A/N: Thanks to everyone who has taken the time to read and/or review. This is now officially my longest story and shows no signs of coming to an end any time soon...
Miami. Present day:
"And that's pretty much it, Miss Duquesne. Mr Kelly made a new life for himself here in Miami and did quite well for himself so it seems."
"You just dumped him here and left him to fend for himself?" She asked the agent incredulously, how low could this man go?
"Your colleague is nothing if not resourceful. He made a name and a career for himself here in this great city of yours." Collins gave her a sideways look, "I always kept tabs on him and followed his career. Going undercover was the making of him."
"That's where you're wrong, Collins," she spat his name in anger. "Horatio is the man he is today despite all the crap you put him through." She realised then why the redhead had such a dislike for government officials if the man sitting across from her was anything to go by.
"I tried to warn him, Miss Duquesne. It's not my fault he didn't heed my warnings and move on before the Malucci's tracked him down. I told him it would only be a matter of time before they figured out he was still alive."
"Why should he have to run away? He has family here now." She responded defiantly.
"That always was his biggest weakness; he always let people get too close. That's when things get messy."
"We're a team, we stick together. Whatever the Malucci's try to throw at him we'll beat it. Together."
He gave her a small smile, "While I don't doubt your sincerity I would be remiss if I didn't point out that you and your 'team' are vastly outnumbered."
"We've taken down bigger organisations than a couple of gangsters; whatever they throw at us we'll be ready."
"That as may be, Miss Duquesne. But have you ever taken on hardened criminals that are hell-bent on revenge against your colleague at any cost?" Calleigh narrowed her eyes but remained silent. "Benny died in prison last year but before he did so he taught his son Gianni everything there was to know about the family business."
"What happened to Frankie, surely he'll never be released from prison?"
"Alas the elder Malucci's health is in a state of decline, lung cancer I believe. He also passed down the family secrets to his son, Danny. Imagine the young man's surprise when he vacationed here in Miami a few months ago and saw the familiar face of an old family friend. He reported back to his father and showed him undeniable proof that John Kelly was alive and well. Frankie's dying wish was that his son avenges him and brings down your colleague at any cost."
"Why wait until now?"
"Gianni and Danny have spent time rebuilding the family legacy; my colleagues in the New York field office have been monitoring their activity for quite a while now. Those boys aren't in the same league as their fathers but they have slowly built a powerbase up there. Technology is a wonderful thing; the pair of them have used its potential to further their ventures into other states. You'd do well to know that the boys have eyes everywhere, including Miami."
"I know," she responded quietly. At Collins questioning look she continued, "Horatio had a package delivered earlier, a box full of surveillance photos of everyone at the lab."
"I see. I don't envy your task, Miss Duquesne. You and your team need to keep your guard up, the Malucci boys are sneaky and smart and are after one thing only, your friend dead and buried."
"I won't let that happen," she said with conviction.
Collins handed her a folder, "Here's everything we have on the new Malucci organisation. They may be young but don't be fooled by that, the chances are they'll hit you when you least expect it. They're after his blood and they'll stop at nothing until they get it."
The last few hours had been uncomfortable for everyone in the sterile-smelling hospital room; Andy had filled in as many blanks as he could in John's memory. Several times he had stopped mid-sentence when he saw the pained look on his former partner's face but relented when John pleaded with him to continue.
Eric knew they still had more questions than answers but was silently glad that Andy was softening in his stance towards Horatio. He had hated to see his brother in law's anguish as Andy recounted the past but Horatio was insistent that the other man continue even if he didn't like what he was hearing.
The stilted conversation in the room stopped altogether as someone knocked softly on the door; Horatio pulled himself up higher in the bed and rubbed a weary hand over his face. Eric placed his hand on his hip, ready to reach for his service weapon if needed, "Come in," he said keeping his voice level. Eric's hand relaxed as he saw Calleigh standing in the doorway but was shocked by her tear-stained face, "Everything ok?" he asked as she walked past him.
She took no notice of Eric's concern; her attention was focused on one thing, the redhead lying in the hospital bed. She sniffed and wiped away her tears as she walked up to him, took his face in both of her hands and planted a loving kiss on his bandaged forehead.
He was beyond confused, by all accounts and purposes they should all hate him right now. "Calleigh, what's going on?"
She kept her hands on his face as she lent her forehead to his, "I spoke to Collins, I know about all of it."
He tried to move away, "Then you should hate me, I betrayed everyone who trusted me. I deserve whatever the Malucci's have got in store for me."
"No, you've got it wrong. I don't hate you, I could never hate you." She kept cupping his face even as he tried to squirm away.
He wasn't sure if it was the head injury or the after-effects of the fever but his pain-riddled mind couldn't process why she was acting so affectionately towards him. "This is wrong; Andy told me what I did. I'm no better than a criminal myself."
She thought her heart would shatter at the pain in his voice, "I know the full story and I think it's about time that you all did." She sat down in the chair beside Horatio's bed and took his hand in hers before she began explaining about her meeting with Agent Collins.
The sun had set by the time Calleigh had finished recounting the information that Collins had given her; through it all she had kept her voice level and avoided making eye contact with Horatio. All it would take was one look into those soulful blue eyes and she knew that she wouldn't be able to continue. The story of Horatio's past was horrific enough and some part of her prayed that he would never remember those dark and lonely days, to live them once would be bad enough but to experience those feelings again would be beyond cruel. After everything he had given to keep those around him safe she felt that he had earnt the right to a little luck.
Silence filled the room, the only sounds coming from the clock on the wall and the monitors beside the bed. Calleigh risked a look at the man in the bed and saw that his eyes were closed; she hoped that he'd fallen asleep at some point and missed the worst parts of the story of his life. She knew it wasn't to be when he finally spoke, "You should all go; it's too dangerous for you to be here." He opened his eyes and looked at each of them in turn.
Andy was the first to speak up, "You've got to be kidding me, John. Pushing everyone away was what got you into this mess in the first place."
"Please, Andy. After everything I did to you, you should hate me."
The burly former detective walked over to the bed and placed a hand on Horatio's shoulder, "You should be the one hating me right now, John. I should have believed in you but instead I let my damn ego and pride get in the way. I had no idea what you were going through and what you did to protect us. I just wished you'd told me about it," he finished sadly.
Eric spoke up next, "He's right, we know you're a good man. You need to let us help you; we'll deal with these Malucci thugs together. You're not on your own this time."