Title: Unconditional Love

Author: innocent choir girl shannyfish (From Out of the Lab)

Summary: The Las Vegas Police Department and Crime Lab are pulled into a case that just seems like a disturbance, but turns up that the truth had been hidden for years…

Category: CSI General

Genres: Angst, Drama, Hurt Comfort,

Characters: Jim Brass, Gil Grissom, Catherine Willows, Warrick Brown, Sara Sidle, Nick Stokes, Greg Sanders

Warnings: none

Rating: PG-13

Chapter: 1 "Silence Broken"

Author's Notes: This is my first CSI fic. Constructive criticism is always welcomed.

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Identical homes painted in tan and stone with matching yards and mail boxes made the Horizon Estates. It was a quiet area. Because of the rules and regulations, Horizon Estates tended to also look perfect. Cars were parked in garages instead of in the driveway or on the street and no home carried any sign of personalization.

At mid afternoon, the sun was high and Horizon Estates was silent. Most people at work, a couple moms walked their little ones around in strollers, and the streets and yards empty since the school bus had yet to deposit children back into the neighborhood after a full day of school.

Julie Wilson and Babe Abrum walked their toddlers around Horizon Estates twice before the school bus arrived. Once the bus arrived, the calm neighborhood was become mass chaos and wouldn't prove quite as relaxing of a walk. It was part of their daily routine which was accompanied by gossip. And since neither of them worked…the routine was everything. It was like breathing.

Julie was of average height and weight. Her skin tone was darkened by the Nevada sun, which just seemed to brighten her bright blue eyes and bleach blonde hair that hung around her face. Her husband, Tom, drove trucks in order to support them. Her nine month old son, Todd, was the result of one of her husband's stops at home almost a year and a half before. Although her life wasn't fabulous, she was content. After all, she only had to deal with Tom every once in a while. Her husband's presence wasn't a constant one. And she had Todd completely hooked on a set schedule. Life was good as far as she was concerned.

Babe was originally from Georgia and her southern accent was the first thing that people noticed. Unlike what her name suggested, her looks were plain, she was a bit short, and still hadn't worked off the pregnancy weight she had gained from her daughter. She had short dark brown hair, brown eyes, and darkly tanned skin. She, like Julie, was happy with her life. She had filed for divorce after her husband, Richard, had cheated on her. So, she ended up with the house, her car, a monthly check from Richard, and their daughter, Leah.

Walking was just an excuse to involve the kids in an activity together that didn't provide either mother with post-activity clean-up, plus the added bonus of gossiping about the neighbors. Most of the gossip was harmless; just about who had recently bought a new car or some fancy doo-dad…it hardly ever involved anything too serious.

But that day's walk wasn't going too normal. Todd had launched his small box of Goldfish more times than Julie could count onto the ground littering the neighborhood with the precious half crunched golden fish-shaped crackers. That was not normal for Todd, which worried Julie.

Babe assured the other woman that it was normal for toddlers to throw fits. "It's just a phase," Babe tried again. "Leah Marie here," Babe said emphasizing her daughter in the stroller with one hand as if Julie didn't know her. "She went through a phase where she wouldn't have nothing but milk. God awful phase, I couldn't get her to eat not even her baby food."

"And how long did it last?" Julie asked hoping Babe's answer would comfort her in some way.

"A month."

A month? That was not comforting. "I don't know that I could stand Todd doing that for a week let alone a month."

A sudden scream shocked both mothers, stopped them, and sent them around to the front of their strollers to check on the toddlers. Neither was so much as upset, but seemed concerned. "What the hell is that?" Babe demanded looking around expecting to spot a new neighbor that they didn't know about with an unruly child. She saw none.

The screaming was suddenly joined by a man yelling. Julie looked over at Babe, a shocked expression spread across her face. "That sounds like Terry Lemming, doesn't it?"

Babe nodded in agreement as they looked on toward his house before quickly pushing the strollers onward towards Julie's house. "That sounded like a child. Does he have any kids?"

Shaking her head, Julie responded, "Not that I've ever seen or heard. He's always nice at church."

"Who's not at church?"

"Good point."

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With Warrick and Catherine working on another case, Grissom had called in the rest of the night shift along for Brass' mystery. Neighbors had reported unusual screams from what sounded like a child and then the resident yelling. The neighbors had noted it odd since the man was always quiet and calm. A child had never been seen in his home. "Now," Brass started. "The report came in around three. We've been here trying to clear the immediate homes…luckily most people seem friendly with others in this neighborhood. We're trying to see into the house. The screaming and yelling hasn't been heard for some time now…" It had been several hours since the report had come in, but they were trying to side with safety rather than rushing. "We're about to go in and try to get Mr. Lemming out… I want you guys ready to go in and process once we've got him out."

Sara looked from Brass to Grissom and then Nick and Greg. This was definitely a mystery as far as they knew. They could walk into a perfectly sanitized house for all they knew or one that was painted in blood spatter. There could be a dead body…an injured and abused child…or somehow it could just be a huge misunderstanding… But it was frustrating to stand out and wait for Brass and his people to get Lemming and clear the house.