Title: The Dragon Chronicles: Miami 2
By: Tiffany F
Pairing: Gil/Nick, Jim/Warrick, Greg/Horatio, Danny/Mac, Speed/Eric
Rating: AO
Series: part of The Dragon Chronicles
Summary: This is the continuation of my dragon world. This is an AU story combining all three CSIs, NCIS
“Nick, come with me please,” Horatio said leaning into the break room.
“Is everything okay, H?” Nick asked. He quickened his pace to keep up with the longer-legged lieutenant.
“We’ve got a call and I’m going to need you to take lead on it,” Horatio replied. He slipped on his sunglasses as they crossed the parking lot.
“Okay,” Nick said. “What’s going on?”
“I don’t dare let Speed take this one, I can’t and I don’t want to call in Gil,” Horatio said. He pulled out into traffic and flicked on both lights and siren. “We won’t be able to keep our emotions in check while working.”
Nick glanced at the red dragon. “Are you sure you want me to take lead on this and not Calleigh or Eric?” he asked. “This sounds bad and possibly political.”
“It is and that’s exactly why I want you on this,” Horatio said. “Eric and Warrick are going to meet us on scene and I know the three of you will work well together.”
“Okay, you’re the boss,” Nick said. He looked around and realized they were in a part of the city he hadn’t visited yet. Nick spent the next few minutes studying the area and memorizing landmarks.
The crime scene was in a small park and Nick was a little surprised to see the ME’s van already on scene. He put his kit down and started taking pictures while Horatio made his way carefully to Alexx and their victim.
“What are we looking at, Alexx?” Horatio asked softly. He planted his feet, took off his sunglasses and put his hands on his hips.
“You’re looking for a monster, Horatio,” Alexx replied just as softly. “This little angel isn’t more than three-years-old and should be at home with his family; not left all alone in a park like this.”
“Do you have a time of death?” Horatio asked as Nick joined them.
“Between eleven and one last night,” Alexx said. “I don’t think the body was moved after death but they could have kept him in the same relative position so the blood only settled once.”
“So this is our secondary crime scene,” Horatio said. “How about a cause of death?”
“Nothing obvious, I’ll know more once I finish my post,” Alexx replied. “Do you know who his parents are?”
“No but Frank is checking into the reports and also surrounding houses,” Horatio said. “Nick will be taking the lead on this one, Alexx; he’ll be joining you for the post.”
Alexx looked a little surprised but didn’t say anything. Horatio put an arm around Nick’s shoulder and led him off to the side. “You see why none of us can work this, Nick?”
“Yeah, your protective instincts would kick in and you’d kill the suspect before any of us could react,” Nick sighed. “We’ll figure out who did this, H. I’ll keep you updated.”
“Thank you, Nick,” Horatio said. “Let the others know not to talk with Jim and Speed until it’s done?”
“Sure, but they’re not going to be happy about this and you know it.”
Horatio smiled. “I’m going to stop and see Gil on my way back to the lab and let him explain the situation tonight after supper,” he said. “There are no secrets in the community after all.”
“Right,” Nick said. “See you back at the lab.”
“Count on it.” Horatio slid his sunglasses back on. “Thank you, Nick.”
********************
When Horatio got to the community houses he went around to the beach on a hunch and found what looked like a large black rock in the ocean. He knew that Gil was still trying to come to terms with the idea that there was another world with aged dragon lore masters; and that when Gil wanted to think he Changed into dragon form and rested in the water. Horatio was glad at that point that their homes were isolated and no one would see him talking to rocks. “Gil, we’ve got a problem,” he said. “Can you Change and join me on the deck?”
A large black head lifted partway out of the water and a blue eye opened to study him for a moment. The alpha of the Miami Community had been mistaken for rocks a number of times, including a stalker sitting on his head. Gil snorted into the water and Changed. “Hand me my towel please, Horatio,” he said. “What’s wrong?”
“A case that none of the dragons can touch,” Horatio replied. He took off his sunglasses with a sigh. “A young boy was found dead in a park about an hour ago and I’ve put Nick on lead for it because I know he’ll be able to keep the team focused where I can’t.”
“You don’t know about his background, do you?” Gil asked.
“What’s wrong?”
“As far as I understand it was never reported but Nick was molested when he was nine,” Gil sighed. “You want something to drink?”
“No, thank you,” Horatio said. He sat down in the chair he’d brought over a few nights ago. “Will Nick be able to stay focused on this or should I pull him?”
“He’ll be driven but he won’t mess up,” Gil said. “Nicky just hurts a little more than most of us do when a child is involved. I’ll keep an eye on him.”
It was Horatio’s turn to sigh. “I’m concerned about having any of us too close to this case,” he said. “Especially Speed right now because he’s getting close to his time to blend and I know how shaky emotions can get.”
“And you’re worried we might rend someone apart,” Gil asked with a smile. “I suppose it would be a little hard to explain to the directors, not to mention the police. I can keep an eye on Nick from here without too much effort; I was planning to spend the day thinking over some of the things I learned last week.”
“Is it really so hard to believe Chrysalis and the others exist?” Horatio asked. “Especially now that you’ve seen them?”
“It’s just a lot to come to terms with,” Gil said. “So do you want me to talk with the others tonight and let them know what’s going on with Nick’s case and exactly why they can’t help?”
Horatio nodded. “I could do it but I think because it’s a fear of the dragon coming out and not their talents or skills as CSIs it’s better to hear it from you,” he said. “I’ll be sure to stress that I still trust them but I had to assign where I thought best on this case.”
“But you’ll still be lurking in the background?”
“Nicky said he’d keep me informed,” Horatio said. “I trust him to do what’s right with this.”
“So do I and I doubt anyone will be too hurt,” Gil agreed. “I’m constantly amazed at the level of trust and care at your lab, Horatio. We never had anything like this between us in Vegas.”
“I know exactly how lucky I am,” Horatio said. “And speaking of the lab, Miami never closes so I have to get back. Nick should be in the lab if you want to talk with him for a bit; make sure he’s okay.”
“I will,” Gil said. “After I get back in the water. It’s amazing how calming it is to just lie there and have the waves buffer you while you think.”
“But isn’t it louder with the dragon’s ears?” Horatio asked.
“Not if you keep most of your head under the water,” Gil replied with a smile. “I’ll see you when you get home tonight. Thanks for stopping by and letting me know what’s going on, Horatio.”
********************
*Nicky*
*Hey Gil, I guess Horatio talked things over with you* Nick replied. *I’ll be fine*
*I know you will. I just wanted to touch base and see if you needed help with anything*
*Not right now, I’ve still got to check in with Alexx for the autopsy and then start running through evidence with Warrick and Eric* Nick said. *It’s hard to think that anyone could do something so evil to a child. The little guy never had a chance*
Gil sighed. *I know, Nicky, I know* he said. *And you feel this so much more deeply than the others will. I trust you to make the right decisions while working this case and I have faith in you to find the answer*
*Thanks Gil* Nick said. *And you’re only a thought away, right? But you know why Horatio wanted to keep you and the others away from this case*
*He doesn’t want us killing the monster who would harm a child* Gil said. *We dragons are so much more protective than most humans ever think to be and that has an effect on what cases Horatio and Speed will be able to work in the future. They both know this but its going to be hard on them for a while*
*So tell me who gets to play the bad guy on talking with the community about this* Nick said. *Horatio told me he was going to visit but he’s such a command presence here at the lab*
*I know but he wants this to come from me as alpha* Gil said. *You’ll hear all about it tonight. Go focus on the job and I’ll talk with you later*
*Okay, love you Gil*
*I love you too, Nicky*
Nick grinned and pushed the heavy door to the morgue open. “Hey Alexx, I’m not late, am I?”
“Of course not, Sugar,” Alexx replied with a small smile. “I’m just a little surprised Horatio isn’t here, that’s all.”
“It has to do with that special condition they told you about,” Nick said. “He’s just doing what’s best for everyone.”
“As always; that boy needs someone to watch over him so he doesn’t give so much of himself that it kills him,” Alexx said. “I worry about him sometimes.”
“I promise we’re watching him,” Nick said. “And he has someone close to him who loves him the way he needs to be loved.”
“That’s good to know. I just can’t help worrying about them,” Alexx said. “Especially with all the things we see in the job every day; I know it can just eat you up if you don’t have family to support you.”
Nick nodded. “And even then it still can,” he said. “I wish we could tell you more than we have, Alexx, but it’s just too dangerous for your family.”
“Oh that’s okay, Sugar, just knowing that you’re watching out for each other is enough,” she said. “This little angel was smothered with something; I found soft blue fibers in his throat and lungs.”
“His baby blanket maybe?” Nick asked.
“That’s a possibility,” Alexx agreed. “But it wasn’t an accident. I took some pictures with filters and there’s deep bruising around his mouth. It’s shaped like an adult hand.”
“Can we get any measurements off it?” Nick wondered as he looked through the pictures.
“I’d say it’s a man’s hand,” Alexx said. “Or a large woman. I didn’t find any other external injuries and was just about to take X-rays to see if he’s been beaten.”
“Case like this I can’t imagine he hasn’t,” Nick said. “I need to go check in with Tripp, Alexx; can you call me when you’re done?”
“Sure thing, Nick,” she said. “And I’ll make sure all the evidence gets to the lab too. We need to find out who did this.”
“We will, Alexx,” Nick promised. “We will.”
Nick still wasn’t sure what he thought of Detective Frank Tripp but knew the man was like a bull dog when upset and he would be the best one to have on the case. It was never easy to deal with death but it hit all the CSIs and officers sharply when a child was involved. “Hey Tripp, tell me someone reported a missing child,” Nick said as he sat down across from the frowning detective.
“Not that I’ve been able to find,” Frank growled. “I talked with as many people in that neighborhood as I could and none of them had ever seen the kid before. I’m wondering if the body dump wasn’t farther away from home then we were thinking.”
“It’s possible,” Nick said. “I just came from the morgue, Alexx is in the middle of her autopsy but she found blue fibers and a deep bruise. This is definitely a homicide and I’d like to find whoever did it as soon as we can.”
“Well hell, Nick, you guys are the ones with all the answers,” Frank said. “I was going to head back out to that neighborhood and knock on some more doors, see if I can’t stir up something that could tell us who the parents are.”
“We can run his DNA and hope for a parental match but I don’t think that’s going to do us any good,” Nick said. “Does Florida have the kid fingerprint program?”
“Yeah but that young?”
“At this point anything is worth a shot,” Nick sighed. “I’m heading to the lab now to get going on everything we brought back. So I guess I’ll talk with you later.”
Frank nodded. “I’ll give you guys a call if I find anything. Half of me is hoping to find his parents dead as well so we’d at least have a crime scene that might tell you something.”
“Every scene can tell us what we need to know if we know how to ask it,” Nick said. “We’ll find ‘em, Frank.”
********************
Horatio smiled as he overheard Nick talking with Frank Tripp and knew he’d made the right choice for lead on the case. Nicky might have been trained by Grissom to be more scientific than fanciful but it looked like Nick maintained enough of his belief in humanity to know that there was usually another answer as well.
“Hello Horatio, what are you doing here?” a soft female voice asked.
“Yelina,” Horatio replied. “Just checking on a couple of things before I face the paperwork terror that used to be my desk. How have you been?”
“I’m fine,” Yelina said. “In fact I’ve been meaning to talk to you about something. Rick Stetler says that you’ve been making trouble for him.”
The red dragon only just managed not to growl. He still couldn’t believe his sister-in-law was so desperate that she was willing to date an IAB officer. “Rick Stetler makes his own trouble, Yelina,” Horatio said softly. “I’m doing my job and protecting my people and if that’s a problem then he can come and talk to me. Don’t become his messenger.”
“I’m just worried about you,” she said.
“And I appreciate it but I’m fine,” Horatio said. “Don’t worry about me, Yelina. Take care of yourself.”
“I will,” she said.
Horatio smiled at her and pulled out his cell phone as he made his way back towards the lab. He dialed a number and stepped out into the sun.
“CSI DNA lab, Greg Sanders speaking.”
“It’s me,” Horatio said. “How busy are you?”
“Never too busy to talk to you,” Greg replied with a smile very evident in his voice. “In fact why don’t you stop by, I’ve got something to show you that I think you’ll like.”
“Okay, I’ll be there in a few minutes,” Horatio said. He clicked his phone shut and made his way towards the lab. Deep down he knew that Stetler was just playing games and it hurt that the man was willing to involve his family. Horatio vowed that if Stetler did anything to cause Yelina or Ray Jr. pain the man would vanish and no one would ever be able to find his body.
He paused in the hall and watched his human as Greg bounced around the DNA lab to a tune only he could hear. Horatio knew that his young bonded wanted to be a CSI and go out in the field but he could tell that the young man was really at home in the lab and seemed so much happier than he had when Horatio first met him at a conference in Seattle. Maybe it was time to talk about whether or not Greg still wanted to go out in the field or not.
“I can feel you watching me,” Greg said as he poked his head out the door.
“Then your senses are improving,” Horatio smiled. He tucked his sunglasses into a pocket and just looked at his human for a moment, absorbing the peace that came from being close to the man he loved so much. “What did you have for me?”
“A number of things that have to wait until we get home but I thought you’d like to see this.” Greg picked up a folder and handed it to his dragon. “I finished that DNA run from the rape you were working last shift and found a match in CODIS.”
“That’s very good work, Greg,” Horatio said. “Thank you.”
“Well you know, I do what I can,” Greg said with a smirk. “So are you feeling better?”
“I am, thank you,” Horatio replied. “I’ll tell you about it later. Right now I need to go find Jim and see if he can find our suspect. Thank you, Greg.”
********************
Warrick and Eric were in two different parts of the lab when Nick got back; his best friend was in the trace lab with Speed and Eric was working on fingerprints from a card Alexx had found in the baby blanket. Nick took the lesser of the two evils and stopped in the trace lab first. “Hey guys, anything good?”
“Nothing so far,” Speed said. “But I’ve got some soil to look at that might give you a location; it doesn’t match the control sample from the crime scene. So are you guys ever going to tell me what this case is about?”
“Horatio wants to wait for tonight,” Nick said.
“Okay, why?”
“Because it has repercussions we can’t talk about here,” Nick replied. “Trust us?”
“Sure but it makes it harder for me,” Speed said. “I’ll have to talk to Horatio.”
“Talk to me about what?”
The two humans jumped. “I thought Greg was going to put a bell on you,” Nick said trying to get his breathing back to normal.
“What makes you think he hasn’t?” Horatio smirked.
“Leaving that one alone,” Speed said. “I know exactly how much trouble you are, Horatio, and I’m not touching that one.”
Nick and Warrick looked at each other obviously puzzled. “I’m going to go check in with Eric,” Nick finally said. “Horatio, until we find the primary crime scene I don’t know that we’re going to be able to find much.”
“You will, Nick,” Horatio said. “I overheard what you said to Frank and you were right. It might just take you a while to find the right questions. Don’t get hung up on one point in this case; focus on the whole.”
“You got it,” Nick said.
“So H, why aren’t you telling me about this case?” Speed asked.
Horatio moved in and leaned over so it looked like he was reading the paperwork on the table. “Because it involves something that would bring the dragon out and you’re close to blending,” he said. “I trust you, Speed, but I want to be sure the suspects in this case are punished legally and that means both of us staying away from it. This is killing me to let the humans work it but they’re the only ones who can.”
“I trust you too, H, I was just curious,” Speed said. “It’s not every day that I get samples from an unknown crime scene with an unknown crime.”
“And CSIs love puzzles,” Horatio smiled. “That was on my orders, Speed. Jim’s getting the same blanks from his human on this case for the day as well. We’ll go over it all tonight. I promise.”
********************
Before leaving the lab for the night Horatio called Gil and told him that he and Greg would be skipping supper and joining the others for the meeting only as they had some things they needed to talk about. Gil agreed and said that Jim and Warrick were actually planning to go out for dinner and would be back for the meeting as well.
Nick rode home with Speed and Eric and talked about general stuff but Nick was distracted. He knew that there was something that he was missing, something important and it was bugging him.
*Nicky*
*I’m lost, Gil* Nick sighed. *I think it might be a good idea for you guys to come in and help on this; at least until we find a suspect because we did all we could with the evidence we collected and it’s dead-ended on us*
*I’ll come with you tomorrow* Gil said. *How close to home are you right now*
*Just pulling onto the street. I’ll see you in a few minutes*
Speed parked in his driveway and looked back at Nick. “So is the invite for supper still open or are we just having the meeting?” he asked.
“Far as I know you guys are cool to come over,” Nick replied. “Just give us an hour or so to talk?”
“Sure, I think we need some time alone too,” Speed said with a glance at Eric who blushed.
“See you in a bit then.” Nick made his way to the house and went inside. “I’m home, Gil.”
The black dragon came out of the kitchen and pulled his human into a hug. “I’m proud of you, Nicky,” he whispered. “I wanted you to know that.”
