A/N: Long time no see. It's been a while that I posted something here, but thanks to a very nice message I received from my readers, I felt encouraged to post this story. It was written some time ago, but hopefully you will enjoy it anyway.

None of the characters except of Matthew belong to me. They belong to CBS I guess. So no profit made here.

Enjoy reading!

Memoria

Horatio couldn't help but smile while watching the scenery flying by. It had been such a long time since he had last visited his hometown, especially in his free time, and even though he called Miami his home now, this city still held a very important place in his heart. Turning his head, he smiled at the young man sitting on the other side of the car. His son wore an equally happy smile on his face.

Just as if realizing that his father was watching him, Kyle turned his head and huffed good-naturedly. "I can't believe that this is the first time ever that you brought me along."

Horatio just laughed. "Well it's not as if I've visited New York for pleasure since we two stumbled over each other."

"You really need to get out more, Dad," Kyle rolled his eyes and mentally shook his head at his father's antics. "I've wanted to visit the city for so long. And my dad is a real New Yorker…"

Horatio did his best to conceal the smile that was spreading on his face at his son's lamenting. Where did he get all that drama queen behavior from? His mother probably. Well not from him. Definitely. Anyway, this was not the time to think about that particular topic.

"So this is where you grew up?" his son brought him out of his thoughts.

"No," he shook his head. "I grew up in Queens, but there aren't that many retirement centers directly located in the city, so Mathew decided to relocate, if only a few miles away."

Satisfied, Kyle nodded at Horatio's answer and continued to look out of the window of their cab. "It's quite nice here. Green."

"Indeed. A lot better than all this concrete and grey stones." It's not as he didn't like New York the way it was, but he couldn't picture himself or anyone wanting to spend their retirement in a city that never slept and had too many buildings in too little space.

"And yet not so far away that you can't take the train or a bus.. or a cab...or whatever to drive to the city in case you miss her."

His son was a perceptive one for sure. "Correct."

There was a comfortable silence after that and Horatio was, once again, lost in his thoughts. How long has it been since he had last seen Mathew? Years, most definitely. Probably when he had been in New York for a case, long before he'd known about Kyle's existence. And afterwards? The traditional phone calls on Christmas, Birthdays or Thanksgiving. Or when something important had came up. But no meetings as such. To his defense, his life had changed a lot when he'd met his son, and Miami was still a city that never seemed to settle down, but he would have probably found the time to go to New York if he had wanted to. Well, no need to muse about the could have and should have, they were here now and he was looking forward to it.

"So you think he won't mind me tagging along?"

How much time would it take his son to realize that he wasn't an unwanted burden or anything similar? Horatio just sighed. "No, of course not. If I remember correctly his exact words were "And don't you forget to bring along that son of yours, or I'll be really mad'", he chuckled.

"Is it a bad thing to make him mad?" Kyle asked curiously. He didn't know that much about his father's side of the family or about his family in general. He had picked up bits and pieces from his father's stories, but not enough to form a real opinion.

"Not as bad as it would have been with others," Horatio mused, but didn't voice his thoughts out loud. "Not really, no. Going to bed without dessert or grounding. Good thing I'm old enough that this won't work any longer."

"You being grounded would be funny though," Kyle snickered and yelped in surprise when Horatio nudged him.

"Don't be so fresh, or you'll be grounded once we're back," he threatened.

"Since I have my own apartment Dad, this will be really interesting," Kyle replied cheekily.

Horatio knew that he had lost this war of wits, but he didn't mind. "I'm sure I can think of something."

"Uh-huh…"

"Anyway, you better be on your best behavior once we've met him."

"Ain't I always?" Kyle replied while doing his best puppy dog impression.

"Do I really need to answer that?"

"Ha, no, because we both know the truth. I'm the optimum of good behavior," he stated and frowned when his father started to move away from him. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing. I just don't want to get hit once lightning strikes."

"Haha, very funny Dad," Kyle rolled his eyes and crossed his arms in a pouting way.

"I thought so, too," H replied easily. "And now stop pouting like a four year old, it's unbecoming of a soldier."

"Former soldier," Kyle corrected him.

"Former soldier," Horatio conceded, "but still unbecoming."

"Yes, yes. So have you told him about our visit?" Kyle changed the subject.

"Actually, no. I wanted to surprise him."

"But what if he isn't around? You can't know. Maybe he's on vacation, or in the town, or.."

