Chapter 21
"It's negative." He said as his face relaxed and showed her the test. She let out a huge sigh of relief as Nathan threw the test and his gloves away. She stood there for a little while and exhaled in a state of utter shock but completely relieved.
"Thank you Nathan, but don't you ever do that to me again…" She said looking up at him half happy, half shocked. She fell against him in relief and placed her arms around his waist.
"Please don't ever do that again." She pleaded and then swallowed.
"I'm sorry sweet, I had to check." Nathan said as he wrapped his arms around her, knowing she needed some comfort.
"I know." She said giving him a nod as her trembling subsided.
"Thank you so much." She said as she raised her eyebrows and gave him a very happy smile, knowing that Horatio wasn't wrong and that she wasn't assaulted. She pulled back from him and took a deep breath.
"It's okay." Nathan said as he gently rubbed her back. He sat her back down.
"Now, where were we?" He asked, feeling relieved himself.
"Ah yes, I suggest that you carry on taking the pills and your hormones should begin to settle down again." She gave him a nod as she relaxed herself again.
"Okay, can you stand up for me?" Nathan asked as he stood up himself.
He asked her to do things like stand on one leg and touch her nose before pulling out a lighter and asking her to touch the flame to test her ability to think through the dangers and consequences – something she couldn't do a week earlier.
"No." She said looking at him like he was stupid.
"Well done, you've definitely made an improvement there!" Nathan said with a smile as he asked her to hop onto the bed to test her reflexes.
He listened to her heart and lungs before taking her blood pressure. He asked her to lie back as he wanted to check her blood pressure as she laid down. She grimaced as she laid because she had just put all the weight on her bruised back without thinking about it.
"What's wrong?" Nathan asked seeing her pain.
"I've just got a bruise on my back." She said as she shuffled into a more comfortable position.
"Can I have a look?" Nathan asked seeing how much discomfort she just experienced.
"It's fine, it's just a bruise. I forgot about it until now." She said with a smile, now comfortable.
"Well then let me have a look if it's really fine." He said looking down at her, raising his eyebrows.
She raised an eyebrow at him, knowing that she wasn't going to get around him.
"Do this first and then I'll show you?" She said as she looked at the blood pressure cuff. Nathan gave her a nod and then checked her blood pressure, he then asked her to stand and he checked it again.
"All seems good." He said as she pulled the cuff off her arm.
"Now, that bruise…" He said softly and she nodded at him. She turned around and pulled her shirt out of her trousers and pulled it up to reveal a few inches of bruised flesh. He lightly touched it, radiating from her spine around to her hip.
"Can I see the rest of it?" Nathan asked as he took a hold of her shirt and pulled it up more to reveal a much larger bruise. He saw why she didn't want him to look but didn't say anything about that.
He gently felt around the bruise.
"Zoë, how did you get that?" Nathan asked as he pulled her shirt back down.
"I don't know, I just found it one evening. I really couldn't tell you." She said honestly as she tucked her shirt back in and turned around to look at him. He knew she was telling him the truth.
"Do you think you fainted?" Nathan asked.
"I don't think so, I'd remember waking up if I did…" She said looking at him, curious herself.
"That's true. Are you still having those blackouts? Perhaps this was caused by one of those if you fell?" Nathan asked, tenderly looking at her.
"I don't know, the last one I know I had was a few evenings ago when Horatio was with me." She said looking at him softly. "I don't know if they're still happening because apparently I don't remember them happening." She said looking at him softly.
"Okay sweet." He said as he sat her back down.
Nathan sat back and thought, she saw him thinking.
He then asked her a few more general questions, testing her mental ability – she scored perfect. He sat back and lost himself in his thoughts again.
"I just want to try something else, okay?" Nathan asked, looking at her and she nodded at him.
"Can you stand up for me please?" He asked, looking out the window, looking at her in the corner of his eye. She didn't even seem to process his words.
"Zoë, stand up." He asked again, still looking out of the window. He sighed and looked back to her.
"Zoë, I think you're having difficulty with people addressing you." Nathan said softly, looking at her as she looked back at him.
"Sorry?" She asked.
"You're not registering when someone is talking to you when they don't face you." Nathan said softly.
"I still don't understand." She said looking at him confused.
"Look, I'll try and demonstrate." Nathan said and then he looked away.
"Zoë, are you listening to me?" Nathan said and then looked back to her.
"What did I say?" Nathan asked.
"Zoë, are you listening to me?" She questioned, looking at him. Nathan lowered his eyebrows and thought for a moment.
"Who was I talking to?" Nathan questioned, beginning to think that she was registering it, but not relating it to herself.
"Yourself?" She questioned.
"Zoë, I was talking to you." He said looking at her. "Do you see what I mean? When someone doesn't face you, you're not relating what they're saying to you, even if they're talking to you." Nathan said softly, looking up at her.
'Great, just another thing to go wrong' she thought, not too happy that he'd told her that something else wasn't right with her.
"Can you please tell me if I can go back to work?" She asked changing the subject. Nathan looked over at her and exhaled a little. Her heart instantly sank as he looked at her, thinking to himself.
He leant forwards on the desk as she looked at him, still hoping to go back.
He exhaled through his nose still thinking.
"I think… I think it would be okay for you to go back… but on desk and lab duty, without a gun. It might aid your recovery and help you gain those social skills again, like knowing when someone is addressing you even when they're not looking at you." He said looking at her, waiting for her response.
