It wasn't long before the team had descended on the home Kyle had shared with his mother for the past year. Horatio had briefed them with Kyle's testimony, and was thankful that he didn't have to voice his concern that there was more to the incident than a simple break-in and kidnapping. Though none had met Julia, they knew that there was more to her than met the eye, and so far none of it had turned out well.

"Eric, check the patio, the floor, the doors, everything for prints. Also, there may be blood- Kyle tried fighting them off, he may have got in a shot or two." Horatio said, a hint of pride coloring his words.

Eric nodded and glanced over the area, his gaze resting on Calliegh for just a moment longer than necessary. "You got it H. Where are you going?"

"I'm heading to the hospital. Kyle will be out soon."

"All right. We'll cover the house- if there's a clue here, we'll find it."

Horatio nodded. "I expect no less."

Horatio left Julia's house with a vague feeling of relief. The trappings of the overly wealthy always made him a little uncomfortable; he didn't need the reminder that his year's salary wouldn't cover the cost of her mansion's doorknob.

He got behind the wheel of the CSI Hummer and sighed. He had faith in his team to discover just what had happened early that morning. Obviously Julia knew the assailant with the scarred face, why else would she have gone with them willingly? The four men, whoever they were, had broken into the house with the intent to kidnap or even kill, and she had surrendered herself, even warned Kyle to stay out of it.

Horatio ran a hand through his hair, not wanting to jump to a conclusion, but unable to keep himself from developing a theory: the four men may have been from Julia's shaded past. Perhaps she was back to her old tricks and made a mistake, some slip up that had led the men right to her door.

It was a working theory and with Julia's past it wasn't too outlandish.

'Don't start making up stories. Follow the evidence.'

Reminding himself of the time, Horatio hurried to pull into traffic, escaping from the neighborhood and heading out to the hospital.

"Have you found mom yet?"

Horatio looked up to see Kyle heading straight toward him in the hospital lobby, ignoring the protesting doctor at his heels.

"I'm sorry, sir, he's refusing to stay for observation." The harried doctor explained upon seeing the badge at Horatio's belt.

He shook his head, somehow proud that Kyle was showing a bit of defiance. "It's quite all right, doctor. My son has had a rough start to the day."

The doctor nodded. "I understand, but we've examined him. He'll be all right, but I recommend that he take it easy for the next few days, and to keep ice on the bruise around his eye to keep it from swelling. I've also prescribed a painkiller to ease the ache."

Horatio nodded and pocketed the prescription note, then turned to Kyle. "How are you feeling?"

"Forget about me, where's mom?" The boy asked forcefully, irritated that Horatio and his doctor had spoken as if he hadn't been standing there with them. He had gone through too much to be treated like any other child.

"We haven't found her yet, son, but my team is over there now. They're processing the scene. If there's so much as a spec out of place, they'll find it." Horatio reassured him. "You'll be staying with me for now, but we can head back there and pick up some of your things."

Kyle sighed slightly, disappointed that they hadn't found anything yet. Somewhere out there, his mother was in trouble. His mind raced with all that could be happening to her, blaming himself. I should have been able to protect her, she needed me and I let them take her.

"You're sure your team will find the guys that did this?"

Horatio nodded, then stepped aside to let Kyle walk past him, to the Hummer just outside the hospital doors. "I'm more than sure, son, I'm positive."

Traffic was unusually light for mid-morning in Miami, and so Horatio made great time in getting back to the Winston home. He sometimes wondered why Julia had kept her dead husband's name; she had played the fraud game for years and truth be told, he wasn't sure that Julia was even her true first name.

Well, a rose by any other name and all that, Horatio didn't care what she called herself so long as she could stay out of trouble and keep their son on the right track. So far the road had been rocky at best, but this was the worst yet. Where had Julia gone, and who was she with? Was she safe where she was, or even alive?

His relationship with the woman was complicated- they trusted each other only to the point that neither of them would hurt Kyle, but beyond that...

