Title: Mole Hunting
By: Tiffany F
Pairing: Horatio/Jesse
Rating: NC-17
Spoilers: SPOILERS EPISODE 22 MOMMIE DEADEST EPISODE 23 TIME BOMB (teaser only)
Warnings: Major character betrayal.
Summary: Horatio and Eric work together to weed out the problem in the lab that has them both walking down a path that neither of them ever thought they'd have to take. Major character betrayal.

It wasn't easy to find a place in the Miami lab to talk without being overheard, but Horatio had found that one of the back rooms – no windows or doors other than the main one – worked well for when he needed to do something personal. And as there were no furnishings in the room other than an old desk and couple of chairs, it was easy to check for listening devices as well. The room was the perfect place for Horatio to meet with Eric about the investigation into the lab, an investigation that only one other person knew about, and Eric had downplayed it to keep her in the dark for as long as possible. And for a very good reason too.

Eric had come in silently and handed Horatio a piece of paper before sitting down in one of the chairs with a sigh. Horatio tilted his head to the left and stared down at the paper in his hand. His blue eyes were sad as he read the typed words. "Eric, are you, are you sure?" he finally asked. "You know what this will mean to the department, to the team. Are you sure you want to do this?"

"I am," Eric said. "H, the lab is the most important thing to you, to us. How could we let something like this go on when we know the truth, we can stop it."

"You're right, Eric," Horatio sighed. "You're right. Okay, so I'll get in touch with Rick if you let a couple of key people know what's going on. We're going to have to make this look real to fool Rebecca. It's not going to be easy."

"Who do you want in on it, H?"

"Jesse, Walter and Mr. Wolfe," Horatio replied. "I hate to do this to Ryan, but we're going to have to have him arrested in the lab to mislead our suspect, okay? Have everyone meet at my house tonight after work. We can eat supper and plan from there."

"H," Eric started, "um, I was wondering about something."

"What's that, Eric?"

"I know you've known Cardoza for a long time and everything, but why do you trust him so much?"

The red head smiled softly. It was a look that often drove Eric crazy. "You'll find out tonight, Eric," he said. "Let's get to work, okay?"

"Yeah," Eric said. But he stayed in the room for a minute looking at the paper in his hand. He really just couldn't believe what he was seeing. But he had to, because the evidence never lied. No matter how much they might have wanted it to in this case, it never once lied. Only the people who worked with it were possible of lying, and someone in the lab had been lying for a long time.

Now was the time to put a stop to that. For good.

Eric put the paper back in the folder and left the room. He knew where Walter and Ryan were, out in the field working on the recent homicide case. Eric could tell that it was bothering Ryan, that he felt the mother got what was coming to her, but he didn't know how to bring that up with the other man. But he didn't know where Cardoza was. And, for some reason, that made him nervous. Eric trusted Horatio with his life, but he still didn't know why the red head was so trusting of Cardoza. Maybe he'd understand after that night, and maybe not. It was all down to Horatio.

When Eric and the others arrived at Horatio's house the lieutenant let them in without a word. Eric was surprised to find Cardoza already there in the living room waiting for them. "Gentlemen," Horatio said, "can I offer you anything to drink?"

"You got something strong, H?" Eric asked. "I think we're going to need it to get through all of this."

"I don't, Eric," Horatio replied. "I think there's some beer in the fridge, but nothing stronger. I won't keep it in the house."

"Water's fine for me, H," Ryan said. He knew why Horatio didn't have liquor in the house.

"Me too," Walter said.

"I'll get it," Jesse said. He squeezed Horatio's shoulder and left the room.

"Have a seat," Horatio said. He sank into his favorite chair and leaned forward. "Walter, Mr. Wolfe; what we're about to tell you cannot leave this house. The future of the lab is on the line and we need your help."

"Anything," Walter said.

"Totally," Ryan agreed. "Hey, thanks Cardoza."

Jesse perched on the arm of Horatio's chair and handed the red head a bottle of diet soda. "I heard," he said. "What's up?"

