The Return

Chapter 31

In a matter of a split second Horatio found himself enveloped in a firm bear hug, he barely managed to stifle a groan in reaction to the squeezing pressure on his sore body.

"MR. HORATIO!"

Hella released him then stepped back to as she excitedly exclaimed, "I finally found you! I got to Miami yesterday and stopped by your workplace, but no one would tell me where you were."

Horatio smiled broadly, "Hella… it's great to see you. I've, uh… well I've been tied up…."

His eyes then were drawn to the large suitcase sitting on the porch and asked, after returning his attention back to her, "Are you visiting?"

"Well… yes, but maybe..."

Horatio shot her a puzzled look before stepping forward, picking up her suitcase motioning for her to go inside the house ahead of him.

She stepped inside the foyer and slowly turned around, letting out a low whistle as she moved. Looking back at Horatio as he shut the front door she said,

"Mr. Horatio – you're house, it is beautiful!"

Horatio quickly corrected her as he smiled shyly, "Our house… Calleigh and I got married."

Hella squealed with delight, "Oh I was hoping you would… that makes me so happy!"

She made a move to hug Horatio again, only this time he reacted quickly enough extending his arms to offset her hug and ended up receiving a kiss on the cheek.

Backing up a couple of steps, she began explaining her situation, "I quit FBI. They no longer needed my services… said they signed with food service for prepared meals." Her voice became hard as she added, "What good prepared meals; I said… not real food!" Shaking her head from side to side in disgust she asked, "What has happened to folks not wanting good food in this country?!"

Horatio chuckled, but the movement caused an involuntary wince, something that did not go unnoticed by Hella.

"HELLA!" Calleigh happily called out with a broad smile as she padded into the foyer from the hallway with her damp hair wrapped in a towel, "I thought I heard a familiar voice!"

The two exchanged a warm hug then Calleigh still smiling said, "It's wonderful to see you! Can you stay with us for a few days?"

"Would it be alright with you until I find a place?"

"Are you moving to Miami?! What about your job… aren't you still working?"

"No, I tell Mr. Horatio that FBI no longer needs me. I remember what you said about looking you up if I ever came to Miami, well, here I am!" She beamed with out-stretched hands.

Calleigh looked over at Horatio exchanging grins.

"And we're glad you did Hella," Horatio added.

Hella hugged Calleigh again and congratulated her on her marriage then turned and looked Horatio up and down examining his physical state closer, noticing the bruising combined with stiff movement.

"What happened to you Mr. Horatio? You not well…"

"I'm OK… it's a long story Hella. Let's get you settled and maybe sometime I'll tell you."

Later that morning, Horatio walked out of the master bath, his nostrils inhaling the pleasant aroma of cooked bacon wafting down the hall into the bedroom. Smells like Calleigh has started breakfast.

Entering the kitchen he found Calleigh sitting at the table, her hands wrapped around a coffee mug as she stared out at the beach through the patio doors. Hella was manning the stove, creating the marvelous breakfast smells causing his stomach to suddenly growl loudly.

Calleigh turned her attention to him.

"You sit with Miss Calleigh," Hella almost ordered as she handed him a hot cup of coffee, "I bring you good breakfast!"

Horatio gladly took the cup of coffee before walking over to Calleigh, greeting her with a light kiss on the top of her head.

"Good morning again, Beautiful," softly addressing her as he sat down at the table beside her.

They enjoyed the wonderful breakfast Hella prepared and were having another round of coffee when the doorbell rang.

Hella immediately jumped to her feet saying, "I get that. You finish."

Horatio turned to Calleigh and smiled as the woman hurried out of the kitchen.

A few moments later, Eric walked into the kitchen giving a loud greeting to his friends,

"Hey H... great to see you up and about!"

"Eric," Horatio smiled slightly responding with his usual short return.

Eric's eyes darted over to Calleigh as he greeted her, "Morning Calleigh… he behaving," pointing toward Horatio as he grinned, knowing his brother-in-law detested being seen as needing assistance.

Horatio pretended to be insulted initially, but quickly changed his demeanor to a more light-hearted banter quipping, "Kinda hard not to be with two women hovering over me!"

Calleigh giggled causing Eric to raise his eyebrows as he shot Horatio a knowing look before shaking his head in agreement as the three chuckled.

He took a cup of hot coffee from Hella and asked her, "So when did you get to Miami Hella?"

Eric was happy to have a diversion provided by Hella in order to prolong conducting the necessary debriefing with Horatio and besides that, he wanted to know how this woman knew Horatio and Calleigh anyway. He was in no hurry to make Horatio relive the events of the past couple of days, but they needed to know who he remembered being in the building. They could learn the identity of those killed through DNA, but was there anyone who escaped – that's what he had to find out; if possible.

Hella explained how she met the couple and her situation while they enjoyed finishing up the coffee.

As the conversation drew to a close, Eric remained silent for a couple of minutes, slowly turning the coffee mug around on the table in his hands, dreading what he had to do now. Horatio and Calleigh knew the procedure – Eric came to perform the inevitable debriefing.

Horatio stood and broke the silence, "Let's get on with it Eric - out on the patio."

Calleigh watched with concern as Horatio followed Eric out and closed the door behind him. She knew how hard it would be on him to live through the experience again, so much so, she hadn't asked any questions herself. Horatio had had a restless night and she hoped talking about it, especially with someone close like Eric, might relieve him of some of his stress.

She sighed out loud, then stood up and helped Hella gather the dishes off the table.

As the two women stood side by side for a moment at the sink, Hella took the opportunity to ask Calleigh what had happened to Horatio.

"What happened to Mr. Horatio? Did he get hurt at work?"

