Chapter Eight

Horatio laughed and smiled as he opened presents with his family on Christmas Day. He watched his grandson roll himself up in wrapping paper recently ripped from a large present and hop over to him.

"Pa-pa!" Oliver said beneath it. Horatio chuckled and pulled the paper away. "Sapise!" Oliver exclaimed, jumping up and down.

"Wow!" Horatio signed to him, "What an amazing gift!"

Oliver laughed and crawled into the armchair with Horatio. He leaned up and kissed his grandfather's cheek and snuggled into him.

"Got another present for you, Dad," Ryan said, holding out a small box wrapped in gold paper.

Horatio accepted it and had Oliver help him open it. Inside was a newer model of his phone that had been destroyed in the accident. "Finally," he chuckled, "I never realized how lost I was without one of these."

"Jeez, Dad," Jessica chuckled, "You sound like a teenage girl."

"Well excuse me, I had my landline disconnected two years ago when I realized I only used my cell phone. It's been maddening not knowing how everyone's doing for the last week." He carefully opened the box and removed the new phone, turning it on. The screen lit up and it was quickly running. "Damn, now I have to adjust everything and re-enter all my contacts."

"Well at least you'll have something to do while you're on medical leave," Jessica said with a smirk.

"You mean besides sit in your house with you and have your husband help me piss all day?"

Jessica laughed again and gave him a bright smile. "Don't lie, you love hanging out with me all the time."

"Of course I do," Horatio said with a smile. "There's no where I'd rather be."

The phone chimed loudly, alerting Horatio of an incoming text. It sounded like a bell.

"'Teacher says every time a bell rings an angel gets his wings,'" Jessica said, reciting one of their favorite Christmas movies.

"I'll have to change that," Horatio commented.

"Why, you don't like helping angels get their wings?" Jessica playfully inquired.

"I do," Horatio said with a smile, "That sounds just going to get annoying after awhile."

"Who's the message from?" Ryan asked, sitting next to his wife. "I didn't think anyone knew you had a new phone already."

"Maybe it's a mass Christmas text someone sent me out of habit," Horatio said. He tapped the screen a few times and the message opened and he smiled to himself.

'Thanks for the wings! –Jason'

I hoped everyone enjoyed the story. I know there are a few flaws in the storyline, the biggest being the fact that Jessica/Elizabeth technically shouldn't have been born at all if her parents (Brian and Jessica) never married, but I really wanted to have the scene in the cemetery with Horatio crying at Jessica/Elizabeth's grave. That's the one that really stuck out in my mind when I thought of this story.

Hope everyone had a great Holiday Season!

Peace Out! ~Blue