No Other One, Chapter 43
Title: No Other One, Chapter 43
Author: Duckie Nicks
Rating: PG-13
Characters: Yelina Salas, Horatio Caine, the whole Caine family
Author's Note: WARNING: SPOILER FOR SEASON 6.
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.
Previous Chapters: Prologue, Chapter 1, Chapter 2, Chapter 3, Chapter 4, Chapter 5, Chapter 6, Chapter 7, Chapter 8, Chapter 9, Chapter 10, Chapter 11, Chapter 12, Chapter 13, Chapter 14, Chapter 15, Chapter 16, Chapter 17, Chapter 18, Chapter 19, Chapter 20, Chapter 21, Chapter 22, Chapter 23, Chapter 24, Chapter 25, Chapter 26, Chapter 27, Chapter 28, Chapter 29, Chapter 30, Chapter 31, Chapter 32, Chapter 33, Chapter 34, Chapter 35, Chapter 36, Chapter 37, Chapter 38, Chapter 39, Chapter 40, Chapter 41, and Chapter 42.
Disclaimer: I don't own the show.
“There is luxury in self reproach. When we blame ourselves, we feel no one else has a right to blame us.” - Oscar Wilde
His shoes squeaked on the freshly waxed floor, as he chased after her.
In a slightly more perfect world, Horatio was absolutely sure he’d be thrilled to gain custody of Kyle. But having sat through another round with the social worker, having listened to her tell him the things Yelina said… he was more relieved than happy. And at the same time, not even his relief felt all that whole. Because underneath all of it, the redhead was beginning to realize that this situation was still tentative.
Because, after everything his sister-in-law said the previous day, Horatio couldn’t see how she could mean what she’d told the social worker. Yesterday, Yelina had been furious.
For that matter, she had been furious today.
And… maybe some of the things she’d said to him could be written off as anger.
Telling him that he wasn’t really a father, though?
Horatio didn’t think the same could be said for that.
And if she really believed those things, then… she’d lied to Clarissa Bennett. Which meant, if the social worker found out, that his son’s custody could once again be questioned.
Throwing the main doors open, Horatio thought once more: in a more perfect world, he’d be able to spend time with Kyle right now. But in this one… he was chasing after his sister-in-law instead.
“Yelina,” he called after her, both desperate to apologize and chastise.
“Don’t follow me,” she ordered. Not once did she look back at him, nor did she slow down her quick pace. And it was almost bizarre how the brunette could walk so briskly, he mused, in the tall heels she wore.
“Yelina.”
Still, she didn’t turn around, and maybe that should have been a sign for him to stop chasing after her and leave her alone. But, if Kyle could be taken away from him, then, Horatio decided, he couldn’t let her go without saying his share.
Springing forward quickly, his fingers latched onto the material of her black suit coat. The slight tug forced her to stop, thankfully.
The redhead watched carefully, as she inhaled slowly, unevenly. Holding the air in for a moment, Yelina exhaled in a rush, as she turned around. They didn’t make eye contact at first, her gaze cast downward at where he still held her sleeve captive. Her thick lashes kissed her cheeks a few times, as she clearly tried to process what he was doing.
Finally, the brunette told him, “Let me go.” There was no warning in her tone. Nothing that screamed, “I’m going to punch you,” anyway. All considered, she seemed pretty calm, Horatio would think later on.
Nevertheless, he obeyed the command. Of course the redhead hoped she would stay so that he could talk to her. But… it made him nauseated to think of using force to make that happen.
“Please,” Horatio implored simply.
There was a short moment, which seemed to expand with expectant silence.
Would she agree?
Would she tell him to go to hell (again)?
Was this really his last chance to make things right?
All the questions running through his head seemed connected to his mouth and feet. “Please,” he whispered softly, his body shifting from heel to heel.
Her eventual response was a sigh, sad and low. He watched the muscles of her mouth move ever so slightly. Folding her arms across her chest, Yelina asked in exasperation, “What do you want?”
He swallowed hard, trying to mentally find the words he wanted to say.
“Nothing?” she nearly snapped when he didn’t respond right away. “What do you want, Horatio?”
“You shouldn’t have lied to Bennett,” Horatio said, his own voice harder than he would have liked. So he softened his tone and continued, ignoring the fury radiating from Yelina. “If she were to find out -”
“I did not lie,” she argued. Her body teetered ever so slightly back and forth in anger. Biting down on her lip, she reached up and ran a hand through her dark curls.
“Yes… you did, Yelina.”
