Chaptered Fic: No Other One, Chapter 8
Title: No Other One, Chapter 8
Author: Duckie Nicks
Rating: PG-13
Characters: Yelina Salas, Horatio Caine, the whole Caine family
Author's Note: WARNING: SPOILER FOR SEASON 6. Some naughty language in this chapter so beware.
Summary: Almost two decades ago, Horatio made a decision that would change his family forever. Will they ever forgive him? Will he ever tell Yelina how he feels? This is an alternative to the beginning of season 6. A Horatio and Kyle story; H/Y romance in the future. Fulfills
fanfic100 claim 083, "And"
Previous Chapters: Prologue, Chapter 1, Chapter 2, Chapter 3, Chapter 4, Chapter 5, Chapter 6, and Chapter 7.
Disclaimer: I don't own the show. Of course... If I did, I wouldn't admit to it because the actual show pretty much blows these days.
No Other One
Chapter Eight: Having your [Chocolate] Cake
By Duckie Nicks
"You can have it all. You just can't have it all at once." - Oprah Winfrey
“You wanna tell me who hurt your face?” Rick Stetler asked Kyle. His voice filled with fake concern, he spoke clearly for the tape recorder’s benefit.
They’d already gone over Kyle’s name and other basic, boring information. And the teenager was relieved that they were finally getting down to business. It wasn’t that he was uncomfortable talking to cops; by now, the blond was unfortunately used to that. And he sure as hell didn’t mind throwing himself into the mire because Kyle realized that at this point in his life, he’d never really existed outside of that.
He could handle the fight that was surely going to erupt if he was honest about what had happened. But knowing he was on the cusp of that made him feel like one of those bulls getting ready for the ring.
Still… he wasn’t going to talk just yet.
“I’ll tell you what you want to know,” Kyle said as enticingly as possible. “But first, I want a deal.”
“You tell me what happened and then - ”
“No.” His voice was cool and dark. And the man sitting in front of him looked… dismayed, which made Kyle happy. He wasn’t going to talk or make this easy, that was for damn sure.
He’d had too many run-ins with cops to still trust them. Not that a badge made much of a difference between trustworthy and not. Because the teenager knew that most people would turn on you. The human race fucking sucked that way.
With the police, it just seemed like a given.
The man in front of him turned off the tape recorder and leaned forward, conspiratorially. Kyle remained unimpressed by this.
“I’ll get you your deal,” Stetler said finally. “But I’m only going to do that if you can nail Horatio Caine.” The brunet licked his lips. “You promise me that, and I’ll help you out.”
Kyle opened his mouth to respond, but Stetler continued, “You screw me over on this, and I’ll make sure you spend the next five years of your life being passed around like a chew toy.”
How easily they turned on him.
Outwardly, Kyle did not react, but mentally, he knew that he would have to deliver. He’d have to peg this cop or else… he was fucked in every sense of the word.
“So should I get on the phone and get you a deal?” Stetler asked, interrupting his thoughts.
And though he knew the risks, Kyle couldn’t see how he’d avoid if he said no to the cop. Horatio Caine hadn’t been responsible for all of the damage to his face, but the red-haired asshole had done his part; the blond could just say that and save himself. Because it was the truth, and this time no one could deny him that.
No one would say that he was lying or screw him over. Sure, they might try, but he wasn’t going to let them win. True, he had learned you couldn’t trust anyone. But from that, Kyle had learned to rely on himself. And this deal would work - if only because he would make it happen.
This time, nothing would keep him off the track of freedom.
His brown eyes met Stetler’s, determined. Defiant. “Do it,” he said with finality.
----------------------------
Across town, waiting impatiently in the French café, Horatio thought about Kyle once more. There were brief moments where the redhead could think of other things, but his mind easily drifted back to the boy.
It seemed half-dream, half-nightmare that the recalcitrant teen should be his son. And as he watched another teenager put together his take out, Horatio could only hope he hadn’t screwed things up with Yelina too badly. Because without her help, he knew everything would be even harder to deal with. Without her… there might be no hope at all.