"Kyle, I have my ways. Believe me," Horatio reassured him.

"Hmpf. If you say so."

"I do, Son. Or do you think that I'll fly to New York, take a cab, drive a couple of miles just on a whim?"

Well, he knew people that would do just that, but not his father. "Probably not."

"Definitely not. But to make you feel better, I phoned the staff and they told me that he'd be here. So don't worry about it. It would be too late for that now anyway, since we arrived," he grinned when the cab came to a halt in front of a white building that almost looked like an old clubhouse.

Kyle whistled softly when he saw the enormous building. "Wow, now this is something. Can't blame anyone who wants to live here."

Horatio chuckled, paid the driver and stepped out of the car. "Stop gawking like a fish and get out of the car, before it drives back to the city."

"Right. No need to threaten," Junior mumbled and got out of the car in a second. "But this thing is really huge. Don't you think?" he asked.

"It is," Horatio agreed and smiled at the slightly impressed tone of Kyle's. "Let's get inside. We certainly won't find him here, loitering around, waiting for visitors."

Together they made their way to the entrance of the building and entered. The cold wave of air conditioning hit them immediately.

"It really is warm outside. I had no idea that it could get that hot in New York," Kyle mumbled.

"At least it's not as humid as it is in Miami," Horatio replied and couldn't help but remember the hot summers he had experienced as a kid, when the only way to cool down was to open a fireplug. This had been fun! The laughter of children resounding in the streets. Children who were running around, trying to get wet, but not getting soaked. Parents who were watching said children, being envious of not being able to behave the same way. Water balloons that were flying around…

"Dad? Dad, are you still with me?"

Blinking rapidly Horatio tried to focus again. "Pardon? I'm sorry I was-"

"..Miles away?"

Horatio gave him a half smile. "Something like that. So what were you saying?"

"I was asking if we can just move around here or if we need to register or something."

"Oh! Well, no. We need to go to the front desk. They log the comings and goings, plus they'll have an idea where Matthew is at the moment."

"I hope so," Kyle murmured and followed his father to the shiny front desk. He really didn't want to play hide and seek with his father's uncle.

"Good afternoon," Horatio greeted the female staff member who was sitting behind the desk. "We're looking for Matthew Fisher."

"Fisher…this is interesting." Kyle filed that information immediately for later. Maybe he would really learn a bit of his family history today. He couldn't wait.

"….. What is your name, Sir?"

"Horatio Caine, and this is my son Kyle."

"Mr. Caine," her eyes lit up in recognition, "of course! Now I recognize your voice. You had called yesterday, isn't it?"

"Correct. I hope that my uncle is at home?"

"I'm sure he is, but let me check." She handed Horatio a journal where the visitors had to write down their names and the names of the residents. Then she pushed a few buttons on the computer and nodded satisfied. "Yep, just as I thought. As long as he didn't break out, he's at home."

Furrowing his brows, Kyle couldn't help but ask, "Does that happen often? People breaking out I mean?"

"Not when it's Bingo night," she deadpanned easily and reached for the journal. "But then again, when it's dancing night, we do have to keep our eyes open. Obviously most of our male population is not as enthusiastic about dancing as our female one."

"Hmm." He wasn't sure if she was pulling his leg or not. In a way he could really picture the men trying to flee from having to dance in public. He sure would.

Horatio just shared a secret smile with the staff. Let his son puzzle over men with canes and wheeled walkers, trying to climb on trees in order to gain freedom. It certainly was a sight to behold. "Do you know by chance if he's in his rooms or outside?"

"No, but I can give him a call. He either answers or doesn't."

Horatio loved pragmatic people. They were very efficient most of the time. "Sounds good," he agreed.

After a few rings, she disconnected the call and shook her head. "He's definitely outside. It's time for afternoon coffee anyway. You'll find him on the patio."

"Thanks a lot for your help. Let's go Kyle."

Once they were outside, Kyle started looking around. "Well there are several people on the patio," he remarked. "Should we just shout his name and see if someone waves?"

"This could be one way," Horatio grinned at his son's humor. "But I doubt he'll appreciate it. No, knowing him, he'll be surrounded by female housemates."

"Oh? A womanizer?"

"No, not really. But as long as I can remember, he was always liked by women."

"Hmm, so he had a lot of girlfriends?"

Making sure that no one was listening into their conversation, Horatio gave him a small smile. "No Kyle, no girlfriend at all. He's not interested in women at all."

