Never To Late

Hrockz

Hrockz

Coroner
Disclaimer: I don't own CSI:Miami or any of it's characters.
Summary: Post season 1, maybe sometime in season 2? I've made Ray Jr alot younger too. H is in love with Yelina, only this time, he doesn't drag his feet about it. But how does Y feel about it?


He was in love with his sister-in-law. That was what Horatio concluded after he had woke from his sleep after a vivid dream about Yelina for the third night in a row. He was glad he was alone in his bed for his dream had been anything but appropriate. He lifted the thin sheet covering the lower half of his body. He would need a cold shower to qwell his male urges. He swung his legs over the edge of his bed and glanced at the clock. It was 4.30 in the morning.

He made his way to the bathroom. The ice cold water made him shiver but it did the job. His physical desires somewhat under control, his mind still wondered to Yelina. It wasn't lust. Sure he wanted her, which man wouldn't? She was beautiful and had a shapely body to show for. But he half-suspected he was in love with her, and his dreams only affirmed his suspicions.

He couldn't stop thinking about her. She was in his mind constantly. His heart raced whenever she was near, and the smell of her was intoxicating. He would do anything to be near her. He wanted to be with her, not just physically. He wanted time with her, to hear her voice and to make her laugh, see her smile. In her presence, he felt happy, more than happy, elated, content, if it was possible to feel both at the same time.

Horatio remembered the first time he met her, she was engaged to Ray. He was attracted to her good looks at first, but as he got to know her better, he liked her personality as well. It helped that she was a good cook and a very good cop. But she was Ray's and he wasn't going to fight his little brother for a woman's affections.

But fate had other plans. After they got married, Ray started to change and when Ray Jr came along, Horatio found himself trying to fill the gaps that his brother had left in his sister-in-law's and nephew's lives. He started to look forward to weekly dinners and time with Yelina and Ray Jr.

Then Ray died. That made Horatio spend even more time with Yelina. Both helped each other through the pain of loss, and both grew closer to each other, developing a comfortable working and personal relationship. Dinners were more frequent than once a week now, and Horatio enjoyed her company, alot.

It had been more than a year since Raymond died. Was she ready to move on? In their conversations, Horatio knew Yelina didn't want to be alone. It wasn't that she couldn't take care of herself or Ray Jr alone, but she was still young, and felt she deserved another shot at happiness. And Ray Jr needed a father-figure in his life. He was now only eight.

Horatio knew he could fill those roles, but wasn't sure if Yelina felt the same about him, or was he just a good brother-in-law in her eyes? They had their moments, stolen looks, staring into each other's eyes, but he couldn't be sure. He would need to talk to her about that.

As he stepped out of the shower, Horatio felt the sudden desire to know what she thought about him. As he dried himself he realised he hadn't seen or talked to Yelina much lately. She had taken some personl time to look after Ray Jr who had come down with chickenpox, then after that she never got assigned back to work with him. It was always some other homicide detective lately. And it had gotten busy. For some reason, Miami had a rise in crime rates and Horatio and his team were kept so busy he had missed their dinners a couple of weeks in a row.

Walking back into his bedroom, Horatio looked at the clock again. It was 5am. He wanted to call her, hear her voice, but he didn't want to alarm her. A call at this hour had better be life or death. It wasn't. He didn't want to wake or trouble her.

Horatio sighed. Time was crawling. He weighed his options. He could go back to sleep, but he doubted he'd be able to fall asleep again. He could go in to work, do some paperwork, there was more than enough of that to occupy him. And yet another option, to go buy breakfast and turn up at Yelina's. He hoped he would be welcome. The third option seemed his best course of action. He missed her, and seeing her would soothe his yearning heart.

Bouyed by the thought of seeing Yelina after a period of absence, Horatio got dressed, grabbed his gun, keys and sunglasses and breezed out the door.