"So, that's a yes?" She asked, clarifying it.
"Yes, on desk duty." Nathan said softly, giving her a smile.
A brilliantly wide smile beamed across her face. "I can't thank you enough! I don't mind what I do, as long as I can go back!" She said with a smile, he saw the happiness on her face and it made him feel really good just to see her fantastic smile.
"No guns, still no driving. Not until I can confirm that you're not having any more blackouts. Nothing remotely dangerous, or what you like to call 'fun'." He said with a smile, raising an eyebrow.
"Okay, I can live with that. I'm just happy that I can go back!" She said with a brimming smile.
"Can I fire my gun at the shooting range, under supervision?" She asked, not wanting to lose her aiming skills.
"I suppose that would be okay, as long as you're supervised constantly." He said, making it clear.
Her smile widened, she genuinely thought that she may not ever be able to go back to work or fire a gun again.
"Can you tell Horatio, because he may not completely believe me." She said with a smile.
"Of course, I'll call him in." Nathan said as he stood up.
"Nathan, please don't tell him about the pregnancy scare." She said looking up at him slightly worried.
"Of course I won't, anything you tell me stays between us, unless you allow me to give out the information, okay?" Nathan said softly.
"Okay, thank you." She said with another smile beaming across her face as Nathan walked over to the door and called Horatio in. She looked around to him with a brilliant smile and he knew that she was okay.
Nathan sat back down.
"Thank you for joining us Horatio." Nathan said as he gave him a nod. Horatio couldn't take his eyes off Zoë's grin. It made him feel happy inside and couldn't help the smile from appearing across his face either.
"I can go back to work! It's desk and lab work, but I don't care! I can go back!" She said very excitedly, she couldn't contain her excitement any longer and they could both see just how happy she was about it.
"She still can't drive because there's the potential that she could have another blackout…" Nathan said softly to Horatio.
"That's okay, I can give you a lift." Horatio said looking over at Zoë, with his smile appearing again when he saw her grin.
"She's not allowed to use her gun on the job just yet, it could be quite dangerous. But with there being no field work, I shouldn't think that you'd need it." Nathan said to the both of them.
Horatio gave him a nod in understanding.
"But I can go to the firing range to practise, under supervision." She said looking over at Horatio with a smile. Horatio looked to Nathan for conformation and he gave Horatio a nod.
"How about interrogating suspects?" Horatio asked.
"It shouldn't be a problem at all, however, you're moods may still play on you a little, so you need to be careful and keep those stress levels low. Also, when you were in the hospital you were having difficulty reading peoples emotions and facial expressions, has this improved?" Nathan questioned, she smiled at him and gave him a nod.
"Yeah, I think so?" She asked, looking to Horatio for his help.
"She's definitely made an improvement" Horatio said softly.
"Okay, that may be something you both need to watch out for while interrogating people as you may not pick up on some of the 'tells' that the suspects give." Nathan said softly and they nodded.
"Also, Horatio, I've found that Zoë's having some difficulty deciphering when someone is addressing her, you need to look at her when you talk to her, it won't go in if you talk to her and look away." Nathan said softly. Horatio nodded, having noticed this beforehand.
"Obviously with that wrist of yours be extra careful…" He said giving her a smile.
"Thank you Nathan, thank you so much!" She said as she grinned at him, extremely happy.
"No problem sweet." He said with a smile, still a little shocked that he was saying that she could go back.
"I have to say Zoë, when you were brought in; I didn't think you'd wake up… let alone have a conversation with you about going back to work! You've come so far and made such a remarkable recovery." He said sincerely, remembering the day she was brought in, essentially dead. She gave him a nod in understanding and then gave him a comforting smile. She looked round to Horatio, knowing that it probably hurt him a little to hear that.
"There was never any doubt in my mind." He said with a smile, looking to her. Her smile widened.
"When can I go back?" She asked turning back to Nathan.
"Monday?" He asked.
"Not today?" She asked, looking at him, still extremely happy. 'It's a Saturday, but Ryan said he was working, didn't he?' She thought to herself, knowing that they never usually worked on Saturdays.
"If you feel up to it then that's not a problem." She turned to Horatio with a smile, silently asking him if it was okay.
"Sure." Horatio said simply with a smile, happy that he was getting his CSI back.
She gave him a stunning smile and then looked round to Nathan with the same smile.
"Come back to see me in a week. Any problems; call or come back." Nathan said, giving her the go ahead to leave when she wanted.
"Thank you Nathan, I can't tell you how happy and thankful I am!" She said grinning at him.
"I think your smile is telling us everything." He said with a smile himself as he stood up and walked around the desk to give her hand a shake. She didn't bother shaking his hand, she just went in and gave him a tight hug.
"Thank you." She said sincerely by his ear. He nodded and they let go of each other.
She turned back to Horatio with a crazily happy smile as Horatio shook Nathan's hand and gave him a nod.
Nathan showed them out of his office and they gave him another nod. They walked away, with Zoë grinning like the Cheshire Cat. It made Horatio's smile grow bigger, he was so happy to see her this happy when just a few weeks ago Nathan said that she may never wake.
"Straight off to work then?" She asked grinning as they walked down the stairs.
"If that's your wish" he said softly looking over at her, happy. He didn't want her back working ever, but he felt like he could never say 'no' to her again. He wanted her to be as happy as she could be every single minute of her life.
