Add a Bit (Horatio and Rick slash)

SaraBeth18 said:
sorry bout that.. i just thought it was so funny and i loved it all. I can just imagine horatio and rick in my mind. cant wait to read more. :)
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Hey, that's OK, and I'm so happy that you're enjoying the story. :) And I have an idea. There's a Stetler/Horatio slash thread in the shipper section of the forum. We can get that thread going again, and you and I and anyone else who's a fan of the pairing can talk about them there. :) I'll go get it on the first page over there now, so you can easily find it. To find the shipper section, in case you haven't been to that section yet, you just go to the main page of the forum, find where it says, Shipper Central, and click that link. Hope to see you over there! :)
 
(continuing)

Rick didn't want to risk arguing with Janson and possibly getting himself in more trouble than he already figured he was in, so he remained quiet. His mind, however, was anything but quiet as it raced and tried to think of what he could've done to get in hot water with his superiors. It must've been the Marks case. He had pushed the envelope in his interrogation of the veteran detective, and the wife had been standing nearby. She had become quite upset and had fled the room. Yes, she could've been upset enough to file a complaint. Also, Rick knew he had been awfully preoccuppied lately with thoughts of Horatio. Could a fellow IAB agent have noticed and ratted on him in some way by saying he seemed spaced out?

Rick pulled into the restaurant parking lot, and into an open space in front of the restaurant.
 
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****Location: At the lab at the same time ****

“Why do certain crimes always happen around lunchtime?” Eric shook his head and asked almost jokingly as he looked at Speed. “Fast food withdrawl symptoms perhaps?” he responded in his usual deadpan manner as he gathered up his equipment and other items that he would need to gather the evidence. Eric wanted to laugh at his 'scruffy looking, but sharp-minded-as-a-tack' co worker's remark, but the fact that there had been a shoot out at the location that had left several food patrons wounded and the manager in a state, where he had to be airlifted to the nearest trauma center made him decide that it was not appropriate to laugh.

“I've got something to say to H first, since he said you can drive why don't you go to the Hummer and we can catch up with you in a minute or two,” the dark eyed Cuban turned his head to speak to Speed and after obtaining an affirmative nod from the trace expert, he turned his back to him and walked straight to his boss' office.

Tim went straight down to where the Hummer was and smiled. He was so happy that Horatio was back and that the three of them were going out into the field again. He frowned for only a moment as he could sense a trace of the insect spray; it hung on his T shirt like a bad cologne. I sure wish I could change shirts right now, he almost murmured aloud as he began to open the doors.

Without a thought, he put his equipment down on the backseat just behind the driver's seat. “What the?” he muttered as he saw a plastic bag fall onto the floor. As he picked it up, a garment fell out of it. One of Horatio's shirts, he mused as he picked up the silken object and began to put it back into the plastic bag until his sharp eyes noticed something, long and golden. Funny, that looks like hay; Tim couldn't resist- he fingered the material carefully and noticed that the entire shirt, especially the back of it had quite a bit of it on there.

His sharp ears heard Horatio and the Cuban walking towards the vehicle, not too close, but not too far away either. Since he was driving and he was taller than his boss, Tim began to adjust the front seat for his legs and height. As he adjusted the seat his hands touched the seat and noticed the floor- in both places there was more of the same material.

Straw....on the floor AND here wedged in the seat too, Tim thought and without even thinking about it he took a spare paper napkin that he had in his jeans' pocket and began to gather up the strays of straw that he could see. This is sure funny, H has been the only one to drive this vehicle for days- no one else has been driving in it. Tim's quick fingers finished gathering up everything and he placed them nonchalantly in an envelope from his trace kit and put it aside amongst his own things.

I don't know exactly why, but I don't want Eric to see this; he wouldn't make a turkey-in-the-straw joke about it, but something's going on...that I don't want him to know about, he can say things sometimes that he really shouldn't be saying, Tim thought protectively about his boss and friend.

“Ready to roll, guys...” Speed said as he waved to the two other men from behind the wheel as they walked up to the Hummer. Tim was glad that neither man had noticed what he had done and he knew that when the time was right, he was going to ask Horatio about it.
 