"Eric has been assigned to investigate not only the stolen diamonds, but the possibility of a leak or thief in the lab," Horatio said softly. "A mole of the worst possible kind because they work only for themselves, and care about no one else."

"I found them," Eric said. "Or, rather her. The problem is that she knows what's going on, at least I think she does, and we've got to set a trap for her."

"I've been thinking about this since Eric told me and I think I have a plan that will make things work out perfectly," Horatio said. "As heart-breaking as it is to have to arrest one of our own, as Eric pointed out, the lab is the most important thing here. We cannot risk having more cases overturned that we're already looking at. I wish we could do this quickly and quietly, but unfortunately the state attorney is involved and making problems."

"What's your plan, H?" Ryan asked.

"Walter, I'd like to make up a fake bank statement that shows a large deposit into your account," Horatio said. "It won't do anything to your record beyond this case, and I'll be sure that everything is well documented."

"Sure," Walter said. "Whatever you need."

"Then we're going to have a very public and loud fight, Walter," Eric said. "In the lab while I'm working. It's time to open things up a little."

Horatio looked down at the bottle in his hand. "Ryan, you have the hardest job of all in this," he said. "And I wouldn't ask this of you if I didn't think you could handle it."

"Anything, H."

"I want to have you arrested in the lab for stealing the diamonds," Horatio said. "We'll take you down to the garage and let you go. You come back here and hide out until we make the real arrest, okay?"

Ryan nodded. "With my past, it won't be a hard scenario to believe," he said with a wry smile. "Thanks for trusting me so much in this, Horatio. It means a lot."

"What about Cardoza?" Eric asked.

Jesse glanced down at Horatio and then at the other men. "I'm going to be the go-between to the FBI," he said. "I've been doing some undercover work since I came back to Miami and have contacts there that we can use. The diamonds were moved out of state, which makes the FBI very interested in what's going on."

"You knew about this, Horatio?" Eric asked.

"I did," Horatio replied. "Jesse and I have been hiding a secret since his return to Miami, and it wasn't his undercover status. We're lovers."

"Told you," Walter said nudging Ryan. "Pay up."

"Damn." Ryan dug out his wallet and handed over a twenty.

Jesse and Horatio both snickered. "I didn't think we were that obvious," Jesse said. "You guys are good."

"Eric?" Horatio asked.

"I'm cool with it, H," Eric replied. "I'm just surprised is all. No wonder you trust him so much."

"I trust all of you," Horatio said. "And I'm sorry to have to ask you all to do this, to do something so outside out your natures, but I don't see any other way to get around it."

"We're here to help, H, you know that," Ryan said. "So this goes into effect tomorrow?"

"Tomorrow," Horatio said. "Walter, I'm counting on your acting skills when you get called into the state attorney's office, okay?"

"Yeah," Walter said. "And afterwards too, right?"

"Absolutely," Horatio smiled. "You are an asset to this team, Walter; never forget that. And now, gentlemen, I want to apologize, but I'm not going to tell you who the real target is just yet. Because I need your reactions to be real over the next few days."

Walter and Ryan glanced at each other and nodded. "We trust you, H," Walter said.

"Thank you," Horatio said with a sad smile. "Eric, you know what to do."

"Yeah," Eric said. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "I do."
********************

The next morning Eric made the fake printout of Walter's bank statement, adding in an over twenty-five thousand dollar deposit a couple of days after the diamonds went missing. He knew that Rebecca Nivens wouldn't be suspicious of fakes because they had obtained bank records for all the employees of the Miami crime lab for Eric to review. He only had one more thing to do, which was call the bank and get one more piece of information.

But he wasn't counting on Calleigh walking back in. He apologized to the teller at the bank and hung up, quickly hiding all the paperwork as quickly as he could so she wouldn't see what he was working on. "Hey, I thought you'd left."

"Yeah, I forgot my lap top," she said. "What are you working on?"

"Just some last minute stuff for court," Eric said. "Nothing much."

"Do you need me to drop anything off?"

"No, it's fine," Eric said. "You're going to be late, Cal."

She smiled up at him. "Okay," she said.

