A/N: I work in local television news, so I slipped in some jargon. For those who don't know, "b-roll" refers to video footage used in newscasts.

Major character revelation coming your way in this "episode!"

Ships ahoy!

11X02: "Descent, part 2"

"We have continuing coverage on a tragic setback for a high-ranking Miami Dade Police officer…"

"…the Department of Defense confirms Harmon's unit was ambushed…"

"…we have been unable to get comment from Lieutenant Caine or the Miami Dade Crime Lab at this time…"

"…our crews captured the heartbreaking moment when Sergeant Calleigh Duquesne learned of Harmon's death…"

The b-roll of Calleigh and Natalia comforting each other played nonstop during the local newscasts that day. Reporters seized every angle, focused their cameras on the Lab's every move. Calleigh eventually turned off all the TVs in the building. Enough was enough.

Since it seemed as if all of Miami were glued to their TVs, waiting for any new development in the story, there was nothing for Calleigh to do that day, so she wandered down to her sanctuary.

Firing off multiple rounds from her gun, Calleigh was grateful that the sound could mask the fact that she was sobbing uncontrollably. Everything was becoming such a mess with the team. No one had really gotten over the shock after Sam Owens was found to have killed ASA Josh Avery. Things were still complicated with Eric, but now Horatio had dropped a bombshell on her.

He looked at the small hands within his. "Why didn't we ever work out?"

"What?"

"I thought…we could have been there for each other…on different levels."

The moment played out in her mind over and over again.

He has feelings for me, she told herself. After all this time…

She flung off the earmuffs from her head, re-holstered her gun, and ran back up to the Lab area.

"Eric, watch over everything," she commanded of him. "I'm heading out 30 minutes early today to make sure Horatio is alright. Can you watch Austin and Patty until I get home? I shouldn't be too long."

"Sure," Eric responded with a hint of concern in his voice.

"Sergeant Duquesne?" a voice sounded behind her. MDPD Captain John Marquez. He only stuck his head in the Crime Lab if something big was going down.

"Captain Marquez, hi," Calleigh replied, smiling in his direction.

"I'm terribly sorry about Lieutenant Caine. Please tell him we're all thinking about him."

"Thank you, that will mean a lot to him."

"If you don't have anything pressing tomorrow morning, I'd like to meet with you in my office regarding some new developments. It will only take 15 minutes or so."

Calleigh nodded. "That won't be a problem."

"Excellent," the Captain replied. "I'll see you at 9 sharp."

The drive back to his house was all a blur; all Calleigh could think of was resolving this new complication with Horatio, although she didn't know how she felt about everything. She had been his right hand for 15 years, and they knew more about each other than the others. They both knew what the other took in their coffee. She learned that he loved to fish when she accompanied him at the lake one chilly morning 10 years ago. He knew she had a secret passion for reggae music, and she knew he had an impressive collection of '70s punk LPs (compiled when he was a teenager in New York).

However, she knew he hadn't told her everything about his life, and he didn't know everything about hers. Everyone knew his father killed his mother, but only she and Eric knew who killed his father. However, she wasn't made completely aware of his shitty childhood. It was the biggest secret that everyone suspected but couldn't confirm. It was one of the very few things he kept from her. That would change. She resolved, in her quest to reveal her true self to Horatio, to lay everything out on the table.

I know he's no angel, but neither am I.

The sight of multiple news trucks gathered in the street in front of Horatio's house startled her. Damn it, they just don't quit.

Calleigh parked her car nearby, and with a newfound sense of disgusted defiance, pushed past the inquiring reporters and stood at the doorstep to address them all.

"I'm only going to tell y'all this once," she told the crowd after they gathered around her. "Leave now or I'm having y'all arrested for stalking. Lieutenant Caine does not wish to comment on the situation."

Without turning her back to the reporters, Calleigh rang the doorbell, knowing Yelina would open the door for her. When the door was unlocked, Calleigh told the reporters that she wanted them all gone in 5 minutes, then slipped inside.

"I took care of the press," Calleigh told Yelina. "They'll be gone soon."

Yelina smiled. "Thank you," she whispered.

"How is he?"

"Still in the same spot," Yelina replied gloomily. "He's only said a few words to me all day."

Calleigh's heart sank. "Look, Yelina, I know you want to be there for him, but you sound exhausted being cooped up in this house all day. Take a few hours off, okay? I'll stay with him. Let me try to talk to him. I need to ask him if he knows why Captain Marquez requested a meeting with me for tomorrow morning."

"Captain Marquez?" Yelina asked her, wide-eyed. "I hope it's nothing serious."

"For me or Horatio."

Yelina nodded. "I'm going to call Ray Jr. It was his first day at Florida State."

"Congratulations for both of you," Calleigh said. "Tell him the team says hello."

"I will. And I'll make sure the reporters are gone for you."

"Thanks," Calleigh said before she turned toward Horatio's bedroom.

She felt knocking wouldn't make any difference, and opened the door. "Knock knock," she said in a soft voice. Horatio's head shot up at the sound of the familiar Southern twang.

"Sweetheart," he whispered. "You came back."