Nick sighed and leaned into the hug, nuzzling in against Gil’s neck. “It’s just so hard and we had to keep the other dragons in the dark,” he said. “I don’t like doing that; it feels too much like something that would happen back in Vegas.”
“I know, Nick, I know,” Gil said. “Come on, I think we’ve earned some time alone.” He reached between them to tilt Nick’s head up and kissed his gently. “How long before Speed and Eric get here?”
“About an hour, they wanted some alone time too,” Nick sighed.
“Then that’s perfect,” Gil said. He pulled Nick into another kiss and started walking them towards their bedroom. Gil was glad that their house was a single story so he didn’t have to worry about either of them falling down the stairs in a rush to get clothes off or trying to reconnect on the way to bed. “Love you, Nicky.”
“Love you too, Gil,” Nick replied. He grumbled a little when he had to step out of Gil’s arms to push the dragon’s black t-shirt off. “I miss your button down shirts.”
“You should have been here earlier,” Gil purred. “I was just in my trunks.”
“I wish I could have seen it,” Nick said. “In fact…” He pulled away from Gil with a wicked grin and quickly stripped the other man’s clothes off. “I think I can.”
Gil laughed delighted at the change in mood he could feel from his human. “Then it’s only fair you be naked too, Nicky my boy,” he said. “In fact, why don’t you strip for me?” He went to their bed and lay down in the middle, blue eyes focused on his human.
Nick flushed as he slowly peeled off the silver polo he’d worn to work that morning. He’d grown used to his dragon looking at him as if he were a tasty treat but it was still unnerving to have that gaze directed to him as he was undressing.
“Don’t hide from me, Nicky,” Gil said. “Come here.”
“I can’t hide from you,” Nick sighed as he rolled into the welcoming arms of his dragon. “And I don’t think I’ll ever want to.”
********************
Greg bounced into the house with Horatio trailing behind him in amusement. He never had figured out if his human was naturally hyper or if it came from all the coffee the younger man drank. But considering how much coffee some of his CSIs drank with no side effects, such as bouncing all the time, he had to conclude that Greg was just naturally hyper.
“You’re laughing at me, I can feel it,” Greg said with a small pout. He flopped down into his recliner and pulled a bag out of his pocket.
“I’m just happy you’re happy, Greg,” Horatio said. “And that’s one of the things I wanted to talk with you about. Do you still want to finish your proficiency and go out in the field as a CSI?”
“I did but I’m so happy in the lab again,” Greg said. “I feel like I’m able to really make a difference here that I couldn’t in Vegas. Maybe it’s just the people and maybe it’s the lab but I’m happy again. I get to play with all my toys and still feel like I’m part of the team and I think that’s what was missing before. Why I wanted to go out in the field, I wanted to belong to the team, to have them see me as more than just a lab rat or another piece of equipment. Does that make sense?”
“It does and I’m very glad you’re feeling at home here,” Horatio said. He sank into his chair and looked at his human closely. “I’ve been noticing a change in your attitude since you started at the lab and I’ve noticed how happy you are to be going to work. But I did want to let you know that the option to go in the field is there if you ever feel you want to.”
The young human smiled. “Thanks H, so what else is going on?”
“My sister-in-law stopped me today and I think something is going on there but I need to talk with Jim first,” Horatio said. “She was lying to me but I don’t know what about and I wanted to see if he’d picked up on anything.”
“I don’t know why people even bother trying to lie to you anymore,” Greg said. “It should be common knowledge that you know when someone lies and will call them on it.”
“Most of the time, I let this go because I didn’t want to make Yelina suspicious. She’s dating Stetler,” Horatio sighed.
“Eeeewwww,” Greg said. “That’s not something I needed to hear.”
“That was my initial response too,” Horatio said. “So what’s in the bag?”
“Oh, this is something I ordered for us a while ago online and had it shipped to the lab,” Greg said. “Not the best use of official channels I know but I didn’t want it to get lost and people seem to see the logo of the crime labs and just know that it’s important. I remember you saying you wished there was a way for us to show that we’re together but I know we can’t risk rings or anything obvious because of the community and all that but this is close and I don’t think too many people will notice.”
Horatio bit his lip to try and keep from laughing. He loved how his human was able to ramble on without stopping to take a breath and he liked just sitting and listening to Greg go on and on. But his eyes sparkled and he knew something would leak along their bond. “So what did you come up with, Greg?” he asked.
“Hold out your left hand and close your eyes,” Greg replied.
It was all Horatio could do to keep from snorting that time; it reminded him of Ray Jr. when he was young and had a secret in his hands he wanted to share. He solemnly closed his eyes and held out his left arm. Horatio felt something cold wrap around his wrist and settle against his arm. “May I look, Greg?” he whispered.
“Yeah,” Greg said. “I hope you like it.
*It* turned out to be a silver bracelet with his name engraved on it with a small dragon next to the graceful curves his last name. “Very nice, Greg,” he rumbled. “Is this silver?”
“No, white gold; I know how much you like the ocean and didn’t want to risk it tarnishing,” Greg said. “But flip it over.”
Horatio did and found his human’s initials and a paw print. “Why the paw?” he asked.
“Because you all say I look like a puppy when I do this,” Greg said looking at his dragon, his eyes wide.
“Indeed you do,” Horatio laughed. “And I imagine you have something similar for yourself?”
“Of course; would you like to put it on?”
“I would,” Horatio said. He took the bracelet and fastened it onto his human’s left wrist before catching the hand and kissing it gently. Greg moaned as his dragon’s lips trailed slowly along his arm until he was pulled into Horatio’s lap and claimed with a searing kiss. “I love you.”
“Jim,” Horatio called as the community was gathering on Gil and Nick’s back deck for their meeting. “Do you have a moment?”
“What’s wrong, Horatio?” Jim asked. “Does it have anything to do with this mystery case you won’t let anyone talk about?”
“No although Gil will be talking about that soon,” Horatio replied. He took off his sunglasses. “Have you been working around my sister-in-law recently?”
The silver dragon looked up at Horatio obviously confused. “Who?”
“Yelina Salas,” Horatio said, “is my brother’s widow.”
“I didn’t know,” Jim said. “I’m sorry, Horatio. Why are you wondering about her so suddenly?”
“Because she’s dating Rick Stetler and I’m just wondering if you’ve felt anything that might link to the community.”
“Nothing so far but I’ll keep my eyes and ears open,” Jim said. “You should probably tell everyone else about it too.”
“I will,” Horatio sighed. “But let’s let Gil get his business out of the way first.”
Gil had been watching as his community, his family, gathered around the deck and smiled. He knew exactly how lucky he was to have so many good friends surrounding him and helping him with the new world they were all exploring. “I won’t beat around the bush tonight because this is important,” he said once everyone was settled. “Horatio came to me today and explained that he was keeping information on a case from Speed and Jim. I was concerned about this until I learned the details and I told him that under no circumstances did I want the humans to tell their dragons about this because I want this to come from me.”
“What’s going on, Gil?” Jim asked. “I know Tripp is the one working the case because he got quiet every time I walked by his desk.”
“We can’t have any of the dragons close to this case,” Gil said. “A young child was found dead in a local park this morning. Nicky tells me that he was murdered, most likely by a man and then dumped. If any of us dragons get close to this case, especially you Tim, it’s extremely likely that we’ll kill the suspect before the evidence is in and I don’t want that to happen. So, humans, you can talk to your dragons about this and use us as sounding boards but I don’t want to hear even a hint of a dragon working more than trace on this case.”
“Gil, why am I more likely to lose control?” Speed asked.
“Because it’s getting close to your time to blend,” Gil replied. “Jim, Horatio and I will all tell you the same thing and that is your control will be more and more erratic until you do. It’s natural and nothing to worry about but I really would feel more comfortable if you hung back on this case unless it’s processing evidence in the lab. I know you’re a trace expert and I wouldn’t dream of telling you that you can’t do your job.”
Horatio looked around at his friends. “I didn’t make this choice lightly, gentlemen,” he said. “I know you probably feel hurt and maybe even slighted but Gil and I have to look out not only for the lab but your safety here in the community as well. I trust each and every one of you to do your job and excel at it. But this case is so horrible that the dragon’s nature would come to the fore probably before anyone could realize it.”
“And until we know more about where the hunters are we can’t risk it,” Gil said. “You guys are wonderful and I know you’ll solve the case by linking the evidence to a suspect.”
“I understand, Gil,” Jim said. “And with my protective instincts as strong as they are I’ll keep away from this one.”
“Me too,” Speed said. “I don’t want to do anything that would pose a threat to Eric and I understand why H didn’t tell us about this at the lab.”
“Actually there’s something else I need to let everyone know about,” Horatio said. “And it ties in to us discussing community business at the lab or in the detective bull pen.”
Gil’s head snapped up and he pinned Horatio with a sharp blue gaze. “What’s going on, Horatio?”
“It’s my sister-in-law,” Horatio said.
“Yelina?” Speed asked. “What’s she up to?”
“Well first of all it seems that she’s romantically involved with Stetler,” Horatio said. Everyone grimaced. “I agree completely but at least she’s not chasing after me any more,” he continued. “At least not at the moment. But she did tell me that Stetler has been talking about me to her and she wants to know what’s going on.”
“What did you tell her, H?” Eric asked.
“To not worry about me,” Horatio replied. “I asked Jim if he’d sniff around to see if there’s any threat to the community.”
“And if there is?” Gil asked knowing full well how his beta dragon felt about family.
Horatio sighed. “Then I’ll deal with it,” he said.
********************
The next day at the lab Horatio followed Speed to the trace lab to get started on a case they’d had come in at the end of shift and both dragons were surprised at who was in there waiting for them.
“Hello Rick,” Horatio said softly, relishing the small start the other man gave, “why are you reading our case notes?”
“I wasn’t,” Stetler said closing the folder he’d been flipping through.
“Really, then I guess I should have my eyes checked because it looked to me like you were reading one of our case folders,” Horatio said. “Are you just slumming today or actually here for a reason?”
“You know, I don’t appreciate your tone,” Stetler said as he stepped back a little. “I was waiting for you to get here.”
“Then it’s probably a good thing I lock my office at night,” Horatio replied. “What do you want, Rick.”
Stetler frowned. “I want to know why you put Stokes on lead for such a politically risky case,” he said.
“And here I thought IAB only cared about itself,” Horatio said. “Nick was the best CSI to take the case and I don’t think I have to justify my assignments to you or anyone unless something goes wrong.”
“You’d better watch yourself, Horatio,” Stetler said. “One of these days you’re going to cross the line and I’ll be right there to take you down.”
Horatio grinned. “You mean the line you crossed when you let patrol know that Ryan Wolfe was gay?” he asked quietly. “Or maybe you mean the line that blurs only when it’s IAB who certainly can do no wrong.”
“Well that was odd,” Speed said as he watched the IAB officer leave the trace lab without another word.
“Yes it was,” Horatio said. “What folder was he looking in?”
“One that was locked up last night,” Speed replied.
“Then that means I need to get the locks changed,” Horatio said. “Because no one, not even IAB, should have access to our records whenever they want. Tonight I want you to bring your folders to my office and we’ll lock them up in there; I don’t want to risk a single case being compromised because it’s possible the chain could have been broken from the inside.”
“What about Stetler?” Speed asked.
“Oh I’ll deal with him,” Horatio replied. “Thank you, Speed. Dust that folder and the files for prints, please?”
********************
Gil hadn’t been at the lab for a few weeks, other than to bring in notes on previous cases to help the CSIs on all the shifts figure something out, or to do some work in his office while waiting for Nick. He followed his human to the evidence locker and then to the layout room where Nick set out everything they’d found the previous day.
They were just settling in to work when Greg bounced into the room, a folder in his hand. Gil spared a though to how much more relaxed and happy Greg was in Miami and knew he’d made the right choice. “Is that good news, Greg?” he asked.
“Not great which is what I was aiming for but good enough,” Greg replied. He handed the folder to Nick with a small flourish. “The victim wasn’t in CODIS, obviously; what three-year-old would be, but I got a partial hit off a father. He’s done time for petty theft and robbery.”
“Good work, Greggo,” Nick said. “And you looked him up in the system too.”
“Hey, I aim to please,” Greg said with a small bow. “Anything else you need me for, you know where I’ll be.”
*With Horatio* Gil said to Nick silently.
*No kidding* Nick replied trying not to laugh. “No doubt bouncing around your lab,” he said out loud. “Thanks again, Greg; I’m off to find Tripp. Gil, you mind looking this stuff over?”
“Not at all, Nick,” Gil said. “I’ll call you if I find anything.”
********************
The apartment building wasn’t in the lowest rent district of the city but it was fairly close. Frank pulled the car to a stop and looked over at the CSI sitting next to him. “You ready for this?”
“Yeah, although something tells me this dude hasn’t seen his son for a long time,” Nick replied.
“But maybe he knows where the mom is,” Frank said as he shut the car door. “And we can find out what the hell was going through her mind a few days ago.”
The man who answered the door in response to Tripp’s knock was a short guy, shabby and Nick knew they could rule him out as a suspect with one glance at the hands. They were small, almost feminine, and no where near a match to the bruising on the baby’s face.
“Detective Tripp, Miami-Dade PD,” Frank said showing his badge. “Are you Dave Alban?”
“Yeah.”
“This your kid?” Frank asked holding up a picture.
“Yeah.”
“Then we need to talk, sport,” Frank said. “Inside or out, doesn’t make any difference to me.”
The guy frowned. “I haven’t seen my son in two years,” he said. “Why are you rousting me about this?”
“I’m sorry to be the one to tell you this but he’s dead,” Nick said softly. “And we found him in a park. We need to ask you some questions to find out who the mother is and where she’s living.”
“Robby’s dead?”
“Yes sir,” Nick said. “Can we talk with you for a while?”
“I need some time,” Dave said. “But hang on a minute; I’ve got his mother’s address here somewhere. How’d he die?”
Nick sighed. “It was quick,” he said. “He didn’t suffer.”
“I guess that’s all I can ask for,” Dave sighed. “His mom didn’t want me around after I got busted the second time. She won’t even send me pictures of him. I tried to get custody when I got out this last time but they just laughed at me. I wanted to do right by him, you know?”
“I know,” Nick said. He took the paper with an address scrawled on it. “Thank you for your time and I’m sorry for your loss.”
“I feel bad for him,” Nick said as Frank drove them through the city to an apartment complex in close to the beach. “I know he could have been lying but it sounded like he wanted to get to know his kid and now he’s never going to have the chance.”
“I don’t think he was lying,” Frank said. “Hell, I know I’ve seen enough grieving parents to be able to tell when the emotions are real and I think his were. I hope this so-called mother has a good explanation for why she hasn’t reported her son missing.”
“Still nothing?” Nick asked. “You think she’s on drugs or something and hasn’t noticed he’s gone?”
“Who knows, we’ll find out soon enough,” Frank replied. He pulled into a parking spot and glanced up. “There is it, you ready?”
Nick nodded and grabbed his kit. “Right behind you.”
The pair made their way to the second floor and knocked on the door to 217. There was no response so Frank glanced at his watch and knocked again. “She might be at work,” he said. “I’m going to find the manager; you want to take a look around and see what you can find?”
“Sure,” Nick said. He knew that if there was any evidence in plain sight he could collect it without a warrant and it might just give them justification to get one to search the apartment.
*Nicky*
*Yeah, what’s up Gil*
*Speed finished the soil you found at the scene. He says it’s a mix of dirt and beach sand* Gil said. *Where are you*
*Tripp and I are at the boy’s apartment. His mom’s not home so Frank’s off with the manager and I’m looking around* Nick replied. *The apartment building is close to the beach. I think maybe I’ll take a walk back that way and see what I can find. Anything else strike you about the evidence we collected*
*It’s a lack of evidence that interests me* Gil said. *No hairs or fibers transferred onto the baby’s clothes to indicate a location. The card turned out to be a ticket from a race track; Eric’s tracking that down. There was one useable print but it’s not in the system*
Nick sighed. *We’ve got to find our primary crime scene* he said. *All the evidence we’ve got so far is just telling us the body was dumped. I’d really like to get a look in this apartment*
*What can you do at this point*
*The dumpster is open* Nick groaned. *Tell me there are lemons at the lab, Gil*
*I’ll find you some, Nicky. Oh, Speed says to tell you at least it’s not in the toilet*
*Tell him I’ll save that chore for him* Nick laughed. *Tripp’s coming; I’ll talk to you later. Love you*
*Be careful, Nicky my boy and I love you too*
“So the manager says the woman who rents that apartment works days as a maid at the Hilton,” Frank said. “What do you have?”
“A dumpster just waiting to be searched,” Nick sighed. “Maybe you should call the lab and get Eric to meet me out here, or Warrick and that way you don’t have to put up with the smell in your car for months.”