Eric sat back down and ran his hand through his hair. Keeping things hidden was going to be harder than he thought. He'd really have to be more careful if he didn't want to blow the whole operation before it even got started.
********************

Eric was working in one of the smaller labs when Walter came storming in. "Hey, Delko," he said. "What the hell is going on, man? I just got a call into the state attorney's office and she's asking me questions about my rent going up and my bank accounts."

"Hey, keep your voice down," Eric said looking around. "It's a routine check, Walter, nothing more. I'm sorry, man, I didn't think she was going to move so fast, but you're not the only one we're looking at."

"You're the only one I told about my rent, Delko. I thought you had my back, man. What the hell are you doing?"

"Will you keep your voice down," Eric said. "I told you, it's a routine check, nothing more."

"The hell it is. You're looking for those diamonds." Walter threw his hands up in the air. "Whatever, just say away from me."

Eric watched as Walter stormed off and ran both hands over his hair in obvious frustration. Then he finished up his test and made his way to the evidence locker to start running some other checks. He had a suspicion that the diamonds weren't the only thing missing.

Horatio met with Rick Stetler outside the lab in one of the side parking lots where, even if they were seen together, it wouldn't raise suspicions. "I was surprised to get your phone call, Horatio," Stetler said. "You told me that you'd take care of this yourself."

"And I will, Rick," Horatio smiled. "But I need your help to do that."

"What do you want me to do?"

"We know who is stealing evidence from our lab, and possibly contaminating cases in other ways as well," Horatio said. "Would it be possible for you to go inside and talk with Delko about the diamond case? He should be in the evidence locker by now. Keep your voice low and make it look like you're on his case about something, and happy about it too. He'll follow your lead in this."

"Horatio, if we have the evidence, why don't we just arrest the person now and be done with the case?"

"Because I'd like to keep this as quiet as possible, Rick," Horatio said. "No CSI works solo on any given case, not even me, and I'd like for Rebecca to have as few cases overturned as possible."

"You stand by your lab?"

"Always," Horatio said. He tilted his head and looked at Stetler. "Don't you?"

Stetler sighed. "I must be crazy, Horatio, but yes. And I'll help you out. But don't you think it's about time you owed me something?"

"What do you want?"

"I don't know. I think I'll bank this for later."

"Make sure to use this wisely, Rick," Horatio smiled. "Thank you."

"It's my department too. One bad officer reflects on us all."

"Yes, they do, Rick," Horatio said. "Yes they do, and we'll show everyone here how we deal with dirty officers."

Stetler nodded. "Okay, let's do it."
********************

Eric had just picked up his notebook to double-check his weights against those reported officially when he caught sight of Rick Stetler and sighed. He knew that the man had to be involved, but that didn't mean he had to like it. "Hey, Stetler."

"Delko, how's your investigation going?"

"Why, you looking forward to getting back in front of the cameras that soon, Stetler?" Delko asked. "Why don't you take a deep breath and let the evidence speak for itself?"

Stetler grinned. All of Horatio's CSIs were feisty, but Delko ranked right up there with Horatio himself. "Now Delko, I do look good on camera," he said.

"It's not just about the diamonds, Stetler," Eric said. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Calleigh start working in one of the labs across the way. "Look, I'm checking every single piece of evidence in this locker because Horatio asked me to. And I'm finding things that I don't like. No one should be jumping to any conclusions."

"Are you saying that there's more stuff missing?" Stetler asked.

"I'm saying you need to just hang on," Eric replied with a grin. "But don't worry, I'll make sure you know in plenty of time so you can get pretty for your close-up."

Stetler grinned as well and shook his head. "Make sure you do, Delko."

Eric nodded and went back to work. Stetler watched him for another minute and then left, thinking that he'd played his part for the time being. Plus it was always interesting to see exactly what the CSIs thought of him. Not that he really cared or anything.

Calleigh watched the exchange, puzzled. She'd never seen Eric act so friendly with Stetler before. It had always been the lab against Stetler, trying to keep him as off balance as possible, following Horatio's lead when dealing with him. But that was strange. She didn't think that anything Eric was working on should have involved IAB to look into it. As she went back to her samples, she made a mental note to ask him about it that night.
********************

Eric watched Sully walk off and sighed again. He was really starting to hate Horatio and his involved plots, even if he understood the reasoning behind them. He pulled out his phone and called Nivens. "Rebecca, it's Eric. I need you to meet me at the marina, south entrance now. I've got new evidence for you."