Once the penny had dropped, Kyle's eyes went a bit wider. "You mean he's-"

"Gay? Yes, that's exactly what I mean." Sighing, Horatio rubbed his neck. He had never ever talked with Kyle about such things, so he had no idea about his son's opinions about other lifestyles. "It was one of the reasons why my father and he didn't get along at all. My father was of the opinion that he was a freak and that being close to him, would make me and Ray freaks as well."

Kyle just snorted at that.

"I know. It's ridiculous. But my father didn't see it that way. My uncle and my mother had been really close as kids, as far as I know, so she was quite devastated when my father decided that Matthew wasn't welcome any longer."

"Bastard," Kyle spat, but then he realized that he was talking about his dad's father, his own grandfather. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be. He was. Not literally. But in general." Shaking his head, he continued. "Anyway, I didn't really know Matthew until my parent's deaths. He was there when we needed him the most and I'm very thankful for that. I don't want to imagine what would have happened, if it weren't for Matthew. So if you have problems with his lifestyle, then please do me the favor of being polite anyway."

Kyle quickly shook his head. "I don't have problems with that at all. I actually don't care what people do or don't do. Really.. it doesn't matter to me."

"Good." Horatio clapped his hands and started to look around again. "Do you see the table under the tree? The one with 3 women and one man?"

Looking into the direction his father was pointing at, Kyle nodded. "Yes?"

"I bet it's him. Just look, there are two other women approaching."

"Damn, I need him to tell me his secrets. I will never be short of girls again."

"Of girls thrice your age?" Horatio laughed. "Really Kyle, I think we need to talk."

"Eww..Dad…," Kyle pulled a face. "That's not funny!"

"Oh it is, it is. I'm not sure how we will explain that to your mother but-"

"DAD! Stop it. It's not funny. Let's go to Matthew and have some of the cake and coffee, okay?"

Feeling pity for his red-faced son, Horatio grinned, yet nodded. "Of course, Son of my heart. Let's see if I'm correct. And I'll be damned if I'm not."

"It would be embarrassing for you, being a CSI and all that." Kyle couldn't help but tease his father. The man had had a good laugh at him as well after all.

Shooting his son a dark look, but otherwise ignoring the comment, Horatio made his way to the selected table. Once they were close enough to see the faces and hear the voices, he didn't have any doubt about the man's identity. It was his uncle Matthew. Nodding at his son he stopped at the table and cleared his throat. "Ladies…," he grinned, "and sir, I was wondering if these seats are already taken?"

As if on cue, several heads turned towards him at the same time, and he did his best to conceal the big grin that was forming on his lips. His uncle's stunned look was just priceless.

"Horatio!" Matthew stammered perplexed, which made Horatio smile even more.

"Surprise!"

Matthew couldn't get out of his seat quickly enough. "I had no idea that you were coming over. I—"

Giving the older man a hug, Horatio just shook his head. "Otherwise it wouldn't be a surprise, now would it?"

Matthew pushed him a bit away and eyed him. "Let me look at you. We haven't seen each other for ages. My…," he wondered out loud, "you've become old."

Hearing his son's laughter, Horatio just groaned. "Why thank you, Uncle Matthew. You say the nicest things." Turning his head to his son, he scowled. "And you better be quiet. Most of my grey hairs are because of you."

Kyle just grinned sheepishly and refrained from any further comment. Since his father didn't have that much grey hair yet, he couldn't be that much trouble at all. He decided not to point that out though.

"You know I was never one to beat around the bush, Junior," Matthew replied easily and focused on the blond haired young man, Horatio had been scowling at. "Is that him?"

Horatio's scowl softened and he nodded. "It is. Uncle Matthew, if I may introduce my son Kyle?"

"It's nice to meet you, Sir," Kyle held out his hand.

Taking the offered hand, he shook his head. "Ah hogwash. I'm no sir. Just call me Matthew or Matt. And I'm happy to finally meet you Kyle. Your father has been talking about you non-stop."

Said father just grinned, but then frowned when a sudden thought hit him. "Hey, why do I have to call you Uncle Matthew and he can call you Matt?" That wasn't fair.

"Because I am your uncle and it's polite," Matthew pointed out.

"But-"

"Now stop pouting. It's very unbecoming of a man your age, Horatio. My dears," he looked at the women that were still either sitting or standing close to the table and who had listened quite shamelessly into the conversation. "May I introduce my nephew Horatio and my grandnephew Kyle?"