"It is indeed." She said as she seemed to almost skip down the stairs.
Horatio looked where he was going as he exhaled a chuckle while she smiled happily, feeling the happiest she's felt since coming back from the hospital.
They quickly walked out of the hospital and over to Horatio's car and got in.
"I cannot tell you how happy I am to go back." She said putting the seatbelt on.
"And thank you Horatio, you've been absolutely brilliant." She said giving him a brilliant smile.
"Not a problem." He said giving her a smile and then ignited the engine and clicked his seatbelt into place. Zoë clicked hers into place as they backed out of the parking space.
Horatio began to drive back to the lab with Zoë as they chatted casually, she couldn't get rid of the smile from her face, even if she tried.
She pulled her badge and ID from her bag and clipped them on to her waist.
"I came prepared, in case of this event." She said smiling back up at him.
"I can see that." He said as he quickly glanced over at her.
'On my way to the lab, are you there?' Zoë sent Ryan a message.
'Yeah, here with Delko.'
'See you in a few then.' She replied back. They carried on chatting and finally arrived at the lab.
They got out of the car and walked into the entrance and then into the lift. Horatio could feel the happiness emanate from her.
"Calm down or you're going to overdo yourself before you even step foot in the lab." Horatio said as he chuckled a little.
"I'm sorry, I can't." She said looking over at him as the doors then opened. Horatio gestured for her to exit first and she did after she gave him a thank you nod.
Ryan and Eric looked up and instantly saw the elation being emitted by her. They walked out and began to walk towards her as she paraded towards them.
"I'm back to work!" She said loudly as they met in the middle of the lab. They both couldn't help but smile when they saw the grin on her face.
"It's good to have you back!" Ryan said with a smile as he crossed his arms in his lab coat.
"It's good to be back!" She replied with a smile.
"I've got some work to do, call if you need anything." Horatio said directing the last comment at Zoë.
"Thank you Horatio, I'll see you soon." She said with a smile. Horatio walked off to his office to look over some work as Zoë turned back to them.
"Let's get stuck in." She said with a smile.
"Certainly, we'll bring you up to date." Eric said with a smile as she followed them through to the lab. Zoë read over the case file and got her brain into work-mode as she began to make the connections that Ryan and Eric had already worked out. They brought her completely up to speed on the on-going case where a young girl was killed after being kidnapped and assaulted.
"Where's your gun?" Ryan asked noticing that there was no gun holster or gun.
"I'm not out in the field quite yet – just in the lab. No need for the gun in the lab and I'm not allowed to fire it unless I'm under supervision at the firing range." She said looking up at him, still happy, but they could see the concentration in her eyes.
"Ah, okay." Ryan said softly as he let her get back to thinking.
"Was she taken?" Zoë asked looking at the pictures.
"No, she was found in her house, there was no sign of forced entry and her parents were out working." Eric said looking up at her. She nodded and looked back down, connecting things in her mind.
Another case was called in, Horatio ordered Eric and Ryan to attend. They walked off to get into their hummers.
"Are you going to be alright here on your own?" Horatio asked warmly.
"I'll be fine, thank you. Go ahead; I've got plenty to do here." She said with a smile.
"Okay, ring if you need anything." Horatio said giving her a comforting smile.
She gave him a nod and got back to what she was doing as he left and also got into his hummer.
She carried on working, trying to find a lead while they were out investigating a new case.
She looked over pictures and reports about the body and scene, taking in all of the small details.
She stopped herself and took a break and got a coffee before she found herself getting stressed. Alexx walked up while she was pouring the coffee, she didn't see anyone in the lab but caught a glimpse of someone in the break room.
'Is that… Zoë?' She asked herself as she quickly walked into the break room to find out. Zoë turned around.
"Hey" she said as she walked over to Alexx.
"Hey baby, how are you feeling?" She asked softly.
"Really well thank you, yourself?" Zoë asked.
"Good, yes I'm good thanks. Are you back working?" Alexx asked.
"Yes, Nathan cleared me this morning!" Zoë said as that brilliant grin appeared across her face again.
"It's great to have you back honey!" Alexx said with a smile.
"Thank you, it feels great to be back." Zoë replied as she picked her coffee up.
"Do you want one?" Zoë offered.
"Oh no honey, I was just on my way out to meet Ryan and Eric." Alexx said softly.
"Ah, okay. I'll catch you later then" Zoë said softly.
"Sure will honey, I'll see you later and take it easy!" Alexx said with a smile.
"What does it look like I'm doing?" Zoë replied as she looked down at her coffee. Alexx chuckled a little as she turned around, and looked back to give her a nod. Alexx left and went to meet the boys at the crime scene. Alexx had noticed that she was different, but didn't want to think about it as she was just glad that Zoë was well.
Zoë walked over to the sofa and sat down. She relaxed herself and drank the coffee, she then quickly got back into the lab and back to work. Before long Ryan and Eric had come back, Horatio was all hands on deck as well as there was only the 3 of them working the case and they needed another pair of hands. She picked up the evidence relating to the young girl and moved into a separate lab.
"Is she okay?" Eric asked both Horatio and Ryan.
Horatio snapped his gloves off and gave them both a nod. He went to find her and found her in a different lab, in deep thought.
