DISCLAIMER || I don't own any of the CSI: Miami team, but I do happen to own a few characters in here. The ones you don't recognize? Yeah, mine. I have a computer, CSIM DVDs, and ADD: oh the thrills I will have ruinin' the lives of our favorite characters.

A/N || Sorry this chapter took FAR too long to write and get up, and this really isn't as much as you all deserve for waiting this long. But in my defense, I've been back and forth between a few places and things have been kinda crazy. And we just got back from Las Vegas. Oh! Almost forgot: black_dahlia75 -- Yes, it is kidnappin', even if it is your own kids. I was lookin' at stories online for a little inspiration, and found it's most common among nasty divorces and situations like Calleigh's.

He tried the door knob, and found it unlocked. The only guess that he could make was she was in a hurry, and in her hurry she had made a careless mistake. They weren't in the living room, but he could hear her voice in the kitchen. Closing the front door as quietly as possible, he took a look around. Ben sneered at what he saw. Her upscale brands, not real fancy but definitely an upgrade from what decorated his own house, made her seem like she was some sort of snob. Like she was silently saying that she was better than everybody else. But that was just him -- and to Ben, his opinion was always right, no matter what the actual facts were.

An actual fact? Natalia was, quite possibly, one of the most selfless people in Miami.

Natalia's voice rang out from the kitchen. "Yeah, okay. I'll bring them by later. Just call me when you want me to meet you, okay? Yeah. Bye, H." Ben smirked, and followed the sound to the source. Her back was to him, she was looking out the window over the sink. In the short few minutes time that they had been at the house, both Harvey and Jordan were outside playing with their toys out in Natalia's back yard. They were relatively safe, as the yard had an opaque, 6-foot privacy fence around it, and the gate from the front to the back had a padlock on it. But she still felt the need to physically see them. If anything were to happen to them while they were with her…she was positively sure she'd never be able to face Calleigh again.

Alexx Woods looked at her friend. To look at Calleigh lying in the hospital bed, covered with the thin blankets, she looked so frail and broken. But Alexx knew her younger friend was anything but fragile. She was so strong-willed; she just couldn't see it right now. The woman tilted her head, a bit curious about the source of the subject matter. "Calleigh Baby, where is all this coming from?"

Her uninjured shoulder rolled up in a shrug. "I don't know." A patented expression of 'Yeah, right, and I gave birth to Santa Claus' washed over Alexx's face. This look usually got a smirk out of the blond, but today it didn't seem to have that effect. "Okay. It's just um…just something that's been on my mind lately. I mean, I left because I couldn't watch it, Alexx, and now that it's over…"

Calleigh didn't get to finish before Alexx interrupted her. "Watch what? Now that what's over?" The older woman was now completely lost, but was using her powers of deduction to venture an educated guess. "Horatio and Marisol?" Calleigh looked a bit guilty, and nodded. "I should've figured as much after you left as quick as you did."

Now it was Calleigh's turn to look a bit lost. She looked up from her fingernails with questions in her eyes.

"We all saw the way you looked at him, Baby." By the look on her face, she really had no idea what the woman was talking about. "I'm still curious about how he didn't see it. The two of you were always so professional, it was a shame. Did you ever try to tell him?"

Now Calleigh knew what Alexx was saying. "More than once," she nodded. "It just…never happened. We either got interrupted, or I just froze up and started rambling about a case."

"Honey, I'm surprised you didn't see it before." Now Cal was really confused, and it definitely showed. "You mean you really don't know what I'm talking about?" The younger woman's head shook, blond hair swishing with the movement. "Baby, he looked at you the same way."

"He did?" Alexx nodded at her. How could she not have seen that? "I…had no idea."

Giving her a gentle, knowing smile, Alexx lightly touched Calleigh's cheek. "He did. And I think that next time he comes up here, you oughta sit him down and talk about this. Because this has been a long time in the making, Honey." The parts of Calleigh's face that weren't bruised were quickly growing pink with slight embarrassment, and Alexx let out a chuckle. "I have to get downstairs to clock in, so I'll let you rest now and be up later to see how you're doing."

Calleigh nodded, and let her mind mull over everything Alexx had just told her as the older woman left, leaving the door open behind her.