**At the Restaurant**

Rick took a deep breath in an effort to steady himself and turned off the ignition. He looked straight ahead through the windshield, wishing hard he was at his intended destination, the Cafe Dorado, calling Horatio to tell him he loved him and couldn't wait to see him later.

Cookie's Kitchen was a typical greasy spoon. Rick had heard others joke about the Commander's love for the place, and how the rumor was he always took department personel there to fire or demote them. And how the chances were good that a fly would land in your food, at which time the Commander would exclaim, "Hey! there's a little extra protein for you! Use it to improve your attitude!"

"OW!" Commander Janson suddenly yelled. Rick right away turned to look at him...and was horrified to see the man reach behind his back and pull out a long thick strand of the straw from the stall that he and Horatio had frolicked in the night before.

Janson held the straw out and in front of Rick's face as if he thought the brunet Sergeant would have trouble seeing what he was talking about.

"Sergeant Stetler, what is straw doing in your vehicle?"
 
Rick felt his cheeks start to burn and knew he'd better think quickly. He didn't want to look like he was hiding anything, so he did the one thing he knew would give him the appearance of being in absolute control: he channeled his IAB persona.

"I have a horse, Commander," Rick said with his eyebrows raised in that matter-of-fact way he used when he conversed with a suspect.

"Oh, my sister had a horse," the Commander practically exclaimed, his countenance softening as he spoke. "A Morgan mare. Shirley was her name." But then the burly man's expression hardened again, and he said, "But straw shouldn't be in a county vehicle."

"Understood, sir, and I apologize."
 
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****At the lab, in the Hummer****


You don't mind if Eric sits up here with me, do you?" Speed said in his usual business voice as Horatio and the Cuban were finally within earshot. "No, not at all," Horatio replied as he opened the back passenger door on the right handed side and got in, adroitly adjusting his glasses as he did so.

True to form, the trace expert mused, Eric's full attention was focused on getting ready for events at the scene; he was glad to be sitting with his buddy who liked to drive fast, just as he himself did.

As Horatio settled down in the back, he could see that the plastic bag that contained the shirt that he was going to take to be cleaned professionally had been closed up tightly and moved slightly to the side so that Tim's equipment could share the same space.

Ever the astute detective, the Lieutenant remembered the look in his trace expert's eyes when he had requested the seating arrangements- although Speed could hide things well from most people, Horatio's ability to sense things both said and not said were legendary.

He moved the bag... he was here first, before we came along. He didn't want Eric to see something or even know something. Behind his shades, his azure eyes grew wide, Tim must have seen something that had to do with the clothing inside the bag.

Pretending to check something near his shoe, the redhead put two slim fingers into the plastic bag; as he looked down into it, a quick glance told him that there was more straw on the shirt than he had previously thought.

Tim noticed this and he's covering for me, Horatio smiled inwardly at the thought. He won't say a thing to anyone. I'll wait until he wants to talk to me and that will probably be when we can be in trace, alone... tonight perhaps.

Horatio closed the bag up again with deft fingers and was looking upward as Eric looked back at him, not suspecting anything. "What's on your mind?" the ginger haired man asked in his usual businesslike manner.
 
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**At the Restaurant**

"OK, Stetler, let's go get some eats," said Janson.

Both men undid their seatbelts, got out of the car and headed in to the restaurant. A hostess dressed in a short ruffled skirt and low-cut blouse quickly walked up.

"Hi, Pete," she said, smiling. She looked at Rick, giving him the once-over approvingly.

"Hey, Faline, how's it goin'? the Commander said, smiling back.

"Well, things are fine, just fine," she said in a bubbly drawl. "Your favorite booth is available."

The two men followed Faline the hostess to the booth, which was by the window, and settled into their seats. Janson started perusing the menu, taking his time, not looking at Rick.

Great, Rick thought. He's going to drag this out. Rick tried not to shift in his seat as he looked through his menu. Something buzzed by his left ear. Oh no, not a fly.
 
