Shatter Me

Rush Hour Sniper🏃🏽‍♀️🏃🏻‍♂️💨🔫

That night Zariah walks into Horatio's office with Erin in her arms and a German Shepard at her heels Horatio looks up as soon as he hears the door open and raises his eyebrow at the sight before him "I was serious about the dog!.... you want me to move in with you you're just going to have to deal with it!"  she playfully scolds he smiles "this is Caine by the way.... though he doesn't mind being called Lil' Ray on occasion"  she tells him he chuckles for he knew where she got the name from after all she has told him her life story it was only fair that he shared some of his and that was what he did he told her all about his family, his life growing up and his brothers death he even "warned" her about his former crush on his brothers wife but now that he's met her those feelings have started to finally diminish after all these long and lonely years "tonight's my last night with her and I was hoping you'd join me.... I need someone to help me move my stuff anyway.... if you still want me too....!"  she says ending with her usual slightly nervous unsure tone he chuckles with a smile then replies "of course I want you too! I never would have said so if I didn't"  she says softly with a frightened unsure tone "I just.... we aren't moving too fast are we!?!"  he stands up walks over to her and whispers softly as he slides his hand down her arm "no we aren't moving fast enough!"  then he leans down and his lips meet hers "I didn't name him by the way.... well I kind of did!.... he was born as Lil' Ray I changed it to Caine cause I thought it fit better and he's not so little anymore!"  she says once he lets her lips go he chuckles then replies with a smile "no he isn't"  she becomes nervous and says "you must be busy I should....! we'll meet you outside when you're done"  he nods then lets her arm go and watches her leave with the pup at her heels his eyes were sad but he smiles none the less for she actually listened to him even though she probably had a million worries rushing through her head much to his relief she was waiting for him outside the Crime Lab when he finally walked out she was standing in front of the building staring at the moon and stars with a sleeping child in her arms and Caine laying next to her in the grass Zariah leans into him as soon as she feels his hand lay upon her lower back he smiles then kisses the top of her head and leads her to his vehicle then drives her to his place where he shows her to the spare bedroom where she would be sleeping he knew her worries and didn't want to make things worse by rushing anything and though he wanted it he wasn't going to force her to sleep next to him.... the next morning while Zariah and Erin sleep Horatio, Eric, Tim, Alex and Calleigh move her stuff from her place to either his or storage Horatio was surprised to see a picture of him and her on her bedside table as a matter of fact it was the only thing that wasn't packed it was like she wanted him to see it there he remembers when Calleigh took the picture.... which at the time it was taken it was without their knowledge.... Alexx had commented that she has never seen either one of them smile so much before and Calleigh seemed to want to memorialize that particular memory of them smiling and laughing together while sitting in front of a pond at the park where they along with Eric and Tim were having a picnic together back when Horatio and Zariah first started dating Horatio packed the picture after staring at it with a smile on his face for a few brief moments then took the box he had put it in and carried it to his vehicle then went back inside to get the next thing.... Horatio knew Zariah worried about bringing more problems to his door he worried about his problems finding her and placing her in harms way but he WANTED her with him ever since they started dating and she started to fully let him make his way deeper and deeper into her heart he couldn't imagine his life without her and he hoped that his decision to bring her into his home didn't push her away she was slowly starting not to fear too many things but with a past like hers it was going to be harder for her to get over especially since it wasn't just "the parents" who abused her their "friends" did as well reveling in the power that overtaking someone smaller than you can give you and he knew she feared the day they would find her and make her pay for putting their friends in death row.... two days later Zariah was infant free for Erin went to live with her aunt a week after that Zariah was walking down the street in town doing some shopping with Caine at her heels when Caine growls lowly as though he smelled something dark in the air "what is it!?!"  she asks as she stops walking the next thing she knew the woman she was standing behind falls down dead with a bullet hole in her forehead and the first person Zariah calls is Horatio.... after reaching the Crime Scene Horatio climbs out of his Hummer rushes over to Zariah and asks with a concerned tone as he gently grips her arms and looks into her eyes from behind his shades "are you alright!?!"  she replies "I'm fine.... I think the shots came from somewhere up there.... at least that's where Caine's attention was brought after the woman fell"  she points towards a hotel a few feet away god he wanted to hug her but he knew it was inappropriate to do so especially with so many people around "I'm fine Ratio! Caine will look out for me you on the other hand have more people who deserve your attention!"  she tells him he smiles then walks away and goes straight into business mode so he can forget about his worries for her safety for at least a little bit "worrywart!"  she mutters under her breath and he chuckles softly which makes her smile Horatio wasn't the only one worried about her Alexx, Tim and Calleigh who were also a part of the team in charge of this particular Crime Scene were also worried what was worse was that Alexx was the only one who realized the through and through bullet was now lodged into Zariah's leg after hearing Alexx question if she was alright Horatio returned to Zariah's side and sees her look down at her bleeding leg in disbelief "I didn't even feel it!"  she says softly with a surprised tone Horatio grips her arm and gently walks her over to a clear area then has her sit down so he could get a better look at her leg where the bullet sunk into her tibialis "go ahead.... I trust you!"  she whispers softly as he stares at the hole in her leg and he gently does what he can to take the bullet out of her leg then takes care of the wound the rest of the way with a little help from Alexx what Horatio was grateful for was that the bullet didn't lodge itself too deeply into her leg which somewhat surprised him but he was too relieved to truly care "I'll be fine go be their hero!"  Zariah whispers as she tries to look him in the eyes he chuckles softly their eyes lock for a few seconds then he stands up and walks away fighting the urge to kiss her as much as he possibly could.... not willing to allow her to go home where he couldn't watch over and take care of her Horatio has Zariah make herself at home in his office at the Crime Lab which she found slightly amusing "alright but you'll have to have someone take Caine out to go potty every once and awhile!"  she teases as she makes herself at home in his office chair and elevates her leg by laying it along the edge of his desk he chuckles with a smile then replies "can do"  he leans down and kisses her lips then walks out of the office towards the Morgue....