That sounds amazing. And it also seems to partly explain why he's so mature/eager to advance/able to advance - if his only social contact is with adults while he's still a boy. Especially given he's so brilliant. And parallel universes is a good way to describe it. You can see the influence of Archie's existence and Bush's different position with regards to Horatio even when the movies and books seem to align better after Archie's death (I'm guessing that they do, really. Maybe I'm just making stuff up). But thank God book-Horatio had Bush.

Maria's influence stems from a few places. Horatio's utter loneliness, his emotional/social incompetency (especially where women are concerned, oh man), and social pressure. I don't want to say too much before you watch it. But that was my feeling. I think the show deliberately plays up certain aspects of the dynamic and teaching doesn't work into that very well. And Horatio struggles outside the structures of the Navy.