(Sara's Prov)
It felt weird walking into the crime lab this morning. Today was Eric's and my first day back since Speed's death. Everyone would just look at us a give up sympathetic stares. Eric went to go find Horatio while I went downstairs to see Alexx. "Hey sweetheart, I am glad you are back" Alexx said. "Thanks, I miss being at work." I replied trying to put a smile on my face. "Sara, you can't fool me. I can see past that fake smile. You keep replaying the events in your head don't you?" she replied. "I can't help it, when I came in today I was waiting to hear so sly remark about Eric and me. Instead I come in and everyone looks at me like I am about to break down. I hate it." I replied. "Sweetheart, we all are going to miss him. Maybe you and Eric should take a vacation, it's to soon to come back to work." she replied. "I can't do that and neither can Eric. It's like the job is the only thing that keeps our minds off of the whole situation." I replied. "Has Eric talked to you at all about what happened?" she asked. "No, he avoids it by either talking about something else or sex." I replied. "Have I not taught you two anything? Sex is not the answer Sara." she replied raising her eye brow at me. "Yes, you have taught us a great deal, but Eric and I are not good at listening." I replied with a smile on my face.
Alexx was about to respond until Ryan walked into the "Sara, you and I have a case in Palm Grove. Are you ready to head out?" he said. "I just need to grab my kit from my locker. Give me five minutes?" I replied. "Sure, I will meet you upstairs" he replied. "Thanks, be right there." I replied. After Ryan left I turned back to Alexx. "Well thanks for the advice Alexx, but now I have to work." I replied. "Any time Honey. I guess I will have to talk to your husband also. You young kids think you have it all figured out. I love you all but sometimes you all drive me more crazy than my own kids." she replied laughing. "We all love you." I replied making my way out of her office. I went to my locker and grabbed my kit. I walked out front and found Ryan talking to H. "Good morning Horatio." I said as I made my way over to the two men. "Sara, I am glad you are back. How is your shoulder?" he asked. "I am happy to be back, Sir. It's still is sore, but I can manage." I replied. "Ryan, bring her back if she has any trouble." H said. "Horatio, I will be fine. I heard we have a meeting with IAB?" I replied. "They want to hear what happened. Sara, I would like you to keep what you know away from Stetler." he replied. "I know, he is after our team. He doesn't need any fuel to close down our lab." I replied. "Thank you Sara. I will see you later. Mr. Wolfe, please keep an eye on Mrs. Delko." he replied. "I will H." Ryan replied. I rolled my eyes and started to walk to the hummer.
The car ride to the crime scene was silent and I was comfortable with it. The crime scene was filled with cops and nosy bystanders. Walking into the home you could smell the blood and a rotting corpse. Frank was with another officer. "Frank, what information do we have on the victim?" Ryan asked. "His name is Harry Reynolds. 25 years old and own the club Splash. Nothing was missing from the house." Frank replied. "I met him before; I used to go to that club all the time." I replied snapping pictures of the scene. "Do you know of any people he had any problems with?" Ryan asked. "I wouldn't know of any current enemies. I haven't been there in almost a year and a half. But he was such a nice guy." I replied. "I am having officers at the club sweeping for anything stolen." Frank said. "Hey Ryan, do you see this blood trail leading to the backyard?" I asked. "Are you sure it's not high velocity spatter?" Ryan asked. "Ryan she is right there is a trail leading to the back fence." Frank said. We followed the trail until it lead to the door at the back fence. We found a shack on the other side of the fence. "The attacker was injured he might be hiding out." I said. "Frank get back up, Sara and I will check it out" Ryan said. Frank left to go get back up while Ryan and I made our way to the shack. As we approached the shack Ryan and I drew our guns. "On my count, open the door." I said. He nodded his head in compliance. I softly counted to three and Ryan opened the door. "Miami-Dade Police, is someone here?" Ryan asked when we entered. We searched the shack and found some more blood but no suspect. "Did you guys find anything?" Frank asked. "No, just more blood. I am going to take these samples back and run them through CODIS." I replied. "I will meet you back at the lab.
