"Oof."

Horatio was suddenly and rudely awakened by having all the breath pummelled out of his lungs as something dive-bombed onto him. No, make that someone rather than something. He rubbed his eyes and tried to make the room come into focus, when his eyes refused to work properly he reached out and pulled the clock from the bedside cabinet, lifting it to his face and reading the time. It was six am, and something at the back of his mind told him that it was Sunday. What the hell was he doing awake at this time on a Sunday?

There was a giggle, and Horatio became aware of a sharp poking on his shoulder, turned his head to try to locate the source of the irritation and suddenly lay back down in bed and covered his head with a pillow.

"Gnph." He groaned into the pillow. "Sharon go back to bed, it's too early."

There was one last sharp poke at his shoulder and Horatio felt the mattress shift as Sharon stood up. Bright sunlight poured into the room as she pulled back the blinds.

"You said we'd go to the beach today."

"I meant at a reasonable hour."

Sharon just stood there looking so dejected, her eyes wide, giving him that lost puppy look that she knew he couldn't resist. Eventually Horatio relented.

"Oh, alright then. Go put the coffee machine on, I get the feeling I'm going to need a serious amount of caffeine."

Horatio would be the first to admit he'd forgotten just how much energy teenagers had, but despite being exhausting, he had been surprised how much he enjoyed having the company.

Sharon had been a house guest for over a month now, and they were gradually falling into some sort of routine, if he wasn't already at a crime scene Horatio would drop Sharon off at school on his way into the lab, and when school finished Sharon would take the short bus ride down to the crime lab to wait for Horatio to finish his shift. If the case looked like it would need some serious overtime he always made the time to drop Sharon back at his condo before returning to work. Since Sharon had moved in his overtime had dropped significantly, and he hadn't worked such long shifts that forced him to curl up on the sofa in his office just to catch an hours sleep before the rest of his team would be back into the lab for their next working day. He had even amazed Alexx by leaving before she did on a few occasions.

"Come on Horatio, hurry up. The sun'll have gone down by the time you're ready to go."

The comment came winging its way through from the kitchen, accompanied by a strong, pleasant smell of coffee. He smiled.

"Alright, I'm coming. Calm down." He called back as he opened the wardrobe. Faced with a wall of designer suits, he swept his eyes over the neatly arranged closet in an attempt to locate anything that was a lighter colour than the usual black or charcoal grey that he usually wore. Now where had he put those khakis?

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

It had been a fun day, Horatio had to admit. He couldn't remember the last time he'd enjoyed ice-cream on the beach, even if the wind had peppered the snack with a layer of grit. Sharon had run around and splashed in the warm turquoise blue waters wearing her newly purchased swim-suit, Horatio had flatly refused to buy her a bikini, despite her pleas, a decision at which she had pouted a little, but he wasn't going to be swayed on this one, so she'd ended up with a stylish one-piece. He'd had to bite his tongue to stop himself from starting the sentence 'no daughter of mine…' as a response to Sharon's argument. Then they'd watched a movie, the latest James Bond instalment apparently. Sharon had sat transfixed by the movie, while Horatio had been amused by the sheer bizarreness of the plotline, although he'd enjoyed it nonetheless. Sometimes, he mused, it was just nice to let go of reality for a while.

Now, as the sun gradually hid itself away behind the palms, he leaned on the railing that lined the small balcony outside his home watching as the buildings of Miami were painted in oranges and reds by the dying sun. A mostly empty glass of iced tea sat on a nearby table and his sunglasses, redundant now that the glare of the sun had vanished, held lightly in his hands. Horatio was deep in thought, his eyes unfocused, not really seeing anything of the vista that lay before him. He dropped his head down to look at the sunglasses he held in his hands, twirling them over and over as a series of thoughts ran quickly through his mind. He found himself wondering if this way of life could continue. He'd never really had what many people would deem to be a 'normal' life, and up until this moment it had never really bothered him. But now, having been given a taste at what that existence could be like; he had to admit that he didn't want to give it up. Suddenly he could fully comprehend what the phrase 'ignorance is bliss' really meant.

The official papers had mysteriously appeared in his in-box one day, an envelope addressed to himself, clearly hand-delivered, although he had no idea by whom, and the application forms that were contained within had started his mind racing with thoughts that he'd only ever allowed himself to consider in the deepest depths of his subconscious mind.

Now, he picked up the envelope that he'd been carrying around with him for over a week from the table and pulled out the contents, perusing the information on the top sheet for what must be the hundredth time.

Sharon clomped her way out of the living room, and onto the patio, the sandals on her feet making sharp slapping sounds as she walked. Horatio quickly shoved the papers back into the envelope. She looked at him questioningly, but didn't make any comment about the hastily hidden paperwork.