Mutual greeting were exchanged from everyone around.

"I hope we didn't interrupt anything, Uncle Matthew," Horatio said and particularly emphasized the uncle part.

Matthew just ignored it. "No, don't worry. We had just finished our bridge game, when you so rudely interrupted us."

Kyle was having the time of his life. Matthew's humor was wonderfully dark and his Dad was obviously doing his best to keep his own sarcastic tongue in check. Maybe this particular character trade came from the Fisher part of the family? Had his grandmother been like this as well? He could only wonder about it.

"We can also leave again, if this is what you want," Horatio drawled.

"No way you're leaving just like that again, Junior. We're going to have some coffee and cake. This also means that I have to decline your invitations my dears. I hope you don't mind too much."

The ladies certainly didn't mind at all and wished the three men a good afternoon. Once they had left, Matthew motioned Horatio and Kyle to sit down. "I really can't believe you're here. How long has it been, Horatio? Five years? More?"

"Me and Kyle met about six years ago," H replied softly. "So yes, more than five," he agreed. "A long time."

Shaking his head in disbelief, Matthew cleared away the cards he'd been using for the bridge game. "How long will you stay in New York? Are you going to visit the city? You're not here on a case, are you?" The last time his nephew had had a case in the city, he'd visited him, but he doubted that he would take his son with him. Except of course, if the boy was also starting a police career.

"Ha..no," Horatio smiled. "No case for me this time."

"But Dad promised me to show me the city," Kyle added. "I mean he should know his way around the city, right?"

"Oh believe me, he does," Matthew reassured him. "Not only because of his job mind you-"

"Uncle Matthew," Horatio warned.

"What? Isn't your son allowed to know that you loved driving around the city in your youth?"

"You had a car, Dad?"

"Erm…not exactly…"

Frowning, Kyle looked from his dad to Matthew.

Knowing that Horatio wouldn't give the boy more details, Matthew decided to do so. "He and his best friend at that time...what was his name…Sam?"

"Yeah.."

"Right, he and his best friend Sam had the great idea to take Sam's older brother's car for a joyride."

Confused, Kyle shrugged. "What's so bad about it?"

"Ah, I will come to that." He grinned and plainly ignored Horatio's "Uncle Matthew" outcry. "The thing is that said brother was away in college and he had not allowed the two to even touch the car."

"Dad!" Kyle exclaimed in amusement. "You STOLE a car?"

"I didn't!" Seeing the unbelieving look, he kept on. "Really, I didn't. Sam did. And..well….I might have kept watch…"

Kyle just laughed. "I can't believe it. My dad is a car thief. Wonder what the others will say when they hear about it. My dad started his career on the wrong side of the law."

Horatio just groaned and let his head fell onto the table. "Thanks Uncle Matthew, I really appreciate it."

"Ah don't be like that, Junior. It's not as if your ride was very long. Because you know," he turned to Kyle, "they didn't realize that the gas tank was almost empty. You can imagine my surprise when I got a call from Sam's father, telling me about two little devils who had to call him because they stranded."

"Oh boy," Kyle snorted. "I bet that didn't go well."

"Of course not," Horatio mumbled. "I was grounded for how long? Four weeks? Longest weeks of my life."

"You deserved it. Anything could have happened," Matthew admonished him. "And don't forget that Sam's father decided to give you driving lessons afterwards. So it wasn't all that bad."

Horatio smiled at the memory. "True enough."

"Didn't your Dad teach you how to drive?" Kyle asked.

Clearing his throat he shook his head. "He wasn't around any more when I was old enough. And even if he had been, he wouldn't have taught me."

Remembering Horatio's earlier consent concerning the bastard comment, Kyle realized that his father's answer wasn't a real surprise. "And you didn't teach him as well?"

"I didn't own a car, Kid," Matthew smiled. "So I was quite happy when someone else offered to teach him."

"No car?"

"Kyle," Horatio chuckled at the outraged cry, "a lot of people living in New York don't own a car. It's so much easier with a cab or subway. The streets are very busy and a lot of times it's quicker to walk than going by car. Believe me. I know what I'm talking about."

"No car…," the boy mumbled and made the two older men laugh.

"I think he's in shock."

"I think so too," Horatio agreed. "But I know just the way to get him out of it. Kyle, what about some cake, hmm?"

"Oh! Yes, cake would be great. I'm quite hungry."