"I can't, Eric," Nivens said. "I'm in the middle of an important interview. Look, the best I can do is tomorrow morning at eight."

"This is important," Eric insisted.

"Eric, I'm sure it is, but this interview cannot wait," Nivens said. "Tomorrow at eight."

"Okay," Eric agreed and hung up. He stared at his phone for a minute and then dialed again. "Hey, it's me. She put the meeting off until tomorrow morning. Yeah, something about an interview. Yeah, I'll be ready. Okay. Yeah. Bye."
********************

Horatio put his phone away and glanced at Jesse. "Tomorrow morning," he said softly.

"I'll let Tripp know," Jesse said.

"Thank you," Horatio said. He glanced through the interrogation room window at a very scared and hurt young lady who had just confessed to killing her mother. The only problem was that, while she had motive, Horatio didn't think she'd done it. And the interview only proved that. She didn't even know how many times her mother had been hit. Horatio knew she was covering for someone. The only thing they had to work out was who. He had a feeling he already knew the why. It was love.
********************

That night, when the case was done and Horatio had talked himself hoarse trying to get the young boy as much help as he could, he and Jesse curled up in their bed together. "Are you going to be able to do this?"

"I don't know," Horatio admitted. "I mean, I know that I will because it has to be done, but I don't know how I'm going to deal with this. It's just one more betrayal from someone I considered family. How many times am I going to have to feel like this, Jesse?"

"You have such a big heart, Horatio, you bring everyone inside you and care for them like they're family that you just keep getting hurt again and again no matter what," Jesse said. He ran his hand along his lover's back slowly, knowing that it helped the older man to relax. "Like with those kids today."

"I know what they went through, Jesse," Horatio murmured. "How could I not help them out however I could? No one should have to live through that sort of hell."

"And we'll help every one of them we can, H," Jesse said. "But you've got to stop doing this to yourself. I don't want to lose you to depression or a heart attack. Not when I've just found you again."

Horatio's blue eyes fluttered a little. "You won't," he whispered falling asleep.

Jesse watched his lover sleep for a while. He knew how lucky he was to have the man back in his life after ten years apart, ten years where they both knew more loss than either of them should. He knew that they were helping the other heal.

The next morning Eric left the house early enough to get to the marina with the folder of paperwork he needed to give to Nivens showing the other missing evidence and links to other officers, but got caught in traffic and wound up running late. Nivens was already pacing when he pulled in and waved him over impatiently. Eric went to pull a piece of paper from the folder and cursed when the wind caught it, blowing it towards the water. Without thinking about it, Eric took off after the sheet and had just ducked down behind a trash can when there was a loud noise and everything turned sideways. When he stopped rolling, Eric looked up into a very familiar pair of blue eyes. Eyes that were concerned for him.

"Calleigh?" he asked, puzzled. "What are you doing here?"

"I could ask you the same thing," she replied. "You said you were meeting someone for breakfast."

"I was, I'm meeting with," Eric paused as events caught up with him. "Calleigh, what happened to Rebecca?"

"What?"

"I was meeting Rebecca here," Eric said sitting up. There was a huge fire with rolling black smoke not far in front of them. "What the hell happened?"

"Something blew up," Calleigh said. "I think it was one of the cars."

"Come on, you've got to get back to the car," Eric said. He stood up and fought with gravity for a minute. "You cannot get near this smoke. Not again."

"I'll be fine," Calleigh protested as Eric dragged her back towards his car. "Eric, the wind is blowing the other way. We've got to check and see if anyone was hurt."

"You call it in," Eric said. "And stay here. Stay. Do not put me through this again, Cal. I'll go check for victims." He tucked the folder into the door and ran back towards the fire. Eric had a feeling that Rebecca Nivens was dead, but he wasn't sure if anyone else had been around when the bomb went off.
********************

"You okay?" Horatio asked, hands on his hips, staring out over the crime scene.