“No.” And then she scoffed before saying, “And I can’t believe that you would even think about criticizing me for-”
“I will lose Kyle if that woman ever finds out,” he told her, cocking his head. “You should know that. I think you do know that, and I -”
“What do you want from me?”
Her words rang out in the deserted parking lot. Odd how it seemed to do that; she hadn’t shouted. Filled with an obvious anguish, her voice had barely been louder than normal. Yet it had resonated within him nonetheless, forcing him to re-examine her once more.
There were tears in her eyes. The irises were suspiciously bright, even as she bit down on the inside of her mouth to hold it together.
He had pushed too hard.
She was wrong to lie, but… he had gone too far, had assumed she could handle more than she obviously could.
He’d screwed up.
Again.
Realizing that, Horatio was stunned into silence.
He swallowed hard. Whatever he wanted to say was instantly forgotten, the words eluding him even if he wanted to utter them.
And so it was Yelina, with her index finger pointed warningly at him, who spoke first. Her voice low and dangerous, she said, “I am going to say this. Once. And then if you and your son don’t believe me…” She threw her hands in the air, as Horatio wondered what Kyle had to do any of this. “It won’t be my problem.”
The brunette stressed, “I did not lie.” Each word was clipped despite her thickened accent. “I said -”
“That I would be a good father to Kyle,” he finished quietly. He opened his mouth to say more but faltered, unsure he wanted to keep going.
His hesitation made Yelina go quiet, which was kind of nice, he thought. And finally, Horatio continued, in a low rasp, “But… you don’t believe that, do you?”
“I didn’t lie,” she repeated, despite saying she wouldn’t do that. Under any other circumstance, the redhead was absolutely sure he’d laugh at his sister-in-law’s flip-flopping. In the years he’d known her, she had occasionally displayed this personality quirk. Sometimes, she would just get so focused, so involved emotionally that it seemed like she’d thrown logic out the window.
But this wasn’t entirely like that. Because her answer, despite the contradiction, made sense him. Yelina hadn’t planned on saying it once more, but then again… the alternative answer was to admit that he could be a good father. And it was obvious in the way she skated around the question that she had no intention of doing that.
That stung.
“You seemed pretty certain yesterday that I… wasn’t any sort of father to Kyle,” he reminded.
She sighed again, licking her lips. “I know what I said.” Before he could say anything, Yelina added, “And… I don’t regret saying it, Horatio.”
At that moment, he mentally corrected what he’d said to himself earlier. It was this that stung worse than any other insult or abuse could. “That,” he said slowly, swallowing hard. “Isn’t fair.” In all the years he had known her, Horatio hadn’t thought it possible for him to incur this much wrath from her. But here they were, her fury aimed directly at him. Here he stood in the middle of a parking lot, arguing with her, feeling as though she was about to boil over.
They danced dangerously close to the edge. And the smart thing to do was very obviously to let her go, to leave - definitely not to stay here to defend himself; that was what he would normally do. But… Horatio couldn’t do that in this - not now. Because this involved Kyle and his parenting. Which… was still incredibly new, and it wasn’t a perfect fit, the redhead would easily admit.
That didn’t mean he wanted her to think the same thing.
“I will… admit to screwing up,” Horatio told her. “But I have taken… responsibility for that… I have done everything I could possibly do to help Kyle - gotten him out of jail, this.”
“Congratulations,” she said, a smirk appearing on her face. “Two things in sixteen years; you’ll win a prize for that.”
He sighed and put his hands in his pockets, hoping that it would abate the uncharacteristic need to strangle her. “And you expect me to believe that you told the social worker the truth.”
Yelina stepped closer to him, as a car drove slowly by. “Yes, I do.” As soon as the Honda had passed, the brunette moved away from him. “Had she asked me if I thought you were a good father, I would have said no. If she had asked if those sixteen years without you completely screwed that boy up, I would have told her absolutely,” she hissed. Looking down at the pavement for a minute hesitantly, Yelina took a minute before finishing, “But what she asked me was whether or not you could be a good father to Kyle.”
Taking his sunglasses out of his pocket, he fiddled with them nervously. He didn’t respond right away, needing the time to parse out her words and comprehend them. And when he had done so, Horatio said slowly, “So what you’re saying is… I have custody because of Bennett’s wording.”
“No,” she said gently, shaking her head. “But it is complicated for me.”
“Apparently.” He raised his eyebrows sadly at her. After everything that had happened between them over the years, the redhead hated to think that it could be complicated. He’d helped her, her son, Raymond. And yet… one mistake and all of that had changed.
