Thanks for all the reviews on Chapter 6!!! Here is the UPDATE!! YAY!!
LA Calleigh
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elislin
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Hope that you like!!! More to come!!
Chapter 7: Conversations
Horatio got into work early that following morning and he immediately went to the autopsy bay, where he knew were Alexx would be. Upon entering the room, Alexx looked up from her book. There wasn't a call out for her yet and she hoped that she didn't get one for a few minutes since she wanted to catch up on her reading.
Seeing Horatio enter her autopsy room, Alexx smiled. She needed to talk to him before shift actually started, but from the look on his face, he was the one that needed the talking too. She placed her book on the table and watched as he walked to her, sitting down on the chair opposite of her.
"Hey Horatio, How are you?" she asked him, knowing the answer that he would give her.
Horatio placed his glasses on the table, then his hands-twisting them in a nervous manner. He wanted to talk to her about Calleigh, hoping that she might be able to talk to her and make her see that what he did last night was good for her and that he wasn't trying to hurt her in any way.
"I'm confused Alexx" he truthfully told her
"What is wrong Baby?" she asked him, moving her chair closer to the table
"Remember Calleigh, the new ballistics expert that I hired a few days ago?"
"Yeah, wasn't she supposed to start today?" Alexx asked him
"Yeah, well that went down the drain" he told her "She doesn't want the job anymore"
"Why? Did she tell you?"
"No, she gave me this news article" he told her as he fished in his suit pocket and pulled out the paper that Calleigh had given him the night before and handed it to Alexx.
Alexx took the paper and started to read it, first the handwriting, which she presumed was Calleighs' telling Horatio about the ticket and that she couldn't work for him. She flipped it around and started reading the article.
Woman Beaten before left to Die
Last night a woman in her twenties was found in an alleyway half beaten to death. The woman reported that she was walking home from the bus stop when she was attacked from behind. She recalls the attacker pushing her into the wall and fondling her inappropriately, but she refused to fight back, afraid that the attacker might harm her more.
She told the officer that she remembers every move he made towards her and every word that he told her. She would not report as to who her attacker was even though she saw who it might have been.
As for now that case of Calleigh Duquesne is still open and if anybody knows the whereabouts of her attacker, please call the New Orleans Police Department.
"She was attacked" Alexx exclaimed, "Did she tell you?"
"No, she just gave me this article and I left"
"Horatio, you left that girl alone" Alexx asked him "Why did you do that?"
"She wanted me out" Horatio told Alexx, "You should have seen her Alexx, she was scared out of her mind when I grabbed her wrists because of the way she was cleaning her face"
"Keep talking"
He did, he told Alexx what happened the day before, when he went over to the hotel and what happened that night. He didn't leave a single detail out, in hopes that Alexx might be able to help him and talk to Calleigh.
"Do you want me to talk to her Horatio, because from what you told me, Calleigh is afraid of others and that she isn't too confident in herself" Alexx asked him
"Would you? I can't tell her enough that she will be ok here and that she can trust me, she just wont have it"
"I will talk to her for you Horatio, all you have to do is take me there, my car is in the shop"
"No problem"
Calleigh was at the hotel watching TV; she was lying down with her arm on her chest. She had her luggage packed and ready to go, she was no longer going to stay in Miami- knowing that what she wanted here, she couldn't have. She contemplated on calling Horatio the night before and apologizing, but she felt scared of doing so. She felt horrible and hoped that after she calls him when she lands in Louisiana that he would forgive her.
A few hours ago, she had gotten off the phone with some of her friends from Darnell. They talked about what Calleigh was going through and half the time she felt sad because of what her friends were telling her, but she couldn't really be mad at them since she was thinking the same things too.
"Yeah, like he would want to forgive you Calleigh, after everything that you put him through" her friends Ashley told her before her other friends interrupted
"Well maybe he will..maybe" said Katie, knowing that by the way that Calleigh was talking about this man that he would be willing to forgive her
"Face it girl, you love this man and you know it," said her friend Caroleine, falling for the man herself.
