A/N: Thank you all for your reviews. Well what can I say? It surely wasn't an easy decision for both Horatio and Stella to continue as friends; especially when there are a lot of emotions involved.

Sadly but true, the story is almost completed (not yet, don't worry) but there are only three more chapters (this one included).

Chapter 14

Sitting here again felt like a déjà-vu. But this time it was certainly more difficult. Looking down at his feet, Horatio tried his best to ignore the departure board above them. It would only make him realize how little time they would have together.

The last two days had been amazing and he would forever cherish them in his heart. They had spend more or less every minute together; they had gone into the city, had taken a walk by the beach at night…they had cooked together and even Kyle had come over a few hours. Yes, these had been two blessed days and knowing that this would stop now, wasn't something he was particularly looking forward to.

Feeling a tug at his hand, he looked up questioningly. "Hm?"

"Why is it that airports always have some sad meaning for us?" Stella smiled softly at him.

He knew that she didn't need an answer because she already had it. So he just opened his arm a bit and let her snuggle a little closer. "Tell me why I don't lift you over my shoulder and carry you back home?" he chuckled lightly.

"Because you probably can't lift me and we both have a sense of duty," she sighed back.

"I wouldn't be too sure about the first one, but I do agree with the latter." Though he couldn't help but be seriously tempted to throw caution in the wind and forget all about work.

"And we had even more days together than it was originally planned."

"That we did."

"But still not enough."

"No, not enough," he agreed. There would never be enough. "So for when have you planned your next vacation?" he asked half-heartedly.

"I wish I knew. Mac sounded a bit stressed when we talked yesterday; seems like New York has some nutcases again."

Well this didn't sound really appealing for him at all.

"What about you?"

"I don't know," he shrugged. "But not in the near future. The chief will have my head if I'm on sick leave and soon afterwards decide to have some long vacation." There were some real disadvantages being the head of a Crime Lab and being supervisor of one of the best teams in the U.S. – taking some vacation was a rare thing.

Nodding, she buried her face in his neck. At least they had some more minutes together because Horatio had used his badge to enter the boarding area. Otherwise they would have needed to say goodbye a lot earlier.

"Can't you take a later flight?" he asked hopefully.

"And let Mac wait for hours at the airport?"

"Yeah?" he replied easily and grinned when she nudged him gently. "I'm sure he wouldn't mind."

"Easy for you to say; you don't have to work with a cranky marine afterwards."

"True," he acknowledged. "But I still like the idea."

"Me too." And yet she needed to go back to New York. Getting up from her seat, she let go of him. Slowly she walked to the large windows and stopped in front of them. Her plane was already waiting and she knew it would only be a matter of time until the boarding would start.

"You know I could ask Alexx to write you a certificate of illness," he told her from his seat and smiled when she gave him a look. "Hey, I'm sure she'd do that for us," he just shrugged and got up as well.

"I'm sure this wouldn't look suspicious at all."

"Of course not," he chuckled. "That's pure coincidence."

"Mhm, of course it is," she mumbled and leaned against his chest when he stopped behind her. "I don't want to leave."

"I don't want you to leave either."

They both turned their heads towards the boarding desk when they heard the announcement. "I guess fate is against us."

"Yeah," he mumbled and turned her around. Resting his forehead against hers, he just closed his eyes and relished the feeling of her closeness. "I will miss you…more than I can say," he whispered.

"I'll miss you too," she whispered back and stroked his cheeks.

Saying goodbye had never felt this hard for him. "Don't leave me, Stella."

She could literally feel her heart breaking at those words. "I have to…we both know that," she replied brokenly and before he could say something else, she kissed him.

Nothing around them existed at this moment. Not the curious stares of the passengers walking past them, the loudspeaker announcements or the waiting glances of the cabin crew. There were only them.

When they broke the kiss, both were gasping for breath. Biting his lower lip, Horatio reached for her hands and entwined them with his. Taking a deep breath, he mustered all of his courage and looked at her. "I do love you, Stella. I know that…I told you that I might be falling for you when we were at the beach...but the truth is I do love you."

