Horatio Caine's Family ~ New Beginnings

CHAPTER TWO

WARNING: A hint of bisexuality. If this is not your cup of tea, do not read any further.

I have no idea of the layout of Miami, or the street names, so I took liberties with the street name and numbers. Forgive me.

I do not own the character of Horatio Caine; however, the character of Dale Jarvis is my own.

February 4, 2003 (Tuesday)

ALMOST A HIT AND RUN

JULIE'S SECOND MEETING WITH HORATIO SINCE DECEMBER

Nearly two months had passed since Julie and Horatio had seen each other again, after their long separation of eight years. Julie was in Miami to visit the zoo, and take photographs. The next day, a Tuesday early afternoon, she was witness to a pedestrian accident. An elderly woman was struck by a car. Julie and this woman had been talking about mini skirts and fashions from the 1960s only moments before, in a nearby dress shop.

Julie rushed to the victim and knelt by her, held her hand, talked to her, and refused to leave her side. A bystander had called 911, since Julie did not have a cell phone.

Lieutenant Horatio Caine of the Miami-Dade Police Department CSI Unit happened to be in the neighborhood, so he decided to respond to the dispatch. He saw the young woman crouching next to the pedestrian, holding her hand, but it wasn't until Julie raised her head that Horatio thought he recognized her.

He stood, hands on hips, tapping his fingers on his belt, looking down at her, but she paid no attention to him. She was whispering to the woman lying on the pavement.

His head lowered, and further scrutiny proved to him that this was indeed the same woman he had spoken to at the crime lab building one and a half months ago. Her faint Irish brogue confirmed it. He stepped forward, knowing he was going to have to speak to her, for she was on the scene, and most likely was a witness.

Horatio made the mistake of getting a little too close to the victim, and he was blocking the sun as well, so Julie decided to do something about that.

"Get back." She spoke sharply to the trouser leg standing next to her. She hovered protectively over the victim. Involved as she was with the unfortunate pedestrian, the only thing that registered in her mind, was that this was a man's leg, and whoever it belonged to was too close, and crowding the injured woman.

The man's leg didn't move, but stayed where it was. The owner of it looked down with an amount of surprise, then amusement, as he toyed with the sunglasses in his hands.

Seeing that the person standing above her was not moving, she impatiently grabbed his pants leg and shook it vigorously, as a dog might grab the trouser leg of a human being. "Move back!" she snapped. "Let her get some air!" She raised her head to see who the trouser leg belonged to.

He knelt down in front of her, on one knee, still shutting out the sunlight. "Hello, Piper, or should I say Julie?"

She intook her breath sharply, as she realized whose pants she had been pulling at. "Lieutenant Caine," she said, with a shaky voice, sure that she was going to get in trouble now, for assault on a police officer.

After a moment of silence, she recovered her composure, and declared, "I will not leave her, sir. She asked me to stay with her."

He clicked his tongue against the roof of his mouth. "That's very commendable, but I need to ask you some questions."

One pair of turquoise blue eyes looked into a pair of sapphire blue.

"Would you step over here, please, onto the sidewalk?" He rose up.

"Why can you not ask me here?" She still crouched beside the victim and raised her head to follow him up.

"I don't usually ask questions when the witness is sitting in the street."

"Then make an exception." Her neck was getting a cramp in it, from looking upwards at him, but she adamantly refused to budge. She repeated, "I promised her I would not leave her, sir."

"Okay." He knelt again.

"Tell me, did you witness the accident?"

"I did not. But I heard it. And I turned around. And she was lying here where you see her. And--and that red car was trying to leave." She inclined her head toward the red Ford Mustang sitting next to the curb. A policeman was talking to the driver.

It was true. After the driver had struck the elderly pedestrian, he had attempted to careen into a left turn, but another car had inadvertently blocked his path, and prevented him from fleeing the scene.

"Would you call my daughter?" The elderly woman looked up at Julie, pleadingly.

