-yawns- Sorry I'm tired, guys. There's been an emotionally draining piece I have been working on called "The Guardian's Song," which is now finished. I can now get booking on this one. -is stabbed- This is why I am a muse called Zephyr. In the author's notes. With no purpose but to write the best I can of this chapter.

Slight spoilers for CSI: Miami: S3, E7- Crime Wave.

Thanks for those reviews mystery writer5775, yumi2482, Plushiemon, Hordak's Pupil, princess moon shadow, Miriam1, Thunderstorm101

9. History Lesson

Danny crossed his arms, watching Stetler and Horatio from afar. The Columbian sighed and pushed a lock of her hair out of her face. "Honestly, I don't know whether it's me or the fact that his job is the cause of their bad blood," she grumbled to herself, car keys in her hand. "They had just better work it out for my sake before I bash their heads together."

He scratched his head. "What do you mean?"

She held out her hand, and Danny shook it. "Yelina Salas, private investigator for the Crime Lab. I've been working undercover sometimes to try and get some information relating to Horatio's cases."

"Okay, I get that. I'm just wondering something- how the heck do they both know you? They stared at you as if you were some kind of model or something."

Yelina chuckled dryly, walking with Danny towards Horatio's Hummer. "A model, Danny? That's funny. I'm not exactly what you'd call a 'model.' More along the lines of 'the light of both their lives."

Danny was confused.

She gestured for him to get in the vehicle. Once inside, she put the keys in the ignition but made no move to turn on the car. She sighed, running her fingers through her hair. "Rick Stetler and Horatio Caine go very far back as enemies. No one can give a known time frame, but they recognize that they hate each other's guts with a passion. It started quite a while back, before Horatio got his job.

"Rick and Horatio were taking the entrance exam for the Miami-Dade Police Department a number of years ago, trying to get a spot for being lieutenant. The exam takes approximately five hours- and when it's humid inside the room where you're taking a test, things can get… heated. Well, time passed, papers were handed in, and Horatio was called out of the room halfway through his exam. Rick handed his test in minutes after he left, and he left for home."

Danny opened the door slightly. It was hot in the car…

"Well, weeks went by, and results came back. Guess who got the position?"

Danny cocked his head. "I'm going to take a wild stab at it and say Horatio."

Yelina nodded. "But someone wasn't happy."

"Stetler. How come?"

The Columbian leaned back in the seat. "Apparently, Rick scored better on the exam than Horatio did, and he got a higher score when being interviewed. He thinks Horatio pulled a favor for the Chief and snagged the promotion right under his nose."

Danny pulled one leg up onto the seat. Stetler and Horatio were enemies over an exam? That definitely had to be one of the more stupid things he had ever heard of. But he had to ask something else: "Any other reason besides a piece of paper and a promotion?"

Yelina didn't answer for a few minutes. Finally, she looked at Danny, utmost seriousness in her eyes. "Promise me you won't tell anyone what I'm going to tell you."

He blinked. "Sure."

"No, Danny, I mean no one. Not even Horatio."

The teenager was taken aback by the force in Yelina's voice. She sounded… scared, almost. And angry. He nodded again. "I wouldn't tell anyone."

She looked around slightly, despite being inside the humid-filled vehicle. Finally, she glanced at Danny, her voice no higher than a whisper.

"Stetler and I were a couple for a while. I'd say some time in 2004. For a year, I went out with that pain in my side and we were happy for… probably two months. Four months is being very generous. Anyways, one night I made him upset beyond anything, and he…" She took a deep breath, trying to calm herself. "Well, he hit me."

Danny's eyes widened in horror. "He hit you?"

Yelina nodded grimly. "Yes. He hit me in the eye. I showed up to work a few days later, and, well… Horatio noticed, to say the least."

"Oh, boy."

"He went into overprotective brother-in-law mode with me and asked me how I got it. Well, I lied to him for the sake of him not going after Stetler. But he asked me where he was, and, well, I didn't know. I couldn't exactly think clearly. No one could. A tsunami was headed for our city in a matter of six hours. Horatio was trying to solve a case that involved the murder of an ex-con and a grocer. Everything pretty much boiled down to Horatio and Eric Delko stopping a robbery only seconds before the tsunami hit.

"Around two hours after everything was done, Horatio was examining the crime scene at the bank, and Rick shows up. Sure, he and Delko had shot two bank robbers, so Internal Affairs had to be there. Representative Stetler was chosen, and he and Horatio… kind of had an argument."

Danny snickered slightly. "Kind of?"

"Horatio pretty much told Rick that if he ever touched me again, he was going to beat him 'til he dropped dead."

"But he had no evidence that Stetler actually hit you," Danny asked, wiping his face. The temperature was now dropping, the sun setting behind the building. It was only 4:30, but the humidity remained.

Yelina nodded. "He continued to hit me after that, but in less seen spots of my body."

Danny clenched his fist. "And that's why they hate each other? Because Horatio found out you were being abused by the one who he snagged the promotion from?"

"Something like that."

The teenager sat there, contemplating between the thoughts of Horatio and Stetler and Yelina. There was so much between the three that no one probably even knew about. Then again, he was one for keeping secrets as well. He had only really told Horatio about his ghost powers, and he felt a little guilty for not telling Natalia. Granted, he hardly knew her, but she was an open ear to everything he had said.

He sat up from his chair. "What're Stetler and Horatio doing right now?"

Yelina shrugged. "I really don't know. Probably bashing each other about me."

Danny stretched. "Is it always this hot here in Florida?"

She laughed slightly. "Yes and no."

There was a loud crash heard outside. Danny got out of the Hummer and stared at the crime lab. Something was definitely up inside the building. He looked around and saw Yelina getting out of the car, gun drawn. 'Damn,' he thought angrily. 'I can't morph unless I duck into a bush or something.'

Yelina glanced around. There was no sign of the teen anywhere. "Danny? Wherever you are, stay there." She made her way to the building, pushing the door open and disappearing inside.

Danny sighed with relief. "That seemed a bit too easy, for her to leave so conveniently. But I'll take anything right about now." Two white rings of light split down his waist, and the white-haired ghost wonder appeared. His emerald eyes wandered to the floor of the crime lab. "Well, here goes," he mumbled, flying up and fazing through the wall. He landed inside the DNA Lab and stayed invisible, making his way to the source of the crash.

The hybrid suddenly felt a familiar beam of energy slam into his chest. He fazed through the wall again, going out of the building and becoming visible.

"Well, Daniel. Spying on us, are we?"

Phantom knew that voice. He closed his eyes and smiled. "Plasmius…"

Eh, I'm kind of happy with how I explained the whole thing between Stetler and H. And yes- another fight between Danny and Plasmius is coming! I'm getting to two chapters soon that are pretty much Sam, Tucker and Ryan-centric. So, how'd this one go? Please review! Thanks for reading.