"Yeah, I've got a hard head, remember?" Eric replied with a grin. "I'll be fine. What the hell happened out here?"

"We haven't really figured that out yet," Horatio sighed. "But it would seem that someone planted a bomb in Rebecca's car before she set out to meet you this morning. Did anyone know about your plans, Eric? Is it possible that you were the target here and not her?"

"I don't think so, H," Eric said. He shook his head to try and clear the faint ring that was still in his ears. "But it's possible. I don't know who she would have told about the meeting. This kind of shakes things up a little, huh?"

"It does," Horatio said. He took off his sunglasses and sat down next to Eric. "It also makes me wonder if this is tied into the other case you were investigating. Do you think it's possible she would've tried to kill you to stop your investigation?"

"I don't know, Horatio. I want to say no, but after everything I've uncovered, how can I really say one way or the other? What's true? I feel like everything has been shaken around so badly that I just don't know what the truth is any more."

Horatio put an arm around Eric's shoulders and squeezed. "I know exactly how you feel, Eric," he said. "Just remember that the evidence will lead us to the truth and our family will help us heal after things are over."

"That sounds like something Cardoza would say."

"He did," Horatio smiled. "Do you need to go get checked out?"

"No, I'm fine," Eric said. "I'll head to the lab and make sure that things go on track there."

"Okay, thank you," Horatio said. "I'll be there as soon as I can."
********************

The team worked on the evidence as it came in, Walter and Ryan working in the trace lab to try and find out exactly what type of bomb it was that had destroyed the car and ended the life of the state attorney. "Hey Wolfe," Walter said, "you think there's any chance of us finding a finger print in all of this mess?"

"I doubt it," Ryan replied. "But who knows what survives things like this. We might get lucky and find something to tie it back to our bomber."

"Is it true that Horatio used to work with the bomb squad?"

"Yes," Horatio said from the door. He pulled out a pair of gloves and joined the younger men at the counter. "What have you found so far?"

"I think it was a pipe bomb," Ryan said. "We're finding a lot of metal and the trace tests are mainly black powder, TNT."

Horatio nodded. "Then we have someone who either knows bomb or has done some extensive research online," he said. "There are far too many sites that tell people how to make bombs. Frank?"

"Horatio," Tripp said. "Delko here asked me to do this. Ryan, we're arresting you for stealing the diamonds from the lab."

"What the hell?" Ryan asked looking around. "H, you gotta believe me, I didn't steal the diamonds."

"Ryan," Horatio said. "Go with Frank. I'll get to the bottom of this, but you need to trust me, okay?"

"I will," Ryan said. He looked around the lab and found every single eye was on him – again. "You gonna do it, Frank?"

"I have to, Ryan, you know that," Tripp said. He pulled out his handcuffs and held them up. Ryan sighed and turned around, putting his hands together.

Horatio watched the process with sad blue eyes. "Frank, are the handcuffs really necessary?" he asked softly. "Mr. Wolfe is one of us, after all."

"I'm sorry, Horatio," Frank said. "But this is what has to be done. Do you want to come along?"

"Walter, can you handle things here? Jesse is in the fingerprint lab if you need help," Horatio said.

"Yeah, I totally got this, H," Walter said. "You just get Wolfe's name cleared and get him back here as soon as possible."

"Thanks, Walter," Ryan smiled.

"I will," Horatio said. "Let's go, gentlemen."
********************

"Well, that was embarrassing," Ryan commented rubbing his wrists. "Did you get what you needed, H?"

"I did, thank you," Horatio said. "Frank, your acting was perfect."

Tripp smirked. "It isn't the first time I've cuffed the dust monkey, Horatio," he said.

Horatio tilted his head and looked at his blushing CSI. "Hiding things, are we, Mr. Wolfe?" he asked with a smile. "Well, at least I know you have a safe place to hide out until this is over with."

"Frank, you said you'd never tell anyone about that," Ryan protested.

"It isn't anyone, it's Horatio," Frank said. "Horatio, what now?"

