Butterflies
See Part 1 for Disclaimers, etc.
Tim woke up to his alarm early in the morning, feeling surprisingly well rested and more at peace than he had in ages. Calleigh had been the last thing on his mind when he drifted off to sleep and when he awoke in the morning thoughts of the night before brought a smile to his face. He couldn't wait to see her and knew it would be a long day but he hoped that at the end of it he would be able to spend a little time alone with Calleigh.
He drove into the parking lot and was a bit disappointed that Calleigh's car wasn't there yet. Eric was just arriving though, and looked like he'd had a rough night.
"Hey man," Eric greeted him.
"Hey, yourself. What the hell were you up to last night--you look like crap." Tim responded
"Nice. I can always count on you, Speed. " Eric gave him a friendly punch on the shoulder. "I had a great night, actually. Went to the bar with some buddies, met a girl..."
"And..."
"Well, I got her number and am just biding my time before I give her a call. I don't want to seem desperate but I really can't wait to see this girl again. Her name is Angela." Eric was clearly smitten and Tim was happy for him. Eric never had a problem finding girls to party with but he'd never seen him this excited about a woman before. He could certainly relate, since Calleigh was the first woman to really get his heart pumping in years.
They started to walk into the building when Calleigh drove into the lot and parked her car. Tim and Eric walked over to her car and Tim made an effort to control the excitement he felt at seeing Calleigh.
"Hey guys," Calleigh drawled. "Aren't I the lucky one, having two handsome men escort me into work." She fixed her big blue eyes meaningfully on Tim and he felt his face go red. Eric just shook his head and laughed at her, not noticing Tim's reaction.
The three of them walked into the building and went into the lunchroom to get some coffee. Tim eyed Calleigh as Eric told her about the new woman he'd met and thought that she'd definitely put some extra effort into getting ready for work this morning. She was a little more dressed up than usual and her hair was hanging down her back in loose curls. For his benefit no doubt. Tim didn't know how he'd be able to keep his hands off her today.
Calleigh looked over at him and smiled when she realized he was watching her. Oblivious to the silent exchange going on between his co-workers, Eric headed out the door with his coffee to go meet with Horatio and paused when he noticed Tim and Calleigh weren't following him.
"Coming, guys?" Eric looked at them curiously.
"We're right behind you, I just wanted to ask Tim something about the case before we see Horatio." Calleigh replied, doing her best to sound casual. Eric nodded and the door shut behind him. Not wasting a second, Calleigh reached for Tim and gave him a passionate kiss. He returned the kiss with equal passion, as Calleigh's arms went around his neck, pulling him even closer.
"Did I tell you how beautiful you look today, Cal?" Tim asked her breathlessly, when they finally stopped kissing. He ran his fingers through her blonde curls. "I love your hair like this, too."
Calleigh snuggled up to him and put her face against his chest. "I'm glad you like." She said. Then she sighed. "I guess we should go, before Eric comes back to look for us."
"You're right and as much as I'd like to, we just can't do this all day--we won't get any work done at all." Tim said at her, tracing the outline of her lips with his thumb. "So, we behave ourselves for the rest of the day--agreed?"
"Agreed," Calleigh replied, "All we've got to do is make it through the work day and then the night is ours." They managed to pry themselves away from each other and high-tailed it out of there.
After they updated Horatio on their progress with the case, Calleigh and Tim went to the lab to go over all of the evidence they'd had processed the day before. They hadn't been able to speak with Emma and Ryan either so that was next on the list. Emma had been released from the hospital this morning and was getting settled in at home. As much as Calleigh hated the idea of disturbing her at a time like this she knew that it was crucial to get the story first-hand. They'd read the initial police reports but the details were hazy and maybe she would remember more as the shock wore off.
Unfortunately, whoever had done this hadn't left any evidence of their identity behind. For that reason, Tim suspected it was an inside job. There had been no signs of forced entry or a struggle. It had been late in the evening so Tim found it difficult to believe that Emma would have left the door unlocked when she was home alone with a two-year old child. Tim and Calleigh both knew that speaking with Ryan and Emma could shed some new light on a case that was nearly void of clues.