Closing her eyes, Stella lowered her head and took a deep breath. Life was incredible unfair and right now she hated it with every fibre of her being.

"I probably shouldn't have told you..," Horatio said softly when there was no reply from her. "But I wanted you to-"

Stella just pressed two fingers against his lips and shook her head. "Never apologize for telling me this, Horatio," she told him. "Especially not when I'm feeling the same way."

"Ma'am? We're sorry to interrupt you, but the boarding has ended and we need you to come aboard as well," one of the crew, gently called.

Turning her head towards the woman, Stella nodded at her and then focused on Horatio again. "I'm not one who trusts in fate, but I think we have to this time. We had Boston, we had Miami; all good things come in threes. We just have to trust in that."

Did he like it? No, he didn't. But could he change it in any way? No, he couldn't. So Horatio just nodded at that.

"Promise me to have a home here for forever?"

"I promise," he told her. "Promise me to give me a call once you're back in New York?"

"I promise," she nodded and kissed him again. "And now it's time," she sighed and gave him one last hug.

"We'll meet again Stella; sooner or later we will meet again," he told her seriously and then let her go. He watched her as long as he could and even when she turned around a corner, he remained rooted to the spot.

"We will meet again, Stella Bonasera," he said to himself, put on his sunglasses and turned around to go. He would drive back home, no not home. He would drive back to his house.

Without her in it, it wasn't home any longer.

Three weeks later, Kyle entered his father's house and walked straight upstairs. There was no need to look around in the first floor, because he just knew that his father wouldn't be there. No, he was pretty sure that his father was hiding himself in his home office again and this had to stop.

Ever since Stella had gone back to New York, his father had cocooned himself into work, both at the lab and at home. This hadn't gone unnoticed by the team and after a few days they had informed Alexx about this fact. It had only been a week after the shooting after all and his shoulder and head surely needed more time to heal. So Alexx had given him some tongue lashing which had resulted into the fact that he'd stayed at home over the weekend. On Monday though, things had begun like they had ended on Friday and it didn't look like this would change soon.

Well that's what Kyle was here for now.

Walking down the hallway, he stopped at the door and opened it quietly. Just like he had expected, his dad was brooding over some case files. Taking a deep breath he knocked on the doorframe and stepped in. "Hey, Dad."

Looking up from his work, Horatio gave him a startled, "Oh hey, Kyle. I didn't hear you coming."

Now this didn't surprise him at all. For some time now, his father was somewhere else with his thoughts and Kyle had a pretty good idea where they exactly were and with whom. "Whatcha doing?"

"Oh, just some work," Horatio shrugged and looked at his watch. "No date tonight?"

"Nope, at least not with a girl," the boy replied cheekily and sat down on the edge of the desk.

Not getting the hint, Horatio looked a little nonplussed. "Kyle? Is there something you want to talk about?"

"Oh Daaaad, come on," he whined. How could he think that? "I'm not having a date with a guy either," he said and quickly added an "and never will be" just to make sure. "I thought I'd stop by and we can get some pizza."

"Already raided your fridge again, Son?" Horatio tried to ask amused but it only worked partially.

"Maybe, but I wanted to spend some time with you."

"It's Saturday evening and you want to spend some time with your old dad?"

"It's Saturday evening and you want to spend it with boring paperwork?" the boy shot back and arched his brows.

"Hmm," Horatio mumbled and looked at the files in front of him. "Well there are things that need to be done and I have the time." Oh yes, he really had time, more than enough; more than he actually wanted to.

"Well yes, but now I'm here, so these have to wait," Kyle said and tapped on the files.

Knowing that Kyle wouldn't let him continue with his work, Horatio nodded and snapped them shut. "Okay, so pizza?"

"Yep, pizza. We haven't had that since our dinner with Stella."

