DISCLAIMER: I don't own any of the CSI: Miami team, but I do happen to own a few characters in here. The ones you don't recognize? Yeah, mine. I have a computer, CSIM DVDs, and ADD: oh the thrills I will have ruining the lives of our favorite characters.


"She had two babies, one was six and one was three, in the form of forty-four." -Paula Cole, "I Don't Wanna Wait"

Calleigh Jones buckled her three year old daughter into her car seat as her six year old son buckled in himself. "Hurry up, Harvey," she instructed. "We have to get goin'. " Pushing a long strand of blonde hair out of her face, she went over her mental check list. The lights were off in the house, but the TV had been left on for her husband Ben. The bags for the three of them had been packed into the back of her car and the radio's digital clock now read 2253. 'Seven minutes ahead of schedule,' she thought. A deep breath, and she turned the key, causing the car to roar to life. Digging into her purse, she pulled out he secondhand cell phone and dialed the number of a long-distance friend.

A groggy voice answered. "Hmm?"

"Oh, I woke you up," Calleigh stated with a thick southern accent. "I'm sorry."

"Yeah, but it's fine. Are you and the kids on your way?"

She sighed and looked in her rear view mirror, and smiled at what she saw. The move from her bed to her car seat had not awakened her daughter, and her son was losing energy rather quickly. "Yeah, we are. Harvey's falling back asleep, but Jordan is knocked out. But they can't wait to play with Aunt Nattie."

"Aww, good. Cos I can't wait to spoil the crap out of them." By just the sound of her sleepy voice, it could be told that Natalia Boa Vista was smiling. Calleigh backed out of the driveway. "I haven't told anyone you're coming."

"I appreciate that," Calleigh replied. "It's better that way, I think." There was more traffic in her Louisiana neighborhood that expected for being almost midnight, and Calleigh was made only slightly nervous by it. "But when they see us, they'll definitely flip at how big the kids have gotten."

Natalia laughed. "I don't doubt it."

"I'm gonna stop and fill my gas tank up, so. It shouldn't take me more than maybe fifteen hours to get there."

"Fifteen?!"

It was Calleigh's turn to laugh. "Yeah, silly. I googled it. I should be there by the time you get off work."

"Great. That's gonna help my day go faster," Natalia teased. "Alright. I'll see you then, Cal."

"Okay. Bye, Nat." Closing her phone, Calleigh looked at her son in the rear view mirror again. "You ready for our vacation in Florida, buddy?" Harvey nodded sleepily, rubbing his eyes before closing them. "Good. Go to sleep. I love you, bud."

"Love you too, Mommy," Harvey mumbled as he drifted off.


Ashley, the receptionist at the lab, poked her head around the corner, and saw no one but a single person in the break room. She was Sheryl's replacement, and had been working there for about five years, which led to her confusion on the person standing in her lobby.

Horatio heard approaching footsteps, so he turned and smiled politely when he saw Ashley standing there. "Yes, Ma'am? What is it?"

Ashley took a deep breath. "There's a woman in the lobby, she's looking for Natalia. She said she used to work here a few years ago, but I've never seen her before."

"What does this woman look like?" Horatio asked.

"She's about...five-four, kinda skinny. Fair skinned, short brown hair. She won't take her sunglasses off, so we have no eye color." The receptionist shrugged. "She's got two kids with her though."

This clearly baffled Horatio as well. "No one with that description has ever worked here...lead the way." He followed Ashley to the front desk, and observed as the woman in question picked up a small girl. Her back was to him, and he began to approach the woman, making sure to keep his six foot reactionary gap. "Excuse me, Ma'am." The woman turned around. "My name is Lieutenant Horatio Caine, and I understand you're looking for one of my employees. May I help you?"

The woman smiled, and tried her best not to smile too widely. "No, but thank you." She told him in her thick southern drawl, and she shook her head. "I'm just waitin' for Miss Boa Vista."

The gears in Horatio's head were turning furiously. She seemed familiar. Her voice and accent struck him like deja vu. Even her smile...and then he was slapped in the face with realization. He smiled once again, and nodded. "Of course, Ma'am. If you'll follow me?"

The woman reinforced her grip on the small girl, and she freed one hand to take a hold of the hand of a slightly bigger boy. A few corners, and Horatio brought them to a stop. "Natalia?" he asked. "You have visitors." He looked at he familiar woman, winked, and nodded. "Ma'am," he said, and walked off.

Natalia looked at her visitors and smiled brightly, waiting until her boss was gone and out of ear shot to say anything. "Hey!" She moved to give the woman a hug, child still in the arms of her mother. "I am so glad to see you, Cal."

"You have no idea how fast my heart is beating right now," Calleigh chuckled. "He knows it's me, I know he knows."

"You think?" Natalia asked.

"He winked at me. He knows."

"Even with the wig and glasses?" Natalia waved her hands over her head as she questioned her friend, and watched as she received a nod for an answer. "Well. H is smart. If he knows, he'll know not to say anything to anyone since you made it a point to disguise yourself. But you know that's not gonna stop him from asking me," she told her.

Calleigh nodded again, and let her daughter slide down her side to the safety of the floor, and ushered her son around in front of her. Natalia's eyes went wide, and the mother laughed. "Weeds, aren't they?"

"Weeds?!" Natalia couldn't believe her eyes. "More like magic beanstalks!" she laughed. "Hey, Harvey!"

Harvey met a kneeling Natalia for a hug, and smiled excitedly. He had only met Natalia once in person, but his mother made sure he got phone time with her every time she called. "Hi Aunt Nattie!"

Calleigh nudged her daughter forward lightly. "Go say hi to Aunt Nattie, Jordanna."


Stepping across the hall, she opened the door to her spare bedroom, checking on her guests that had arrived the day before. What she saw was just as she expected, given her friend's behavior the night before. When the door opened, Calleigh's head turned towards the creak. She was sitting up in the bed, leaning against the pillows. Harvey was leaning on her from the left and Jordanna from the right, and she had an arm around each. The room was tinted blue from the dull morning light seeping through the vertical blinds covering the sliding glass doors in the room. "Morning," she said quietly. "Did you get any sleep?" She watched as her still wigged friend nodded.

"Yeah, I slept for a while," Calleigh told her host softly.

"Mhmm." Natalia nodded. "And how long is 'a while,' hmm?"

Calleigh shrugged. "Two or so hours, I guess."

"Aww, honey." Natalia frowned, shoulders falling a bit. She spotted the reason for the constant wear of the sunglasses the day before. Her friend looked absolutely exhausted, and the bruising around Calleigh's left eye didn't help. But Natalia knew that he dull lighting was probably making it look worse than it really was, and despite her appearance, Calleigh smiled.

"It's fine. I'll live," she promised. "I didn't even get that much when the kids were babies. You off to work?"

"Yeah, I am." Natalia nodded. "There's coffee brewing in the pot, fresh for you when you're ready, and there's fruit in the fridge, along with juice and eggs for you and the kids for breakfast. You remember where the pots are?" Calleigh nodded again. "Good. I'll come by on my lunch hour to see if you need anything."