Title: Paying it Forward
Author: Bj Jones
Rating: FRM
Summary: Rick wants answers. Speed’s got them.
Author’sNote: Someone challenged me to make them like Stetler …. challenge accepted. Each story is told from a different characters POV
Pairing: Speed/Horatio/Stetler
Series: A Second Can Change the World, Revelations, Paying Forward, Vacations Over, Decisions, Consequences, Past Returns, Investigations, It’s Personal, Past Leads to Present, First Kill, The End of the Beginning
***
I wasn’t surprised when Stetler hunted me down. I was surprised that it had taken him as long as it did. He stood at the door of my lab and stared at me for a few moments. I wasn’t sure if he was trying to figure out why I did what I did, or why haven’t I snapped and gone on a killing rampage. Sometimes I wondered about that myself.
“Is there something you want?” I snapped. He was starting to annoy me.
“I have questions…”
“And you think I have the answers?” Horatio was looking down onto the scene from his office. I signaled him letting him know everything was okay.
“For these you do.” Stetler glanced upwards then back down to me. “Obviously here is not a good idea….”
“Nah, really.” I rolled my eyes. “Meet me at Secrets and Lies on 10th, tonight at nine.”
He just nodded and left me alone in my lab. It wasn’t soon after that Horatio showed up. Those blue eyes just bored into mine, searching for answers without asking one question. We’ve been together for so long that we don’t need to words to communicate. There are times I still feel vulnerable when those eyes rake over me, taking in everything and evaluating the situation.
“Be careful,” is all he said before turning to leave, pausing he looked back over his shoulder, “You know what to do if it all goes to hell.”
“Yes.” I answer simply.
We had plans and contingencies for everything and anything. Some would call us paranoid. I call it preservation skills. You don’t do what we do and not have an escape plan, it would be stupid and foolish. And Horatio Caine is not a foolish man, nor is he stupid.
***
He was already at the bar by the time I arrived. Horatio had needed to remind me who I belonged to, fucking me up against the couch before I left. He had taken me hard and deep knowing that as I flew down the streets on my Ducati I would feel the delicious burn of his possession. I truly didn’t need to be reminded, he was my life and without him I was nothing. But being thoroughly taken by him was intoxicating; he gets so lost. It’s a rare moment when he lets goes and it’s a beautiful sight.
I shake the thoughts out of my head before taking a seat next to Stetler. Signaling the bartender he put down a cold beer in front of me. “Have you been here long?”
He downed the last of his beer, and signaled the same bartender, “long enough for this to be my third.”
“Hope you aren’t driving,” I eyed him trying to see how drunk he was.
“Took a cab, didn’t want my car seen,” he gestured around the dive.
“Good thinking.” I grabbed my beer and stood up. “There’s a room in the back that’s safe for us to talk.”
He paused and looked at me. I could see he was debating if it was safe, or would I take the opportunity and finish what Horatio didn’t. I waited; he had to make that final decision. Stetler grabbed his beer and got out of his seat, following me to the back room.
“Are you sure it’s secure?” He asked sitting down.
“Very,” I got comfortable on one of the leather couches. “The owner of the bar is a good friend.”
His eyebrow rose, I could see the pieces starting to come together; “You did a job for him.”
“Yes.” There was no reason to lie or make anything up. “You might remember the case. His daughter was raped and strangled; the suspect was Senator Helms’ son.”
“Oh yes,” Rick frowned. “Judge threw out the DNA because it was ‘collected’ wrong.”
“Judge Ratner was old friends with Senator Helms.” I tried not to growl but just hearing his name sets me off. I’m just waiting for the day he pisses off the wrong person and H gets the call.
“They found his car in the Everglades…” he paused and looked at me. “It’s hard to visualize. I mean Caine is such a goodie tooshoe of a cop, always fighting for the victim…” I just watched him as I sipped my beer. “But I guess that’s the point. He still fighting for the victim, just not the goodie tooshoe I thought he was.”
“There’s a lot to Horatio Caine that no one sees. That no one wants to see. They make up their minds about him and leave it at that.” I set my bottle down, my tone turned serious. “They do the same thing to me, and also to you. Tell me one person who has looked beyond the IAB asshole determined to take down Caine and his team.”
Rick sat back in his chair contemplating, “No one. I would hazard to guess the only person in the lab that looked beyond the scruffy cynical asshole would be Dr. Woods.”
