Dead Cheat

When she was growing up she was friends with Horatio and Raymond Caine, she was three years older than Raymond, two years younger than Horatio. Her name is Kailani Sloane Brown.

She, like Horatio and Raymond grew up in New York, she has the thick New York accent

Kailani stood 5'5" blonde-ish brown hair and bright green eyes, when the light hit her eyes they were like Emeralds

Her mom was born and raised in New York, her dad was born and raise in Hawaii, Kailani was born in Forest Hills, Queens, New York like Horatio and Raymond were.

The three of them grew up together in New York except on holidays when her dad took her to Hawaii, there a time for about a year she lived in Hawaii because her mom went to Italy for a month long business trip and came back with a new man that didn't like Kailani and made her mom send her to Hawaii to live with her dad, whom she only saw on holidays, a year with him was good for them both, she got to see her grandparents and stay with them until he came home from his flights.

The year she was gone was the same year she almost lost her mom from her stepdad. He was a rapist and abuser, he was on the wanted list.

When her mom went into the hospital with little to no chance of surviving a NYPD CSI came to her rescue when the husband showed up. This man, the CSI is her new dad and she couldn't be more honored to have him.

He tells her about his cases and how he has to figure them out. It was then she wanted to be a criminalist.

"Hey dad, do you think I could be CSI?" she asked him.

"Of course, I would be honored to work side by side with you one day"

"Yeah one day I'll work with you at the NYPD, I'll make you so proud of me, mom and daddy too" she said

She went to her room and started to read up on being a criminalist

first fiction post! LETS GOOOOOOOO!!!

Years later Kailani became the criminalist her specialties are blood spatter analyst and crime lab analyst.

She stayed in New York while Raymond left to go to Florida then Horatio left as well.

A couple of years later she went to Florida, she met up with Horatio at the crime lab.

He looked up and over. "Kai, it's been a while" he said

"Yes it has H, how have you been?"

"Fine, fine..Kai..I have something to tell you" he said

She was looking for Raymond and saw Speedle

Their eyes met and they smiled at each other

"Kai," Horatio said. "Kai, what are you doing here?"

"I came to see you and Ray"

He sighed softly. "Kai, Ray died"

"What?! Horatio why didn't you call me?" she asked.

"His wife and child are grieving"

"You should be too"

"I'm fine, work distracts me"

She knew better than to argue with him. "So who was that?" she asked

"Tim Speedle, he's one of my best CSI's"

"Hey H" she heard

'That's what I call him, have for years' she thought to herself

He turned. "Eric what have you got for me?" He asked

He was distracted for a moment

"Eric..."

"Sorry H" he said and told him everything

"Maybe I can help" she said

"I'm sorry you are...?" Eric asked

"Kailani Brown CSI" she said holding out her hand. "You are?"

"Eric Delko" he said

"You became CSI instead of taking over your mom's restaurant?"

"Yeah, you know a CSI saved my mom's life when I was younger"

"I do Kai, I do know that"

"Do I have privileges H?" she asked

"You do Kai, you do...Eric show Kai around please and let me know what you find"

"Well do H" he said. "Follow me"

Kai followed Eric into the crime lab where Calleigh Duquesne was working.

"Calleigh, this is Kailani Brown, H gave her privileges to work in the lab with us" Eric said

"Nice to meet you" Callie said and explained to her what she was trying to do.

"Nice to meet you as well, let's see if I can help you"

Calleigh left the lab and Kailani got to work working and reworking the angles.

About an hour later Calleigh came back. "Did you find anything?" she asked

"Yes, I did" she said telling her everything she found.

"Great let's go tell Horatio your findings"

They found Horatio and told him everything

"Great job ladies, Calleigh come with me please, Kai we'll be back"

"Alright H" she said

Speedle came in and they sat and talk for a few minutes. "Where did Horatio go?"

"With Calleigh for something" she said

He nodded and made his way to the lab for more research to be ready for when Horatio got back.

'He's kinda cute' Kailani thought to herself. 'But I doubt he'll be interested in me'

Speedle didn't give her a second glance or thought, he wasn't interested in her the way she was interested in him. 'She's cute, but she's not my type' Speedle thought to himself

It would be a few months before Delko started a relationship with her

Kailani went back to New York for a few months getting her life in order, before deciding that she wanted to move to Florida.

She transferred from the New York: CSI to Miami CSI.

Kailani didn't tell Horatio she was moving down, but found a good house to live in and close to the crime lab.

She went to HR and updated her badge and was in the blood spatter part of the lab working on evidence that night CSI handed off to her.

Kailani had her hair in a bun and a mask on, she believed it was one way to save the evidence from being contaminated with her own biologicals.

The other CSIs in New York always laughed at her but she didn't care, her boss told her whatever made her happy to do it and this made her happy

She was in the lab working a case that wasn't Horatio's when Speedle came in.

"Horatio needs these right away can you run them?" he asked

"I can in about five minutes" she said finishing up what she was doing.

"You're new here aren't you?"

"Yes, I am, but we've met before Tim Speedle" she said

"How do you know my name?"

She looked up, her emerald green eyes bore into his. "I came here before looking for H and Ray" she told him

"Kai...I'm sorry I don't remember names well" he said

"Kailani Brown, I was CSI in New York, just transferred down to Miami, don't tell H" she said finishing up her report and started to work on Horatio's evidence

Tim left the lab and chuckled as he went to find Alexx.

She looked up. "Just in time" she said giving him things to take to trace and the lab.

"Do you know we have a new girl?" he asked her.

"No, I didn't, is she nice? Is she green?"

"No, she's not green, yes she is nice and she's a friend of Horatio's" he told her. "She says we met before but I don't remember her"

"That's alright Timmy, maybe you two will be good friends" she said smiling at him.

"Thanks Alexx" he said and left

She went back to work

Horatio went in the crime lab to see a new girl there, he didn't think about the bun and mask. "What do we have?" he asked her

She smiled under the mask, which he couldn't see. "Well H, it looks like..." she said as she went into full details on what she found out.

"Kailani...Kailani when did you come to Miami?" he asked

"A couple of days ago, I wanted to surprise you" she said handing him the results

He smiled. "Yes well, you did surprise me, thank you for this" he said. "Good work"

Kailani smiled her mission to surprise Horatio was successful, she then went back to work.

After a few days Kailani got into a routine with the crime lab. She rarely went out on calls which was to her liking as she could get more work done in the lab.

It was rare Horatio asked her to go on calls with his team.

She was in the lab when Delko came in and looked at her mask.

"Do you always wear a mask and your hair in a bun?" he asked.

She looked at him. "Why does it matter to you?" she asked.

"It doesn't, no one else does it, so it's interesting" he said

"If someone told you to jump off a bridge would you do it?"

"Sorry, just trying to help"

"Look, I've done this since I started being a CSI in New York, I got harassed for it there and I'm not about to take more crap for it here, you don't like it, get out of the lab with me, I won't tolerate it" she told him going back to work

He was surprised by her forwardness but let it slide. "I didn't mean anything by it, H wanted me to give you this to work on" he said

"Leave them there and I will get to it as soon as I'm done with this evidence" she told him softly

"In case you don't remember me, I'm Eric Delko"

"I remember you, you're the only other one that calls Horatio H, I've done it since we were kids" she told him. "Is there anything else you need?"

"No, that's it for now" he told her leaving the lab and ran into Calleigh.

"Who's the new girl?" she asked.

"Kailani Brown, a friend of H's" Eric said

"Oh" she said watching her. "She's smart, wearing a mask like that and her hair up, I like her already"

"Careful Calleigh she could give you a run for your money in the sassiness department"

Calleigh laughed. "Sure Eric I'll be sure not to upset her" she teased going to the shooting range to do her weaponry work

A little while later she was coming out of the lab and met up with Alexx.

"Hello, I'm Dr. Alexx Woods, I'm the ME here, you've created quite the stir here" she said

"Nice to meet you, I'm Kailani Brown, transferred down from New York CSI"

"So, you're not green by any means"

"No, I'm not really enticed by seeing a dead person, but will come down for it if need be, but I prefer to stay in the lab" she told Alexx.

Horatio came up behind Kailani. "Kai, do you have my results?" he asked.

"I do" she said handing him the envelope. "I was getting to know your ME here, well when you're not busy H, I would love to hang out and catch up with you" she told him. "It was nice to meet you Alexx"

"Sure Kai we can do that sometime soon" he said turning to Alexx as Kailani left

"Well Horatio, she's seems familiar with you, how do you know her?" she asked.

"An old friend we grew up together...me, her, and Raymond" he told her

As Kailani got on the elevator she met up with Yelina Salas.

'Damn Ray had good taste, she's gorgeous' she thought to herself.

Yelina looked over at her. "You look familiar, do you know Raymond or Horatio Caine?" she asked.

"I know both, I grew up with them, why?" she asked.

"I still have the picture of three of you from high school sitting on Raymond's side of the bed, you must be Kailani, Raymond never stopped talking about you"

"The one and only" She said smiling at her. "Horatio said he had a widow, but I never knew Ray was married, I'm sorry for your loss"

As the elevator reached where they were both getting off. "Ray was a good man" she told her before leaving the building to go home, it had been a straining day for her.

Horatio watched her leave as Calleigh came up beside him.

"Callie, what did you find?" he asked

They walked together as she told him everything.

"Well then we know who the murderer is, Kai's evidence came back with who the killer is" he told her

They soon leave the lab as she arrives at the house.

She missed the hustle and bustle of New York, but she was also happy being closer to a friend she grew up with. She missed talking with Horatio, she especially missed Ray.

Two weeks later Delko and Kailani had the same day off and they met at the same diner.

He walked in right after her. "Kailani right?" Eric asked

"Yes...Eric?" she said turning around

"Yeah, funny we have the same day off"

She smiled. "I don't know if I want to stay here, I miss New York" she told him

"What do you miss about it?"

"Everything, the hustle and bustle, seeing Broadway shows...the smell, the vendors on the streets..."

"Sounds amazing, exciting, dangerous" he said chuckling

"It is" she said as they sat and ate

They talked. She stressed to him she didn't date coworkers and told him why

"That makes sense" he said as he finished up

"I don't mind hanging out with people, I just don't date my coworkers"

They talked more as Eric walked her home and they talked more.

"Thank you Eric" she said giving him her number. "For when I'm in the lab"

He took it and texted her, giving her his number

She saw his number. "See you later Eric" she said as she went in

He waited until the door closed to leave

Something felt off to her as she closed the door behind her

Kailani took off her shoes and socks and went to the bedroom to change clothes

As she changed, her bad feeling became stronger, more real

She felt a hand go over her mouth and up over her waist as she was thrown on the bed

Kailani saw who threw her on the bed and her eyes went wide.

"Jonathan, what are you doing here? We broke up remember?"

"I came to see you, you left New York awful fast Kaii..."

"Because I was tired of being abused by you" she said.

"Abused...like this..?" he asked hitting her hard in the face

He did it again and again.

She called 9-1-1

As they answered he started to rape her

"9-1-1 what is your emergency?" he asked

"Help me...CSI..." she said as he choked her trying to kill her

"Ma'am..." the operator said

As he came inside her he cocked the gun, pressed it against her shoulder and shot her

She screamed then blacked out from the pain

When she woke up she was in the hospital with Horatio by her side.

"H..." she said. "I want Alexx to do a rape kit and Calleigh to process me, please"

"Kai, I already told the doctors that" he said. "Alexx and Calleigh are on their way"

She laid there feeling stupid, she should've know better than to go in by herself, but yet she did anyways and she paid the price for it

Alexx kicked Horatio out out and Callie took pictures, both of the ladies felt bad for her

She started the rape kit.

