A/N: And here is the second part of chapter 4. Hope you like it.

Chapter 4.2

About 30 minutes later, Stella emerged from her bedroom again, feeling a little bit more refreshed after getting into new clothes, and walked down the stairs in search of Horatio. She had unpacked her things and put them into the cupboard and had afterwards inspected the bathroom. It had seemed that this was also a guest bathroom, because she hadn't found anything that belonged to Horatio in this room, but this didn't surprise her at all. The house was certainly big enough to have a so called master bedroom accompanied with a master bathroom.

When she reached the first floor, she stopped and looked around. She didn't hear Horatio and from what it looked like, he wasn't in the living room. Well, he had said something about the kitchen, but this brought her to the question, where this ominous kitchen was. Shrugging, she let her CSI instincts kick in and walked towards an open door. Maybe she should ask him for a plan after all. "Or maybe not," she smiled to herself when she found herself looking inside the correct room. Well now she'd found the kitchen, but the host of the house was still missing. "I'm barely in Miami and already have the first case," she snickered and was torn between getting herself a drink (which would include rummaging through his kitchen cabinets and fridge) or just keep on searching for Horatio. In the end it was fate that decided for her.

"Dad, are you here?" Kyle called after he closed the door behind him. He stepped out of his shoes and shuffled through the hallway in order to find his old man. The chances to find him in the house were pretty high; the Hummer was outside after all. "Dad?" he called once again and stopped dead in his tracks when he entered the kitchen and saw a stranger standing there. "You're not my father," he said surprised and had no idea what was going on.

"Uhm…," Stella replied eloquently and was saved by another voice.

"Kyle stop shouting, I'm not deaf," Horatio voice could be heard and soon afterwards he appeared in the kitchen. "What are you doing here..oh…," he started when he noticed his two guests eying each other. "Oh, so you already met," he smiled amused and gestured between them. "Kyle, this is my very good friend, Stella Bonasera. Stella, this is my son Kyle," he introduced them to each other.

Stella was the first one who found her voice again and smiled at the boy. "Nice to meet you Kyle, I've heard a lot about you," she said and offered her hand.

"Only good things I hope," the boy grinned broadly and shook his head. "I'm sorry for scaring you Miss Bonasera," he apologized.

"You didn't and it's Stella," she shook her head and couldn't help but looking at the young man in front of her. He had his father's eyes and the way he was pushing his hands on his hips was so much Horatio that she nearly had to laugh at the gesture.

Being happy with this first contact, Horatio walked to the fridge and reached for some home made ice tea. "What are you doing here Kyle? I thought that they wanted you to help out the night shift?" he asked when he poured them a drink.

"Well that's what I thought as well, but when I arrived at the lab, they told me that they don't need me and well…here I am," he grinned.

"Oh my, he also has Horatio's dimples, this is so cute," Stella thought to herself and accepted the drink Horatio was offering her.

"Here you are indeed, Son," Horatio nodded and took a sip of his drink. "Even though it would have been nice, if they told you a bit more early."

"Yeah, but it's okay, I'm not really into working night shift," the boy shrugged. "So I wanted to visit you, but…I totally forgot that Miss..Bon..ah..Stella," he saved his small faux pas, "would arrive today, so I better get going," he said and started toying with his glass.

"This is getting better and better," Stella smiled, when she noticed the small gesture. She had just known him for five minutes, but she could already say that Kyle was indeed his father's son. "Oh...no…no...just pretend I'm not here at all," she said seriously. She didn't want to come between some bonding time between those two. "I can get upstairs and read something."

"Don't be ridiculous, Stella," Horatio smiled softly. "Have you already eaten, Kyle?"

"Nope, wanted to do that at the lab, but.," he shrugged.

"Well we haven't eaten either, so what about ordering some pizza? Would that be okay for you?" he looked at Stella, because for one thing he already knew Kyle's answer to that and for another thing, he wanted her confirmation that it was okay if Kyle stayed here with them. Of course, this was his house and his son, but Stella was his guest and as a good host he would follow her wishes.

"Pizza sounds great," she smiled at him and didn't mind spending some time with father and son. She'd always tried to imagine what kind of boy he was and now she had the front seats; there was no way that she would decline this offer.

Nodding, Horatio looked at his son. "You're in?"