He hated the way that felt.
“So you don’t want me to lie,” Yelina drawled, “But if I tell you the truth, that’s not okay either?” Horatio shifted on his feet a little and opened his mouth to respond, but she held up her hand, stopping him. “Just… don’t, Horatio.”
Her voice was filled with exasperation, a frustration that he was beginning to feel keenly. “Right now,” she told him, “You don’t even know what you want.” Looking down, Yelina searched through her purse for her keys. “If you’re mad at me because I see how hurt Kyle has been from this…”
She shrugged. “I won’t apologize for that. If you’re mad at me because I can’t - and won’t - endorse you for father of the year, I’m sorry.” There was a sadness in her eyes then that was surely mirrored in his own. And she became quieter then, softer than she’d been all day. “All those years with Ray Junior, I always thought… that would be something I could do.”
Grabbing her keys, she flipped through the metal set to find the one for her car. “I wish things could be different, Horatio. But they’re not.” It was almost weird hearing her say that, he thought. After all, shouldn’t he be the one telling her that Kyle was here to stay?
And then her voice hardened as she told him, “And if you’re mad at me because I helped you get custody of Kyle - if you’re angry because you don’t know what to do now - then…” She smiled humorously. “Then I guess you should have thought about that before asking me to come down here.”
“I’m not having second thoughts,” Horatio told her. Which was true, in a way. At this point, he’d been all over the map in his feelings on Kyle. First, he’d hated the boy and then wanted to deny that they were father and son. And even though it hadn’t even been a week since they’d met, Horatio was way passed second thoughts. In fact, the redhead thought, slightly amused at the idea, he was probably on twenty-second thoughts. Maybe more.
“Good,” Yelina said. “Then stop wasting my time and go be with your son.”
She turned to leave, but once more, Horatio reached out, capturing her sleeve in his hand. “Yelina,” he said, instantly feeling his nerves ratchet themselves upward.
Expectantly the brunette waited for him to continue. Only the redhead hadn’t thought it through, and finding the right words was once again hard. He wanted to tell her so many things, but… it all just seemed so wrong to tell her now when she was angry. And only when she started to pull away did he tell her, “I’m sorry… You’re… right. About everything.”
This time, it was Yelina who raised an eyebrow at him. But all she said was “Go spend time with your son.”
With a quick tug, she’d managed to pull herself away, and she began walking towards her car. Her hair swaying back and forth, he watched as she left him standing there - his “Forgive me” swallowed by the wind.
Frozen, the redhead stayed where he was, his gaze on her even as she drove out of the parking lot. Part of him was all too aware that he needed to go find Kyle. If only because they were still at social services, Horatio thought it probably wasn’t too smart to leave the teenager alone. But at the same time, his muscles didn’t seem to want to cooperate. Because on some level, his body understood what he didn’t want to believe; this was how things were going to be with Yelina from now on.
She was angry, and he was confused, and together… they were as good a pairing as mushrooms and arsenic.
A week ago, he couldn’t have seen that ever happening. If anything, seven days ago, Horatio had taken for granted their friendship; foolishly he had assumed that that connection would always be there.
But now, that had changed completely.
Kyle existed, and nothing was the same. And it didn’t seem like Yelina hated him, but… it was complicated, just as she’d said. Which he hated.
True, it had always been that way. Reluctantly he thought to himself that…. wanting your sister-in-law usually made things complicated. And the way she’d been brought into his life had always added a certain amount of bitterness to his feelings for her. After all, Ray had gotten to her first.
His little brother had beaten him to the punch.
But the way things were now, the complications, had nothing to do with Ray and everything to do with him, his own actions. And that fact was nearly impossible to separate out from his feelings for Kyle.
Not that he blamed the teenager.
He didn’t. But… part of Horatio wished Julia had never happened, and that meant… part of him wished Kyle had never happened.
It killed him to think that, but he couldn’t deny in his heart that it was true. And so, in addition to all the other problems they would face now, the father and son would have to find some way to navigate around that.
Finally moving, the redhead went back inside, finding Kyle exactly where he’d left him. The blond had a soda in his hand and looked at him expectantly. But at the moment, Horatio had no answers to give him. So he asked, “Are you ready to go?”
Kyle nodded his head slowly, the boy’s dark eyes narrowing on him in confusion.
With both relief and dread, Horatio left social services - desperately praying that Clarissa Bennett (and his son) would never know the worry inside of him.