Kailani let the tears fall, she was embarrassed about what was happening to her

"Would you be okay in answering some questions" Calleigh asked

She nodded and explained everything

Callie stepped out of the room and talked to Horatio, she told him everything Kailani told her

He waited to see her, he was worried about her

Alexx came out and Kailani covered up before he came in

Horatio went in. "Kai..."

"Jonathan Thomas Rane, that's who your looking for, I just got out of an abusive relationship with him that's the real reason I'm here..." she told him

"Can I hold your hand?"

"Yes"

He took her hand and held it. Speaking rusty Italian softly to her

She was glad he was her friend.

He spoke softly to her until she fell asleep

Once she fell asleep he took his phone out and called Speedle

"Speedle" Tim said

"Yeah Speed, Jonathan Thomas Rane pull him up and call the bomb squad" he said

"Calleigh"

"On my way back to the lab with Alexx"

"Very good"

He left the hospital and called her mother

They talked and Horatio booked a flight for her

A few hours later she was awake with her mom sitting by her side.

"Mamma sono felice che tu sia qui" she said (Mom, I'm glad you're here)

"Va tutto bene mamma è qui" her mother said (It's okay mom's here)

Her mom petted her hair softly and let her daughter cry. She never told her daughter that Jonathan was trouble she figured she had to figure that out on her own and now sitting here looked at her daughter she could see he got to her again.

Speedle called Horatio

"Yeah Speed"

"Horatio, he is a repeat offender, abuser and bomber...how did you know to send the bomb squad?"

"Lucky guess" he said hanging up

Horatio found a house for her to stay until her house was safe to live in.

She stayed with her mom there, she was in no condition to go back to work.

Speedle called Horatio again.

"Yeah, Speed?"

Tim told him everything

"Thanks" he said hanging and running to his hummer and went to see her.

She looked through the peephole before opening the door, when she saw Horatio she hugged him.

"H..what are you doing here?" she asked.

"He made bail, he's coming after you and mom, I need to get you two out of here after we catch him"

"I understand" she said getting their things gathered up

Both ladies left with an officer, as Horatio left as well

The officer took them to a safe house and got them settled in, he left and they let Horatio know where they were at.

After a month they caught him he was planning on seeking out Kailani and finishing what he started.

"I'll get out and I'll kill her just you wait"

"Jonathan, Jonathan if you lay a hand on her again, I'll kill you myself" Horatio said. "Take him"

Horatio drove to the safe house to get Kailani and her mom and took them home.

"Thank you H for everything, I think I'm going back to New York for a few days to clear myself, can you get this note to Eric please?" she asked kissing his cheek.

"Yes, I will, you two take care and call me if you need anything at all" he told her

"I will, thank you" she said as they left to go to the airport

Horatio went back to the crime lab and saw Delko.

"Eric" he said

"H, is Kailani okay?" he asked.

"Yes Eric, she's fine, she asked me to give you this" he said handing him the letter.

He took it. "Thanks H" he said sitting down to read it

"Eric-

The day we met at the diner was a great day for me, thank you for being there. When you dropped me off I wish I had been more aware of my house, I wish you had stayed, but in a way I'm glad you didn't, because I didn't want you to see me getting beaten and raped. I don't know if you felt the connection like I did, I hope you did. I could see myself with you for the rest of our lives, I hope you feel the same way, I hope we can talk after I get back from New York

Kai"

He smiled and folded the paper, he sat there thinking.

Calleigh came up and sat next to him. "What are you thinking about Eric?" she asked.

"About Kailani, I felt a connection to her, she wrote me a note and she's off to New York for a bit, I hope everything is okay with her" he said handing her the note

She read it. "I guess she's trying to move on from her ex, but you do realize this is going to be hard for her. Every time you move your hand, she'll flinch, every time you move closer she'll move away from you, she'll be scared of you for a while her life hasn't necessarily been easy dating a rapist and an abuser"

"Yeah, I hope she can get the help she needs in New York, I hope her words are true about her and I, I would really like to settle down and have a family, I know Marisol would love to be an Auntie"

Calleigh laughed. "Well here's hoping for the best Eric" she said handing him back the note. "But, you may have to get Horatio's seal of approval first, good luck"

Eric got up and went to look for Horatio.

"What did the note say Eric?"

"That's she's going to New York for a bit, and she's happy I met her at the diner"

Horatio smiled. "She doesn't have many friends and I would be okay if you dated her Eric, but treat her gently she's been handled roughly"

"I promise H, I promise I will handle her with care" he promised smiling at him.

Six months later Kailani came back to Miami, she felt better and looked better as well

Kailani came in and went to CSI and looked for Horatio

"Kai," Horatio said. "Kai, it's good to see you"

"It's good to see you too H" she said hugging him

"How was New York?"

"It was so much fun, I took in Broadway shows, worked at the CSI there for a few months"

"That's great, let's go have some coffee"

"Sounds great H, where's Eric?"

"He's off today"

"Oh, well that's too bad"

Speedle came up to Horatio. "Hey Horatio I got the results that you wanted" he said looking at Kailani. "Welcome back"

"Thanks Tim" she said smiling. "I'm going to go see Alexx" she said walking off

They watched her walk away. "Tell me more about what you found Speed" he said

"Is she okay Horatio? She looked sad or upset"

"She asked for Eric I told her he wasn't working today

They went back to talking about the case and she texted Eric

"Hey I'm back in town, can I see you in a bit?" she said

Eric didn't answer his phone as he was having relations with a girl he barely knew.

Kailani walked into the morgue and Alexx looked up. "Hey baby you look good"

She smiled and hugged Alexx. "Thanks, New York was good to me, mom made so much food" she said. "Hey I remembered you have kids so I got you and your family some shirts from New York, don't you even think about paying me back, it was for you being there for me when I couldn't save myself"

Alexx smiled. "Thank you, I would do it again for you in a heartbeat" she said. "Did you do anything else?"

"Yes, I went to Hawaii too, I visited dad's grave"

"Aww baby are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine...I don't know why I came back Alexx..I should've stayed where dad was, but I would've missed mom and the hustle and bustle of New York...I shouldn't have come back, my mind was at peace but now it's not"

"It will be again, you have to give it time" she said. "You'll be at peace and then something in another state or town will remind you of the bad again and you'll go right back to where you were, see a therapist here and get your mind at peace don't date until you feel you are ready for that person to take on the pain"

She nodded. "Thanks Alexx, I needed to hear that" she said

Alexx nodded and hugged her. "You're welcome"

"You are amazing, thanks for being my friend Alexx"

She smiled and let Kailani go find Calleigh

Calleigh saw her and hugged her. "Welcome home"

"Thanks, it's good to be home...I feel almost guilty though"

"How come?"

She sighed. "I don't know, I almost feel like I should have stayed out with Eric that day..."

"You didn't know, he didn't know this isn't your fault Kai"

She laughed a bit. "You sounds like Horatio"

Calleigh smiled. "Yes well, I've worked with him for a while now" she said.

"Yeah he's something else" Kailaini said

"Was...has he always been this way?"

"Life for H wasn't easy never has been, but protective? Yes, of me, of Raymond...he's my best friend and I don't know where I would be without him"

Calleigh smiled. "You should let Eric know you're back"

"Yeah, I haven't gotten that far yet" she said

Speedle saw her. "Hey welcome back, I know I said it earlier but I was busy then"

"Thanks Tim, it's alright..it's work I understand" she said

"You're welcome, hey you wanna go out for coffee with me?" he asked

"Sure" she said

"One moment, let me go clock out"

She talked to Calleigh a bit longer before Speedle came back and took her out for coffee.

"So...Eric said that you went back to New York, you didn't really talk to anyone except Horatio"

"Yeah, I went to New York, hung out in Hawaii for a bit, back to New York then here...not sure if I want to stay though, I have friends here..." she said

"You don't look happy to be back"

She sighed again. "I'm not so sure if I want to stick around, other than work and H I really have no need to stay here, maybe I'll go elsewhere like New Jersey and get on with their crime lab there, new start again"

"You can't keep running from your past it will eventually catch up with you and make you face your demons so to speak" he said

"You're right, of course I shouldn't run and hide that's never been my style but with Jonathan...it seems to be my way now"

"You are stronger than you think Kailani, don't let what happened before run your life. Work on you, find that right one and fight like hell for the other women that have to deal with this daily and end up being killed. You got lucky" he told her

"You're right Speed I did get lucky...thanks" she said. "Can you take me to the hotel?"

"Sure, let's go" he said paying the tab and waited for her

He dropped her off and went home for the night. "Good night Kailani"

"Good night Tim, see you later" she said

He nodded and drove off, hoping to see her in the morning.

LOOK'N GOOD!! much more organized!! LOVE IT!

A couple of days later Kailaini saw Eric as she was talking to Horatio.

"You found a job at the hospital in the lab? Why not here?" He asked.

"Horatio you know why" she said. "I'm not ready to work back here yet, I have friends here but I need something different, I feel like I can help there more than here please understand that H" she said

"I do understand Kai, be careful okay? You are welcomed back here anytime" he said hugging her

She hugged him back. "Thanks H" she said

He let her go and walked away

Eric came up to her and smiled. "When did you get back?" he asked

"Why do you care? You weren't here when I came back and you were the first person I looked for but you weren't here I even called you" she told him

"I'm sorry I had the day off and I was busy" he said. "It's not like we're dating"

She walked by him, her shoulder hitting him on purpose. "You're right, we're not" she said walking out of the crime lab

Eric grunted and turned away from her and saw Speedle.

He smirked.

"What Speed huh?" he asked.

"You are the biggest idiot there is" he said

"What are you talking about?"

"She came back for you, you are the one she wants, but you are to busy playing around with other girls, Kailani came looking for you, you were the first person she wanted to see, not me, not H, not Calleigh, not Alexx, but you...she saw Alexx first because she became close to Alexx...that and she knew Alexx would be worried about her, but honestly she came to see you, and you're being an ass"

"What really? She did?" he asked

"Yeah she did, she came looking for you" he told him walking away

Eric went to find Horatio. "Hey H can we talk?" he asked

"Eric" he said

"H I didn't know she came back for me, I thought she wasn't coming back, I was moving on with my life..." Eric said

"I know Eric, but it doesn't matter now, what matters is you give her time to come back to you, you don't go after her" he told him

"Right H, I understand"

Kailani went to Coral Gables Hospital to work in the lab which she felt comfortable in doing blood samples

She was good at her job and was praised for it a lot, it was something she wasn't use to, she was used to the way Horatio praised people.

When Kailani got off work she went to see Horatio.

"Hey H, dinner?" she said

"Sure" he said

She smiled at him. "Burgers?"

He nodded and they walked out, past Eric

Eric watched them leave but didn't say anything to her

They talked all the way to the parking lot and Horatio let her into the car and drove to a burger joint, they continued their talk.

"Are you really okay?" he asked

"Yes, I'll be okay...I just got to focus on me right now, as Alexx said I need to heal from Jonathan" she said.

"And she's right Kailani" he said. "Heal first then get your feet wet again"

She nodded and munched on her fries, she then got lost in her own thoughts and forgot Horatio was there and she let her mind wander.

He took her hand and squeezed it.

Kailani came back to herself. "Hey H"

"Ready to go?"

"Yes of course, let's go" she said getting up

He took her back to the hotel and sat in the car with him for a moment. "H...I miss the lab but I can't work with Delko right now, can I work the night shift?"

"Yes of course" he said

"Thanks H, you're an amazing friend" she said hugging him.