But he was pulled from his thoughts as he saw the teenager putting lemon cakes into the brown bag with “CAINE” written on it in red marker.
“Wait,” Horatio said, holding his hand up to stop the kid. “I asked for the chocolate ones.” His voice was borderline panicked, but he knew what the disastrous results would be if he showed up at his sister-in-law’s doorstep with the tart treat. She was not finicky about food, but Yelina preferred sweet things to sour ones. And if he bought the lemon cakes, bought what he liked instead of the almost cloyingly alternative that she loved… well, it wouldn’t help his cause, the redhead knew that much.
When the teenager began to fix his mistake, Horatio didn’t bother to hide his sigh of relief. He had enough problems as it was, and once more, his thoughts turned to Kyle. And grabbing the dinner and dessert, he paused, the niggling doubt forcing itself to the front of his mind. This could all be a mistake.
But… there was nothing to be done about that. He would hurt this part of his family; it would be Ray Junior and her or the boy, never both, and maybe it was wrong to use her now. Perhaps he should find another way, given that soon enough Yelina would hate him forever.
Then again, Horatio thought as he got back into his car, what other options were there, really? She would undoubtedly know more about the boy than anyone else at this point, and… if he wanted his son, then he would have to hurt her to do it.
But it had to be done.
In the spacious Hummer, but feeling more trapped than ever, Horatio started the car and drove away.
-----------------
Not much had changed in the hours since her brother-in-law had left… but at least she didn’t want to kill him anymore. Which wasn’t much, Yelina realized, but it was something.
After cleaning every inch of the house, the brunette had felt her anger begin to subside. Her muscles had ached, and exhaustion had started to settle in, and so it seemed too much to still be that angry. Instead of thinking of all the things she could say to him the next time she saw him, Yelina had contemplated a nap.
But just as she had been ready to tell Ray Junior to fend for himself, her contact at DHS had finally returned her call. And with it had come Kyle Harmon’s foster records and family history.
It was not short by any means, and Yelina wasn’t sure what exactly had compelled her to look at the records. This assignment was over, and any information about Kyle was now… irrelevant. But her contact had worked hard, so she had downloaded the long document and printed it out.
Transfixed, the woman had read the entire thing, each page more horrific than the last. Halfway through, and Yelina hadn’t been able to stop herself from thinking that this boy’s life was nothing more than a series of betrayals. His mother murdered, his father non-existent, and afterwards, the blond had spent his life bouncing from one inadequate foster home to another.
The expectation of disappointment - she had seen it in the boy’s eyes earlier today. He had been suspicious of her, of everyone for that matter. And the cop that remained in her had screamed out for justice, but the mother in her hadn’t been able to fight an overwhelming sadness.
Sitting on her bed, the packet of information neatly stacked next to her on the comforter, she no longer thought of Horatio, but of this boy. Whatever had happened earlier no longer plagued her or angered her. That hardly seemed important at all. Because now she could see… Kyle Harmon was essentially ruined, formed and twisted from the life he’d led up to this point. Whatever life he could have had, Yelina thought was gone forever now.
“Normal” would be nothing more than a word to him, a concept, a wish that always remained elusive. His future was already determined in one way or another, she knew. The teen would either turn out like her husband or her brother-in-law, and neither seemed… appropriate for anyone.
Both men were self-destructive, in so many ways unable to escape their past. And Yelina understood that several people would argue differently, but she had never seen the good boy/bad boy dichotomy everyone else insisted upon. Raymond and Horatio were equally problematic.
Her brother-in-law was quieter, much more reserved. He was so reluctant to show any emotion. Horatio wasn’t cold or mean but there was always this wall. The brunette supposed she understood him as well as anyone could, but even then… sometimes she wondered if his kindness to her was nothing more than an obligation.
They didn’t talk to one another very much nowadays, and she could count the number of times he had touched her on one hand.
Yelina sighed. Every now and then, they would… take a step forward, but it inevitably led to something going wrong. And it had been so long since anything had happened that she began to think nothing would ever happen. Maybe she was just never meant to be close to him.