Calleigh kneeled in front of where he sat on the bed. "Of course I did, Handsome."

"Thank you," he replied.

"How are you feeling?" she asked.

"I'm not going to lie, it hurts," he admitted. "But I'm going to take it day by day."

"That's about all you can do. I know you'll make it out okay. I'm here for you regardless."

Horatio smiled. "Thank you. That means more to me than you know."

"I'm going to get to the point," she said without hesitation. "Do you know why Captain Marquez requested a meeting with me?"

Horatio took a deep breath. "They're making a few…personnel changes…in several departments," he explained. "We're one of those departments."

"Any reason why?"

"People in key positions are retiring, and they need those positions filled ASAP."

"Captain Dorsey."

"Mmm hmm. He's on his way out…and they want me to head up all of Miami Dade CSI."

"Congratulations, Horatio," Calleigh replied before giving him a hug. "Why does that concern me, though? I just got promoted."

"If you accept, you'll be the new day shift supervisor. You'll have to trade up for a Lieutenant's badge, though."

"They're going to make you Captain?"

"They are. And I'm grateful for the chance, but I will miss being out in the field…working with certain Sergeants."

"I'm assuming you don't mean Frank."

"I don't," Horatio replied with a small smile. "It's going to be hard to let go of something I've had for the past 15 years."

She took in a big breath. Here goes. "I think we need to have that conversation now."

Horatio nodded. "I agree. I think I scared you this morning, Sweetheart."

"I'm not going to lie to you. Yes, you did. But it's because I didn't expect you to say what you said to me."

"I meant every word."

"I know, Horatio," she said, taking his hands with hers. "But I'm not perfect, not by a long shot. I'm not proud of my past, just like I know you're not proud of yours."

Horatio gave Calleigh's hands a light squeeze. "What are you saying, Calleigh?"

"If you knew what I've lived through, what I've experienced, you'd see me differently. You'd treat me differently."

"You know, it's a double-edged sword…"

"…Which is why we need to have this conversation."

Horatio sighed heavily. "You're the only one I can trust with all my being. You've stood next to me for 15 years…weathering every storm. You know me better than anyone…"

"…But I don't know everything, do I?" Calleigh interrupted. "And you don't know everything. This is why we need to talk. You're broken. So am I."

"Calleigh…"

"I was 15 when I was raped. A classmate snuck up behind me when I was walking home from school."

Horatio squeezed her hands harder. "I-I'm sorry. I didn't know."

"You're the only one outside of the family who does. It's not something I'm going to tell everyone, obviously. And I'm not going to tell just anyone about what we did to him. I'm not going to tell Eric that my brothers dragged him out of the movies on a Saturday night and into the woods. I'm not going to tell Natalia that we beat him within an inch of his life until the police could haul him away. I'm not going to tell the team that he will never be free again because of what he did to me. I lost something that night, but what I gained helped shape who I am today. It's why I put on my badge every day."

Horatio studied her silently, picturing a young Calleigh standing with her brothers with blood on her hands, proud of having served up her own brand of justice. "Sweetheart…"

"I have never had a normal relationship with a man. It's not because I was afraid of being intimate with them, but because there was something deep down that was keeping me from trusting them. It's different with you…it's been that way since the beginning. I knew, from the moment we first met, that you would lay down your life to save mine if you had to. And I want to make it clear that I would do the same for you in a heartbeat."

Horatio wiped away one of his own tears. "You…you trust me that much?"

"I do," Calleigh affirmed, placing a hand over his heart to comfort him. "But I know you've suffered too. I know that whatever it is, it's been with you all your life, smothering you, preventing you from having a normal existence…normal relationships. Open up to me, Horatio. Trust me with your heart."

Horatio paused for a moment in an attempt to regain control of his emotions. He was failing miserably for the first time in his life. He didn't cry for himself, he was past that. These tears were new, raw…he was crying for her.

"Well," he started with a shaky voice, "you know about my parents, and how I was forced to intervene on a situation that did not end well for anyone who was there."

Calleigh nodded, noting that his heartbeat had quickened under her touch. Whatever he was about to tell her was clearly having an effect on him.

"It wasn't an isolated event. We all endured years of torment at the hands of my father."

"You were abused," Calleigh whispered, softly rubbing a small area of his chest.

"I was…in more ways than one."

Calleigh closed her eyes. She felt her own tears forming. "Oh, Horatio." She wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him tightly to her.

"I tried to keep him from hurting my mother, but it always got worse for me."

Calleigh sobbed into his shoulder. "I'm so sorry, Handsome."

"I know…I know. I just wish…I could have stopped him from killing her."

The scene flashed in his mind: New York City, 1980. It was unseasonably warm that day. He had just finished his shift and came home to his tiny one bedroom apartment near the precinct. Rookie cop fresh on the beat, but he knew the streets and the people he protected. Little brother Raymond called from his girlfriend Yelina's place, worried that Mom hadn't picked up when he tried to call their childhood home. Sprinting the 5 blocks. Kicking the door in…blood pooling on the floor, the bastard standing over her body with a steak knife. Anger flashing in his eyes. What the fuck have you done? Get out of here, Horatio! Un-holstering the gun, one shot square between the eyes…fuck protocol, he'd claim self-defense. Mom! Mom! Death was cradling her, cooing her to come home. She had lost too much blood. Her beautiful red hair matted with blood. I'm sorry it turned out this way…I love you Horatio...

