Title: The Past Returns
Author: Bj Jones
Rating: FRAO
Disclaimer: I don't own them. They are owned by people who have mean nasty lawyers that can and will eat me for lunch. Not making any money - just borrowing them for a moment or two... or three....I'll return them when I return them.
Summary: Rick faces the consequences for his decision
Genre: Slash
Series: A Second Can Change the World, Revelations, Playing It Forward, Vacation's Over, Decisions, Consequences
Beta: Christina (Dino)
Challenge: 12 Stories - Horatio Caine/Timothy Speedle/Rick Stetler
Prompt: #7 - Years
Word Count: 3336

~*~

Rick walked down to his office, biting back a smile. He still couldn't believe that he was in a relationship with Horatio and Speed. He shook his head as he entered his office. It amazed him even after all these weeks, that they had wanted him; that they brought him into their relationship and into their operation. Stetler sat down behind his desk and pulled up one of the folders he had requested.

The case had been declared cold, not because they didn't have the evidence. It was because once again Judge Ratner had thrown out key evidence under the demise it hadn't been collected properly. Stetler thought Duquesne was going to attack him, when Ratner accused her of being quick to jump the gun. He had pulled the files on the case for Speed to look over it so he could compile the information Horatio would need.

The family wasn't devastated over the upset in court they were pissed as hell. In time, the job came down the line to Horatio. The irony was the family had no idea that the man who had promised them justice was really going to make sure it happened.

He slipped the folder into his bag to give to Speed when they were at home. Their younger lover had promised a home cook meal. The case load had been rough the past week, and they had little time to just to be with each other. The relationship was so new, that they were all still adjusting. There were times Rick wasn't sure where his place was with them, but both men always made him feel secure, and dare he say loved.

His new favorite past-time was waking up on a Saturday morning with Speed curled up to his side, and Horatio's hand resting on his stomach. He would look over Tim's shoulder to be caught in intense blue eyes. The redhead would get a playful smirk, and proceed to wake up their lover, by teasing him until he was clutching at Rick and moaning Horatio's name.

There were times he could just sit and watch the two as they made love. Speed letting himself go giving everything to the redhead, while Horatio drove him to the point of insanity before slipping slowly into him. There had been more than one occasion where Rick lost his load by just watching. Caine would smirk and then take his hand and lick it clean, blue eyes twinkling with mischief. Rick would soon find himself on his back, while both men teased him until he was once again hard and aching.

Rick was pulled out of his thoughts by his ringing phone. He glared at it. He had specifically asked not to be disturbed. "Lieutenant Stetler."

'I'm sorry to disturb you, sir,' Christina apologized. 'But there's someone here adamant they see you.'

"Who is it?" Rick asked as he stood up from his desk.

'Philip Dent,' she answered.

Stetler fell back into his chair in shock. No. It was impossible.

'Lieutenant?' Christina asked worried.

"I'm very busy; tell him I'm not available..."

'I did, sir, but he refuses to leave. Shall I call security?' The receptionist asked quietly.

Last thing he needed was Dent to go off on the lab's security officers, "No... I'll be down in a few moments."

He hung up the phone and ran a hand through his hair.

'FUCK!' The last thing Rick needed was his biggest secret showing up in Miami. He took a calming breath and steadied his nerves. He would just go down there and tell Philip Dent he wasn't welcome. Stetler smirked slightly. 'Hell if he pushes the issue I'll just introduce him to H. He gets protective of his family.' Rick paused at the doorway realization hitting him. He was family.

~*~

Speed had just exited the elevator when he saw the older man standing by the receptionist desk. He glanced over to see Christina. She gave him an imploring look. She looked extremely uncomfortable, and he could detect a slight hint of fear. There was something familiar about the man, but what he couldn't figure out. It was nagging at the back of his brain, just out of his reach. Instead of heading toward the lab, he stepped up to the desk and smiled at Christina, determined to find out what the hell was going on.

"Detective Speedle," she gave him a strained smile. "I don't have any messages for you, but Lieutenant Caine was looking for you about the Manning case."