"Now, we get our real suspect," Horatio said. "Thank you, gentlemen."

Jesse had joined Walter in the trace lab to try and start rebuilding the bomb while Horatio was dealing with the Wolfe arrest. "I think we're missing something pretty major here, Walter," Jesse finally said looking at the pieces spread out around them.

"Could we have overlooked something at the crime scene?" Walter asked looking around too.

"Boa Vista and Calleigh are still working on the car, aren't they?"

"Yeah, I think so. I can go take a look."

"That'd be great, man, thanks," Jesse said. "I'll give Delko a call and see if he's willing to suit up and go in the marina for us. I think we're going to need a diver to go and see if anything ended up in the water."

"I didn't know Delko was a diver."

"Yeah, he used to dive for the department before he joined the crime lab, and still likes to get wet whenever he can," Jesse said. "I think he'd enjoy the chance."

"Okay then, I'll be right back."

Jesse pulled out his cell phone and dialed. "Hey, it's Cardoza; do you think you could take a dip in the marina and see if there's evidence in there?"

"Sure," Eric replied. "But why isn't Horatio calling?"

"Ryan got arrested, remember?" Cardoza asked. "He's dealing with that."

"How's it going?" Eric asked.

"It was on your say so, man, you should be sorry," Jesse said. "No one asked you to come back in here and spy on us."

Eric snickered. "You're going a little over the top, man," he said. "I'll hit the water and see what I can find out. You have fun with your playacting and I'll see you later."

Jesse hit the call end button and put his phone away. "What's up, Calleigh?"

"Was that Eric?" she asked.

"Yeah, Walter and I think we're missing some major piece of the bomb here and, if it's not in the car, then I think it ended up in the water," Jesse said. He started picking through the pieces of metal again. "Delko is the logical choice to go into the water and look around. I know that's what Horatio would want, anyway."

"You're right," Calleigh said. "But you didn't have to be so hard on him at the end there. He was just doing his job."

"Calleigh, he was spying on us," Jesse exclaimed. "And I'm telling you there's no way in hell that Ryan stole those diamonds. It's just not possible."

"Eric wouldn't have had him arrested if he wasn't sure," Calleigh said. "I think you need to take a deep breath and refocus on the case at hand rather than worrying about Eric's job."

Horatio appeared out of the shadows and put a hand on Calleigh's shoulder. "I'll take that, Calleigh," he said softly.

"Take what, Horatio?" she asked turning around.

"That piece of the pipe bomb you just put in your pocket," Horatio replied just as softly. "Come with me, please, and we'll have a female officer search you. Then, Calleigh, I want to know why."
********************

Eric and Jesse joined Horatio in the room adjacent to the interrogation room Calleigh and Boa Vista were sitting in. The female officer who had done the search found a total of nine pieces of the pipe bomb, including three that had useable prints on them. Prints that matched back to Calleigh and Jake Berkeley. "I should've known," Eric said. "When the gun powder came back and they had such a perfect story in place. I should've known something was up. There's no way that I should've let it slide like I did."

"We all did, Eric," Horatio said softly. "Because none of us wanted to think badly of someone we love."

"We live together, H," Eric said. "How could she keep something like this hidden? Am I totally blind?"

"No, Eric, you're not," Horatio said. "You know that we can't be on the job all the time, we have to be able to relax around those we love or else we'd go crazy. It's just unfortunate that something like this happened. You're the one who put the pieces together, Eric. You figured it out. And you'll be the one to make sure that there's limited damage to the lab. Just like we talked about."

"Yeah," Eric said. "And I've got to call Stetler and tell him to put on his make-up for his interview too."

"Way too much info," Jesse said holding up his hands.

Horatio snorted even though there was no humor in it. "You two stay here," he said. "I'm going to talk with Calleigh and I need to know that things will go smoothly. Please, Eric, for me; stay with Jesse. Let me handle this."

"H," Eric said.

"Eric, you're too close to this," Horatio said. He turned and looked right at Eric. "Trust me, okay? You need to stay here. Listen, but do not come into the room. I will find out why."

Jesse put a hand on Eric's shoulder. "We're good, H."

