Title: Love Heals
Author: shannyfish (From Out of the Lab/Miami Heat/LJ/ – formerly innocent choir girl)
Summary: Story Four to the "American Family Series" Sheryl and the team help care for Emma and Madison while Calleigh and Horatio are on their Honeymoon. A serial killer that targets children of people in power is on the loose…
Category: CSI: Miami
Genres: Romance
Characters: Calleigh Duquesne, Horatio Caine, Eric Delko, Madison Caine, Sheryl
Rating: PG-13
Chapter: 7 "Tortured Souls"
Author's Notes: This is the last chapter for "Love Heals", but it does continue in "innocent eyes", so stay tuned!
My new website - shannyfish./ Contact me directly if you'd like to be invited in! It includes extras like photos and links to places used in the stories (like this one, the place Horatio and Calleigh stay at is real).
So…I found my jumpdrive…apparently it was never unpacked from my Colorado trip? Oops?
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As soon as they stepped into the terminal, they both headed immediately for the exit. Luckily with only three bags plus Calleigh's purse, they were able to carry everything on. Horatio had also been able to get them to be the first ones let off of the plane thanks to his badge. He had been in contact with Frank right before they'd taken off in Connecticut, he would be waiting for them.
Calleigh felt nervous as they approached the exit of the airport out to the busy street where cabs waited for passengers. Anchored in the middle of the yellow cabs Frank's car sat alongside one of the Miami-Dade CSI issued hummers. Not only was Frank waiting for them, but Natalia as well.
"Welcome home," Natalia greeted with a warm smile.
"Just wish it could be under better circumstances," Frank added as he pushed away his vehicle where he'd been leaning comfortably as they'd waited for the Caines.
"We need to go and check on our girls before we go to the lab," Horatio said.
"I just got off the phone with Eric," Natalia informed them. "The girls are fine, though Madison's been asking questions about why he's not going home and why there are officers outside. Sheryl's been trying to have a movie party the whole time."
"She's ten," Horatio said with a sigh, "She's old enough to know something's not right."
"Alright, I need to see the girls," Calleigh said as she pushed past Natalia and started to load her suitcase into the backseat of the Hummer.
"I'll take you back to the lab, Natalia," Frank volunteered and gave Horatio a concerned look.
"Thanks," Natalia said as she moved to the passenger door of Frank's vehicle.
Horatio took a few steps towards the Hummer and then turned to Frank, "What about Alexx's kids?"
"They're both under protection, though the older kids are harder to keep an eye on."
Horatio nodded, "We'll meet you back at the lab in a while," he said as he took the keys from Natalia and loaded the luggage into the Hummer. Horatio got into the driver's seat of the Hummer and then started it up. He and Calleigh both needed to see their girls.
……………………..
"There's a Hummer pulling up," Madison announced to the whole house as she stealthily peeked through the blinds of the front window facing out to their street.
"What? No codes?" Eric teased as he joined Madison and crouched down next to her. She'd been playing cop all morning and reporting in whenever a vehicle or person walking their pet passed their house.
"MOM AND DAD!" Madison screamed in joy and popped up from her position knocking Eric over when she collided with his head that had been right above him. "Oops! Sorry Uncle Eric," she apologized quickly before racing for the door. She had the knob turned and was running down the front path towards her parents before anyone could stop her.
Sheryl was holding the three year old Emma at the front door with Eric mumbling beside him. "You're going to have a black eye tomorrow," Sheryl told him and headed for the freezer to get a frozen bag of peas. She handed it to him, "Better put it on for twenty minutes."
Eric put the icy bag over his eye and let out a sigh. He watched Madison hug, though practically tackle was almost a better term, Horatio before they could get halfway to the house. He noticed Calleigh's frantic look, Horatio had definitely told her what was going on and just like Calleigh…she was worried about her girls. "We've got Emma right here, Cal," Eric called to her not wanting panic to set in.
Setting Emma down, Sheryl watched with a smile as her youngest ward ran towards her mother and hugged her and giggled. Emma was always so happy to see both of her parents. Them being on their honeymoon hadn't been easy on Emma. Madison was more able to cope with Horatio and Calleigh being away, but Sheryl had a feeling that it was because she was so much more easily distracted by fun things that they could do and had done in Calleigh and Horatio's absence. "Madi, why don't you go and get that book that you're reading? You can show them how far you've gotten. I'm sure they'll be impressed," Sheryl suggested, so that Horatio and Calleigh would be more able to get all the way into the house.
Calleigh held Emma close to her heart and kissed her daughter's cheek. "Momma loves you," Calleigh cooed into her daughter's ear.
"Momma left…" Emma pouted slightly.
"I know," Calleigh said shifting Emma to her right hip and kissed the side of Emma's face as she walked up the walkway, "But Momma's back now…and I'm not goin' leave you guys…"
"Dad!" Emma shouted as she got closer to her father and held out her little hand to him.