"Thanks, Christina." He glanced over to the man leaning against the desk. "I needed to talk with Stetler is he in...."

"You know Ricky?" The man interrupted the conversation.

Speed turned towards him. "I work with him, Mr.?"

"Dent, Phillip Dent. I was Ricky's captain back in New York." He held out his hand a big cheesy smile on his face.

Tim's face harden, he gripped Dent's hand with a deadly force. Philip pulled it out and stared at the younger man. "What brings you to Miami?" Speed asked voice cold.

"I recently retired, moved down to Miami and thought I would stop by and see an old friend." He shrugged, ignoring the warning in the cold gaze.

"Well, I know Lieutenant Stetler is very busy these days, and doesn't have time for a trip down memory lane." Speed's eyes narrowed at him. "So maybe you should just run along back to your retirement village."

"Who the fuck do you think you are?" Phillip stepped into Speed's personal space.

"You're fucking nightmare, if you mess with Rick." Tim growled pushing the man back.

Christina blinked at the situation unfolding in front of her. She had sensed a shift in dynamics between the two men, but she wasn't sure how to take what was happening now. She had never seen Timothy Speedle pissed off before and well, it scared the hell out of her. She grabbed the phone and dialed Caine's extension.

'Caine.'

"Lieutenant Caine there is a situation down in the lobby..." She looked up to see the elevator ding to show Rick Stetler.

'Situation?' He asked.

"Yes, a Philip Dent is here to see Lieutenant Stetler, and it seems Detective Speedle is..." She looked at the phone. "Lieutenant Caine?" No one answered.

Rick stepped into the lobby and froze. 'This isn't good. Not sure who would kill who first. Dent thinks he owns me. Speed does. Oh God, if he touches Speed... Horatio....' Rick shook himself out of the spiraling thoughts. "Speedle!"

Tim turned toward his lover. He could see the fear in the normal warm brown eyes. He glanced back at Dent and snarled. The bastard was looking at his lover with unbridled lust. "Back off you sick..."

"Speed." Horatio's voice called out, a calm presence in the turbulent situation.

He turned towards his boss, "H?"

"Do you have that info I was asking for on the Manning case?" Horatio walked up his eyes not leaving Dent.

"Yes..." Speed hesitated.

Caine turned towards him, "I want the report in my office now." His tone indicated no argument or disobedience.

Speed nodded, "I'll do that now." He turned and headed toward the lab. He glanced over at Rick, but the IAB officer was lost in the situation. His eyes were focused on Dent. Tim growled low, he would make sure Rick never had that look of fear in his eyes again.

Horatio let Speed go, he would deal with the irate CSI later, but right now he had to deal with the pending explosion. "May I help you, sir?"

"You can start by controlling your staff, if he was under my command..."

"He's not and I'll take care of the situation." Caine eyed him. "What brings you to Miami?"

"None of your business," Dent sneered before he turned toward Rick standing near the elevators. "Hey, Ricky."

Stetler took a deep breath, "Captain Dent."

"That's all I get?" He smirked as he walked up to the younger man. "After all we've shared?"

"What brings you to Miami?" He asked trying to back up, but the elevators behind him prevented him from going any further. He looked over toward Horatio. The redhead had positioned himself just enough so that if the situation turned serious, Dent would have an irate Caine in his face before he could too close to Rick.

"Is it a crime to come see an old friend, catch up, and get re-acquainted?" Philip gave him a leer.

"Considering I never saw you as a friend, not sure why you're here?" Rick congratulated himself for sounding calmer than he felt. "Actually, I have no interest in talking with or seeing you, so I suggest you leave..."

"How dare you speak to me that way?!" Dent growled.

Rick stepped forward his voice low as he got into the retired man's space. "NO! How dare you show up here, after everything…Get the fuck out of my city!"

"I will not take this gruff from you." Philip pushed back. "You were nothing back then, and you're nothing now. Hell, if it wasn't for me you would have never been promoted to detective."