"Thank you, Jesse," Horatio said softly. He tucked his sunglasses away, having been fidgeting with them while he waited – a nervous habit he would deny if anyone asked about it – and walked out heading for the interrogation room. "Frank?"

"We can't find Berkeley," Tripp said. "He's not at his last known address. I think he's gone back under, deep enough that we can't find him."

"That's where he's wrong," Horatio said. "This is my city, Frank, and I will find him. Just give me a minute here and we'll talk."

"Hell, Horatio, I still can't believe it."

"None of us can, Frank." Horatio pulled the door open and stepped inside. "Ms. Boa Vista?"

"Nothing, Horatio," she said.

"Can you give us a minute, please?" Horatio asked.

"Sure."

Horatio took out a small digital recorder and put it on the table. "Calleigh, how long has this been going on?" he asked. "I need you to tell me because there's a lot at stake here, a lot of people that will be re-victimized if the case is overturned by the state. Show me that you still have a heart in there, that you have compassion for the victims. Tell me what happened."

"No," Calleigh said.

"Calleigh," Horatio said. "There is a young man with his heart in pieces because of what you've done. Do you not even care about that?"

"Nope."

He looked at her and saw that his first impression had been right. She was avoiding his gaze. Horatio took a deep breath and smacked the table. "Look at me," he snapped.

Calleigh jumped and stared at the man across from her like she'd never seen him before. Horatio leaned forward, eyes sparking. "This lab, Calleigh, this lab speaks for the victims, for their families and you have betrayed every single one of them. You have betrayed your co-workers and their work. You have walked over the oath you took to serve this department faithfully and with honor," he said in a low, dangerous tone. "And you have no one to blame but yourself. You, Calleigh, you could have come to me at any time and talked to me and I would have done everything in my power to help you. But you chose to walk a path alone and this is the price you have to pay. Now either you explain everything to me, starting with how you could use a man like Eric Delko for your own ends, or you are going to be escorted out that door and turned over to the feds for prosecution as they see fit. Now is the time for you to make that choice."

"Horatio, you wouldn't understand," she said.

"I won't if you don't tell me," he said.

"Jake is in too deep," Calleigh said. "He needed the diamonds."

Horatio's eyes narrowed. "Don't lie to me," he hissed. "Not you, Calleigh; not now. If you won't tell me the truth then we're done."

"How do you know I'm lying?"

"If you have to ask that, Calleigh, then you really don't know me at all." Horatio picked up the recorder and tucked it away. "And I guess I don't know you either. Take her, please."
********************

Horatio gave Frank the name of a bar down by the glades to check for information on where Jake could be, if he wasn't in the bar, and went back to his office. "Rick?"

"Good work," Stetler said. "I never would've thought Calleigh Duquesne would be capable of something like this. Were you able to find out why?"

"No," Horatio sighed. "She wouldn't tell me. Maybe it'll come out at her trial, but she was a stranger in there, Rick."

"Eric told me that you were sure she was lying about Jake being in too deep and needing the diamonds," Stetler said. "Why?"

"I always know when someone is lying to me, Rick," Horatio said. He leaned against his desk. "You made the trip to New York. You know about my past. Give her a polygraph exam if you doubt me."

Stetler sat down and stared at the lieutenant. "The feds will do that anyway," he said. "What are you going to do if she was telling you the truth?"

"She wasn't," Horatio said. "How badly will this hurt the lab?"

"You'll have to review all her cases, but as long as she didn't work alone on anything, the prosecution should stand," Stetler said. "But the media is going to work us over the coals for a long time because of this. You know that as well as I do."

"No one works alone on any case," Horatio said. "That's one of my standing rules. It doesn't matter how busy we are, there's always a check involved somewhere. Even if it's me poking my head in at some point."

"Then that'll make things easier. I'll take care of the press, Horatio. You take care of your people."

Horatio smiled. "I always do, Rick."

Stetler stood and paused in the door. "Oh, and Horatio; you might want to be a little less obvious about your relationship with Cardoza in the future."

"Does everyone know?" Horatio asked.

"I think the evidence clerk might be clueless."