Horatio just rolled his eyes and stood up. "I'll get us some. Coffee for you, Uncle Matthew?"

"You know me so well. Yes please."

Kyle waited until his dad was out of earshot. "I hope you don't mind that I'm here as well. Dad said it would be alright, but-"

"Of course I don't mind," Matthew waved him off. "I've wanted to meet you from the minute your father called me and told me about you."

Smiling a bit, Kyle felt reassured. "I don't know exactly what he told you about me, but I was in prison once."

"Oh I know all about that. About you being in prison, then later on working in the lab, starting the army… your dad is quite talkative when it comes to you."

Kyle sighed. "You probably know more about me than I do about you or my dad. I have to admit that I'm quite curios to learn something about my family."

"Nothing wrong with that. Just ask away. I have nothing to hide. But I probably can't answer your every question. Some things are Horatio's stories to tell."

Making sure that his dad wasn't coming back yet, Kyle started his small interrogation. "His dad, my grandfather, he wasn't a good man, was he?"

Matthew winced. No surprise that a son of Horatio wouldn't ask the easy questions. "He wasn't. It's not nice to talk ill about the dead, but he was real bastard. I can't say I'm sad that he's been dead for a long time." He was sad about his sister though and the circumstances around their deaths.

"Dad told me that he didn't want you to have contact with him and his brother Ray. Is this why you're so close now?"

"Yes and no. It's true, I wasn't welcomed in their house and my sister barely left the house. So I could only talk to her on the phone once in a while. Horatio and Raymond were also well-advised not to linger somewhere but come straight home from school. Which meant that I didn't have much contact to my nephews until Horatio turned 16. Actually, our contact really started, when my sister and my brother-in-law died and the boys were suddenly orphans."

"Their parents died when they were teenagers?" Kyle asked softly.

"No," Matthew smiled ruefully. "Horatio was. Ray…was only 8 when it happened. You never met him, did you?"

"No," Kyle shook his head. He had met his cousin and his aunt a few times, but that was it.

"I see. Well, since I was the closest relative, I became their guardian so to speak and they came to live with me. It wasn't easy, I can tell you. I lost my sister, they lost their parents. We were strangers, and suddenly we were thrown into the deep end."

"I can imagine in a way. When I met my dad, he was also a complete stranger for me."

Matthew nodded. "True. Well as I said, suddenly I had two boys depending on me. One who barely understood what was happening to him and one who was a teenager. Who was not only struggling with the death of his mother, but also with life in general. There were many nights where I thought I couldn't handle it any longer. I never had kids, never expected to have some obviously, and out of the blue I had two of them. I was never sure how to act. Act like a father? An uncle? A big brother? A guardian? The first months were quite a mess."

Kyle nodded solemnly. "But you did it."

"We did it. In the end. Yes. Horatio threw himself into schoolwork, later on into police academy, his job, and later on university. I'm very proud of the man he has become. His life hadn't been easy, actually, you two are very similar in this regard."

After hearing this, Kyle had to agree with him. Their lives had been different, but equally difficult. "I think so."

"Believe me, you are. That's why he's giving his best to make it up to you. He never had a real childhood and I guess it's the same with you. I can still remember how devastated he'd been when he called me and told me about his unknown son. About all the missed chances and time."

"He never told me this.."

Matthew gave him a sad smile. "And he won't. He's not like that. Your father is a listener. He gives advice. He's not a man who often seeks advice or talks about things. He can't change it. That's how he was raised. His father was a firm believer of what makes a man a man. And talking about problems, feelings and such things, was not considered manly."

Matthew had been spot on in describing his dad. He rarely talked about anything. "But he always wants me to talk about things."

"Because he doesn't want you to be like him. Not in this regard. He doesn't want you to bottle things up. It's not healthy. He knows this better than anyone. He wants you to be spared from that. And now, I think we're going to change the topic, because your dad is coming back."

Turning around Kyle grinned. He wasn't grinning at his father, who was struggling with a tray (though this was funny as well), no, he was grinning because of the female fan base that was watching his dad with pure admiration. "So much for women thrice my age," he mumbled.

Several hours later, a freshly showered Kyle was stepping out of the hotel bathroom, and rubbed his hair dry with a towel. He and his father had arrived at their hotel about an hour ago, and had left Matthew half an hour before that. Who knew that retirement centers would have a curfew? He didn't. Or hadn't until now that is. Time had surely flown by and he had been quite surprised when a staff member had suddenly announced that visiting hours would end soon. They had had so much fun. Matthew was a great guy and Kyle vowed to himself that he would call the older man regularly from now on. Too bad that he lived in New York and not in Miami. This would have been quite convenient.