"Fuck you!" Rick snapped. "I earned my merits on my own. You used your power and influence to...." He stepped back eyes flashing.

Caine slipped up behind Dent and leaned close. "I suggest you leave, before I do something I won't regret."

Philip turned and stared at the redhead. "Are you threatening me?"

Horatio stepped back hands on his hips, head tilted. "No, it's a promise."

Dent laughed and looked back at Rick. "Warming his bed I see. Still vying for promotions by fucking the brass?"

Stetler paled and stepped back his hands groping for the elevator buttons. Not able to face the accusation and horror of his past he turned and fled not waiting for the elevator. Philip sneered and turned back to the redhead. "He's a lousy fuck anyway...."

Horatio stepped forward and pushed Dent toward the elevators. "Get out of my lab, out of my city, and out of my state. If I find you with in miles of Lieutenant Stetler, I will have your ass arrested and throw you in the pens with a stamp on your forehead stating Pig."

Dent laughed as he stepped onto the elevator and gave a cheeky grin and wink to the redhead. "Tell Ricky I'll be seeing him around."

Christina blinked. "Okay is it me or is the man just stupid?"

"The man is dead." Horatio growled.

"You want me to pull info for you, H?" She asked looking around making sure they were alone.

"Anything you can, then give it to Speed." He ran a hand through his hair. "Oh and Christina..."

"No one has stopped by sir, and you have no messages." She smiled softly at him. "I'll run down to security later on to see how the boys are doing, they love my cookies."

With a nod, he slipped on his glasses and headed toward the stairs. He needed to find Rick, take him home, get Speed to watch him, and deal with one Philip Dent.

~*~

Rick growled at anyone who had gotten in his way. He would apologize later to the poor intern, but at the moment he wanted the sanctuary of his office. He opened his door and slammed it shut thinking that should give the world a clear message he didn't want to be disturbed.

He stopped short when he saw Speedle leaning against his desk. Rick opened his mouth to tell him to leave when he was pulled into his strong arms and held close. He buried his head into Speed's shoulder and wrapped his arms around the thin waist.

Speed ran a hand through his hair and whispered soft comforting words into his ear. Rick should have realized. They knew. They had already known about Dent and what drove him to Miami. That night so long ago, Horatio had told him, that they understood.

Rick pulled back and cupped the scruffy cheeks into his hands and kissed him softly. It was filled with gentleness, comfort and love.

Speed pulled him toward the couch shoving him down onto it and gave him a small wicked smile before straddling his lap. He took Rick's mouth into a deep kiss, pushing him back into the cushions. His lips moved down his long neck nibbling as he went, he sat back a bit with a smirk before moving back, settling on his knees between Rick's spread legs.

"This is so much easier without the glass walls," Speed unhooked Rick's pants pulling out the already leaking cock, "though I wouldn't scream too loud." He leaned forward and took the head into his mouth sucking on it gently.

Stetler bucked upward moaning as his younger lover took more of him into his mouth. His hand slipped into the soft hair and held on as, Speed's head bobbed up and down, licking and sucking on the hard cock. Rick was lost in the sensation, and didn't last very long, his hand tightened its grip as he bit down on his lip and came down Speed's eager throat. He fell back into the cushions spent and emotionally drained.

Tim licked him clean then tucked him back into his pants. He slipped back onto the couch and pulled Rick into his arms, holding him close. "We got you."

"I was so naive and stupid." Stetler laid his head on Speed's shoulder. "I worked hard to get into his department; everyone had said if you get a recommendation from Captain Dent you were a shoe in for any department you wanted. I wanted to work Homicide; my scores were good, but not as good as others in the department. So I had to work my way up, so I figured working with Dent in Vice was a good starting point."

Horatio slipped into the office quietly. He closed and locked the door, and stood guard as Rick became lost in his past.

"It's okay," Speed soothed him.

He sat back up and looked at both of them, then down at his hands. "I was talking with my partner about applying for Homicide, it had been a year since I joined Vice. He had thought it was a good idea, and that I should talk to Dent. So I did. He had got up from behind his desk and leaned against it in front of me, and told me that he would gladly give me the recommendation..."

