Chapter 10 -

"Fall"

Jayden sat in the cafeteria with a plate of food in front of her face. She couldn't eat. Although the rumble in her stomach reminded her of her hunger, she didn't have an appetite. She wouldn't be able to eat anything without it coming back up her throat.

She didn't want to lose her dad; she didn't want to lose Landon. Jayden was scared. All she had left was her mom. What if they took her? What if she was next? How would her mother live? How would she live if her mom was taken? She had the bad luck family.

Warmness crept in her body sending tingles to her spine. A sickness hit her stomach; she felt like heaving. Jayden felt like wailing right here. A good cry from her soul would do her some good. It wasn't as if anyone would look at her weird...she was in a hospital. If they were visiting loved ones, they would understand her need to let it out.

Still, she didn't want to do it in such a public place like the cafeteria. She got up from the table and headed towards the bathroom.

Once in the bathroom, Jayden walked towards the sink and looked in the mirror. Fifteen years old and she already experienced more of life's miseries and stressed that would last a lifetime. The face she saw in the mirror was almost as white as her mother's face, which was unusual for Jayden since both of her parents DNA gave her a permanent tan. Her eyes looked tired – she was exhausted. Her own nightmares plagued her. She couldn't sleep at night because of it.

Jayden dropped to her knees. Everything and everyone she loved was slipping away from her. She let out a very noisily cry, throwing her head back against the wall. When she caught her breath, she let out another howl as the tears fell from her eyes in streams. This pattern continued until she felt her nose plug up and she couldn't breathe anymore.

She sniffed and stood up. Once again, Jayden was at the mirror again, this time observing her red, puffy eyes. She cried some more. She needed to get out of the bathroom right now. She needed her parents. She wanted her dad to be okay. She needed Landon to come back. Jayden headed back towards the hospital room to be with her parents.

...

The last known location that the lab tech was able to track from the phone was from a warehouse located near the Everglades. As soon as he was able to give an address, he gave it to Horatio. Within ten minutes, Horatio was at the scene, radio cars and SWAT quietly in tow.

Stepping out of the truck, he watched as the last hummer pulled up, revealing Natalia and Ryan. He watched as they jogged the short, safe distance towards him.

"Horatio," Natalia began, running a hand through the length of her hair. Her mind was already reliving the very exact scenario that happened almost thirteen years ago to Jayden. Exactly when did kidnappers begin using entire warehouses to operate their kidnappings. She let out a puff of air.

Horatio briefed them on the current situation and what the plan of attack would be for the outcome. He glanced over to the building as SWAT began to swarm it. He turned to his left and right, noticing that officers in the police vehicles were outside their cars, weapons drawn, waiting for the next move.

Natalia didn't know what to expect when she walked up towards the entrance of the warehouse. SWAT had cleared the building a few minutes ago, stating there was nothing inside that would warrant their presence at that moment, however they would stay on task until Landon was found. She and Ryan were briefed once again. Her mind traveled as the click of her heels on the pavement provided a monotonous soundtrack to her feelings.

The last time she and Ryan processed a warehouse, the smell of blood, urine and vomit was everywhere. Remembering the stench as if it was yesterday, she wrinkled her face. Poor Calleigh and Eric. This was the second time she would have to process a crime scene that was linked their children.

She crinkled her nose, preparing herself for the stench as she pushed open the heavy doors. Nothing. Quite the opposite smell really. Did they get the right location? What lay before them was the total opposite of what she expected.

The warehouse was abandoned indeed, but red plastic cups, empty beer cans, empty potato chips bags, glow sticks and party lights were everywhere. Obviously a party. This was definitely not the right location.

The door shut closed; Natalia snapped her head around, relaxing when her eyes landed on Horatio. She walked towards him. "Horatio."

He shifted his position in her direction, taking in the scene before him. "Natalia," he began. "Natalia, I've sent Ryan back to the lab." He look at her. "It appears Landon has been found. Officers are bringing him to the station as we speak."

Relief washed over Natalia; she closed her eyes, silently thanking the powers that be that Landon was found. Seeing as though he was coming to the station and not the emergency room, she assumed he was okay.

Then it registered to her; Landon was here; that's why the phone was tracked to this location. This was not a crime scene. Calleigh was not going to like that news, especially when all of Miami had been searching for him all day. She packed up her kit to head back to CSI.

…

Landon nervously sat in the interrogation, across from the layout room. He watched as people looked at him. He already knew what they thought about him. How could the child of two of the most prominent CSIs cause Miami so much trouble in one day?