"You already know the answer to that one, Dad."

"That I do, that I do," Horatio chuckled and reached for his cell phone. He was looking forward to dinner and hoped that Stella and Kyle would get along. Not that he had doubts about that, but still, you never knew.

Dinner had been a pleasant affair and now they were all sitting in the living room together chatting about this and that. Stella and Horatio were both sitting on his couch, while Kyle had chosen his favorite place in the house – his dad's very comfortable reading chair.

"So you're working in the morgue?" Stella asked intrigued and sipped on her red wine.

"Yeah," Kyle nodded and grinned, "definitely the place with the best air-condition in whole Miami."

Horatio could only snort at that. "Well that wasn't what you told me the first time you had to go there," he pointed out amused and winked at his son who blushed a bit.

"Well the morgue is a...weird...special place, to say at least. Not something I actually enjoy being in I have to admit," Stella said. "But I'm curious why you've chosen the morgue of all places?"

"Dad made me," the boy exclaimed in his best acting manner.

"I didn't make you," Horatio corrected him, "I just gave you a good opportunity to earn your own money, so you can live on your own." Of course his main criteria at that time had been the fact to show Kyle that fast driving could have deadly consequences, but it wasn't something that everyone needed to know. This was between him and his son.

"You live on your own?" Stella asked and then rolled her eyes. "I'm sorry for interrogating you, sometimes it's hard to silence the CSI in me."

"Oh I'm used to that thanks to Dad," Kyle laughed. "But yes, Dad bought me an apartment and if I don't want to starve, I need some money for living. And to be honest, I really like working in the morgue. Sure, it's not always easy, but it's an important work and I think it's interesting," he shrugged.

"It is very important," Stella nodded in agreement. "I don't know what we would do without it."

"And I don't want to find out," Horatio chimed in. He was happy that Stella and Kyle got along so well and that the boy wasn't shy in answering Stella's questions. He knew that Kyle had some issues when it came to trusting people, not that Horatio was any different in that area, and so it meant a lot to him seeing Kyle talk so freely with a complete stranger. Stella really had her ways around men. "And maybe he can sense that they're kindred spirits somehow," he mused and smiled at that thought. "Do you want another drink?" he asked Stella when he noticed her empty glass.

"Stop trying to get me tipsy," she chided him softly and smirked at Kyle who laughed.

"I am not trying to get you..," Horatio started and rolled his eyes at her, when he realized that she'd teased him. "Very funny, now you won't get anymore wine at all."

"You're mean," she pouted, but then shook her head. "Then it's a good thing that I don't want anymore wine tonight, because I'm already getting sleepy."

Looking at his watch, Horatio could understand why. "Well it's already past ten and you had a long day," he said softly.

"Well I think that's my cue then," Kyle smiled and was immediately stopped by Stella.

"No, you don't have to leave just because I'm not a night owl tonight." She didn't want the boy to leave because of her.

"It's alright, I have to get up early tomorrow for my shift," Kyle shook his head and got up from the chair.

"Let me show you to the door," Horatio rose as well.

"It was nice meeting you, Stella," Kyle said politely.

"It was nice meeting you as well, Kyle. I'm sure we'll see us again." At Horatio's birthday party at the latest. She was sure that Kyle would be there as well.

"I guess there are good chances for that," Kyle grinned and with one last nod he left the living room, his father in tow.

"Thanks for stopping by tonight, Son," Horatio said sincerely while he watched Kyle getting his things together. The fact that the boy visited him just like that meant a lot to Horatio. It was a sign that Kyle enjoyed his father's presence and this was all Horatio could have hoped for.

"Well, I'm sorry that I ruined your evening with Stella a bit though," the boy answered sheepishly and slipped into his shoes.

"You didn't ruin anything, Kyle. I enjoyed the evening a lot actually."

Smiling at that, the boy shrugged, unsure of what to say. "Yeah it was nice, Stella is a nice lady," he smirked.

"She is," Horatio agreed wholeheartedly and opened the door for him.

"Well thanks for the pizza and have a good night, Dad," Kyle hugged his father and refrained from adding a 'with Stella' comment.

"You too, Son," Horatio nodded and waited until Kyle reached his car, "drive safely," he then added.

"Ain't I always?" the boy drawled and quickly got into the car, before Horatio could answer this question.