A couple of hours later Tim and Calleigh were sitting in the living room of Emma and Ryan Pratt sipping the tea Emma had made for them. Their little girl Kate was quietly playing with her dolls on the floor and everything seemed eerily normal. It was hard to believe what had happened here less than two days ago.
After a few questions about where exactly Ryan had been the night the baby had been stolen and what he'd found when he came home, it was Emma's turn to tell her story. She tearfully recounted everything she could remember about that night but was apologetic that she didn't remember very much. Calleigh felt the tears come to her own eyes at the end of it and blinked to keep them from overflowing. She normally didn't let cases get to her but this one was harder than most. Tim, on the other hand, was not phased by Emma's story.
Something wasn't sitting right with him and he just couldn't figure out what it was yet. Watching them together Speed could tell that Ryan was grief-stricken over his loss and crazy about his wife but something about Emma's body language was suggesting she felt otherwise. There was something fake about her and Tim had a feeling that the more they knew about Mrs. Pratt the closer they'd be to solving this case. Neither Ryan nor Emma could think of anyone they knew who would want to do this but Tim told them that they would still be questioning their friends and family in order to explore every avenue possible.
Before they left Calleigh gently questioned Kate, quickly learning that she really had been sleeping that night and hadn't seen or heard a thing. Calleigh was relieved about that. Whatever happened, witnessing the abduction of her baby sibling wouldn't scar this little girl. Calleigh and Tim thanked the couple for their time and once outside Tim turned to Calleigh.
"Something's not right with that woman, Cal."
"Of course not, her baby was just stolen from her womb." Calleigh was a little shocked by what Tim was implying.
"It's more than that, I'm sure of it. We need to do some research into her background and find out more about her." Tim paused, seeing Calleigh's expression. "Don't you think she was acting a little strange? I mean, if you were grieving for your baby do you think you'd be that calm? Yeah, she turned on the waterworks at the appropriate time but other than that she seemed pretty normal."
"Everyone reacts to grief in different ways, but I guess you're right. If it were my baby stolen I wouldn't be playing the perfect hostess, offering tea and cookies to the people investigating my case. I'd be in a state of shock, for sure." Calleigh admitted.
"So we've got to go and find out more about these people then. We've got our work cut out for us today, Calleigh."
"That's good, because if we're busy the day will be over before we know it, right?" Calleigh smiled at Tim and his smiled back, opening the door of the Hummer for her. She gave him a quick kiss on the lips before getting in and Tim's heart leapt in his chest. He shook his head as he walked to the driver's side and got in, marveling at how little it took for Calleigh to get him going.
Calleigh and Tim split up in order to get their interviews done more quickly. When they met up again in mid-afternoon Tim was bursting to tell Calleigh the new information he'd found.
"She was screwing around on him, Cal." Tim said, as soon as Calleigh walked into the room.
"What? Slow down, Tim---what are you saying?"
"I went to the office Emma was working at until three weeks ago and had a chat with some of her co-workers. Apparently her marriage to Ryan has been on the rocks for a while now and Emma was cheating with a guy at the office. They had been trying to keep it a secret but one day they had been fooling around at work and a co-worker caught them. Emma swore the woman to secrecy and she has kept her silence until today. Emma became pregnant soon after that so her co-worker assumed that Ryan and Emma had patched things up and Emma had ended the affair."
"So did you talk to the guy?" Calleigh asked excitedly.
"That's the thing. This guy, Rick Manning, has disappeared." Tim nodded as Calleigh's eyes widened. "He hasn't been seen since the day before Emma's baby was taken."
"So I guess if we find him then we find the baby."
"Bingo!"
"Are you thinking that Emma was in on this from the beginning, Tim?"
"It would make sense. It's probably his child and the two of them figured out a way to keep the child away from Ryan without letting him know about the affair."
"But how could Emma give up her own child, especially if she's in love with Rick? This is all so twisted."
"We've still got a lot more digging to do in order to find out..." Tim was happy about the break in their case but he knew this might throw a tiny wrench into their plans for the evening. Once they got a solid lead they weren't likely to stop until it panned out. One way or the other they were going to get to the bottom of this case.
