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Post by pinkyster on Oct 13, 2009 2:44:52 GMT -10
Very nice, glad Ron could ease Ryan's mind. I bet they would all love to get together to watch a football game.
Jen
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Post by deborah on Oct 13, 2009 9:51:40 GMT -10
Great Chapter. I'm glad that Ron was able to help Ryan over his dilema. Help him to reach a decision on what to do.
Deborah
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Post by gonsy on Oct 13, 2009 11:13:40 GMT -10
Nice chapter Oracle! It's a great idea to go over everyone's feelings about Horatio's confession. Waiting for more.
Gonsy
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Post by NV Oracle on Oct 14, 2009 11:53:52 GMT -10
Thank you all very much, ladies.
Alexx's thought and feelings are next. Hers will be probably the shortest of these chapters, only because she has known about this for a long time, and her feelings haven't changed any.
As a quick author's note, I wrote this part of the story quite some time ago. In fact, it was written before that episode aired where Alexx's son was in trouble. I had not known, when I wrote this, that her husband's name is Henry, and I probably should have changed it, but I left it where it was.
Just letting you know. LOL.
Anyway, please enjoy. Here we go.
***************
Alexx had gone into the kitchen to help her husband, Jeremy with dinner. Several times, though, he had caught her staring off into space.
Finally, he asked. “Sweetheart, is something wrong?”
She blinked back to the here and now. “I’m sorry, Honey. Did you say something?”
He chuckled. “Yeah, I asked if something was wrong? Did something happen at work?”
“You could say that.” She turned to her husband. “Do you remember that I had told you that Horatio had been abused as a child?” Her husband nodded wordlessly. “Ok, well, even though I’ve seen the physical evidence on his body and the emotional evidence on his personality, it was still incredibly unsettling to listen to him tell us about even just one of the times his father did this to him.”
“He finally told the team?” Jeremy turned to her in surprise.
She nodded. “He did.” As she walked into his arms, she added. “You should have seen him, Jeremy. His hands were shaking so badly, that I had to help him take off his own shirt. He looked so lost. He stood there, stripped to the waist, with his head hung.”
Jeremy hugged her. “What are the chances that he’s made the mistake of telling them? That they’ll mutiny against him?”
She looked up at him. “Very, very slim, to none, but it’s still there.”
Jeremy chuckled. “In other words, it’s just big enough that he’s terrified of what their response is going to be?”
She nodded. “Exactly. I prefer to think that he doesn’t have anything to worry about, but if we’re wrong, I’m afraid it’ll destroy him.” When Jeremy looked down at her, she added. “If any one of them reacts even semi-negatively, he’ll take it personally.”
Jeremy nodded. “I can understand that, though, sweetheart. Horatio is not the kind of man who would even admit to a weakness like this.”
Alexx smiled. “Yeah, I know, but you should see the strength it turns into when he’s dealing with a suspect, or the Fed‘s, or Internal Affairs.”
Jeremy smiled as well. “I can easily imagine. It sounds to me like we’re doing all that we can. Hope for the best, but be prepared to clean up the mess, if we’re wrong.”
Alexx looked up at her husband, her eyebrow climbing into her hair. “What’s this ‘we’ business, buster?”
They both laughed, then went back to their dinner preparations.
After dinner, Alexx and Jeremy were sitting in the swing out in the backyard. Jeremy noticed that his wife still appeared to be thinking about something very hard.
“Are you still thinking about Horatio?” He asked.
Alexx nodded. “A little.” She admitted. “I just wasn’t aware of how lean and trim he was until today.”
Jeremy’s eyebrows rose at that. “He’s not endangering his health, is he?”
Alexx shook her head. “I don’t think so. If he had been, I think that’s going to stop, if it hasn’t already.”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean that if I weren’t already a happily married woman, I’d fight Calleigh for him. Except for you, he is the finest specimen of a man that I’ve seen in a while, and I’ve seen plenty that were close. He made Eric look fat, that’s how lean and trim he looked. Luckily, he and Calleigh have agreed to date, outside of work, so with her, and Stevie, I think he should eat more regularly.”
******************
Next will be Eric's turn.
Your friend Oracle
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Post by margaret1234 on Oct 14, 2009 12:07:38 GMT -10
Oh my...Alexx.....so you loved the lean trim look of Horatio did you? Well, who wouldn't? Nice that she could talk to Jeremy about this episode. So that makes two that will not give Horatio a hard time. Look forward to reading about Eric's thoughts.
Nice chapter NV.
Margaret
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Post by sanne on Oct 14, 2009 19:28:12 GMT -10
Absolutely love those chaps, NV Oracle. It's so good to see them outside work, in a casual setting, their thoughts flowing. Great writing. Sandra
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Post by pinkyster on Oct 15, 2009 2:52:31 GMT -10
Oh Alexx, don't worry, the team won't let Horatio down. They will stick to him no matter what. Alexx is so funny at the end, that was so cute. Yes, I think Calleigh and Steve will keep him eating, that's for sure.