Frank chuckled. “I think that’s the most considerate thing one of you CSIs has ever said to me,” he said. “I’ll make the calls and get patrol out here too so you guys aren’t alone and go talk with the mother. See you back at the lab?”
“Yeah, you got it.”
********************
“Hey H, you got a minute.”
“For you, always Speed,” the red dragon replied.
“I took a look at the folder that was out this morning when we got to the lab and it’s a case of Calleigh’s involving a couple of city officials,” Speed said. “Her prints were on the folder and so were Stetler’s. Here’s the case file I started on this.”
“Thank you, Speed,” Horatio said. “What about the filing cabinet?”
“His prints were there too, but he knew exactly which case he was looking for,” Speed said. He looked around to make sure the hall was clear. “We might have a leak in the lab, H.”
“We might indeed but I’d like to think that the detective working with Calleigh provided IAB with a case number,” Horatio said. “But I will take a look around and see what I can find. This stays between us for now, Speed. I’ll talk with Calleigh.”
“You got it, H.”
Horatio smiled at his friend. “Thanks, Tim,” he said softly. “Have you heard anything on Nick’s case?”
“Just that Warrick was riding out to join him for something in the field,” Speed said. “I’ve got trace to run from that home invasion Eric pulled this morning.”
“All right, keep me posted,” Horatio said. He stood in the hall and watched as the bronze dragon went back to his lab. He had an idea why Stetler would be interested in the case Calleigh was working on but wanted to check in with her before he jumped to any conclusions.
He made his way down to the ballistics lab. “Calleigh, may I speak with you a moment, please?”
“Sure Horatio, what’s up?” she asked turning away from the computer.
“Run me through the case your working that involves the city officials please?”
“Is there a problem?”
“Not from your end,” Horatio replied. “I just need to find out exactly what’s going on.”
She smiled. “Okay; homicide was called to a house out on Star Island and the victim was one of the city council members who was against the vote they’re taking this week,” Calleigh said. “Hagen’s been talking with everyone but they all, of course, have lawyers so he’s bogged down and hoping I’d be able to find something to tell us what happened.”
“Do you have a suspect?” Horatio asked.
“Not at the moment, the gun used is still missing,” Calleigh replied. “I’ve been running the various council members through the computer registry trying to see if any of them own a gun that matches the bullet Alexx pulled from my victim but so far I’m at a dead end. Now can you tell me what’s going on?”
“IAB has been floating around,” Horatio said. “And he seemed very interested in this case. Keep working it but bring your folders and notes to my office to be locked up at night or take them to the evidence locker. It seems that Stetler has somehow managed to get a copy of the keys we use to lock our filing cabinets.”
Calleigh swore for a few minutes. “I’m sorry, Horatio, but that man just makes me so mad. Between what he did with Ryan and now messing with one of my cases,” she said. “We’re going to have to tell the prosecution about this if we ever go to trial.”
“I’m ahead of you there, Calleigh,” Horatio said. “Please just trust me on this but make sure to secure your things in a different place at night. I’m in the process of changing the locks and I’m going to talk with the director about a change in policy. Just be safe and trust me to have your back.”
“Always, Horatio,” she smiled.
********************
“Nick, I can’t believe you got me out here to go dumpster diving with you,” Warrick said as he changed into a jumpsuit. “I mean out of everything we could have done for the case it had to be this.”
“Gil said he’d be sure there were lots of lemons waiting for us at the lab,” Nick said with a smile. “Come on, Warrick, if won’t be that bad; we’ve done worse. I’ll even buy you a beer when we get off shift tonight.”
“Bribery is always good,” Warrick laughed as he hauled himself over the rim of the dumpster. “At least there isn’t much in here; it won’t take us that long to search.”
“I’d just like to find something that could get us into the apartment,” Nick said. “This woman still hasn’t reported her kid missing. What kind of mom is that?”
Warrick snorted. “A bad one,” he said. “So what exactly are we looking for in here?”
“Anything,” Nick sighed. “It’s probably too much to hope that there’s a note or something confessing to the murder.”
“How about a bag full of pictures of our victim?” Warrick asked as he handed it to his friend. “And another of toys and some baby stuff too.”
“What the hell is going on here?” Nick wondered as he snapped pictures of everything before bagging it. “What kind of woman throws out everything including her kid?”
“The kind of woman who doesn’t want to me a mom no more,” Warrick sighed. “Are you thinking what I’m thinking?”
“That there’s a new boyfriend or husband in the picture who doesn’t want kids so they took the illegal way out?” Nick asked. “I think that’s what all this is pointing to. Anything else good in there?”
The other man made a face. “Three day old chicken,” he said. “I think that’s it.”
“Okay, I want to get a sample of the dirt down by the beach before we go back,” Nick said. “Speed was able to identify the soil you found on the blanket and it didn’t match our scene. He said it had beach sand in it.”
“You don’t think our primary crime scene is down there, do you?” Warrick hopped out of the dumpster and walked over to his partner. “Because it’s likely to be trashed by this point.”
“I know but we have to check, don’t we?” Nick asked. “I dunno, Rick; it seems a little too public for murder, even if it was at night. Check out the lights for one.”
“And the bike path for two,” Warrick said. “Suspect might have walked down here to get up his nerve and the dirt was in his shoes when he got back into the apartment.”
Nick nodded. “I think you’re probably right,” he said. “Or Robby dragged his blanket down here with him and it just hadn’t been washed when they killed him.”
“Where are we meeting Tripp?”
“Back at the lab,” Nick replied. “At least now we have something to tell him.”
“Busy day today, Horatio.” Nick, who was walking past in the hall saw the look on his dragon’s face and laughed before opening the door to the trace lab. “Is he quoting Taoist sayings again, Speed?” he asked. “So what do you think, Frank; do we have enough for a warrant?” Nick asked as he handed the folder over to the homicide detective. Frank sighed as he looked at the woman in the hospital bed. Nick, on the other side of the bed was flipping through a folder and seemed perfectly content to let the detective take the lead in finding out what was going on. “So how long are you in town for?” Greg asked as he prepared a couple of DNA samples for processing. “Is it going to be long enough for me to sneak you into a couple of clubs to take your mind off all your problems?”
Gil sat on his back deck and stared at the moon reflected on the ocean waves. Nick had been called to a scene and Gil decided to take the quiet time to think over a few things that had been troubling his mind for a while; ever since he managed to follow his human to the strange world where the dragon lore masters lived. Standing on that strange landscape looking at not one but five dragons had come as a shock, one Gil didn’t know if he was ever going to recover from. But he knew it was a day he would never forget either. *Flashback* *End Flashback* Although Jim wasn’t well known in the department he was lucky enough to run into Frank Tripp and when the burly detective heard what was going on he helped to sort out and create a protection order and custody request that was air tight. He also told Jim to call if he or Horatio needed anything else; no one was going to hurt a child while Frank was around to help. Jim grinned and thanked him before heading out the door. Jim’s next stop was the lab to drop off the picture card from Horatio’s digital camera with Nick for processing and quickly updated the man on what was going on. Jim locked the door behind him when he left so Horatio and Greg wouldn’t have to move. “I don’t know what to do, Greg,” Horatio said. He kissed his human’s neck gently and slowly moved up towards his face finally catching and claiming his lips in a soft kiss. “The dragon in me says to kill the people who hurt Ray to eliminate the threat but I just can’t. As much pain as she’s caused Yelina is still Ray Jr. mother and I’m sure deep down that she still loves him.” Horatio met up with Gil on the barren rocky land the dragon lore masters inhabited. “I feel like I’m being tied in knots, Gil,” Horatio said as he sat down on his rock with a sigh. “I want to protect Ray but do I really have the right to take him away from his mother like this?” Horatio led Yelina and Stetler around to the back and out onto the beach. He knew that if he and Speed had to Change for any reason they’d need the space afforded to them by the sandy shore. Speed stood on the back deck of Horatio’s house, close enough to help but far enough away to watch for intruders and any other danger that might come their way. Speed took a moment to look around the scene and sighed. The CSI in him didn’t like any of what was happening, including the guilt trip he knew Horatio was going to be on when they got home that evening, but the dragon knew that some things had to be done to protect the community. The road he’d picked was out of the way meaning it would probably take longer for the body to be found but Speed was still careful as he set everything up, his training helping him in a way that no one could have predicted. Maybe it was true; CSIs really did make the best criminals. “Uncle Horatio, Gil says you want to talk to me.”
“It is indeed, Alexx; what are we looking at?” Horatio asked as he knelt down and took off his sunglasses.
“According to the witnesses the poor thing just washed up on shore,” Alexx replied. “But I don’t think she died in the water, Horatio; look at this.” She held up the victim’s arm. “Those look like ligature marks. I think she was dumped for shark food.”
Horatio shook his head. “Not realizing that sharks will only attack a human if they’re bleeding or moving,” he said. “And mistaken for a fish. How much has the water destroyed our evidence?”
“I’ll know more when I get her back to the lab but it depends on how long she’s been in the ocean,” Alexx said.
“Call me, please,” Horatio said. He stood up and found himself face to face with his sister-in-law. “Yelina.”
“No one knows who she is, Horatio,” Yelina said. “We haven’t been able to find any ID or unclaimed bags on the beach.”
“All right,” Horatio said. “Alexx, can you run dental records please?”
“You got it, Horatio.”
The lieutenant slipped on his sunglasses. “And so it begins.”
********************
Nick and Warrick took their evidence to the layout room to make use of the table there. They carefully took out all the pictures, all of them unframed, and started to organize them by approximate age. “Look at this, as he gets older there are fewer and fewer pictures of him,” Warrick said. “You’ve got siblings, Nick; did your parents ever get tired of taking pictures of any of you?”
“Nope, in fact we’ve got an entire wall in the library of family photo albums,” Nick said. “We need to figure out a way to get into this apartment and look around. Do you see anything here that’ll help us?”
“Did Alexx find any other signs of abuse?” Warrick asked. “Breaks or cuts?”
“No she didn’t,” Nick replied. “And no signs of neglect either; whoever was taking care of Robby at least cared enough to make sure he ate and was able to go out in public without raising any questions.”
Warrick moved the magnifier over one of the toys. “I think I’ve got blood here,” he said. “I’ll take it to Greg; want me to drop the soil sample off with Speed on my way?”
“Sure, I’ll keep working on this,” Nick said. “And maybe Tripp will be back soon and have some answers for us.”
“I wouldn’t count on it,” Warrick snorted.
********************
“Horatio, what do you have against Rick?” Yelina asked as she watched the red head searching the sand around where the young victim had been found. It was strange for her; she couldn’t recall the last time Horatio changed into a jumpsuit and worked a crime scene.
“What makes you think I have something against him?”
“Oh come on, Horatio, is it because I’m dating him?” she asked. “Are you just jealous?”
The red dragon sighed. “No, Yelina; you deserve to be happy and if Rick Stetler makes you happy then I’m not going to say a word about it,” he said. “And if you keep thinking that I ever had any interest in you other than as Ray’s wife then you’ll only end up hurt.”
“Don’t lie to me, Horatio; I’ve seen the way you used to look at me,” she said. “You kept your daughter a secret so I don’t see why you wouldn’t keep something like this hidden as well.”
“Yelina,” Horatio said and paused, his lips pushing together tightly, “never mind; have you heard anything from patrol about abandoned cars?”
“No,” Yelina said. “I’m starting to agree with you that she was dumped in the water and the tides brought her here. But if that’s the case, why are you still working here?”
Horatio’s phone rang. “Caine.”
“Are you okay?” Greg’s worried voice filled his ear. “I can feel you here; I’m in Gil’s office for a minute so we can talk. What’s going on?”
“It’s what we talked about last night being blown out of proportion,” Horatio sighed. “And I can’t really talk about it right now.”
“Your detective for your latest case is Yelina?” Greg exclaimed. “How warped is that?”
“I can deal with it,” Horatio laughed. “I’m sorry about what I was doing though, I’ll try to stop. Are you going to be okay?”
“Of course,” Greg said. “Aren’t I always?”
“Good, yes; okay I’m not so sure of,” Horatio said. “I have to go, I’ll call you later.”
“Okay, I love you, Horatio.”
“I know; me too.” Horatio tucked his cell phone back in his pocket and took a minute to attempt to calm down. He hadn’t realized how on edge he was and if Greg was able to sense it across town then he really did need to relax.
“Who was that?” Yelina asked.
“A friend,” Horatio replied. He sat back on his heals and looked around. Between them he and Alexx had searched around the body but Horatio had just had a hunch that something had been buried in the sand close to her; something important.
“Another one of your secrets?”
“That’s beneath you, Yelina,” Horatio said. He took his phone back out and called Gil. “I have a question.”
“What’s up?” Gil asked. “Greg says Yelina is there; is everything okay?”
“Just family squabbles,” Horatio replied. “I’m wondering if there’s some reason I’d be thinking there was a clue buried in the sand near where my victim was found.”
Gil paused for a moment and Horatio could almost hear him thinking. “It could just be your CSI instinct to search every inch of a crime scene,” he finally said. “Or it could be more. I know there’s been a couple of times that I’ve had a feeling about something and its come true. Just don’t frustrate yourself over this.”
“I won’t but I think I’ll keep digging for a bit,” Horatio said. “How are things at the lab?”
“Quiet; everyone is working well,” Gil said. “In fact I promised Nick I’d check in with Speed about a soil sample.”
“Thanks for all your help today.”
“You’re welcome, it actually feels good to be back in a lab,” Gil laughed. “I’ll see you tonight, Horatio.”
After tucking his phone away for a second time Horatio stood up and looked around, his keen blue eyes ignoring everything but the disturbed sand around him. That’s when he saw it, almost where he’d been kneeling, a shadow poking out of the sand. “Hand me my camera please, Yelina.”
“Only if you tell me what’s going on.”
Horatio turned to his kit and grabbed the smaller digital camera. “I wasn’t aware we were back in high school,” he said. “Am I not allowed to live my own life and have my own friends and family away from the lab? You’ve moved on with your life, Yelina. Give me the courtesy to do the same.”
********************
Speed was working at the microscope when he smelled someone else in the room with him. “Can I help you with something, Stetler?” he asked not looking up.
“How’d you know it was me?” the other man asked.
“Because it took me an hour to get rid of the smell of your aftershave the last time you were in here,” Speed said. “Believe me, it’s not something I’m going to forget any time soon.”
“What are you doing?”
“I’m running a comparison on samples of both caenum and sablulum to see if there’s a match and enough cause for a warrant,” Speed said.
Gil, who was standing in the background tried not to laugh. He loved working with Speed; the dragon had such a dry sense of humor and his timing was perfect. “Is there a match, Speed?” he asked. “I saw Detective Tripp come in not long ago and he looked mad enough to kill someone.”
“There is and I think there’s cause at this point,” Speed said. “If you give me a minute I’ll run everything through the mass-spec and get printouts a judge can understand.”
“What the hell are you doing here, Dr. Grissom?” Stetler demanded.
“Just helping out where needed,” Gil replied calmly. “You know, I’ve never had to deal directly with IAB before but it seems to me that you’d want to be helping to protect the lab and its reputation, not destroy the people who work here or make them hate you.”
“It’s not IAB's job to be liked,” Stetler said.
“Then you do your job wonderfully,” Gil said. “A word of advice although I doubt you’ll accept it. Don’t alienate those who might hold your salvation in their hands.”
Speed paused and blinked. “You want to explain that one, Gris?” he asked.
“I mean just what I said, Tim,” Gil replied with a small smile.
“He’s quoting something,” Speed said. “Here’s the trace results you wanted, Nick; I think it’ll make Tripp happy.”
“Right now it’s gonna take a lot to do that,” Nick replied as he glanced through the folder. “But this will help. You’re sure.”
“Evidence doesn’t lie,” Speed said. “The tests were conclusive.”
“All right then; thanks Speed,” Nick said. “Gris, can you come look at something in the layout room, please? Oh, Stetler, I didn’t see you there. How’s your day going?”
The three community members watched the IAB officer storm out of the office muttering to himself. “What’s that all about?” Nick asked.
“I just don’t think he’s used to people being nice to him,” Speed replied with a small smile. “It’s unnatural.”
“Just because he’s a creep doesn’t mean we can’t be polite,” Nick said. He lowered his voice, “and it’ll drive him nuts.”
********************
Horatio was just coming out of the morgue when he was cornered yet again by his sister-in-law. “What can I do for you, Yelina?” he asked softly.
“I wanted to apologize for my behavior earlier,” she replied. “I’m sorry for what I said. You’re right, you have every right to move on with your life and find someone to love. It was selfish of me to think otherwise.”
“You’ll always be my family, Yelina,” Horatio said. “But some things have changed in my life that I can’t talk about. Not yet.”
“Okay, but trust me to talk to when you can?”
The red dragon looked at her closely. “I don’t think I ever will,” he said. “Not with anyone.”