Or maybe she just didn’t know how to get through to him. Because the brunette understood, given her own temperament, she was much better suited for Raymond. Where as Horatio couldn’t get close to anyone, her husband had been the opposite. He had been almost… obsessed in his need to best everyone.
Ray had been quick to act, always filled with emotion, and never afraid to show it. He did not hesitate to show her how much he loved her. But so too did the man unflinchingly give into his anger, his despair, and his weaknesses.
In the end… both men were imperfect, and Yelina clutched a pillow to her chest, wondering what it said about her that she wanted to be everything for both of them.
Pulling herself out of her thoughts, the brunette looked down at herself. After all that cleaning, she felt dirty and decided to take a shower.
And as the nearly scalding water cascaded down her back, Yelina couldn’t help but think of Kyle once more. Horatio had been so wrong about the boy. Or maybe not, given his rap sheet, but some part of her truly believed that the teenager had at one point been full of potential. Filled with possibilities until his mother had been murdered, and the blond had been tossed into foster care without a second thought.
There was a brief moment where the words seemed to pervade the misty air swirling around her. And as she brushed a wet curl out of her face, the realization hit her, so hard that she thought for a moment her legs might collapse under the weight of it all.
After she had taken the P.I. job, Yelina had told Horatio that she had Ray Junior to think about, and he’d thrown those very words back at her. Since then, she’d thought about that day a lot, and she would be lying to say that she hadn’t considered the dangers of this line of work. But now…
Now she knew. Now she could see, in Kyle, how Ray Junior would turn out if something happened to her.
Her son was already no angel. He regularly flirted with disaster, and the mother worried that she had failed. That no matter what she did, or would do, Ray would do something he couldn’t get out of.
And if something happened to her?
Yelina was not naïve to think her presence alone would stop her son from going down that road. But… at least now there was someone to tell him no, someone to try and give him boundaries. And without her, Ray wouldn’t think twice about doing something stupid. He would end up like Kyle Harmon or worse.
Which meant there was only one thing she could do to protect her son. Sighing in the shower, her throat constricting tightly, Yelina finally accepted that in this Horatio was right: she would have to quit her job.
Go to the next Chapter
Author: Duckie Nicks
Rating: PG-13
Characters: Yelina Salas, Horatio Caine, the whole Caine family
Author's Note: WARNING: SPOILER FOR SEASON 6. Some naughty language in this chapter so beware.
Summary: Almost two decades ago, Horatio made a decision that would change his family forever. Will they ever forgive him? Will he ever tell Yelina how he feels? This is an alternative to the beginning of season 6. A Horatio and Kyle story; H/Y romance in the future. Fulfills
fanfic100 claim 083, "And"
Previous Chapters: Prologue, Chapter 1, Chapter 2, Chapter 3, Chapter 4, Chapter 5, Chapter 6, and Chapter 7.
Disclaimer: I don't own the show. Of course... If I did, I wouldn't admit to it because the actual show pretty much blows these days.
No Other One
Chapter Eight: Having your [Chocolate] Cake
By Duckie Nicks
"You can have it all. You just can't have it all at once." - Oprah Winfrey
“You wanna tell me who hurt your face?” Rick Stetler asked Kyle. His voice filled with fake concern, he spoke clearly for the tape recorder’s benefit.
They’d already gone over Kyle’s name and other basic, boring information. And the teenager was relieved that they were finally getting down to business. It wasn’t that he was uncomfortable talking to cops; by now, the blond was unfortunately used to that. And he sure as hell didn’t mind throwing himself into the mire because Kyle realized that at this point in his life, he’d never really existed outside of that.
He could handle the fight that was surely going to erupt if he was honest about what had happened. But knowing he was on the cusp of that made him feel like one of those bulls getting ready for the ring.
Still… he wasn’t going to talk just yet.
“I’ll tell you what you want to know,” Kyle said as enticingly as possible. “But first, I want a deal.”
“You tell me what happened and then - ”
“No.” His voice was cool and dark. And the man sitting in front of him looked… dismayed, which made Kyle happy. He wasn’t going to talk or make this easy, that was for damn sure.