Horatio smiled at his youngest and grabbed a hold of her tiny hand and followed Calleigh inside. He smiled brightly at Emma, "How is Emma Turtle? Did you have fun when we were gone?"
"Momma stay with Emma," Emma announced.
"Yes, Momma's gonna stay with Emma…but we still have to go to work, Darlin'… Sheryl is here," Calleigh told her little girl as she found the living room in order to sit down with her daughter. Emma was already pouting and it looked like she was going to cry any second. "Don't you want to watch Nemo with Sheryl?"
"NO!" Emma shouted upset and wrapped her arms tightly around Calleigh's neck and started to cry.
Calleigh could feel wet tears staining her neck and she couldn't help, but feel guilty. She wrapped her arms around Emma and held on. "Momma's not goin' be gone for long…"
"I go too," Emma whispered into her mother's ear as she continued to cry. All she wanted was to stay with her mother. She didn't want to be separated any longer.
………………..
"Horatio?" Sheryl said quietly. Horatio and Eric were in the kitchen putting together a snack, since Horatio and Calleigh hadn't really eaten on the plane and needed something before going to the lab.
"What can I help you with, Sheryl?" Horatio asked with a smile. He appreciated her more than he could say, and she was just a part of their family.
"I was wondering…since you and Calleigh are going to be so busy…if I could just stay here until things quiet down," Sheryl requested.
"Of course…is there a reason that you want to stay here?" Horatio asked concerned and turned his attention solely to Sheryl.
"I think that I might have someone following me," Sheryl explained.
Eric nodded, "She gave me the plate number. We ran it. It's stolen and we found it abandoned this morning."
"If there are people that are possibly going after the Caines, then I don't want my parents as targets because of me. I'd rather just stay here…"
Horatio nodded, "We'll put your parents under protection just in case…"
"Already done," Eric spoke up.
"And we're going to make sure that you and the girls are kept safe. I think it's best if you all stay in the house," Horatio told her.
"I agree," Sheryl told him.
Calleigh walked into the kitchen with Emma on her hip and Madison trailing behind her. "What's goin' on in here?"
Sheryl knew that this needed to be an all adult conversation at the moment. She picked up the tray of crackers, apples, strawberries, and cheese and handed it to Madison. "Why don't you take Emma and go put on a movie. I'll be there in a moment with some popcorn and chocolate milk."
"Cool," Madison said enthused. She waited until her mom put down Emma before taking her into the other room.
"Why don't you put on Nim's Island?" Sheryl suggested and heard Madison's approval from the other room.
"Someone's been following Sheryl… We're just discussing taking precautions," Horatio told Calleigh. "I think Sheryl and the girls should stay inside and we'll have them guarded."
"Horatio, this serial killer…that's not what he is," Calleigh said upset.
"What do you mean?"
"He's a terrorist. He's making it so that we're not living our lives the way we would," Calleigh explained.
"She's right," Sheryl agreed. "But I'd rather the girls were together… It makes it harder for someone to try to snatch them. I also think that I should start carrying a weapon, just so that I can protect the girls."
"I'm not sure," Calleigh said a bit reluctantly.
"I think it's a good idea," Eric told her. "Sheryl's been through all the classes for Criminal Justice. She's practically one of us. Who better to protect the girls? It's just a bit of extra training."
"Calleigh, wouldn't you feel better if you were here to protect the girls?" Horatio asked.
"Well, yes." Calleigh agreed.
"So, teach Sheryl about what you're so good at. You know she'll protect the girls just like you would. She's part of our family," Horatio reminded. He knew that Calleigh would love to have the girls with her at all times, he would feel better as well, but it wasn't practical or possible.
"Alright," Calleigh said and looked at them. She would do it for the girls, all of them.
………………………
Horatio and Calleigh stood in the Everglades staring down at the bodies of the judge's twin girls. Both looked so peaceful, like they were merely sleeping, but the CSIs knew better. "Oh my God," Calleigh whispered as her eyes watered. She put her hand over her mouth feeling like she was going to throw up and walked away. She'd felt sick all morning. She didn't know if it was merely the stress or if she was getting sick, but at the moment all she could think about were her girls. Calleigh knew that if those were her girls that she'd die. Maybe that's what the serial killer was trying to do? To destroy the structure of the Florida law enforcement and judicial system through their children? It wasn't natural for parents to outlive their children.
They'd put out a warning to all Florida law enforcement and anyone who worked for the state that dealt with positions of power. That's who was targeted and they explained who the exact targets were, not the officials themselves, but their children. They only hoped that it could help, if not slow further children being abducted and killed.
Horatio stared down at the lifeless bodies of the girls and felt tears run down his face. He pulled his sunglasses from his jacket pocket and put them on. He looked away and noticed that Calleigh was being watched over by Eric. She didn't look well, and he knew that she'd been stressing out far too much. He wasn't looking forward to telling the judge that his daughters were dead, it was something that would be painful…and it felt mean since he still had his girls. He couldn't even tell the judge that they'd caught the bastard who had killed his precious girls and for all they knew he'd snatched up another child.