“To get in the apartment at least,” Frank replied. “That was a good find in the dumpster.”
“It’s all Warrick,” Nick said. “All right, I’ll be in the lab running some tests. Will you let me know if or when the warrant comes through? I really want to be in on this one.”
Frank sighed. “If I’m walking into what I think I’m walking into, Nick; I want you there to be able to process the scene. Because it sure as hell ain’t gonna be pretty.”
********************
Horatio was in the DNA lab with Greg talking over some parts of the case when Yelina poked her head in the door. “Horatio, I hate to bother you but I was wondering if you could possibly take Ray Jr. this weekend.”
“You have plans,” Horatio said.
“Rick wants to go to Disney World,” Yelina said. “When I put in the request for time off I thought my mother would be able to keep Ray but something came up and she can’t.”
Greg pretended to be busy at the computer so he didn’t have to see the look of pain on his dragon’s face; it was bad enough that he could feel the sadness radiating off the red-head.
“I’m sorry, Yelina,” Horatio said. “But I have plans with friends from New York for this weekend. Why don’t you take Ray along with you; I’m sure he’d love to go to the park.”
“I would but Rick wants this to be an adult weekend,” Yelina said. “I haven’t told Ray where we’re going but I’m going to bring him back some presents. Okay, I’ll check with a few of my girlfriends and see if they can take him.”
The young human only just managed to wait until the door was shut. “You know, H; she may be your family but what a bitch,” Greg said. “Does her new boyfriend really mean so much to her that she’s going to put him before her own son?”
“I know, Greg, I know,” Horatio said. “And if we didn’t have Mac and Danny coming down like we do I’d take him and take the weekend off to go fishing with Ray. But from what I’m hearing Mac can’t wait any more and needs our help.”
“Well, once everything is settled you should take some time and spend it with your nephew,” Greg said. “I wouldn’t mind camping out at Nick’s place for a weekend while Ray stays in our guest room. I know why you don’t want him over this weekend but I think it’d be a nice treat. It’s sounding like he’s not really wanted at his house right now.”
“And we both know how that feels,” Horatio sighed. “If there wasn’t such a risk that he’d see what’s going on I’d have him come and just stay in the house but Ray is too much a Caine.”
Greg laughed. “Meaning he’ll dig endlessly into problems that aren’t his own until he gets an answer,” he said. “And just so you know, I love fishing and surfing; do you think Ray likes to surf?”
“I don’t know but he’d probably like to learn,” Horatio said. “Thanks Greg.”
“You’re welcome, Horatio,” Greg smiled. “For everything.”
********************
When Nick and Frank got back to the apartment it was obvious someone was home this time as lights were on in both the front and rear windows. Nick fell back behind Frank, letting the larger detective take the lead. Frank knocked firmly on the door and held up his badge when it opened.
“Detective Frank Tripp, Miami-Dade Police,” he said. “We have a warrant to search your apartment. Would you step outside please, ma’am?”
“Why would you search my home?” the woman asked. “What’s going on?”
“We found your son, ma’am,” Frank replied blandly. He’d worked too many years to let anything rattle him where the suspects could see him. “Is there anyone else in the house?”
“No, I live here alone and I don’t have a son; you must have me confused with someone else,” she insisted.
“Ma’am, step outside with these officers please,” Frank said. “Nick, let me clear the place for you.”
“Right Frank,” Nick said. He waited in the hall with the suspect and a patrol officer. Even in the dim light he could see the family resemblance to young Robby and wondered, yet again, how anyone could just throw their baby away like trash.
Gunshots inside the apartment drew everyone’s attention. Nick drew his own gun and moved carefully inside looking around. The front room was clear; the smell of gun powder drew him down the hall and towards the bedroom.
“Son of a bitch was in the closet,” Frank said. “Decided he wanted to shoot it out rather than talk to me. I’ll call the ME, Nick, if you want to get started.”
“Sure, but you know I can’t touch the body until Alexx gets here.”
“Just do what you have to,” Frank said.
********************
“Rick,” Horatio said as he paused in the door to the IAB officer’s lair. “Do you have a moment, please?”
“What can I do for you, Horatio?”
“I understand you and my sister-in-law are going to Disney World for the weekend,” Horatio said. “And I’m curious why you want to leave my nephew behind.”
“Is it too much to want an adult weekend away?” Stetler asked.
“Yes but for that you would pick a more adult location,” Horatio said. “I think that you picked this place to torment Ray Jr. and cause him pain.”
“Then you’d be wrong,” Stetler said.
“Am I? The evidence says otherwise,” Horatio said quietly. “And I know you’re lying to me, Rick, and that is not a good idea.”
Stetler looked up from the folder in front of him. “Do you know what this is, Horatio?”
“No.”
“This is a folder I’ve started on you and your antics in the crime lab,” Stetler said. “I’m just waiting for the right time to send it to the directors.”
“Somehow I’m not concerned, Rick,” Horatio said. “But rethink your plans for this weekend; having me as an enemy is not a good idea.”
********************
Alexx looked at the scene and sighed. “Detective Tripp is a good shot,” she finally said. “I don’t think our suspect suffered much.”
“He probably deserved to,” Nick commented from where he was snapping pictures. “I took a look at his hands and they’re at least a visual match to the bruising you found on Robby. A viable hypothesis is that this bastard didn’t want the son in the picture any more and has the mother too damn scared to say anything.”
“Has she?” Alexx asked.
“No; she was so upset when we informed her that her boyfriend was dead that she had to be sedated and taken to the hospital,” Nick said. “Frank sent a couple of uniforms along to make sure she doesn’t slip away before I can get there and collect the evidence from the nurses.”
“I’ll be interested to see if he really is our suspect in the homicide,” Alexx commented. “I’ll let you know when I start his post.”
Nick turned and smiled at the ME. “Thanks, Alexx.”
********************
“Speed.”
“What’s up, H?”
“I need a favor, please.”
“Anything.”
Horatio looked around to make sure they were alone. “Yelina and Stetler are going to Disney World this weekend and are leaving Ray Jr. behind,” he said. “She asked me to take him but I have to be at the community because Mac is coming down and Gil’s going to need my help.”
“So what can I do?”
“Yelina has no one to take him and I suggested you,” Horatio said. “I was wondering if you and Eric would take him diving this weekend.”
“H, you know how I feel about the ocean,” Speed said.
The red dragon smiled. “I do but I also know that you could stay on the boat and watch for any problems,” Horatio said. “I’ll pay for everything, Speed; I just want Ray to have something special this weekend so he doesn’t feel like he’s being left behind.”
“I’ll do it,” Speed smiled. “I never have been able to tell you no when it comes to Ray; he’s a sharp kid and I like spending time with him.”
“Thank you, Speed,” Horatio said. “I just want to kill Stetler for putting Yelina in this position and shake her until she sees what she’s doing to her son.”
“That’s going to be a problem because she’s always relied on you to be the father figure so now that Stetler’s in the picture she can put more responsibility on you and be a single woman again,” Speed said. “I think we’ll have to do something about this.”
“What are you thinking, Speed?”
“Well, we can’t officially adopt him,” Speed replied. “But we could make Yelina think we were. Or we could just offer to let him spend free weekends with us out at the community. That way he’d get to do something special whenever any of us are free and it would let Yelina live her life the way she seems to want to right now.”
Horatio grinned. “That is a very good idea, Speed,” he said. “I’ll check with Gil tonight and see how he feels about it but I think Ray just got a new community of uncles to teach him.”
“Ma’am, we need to talk to you about your boyfriend and what happened to your son,” Frank said. “The doctors report no injuries on you so would you tell me just what was going on?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she said.
“Well right now you’re facing at the very least an accessory to murder charge for your son, Robby,” Nick said as he held up a piece of paper. “We ran your DNA and there was a match so you might as well come clean and tell us what happened.”
“Or Nick there can tell you what happened,” Frank said. “It’s your choice but I’d recommend you don’t wait too long because there’s a lot of questions that still need answers.”
“My ex-husband was in jail and I just wanted to be normal,” she said. “So I started going out at night, my mother would watch Robby for me and I met this really nice guy only he didn’t want kids. I thought he meant that he didn’t want to have kids but after he moved in and found out about Robby I found out that he didn’t want kids around at all.”
“Wait a minute, he moved in before he knew you had a kid?” Frank asked.
“Yeah, I didn’t know how to tell him about it,” she replied. “And by the time he found out it was too late.”
Nick sighed. “There were obviously people who were willing to take Robby, including his father, so why did you keep him with you?” he asked. “Wouldn’t it have been better for everyone involved for Robby to be with someone who loved and wanted him.”
“I loved him,” she protested.
“Obviously not enough or you wouldn’t have brought that bastard into your home,” Frank snorted. “Nick, it sounds to me like she was neglecting her kid and our charges are about right. I think I need some fresh air.”
“I’ll be there in a minute, Frank,” Nick said. “Ma’am, why did you throw everything out? Why not just report what happened to the police?”
“Because then I’d be blamed for what happened,” she replied. “It was just easier to get rid of everything.”
“Including your son,” Nick said. He shook his head and left; there were times he was amazed at the depravity of mankind. “That was one I’m glad we were able to solve, even if the main suspect died.”
“Yeah but she’s gonna be in a lot of trouble,” Frank said. “I hope the DA throws the book at her with her boyfriend gone.”
********************
Horatio took Mandy to the lab while Gil talked with Mac and Danny to get them ready for the night of blending. He couldn’t keep the smile off his face as he watched her bounce in the seat reminding him of Greg. “Happy to be back, Mandy?” he finally asked.
“Have you heard what’s going on in New York?” she asked in reply.
“Bits and pieces,” Horatio said. “What’s going on with you?”
“The new ME thinks I’m a kid and a threat to her supposed relationship with Mac,” Mandy said. “She won’t allow me in the morgue regardless of the case I’m helping on and I can’t help but feel if she could get rid of me she would. Mac asked me if I wanted to leave; come here or DC but I told him I don’t want to be run off again.”
“Do we need to kill someone?” Horatio asked.
“Perhaps,” Mandy laughed. “Are Speed and Eric at the lab?”
“For the moment,” Horatio said. “They’re taking my nephew for the weekend and we need to finalize the plans and I know they’re trying to finish their paperwork so they can be gone all weekend.”
Mandy frowned. “The community is taking your nephew, is something wrong with his mother?” she asked.
“Only that she thinks she’s in love and wants to go away for an adult weekend,” Horatio sighed. “They’re going to Disney World and leaving Ray here. I’m doing everything I can to make sure that he has a fun weekend too so he won’t feel too left out.”
“How can parents do that to their kid?” Mandy asked.
“I’ve never understood it myself but Speed has a plan,” Horatio replied with a smirk. “I think it’ll be fun and should send a wake-up call to my sister-in-law.” He parked the Hummer. “Come on; let’s find those files for you.”
Mandy clipped the visitor’s badge to the collar of her shirt and followed Horatio through the halls towards his office. “Speed,” she exclaimed when she saw the bronze dragon coming out of the break room with a young boy.
“Hey Mandy,” Speed said. “H, Yelina dropped Ray off early so I was wondering if Delko and I could go ahead and take off. I know you have everything set up for us.”
“Sure, just give me a minute, okay?” Horatio asked. “Ray, come with me buddy.”
Speed watched them for a minute, his dark eyes sad. “I hope this works out,” he said. “So how have you been, kid?”
“Ready to ask Mac how to commit murder and hide a body,” she replied quickly relating the story. “And the worst part about it is I can’t tell if she just doesn’t like me for who I am or because I’m Scottish. My accent makes that abundantly clear and she’s from England; there could be something there.”
“I know you’ve probably heard this from everyone but just let me know if there’s anything I can do to help out,” Speed said. “And that includes hiding bodies so you don’t get in trouble so early in your life.”
“Thanks, Speed.”
********************
Horatio took his nephew down the hall out of ear shot for any conversation Mandy and Speed would have but not so far that his nephew would feel like he was in trouble. “So did your mom tell you wants going on this weekend, Ray?”
“She said she wants to spend time with Rick so they’re going on a trip,” Ray sighed. “And that Speed and Eric are going to take me on a small trip.”
“That’s right,” Horatio said. “Eric is a diver and he thought you might like to learn to scuba dive out in the ocean and then you and I are going to spend Sunday together with a friend of mine from the lab.”
“Really?” Ray lit up at the thought of diving. “I’ve been wanting to learn to do that for a year but Mom says it’s too dangerous.”
“It can be,” Horatio said. “But Eric is a professional, he was a diver before he joined the lab and knows what he’s doing; he’ll keep you safe. I don’t think Speed will get in the water but he’ll be on the radio with you guys. And, if the weather holds like it has been, my friend Greg wants to teach you to surf on Sunday.”
Ray’s smile lit up the hallway. “Really Uncle Horatio?” he asked. “You set all this up just for me?”
“I did,” Horatio replied with a smile. “And I want you to promise me you’ll have fun. I know you’ll listen to Speed and Eric and be safe.”
“Awesome, thanks so much.”
“You’re very welcome,” Horatio said. “I’ll see you on Sunday, okay buddy?”
“Yeah.”
********************
Horatio and Mandy watched Speed, Eric and Ray as they left the lab. “He’s so much like his father at times it hurts,” Horatio sighed. “I’m just glad that I can give him something that means something to him.”
“You give him a father, H,” Mandy said. “I’d say that means more than anything can.”
“Speaking from experience, Mandy?” Horatio asked in as off-hand a manner as he could manage.
“You’re not going to trap me that easily,” Mandy laughed. “You know I don’t talk about my family. So, case files? I really want to get this presentation completed and get into the schools and other centers up in New York.”
“From what Mac was telling me you should be able to bring it down here as well,” Horatio said as he led the way to his office. “And I’d guess that we really need something of that nature down here because we do have so many people in swimsuits all the time.”
Mandy nodded. “Something definitely needs to be done because the course that children, and many adults, are on is unhealthy and could lead to their death,” she said. “I’ve been doing research and I’m appalled at the numbers I’ve been finding.”
“Do you think the kids will listen to you?”
“I hope so,” she said. “The way I look at it they’ve been preached at by adults most of their life and are probably just tuning them out most of the time. But if I come in, I’m close enough to their age and have seen these things first hand that I’m hoping to at least be able to make an impression on them.”
“Horatio,” Alexx called from down the hall, “I found something interesting you should see. Oh, hello Mandy; I didn’t know you were in town, Sugar. How have you been?”
“I’ve been fine, Alexx,” Mandy smiled. “Horatio, I can go hang with Greggo if you need to work something.”
“If you don’t mind,” Horatio said. “I’m in the middle of a homicide case.”
“I promise we’ll behave ourselves,” Mandy grinned and walked away with a wave.
Horatio watched her go and turned to Alexx. “The lab may never be the same,” he sighed. “Now, what did you find, Alexx?”
“Our young victim was pregnant, Horatio,” Alexx said. “About four months along and I’m wondering if that could have been a motive for her death.”
“It could indeed,” Horatio said. “Get a sample of the DNA to Greg please. I found a cell phone under her body that I need to take a look at but do you have a cause of death?”
“Yeah,” Alexx said softly. “She was hit on the head from behind while restrained. From the angle I’d say she was in a chair and leaning back at the time. The weapon was a pipe or something similar in shape and size.”
“Okay, thank you Alexx,” Horatio said with a small smile.
Mandy laughed. “I promised H we’d behave,” she said. “Seriously, I don’t know; until Mac and Danny are ready to go back north again I suppose. I’m working on a couple of different things and have to finish those projects before I even consider moving to another lab.”
“Are you thinking seriously about that?” Greg asked.
“I don’t know,” Mandy replied with a sigh. “I love New York and the lab there but there’s one person who is making my life a living hell right now and I just wonder if it wouldn’t be better if I left for a while until everything settles down again. I mean there’s only so much Mac can do and I really don’t want him to get in trouble.”
“You know he’d do anything to protect you though, don’t you?”
“Yeah and its one reason I’m staying,” Mandy said. “That and the fact that if I leave they’ll be all alone there in the city and I just don’t think that’s such a good idea.”
“Where are you staying this time around?”
“Mac and Danny are with you guys and as Speed and Eric are gone this weekend I told them I’d stay in their place,” Mandy said. “And I hear rumors that we all might be going surfing on Sunday.”
Greg started laughing. “Can’t you just see Horatio up on a surf board?” he asked. “I think I’ll be lucky to get him out from under the umbrella for a swim. But yeah, I promised to teach Ray how to surf if the weather holds, which I think it will.”
“If I’m still here will you teach me too?” Mandy asked her blue eyes twinkling.
“I think I’ll tell Mac you need to stay through Monday night,” Greg said. “That way I can promise to teach you and the break will only do you good.”
“Greg, is the sample from the morgue here yet?” Horatio asked leaning in the door.
“Just got it,” Greg replied. “And am running it now. Anything special?”