"Are you okay sweetheart?" Horatio asked as he entered the lab and she looked up at him.
"Yes of course, I just need a little bit of quiet, that's all." She said with a smile as she then looked back down at the photos, knowing that something was missing.
"Have you got something?" Horatio asked, seeing the thought on her face and the connections she was silently making between the pictures.
"I'm not sure." Zoë said as she looked at up at him.
"You recovered a laptop and a computer, didn't you?" She asked, Horatio thought back to the day before.
"Yes, I believe so." Horatio said, not sure what she was getting at. She gave him a nod as she pulled the picture with the laptop on the desk in the study.
"Have both of them been checked through?" She asked.
"I believe so, Ryan checked yesterday." Horatio said looking at her sideways, knowing that she was on to something.
She handed Horatio a photo. "What do you see there?" She asked as she turned and looked at him.
"I see the young girl's bedroom?" Horatio said, not sure what she was getting at.
"Look at her desk, there's a laptop charger, but the laptop charger was collected with the laptop…" Zoë said letting him follow on.
"There's another laptop." Horatio said looking up at her realising.
"Fantastic work Zoë" Horatio said as he turned around.
"Wait, I think I should go with you, I know all the hiding places of a young teenage girl." She said with a smile.
"You know what Nathan said." Horatio said raising his eyebrows at her.
"Yes, but if I was to call him and ask if it was okay? It's not as if it's still a hot crime scene anyway." Zoë said pulling her phone out and dialled for Nathan before Horatio could answer.
"Hi Nathan?"
"Zoë, is everything okay?"
"Yes, everything's great. I wanted to ask something." She said softly, looking up at Horatio who clearly wasn't too impressed.
"Go on…" Nathan said almost hesitantly.
"I know you said no field work, but what if I revisited an on-going case crime scene with no gun and no driving?" She asked gritting her teeth. She heard him exhale down the phone.
"You need to be honest with yourself and ask yourself whether you really think you're up to it. I can't think of any specific reasons why you can't go…" A small smile appeared across her face as she played with her bottom lip. 'She's playing with her lip!' Horatio thought to himself as he watched her and an involuntary small smile appeared across his face.
"So… that's a yes?" Zoë asked.
"Yes, if you think you're up to it, no hot crime scenes though." Nathan said sternly.
"Of course, thank you Nathan." She said with a smile.
"Be careful." Nathan said as they both hung up. She gave Horatio a smile. Horatio just stared at her, quickly changing back to a stern facial expression, waiting for her to say something.
"What? If you don't ask you don't get and I got it." She said with a smile.
"Am I going with you or are you going to put me with Delko or Ryan?" She asked with a smile.
"You're coming with me then." Horatio said raising his eyebrows.
A large grin appeared across her face as she almost jumped on the spot. She put the case photos away and went out with Horatio.
They drove over to the scene.
"So, where do you propose that we start looking?" Horatio asked.
"Definitely her room" Zoë said as they walked up the stairs. Horatio showed her into the room.
Zoë had a look round with Horatio keeping a close eye on her, as he scanned the room once again.
"Everything's in the same place." He said as he observed the room.
"Fantastic." She said as she walked over to the desk and crouched down, looking for any compartments in the draws but found nothing.
"What are you looking for?" Horatio asked as he saw her looked around, still crouched.
"Anything that could be used to hide the laptop. If you have been over the room, it's going to be hidden." She said as she stood up, turning the torch off. She walked over to the built-in cupboard and quickly looked around. She looked at the flooring and it all seemed fine. She then looked up at the top of the ceiling in the closet. She found a seal type thing and looked at it closer. He saw that she had found something as she turned around and dragged the chair over and stood on it. Horatio quickly walked over to her as she reached up.
"Horatio, could you give me a bit of a boost please?" She asked as she looked down at him.
"Certainly" he said as he took a hold of her legs and boosted her up a little more.
"Perfect, thank you" she said as she pushed the flap open and then removed a part of the ceiling.
"A little higher?" She asked as Horatio pushed her higher. "Thank you." She said as she managed to find what felt like a laptop and pull it down.
"Got it" she said as Horatio lowered her back down to stand on the chair and then helped her down from the chair.
She held the laptop up and gave Horatio a smile.
"Looks like you came back just in time." Horatio said with a smile as Zoë placed it down and photographed it.
"The charger is back at the lab, is it not?" Zoë asked.
"It is." Horatio said as Zoë bagged the laptop and they quickly left.
"Good call." Horatio said softly as they walked back down outside and got into the hummer.
"I knew you all needed me back." She said with a smile.
"Couldn't last more than a month without me" she said cheekily as they pulled away as Horatio chuckled a little.
Horatio made sure she was okay again and then they casually chatted after saying that she was perfectly fine. They arrived at the lab and Zoë carried the laptop in and immediately got to work with it while Horatio also stood with her and helped where he could.
She managed to pull all of the files and even got a picture for a suspect.
Their last conversation was about meeting the young girl at her home when her parents were out. Zoë sighed shaking her head a little. She then opened the same chat service on the lab computer and typed in the man's screen name.
"I've got him Horatio." She said as she sat back and showed him the screen.
"Is that his address?" Horatio asked. "It is indeed." Zoë answered looking up at him, from sat in the chair with her head leaning back against the top of the chair.
Suddenly he began to have visions of the night where he was leaning back looking up at her from the sofa as she leant over him and began kissing him. He had to quickly stop himself and calm himself down.