Throwing the small towel onto his side of the double bed, he reached for the T-Shirt that was lying there. After putting it on, he sat down on the bed and eyed his father, who hadn't even acknowledged his return.

His father, clad in pajama, was sitting in one of the two comfortable chairs, the evening paper in his hands and, what Kyle assumed to be a whisky tumbler, to his right. His father surely deserved some kind of reward after being the unwilling highlight in most of Matthew's rather funny stories.

Kyle couldn't stop grinning when he remembered a particularly funny story, which had involved a fishing trip, lost balance and a soaking wet Horatio. Too bad that Matthew hadn't had some pictures of it, but the mental image was enough to make him chuckle again.

Hearing the sound, Horatio peeked over his newspaper. "Don't tell me you're still laughing about the fishing story?" he grumbled in faked annoyance. Really, why had Uncle Matthew revealed such embarrassing stories?

"Hahaha, fishing," Kyle burst out laughing and fell back onto the bed.

Horatio just rolled his eyes and took a sip of his drink. "This was the last time ever I took you along with me. I should have never let you meet him."

"Aww Dad, don't be like that," his son just grinned. "I like Matthew a lot!"

Horatio snorted. "Ha, I'm sure you do. You were, after all, not on the receiving end of his remarks." Hiding behind the newspaper again, Kyle still heard him mumble about the unfairness of "still having to call him uncle and not Matthew" which made Kyle starting to laugh again.

It really had been a great day.

"Deep inside you like him as well, Dad. You can't fool me," Kyle pointed out and snuggled under the blanket. All the while watching his dad.

Horatio folded the paper and put it on the small table. Of course he liked Matthew. The man was quite dear to him. He owed him a lot. "No, I can't fool you. You're right. I like him a lot," Horatio agreed after a while.

"How was living with him? Was he strict?" Kyle asked curiously, because even though they had talked a lot this afternoon, such themes had not been broached in particular.

Horatio mulled over the question. Life certainly had been different under Matthew's roof. "Hmm, living with him had been easier than living with my parents. And he was strict…in his own way. Once again very different from what we were used to."

Kyle was definitely intrigued. Maybe now he would learn even more about his family. He wasn't so sure though, if it would be a good thing or not. Yet he couldn't help but ask, "How so?"

Taking a sip from his drink, Horatio tried to figure out a way to answer Kyle's question truthfully, yet not going into too much detail for his own sake. "Well, as I already told you this afternoon, when we did something bad, he would ground us. Maybe send us to bed without dessert. Things like that." Seeing his son nod, he continued. "My father was more a fan of…let's call it…corporal punishment."

Kyle winced. He could easily picture what such kind of punishment entailed. And it certainly fitted into the not so good picture he had of his grandfather. "So Matthew was strict but in a kind way?"

"Something like that, yes," Horatio smiled in relief. He didn't want to dwell on such memories for too long. "Things I would have probably done myself, given the chance."

Kyle rewarded him with a toothy grin. "Surely combined with a "no pocket money for you", right?"

"Of course," H smirked. "Before we started living with Uncle Matthew, we never got any pocket money though."

"Really? No pocket money at all?"

"Nope. My father would rather enjoy a few drinks in a bar than giving us some sort of money."

"What a jerk," Kyle snorted. Even his foster parents had given him a small allowance every month. And he hadn't been on good terms with most of them.

"Language Son," H admonished him without any real heat behind it. "Anyway, Matthew was nice enough to give us some and after a couple of months, he even allowed me to start as a paper boy, under the condition that I wouldn't slack at school. I have always been an early riser, so getting up wasn't a problem for me, plus having some money made it worth it. Suddenly it was no problem any longer to have a pizza or going to the movies…you know all those typical things a teenager does. Or getting nice clothes… It felt good to pay for things with your own hard earned money. It taught me a sense of responsibility." Not that this was a new feeling. He had cared and had been responsible for his younger brother from an early age on, but it had been different somehow.

"Is this why you got me the job at the morgue?"

"Part of it, yes. First and foremost I wanted to show you the outcome of reckless behavior. But yes, I also wanted you to take some responsibility." One of his parents had to and one didn't connect responsibility with the name Julia Winston.

