A/N: Thank you for the reads!

This is the last chapter before the epilogue so I hope you enjoy it!

Horatio, Mac and their respective CSIs (c) CBS, Daikonran and Secondet (c) my sister

21, Stars

Ryan finished typing his report and rubbed his eyes. He finished just in time for lunch as the familiar smells of take-out permeated the lab. Wolfe was in the mood for some Chinese food and proceeded to print and file away the Thompson case. Socorro had indeed proven a great insight into the pseudoscience of necromancy, his report overflowing with cultural references, procedures and an assortment of techniques. She was ultimately charged with desecration and private property theft. All he had left to do was go to Alexx's post and fill out the release form for Felicity.

Along the way, he met up with Natalia, who had just arrived from her training. She greeted him warmly while asking, "Anything good happen while I was gone?"

Ryan gave her a strange look, a mix of surprise and futility as he shook his head. "You wouldn't believe it."

Boa Vista chuckled a bit, "Oh really? What happened this time, werewolves tear apart a sorority house?" She grinned in her unbridled curiosity.

"Umm, no." Wolfe caught a glance of his watch and cut the conversation with, "Listen, I have to fill out some papers over with Alexx. Can I interest you in Chow Mein from Lo Wa's? I promise to catch you up."

The woman sighed and nodded. "I want every excruciating detail."

Your choice of words couldn't be the worst, Natalia.

Instead of the senior M.E., Ryan found Secondet cleaning the table for the next arrival. The boy-angel had no clear emotion in his face, just blank. The case hit way too close to home, especially with Otis loose. To try to cheer him up, Wolfe stated,

"Your kids are here."

"Thank you Wolfe but I already knew that." Secondet replied unemotionally as he sprayed disinfectant over the metal surface. Ryan saw himself and the dried tears being wiped away from the sheen surface and, completely disobeying both his own personal walls and his OCD, hugged the angel. He perceived Secondet as a vulnerable younger sibling. Secondet had been the one who opened Ryan's eyes into the dystopian society that was the preternatural. Leonhart released his tears into the CSI's cotton sweater vest; he had been exposed to the worry, the horrifying possibility that a man like Stuart Otis could take his daughter and commit atrocities much worse than death.

"They're waiting in H's office; I let them in."

The boy quickly cleaned his tears and rushed to the nearby desk. "You needed something, Ryan?"

"Yeah, release forms for Felicity." A second later, and the angel handed the paperwork. "You want lunch? My treat."

A sniffle then Secondet replied, "If you're willing to pay for three very hungry schoolchildren."

As Daikonran went off to tend other patients, Mac remained with Delko while they both watched Calleigh sleep. The rotting smell however never left the New York citizen's mind. In the next cubicle, there had to be an uninvited undead getting a pipe removed by unsuspecting interns. He had to something about it and it was better off that Kino didn't find out about it. Taylor bade Eric good-bye and his best wishes for Calleigh's recovery before starting his subtle approach. He opened the curtain and stated with outmost calm and certainty,

"You guys can go, Dr. Kino said you should practice on other patients. I'll watch him."

The gullible interns dispersed almost instantly, they were not about to disobey the doctor again. With their leave, Mac was left alone in the cubicle while the unknown individual struggled with pain. "Cut the crap and get up."

The man continued his suffering but before replying, "Can't. I'm getting quality medical care here."

Taylor ripped the helmet from man's head, revealing the photophobic skin to the 1 pm Miami sun. To smother the proceeding sounds, Mac grabbed a pillow and pressed it onto the man's face. "This could go two ways; either you tell me why you're here and probably live another nightfall or I could 'accidentally' toss you into the lobby parking lot and watch you explode into ash. Either way, I'll be entertained by your pathetic attempts at defending yourself."

The undead choked on the cotton and yelled through the pillow, "We're here to ensure that the lieutenant keeps his bargain with Madam Marla!"

"We're? Are you telling me there's more of you?" Mac pressed even harder without breaking a sweat.

"One for every three people in this building. We don't want any trouble; it's way past our normal curfew." The vampire stated, causing Mac to laugh.

"Curfew? Now I know you're pathetic." Taylor then estimated that there were at least one hundred and fifty of whoever this Marla character was; too many for him to take on without the possibility of harming innocent lives, many who were there to get better. Realizing this, he sighed reluctantly. "Your friends got lucky."

The unknown bloodsucker smirked cowardly through the pillow. "That's right…"

Now it was the detective's turn to smile. With a quick jab, he tore the cushion off along with the man's vocal cords and watched as he writhed in muted burning agony. The monster's skins boiled just as it melt and peeled away into grayish powder, his unnerving stare disappearing against the sun.

Horatio, whatever you're doing better be worth not killing all of these bastards.

While the coroner's vehicle loaded the black body bag, Horatio surveyed the surroundings and spotted the waving figure that was Ruez. He gave her a quick glare and hopped into the van alongside the county coroner. He had to make sure that Otis behaved himself until Marla set a time to be released. Just before taking off, Horatio called Frank and ordered him to come along, gun fully loaded.

