A/N: AU. Speedle, as named godfather of little Tim, visits Natalia when Eric and Calleigh file for custody of Natalia and Eric's son.. but Natalia doesn't want to give up her son.

Warning: Is a little angsty.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything, all rights belong to CBS.

(For story sake, Tim never died, he just rejoined the FBI after he recovered from the gunshot wound.)

Natalia sighed as she held her six year old close to her in a tight hug. "Timmy, I love you so much. Don't forget it." The little boy smiled. "I know, mama." He clung to his mother and didn't let go. As far as Timothy knew, his mom and his dad were at a disagreement.. about him. He felt bad. Because he loved his mom, and had always been with her. He was momma's boy. All the people his mom introduced him to would say it over and over. He didn't know what was going to happen, but he didn't want to lose his mother in the process.

The honey blonde felt like crying everytime she looked at her son, knowing that it could be the last time she saw him. She hoped that her son knew how much she cared about him. Tim was her little baby boy. The one she'd went through labour with. He was her flesh and blood. Natalia loved him with everything she had. Tim was her everything. Named after the great CSI, Timothy 'Speed' Speedle, she knew that the name had been right for him. His attributes reminded her of her old FBI partner. So compassionate and full of determination, always wanting to do the right thing. No mistake.

As Natalia released him from her embrace, she placed both her hands on his face and smiled emotionally. Tim took his mom's hand and they went downstairs. He'd walked in on her crying, which is why he had hugged her. He loved his mom and it truly did make him feel awful when she started to get emotional. Natalia had never been happier to have her little man with her. He gave her something to fight for. A reason to believe that she could live happily someday.

Boa Vista wiped her eyes with a tissue by the counter as Tim had begun reading a book on basic science. He wanted to be just like the Tim that Lt. Caine had described to him once. And besides, he was very interested in everything to do with science. Even at six years of age, little Timothy Boa Vista was so happy to learn as much as he could. Natalia was quite fascinated by that fact. She'd only ever wanted to do parenting right, and she always hoped that she hadn't been too bad at encouraging her son to expand his research by buying him kids textbooks and even teaching him some of the things she knew.

Battling Eric over custody was something she never imagined would happen. All she'd wanted was a fair settlement, her being the one with more ideal into how they'd take care of Tim. But when Eric and Calleigh got together, things got complicated. Natalia didn't want to lose her son, even though she wasn't confident in her parenting skills.. she would still put 100% into fighting to keep her little Timmy. Yes, he was Eric's son too, but not everything was about blood. It was about family. And he was her family. The baby boy she'd given birth to after 18 hours in labor on her own. There was nobody there beside her when she went through that hardship. Eric hadn't even been there. Even though that was his day off, the day Timothy was born.

Alexx had been over to her place, checking up on her and Tim. Because the former M.E. felt for her on a personal level. She'd had a similar situation with Henry when they'd separated. Natalia had insisted that she was okay and would not need anything. But Alexx had still been giving her the full support, including babysitting for her when she worked late or had to go to court for a case trial. Horatio had come over a few times as well. Just to see how she and Tim were doing, especially after the battle for custody that had been going on. Ryan was the only CSI that wasn't distracted by anything going on in his personal life. Walter was getting married soon enough.

As 'Give Me A Little More Time' by Gabrielle played on the radio, Natalia stared at her reflection in the bathroom. She was tired. Unable to sleep. And still, she worked. She needed to. Being a single mother wasn't easy and she wanted to make sure that Tim had all the things he needed.

Recently, she'd received a message from a number that was listed in her contacts as 'Speed', aka Tim Speedle. Named godfather of her Tim and the agent that she had been partnered with during her time at the FBI, before she began working in the lab. That's how she knew if him already. They'd known each other since '95. The message was a hello. Saying that he'd be in Miami for a while and wanted to know if he could see her and finally meet his godson. Natalia had been more than ecstatic to have him come over. Not because he was Eric's best friend, because this was his godson. A kid that he would have custody over in something happened to the parent looking after him. It was more than important.

Boa Vista tied her messy curls back into a ponytail and observed her current state. Dressed in an oversized sweater and sweats, she didn't know if it could get any worse. When she came back into the main room, still barefaced and casually dressed, she hadn't expected to see the former CSI sitting with Tim on the couch. She had to blink twice to make sure her eyes weren't playing tricks on her.