Sometimes Kyle was surprised about himself. He had been such a child back then. Having no clue what to do with his life. Doing stupid things. And now, now he was an adult, had served in a war, lived on his own, had someone to talk to when he needed. He had really done a 180 thanks to his parents. Well, maybe more because of his dad than his mom, but still.

He was actually quite proud of himself, and the way his dad was talking about him with other people, made him sure that his father was proud of him as well. And this made him very happy indeed. He wondered if his grandfather had ever been proud of his dad. Probably not after all that he had heard about this man.

Well, he certainly knew how this felt. Never hearing a kind word, receiving a pat on the shoulder or hearing a "Well done". At least he had his dad now, who was always encouraging him even if he didn't like his decisions. But since his grandfather was dead (which was probably not such a bad thing in the end he assumed) his dad would never get this kind of parental encouragement. He couldn't help but feel sad about it.

"Well I learned my lesson," he said in the end. "And I'm sure that Matthew is quite proud of you. Did he encourage you to go to the police?"

"Oh my..no…he wasn't really happy about it at all," Horatio laughed. "But he didn't discourage me either. He was relieved though when I started at university after a couple of years. Life on campus is definitely less dangerous than being a beat cop." When Kyle had told him about joining the army, he had realized what Matthew had been through all those years back. Horatio, too, hadn't been happy about his son's decision to join the forces, but hadn't stopped him in the end. After all it wasn't his life, but his son's.

"Depends on the parties I bet," Kyle laughed. "Just imagine Spring Break…"

"Ah...don't remind me," Horatio waved him off. After working in Miami for so many years and having even more work during spring break, he really hated this season.

He took the last sip of his drink and stood up. "So what are your plans for tomorrow?" he asked and walked around to switch off the big light.

"I don't know. Maybe Top Of The Rocks?"

"Hmm," Horatio murmured and slid under the covers. "We could visit the Empire State Building in the morning, and the Rockefeller Center once it's dark. This way you can see the Empire State in all its glory. It's quite a breathtaking view actually."

"Whatever you say is best, Dad. You're the expert here."

"Too true. We could also visit Brooklyn and then walk over the Brooklyn Bridge towards Manhattan. This way you can see the skyline quite well. Then there's Central Park, MoMA, and the Museum of National History is great, too."

"Is that the one with the dinosaurs?" He had loved dinosaurs since he'd been a small boy. The movie Jurassic Park had greatly influenced a whole generation and he had been no exception.

"Uh-huh, it is indeed," H chuckled at Kyle's eagerness. "Are you interested?"

"Of course!" How could he even ask that? "It's a good thing that we have a couple of days time or otherwise we couldn't see half of it. Will we visit Matthew again before we go back?"

Horatio switched off the bed lights. "Would you like to?"

"Absolutely." The man had grown on him. "I'm sure he has a few more embarrassing stories to tell," he teased.

Horatio puffed the pillow into shape until he was satisfied. "Kyle?"

"Yes, Dad?"

"Shut up and sleep."

Horatio didn't need to turn around to see the grin on his son's face. It was very easy to hear.

"Will do, Dad."

He had been a bit apprehensive about going to New York and taking his son with him. The city was still like a sore scar on his soul. One that would probably never really heal. Nevertheless, he was here now and he didn't regret it at all. Matthew Fisher was the only living relative of the New York Family and the only one who really knew about Horatio's past in great detail. He was also the first mentor Horatio had ever had. Maybe, if Horatio's heart had given him the chance back then, he could have been a father figure or maybe even a real father to him, but he had been too damaged for that. Too damaged to really trust an adult after everything that had happened.

Yet, he loved Matthew dearly in his own way. He would be forever grateful to him, because otherwise he and Ray would have lived in an orphanage or some foster family. The man had been there when he had been needed the most, and this was something that Horatio would never forget. He had been their rock when their world had crumbled at their feet. He had dealt with a 16-year-old teenager, who had taken his own father's life, and never once had he made him feel like a criminal or a freak. Not in a hundred years Horatio would be able to repay him for all he had done.

So he didn't mind Matthew telling a few embarrassing stories at all. It was nice to be reminded of things that didn't involve violence and fear. On the contrary, they involved happy memories, laughter and a good time in general. He felt thankful for that. And if Kyle wanted to visit Matthew again, before heading back to Miami, he'd be the last one to say no.

He owed Kyle that.

He owed Uncle Matthew that as well.

And most of all, he owed that to himself.

The End