"HORATIO CAINE! You answer this goddamn phone right now!" Laila's voice, distorted by fear and the phone's speaker, was loud enough to make Horatio immediately call her back. He was driving back from the prison, after he had left Kyle off. Her phone only rang once before she answered.
"Jesus Christ! Did you want to give me a heart attack?" Laila sounded worried, and he had to smile a bit at her concern. "I mean prisoner breakouts, Tripp being beaten, did you expect me to be cool about all this?"
"No, I didn't." Horatio kept his voice calm. "But I didn't realize you would be so concerned."
"Horatio, it's hard for me not to worry sometimes. Besides, one of those prisoners was Kyle. I remember you telling me today was his court date, and then all the radio can talk about is a prisoner escape, and it's on every news channel. As is word about an officer involved shooting and something happening at the prison. Now tell me, what part of that am I not supposed to be worried about?"
Horatio kept quiet a minute before answering. "I understand. Believe me, I do."
"Then what happened?"
He explained to her about the prisoner escape, how Kyle had turned himself in, and she remained quiet the whole time. "I told Kyle I was his father."
"And?"
"We didn't have much time to chat. But, I think I got through."
"Horatio," Laila spoke quietly. "Get home. Please." He obliged, parking the Hummer outside the high-rise less than thirty minutes later. When he opened the door, he wasn't surprised to see her standing out on the balcony. He stopped in the doorway, noting her appearance. Her makeup was smudged, like she had been rubbing at her face. When she turned her head, he saw her brown eyes were filled with tears. He walked over, gently placing a hand on her shoulder. She didn't say anything, she didn't have to. All she did was slide her arms around him, placing her head on his chest.
"Better?" He asked, getting an answer when she nodded into his chest. He heard her draw in a breath before she stepped back.
"What are you going to do?" Laila said, moving to one of the chairs. He lowered himself into the other one and thought.
"He'll be in that prison for months. Until his trial date." He muttered. "And if he's guilty, he'll go back."
"Is he?"
"Yes. But if the jury judges him innocent, or even just deserving of probation. I will file for custody." Horatio let his thoughts out, not holding them back. Laila didn't give much of a reaction, only reaching over to cover his hand with hers. "I don't want him to be alone. By sixteen, I was practically alone. And he's been bouncing through foster care."
"And you want to help him." She didn't sound angry, nor impassioned. She just stated it as a fact.
"Yes."
"Then I will do what I can to do the same. Nobody deserves to be alone." She smiled. "Not you, not Kyle. When his trial comes, tell me and I'll go. If you do get custody of him, I don't want him to think that you've been alone, or that he will."
"Thank you."
AN: So, these are probably going to range from 500-1000 words. Just little insights, nothing too major.
