Here is my first story. It is unfinished. I am about 4 pages in. It will probably be about 10 when I am done. It is about a love story between Horatio and a new woman who he meets at a crime scene. The other characters from the show will come in to the story later in small parts. The female character is based partly on myself and partly made up. Please let me know what you think and any ideas on where to take it. Thank you. New Love The sun beats down on the hot Miami pavement as Savannah Caine makes her way up her front walk. She unlocked the front door and entered her Spanish style ranch house and made her way to the large open kitchen. She placed her keys and purse on the counter and the framed picture caught her attention. Her wedding day. Picking it up and holding it close all she could do was smile she found love in a place she never expected. And slowly her memories of the past year came rushing back. It had been a life changing year. She had come to Miami from South Carolina to get away from her life. She was divorced, living in a new city and going day to day. Then life changed. She was out enjoying the city and learning her way around. Soon she found herself at a outdoor café. It was wonderful. People watching was always something she enjoyed. Then the peaceful moments ended. Gun fire rang out everywhere. She ducked into an open door way placing her hands over her head and face. It was less than a minute it seemed like it lasted forever. And after it was over she could nothing. She sat in shock. This was something she had never seen. For a moment she wished she was back home. Then a shadow broke the sun and she looked up to see the man who would change her life. “I’m Lieutenant Horatio Caine. Are you all right?” ,the stranger told her. “Yes, I think I am alright. What happened?”, was all she could ask. “You were present at a murder.” He asked her what she saw and all too soon he was gone. In the days following the shooting all she could do was try not to cry or fear every sound, but just as she started to forget he reappeared. It was a bright, hot day in Florida, but she was sick of being closed up scared. She went out front of her home, opened the garage door and decided her car needed to a good wash. As she was went to work. A Hummer reading Crime Scene Investigation pulled up. And out he stepped. The sun lighting his hair just right almost giving him an angelic vibe. “Hello, Lieutenant, Caine, is it?” “Yes, how are you Savannah?”, he asked. “Much better than the last time you saw me. Is there something you need for the case?”, she asked him. “No, I wanted to make sure you were doing better.” She smiled as he tilled his head looking in at her. She noticed how gentle he seemed, sweet, caring. Different than she expected from a cop. She also noticed how handsome he was. He was close to twenty years her senior, but that didn’t matter to her. She had dated older men before. Her ex-husband was 10 years older, as she thought about it. “Lieutenant Caine, would you like to come in for something to drink. I know you must be on duty so if you are interested how about some iced tea?” He smiled ,“That sounds nice.” They talked for quite awhile. She learned he had been married, but his wife had passed away. And he really had no family close. She knew how he felt. Her father had passed away and her mother had remarried leaving her on her own at twenty-one. She had no other family except her husband and with her divorce just a few friends was the most family she had. He admired her home and she explained that she had used money she inherited from her grandparents to buy it. She told him about her love of the ocean and how she thought Miami was a perfect fit. As the sun started to go behind the trees and the kitchen had started to darken she was surprised when he asked her to dinner. “How would you like to go to dinner with me tonight?”, he asked. “I would enjoy that very much, but I would be glad to make something here. If you would rather stay in, that is.” She replied. “That would be fine.”, he said. Dinner was filled with some more learning about one another and some laughs. He seemed to like her quick wit and straight to the point way of talking. She was surprised she could remember how to make the shrimp Creole that her grandmother had pasted down to her. His smile and the way he tilled his head as she talked took her breath away. He listened so well. Nothing like her former husband. This was the kind of man she had wished Nicholas had been. By the end of the evening she found it hard to see him leave. As they said goodbye at her front door she wondered if he would want to see her again. Before she could finish the thought she heard him ask, “Can I see you again?” “I would like that.”, she said with a smile. And with a smile he was gone. And somehow she knew she would never be the same again. She had met the man who would change her life. She just didn’t know how much. Horatio called her a few days later and asked her if she wanted to have dinner. Dates followed over the next few weeks, dinner at her place, a romantic walk on the beach, a boat ride and some of his favorite places to dine. She was slowly falling in love. Her fear was that he was not falling as hard and fast as she was. She also had a secret that she had kept from him. Before long she would have to reveal it. Would he run? She had asked herself that in the past with other men. Most had a few, however, had seen past her secret. She knew Horatio could have any woman is in town he wanted, but would he really want her? One night about three months after that first date she finally had to tell her secret. They were enjoy some wine on her patio sofa. She figured like all their dates before nothing more than a few kisses would take place. Then he asked something she did not expect. “Savannah, I want to be with you tonight. Do you feel the same?” “Horatio, I can’t. There is something you don’t know about me.” He tilled his head and looked into her eyes and asked, “What is that?” “Horatio, my life may have been easy when it comes to money and things other people dream of, but it has been tough in other ways. Horatio, I almost died from an illness as a child. My body is covered in scars. That is why I always wear long dresses or pants. That is why I never she my stomach. I would not be hurt if you are turned off by this. And before you say anything I have to say something else.” As tears welled up in her eyes, she started to look away. He reached for her arm and she was able to continue. “Those scars are enough to scare someone away, but what might really scar you away are the scars in my heart. My ex-husband had a hard time dealing with me leaving him and he…” She couldn’t continue. He turned looking straight ahead, his face hardened by anger. And with a strong voice asked, “Did he beat you?” “No, the abuse was verbal and emotional.” His head went down and closed his eyes. She continued to explain. “He told me that without him I was nothing. I had no one. He told me that the health issues I had from my past would hold me back. He said that no one would love me and I was going to be the woman anyone else needed. And for three years I listened to that. It was hard to get away from him.” “Savannah, you did break away.”, he replied. He then turned to her and took both of her hands into his. “He was wrong. You can be loved by another man because I am falling in love with you. And scars are nothing, but a part of you and if I love you like I know I do than I can love that part of you.” All she could do was smile through her tears. And then he slowly brought his lips to hers and they kissed. That kiss meant even more than all the ones before because this time she knew it was love. And slowly they made their way to her room. From that night on they never went longer than three days apart. He did his work with the crime scene unit and she hers with the animal rescue organization. Most nights it was just them together without anyone else. He moved into her home. Their time to escape the bad things they both saw everyday. She knew with every passing day she did not want this to end and that someday she wanted to have his name. She knew that someday he would be ready. As the sun rose on their 8 month anniversary Horatio woke Savannah. “Sweetheart, tonight I want you to met me at this address.” He handed her a card with a eatery address in Miami Beach. “Tonight will be very special. I have some people I want you to meet,” he added. “My darling I will be there. I love you.” “I love you too sweetheart.” And with a kiss he was gone.