Sharon took a seat at the table. Horatio turned, his back towards the orange sunset, leaning his elbows back on the railings at the edge of the balcony.

"What's up?"

Sharon sighed a little.

"Nothing really. Just thinking. I still miss them, mom and dad I mean, I know it's crazy to miss them when they put me in that kind of situation, but I don't know, I still think about them a lot."

Horatio pondered the statement for a moment before pushing himself away from the railings and sat down in the chair opposite Sharon at the table.

"I don't think it's crazy at all. They were your parents, you loved them. It's normal for you to miss them, no matter what situation you were in. You shouldn't feel ashamed for feelings which come naturally." He shrugged his shoulders.

It was amazing, Sharon thought, that one brief comment spoken in Horatio's straightforward manner could make her feel so much better.

No, Horatio thought, now is not the best time to broach the subject. He glanced quickly at the envelope that lay on the table.

Horatio pushed the chair back and stood up.

"Ok then kiddo, how about I get us something to eat?" As Horatio walked in through the open slide door into the air-conditioned condo he grinned slightly to himself remembering his first foray into the kitchen soon after his young house-guest had moved in. He had pulled open all the cupboards in an attempt to find anything that could be served together and would make an edible meal, and had failed miserably. Fifteen minutes later he was paying the delivery guy as he took possession of bags of takeout for the second night running. He had been more than a little red-faced as he'd laid the meal out on the table and had shrugged his shoulders in response to Sharon's quizzical glance.

"I guess we'd better go do some grocery shopping tomorrow."

"Y'reckon? Not that I don't love Chinese food Horatio, but I don't think I could live on the stuff."

They'd laughed, and Sharon had continued to tease him for the rest of the evening about his possible cooking phobia.

It wasn't even as if he was a bad cook, actually he was pretty good, even if he did say it himself. The problem was that with his previous schedule he simply hadn't spent much time at home. Breakfast was usually just a mug of coffee grabbed from the break room before his shift had started. Lunch, if he got time for it, was anything he could eat quickly and with one hand while he was driving to, or from, a scene, and dinner? Well to be honest Horatio couldn't actually remember the last time he'd left the office in time to make himself dinner.

Now he moved like an expert in the kitchen pulling pans out and grabbing ingredients from various cupboards, and there was an appealing smell emanating from the pan on the stove by the time he heard a shuffling sound behind him. Turning, he saw Sharon standing in the entrance to the kitchen.

"Seriously Horatio?" She asked.

He was puzzled at first, wondering what she was talking about, but then his eyes moved to her hand which held the envelope that he must've left outside on the table. Damn it he thought, he could kick himself for being so careless. Sharon obviously hadn't been able to contain her curiosity and had taken a peek at what was inside. He didn't blame her for being inquisitive, after all, he was a CSI he was basically paid to be nosey, to say anything would be a little hypocritical he thought.

"I…you…I…?" Sharon uttered, unable to string a coherent sentence together. Horatio interrupted in an attempt to rescue her from the one-syllable wilderness she'd stumbled into.

"Listen, it's just something I was looking into, Ok? It's totally up to you, completely your choice. I guess I shouldn't even have…"

Sharon interrupted him.

"I didn't think you'd want… It's up to me? You're kidding, you're thinking of adopting me and you think I'm likely to say no? Horatio you're crazy. It'd be a dream come true."

If it was possible to sob and giggle at the same time that was the sound that Sharon made as Horatio took a step towards her and wrapped his arms around her.

"Um, Horatio?" Sharon pulled back a little and scrunched her nose up.

"Yep?"

"I think something's burning."

When he'd managed to fan most of the pungent smoke out of the window, and salvage most of the meal he served up a slightly more chargrilled than planned offering. He watched Sharon as they ate, a grin plastered on his face. Looking up and catching him watching, and she smiled in return.

"Y'know, I always kinda thought of you as an uncle anyway, I guess now I just get to call you dad."

"'Horatio' will do just fine." Although he wondered how many times she'd have to meet Eric, Ryan or Calleigh before she started calling him 'H'.

Sitting back, he let out a contented sigh, family, he thought, yeah family was what it was all about.

I did warn you there was a lot of warm fuzzies in this chapter!

Well that about wraps this fanfic up. I really hope you've enjoyed reading it as much as I've enjoyed writing it.

A huge thank-you to my reviewers (who have given me a lot of confidence with my first fanfic) and to anyone that's been lurking anonymously and reading this. I've already started on another fic, so I'll definitely be back soon!

All that's left for me to say is a big Merry Christmas to you all. So Happy Holidays everyone and take care. (This greeting may not make sense to anyone who finds this fic around about April time-ish – but oh well)

To HoratioMarisol, who this was written for, I hope you enjoyed this too, I hope you have an awesome Christmas hon, and a brilliant New Year!