Ben hooked his arm around Natalia's throat from behind, grabbing the gun in his waist band. She reached up with one hand and raked her nails down one side of his face, tearing some of the small scabs that Calleigh had left the day before. Shoving her other hand in her pocket with her cell, she pressed 'Redial' on her phone. Giving Horatio time to answer his phone, she struggled a little bit before speaking. "Get...off of me, Ben!" A grunt is all that she could manage with Ben's arm greatly restricting her air supply, but she knew it would be loud enough for Horatio to hear, granted he had answered. She slipped her hand back out of her pocket undetected.

He jerked her up, tightening his grip. "Shut up!"

Wincing, Natalia's nostrils flared with anger. "Your kids are right outside. You want them to see you kill me? Yeah, they'll really be proud of you then."

Head lowered so he didn't have to speak loudly, Ben's gravelly voice snarled in Natalia's ear. "You say one more word," he warned, "and I'mma blow out what little brains you have, woman." He pressed the gun to her temple, and she swallowed roughly. "Understood?" He smiled as he watched the woman nod against her will. "Good. Now you're gonna do exactly as I say. Open the window." When she did, Ben moved out of view of the window and moved the gun's barrel from her temple to the upper left side of her back. "Call the kids inside and tell 'em you have a surprise."

Natalia took a deep breath, willing her voice not to crack. "Harvey, Jordan! Come on inside for a second, I have a surprise for you guys!" Her heartbeat quickened as she said the words, cursing the fact that Calleigh had two of the most well-behaved kids that Natalia had seen these days. Her eyes closed as the children came rushing through the back door, and she could feel Ben's thick hand turn her so the kids wouldn't see the gun.

"Daddy! You came on 'cation with us!" Jordan shrieked with delight. Natalia couldn't blame her. If you were three years old and hadn't seen your Daddy for a few days, you'd be excited too. Poor kids didn't realize that he wasn't here for a vacation.

"You didn't think I was just gonna stay at home and let Mommy have all the fun, did you?" Ben grinned at his children. "Harvey, go get you guys' shit, we're goin' for a ride."

Horatio kept the phone to his ear as he finished barking his orders as he ran to his H2 to start over on his way to his team member's residence. An ambulance was already on the way there, incase Natalia needed medical attention. The extra tire tread that Ryan had collected from Calleigh's crime scene had been analyzed, telling them that Ben was driving a 2007 Ford F-350. With a call to the Louisiana DMV, they found that the Ford truck was one he owned, silver in color, with a Louisiana license plate of 5TGC65.

Several marked police cars followed him on his way, a few making sharp U-turns in the road when a truck matching the description passed by them. Sirens blaring, Horatio didn't let up on his gas pedal. This was the second person from his top-dollar team that Ben Jones had harmed, and it wasn't something he was going to take laying down. He skidded to a stop in front of the yard, and made a dash for the door. "Natalia?" Once glance around the living room had told him that there was a struggle. It took only a few of his long strides to reach the woman laying on the living room floor, a slim stream of blood leaking from her forehead to the carpeting. Touching two fingers to her wrist to get a feel on her pulse, relief washed over him. "Natalia, can you hear me?"

Her eyes fluttered open, and she struggled to focus her vision on the man kneeling over her. She knew it was her boss from the color of the blur that topped his head, but her eyes needed to adjust, and what better to focus on than a friendly face? "H…I didn't even hear him come in. I'm sorry."

He nodded. "I know, it's alright. I'm just glad you were able to call me. We'll get them back." He looked to the door as he heard the ambulance pull up, and waved the EMTs in. "The paramedics are here, they're going to check you out, okay?" Helping her sit up, Horatio watched as she nodded. While Natalia was getting cared for, Horatio spoke with police officers littering her house. He learned a few things relevant to the case: entry to the house was not forced, matching what Natalia told him upon regaining consciousness. The silver 2007 Ford F-350 that had been seen while racing to Natalia's was indeed Ben, and a pursuit was in progress. Officers were on foot going to neighbors' houses to see if anyone had seen anything. And most importantly, the children were missing. Horatio had expected all this, though, and by the time he had been filled in, Natalia was patched up and walking over to him.

He raised his eyebrows at her. "You're alright?"

"Yeah," she nodded. "I'm fine."

Horatio smiled. "Good."

"I'm worried about the kids, H. He's got a gun, and I was out before they left. I don't know if he hurt them or not."

"Officers are pursuing him as we speak, ma'am. He won't get far," Horatio promised, guiding her over to the couch. "Let's have a seat, and I'll have a uniform take your statement."