End (44/??)
Author: Duckie Nicks
Rating: PG-13
Characters: Yelina Salas, Horatio Caine, the whole Caine family
Author's Note: WARNING: SPOILER FOR SEASON 6.
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.
Previous Chapters: Prologue, Chapter 1, Chapter 2, Chapter 3, Chapter 4, Chapter 5, Chapter 6, Chapter 7, Chapter 8, Chapter 9, Chapter 10, Chapter 11, Chapter 12, Chapter 13, Chapter 14, Chapter 15, Chapter 16, Chapter 17, Chapter 18, Chapter 19, Chapter 20, Chapter 21, Chapter 22, Chapter 23, Chapter 24, Chapter 25, Chapter 26, Chapter 27, Chapter 28, Chapter 29, Chapter 30, Chapter 31, Chapter 32, Chapter 33, Chapter 34, Chapter 35, Chapter 36, Chapter 37, Chapter 38, Chapter 39, Chapter 40, Chapter 41, and Chapter 42.
Disclaimer: I don't own the show.
“There is luxury in self reproach. When we blame ourselves, we feel no one else has a right to blame us.” - Oscar Wilde
His shoes squeaked on the freshly waxed floor, as he chased after her.
In a slightly more perfect world, Horatio was absolutely sure he’d be thrilled to gain custody of Kyle. But having sat through another round with the social worker, having listened to her tell him the things Yelina said… he was more relieved than happy. And at the same time, not even his relief felt all that whole. Because underneath all of it, the redhead was beginning to realize that this situation was still tentative.
Because, after everything his sister-in-law said the previous day, Horatio couldn’t see how she could mean what she’d told the social worker. Yesterday, Yelina had been furious.
For that matter, she had been furious today.
And… maybe some of the things she’d said to him could be written off as anger.
Telling him that he wasn’t really a father, though?
Horatio didn’t think the same could be said for that.
And if she really believed those things, then… she’d lied to Clarissa Bennett. Which meant, if the social worker found out, that his son’s custody could once again be questioned.
Throwing the main doors open, Horatio thought once more: in a more perfect world, he’d be able to spend time with Kyle right now. But in this one… he was chasing after his sister-in-law instead.
“Yelina,” he called after her, both desperate to apologize and chastise.
“Don’t follow me,” she ordered. Not once did she look back at him, nor did she slow down her quick pace. And it was almost bizarre how the brunette could walk so briskly, he mused, in the tall heels she wore.
“Yelina.”
Still, she didn’t turn around, and maybe that should have been a sign for him to stop chasing after her and leave her alone. But, if Kyle could be taken away from him, then, Horatio decided, he couldn’t let her go without saying his share.
Springing forward quickly, his fingers latched onto the material of her black suit coat. The slight tug forced her to stop, thankfully.
The redhead watched carefully, as she inhaled slowly, unevenly. Holding the air in for a moment, Yelina exhaled in a rush, as she turned around. They didn’t make eye contact at first, her gaze cast downward at where he still held her sleeve captive. Her thick lashes kissed her cheeks a few times, as she clearly tried to process what he was doing.
Finally, the brunette told him, “Let me go.” There was no warning in her tone. Nothing that screamed, “I’m going to punch you,” anyway. All considered, she seemed pretty calm, Horatio would think later on.
Nevertheless, he obeyed the command. Of course the redhead hoped she would stay so that he could talk to her. But… it made him nauseated to think of using force to make that happen.
“Please,” Horatio implored simply.
There was a short moment, which seemed to expand with expectant silence.
Would she agree?
Would she tell him to go to hell (again)?
Was this really his last chance to make things right?
All the questions running through his head seemed connected to his mouth and feet. “Please,” he whispered softly, his body shifting from heel to heel.
Her eventual response was a sigh, sad and low. He watched the muscles of her mouth move ever so slightly. Folding her arms across her chest, Yelina asked in exasperation, “What do you want?”
He swallowed hard, trying to mentally find the words he wanted to say.
“Nothing?” she nearly snapped when he didn’t respond right away. “What do you want, Horatio?”
“You shouldn’t have lied to Bennett,” Horatio said, his own voice harder than he would have liked. So he softened his tone and continued, ignoring the fury radiating from Yelina. “If she were to find out -”
“I did not lie,” she argued. Her body teetered ever so slightly back and forth in anger. Biting down on her lip, she reached up and ran a hand through her dark curls.
“Yes… you did, Yelina.”