A kiss on the cheek broke his painful memory. "Oh, Horatio…"

"Calleigh…we're both broken."

"Two broken hearts can't mend each other. We both have been hurt in the worst ways possible. What if we destroy each other? I don't want my insecurities and mental blocks to push me away from you. Your heart is too fragile for that."

Horatio ducked his head. "I understand. I'm a difficult man to get along with."

"No…I just don't want our problems to tear us apart. What would happen if this didn't work out?"

Horatio cupped her tear-stained cheek with his hand. "What if it did work out?"

"What if it did?" she echoed, placing a gentle peck on his lips.

"What if it did?" he repeated before carefully seizing her lips with his.

Passion escalating…Calleigh slipped her hand underneath Horatio's shirt, running her fingers over his creamy skin. Goosebumps rippled under her touch.

"We're walking…a dangerous line," she muttered between kisses.

"Haven't we always?" he asked her.

"Not this dangerous," she replied.

"You're not pushing me away," he countered.

"I don't want to," she said as she pulled his shirt over his head and flung it to the floor.

"You know…we can't turn back now."

Calleigh removed her blazer. "We'll just have to live with those consequences."

Horatio studied her as she quickly stripped down to her bra and underwear. His silence was not lost on her.
"Horatio, please say something."

He tried to form the words he had been waiting for 15 years to say to her: I love you. But they wouldn't come. His mouth and his brain were out of sync. He imagined he looked like a fool sitting there silently moving his mouth in a futile attempt to tell her everything. More tears threatened in his eyes…he felt like a child again, crying because he was powerless against the forces acting upon him. He couldn't even say three little words to her when he needed to.

Calleigh straddled either side of his waist and delivered a devastating kiss to his lips. "I'm here for you now. I always will be here."

Horatio cautiously rested his hands on her bare hips. "I've never…had anyone…anyone…say that to me."

"I'm not anyone, am I?" she whispered to him, face inches from his.

"No…you're everything to me."

Calleigh gently pushed on his chest, urging his body to lie back on his bed. Her hands traveled down his chest, down his waist, and briefly came to rest at the waistband of his boxers before she slowly pulled the garment down his legs, exposing him.

Horatio's heart leapt about in his chest nervously. He was afraid he was insufficient for her…after all, she could have any man she wanted. He was just…average.

"Oh," he gasped. He felt himself growing between his thighs, but he couldn't look.

"Horatio, don't be ashamed."

He covered his face with his hands to shield his violent blushing.

"Horatio, look at me," she ordered before pulling his hands off his face. "Horatio…" She had removed her bra, and the swell of her chest pressed up against the flat expanse of his.
"I'm sorry," he gasped.

"Look at me, Horatio."

His eyelids opened, and teary blues met green. Peace flooded his body when he realized she wore not a look of disgust, but one of reassurance.

"Just relax, and let your heart begin to heal. Do that for me, Handsome. Let go of your troubles…even if it's just for tonight. I'll catch you."

"I couldn't ask that of you, Calleigh. I couldn't."

"You're not going to hurt me, Handsome. What happened to me happened a long time ago."

Her hands stroked him reassuringly.

"Calleigh…agh." His primal instincts reared its ugly head.

"I need you, Horatio."

Tunnel vision clouded his capacity for rational thought. His hands absentmindedly pulled at her panties until he was rid of them. Calleigh guided his swollen member to her and tugged it closer, coaxing him to finish the deed.

Instincts seized full control and he entered her. Perfect fit. Her loud moaning was evidence that she came to the same conclusion.

"No going back," she gasped as he bucked his hips to explore more of her velvet woman-dom.

"Only…if you're okay with that," he replied.

Calleigh attacked his lips with hers, lashing her tongue inside his mouth. He pushed harder and deeper inside of her – all the while rubbing his thumb along her folds – until he felt her tense up around his member. She was at the cusp of climax.

"Come on, Sweetheart," he commanded her.

A wave of ecstasy crashed over her. "Oh GOD!" she screamed, allowing the tremors of her orgasm rattle her down to her bones. Her fingernails dug into his chest, drawing a trickle of blood from the fresh wounds on his skin.

"Oh, agh!" he gasped, the pressure becoming too much.

"Let go for me," Calleigh cooed in his ear. "You can trust me."

Horatio gave one final thrust before he released himself inside of her. He pulled her close to him and held her tight in his arms.

"No going back," he whispered in her ear.

Three rings and the sound of a man piped up. "Hello?" the voice on the other end of the line said cautiously.

"Ron Saris, nice to meet you," a sinister-sounding man greeted him.

"Who is this?" Ron snapped back.

"All you need to know right now is that my name is Darren Vogel…you'll come to know me very well soon enough," he responded. "I need your help, Ron."