Disclaimer: I don't own any of these characters, including Tim Speedle (sigh), but hey, a girl can dream can't she?

Rating: We'll start out with PG-13 for now.

Pairings: Speed/OC (Jennifer), Horatio/Calleigh, and maybe we'll give Eric a little love this time!

Summary: Speed's wife is kidnapped and all the clues lead to a case Speed and John Hagen worked on early in their careers.

Author's Note - I almost feel like I'm making Speed cheat between two women right now! However, my brain hurts and I desperately need a break from the serial killer in Love Lost Returned. This story has been in my head for a few days now, and if I don't get fingers to keyboard - I'll forget it all!

Chapter 2

"Tim?"

Speed looked up to find his brother-in-law in the doorway of his lab, a concerned expression set on his face. "Hey, what's up?" Tim asked, returning his attention to his sample.

"Have you seen Jennifer since you got here?"

Tim shook his head. "I assume you're looking for her?"

John stepped into the lab and straddled the stool across from Tim. "I've paged her ten times, tried both her cell phones - nothing."

Tim grinned. "Did you ever stop to consider that maybe your sister is avoiding you?" he teased.

"I did consider that which is why I'm coming after you now," Hagen shot back.

"Okay, let's call her." Tim reached over and dialed Jennifer's work cell number. The phone rang fifteen times before Tim gave up. Frowning, he dialed her personal cell number. After five rings, the voice mail picked up. "You've reached Jennifer Speedle. Please let a message at the beep." Tim picked up the receiver and began speaking into it. "Hey, babe, it's me. Call me when you get this so I can get your brother off my back - he's looking for you." He replaced the receiver and dialed another number. "Daybrook Elementary School, this is Janine, how may I direct your call?"

"Janine, this is Tim Speedle, Ben father. Has my son made it to school this morning?"

"I believe he has Mr. Speedle, let me double check that for you." Tim and John heard Janine page Ben's classroom and speak to his teacher, Marcy Holden. Janine picked up the phone again. "Yes, Mr. Speedle, Ben is in class this morning. Is everything okay?"

"Yeah, Janine, everything's fine," he sighed. "Thanks for your help." He disconnected the phone. "Has anybody seen her this morning?" he asked John.

"No," John said emphatically. "Matter of fact, I checked around with everybody before I came in here. Nobody's seen her."

Tim tapped his pen against the table. "Okay, now I'm getting worried. This isn't like her."

"Like who?" Horatio questioned, entering the lab with Calleigh and Eric at his heels.

"Jennifer," Tim answered, "Nobody's seen her this morning and she's not answering her phones or her pager."

"That is unusual," Calleigh agreed, concerning furrowing her brow.

"Calleigh, call dispatch and have them put out an APB for Jennifer's car," Horatio demanded gently. Jennifer wasn't apt to go missing unless something was very wrong, and Horatio had a bad feeling in the pit of his stomach.

Calleigh pulled out her cell phone and dialed. "This is Calleigh Caine, I need to put out an APB on Detective Jennifer Speedle's white Jeep Grand Cherokee. Do you have the license number there?"

Tim listened intently as Calleigh finished her conversation with dispatch. "Great, thanks," she said, snapping her phone shut. "Done."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Jennifer awoke in a dark room, a severe headache pounding her temples. She took in her surroundings, fighting the blurriness tugging at her vision. She was lying on a cot in a dark room with no windows. A faint light was creeping in underneath the door, providing just enough light to make out the shadows of the room. She realized as she sat up that not only did her head hurt, her left hand hurt as well - more importantly, her left ring finger was throbbing.

Jennifer touched the finger with her right hand, her heart dropping to her stomach as she realized her wedding rings no longer adorned her finger. Her beautiful white gold engagement ring and band had been replaced by one that felt five times too small for her finger. Jennifer struggled to remove the band, but realized that her finger was too swollen to take it off.

She groped in the darkness at her clothes, making sure all her garments were still securely in place. She breathed a sigh of relief when she discovered they were. She'd been kidnapped, but apparently hadn't been raped. Yet, she mused, lying back on the cot, since she didn't quite know what else to do.

The door creaked open and her captor was backlit, making it impossible for Jennifer to see his face. "I thought I heard you awake in here." His voice was strong, even a little bit husky.

"Why am I here, and where are my wedding rings?" she demanded, sitting up too quickly on the bed. Pain sliced through her head, and Jennifer brought a hand up to her eyes to shield them from the sunlight.

"You'll wear my ring from now on," he answered mysteriously, offering her a glass of water and two white tablets.

"What is that?" she asked, shying away from his hand.

"Water, and aspirin for your headache." His voice was almost gentle as he answered. "I'm sorry I had to hurt you."

"I can't take aspirin," she told him. "I'm allergic."

"Oh." She could tell he was surprised by the information. "I'll get you some ibuprofen when I'm out then."

"Thanks, I guess." She took the water he offered, gulping it down at once, quenching her dry throat. "Why am I here?"

"Your husband and your brother took something very valuable from me," he answered honestly. "Now I intend to take something valuable from them."