Twist Of Fate #4 (completed)

[jessica]

I can't believe it that we made it to the forth thread. That's absolutely fantastic. *does the happy dance*

So the countdown started.. two more chapter.. which means four days until the story is finished.

I can assure you that it was just a coincidence that Horatio met the Speedles, but then again.. it probably was another sign? Who knows....

There's once again a little jump in time, so sorry for all of who'd been waiting for a beach scene or a Christmas scene. There won't any of these in this story.. but who knows..maybe some day in a sequel. But I can't promise.

So right now.. have fun with the next part.

Jess

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Chapter 18.1


A lonely figure was standing on the patio of their garden. The sun had already set, due to the time of day, and was now illuming the sky with wonderful reddish and orange colors. The sky was clear, no cloud could be seen and the first stars were starting to appear. It would be the perfect weather for subsequent events this night, because it was a very special day today.

Today was the very last day of the year, December the 31st and later on there would be a big firework on the beach, with thousands of bystanders. But this wasn’t interesting for the lonely figure. He had never been much into fireworks and crowds of people had never been something he would enjoy. No, he would spend this day at home, without ruffle or excitement and in the hope that the loud noises won’t frighten his daughter.

Furthermore, he had a lot of thinking to do and decisions to make. This was New Year’s Eve after all and when if not on this day were decisions made that should change your future?

With a small sigh he leaned down a bit and rested with his forearms on the wooden railing. His sight wandered upwards to the sky and for a few moments he just relinquished the feeling contentedness that was surrounding him. What he didn’t realize though was that he was watched by someone else.

With a smile, Calleigh did her best to not spill any of the wine she was carrying when she closed the slide door behind her. “Here you are,” she said softly and walked to him. “We already wondered if you left us in order to watch the firework,” she teased and held out a glass for him.

“Oh I still have a few hours left, so don’t give me any ideas,” he countered playfully and took the glass. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome; I thought it would fit to our dinner. I hope you don’t mind that I snooped around in your wine rag?”

“Not as long as you share your findings with me,” he chuckled and took a small sip of his drink.

“Scouts honor,” she promised and mimicked his posture. “So what are you doing out here, while we’re slaving in the kitchen for you?” she asked him with a small hint of curiosity.

“Thinking,” he answered cryptically. “And enjoying the silence.”

“Was that a hint?” she looked up to him.

He gently shook his head. “No, I don’t mind sharing the silence and breaking it every once in a while.”

“Glad to hear,” she smiled and leaned against him.

Automatically he wrapped his arm loosely around her shoulders and grinned to himself when he heard her sigh. “Cold?”

“Mhm, a bit,” she nodded almost unnoticeable. “That’s rather stupid, isn’t it? I mean it’s still 68°F and I don’t even want to imagine how cold it’s in other cities.”

“Well I think the Miami weather has made us more sensitive to such degrees. I mean I was born in New York and it can get really cold there, but you’re so used to the high temperatures here that I’m also feeling cold when it hit the 68°F. So no, it’s anything but stupid in my eyes.”

“Do you miss the lower temperatures?”

“Sometimes. When it’s Christmas, yes. I miss celebrating Christmas with snow and when it’s really humid here, I miss it too. But otherwise…no.”

“A typical white Christmas, huh? Now this would be nice. No Santa wearing Bermuda shorts,” she giggled.

“Don’t remind me of that;” he groaned. “Santa in Bermudas is just wrong and should be forbidden.”

“Well that’s Miami, what did you expect?” she teased and sipped on her wine.

“Not Santa on a Jet Ski, that’s for sure,” he replied and made himself the promise to show Elena a real white Christmas one day. Not preferably in New York, but there were several other places where they could go to. “By the way, what are you doing here actually? I mean except of interrupting my thoughts and not slaving in the kitchen for me, as you put it so nicely.”

“Well I’m here to deliver a message from your daughter,” she smirked at him.

“Oh? Now I’m curious. What is it about?”


tbc

[tenfour]

Good stuff as usual..not really hoping for a Christmas or beach scene...just looking for a DuCaine scene and hey presto here it is

Lovely little scene, now what message does Ellie have for her dad...I wonder?
I like the fact that Cal and H are comfortable again here...has something happened in the time lapse that we should be aware of?

Very sad we are coming to an end and I'm putting in a request for a sequal too...just because...would love to see one!

Liz

[margaret1234]

So we have reached the point where Horatio and Calleigh seem comfortable with each other now......so I guess, that Calleigh's comment....."I won't wait forever "is a comment long forgotten. A sign of intimacy between them now, so is this going to progress or not......to tell you the truth, not sure. Horatio does seem to be at peace with himself now. And my guess is that the message from Ellie is " I want my Daddy".