More to come.... stay tuned :)
 
More please. Really good start. I like it! I love the H/Y story. They just get it on! :lol:

______________________

"The thrill is in the chase. Never in the capture." - Agatha Christie
 
MacsGirlMel said:
cool...I've enjoyed your stories a lot even though I'm H/C fan.
Click to expand...

That's a great compliment. Thanks!

And to the rest of you who gave favourable feedback, thanks alot too! :D

And back to the story:

Horatio arrived at Yelina's with breakfast at 7 in the morning. He hoped he wasn't too early. He rang the doorbell, then waited. His heart raced and he felt nervous. He wasn't sure why, she had this effect on him, but this morning it felt more pronounced. After what seemed like an eternity, the door opened.

Horatio was greeted by the woman who filled his dreams lately. She smiled at him and he melted.

"Hey," Yelina opened the door wider. "What are you doing here this early?"

"I uh...." Horatio smiled. "I hope I didn't wake you."

Yelina shook her head. "No. I thought you should know I have to get up early, get Ray Jr ready for school."

"Uh.. yeah." Horatio lifted the paper bag in his hand. "I brought breakfast."

They stood there for a moment. Must have been a minute, when neither said anything and the world stood still as they stared into each other's eyes. There was a longing Horatio hoped his eyes didn't betray.

"You gonna just stand there?" Yelina laughed.

Horatio blushed. He wordlessly stepped through the door. Ray Jr came barreling towards him.

"Uncle Horatio!"

Yelina grabbed the food from Horatio's hand as he crouched to Ray's level. The small boy ran into his uncle, and threw his arms round his neck in a hug.

"Hey buddy." Horatio smiled, almost losing his footing from the force of Ray throwing himself at him. "I missed you too."

He ruffled his nephew's hair. "Looks like you've grown since the last time I saw you."

"Yup." the boy quipped. "Look at my scars."

Horatio regarded the chickpox scars on his arm.

"I told him not to scratch." Yelina rolled her eyes and smiled.

"Scars are cool."

"Uhh-huh." Yelina held up the paper bag. "Uncle Horatio brought breakfast."

"Come on partner, we can all eat in the kitchen, then I' give you a ride to school." Horatio looked to Yelina and her eyes told him she was ok with it.

After breakfast, Ray Jr was shooed off to this room to get ready for school. It presented Horatio with time alone with Yelina. Time he had sorely missed.

He made his way up to her, leaning against the doorframe as she did the dishes.

"So... I haven't seen you in awhile."

"You've been busy." Yelina pointed out.

"Yeah. I'm really sorry I missed those dinners."

"Ray Jr missed having you around."

Horatio wanted to ask if she missed him too, but he bit his lip, trying to feel if this was the right time to broach the subject.

"I'll make it up to him. I've got tickets to the Heat game this weekend..... if it's ok with you."

"Sure." Yelina smiled. "It'll be good that he has some time alone with you."

Horatio bowed his head and smiled. Good to have her approval. Time to get down to business. She seemed in a good enough mood this morning. Horatio straightened up and took another step towards her. Then a strange phenomenon occured, one he never experienced before. He didn't understand it. He never felt inadequate or had trouble talking to women before, and this would not be the first time he was asking a woman out, but he found that he was having touble forming coherent speech.

"I ummm.... I was wondering.... I need to... you..." Horatio pressed his lips together and took a breath.

Yelina was looking at him with an amused expression on her face.

Horatio chuckled. He blew out a breath. "Sorry. What I meant was..."

Yelina's cellphone rang. She held up her finger to ask him to wait as she answered. The conversation concluded she turned her attention back to Horatio.

"That was Delko. We got a lead on the case we were working on yesterday."

"Ok." Horatio nodded.

"You were saying?" Yelina asked.

"Yeah, I have something to ask you...."

It was Horatio's cellphone that rang next. He was wanted at a crime scene.

"You have to go." Yelina pointed out.

"I'm ready for school." Ray Jr bounded back into the kitchen. Opportunity wasted.

"Go wait out by my car ok son?" Horatio patted the boy's back.

