Work Text:
ML: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/slashloveandangst/
Rating: FRT this part....more? who knows.
Genre: Gen and slash.
Dedication: Another one for Alex.
Warnings: A bit of angst. Very short.
Disclaimers: Not mine these fun characters...
Summary: Ray had more than one child...Horatio won't stop until he finds them all.
A/N: thanks to Joe for Madison's name. If anyone would like to use this as a bunny...go for it!
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Horatio Caine sighed. He felt far older than he was. Tired. He'd hoped he was wrong this time. But there was no denying what was right in front of him. He gazed over at the picture on his desk. It wasn't the first one he'd had in front of him for the same reasons. There had been six others. So far he was running fifty-fifty. Three negatives and three positives.
The paper in front of him was exactly what he'd feared it would be. The third positive. The boy's face was eerily reminiscent of the pictures of Ray as a young boy, though those had been mostly in poor focus the photograher unable to keep up with Ray's boundless energy. But to one who had lived with Ray, seen him every day as they grew up, the truth was even more evident than a picture's testimony.
The blue eyes, light blue, and the red hair, reddish blond. The freckles. The smile shyly yet devilishly beaming with all the hope and promise in the world. Promise that in his brother's case had shattered into a horrible death not so many years ago.
The DNA results were irrefutable. He was an uncle again. And a child who had no parents, no father, no mother left alive, now had an uncle.
Out there, in the Miami night a third child lived with his brother's blood running through his veins.
One girl child, two boys so far. This boy unlike the other two had no family caring for him. The other two had family, Madison had her mother, Bryce had his grandparents. This boy, James, nicknamed Jamie, had no one. Until now. Now he had Horatio, and Horatio would see he was never without family again.
Ray's drug use had made him in-discriminant, and, as was usually the case with persons addicted to methamphetamine, he never bothered to slow down and use a condom.
No doubt there were other children Horatio had yet to find.
But he would find them. Every one. Every child his brother had left in this world without a father. While Horatio himself had fathered none. Would likely never father any. His inclinations did not lie in that direction. Perhaps when he was younger it would have been possible. But even young he'd been cautious. Careful. Safe every time. Taking no chances.
Not like Ray. Ray had been the firebrand. The one who liked taking risks. He was in most every way suited to his chosen career as an undercover officer. All but for one weakness. The lure of the high. Of drugs. The false feeling of immortality, invincibility. Ray had fallen for the lie. Trying to do the right thing at first, trying to fit in. Not knowing he would be caught up in the web of addiction. Not knowing, Horatio had to believe, that he would go so wrong.
Behind him the door opened and Eric walked in. He came up to the desk slowly, well aware there were no walls here, only glass. He still rested a hand on Horatio's shoulder for a moment then slid it aside, unseen. Horatio smiled his sad smile, Ray had been the one who's smile held happiness, Horatio's had never been lighthearted.
When it came to the rest of the world Eric didn't always grasp the subtleties. But Eric was tuned into Horatio. They had been lovers for less than a year, a year filled with challenges, but if there was something upsetting H, Eric knew about it. He had almost a sixth sense. And he would be there. Horatio Caine never knew how much he needed that kind of support until it was there.
Sure his lover was hot headed. Passionate. Latin through and through. And Eric was anything but perfect. But Horatio wouldn't give him up or change him. To do so would make him other than what he was. The lover that Horatio had waited all his life for.
Eric leaned forward, dark eyes fixed on the photograph of the boy. His gaze was fastened on the picture, examining every detail. Then he looked at his lover. Wanting to smooth away the tension on the beloved face.
"Another one?" He asked, softly. Horatio felt his heart swell at the sympathy, at the...pride in those eyes. They had talked about this. Eric was behind him all the way. Was proud of him for doing what he had to do. Eric understood about family, and the sacrifices that had to be made for family.
Horatio nodded.
"Yes. This one is Ray's child, too." He said, picking up the picture and holding it so they both gazed at the face full of hopeful joy and childish pleasure. The face of a boy who's life had just changed, though he didn't know it yet.
"Whatever you need, H." Eric said. His hand squeezing H's shoulder again, on the side away from the most exposure to the rest of the building's observant eyes. The touch held warmth, love, security. Horatio sighed, the lines around his eyes smoothing away.
"This one," Horatio said after a long moment of silence, "..may need a home." He ventured to look up at the dark-haired young man standing over him.
"What ever you need." Eric repeated. His eyes gave the truth to his promise. He would be there. Whatever Horatio needed to do. Supporting him. Horatio felt the weight he hadn't known he was carrying lift off his shoulders. His chest eased, he drew in a breath, fresh and easy.
"Well, then," He reached for the phone. "Holly. Can you connect me with Child Protective Services, please. The Director's office." He waited the few moments it took to make the connection. Then he spoke again. "Ma'am, my name is Horatio Caine..."
Horatio stroked a finger across the cheek of the small boy in the picture. He would make sure they had the best lives he could provide for. Each child. With Eric right beside him. The children would have everything they needed.
ne'ichan