"Good work." Horatio said as he turned around and walked out, phoning Eric to go with him to pick him up. Zoë walked into the lab where Ryan was still working.
"I heard that you may have broken the teenage girl case." Ryan said as he looked up at her as she walked over at him.
"Perhaps, we won't know until we question him. What have you got?" She asked as she stood next to him.
"Sand" he simply said as he moved back from the microscope. He smiled, noticing the distance that she stood from him was slowly getting closer.
"Wow, that narrows it down." She said with a small chuckle. He moved away from the microscope for her to have a look for herself. She moved in and stood close to Ryan and studied the sand.
"That's from a building site?" She asked him as she looked up at him and he gave her a nod.
"You're thinking you're killer works there, aren't you?" She said, not even knowing much about the case.
"I am, yes." Ryan said crossing his arms looking at her.
"Is there a building site near your crime scene?" She asked as she looked at him intensely.
Ryan turned around and looked at the computer as Zoë leant down beside him, making contact with her shoulder against his. He was overwhelmed inside, it was the first time she'd stood that close to him and he loved it. He didn't realise he missed it until it was gone.
"There's a building site and there's our crime scene." Ryan said pointed the two places out.
"I think you should go and do something about that then." Zoë said as she stood back up and gave him a cheeky smile.
"Not coming with?" Ryan asked.
"Not allowed." She said.
"You went out earlier with H?" He asked.
"Technically, that wasn't a 'hot' crime scene and I didn't deal with any suspects, I just pointed the suspect out to them." She said with a smile. Ryan gave her a nod in understanding.
"Right, it looks like you've got it covered, I'm getting a cup of tea." She said as she lightly placed her hand on his shoulder.
"It's alright for some." Ryan said as he sat back and looked up at her, grinning because she had placed her hand on his shoulder.
"It sure is, but may I remind you that I found a hidden laptop and quite possibly placed the killer into the palm of your hands?" She said giving him a smile and a wink.
"There is that." Ryan said giving her a smile.
"I'll let you get to it." She said with a smile as she gently brushed his shoulder as she turned and walked away. She made herself a cup of tea and relaxed on the sofa for a little while, not having much to do now that both cases were being investigated out in the field.
She finished the cup and washed it up and went through into the lab to sort the evidence out when Horatio and Eric walked in with a man in cuffs as the police patrol men walked him through into an interrogation room and sat him there. Zoë came out of the lab almost instantly and stopped Horatio.
"Can I stand in on the interrogation? Nathan said it was okay." She said with a smile, pleading him slightly but standing close and talking quietly so no-one else heard what they were talking about. Horatio couldn't help but smile, it was the closest she'd stood next to him in a long time.
Horatio looked at her softly. "Yes, but… he's not the easiest of suspects. If you feel like you're getting too stressed or I see you getting stressed, you're straight out of there." Horatio said quietly as he looked up at her tenderly.
"I know, I understand Horatio. Thank you." She said with a smile.
"Sure you're up to this?" Horatio asked quietly and cautiously.
"Yes, I'm good." She said with a smile as she gave him a nod.
"Okay then." Horatio said as she turned around and walked over to the interrogation room with him. She picked up a few photos as they walked over. Horatio held the door open for her as they walked in and began the interrogation.
The man blatantly refused to say he knew the young girl, Horatio tried his best with the man but didn't get anything from him. The man kept looking up at Zoë who was stood not too far away from Horatio. She stared at him, studying his behaviour. Horatio stood back and exhaled, frustrated that the man wasn't giving him anything.
Zoë stepped forward and placed a photo of the conversation he had with the young girl.
"What's that?" He asked as he looked at the photo.
"That's the conversation you had with our victim." She said bluntly as she stood back up straight and folded her arms.
"Her? I've never met her!" The man said, knowing that he'd been rumbled to knowing the girl.
"Well this conversation suggests something very different." She said as she placed their last conversation on the table.
"That never happened." He said as she sat back.
"So you don't deny knowing her? And you don't deny having this conversation with her?" Zoë asked as she stood back up. The man began to sweat slightly as his behaviour shifted from confident to showing signs of nervousness. He didn't answer, giving them the answer they wanted.
She put another photo of the bruises on the young girls forearms in front of him.
"She fought for her life." Zoë simply said.
"I had nothing to do with her!" The man argued.
"So you didn't get those scratches on your hand and neck from her?" Zoë asked, studying the dried wounds.
"No." He said.
"Would you care to explain where you got them from?" Zoë asked standing back and holding a strong stance.
"My… my wife." He answered, unsure of his answer.
"You have a wife?" Zoë asked glaring at him, not picking up that he was clearly lying.
"Yes." He said looking down at the table.
"So, if we were to compare the skin we found under her nails with yours, it wouldn't match?" Zoë said putting another photo in his line of sight.
"No." He said simply.
"Would you care to give us the DNA or do we have to go and get a warrant, which for your information won't be a problem." She said boring her eyes into his.
"It won't match." He said feeling a little stuck in a rut.
"What about the semen we found? Did you know she was just 14?" Horatio asked, while Zoë's blood began to boil slightly as she took a step back, she seemed completely thrown from the situation before she dragged herself back and held her powerful posture again. The man began to sweat profusely, and fiddled with his hands.
"Well?" Zoë pressed.
