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Thank you Jessi84, vivalavidaa, tbsavafob, daxy, lovebug21, and Wolfsong98 for the reviews.
Announcement: I have a new ficlet up in celebration of the first day of autumn. Check it out.
Also: sorry this chapter's so short.
I do not own or claim to own CSI: Miami characters. I do not own or claim to own CSI: NY characters. This is fanmade and I make absolutely no profit off of this. I do this for my own amusement.
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Chapter Sixteen: Speak the Speech
Mac stood by the large front doors to the lodge, checking his watch every now and again to make sure that Horatio and Stetler didn't stumble though those doors a second too late. Hundreds of questions about the ordeal filled his mind. He played with Horatio's cell phone as he thought and waited.
It was still early, but it was getting dark quickly. The sun was beginning to set over the mountains, casting long, orange rays of light over the snow. Four of the other five pairs were already back and talking amongst each other and with the older man who handed Stetler the map the day before. Victoria Scully was there too, also looking out the window and checking her watch. Mac couldn't help but notice how incredibly nervous she looked.
Then from the door blew in a gust of wind and a sea of profanities spewing from Horatio and Stetler's mouths.
"How the fuck could you get us so fucking lost?!" Horatio shouted over his shoulder at Rick who stood comfortably in his coat at the doorway.
"What the hell is your problem, asshole?!" Rick snapped back, "You've been bitching for the past 30 hours! I don't need any more of your shit! When are you planning on growing some balls and shutting the fuck up?!"
"Gentlemen!" shouted the old man from the middle of the room.
Horatio and Stetler glared at each other for a few seconds before finally settling on opposite sides of the lobby, Horatio with Mac and Rick with Victoria. There was some ado before the crowd calmed down and the old man summoned Victoria to his side.
"This contest," He began, "has without question been a challenge, for some more than others". He shot Horatio and Rick a glare before he continued, "Your progress has been noted and charted and a decision has been reached. It has not been an easy task; there were many things to take into consideration. Aid in our judgments could only go so far, coming in the forms of timers, microphones, and hidden cameras".
At this Horatio's eyes widened, he felt a blush creep up the back of his neck. He stole a glance across the room to see that Rick had turned white as a sheet. It seemed so obvious to them now, of course there had to be cameras hidden around the cabin, how else could the experiment play out? At least one camera had to have caught them; they had sex in every room. Horatio scanned over the room, checking to see if anyone else was taken aback by the invasion of privacy. Everyone else seemed perfectly calm.
The old man kept talking, but Horatio couldn't hear him over his own thoughts. His mind was racing a mile a minute; there was no possible way to explain his actions. No excuse could possibly cover everything that happened between them. The game was over before it had even begun, they were caught. What would happen to them? What would happen to the lab? What would happen to Rick?
"-The results," the old man rambled on, finally able to interrupt Horatio's thoughts, "will be announced in one hour at dinner. In the meantime, I suggest you go to your rooms and grab a change of clothes. You are dismissed".
Horatio and Rick both started to take off like a bat out of hell, but they were stopped by the older man's voice.
"Not you, Lieutenant Caine and Sergeant Stetler," he called out, "I need a word with you two".
The two men sheepishly approached the old man, keeping their distance from each other; just in case they were not caught.
"Although I do not appreciate your usage of language, I cannot say that it hasn't been provoked".
They stood there, not sure how to react. Had they been caught having relations or not?
"You see, we did not know that you two would be from the same jurisdiction. In fact, we really didn't take any precaution against this because the odds of you two being placed together are so incredibly slim. I guess we were proven incorrect in our assumptions. I'm going to tell you right now, there will be no raise. However, as a token of our sincere apologies, we present you now with a… cash settlement".
He handed Rick and Horatio their two respective checks, each for $750.
"Good, that should buy me a new coat," Horatio muttered under his breath, not quite sure if their careers were in danger or not.
"Speaking of which, Lieutenant Caine," the old man said, "Where is your coat?"
Horatio paused, "We got into an argument about what is standard and appropriate procedure for an internal investigation," he lied, "one thing led to another and it kind-of got burnt".
The old man turned to Stetler, who was just able to strike a smug-and-damn-proud-of-it pose.
"That's too bad," the old man said, "I'm sorry for bringing it up. You see, the connection of all the microphones and cameras in your cabin was faulty. We have to look into who set yours up. In the meantime, I suggest you both go to your rooms and rest until dinner. We will understand if you two wish to come in late".
Horatio bit his tongue to keep from laughing with relief. He nodded his thanks before turning his heel and rushing over to meet with Mac at the elevators.
Stetler thanked the old man, leaving the scene with Victoria. They stopped before they got too close to the elevators. Rick turned to her.
"I can't thank you enough, Victoria," he whispered to her.
"Yup," she smiled up at him, "I got you a sexy new boyfriend and I saved your ass".
She quickly passed a flash drive to Rick who pocketed it.
"This is it?"he asked, indicating the flash drive.
"Everything you two did and said throughout your little visit to the cabin is in there. And guess who was in charge of watching it all".
"Thank God it takes a lot to make you blush".
"Indeed…" she stopped to watch Horatio board the elevator with Mac, humming to herself. "And he's bi, I understand".
"I will fucking kill you, don't even joke about that".
"I wouldn't, don't you worry," she laughed, "I know how much he means to you".
They walked over to the elevators, pushing the button and waiting for a few moments.
"Thanks again, Victoria".
"I wish you two luck back in Miami. I hope everything works out".
"Me too, I just hope that I can get the same days off as him".
They boarded the elevator, suddenly a question popped into Victoria's head.
"How did Horatio get those bruises on his wrists?"
Rick flashed her a quick grin, "wouldn't you like to know?"
***
"How was it?" Mac asked Horatio as they made their way up to the ninth floor.
"I really don't feel like talking about it right now," Horatio grumbled, feigning frustration.
"I understand," Mac nodded, "Will you be coming to dinner?"
"Yeah, I'm getting a little hungry, but right now I just want to lie down for a while".
"Alright, I'll see you then".
The doors opened and the two men went in separate directions without another word, Mac wanting to give Horatio his privacy. As Horatio approached the door he remembered something.
"Mac!" he called out down the hall. Detective Taylor turned around and rushed towards his friend. "You have my keys".
"Oh yeah".
Mac dug into his pockets and pulled out two identical looking keys, with enough fumbling he was able to open room 943 with one of them. He let Horatio in, bid farewell again, and walked off to his room; absent mindedly pocketing Horatio's key again.
The redhead rested against the door, smiling to himself. It was happening; they were able to keep their relationship a secret. All of the sudden it didn't matter how long they had to live like this, the important thing was that they could pull it off.
He ran over and threw himself onto the bed in a great burst of energy, laughing all the way. Nobody had ever made him so happy before. He lay there giggling for a few moments before rolling off the bed and picking up some fresh clothes. As he changed he caught a glimpse of himself in the mirror; he stopped and walked over to his image. His body was covered in scratch marks, love bites, and bruises. Suddenly this secret became a lot harder to keep under wraps.