He hugged her back. "Anytime Kai, anytime"

A few days later she started on the night shift avoiding Delko and getting to know the people she worked with.

Kailani saw Horatio on the way out the door one more and hugged him. "Thank you for letting me be on the night shift H, they are a interesting group of people...now to go to sleep, see you later"

He hugged her back. "You're welcome. Sleep well Kai" he said

She went back to the hotel and crashed quickly

Eric went in with the hopes to see Kailani, but when he went in she was no where to be found.

"Eric, are you looking for someone?" Horatio asked

"I was hoping Kailani would be here, but she's not"

"She is working the night shift per her request" he said

"I really messed up huh?" he asked.

"Give her time Eric, she's still working through everything" he told him

"I know H, but I just want to talk to her" he said

"You will, when she's ready now let's start the day"

He nodded and got work

Calleigh smiled when she saw Horatio. "Good morning, how are you this morning?"

"Miss Duquesne how are you this morning?" he asked.

"Very good thank you, how's Kailani?"

"She's great, she's on the night shift, she likes it" he said

"That's great. I hope to hang out with her soon"

"I'm sure she would love that" he said

Kailani slept a few hours before going back to the lab and went to see Calleigh. "Well if it isn't my favorite southern girl"

She turned and looked at her. "Hello Kailani, day off?"

"Yes it is, but I had to come see you and check in"

"Well then, I am so happy you came in" she said

Delko walked by and saw her talking to Calleigh, he thought she looked beautiful and smiled before walking away.

The girls talked and worked on Calleigh's case.

"Oh you need to come to day shift" she said

"No, I can't do that Calleigh, I have my reasons for not coming to day shift"

"Alright well whenever you're ready to come I will be here to welcome you, thanks for helping me with this case" she said hugging her and walking off

Kailani walked out and ran smack into Eric. "Oh! I'm so sorry" she said looking up and stepped back

"Hey, I've been wanting to talk to you...I know we got off on the wrong foot, but I wanted to apologize about how much of an ass I have been to you since you got back"

"You really hurt me Eric, I came back for you but you blew me off like I didn't even matter to you, so I thought you didn't like me anymore and you really don't want me, so why should I stay in Miami?" she asked

"Because I promise I will be better, I will go slow with you, I know what you have been through and I don't want you to go through that again. I want to see you smile, I don't want you to hurt anymore, I want to be there when the world gets to hard"

She looked up at him and tried not to cry. "I have to go" she said running out of the lab

"Kai-" he said watching her run out

"Eric, Eric what did you say to her?" Horatio asked

"That I was sorry and I wanted to be there for her when the world got to hard" he said

Horatio smiled. "She needed to hear it from you, I couldn't tell her that, she wouldn't have believed me, I'm glad you finally told her" he told him.

"Thanks H, I promise not to hurt her"

"Glad to hear that Eric, she doesn't need to be hurt anymore than she has been" Horatio said

He nodded and went back to his work. Eric was hoping he didn't just make a mistake with her.

Six months later Delko and Kailani started to date. She stayed on the night shift and only really interacted with day shift when they were called in.

Their relationship started slowly. Eric slowly began to see all the hurt she went through with her past relationship and how hard it was for her to work through everything.

Many times she thought he was going to leave her because of what she went through.

It was her day off and Eric went in, he looked exhausted.

"Eric, Eric are you okay?" Horatio asked.

"H, I'm tired...this relationship with Kailani is hard" he said.

"Yes, it is Eric, she's been through a lot and she needs you to be there and understand, don't get mad at her and if you do calmly tell her you are walking away to cool down" he told him

He nodded. "Thanks H, I'll try to remember that" he said

Horatio went back to work, while he had a free moment he called Kailani

"Hey H" she said, she sounded defeated.

"Hey Kai, are you alright?" he asked.

"I'm not used to a relationship where I'm not being used and abused, Eric is great but there are times I swear he's going to leave me, I don't deserve him H, I really don't, he's gotten so mad at me I thought he was going to hit me, but when the punch doesn't come and I see him sitting with his back towards me..." she said trying not to cry. "I don't deserve him"

"You're right you don't but he's trying to help you, let him help you Kai...I know this is new for you, you are new for him too, trust takes time to be built" he told her. "Don't fight against him to much or he will leave you.

"Okay H" she said hanging up. It was hard for her, she wasn't use to this, she wanted to end the pain in one of two ways, slitting her wrists or taking pills.

Horatio had a bad feeling and grabbed Eric going to her house.

Eric walked in first. "Lani" he called

No answer.

"Lani, answer me" he called again

Still no answer.

Horatio went into the bathroom but she wasn't there. "Kai...come out Kai it's okay" he said

Eric went into the bedroom and found her there. "H!" he called

They saw her pill bottle open, and Eric felt for a pulse.

It was faint but there

"This is Eric Delko I have an off duty CSI that needs an ambulance at 4751 Alpha Ave" he said radioing it in. "Why would she do this H?"

"She's afraid Eric, I called her a while ago and she said she's afraid of this relationship" he told him as he did CPR until the EMTs arrived

Horatio told them every they needed to know about her.

"You know Lt. Caine there is a chance she won't pull through this" the EMT said

"She will" Delko said

"Eric you go with her I'll continue on the case, call me"

"I will H" he said getting into the ambulance and took her hand. "Lani you have to pull through I'm not going to leave you today, I'm not going to let you die and leave me alone, you can't die you have to pull through, I'm going marry you, we're going to have kids, Horatio is going to be Uncle H, my sister Marisol is going to be Auntie Mari, you have to pull through this, our kids are going to be so beautiful" he told her as they went to Dade General.

Once they were in the hospital they took her to go pump her stomach and Eric called Hortatio.

"Eric" he said

"Yeah H, we're at Dade Gen" he said. "They took her back to pump her stomach, I love her H"

"I know you do Eric, just stay with her, don't worry about anything today, just stay with her when she wakes up just be there with her don't bring up what she did, I'll be in later" he told him

Calleigh came up to him awaiting news on her friend.

Horatio hung up. "They made it to Dade Gen, he's waiting for her to get into a room" he said. "Where are we on the case?" he asked

"Glad to hear they made it, can't wait to hear from Eric...well I just got everything from trace and DNA and there is what they came up with" she said handing him the folder.

"So, he is not the shooter"

"No but the striations on the bullet matches the gun according to what I found"

"Thank you Miss Dusquene" he told her going to find Speedle and Valera

An hour later Eric called Calleigh

"Dusquene" she said

"Calleigh, Eric" he said

"Eric how is she?"

"They don't know if she's going to make it through the night, I hope she does...she's the one I wanna be with, I love her more than anything"

"Do you want me to come?" she asked

"Can you tell H?"

"Sure, keep me posted Eric" she said

"I will" he said hanging up and took her hand. "Lani, I meant what I said. I'm not leaving you...even when I get mad I'm not leaving..you are the best thing I've ever had" he said through his tears

She squeezed his hand but her eyes didn't open

The nurse happen to see that when she was in the room and took her vitals. "Keep talking to her, she's listening" she told him.

"Lani, you are the only one I want, the only time I really want to see you here is when you're having my baby, I promise we don't have to do anything until you are ready, even when we get married and you're not ready I won't push you, you have to get better, please" he said

She didn't respond to him again as the nurse left

He laid his head down on the bed next to her and fell asleep

A couple of hours later Horatio was sitting on the other side of her and just held her hand

She squeezed it and slowly opened her eyes and looked over at him then looked down and saw Eric and touched his head softly

Horatio rang for the nurse who came in right away

Eric opened his eyes and saw Horatio then her. "Lani...you're awake"

She took the pen from the nurse and took Eric's hand and wrote "Thank you" on his hand and gave the pen back

The nurse gave her some water. "You're going to be here for a couple of days for observation"

Kailani nodded, she understand she was a suicide risk a high one.

Horatio kissed her cheek. "Get better, so you can come back to work"

She nodded again and looked at Eric. "I'm sorry" she mouthed

"It's okay, you're awake, please Lani, please don't scare me like that again" he said gently

She moved as close as she could to him and held him as best as she could. "Eric, did you mean what you said? About marrying me?"

"Yes, I meant it"

"Good because I would love to marry you, and as for kids, not yet I'm not ready, I'm going to have safety words because of what happened, and I need to get therapy...you, yourself cannot fix me, H can't fix me...I have to fix me, I love you Eric, I fell in love with you when we met up at the diner for breakfast that day, and I will love you until my time ends" she told him kissing him

He kissed her back as well. "We'll set the wedding for a couple of years from now, that way it will give us time to date, you time to go through therapy and it will be the most perfect wedding ever...H can even walk you down the aisle, I'll get Speed to be my best man and Calleigh can be your maid of honor" he said excitedly.

"Delko slow down, we have time to plan this" she said smiling.

"Sorry I got ahead of myself" he laughed.

"But I do like what you got so far, so yes please go ahead and ask them both, now let me rest silly so I can get home and back to work sooner" she said

He touched her cheek gently and kissed her lips.

She tried not to flinch at this and looked at him. "I'm sorry...it's reflex" she said

"We'll get over it together, it's okay Lani, rest now I'll go make the phone calls" he said leaving the room.

'Can I do this? Can I marry this sweet wonderful man?' she thought to herself.

She had time to figure it out after all the wedding wasn't for a couple of years yet, and only time would tell

Two years later Delko and Kailani were getting married.

Horatio walked Kailani down the aisle to Delko who was smiling like a fool when he saw how beautiful she looked.

Horatio asked Alexx if her kids would be the ring bearer and flower girl and Alexx said yes

Kailani couldn't be happier. It was a warm spring day, not to hot for the wedding. She felt like she was flying.

After Horatio whispered words of encouragement to her he gave her to Eric and the wedding started.

"The couple will read their own vows" the priest said.

"Lani, standing here with you today, you've made my dream come true, when I met you, I didn't know where my life was going to go, almost losing you made me want to hold on to you tighter, I will never leave you, except for work" he said

She laughed and so did the guests

Kailani took his hand. "Since the first day I came to find Horatio at the crime lab and saw you, my world was flipped upside down, I knew you were the one, the breakfast on our day off together, when I left and came back, you were the first one I sought out, when I tried to take my life and you and H came to my rescue and you stayed by me that whole day...you showed me the raw and real, I couldn't ask for anyone better than you, I love you for now until our dying breath, with all my heart" she said with tears in her eyes

Eric had something in his eye and cleared his throat

The priest said something, neither of them really listening. "Now by the powers vested in me and by the state of Florida, you now may kiss the bride" he said

Eric lifted her veil and kissed her

The crowd cheered

They went to the reception and did a lot of the Italian traditions associated with Italian weddings a few of the traditions of the Italian the Spanish weddings did somethings the same

It was a great day for everyone. Eric and Kailani didn't go on a honeymoon right away as she wasn't ready to take that step so they went home and cuddled.

They picked out a movie and watched it as she cuddled into him, looking up at him.

He looked at her and smiled. "What?" he asked

"Nothing" she said smiling, she was finally happy.

"You are amazing Eric, thank you for being patient with me and giving me time to heal...I'm still going to therapy"

He nodded and kissed her softly. "I promise when you are ready to be intimate I will go slow and stop when you tell me too, I know you have more healing to do"

"I love you so much Eric" she said kissing him softly.

"I love you too Lani, you know tomorrow I'm going back to work right?"

"Yes, I know, I will be here making sure you get dinner and baking" she said smiling at him more

"You're going to make me fat" he said laughing

"Nah, just spoil you"

He held her close to him. "I can handle that"

They watched a few movies and she cuddled into him and started to fell asleep

He looked down and noticed she was started to doze off and smiled. "I love you so much" he told her rubbing her hair as she went out for the night.