Stella. Her name alone made him sigh inwardly. "Yes, right," he nodded and got up from his chair. Missing her was one of the reasons why he was working so much; this and feeling alone in his house. "Then let's go," he said and left the room.

Watching him leave, Kyle quickly jumped from the desk and followed his dad. "You miss her."

For a short moment, Horatio stopped dead in his tracks. Others might have not noticed it, but Kyle had. Then he continued walking again. Without turning around he answered, "I do."

"When have you last talked to her?"

"A few days ago."

"Why not today?" the boy asked intrigued and hurried down the stairs.

Reaching for his phone, Horatio looked at him. "Because hearing her voice and not seeing her face is…difficult." With that he typed in the number of the take out restaurant. "The usual?"

Kyle just nodded in agreement and waited until the call was over. There was no way that he would let his dad change the subject. He had suspected that Horatio's behaviour had something to do with Stella's leaving, but now he had the confession of his dad. "Well…you could skype..for example," he tried to find a solution.

"No.. that's not the same," Horatio shook his head and wandered into the kitchen. "And it won't change the fact that she isn't here."

"True," Kyle admitted. "So…what are your plans then?" he asked and accepted a soda.

"My plans?" Horatio asked confused.

"Well…your personal ones or yours and Stella's," Kyle shrugged. "Maybe they are the same?" he smiled.

"There are no plans, Kyle," Horatio answered. He really didn't want to talk about this right now or any time soon.

"No plans? At all?" Kyle asked stunned. Now this was a real surprise.

Closing the drawer a bit more forceful than needed, Horatio gritted his teeth. Did everyone have to be so curious about his life? First his team, then Alexx and now his son. "No, Kyle. No plans at all, okay?"

Noticing the tone, Kyle cringed inwardly. He had certainly hit a spot there. The fact that his dad didn't turn towards him, but just showed him his back, underlined this as well. Taking a deep breath, he put down his soda and bridged the few steps between them. "I'm sorry Dad. I shouldn't put my nose into other people's business. I just thought that…you know…you two probably…," he trailed off, because he wasn't sure what exactly he had been thinking; he just knew that it had been something different than that his dad would never see Stella again.

Horatio dropped his shoulders and shook his head. "It's okay, Kyle. I know you're quite taken with Stella."

"I'm not the only one, am I?" the boy smiled shyly.

"No. No you aren't," Horatio turned around. "She's a very special lady." And so much more than that.

Hearing the wistful longing in his father's voice, Kyle couldn't stop himself from asking this one important question. "Do you love her, Dad?"

He had admitted it to himself and to Stella. He could also admit it to his son. "I do."

"But then why didn't you make any plans? She will come back, right?" If his dad loved her, and Kyle was pretty sure that Stella loved his dad as well, then why wouldn't they want to be together?

"It's not that easy, Kyle," Horatio sighed. When it came to women, it had never been easy for him. "We live in two different cities, we both love our jobs-"

"But loving your job is not the same as loving a person," Kyle stated. "And living in two different cities can be changed as well."

"It's not that simple, Son."

"Love is simple, Dad. But sometimes you have to work a little harder for it. Sometimes it is a challenge, yes," he conceded, "but have you ever shied away from one?"

"But this is not only about me, but about Stella and her life as well," Horatio argued back.

"And have you ever thought that she's probably just waiting for some kind of reaction from you?" Kyle didn't back down. He was sick and tired of seeing his dad hurting. He wanted to see him happy again.

"And what makes you-," he started and threw his arms up in annoyance when the door bell rang. "Be right back," he mumbled and left the room.

When he came back a few moments later, Kyle had already set the table for them and was waiting for him with an unreadable face. Opening his mouth, Horatio wanted to ask what was going on, but didn't even have the chance to do so.

"You're going to sit down," Kyle told him and pointed at the seat. "And then we're going to make a plan to get you out of this mess. You've helped me more times than I can count and now it's time that I repay that."

"Kyle you don't-"

"Just sit down Dad and listen to me for a change." He was in charge now and his father would listen to him, no matter if he wanted to or not.

tbc