Ray Jr hugged his mother goodbye then went out the door.

"We'll talk later. I'll stop by to see you." Yelina smiled at Horatio. His heart flipped.

"Make sure you do." Horatio replied as he went after Ray Jr.

----------------------------------------------

The day went on without any word from Yelina again. Shift was almost over when Horatio thought he smelled Yelina's perfume. He lifted his head from the microscope he was staring into.

"Thought I heard you come in." Horatio smiled.

"I wasn't trying to sneak up on you." Yelina returned the smile. "Case closed." She was referring to her case.

"Eric told me." Horatio nodded.

"Yours?" Yelina stood next to him and his heart raced again.

"I might have some fibers here, might link us to the killer."

"You had something to tell me this morning?" Yelina asked, changing the subject.

"Uh yeah." Horatio snapped off his latex gloves and cocked his head at her.

"I was wondering.... I was wondering....um... you and I, if we, we could go out maybe for drinks.... maybe tomorrow night.... without Ray Jr..... it ummm.... it would be, would be a date."

Horatio swallowed. It had been more of a mouthful then he had initially thought. He studied the expression on Yelina's face. It registered surprise, then a slight smile formed on her face. She bowed her head.

"Horatio...." She began. He could tell from her tone he wasn't going to get a favourable answer. She took a breath then lifted he head to look at him. She was trying to sugar-coat her answer. He began to get a sinking feeling.

"Tomorrow night.... we can't. I've got a date."

Horatio had been expecting a simple "no", then an explaination why. His heart sank.

"I've been meaning to tell you," she offered an apologetic smile. "I've started to date again. There's this guy Charlie, he's really nice. He's an architect. We used to go to school together. He called me recently, asked me out and I said yes."

Horatio was too late. He felt like smacking himself on the forehead. He forced a smile.

"So uh... you've been seeing him for awhile?" Horatio knew it wasn't his place but he wanted to know.

Yelina nodded. "Just before Ray came down with chickenpox."

Horatio tried to hide his disppointment. That was almost a month ago.

"I'm sorry. I....." she gave a half-smile. "I wasn't expecting this, not from you. I always thought you'd never get past the fact that I was married to your brother."

"It's ok." Horatio was quick to put on the mask he wore when he had to hide his emotions. "I'm happy for you. You deserve to be happy."

Yelina nodded her thanks. "You should meet him some time. Charlie's really nice, and he's good to Ray Jr too."

"That's...... good." Horatio turned his head back to look at his microscope. "I have to get back to work."

"Yeah." Yelina was quick to retreat. "I'll leave you to it."

"Horatio," she called to him just before she exited the lab.

"Yeah." He looked up.

"You're still coming for dinner on Wednesday right? I mean our usual routine?"

"Sure." Horatio forced a smiled. His heart ached at the thought of her with another man.

"I'll see you then." Yelina replied.

Horatio watched her leave. His heart was crushed. All he could think of was, if only he had asked her earlier.


TBC......
 
Excellent! I like it! Please keep going! I sooo want them together! lol!

_____________________________

"The thrill is in the chase. Never in the capture." - Agatha Christie!
 
I feel like crying :'(

Does that mean Yelina doesn't feel the same about Horatio?! Impossible :p
 
Wednesday came by and Horatio turned up at Yelina's door like he said he would. They hadn't spoken since the day he tried to ask her out. He rang the doorbell. A stranger opened the door which caused Horatio to wonder if he had knocked on the wrong door.

"You're Horatio right?" The man at the door asked. It had to be Charlie. "Yelina's told me so much about you." Charlie held out his hand. "I'm Charlie, pleased to meet you."

Horatio reached out and shook the outstretched hand. He squeezed and watched as the expression on Charlie's face registered pain.

"Hey," Yelina appeared behind Charlie which prompted Horatio to quickly release his hand. "I see you two have met."

"Yeah we have." Charlie said, wrapping an arm round Yelina's shoulder.