She went to sleep happily with him holding her.

A year later they celebrated a year of marriage. It was going to be a tough year for everyone

She went back to work day shift in the lab and helped Callie

Speed and Horatio went to the jewelry store as they had a lead on something there, when something happened. Speed pull his gun and it jammed, someone shot the gun that killed him.

Horatio mourned his loss as he went on the fly, he didn't even want to tell Kai

Kailani and Speed were never that close they were more like acquaintances, she did ask him a few questions here and there. She was down in the morgue with Alexx

They brought Speed in and Kai broke down crying as did Alexx. Alexx pulled herself together before Kai did.

Alexx called Horatio to come get Kailani

He picked her up and carried her out. "Kai, it's going to be okay...we're going to have a funeral for him, he was a good man"

She nodded and held on to him

Eric saw them and took her from Horatio and held her close. "It's okay, it's going to be okay" he said softly

She felt lost, Speed was one of the first CSIs in the building every morning and he always said hello to her and gave her a half smile, Kai loved that half smile he would give her, she would miss it.

"Eric take her home" Horatio said

"Okay H" he said

"No, I want to stay here and work"

Calleigh went up to her. "Kai, are you sure about this? I can stay with you in the lab if you need me too"

"I'm sure, I would like that" she said. "Eric please put me down, I will be okay" she said

He puts her down and hugs her. "I'm going with H, call if you need anything" he said

She nodded and went with Calleigh

Calleigh kept her busy with DNA and trace evidence to keep her mind off of Speedle

A few hours went by and all the work was done and Eric took her home and she cried in his arms

He held her and let her sleep on him as she was crying on his chest

A few days later was Speedle's funeral and she just stood there numb

Eric put his arm around her shoulders and she turned into him.

When they did the 21 gun salute she jumped, she wasn't ready for it

Eric held her closer to him

Before long the service was over and she stood at his grave marker. "Good-bye Speedle, watch over this crazy group of ours. You were a good man" she said softly

"Come on babe, let's go home" Eric said.

She nodded and started to walk back to the car with him.

When they got on the car and Eric started it, Numb, by Linkin Park came on. It captured her mood perfectly and how she would feel for the next few days.

A few days later after she decided to leave the house she went out to find a way to express her emotions so she went to Central Florida Irish Dance Studio.

She walked in and found the instructor and told her what she wanted and the instructor agreed and thought a session two nights a week were good for her.

"What's your name dear?" the instructor asked.

"Delko, Kailani Delko" she said.

Kailani? Was either one of your parents Hawaiian?"

"Yes, my dad, my mother is Italian" she said

"What an interesting combination, your husband?"

"Latino, why?"

"Why doesn't he show you how to dance?"

"Because I want something different, something new"

"Then you came to the right place, see you tomorrow" she said

"Yes, see you tomorrow"

Kailani left feeling better, she then went shopping then home. She couldn't wait to tell Eric her big news.

A couple of hours later she was home making him a nice Italian dinner he could come home and enjoy, she always..ALWAYS made to much and it ended up at work for anyone and everyone to enjoy with a note of she wanted her dishes back when they were done with it.

When he came home he took her by the waist. "Hello beautiful" he said smiling

"Ah, dannazione Eric mi hai spaventato!" she said (Ah, damn it Eric you scared me)

"Sorry" he said kissing her cheek. "What's for dinner"

"Pasta Fagioli al Forno"

"Have you made it for me before?"

"No, it's a new one, but I know H has had it"

"Oh okay" he said smiling at her putting his stuff away.

She set the table, added the fresh bread and served him first.

"This looks amazing babe"

Kailani blushed. "Thanks, hope you like it"

"What did you do today?" he asked

"I went to find an Irish Dance School, it's been some time since I danced and our wedding doesn't count" she said

"Irish Dancing, are you sure about this?" he asked.

"Yes, I need something to keep my mind off of Speedle...so this will force me to focus and I'll come back to work feeling more like myself" she said eating

"Alright, if you are sure that's what you want, I can have a patrol follow you"

"I'll be fine Eric" she said. "It's early enough in the morning where I can go and start and I'll be to work before ten, hopefully with no traffic"

He nodded, he knew better than to argue with her, she usually won the fight.

They sat down and talked about their day.

When they were done she got up and did dishes, her mind was lost in thought

She finished the dishes before going to the bedroom

Kailani was still upset about the conversation that took place earlier, so she took her book to bed to read, she had her back towards Eric's side, she laid there reading.

Eric finally came in and noticed her. "Lani?" he asked

She ignored him, she was wanting to be in her feelings and now wasn't the time for him to be sweet to her.

He kissed her shoulder.

"Stop" she said

He held her around the waist.

"Don't Eric"

"What's wrong?" he asked

"I'm upset with you, leave me alone" she told him.

He looked confused and laid down next to her

Kailani got up and went to the living room

He laid there and let her go. 'Maybe we shouldn't have gotten married...' he thought to himself. 'There's no way she's going to let me be near her right now, what did I do to piss her-'

Eric got out of bed and went to the living room. "Kailani" he said softly.

She looked over. "What?"

"I upset you about the dance didn't I?"

"What do you think? You hurt my feelings"

He sighed. "May I sit with you?"

"I don't think we should've gotten married Eric...we're obviously not compatible" she said

"Do you really believe that?"

"I don't know..." she said softly picking at the blanket

"Look Kailani it takes time to work on a marriage to make it strong, for us to trust each other"

"Wait, you don't trust me?" she asked

"I didn't say that" he said

She got up off the couch and went to get dressed and called Calleigh to come get her

Calleigh was there quickly, she went to the door.

Kailani opened it and rushed past her to the car.

"Eric what did you do?" she asked.

"Nothing"

Calleigh raised an eyebrow. "Eric..."

He sighed. "Fine, alright. She told me she signed up for Irish dance lessons so she could focus her mind off of Speedle's death and I asked if she was sure about this, she hasn't talked to me all night except to tell me we shouldn't have gotten married, she thinks I don't trust her"

"Do you? Do you trust her?"

"Of course I do! I'm in love with her Cal...I wish she could see it"

"I wish you could see how much you hurt her by questioning her decision, I bet she was excited to tell you too wasn't she?"

"She was, now she won't talk to me"

"Give her a couple of days...give her space" she told him. "When she's ready she'll come home and you'll open her with open arms and a very sweet kiss"

He nodded and looked at Kailani who looked even more upset.

Calleigh went back to the car and took her hand. "Come on"

Kailani squeezed it and nodded. she wasn't going to look at Eric until she figured it out for herself, she wanted to make sure in her heart she made the right choice with Eric in marrying him. She needed this time away from him to really know.

Eric watched them leave and hoped, really hoped she would come back to be with him, he went in the house and locked the door and prayed

Two weeks later Kailani went into work early to avoid Eric, she was still upset by the comment.

Horatio noticed her in early and went to talk to her. "Kai, what's going on?" he asked

She told him everything and ended up crying

He hugged her. "You can't run away from your problems" he told her

"I know...but I had so many problems...it just felt it all over"

He heard what she was saying. "Okay, I hear you but you should talk to him about it"

"I'm not ready to talk to him" she said

He nodded. "We're going out, ready to go?"

"Yes, I am...Eric won't be there will he?" she asked

"No, he's on a different crime scene"

Calleigh was with Eric on another crime scene and she looked at him. "Nothing yet?"

"No, she's ignoring her phone and me, she won't let me around her...I didn't realize I hurt her so bad"

"I don't think it's that Eric, could it be the anniversary of something? Her dad maybe?"

Kailani and Horatio arrived at the crime scene and started to comb through it and taking pictures.

Alexx came in to take the body and Frank Tripp was interviewing witnesses

Eric called Horatio when he got back to the lab. "Hey H, it looks like a bloodbath happened at the crime scene, have you seen Lani? Is she okay?"

"Yes, I have and she's fine, she's not ready to talk to you yet"

"Oh..." he said

A few days later Kailani was waiting at MDPD for Eric.

When he came in he saw her.

She looked up, she looked like she had been crying.

He sat next to her. "Hey babe are you okay?"

"No, hold me" she said

He complied and held her. "What's wrong?"

"I missed you, I'm sorry for everything...I quit going to class because it wasn't fun...I need you" she told him. "Can I come home?"

"Of course you can, I've missed your cooking"

She laughed a bit

Horatio came in to see them. "Eric, take your wife home" he said smiling at her. "You two have a lot to talk about"

"Yes we do" he said

Kailani stood up and hugged Horatio. "Thanks H"

He hugged her back. "You're welcome"

They went home, she cooked and they sat and talked about everything. She told him she started back at therapy which was helping her

"Good, I'm glad it is, you are just amazing"

She blushed. "I really missed you. It was Calleigh that suggested I go back to therapy and I quit dance because I was tired and not taking care of myself"

"Well you're here and I love you and I will always be here for you" he said

She smiled and kissed him. "I want you"

He smiled and kissed her more and laid her down on the couch taking their dishes and putting them on the floor.

Eric went slow with her, he was going to show her sex could be gentle and fun, he didn't advance until she gave him a nod to keep going.

Once she was undressed he picked her up and carried her to their room, he gently laid her on the bed and started slow with her. They were finally going to consummate their marriage

As he was ready to enter her she started to shake.

"No, don't...please" she said covering up.

"Alright, it's okay" he said holding her close to him. "You're safe, it's okay, I'm not going to hurt you"

She was still shaking. "I'm sorry...I'm so sorry" she said going to get her clothes and clean up the living room from the dishes and just cleaned the house

Eric watched her walk away, he had to give her some time to herself before going out there, he and put his underwear on and went to the kitchen to find his wife in the corner crying.

"Lani..."

She curled herself into a ball, protecting herself from whatever fit he wanted to throw.

Eric called Horatio and stepped out of the kitchen.

"Yeah Eric?" he said a little sleepy.

"H...Lani and I just...she freaked and is now curled up in a ball in the corner of the kitchen, she won't look at me or let me touch her"

"On my way" he said getting up and getting dressed

Eric went and got dressed as well and sat in the door way of the kitchen watching her

'Why didn't he hit me? I wouldn't give it to him and he didn't hit me? Why ' she thought to herself. 'Who is he...? Horatio...? Why can't I be over this...why doesn't he just take what he wants from me? Why torture me?'

A few minutes later there was a knock on the door and Eric let Horatio in and pointed to where his bride was.

Horatio went over and saw she was still visibly shaken. "Kai.." he said. "Kai, it's Horatio"

She looked up at him and clung to him and whispered in his ear. "Why doesn't he just hit me, take what he wants and be done with it?"

He scooped her up and took her to the living room and sat on the couch with her.

She fell asleep on Horatio as she knew he was safe

Once she was in a deep enough sleep he gave her back to Eric. "She's out for the night, it was too much for her" he said

Eric nodded and took her from Horatio. "Thanks H" he said

"See you later Eric"

Horatio left and went home. He had never seen her quite like that before, he didn't like it, and it was good Eric called him, she wasn't going to let Eric near her at all in that state, she still had some work to do in therapy, he hoped it would help her.

A few days later they were both off and she was quiet and really didn't talk to Eric, she was embarrassed and didn't want to say anything wrong.

Eric was napping on the couch as he was up all night keeping an eye on her.

When she was done in the kitchen she went into the living room and saw he was sleeping, she smirked and decided she wanted to finally give him what he wanted.

She kissed him softly. "Hey babe" she whispered.

He slowly woke up. "Hey you okay?"

"Yeah, I want you to have you, but we have to do it my way okay?"

"Okay" he said.