"If you don't give me an answer you're only going to make it worse for yourself." Zoë said sternly.
He looked up at her, keeping his mouth closed.
"Fine" Zoë said as she pulled her phone out and dialled for Eric.
"Eric, can you please get a warrant for Mr Hays DNA?" She asked glaring at him.
"No… Okay, I'll tell you everything." The man said. "Scratch that Eric, thank you." Zoë said as she put the phone away.
"Go on then." Zoë said crossing her arms.
"I… I had been talking with her for a while, I got her a laptop. In return she'd speak with me. We arranged to meet up." He said looking from Horatio to Zoë, seeing the disgust in Zoë's eyes.
"We met up at hers and she suddenly clammed up, she was a tease. I lost my control and took her through to the living room where we fought a little, I didn't mean to strangle her." He said looking up at the both of them. He saw the anger in both of their eyes.
Zoë swallowed, keeping her anger at bay.
She leant forward on the desk quite close to him and peered into his eyes. "If you ever touch another child again, or even look at one. I can guarantee that I will personally castrate you myself." She growled at him with gritted teeth. Horatio gave a nod to the officers now that they had got their confession and saw Zoë beginning to lose it slightly.
The man swallowed, seeing the sincerity in Zoë's eyes and the officers picked him up by the arms and took him out while Zoë continued to lean on the desk, looking down.
"Zoë?" Horatio asked softly as he stood to the right of her and back a little.
Zoë lifted her head and stood up straight, turning to him as she took a deep breath.
"Everything okay?" Horatio asked softly.
"Yes, I just don't have patience for men like him, and never have." She said looking at Horatio sternly.
"Are you feeling okay?" Horatio asked, worried about her.
"Yes, now that he's off the street and won't harm another child again." Zoë said as she kept herself under control.
Horatio gave her a nod, completely understanding her. Zoë flicked her jacket back as she placed her hands on her hips.
"I guess we move on to this morning's case then!" Zoë said letting the previous case go, giving Horatio a nod. He gave her a nod back and they walked out and into the lab.
"Have you not gone to the site yet?" Zoë asked as she walked over to Ryan.
"I was just about to go." He said with a smile. "I heard you caught the killer?" Ryan said giving her a smile as Horatio stood talking to Eric.
"It was a team effort." She said with a shy smile.
"Erm, how did you put it? 'I may have just put the killer in the palm of your hands'?" Ryan said with a cheeky grin.
Zoë laughed a little. "I couldn't have found him if it wasn't for you guys supplying the evidence or bringing him in. So, I think it's fair game to say it was a team effort." She said raising her eyebrows and flashing him a brilliant smile. He continued to smile at her, until he saw Horatio glance over at them, Ryan saw the slight hurt in his eyes, seeing Zoë so close with Ryan.
"I erm… I should get off." Ryan said as he quickly excused himself.
"See you later." Zoë said as she looked down at Ryan's notes to get a back ground on the case. Ryan walked out as he took Eric with him and updated him on what he's found and where they're going to get the suspect, there was only one guy who had a connection with the victim that worked at the building site.
Horatio looked over at Zoë, and exhaled silently. He didn't know if he could take any more of it, he was struggling more and more every day to hide his feelings from her and was finding it increasingly more difficult to get up in the mornings. She didn't even have a clue. He knew that he'd occasionally slip up and show his feelings but she didn't pick up on them.
He admired her a little as she had her back to him and then proceeded to walk out. Before he got to the door, he was stopped by Zoë.
"Horatio?" She said hearing him move from the door.
"Yes?" He said as he stopped and looked over at her as she turned around and began to make her way over to him, slowly. Studying him, he knew she was thinking about something.
"What's bothering you?" She asked softly as she stood in close to him, keeping her voice quiet.
"Nothing." He said simply with a small smile, trying to hide his pain.
"Horatio, I think I know you a lot better than you think." She said using the same line he used on her a few days ago. She smiled at him.
"I know there's something going on in that head of yours and it's bothering you." She said sweetly and caringly. She had no idea what he was thinking.
"I'm good." Horatio said raising his eyebrows with a small reassuring smile. He wasn't going to tell her anything about it.
"Horatio, you've got to let someone in sometime." She said softly, focusing on his eyes.
"It's nothing to worry about." Horatio said kindly as he continued to smile at her warmly.
"Okay." She said nodding her head, knowing that she wasn't going to get anywhere with him.
"I'll see you later then." She said with a smile as he gave her a nod. She walked around him and gently brushed his arm with hers as she passed him. Horatio's mouth dropped open a little as his arm almost tingled under her touch. He turned around and watched her walk out with a very wide smile on his face. He knew that coming back to work would bring out her old self again and it was doing just that.
Horatio knew that she was feeling comfortable being back at work and it hurt him even more that she was completely oblivious to his feelings and continues to act normally around him. The fact that both she and Ryan were slightly closer put the finishing bullet in his chest.
Ryan and Eric finally came back with their suspect and all evidence pointed straight at him. They caught their killer the same day as the murder.
Horatio had a lot of paperwork to do so texted Zoë to say that he was going to be late.
'Don't worry Horatio, it's okay. Ryan's just offered to drive me back anyway. I'll see you tomorrow morning? Zoë' She replied back to him.