Horatio felt the jealousy rising but he bit his lip. Was this man going to feature as part of their family dinners now? The thought irked Horatio.

"I'll was just leaving." Charlie pointed out. "You guys enjoy your dinner."

"Thank you." Horatio slipped of his sunglasses. He still had to be polite.

Horatio watched as Chrlie planted a deep kiss on Yelina's lips. She kissed him back. She smiled at him as they broke the kiss, making Horatio feel like punching Charlie in the face. Instead he clenced his fists tightly.

"I'll call you later ok baby?" Charlie said to Yelina as he side-stepped Horatio to make his way out.

"Ok." Yelina smiled and waved at the dark-haired man.

Horatio waited for Charlie to get into his car and drive off. He turned to Yelina.

"So..." Horatio raised his eyebrows. "Baby huh?"

Yelina lowered her head and blushed. "Yeah he calls me that. We used to see each other in high school, the pet name stuck I guess."

It explained why the the relationship she was having with this man seemed to be moving so fast.

"Uncle Horatio!" Ray's head popped out from behind the door. "You made it!"

"Hey buddy." Horatio ruffled the boy's hair.

"You gonna stand outside my door the entire night?" Yelina asked.

Horatio smiled and relaxed for the frst time since he arrived. "Thought you were never gonna invite me in."

Dinner was pleasant, both adults focusing mainly on Ray Jr. The boy was clearly elated to have his uncle round again, but an air of awkward tension was felt between Horatio and Yelina. Horatio put Ray to bed while Yelina did the dishes. When he emerged from Ray's room, he found Yelina sitting on the couch, her legs tucked beneeth her, two cups of coffee on the table.

"Good to know some things don't change." Horatio said as he sat beside her. Their late night talks over coffee after Ray went to bed was something Horatio always looked forward to and he was quite sure she enjoyed it too.

"Why shoud it?" Yelina asked.

"I umm... I don't know. Maybe because Charlie might get jealous?"

"He knows there's nothing going on between us." Yelina pointed out.

I wish there was. Her statement felt like an arrow to his heart.

"So you're happy with him?"

"Yeah, I am." Yelina replied without missing a beat.

Horatio bowed his head. He let out a sigh as he leaned forward and rested his arms on his knees.

"What's wrong Horatio?" Yelina leaned forward, mirroring his actions.

Horatio turned to stare into her chocolate colored eyes. For a moment, Horatio thought he saw something that gave him hope. A spark, a connection. Then it was gone.

Horatio shook his head, avoiding her eyes. "Nothing..... nothing's wrong."

"It's Charlie and me isn't it?"

Horatio remained silent, studying the floor.

"I'm sorry I know this is all so fast, and it's a surprise to you. It just happened. You've been telling me I should find my own happiness..... one night Charlie called, we talked, felt like old times. Next thing I knew we were seeing each other."

Horatio thought it ironic that she thought it was his encouragement that made her start to date this man.

"There's no need to apologise." Horatio stared her in the eyes again. "You're right. What you said."

"Something tells me, you're still not ok with this."

Horatio sighed. How was it she knew him so well?

"I'm not sure how to put this...." It was time to let it all out. "I ummm... I.... I can't stop thinking about you. I catch my breath everytime you walk into the room.... just being with you makes me happy. I uh... I've felt this way for you... for along time now. I thought you weren't ready to move on after Ray died.... I guess.... I was wrong."

Horatio saw surprise in her eyes, then a hint of sadness. There was no turning back now. Whatever he was about to say would make or break their relationship.

"I've been in love with you for as long as I can remember. What I need to know... Yelina is.... do you feel the same way about me?"

There was a long moment of silence that passed between them. A strange sense of calm washed over Horatio. He had got what he needed to say off his chest. He waited for her to respond. He couldn't tell what she was thinking but he saw turmoil in her eyes. Like he had rocked the boat.

"Horatio....." Yelina spoke after a long while. "I... I feel for you too..."

His heart leaped.