“Check it against all databases, please,” Horatio said. “My homicide was expecting and its entirely possible the father killed her when he found out she was pregnant. Mandy, here are the files I promised you. If you can wait we can go over them after supper tonight.”
She took them with a smile. “That sounds perfect, H; thanks.”
********************
Sunday morning came around quickly and Horatio awoke early to make sure that everything was ready when Speed and Eric dropped Ray off. He’d spoken with his friends and nephew each evening by phone and was amazed at how much fun all three seemed to be having; even Speed with his phobia of everything that lived in the Miami water. Maybe having Eric around was helping to mellow him out a little. Horatio grinned; it could only be a good thing.
“The weather looks perfect,” his human’s voice came from behind him. “Are we going to rent boards or do you have something up your sleeve?”
Horatio looked down at his bare chest. “Do we need to get your eyes checked, Greg?” he asked. “Because I think you’re seeing things.”
“The only thing I see is a dragon who needs to come back to bed,” Greg purred. “Because we still have three hours before Ray gets here and the sun is barely up. There is such a thing as being too prepared, H.”
“Not as far as I’m concerned,” Horatio said as he pulled Greg in for a hug. He gazed down into his human’s chocolate eyes for a moment and then leaned in for a soft kiss. “I love you so much, Greg.”
“I love you too, H,” Greg replied softly. He ran his hands down his dragon’s bare back to the waistband of his boxers. “Come back to bed, Horatio.”
The older man laughed. “I don’t know that I’d ever be able to tell you no, Greg,” he whispered nibbling on Greg’s neck. “Come on and I’ll show you exactly how special you are to me.”
The pair made their way back up the stairs to their bedroom all the while exchanging soft kisses and caresses. Horatio lowered Greg onto the bed and covered his human’s body with his own. “You feel so good against me, Greg,” he murmured between kisses, the passion growing slowly. “I need you so badly.”
“Then take me,” Greg said spreading his legs, both men moaning as their groins came into closer contact. He shifted around until he could feel his dragon’s erection pressing up against him.
“Not without lube,” Horatio whispered pulling back a little. “Where did it land last night?”
“Use the lotion on my side,” Greg said. “I don’t want to take the time for a lube hunt right now.”
Horatio put his head down on the bed for a moment and just laughed. He didn’t look up until Greg started poking him in the ribs. “I’m sorry, Greg,” he gasped trying to get himself under control again. “But that was so dirty and so funny at the same time it just blind-sided me.”
Greg ran his lotion-slicked hands along Horatio’s cock. “I’m glad you find my puns amusing but there are better things you could be doing,” he said, trying for upset and failing. The young human pushed Horatio onto his back and swung up to straddle his waist. “Need and want you now,” he moaned as he pressed down, taking Horatio’s erection into his body. “So good.”
“Yeah,” Horatio gasped. His hands grabbed Greg’s hips of their own accord as he thrust up. “You feel so good around me, Greg. Love you so much.”
“Love you too,” Greg panted as he worked a steady counter-rhythm against his dragon’s thrusts. For all that they had the time both knew that there could be no hint to Ray that anything was wrong when he arrived for brunch with Speed and Eric. That meant they had to both be through the shower and in the kitchen in far less time than they normally had on the weekend when they were both off.
Horatio growled and rolled them so Greg was suddenly on his back with his dragon staring down into his eyes as his thrusts grew more and more erratic until Greg came with a cry, followed quickly by Horatio.
“Shower?” Horatio finally managed to ask.
“Together?” Greg smiled.
“Not today, Greg,” Horatio sighed. He kissed his lover, his human softly. “I think we both need some time to cool down before our family gets here.”
Greg pouted as Horatio pulled out and rolled to the side. “What if I promise to behave?” he asked rolling onto his stomach and batting his eye lashes at Horatio.
“Oh god, Greg,” Horatio moaned pulling Greg in for a heated kiss. “Come on, we do have to get cleaned up.”
The human smirked as he followed Horatio to their master bath. “You never said anything about behaving,” he said as he shut the door behind them.
********************
Both Horatio and Greg were waiting on their deck when Speed, Eric, Ray and Mandy came along the beach. Horatio smiled when he saw the folder in Ray’s hands. “What do you have there, Ray?”
“Pictures that Eric and Speed took,” Ray replied with a wide smile. He opened the folder and handed it to his uncle.
Horatio looked through the pictures and noted that Eric must have bought a new underwater camera because the pictures were clear and it was very obvious that Ray was having a blast while he was learning how to scuba dive. “I think this is my favorite,” Horatio finally said holding up a picture of Ray and Speed cooking on the back deck on a small grill while Eric fished in the background.
“I’ll print you out a copy, H,” Eric said. “Ray did really good, he’s a treat to teach and I’d be more than happy to take him out again any time he wants to go.”
“And Speed’s promised to teach me chemistry,” Ray said with another smile.
“Should I worry?” Horatio asked.
“We’ll be safe,” Speed replied. “I was going to start him out with one of those home chemistry sets anyway.”
Greg came out of the house, he’d vanished inside to grab the tray of food when everyone arrived, and smiled at his nephew. “So Ray, I understand you want to learn how to surf too,” Greg said.
“If you don’t mind teaching me, yeah,” Ray said. “Are you Uncle Horatio’s friend?”
“I am, my name’s Greg; I work at the lab with your uncle,” Greg said. “And he found out I cook a mean omelet, which I hear is your favorite, so he asked me if I’d cook today too.”
Mandy looked around the group from where she was sitting on the railing. “Horatio, will you be joining us today?” she finally asked.
“I will but don’t expect me to swim,” Horatio replied with a fond smile.
“Uncle Horatio burns really easily,” Ray said between bites of his breakfast. “But this is all so awesome; thanks so much everyone.”
“You’re welcome,” Horatio said. “And we’ll leave as soon as you’re done with breakfast.”
Ray looked up. “I don’t have to wait half an hour?”
“It’ll take us that long to get to the beach and get ready,” Horatio said.
********************
That evening when Yelina and Rick came to pick Ray up he went running to show his mother all the fun things he’d learned over the weekend and only glanced at the toys she had for him in the car. Yelina asked Rick to wait in the car with Ray and followed Horatio into the house.
“You let him go scuba diving and surfing?” she demanded. “Don’t you know I told him those things were too dangerous and wouldn’t let him go?”
“He mentioned it,” Horatio said. “But I assure you that he was perfectly safe all weekend. Eric Delko, our crime lab diver, is the one who taught him this weekend and Greg Sanders, our DNA tech is the one who taught Ray to surf. What’s the real problem here, Yelina; the fact that Ray did something you didn’t want him to because you were too scared or are you angry that he had more fun than you did?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she spat. “And that’s not the point.”
“Yelina, the point is that you left your son in my care for the weekend and he’s in a better mood now than when he was dropped off at the lab on Friday,” Horatio said. “Did you even check to see if I was there before you left?”
“Of course I did.”
Horatio sighed and looked to the side. “Then why did I find Ray there with Speed when I arrived half an hour later,” he said. “I think you need to reevaluate your life and what you want, Yelina. If you want to live the life of a single woman I will be happy to give Ray a home here for as long as you want.”
“I don’t want to get rid of my son,” Yelina said. “I love him and he’s all I have left of Raymond.”
“Then stop treating him like a burden to be handed off to whoever is willing to take him,” Horatio said sharply. “Because if I see something like this again I will take action, Yelina, and I doubt you’ll be able to do anything about it.”
She stepped back in fear; Yelina had never heard Horatio raise his voice before let alone threaten a member of his family. “Horatio, what’s wrong with you?” she asked.
“Nothing that knowing my nephew is safe would cure,” he replied. “I’ll see you at the lab, Yelina. Good night.”
Greg stepped out of the shadows as the front door shut behind her. “That was a little too close, H,” he murmured rubbing his dragon’s back.
“I know and that’s why I don’t want to work cases when kids are involved,” Horatio sighed. “I need to talk with Gil, Greg; will you be okay for an hour or so?”
“Yeah, I promised Abby I’d meet up with her online for a bit of tweaking on the web page anyway,” Greg said. He kissed his dragon. “Be safe out there.”
Horatio had spent the evening talking about the world of pax draconis and the meditation method that he’d been taught to reach it under his own power. The assembled community members looked at him like he was crazy, and maybe he was, but he insisted they all try it because until they did there was no true way to measure their powers. Gil sighed and took Nick’s left hand in his right and closed his eyes trying to focus his mind the way that Horatio instructed.
When he opened them again he was staring directly into the deep green eyes of a large white dragon with crystal white scales that shifted and swirled in a rainbow of colors. “Hello,” he said.
“You are the alpha for your community, welcome; I am Chrysalis,” the white dragon said. He shifted around until he could lower his head down to Gil’s level. “It seems that only you and your beta have the power to travel to meet us.”
“Us?” Horatio asked. “Chrysalis, have the others come to greet us as well?”
“Others?” Gil asked.
“There are five lore masters, one for each element,” Chrysalis said. He rested his head on his paws and sighed, almost blowing Gil and Horatio over. “They came today to meet you all and grant you a charm from their element.”
Gil and Horatio looked at each other and stepped back to stand with their humans. “We are honored,” Horatio said. “I’ve been hoping to meet everyone soon.”
“You are far too relaxed about this, you know,” Gil commented.
“I’ve been here enough that this place is as familiar to me as our beach house,” Horatio replied with a grin. “And now that you’ve made the jump I think you’ll be able to come back as often as you want.”
Four white dragon heads popped up over the rocks, their scales swirling with colors as well. Their eyes, horns, claws and wing bones were different colors. Chrysalis raised his head and indicated the dragon on the far right. The dragon’s eyes were a pale reflection of Chrysalis’, almost a peridot in color. “This is Glossyllis; he is our earth dragon, powerful in the magics and lore of the land.”
“I welcome you to our home,” Glossyllis rumbled. “And gift you with a stone of protection that will alert you when an enemy is near.”
“We thank you,” Gil said speaking for his community. “This gift will aid us in keeping not only our humans but our community safe.”
“You are well spoken, black dragon,” Chrysalis said. “I see why you are alpha for you people.” He indicated the slightly smaller dragon standing next to Glossyllis. She had blue eyes and highlights. “This is Zoratis from the water lore.”
“Welcome dragons from Gaia,” Zoratis trilled. “I wish to give you a cup for your community and challis charm that will give life when it is needed.”
Horatio looked a little stunned. “Do you mean that if someone is dying the touch of the charm can bring them back to life?” he asked.
“No, no magic can do that,” she replied. “This life is the life of water. You know of this, read dragon and you must teach your fellows to respect and follow the magic.”
Gil looked over at his friend. “Horatio?”
“I think she’s talking about the renewal of the oceans washing onto the shores and beaches,” Horatio said. “At least that’s the only thing I can think of; water gives us life and we, in turn, should take care of the planet so the water doesn’t get polluted.”
“Very good,” Zoratis said. “You deserve to carry these charms.”
Chrysalis inclined his head in the direction of the third dragon who had deep orange, almost red markings with a few black inclusions. “This is Lepidoperis from the fires,” he said.
“Dragon kin I greet you,” Lepidoperis said, his voice deeper than the other males. “The charm I grant you will always let you know where the humans of your community are so you can help each in a moment. But be warned, fire does not like to be tamed.”
“Thank you,” Gil said. “We are in dangerous places almost every day and keeping everyone from harm is our top priority. Any help you can give us is most welcome.”
“And finally this is Archodonitis from the realm of the air magics. She does not speak but wishes me to tell you that her gift is that of a crystal that will keep you healthy longer,” Chrysalis said. “And I give you all another pendant to wear next to the one I gave you last time.”
Gil blinked and looked down to see that he now wore a pendant and necklace identical to the ones the others wore.
“This pendant is a lore charm,” Chrysalis said. “It contains much of the knowledge we have found beginners and those new to the dragon world should know. I hope these gifts are of a help to you.”
“They will be, Chrysalis, thank you,” Horatio said. He settled onto the rock that was more or less his when he was there working on his studies. “And now, do you mind if we ask you some questions?”
“One final thing, you should all start to see which of the elements you identify most closely with,” Chrysalis said. “That way you can begin to learn more specific lore.”
“We will,” Horatio replied. “Although I think I already know mine.”
Gil was jerked out of his thoughts by a voice calling his name from down the beach. “Jim, what’s wrong?” he asked.
“Something’s happened to Horatio’s nephew,” Jim replied. “I’m on my way to the department to get the protective custody sorted out but they need you down there now.”
“I’m going; call Nick too, please, and let him know what’s going on,” Gil said. “It sounds like we’ve got a problem other than hunters.”
“And Horatio is ready to kill someone,” Jim said. “I don’t know how long Greg can keep him under control.”
It wasn’t easy to run in sand, especially for someone who normally walked more than a little bow-legged but Gil managed it as best he could; he was lucky that Horatio and Greg lived just next door and not any further down the beach. When he paused to catch his breath in the kitchen he was a little surprised to almost be knocked down by his beta dragon.
“Horatio!” Gil snapped. “You’ve got to come out of this, now. You have to take care of Ray.”
The red dragon turned on Gil with a snarl and was knocked to the ground down onto the beach, away from the house. “Let me up, Gil; I’m going to kill him,” Horatio growled. “I’m going to make sure that his body is never found by anyone and then I’m going to take Ray away from his mother.”
“One step at a time,” Gil said. He pinned Horatio with a blue stare that would rival Gibbs’ death glare. “Tell me what happened; I want a report from the CSI not the dragon, do you hear me?”
“Ray Jr. showed up about fifteen minutes ago in a cab,” Horatio said, his voice still a growl but with more control. “His shirt was soaking wet and he was covered in bruises and cuts. Greg and brought him in and as I was tending to his wounds, and collecting evidence, Ray told us that his mother was upset that he’d gone scuba diving and surfing over the weekend. When Ray tried to point out that I set it up and everything was perfectly safe his mother slapped him.”
“Okay, so Yelina isn’t acting like herself at the moment,” Gil said, his eyes glowing a little at the thought of anyone hurting a child. “I’m not excusing her actions but most mothers lose control a time or two.”
“Stetler, who apparently is living with them, got into the argument at this point and pointed out that Ray shouldn’t have gone against his mother’s wishes no matter what I said and known that his actions would have upset Yelina,” Horatio continued. “Ray says he told Stetler that he’s not his father and he doesn’t have to listen to anything he said.”
Gil snickered. “Ray’s a good judge of character,” he said. “But none of this is what had you in such a fit, Horatio. What did Stetler do to make you so mad?”
“He dumped boiling water on Ray’s back,” Horatio growled. He tried to get up, forgetting for a moment exactly how strong his alpha was.
“H, you will stay here until you are calm enough not to upset that child,” Gil said firmly. “Especially after the evening he’s had. Come on, you know better than this.”
“That bastard hurt my family,” Horatio said. “Agree that he’ll pay and I’ll do my best to calm down.”
“Stetler has hurt a hatching in our community,” Gil said and looked stunned for a moment. “Okay, I don’t know where that came from. But Ray’s ours now and we’ll make sure that there is no loop hole that they can exploit to get his back; ever. If we have to we can move to another community or ask one of the pairs in NYDC to take him until things cool down.”
Gil sat back slowly and let his friend up. “You’re a CSI but you’re also his uncle,” he said. “Let me finish processing him and then we’ll call Alexx; she can come over and check his back and see if he needs to go to the hospital.”
“One thing is bothering me,” Horatio said. “Where he got money for the cab.”
“Maybe Yelina gave it to him and told him to come here,” Gil said as he followed the red head into the house. “Or he could have taken it when he was running; either way, Yelina knows he’ll be coming here and it’s only a matter of time until she shows up as well.”
Horatio tapped on the door to the guest room. “It’s me, Greg.”
“Are you still mad, Uncle Horatio?” Ray asked as Horatio and Gil eased into the room.
“I was never mad at you, Ray,” Horatio said softly. “Never; I’m proud of you for standing up for what’s right and leaving when things got bad. You’re extremely brave.”
“And smart for knowing that you could come here,” Gil added. “I’m a friend of your uncle’s, Ray. Do you mind if I check the rest of your clothes?”
Ray shook his head. “No, I know you need to collect evidence,” he said. “What’s your name?”
“I’m Gil,” he said as he knelt down next to the bed where Ray was lying on his stomach. “I live next door.”
“Greg, would you call Alexx, please?” Horatio asked. “Gil thought she could look at Ray’s back.”
“You calmer?” Greg asked.
“I am,” Horatio replied. “Calling Gil over was a good idea. I’m sorry I lost it like that.”
The men went about their assigned chores for a few minutes while Gil finished processing Ray’s clothes and collecting other trace evidence from him. “I think your uncle left these for you, Ray,” he said holding up a pair of sleep pants. “Now, things are going to get crazy around here in a minute; do you like insects?”
“I love them!” Ray exclaimed.