TBC...
See Part 1 for Disclaimers, etc.
Tim woke up to his alarm early in the morning, feeling surprisingly well rested and more at peace than he had in ages. Calleigh had been the last thing on his mind when he drifted off to sleep and when he awoke in the morning thoughts of the night before brought a smile to his face. He couldn't wait to see her and knew it would be a long day but he hoped that at the end of it he would be able to spend a little time alone with Calleigh.
He drove into the parking lot and was a bit disappointed that Calleigh's car wasn't there yet. Eric was just arriving though, and looked like he'd had a rough night.
"Hey man," Eric greeted him.
"Hey, yourself. What the hell were you up to last night--you look like crap." Tim responded
"Nice. I can always count on you, Speed. " Eric gave him a friendly punch on the shoulder. "I had a great night, actually. Went to the bar with some buddies, met a girl..."
"And..."
"Well, I got her number and am just biding my time before I give her a call. I don't want to seem desperate but I really can't wait to see this girl again. Her name is Angela." Eric was clearly smitten and Tim was happy for him. Eric never had a problem finding girls to party with but he'd never seen him this excited about a woman before. He could certainly relate, since Calleigh was the first woman to really get his heart pumping in years.
They started to walk into the building when Calleigh drove into the lot and parked her car. Tim and Eric walked over to her car and Tim made an effort to control the excitement he felt at seeing Calleigh.
"Hey guys," Calleigh drawled. "Aren't I the lucky one, having two handsome men escort me into work." She fixed her big blue eyes meaningfully on Tim and he felt his face go red. Eric just shook his head and laughed at her, not noticing Tim's reaction.
The three of them walked into the building and went into the lunchroom to get some coffee. Tim eyed Calleigh as Eric told her about the new woman he'd met and thought that she'd definitely put some extra effort into getting ready for work this morning. She was a little more dressed up than usual and her hair was hanging down her back in loose curls. For his benefit no doubt. Tim didn't know how he'd be able to keep his hands off her today.
Calleigh looked over at him and smiled when she realized he was watching her. Oblivious to the silent exchange going on between his co-workers, Eric headed out the door with his coffee to go meet with Horatio and paused when he noticed Tim and Calleigh weren't following him.
"Coming, guys?" Eric looked at them curiously.
"We're right behind you, I just wanted to ask Tim something about the case before we see Horatio." Calleigh replied, doing her best to sound casual. Eric nodded and the door shut behind him. Not wasting a second, Calleigh reached for Tim and gave him a passionate kiss. He returned the kiss with equal passion, as Calleigh's arms went around his neck, pulling him even closer.
"Did I tell you how beautiful you look today, Cal?" Tim asked her breathlessly, when they finally stopped kissing. He ran his fingers through her blonde curls. "I love your hair like this, too."
Calleigh snuggled up to him and put her face against his chest. "I'm glad you like." She said. Then she sighed. "I guess we should go, before Eric comes back to look for us."
"You're right and as much as I'd like to, we just can't do this all day--we won't get any work done at all." Tim said at her, tracing the outline of her lips with his thumb. "So, we behave ourselves for the rest of the day--agreed?"
"Agreed," Calleigh replied, "All we've got to do is make it through the work day and then the night is ours." They managed to pry themselves away from each other and high-tailed it out of there.
After they updated Horatio on their progress with the case, Calleigh and Tim went to the lab to go over all of the evidence they'd had processed the day before. They hadn't been able to speak with Emma and Ryan either so that was next on the list. Emma had been released from the hospital this morning and was getting settled in at home. As much as Calleigh hated the idea of disturbing her at a time like this she knew that it was crucial to get the story first-hand. They'd read the initial police reports but the details were hazy and maybe she would remember more as the shock wore off.
Unfortunately, whoever had done this hadn't left any evidence of their identity behind. For that reason, Tim suspected it was an inside job. There had been no signs of forced entry or a struggle. It had been late in the evening so Tim found it difficult to believe that Emma would have left the door unlocked when she was home alone with a two-year old child. Tim and Calleigh both knew that speaking with Ryan and Emma could shed some new light on a case that was nearly void of clues.