Calleigh dropped her eyes to the counter before looking up into the older woman's worried eyes and answered,

"You might say that. He retired from the police department, but was taken by an old rival that very day by a criminal from his past. Then, he endured an explosion… which would have killed him if it hadn't been for his father shielding him and another victim from the blast," she bit her bottom lip to keep it from trembling.

Hella saw the distress in Calleigh's face and pulled her into her arms giving her friend comfort.

After a moment or two, Hella softly said, "Mr. Horatio… he's ok. The bad man didn't win… I like when they don't win."

Calleigh appreciated Hella's comforting embrace, remembering the older woman's support at the time she needed it in Montana.

The debriefing with Eric didn't take long. Horatio couldn't remember much of what had happened. He said he could only remember being in a room with Vinny, then his father later appearing. He told Eric that it felt like he'd dreamed the whole thing.

Horatio startled Eric when he suddenly pushed his chair back hard over the stone, creating a screeching sound as he jumped to his feet before walking to the edge of the patio while roughly running a hand through his red hair.

Frustration evident in his voice Horatio stared across the blue-green water, "I'm sorry… I just can't remember much Eric."

The sun was high in the sky, its bright light sparkled off the gentle waves as they rocked just past the wave break.

Why can't I remember what happened. They tell me I was in an explosion… my body feels the effects, but my memory…. I just feel there was someone else there… someone I should know….

Eric stopped beside him at the patio's edge and stared out toward the ocean himself as he offered,

"That's OK H, I really didn't expect you to remember too much… it's just, I had to ask… you know, department requirements and all. We uh, found four bodies… one of course was your father."

Horatio nodded his head that he understood while keeping his gaze toward the horizon.

Eric turned and softly said, "I better get back to the lab… call me anytime if you think of anything else."

Horatio diverted his eyes to the sand in front of them as he planted his hands on both hips in disgust over his lack of memory whispering, "Of course."

Eric just reached out for the door handle when Horatio suddenly called out, "Thanks Eric."

He turned back toward his mentor as a sad smile turned his lips slightly upward. The lack of memory is really bothering him and if asked, I'd have to say it is highly unusual for a man like H not to have control over his thoughts. It's got to be eating at him.

Eric found Calleigh in the living room just ending a phone call as he paused in front of her.

He looked back over his shoulder before saying, "I wanted to let you know that the team is having a little surprise get-together for H this weekend. We wanted to do something before the big department retirement fling, something more intimate."

Calleigh smiled, "That'll be great Eric, but you know Horatio is not a big fan of surprises…"

Eric gave her a mischievous half grin as he interrupted. "Yeah, I'm well aware of that, but we want to do this and if we tell him, he'll shoot the idea down.

You think you can get him to The Port at 7 Saturday night?"

"I'll try."

Their conversation abruptly ended when they heard the patio door open.

Eric mouthed silently that he'd better go and slipped out the front door.

It was Saturday night and as they drove to the restaurant Horatio commented, "You're right. Getting out of the house tonight might be good."

"You need to have some fun after working to clear things out of your office at the lab the past couple of days," she responded before turning back toward the window, looking out at the colorful Christmas lights as they passed.

She thought silently, Christmas is just not the same in Miami. Yes, we have all the decorations, but without the cold crisp air, logs burning in the fireplace and snow on the ground… it lacks the feeling. It's actually nice to know that we'll celebrate Christmas next year in the more seasonable atmosphere.

Walking into the restaurant, Horatio told the hostess their name and were ushered to one of the back alcoves. As they neared the area, he suddenly realized all of the team was seated at a large table causing him to immediately stop.

His jaw began clenching with displeasure as he turned to Calleigh and with a low growl asked, "What's going on? You know how I feel about surprises… I don't like surprise parties. Besides, I was lead to believe it would just be the two of us."

Calleigh turned and faced him then replied firmly, "Horatio, the team wanted to do something for you themselves, to show their appreciation for you. They love you. It's just an informal get-together. They're not asking you to make a speech or anything."

Horatio turned his attention back toward the alcove as he mulled over the situation. Calleigh's right. We've worked together for several years… why would I not expect them to do something like this.

Still slightly uncomfortable with the attention he was about to receive, he followed Calleigh toward the group. Clapping ensued followed by hugs and warm handshakes. After the initial welcoming died, Horatio found the rest of the evening very enjoyable. Stories were shared about the team's early years, both heartwarming and sad.

Before the night was over, Horatio and Calleigh revealed to the team their plan of returning to Maine to live. A hush fell over the table that lasted for a few minutes until Eric, with sadness very evident in his voice, relayed his best wishes for their happiness and the others followed. The rest of the evening consisted of the team inquiring about their friends plans for the future.

It was late when Horatio and Calleigh returned home. Hella had long retired to her room, but left the couple a note on the kitchen table that the coffee maker was ready and only needed to be turned on plus, there was a snack for them in the fridge.

Horatio smiled as he put down the paper and started the coffee.

"It's really nice to have Hella with us again."

"It is, and I'm glad she's planning to move with us."

While the coffee brewed, Horatio pulled the Christmas tree ornament out of the decorative bag the team had given him and walked out of the kitchen toward their tree set up in front of the large window in the living room. The gift was one they'd always treasure. It was a miniature recreation of the team as a group with Horatio included made out of resin. They had gone to great lengths to have the ornament made from a photograph of the group at a past Christmas party – in fact, it was the same party when he and Calleigh began dating.

Calleigh leaned against the frame of the arched opening watching as Horatio hung the ornament on the tree, and lightly finger it as a warm smile spread across his face.

TBC…

A/N: Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all!