"But not like you mean."

Horatio's heart came crashing down to earth.

"What I feel for you, the closeness we have, it's more like what a sister feels for her brother."

Horatio let out a soft chuckle. He shook his head. Those were the most cruel words a woman could say to a man. Coming from the woman he was madly in love with, made it even worse.

"Well.... at least.... now I know." Where those looks she gave me for nothing? Did I read her signals wrong? Surely I wasn't mistaken.... all those nights we spent together pouring our hearts out to each other.

"I didn't mean to hurt you." Yelina placed her hand on his. "I'm sorry."

Her touch should have been comforting, but it felt like salt to his wounds.

"Don't be." Horatio replied sadly. "You're happy, that's all that matters...... I just hope..... I... I didn't want to change things for us."

Yelina nodded her understanding. "It didn't. You're still Ray's uncle. I'll still come to you when I need help, a good friend. And.... I'm flattered you think of me this way. Someday, you'll make someone very happy."

"Yelina...." Horatio's eyes betrayed his sadness. I don't want to make anybody else happy, except you. "Don't."

There was nothing more to say. Horatio let his hand slip from hers. He stood.

"It's ah.... it's late. You'd better get some rest." He was having trouble hiding the hurt he felt.

"You sure you ok?" Yelina asked. There was concern in her voice.

"I'll be fine." Horatio hastily made his way to the door. "I'll see you tomorrow at work."

"Yeah, you will." Yelina offered a smile.

"Goodnight."

"Goodnight."

Horatio hurried to the Hummer parked out front. He got in and drove off, the angry tears starting to sting his eyes.


Sorry for the angst.. :lol: TBC.... :)
 
Okay , that last chapter is how it shouldn't be on the show. You got that TGTB?!

I want my H/Y together! It will happen! I'm sure of it
 
oh wow.. im liking it so far... nice work Hrockz!!
awww poor H... she turned him down twice now. i feel for u H :( lol
 
Thanks for the kind words. :alienblush:

Horatio winced as he sat down on his bed. He had just been discharged from the hospital after spending the afternoon in the ER. He had refused his team's offer of help and had driven himself home. He had gotten out of his clothes and into his boxers. He glanced at the bandage on his side. His wound felt sore. He didn't feel like trying to pull on a shirt. He was about to settle into bed when the doorbell rang. He got out of bed, making his way to the door. Opening the door, he was surprised to see who was standing there.

"Yelina." He said her name. "What are you doing here?" It had been weeks since he had confessed his feelings for her. On the surface, things were as they were before. But an unspoken, uneasy tension still hung over them. Horatio still stopped by but was always uncomfortable in the presence of her boyfriend. Instead he opted to take Ray Jr out more frequently rather than spend time at her house like he used to do.

"I heard about what happened. Are you ok?" She pointed to the bandage on his side. "You should have stayed in the hospital."

"I'm fine. Really." Horatio stepped back to allow Yelina in.

"You sure?"

"Yeah. It was nothing."

"I heard you got shot." Yelina said, her voice filled with concern.

Horatio smiled. "You know how things get exagerated. The bullet ricoheted and grazed my side. I did not, get shot. It just took some stitches."

"Still, a bullet's a bullet." Yelina said.

They had made thier way to his couch.

"I'm fine." He repeated. "It's late. Who's watching..."

"Charlie's at my place with Ray."

Horatio nodded. "Ummmm.... can I get you anything.... coffee?"

"I'm good." Yelina replied. "I heard you got shot. When I called the hospital, they said you had left. I wanted to see for myself how you were."

"I'm fine, as you can see."

"That's good." Yelina paused, looking a little incertain. "If you need anything...."

"I'll call you." He wanted to assure her.

"I just wanted to make sure you're ok... safe... cos if anything happened...."

Horatio thought he caught something in her eyes again. He was not one to back down.

"You share the same feelings as I have for you."

"What?!" Yelina laughed nervously. "No..."