He’d had too many run-ins with cops to still trust them. Not that a badge made much of a difference between trustworthy and not. Because the teenager knew that most people would turn on you. The human race fucking sucked that way.
With the police, it just seemed like a given.
The man in front of him turned off the tape recorder and leaned forward, conspiratorially. Kyle remained unimpressed by this.
“I’ll get you your deal,” Stetler said finally. “But I’m only going to do that if you can nail Horatio Caine.” The brunet licked his lips. “You promise me that, and I’ll help you out.”
Kyle opened his mouth to respond, but Stetler continued, “You screw me over on this, and I’ll make sure you spend the next five years of your life being passed around like a chew toy.”
How easily they turned on him.
Outwardly, Kyle did not react, but mentally, he knew that he would have to deliver. He’d have to peg this cop or else… he was fucked in every sense of the word.
“So should I get on the phone and get you a deal?” Stetler asked, interrupting his thoughts.
And though he knew the risks, Kyle couldn’t see how he’d avoid if he said no to the cop. Horatio Caine hadn’t been responsible for all of the damage to his face, but the red-haired asshole had done his part; the blond could just say that and save himself. Because it was the truth, and this time no one could deny him that.
No one would say that he was lying or screw him over. Sure, they might try, but he wasn’t going to let them win. True, he had learned you couldn’t trust anyone. But from that, Kyle had learned to rely on himself. And this deal would work - if only because he would make it happen.
This time, nothing would keep him off the track of freedom.
His brown eyes met Stetler’s, determined. Defiant. “Do it,” he said with finality.
----------------------------
Across town, waiting impatiently in the French café, Horatio thought about Kyle once more. There were brief moments where the redhead could think of other things, but his mind easily drifted back to the boy.
It seemed half-dream, half-nightmare that the recalcitrant teen should be his son. And as he watched another teenager put together his take out, Horatio could only hope he hadn’t screwed things up with Yelina too badly. Because without her help, he knew everything would be even harder to deal with. Without her… there might be no hope at all.
But he was pulled from his thoughts as he saw the teenager putting lemon cakes into the brown bag with “CAINE” written on it in red marker.
“Wait,” Horatio said, holding his hand up to stop the kid. “I asked for the chocolate ones.” His voice was borderline panicked, but he knew what the disastrous results would be if he showed up at his sister-in-law’s doorstep with the tart treat. She was not finicky about food, but Yelina preferred sweet things to sour ones. And if he bought the lemon cakes, bought what he liked instead of the almost cloyingly alternative that she loved… well, it wouldn’t help his cause, the redhead knew that much.
When the teenager began to fix his mistake, Horatio didn’t bother to hide his sigh of relief. He had enough problems as it was, and once more, his thoughts turned to Kyle. And grabbing the dinner and dessert, he paused, the niggling doubt forcing itself to the front of his mind. This could all be a mistake.
But… there was nothing to be done about that. He would hurt this part of his family; it would be Ray Junior and her or the boy, never both, and maybe it was wrong to use her now. Perhaps he should find another way, given that soon enough Yelina would hate him forever.
Then again, Horatio thought as he got back into his car, what other options were there, really? She would undoubtedly know more about the boy than anyone else at this point, and… if he wanted his son, then he would have to hurt her to do it.
But it had to be done.
In the spacious Hummer, but feeling more trapped than ever, Horatio started the car and drove away.
-----------------
Not much had changed in the hours since her brother-in-law had left… but at least she didn’t want to kill him anymore. Which wasn’t much, Yelina realized, but it was something.
After cleaning every inch of the house, the brunette had felt her anger begin to subside. Her muscles had ached, and exhaustion had started to settle in, and so it seemed too much to still be that angry. Instead of thinking of all the things she could say to him the next time she saw him, Yelina had contemplated a nap.
But just as she had been ready to tell Ray Junior to fend for himself, her contact at DHS had finally returned her call. And with it had come Kyle Harmon’s foster records and family history.
It was not short by any means, and Yelina wasn’t sure what exactly had compelled her to look at the records. This assignment was over, and any information about Kyle was now… irrelevant. But her contact had worked hard, so she had downloaded the long document and printed it out.