'Certainly, see you then.' Horatio replied. Zoë walked out with Ryan and he drove her home, she said thank you to him and invited him in. He happily accepted and went in with her as she made a coffee. They sat in the living room, talking, enjoying each other's company.
"Hey, you wanna' get takeaway? I can't be bothered to cook tonight…" Ryan said with a small smile.
"Sure, I don't even think I have the energy to make anything." She said, exhausted after her first day of being back at work in 4 weeks. Ryan followed her out and she pulled a load of leaflets out of the draw.
"Take your pick." She said with a smile.
"Well, I'm thinking Chinese…" Ryan grinned.
"You've made the right choice." She grinned and then pulled the leaflet and threw the others back in the draw.
"Do you want to order?" She questioned.
"Sure." Ryan said and she smiled at him.
"You know what I like anyway." She grinned and he smiled at her with a nod. Ryan quickly phoned and ordered, then hung up. They walked back into the living room and sat down, finishing their coffees and chatting until the Chinese arrived. They ate out in the kitchen and Ryan soon left. Both of them happy, having enjoyed a lovely evening.
She relaxed a little before having a 10 minute walk on the treadmill – nothing too strenuous.
She poured herself a bath and relaxed for 25 minutes and finally got out before getting changed and going back downstairs to relax while watching a film.
Horatio had just gotten back and made himself a small dinner before showering and going straight to bed. Zoë finally went upstairs around 10.30 and climbed into bed and fell asleep.
Zoë woke early and had a relaxing day while Horatio put some extra work in at the lab to find Ratner. Sunday evening came around and Horatio still hadn't found anything more. He went home and they both got an early night. Once again, Horatio didn't sleep well.
They were both woken by their alarm clocks the next morning after having a rough night sleeping, Zoë because she had a few bad dreams and Horatio because he missed Zoë and it was killing him not to be able to hold her. He felt like he had lost a part of him, he knew it would only be so long until he could no longer take it and something would come out of his mouth.
They both got up and got ready, Horatio was round Zoë's to pick her up on time and they drove over to the lab after having a conversation. The both of them looked a little tired.
"Not much sleep last night?" Zoë asked, seeing the tiredness in his eyes.
"Something like that, and I was going to say the same to you." Horatio said as he glanced over at her.
"Yeah, something like that." She said, playing him at his own game with a smile, immediately brightening up his morning.
They arrived at work and the day quickly passed with a new case in, involving a family who had been killed in their home. Before long it was the end of their shift and Horatio was still late because he had so much work to do.
Zoë said that it was okay because Ryan was going to take her home again, after a quick stop off at the firing range to get her practise back into motion.
Horatio thanked her for understanding and for letting him know what she was doing.
Both Ryan and Zoë got into Ryan's car and they drove over to the firing range, having a conversation as they drove.
"I'm sure you don't even need any practise, you're going to pick up that gun and hit the target spot on, like usual." Ryan said with a raised eyebrow.
"Is someone jealous?" She teased.
"No, I just know that you're going to be perfect at it." Ryan said with a smile.
"Hmm… I don't know about that, my aim has been pretty off." She said looking over at him with a smile.
"We'll see about that then." Ryan said as they carried on the conversation.
They got out at the firing range and Ryan had a few words with the employee, having worked there himself he said that they wouldn't need any help as Ryan could do it all. Ryan was friends with the employee so he let it slip and agreed.
Ryan loaded the gun and placed it on the table in front of her. "I can load the gun Ryan…" She said raising her eyebrow at him with a cheeky smile.
"Sorry, old habits." Ryan said with a smile as he handed Zoë a pair of plastic glasses and some ear protectors. She flashed him a brilliant smile.
He picked himself some up and they both put them on.
"Suits you" she said with a cheeky smile as he chuckled a little.
"Go ahead." Ryan simply said gesturing to the gun. Zoë picked the gun up as she leant forwards against the table and aimed it.
"Woah, Zoë stop" Ryan said as she looked back at him and lowered the gun to the table.
"What?" She said confused, not sure what she had done wrong.
"You're standing all wrong." Ryan said as he placed both of his hands on the sides of her waist and very gently pulled her back, off the table. He was stood directly behind her, she felt his chest against her back as he continued to hold on to her waist.
"Relax for me." He simply said, feeling her tense as the sides of their heads touched. The employee smiled, seeing Ryan so close to her, thinking that he was well in there.
She pulled the ear protectors off to hear him better. She looked round at him as his head was just above her left shoulder, inches from hers. She looked him in the eyes and gave him a nod as she relaxed herself.
"Just take a deep breath and completely relax, just focus on your breathing." Ryan said. She nodded and looked back at the target.
"Good, now you're going to take the gun with both hands, with your right hand on the trigger and squeeze gently." Ryan said softly as he let go of her waist and stood back, glancing over at the grinning employee, just about keeping himself under control in his trousers. Zoë put her ear protectors back over her ears and picked up the gun as Ryan stood a few meters behind, crossing his arms. He moved to the side of her and pressed the target button to move the target to face her.
She began shooting and then finished. Ryan collected the target paper and brought it back over.
"That's awful!" Zoë said laughing to herself, seeing the wide array of bullet holes.
"It's not bad, it's better than some of the people we had here." Ryan said softly with a smile.
"Not one direct hit though, I always hit it directly!" She said with a small chuckle.
"Don't worry, try again" Ryan said as he armed the target again. She went to pick the gun back up.