The hour-long trip was relatively commonplace, nothing out of the ordinary from the site to the Miami-DADE crime lab. When they arrived, a very disgruntled Alexx Woods greeted the lieutenant with a hint of rage. This was further aggravated when she saw the corpse.

"I am going to have fun with this one." She chided as her assistance transported the body inside.

"I'll help you restrain him." Caine added, placing the same cross that he had used the hospital on Otis' chest. The medical examiner's face lost her color when she heard Horatio say that and quickly turned to face him.

"Please tell me that was a sick joke."

"No joke, Alexx. And what's worse, I'll have to set him free." The statement caused a lot of pain, not just for those awaiting mothers inside the DADE Death Row chamber but also for the countless potential victims that would arise. He promised the coroner he'd explain everything just as soon as Stuart was loaded in a reinforce cubicle lined with holy items.

"On it." the hiss in Alexx's voice was evident as she led herself into her post. Once she entered the examination area, the medical examiner had a quick flashback of Marla's stay only two months prior and decided to take the proper precaution. She then took out some triple-knotted rope and snapped it for a second before strapping the child molester to the slide. "You stay put until I tell you to. I have a job to do."

Caine's cellphone rang about the same time he arrived at his own office. Realizing that the number was unknown, he decided to answer. "Horatio Caine."

"Miss me?"

"Who'd miss a sociopath like you, Ruez? Now what do you want? Stuart?" the lieutenant inquired, anger seething in his tone. "Otis is safe in the body vault, just waiting for your orders."

"Baby, let's talk about work for a second; you still want to protect the unforgiving world?" Marla's mood was cynical and sarcastic, acid to Horatio's ears. "Archimedes is weeping blood for you."

Horatio smiled humorlessly. "Then you'd better get the old boy something else to stick a pair of prosthetic wings. Not interested." The surgical scars from removing the remaining artificial wings from his back were pretty fresh, getting some very interesting glances in the lab's showers.

"Vamp humor, go figure." Wherever the seductress was, Caine figured, she was enjoying herself as he heard her sip from a drink and set it upon a wooden surface. "But you're right, there's is the matter of my newest cash cow. Tonight at 7: 30 pm. Use the back door. Come alone." The phone died down, leaving Horatio with much pent-up fury and a fully loaded Beretta Cougar 0.9mm. He flipped the cell phone off and headed for the DADE Memorial Hospital to check on Calleigh's condition.

Ryan's attempt at retelling the case in proved much more entertaining for Secondet's kids than the stupefied Natalia. Her head spun at every successive event the CSI related; it seemed just like a Night of the Living Dead spin-off but even more ludicrous. The three children, however, giggled every time Ryan said a funny sounding word while Secondet scolded them.

"And all this happened in the last seventy-two hours?"

"Yep. You should've seen the place! It was lined with…" Ryan was interrupted by Boa Vista's hand. She was already bordering on throwing up when her meal arrived, a heaping bowl of beef-and-chicken noodle soup simmering in celery sticks and beets.

"This is a fascinating story but I seriously need to get something in my stomach."

Calleigh insisted on being released once she woke up, using the pretext that she never took a sick day off, amusing Eric and Daikonran to no end.

"Well, a sick day isn't the same as almost getting your ribcage slashed open and living to tell the story." Delko remarked, Calleigh pouting in response.

"You bring me a certified doctor and he'll tell you otherwise!"

Kino put in hands on his while holding Duquesne's file. "I'm a certified doctor and I say you should sit back and enjoy the hospital food for tonight, because those gashes need to rest."

Mac reappeared in the cubicle, covered in gray powder but nonetheless glad the woman was feeling better. He patted the doctor in the back and said before leaving, "You take care of her, all right? Horatio is pulling a lot of favors to see her walk out alive."

The space became very quiet until Kino responded with, "Run that by me again?"

Nightfall dragged on and by 7: 30 pm, Horatio stepped out of the medical examiner's back door, Stuart's body bag on tow. He had explained the situation to Alexx, who reluctantly agreed to isolate the spot for the meeting. On one condition: send that bitch my best regards for destroying my lab.

Will do Alexx, the lieutenant grinned as he waited. A black sedan limousine rolled through the gates. Ever the flamboyant woman, Marla stepped out of the car, dressed for a gala; a silk dress form-fitted tinged with cascading glitter hid her high-heeled shoes. Not something any sane person would wear for a negotiation.

"What's the occasion?" Horatio commented, meeting Marla's lingering eye for the first time in two months. In his hand gripped Otis' dragged corpse, knocked unconscious by a quick fist to the face when he and Dr. Woods tried to take him out.

"Every time I see you, it's motive to celebrate." She replied while ripping the bag from Caine's hand and with her typical supernatural strength, tossed the 250-pound man into the trunk. "The help doesn't sit where they're not really needed."

"We've kept our shares of the deal; you killed some people and I brought down your dollhouse. Now get out of Miami." Horatio chided before being cut short by a lip lock. He sensed the copper taste of blood in Marla's mouth and pushed her aside.

"You don't know how long I've waited for this." She whispered maliciously as she wrapped her arms around Horatio's neck only to have them shoved off.

"Chastity is a virtue. Practice it." Caine spat before heading back inside into the lab.

A/N: Reviews are welcome!