Jen
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Post by jessica on Oct 15, 2009 3:23:57 GMT -10
Two great chapter, Oracle. What a nice idea to show the other's thoughts and day after his revelation. I'm also sure that they won't let him down.. but if they do.. no one will find their bodies afterwards, because Alexx and Cal will have gotten rid of them. LOL
Jess
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Post by Dr. Anna McBreadle on Oct 15, 2009 9:10:12 GMT -10
@ jess - i had to laugh at your last comment and i do agree, Cal and Alexx can make a pretty good team! LOL!
nice last two chaps NV! its good to hear/read the rest of the teams thoughts and opinions. its great that Ryan and Alexx are on Horatio's side but i think there might be a problem with Eric. he might see it as Horatio not being able to trust him and maybe wanting to know why Horatio hadn't said anything before! there will always be one who goes against the grain and i think Eric will do that! but thats just my opinion! great chaps NV! luv sam x
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Post by NV Oracle on Oct 19, 2009 10:02:36 GMT -10
Thank you, Sam. I knew there was something missing from that chapter. LOL Well not as much against the grain as you're thinking, but a little, anyway. He's still going to support Horatio's decision, he just had a question about it.
I'm glad you all are liking the team's thoughts about this little revelation. I didn't necessarily think it was appropriate, or realistic, to just go to the next morning without a little peek into what the team though about it. I mean, this is pretty big. It had to have had an impact. I had just hoped that I could give enough of an accurate voice to their feelings.
Anyway, here are Eric's thoughts. There were several websites out there that gave his parent's names, so I went with those, but other than Marisol, no one had given names to his other two sisters, they did agree that he had three sisters, and that he was the youngest Delko sibling, so I went with a name that I thought sounded ok.
Please enjoy.
******************
Eric left the lab and drove over to his family’s home. He pulled up to the house, turned off the engine, and got out of his car. He took a moment to observe his family. He grinned as several of his nieces and nephews all ran out of the house with one of his brothers-in-law racing after them.
He chuckled as the kids noticed him and ran towards him. “Uncle Eric! Help!“ Several of the girls squealed when they caught up to Eric.
Eric bent down to envelope the children in a hug, as he looked up at his brother-in-law, Manuel, and winked. “I’ll get that mean old monster for you.“
He grabbed Manuel around the torso and picked him up, as he play growled at the older man. He looked at both Manuel and the kids, as he told them. “I’m going inside to talk to Mami and Papi. Don’t beat up on Uncle Manuel too badly.“
“Ok.“ The kids responded.
Eric continued towards the house and walked through the doorway. An older man came into the Living Room.
“Eric! We weren’t sure you were going to make it, mijo.“
Eric turned to his father. “What? And miss Mami’s Ropa Vieja? I don’t think so, Papi.”
The two men laugh.
“Would not be a good idea, no.“ Pavel agreed, then asked his son. “How are things at the lab? You ready to come to the family business, yet?“
Eric grinned and shook his head. “No, Papi. I’m very happy at the lab. Should that ever change, though, trust me, I’ll let you know.” He chuckled.
Pavel put his hand on his son’s shoulder. “I know that, mijo. I’m actually just teasing you. While, yes, I would have preferred that you had come into the family business, I really am very proud of you, that you have chosen to serve Miami in the way that you have.”
Eric ducked his head from the praise. “Thank you, Papi. I’ll admit, I had been concerned about what you thought about this.“
“Not to worry, mijo. Everything’s fine. Why don‘t you go in and tell Mami that you’re here, so she doesn’t worry.“
“That’s a good idea.“ Eric patted his father on the shoulder as he walked away. He went into the kitchen, and found his mother and oldest sister working on their dinner preparations. He reached around his sister first, as he kissed her on the cheek and snagged a piece of meat out of the pan. He quickly did the same with his mother, but she still managed to playfully slap his hand.
“Eric! You’re going to spoil your dinner!” Clorinda scolded her son. “Did you get busy at work?”
“We did, Mami. We got called to a complicated crime scene right after lunch.” Eric admitted.
Clorinda smiled at her only son. “I’m just glad that you were able to make it for dinner. Go in and watch the game with your father. Dinner will be ready in a bit.”
“Ok, Mami.” Eric grabbed a soda from the refrigerator, and retraced his steps back into the living room.
Later, Eric’s oldest sister, Isabella went looking for him. She found her baby brother sitting in a chair out on the back patio. She could tell he had something on his mind, because he was staring off into space.
She pulled up a chair and sat next to him. “What’s on your mind, little brother?”
Eric blinked back to the here and now. “Oh, hey, sis.”
“What’s wrong, Eric?”
