The sharp sound of a phone ringing broke the silence of nineteen-year-old Jessica Chase's small apartment. She groaned softly and turned over, reaching for her phone, though she was still halfway asleep. Her hand finally closed around the receiver and she brought it to her ear, mumbling softly "Chase here…"
She was so sleepy that she didn't understand what the voice on the other end was saying, but after a moment something in her mind clicked. Blue eyes opened and she pushed herself up, listening hard to the voice on the other end of the line, it was one she'd never heard before. All she could comprehend was that whoever was on the line knew what she was wearing and had threatened to kill her.
Fear and panic surged through her at the words, and she was out of her bed in a heartbeat, dropping her phone on the cool, hardwood floor. She reached her bedroom door and opened it, screaming when she saw a man standing behind the door. Turning as fast as she could, she ran for the bathroom door that was across the room.
Before she could reach the door, the man grabbed her and fought her down to the floor, despite her kicks, screams and flailing about. The thin silk gown she had on was ripped straight down the middle, causing an even greater fear to surge through her. She could hear him undoing his jeans and her heart nearly stopped; he was about to rape her.
That had been four years ago and still the nightmares haunted her on an almost weekly basis even though she knew the man who'd done it was locked away. She'd moved all the way from New York down to Miami to get away from all of the memories, but the past seemed to follow her. When she was still living in New York, she'd gone to college and had gotten a degree in forensics, wanting to help other people the way she'd been helped.
Jessica had known she would be transferred to the crime lab here in Miami, and today was the day that she'd be starting her new job with them. Stepping from her bathroom into the bedroom, she looked at herself in the mirror to make sure she looked good for her first day of work. She had chosen a pair of black dress slacks, a light blue button up shirt and a black jacket with some comfortable heels.
Her hair, she had left down for the most part, pulling some of it back and clipping it into place, the soft curls resting along the line of her back. Walking from her bedroom, she picked up her keys, also sliding her gun into it's holster at her waist, her badge also resting there next to her gun. She went outside and locked her front door before going out to her car, a silver suv, getting inside and buckling up before starting it up.
It would take her about twenty minutes to get to the Miami-Dade Police department and crime lab building, but the drive there would help to calm her. She'd been given the job, but she was set to have an evaluation with the head of the crime lab, and she hadn't met that person yet. Jess knew she was a good CSI, but changing cities was always a big leap in this line of work, you never knew what kind of leaders were heading up crime labs.
Reaching over, she turned on her police radio to see if there was anything going on in the city that day. It was relatively quiet, which was somewhat of a relief since she'd heard that Miami was one of the cities that had a pretty high crime record. She had just come to a stop at a redlight when she heard the call come in from dispatch.
"Well, looks like business just picked up in Miami." She said as she turned on the police lights and sirens that were equipped to her car, turning and heading down another street toward the crime scene. Picking up her radio she spoke into it "This is Jessica Chase, badge number 3882, I'm a block from the crime scene. ETA is one minute."
Keeping her eyes on the road, she sped up, the suspect was reportedly still on the scene and she couldn't let him get away if she could help it. Turning the wheel hard, she spun her suv around and threw it into park, drawing her gun and getting out of the car, looking toward the house. Glancing around the area, she ran up the walkway to the door, her heart beating fast in her chest.
Taking a light breath, she took a step back and then kicked the door open, her arms outstretched with the gun held tightly in her hands. Her eyes took in the scene, blood all over the living room area, the body of a young woman not far away from where she was standing. Cautiously, she went over to the woman and knelt down, her eyes still glancing around the room as she used one hand to reach down and check for a pulse.
Not finding one, she stood back up and started to walk toward the hallway, a shadow from the kitchen catching her eye. "Miami-Dade PD, freeze!" Just as she thought would happen, the man took off running and she took off right after him out the back door. He leapt over a low wall in the back yard and she followed him right over it, putting her gun back into it's holster as she ran.