"I will let you know when you can touch me"

He nodded and put his hands behind his head

She undressed and got him undress. Kailani kissed him and moved down slowly but surely

He watched her and didn't move, Eric wanted to touch her but promised her he wouldn't.

Kailani was staring at his hardened member and blushed and looked at him.

"You don't have too" he said softly. "Don't push yourself"

She took the tip in her mouth while holding the shaft in her hand

That earned her a moaned of pleasure from her husband.

Kailani went down a little bit more and back up. She kept this going for a bit making sure she'd go as far as she was comfortable going and she looked over at Eric.

His eyes were rolling in the back of his head and moans of pleasure rewarded her ears.

Eric's moans were slowly getting her wet, so she started to finger herself to get more wet.

He watched do that and he wanted so bad to flip her on her back and take over, fucking her as hard as he could

She finally got herself wet enough and kissed him.

"That was amazing baby" he said holding his hands out to her so she could get on him.

Kailani took them and stood above him looking down into chocolate brown eyes looking back at her so full of love, and slowly lowered herself down on him while holding his hand, as he had his cock up for her.

She was holding her breath all the way down until her pussy devour his cock into her.

"Mmm" Eric moaned. "You feel so good"

She adjusted to him and slowly started to ride him while she held his hand.

He didn't care if this didn't last long, to him the point was she made a huge breakthrough and set the rules and he was going with them

Everything was going good until she flashed back about the choking and quickly got off of Eric having a panic attack. "I can't...I can't do this" she said

"Hey shh shh, you did great honey, come lay with me" he said

"No...I need to shower" she said running into the bathroom and locking the door and turning on the shower.

Eric finished himself off and cleaned up writing a note for her therapist about the huge breakthrough she had with sex and set it in her bag, he knew she had an appointment coming up soon.

She sat in the shower for a while before she actually took her shower. 'Did I just do that? Did I just have a breakthrough?' she asked herself. 'If I did that is huge, I feel like such a bitch for not finishing off Eric...but I guess what I did was big and he didn't seem mad at me...is he mad at me?'

Once she was done and she came out with her towels on her. "Eric...?" she said softly.

"I'm here babe" he said giving her some hot tea, mint like she liked.

"How did you know?" she asked taking it

"It's your comfort drink, you told me about it when we were dating"

"You remembered? Awe babe"

He kissed the top of her head. "You are worth it, you did great today, I'm so proud of you" he praised

"Y-you're not mad at me?"

"What do you mean mad? I'm so happy you did what you did, I was impressed you took it upon yourself to do it...I promised you I wouldn't push you and I'm not going too, you are amazing and you are doing the best you can Lani"

She drank her tea and listening to what he was saying to her. 'H-he's proud of me' she thought to herself.

"We'll continue to go slow until you know I won't hurt you, until you can realize what I'm doing is not going to hurt you...I want to show you how good sex can be...being intimate isn't always having sex, it's cuddling too and just being there with each other, we'll cuddle as often as you want"

"N-no, I want to try again...doggy style...I want a mirror in front of me so I can see what you are doing"

"We have a full length mirror in the bedroom by the door" he said. "I can shut the blinds"

She nodded and got up to go to the bedroom.

He followed her. 'I hope she doesn't freak out on me for this' he thought to himself

Her towel was off and she was on all fours on the floor waiting

He shut the blinds and got himself hard before getting on his knees. "Are you sure about this?"

She nodded. "Warn me before you go faster, no spanking and no choking"

He leaned over and kissed her. "Yes Lani" he said teasing the entrance of her pussy

She moaned a bit watching him

He continued to tease her as he put a hand on her hip and slipped himself inside her, moaning again

She let got a small moan herself. "You can go a little faster" she said

He grabbed her hips and started to slowly have her

Kailani watched everything he was doing and let him have control

He started to pick up speed little by little. He would squeeze her ass and hips.

She felt that right spot he was hitting and moaned more. "More...I'm almost there" she panted looking at him through the mirror. "Oh Eric...cum in me..." she said leaning forward making her ass go further into him

Eric started to pant. "Oh...oh..I'm cumming!!" he moaned loudly gripping her hips more and pounded her as hard as he could

She screamed out in pleasure throwing her head back and cumming all over him.

He pulled out and slammed into her a few times and then held her in place and came hard in her, and twitched here and there.

When done they were both panting hard and he pulled out of her one he was empty.

"Babe your cum is so hot in my pussy...that was...wow..." she said

He hugged her tight. "I'm SO proud of you, you did it" he told her kissing her

She broke down crying again as she came down from her high, these weren't sad tears, they were happy tears

He just held her close.

"Eric...I did it...but we will still have to do things my way for a while until I'm fully comfortable with you taking over"

"That's fine Lani, whatever makes you comfortable" he told her

She looked up at him. "We consummated our marriage and had the best make up sex ever"

He laughed. "Yes, we did and I couldn't be more proud of you than I am right now, that was a lot for you to do in one day...we are going to disagree, we are going to fight, but please don't run off, we can talk it out"

"I'm sorry...I didn't mean to run, I was upset and this was the first time I realized I could leave and you wouldn't hold me down to stay" she said

"What do you mean hold you down?"

"Like forcing me to stay, to literally hold me down"

"I would never do that to you and you know that, that's why I don't want you to force you to stay, if you need to run just don't run away forever okay? I love you enough to where you can stay and feel safe here"

She nodded and leaned into him. "I love you Eric Delko"

"And I love you Kailani Delko, for as long as we both shall live" he said kissing her again

He picked her up and carried her to bed where he had her curl into him. Eric protected her in their sleep so she had a reason to feel safe and loved with his arms around her.

She was so very happy she married this man. Kailani knew Eric felt relief with what happened that night and she felt a huge weight was lifted off of her shoulders and she finally felt free of her attacker, she was able to finally be herself, which was more outgoing than the shy, abused girl.

Kailani couldn't wait to show Horatio her old self

A year has come and gone and Kailani was pregnant with twins.

Eric was over the moon and Horatio was just so proud of her

Kailani kept going to therapy and she worked up until two months before she was due to give birth.

On her last day at work she got off early and went to the park and just sat looking around for a while before she went home to cook for Eric and start prepping for the rest of the time she couldn't cook.

'God I'm a whale' she thought to herself getting up off the bench and texted Eric. "On my way home babe, love you have a good day"

He texted her back. "Okay you too, see you later"

As she was putting her phone in her purse she was chlorformed, gagged, bound and put into the trunk of the car.

A couple of hours later Eric went home looking for Kailani, he couldn't wait to smell the food and to eat, he got lucky marrying a girl that could cook.

When no food met him through the door he knew something was wrong he called Horatio first. "H, she's not here" he said trying not to panic

"Do you know where she was last Eric?" he asked.

"Yeah she was at the park not far from work" he said sending him a picture. "Her last text was around 1:10 p.m. and it's after 5 now, I just got home"

"Eric...Eric that means she's been gone for four hours, we need to move" he said. "Meet me at the park" Horatio then called Calleigh and new recruit Ryan Wolfe to come in and look for Kailani.

Her phone was on mute and GPS was on. She had it hidden in her purse so no one could find it. Kailani never carried credit or debit cards on her person, nor her social security, just her ID, badge, gun, and cash, but she had turned in her badge and gun until after the twins were born.

Calleigh, Horatio, Ryan, Frank Tripp, and Eric met in the park, along with Alexx. "They got her H...I have to find her..."

"We will Eric, I think you and Alexx should wait at the station for us to come back"

"No..I have to go...she's going to need me" he said pacing back and forth.

Calleigh took him by the arm and turned him around putting her hands on his arms. "Eric, she's going to be cooperate with them. She turned in her badge and gun, so that's good...her phone has tracking doesn't it?"

He looked at his phone and saw they were out in the glades. "She's in the glades...H..." he said.

"Alexx, Ryan, Eric in one car. Frank and Calleigh you're with me" he said. "This is Lieutenant Horatio Caine requesting back up, looking for Lieutenant Kailani Delko last seen by Officer Eric Delko by way of cellphone at 1:10 p.m. this afternoon, no contact has been made since the picture was sent to him" he said. "Her phone has tracking and we are on our way to the glades, I need birds in the air NOW" he said slamming the door shut barely giving Frank time to get in the hummer before he drove off

"Jesus Christ Horatio, where the hell did you get your license" he asked buckling up

The sirens wailed all the way to the glades

One of the helicopter had eyes on her. "Lieutenant we found her, we're going to rescue her, she won't be alive much longer if we don't, she is almost surrounded by gators

Eric picked up the CB. "DO IT!! RESCUE MY WIFE, WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU WAITING FOR?!" He yelled into it. "DAMN IT WOLFE DRIVE FASTER!!!" he said

They hovered enough for them to get her up in the helicopter and flashed a light at them to get them to turn back a bit just outside the glades

Ryan just barely slowed down when Eric jumped out. "DELKO!!" he screamed

"Forget it Ryan, he won't hear you as far as Kailani is concerned" Calleigh said

"What do you mean?" he asked

"They dance a dangerous tango no one but Horatio understands, she's a bit older than Eric and my self, she's had hiccups in her life that she won't tell anyone and even Horatio is tight lipped about it, don't cross her or that's one Italain that will make your life a living hell, if not her then her mom, if not them then Horatio will step in" Calleigh told him

Ryan watched them. "Aren't we supposed to process her?" he asked.

He went to her and took pictures before taking off the blindfold and took the gag out of her mouth. "Lani...oh god...Lani..."

Horatio parked and went to Eric and helped him get her out.

She was starting to bleed between her legs.

"H..H it's to soon for the babies" he said

Alexx jumped in the ambulance with her and Eric.

"Call me and tell me what's going on" Horatio told him.

Eric nodded and sat with her. "Alexx..." he said looking at her. "Wait don't touch her yet" he said. Always a CSI, he had a camera on him for evidence. He got a few photos for evidence, he knew he wasn't going to be working on this case but he had to help in some way.

"I want everyone to spread out and look for any and all evidence, I want her purse too" he said

One of the officers came to him with her purse which was almost nothing, but still contained the cellphone which was still hidden and was dead.

When they arrived at Dade General Eric nearly fell out of the rig.

The EMTs gave her history as Eric told them what happened

They nodded and rushed her into the ER trauma room one

"She's pregnant with twins" Eric told them

Alexx told the doctors how far along she was and they did everything to stop the bleeding

They did an ultrasound and found one the twins with the umbilical cord wrapped around it's neck.

"We have to remove the cord, we need to do surgery NOW" the doctor said

"Dr. Woods, scrub in" they said running her to the OR

Alexx followed quickly without giving Eric an update

He called Horatio. "They rushed her to the OR..." he said

Horatio already had her mom and was on the way to the ER where Eric was

They sat and waited for the results of the surgery.

Horatio and her mom arrived and Eric jumped up.

He was panicking.

"Eric, calm down, they'll take care of her and Alexx is with her, don't worry" he said

"Easy for you to say, you aren't married to her" he said

"Non preoccuparti così tanto Eric, ce la farà, è una ragazza forte e sana, abbi fiducia nell'uomo di sopra, lui la farà passare" (Don't worry so much Eric, she'll pull through, she's a strong, healthy girl, have faith in the Man upstairs, he'll pull her through) her mom said. "So solo che vedremo lei e i bambini abbastanza presto, fidati di me" (I just know we'll see her and the babies soon enough, trust me)

He nodded, Eric still didn't know Italian, but Kailani knew Spanish and Hawaiian along with Italian, he felt so lost.