“Well then, I happen to have a collection of bugs under glass at my house,” Gil said. “Alexx can meet us there as well as here and it’ll be quieter. How’d you like to come visit? I know Horatio wouldn’t mind in the least.”
“Really?” Ray asked.
“Really,” Horatio replied from the door. “I’ll tell Alexx where you guys are, Gil. Thank you.”
“You’re welcome, Horatio,” Gil said. “He can sleep in my guest room too. Will we see you for breakfast? I think Nick might just be making waffles, with whipped cream.”
Horatio looked down at his nephew’s big eyes. “I wouldn’t miss it,” he said with a smile.
“Jim, what are you doing here?” Warrick asked when he bumped into his dragon in the hall.
“Horatio’s young nephew was assaulted by his mother and that bastard Stetler earlier tonight,” Jim replied. “I’m here to get the legal stuff taken care of so we can go to a judge tomorrow and get custody transferred to Horatio. There’s no way in hell we’re letting Ray go back to his mother.”
“Is there anything I can do to help?” Warrick asked.
“Yeah, I think Horatio’s going to ask us all if we mind watching Ray on our off days or helping out with him,” Jim said. “Do you have any problems with that?”
“Not a one,” Warrick said. “You know I love kids, but what are we going to tell him about all of us?”
Jim snorted. “I think I’ll leave that up to Horatio,” he said. “But that’s something one of us should probably take the time to point out.”
Nick leaned out into the hall. “You know there’s a chance Ray Jr. could be the same as Horatio don’t you?” he said.
Both Jim and Warrick looked shocked for a minute and then started laughing. “I hadn’t even thought of that,” Warrick said. “But you’re right; he’s Horatio’s brother’s kid and it could pass down. That’s definitely something that needs to be talked about.”
“I’ll mention it,” Jim said. “I’ve got to get these papers back anyway. Nick, Gil wants you to call him when you have a chance.”
“You got it,” Nick said.
********************
Gil took Ray to his house and inside to his office where most of the insect collection was. “Wow,” Ray said looking around. “How did you collect all these?”
“I’ve been collecting since I was younger than you are now,” Gil said. “My mother helped me for a long time and then I continued on my own. I actually made a career out of studying bugs.”
“Do you work with Uncle Horatio?” Ray looked over from where he was looking at one of the sets of framed butterflies.
“When he asks me to,” Gil said. “I use bugs to tell me when and where someone died and help your uncle catch the person who did it.”
“Wow, can you teach me?” Ray asked.
“Well, why don’t we start with an insect collection and you can learn about the different types and classes of insects,” Gil replied. “That’ll take us a while and then, if you’re still interested I’ll teach you the rest of what I do. I don’t know that your uncle would want you looking at dead bodies just yet.”
“Probably not,” Ray said. “He’s pretty protective of me and my mom. But I know he likes for me to learn things.”
The dragon smiled. “I’m sure he does and there’s plenty here to learn,” Gil said. “And I like teaching so it’s no problem at all.” He paused when someone knocked on the door. “I think that might be Alexx. Will you be okay here for a few minutes, Ray?”
“Sure, I promise not to touch anything.”
“Thank you.” Gil made his way quickly to the front door and opened it. “Alexx, please come in. Thanks so much for coming over.”
“It’s no problem, Gil,” Alexx replied. “Ray’s one of the family. Where is he?”
“In my office; I thought my insect collection would distract him from everything that’s been going on with him tonight,” Gil said. “And I think I’m keeping him here tonight.”
“I’ll need to use your guest room to check him over,” Alexx said. “How’s he acting?”
“He’s trying to be strong and act like nothing happened but I can tell he’s hurting pretty bad,” Gil said. “Alexx, his back is a mess and I don’t know what else happened to him. Will you let us know if we need to take him to the hospital please?”
She nodded. “I will, Sugar,” she said. “Just give me some time to check him over.”
********************
Jim found Horatio pacing around his house, eyes glowing, muttering to himself. “Here’s the protection order, Horatio,” he said handing over the paperwork. “And Frank Tripp says to call if you need any help.”
“How’d Frank get involved in this?” Horatio asked as he flipped through the paperwork.
“The people at the department know him better than they know me,” Jim shrugged. “He helped me get everything squared away. There’s no way in hell Yelina’s getting her son back without a court hearing at the least maybe even a trial.”
“Good,” Greg said. He handed his dragon a cup. “Drink it, H; it’ll calm you down. Jim, can I get you anything?”
“Just water is fine, thanks Greg,” Jim sighed. He sank onto the couch and looked up at the red dragon. “Horatio, Nick and Warrick pointed out a couple of things I think you need to consider for keeping Ray here in the community.”
“What?”
“First of all he’s going to know something’s going on,” Jim said. “Especially if Gil Changes and heads out into the water to think. We’ll have to tell him what’s going on around here.”
Horatio sighed and finally sank into his chair. “I know, I’ve been thinking about that and I think Ray will be okay with it,” he said. “He’s such an intelligent child I know he’d be great to teach, like Nick and Mandy were. I was going to talk to Nicky about it in the morning. What else did they say?”
“Did you ever consider that Ray might Change one day?” Jim asked.
“Damn it, no,” Horatio exclaimed. “I never even thought that Raymond might be carrying this gene as well. It would have passed on to Ray, wouldn’t it? That’s even more reason for him to learn about this; it’s his family heritage as much as it is mine and I don’t want him taken by surprise like I was; like we all were.”
“I think Gil will agree,” Jim said. “Thanks Greg.” He took the bottle of water. “Now I have a question, what are you going to do if Yelina shows up here tonight? Or Stetler? They have to know that this is where Ray would come if he was in trouble.”
“I don’t think I’d hurt Yelina but I’ll probably scare her pretty badly if she comes near me right now,” Horatio said. “If Stetler dares show his face around here he’s dead. And I know I’m not the only dragon who will react like that.”
Jim rolled his eyes and leaned back against the cushions. “Not that I’m complaining but don’t you think a dead body, especially an IAB officer, out here might raise some questions we don’t want asked?”
“What if we were to fly him out over the ocean and drop his body?” Horatio asked. “He’d wash up in a few weeks, if the tides are right, and it would look like a boating accident.”
“Do you really want to commit murder, H?” Greg asked as he crawled into his dragon’s lap. “Could you really kill someone in cold blood?”
“No,” Horatio admitted. “It’s one thing to shoot a man or woman who is threatening a member of my team or me. It’s something else to walk up to a man, no matter how angry I am or how much I hate him and kill him. But if either of them lay a hand on Ray I make no promises.”
“We wouldn’t want you to,” Jim said. “All right, I’m going to go talk to Gil and see what’s going on there. One of you call if either of these bastards show up.”
“You got it, Jim,” Greg said.
Horatio closed his eyes and rested his cheek on Greg’s messy hair. “Do you mind Ray moving in here like this?” he asked. “I think I’d have him home schooled so there was no chance he could be kidnapped which means he’d be around the community all the time.”
“He’s a great kid, H,” Greg said. “And we could fix up the guest room for him however he wants us to. He can spend summers in New York and Washington DC with the community up there learning from them. Ray will have men and women around who love him and will guide him to become the best man he can. No, I don’t have a problem having him live here.” He kissed Horatio’s neck. “But it’s a big responsibility and we’ll have to discuss this with the rest of the community.”
“I know, especially Gil,” Horatio murmured. “Because he’s the one who would be doing most of the teaching as he’s here all the time. And I suppose if we need Gil at the lab, Eric’s mother could take Ray for the day or we could work it out so a community member could be here.”
“And you know Alexx and her family will help out,” Greg added. “And you know Mandy will be willing to fly down if she can. We can make it work, H. I know we can.”
“We’d have to tell him about us,” Horatio said.
“I think he’s close to figuring it out already,” Greg admitted. “We were sitting pretty close on the beach during lunch. Somehow I don’t think he’ll mind. But how hard will Yelina fight to keep him?”
“Right now with all the evidence we have and the fact that she hasn’t called or come by makes me wonder,” Horatio sighed again. “I don’t know how hard a battle we have ahead of us, Greg. I really don’t.”
“Horatio?”
“In the living room, Alexx,” Horatio called his arms tightening around Greg. “You’re grounding me right now. Don’t move, love.”
Alexx’s eyes widened for a moment when she saw Horatio and Greg curled up together but she took it in stride. “Well, now I know who to ask to make sure you’re eating and sleeping, Horatio,” she smiled. “Ray doesn’t need to go to the hospital but I gave him some children’s Tylenol for the pain. He’s asleep over at Gil’s house and I wouldn’t move him tonight.”
“Okay Alexx, is there anything special I need to do for those burns?” Horatio asked.
“Just keep them clean and dry,” Alexx said. “And you can use Aloe starting tomorrow to help them heal. He needs to stay calm for a couple of days but not in bed. Ray was telling me about all the things he’s going to be learning over the next few months; it sounds like you guys are going to keep him busy.”
“We are,” Horatio said. “Alexx, I’m going to file for custody; would you be willing to be listed as a back-up baby-sitter for Ray if we all have to work?”
“I’d be honored, Horatio,” she replied. “And I’ve documented everything I did and am taking it to the lab right now. Who’s working the case from there?”
“Nick,” Horatio said. “He was in on another case and started a folder for me on this one.”
“Where’s Yelina?” Alexx asked.
“I don’t know, Alexx,” Horatio sighed. “I just don’t know.”
“I think we should sleep on it,” Greg replied. “Talk with the others in the morning. We’re willing to adopt Ray and he has a safe place here with us. That’s enough to take to bed with us and we can work it out in the morning.”
“I suppose this really is a community problem,” Horatio sighed. He ran his hands up Greg’s back to his messy hair and tangled his fingers in the soft hair. “And that’s why I can’t make a decision. I love you, Greg.” He pulled the younger man in for a more passionate kiss. Greg moaned and opened to his dragon, wrapping his arms around Horatio’s neck.
Horatio picked Greg up and carried him to their bedroom. He put them down in the middle of the bed and stood for a minute and just looked at him. Greg smirked and pulled off his shorts and lay there exposed to his dragon’s heated eyes. Horatio’s hand, seemingly acting of their own accord, undid his slacks and gravity pulled them to the ground as Horatio joined his human on their bed. The younger man wrapped around Horatio and rolled them so he was pressed down into the bed by his dragon’s weight. “Greg,” Horatio whispered. He stretched a hand out for the lube and quickly slicked his erection. “I love you so much.”
“I know,” Greg said. He shifted around so Horatio could press home, both of them moaning at the closer connection. “I love feeling you in me.”
“You keep me human,” Horatio said. He shifted slightly and started thrusting into his human’s body. “I need you so much.”
********************
The doorbell rang around three in the morning. Horatio groaned and untangled himself from his human. “Greg, call the others,” he said. “I think that’s Yelina and if she has Stetler with her we might have some problems.”
“Okay, H,” Greg said. He grabbed the phone and dialed Gil’s house as he watched his dragon slip on a pair of pants.
Horatio made his way to the front door and opened it. “Detective Salas,” he said. “What can I do for you?”
“Where’s my son, Horatio?” Yelina asked. “Is he here?”
“He’s safe,” Horatio replied. He picked up the photocopy of the protection order and custody request. “And he’s not going anywhere any time soon.”
“Ray shoved Rick tonight and he hit his head,” Yelina said. “I had to take him to the hospital.”
“With no concern for Ray Jr.’s injuries,” Horatio stated blandly. “The department has the evidence collected here this evening along with reports from Dr. Woods. The judge was more than willing to issue the paperwork and I’m applying for full custody.”
Yelina stammered for a minute. “You’ll never get it,” she finally managed to say.
“Won’t I?” Horatio looked to the side for a moment. “At this point in time we have statements from not only Ray but Dr. Grissom, Detective Brass, a few of my CSIs and Dr. Woods. Ray was hurt badly enough that he needed to go to the doctor for treatment but you made a decision,” he said. “You chose to care for you live-in boyfriend rather than your son and by making that choice you have lost him.”
“You can’t take him from me.”
“What do you care more about?” Greg asked softly from the doorway where he’d been listening to the conversation. “The sympathy you get for being a single mother or your son?”
“What’s he doing here?” Yelina demanded.
“I came over to help with Ray and crashed in the guest room,” Greg replied. “Your yelling woke me up.”
She looked between the two men. “You’re sleeping with him,” Yelina exclaimed. “There’s no way a judge will grant you custody now.”
“Where’s your evidence?” Horatio asked. “If I found a female friend spending the night at your house would it make sense to assume that you were sleeping with your best friend? That’s the emotions talking and nothing more.”
“I want to see him,” Yelina said.
“I’m afraid that’s not possible,” Horatio said. “Ray is asleep and has hard day. Alexx said that he needs his sleep to heal from the burns and other injuries he sustained today. Those are your copies of all the paperwork and I’ll see you in court if you insist on fighting me for custody.”
“Why are you doing this to me?” Yelina demanded.
Horatio sighed. “I didn’t do anything to you, Detective,” he said. “I’m protecting an innocent child from harm. Go home and think about what’s more important to you; your son or your boyfriend.”
“I’m going to fight this in court, Horatio,” Yelina said. “This is my son we’re talking about.”
“And I was hoping you’d care enough about him to not put his through the stress of a trial,” Horatio said. “Good night, Yelina.”
Greg waited until the door was shut behind her and wrapped his arms around his dragon. “What if she tells Stetler her suspicions about us?” he asked softly. “I suppose we do look a little messy.”
“I’ll deal with Stetler,” Horatio replied. “I think Gil’s at the back door.”
“How do you dragons do that?” Greg asked as he followed Horatio to the back porch. “Gil.”
“What happened?” Gil asked.
“She had to take Stetler to the hospital,” Horatio said. “And she figured out that I’m sleeping with Greg. I denied it but I don’t know that’s going to put her off the scent.”
“That’s the least of our worries,” Gil said. “Right now we need to find out if Stetler has done anything else to Ray and get a documentation of everything he tells us.”
“I asked Nick to work the case so I can’t be accused of interference or influence,” Horatio said. “Will you have him talk with Ray tomorrow and find out what’s been going on lately?”
“Sure will,” Gil said. “And I’ll be more than happy to keep Ray tomorrow while you’re at work. He wants to learn forensic entomology so I’m going to start teaching him about insects tomorrow.” He held up a hand. “Only the basics, if he’s still interested in the subject in ten years I’ll let him start looking at pictures of dead bodies.”
Horatio laughed. “How did you know what I was going to say?”
“No one would want their young nephew learning about forensics before the age of fifteen at the earliest,” Gil said. “I may not know much about people but this was a no brainer.”
“You’ve been hanging around us too much,” Greg laughed.
“Probably,” Gil agreed. “I’ll see you guys in the morning. Oh, Horatio; are we going to have a court date or not?”
“Most likely,” Horatio sighed. “I’ll find out tomorrow for sure.”
“Let me know.”
********************
When he got home Gil went into the guest room to check on the young man sleeping in the bed. He sighed when he saw that Ray had burrowed down under the blankets like he was hiding from the world. There was something not right about the happy young man and he was glad that they’d gotten him away from the situation. It was possible that Yelina really didn’t know what was happening in her own house but at the same time she’d seemed to genuinely care for her son up until this past weekend. Gil couldn’t help but wonder if something had happened to push Yelina over the edge.
*Gil*
*I’m in the guest room, Nicky* Gil replied. *I’ll be right there*
He took one last look at Ray before shutting the door quietly and made his way down the hall to the master bedroom. Nick was propped up on the pillows. “Is everything okay, Gil?”
“Apparently Yelina finally came looking for Ray,” Gil said. He slipped out of his pants and crawled under the covers with Nick. “And wasn’t happy when Horatio refused.”
Nick glanced at the clock. “She’s a little late, isn’t she?”
“H told me that she was taking care of Stetler,” Gil sighed. “Nicky, I need you to talk with Ray tomorrow and find out what’s going on with him. If Stetler has been abusing him we need to know about it. We need to get custody of him. There’s a chance he could be a dragon.”
“True,” Nick agreed. “Okay, I’ll talk to him at breakfast and see what he’s got to say. How’s Horatio holding up?”
“I think Greg has everything under control at this point,” Gil said. “He seems to be grounding Horatio and that’s important. The last thing I want is for Horatio to lose his control and kill Stetler before we can prove anything.”
The younger man rolled over and looked at his dragon. “Do you really think that Horatio would commit murder like that?” he asked.
“No I don’t,” Gil replied. “But if Stetler pushes too much right now he will die and I don’t want Horatio to have to deal with that kind of guilt. It’s bad enough right now that he’s having to basically tear his family apart to protect his nephew.”
“And he’ll keep everything inside until something happens and it all explodes,” Nick said. “Greg told me that Horatio keeps his emotions locked up and doesn’t like to talk about them with anyone, including him.”
Gil pulled Nick in against him and settled into the bed. “I’ll have a talk with him tomorrow,” he said. “The last thing we need is a dragon with his emotions festering in him. It could cause problems.”