Pushing herself to run faster, she reached out with both hands, grabbing the back of his shirt and jerking hard to take him down to the ground. Both of them rolled when they hit the ground and she was back on her feet in an instant. When he got up, he came up swinging, luckily she was able to duck under the fist before it hit her.
She swung next, her right hand connecting with his stomach and making him double over a bit, but not enough to take him down. Acting quickly, she swung again and caught his left jaw with a punch that sent him to the ground. Following him down, she put her knee in the middle of his back and pulled a pair of handcuffs out of their place on her belt.
Starting to pull his hands back to cuff him, she spoke, her breathing fast from the chase and the adrenaline rush "You have the right to remain silent, anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to an attorney, if you cannot afford one, one will be appointed to you." When she got him cuffed, she pulled him up onto his feet, "You stupid bitch, you got nothing on me for this!"
Rolling her eyes, she gave him a shove back toward the scene of the crime, "That's what they all say, smart ass." She got him back over the wall and led him around to the front of the house, raising a slight eyebrow at the two crime lab hummers, four patrol cars and two unmarked cars. They sure were very high tech here in Miami, but that was a good thing to know that there was a decent cavalry when you needed one.
Frank Tripp, the detective for the Miami-Dade Police Department came up to her with a slightly shocked look on his face, "You catch that scum all by yourself?" Jessica nodded and gave the man a shove toward Frank, "He's a mouthy one, you might want to remind him of his rights again." She said as she took a moment to look herself over and brush some of the dirt and dust off of her clothes.
Feeling eyes on her, she glanced up, her blue eyes landing on the form of a man standing a few feet away from her. He was dressed in a black suit with a white button-up shirt, dress shoes and dark sunglasses. Light red hair was the first thing she really noticed because something about this man was so familiar that it nearly gave her chills even in the hundred degree weather of Miami in the summer time.
A couple of CSI's started into the house along with the coroner, and she watched them before turning her eyes back toward the man in black. He caught her gaze this time and started to walk toward her, a light breeze blowing his coat open a bit to reveal his badge and gun. Lucky for her he was one of them so she didn't have to worry too much, or at least she hoped she didn't.
The closer he got, the more nervous she got, something about this man was enough to make her heart skip a beat. Problem was, he was just too familiar for some reason, and she didn't like that feeling since she was so far from New York now, she didn't want to feel that she knew anyone down here in Miami.
Glancing away from him, she turned her head to the side, appearing to study the grass next to her, hoping for a fast retreat. He came to a stop just in front of her, and a familiar smell came around her, making her shiver a bit. It was a clean scent, but still very masculine, a touch of something else she couldn't put her finger on was in there as well.
Horatio Caine slid his glasses off and tilted his head a bit, a light smirk crossing his lips as he watched her for a few moments. When he'd seen her come around the side of the house, he had known who she was and the sight of her had tugged at his heart. Glancing down a bit, he looked to her and then shifted a bit before speaking, "That was nice work Miss Chase." He said in that low, even voice that was unique to only him and no one else.
That voice, Jessica knew that voice better than she knew her own voice sometimes, it was a sound that never left her mind. Slowly, she turned her head to look up at the man who had been her savior back in New York, Horatio Caine. Not able to help it, a light blush crossed her cheeks as she looked up into those blue eyes of his that made her heart melt and her knees weak.
"Its been a while…Horatio…" She said softly as she glanced away from him to break the intense gaze they were sharing at the moment. He nodded before moving his coat aside and putting his hands on his slim hips, her eyes following the movement for a few seconds before she looked away again. Tension was thick in the air between the two of them, too much had happened in their past for this meeting up again to be peaceful.
"If I remember correctly, its been four years." He said as he shifted a bit and gave a light smile to her. Nodding a bit, she looked back up at him for a minute, feeling that all too familiar warmth spread through her at the very sight of this man. After he'd saved her in New York, they had grown very close to each other, spending more and more time together until they ended up becoming lovers.
