Author's Note: Thanks for dropping by!This story sets about slightly in the midst of season 6... Hopefully it's a change from what I wrote before this; the one I deleted off. :)

Red lights bouncing off the walls, sirens screeching and wailing and chattering surrounded the area. Approximately a yard away from the commotion, men is uniforms were scattered around the perimeters of the crime scene, taking notes from witnesses. Making his way towards the bloody mess, Horatio walked past Eric whom he noticed something odd about him but he assumed that was a normal reaction, given the situation.

Approaching his second-in-command, Horatio surveyed the body in a glimpse and shook his head slightly. The body was placed right at the doorstep of an old, vacant house. It was a horrible and horrid sight. The victim, whom he assumed to be about in his teens, was sitting in an upright sitting position, tied to the chair; at his ankles and waist. Blood had seeped through the cloth of his shirt and slowly dripping drop by drop onto the floor; forming a pool. He also noticed the card on the victim's forehead before Alexx bagged it up. He watched as Alexx and her staffs untie the body and transferred it into the body bag. Horatio noticed the gentleness of the way they handled the body considering that the head was almost decapitated from the body. Besides, rigor was starting to set in.

"Any ID on the victim?" Turning her focus towards her boss, Calleigh put down her camera.

"Not yet. There wasn't anything on the body."

"Who found him?" Calleigh pointed him into Frank's direction. He was questioning a man in a suit. Clearly, with men in construction wear were gathered near the truck, Horatio knew that the man being questioned was some realtor. He knew the house was about to be demolished for a new project since it looked really run down.

Horatio then watched as Calleigh picked her camera back up and start photographing the blood splatter on the walls of the walkway and on the door. This was definitely the primary scene. With his sunglasses in his hands, he tilted his head slightly as he observed the blood splatter and the direction. It was medium velocity splatter. Looking down on the ground, he noticed a drag mark, except, it wasn't towards the body but away. There were neither footprints nor shoeprints.

He walked away from the crime scene and towards Frank who was going through the notes he had written in his pad. He eyed the man in suit in an intimidating manner, causing him to fidget a little. Hand on hip, Horatio pushed his jacket back slightly, checking for his gun and smirked internally. He still got what it took to intimidate someone.

"Frank, what have we got?"

"Mr. Larson here called the cops when one of his workers found the body. He's saying that they found the body an hour ago when they got here." Horatio checked his watch. 9am. It was too early for a dead body. He nodded.

"I want the paperwork on this demolition and project by noon." They needed to know who ordered the demolition and who approved it. The house was definitely owned by someone even though it was vacant for long.

As Horatio turned back towards Calleigh, he noticed Eric standing in the middle of the front porch, watching as Alexx and her team rolled the body away from the crime scene. He noted the pale lips and the mortified look on his face. It was as if blood was drained out of his system and it was as if he had just seen a ghost. Horatio observed his former brother in law. He tilted his head slightly and pressed his lips tight as he mentally took notes of Eric's behavior. He watched the Cuban warily as he did his job.

It had been six months since he was shot in the head and here he was, already back at work. Horatio was worried that he was not mentally and emotionally ready yet for work but since he was given the greenlight from his therapist, he assumed that maybe he was just being overprotective. However, watching his reaction towards the bloody mess, his suspicions grew stronger. Horatio took his position right beside Calleigh while continuing to watch the Cuban. He didn't need Eric to see him watching every of his slightest moves.

Out of nowhere, Frank appeared behind Eric and Horatio noticed the slight jump in his shoulders when Frank tapped on him. He breathed a heavy sigh. He should have noticed this the moment Eric came back to work a month ago. He should have paid more attention on the well-being of his people. His family. He should have been able to tell when his colleagues were acting differently but he didn't until it was too late. He felt like such a failure.

"Is everything okay Horatio?" Startled, Horatio felt his heart race a little.

"Yeah. Could you take it from here? I've got somewhere to be."

"Sure. No problem. I'll update you on the case when you return." Horatio smiled appreciatively as he put on his sunglasses and walked away from the scene.