"Do you want me to call her?" Julie asked her softly, holding the older woman's hand in her own.

"Yes."

"I will," promised Julie.

"Do you know this lady?" Horatio asked.

"I met her twenty minutes ago. In that store there." She nodded her head in the direction of the dress shop across the street.

Horatio spoke softly. "You said the red car was attempting to leave the scene?"

She nodded curtly. "That car ran through a red light. I did not see it. I HEARD it." Julie reiterated.

She turned to the elderly woman and asked her, "What is your daughter's phone number?"

The woman told Julie the telephone number. Julie's lips repeated the number silently, as she memorized it.

"Why don't you step over here and call her daughter?"

"I do not have a cell phone."

"I will call her for you. I promise." She bent over the prostrate form protectively.

The paramedics arrived.

Horatio handed Julie his cell phone. She looked at him with surprise, took it lightly from his fingers, and retreated a few steps, onto the sidewalk, and made the call. She returned, and handed the phone back to him.

"Thank you, sir."

"I have a few more questions. Would you step over here, please?" The red-haired lieutenant was insistent.

The paramedics now had the elderly woman in the ambulance, having put her inside while Julie was making the call.

"I want to go with her." Julie eyed the ambulance.

"She'll be okay. She'll be taken care of. Okay?"

"Come this way." He gently took her arm and directed her to the sidewalk.

"Well--um--if you didn't see it, how did you know he ran through a red light?"

Her eyes were still on the ambulance, and she refused to look at Horatio. "Uh--before the light changes to red, there is a click. From inside the yellow box. I heard it before the car went through the intersection. That is how I know he ran through the red light, sir." Julie was courteous, but impatient to accompany the woman.

"Julie--Julie, I need you to calm down." Horatio's voice was kind, but very no-nonsense.

Julie nodded, and finally gave Horatio her attention.

They stood for a moment, neither saying anything. He suddenly seemed speechless.

A young female officer approached Julie. "Can I talk to you for a moment, please?"

Julie shot a look in Horatio's direction.

"Go ahead," he said. "We'll talk later."

Julie followed the officer to a police car, and they stood next to it while conversing.

Horatio stood quietly, his eyes narrowed as he turned to the side, watching Julie as she talked to the officer.

With a wail, the ambulance quickly left the scene.

******************************************************************

Horatio was sitting alone on the edge of a concrete pillar next to the street. He was noticing Julie from afar, sort of hoping she would come his way, but if she did not, he was prepared to follow her. He was intrigued by her, had fond memories of her, and he smiled to see she had not lost any of her spunkiness, and he wanted to talk to her about subjects that were not related to his job.

She had to pass him on the way back to her truck, and when she did, he spoke to her. She was walking past him when he spoke, and she looked at him with surprise, as though she hadn't noticed him there.

"Julie, or Piper, or whatever you call yourself these days. You got a boyfriend?" He looked at her with his shades on. "You married, or involved with anyone?"

"If I say no, will you take a little walk with me? Just a little one--"

"Sure." He began to follow her, as she sauntered slowly away from him.

"Will she be alright? That woman who was injured?" Julie's concern was genuine.

"I think so. She has a broken leg, but they'll put a cast on it, and she'll be fine."

Now they were in step together, although she maintained a distance from his side. "She seems like a very nice woman. She reminds me of my grandmother, in a little way."

Suddenly Julie stopped and moved herself directly in front of him, so he was forced to either keep walking, and walk into her, or stop, to keep from doing so. He chose to stop.

Julie reached for Horatio's left hand without thinking, and he jumped, startled, and jerked his hand away. When he did, she jumped also, cringing. "Oh--I'm sorry. I do not know why I did that."

His first thought had been that she was trying to reach for his gun, and he had acted accordingly, until he remembered that she had always liked to hold hands. 'It's okay," he said, regaining his composure. He put his hand over the holstered Glock on his hip.

"You wannu go somewhere for a cup of coffee--or tea?" He also remembered that she was a tea drinker.

