wanted to step up to the plate. Eric's supposed to still be in shock from his sister dying, and now his brother-in-law leaving, so he's lost, and Calleigh wasn't ready to step up, since she feels like she wouldn't be able to fill Horatio's shoes. Ryan, still being the newest member of the team, was able to detach himself from the situation and realize that someone had to take charge and move the lab forward from the rut they were stuck in from Horatio's departure of the lab. Yeah, Ryan may not seem like the best candidate, but it's my story. I didn't make this very clear when I wrote the story, and I just thought I would explain.