Told in a Garden
Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters, concepts, or names in here. The only thing I own is the idea expressed in this story. No copyright infringement intended.
Author's Note: Suppose one random decision gives rise to two separate but parallel universes. What might happen in those two universes?
Calleigh guided them to a park bench shaded by a young tree with delicate leaves of green, crimson, orange, and purple. She and Lisabella sat down, the younger woman slouching down and relaxing as only teenagers can. They sat in silence for a moment, Calleigh closing her eyes and listening to the garden around her.
"You know, the first time I kissed your father was on this very bench."
"Mo-om!!! Too much information! I don't need to hear that!" Lisabella sat up for a moment, then slouched back again. "What was he like? And what happened? You said you'd tell me, but you never really did."
"Oh, kiddo. Your dad would be so proud of you," Calleigh told her daughter as tears threatened to fill her eyes. "You want to know what he was like? He was just like you. Horatio Clemens Caine was probably the most dedicated, loyal, big-hearted, and loving man that I have ever known. And when he focused on someone or something, no matter how small, that was the only thing that existed for him at that moment. The world could end, and if he was concentrating on something at the time, I'm not sure he'd notice. It's the same way you are."
"What attracted you to him most?"
"Why all the questions?"
Lisabella sighed. "I guess because I'm going away from home now, and I feel like I don't know everything I should. It's...I never thought I'd say this, but it's a little scary, that I'm about to launch myself out of the nest, and I'm just not ready to be an adult. Were you ready?"
"Actually, I was, but I left the nest for different reasons. What attracted me to your father the most?" Calleigh thought for a moment as a soft breeze whispered through the tree above them, tossing the branches lightly. "I guess the fact that he let people be who they were, rather than trying to force them into what or who he thought they should be. You have to admit that he had a pretty oddball group working for him. A blond firearms expert; a medical examiner with an uncommon empathy for her clients; a swimming star of Russian-Cuban heritage with a brilliant scientific mind; and a youngster from upstate New York who looked like he'd dressed at the Salvation Army but never missed a thing in either his personal or his professional life. It shouldn't have worked, but I think it did because he let us be who we were instead of making us change."
"He sounds perfect," whispered Lisabella after a moment.
"No, he wasn't that, none of us are. He was incredibly proud, but in a good way, and incredibly stubborn. But at the same time, those faults were good for him. It meant that if there was even the slightest hint that he had done something in the wrong way, or taken a shortcut, he would bend over backward to show that in fact he hadn't done so. Having a name for fairness and correctness was very important to that man. And oh, the stubbornness..." Calleigh's voice trailed off as she remembered the hard words, the last words, they had traded.
"Mom? You still there?"
"Sorry, hon. The stubbornness. There were times when all the evidence pointed to someone's guilt, and Horatio just didn't agree. He'd insist that there was something else, and he'd drive us all like slaves until we found that one last bit that put a whole new slant on the picture. I don't know how many times the entire team put in all-nighters coming up with the right picture from the evidence, not the one that it seemed to show."
"But that's a good thing, isn't it? I mean, if the evidence seemed to point to one person, but really pointed to someone else, then the innocent person would have been arrested for something they didn't do."
"Oh yes, ninety-nine times out of a hundred his stubbornness was exactly what was needed." Another breeze touched the branches above her, and a crimson leaf separated from its branch and floated down to the bright green grass around the bench. "I just wish he could see you now, and know what you're up to. Going off to college tomorrow, so far from home, and studying forensics yet. I guess you didn't have a chance, growing up with the whole CSI team raising you, did you?"
"But it's what I'm interested in. It's all like a puzzle, and when you put the pieces together in the right way, it's a perfect picture."
"He was like that too. He couldn't stand not knowing why, or how."
"So what happened?" Lisabella sat up straight on the bench and turned to face her mother. "What did happen? All you've ever said is that he was killed accidentally."
Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters, concepts, or names in here. The only thing I own is the idea expressed in this story. No copyright infringement intended.
Author's Note: Suppose one random decision gives rise to two separate but parallel universes. What might happen in those two universes?
Calleigh guided them to a park bench shaded by a young tree with delicate leaves of green, crimson, orange, and purple. She and Lisabella sat down, the younger woman slouching down and relaxing as only teenagers can. They sat in silence for a moment, Calleigh closing her eyes and listening to the garden around her.
"You know, the first time I kissed your father was on this very bench."
"Mo-om!!! Too much information! I don't need to hear that!" Lisabella sat up for a moment, then slouched back again. "What was he like? And what happened? You said you'd tell me, but you never really did."
"Oh, kiddo. Your dad would be so proud of you," Calleigh told her daughter as tears threatened to fill her eyes. "You want to know what he was like? He was just like you. Horatio Clemens Caine was probably the most dedicated, loyal, big-hearted, and loving man that I have ever known. And when he focused on someone or something, no matter how small, that was the only thing that existed for him at that moment. The world could end, and if he was concentrating on something at the time, I'm not sure he'd notice. It's the same way you are."
"What attracted you to him most?"
"Why all the questions?"
Lisabella sighed. "I guess because I'm going away from home now, and I feel like I don't know everything I should. It's...I never thought I'd say this, but it's a little scary, that I'm about to launch myself out of the nest, and I'm just not ready to be an adult. Were you ready?"
"Actually, I was, but I left the nest for different reasons. What attracted me to your father the most?" Calleigh thought for a moment as a soft breeze whispered through the tree above them, tossing the branches lightly. "I guess the fact that he let people be who they were, rather than trying to force them into what or who he thought they should be. You have to admit that he had a pretty oddball group working for him. A blond firearms expert; a medical examiner with an uncommon empathy for her clients; a swimming star of Russian-Cuban heritage with a brilliant scientific mind; and a youngster from upstate New York who looked like he'd dressed at the Salvation Army but never missed a thing in either his personal or his professional life. It shouldn't have worked, but I think it did because he let us be who we were instead of making us change."
"He sounds perfect," whispered Lisabella after a moment.
"No, he wasn't that, none of us are. He was incredibly proud, but in a good way, and incredibly stubborn. But at the same time, those faults were good for him. It meant that if there was even the slightest hint that he had done something in the wrong way, or taken a shortcut, he would bend over backward to show that in fact he hadn't done so. Having a name for fairness and correctness was very important to that man. And oh, the stubbornness..." Calleigh's voice trailed off as she remembered the hard words, the last words, they had traded.
"Mom? You still there?"
"Sorry, hon. The stubbornness. There were times when all the evidence pointed to someone's guilt, and Horatio just didn't agree. He'd insist that there was something else, and he'd drive us all like slaves until we found that one last bit that put a whole new slant on the picture. I don't know how many times the entire team put in all-nighters coming up with the right picture from the evidence, not the one that it seemed to show."
"But that's a good thing, isn't it? I mean, if the evidence seemed to point to one person, but really pointed to someone else, then the innocent person would have been arrested for something they didn't do."
"Oh yes, ninety-nine times out of a hundred his stubbornness was exactly what was needed." Another breeze touched the branches above her, and a crimson leaf separated from its branch and floated down to the bright green grass around the bench. "I just wish he could see you now, and know what you're up to. Going off to college tomorrow, so far from home, and studying forensics yet. I guess you didn't have a chance, growing up with the whole CSI team raising you, did you?"
"But it's what I'm interested in. It's all like a puzzle, and when you put the pieces together in the right way, it's a perfect picture."
"He was like that too. He couldn't stand not knowing why, or how."
"So what happened?" Lisabella sat up straight on the bench and turned to face her mother. "What did happen? All you've ever said is that he was killed accidentally."