So, I guess some of you guys like this. I'm actually very surprised with the way this is turning out. It's very... angsty and not-Shiny of me to make Horatio completely blank right now. o.O

Thanks for the reviews Little Horatio, EmilyProctorslittlegirl, Mrs. Darcy1234, Carrro, Jag Lady, CSI Junkie Aly, Queen Sunstar, cabot007, CSIBabs, Blue Shadowdancer, Nancy Davidson, princess moon shadow, PunkPrincess145, FernClaw

6. Crimes

"Where'd Horatio run off to?" Natalia wondered as she looked around the crime scene as best as she could.

Calleigh pushed some of her hair back in exasperation, getting on her hands and knees and crawling along the floor as best as she could. "I don't know. He seems to be taking this either way too hard or doesn't want to be in touch with reality at all." She sat back on her heels and bit her lip, looking down at the blood pool from under Alexx's body moments before. "I don't get it. He took Speed's death so much worse than he's taking Alexx's. Did the two of them- Alexx and Horatio- have some sort of connection or something more deep than friendship?"

Her friend shook her head. "I wouldn't know. I thought you would think about that prospect better than I would."

The blonde said nothing and merely began to sit there, her mind swirling out of control. She couldn't believe it. Calleigh and Alexx were two very close women, having been the only two women on the team for a great many years. Now that she had been murdered, she was the only original female CSI left on the team, and it left her with a sad and sickened feeling. She swallowed, a wave of tears threatening to overcome her as she looked around the room for any signs of a weapon or something that was able to kill one of her closet friends. "Have you found anything yet, Natalia?"

"Nothing. Although I'd love to give the killer a piece of my mind right now."

Calleigh laughed bitterly and stood up. "I'd like to give Horatio a piece of my mind right now. He's so full of hot air that he can't even show his feelings. What is happening to him? One minute, he's a martyr, the next he's a vigilante, the next he's just..." She fell back to her knees. "Damnit, there are just so many sides to him now, I don't know which one is the real Horatio Caine that I grew to love and respect!"

The younger woman merely nodded. She couldn't say anything on the matter, mainly because she hadn't known Horatio for more than two years. Natalia could only take comfort in kneeling down next to Calleigh and allowing the woman to weep at the sight of her friend's blood.

"I do not trust you," Yelina stated flatly.

Julia rolled her eyes. "I don't expect you to trust me. I just want you to realize that your former brother-in-law is showing no reaction to the day's events so far. And I'm only asking you to help me in convincing him that he can show a little more emotion than possible." She crossed her arms. "I know you spied on me. I know all about your little crusade in searching for Kyle when Horatio didn't know I was still around. And I know about your love for him."

The clouds slowly began to roll into view, and thunder began to boom louder. Despite this, the two women were standing in the park where Yelina and Horatio had met to speak about Kyle's history in September. He hadn't actually gone off to the crime lab- he wanted to make a stop at the lake. Horatio loved the water; it could calm one moment and raging the next... kind of like his emotions. It was here that he wanted to meet Yelina for a little while longer.

But he failed to notice Julia there, too.

The Columbian tensed up. "My love for him is nothing more than a family love. His nephew is my son, and we draw the line there."

"Uh-huh." The other woman didn't look convinced in the slightest. "If we could just talk to him together this once..."

"I will talk to him alone," Yelina replied firmly. "It's uncomfortable with you being there while we talk."

Julia scoffed. "You're going to make a love confession to him?"

The private investigator gave the ex-wife a cold glare but said nothing. Julia infuriated her. She made her sick with disgust at the fact that she was, at one point, in a relationship with Horatio. How could that man be with her so many years ago- this low-lying, blackmailing piece of filth?

"Oh, I get it. You love him."

Yelina straightened herself up. "You know what? Maybe I do. But that doesn't mean you have to go poking your nose into my personal life. Now if you don't mind, I'm going to go and see what is wrong with Horatio."

Julia huffed an impatient sigh. "Whatever. You can go ahead and walk around in your skimpy white dress on your supposed day off, and I can try and figure out what's wrong with the man I used to love!"

That did it. The Columbian narrowed her eyes. "You do realize I've hit Stetler before, right?"

"No. No, I didn't."

Yelina walked away in a hurried stride, and Julia crossed her arms. Yelina could be a very impatient woman, to be sure. And besides that, she wanted to see if she really would go and talk to the redhead. She walked a couple of feet and allowed herself to go into the grass. Julia slipped off her high heels and saw a tree close to where Horatio and Yelina stood by the lake. Horatio had on those idiotic sunglasses of his, and his hands were on his hips. He wouldn't face Yelina- in fact, she had noticed that he wouldn't really face anyone with his whole body. Quickly pushing this peculiar thought aside, she leaned against the tree and listened as best as she could.

The investigator sounded worried. "Horatio, your emotions. They're gone."

"When have I had any emotion in a case, Yelina?" he shot back, his voice a bit on the chilly side. "I'm having a problem with finding my son, my ex-wife is in on this whole thing, Stetler's an ally... what do you expect me to feel right now?"

She snorted. "At least be saddened by the loss of a teammate of yours."

Horatio turned away. "Yelina, I can't discuss my feelings with you right now."

"You're going to shut me out of your life again." Her voice was bitter. "Why? What did I do to you?"

His voice was now a whisper, and Julia could barely make out what he was saying. "I can't let you know how I feel... because I can't bear the thought of you getting emotionally hurt."

"Emotionally hurt? You who have lost a wife, your brother, and now a CSI and a medical examiner are showing no signs of weakness, but you don't want me to be emotionally hurt?" Yelina shook her head. "You're crazy sometimes."

Horatio gave a ghost of a painful smile. "I know that. But you're going to have to trust me when I say I know when the right time to react is, okay?"

She said nothing for a moment, merely giving him a wary glare. Finally, her gaze softened, and she shook her head again, looking down at the grass, a breeze picking up off the lake. "Okay."

The man embraced her tightly, and Julia could not help but feel a pang of jealousy towards Yelina.

She had everything that she thought she would have one day in her life. And now, she had almost nothing.

Oh, I'm so evil. Hope I'm doing these chapters okay. Reviews are loved. Thanks for reading!