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Rick felt a wave of nausea. He hated to think what might be in the food at this place. He didn't want to eat anything. He set the menu down. He saw Janson peering over the top of his own menu at him. He could only see his eyes, and he was sure they were grinning. Rick pressed his lips tightly together, and stared out the window.

Just then a perky brunette waitress walked up. She was like a darker-haired version of Faline, and wore a similar outfit.

"Hiya Pete," she said. "Are you boys ready to order or do you need some more time?"

Janson set his menu down, and said, "No, I'm just gonna have the usual, Denise--Cookie's Special Cheeseburger."

"And what about your friend here?"

Rick felt big, round Bette Davis eyes aimed at him.

"Well, I actually had a fairly large late breakfast," Rick tried his best to sound like nothing was wrong. "I think I'll just--" Rick watched in horrified awe as a substantial-sized fly sailed by the front of the Commander's face. "I'm just going to have coffee," Rick finished.

"Nonsense!" Janson practically bellowed. He smiled at Denise. "He'll have a Special Cheeseburger, too."
 
**** Just after 1:30PM at Home****

Rick was right- I was on the 'move' today, he pondered as he began to remove his clothing. He had decided around just a bit after the normal lunch hour to make a detour home for a brisk shower and a change of clothing- the perspiration from the exertions of the day, chasing down the fast food robbers had made him feel like his clothing was sticking to him like an unwanted second skin.

The ginger haired man didn't take too long; a nice shower with his liquid soap that was designed for his sensitive skin, a quick once over all over the damp skin with the tiniest bit of shea butter after drying off as well as a complete change into another fine suit made him feel like a new man.

As he went downstairs, Smokey began to purr and rub around at his ankles begging to be petted and Horatio picked up the eager kitty and relaxed with him for a few moments. Reluctantly, he let go of the pet; he knew he had to go back to the lab, because earlier in the day Speed had told him that he would be in Trace and probably would find their current evidence linking the robbers to other similar, crimes but in nearby cities.

I've got to leave Rick a note; he thought, as he stepped to the Hummer looking back for a second, trying to decide whether to handwrite a note and leave it on a table where his lover could read it. A smile came to his lips as he thought of something new to try- he got inside the Hummer and took out his cell phone and began to type a quick text message that would be brief, but read as follows:

Colt- Made a quick stop at home and changed. Returning to the lab to process something in Trace. Will be home by 6:30PM Angel

This is quite convenient, he mused as he drove off, this way they could keep in touch and preserve the privacy of their relationship from others. The Lieutenant adjusted his shades and drove along hoping he wouldn't run into too much traffic. Unfortunately, some parts of the ride were stop and go, but he didn't mind too much, when he was able to he opened up a plastic container of Ensure and began sipping it- it would stave off his hunger and stop the growling that his stomach was beginning to make just for awhile. The redhead was pondering what type of meal would they be having when he got home later.
 
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*****At the Lab, location: in Trace*****


Tim Speedle had finished working on his notes and evidence from the earlier crime scene; some of it he had even taken to DNA and the results had come in; he had those papers too, he smiled at the thought he'd have a great deal ready when his boss and friend came back to the lab as he had said he would. “DNA” he murmured to himself as he picked up another envelope, the special one that he had put away privately when he had the chance to so that neither Eric nor Horatio had noticed it. Curiosity had gotten the better of him; he looked at the various pieces of straw that he had collected, some of them, after a quick glance of them under some of his trace equipment told him more than he had ever thought he'd know. Definitely some biologicals on some of these strands of straw...biologicals specific to the male gender that definitely belonged to humans, not horses- he concluded forthrightly, as a boyishly naughty gleam began to appear in his luscious brown eyes.

Well even workaholic Lieutenants are entitled to a roll in the hay, Speed thought as he could see Horatio coming towards him. Horatio was nearly at the door when an image of a gold tie pin flashed in Tim's mind; that had been in the bag too and he wondered, he had never seen Horatio wear a gold tie pin; silver or white gold was usually his color of choice, when he chose at those rare times to wear a tie pin. The dark haired younger man quickly decided that he'd better take the questioning look off of his face.