When I arrived back at the lab I found Natalia. "Hey, how is your case going?" I asked when I walked in. "Not good. No hits in CODIS." she replied. "Just give it time. I have more DNA for you to run in the mean time for me." I replied. "I will get on it" she replied holding out her hands. "Thanks, so what have I missed since being out a week?" I asked handing her the samples. "IAB has been here looking for you and Eric. Stetler seems to be on some kind of mission to get information from you guys." she replied. "I am supposed to meet him right before lunch. Not the person you want to see before going out to lunch with your husband." I replied causing Natalia to laugh. "I can agree with you on that. How are you doing?" she replied. "I am fine. I am just sore, but nothing a pain killer can't help." I replied. "I meant after what happened last week?" she replied." It's hard to forget, but I rather not talk about it. Can you please call me if you get any hits?" I replied. "I am sorry I didn't mean to upset you. I will let you know as soon as I get the information." she replied. "I know, I am just not comfortable talking about it yet. And thank you." I replied making my way out. "Sara, are you okay?" Calleigh asked once I stepped out of the DNA lab. "I am fine; I just need some fresh air." I replied. "Do you want some company?" she asked. "No thanks, I just need to clear my head." I replied. "Alright, well I am here if you need Me." she replied. I nodded my head and made my way to the entrance of the crime lab. Once I was outside I found a bench and sat down. I thought about what I would say when IAB questioned me. I would have to relive that event again and I don't think I could. I was tired of everyone asking how I was doing. I was sad because I lost a friend. Speed and I didn't always get along, but he would make any work day fun. With his smart ass remarks about Eric and I or when he would blast his music in the lab as he ran trace. It was hard to fall asleep at night, as soon as I would close my eyes all I could see was Speed taking his last breaths. Tears started to stroll down my face as I replayed the event in my head. I didn't realize someone had sat next to me until I felt a pair of arms wrap around my waist. I buried my head into my husband's chest and cried; he sat in silence and rubbed my back soothingly. "I am sorry, it's just everyone keeps asking about how I feel" I said drying my face. "Don't worry; maybe you should go home for a few more days." Eric said helping me wipe the remaining tears from my face. "I want to work; it's the only thing that seems to help me to forget." I replied. "I know. All I can seem to do is throw my self into working also." he replied placing a kiss on my forehead. "Alexx said we should take a vacation." I replied. "You just got back from a vacation. I think it's a little early to take another one." he replied. He realized he struck a nerve but before he could say something else Rick Stetler walked over to us. "Eric IAB would like to speak to you now." Rick said. "Can you please give me a minute?" Eric replied. "You and your wife have been avoiding our investigation for the last week. Come with me now." he replied. "Eric just go. We can talk later." I said. Eric stood up and kissed my cheek before leaving with Rick.
(Eric's Prov)
I immediately felt guilty when I told Sara what I said. I could see the hurt in her eyes when the words left my mouth. But just like her everyone was asking how I was feeling or how I am doing. It started to annoy me. I would only say "I am Fine" or simply change the subject. When we entered one of the interagation rooms, it was set up with tape recorder. I knew they were going to ask me if I knew about what the cause was to Speed's death. Horatio had came to me this morning asking me to not say anything. I hated Rick and so did everyone else in this lab. He was always trying to find some way to tear apart our team. "Eric, I just have some routine questions to go over with you." Rick said sitting in front of me hitting play on the recorder. "Where you involved in the investigation pertaining to Timothy Speedle's death." he asked. "No, my wife was in the hospital with an injury. H let me go and see her." I replied. "You had no participation in the investigation." he asked. "No, I took off a few days to stay home with my wife." I replied. "Are you withholding any information about this case?" he replied. "What is this about Rick? If you want to know what happened in that jewelry store read the police report." I replied with anger in my voice. "Delko, I don't believe you had no involvement. You and your team are constantly trying to save your own asses. Answer the question honestly or I will have to relive you of duty." he replied. "Here let me hand you my badge and gun now. I am not here to deal with your bull shit." I replied slamming my badge and gun on the table. "You need to make an appointment with the grief counselor. It is mandatory if you do not complete this task you will be relieved of duty until you do." he replied. I grabbed my badge and gun and left.
When I walked in to the hall I ran into Natalia. "Hey Eric, I was looking for you. I found a hit in CODIS with that finger print you gave me. The name is Adam Salseky lives in Palm Grove. Has a rap sheet, to accounts of breaking and entering and one grand theft out. He has been out of jail for about six months." she said. "Thanks I will get Frank to pick him up." I replied. Frank brought in the suspect in placed him into one on the interrogation rooms. On my way to the room I saw Stetler leading Sara into the same room he took me into for questioning.
(Sara's Prov)
After Eric left, I cried a little more at his sudden outburst. I knew he didn't mean it and he was still upset with me over leaving. I finally wiped away the remaining tears and went in to go and process some trace, before my meeting with Stetler and leaving for lunch.
"Mrs. Delko I would like to speak to you" Rick Stetler said. I took off my lab coat and followed him out of the lab. Walking down the hall I could see other works staring at me as if I did something wrong. I didn't like this feeling of being secretly critized by everyone else in the lab. Walking further down the hall I saw Calleigh who gave me a sympathetic nod and Eric. Eric and I locked eyes fora few moments but then he disappeared into the interrogation room with a suspect.