Horatio snickered. "Thanks, Rick."

"And you still owe me, Horatio."

"I'll remember. Thanks for your help in this one."

"You're welcome. I'm always around."

"I know. Even if we don't want you to be. Have a good night, Rick."

Horatio had just wrapped a towel around his hips after his shower, planning on sitting out on the deck for a while when he was grabbed and tossed onto the bed. "Jesse?"

"I waited until I could get a hold of you with the minimum amount of fuss involved," Jesse replied with a smirk. "We can't have one of your suits getting wrinkled or stained, now can we?"

"I'm not that fussy."

"Oh, hell yeah you are," Jesse said. He climbed onto the bed and straddled his lover's hips. That was when Horatio noticed that his lover was naked.

"You have plans for me then?"

"Plans that involve you not leaving this bed until morning," Jesse said. He shifted a little and leaned in to kiss his lover. Horatio tilted his head back enough to make the slide of lip on lip easier and opened to Jesse's questing tongue with a soft groan. He let Jesse explore for a while, hitting some hot spots before bringing his own tongue into play, sliding it along Jesse's, earning a moan from his lover.

Horatio slipped his hands into Jesse's hair, holding him in place as he took control of the kiss and pushed their tongues back into Jesse's mouth, taking his turn to explore. Jesse slid down until he was stretched out along his lover's body and rolled his hips to try and get Horatio hard. Horatio moaned into the kiss and moved with Jesse, the towel creating friction where it really wasn't a good idea.

"Let's lose this," Jesse whispered breaking the kiss. He pulled back and tossed the towel to the sides, exposing Horatio's growing erection. "Hmmm, looks like this needs some help."

"Jesse," Horatio moaned as his lover's lips closed around his growing erection. Jesse moved slowly up and down, sucking just hard enough to bring Horatio to full hardness without winding him up so high that things would end quickly. He savored Horatio's moans as he worked, enjoying the taste and feel of his lover in his mouth.

"Ready?" Jesse asked with a final lick to the tip.

"What?"

In reply, Jesse sat up and, holding Horatio's erection in place, slid down slowly until he had his lover inside of him. "Feels so good, H."

"Don't do that to me," Horatio panted. "I thought you were going unprepared and dry. I don't ever want to hurt you, Jesse."

"I'm not stupid, H," Jesse grinned. "How do you think I spent the time you were in the shower?"

"Move," Horatio growled.

"You're so hot when you're pissed off," Jesse said. He pushed up and slid back down, Horatio's hands coming up to hold his hips and steady him as he moved. "I almost lost it in the watching room today. If Delko hadn't been in there with me, I totally would've been getting off on you in intense mode."

"How?" Horatio asked.

"I have my ways," Jesse replied. "But I wouldn't have finished it until I was in the bathroom. Luckily I had a case folder in there with me that would've come in very handy. Then I would've locked myself in the bathroom and stroked myself, a finger in my ass, imagining it was you until I came."

"So hot," Horatio moaned. He braced his feet and thrust up as Jesse came down, managing to pull a cry from his lover as he nudged his prostate. "I love the look of you lost in your own touch, Jesse."

"Yeah?" Jesse braced himself with one hand and wrapped the other around his own erection. "I'd rather it be you, but if this is what you like to see."

The lovers moved together, Jesse stroking as close as he could to match Horatio's thrusts until he came, head thrown back, eyes closed. Horatio held onto him and kept moving through the contractions of his lover's ass around his cock until it was all too much and he climaxed as well.

They ended up in a mess of arms and legs, Horatio still buried in Jesse's body, lying on their sides wrapped around each other. "Love you," Horatio murmured pressing a kiss to Jesse's neck.

"Love you too," Jesse replied. "You think you'll be able to do more after an hour or so?"

"I think I might be persuaded," Horatio said. "Tomorrow, Jesse, tomorrow we start rebuilding the lab. It'll take a lot to get back to the level of trust that we've lost."

"And we still have answers to find, Horatio," Jesse said. "We'll do it. And you know Eric will be right there with us the whole time."

"I do," Horatio said. "I do."