“More than we have right now?” Nick asked.
“Well, there is this about the community,” Gil commented. “Life is never boring with all of us around.”
Nick laughed. “That’s true enough, Gil,” he said. “Love you.”
“I love you too, Nicky my boy,” Gil said kissing his human softly.
“I think Yelina has shown how much she cares about Ray Jr.,” Gil replied. “Now we have to find out exactly what rights we, as dragons, have to take care of him and what we can and can’t tell him at this point in time.”
“We are going to have to tell him about me and Greg,” Horatio said. “There’s no way we can hide that from him. It’s bad enough that Greg and I are going to have to work to be quiet now.”
“More than I needed to know,” Gil smiled. “But I also know that Nicky and I have the same tendency, especially if we’ve been apart more than a few hours.”
“Gil, Horatio,” Chrysalis said popping up from behind one of the larger hills of rocks. “What can I do for you this evening?”
“Advice please, Chrysalis,” Horatio replied. “My nephew was abused by his mother’s boyfriend and she has chosen to side with him rather than her son. I am fighting for custody of Ray but we are wondering if there are special laws in our community that we might be ignorant of.”
The white dragon settled down so his head was level with his friends. “The kit or hatchling is the most important thing in a community,” he said. “As you know you will react if a child is threatened or harmed in any way. That is the protective instinct that all dragons have.”
“Are we allowed to teach Ray?” Gil asked. “He is the son of Horatio’s brother and there is a chance he may Change some day. We’ve agreed that we don’t want him to be taken by surprise if we can avoid it.”
“You are allowed,” Chrysalis said. “And if Ray will be living in your community then you should teach him and soon. You will find that there is disbelief but there is also trust. He will believe in the end, Horatio.”
“What should I do about his mother?” Horatio asked. “She wants to fight this battle out in the courts and I’m worried about Ray and what it’ll do to him.”
“You are willing to fight for him,” Chrysalis replied. “I believe you will find that Ray is smarter than you give him credit for. And if he wishes to return to his mother then you must allow that as well. But be sure you do not begin teaching him of our world until you are sure he’ll remain with the community.”
“I’ll talk with him in the morning,” Horatio said. “I’m really hoping that Yelina will realize that it’s better for everyone if Ray just stays with me.”
Gil smiled sadly. “But when is it ever that easy?”
********************
Jim and Warrick were on their back deck eating breakfast when Jim looked up suddenly. “I just got one of my feelings, Warrick,” he said. “There’s danger coming for the community.”
“Where’s it coming from?” Warrick asked.
“I don’t know but it’ll be here soon,” Jim replied. “Come on, I think we need to go see Gil and let him know about this.”
The made their way along the sand to their alpha’s house and found the rest of the community there. “Hey, having a party and forgot to invite us?” Jim asked with a grin.
“We were just about to call you,” Gil said. “Do you feel anything, Jim?”
“There’s something in the air, Gil,” Jim said. “We’ve got problems.”
“Probably Yelina and Stetler,” Horatio commented from one side of the deck. “She was upset when she left last night and I can see her coming back today to try again. I’ve taken the day off from the lab and will be spending it here with Ray and Gil.”
Nick looked up from the folder in front of him. “I talked with Ray this morning and will be going before a judge soon,” he said. “We’ve got more than enough evidence to remove him from his mother’s care.”
“Has Yelina been doing anything to him?” Horatio asked.
“Just ignoring him and its borderline neglect,” Nick replied. “I’m worried about him, Horatio. You really need to talk with him.”
“I will,” Horatio said. “If you’ll excuse me.”
Everyone looked down at their belts when a cell phone rang. “Its mine,” Gil said. “Grissom.”
“Talk with Tripp, Nick,” Jim said. “He helped me out last night and said if we needed anything else to talk with him.”
“Sounds like a plan,” Nick said. “Speed, can I ride in with you and Eric?”
“Sure,” Speed said. “We’ll be ready in a few minutes.”
Grissom put his phone down and looked at his friends. “Danny Messer has been kidnapped,” he said. “I have to call Mac up in New York and talk him through this until he can reestablish his link with Danny.”
“So they do share our talent?” Nick asked.
“They do and according to Gibbs Mac is freaking out,” Gil replied. He kissed Nick and made his way into the house.
Horatio found his nephew in the guest room curled up under the blankets reading a book on bugs. He smiled and sat down. “How do you feel today, buddy?”
“My back hurts but I’ll be okay, Uncle Horatio,” Ray said. “Has Mom come by at all? Do I have to go with her?”
“Not if you don’t want to,” Horatio said softly. “Ray, what’s been going on with you?”
“He said I wasn’t supposed to tell anyone,” Ray said. “But I told Nick so I guess its okay for me to tell you too. Rick moved in a couple of months ago and has been kicking me out a lot. He just wants to spend time with Mom and doesn’t want me around. And if I’m alone with him he’s hit me and then told Mom that I fell down the stairs. She always believed him and not me.”
“He hasn’t done anything else, has he buddy?” Horatio asked. “I know he poured the water on you last night and I’m going to talk with him about that as soon as I can but today I’m going to stay here and take care of you. How’s that sound?”
“Great,” Ray said with a smile. “And I don’t want to go back to Mom’s house. I’m not wanted there.”
“Okay, buddy, okay.”
********************
Warrick checked the assignment board and went to find Calleigh. “So I guess we’re working together today,” he said. “What do you need me to do?”
“Horatio told me that Rick Stetler has been nosing around in this case so we need to go back over all the evidence to ensure that he didn’t tamper with anything,” Calleigh replied.
“We need to get rid of him,” Warrick growled sounding remarkably like his dragon for a moment. “I don’t suppose if I called him down here you could ‘accidentally’ shoot him could you?”
Calleigh laughed. “I’ve thought about it,” she said. “But I don’t want more IAB officers poking around in here than necessary. So why don’t you take the trace evidence and I’ll start looking through the reports. Horatio wants to know about this as soon as possible and it’s fairly slow right now.”
“You just jinxed us, Calleigh,” Warrick said with a grin. “I’m on it; I’ll give you a call if I find anything that looks odd.”
“Hey Warrick, is Horatio okay?” Calleigh asked.
“Why ask me?”
“Because you’re closer to him than I am,” she said. “I’ve noticed you guys hanging out and I’m just worried about him.”
Warrick thought for a moment. “He’ll be okay,” he finally said. “He’s having some family issues right now. But he’d probably like to hear from you if you wanted to give him a call later.”
“I’ll do that, thanks,” Calleigh said with a smile.
********************
Frank looked up from his computer. “Hey Nick, what’s up?”
“It seems like we’re always going to be working child abuse cases together,” Nick said. “I need some help with the case involving Horatio’s nephew.”
“Brass told me a little bit about it last night, said Ray had water dumped on him and it messed up his back,” Frank said. “I’d like to get a hold of the bastard that did it; that boy’s had more than his fair share of heart ache.”
“You might get your chance,” Nick said. “We know who did it; Rick Stetler. I just need to make sure that everything is filed correctly and there’s nothing Yelina can do to fight this.”
“That IAB creep shows his face around me any time soon he’s gonna find out what his ass looks like,” Frank growled. “Hand me the folder, Nick.”
********************
When Gil got off the phone with Mac he made his way to the second floor. “How’s he doing, Horatio?” he asked softly when he saw that Ray was asleep.
Horatio motioned towards the living room and shut the door behind him. “Ray says he wants to stay here,” Horatio said. “It seems like this has been going on for a while and Yelina wasn’t willing to listen to Ray about anything. He’s not happy and is looking for something. I think it’s just as well we found him when we did because he’s prime bait for a gang right now and I don’t want to think about Ray getting into that life style.”
“You’ll still need to tell your sister-in-law about all this,” Gil said.
“I will,” Horatio sighed. “In fact, I think she and Stetler are on my front porch right now. Will you keep an eye on Ray for me?”
“Maybe he should talk with his mother,” Gil said. “Let her know how he feels about all this.”
“I don’t want to wake him up,” Horatio said. “But you’ve got a point. I’ll let Yelina know she can call on the phone later tonight and talk with Ray. I just hope she’s willing to listen to me.”
Speed leaned in the door. “Yelina and Stetler are here, H,” he said. “You want me to tell them to go to hell?”
“No but you can come with me for back up,” Horatio said. “I’ll tell them myself.”
“Where is my son?” Yelina demanded, stalking right up into Horatio’s personal space. “Where do you have him hidden?”
“He’s not hidden, Detective,” Horatio replied calmly. “He’s asleep, helping his body to recover from severe second degree burns he received when a pot of boiling water was dumped on him last night. And Ray has expressly stated that he wants to remain here with me as he feels he is no longer welcome in your home.”
“The pot of water fell on him,” Stetler said. “I was cooking dinner and he bumped into the stove.”
“Is that what happened, Detective?” Horatio asked.
“I wasn’t in the kitchen,” Yelina replied. “But I believe Rick. I don’t know why but Ray’s gotten clumsy over the past few months. I think he’s been trying to get my attention and is jealous of Rick.”
Speed snorted and crossed his arms. Horatio slipped off his sunglasses and looked at the pair standing in front of him. “Maybe you should have looked at the situation with a professional eye,” he finally said. “As one of my CSIs has found evidence of consistent abuse and neglect. I’ve had Ray examined by a doctor and she concurs with the evidence.”
“I’ve never touched Ray,” Yelina snapped.
“Never?” Horatio asked looking to one side.
“I slapped him last night when he got disrespectful,” she said. “But I love him.”
“I’m sure you do,” Horatio said. “But you also have been ignoring him in favor of your new live in boyfriend. I want that pot from last night and I want one of my CSIs to take a look at it.”
Stetler crossed his arms. “It’s already gone through the wash,” he said. “Ray’s a klutz, Horatio. You just have to accept that.”
“And I’m taking him home,” Yelina said.
“No you’re not,” Horatio said. “And the paperwork I have will back me up. Detective, I ask you again to consider Ray’s feelings and accept that he wants to be here with me. Do not drag him into the court room.”
“Yelina, go wait in the car,” Stetler said. “Let me talk with Horatio for a few minutes alone. I’ll get him to give me Ray.”
Speed moved down off the deck to stand behind his lieutenant. Yelina kissed her boyfriend and walked off without a backwards glance. Stetler waited until he was sure the three men were alone before turning back to Horatio. “Look, we’re all men here…”
“You know, Speed, every time I hear a sentence start like that no good ultimately ends it,” Horatio interrupted. “So let me save you the trouble, Rick. Ray Jr. is staying here until a judge tells me that he has to be moved back to his mother’s home. And we are going to enter every single piece of evidence we collected from his when he arrived last night. We will enter his conversation with my CSIs and me and, while I have to be excluded from a great deal of this case, my team has stepped up and covered every angle.”
“I don’t think he understands, H,” Speed said softly. “Maybe we should spell it out for him in plain terms.”
“I can do that,” Horatio said just as softly. He stepped in closer to the IAB sergeant and caught his eyes with a dagger glare. “You will stay away from my nephew. You will not come to my home again. And you will not attempt to contact any of my team unless it is directly related to a case you are investigating involving officers of the department. Am I clear?”
“Are you threatening me?” Stetler asked.
“If you want to see it like that,” Horatio replied. “I prefer to think of this as protecting my family and I will do that at any cost.”
Stetler took a step back in fear. He wasn’t sure what had changed about the lieutenant but there was something that had altered. He could tell that Horatio was only just holding onto his control and wanted him dead. “What will you do if I don’t listen to you or press charges?”
“You’re on my property, Rick,” Horatio said. “And you are not here by my invitation. I suggest you leave before you learn something that you will never be able to forget.”
“Like what?” Stetler asked.
Horatio let his control slip and his eyes started glowing as he stared at Stetler. And then he started to smile. “You come back here again, you come near my nephew and I will kill you,” he said softly.
“What the hell is that?” Rick yelped as he jumped back. He looked at Speed to see if he was imagining things and saw that the young CSIs eyes were glowing as well. “What is going on around here?”
“Leave now, Rick, or you won’t leave at all,” Horatio said.
Stetler pulled his gun and pointed it at Horatio. “Tell me what the hell is going on!” he yelled.
Horatio Changed and crushed Stetler with his right foot. He stared down at the body for a moment and sighed. “We’ll have to dump him, Speed.”
“And you can’t fly in the day time,” Speed said. “Do you want him in the Glades?”
“Either that or get Eric and take him out to sea,” Horatio said. “The hard part is going to be dealing with Yelina. She knows he was here and will ask questions.”
“He drew his gun,” Speed said. “It’s not murder, H; its self-defense.”
“You know and I know but the body will make for awkward questions,” Horatio said. He Changed back and ran a hand through his head. “I suppose he’s lucky I didn’t kill him sooner than this.”
Speed sighed. “I’m impressed you held your control for as long as you did,” he said. “I’ll deal with the body if you talk with your sister-in-law.”
“That sounds like a plan,” Horatio said. He hugged the younger dragon. “Thank you, Speed; for everything.”
Horatio watched as Speed carried the body of the former IAB officer away and looked towards the front of his house. He knew that Yelina wouldn’t have seen anything but now he had to work on his acting skills to make her believe that Rick had left under his own power. He sighed and slipped his sunglasses on. The last thing he needed was for someone else to see his eyes glowing.
“Horatio, where’s Rick?” Yelina asked as she climbed out of the passenger side of the car. “What’s going on?”
“He got a call and rode into the department with Speed,” Horatio said. “He said he’ll meet up with you at home tonight, okay?”
“Can I see Ray?”
“He’s still asleep,” Horatio replied. “But if you want I can have him give you a call when he wakes up. How does that sound? Yelina, I don’t want to come between you guys but maybe it wouldn’t hurt to let him live with me for a while. Maybe he needs a change and honestly I’m worried that he might start acting out in ways neither of us can see coming.”
“He’s all I have left of Raymond,” Yelina said.
The red dragon sighed. “Why don’t we let him stay here for the summer and see how he does?” Horatio finally suggested. “That way it stays out of the courts, no one else has to be involved and you can have some time to yourself. I have a guest room that I’m more than willing to decorate and friends who will watch him when I have to be at work.”
“Do you really think he’s in danger?”
“I do,” Horatio said. “And I’m willing to fight to keep him safe, Yelina. But I hope that you can see and do what is best for your son. He is the most important thing here; not Raymond, not you and not me. It’s not fair to fight over him like a favorite toy. Let me take care of him for a while.”
“Will I be able to see him?” she asked.
“Tell you what, talk to him tonight,” Horatio replied. “Really listen to what he has to say and do not judge him and we’ll see. Go home and rest, Yelina. Take care of yourself, okay? I’ll worry about Ray for a while.”
She nodded and got back in the car. “Where was Rick going?” she asked.
“He didn’t say,” Horatio replied. “But you know how IAB works. I’ll talk with you tonight, okay?”
“Okay,” Yelina said. “Thank you Horatio.”
He watched her drive away and sighed again. Horatio turned and made his way back to Gil’s house. “Gil, we need to talk,” he said as he shut the door behind him.
“Horatio?”
“Rick Stetler is dead, Gil,” Horatio said softly. “He pulled his gun on me out back on the beach and I reacted. Speed is taking care of it but we need to come up with a good story.”
“What did you tell Yelina?” Gil asked.
“That Rick was called in to work,” Horatio replied. “But I Changed and crushed him. It’s going to be hard to come up with anything that could do that to him.”
“Car accident,” Gil said. “Have Speed take him to the Glades and dump him. Stage the scene. I’m not comfortable with any of this but we cannot have anything harm the community.”
Horatio sighed. “I didn’t want it to come to this, Gil,” he said. “I wanted him to go away and leave us alone.”
“Make the call,” Gil said. “And then we’ll talk some more. Do you want coffee?”
“Please,” Horatio said as he pulled out his cell phone. “Speed, H; we need to make it look like he was hit by a car out in the Glades.”
“You got it, H,” Speed said. “I’ll take care of it. You deal with Yelina and Rick.”
“Make sure that you or one of the humans catch the case when it’s called in,” Horatio said. “It’ll look too suspicious if I assign one of you to it.”
“I’ll let everyone know there’s a meeting tonight after supper,” Speed said. “We’ll get through this, Horatio. Just like we’ll get through everything that we come up against.”
“Okay, Speed, okay; I have to go talk with Gil. Call me when you’re done and back at the lab, please.”
“Is everything else okay, H?”
“As okay as it can be,” Horatio replied. “Thank you, Speed.” He put his phone away and went to join his alpha on the back deck. “Gil, the one problem I can foresee is that no one at the department called Stetler to a crime scene.”
Grissom handed Horatio a cup of coffee and motioned towards his favorite chair. “He was set up,” Gil said. “Someone called pretending to be a dispatcher and Rick was murdered out in the Glades.”