"Careoline, No, I cant fall for him, he..he doesn't like me like that" Calleigh argued to the three women that she called
"Yes you can" Katie said "He sounds like he likes you back from the way that you said he kissed you"
"But.."
"Face it girl, YOU'RE IN LOVE," all three of her friends told her.
Horatio and Alexx were in the hummer talking about Calleigh. Horatio was telling Alexx every detail about this woman. He told her that she took beating from her previous sort-of-boss-who was Andrew and how he saw the way that he treated her. He told her that Calleigh needs another female friend and that maybe she, Alexx, could raise her self-esteem before somebody tries to take advantage of that.
"I will talk to her Horatio, but you have to tell me about her damage" asked Alexx
"She has a bruised eye and a dislocated shoulder and yesterday night I found more bruising on her body"
"Did you ask her about them?"
"No, I don't want her to think that she cant trust me so I am giving her time and when she is ready she will tell me"
They arrived at the hotel that Calleigh was staying at. Horatio parked the car and the duo both exited the car, making sure to lock it before entering the main lobby. Horatio said 'Hi' to Dabo and together he and Alexx entered the elevator. Pressing the number for the 8th floor, the doors closed and all they had to do was wait until the elevator stopped.
When the 'ding' sounded, Horatio exited the elevator, followed by Alexx and together they walked to Calleigh's room. Knocking on the door, they waited until Calleigh answered.
She heard a knock on her door and slowly got up from the couch, minding her arm that was on her chest. She didn't have her sling with her at the moment, so she walked to the door and looked through the peephole seeing Horatio and an African- American woman standing there. Opening the door, she asked Horatio the most asked question ever.
"What are you doing here?"
Horatio looked from between Calleigh and Alexx, then back at Calleigh. He smiled and introduced the two women, but still he didn't answer the question that Calleigh had asked until after he was done.
"Alexx and I came by to talk to you"
Looking once again back into the room and seeing her luggage by the couch she let them in, knowing that Horatio was going to find out sooner or later about her plans on leaving Miami.
Alexx had never seen a woman become so quiet in such a short time as she has seen today. This beautiful blonde-southern woman in front of her looked like a spitfire to her, but by the way that Horatio told her that Calleigh had a low self-esteem and needed help in raising it was one of the reasons that she was here.
"If you don't mind me asking Calleigh, where is your sling?" Horatio asked Calleigh as he noticed that her sling was no longer holding up her arm.
Sitting on the couch and nodding her head so as to tell the duo to sit, she told Horatio the truth as to what happened to her sling- she broke it.
"How?" asked Alexx
"I was mad at myself and forgetting that I had a dislocated shoulder yanked it off and in the process I dislocated my shoulder again while breaking my sling"
"Calleigh" exclaimed Horatio "When did you do this?"
"Last night" Calleigh mumbled, "I had to relocate my shoulder again and before you ask, yes I took me pills"
"Good" Alexx replied, "Can I ask you a question?"
Looking at Horatio, Calleigh once again looked down at her lap. She wasn't ready to face reality that he might find out about her past, but he needed to know right? She needed to tell him right? She didn't know because she was already lost. She then raised her head and looked at Alexx.
"Umm..Yeah sure" Calleigh stuttered afraid of the question that Alexx was going to ask.
"Do you trust this man?" Alexx asked, pointing to Horatio with her index finger.
She didn't answer the question, but she nodded her answer to her all the while keeping her eyes on Horatio to see his reaction. A Smile was what she saw forming on his lips.
A Smile that would probably change everything for these two and Alexx could see that when she asked Calleigh her next question and still these two lovebirds were looking at each other. Alexx couldn't do anything but smile as she looked into the eyes of Horatio and Calleigh to see that they showed nothing but love and respect for each other.
She couldn't help but smile as well. These two were made for each other…and only time would tell were that would lead.
TBC (Sooo..What did you think??)