"Horatio, promise me you'll find this bastard," Alexx said as she came upon the site. She'd prepared herself on the trip there. She'd known what she was facing, but it was still hard. Her family had been placed under the safe keeping of the cops of the Miami-Dade Police Department, but seeing two children dead made it all seem too real.
"Believe me, Alexx, he's going to pay," Horatio promised.
She pulled on her latex gloves and started to look over the bodies. "They can't be more than eight years old, Horatio," Alexx said in a very upset voice. "Poor babies…"
"They just celebrated their birthday two weeks ago," Horatio filled her in.
"Oh Horatio…"
"Did you keep your kids home?"
"I tried to warn them as best as possible, but they're grown, Horatio. They've got minds of their own; I just pray they listen just this once."
Horatio smiled a small smile, "Growing up before your eyes, are they?"
"Too quickly… Too quickly do they sprout up and then they leave the nest and they're out of your life doing their own things…" Alexx told him.
"But never out of our hearts, Alexx."
"Always in our hearts," Alexx agreed. "Just like these precious girls. We won't forget them."
"No, we won't," Horatio agreed. The image was burned into his mind. It was a nightmare in still frame. He left Alexx to finish what she needed to do on site, so that she could move the bodies back to the morgue. She'd be required to do an autopsy on both girls once they were taken back, but for now…Horatio wanted to check on his wife.
He found Calleigh by herself sitting in the Hummer they'd arrived in. They'd made a pact to stay together whenever possible and if they had to separate, Horatio wanted her with someone else…he preferred Eric. She looked ill, as she sat there with her legs hanging out the passenger side door. Calleigh's head hung there, her golden locks hanging, so that it covered her face from his view. He removed his sunglasses and tucked them away; he tilted his head and stared at Calleigh. "Calleigh…Sweetheart?" he said quietly, questioning her condition. Was she okay? Was it all too much? Was she physically sick? Was she sick because of the case and what they just saw? Or was it something else? Was the work they were doing just becoming too much for her to handle? It happened, people worked in law enforcement and then suddenly there would be a case that would break them. He didn't want to see Calleigh broken…not if he could help it. He wanted to be there for her and to help her through whatever was wrong.
"I'm sorry," Calleigh whispered keeping her head down. Her stomach was knotted and she felt sicker than she ever remembered…but at the same time she felt okay.
"There's nothing to be sorry about, Sweetheart. What's wrong?" Horatio asked quietly. "Is it the case? Are you worried about the girls? Are you sick?"
It was a lot of questions. She wasn't even sure was the problem, but she'd seen a lot of horror in Miami and in Louisiana. Why would she just suddenly get this sickly feeling because of this case? There'd been cases involving children before…this was no different. Sure, her girls could possibly be targets, but she wasn't going to let anyone touch her girls. "I'm not sure to be honest," Calleigh whispered and then lifted her head slightly and carefully moved her hair out of her face and tucked the strands behind her ears to keep it at bay. "Maybe it's just the touch of the flu…" She looked up at Horatio and saw the look, he was worried about her. "Of course I'm worried about the girls, Horatio. But, I've been worried about them before… This is different."
"Maybe you should let Alexx see you? Just to make sure it's the flu," Horatio suggested.
"I'll be fine, Horatio," Calleigh insisted. "Let's just…finish up the day, so that we can go home. Please?"
Horatio nodded, he'd just keep a close eye on her. "Why don't you let Eric drive you back to the house and I'll meet you there?"
"Where are you going?" she questioned.
"I need the inform the judge…"
Calleigh nodded, she really didn't want to go along for that. She wished Horatio didn't have to do it. Horatio knew the judges. This would be difficult, but she had a feeling that it would be easier if she wasn't there. "Alright. Maybe I'll pick something up, I'm not sure I feel up to cooking..."
"Whatever you'd like, Sweetheart," Horatio said and kissed the top of Calleigh's head gently. "I love you," he whispered and rested his forehead against hers. His hands caressed her arms for a moment before he pulled away. "I'll trade keys with Eric and see you at home," he told Calleigh as he backed away from her. It was hard, but it was necessary. Eric would take good care of her until he could get back to her to take care of her himself.
He saw Eric almost immediately and made a beeline to his position. He traded keys and filled Eric in on what the plan was. "Just please, keep an eye on her. She wants to pick up dinner…I think it's best that she just rests when she gets home."
"No problem, H," Eric promised. "I'll make sure that the girls get fed and help Sheryl get Madison and Emma calmed down, so that Calleigh can rest properly."
Horatio put his hand lightly on Eric's shoulder and patted it, "You're a good man. I'll see you as soon as I can." Horatio removed his hand and then moved to the Hummer that Eric had arrived in. He had some bad news to deliver…
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The End.
