Tim tossed his jacket over the back of the couch and walked into the kitchen, setting his keys down on the counter. He went to a cabinet over the refrigerator and looked in it for a second before pulling a bottle out. He went into another cabinet and grabbed a glass, slamming it down loudly onto the counter. It echoed through out the silent house, making Tim feel even more alone. Right now, half of him wanted his kids but then the other half wanted nothing more than to down the bottle of vodka in his hand. Tim poured some into the glass and stared at it. He didn't want a hangover. Yes he did, who the hell was he kidding? Tomorrow the kids would be back. 'I'll ignore them like I do now.' Tim thought, pouring a bit more into the glass.

"Oh what the hell." he mumbled, downing the glass. He put it in the sink and took the bottle into the living room. As he sat down, Tim set the bottle down on the coffee table in front of him and loosened his tie so it hung limply around his neck. Tim sunk back into the comfortable leather of his couch and stared at the bottle. He was being idiotic, as always. Yeah if he downed the vodka he'd get plastered and that would relieve his pain for a few hours but what about tomorrow? What about when he was at work? What about the rest of his life? Was he going to get drunk every time he felt a pang of sadness and emptiness come on? He didn't expect to wake up tomorrow and say, 'Hey she's gone. Let's move on.' He knew that he was going to be depressed and yearn for her every second of the rest of his life but he couldn't run away from everything. He couldn't build a wall around himself and let everything he cared about fall apart around him. Calleigh might be dead but their children weren't and he promised her he would be more caring towards them and be there for them. He wasn't ready to break that promise. Tim sighed deeply and closed his eyes, hoping that would stop the tears from coming on.

When he opened his eyes again, they focused on the VCR. A red light was blinking and Tim grabbed the remote and turned the TV on. A video was on pause and Tim hit the play button.

"...how about it?" Tim recognized Eric's voice and he frowned in confusion. What was this? It was a tape of the break room at CSI. But why did he have it?

"How about no?"

A familiar laugh filled Tim's ears and he silently urged whoever had the camera to tape something other than the wall. The tape jolted a bit as someone picked the camcorder up and focused on the table, where Abbie was in her high chair.

"Are you going to eat that cake?" Eric asked. Abbie smiled and stuck her finger in the vanilla icing.

"Baby, get her a napkin." Calleigh said and the camera changed from Abbie to Calleigh. Tim swallowed a mouthful of vodka and felt tears spring to his eyes.

"I'm holding the camera." he heard his own voice and suddenly he remembered. This was his 29th birthday. He hadn't wanted a party so Calleigh, Eric, Horatio, Megan, and Alexx got a cake and made him take a break from work.

"I'll uh relieve you of that duty." the camera was passed off to Eric and Tim was on the TV. Tim grabbed a napkin off the counter and wiped off Abbie's messy face. The off-screen Tim saw a few other home videos scattered around the entertainment center. Who had found these?

"Aww..." Tim looked back to the TV and saw he had sat back down and his head was rested on Calleigh's shoulder. "How about a big birthday kiss for the birthday boy?"

Tim lifted his head off Calleigh's shoulder and winked at her. She grinned and kissed him softly. Tim shook his head and drank a few more sips of the vodka as he paused the tape on the two of them in happier times. He turned the TV off and put the bottle back in the kitchen. Tim stood there for a second, then dragged himself up into his room. He lay there for a while on his back, staring at the ceiling. Finally he turned on his side and stared at Calleigh's side of the bed, as if she would suddenly be there, smiling at him.

Tim sat up and buried his face in his hands, his shoulders shaking with each sob. Why did it have to be Calleigh? Why couldn't the responding officer had checked the house better and saw that the killer was still there? Tim didn't know when he fell asleep but the next thing he knew he had rolled over and his arm had wrapped around something or rather someone.

"Tim..."

That southern drawl filled his ears and Tim slowly woke up. Calleigh was lying across from him and he quickly sat up.

"Calleigh?"

She smiled at him and sat up as well.

"I... you're... you're still here."

"Yeah."

Tim pulled her into his arms buried his face in the crook of her neck.

"I had this horrible dream that you had died but it can't be. I mean, you're here." he murmured. She was still alive.

"Oh Tim, I wish that was it."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean that it's not a dream." Calleigh said quietly.

"No, but you're right here." Tim stammered, not pulling away from her. He wasn't going crazy. She was right here, in front of him, alive and breathing. Tears of frustration began to form and Calleigh pulled away from him slightly.

"Everything's gonna be fine Tim."

"No it's not." he mumbled, his voice cracking.

"Yes it is. I promise you that it is."

"How can you say that! You're not going to be here!"

"That's not true." Calleigh shook her head. "Honey, you know that's not true."

"I can't live like this." Tim said.

"Come on, I've been gone three days and you act like it's the end of the world." Calleigh joked weakly.

"For me it is."

"No it's not. You still have our kids Tim and I'll still be here, right here," she touched his chest gently. "Oh honey..."

"I can't do this. I can't raise them. I can't. I need you. I can't live without you. I need you to live." he wiped his eyes but the tears kept coming. "God Calleigh, I love you. I love you so much and I'm sorry about everything. I'm sorry that I acted like a jerk for all of these years..."

"Shh." she pressed a finger to his lips. Tim had a hard time comprehending this. She was real. He could feel her, just every other time that he touched her or she had touched him. Calleigh pushed him back gently so he was lying down.

"Don't leave, Calleigh, please... I need you."

"Tim, shh... I know this is hard. But believe me, everything will be fine. You'll be fine. The kids will be fine... just be there for them..."

"I will. I swear I will Calleigh."

"I know." She leaned down and kissed him. Tim wrapped his arms around her waist tightly, hoping that he could prevent her from leaving. "I love you Tim. I always have and I always will..."

The phone ringing made Tim wake up. He quickly wiped his tear-stained cheeks and grabbed it off the charger.

"Hello?"

"Tim, it's Megan."

"Hey. How are you? How's everything going?" Tim heard from Megan Donner about once a year to keep up on things.

"I'm doing good. I heard about Calleigh Tim. Oh I'm so sorry."

"Who told you?"

"Horatio had called me. He didn't think that you would've called so he did it for you. I didn't want to bug you so soon."

"No. It's fine. Thank you though."

"How are the kids doing?"

"Upset, I assume. They're with Eric. I... I needed some time alone."

"Oh. She was a really great person Tim. She didn't deserve it. You and the kids don't deserve to go through this."

"Thanks Megan. I appreciate it."

"If you need anything, I'm going to be in Miami in about two weeks, so just call..."

"We'll be fine." Tim said, remembering Calleigh's words from his dream.

"Okay. Well I just wanted to give you my condolences."

"I have a feeling I'm going to get a lot of these calls."

"How are you doing Tim?"

"I... I feel like jumping out of a window." he admitted. "But... I got three kids to take care of so not any chance of that happening anytime soon."

"I know how you're feeling. Just don't do anything stupid."

"I'm not."