A/N: Thank you all for your reviews. They surely make my day when I read them.

Chapter 5

"So this is Coral Castle?" Stella asked when she stepped out of Horatio's GMC. After a relaxed breakfast they had driven of to the tourist attraction and just like Horatio had said the night before, it hadn't taken them long at all.

"Well, wait until you're inside, then you'll see its whole beauty," Horatio smiled and locked the car when Stella had fetched her purse. The parking lot was rather deserted right now, probably because it was the middle of the week and most Miami citizens would be at work right now. Not that Horatio minded that a bit, he didn't like overly crowded places, except of a basketball arena of course; so coming here today had been a good idea. "You ready?"

"Yep, can't wait to get inside," she nodded and joined him on his way to the entry. "You better didn't exaggerate when you talked about this last night, my expectations are sky high now," she grinned at him and immediately rolled her eyes when he ordered two tickets for them. It wasn't that she didn't like it that he behaved like a real gentleman, but sometimes he overdid it a bit.

"I promise you I didn't," he just grinned at her and ignored her disapproving face when he handed her the ticket. "Let's get in," he motioned her to take the lead and laughed when she stopped in front of the so called door; a door that was actually a massive stone that weight about nine tons.

"Stop laughing," she hissed playfully and crossed her arms in front of her chest. "This isn't funny, now tell me where the entry is."

"It's just in front of you," Horatio said nonchalant and stepped next to her. "Let me use my magic hands," he said and stretched his fingers just for the act. "Abracadabra," he murmured and tipped against the stone with only one finger. Slowly, but steadily the door opened in front of them. "See?" he asked and gave her a lopsided grin when he noticed her open mouth. "I'm magic."

Stella felt the sudden urge to rub her eyes. This was impossible; yet she'd seen it with her own eyes. "Wow…"

"I guess your fear about me exaggerating is gone now, huh?" he said satisfied and urged her to set foot in the museum.

"It's either that or I need to see the eye doctor," she mumbled and followed him inside.

"Nah, you don't have to. That's the magic of Coral Castle. The builder of the castle, Ed Leedskalnin, built it without any technical equipment and yet you can open it with a single finger. Amazing, isn't it?"

"It is," she nodded in pure awe. "And I take it that you either have been here before, or that you read the brochure," she then said and pointed at the leaflet in his hand.

"Both," he chuckled and tilted his head in question. "Do you want to take a route or should we just walk around on our own?"

"Mhm," normally she liked taking a route, especially when she'd never been in a park before, but since Horatio had been here before, she didn't mind being a little adventurous. "I take the latter if that's okay for you."

"Sure," Horatio shrugged, "whatever you wish."

"A man after my liking," she joked and linked arms with him.

Looking down at her, Horatio couldn't help but smile. Taking a few days off in order to spend them with Stella had been a very good idea. "That's good to know," he chuckled and winked at her, even though it was hard to see due to the sunglasses they were both wearing. "Then let's go.."

Stella had no idea how much time had passed, but what she did know was that she'd never been that truly amazed by something as she'd been by this park. Every corner offered something more spectacular, more unbelievably then the last one. Now they were standing in front of a fountain all made of coral stone and she couldn't help but be mesmerized again.

"The moon fountain," Horatio began to read out the brochure, "represents three phases of the moon. The rock left represents the first quarter phase, the rock at the right is the last quarter phase and the fountain represents the full moon. The whole thing weights about 23 tons. Unbelievable."

Stella agreed wholeheartedly. This was beyond unbelievable, considering the fact that a single man built this with his hands alone. "Yeah," she said softly and took a step towards the fountain. "Oh look, it's a wishing well," she said and pointed to the coins that were lying on the ground.

"They probably use the money for charities," Horatio thought out loud.

"Should we try it?" she smiled mysteriously and already searched her pockets for a few pennies.

"Sure, why not. You should never ignore a wishing well," he grinned and suddenly had some pennies in his hands. "You first."

"Okay," she smiled and felt like a little kid again. She closed her eyes, thought about her wish and threw the coins into the water.

"So what did you wish for?" Horatio asked curiously.

"Ha! As if I would tell you," she chided him.

"Why not?" he inquired.

"Because then it won't come true," she told him in her best 'duh' voice. "It's like blowing out the candles on your birthday cake; there's no way you'd tell anyone about your wish."

"You're just mean," he pouted and then followed her example and threw some coins into the fountain. "But be aware that I won't tell you about my wish either," he stated smugly. "Except of…if you tell me your wish first."

"Well I don't want to know your wish," she gave him an evil grin and walked to the next monument.

This wasn't how he had planned this. "Damn," he mumbled under his breath and really wanted to know what her wish was. "That's not fair," he exclaimed and pulled a face when he heard her laughing. He had to think about a different plan, but right now he needed to follow her. "So what did you find?" he asked, but didn't get a response immediately. "Stella?"

"Huh? Oh…sorry, look at this," she answered a bit distracted and didn't tear her eyes from the object in front of her. It was a heart-shaped coral rock table with a red blooming ixora growing from its centre.

Horatio wasn't surprised that she liked this. Was there something more romantic than this? Probably not. "Well," he started and rested his hand on her shoulder, "Ed created this castle...I mean...he created everything for one woman, for the love of his life. For a woman who had actually rejected him, even though she'd been his fiancée. Guess this piece must have been especially hard to build."