"Aye--I would like that. Do you know of such a place?" She slowly reached for his hand again, this time making sure he saw her do it.

"Oh, yes, I do, ma'am." His fingers wrapped around her hand. They started walking again.

"You didn't answer my question."

"I am not married. I am not engaged. And I am not easy, either."

"You never were easy." He noticed how beautiful her hair was. He liked it with it's natural color, and a longer length. A smile came to his lips as he remembered how she had been all over him their second night together, and the way he had enthusiastically taken her on the kitchen table.

"I am not Piper now. I am Julie all the time. This is my real hair. Before, I dyed it black."

"Yes--I remember. You couldn't get it to do what you wanted it to."

They went into a small coffee shop, and sat across from each other at a tiny table next to a window. He remembered how she used to sit right next to him in a booth.

When their coffee and tea were before them, they talked a little about his work, and she was more interested in talking about him than herself.

"Where will they take her?" Julie asked suddenly.

"The injured woman? --Um--Miami-Dade Memorial." His blue eyes regarded her curiously. "You're showing a lot of interest in this woman for someone who just met her."

"I like her." Julie folded her napkin and put it neatly next to her empty tea cup. "She has a name."

"Mm."

"We talked for a few minutes in the dress shop. Her name is Betty Eldon. She lives in Miami, and she was born in Wisconsin. She was a fashion designer in the 1960s, and she makes the best apple pie in Miami-Dade County, according to her daughter, whom I called, and she takes her grandchildren to Disney World every summer."

Once again, two pairs of eyes, one sapphire, and one turquoise, studied each other.

"It is late. I have to go now. I have to leave, Lieutenant Caine." She gathered up her purse, and put it over her shoulder.

"Can I drop you off somewhere?"

She shook her head no. "I am going to the hospital, to visit the--uh--Betty Eldon--. And then, I am going home." To your son, she wanted to say, but did not. Something was holding her back.

"To Connecticut?" He sat with his elbows on the table, and his hands together, his thumbs resting on his front teeth.

Her head turned side to side, and she half-smiled. "No. I live in Florida now."

This piqued his interest, and he looked at her with tilted head. "Really?" His eyes opened wider, and his eyebrows lifted.

"Don't you remember?" Her nostrils flared. "I was looking for some land."

"Yes, I do remember. So, you found some, huh." He leaned back in his chair.

"I do not like goodbyes. What if I never see you again?" She tilted her head forward.

He was surprised by her unexpected question. "Do you wannu see me again?"

"I do. Eight years is much too long." Her eyes flickered down as she studied her hands. (This isn't like you, she told herself. Taking up with a married man is a recipe for disaster. Shame on me for having these thoughts.)

"Where do you live now? Miami?"

"Lakeport. Nobody goes there, except tourists. It is near Lake Okeechobee."

"I know where Lakeport is." His eyebrows raised again. "So, you have some land there, now?"

She nodded, and stood up. "Thank you for your time. And the tea."

He rose out of his chair, too.

"Wait a minute, Julie." He reached into his jacket pocket, and handed her his card.

"Your phone number?" She looked at the card, before she slipped it into the back pocket of her jeans.

"Call me," he told her.

She left without another word. He paid for the coffee and tea, and stepped outside the restaurant door. He stood for a moment, looking around, thinking he might see where she had gone, and he glimpsed her down the street, getting into a yellow and white International Harvester pickup parked at the curb. He watched as she drove away. He noticed the truck had a camper shell on the bed, and a Florida license plate on the back.

The next day, Horatio had occasion to visit the hospital, and while he was there, he stopped in to see the elderly woman--now Betty Eldon--who had been struck by the car the day before. Beside her bed, he noticed a big teddy bear, a balloon, and some flowers. Happily, she told him about the young lady who had stayed with her and then came to see her in the hospital, and brought her the bear, the balloon, and the flowers. Horatio knew the woman was talking about Julie.