"You can't fool me. You can try fooling yourself, but... I know you too well. I can see it in your eyes. All this time..... I wouldn't have told you I was in love with you if I wasn't sure you felt the same."

Yelina shook her head. "Why are you doing this? I told you how I feel for you."

"But that... wasn't the truth." Horatio emphasized. "You wouldn't come charging in here in the middle of the night if you didn't care for me."

His blue eyes burned into hers, daring her to face the truth he already knew a long time ago.

Yelina conceded defeat. "Ok. You're right. I do feel for you, and not in the way I told you the other night... not as a sister feels for her brother."

Even though he had been expecting this, his head started to spin. Horatio wasn't sure if it was the pain medication he had taken, or the fact that she had admitted to her feelings for him.

"But we can't...."

Another stab to the heart. He had to convince her otherwise.

"Why?" He interupted her. "I know Yelina, that Ray hurt you. You didn't deserve to be treated like that. Much as I love my brother I didn't agree with the way he did things, especially when it came to you. I'm not like that. Just give me a chance, you won't get burned. I promise."

Yelina smiled a sad smile.

"I know you're different. I have no doubt." She sighed. "It's just, we're so close, we can share everything together. I know that what we could have together would be the most amazing thing I've ever experienced. But a relationship that deep.... it could go either way. It could be so.... so wonderful, but if we mess things up, it would go so badly."

She stopped to take in a deep breath. Horatio began to understand.

"If things go bad, we'll probably never be able to fix things, because we love each other so much....it would be too painful to remain friends. And I don't want Ray Jr to be caught up in all this. I don't want him hurt, or to lose his uncle cos of us. He loves you like a father. It's better this way. Not jst for him but for us, because I don't want to lose our friendship."

Horatio took her hand in his.

"Sweetheart, why think of the negative? Who said we can't make it work forever. Who said we'd mess up?"

"I can't take that chance Horatio. I just can't."

"Is there no way I can convince you otherwise?"

"Please Horatio, don't make this any harder than it already is." Yelina pleaded.

He knew he had to back off. He couldn't stand to see her in any form of discomfort, let alone anguish.

"So... this is how it's gonna be huh?" Horatio raised his eyebrows, unsure if his heart could take anymore of this emotional roller-coaster.

"I didn't want to tell you this now but... Charlie asked me to move in with him. With Ray Jr of course. I said yes. We decided to take things one step further."

In Horatio's mind it wasn't rocket science. He couldn't understand why she didn't get how much he loved her. More than any other man could.

"So you love Charlie more than me?" It was childish, immature and smacked of jealousy. But jealous was exactly how Horatio felt at that moment.

"Don't make me choose." Yelina looked ashamed, as if feeling regret for her fear of facing her the depth of her feelings for him.

Horatio sighed. This felt like a dead end. He clenched his fists in frustration.

"I had better go. You're obviously ok." Yelina stood. "I'll check on you tomorrow."

Horatio stood slowly. His wound hurt but not as much as his heart.

"And one more thing. Charlie lives in Washington. He's here on business for a month."

The shock of the news made Horatio catch his breath. She's leaving?

"Our flight leaves next Thursday."

"And how does Ray Jr feel about all this?" Horatio asked bitterly.

"He's excited about moving. But he'll miss you. We'd come back to visit, and you could come over too."

Horatio bit his lip, not wanting to say something he would regret. How could she say she loves me and do this to me?

"I'll ah.... I'll stop by to spend more time with Ray... before you guys leave." He swallowed.

"That'll be good." Yelina pulled Horatio to her for a hug. Her body against his bare skin should have excited him, but it only worsened the pain he was feeling in his heart.

"I'll miss you too." And with that she was gone.

Horatio stood staring at the closed door for a moment. It was getting difficult to breathe. He felt like the world was closing in on him. He seldom drank anything alcoholic, but at that moment he felt like he could use something to numb his pain.

He was glad that he had kept a bottle of scotch. He poured himself a drink......


Stay tuned for more :)
 
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