"He was a bastard, who preyed on his men and relied on the fact no one would say anything." Horatio knelt down in front of Rick.

Stetler looked at him, "How? I mean how did you ever find out about this?"

"A friend of mine worked in Vice," the redhead's voice was soft. "This was about five years before you went through the academy and then onto the force. He was there for two years, and it wasn't until he transferred to Bomb Squad when he told me what Dent had done. I pushed him to tell Internal Affairs, to report Dent."

Rick shook his head remembering a name whispered through the department. Someone who had dared make accusations. "Detective Keiths?"

"Yes," Horatio sighed. "IAB didn't believe him. Dent's record was flawless. He ended up quitting the force."

"Well, I can see your issues with IAB, now," Stetler smirked. "You know this sheds some light on my own reactions."

"The thought that I might have found favor to get the Lieutenant's position reminded you too much of New York," Caine ran a hand through Rick's hair. "I understood that, though it annoyed the hell out of me that you would inadvertently compare me to that asshole."

"How did you know I worked with Dent?" Rick asked curious.

"The moment we clashed, I did some research and discovered that you worked in Vice, then suddenly moved to Homicide, it wasn't hard to put the two together." He shrugged slightly.

"What ever happened to Keiths? I remember hearing his name when I was in Vice, that he had made wild accusations and such. Of course afterwards... Well I pretty much knew no one would believe me. So I put it behind me or thought I had, and moved on."

"You are stronger than you give yourself credit." The redhead squeezed his hand. "As for Keiths he moved down to Miami, opened up a cop bar, very happy actually."

"Okay, explain to me why New Yorkers seem to seek sanctuary in Miami?" Speed asked from the sidelines. "Is it like ingrained, like geese?"

The two men just looked at him.

"What? It's a valid question. Just think about it. Your friend came to Miami, we ended up in Miami, Rick ended up in Miami - we're geese."

They both blinked and turned back toward each other ignoring their younger lover.

"Fine."

Rick started laughing first, "Only you would go on about geese while I'm having a breakdown."

"Just pointing out a random odd fact," Speed leaned over and kissed him softly. "And you know geese mate for life."

"Not three males," Rick pointed out.

"We're odd geese."

Horatio shook his head snickering as he stood back up. "Rick, take the rest of the day off, and let Speed take you home. I'll be home later."

Rick stood up and looked at him, "What are you going to do?"

The redhead cupped his cheeks and kissed him slow and sweet, "Protect my family."

"That would be a gaggle." Speed quipped. "Come on Rick, let's go home and let H do what H does best."

Rick looked at both men, with a shuttering breath, he said what he knew was true in his heart. "I love you."

Speed gave him a small smile and took his hand, "It's about time you caught up with the rest of the class." He pulled him close. "I love you, too."

Horatio kissed Rick's temple, and whispered. "It's not an emotion I can express well, but know that I do love you."

~ Horatio's House - Past Midnight ~

Horatio quietly slipped into the bedroom. Rick was curled next to Speed, sleeping softly. He just leaned up against the wall and watched them for a few moments. It was moments like these that they both seemed so much younger. Fueling his fierce need to protect them from harm, sometimes he wondered if he needed to protect them even from himself....

"Stop thinking out loud and come to bed," Speed muttered, blinking up at him tiredly.

"Hey." Horatio stripped as he moved into the room. "I see you wore him out." He glanced around the room, scattered clothes and bedding.

His young lover just smirked, "Everything okay?"

"Everything's fine." Horatio smiled at the two of them. "He's safe."

"Good, now go shower and get into bed with us," Tim curled back around Rick and fell back to sleep.

Horatio Caine grinned, the sooner he washed up, the sooner he would be curled up with his lovers. And with the dawn of a new day, they would start their futures together; he looked forward to spending the rest of his life with them. He smirked. Fate had a wicked sense of humor, but he wouldn't change a thing.