Horatio walked heavily through the door. He felt the aura of the place hit him the moment he stepped one foot into the clinic. The clean smell of the place triggered his memory of the last time he entered such a place. It was right after the death of Tim Speedle. He remembered the feeling it gave him the other time. It felt as if there were eyes watching and judging him. He never fancied therapists or psychologists. He never liked going to them. To him, it was useless. They were just going to sit there and listen to him ramble. It wasn't like they could do anything anyway yet they were being paid a huge amount of money. He never believed in them. His feelings aside, he walked up to the receptionist who was still on the phone. The moment he stepped forward, she took a few last notes and hung up to assist him.

"Ma'am." Horatio acknowledged the receptionist. "Is Dr. McCarthy in?"

"She's with a patient right now. But if you want to leave a note for her, I can relay it for you."

"It's okay. I'll wait."

As Horatio walked towards the waiting area, he heard the clicking of what he assumed to be the heels of a pair of shoes. Then he heard the receptionist speaking up, calling someone by their first name and then he heard his name. He turned, only to be greeted by a tall, medium built lady in her blouse and skirt with her hair in a bun.

"And here I thought I was going to die with a clean record." She chuckled in her sentence. Horatio noticed the distinctive accent in her words but he couldn't figure which. He caught a glimpse of a smile on her face; the corner of her lips tugged upward into a slight playful smile. He noticed the glint of cheeriness in her eyes. She reached out her hand. "Dr. Caitlyn McCarthy. And you must be Lieutenant Caine?"

Horatio eyed her movements before nodding and reaching out his hand; reciprocating the handshake offer. Caitlyn noticed the seriousness on his face and also his cold eyes. She looked around for other officers but seeing there was none, she understood that he was not there for police business. Breaking the handshake, she noticed the quickness of his hand returning to hold his sunglasses with both hands and fiddling with them. Once in a while however, she saw him gripping his gun holster, checking its presence.

"Sorry about the joke. It gets depressing in here sometimes." She smiled slightly, lightening the mood. "So, I assume you're not here for police business?"

"I'm here about Eric Delko. You released him a month ago." She noticed the hostility and the dead tone in his voice.

"I did, yes. What is this about Lieutenant?"

"Are you sure he's ready for it?"

"Are you questioning my judgment and my ethics?" She narrowed her eyes at him.

"I didn't at first but seeing the way he acted, I'm not convinced with your judgment."

"Are you saying that I am not doing my job properly Lieutenant? Because I do not appreciate you coming into my clinic to slander me." Her accent became a little stronger. He thought it sounded British but he just didn't know the origins of it. Though at the same time, he also thought it sounded New Yorkish. He decided to let it go. It wasn't important.

"I'm just skeptical and suspicious of your judgment and qualifications." Horatio continued eyeing her reaction. He noticed her irises turning into a darker shade of grey instead of a greyish-blue shade.

"Don't. Do not ever question my qualification. In case you haven't noticed, you just walked into one of the best psychological clinic in Miami and we do not welcome people like you who have something against us. And for your information, we have a reputation and we adhere to it. We took an oath." It irked her when someone doubted her capabilities. It annoyed her to her limits when her competency and qualification were questioned. Horatio started to notice her defensiveness.

"I only have something against people who jeopardize my lab and my people." Horatio tilted his head slightly. "And with all due respect Doctor, I am just here to clarify his release. But if your poor judgment affects the credibility of my lab, I will report you to the board."

"So you only care about your lab huh?" She scoffed. Horatio took a deep breath, composing himself.

"Eric Delko is family. I care about him." Horatio paused, still fiddling with his sunglasses. "I suggest… as a therapist, you should take your oath seriously and at least pretend to care."

This time, it was her turn to take a deep breath. Her jaws tightened upon hearing his words. The tips of her ears were reddening.

"A preacher aren't you Lieutenant Caine? You're no different from me really. Not exactly a man of your own words. If you actually cared about him, you wouldn't be here in my clinic right now. You would have been with him, caring and asking him about his well-being. And you, being the person he trusted the most, definitely won't be treating him differently like the rest. So if you want to talk to me about caring for my patients, look in the mirror and ask yourself this 'Do you care enough?'"

Horatio's eyes, instead of focusing and maintaining eye contact with the fiery doctor, they were now focused on his sunglasses in his hands. He furrowed his brows. She was wrong. He cared. Of course he cared. He mentally scoffed. She didn't know him. She didn't know anything about him. Who did she think she was? Judging him just like that? He looked back up at her with words at the tip of his tongue, ready to tell her that she didn't know anything about him and she shouldn't be judging other people baselessly. His mind however, blanked out and failed him when he met her cold, flinty eyes. Maybe she was right. He mentally berated himself and asked the question she had asked him. Did he care enough? What did she mean by him treating Eric differently? Did he really treat him differently? Did he isolate him?

