Fun with Uncle Horatio
Horatio Caine smiled as the dark-haired little girl with brown eyes ran out of the elevator and into his arms. He loved Chloe Delko with every cell in his body. Having never gotten the chance to be a dad himself Horatio couldn't explain the gratitude he felt when Eric asked him to be Chloe's godfather, to raise the little girl, to take care of her and love her like his own if anything happened to him and Calleigh while the child was still young. And to love and be there for her even if she were no longer a child. It would be impossible for Horatio to do anything but that.
Horatio knew he wasn't Chloe's dad. Eric was. He wouldn't ever over-stepped those boundaries but he already loved Chloe as his own child. Chloe knew how much she loved uncle Horatio but he wasn't daddy, she loved daddy differently and more. Still uncle Horatio made her feel safe and secure and was definitely a whole lot of fun to be with.
"I go see daddy at work?" Chloe asked curiously from the back seat.
"No, sweetie. Daddy's busy. Uncle Horatio is going to take care of you till I get back."
"Yay!" Chloe said.
The Thursday of her mom's appointment, in a rush to get out the door on time after sleeping in Calleigh had forgotten Chloe's packed lunch. She didn't realize it till they were at the lab.
"Oh no. Mommy forgot your lunch," Calleigh said to Chloe who was now in Horatio's arms.
"That's fine, Calleigh. I got Chinese food. I knew I had a date. I remembered her tastes."
Some people would think Chloe had unique tastes for a toddler. One of her very favorite dishes was sweet and sour chicken with chicken fried rice.
"Okay. Thanks, Horatio. I'll be back as soon as I can," Calleigh smiled. "Bye, Chloe. Mommy will be back."
"Take all the time you need, Calleigh," Horatio told her. "This one will be taken care of."
Calleigh knew what that really meant; he didn't want to rush through her therapy session.
Speed entered the breakroom where Horatio and Chloe were eating. He saw Horatio but didn't notice Chloe. He was startled by a little voice when he opened the frig door.
"Hi Speed!" Chloe said from the table.
Speed jumped and turned around.
"Oh. Hi Chloe. Came to visit us, did you?"
Chloe nodded. "Mommy had to go out."
Tim was a little surprised that the little girl had remembered and called him by his nickname.
Sometimes when he was with his godchild Horatio still thought about his ex-wife, Marisol. But when he thought about her now, he wasn't missing the person he thought she was when he married her but thinking from the person she truly was maybe it was a positive thing that they had never had a child. Marisol believed the world revolved around her and Horatio realized when he divorced her that it wasn't possible for her to put someone else first and herself second. From how coldly she had treated Chloe when Chloe were just a newborn Horatio was glad that the child didn't know Marisol now because the child would be treated the same way and now she were old enough to feel it but not understand why.
Up next: Jake is causing trouble at the jail!