“ You look refreshed; I did the same thing too, except I brought my spare clothing here to work, so I was able to shower here,” Tim said and nodded approvingly at the redhead's fresh and comfortably stylish attire as he entered the room.

“Thank you, Speed; I saved meeting with you for last- I've made the rounds in other areas of the lab. I'll take any paperwork that you have for me,” Horatio's voice was soft and firm as usual.

“Here it is.” Tim replied giving him the documents and folders, however in his eagerness a stray arm brushed against the envelope containing what he had hoped the redhead had not noticed, but sure enough as it dropped to the floor, Horatio could see strands of straw peeking out right at the edge of the manila envelope.


As the two men bent over almost as one to pick up the object, their eyes met and each man began to wonder what was going through the mind of the other.

“ I know...that you saw something earlier today, from my plastic bag. I DO appreciate the fact that you covered for me, as far as not mentioning it to Eric, nor probably to anyone else, but I guess the trace expert in you was just too strong and you had to examine the straw, is that it?” Horatio said with a tilt of his head; he had lowered his voice though, almost to a point that Tim could barely hear him.
 
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**At the Restaurant--Rick and the Commander.**

An instant wave of nausea hit Rick again, combined with a sinking feeling. He coughed into his fist and, getting up, said, "Excuse me, I'm going to the men's room."

On the way to the men's room, Rick had to pass part of the kitchen area of the restaurant, and he made himself not dare look at it. The brunet figured the only reason the place hadn't been shut down by the health department was because the Commander was protecting it.

Rick pushed open the men's room door and ducked just in time before a large, shiny green fly had a chance to collide with his forehead. Thankfully, it was on its way out of the bathroom, so the brunet scooted inside and quickly shut the door, hoping it was the only one that had been in there.

No one else appeared to be in the bathroom, but Rick stepped into one of the stalls to ensure he would have privacy. He wanted to check his messages to see if Horatio had called. The brunet was pleasantly surprised to see that his lover--no, he corrected himself with a growing smile--his fiance had sent him a text message. Well, that's a change, Rick mused. But it's good because it keeps things more private between us.

Horatio's message had said that he had stopped at home to change before going back to the lab and that he would be back home again at 6:30PM. Rick sent Horatio a return text, saying: Angel- I can't wait to see you. Right now I'm at the diner from hell with Cmdr Pete Janson. I guess I'm going to have some news to tell you when I get home that won't be very good. Please don't forget to drink your Ensure, and let's dine 'early Buenos Aires style' tonight. I'll have everything ready when you get home. Colt

Rick smiled and pocketed his phone. As long as he had his Angel, his Flametree, he could handle whatever Janson was going to lay on him. It didn't matter so much. Horatio's love was what mattered, and he had that now.
 
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Rick made his way back to the booth and reseated himself. The Commander was looking out the window at something.

"The world is a rapidly changing place, you know that, Stetler?" Janson said, turning to face Rick. "Take that newspaper rack out there, for instance." The burly man gestured out the window at the lone rack near the restaurant entrance. "In a few years, that's gonna be a relic; everyone'll be reading that paper online. Unfortunately, people will lose jobs because of this, but such is life." He eyed Rick, studying him.

What a bastard, Rick thought. He just stared back at the man. Just tell me what I've done wrong, and get it over with.

"I came to your office yesterday to talk to you, but I didn't get an answer when I knocked," Janson said.
 
"I wanted to talk to you about the Marks case--"

The waitress, Denise, had returned with their food, causing the Commander to hold his words while plates were lowered and set into place in front of the two men.

"Looks delicious," Janson said, looking at the steaming burger and fries on his plate.

"Only the best for you, Pete," Denise said with a broad smile.

"Thanks, darlin'."

Rick tried not to look at what was on his plate as the waitress went on her way. Instead he prompted Janson.

"You wanted to see me about the Marks case?" the brunet said.

The Commander had already taken a bite of his cheeseburger and was chewing.

"Yes. You have a very clever yet unrelenting interrogation style, Stetler. Marks' wife didn't appreciate it much."