Horatio sighed internally. Maybe he didn't care enough. She was right. Instead of being there, in the clinic, questioning a qualified doctor, he should have been with Eric, talking about it over coffee maybe. As a friend. As a brother. He had once again failed.

Caitlyn noticed the crestfallen look on his face and the disappointment in his electric blue eyes.

"I'm not saying that you don't care about Eric. I know you do but just take some time, sit with him and talk. Ask him about anything. He trusts you and I am sure he will open up to you. I can only give you this much. Don't treat him like he's incapable of doing things. Give him some time to adapt. And you of all people Lieutenant, should give him the support he needs. Don't doubt him."

Horatio sighed softly. He would take her suggestions into consideration but life is taking a toll on him. He and Eric have drifted apart too much for him to just walk up to him and ask how he was doing. Ever since the death of Speed, Raymond and his wife, Marisol, Horatio realized that he just drifted away from everyone in his team. He didn't want to build any attachment with them for fear he would lose them. He knew what the risks of their jobs are. They never knew when their last day on earth would be.

"Lieutenant, unless you have anything else, I have work to do. Just keep in mind what I just said." Still fiddling with his glasses on one hand, his other hand went to his hips to again, check his gun. He nodded and they parted.

Horatio strode into the lab, looking for Calleigh. His thoughts about Eric aside, he needed to catch up with her on the case. With his sunglasses at the tip of his fingers, his eyes focused on them as his feet brought him to the trace lab. As he entered, Calleigh greeted him with a cheery 'hello'. He shook his head, thinking of how one could be cheerful still despite all the awful things they handle with every day.

"Found anything yet?" He asked as he placed his sunglasses on the table. He tilted his head slightly as watched Calleigh photograph the fingerprint then watch as it transferred to the computer.

"I lifted a print off the doorknob. Still running it through the system. Maybe it could lead us somewhere. But we haven't gotten any ID on the victim. Alexx was looking for you though…"

"Alright. I'll be down at the morgue if you need me." Before Calleigh could reply him, he was gone in a split second. She had always wondered how his movements mimicked a cat; quiet and quick.

Horatio arrived at the morgue when Alexx was busy cleaning her tools and he didn't want to disturb her. He waited at the end of the slab while he studied the partially covered body in front of him. He was too young to be lying on the slab. He looked to be around Kyle's age. Horatio shook his head.

"Good lord Horatio! You scared me!" Alexx jumped, holding her palm against her chest. He smiled sheepishly at her remarks.

"You got something for me?"

"The report on his ID just came in. You were right on time. I found dental implants so I pulled his records." Alexx handed him the manila folder.

"Anything on the victim?"

"Unfortunately, no. But I can tell you this, the killer definitely knows what he's doing. The wound was clean and it cut through the carotid artery. Probably used a single-edged knife. And I've sent the card that I found on the body for trace." He smiled appreciatively then headed back up to his office to go through the records.

Not wasting any minute, Horatio opened the folder as he walked to his office. The very first page caught his attention. It was a close-up portrait of the victim. Compared to the body on the slab in the morgue, the picture showed more life. His lips were pinkish and his eyes were full of life and color. He flipped over the page and continued reading.

Marcus Fitzgerald. 17 years old. Before reaching to his office, Horatio made the dreaded phone call to the parents of the victim to inform them the bad news. As shocked as he might be, he wasn't surprised that the parents were busy and out of town but what made him sick to his stomach was that they prioritized their work rather than their son. They notified Horatio that they would fly back once they were done with instead of taking the next flight out. Slamming the folder close, he decided that he would check on Eric, only to see him in the trace lab with the evidence bag in his hand and a notepad in another. Perhaps this was the time to talk to him.

"Eric? You okay there?" Nervous and heart-stricken, he fumbled with the evidence bag and the notepad in his hands, causing each of it to fall on the table and the floor respectively.

"Sorry H." He took a deep, pained breath as his eyes followed his boss's movements to pick the notepad up.

"It's time we have a talk, Eric."

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