“You scare me,” Horatio said. “How do you come up with these things so quickly?”
“Because it’s extremely close to what Marisol did to you,” Gil said. “We have time to come up with our stories and we can make sure that one of the humans catch the case.”
“Speed’s going to tell everyone that there’s a meeting tonight,” Horatio said. “Is Ray still asleep?”
“He is,” Gil said. “What did Yelina say about letting him stay here?”
“She wants to talk with him but I think I made her see our point of view,” Horatio sighed. “Ray will be here for the summer and I’ll make sure he gets to stay as long as he wants.”
“Do you want to start his training in our lore and history?” Gil asked.
“I think I’ll try to explain everything to him about what I am and how Greg and I are connected,” Horatio said. “And then bring the community into it.”
“That sounds like a good idea,” Gil said. “Let me know if there’s anything I can do to help.”
“Well Stetler,” Speed finally said. “I think I should feel bad you’re gone but you know what; I don’t. You were cowardly enough to hurt a child who couldn’t stand up to you and even if you were prosecuted you wouldn’t have lasted in prison. I hope you make something of yourself your next trip around because you screwed up royally this time.”
********************
Horatio and Gil ate lunch on the back deck and talked over general community business. Horatio was nervous about what he was going to tell his nephew because he knew that if Ray objected to Greg and the young human’s place in Horatio’s life then he could lose one of the most important things he’d ever had the privilege to love.
“H?” Greg asked, appearing suddenly from around the house.
“Greg,” Horatio said and opened his arms to his human. Greg moved to him and curled up in his lap. “What are you doing home?”
“Speed came by and said you needed me,” Greg said. “I had another DNA tech in with me today so I just took the afternoon off to be with you. I’ll have to make it up this weekend but Steve said he didn’t mind picking up the slack.”
“So you know what happened?” Horatio asked.
“No, Tim just said you needed me,” Greg replied. “Come on, let’s go talk about it.”
Gil looked up from the crossword puzzle he’d picked up with Greg first appeared. “I’ll go see if Ray’s awake and wants some lunch,” he said. “You can talk with him tonight, Horatio. Go be with Greg, you need some time to work through what happened today before you can talk with your nephew.”
“You’re right,” Horatio agreed with a sigh. “Come on, love.”
The alpha watched the pair leave and sighed. He pulled out his cell phone. “Jim its Gil, you got a moment?”
“I can give you five, what’s up?” Jim asked.
“Stetler showed up not long after you all left for work this morning,” Gil said.
“What happened?”
“He pulled his gun and Horatio reacted,” Gil replied. “We’re working on a cover up right now and I know Speed is back at the lab. Can you double check and make sure everyone knows there’s a meeting tonight? We’ve got to figure out what we can do about this particular case and what we’re going to do in the future.”
Jim groaned. “I really hope we don’t come across anything like this again,” he said. “I needed to go check with Warrick on some case reports anyway so it’s no problem to head over there and see what’s going on. How’s Horatio doing?”
“Taking it to heart, just like he does everything else,” Gil said. “But Speed let Greg know what was going on and they’re at their house talking.”
“Or at least reconnecting,” Jim said. “Anything else I need to know about, Gil?”
“Just that Ray’s going to be here through the summer and we’re all going to start teaching him different things,” Gil said. “And that does include our personal history and lore.”
“Horatio will probably kill me but I’ll teach Ray about guns and how to shoot,” Jim said.
Gil snickered. “It’s something the lad’s going to need to know about,” he said. “I’ll see you tonight, Jim; there’s something I have to do.”
********************
Greg started stripping Horatio in the kitchen and was able to push the naked dragon down onto their bed. “I suppose we have to stop doing this soon,” he said as he took off his own shirt. “Because the last thing we need is for Ray to see one of us running around the house naked.”
“Or both of us frantically stripping the other on our way to bed,” Horatio agreed. “I still haven’t had a chance to talk with him about us, Greg. I don’t know how he’s going to react.”
“You’re his uncle,” Greg said. “And he’s a smart kid. He’ll figure it all out and realize what a good thing I am. Now tell me what happened to get you all worked up.”
“Stetler’s dead,” Horatio sighed. “I killed him out back on the beach. Speed took the body to the glades and staged a crime scene to make it look like a hit and run.”
Greg flopped down next to his dragon and propped himself up on an elbow. “So he had to have done something bad to deserve it,” he said. “You wouldn’t just kill him for no reason.”
“But that’s just it, Greg; I wanted to,” Horatio said. “I wanted to rend him apart for hurting Ray and I only just managed to hold myself back. When he pulled a gun on me I reacted and stomped him.”
“So his body will bear the marks of a hit and run at high speed,” Greg said. “But you’re still blaming yourself. What do I have to say to make you believe it wasn’t your fault?”
Horatio rolled so he could look down into Greg’s deep eyes. “There’s nothing you can say, Greg,” he commented softly. “It’s just how I am and it’ll take me a while to come to terms with what I did. But knowing that you’re not disgusted or ashamed helps a lot.”
“Never,” Greg said. He reached under his pillow for the lube. “Now why don’t you put this to good use and we can go talk with Ray?”
“I love you, Greg,” Horatio murmured as he leaned down to kiss his human deeply. “I love you so much.”
********************
Gil checked on Ray and found that the young man was still asleep. He took a minute and applied some more aloe to the burns on Ray’s back and then made his way back down to the living room; wanting to stay where it would be easy enough to find him if Ray woke up. Gil knew it would be at least two hours before he saw Horatio again and was thankful that Speed had taken the time to let the younger man know what was going on.
He took a deep breath and focused on the pendant he wore. Gil hadn’t made the trip to pax draconis alone and wasn’t sure exactly how he was supposed to get there but he had some questions he wanted to ask the lore masters.
When Gil opened his eyes he was on the barren rocky plain under that same purple sky. He wondered why the landscape looked the same all the time no matter how often or what time of day they visited. Gil sighed and added it to the list of questions he had for the other dragons.
“Gil,” Chrysalis said as his head popped up over the rocks. “I am surprised to see you here this time of day. Normally you and Horatio come in your dreams.”
“I know but something has happened and I need your advice on how to help my community,” Gil said as he sat down on Horatio’s favorite rock. “We told you of the threat to Horatio’s nephew, Ray. The man who had been harming him came to our community today and Horatio killed him.”
“He took care of the threat to his community,” Chrysalis said.
“But it’s going to cause another threat to the community,” Gil said. “Everyone in our community and even the NYDC community work as police officers and crime scene investigators. That means that we have a responsibility to the law and the people of the cities in which we live. Both Horatio and I are worried about the questions that are going to be asked once the body is found.”
Chrysalis put his head down and stared at Grissom for a long moment. “Why should there be questions?” he finally asked.
“Because the man was dating Horatio’s sister-in-law and he was also a police officer,” Gil said. “The sister-in-law, Yelina, will want to know where her boyfriend is and what happened to him. We can assign one of the humans to investigate the crime scene but there will still be the autopsy and we don’t have any control over that. Basically I’m wondering if there’s another way to keep people away from us without killing them.”
“This is a problem we haven’t come across before,” Chrysalis said. “Let me speak with the others and I’ll see what they have to say. Come back in two of your earth days and I should have something to tell you or you can send Horatio.”
“I will, thank you,” Gil said. “He’s with his human at the moment.”
“Greg will help him more than anything else will,” Chrysalis said. “Rest easy, Gil; we will help you through this.”
********************
Greg moaned as Horatio pulled back and thrust forward slowly, so slowly that Greg thought he could count to ten between the moves if he could make his mind function enough to remember how to actually count. “H, please move faster,” he managed to gasp.
“I want to feel you, Greg,” Horatio murmured into his human’s ear as he pulled back again. “I want to feel every inch of you as I slide in and out; knowing that you’re mine and no one else can ever make me feel like this.”
“God, Horatio.” Greg’s head flopped back against the pillows and his neck was promptly attacked; Horatio using his lips and teeth to tease at the silky skin.
Horatio was amazed he had as much control as he did, normally his human spread out under him was enough to make him wild but he needed to move slowly, to reconnect with the one good thing in his life, the one person he loved more than anyone else. And it was so hot to hear Greg’s voice reduced to moans, groans and broken words as he moved against Horatio trying every trick he’d learned to make his dragon move faster.
“Love you so much, Greg,” he whispered as he leaned in to kiss Greg. Horatio maneuvered a hand between them and wrapped it around Greg’s leaking erection. “Come for me, Greg; let me take you over the edge.” He thrust forward sharply pulling another cry from him human. Horatio’s control broke and he started moving faster, caressing Greg in time to his thrusts until Greg’s body clamped down on him and they both came with a cry.
Greg pressed kisses to Horatio’s neck and shoulder. “Love you so much,” he whispered. “Trust you to keep me safe. Need you so much.”
Horatio only just managed to lift his head from Greg’s shoulder to kiss his human softly. “Thank you,” he whispered.
The red dragon smiled down at his nephew. “Yeah, you know what, I do,” he said. “Why don’t we go down to the beach where we can talk alone?”
“Is everything okay?” Ray asked as he settled onto the moonlit sand.
“Well your mother came by this morning and she had Rick with her,” Horatio said. “They wanted to take you home.”
“No, Uncle Horatio, I don’t wanna go,” Ray exclaimed. “Please don’t make me. Let me stay here with you.”
If there had ever been a doubt in Horatio’s mind that Stetler was lying it would have vanished when he saw the fear in his young nephew’s eyes. “Ray, it’s okay,” he said softly. “I told your mom I’d fight her in court to keep you here but she agreed to let you stay at least the summer and see how things go. But I need to tell you something very important before you make the decision, okay?”
“Is it about your friend, Greg?” Ray asked. “Because I overheard Mom talking to Stetler about you guys but I didn’t understand a lot of it. Some of the words were pretty nasty.”
“I imagine they were,” Horatio said. “And it is about Greg. He and I live together; we bought the house when he moved here from Vegas.”
“Where does he sleep?” Ray asked. “You only have two bedrooms and I’ve been in one of them.”
“Well, Greg sleeps with me,” Horatio replied.
Ray thought about that for a few minutes. “So he’s your boyfriend,” he finally said. “But Greg’s nice, Uncle Horatio.”
“Yes he is, Ray,” Horatio said obviously puzzled. “Why does that matter?”
“It’s just that every boyfriend Mom had since Dad died has been mean to me,” Ray replied. “But Greg’s not. He’s like an older brother. I really like him.”
“He likes you too. In fact, he’s already got plans to take you shopping so you can start decorating your bedroom,” Horatio said with a smile. “So you don’t mind living with us?”
“Nah,” Ray said with a big smile. “But does this mean I get to call him Uncle Greg?”
********************
Gil watched Horatio settle his nephew on the sand far enough away from the house that he could talk with his community without worrying that Ray would hear something that he shouldn’t. “I’ll make this quick because Ray’s here,” Gil said. “Stetler showed up today and is dead. He pulled a gun on Horatio and was squashed. Speed staged a crime scene in the glades and now all we can do is wait for his body to be found.”
“How many laws did we break today?” Warrick asked as he looked at his dragon.
Jim snorted. “I don’t even want to count,” he replied. “Gil, there has to be something else we can do.”
“I talked with Chrysalis and he’s going to talk with the others,” Gil said. “But until I hear back from him there’s nothing we can do. It looks like Ray’s going to be moving in with Horatio and Greg so we’re going to have to be more careful and discrete about our relationships.”
“So no more sex on the beach, Greggo,” Nick said ducking quickly to avoid the swat aimed at the back of his head. “You and H are out there the most and you know it.”
Greg grinned. “There’s just something about the beach that Horatio likes.”
“Yeah, you naked on it,” Eric said with a smirk. “Gil, what happens when the crime scene gets called in?”
“Depending on the shift I think Horatio will try to get one of you on it,” Gil said. “The autopsy is my biggest concern at this point because the crushing action came from above and not the side.”
“He’s not going to be found for a few days if not longer,” Speed said. “Or depending on how hungry the gators are, maybe not at all. I picked a pretty remote spot.”
Everyone laughed as Eric scooted away from his dragon. “When did you get so evil?” Eric asked.
“I’ve always been evil,” Speed said. “And don’t forget you were helping me and Calleigh plot different ways to kill Stetler last year.” He pulled Eric in for a kiss. “And it was you that suggested cutting him up alive and feeding him to the tiger sharks.”
“I rethought that,” Eric said. “I wouldn’t want to make the sharks sick.”
“Here comes Ray,” Nick cautioned. “Hey kiddo, you feeling better?”
“I sure am, thanks,” Ray said with a big grin. “Uncle Horatio says I get to stay here with you guys for the summer.”
Gil took off his glasses and looked at his beta. “So you got everything sorted out?” he asked.
“I thought Yelina was going to call to talk to Ray but it’s getting close to his bedtime so I’ll delay her until tomorrow. Hey Ray, come on buddy, its bedtime.”
“Can Greg read me a story tonight?” Ray asked.
“Sure,” Horatio replied. “Greggo, why not one of the blue books from the library and I’ll be over in a few minutes.”
The community watched the pair leave. “Does his mother just not care about him, H?” Eric asked.
“I don’t know,” Horatio sighed. “She told me he’s all she has left of her husband so that might be the only way she does feel about him now. He’s not going back to her.”
“We’ll fight if we have to,” Gil agreed. “Does Yelina know about you and Greg?”
“She has a suspicion,” Horatio said. “And she might well use it in court if she has to but I don’t know that sexual partners can be used to deny custody to the more suited party.”
“We’ll find out,” Jim said. “In the meantime, Horatio, I thought I’d teach Ray about guns and firearm safety when he’s a little older. Hanging around here he’s gonna be around a lot of guns.”
“And it’s something he needs to learn,” Horatio said. “Thank you, Jim.” He glanced down at his phone. “Excuse me, Horatio.”
“It’s Yelina, Horatio; Rick never came home.”
“Did you call his office?” Horatio asked.
“I did and they said he hasn’t been there all day,” she replied. “Horatio, what if something happened to him? Rick has a lot of enemies out there who want to do him harm.”
Horatio rolled his eyes. “Yelina, every enemy Rick Stetler has he has brought on himself,” he said. “You need to calm down and think like a detective and not a girlfriend.”
“They won’t believe me that he’s missing until tomorrow night,” Yelina said.
“That’s the normal period of time,” Horatio said. “But you’ve made people aware of the fact that he’s missing and they’ll keep an eye out for him tonight.”
“Can you come over and help?” Yelina asked. “There might be something I missed.”
“Um, actually no,” Horatio replied. “I’ve got Ray in the bath and am just getting ready to put him to bed. I can send a team over in the morning if it’s slow but I’m sure Stetler will show up soon.”
“He’s never done anything like this before,” Yelina insisted. “I just know something bad happened to him.”
“Get any case files he had at the house together and bring them into the department tomorrow,” Horatio said. “We can look through those and see if there was anyone who had a reason to want to hurt Rick. But until then I really don’t think there’s anything more I can do.”
She paused. “The only folders he has here at the house are on you, Horatio,” Yelina said.
“Then give them to Calleigh,” Horatio said. “Then I can’t be accused of tampering with evidence.”
Gil snorted and motioned for the phone. Horatio held up his hand. “Yelina, I have to go. Think this through like a case and you’ll be fine and I’ll see you tomorrow, okay?” Horatio closed his phone and rubbed his eyes. “The only folders on officers Rick Stetler had at his home office are on me,” he said. “I wonder why?”
“Oh come on, H; it’s no secret the man had it in for you,” Eric and Speed said.
“And here I thought your talent didn’t manifest until after you blended,” Jim chuckled. “We’ve got us a mind-reader after all.”
“Speaking of, Tim, it is getting close to your time to blend,” Gil said. “Horatio, you’re going to have to tell Ray the truth or make sure he’s not here the night Tim Changes.”
Horatio grinned. “The book I suggested for Greg was one of the lore books. I’ll talk with Ray tomorrow and see how he feels about dragons. Gil, would you be willing to Change to show him what’s going on?”
“I don’t but you’re better at talking in true form than I am,” Gil said. “He might relax more if he can hear your voice.”
“If I was a kid seeing a dragon for the first time I’d want my uncle next to me,” Warrick said. “Not being the one changing into the big monster.”
“Rick’s got a point,” Jim said. “We are pretty scary in true form, Gil, and Ray might feel better if he has someone he knows around him for comfort and to hide behind. And black is calmer than red.”
Gil nodded. “They have some good points,” he said. “I know I’d be scared if my favorite uncle suddenly changed into a monster. Just let me know when you need my help.”
“Gil, what exactly did Chrysalis say?” Horatio asked.
“To come back in a couple of days and they’d have an answer for us,” Gil said with a small sigh. “I don’t think they’ve come up on a problem like this either.”
“Things are moving fast,” Jim commented.
“Any weird feelings?” Speed asked.
“None at the moment,” Jim replied. “But I’ll let you know.”
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