"Speed.. suppose you've met Tim?"

"Sure have. You have a smart kid, Nat."

The honey blonde chuckled. "Timmy, you checked outside first?" Her son nodded. "I recognized him from the photos. You named me after him?" Natalia smiled. Tim (Speed) was amazed. He'd not expected a six year old to have so much common sense. But he didn't doubt it. He always knew Natalia would make a great mother and it showed that she had taught the little boy basic safety precautions. And he listened.

"Tim was just showing me his chemistry book," Speed said with a smile.

Natalia gave a small nod. "Of course. He loves science.." She watched as the two Tim's discussed things that she probably wouldn't make sense of. And she still had a lot on her mind about the custody battle, so knowing that Speedle was the perfect person for her son gave her a lot of clarity for future references. With everything going on, she hadn't realised how good it felt to finally see Timothy Speedle again.

"I'll leave you two to get along, I have some work to do for a bit." Little Tim didn't want his mom to leave, but, he knew that he'd been okay with his godfather. They'd already hit it off and he was already quite fond of the federal agent. Getting used to new people wasn't easy, though it had been anything besides difficult with Speedle. Speed already loved his godson and was definitely going to support both of them. Natalia was raising a kid on her own after all.

"You know Tim, your mom works so hard.. what's your relationship with you dad?"

"I see Dad on the weekends. Sometimes I stay over. He's nice, I don't want to leave mom though. She has been crying a lot."

That broke Tim's heart. Knowing that the little kid saw his mother crying for him. Natalia's motherly instinct had been there, even before she'd even given had her baby. She was dejectedly keeping herself going, hoping that it would get better. But things weren't as good as she made them out to be. With being on the verge of losing custody over her son and in a constant battle with Eric, she was falling apart. More so than she would ever admit. "When was the last time she cried..?" "Before you came." The little boy answered.

Timothy Boa Vista was a small kid, with a tanned complexion, big brown eyes and dark brown hair that sat upon his head in spikes. It wasn't often Speedle met kids that knew any better by what they saw. But this kid, he saw things as they were. Tried to comfort his mother as much as possible in return for just her motherly love. Tim could see why Natalia was so proud of him. He'd been raised well, and that's all he could ask for. He had been taught the differences of good and bad, attended church every Sunday with his mom, and never did anything to disrespect those in their lives. He was family. Blood didn't always determine family. It ran much deeper than that.

"You head upstairs, buddy, and I'll come see you after I talk to your mom. Does that sound good?"

Tim once again nodded. He hugged Speed, as a gesture of many thanks, and ran upstairs. The agent was grateful for the hug from his godson. "Nat!" He called to her in the study. There was no reply. Confused, Speedle opened the door to the study and he saw Natalia lying on the desk in a deep slumber. He'd been worried for a second. However, nothing worried him more than how she was doing emotionally. She needed to be at her best, or else there was a higher risk of losing the custody battle.

"Natalia, babe, you need to wake up.." Natalia sat up, rubbing her eyes and emitting a yawn. "I'm up, I'm up.. sorry Speed. Suppose you sent Timmy to get ready for bed?" "I did. It's almost seven and he needs the rest." Tim brushed her fringe aside and smiled at her. Natalia smiled sadly. As she was happy, she was also filled with melancholy. Tears streamed down her face as she silently stared at him. Tim had always been there when she was new to the FBI and barely knew her way around the place. Had held her son when he was just 3 months old, even before Eric had.

He never seemed to let her be alone, even when he wasn't in Miami, or Florida. "You need to stay strong. I know it gets hard facing reality for what it's worth, and I know you're not giving up on Tim, so I need you to keep going. Tomorrow, you get your heels on and go into work with knowledge that you've done your best to raise your son the right way.. keep holding on, Tali. For me.. for lil' Timmy." Speed picked up a tissue and wiped the tears off her face. "Don't cry, you're better than this."

"Am I really though? Maybe Tim does deserve better.."

"Natalia.."

She cocked her eyebrow. "Speed, I am his mother. I carried my baby for 9 months, dealing with the pregnancy on my own. Eric didn't ever come to the hospital to see him, or when I went into labor. I did it on my own!" Natalia weakly hit him as she began to cry again. She hit him until he pulled her into a much needed embrace.

"I raised him," She sobbed. "I didn't want to fight with Eric, and yet I am."