"This time, relax your shoulders." Ryan said as she nodded and loaded the gun.
She held it up again to shoot when Ryan stopped her again.
"I said to relax your shoulders, you're tense." Ryan said as she placed the gun back down and tried to relax herself.
"I'm sorry, I just want to get a good hit." She said with a smile. "I know." He replied as he again stepped up behind her and eased her shoulders down into a more relaxed position.
"There, now try." Ryan said as he stepped back and to the side.
Zoë picked the gun back up and began shooting. It was better this time.
"Try again." Ryan said with a smile as Zoë nodded and loaded the gun again.
"You're trying too hard, you're a natural at this Zoë so I think you just need to let go and loosen up, stop trying so hard." Ryan said softly as he placed his hand on her arm. She relaxed herself and shot at the target.
"You're getting better; you just need to get back into the swing of things." Ryan said as he held the target up and she looked at it.
"One close hit, that's not too bad." She said with a smile.
"One more time?" She questioned and Ryan gave her a nod.
"Really relax yourself this time." Ryan said softly. She nodded and exhaled, as she picked the gun back up and relaxed. She shot at the target again and then put the gun down when she finished the rounds. Ryan collected the target.
"Much better" He said holding it up for her to see.
"I'm happy with that." She said with a brilliant smile.
"Good, do you want to head off then?" Ryan asked as he placed his ear protectors and goggles down as she did the same and nodded at him.
Ryan gave a wave to the employee as the employee gave him a wave and a wink, thinking that they were an item and almost congratulating him. Ryan shook his head at him and then got in the car with Zoë.
"Thank you Ryan, I couldn't have done it without you." She said as she placed her seatbelt on.
"Not a problem, any time." Ryan said softly as he clicked his into place and they drove off. Ryan dropped her back off at home, wondering if she thought anything of him placing his hands on her waist and being close, hoping she did. But he then thought of Horatio and stopped coming on to her immediately, pushing his feelings and desires to the back of his head.
She thanked him and said bye as she got out and wave him off, happy with the progress she'd made.
She cooked and ate some dinner and had a shower before relaxing on the sofa, she went to bed at around 11pm while Horatio was still up and just about finishing his paperwork.
He finally got to bed after showering and eating a small snack.
Horatio was subject to bad dreams, of his past and of the event which pulled Zoë and Horatio apart, he also still missed her dearly. Zoë got a bit of a better night's sleep that night.
Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday all came around and passed quickly with ease. Zoe got back in to the swing of work and was getting a little more comfortable by the end of the week. Horatio made it his priority to make sure he was finished by the end of the day or to take files home as he saw Ryan and Zoë getting closer and closer and couldn't bear to see it any longer. He could only just cope with being apart from her, but to see her getting even closer with Ryan was killing him more. Thursday evening, Horatio was late to bed while Zoë was early to bed.
They were then both woken by their alarm clocks and got ready for work. Horatio picked her up and took her to work as they both had another conversation.
They arrived at work and got straight back to work on the family case. They had two suspects in mind and had them in holding, all they had to do was prove it was either one of them or both of them that committed the crime. By 4pm they had proven that they were both in on the crime and sent them for booking once all the evidence was piled up against them.
Zoë relaxed back in the lab and stumbled across a file on the computer. Ryan and Eric were elsewhere, sorting out the evidence while Horatio was just finishing up on some paperwork.
Zoë sat back and clicked on the file and opened it, she found details of when she was taken with Horatio. She found the beginning of the autopsy report that Alexx had begun, she sat straight up, shocked. She found pictures of her injuries and then photos of the crime scene and evidence. She saw herself looking dead on Alexx's table.
She stumbled across the CCTV footage of the room they were held in and clicked on it, not sure if she wanted to see it or not. She sat back in horror with her hand covering her mouth as she watched the screen. Horatio silently entered and walked up behind her, then realised what she was watching.
"Zoë?" he asked a little shocked. She sat straight back up and looked around to him, startled.
She swallowed and blinked a few times, sitting straight. She quickly closed the window and took a deep breath, looking away from Horatio.
"Zoë, sweetheart?" Horatio questioned, waiting for her to say that she was okay.
Instead she just got up and quickly walked out running her hands through her hair. "Sorry Horatio." She said as she walked out.
Horatio wanted to go after her but thought it was better if he gave her some time and quickly secured that file so no one other than him and his clearance level could have access to it.
He told himself that he was stupid not to do that before.
Zoë's mind was racing, repeating the things she saw, the autopsy report, the pictures and the first few minutes of the footage. She was breathing heavily to try and calm herself down, she knew it was in the past and it wasn't worth getting upset about but she couldn't help herself. She found herself getting stressed. Horatio hadn't seen her for 5 minutes and decided it was best to go and look for her, he rushed out of the lab.
"H, what's wrong?" Ryan called as he saw the rush Horatio was in.
"Zoë… she found the file on the computer about…" Ryan instantly knew what he meant.
"Okay H. I'll get looking." Ryan said understanding the scale of the situation and what it could potentially do to her. The best outcome was that she put it behind her, but still had the images in her head. The worst is that it could set back her recovery and do more damage than good.
They split and began looking as Horatio dialled for her, it went through to voicemail, he hadn't realised that she had left it in the break room though.
Horatio checked outside and checked that all the hummers were still in place.
She wasn't in the building at all and didn't seem to be outside at all either.