"So che starà bene, è troppo testarda per rinunciare alla lotta. Vorrà vedere Eric e i gemelli, per non parlare di me e te" (I know she'll be alright, she's to stubborn to give up the fight. She'll want to see Eric and the twins, not to mention you and I) Horatio told her mother

Her mother nodded. "Sì, lei è testarda, e ama troppo e troppo per smettere di combattere, ama molto Eric e desidera molto essere una madre" ("Yes, she is stubborn, that and she loves to much and to hard to give up fighting, she loves Eric very much and wants very much to be a mother)

"Si" Horatio said.

Yes and Eric were the only two words Eric knew, seeing how Si was common in both Italian and Spanish.

A couple of hours Alexx came out to see them. "The babies are in the NICU, Kai is fine, she's okay no internal bleeding, one of the babies had the umbilical cord wrapped around his neck, but they are good, tiny. She was 32 weeks, 37 is full term for twins, but she is good and they will be okay" she said

"You said boy, are there two boys or one of each?" Eric asked.

"One of each baby, you have a boy and a girl, they weighed in at 5 lbs 4 oz for your son and 4 lbs 7 oz for your daughter, give Kai an hour and you can go see her, they twins should be in the NICU, you can go see your babies" she told him.

He hugged her. "Thanks Alexx...thanks for staying with her"

Kailani was sleeping the drugs she was on let her forget what happened.

They were outside looking in at the babies and Eric was in love with them

"I wonder if she came up names for the twins" Eric said

"I'm sure she did" Horatio said. "And I bet the names are perfect"

Kailani was thinking of names for their kids and came up with Isabella Marisol, Isabella being her mom and Marisol being Eric's sister. Kalani Malulani Horatio was what she came up with for the boy. Kalani was her father's name, Malulani was her grandfather's name and Horatio, well because he was her best friend, and of course their last name Delko

An hour later Eric had pictures of the twins and took them to her room and kissed her head. "Hey Lani" he said softly

She opened her eyes. "Eric...oh Eric" she said trying not to cry

"You're safe, I'm here, H is here and so is your mom"

"She is? Mom's here?"

"Yes, she is" he said

"I have names for the babies"

"Oh?"

"Isabella Marisol, Isabella is my mom's name and of course your sister Marisol, and Kalani Malulani Horatio Delko...Kalani was my father's name, Malulani was my grandfather and of course Horatio"

"They are perfect baby, very good strong names" he told her

"You're not angry that I didn't name our son after you?"

"No, I'm not mad, I was hoping you would throw Mari's name in there and you did, I'm happy"

She was smiling. "Are they perfect?" she asked

"I think they are" he said smiling at her

Her mom came in. "Oh piccola, ora sei una mamma, sono così perfette e belle, sei stata fantastica, sono così fortunate ad averti come loro mamma, ti amo piccola" (Oh baby girl, you are a mom now, they are so perfect and beautiful, you did amazing, they are so lucky to have you as their mom, I love you baby)

"Grazie mamma, ho un marito fantastico che mi aiuta a darmi dei dolci bambini, sono davvero una donna fortunata" ("Thank you mom, I have an amazing husband to help give me sweet little babies, I'm truly a lucky woman")

Eric was beaming as he looked over at Horatio

Horatio came over to her and gave her a kiss. "They are beautiful Kai"

"Thanks H, I couldn't be happier to have them in my life" she said. "Alright, I love you all, all of you but Eric go, I need time with him and I'm tired. H, let Ryan, Frank, and Calleigh know I said thank you, and Alexx of course"

"I will Kai, I will" he said leaving.

"Good night baby" her mom said

Eric was happy her mom spoke English this time. "Good night guys, see you soon"

They both nod and left the room.

"I'm so happy you're here, thank you for finding me"

"You're welcome" he said holding her

She snuggled in and fell asleep.

He held her close and watched her sleep, he was happy to be a dad, but felt like something was missing in his life, he wasn't sure yet what it was but knew it was something he used to do, how would she react if he did go back to his old life. Was this a chance he was willing to take, the answer would come to him soon enough

Two years later the twins were in daycare and Kailani went back to work

On his day off Eric went out but he didn't go see Kailani at work, he was hooking up with another girl, he kept his phone off.

Kailani had a feeling something was wrong but didn't know what

Horatio noticed something wasn't right with her and went to see her. "Are you alright?"

"No, something's wrong but I don't know what it is...today is Eric's day off and the kids are in daycare" she said

He called Eric's phone but it was off. "He's not answering his phone" he told her

"Can I go get the kids and go home?"

"Of course you can, call me"

She nodded and left filling Calleigh in on what was going on and walked out of PD. Kailani went to get the kids

Eric was home with another woman having sex with her

She pulled off to the side of the road and cried, her marriage was over.

Before long she pulled to the daycare and got the kids, and took them back to PD.

An hour later Eric's new partner left the house and he sat on the bed. 'I can't do this anymore...I can't be with her anymore' he thought to himself

"Horatio...I'm sticking around to get a divorce.. I may go to Hawaii with the kids, maybe I'll go to New York...I don't know"

"That would be good Kai, we're going to miss you around here"

She nodded. "I don't want anything from him, I'll change my name back to Brown and go from there"

The kids looked up at her. "I wanna see daddy" Isabella said

"I know, we'll go in a minute, mama's gotta talk to Uncle"

"I'm hungry mama" Kalani said

About that time Natalia came out of the lab.

"Hey Kailani, I can take the kids to get a snack"

"Thanks Natalia, that would be nice, go with Natalia"

They nodded and went with her

Horatio took her to his office where she cried

"I know he's not the most faithful, I thought I changed him...but I guess not"

"Kai, Kai tonight you and the kids will stay with me and then tomorrow when Eric works you can go home and pack clothes and anything else you need"

She nodded. "I'm sorry...you realize he's going to have to go on a different shift until I leave please"

"Yes, I will put him on night shift until you leave. Do you know where you are going?"

"No, not yet...I will figure it out tonight" she said

She nodded and went to get the twins and headed to Horatio's house

"Why can't we go home mommy?" Kalani asked

"Because if we do mommy will yell at daddy and I don't want you guys to hear it okay? We're going to Uncle Horatio's for the night and possibly for a while"

"But I want daddy" Isabella said. "He always tucks us in at night"

As they were whining Eric called.

She answered. "It's over, we're leaving...when you come to work tomorrow I'll get my clothes and their clothes...no the kids aren't coming home tonight and neither and I...I'm taking the kids out of state you will start paying child support, you hurt me" she said not giving him time to say anything before she hung up

They looked up and sighed. "Can we get Donald's?" Isabella asked.

"Yes, tonight only" she said.

Eric called Horatio and talked to him

The three walked out and headed to get some food then to Horatio's

Eric talked to Horatio for a bit. "She's leaving me H, my marriage is over, I'll never see my kids..." he said

"Eric...Eric you cheated on her knowing her past, knowing her history, when you get off work tomorrow you will be on nights until she leaves, she can't trust you around the kids anymore Eric..."

He sighed. "I'll talk to you later H, I'm going for a drive" he told him hanging up

She got the kids to eat, gave them a bath and put on a movie for them until they fell asleep

Eric drove to Horatio's house, he had every intent on talking to her but decided not to bother her as she was mad and could easily have him arrested

He called her

She answered. "What Eric" she asked

"We should talk about this"

"Why? You knew my past, you knew my history...I thought you were the one Eric, our vows meant nothing to you...YOU PROMISED me you would never cheat on me...if I was so horrible why did you marry me? Why were you so hell bent on getting me over....oh I see, I'm not wife material just a quick lay...I got it...I'm going to get our stuff tomorrow Eric then going to a lawyer to serve you with papers...whatever state I move too you are to stay out of it...the kids won't remember you, you'll always remember them though...don't call me again Eric, good luck on night shift" she said hanging up on him

He sat there for a minute and sighed, he didn't want to go on night shift but knew this would make her happy. 'I can't lose the kids..I can't, she has to stay here so I can see them' he thought to himself, he then went home

Kailani was in the living room laying down on the couch crying when Horatio came in and saw her

He held her and petted her hair. "Have you decided where you are going?" he asked.

"I want to be transferred to Alaska, to their CSI" she said.

"I will make that call tomorrow when Eric isn't around, was he here?"

"Outside he sat in the car...I think he didn't really love me and it hurts to think that" she told him

He nodded. "For now, let's get you upstairs to the twins and you can rest, I know you won't sleep but you have to rest your body, you are going to be busy tomorrow will you take them to daycare?"

"Yes, they are going to daycare...I hope I can find someone that loves me and isn't going to want me just for a quick lay, I really loved him H and he just..." she said standing up

He walked her to her room where the kids were and she laid between them

She laid there holding them and was quite upset, Kailani knew she had a lot to do before they left.

As the twins laid there sleeping she wrote up a contract stating why she was filing for the divorce and what she wanted. She then texted Eric to meet her at the lawyers first thing in the morning to get the divorce going, he texted her back he would be there

Eric wasn't sleeping that night, he missed his babies. He decided to let her have them he didn't want to fight her for them, he would ask her to tell them about him and keep a picture of him so they knew him. He knew it would be sixteen years or more before they called on him for anything

The next morning she got the kids up and ready for daycare as she had errands to run.

Once at daycare she told them their dad was NOT to pick them up and the only other person allowed to pick them up was Horatio Caine. They made the adjustment.

She then went over to the lawyers office with the paper she had drawn up the night before and Eric signed it before the lawyer.

"You agree to this? All of it?" he asked him.

"Yes sir" Eric said

"You would like your name to go back to Brown?"

"Yes sir, it's my maiden name, my kids can keep Delko, or their father can give me permission to change it to Brown as well"

"No, they can keep Delko" he said. "Are we finished here? I have to get to work, make sure you leave your key with H" he told her.

"I will" she said

The lawyer took the paper and went to see the judge as Eric left the office

Horatio had taken the time to send a fax over to the Alaska CSI telling them about Kailani and her outstanding service and how she was up for the Captain promotion.

A little while after he sent the fax they called him. "What should we call her?" the lead CSI asked.

"Kailani, Kailani Brown. She has a habit of wearing a mask, gloves and her hair pulled back into a bun so it doesn't interfere with evidence" he told them.

"Great, as soon as she comes in have her ask for Noah Weston, I'm the lead CSI here" he said.

"You should also know she is a single mom of twins, a boy and a girl"

"Duly noted" he told him. "I will talk to her soon"

Horatio had just hung up when Eric walked in.

"Hey H, sorry I'm late, Kailani wanted me at the lawyer's office, she may be out of here soon"

"I knew about this morning that's why I didn't call you right away, she told me" he said. "Let's go we have our jobs to do"

Calleigh heard what was going on and went to tell Alexx and Natalia. "We should do something for her and the twins"

"Calleigh baby, what about Eric?" Alexx asked

"He cheated on her, I thought this was going to be a forever thing" she said

Ryan came in. "What are we talking about ladies?" he asked

"Nothing" the three of them said in unison

"Well Horatio needs you Calleigh to go with Eric, I'm with him today"

"Hmm, I was hoping to be with Horatio today" Calleigh said going to get her kit and headed out

Alexx followed them as well

Kailani packed up her clothes along with the kids' stuff and then her pots and pans, she took those to Horatio's and stored them. She then went to PD and waited for Horatio

He was the first back to PD and saw her. "Kai, I have a phone number and a name for you" he told her.

She took it and gave the house key to Horatio. "I got our stuff out and my pots and pans, so any food that is in the freezer was there from before this whole crap went down. The divorce shouldn't take to long, I have to go to Dade Mutual to tell them I'm heading out of town soon and not coming back. I wanna call Marisol to take the kids but I think a weekend with mom would be good for them...maybe I can get mama to move with me" she said. "Oh consider this my two week notice, I'll be back soon...I'm going to book a flight to New York then take off from there, thanks H"

She left and he felt confused but put the key in his pocket to give to Eric when he came back. Kai went to the bank and called Noah. Once she was off the phone with him she went into the bank and told them what was going on, she was happy at this point she still had a separate bank account from Eric. When she left the bank she called her mom and told her what was going on.

