And in order to clear some things up: Yes, there will be more present time in the future of the story, though most of the story is flashbacks. And Ryan and Adam were twins, so yes they have the same father. And their parents were never really together, after all the father is married and has kids, and the fighting will explain itself later on. And when it comes to Ryan finding out about Harry; I'm still working on that!

And oh, there will be a little flashback in this chapter, but it won't be as far back as the other ones. It will only be to "Under the influence".

Disclaimer: I don't own CSI: Miami or the characters in the show. I do however own my own characters and plotline.

Present

"I'm glad the thing with the murder worked out." Natalia said as she waited by the door of Ryan's apartment. She'd volunteered to drive him back to the crime lab since he hadn't really felt for picking his car up the night before.

"Yeah, me too. You have no idea how much it's been bothering me the last couple of years, I'm glad it finally worked out." he answered from inside the apartment. He was currently changing and Natalia was trying her best not to sneak up and try to look in.

"Let me guess: it hasn't been bothering you at all?" she took a few steps in and took up a photograph of a woman and four men in police uniforms from the counter.

"Good guess." he chuckled.

"Ehm, Ryan? Is this one of the photos from the box?"

"Well, I can't really see it so I'm not sure. What's on it?"

"I think it's your mother, with four other men in uniform."

"Yeah, that photo is from the box." Ryan said, emerging from his room and took the photo from Natalia. "Let's see… This is my uncle Ron, he was an officer." Ryan said and pointed at the tall, dark haired man who was standing next to Amanda Wolfe with a grin. "Sergeant Jack O'Connell." He pointed at a short, broad shouldered man who was too grinning. "Officer Carl Wilson." He pointed at a thin man with curious eyes who was standing on the other side of Amanda. "And Harry." There was no doubt Harry was handsome. He was tall, muscular and had short, red hair and a smile that Natalia was sure had gotten a lot of woman in bed. But he was also the only one who wasn't looking at the camera. He had his arm around Amanda's waist and was giving her a look that even got Natalia to feel the love in the air. But there was something else about him. Some kind of familiarity about the red hair, the blue eyes and the way his other hand rested on his own waist.

"Ehm… Ryan?"

"Yeah?"

"This Harry guy, doesn't he look like someone we know?"

"I don't think so, why? You recognize him?"

She looked up at Ryan and decided that she should get all the fact before she started throwing around suspicions. After all, there were a lot of blue-eyed redheads who used to work on the NYPD at that time and who looked suspiciously like their boss, right?

Oh, who was she kidding? She had no idea how Ryan hadn't ever made the connection. But then again, Ryan had always been thinking that "Harry" and Horatio are two different people, why would a photo change that?

"Never minds." she said quickly and put the photo back on the counter. "Ready to go?"

"Yeah."

-/-

"Horatio, may I have a word?" Natalia said as she walked in to her bosses' office.

"Of course miss Boa Vista. Sit down."

"I prefer to stand. This will be quick." Horatio nodded and leaned back in his chair, waiting for her to continue, but she didn't. She seemed nervous and was avoiding his eyes.

"What's going on miss Boa Vista?"

"Look, H, I know this doesn't have anything to do with me, but I had to ask."

"What…?"

"Amanda Wolfe." she interrupted him. Horatio immediately straightened up in his chair and Natalia noticed something flashing in his eyes that she didn't really recognize. Sadness? Fear?

"What about her?" he asked with a more strained voice.

"You're Harry, the man who gave her the necklace. And don't deny it, I saw the photo!" she added when he opened his mouth again.

"I wasn't going to." he said calmly. "I was just going to ask you not to mention anything to Mr. Wolfe."

"Why not?"

"Because it's in our past and I don't want mine and Wolfe's working relationship to change."

"Through him finding out that you almost became his stepfather?" Horatio nodded carefully, a small smile creeping up on his face. "Is that why you always distance yourself from him? And call him Mr. Wolfe? Does he remind you too much about her?" He nodded again.

"It's been almost 30 years and it still hurts sometimes."

"Did you know, when you first hired him?" Natalia asked and sat down, having gotten rid of her nervousness.

Flashback "Under the influence"

Horatio Caine was standing by Alexx and Eric at the crime scene where a woman only hours earlier had been run over by a bus. She was lying on the ground, covered in her own blood. It was not a pretty sight. Suddenly a young officer approached them.

"Lieutenant, I'm officer Wolfe." he said, meeting Horatio's blue eyes with his hazel.

Wolfe. Hazel eyes. Could it be?

He shook of the thought. He had other things to worry about.

"Thank you Wolfe, we'll take it from here." he said quickly, trying not to show how uncomfortable he was in the man's presence.

"He's thorough." Eric commented when the officer left.

"Yes." Just like Amanda. "Follow up please."

"Will do lieutenant." the Cuban teased and left.