Julie did indeed call him at the number on his card, and left a message with his answering service. "Hello, Lieutenant Caine. This is Julie. I guess you are asleep, or else you are out solving crimes. Maybe I will talk to you later. Bye."

Julie was in a dilemma. She still loved him, but he had told her a month ago that he was married. As difficult as it would be, she had no intention of reviving her romance with him, she just needed to let him know of his son, to make good on her promise to him, and he could take it from there, if he wanted to. She told herself that was the only reason she wanted to see him again--to let him know about the little boy, and hope the information would not cause a problem with his marriage or his family, if he now had one. She decided that the best course of action would be to just send him a letter via the Crime Lab, tell him about Tommy, and then move on with the rest of her life. The letter was written, and she sealed the envelope. Still, she hesitated to send it.

Over the course of the next two weeks, he tried to return her call four times. He got a busy signal the first time. The second time he called, her sister answered.

"Hello?" Merrie answered the phone. She happened to be in Julie's house when the phone rang.

"Hello. I'd--um--I'd like to speak to Julie please."

"Why?" retorted a feminine voice. "I am better-looking than she is."

"To whom am I speaking?"

"Why, this is Merrie, her beautiful sister."

"Hm hm hm."

"Who am I speaking to, pray tell?" purred the sexy voice on the other end.

"This is Horatio Caine."

The sultry female voice suddenly got serious. "Shall I tell her you called? She is out of town right now."

"Yes, please do that."

"Okay. Bye."

Although Merrie did indeed give Julie the message, the latter got cold feet, and did not return his call. Why start something that might prove disastrous to both of them?

On his third call, nobody answered. The phone rang ten times before he hung up.

And finally, his fourth call brought up her answering machine.

"Heh. This is Julie. I cannot come to the phone. I am in the shower, or out with the horses. Leave a message, and I will call you back."

He left his message: "Julie. Horatio--Caine. Um--give me a call."

The next day, when young Tommy was playing around with the answering machine, he accidentally deleted his father's message, so Julie never received the call.

Horatio waited for a return call that never came. So, he gave up on her--again.

Why should he bother? He asked himself. She was too fleeting, mysterious, too independent. She was strong. She didn't really need him. (How wrong he was.) He thought of many excuses as to why he could not get back together with her.

He had once given his heart to her, but she had left him--even though they had both known their life together was short-lived--their brief correspondence--and then, they had lost touch with each other. He knew she wanted to take care of him. He wasn't used to that. He had always thought that the man should be the protector, the breadwinner, the one who should take care of his family. And so he had always gravitated toward women and men who would lean on him more, had a difficult time making their own decisions, etc. The opposite of Julie.

He could not deny his attraction to her--he never had been able to. He just wanted to talk to her, not necessarily start another relationship with her. Since he had known her before, he had married and lost a beloved wife and an unborn baby, and this pain was what made him realize that never would he be able to fulfill his dream of a loving wife and a house with children--he did not want to go through the pain again. His heart could not take it. He had himself convinced.

Across town was a man about the same age as Horatio, who had struck up a friendship with the red-haired lieutenant. Only one week before, an off-duty Horatio had gone into a furniture store to inspect a small book shelf he was thinking of buying. The individual who waited on him was attracted to him almost immediately, after they had spent a few minutes talking.

 

Their talk moved on to other things, and because there were no patrons in the store at the time, the other man was free to fraternize with this new customer. Eventually, they found themselves standing outside, in front of the store, and Horatio allowed himself to accept an invitation to Starbuck's at the corner of 14th and Bridge for coffee the next night at 7:00.

The visit at Starbuck's had gone well, and they talked of their work, the weather, cars, the beach, and other things, far into the night. Horatio was very shy. Before the other man left, he very lightly touched the back of Horatio's hand as they parted. If there had been any doubt in Horatio's mind, there was none now. This man was interested in him. Horatio wondered how he could dissuade the new man from any relationship.

The man's name was Dale Jarvis.

Horatio bought the book shelf.

END OF CHAPTER TWO