Her mom cussed him out as they talked.

"Mamma, voglio che ti trasferisci in Alaska con me, vero?" ("Mom, I want you to move to Alaska with me, would you?)

"Kailani... pensi che sia un'idea saggia? Perché non tornare a New York? Dovrei vendere il mio ristorante" ("Kailani...do you think that is a wise idea? Why not just come back to New York? I'd have to sell my restaurant")

"Per favore mamma, puoi andare in pensione, mi prenderò cura di te. Mi fido di te con i bambini, così non devono andare all'asilo, per favore" ("Please mom, you can retire, I will take care of you. I trust you with the kids, so they don't have to go to daycare, please")

Her mom sighed, she was debating this. "Quanto tempo ho prima che tu venga a New York?" ("How long do I have before you come to New York?")

"Ci sarò questo fine settimana, vado in Alaska a cercare casa per noi" ("I'll be there this weekend, I'm going to Alaska to look for a house for us")

"Posso pensarci prima che tu venga qui con i bambini?" ("Can I think about it before you get here with the kids?")

"Certo che puoi, ti amo" ("Of course you can, I love you")

"Anch'io ti amo" ("Love you too) her mom said hanging up.

Her mom had never thought about moving from New York, but this is what she's been wanting time with her daughter she called someone about putting up her business for sale. She then wrote a letter to put up when the building goes up for sale.

She had a call from the judge saying her divorce would be finalized in a few days. "Thank you sir, I'm going to New York this weekend to drop my kids off with my mom then to Alaska to find a house, I'm moving out of state and yes I am hitting Eric Delko for child support"

"Yes ma'am that was stated by the lawyer, good luck to you and the kids"

"Thank you sir" she said and hung up. She went to Horatio's and wrote up her two week noticed for the Miami PD then went and turned it in.

Eric saw her and watched her as she went looking for Horatio

Valera looked over to her. "No, I haven't seen him, try his office maybe?"

"Thanks Valera" she said and went to his office. "H?" she said going in

He looked up. "Hey, what's that?" he asked.

"It's my two week notice, my divorce will be finalized in a few days, so I want to finish my time here before I leave...I'll be gone this weekend and so will the kids, I'm going to try to come back Monday or Tuesday" she told him.

"Alright, be safe" he told her hugging her.

She nodded and left, she then went and got the kids from daycare. "Hey my babies"

"Mommy!!! Can we see daddy?" Isabella asked.

"Bella no, we're going to go see Nonna in New York!" she said.

"Just so we can say bye?" Kalani asked

She sighed. This was the only time he was going to see them. "Alright, but we got to make it fast because daddy is busy"

They nodded and took her hand and went to the car

'Damn it...they are so damn cute, they are lucky I love them so much' she thought to herself as she got them in the car

She took them back to PD and took them in.

Isabella seen Eric as soon as they walked in. "Daddy!!"

He looked over and smiled. "Come here" he said waving them over

They ran to him and hugged him. "We miss you daddy, but we're going to see Nonna for the weekend"

"Oh yeah? That's great! I miss you guys"

"We miss you too" Kalani said softly.

Eric kissed them both and gave them big hugs. "Okay, you gotta go with mama now, be good for her okay? Remember I love you guys very very much"

They nodded. They didn't want to be away from him and clung to him as he took them over to her.

"Okay my little ones, go to mama now" he said. "Daddy has to get back to work, I love you"

Isabella was a daddy's girl so this was harder for her than Kalani

Kalani went to his mother easily enough

Isabella wasn't letting go. "No..." she said clinging to him

He told her in Spanish how much he loved her and how much she would be in his heart, and he in hers.

She nodded and reluctantly let him go. "I love you" she told him.

"I love you both very much, be good" he said handing her back to Kailani and their fingers touched.

For a moment he saw the woman he fell in love with. "Lani...."

She turned away. "Eric...don't..." she said taking them out to the car and to the airport

'Bastard...why? Why did he do that, I felt it too, the spark we have...had...IF it's meant to be we'll find our way back to each other, if not then we'll both know' she thought to herself

Horatio had saw it but said nothing about it. "Eric..." he said.

He turned around and gave him a small smile. "I really screwed up H...I felt something I know she did too...if it's meant to be we'll find our way back to each other, but my babies...I'll never see them again..hey do I have to go on night shift? The kids said they were going to New York"

"Days until she comes back, and she'll let me know when" he said

"Thanks H, hey do you think there will be a chance with her in the future?" he asked.

"I don't know Eric, I don't know" he said

Two weeks later Kailani and the twins were on their way to New York to get her mom and then the four of them were heading to Alaska

They took the red eye flight and were flying for 4 hours and 26 minutes to Syracuse, New York. Then had a 12 hr 29 minute flight including 2 layovers in Michigan and Washington before arriving in Anchorage, Alaska.

When they left Florida it was 63 degrees in August. Once they landed in Alaska the temp was 75 degrees.

They went down to baggage claim and she called for a cab to take her to their house.

The twins shared a room, she had her own room and her mom had her own room.

Once they got in the house they all stretched and the twins went exploring, her mom followed them.

She texted Horatio. "Hey H, we're in Alaska and we're at the new house, I will send you some money to send my pots and pans, I miss you, it's about 75 here now, talk soon" she sent the text

Horatio was busy with a crime scene, he waited until he got to PD to check his phone and saw her message and smiled. "I miss you too, that's warmer than here, I hope you are well, call me in a couple of hours" he sent back

It was 4:30 a.m. in New York when they landed. It was 5:30 a.m. when they left New York, it was now 1:30 p.m. in Alaska, the sun was up and shining.

"Mommy do we have to be here?" Kalani asked. "I want daddy"

"Me too" Isabella said

"Well I'm sorry but daddy can't be here with us and yes we do, this is home now" she said.

They sat in the living room on the floor hugging each other

She was on the south side of town and ordered pizza for the kids.

"Perché ordini quella merda? Facciamo ricordare la nostra stanza?" ("Why are you ordering that crap? We make our room remember?")

"Perché siamo appena atterrati e voglio che i bambini mangino prima di portarli al negozio a prendere i piatti, o posso semplicemente andare... non mi interessa mamma" ("Because we just landed and I want the kids to eat before we take them out to the store to get dishes, or I can just go...I don't really care mom") she said

Her mom nodded, she knew her daughter was tired, she barely slept and she was trying to keep a calm level head

Kailani's phone went off from a text not from Horatio but from Eric. "Come home, I miss you and the kids, we can start over, we can work it out...please I can't do this without you or them"

"No" she said simply. "You should've thought about that before you destroyed our marriage, good luck to you"

The food arrived and they ate, both women thought the pizza was hideous.

"Do you two wanna go with mama? Or do you wanna stay here with Nonna?"

"Is Nonna going too?" Bella asked.

"Nonna?" Kailani asked.

"Si" she said

Kailani called for a cab and told them they needed two car seats and it was for two adults

Twenty minutes later there was a cab at her house, she told them where ever to go shopping was good.

The cab took them to Fred Meyer's.

They got out and went into Fred Meyer's and looked around, first stop was toys so the kids had something to keep them busy while shopping.

Kailani got stuff for the kids, new pots and pans until hers were shipped, clothes, groceries and various other things, she went to pay and called for a cab to take them home.

She had read about how cold it could get in Alaska and started to get winter clothes and shoes for the kids, she got them 3-4T as the kids were growing fast.

They got home and she put food and dishes away and got down to making it smell like home. She made home made spaghetti and garlic knots for dinner, one of her kids favorite meals, with homemade spaghetti sauce.

The twins were playing in the living with their toys from Florida with their new toys

Her phone rang and it was Eric again, her phone was silenced so the kids didn't hear the ringtone letting them know it was their dad. He left her a ton of messages and a ton of texts

She texted Horatio. "Can you tell Eric to stop calling and texting me, I'm not going to tell him where I'm at and I'm NOT coming home" she told him.

"Will do" he said. "Eric"

"Hey H, she won't return my calls or texts, I want her to come home"

"She won't Eric...she is very hurt by you, what you did to her showed her she couldn't trust you"

"But I miss her, I miss the twins"

"She warned you this would happen and you didn't listen"

"Where is she H? I have to get her and the kids"

"I can't tell you that, there are only two places that I know where she could be" he said

"I'm sorry Eric I cannot tell you where she is at, she doesn't want you around"

Ryan and Calleigh were watching Eric slowly go crazy. Neither of them knew where she was and even if they had known they wouldn't be able to tell him, not even Alexx knew where she was

Calleigh left the lab and went down to the ME's office.

"Hey Calleigh wait up" Eric said jogging to the elevator

Horatio walked off, he knew this was going to be hard on Eric, he knew it was hard on everyone, Kailani was a valuable part of the team, she was missed dearly.

Six years have passed since they left Florida and Kailani couldn't be happier.

She took her test for Captain and passed, worked at the CSI for a year as a captain then retired and went to work in the restaurant business with her mom.

Her mom suffered a heart attack at the restaurant on a day she was coming in late because Kailani had to drop the kids off at school.

Kailani got there just in time to see the ambulance drive away, she was upset because no one called her. "How much food do we have started?" she asked.

"Enough for lunch" one of the kitchen staff said.

"We will open for lunch and close down after that, DO NOT prep for dinner" she said

They nodded and got ready for lunch service.

She typed up a note apologizing for not staying open for the day and they would be closed for the next couple of days

A lot of people asked about the sign and she told them her mom was in the hospital and she didn't know why, but knew it was important.

When lunch service ended at three everything was closed down and the staff were paid for the next two days off and the time they would have been working including the night shift. She rushed to the hospital.

The nurses told her what had happened to her mom and they told her to prepare for the worst, there is a chance her mom wouldn't survive the night.

She called Horatio.

"Kai...Kai what's wrong?" he asked

"Mamma è in ospedale, mi hanno detto di aspettarmi il peggio...non posso perderla Horatio...non posso..." ("Mom's in the hospital, they told me to expect the worst...I can't lose her Horatio...I can't...")

"Which hospital are you at?" he asked knowing he would have to book a flight

"Alaska Regional, I have to get the kids soon" she said.

"I'll leave Calleigh in charge while I'm gone, I'm booking a flight right now, I will be there as soon as I can" he told her.

"Thanks H..." she said calling the school telling them she was on her way to come get them

The twins were in the office sitting working on their homework, well Isabella was

Kailani had pulled herself together leaving the hospital to get to the school

"Mama's going to be mad if you don't work on your homework" she said.

He shrugged he knew something was wrong. "I'll do it later"

When she arrived at the school she saw them and smiled. "Ready?"

"What's wrong with Nonna?" he asked.

Right as he asked her phone rang it was the hospital

"Ms. Brown this is Dr. Anderson, I'm sorry to inform you your mother has just passed away, I'm so very sorry"

"O-okay...thank you" she said. "You two sit down, I have to talk to the principal" she told her what was going on and that the kids would be out for the week then texted Horatio and told him to come to her address

"Will do" he said going home to pack. "Ryan will you pick me up in ten minutes and take me to the airport?"

"Sure H where are you going?" he asked

"I can't tell you" he told him. "Calleigh's in charge while I'm gone"

"Sure H, keep us posted"

"Come on you two, we'll come back tomorrow to get your homework for the week" she said.