Transfixed, the woman had read the entire thing, each page more horrific than the last. Halfway through, and Yelina hadn’t been able to stop herself from thinking that this boy’s life was nothing more than a series of betrayals. His mother murdered, his father non-existent, and afterwards, the blond had spent his life bouncing from one inadequate foster home to another.
The expectation of disappointment - she had seen it in the boy’s eyes earlier today. He had been suspicious of her, of everyone for that matter. And the cop that remained in her had screamed out for justice, but the mother in her hadn’t been able to fight an overwhelming sadness.
Sitting on her bed, the packet of information neatly stacked next to her on the comforter, she no longer thought of Horatio, but of this boy. Whatever had happened earlier no longer plagued her or angered her. That hardly seemed important at all. Because now she could see… Kyle Harmon was essentially ruined, formed and twisted from the life he’d led up to this point. Whatever life he could have had, Yelina thought was gone forever now.
“Normal” would be nothing more than a word to him, a concept, a wish that always remained elusive. His future was already determined in one way or another, she knew. The teen would either turn out like her husband or her brother-in-law, and neither seemed… appropriate for anyone.
Both men were self-destructive, in so many ways unable to escape their past. And Yelina understood that several people would argue differently, but she had never seen the good boy/bad boy dichotomy everyone else insisted upon. Raymond and Horatio were equally problematic.
Her brother-in-law was quieter, much more reserved. He was so reluctant to show any emotion. Horatio wasn’t cold or mean but there was always this wall. The brunette supposed she understood him as well as anyone could, but even then… sometimes she wondered if his kindness to her was nothing more than an obligation.
They didn’t talk to one another very much nowadays, and she could count the number of times he had touched her on one hand.
Yelina sighed. Every now and then, they would… take a step forward, but it inevitably led to something going wrong. And it had been so long since anything had happened that she began to think nothing would ever happen. Maybe she was just never meant to be close to him.
Or maybe she just didn’t know how to get through to him. Because the brunette understood, given her own temperament, she was much better suited for Raymond. Where as Horatio couldn’t get close to anyone, her husband had been the opposite. He had been almost… obsessed in his need to best everyone.
Ray had been quick to act, always filled with emotion, and never afraid to show it. He did not hesitate to show her how much he loved her. But so too did the man unflinchingly give into his anger, his despair, and his weaknesses.
In the end… both men were imperfect, and Yelina clutched a pillow to her chest, wondering what it said about her that she wanted to be everything for both of them.
Pulling herself out of her thoughts, the brunette looked down at herself. After all that cleaning, she felt dirty and decided to take a shower.
And as the nearly scalding water cascaded down her back, Yelina couldn’t help but think of Kyle once more. Horatio had been so wrong about the boy. Or maybe not, given his rap sheet, but some part of her truly believed that the teenager had at one point been full of potential. Filled with possibilities until his mother had been murdered, and the blond had been tossed into foster care without a second thought.
There was a brief moment where the words seemed to pervade the misty air swirling around her. And as she brushed a wet curl out of her face, the realization hit her, so hard that she thought for a moment her legs might collapse under the weight of it all.
After she had taken the P.I. job, Yelina had told Horatio that she had Ray Junior to think about, and he’d thrown those very words back at her. Since then, she’d thought about that day a lot, and she would be lying to say that she hadn’t considered the dangers of this line of work. But now…
Now she knew. Now she could see, in Kyle, how Ray Junior would turn out if something happened to her.
Her son was already no angel. He regularly flirted with disaster, and the mother worried that she had failed. That no matter what she did, or would do, Ray would do something he couldn’t get out of.
And if something happened to her?
Yelina was not naïve to think her presence alone would stop her son from going down that road. But… at least now there was someone to tell him no, someone to try and give him boundaries. And without her, Ray wouldn’t think twice about doing something stupid. He would end up like Kyle Harmon or worse.
Which meant there was only one thing she could do to protect her son. Sighing in the shower, her throat constricting tightly, Yelina finally accepted that in this Horatio was right: she would have to quit her job.
Go to the next Chapter