"Please, have a seat and I will begin the questioning." Rick said once we entered the room. I sat down and waited for him to continue. "Mrs. Delko, how long have you been working on Horatio Caine's team?" he asked. "I worked on it for 3 years before I left for a year. I have been back on his team for about three months" I replied. "How do you say he handles prod call?" he asked. "Excuse me I thought this was the investigation about Speed's death?" I replied. "Yes it is, what happened in the jewelry store that day?" he replied. "Horatio had asked me to come with him and Speed to the jewelry store. When we entered we could tell something was off." I replied. "What did you notice?" he replied. "It was lacking customers and the man behind the counter looked nervous. Speed and I scanned the area, by the time we noticed something was off the shots rang out." I replied. "Please go on" he replied. "My shoulder was grazed by a bullet and I went down. Speed and Horatio were trying to take care of the suspects, but I guess Speed didn't see the guy in time and the suspect shot him. He fell to the floor instantly while his blood poured onto the ground. Horatio took out the last suspect and then called for help. Before H even finished his phone call with the paramedics Speed was gone." I replied as tears strolled down my face. It was hard for me to relive that memory, one because I was there as Speed took his final breaths and two because he was like family to me. "Sara, do you think it had anything to do with Speedle's gun to do with the reason he was killed?" he asked. "No, I don't." I replied. "I have read his case file and this is not the first time his gun has not worked properly." he replied. "I don't have any prior knowledge about that information." I replied. "I don't believe you . Were you not working the investigation over this past week over CSI Tim Speedle's death?" he asked. "No Sir I wasn't. I was asked by my doctor to stay home for my injury to heal properly. Horatio felt that Eric and I should not be involved in the investigation because of our personal tie to Speed. We both took the week off staying home in bed. The only time we did leave was for his funeral." I replied with a slight rise in my voice. "Thank you for your cooperation Mrs. Delko. There is mandatory grief counseling I would like you to attend. If you do not complete your sessions, IAB will have to relieve you of your duty. Is that clear." he replied. "Yes, I understand." I replied making my way out into the hall.
Eric and I skipped our lunch and just worked. Eric and Calliegh caught their suspect. He killed the woman because she walked in on him robbing her house. Ryan and I didn't have the same luck. The evidence kept pointing us in all different directions. At about 11:30 Ryan and I decided to come back in the morning to work more on the case. I was walking to my car when I saw Calleigh and Natalia still in the parking lot. "Hey guys, what are you still doing here?" I asked as I approached them. "We were waiting for you. We wanted to see if you wanted to come out for a few drinks. Just us girls." They replied. "Sure, where are we going?" I asked. "Same bar as usual." Natalia said. "I will meet you there." I replied and climbed into my car.
The bar was only filled with a small group of people when we entered. "Sara what do you want to drink" Calleigh asked once we sat down. "Mojito with lots of mint" I replied giving both women a smile. We all ordered drinks and began talking. "So how did it go with Stetler today?" Calleigh asked. "Fine, I just can't stand that guy. He is so rude and heartless sometimes." I replied. "He has been trying to take down the team for years. It's all because of his personal grudge against Horatio." Calleigh replied. "So what did I miss? Everyone has been acting so weird with me since I came back 3 months ago." I said. "The men or women?" Natalia asked with a small laugh. "The women mostly. Why what happened?" I asked. "Well after you left some of the women tried to date Eric. But he wouldn't go for it. I guess they thought you weren't coming back, so when you came back they are jealous and surprised." Natalia replied while bursting to laughter. I laughed too, my husband was very attractive and I knew about his past with the millions of girlfriends. Well not millions, but he did date quite a few before we started to date. "That is too funny and it explains a lot. I am one lucky girl" I replied. "Yes, you are. So what is new with you?" Calleigh replied trying to calm her laughing. "My parents are coming into town next week." I replied. "Are you excited? I know you visited them when you left. But Eric says you miss them a lot." They both asked. "Yes I am and I do miss them. I wish they didn't live so far away." I replied. "Is your brother coming out also?" Calleigh asked. "No, he called and said he had to work and couldn't get the time off. Him being the famous doctor he is and all." I replied with a giggle. "Your brother isn't famous" Natalia replied. "I know, he is just busy" I replied with a laugh.
We each drank two drinks before we all separated and went home. When I drove up to my house I noticed the lights were still on in the living room. I parked my car and made my way to the front door. Once I entered I heard the TV playing softly in the living room and the slight snores of my husband. I took off my shoes and went to turn off the TV. Eric was sprawled on the couch with his phone in his hand. I took the phone out of his hand and he woke up in an instant. "Hey, I was waiting for you to get home" he said groggily. "Sorry, I went out with the girls." I replied leaning in to give him a kiss. He pulled me onto his lap before gently pressing his lips against mine. The kiss became heated, but I reluctantly pulled away. "Eric, I need to sleep. It's 3 in the morning and I need to be up by 7." I replied staring into his brown eyes. "Alright, let's get you to sleep. And about earlier on the bench I shouldn't have told you what I did. You needed me there to comfort you and instead I made you feel worse." he replied. "I know and I love you anyways baby. But I am tired so lets go to sleep" I replied pecking his lips again. He smiled as I stood up and held out my hand for him. He grabbed it and we both made our way to our bedroom. I changed into some shorts and t-shirt and then went to Eric's closet to grab one of his sweat shirts. "Why do you always wear my academy sweatshirt?" he asked as he climbed into bed. "I missed it when I was gone. It's warm and I like it." I replied climbing into bed and nuzzling myself on his chest. "I like it on you" he replied kissing my forehead. "I love you" I replied kissing his cheek. "I love you too." he replied. That night I slept without dreaming about Speed's death and it felt nice to be in my husband's arms.