Lovely chapter Jess.

Margaret.

[deborah]

I'm curious about the message from Ellie for Horatio. It should be good. The scene between him and Calleigh was very good also. More! More!

Deborah

[Dr. Anna McBreadle]

im with the others, loving the DuCaine moment, more DuCaine please! (i have a feeling my wish will be granted! i hope! )

my guess is Elenas message will be either that she's tired and wants her bed or she needs her diaper changing or something along the lines of that!

i wonder what the strokes of midnight will bring for Horatio and Cal??? another DuCaine moment perhaps??

its ashame that this story is coming to an end as i have really enjoyed it!
great chap!
luv
sam
x

[gonsy]

Hey Jess, very nice chapter. I'm very curious now. What decisions he has to make? And what is the message? Oh, only four days to the end? Well, let's enjoy them.

Gonsy

[pinkyster]

Very nice. I love the DuCaine moments. So what message does Ellie have to say! My curiousity is peaked?

[jessica]

Soo did you ladies miss something? Yes you did, but don't worry about it. It will be explained. And what is Ellie's message? Read and find out.

Please enjoy and thank you all for your reviews.

Jess

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Chapter 18.2



“That dinner is ready in about 10 minutes and that you better won’t be late, because we don’t want the food to get burned or worse,” she replied in a mocking threatening tone.

“And we can’t let this happen, can we?” he played along

“Nope,” she shook her head and let her hand ran over his back.

“I’ll promise to be on time,” he smiled down at her and squeezed her shoulder lightly.

Taking the cue, Calleigh carefully disentangled herself from his grip and gave him the chance to be alone with his thoughts. “Horatio?” she asked just before she stepped into the house again.

“Yeah?” he turned his head towards her direction.

“Don’t let us wait too long.” With that she entered the house and closed the door behind her again.

Horatio couldn’t help but notice the double entendre. He and Calleigh had started to rebuild their friendship once again for the last weeks and until now it had been quite a success. He had stopped ignoring and avoiding her at work and this had improved their relationship greatly. He hadn’t thought that their working relationship and their friendship would be so deeply entwined, but now he knew better.

But it hadn’t stopped with spending more time together in the lab; no it had also carried over into their private lives and had ended in him inviting her over for New Year’s Eve. He knew that she’d given him time and he didn’t take that for granted. He could only imagine what she was going through, since she didn’t know if he would give them a chance or not.

So what was he actually doing here outside when Ellie and Calleigh were waiting for him? This was a very good question and in truth, he couldn’t really answer it. There was still something that stopped him to embrace the new chance he’d been given, he just couldn’t say why.

So much had happened in the past few months; there was so much he had to come in terms with and even though he never had problems with making decisions while work, it was difficult for him to make them in his private life, especially if they were of great importance.

“What am I going to do?” he mumbled to himself and looked at the last remaining of his wine. He knew that he had to make a decision, he owed Calleigh that. But what if he made the wrong one? What if he made the right one? He didn’t know. What was right or wrong anyway?

With a sigh he once again rested his arms on the railing and looked into the now darker sky. His heart told him to take the chance, the past had shown him more than once that life can be short and that you could easily regret things you haven’t done. More than once he had had Speed’s reply playing over and over in his mind again for the last weeks.

“I’ve got plenty of time for that.”

Life had told them otherwise.

Life could be too darn short and it didn’t matter if you were young and healthy or sick and old. Fate would always get you.

Marisol and he had planned so many things together, but one minute, one second had changed everything. And once again fate had interfered with his life in bad way.

So what if it was finally interfering with his life in a good way?

What if this was the way it was meant to be?

What if Pavel and Marta were right about Marisol not wanting him to be alone?

What if it was Marisol’s doing that Calleigh had entered his life in such a way?

What if she wanted him and Elena to have someone they could lean on?

What if…

What if…

Taking a deep breath, he raised his glass towards the sky. “To you, Mari. Fate had other plans than we did, but you showed me that there’s always something good beneath all the bad. I just hope that I’ll make it right this time. I know we will meet again someday and until then I should live our dream. There will always be a place in my heart just for you and I will never forget you. I love you.”

He took the last sip, nodded towards the sky and entered the house. Quietly he made his way to the kitchen and watched the wonderful scene that was playing in front of his eyes. Calleigh and Ellie were busy blowing on the rolls that seemed to be a bit darker than they usually were and laughed at the same time, which made their task even harder. At this moment, he knew that he had made the correct decision, so he made himself known by clearing his throat.

“I think Cal…I think that thinking and waiting is overrated.” The smile he got in return was more than he could ever hope for.


tbc?