"I'm sure it was," Stella sighed and leaned into Horatio a bit. "Sad but romantic."

"Yeah, on Valentine's Day, the park is full of couples and it wouldn't surprise me if the one or other wedding proposal would happen here. Ed probably didn't find love again, but he sure helps other people in doing so."

Stella just nodded at that and enjoyed both the feeling of being close to him and that he didn't pull back; instead he wrapped his arm around her waist and let her snuggle even closer. Just like in Boston, but this time neither of them could blame the cold. "Such a silly girl, he must have loved her a lot."

"Sometimes it's just too late when you find out how much someone means to you," Horatio said softly. And sometimes you knew it, but the time with this certain someone was just too short.

"Yeah," she agreed, but then shook her head. No need to become melancholy. It was a beautiful day and not the time to dwell on sad things. "Let's find out what other things Ed has in store for us," she suggested.

"Sounds good to me," Horatio nodded. "Though I think, we've already seen most of the things. I mean, look at the time, we've been here for a few hours now."

"Time just flies by," she commented with a smile when she realized how late it already was. "So do you still want to do some grocery shopping?" she asked when they continued walking.

"Yeah, and my offer still stands, I can take you home and then head to the supermarket."

"No need, I already told you, that I'd come with you," she chided him softly. There was no way that she'd forget about contributing something to the party.

"It was worth a try," he chuckled and didn't try to talk her out of this; he knew her Grecian mentality and he didn't see any need to get on her bad side.

"It was, but unnecessary," she pointed out and took one last look at the beauty that was behind them. Coral Castle really was a miracle and she was happy that she'd accepted Horatio's offer to come here. This was something she wouldn't forget so easily.

"You know, I actually thought that I'd be the one doing all the shopping and not my guest," Horatio commented when he leaned onto the cart. "Guess I was proven wrong."

Stella gave him a small smile and didn't even think about justifying herself but reached for the next article on the list. Somehow she had managed to leave the cart to Horatio, while she was busy walking through the aisles to find everything they needed for the BBQ. It was a good thing that all supermarkets of one chain were pretty similar structured and so she didn't have a hard time to orient herself. "Well if it makes you feel better, you're doing a great job in pushing the cart around and having an eye on our prey."

"No it doesn't," Horatio snorted and tried to pout, but in the end, the smile on his face appeared anyway. "So what are your plans for tomorrow? I mean... cooking technical?" he asked and followed her into the aisle. He wouldn't tell her, but he really liked this feeling of domesticity. It felt like going shopping with your wife and while she wielded a sceptre, the husband was dutifully following her. Later at home, he'd be the one to bring in all the bags and she'd store it all away. Yes, this really was a nice feeling and for a moment (or maybe two) he enjoyed it without thinking about reality.

"I thought about something typical Grecian. Pita and tzatziki," Stella replied and brought him out of his daydreaming.

"I've never tried...tzaziki before," he admitted. "At least I think so…"

"I'm sure you'll like it and it will fit perfectly to the baked potatoes that are on your list," she said confidently. "And instead of bread or baguettes, we can use the pita."

"I like that," Horatio nodded. "And you can do that on your own?" he asked curiously. "I mean, I have no doubts about your ability as a cook, but I guess normally that would be family recipes?" he quickly explained, because he didn't want to sound harsh.

"I know what you meant and yes, I guess it's a family recipe normally, but since I don't have a grandmother or mother who could teach me something, I searched in the internet and found some really nice recipes. They're pretty easy anyway. I think," she looked at him and grinned, "even you could make it."

"Hey," he furrowed his brows in response, "what is that supposed to mean? I'm a good cook." At least when he was in the mood for cooking and not only for himself, anyway.

"And that's why we had pizza yesterday?" she challenged him and enjoyed this immensely. She didn't doubt that Horatio could cook; she had the decent feeling that he was one of the few men who had gone to "cooking school" at their mother's. This was rather rare nowadays, which was a shame actually. She couldn't name a woman who didn't like to be cooked for.

"I couldn't let my son and guest starve, now could I?" Horatio replied and couldn't shake off the feeling that she was playing with him and his pride. "What do you think about something Italian at the weekend?"

"Pizza again?" she joked, but was all ears.

"No," he pulled a face, "but what do you think about penne all'arrabiata and garlic bread?" he challenged her and took her bait without a second thought.

Stella just smiled inwardly and was very proud of herself. Sometimes it was almost too easy to get what you wanted. "Arrabiata, huh?"

"Yep," he nodded and pushed the cart forward. When he was next to her, he leaned in. "It's hot. Hope you can stand that."

Taking the double entendre, she leaned in as well and whispered into his ear, "Believe me, I like it hot." Leaning back, she noticed with female pride that Horatio had to gulp. "Game, set and match to me, Mr. Caine." "And now I need some garlic for the tzaziki and your bread," she continued as if nothing had happened and left him standing there.

"Damn, this woman is good," Horatio grumbled and could still feel the shudder that had erupted from him, when her lips had oh so innocently brushed his earlobe. She knew exactly how to push his buttons and the effect she had on him.

This woman was a real bomb package that needed to be treated carefully.

Maybe being a former Bomb Squad member wasn't that bad at all.

tbc