Tim rubbed her back and sighed. Kids was never an easy subject, especially when the two parents couldn't come to a conclusion. Natalia had been heartbroken enough when Eric got with Calleigh, and hadn't even come to the hospital to see her or their newborn son. She couldn't help but hold it against him. Natalia was angry with him. And she used that anger to keep herself from showing just how hurt she really was. Delko had hurt her, and the only thing she could do was cry about all the things that aligned with that dejection.

Did he think Eric and Natalia could work things out? He wasn't sure. But did he think that things could soften? Hopefully. Tim had to be hopeful. He wasn't on either one's side. His support was for Natalia as a single parent and his godson. A toxic familial environment will only make the kid suffer more. "I'll put him to bed. You go and get some rest, Nat."

She wiped her tears with the sleeve of her sweatshirt. "A-are you sure?"

"I'm sure. Don't give in now." He squeezed her a little tighter and she exhaled slowly once they pulled back.

"Thank you, Tim.. I'll show you where his room is."

Natalia led Speedle through the study and the main room to the stairs and then to the second door on the left. She pushed the door and there sat her little boy, dressed in his pajamas, reading the book about homosapiens with the night light on. He looked up at his mother and godfather. "Hey Tito, mind if Tim puts you to bed tonight?"

"No," He smiled. "Night momma."

"Goodnight baby." She said, waving to him before she went to her room and left the two alone.

Speedle entered the room and sat down beside him on the bed. "Suppose you've been through it all, huh?" "My dad loves Calleigh, and mom said she knows that. She said that she loves me, and that's all that matters... You'll stay around, right?"

"I'll have to ask your mom."

"She'll say yes! Mom is very nice to people she likes!"

"She is. Has she ever mentioned me?"

Timothy giggled. "Mom said I was named after an amazing man, dad's best friend, who was nothing but focused on doing his best.. you're very cool, Speed!"

Speedle was a little taken aback by that last comment. He'd never been called cool by a little kid before. But it was cute. Maybe he had just never gotten used to the idea of having kids in his life, but a godson was close enough. Tim didn't know what would happen and what would be decided for young Tim, but what he did know was that both parents were very passionate about their son and only wanted the best for him.

"I'm come by and visit more often."

"Yay!" The six year exclaimed.

Tim chuckled. He took the book from his and placed it on the nightstand. "C'mon, it's way past your bedtime, lil' man." Timothy pouted. "Really?"

"Really. Hope into bed, Tim."

The little boy huffed, getting into bed and under the blankets. "Timmy, will mom be okay?"

"Of course she will. She's very tough."

That was a hard question to answer. To determine someone's future in terms of their emotions, nevertheless, Tim didn't regret his reply. He knew Natalia would come back from it all and nothing would ever completely bring her down. She was stronger than that. Had been through it all before. The little boy was relatively level-headed and concerned, out of love for his mom. All he wanted was to know was that his mother was okay.

Tim hoped to come around more often and be of help in any way possible. Whether it was just being another family member there, or giving them support. This little dude had ultimately become his best friend in the hours. It was for his sake, that he prayed the custody battle didn't end in complete misery for both Boa Vista and Delko.

So when he left the house and got into his car, he made a call to Eric. "Delko." "Hey, Speed.. what's up?" Tim sighed. "Just went to see Tim. He's .. incredible. You have one heck of a son.. both of you."

Delko hummed. He was still thinking about his son. And how much he really did want to be a part of his life. He and Natalia had not been able to reach a conclusion on the custody, which is when Calleigh suggested he filed for full custody. And that's what he'd done. Although, something about it didn't feel right. He still felt like he'd not done all he could to mend the originally bad terms he and Boa Vista had left off on. "He's happy?"

"Elated. But.. there's something you should know."

"What is it?"

"He's concerned about Natalia. I think you should check up with her, because I think there's something going on."

The latino's heart dropped as soon as those words reached him. He hadn't realised that Tim's slight attachment to his mother had been because she could be dealing with something. "Ok.. thanks, bro." "No problem. Make sure you talk to her though."

"I will." Eric promised.

Speed hung up and Eric lay there with his mind wandering. And suddenly he could only think about all the things he should've done. Like actually be there for her during her pregnancy. He should have done a lot more then, and when she went into labor. It was so selfish of him.. and hearing that she wasn't okay. It never would sit right with him.

They needed to work it out.. before a possible tragedy strikes and causes it all to come crashing down.