While in the interview room with Pete Horatio suddenly saw the same officer Wolfe standing outside. Yelina came up next to him, telling him that he was there to try for the vacant spot Speed had left.

"Ryan Wolfe." she called him. "Ryan Adam Wolfe." Horatio remembered Ron saying. But still, there could be a lot of Ryan Wolfe's with those eyes in the country. Plus, Amanda's son lived in Boston. "He's asked me to put in a good word for him."

"So he's not shy?" Well, neither was Amanda.

"Look, he's got a bachelor's in chemistry and he's working in patrol until he finishes his master in genetics."

"Sounds like I should talk to him then. Sit tight Pete." Horatio left the room and went over to Wolfe.

"Lieutenant. Thanks for meeting with me." Ryan said and shook his hand.

"No problems, step over here Wolfe." he murmured and walked over with him. "So detective Salas tells me that you're thinking about a career change." he said and sat down.

"Only if I can be a criminalist. Ehm, I've done a dussin write-alongs with homicide,(…)*, hit all the seminars. I'm ready." he nodded.

"Okay, so no more patrol?" Horatio asked, avoiding to meet the officer's eyes. They were just so alike Amanda's! How was it possible?

"Patrol's great, but there's no follow through. Dispatch calls and you move on. CSI is where all the cases are solved**."

Horatio tried to figure out if this guy could really cover Speed's place? After all, he was a little young. Speed had been a lot older and he had still made that mistake with his gun. His gun! Amanda would always, because of her OCD, clean her gun about every day. I wonder…

"Okay. Let me see your service pistol."

"Sir?"

"Your weapon, let me see it." Wolfe carefully handed the lieutenant his gun, looking uncertain for the first time. Horatio looked in to the gun and saw how clean it was.

"You clean this every week?" he asked, still avoiding eye contact.

"More, I'm a little OCD. Drives the watch commander crazy." Wolfe said in an attempt to joke. But Horatio could still see the anxiety in his body language.

"Ok, let me see your backup." Ryan reached down and handed him his backup. He checked it out and gave it back.

"That is quite a case of OCD Wolfe." Just like HER.

Ryan sighed in annoyance.

"Did I just lose this job?"

"You know what? I need to think about it. Have a seat over there." Horatio nodded against some chairs and stood up. When he walked away Horatio looked over to Yelina who was smiling at him.

"Is there something else you'd like to tell me about officer Wolfe?" he asked her in a low voice when he approached her.

"Like what?"

"Like what his mother's name is." he raised an eyebrow at her but she just smiled.

"So you figured it out." she shook her head. "He's the son of Amanda Wolfe, grandson of Adam Wolfe and great grandson of Philip Wolfe."

"All great people in law enforcement." he noted.

"Well, you should know."

Horatio quickly changed the subject back to the case, and Yelina politely did the same. When she walked away he was immediately approached by Calleigh, who was having trouble with her alcoholic dad, again. She was really pushing it to protect him, messing with the alcohol test. But he was her father after all.

"I'd like to stay on the case." she said when her father had left them. But Horatio had gotten another idea.

"I don't think that'd be a good idea. I think we need someone who's not byes to you or your father."

"Someone from the night shift?"

"I'm thinking patrol."

"Patrol? A newbie? They don't even know how it works at CSI." she responded angrily.

"I need you to trust me on this. Wolfe!"

"Yes sir." Ryan said immediately and walked over to them.

"Wolfe, you're hired."

"Ehm, but what about the paper work?"

"You let me worry about that. Man up. You're on the clock now so go ahead son."

"Ok." Wolfe responded and left.

"Do me a favor and go with me this time." he said to Calleigh before leaving too.

"So you hired him." Yelina said amused.

"He seems to have potential."

"Yeah, he does. But that's not the only reason you hired him right?" Horatio stayed silent, and she took that as a yes. "Still thinking that he could've been yours if it hadn't been for that one time?"

"Sometimes." he sighed.

"Are you going to tell him?"

"Did it seem like he recognized me?"

"No."

"Then no, I'm not going to tell him." And with that he left. He didn't get very far though, stopping outside the lab and seeing Wolfe doing his work.

"Still thinking that he could've been yours?" Every day. Then the phone call came and he was forced to leave.

Horatio walked outside and found Calleigh standing on the steps up to the MDPD waiting for him.

"How are you doing?" he asked her carefully.

"Better." She answered rolled and her eyes.

"Better, but not great." She smiled.

"No, not great."

"You know, they say that one day at the time works both ways."

"I'll remember that." she nodded.

"Ok." Then he asked the question he'd wanted to ask her all along; "How did Wolfe do?" Was he as good as his mother?

"Surprisingly good. But you knew that didn't you?" Horatio couldn't help but smile. Even though there was no way Calleigh knew everything, there was no doubt that she had suspected something. What it was, was impossible to say.

"It's in his blood. Good night."

End of flashback

Natalia shook her head.