It wasn't like he meant to. The officer that brought him in made it his duty to tell him how much the city had been in frantic looking for him all afternoon. He let out a sigh and indistinctly chewed on his nail. It was a nervous habit but Landon felt like he had every right to feel like that. When he finally charged his phone, he noticed he had several missed calls and a few voice mails from his mother. All it took was one missed call from his mother and he knew, he knew, he would be in trouble.

Seeing Horatio walking towards the room he was held in made his heart drop. Next to his parents, Horatio was the last person he wanted to see. He knew Horatio would be disappointed in him, and that type of disappointment hurt about as much as if it was coming from his own parents.

Horatio stepped inside the room, waiting as the door closed in a soft, hummed clasp. He sucked in a breath of air and drew his lips together. So many things happened today, where would begin? He shifted his weight to one foot, looking Landon in his eyes. "I called your mother..."

Landon shifted forward and glanced out the glass walls. "Is she mad?" He was getting nervous. It was supposed to be like this...it wasn't supposed to get this far. His thoughts traveled to the activities earlier that day.

Landon already knew he wasn't going to go to school today; why should he? He wanted to have some fun. He needed to escape from the problems in the house.

It wasn't like he could talk to anybody about it. Everyday, his parents were arguing about something; the secret his dad was keeping, the feelings his mom had, they even argued about the best treatment for Jayden. Every little thing in the house, minus him, became an issue.

The plan was to go to the school, have their ID's scanned in the school's attendance – it would keep the attendance office from calling his house – that would give the illusion that he was in school even though he would not.

It was a fool-proof plan, if he'd say so himself.

He didn't expect his mother to take him to school. She offered; how could he say no?

Once in front of the school, he said goodbye to his mother, fake-walked to the entrance, waved bye, and walked by the school, not giving it a second thought.

Once he was safely one block away from the building, he pulled out his phone and called his friend. No sooner than three minutes later, a black, tinted SUV pulled up next to the curb and the windows rolled down.

"Get in."

Landon did what he was told and climbed in the backseat. He looked at his friend, Craig, in the front seat. He was the oldest friend Landon had...the guy was seventeen.

"We're going to have fun a little earlier," the dark-haired boy began. "Figured we'd go to Denny's, go to Miami Beach and then this warehouse rave that my friend is having. How does that sound?"

Landon gave a boyish smile. "That sounds awesome man."

"Good," the boy confirmed. "By the way, the girls are coming with us." He paused for a moment. "We're going to pick up your little crush, Alexis."

The other guys in the truck began to playfully tease him.

The day was more than he expected. His crush officially became his girlfriend, the early afternoon rave was everything you'd want a party to be...his phone died within fifteen minutes of the party. He planned to charge it as soon as he got home.

His day was beyond amazing, at least until police officers snatched him from his house.

Landon snapped out of his thoughts, as he watched Horatio shift his gaze towards the window. Now his own mind began to work. Exactly why was he sitting in interrogation? Was it a crime to ditch school? Where were his parents? Were they at a crime scene? Exactly what was going on? He cleared his throat. "Where are my parents?"

Horatio let out a quiet sigh. "I'm taking you to them," He began, eyes still outside the window. Slowly he turned his attention to Landon. "I don't want you to give your parents a hard time."

"I'm not," Landon said quietly.

Horatio walked towards the door, signaling to Landon that they were leaving and he should follow him. From there, they got in a hummer and headed towards the hospital.

...

"Calleigh," Horatio called softly. He'd been standing in the room for a few moments just taking in everything. Through all of the trauma he'd seen Eric go through, this was by far the worst. What struck him the most was the constant robotic hum of the mechanical breathing machine. How exactly was Calleigh keeping it together?

He knew she needed a break; she needed to get away from this for a while. "Calleigh," he tried again. This time, he gained her attention.

Calleigh turned and looked at Horatio. She hated the circumstances in which Landon was brought back to her, but she was forever grateful for the safe return of her son. "Thank you."

Horatio nodded, letting her know that it was no problem at all. "He's in the hall," Horatio said, mentally letting Calleigh know that he would stay with Eric.

"Thanks again," Calleigh said, walking towards the door. She gave Eric another glance and headed out into the hall.

Once out, she breathed a sigh of relief. She walked the short distance to the waiting area where Landon was sitting. She took note at how his head was in hands as if he was in deep thought. Letting out a sigh, Calleigh tapped his shoulder. "Let's talk."

- A/N: Thank you guys so much for the support with this story! I really appreciate the reviews. They do more than inspire - they actually keep my creative writing juices flowing.

Its the end of my semester so I'm swamped with papers and finals. Somehow I also cracked my laptop screen, so I can't see about 3/4ths of the right hand of my screen. So forgive me for any spelling or grammatical errors.