“Nothing gets by that woman,” I shook my head. “And I mean nothing. That woman’s got some sort of radar on her, the moment my mood sours she’s there or calling Horatio. It’s very scary.”
“Does she know?” he asked.
My eyebrow rose, as I narrowed my eyes at him. “Let me give you one warning. Horatio is the go to guy in this set up. I give him the tools and info he needs, he does the job. But if you try and fuck with Alexx, they won’t find enough of you to be able to run a DNA test.”
“So it seems Horatio isn’t the only killer…”
I had him up and out of his chair, and slammed against the wall, before he knew what hit him. “Do you think this is a joke?” I growled. “Don’t think for a second that we wouldn’t hesitate to remove you from the equation.”
“Why didn’t you?” Stetler pushed back. “It would have been easy for you to have just finished the job that night but you didn’t. Why?”
“We don’t like to be manipulated, and that’s what they did.” I calmly returned to the couch and grabbed my beer before sitting down. “You obviously pissed someone off. They wanted you out of the way. Once I figured out that the cops being investigated were filthy I knew they used the rivalry between the two of you to their advantage.”
“So you left me alive, despite the fact I could began an investigation on you. Hell Caine even encouraged I dig into your pasts.” Rick sighed running a hand through his hair.
I shrugged. “He sees something in you. Me, personally I’m not so sure you’re proving yourself worthy of that second chance.”
Rick snapped, snarling slightly. “What the fuck do you want from me?”
“The truth.”
He pushed off the wall and began to pace. “Fine. You want the truth? My whole world view has been royally fucking screwed. One day it was easy, simple, Horatio Caine was a menace. Always stepping over the rules, not playing well with others. Not caring about rules and regulations as long as he gets the justice for the victims; who the fuck cared about anything else. My focus, my life, my goal for years was to bring the bastard down. To prove that it was all an act, that he just bucked the rules ‘cause he could and he was really nothing but a fucking fraud. And what do I find out…” He stopped and stared at me. “That everything I knew. Everything I was so sure about was wrong. That all of it, the stance, the glasses, the fight for justice – speaking for those who can’t. It’s all real. Every last bit of it. He is Miami’s Avenging Angel.” He slumped back into his chair. “That night, I figured I was good as dead. That he was finally getting the one up on me, and then he left me there. Leaving me with my thoughts. And suddenly the man I was … wasn’t someone I liked.”
“And now?” I ask quietly.
He looked over at me, a man on the brink of change. I knew the look, at one point I had been there myself. So many years ago, gun in hand ready to end it all, Horatio just stood there hand held out, asking for a chance to make it better.
“For so long I focused my life on him, that I’m not sure what to do now,” he said defeated.
Downing the last of my beer I stood up and walked over to him. “It’s simple really.” I held out my hand. “It’s time for you to learn who Rick Stetler really is.”
Rick looked up into my eyes searching. I kept myself open and relaxed; this was not a time for any secrets or lies. “Why aren’t you a psycho serial killer? Considering your history… hell most wouldn’t blame you if you snapped.”
I laughed lightly, “You know the reason.”
“Horatio.” He looked down at his lap then back up at me, reaching up he took my hand.
“He saved me. He taught me to that focusing on revenge and hate wasn’t a life worth living.” I pulled him out of the chair and towards the door. “He showed me love and compassion. He helped me find out who Timothy Speedle was.”
“And who is he?” He asked as we walked out through the bar and towards the parking lot.
“A cynical, smartass, who’s a tad scruffy, and rides a Ducati,” I answered as we stepped outside. “I’m also a CSI who works to find evidence to put away criminals, and when that doesn’t work….” I shrugged slightly as I mounted my bike parked at the front of the bar.
“You’re right, it’s time I find out who Rick Stetler is.” He looked out over the parking lot towards the beach, taking a deep breath. “Maybe take some time off, contemplate the meaning of life and all that crap.”
I laughed, “When you’re not being an ass you’re not too bad.” He turned back towards me and smiled. I was a bit taken back by it, I had never seen a true smile on his face and it was quite breathtaking.
“Thanks,” Rick looked down and back up a slight blush on his face. “For saving me.”
I start up my bike and revved it a bit before answering. “Paying it forward.”
With that, I kicked my stand back and sped out of the parking lot, leaving him behind. As I made my way home, I couldn’t help but wonder what had happened. It wasn’t quite what I was expecting, but somehow I know it was what needed to happen. Horatio had always stated that a mere second could change a person’s life. Well it seems a few hours can change the course of a lifetime.