"You better do that," Horatio said softly to himself and gave one last wave to his son, before he closed the door and locked it. When he entered the living room, he noticed that Stella had begun to gather their glasses. "So," he asked and reached for the small snack bowls on the coffee table. "Do you have any plans for tomorrow?"

"To be honest…no," she shook her head and walked into the kitchen with him. "Maybe lying on the beach? I don't know," she shrugged.

"Well if you don't mind a tip from a Miami local," he chuckled, "I think there's something you'd enjoy."

"Oh I certainly don't mind a good tip. What do you have in mind?"

"Let me first say that it has nothing to do with the beach," he started and continued when she showed him that this was no problem at all, "it's called Coral Castle. It is a tourist attraction in some way, but not a typical one."

"Coral Castle?" she asked. "I've never heard of that before."

"That doesn't surprise me. As I said, it's not a typical tourist attraction like the Glades, the Zoo or the beach as such. It's a museum.. in some way," he furrowed his brows and tried to find a good way to explain it to her. "It's a sculpture garden, made of coral stone by one single man. In case I remember it correctly, it took him almost 30 years to actually finish it. To be honest it's amazing and unbelievable the same time."

"Sounds really interesting. Where is it?"

"Only a few miles away actually, if you want to we can visit it tomorrow."

Wait what? "We?" she repeated in case she had misunderstood him.

"Yeah," he shrugged. "If you don't mind taking me along that is," he gave her his boyish grin.

"And what about work?" she asked him suspiciously. Not that she would mind spending time with him, but she didn't want him to get into trouble.

"Well," he started and scratched his neck, "as chance would have it, I've taken a few days off."

"Oh you did?" she grinned at him. "What a coincidence."

"It is, isn't it?" he smiled, knowing that she could see right through his charade. "But there's a catch."

"Isn't there always?" she laughed. "What is it?"

"Well considering that the party is on Friday and tomorrow is Thursday, I need to do some grocery shopping afterwards. But if you're not interested in that, I can easily take you home and then drive to the supermarket. That shouldn't be a problem actually." He didn't want her to spend her vacation in a common supermarket.

"Mhm grocery shopping, huh? I don't see what's wrong with that and if you want to I can also contribute something to your BBQ. I mean, you gave me a home and invited me, there's no way I go there with empty hands."

Horatio literally had a feeling of déjà-vu. Now it was not only his team pestering him, but Stella as well. "I won't even try to talk you out of that idea," he raised his hands in mock surrender.

"Very good," she grinned from ear to ear. "So Coral Castle and shopping it is?"

"Yep," he nodded and smiled when she yawned. "I hope you've found everything you need upstairs?" he asked when they both made their way to the second floor.

"Most definitely, thank you," she nodded. "When do you want to leave tomorrow?"

"Oh I don't know. Ten maybe? After breakfast anyway."

"Good then I'll set the alarm clock." When she stopped at her bedroom door, Horatio did the same. "I had a really nice evening, thanks to you and Kyle. He's a great kid."

"He is," Horatio nodded and it was easy to see the proud behind those words. "I'm glad that you enjoyed the evening. And now I don't want to keep you up any longer, so…"

"I'm not that tired," she denied, but yawned again. Seeing Horatio raise his eyebrows she smiled sheepishly. "A bit maybe," she admitted.

"Maybe a bit more than a bit, huh?" he grinned. "Sleep tight."

"I will," she nodded and hugged him again without thinking. "But you as well."

"I'm trying my best for you Ma'am," Horatio smiled down at her and slowly released her.

"Good," she replied and opened her door. "See you tomorrow."

"Bright and early," he saluted and walked to his room.

"Jester," she mumbled and walked into her room. Once inside, she closed the door behind her and leaned against it. Taking a deep breath, she closed her eyes and willed the butterflies in her stomach to stop. Being in proximity with Horatio was both pleasure and torture.

Even though Boston had been months ago, time hadn't decreased her feelings towards this man at all. The thing was just that she wasn't sure what kind of feelings they were. Physical attraction? Certainly. Friendly feelings? Most definitely. But something else? She had no idea. "No need to analyze that right now, girl. You're too tired for that anyway. Now all you need is a good night's sleep." She just hoped that she would get some.

What she didn't know was that she wasn't the only one in the house having such thoughts.

tbc