A couple of hours later Tim and Calleigh were sitting in the living room of Emma and Ryan Pratt sipping the tea Emma had made for them. Their little girl Kate was quietly playing with her dolls on the floor and everything seemed eerily normal. It was hard to believe what had happened here less than two days ago.
After a few questions about where exactly Ryan had been the night the baby had been stolen and what he'd found when he came home, it was Emma's turn to tell her story. She tearfully recounted everything she could remember about that night but was apologetic that she didn't remember very much. Calleigh felt the tears come to her own eyes at the end of it and blinked to keep them from overflowing. She normally didn't let cases get to her but this one was harder than most. Tim, on the other hand, was not phased by Emma's story.
Something wasn't sitting right with him and he just couldn't figure out what it was yet. Watching them together Speed could tell that Ryan was grief-stricken over his loss and crazy about his wife but something about Emma's body language was suggesting she felt otherwise. There was something fake about her and Tim had a feeling that the more they knew about Mrs. Pratt the closer they'd be to solving this case. Neither Ryan nor Emma could think of anyone they knew who would want to do this but Tim told them that they would still be questioning their friends and family in order to explore every avenue possible.
Before they left Calleigh gently questioned Kate, quickly learning that she really had been sleeping that night and hadn't seen or heard a thing. Calleigh was relieved about that. Whatever happened, witnessing the abduction of her baby sibling wouldn't scar this little girl. Calleigh and Tim thanked the couple for their time and once outside Tim turned to Calleigh.
"Something's not right with that woman, Cal."
"Of course not, her baby was just stolen from her womb." Calleigh was a little shocked by what Tim was implying.
"It's more than that, I'm sure of it. We need to do some research into her background and find out more about her." Tim paused, seeing Calleigh's expression. "Don't you think she was acting a little strange? I mean, if you were grieving for your baby do you think you'd be that calm? Yeah, she turned on the waterworks at the appropriate time but other than that she seemed pretty normal."
"Everyone reacts to grief in different ways, but I guess you're right. If it were my baby stolen I wouldn't be playing the perfect hostess, offering tea and cookies to the people investigating my case. I'd be in a state of shock, for sure." Calleigh admitted.
"So we've got to go and find out more about these people then. We've got our work cut out for us today, Calleigh."
"That's good, because if we're busy the day will be over before we know it, right?" Calleigh smiled at Tim and his smiled back, opening the door of the Hummer for her. She gave him a quick kiss on the lips before getting in and Tim's heart leapt in his chest. He shook his head as he walked to the driver's side and got in, marveling at how little it took for Calleigh to get him going.
Calleigh and Tim split up in order to get their interviews done more quickly. When they met up again in mid-afternoon Tim was bursting to tell Calleigh the new information he'd found.
"She was screwing around on him, Cal." Tim said, as soon as Calleigh walked into the room.
"What? Slow down, Tim---what are you saying?"
"I went to the office Emma was working at until three weeks ago and had a chat with some of her co-workers. Apparently her marriage to Ryan has been on the rocks for a while now and Emma was cheating with a guy at the office. They had been trying to keep it a secret but one day they had been fooling around at work and a co-worker caught them. Emma swore the woman to secrecy and she has kept her silence until today. Emma became pregnant soon after that so her co-worker assumed that Ryan and Emma had patched things up and Emma had ended the affair."
"So did you talk to the guy?" Calleigh asked excitedly.
"That's the thing. This guy, Rick Manning, has disappeared." Tim nodded as Calleigh's eyes widened. "He hasn't been seen since the day before Emma's baby was taken."
"So I guess if we find him then we find the baby."
"Bingo!"
"Are you thinking that Emma was in on this from the beginning, Tim?"
"It would make sense. It's probably his child and the two of them figured out a way to keep the child away from Ryan without letting him know about the affair."
"But how could Emma give up her own child, especially if she's in love with Rick? This is all so twisted."
"We've still got a lot more digging to do in order to find out..." Tim was happy about the break in their case but he knew this might throw a tiny wrench into their plans for the evening. Once they got a solid lead they weren't likely to stop until it panned out. One way or the other they were going to get to the bottom of this case.
TBC...