[margaret1234]

So what did we miss Jess? I have re read the previous chapter and still cannot pick up on anything......but, I am half asleep at the moment.
Another really beautiful chapter. Think Horatio has finally made his peace with his inner self about Marisol.........That paragraph where he was talking to her......is so moving. So, is he going to propose to Calleigh now or not? Guess so.

Margaret

[tenfour]

Great writing as always...very clever Cal to make him make a descision, and I'm sure that Ellie didn't say hurry up for dinner! Oh dear they burnt the rolls...lovely little sweet scenes either side of the soul searching.

I assume he has just actually made a decision to follow the relationship and see where it goes.
Do we get a little bit of fluffy sweet DuCaine moments before the end I hope so

[gonsy]

This is a great and touching chapter Jess, but it seems to me a little sad...it's going to be a sad ending? Hope I'm wrong. And I'm a little confused now, what did we miss? You say it will be explained, I'm very curious now!!

Gonsy

[NV Oracle]

Terrific chapters Jess. I'm caught up again. I'm also glad to see that Horatio has come to his decision (and his senses LOL). He's quite correct in that Fate can throw the meanest curve ball at you, just when you think you're secure in what you're doing, and where you're going, that it completely flattens you. Mari is smiling down at you, Horatio. She wants you and Ellie to be happy.

More DuCaine time, whoooooohooooo! (LOL)

Can't wait to see what happens next.

Your friend
Oracle

[jessica]

Mhm... ha.. I think we talked cross purposes. Oh I understood you wrong ladies. When you mentioned something about what you missed, I thought you wanted to know what you missed in the weeks between cemetery and the last scene. Hm.. and this was actually "just" that he hadn't ignored Calleigh's presence or well has rather "longed" for it. So sorry for the confusion I probably caused.

Anyway.. this is the second last part of the whole story.. so I hope you enjoy it.

Jess

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Epilogue Part One

Calleigh felt a little bit unsure when she stopped at the grave and read the inscription on the gravestone. She’d never been really good at such things, talking to people who weren’t there, and the fact that she’d never been close to this person didn’t make it any easier at all. Still she needed to get something of her heart, no matter if it probably wasn’t of any use.

With a smile she noticed the colorful bouquet of roses in the small vase on the left side of the stone and knew immediately who had left them there. Especially the pink ones were a dead give away. It may sounded selfish, but the fact that there was no red one, warmed her inside; she knew that this certain visitor showed their feelings with flowers and a red one would have probably made her a bit doubtful at first. But then again, she couldn’t and wouldn’t ever blame him.

Shaking herself, she took a deep breath and reminded herself that she wasn’t here for spying, but for talking. “I’m sure you’re surprised to see me here and to be honest I’m surprised myself. I probably don’t even have the right to be here and ask you for a big favor, but I could really use your help.”

It felt really weird to talk to a stone and Calleigh couldn’t help but smile at the situation; but now that she’d started it, she would get through it. “It’s about Horatio, well no surprise here, and Ellie,” she continued with a smile. “I know that you didn’t know Horatio for that long, but I’m pretty sure that you noticed that he’s…prone to trouble? I mean… do you know any other man who drives a car with a ticking bomb inside?” she asked and waited as if she was waiting for a response. “See? Me neither. So I think its okay to say that he attracts trouble,” she concluded.

“That’s why I need your help to have an eye on him and on Ellie, too. She’s his daughter and we can only pray that she didn’t inherit it from him, but truth to be told, as far as I understand it, all Caines are attracting trouble, either on purpose or by accident,” she sighed. “I’ll do my best, but I can’t be everywhere so it’d be very much appreciated if you can keep an eye on them.”

Casually she slid her hands into her pockets and looked a bit around. “I know that he still loves you,” she said softly. “And that’s okay for me. You’ve given him a very precious gift and he will always love you for that. Horatio isn’t a man who just falls out of love, at least that’s not the man I know; so be sure that you’ll always have a special place in his heart. And you know what? You have one in mine too. Without you…I don’t think that Horatio would have opened up again after Tim’s death. You probably didn’t realize it, but you made him flourish again and I’m very thankful for that.”

She took a small step backwards. “And I’m also thankful for the fact that you probably gave him your blessing to find someone else. I know that he talked to you and I’m sure that this made him realize one thing or the other. So thank you Marisol for trusting me enough with your family.” A family, Calleigh had sworn her heart to.

“I’m not sure if I’ll ever come back here again, but I just needed to talk to you at least once. Goodbye, Marisol,” she made her farewells and turned around to go. There were two Caines waiting for her and she didn’t want to imagine what they were up to again.


