Vincent's eyes scanned Horatio carefully as the man went about his day. Vincent watched his body language,payed attention to his attitude towards his team,watched his expressions,and listened to his voice.

Vincent could often be found scanning him,trying to decide if he was worth trusting. Vincent saw kindness in his eyes,but he also saw a lost world in them. One that he could tell Horatio never spoke of. Horatio,to Vincent,was a good man with sad eyes. The redhead almost seemed like a grounded angel.

Horatio often felt that way,too. But he never spoke a word of his feelings. The team could never tell how he was feeling,or what he was hiding. But Vincent wasn't blind like them.

He saw the smile Horatio wore at work was nothing more than a mask. The truth was that the man was lonely. The ring on his finger was bent slightly,and cracked. Such signs showed no care for the ring.

The man was married once,he could tell. He could also tell that he wore the ring with the faintest hopes that his love would come back.

Vincent had,in the years of living alone in the fields and forests learned from a distance what to search for in a person.

That fake smile wouldn't do. Vincent wanted to make the man smile for real. He didn't want to see a mask every time he looked at him.

MDPD had decided to keep Vincent in custody until his parents showed up.

It was weeks before Vincent's mother showed up. She had been in no hurry to get to Miami. Over those several weeks,Vincent had been living with Alexx so he could receive medical attention when necessary.

Horatio greeted Melissa at the door.

''You want to tell me why I got called back here?''she demanded.

Horatio sighed. ''I called you so you could come get your son.'' Melissa's head turned towards the child sitting quietly in the back of the lobby.

''You called me to come get that thing?'' Horatio wouldn't lie if someone asked him. Her words stung.

''That boy is nothing to me.''

''If you didn't want him,then why didn't you put him in foster care?''Horatio asked curiously.

Melissa stiffened and as if with pride,she spat,''because that would have given him hope. He does not deserve the air he breathes. I'd rather see his lungs ripped from his chest before I would even think about taking him home.''

Horatio was stiff now,as was everyone else in the lobby,as the woman stormed out.

But while the others wore expressions of shock,Horatio wore a pained expression. Her words were hash and were spoken without fear or resentment. She meant every word she'd spoken.

Melissa Valentine reminded Horatio of his father.

Vincent had heard his mother's words. They had bothered him,too. Not to the extent that they bothered Horatio,but enough that they put him in tears.

Vincent felt his eyes water heavily as he began to cry.

Horatio was wrenched from his thoughts at the sound of crying. He turned and saw Vincent,the child's head buried in his hands.

Horatio gasped silently. He hated seeing children shed tears. Quietly he neared the child. Pulling him into his arms allowed Vincent to weep silently,his tears soaking Horatio's shoulder.

The redhead pulled him closer,knowing full well that the boy did not deserve the treatment he'd received from his mother.

To Vincent,Horatio's arms felt like a warm blanket that he didn't want to crawl out from under.

Horatio guided the child to his office,where the boy curled up on the couch. Horatio sighed as he sat down at his desk to begin filling out paperwork,leaning on one hand the entire time.

Vincent sighed. Having nothing more to do,since his mother had rejected him in front of practically the entire department,he began staring at Horatio again. His mind wandered,as did his sight to the surgical scar near his right eye.

The scar not only caught his attention,but it forced him to look at the right eye itself. Vincent slowly sat up as realization hit him. Horatio's right eye was not blue.

Instead it took a dull mechanical gray appearance. As the redhead's eyes darted across the various papers across his desk,the child saw what looked like a few small gears turn and spin. Vincent thought for a minute,then decided to get up from the couch.

''Where are you going?''

''Bathroom,''he answered quickly as he left the office.

In the restroom,Vincent stared at his reflection in the mirror. When he was born,both of his were black. He faintly remembered the day in the hospital when he had been told someone had given up half of their eyesight for him.

Now,after the surgery,he stared at the blue eye that had been implanted.

He suddenly found it hard to believe that someone would seriously give up part of their eyesight just for him.

Burying his face in his hands out of confusion and misunderstanding,he peeked through his fingers at the mirror as another tear slipped from his blue eye.

Please review!

Anyone wanna guess who gave up half of their eyesight? (Even though I made it pretty damn obvious?)