Here it comes, Rick thought to himself.

"Sir, I felt that taking that approach with Detective Marks would be the only way to get him to admit to what he did," Rick said in defense of himself. "I'm sorry it didn't work."

"Oh, but it did work," Janson said. "You not only rattled Marks' cage sufficiently enough to get him to finally talk, but the fact that the wife overheard caused her to confess her part in the vandalism against Officer Rhodes as well."

Rick's mouth had fallen open.

"They were dreading another visit by you," Janson continued, "But they didn't want to make themselves look more guilty by lawyering up, so they both came in and gave a full confession yesterday."
 
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**** At the Lab, location: in Trace****

Speed was silent for a moment; he was used to straining his ears to hear Horatio's 'more-softly-than-ever-spoken' words and was prepared to answer him, however, his eyes were giving his red headed superior an unspoken admiring of his form, draped as it was in his white lab coat.

“You could say that, although to be honest, it was more of a personal interest than a CSI one; I just used the skills I had at hand.” Tim confessed as both men rose up to a standing position and the tall Trace Expert could feel his cheeks darken with embarrassment; he knew that the Lieutenant was a very private individual and Tim had always felt and tried to respect that privacy- now, he was feeling like one the annoying snoops that he so often complained about to others.

“ I didn't take it to DNA, however- I wouldn't have gone that far,” the dark haired man continued in a voice still waxing between elaboration and an attempt at an apology.

“I know you didn't and not just because I just came from over there... in DNA, I mean,” Horatio responded as he rose to his full height and raised his voice just a little, however, it was still at a level of sound that indicated that he was talking about something he wished to be private about.

“It's no one's business, but ours, or really yours, H.” Tim took his hand away from the envelope and looked straight into serious, azure eyes that gazed back into his own, ones that despite the words, were still lit with brown lights indicating that he still had questions, but they were ones that he was willing to resist asking, out of sheer respect and friendship.

“Thank you for saying that, Speed. I'm not...ready to share this part of my life with anyone just yet. But I don't mind saying this to you and just to you... one: first of all, it's not just a one-time-thing; you've known me long enough to know I'm not... and that I've never been that sort of person. Two: as you would say, it's about time too, I've been without companionship...or comfort...one might call it even...for a very, long, long time” the ginger haired man's gaze went to the floor for a mere moment, then he looked up at his co-worker and friend with unshaken confidence in his eyes.

“As long as you're happy... you of all people deserve to be,” Tim smiled shyly and nodded, grateful for being let in on something this precious and private.

“Well, I think I'll grab a cup of tea now,” the Trace Expert wiped his brow and put his hand gently on Horatio's white covered arm. For his part, Horatio was remembering the Ensure that he kept on hand now, especially remembering to not drink any that had a caramel flavoring to it- just the thought of the reason why caused him to successfully fight a blush from forming on his cheeks.

“ Like the lab coat, do you?” the ginger haired man broke the ponderous moment by teasing Tim as he turned from side-to-side like a model on a catwalk.

“Frankly, most here don't want to say it but they DO think, just as I DO, that you could wear sackcloth and ashes and make that look attractive,” Tim teased back grateful for a break in the tension, causing both men to laugh as only good and trusted friends can do.

With an exchange of words amounting to 'see you later' they both left Trace after securing it, Tim to his long awaited cup of tea, while Horatio moved swiftly away to his office; there he wanted to let his thoughts fly about his beloved, their engagement and the almost still 'like a dream to him' life that the two of them had to look forward to.
 
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**The Restaurant**

Commander Janson took another big bite of his cheeseburger, and Rick watched another fly zoom by. It landed on the window next to their booth.

"Also," Janson continued, rotating his food in his mouth so he could talk. "There are going to be some changes with some of IAB's office policies. Because of the wonder of computer technology, you, Stetler can now have the option to telecommute from your home twice a week, and do your paperwork there if you'd like. Or you can continue to do it at beautiful IAB Headquarters. It's up to you."

Rick was doing an open-mouthed smile of shock. "I think I'd like the former option, sir."
 
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