***

About 15 minutes later she arrived at home and stopped her car on the driveway next to Horatio’s private car. Of course, it wasn’t their home (as in the three of them), but it had most definitely become her second home in the last couple of months and she didn’t mind at all. She loved Horatio’s house and the garden, which was a real privilege when you were living in a big city.

Furthermore, her apartment wasn’t designed to host three people, especially not a toddler and so it was always easier to stay at Horatio’s than at hers. She had a small portable playard indeed, but this was more for exceptional situations, when it was too late to drive back.

They hadn’t talked about moving together yet, but they had some kind of silent agreement about it, since Calleigh stayed almost every night and had probably more clothes stashed here than in her apartment.

With her own key she opened the front door and entered the pleasant coldness that was surrounding her immediately. It was one of these hot early summer days in Miami where you could either stay at home or go to the beach to get refreshed by the sea. Apparently though, the rest of her family had found a third way to spend this day; that’s what it at least seemed like when she didn’t find them in the living room, but the patio door slightly opened.

Curiously she walked to the glass door and couldn’t help but fall in love with the sight in front of her. Horatio and Ellie were sitting in a baby pool and played with some toys, oblivious to the world around them. She made a quick decision and grabbed the camera that was waiting on the sideboard next to her; quietly she opened the door and tiptoed outside. There was no way that she would miss this rare chance to see Horatio like this.

Before she even registered it, she’d already made a couple of pictures and after she’d made sure that they weren’t blurred, she put the camera onto the patio table and went downstairs to her two water lovers. “So are you enjoying your pool party?” she grinned and stopped next to the pool.

Horatio hid it well, but he was definitely startled by Calleigh. Normally he always knew when someone was watching him, especially when it was Calleigh, but it seems like his radar was out of order today. “Of course we do, Sweetheart,” he grinned and pushed the yellow duck towards Ellie again.

“Hi,” Ellie grinned and waved at Calleigh.

“Hey, Sweetness. Are you having fun with daddy?” Calleigh knelt down next to her and gave her a hug and a kiss.

“Yes,” she nodded enthusiastically and giggled when she got kissed.

“That’s great. And I see that you’re wearing your lovely pink Bikini and summer hat. You look beautiful,” she praised her and was head over heels for this little girl.

“Well my daughter is always up to date when it comes to clothes, must be a Caine thing,” Horatio chuckled and readjusted the sunshade a bit. He had put on some lotion on Ellie of course, but he didn’t want to risk her getting sunburned.

“Funny you say that Mr. Caine, but it seems like you must have missed the latest memo,” Calleigh teased him and eyed his dark blue swim shorts.

“What?” Horatio asked and followed her sight. “What’s wrong with them? You don’t seriously believe that I would wear pink ones, do you?” he asked stunned.

“Well why not? If you want to be up-to-date as you said, you have to go with the flow and this means pink my dear,” she giggled. “You know just yesterday I saw a very nice swim short in white with big, pink flowers. I think they would fit you just perfectly,” she fluttered her eyelashes at him.

“Don’t you dare,” he growled playfully and made a motion to splash the water.

With a start Calleigh got up. “Stop that,” she said alarmed and took a step back. “And anyway, it was you who said something about the Caine trendiness, not me,” she upped the ante.

Horatio just smirked at her and this time he really splashed the water and hit her just nicely. Her shocked face was worth all the tirades he would hear now.

“Horatio!” Calleigh shrieked and looked down at her T-Shirt that now had dark spots everywhere.

“That was the revenge for slandering about my choice of clothes,” he replied nonchalant and winked at his daughter who was enjoying the adults’ antics.

“In…in..,” she looked at Calleigh expectantly and bashed the water.

Calleigh, who had now taken a few more steps away, shook her head and eyed her boyfriend suspiciously. “Sorry Ellie, but there’s not enough space for the three of us. Another time,” she replied. It wasn’t that she didn’t enjoy being in the water, but she was anything but dressed for a little swim. “And I didn’t slander Mr. Caine, I just told you that you should probably consider wearing other colors than these somber blues and blacks,” she played with fire again, but knew that he couldn’t hit her from this distance.

“In..,” Ellie repeated her request.

“No Sweetie, not today,” Calleigh said and tied her hair to a pigtail.


tbc

[deborah]

Great epilogue. Sorry to see this end. I like the way that he splashed Calleigh. Keep up the good work. I know I have said before a sequel would be nice. It sure would, but that is up to you.

Deborah

[pinkyster]

Oh I just love it. Glad to see Calleigh visiting Marisol. I loved the Ellie scene and the banter between Horatio and Calleigh. Just an absolute great chapter. It had me smiling the whole time.

Jen