He sat there for a long moment, staring at the soda can in his hand. “I have this friend at work, and he dropped this unusual piece of news on us about himself.”
“What kind of news, Eric?” She asked. “Was he abused as a child, or was he assaulted as an adult?”
Eric shook his head. “He was abused as a child, sis.”
“He may have been, Eric, but he has survived, and from the sounds of it, has tried to go on with his life. There will always be those little quirks in some of his mannerisms, his personality, that will be evidence of what he experienced, but just from his survival, alone, he has beaten every group of odds that exists for these kids.”
Eric remembered that his sister worked for DCS, and that she would be speaking from experience. He also knew that he could ask her about this, and she would keep it to herself. “What kinds of odds, sis?”
“Well, the odds say that if a kid isn’t killed by the abusive parent, that they will either grow up to be a criminal, or will continue the cycle of abuse themselves.”
“Whoa.” Eric breathed softly under his breath. “I didn’t realize the odds were quite so long.”
“Yeah, I know.” Isabelle agreed. “Most people don’t realize the effort it takes to break the cycle of abuse.”
Eric smiled, widely for a moment, then the smile faded. “One thing that confuses me, sis, is why did he wait so long to tell us? He says that there was never a good time to bring it up, and I suppose I understand…….”
“No, you don’t, little brother.” His sister interrupts. “People who were abused as children are normally afraid to tell their coworkers, or even a lover, because they think that it will alter how we see them. They sometimes get negative reactions to this revelation, and they learn to expect it. That’s why a lot of them are loners. They are afraid that their friends and coworkers will think that they never knew the person who was abused, or that the person will abuse them, and sometimes they take on the roll of the abuser, so that the person who was abused doesn’t get the chance to. Sometimes they have said that friends and acquaintances have said that they deserved the abuse, too, so, no, you don’t understand, little brother. Some of them have described the feeling, like walking on a tightrope that had been strung over the Grand Canyon. I’m actually surprised that your friend had the courage to tell you.”
Eric shook his head. “I’m not sure he would have on his own, sis. One of our other coworkers, who had known this person for a very long time, apparently had been trying to get him to tell us, and recently he had started dating one of our other coworkers.”
“Don’t let it change how you look at him, Eric. It’s not something he could control.” Isabelle reminded him.
“I know that, Izzy. Knowing this person as I do, surviving is the only thing he could do. Letting the odds get him, or just giving up, besides not being in his genetic make up, would be to allow his father to win, even if just by default, and that’s something he’s definitely not going to let happen.”
Neither of them had heard their mother come out onto the patio. When she heard their conversation begin to wind down, she interrupted. “Your coworker has no family, mijo?” Clorinda asked.
Both Eric and Isabella turned toward their mother.
“No, Mami.“ Eric told her, as he stood up and walked over towards her. “His family has all either died or moved out of the country.”
“You must bring him over then. We’ll adopt him.“
Eric chuckled, as he wrapped his arms around his mother. “That’s why we love you, Mami. I can’t promise when, but I’ll bring him by one of these days.”
Clorinda wrapped her arms around her son. “In the meantime, dinner is ready.”
As Eric drove home from his parent’s house, his thoughts returned to Horatio. He remembered the intimidated feeling he had seeing the red head’s upper body, even passed the abuse, Horatio had the body of an athlete. He wondered when and how the man had the time to work out.
Never in a million years would he have thought about the body underneath those suits the red head wore. He knew that Horatio had excellent tastes in clothes, and tried to remind himself, to see if between him and Ryan, that perhaps they could get the man to dress ‘down’ occasionally in jeans, or something. He realized that he had never really given much thought to it, and just assumed that Horatio was thin and lanky. He would have been the first to admit, though, boy was he wrong. He really should have suspected something, with all the looks the red head got. Although he’d never admit this to anyone, but Eric was actually jealous of Horatio when they first met. It seemed he turned heads, both male and female, wherever he went, and Eric wanted the heads to turn because of him. Now of course, it was actually kind of funny to watch Horatio squirm in embarrassment when he realized what was happening around him, and to know it was happening because of him.
When Eric thought about it, he also realized just how little they knew Horatio. It dawned on Eric that no one knew anything of Horatio’s likes, dislikes, or general interests. It was as if they were all some carefully guarded secret, and Eric realized that that aspect of Horatio‘s personality was also due to the abuse, that he had in fact had to keep those things a carefully guarded secret so that his father couldn’t get a hold of them, and use them as a means of keeping Horatio, and Ray, and their Mom down. He made a silent vow to himself to change that, to try to get the older man to talk.
**********************
Next up will be Frank's thoughts.