"Mama, tell us what's going on" Kalani said

"Not yet, soon" she said

They nodded and followed her out to the car

She could barely keep it together and went to the hospital, then asked to see her mom

They went down to the morgue.

"What is this place mama" Isabella asked.

"Babies as I was coming to get you, your Nonna died, she suffered a heart attack..." she said

Kalani lost it and started bawling.

Isabella felt numb. "First daddy, now Nonna" she said

"How do you know about him? You haven't been in contact with him have you Bella? Does he know where we are?!" she fired questions at her

"I've been calling him, he doesn't know we are up here...I have a right to know him! He misses us!" she said

She was so angry at her daughter. "You're not allowed to use the phone anymore...you're grounded Isabella Marisol Delko" she said

"I hate you!!" she said stomping her foot

"Whatever" Kailani said not wanting to arguing and saw her mom.

"Nonna, we'll miss you" Kalani said kissing her cheek

"Bye Nonna, love you" Isabella said

"Addio mamma, eri la mia roccia, la mia migliore amica... eri sempre lì per me quando avevo bisogno di te e ora non so come andare avanti senza di te... eri lì quando papà è morto... cosa faccio adesso? resto? torno a New York? alle Hawaii? in Florida? tutti quei posti hanno dei ricordi per me... come faccio a rimettermi in sesto per i bambini? non so come vivere senza di te...a chi mi rivolgo adesso? Ti amo mamma, per sempre e per sempre" ("Goodbye mama, you were my rock, my best friend...you were always there for me when I needed you and now I don't know how to go on without you...you were there when daddy died...what do I do now? Do I stay? Do I go back to New York? Hawaii? Florida? All those places have memories to me...how do I pull myself together for the kids? I don't know how to live without you...who do I turn to now? I love you mama, for always and forever") she said placing a kiss on her forehead.

Both kids listened to her, they had no idea she had no dad.

"We'll have a service here soon, we'll take her to New York to bury her there, that's where she wanted to be buried...next to her parents" she said

They nodded and she took the kids home

Kailani would have to call her mom's lawyer in the morning, once they got home she made up a sign saying there was a death in the family and they would be open in a week. She needed time to process and to fly, Horatio would pretty much have a turn around flight.

Once they got in the house they went to her mom's room and they laid on the bed and just cried

Around one a.m. there was a knock on the door.

"Oy mamma, sei così smemorata..." ("Oh mama, you're so forgetful") she said as she answered.

"Mi dispiace deluderti, ma non sono la mamma" ("Sorry to disappoint you, but I'm not mom") Horatio said

She hugged him. "Oh H..." she said starting a fresh set of tears again

He gently pushed her inside and closed the door behind him locking it. "I'm here...shhh shhh" he said picking her up and carrying her to the couch, he held her as she cried

She cried herself to sleep in his arms

Horatio fell asleep on the couch holding her

She got up around seven in the morning and got ready for her day as Horatio slept on the couch

The twins got up and came downstairs to see him and went into the kitchen.

"Mama, who's that?" Isabella asked.

"That's Hortatio, he's mama's best friend" she told them. "Pancakes?" she asked

"And bacon?" Kalani asked

"Of course and orange juice too" she told them

They ate and got ready to go

Horatio got up and sat up then stretched.

She came in the living room with some coffee for him. "Good Morning" she said

He took the coffee and smiled at her. "Good morning, I was remembering last night as I slept that mama would tell me about Italy, since she died here she'll be buried here...it's not okay to move her"

"Then we'll do a ceremony here" he told her

"Thank you for coming here"

"You're welcome, I know this is important to you" he said

"Breakfast?"

"Please, this coffee is amazing"

"Thank you, it was mama's secret" she said

He smiled at her. "You are amazing"

She blushed. "Thank you, I think I had mama came visit me last night in my sleep, I feel more at peace"

"Maybe she did...you two were close, she was always your rock..Kai, I hope one day you do find the right man for you, you deserve to be happy"

"Perhaps one day you and I...." she said looking away. "Forget it, never mind" she said

"Are you sure? What about the twins?"

"I don't know, it was just a thought H...I don't want to rush anything, I know we're in the same boat, both of our parents are gone...I don't want you to leave Florida but I love it here, it reminds me of winters in New York...I don't want to keep moving the kids...but if we go back with you...there are a bunch of bad memories there..."

"I'm here for the funeral, you have plenty of time to debate this...shortly after you left I got married, I lost my wife after that" he said

"Who did you marry?" she asked.

"Marisol" he said

"What?! H and you didn't think to tell me this?!" she asked

"Eric told me not too...he knew you would react like this"

"I really liked her...you should take the time to grieve H...mama's always liked you" she said

"Well if you decide to back to Florida you can raise the kids you don't have to work...since we haven't really talked did you ever make captain?"

"I did, I retired shortly after I got the promotion"

"Good for you"

"Then I built a life and a business here, but...I wonder if being here is going to be good for me and if I leave mama might be lonely..."

"You have to time to figure this out" he told her

She got the funeral arranged and sat there thinking. 'Mama can I leave you here? Will you be okay here and not in New York or Florida? Is it okay to be with Horatio?'

The day of the funeral everyone that worked with them came and she had her answer she wanted, the answer was yes she would be okay there and Kailani could be with Horatio, he was far more patient with her than Eric ever was, she would wait until the funeral was over to tell Horatio her decision

After the funeral they went back to the restaurant. All of her staff showed up for a meeting. They usually liked the meetings, but this one was going to be very different.

One of the cooks had a bad feeling and sighed. "Hey Kai, this is where you're telling us you're closing the doors right?" he asked.

"Yeah, I am, but not until the building sells. And I will write you all a letter of recommendation if you want one. I loved working with you all and mama loved you guys very much and would have been so happy you came today to wish her well in the afterlife"

"You're not kicking us to the curb tomorrow?" a mousy girl asked.

"No Lena, no one is being fired as of right now. You've all been so good and loyal, I will give you a chance to find another job, and let you go gracefully instead of forcefully. I'm going to put the building up for sale tomorrow. It could be quick or it could be a while, let's make it fun and joyful while we can" she said.

They nodded

"Your mom was so sweet and amazing, and you are a great cook too. Everyone loves your pizzas" the head chef Jose said.

"Thanks Jose. You guys are amazing and great people. I hope you all follow your hearts. And don't worry about me or the kids, we'll be okay" she promised.

"Where will you go Kai?" April asked.

"I'm going to go back to Florida with Horatio. Not today, but very soon, I'll start sending things down to his place in Florida"

They giggled and were very excited for her.

Horatio smiled. He had a feeling this was going to happen. She would have to tell Eric he could see his kids, and they would have to get used to him again. They hadn't seen him since they were two. Both he and Kailani had liked each other since they were kids. But he knew that she had to go through all the wrong guys before she finally realized he was the one, her diamond in the rough.

She wasn't going to move them until after school was out.

They would be starting the 4th grade in Florida

She dismissed the meeting and got together with a realtor to prepare for selling the business and her home. She loved it in Alaska. So far it was her favorite place to be, but she knew she had to go back and face her demons.

"What do you want to do?" Horatio asked her

"Well I need to face my demons, and deal with Eric. So I will sell this place and my house and move back to Florida with you. And eventually when it all becomes to much we'll move one final time and we'll settle down together with the kids"

"Kai, Kai I like that plan very much"

She smiled and put her arms around him. "You know me best of all, you know all of me" she said softly

He held her and smiled. "Yes, yes I do..I've always liked you, I knew it was only a matter of time before you came to me" he said kissing her softly

She kissed him back.

The kids sighed and fidgeted letting her know they were bored and ready to go home.

"Alright guys, let's go" she said. She went through the restaurant and made sure everything was off before locking up

They went back to the house it was Horatio's last night there.

She would be up early with him and get the kids up and ready to take him to the airport.

That night she didn't have to make dinner as there were plenty of leftovers. People had left their names with their dishes, so she could wash them and return them to their owners

Once she got the kids fed, bathed and into bed, she and Horatio crawled into bed, lying side by side. It was 9 p.m. They had to be up at 3:30 and out of the door at 4:30, his flight was at 6:30 a.m.

Kailani laid her head on his chest and he wrapped his arm around her. "I wish you didn't have to go H...I'll miss you"

"I'll miss you too, but I'm proud of you for going back and facing your demons, and letting the kids know Eric again"

"Yeah, that's going to be something else" she said. "He's going to want hugs and they were only two when we left; I'm not ever sure they'll really remember him"

"Do you want me to tell him?"

Of course, since she was coming back to Miami, she would have to tell Eric he would see his kids, and they would have to get used to him again. They hadn't seen him since they were two. She decided she wasn't going to move them until after school was out, to make the move easier for them.

"No...no please don't, I don't want my phone blowing up again with him calling and texting me about it, I will deal with it when we get there...let's rest now, because we don't have much longer until you leave" she said

He nodded and closed his eyes

She fell asleep quickly holding him. It felt right...safe

Before long the alarm went off and Horatio got up and took a shower.

Kailani had the coffee ready for him when he got out of the shower and a bagel that she had in the fridge. While he was dressing and having his coffee and snack she went and got the kids up.

She had her coffee in her cup and Horatio had his bag sitting by the door ready to go.

He helped her get the kids in the car and she locked up the house making sure he had everything

She put up the garage door and started the car, backed out and closed the door. It was 4:20 a.m.

He didn't say much. It was a warm day in May, the day he left it had finally started to get warmer. Horatio noticed Kailani was really quiet "Are you alright?" he asked

"Yeah, I'm alright" she said pulling into the airport. It was now 4:40 a.m. She pulled up to the doors and turned off the car making sure she had the keys with her and helped him get his bags.

He tipped her chin up. "School is almost out up here and soon you'll be down in Florida again with me. You'll see Calleigh, Ryan, Natalia, and Alexx and Eric of course, but I'll be there to welcome you with open arms, I love you..I will see you soon Kailani" he said giving her a soft kiss. "See you soon"

She nodded and kissed him back. "Call me as soon as you land, who's picking you up?"

"Calleigh, she's coming to get me"

"Give her a hug H, I love you see you soon" she said and got back into the car and drove home, she pulled into the garage and turned off the car before closing the door and she let a few tears out, she didn't have time to grieve the way she wanted to so it had to be here and there

"Mama?" Bella asked.

"Yes baby?" she asked quickly wiping her tears away

"Why are we in the car?"

"Oh, we took Horatio to the airport. And I need to talk to you guys about something important"

"Okay mama"

She helped them out of the car and into the house

The twins had breakfast and Kalani waited until they were done

"What's up mama?" Kalani asked.

"You guys are almost 9 now and you were born in Florida, Nonna was there when you were born. Now we have a chance to go back to Florida. And your birth father is down there" she said to them.

"You want us to go back to Florida?" they asked

"Yes, we'll be around Horatio and you'll be around your birth dad"

"Do you have a picture of him?" Bella asked

She showed them one of him from when they were born. It was her favorite picture. "His name is Eric Delko, that's where you got your last name"

"We can get to know him?" Kalani asked

"Of course you can. We'll go from here to Seattle, to probably Chicago or Georgia before going to Florida, so are you guys are okay with moving...I'm going to sell the business and the house, and you'll be starting school in Florida"

"Of course, let's do it" Bella said

"Yeah!! Let's go!!" Kalani said

A few hours later Horatio landed in Miami and got off the plane. He saw Calleigh.

"Horatio!!" she said going up to him. "How's Kai?"

"She's upset and heartbroken. Her mom died but she's coming home, Calleigh. Don't tell Eric yet, Kailani wanted to do that"

"You got it Horatio" she said and filled him in on everything that was going on