“No.” And then she scoffed before saying, “And I can’t believe that you would even think about criticizing me for-”
“I will lose Kyle if that woman ever finds out,” he told her, cocking his head. “You should know that. I think you do know that, and I -”
“What do you want from me?”
Her words rang out in the deserted parking lot. Odd how it seemed to do that; she hadn’t shouted. Filled with an obvious anguish, her voice had barely been louder than normal. Yet it had resonated within him nonetheless, forcing him to re-examine her once more.
There were tears in her eyes. The irises were suspiciously bright, even as she bit down on the inside of her mouth to hold it together.
He had pushed too hard.
She was wrong to lie, but… he had gone too far, had assumed she could handle more than she obviously could.
He’d screwed up.
Again.
Realizing that, Horatio was stunned into silence.
He swallowed hard. Whatever he wanted to say was instantly forgotten, the words eluding him even if he wanted to utter them.
And so it was Yelina, with her index finger pointed warningly at him, who spoke first. Her voice low and dangerous, she said, “I am going to say this. Once. And then if you and your son don’t believe me…” She threw her hands in the air, as Horatio wondered what Kyle had to do any of this. “It won’t be my problem.”
The brunette stressed, “I did not lie.” Each word was clipped despite her thickened accent. “I said -”
“That I would be a good father to Kyle,” he finished quietly. He opened his mouth to say more but faltered, unsure he wanted to keep going.
His hesitation made Yelina go quiet, which was kind of nice, he thought. And finally, Horatio continued, in a low rasp, “But… you don’t believe that, do you?”
“I didn’t lie,” she repeated, despite saying she wouldn’t do that. Under any other circumstance, the redhead was absolutely sure he’d laugh at his sister-in-law’s flip-flopping. In the years he’d known her, she had occasionally displayed this personality quirk. Sometimes, she would just get so focused, so involved emotionally that it seemed like she’d thrown logic out the window.
But this wasn’t entirely like that. Because her answer, despite the contradiction, made sense him. Yelina hadn’t planned on saying it once more, but then again… the alternative answer was to admit that he could be a good father. And it was obvious in the way she skated around the question that she had no intention of doing that.
That stung.
“You seemed pretty certain yesterday that I… wasn’t any sort of father to Kyle,” he reminded.
She sighed again, licking her lips. “I know what I said.” Before he could say anything, Yelina added, “And… I don’t regret saying it, Horatio.”
At that moment, he mentally corrected what he’d said to himself earlier. It was this that stung worse than any other insult or abuse could. “That,” he said slowly, swallowing hard. “Isn’t fair.” In all the years he had known her, Horatio hadn’t thought it possible for him to incur this much wrath from her. But here they were, her fury aimed directly at him. Here he stood in the middle of a parking lot, arguing with her, feeling as though she was about to boil over.
They danced dangerously close to the edge. And the smart thing to do was very obviously to let her go, to leave - definitely not to stay here to defend himself; that was what he would normally do. But… Horatio couldn’t do that in this - not now. Because this involved Kyle and his parenting. Which… was still incredibly new, and it wasn’t a perfect fit, the redhead would easily admit.
That didn’t mean he wanted her to think the same thing.
“I will… admit to screwing up,” Horatio told her. “But I have taken… responsibility for that… I have done everything I could possibly do to help Kyle - gotten him out of jail, this.”
“Congratulations,” she said, a smirk appearing on her face. “Two things in sixteen years; you’ll win a prize for that.”
He sighed and put his hands in his pockets, hoping that it would abate the uncharacteristic need to strangle her. “And you expect me to believe that you told the social worker the truth.”
Yelina stepped closer to him, as a car drove slowly by. “Yes, I do.” As soon as the Honda had passed, the brunette moved away from him. “Had she asked me if I thought you were a good father, I would have said no. If she had asked if those sixteen years without you completely screwed that boy up, I would have told her absolutely,” she hissed. Looking down at the pavement for a minute hesitantly, Yelina took a minute before finishing, “But what she asked me was whether or not you could be a good father to Kyle.”
Taking his sunglasses out of his pocket, he fiddled with them nervously. He didn’t respond right away, needing the time to parse out her words and comprehend them. And when he had done so, Horatio said slowly, “So what you’re saying is… I have custody because of Bennett’s wording.”
“No,” she said gently, shaking her head. “But it is complicated for me.”
“Apparently.” He raised his eyebrows sadly at her. After everything that had happened between them over the years, the redhead hated to think that it could be complicated. He’d helped her, her son, Raymond. And yet… one mistake and all of that had changed.