Horatio shook his head. There would be time to reflect on his past and present with Julia some other time. Right now the only thing that mattered was reassuring Kyle and getting him settled. He parked and the two strode back into the mansion. "All right, why don't you run up to your room and pack a bag? I'm going to check in with my team."

Kyle nodded and mounted the stairs as Horatio headed toward Natalia, who was leading toward the front door. "What do we have so far?"

The woman's doe eyes widened upon seeing him again. "I didn't hear you come in. Where's Kyle?"

"He's upstairs. Packing. The scene?"

She nodded, gracing him with a small smile. "Right. We've lifted a few partials from the doorknob and taken trace from the patio, Delko's already gone back to the lab with Wolfe. Ryan's working on Julia's phone records and emails for the past few weeks to see if she's been in contact with any familiar faces. Calleigh's checking in with the neighbors on either side of the house to see if they saw anything suspicious, and I was just on my way out to question the neighborhood guard."

Horatio raised his brows, impressed with what had been gained in the past few hours since the incident. "Miss Boa Vista, there's a neighborhood guard?"

"Right, a Charles Walter. This neighborhood only has two entrances, the discreet entrace we've used is for service vehicles and homeowners only; a tracer is attached to every neighborhood vehicle, which activates the gate. It's under video surveillance and can be controlled remotely by the guard on duty. There's a guard booth on the main neighborhood entrance that faces Ocean Parkway- based on Kyle's testimony, our mystery Hummer was heading toward that entrace, which means..." Natalia let the sentence hang, a playful look in her eye.

"The guard let them in. Thank you, Natalia. Keep me posted."

"Where are you going?"

"I'm taking my son home."

Horatio headed into his neighborhood; he lived in a small bungalo-styled house toward the outskirts of Miami. Nowhere near as grand as Julia's mansion, but at least it had been acquired through his own hard work and honesty. It occurred to him that Kyle had never come for a visit, not once.

Kyle hefted his bag and followed Horatio into the house. He looked around and tried to picture this man, his father, actually living in the place. It wasn't that the house was lacking, everything he could see seemed to be in fine condition, just that Horatio obviously wasn't there often enough to appear totally comfortable in his own home.

"I know it's not what you're used to, but it'll have to do for now." Horatio said as he shrugged out of his suit jacket. There had been so much activity that morning, now that they were alone a great gulf of silence had opened between them; things suddenly seemed awkward.

Perhaps their pasts were to blame; Horatio had had such a horrible relationship with his own father, was it any wonder that he didn't know where to start in dealing with his own son? And Kyle was no better, a parade of neglecting foster parents had left him with little trust for anyone other than Julia.

"You hungry? Why don't you make yourself a sandwich and I'll clear out the guest room for you." Horatio suggested.

Kyle only nodded and dropped his bag on the floor as his father stepped into the first room down the narrow hall to the left of the kitchen. He could hear Kyle moving around the kitchen, and Horatio quickly cleared space in the small dresser and closet. A small bed had already been placed in the room, typically it had been for Ray Jr., but in all honesty Horatio couldn't remember the last time his nephew had slept over.

He hoped Kyle would be all right with the room; Horatio didn't know what to expect if the worst happened and Julia's kidnappers turned on her. Taking a moment, he sank onto the edge of the bed and rested his elbows on his knees. In his way, he still cared for Julia. It wasn't love, but the last thing he wanted was for her to be hurt.

He had loved her once, she was the mother of his child, and he had held a hope that their relationship might heal if given enough time...

"Dad?"

Horatio looked up to see Kyle in the doorway, holding a plate with a few sandwiches for them to share. "Yeah, Kyle. I was just...just setting up your room here." He said, quickly standing.

Kyle nodded and moved aside to let Horatio out of the room. "Thank you. It looks great."

It didn't. The room was bare, lacking in any personal touch, and the small window faced the brick wall of the house next door. But Kyle had been in much worse places, and now that he'd served time he knew the value of freedom- any small comfort was a blessing. He put his bag on the floor and turned to face his father. "What do you think happened to her?"

The helpless despair of his son's question galvanized Horatio into action; no matter what, he would see this through to the end.

"I don't know yet, son, but I'm going to find out."