DON'T OWN CSI: MIAMI!!!
Slowly the shaking stopped, and Horatio let go of her. She climbed off of his lap and he stood up, and offered her his hand to pull her up. She put her hand in his and he gently pulled her to her feet, and then wrapped her in a hug. She just let herself lean for a moment, eyes shut tightly against the threatening flood of tears. Horatio murmured into her hair,
"It's all right to cry, you know,"
"I know, but, not here, I'm okay, for now." Horatio looked at her, and then nodded. He kissed her softly, and then they walked back out into the hall.
There stood Frank, Speed and Eric, who immediately profusely apologized for upsetting Calleigh by reacting the way they did, and Calleigh waved off their concerns, saying,
"Don't worry about it, I'm just a little emotional lately, I can't figure out why, and it's just stupid, I don't like being emotional,"
They all nodded and then they went to work, though Horatio sent Calleigh home at lunch since he thought she looked a little peaked. She protested at first, and then Horatio fixed her with his look he gets sometimes, and she sighed and said,
"All right, all right! I'll go, see you later," She waved and walked to her Hummer.
He watched her go, his heart filling with love for his Calleigh, his Bullet Girl. He smiled and went back inside to finish the day.
--
When he got home that evening, Calleigh was gone and had left him a note,
"Horatio, I went to the store. Be back soon. Love, Calleigh"
He sighed and pulled his cell to call her. She didn't answer, and he started to get worried. He decided to sit down and rational the whole thing, but as the hours passed, he got more and more worried. He was almost out of his mind with worry so he got up and strode to the door, intending to find her. He drove for an hour and still couldn't find her. He finally realized that the reason he was so worried was because he loved Calleigh too much. He drove to a store and then drove back home. When he got there, he tried to call Calleigh again, and actually got her this time.
"Hello?"
"Calleigh, where have you been?"
"Oh, um, sorry I'm late,"
"Don't try that, where have you been?"
"All right, all right, I was at my dad's."
"Your dad's!"
"Yeah, I called him to see how rehab was going, as he was an alcoholic, and he was about to get drunk, so I went over to see him and helped him get past the urge."
"Really?"
"Yeah," Calleigh said softly, and Horatio smiled, though Calleigh couldn't see it and said,
"I'm proud of you, Calleigh," He could hear the brightness in her voice as she said,
"I'm on my way home, I'll be home in a few,"
"All right, I love you,"
"Uh, I love you too," Calleigh said strangely, as Horatio had never said that since the time that she came back, for good. She drove back home and walked into the house. She saw Horatio sitting on the couch and said,
"Hello Handsome," He looked over his shoulder and stood up. He strode over to her with a smile on his face and hugged her.
"Hey Beautiful," She smiled and then said,
"Mind if I take you up on that offer now?"
"What offer?" He asked, looking down at her in concern.
"That shoulder to cry on you offered earlier." She said, tears already making her voice thick. He nodded, saying,
"Anytime, Calleigh. You can have that anytime." She nodded, and buried her face in his chest and clutched at his shirt with her hands as her body wracked with sobs. She drew in a few shaky breaths, and her legs almost collapsed on her. Horatio swept her up in his arms and sat on the couch, cradling her.
"It's just, Horatio, it's just that, my father, he seems to love me, without any hesitation, and I just, I don't deserve that!" Calleigh wailed out, muffled against his chest, and Horatio tightened his grip, saying,
"Now why is that?"
"Because, because I let those bastards rape me, and it was my fault, and I don't deserve anyone's love, or support, or care! I don't deserve anything, because I'm a horrible person!"
"Calleigh, sweetheart, if that's true, then I don't deserve you either." Horatio said, and the truth of his words hit home with Calleigh.
"Then, then why are you still here? I've asked myself a thousand times what I did to have you here, with me, and I, I don't know." Calleigh said, and Horatio replied softly,
"I'm here, because I couldn't live without you. I love you so much, Calleigh, and I could never, ever leave you. Taking care of you kind of evens the scale, anyways."
"How's that?" Calleigh asked, raising her head, the tears stopped.
"Because you took care of me all those years, after Marisol died, when I found out about Kyle, it's time that I can take care of you. Let me take care of you, sweetheart. I need to." Horatio said, and Calleigh heard the plea in his voice.
"Of course." She said softly, and buried her head into his chest. She yawned, and Horatio noticed it. Calleigh said sleepily,
"I'm exhausted, I'm gonna go to bed," He nodded and said,
"All right," She smiled and slipped into the bedroom without another word.
A few moments later Horatio followed her and wrapped his arms around her when he had lain down on the bed. He felt her stiffen, because he knew he wasn't supposed to be in here. Instead, he rested his cheek on her shoulder and said softly,
"Marry me," Calleigh looked at him in surprise and said,
"Wha, what?"
"Marry me," He said more clearly and Calleigh whispered, tears filling her eyes,
"Yes, Horatio, a thousand times yes," He smiled and kissed her.
--
The End
--
*Hope you liked it, even though some of the chapters were really short, so once again I apologize profusely. Oh, and please review!!! Please and thank you!!! Oh, and thank you so much for reading!!!