Your friend Oracle
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Post by sanne on Oct 19, 2009 10:10:49 GMT -10
Of course Eric wouldn't let him down......none of them will. Am very curious about Frank's thoughts though.....will you bring that out for us as well, NV Oracle? Sandra
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Post by deborah on Oct 19, 2009 10:47:06 GMT -10
Very good chapter. It was good to hear about his thoughts. Glad to hear that none of it is negative. Keep up the good work.
Deborah
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Post by margaret1234 on Oct 19, 2009 11:06:18 GMT -10
Great chapter NV. So that is Eric's thoughts....just a little bit more questioning than the others so far.....but of couse he will not let Horatio down......and oh how they all think so much about Horatio's trim body.....that is really amusing......a honed body is making them all a bit awestruck. Will Frank have similar thoughts???
Margaret
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Post by jessica on Oct 21, 2009 9:58:16 GMT -10
Very nice chapter, Oracle. Had hoped that Eric is okay with all of this.. and thank god he is. Sometimes he can be a little... different to the others, so I'm glad that he won't let H down. Not that I feared that but.. ah.. you know what I mean...I hope.. cause I don't know if I know what I mean actually LOL Anyway.. I'm waiting for Franks thoughts also.. so don't let us wait too long. Jess
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Post by NV Oracle on Oct 24, 2009 19:09:45 GMT -10
I knew what you meant, Jess, don't worry. LOL.
Yes, sometimes Eric's thoughts can be different, or at least lean a bit differently from the others on the team. Although no one on the team really knows what it was like for Horatio, it is so far out of anything that Eric has ever known. Eric comes from a very close knit, Catholic, Hispanic family, so it would only be natural for him, of all of them, to question why Horatio wasn't able to confide in them before now. Now that he knows, though, he's going to use this to get closer to Horatio. It's not going to change anything too much, but I think Horatio's going to be pleasantly surprised by the response.
Anyway, here are Frank's thoughts on it.
Please enjoy.
********************
Frank drove over to his ex-wife’s home. He’d agreed to have dinner with her and the kids. After she had tempted him with an under cover ‘investigator’, at first he thought that he and Melissa would be able to continue their marriage, but things went from difficult to completely rocky within just a few short months.
Even though he and Melissa had mutually agreed that they couldn’t remain married, they did remain friendly for the sake of the kids.
His view of Horatio’s injuries at the hands of the man’s father flashed for just a second. He wondered, not for the first time, how the red head could possibly do his job, especially out at a crime scene, in the long sleeve shirts and suit coats he knew the man preferred. Needless to say the abuse certainly explained away a fair number of the red head‘s quirks or mannerisms. The always wearing suits and the being able to move so stealthily were the first two things that came to mind.
He had chuckled when he had overheard several of the younger people grumbling about the red head being able to ‘pop’ up out of nowhere.
Very early in their relationship, Frank had also come across the fact that, under certain circumstances, Horatio very simply could not look someone in the eyes. He knew that little quirk was a manifestation of the abuse. He also knew that what the younger people referred to as the ‘Danger Zone’ was also a display of, not the physical, but the emotional and psychological abuse. There had been several times when Frank swore he could feel the shift, almost as if there were an invisible switch over Horatio’s head, that, when flipped, caused the man to have not necessarily a ‘flashback’ per se, but a ‘knee jerk’ reaction to a perceived psychological threat.
From what Alexx had said, the ‘Danger Zone’ was the red head’s way of protecting himself at least emotionally, if not psychologically too.
As he sat there watching the kids play in the back yard, Frank went back again to what Horatio had told them about his father.
Frank had very quickly realized that he had no idea what it had been like for the red head growing up. Although Frank’s own father was a strict disciplinarian, he wasn’t to the point of being abusive and Frank preferred to believe that about himself as well, with his own kids.
The kids always loved to have ‘Uncle’ Horatio over for dinner. He was always willing to help them with their homework and to play games with them, too.
Melissa liked him too, but Frank had always believed that it was because Horatio was always using his manners, and was always such a gentleman. Melissa never did specify what it was about the man that she liked so much, but that was what Frank suspected.
Driving back to his apartment, Frank realized that this new information about Horatio, didn’t change what he thought about the man, or the red head’s place in his life or the lives of his family. Even though this was fairly serious news, or could potentially be relationship ending, Frank felt that he could say safely that he saw enough of the man’s true personality to be able to say that he ‘knew’ Horatio Caine and that the news did not alter his opinion of the man, or his sense of who the man was or who he wanted to be.
He chuckled, remembering Ryan’s and Eric’s expressions when they were all shown what Horatio’s father had done. He knew that part of the younger men’s reactions had to do with ego, and that they would feel ‘challenged’ by the red head. Frank was old enough that he was passed that kind of reaction, although he admitted to himself that if he were just a few years younger, that they might have had a run for their money. He did agree, though, that the first trip into the gym with Stevie was going to be interesting, to say the very least.
*****************
Please let me know what you think. Next up - a DuCaine chapter.
Your friend Oracle
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