He hated the way that felt.
“So you don’t want me to lie,” Yelina drawled, “But if I tell you the truth, that’s not okay either?” Horatio shifted on his feet a little and opened his mouth to respond, but she held up her hand, stopping him. “Just… don’t, Horatio.”
Her voice was filled with exasperation, a frustration that he was beginning to feel keenly. “Right now,” she told him, “You don’t even know what you want.” Looking down, Yelina searched through her purse for her keys. “If you’re mad at me because I see how hurt Kyle has been from this…”
She shrugged. “I won’t apologize for that. If you’re mad at me because I can’t - and won’t - endorse you for father of the year, I’m sorry.” There was a sadness in her eyes then that was surely mirrored in his own. And she became quieter then, softer than she’d been all day. “All those years with Ray Junior, I always thought… that would be something I could do.”
Grabbing her keys, she flipped through the metal set to find the one for her car. “I wish things could be different, Horatio. But they’re not.” It was almost weird hearing her say that, he thought. After all, shouldn’t he be the one telling her that Kyle was here to stay?
And then her voice hardened as she told him, “And if you’re mad at me because I helped you get custody of Kyle - if you’re angry because you don’t know what to do now - then…” She smiled humorously. “Then I guess you should have thought about that before asking me to come down here.”
“I’m not having second thoughts,” Horatio told her. Which was true, in a way. At this point, he’d been all over the map in his feelings on Kyle. First, he’d hated the boy and then wanted to deny that they were father and son. And even though it hadn’t even been a week since they’d met, Horatio was way passed second thoughts. In fact, the redhead thought, slightly amused at the idea, he was probably on twenty-second thoughts. Maybe more.
“Good,” Yelina said. “Then stop wasting my time and go be with your son.”
She turned to leave, but once more, Horatio reached out, capturing her sleeve in his hand. “Yelina,” he said, instantly feeling his nerves ratchet themselves upward.
Expectantly the brunette waited for him to continue. Only the redhead hadn’t thought it through, and finding the right words was once again hard. He wanted to tell her so many things, but… it all just seemed so wrong to tell her now when she was angry. And only when she started to pull away did he tell her, “I’m sorry… You’re… right. About everything.”
This time, it was Yelina who raised an eyebrow at him. But all she said was “Go spend time with your son.”
With a quick tug, she’d managed to pull herself away, and she began walking towards her car. Her hair swaying back and forth, he watched as she left him standing there - his “Forgive me” swallowed by the wind.
Frozen, the redhead stayed where he was, his gaze on her even as she drove out of the parking lot. Part of him was all too aware that he needed to go find Kyle. If only because they were still at social services, Horatio thought it probably wasn’t too smart to leave the teenager alone. But at the same time, his muscles didn’t seem to want to cooperate. Because on some level, his body understood what he didn’t want to believe; this was how things were going to be with Yelina from now on.
She was angry, and he was confused, and together… they were as good a pairing as mushrooms and arsenic.
A week ago, he couldn’t have seen that ever happening. If anything, seven days ago, Horatio had taken for granted their friendship; foolishly he had assumed that that connection would always be there.
But now, that had changed completely.
Kyle existed, and nothing was the same. And it didn’t seem like Yelina hated him, but… it was complicated, just as she’d said. Which he hated.
True, it had always been that way. Reluctantly he thought to himself that…. wanting your sister-in-law usually made things complicated. And the way she’d been brought into his life had always added a certain amount of bitterness to his feelings for her. After all, Ray had gotten to her first.
His little brother had beaten him to the punch.
But the way things were now, the complications, had nothing to do with Ray and everything to do with him, his own actions. And that fact was nearly impossible to separate out from his feelings for Kyle.
Not that he blamed the teenager.
He didn’t. But… part of Horatio wished Julia had never happened, and that meant… part of him wished Kyle had never happened.
It killed him to think that, but he couldn’t deny in his heart that it was true. And so, in addition to all the other problems they would face now, the father and son would have to find some way to navigate around that.
Finally moving, the redhead went back inside, finding Kyle exactly where he’d left him. The blond had a soda in his hand and looked at him expectantly. But at the moment, Horatio had no answers to give him. So he asked, “Are you ready to go?”
Kyle nodded his head slowly, the boy’s dark eyes narrowing on him in confusion.
With both relief and dread, Horatio left social services - desperately praying that Clarissa Bennett (and his son) would never know the worry inside of him.
End (44/??)