A/N: I do not own any of them except Tyler, Savannah, and Matthew. Though I wish I did. Very short chapters. Sorry. I promise I will update as soon as I can. I am a very busy teen. By the way, don't you just love my cliff hangers? enjoy!
Last time: "Tyler, why is Savanna afraid of men?"
"She is afraid of men because of Tom." Tyler whispered to Horatio so Savannah wouldn't hear.
"Who's Tom?" Horatio asked.
"Mom's boyfriend. When mom was away, he used to hit her. And make her get stuff for him all the time." Tyler replied louder this time.
"Oh. Did he do anything else?" Horatio questioned.
"He threw things at her. And made mom hate her too. When mom went away for a long time, she would leave us with him. And when she did, he wouldn't feed her unless she did everything perfect." Tyler continued.
"I see. Tyler, we are going to continue in one second okay. Calleigh, why don't you take Savannah someplace where she can get cleaned up a bit. Forget social services for now." Horatio said emotionlessly.
God he hated cases like this. It was a simple as it gets. Plain old child abuse. From what Tyler described, this could be one of the worst cases of child abuse Miami has seen in years.
"Okay Tyler. Go ahead."
"Sometimes, she wouldn't get any food for a couple of days. When I could, I would sneak her food. After a while, mom became just as bad. Savannah was smart though. She knew what that guy did to her. He changed her. I couldn't stand to see what they did to her. Finally they both left to go out somewhere and told me how to feed Matthew. After they left I got Savannah and Matthew and left." Tyler finished.
"You did a good thing for your sister Tyler. You're a very good brother." Horatio said encouragingly.
"Thanks. I heard what you and Calleigh said. Please don't put us in an orphanage. I can't let Savannah get hurt again." Tyler pleaded.
'Calleigh was right. These kids are smart. But I can't do anything for them. I at least need to make sure they get a home together.' Horatio thought.
"Well Tyler, orphanages aren't really that bad. I bet there is someone out there looking for three good children like you."
"Why can't Calleigh keep us? We like it here with her." Tyler said sadly.
"I really don't know how to answer that question. It's hard to explain." Said Horatio as he looked down at his hands.
Tyler repeated his action and turned to Calleigh's bedroom.
"I'm going to check on Savannah." He said quietly.
Tyler shuffled out of the kitchen and into Calleigh's bedroom. He found them in the bathroom, getting Savannah into one of Calleigh's smaller shirts.
"There. All better. Oh, hey Ty!" Calleigh said as she finished dressing Savannah.
Tyler just climbed into her lap and didn't answer. He leaned into her and rested his head in the hollow of her neck. Tyler wrapped his hands around her waist and hugged her tight. Calleigh at first was taken by surprise, but then deepened the hug.
"Are you okay Ty?" she asked after he let go.
"I don't want to go to an orphanage. I want to stay here with you." Tyler said.
Calleigh hugged him again as she started to cry.
"I don't want you to go either." She sobbed.
Savannah joined them after a minute of watching and joined Tyler on Calleigh's lap. All the while, Horatio had been watching from the doorframe unoticed.