"First Ryan's mother, then your brother's wife and then Eric's sister. You really know how to pick your women, H." Horatio chuckled.

"You can't choose who you fall in love with."

"Yeah, you've got that right." she mumbled and glanced at Ryan, who was standing near the office talking with Calleigh.

"The way Amanda and I ended things… It wasn't good, I'll tell you that much. But I still loved every second I spent with her leading up to the end, and I wish I had more of them. Don't do what I did. Don't let fear get in your way and shorten the time you have together."

"I don't know what you're…"

"Natalia, there's nothing you can hide from me, remember?" Natalia looked up and shook her head.

"It's nothing…"

"Natalia…"

"Ok, know what? I'll stay out of your and Amanda's business if you stay out of mine. OK?" Natalia said annoyed, not wanting to get in to that path with her boss. Horatio was great and all and you could usually tell him anything, but she had to draw the line somewhere, and her love life was it. He just nodded and she stood up to leave.

"Miss Boa Vista, what photograph were you talking about earlier?" Horatio said suddenly.

"The one with you, O'Connell, Ron, Wilson and Amanda." she answered quickly, before she walked out and closed the door behind her.

"Hey, what were you doing in Horatio's office for so long?" Ryan asked her when she walked in to DNA. Her first thought was to just tell him everything about Horatio and his mother, but then she remembered that she'd been told not to. Plus, she'd said she'd stay out of it.

"Nothing really. I was just really tired yesterday and really screwed up this rapport. I mean, it was crazy! So I had to kind of sort it out and Horatio helped." she lied quickly, giving him a faked smile.

"Ok..." he said and returned to the computer.

"Yeah… What are you doing then?"

"The victim got some of the killer's DNA under her fingernails so I'm searching it through the database. It might take a while though."

"So you don't have any suspects?"

"No, not yet." he turned back to her. "Are you sure that you were only talking about the rapport? You look a little…"

"A little what?"

"I'm not sure. It's like you've got something on your mind that you can't tell me."

"How could you possibly see that?" Ryan shrugged.

"I've known you for a while Natalia, I can see when you've got something on you mind that's bothering you."

"Ok, fine. It was something else."

"Which was…?" Natalia bit her lower lip, not knowing what to do now.

"The department rules says that two CSIs can't date."

"Yeah, I know. What's that got to do with anything?"

"Well, Horatio got this strange idea that you and I had something together and he decided to bring it up when we got done with the rapport."

"So what, he told you we should break up?"

"The opposite actually, he said we should ignore the rules and go for it." Natalia looked up and saw a small grin spread on his face. "I mean, if he was fine with Calleigh and Eric so he was bound to be fine with us too right?"

"Right. If there was any us."

"Which there isn't."

"Exactly." The tension was so thick you could literally cut through it.

"About the girls back in Boston…" Natalia said, desperate to break it.

"I've already told you; I was a teenager driven by hormones! And I did some mistakes, yes, but…"

"Relax Ryan! I wasn't talking about that." Natalia smiled. "I was going to ask you about the girl they kept mentioning. You know, Demi?"

"Oh, ok. No"

"No?"

"No, I'm not telling you about her. At least not until we're married with children." his cocky grin immediately fell when he saw the shock in her eyes. "I mean…"

"Don't worry, I get it." Natalia looked away while another uncomfortable silence filled the room. Thankfully it was interrupted by the computer's beeping.

"And we've got a match! I should probably get this to Horatio." Ryan murmured and took the paper.

"Yeah… And, ehm, Ryan?"

"Yeah?"

"You know, since we don't have to worry about department rules anymore… Maybe we should work on me getting to know what happened to Demi. You could take me to another wrestling thingy maybe?" Natalia had absolutely no idea what got her to say that. She really didn't. Maybe what Horatio had said had affected her more than she thought?

"I thought you hated that." Ryan frowned.

"I did. But after meeting you exes in Boston I've come to realize that your experience with dating is a little different from most people's. I mean, they thought that Mexican wrestling was the most romantic thing a guy could take them to. So I figured I'd just play along. And now I'm going to shut up." she felt her cheeks going hot but Ryan just looked at her with and amused expression.

"What about I'll take you to dinner instead? And maybe a movie?" Natalia couldn't help the smile that crept over her lips.

"That sounds great."

"Then it's a date. I'll see you when your shifts ends." And with that he was gone.

Horatio was meanwhile still sitting in his office, remembering the events leading to the photo being taken.

Wow, 6 and a half pages. Must be my longest chapter yet.

Once again I prove that romantic scenes aren't my strongest side. But you guys got the point at least, right? Oh well. The next few chapter will be flashback, unless I come up with a totally random last minute idea, like I always do :P

* For this chapter I watched "Under the influence" so many times I practically know every line by heart now, but I still can't figure out what he said at that exact spot…

** I think that was what he said…

And as always: don't forget to review!