Disappearing Acts

Disclaimer: As previously stated , I don't own a thing. Mild language warning.

Chapter 2

"Where is she?" Speed asked the nurse at the window. He didn't wait for Horatio to put the Hummer in park before he jumped out, and he practically sprinted to the registration desk.

" Excuse me sir?" the nurse asked in bewilderment.

" My wife, Calleigh Speedle. She was brought in twenty minutes ago," Speed replied with a hurried look on his face. He had to know if she was ok.

"I'm sorry, sir, but there is no one here by that name. If you please, next!"

" What? I said I'm looking for my wife..." Speed returned , feeling his temper rising.

" And I said that there is no one here, by that name. Besides if it was I couldn't give you that kind of information," the nurse replied.

It took all the strength that Speed possessed , to keep himself in check. He flipped out his badge and id as he spoke through clinched teeth, " This overrides any policy that you are afraid of breaking, and it assures me a permanent spot in this line until you find my wife."

Seeing the badge, the nurse began to type quickly, finding the information that he was looking for. She smiled nervously as the mainframe updated. " Um, Mr. Speedle, there was a Jane Doe that came in around that time. She's still back there, with a Dr. Patterson."

" Now see that wasn't hard now was it?" Speed replied putting his badge back in his pocket.

"Through this door?"

" Yes but you can't go back there..." the nurse stated as Speed opened the door and walked into the emergency bay.

Immediately, two very big security guards moved into action to stop him. Speed held out his hand and fished his badge out again. Instead of putting it in his pocket, he clipped it on his holster to expose it.

" I'm looking for Dr. Patterson," he stated simply. By that time , Speed heard the nurse at the registration desk tell someone else that they couldn't go back there. Speed glanced at Horatio as he strode through the door. " H."

" Speed. Have you seen her yet?"

" No , I was just telling my friends here that I was looking for Dr. Patterson, " Speed said as he turned back to the guards. " Is he around?"

The guards looked at Speed with humor in their eyes as they continued to stay silent. Speed moved to walk past them , but was stopped by the guards as they closed ranks. Horatio watched intently as Speed's frustration began to boil over.

" Fine you don't want me back here? I 'll get Dr. Patterson myself," Speed said as he began to call the doctor's name loudly. He saw as others looked at him curiously.

A doctor walked up to the guards, " David , Jerome, what's going on here?"

" You Dr. Patterson?" Speed asked pointing a finger at him.

" I am. You do realize that you are in an emergency room right?" the doctor replied, slightly perturbed.

"I apologize, but you see , I'm looking for my wife. She's blond , about 5'3 , green eyes," Speed said producing a picture from his wallet.

The doctor took the picture and glanced up from it. " Yes, she's the Jane Doe. You say that you are her husband?"

" Yes , is she ok?"

" She's fine physically, but she has some rather disturbing cat scans. If you follow me, I can take you to her. I do want to warn you, she's not remembering much."

" What do you mean?" Speed asked as he followed behind him. Horatio followed behind Speed.

" She sustained a very serious head injury in what I am thinking was a car accident. It has effected her memory very badly. She can't remember who she is , where she's at, and I suspect she's not going to know who you are."

" Are you talking amnesia?" Horatio asked making himself known.

" I am. You are...?" Patterson asked just noticing him.

" Lieutenant Horatio Caine, CSI. I am Calleigh's supervisor."

" Calleigh?"

" That's her name, doc. Calleigh Speedle." Speed said sadly.

" It's pretty. Like I said, she's experiencing severe memory loss, so I would be hesitant as to my expectations for her. Sometimes pressuring someone in this situation has the opposite effect," Patterson said as he stood in front of her door. " Don't ask her too many questions, let her offer the information."

He opened the door and walked in. She was lying on the bed staring out of the window. She saw as the doctor walked in with two handsome men behind him. Speed's heart leaped into his throat as she turned her head. She had a nasty gash on her forehead that was covered by a bandage, but other than that, she looked fine.

'" Okay. I found someone who can help us to identify who you are," the doctor said with a easy smile. " Do you recognize these two gentlemen?"

Calleigh looked hard at them then shook her head and closed her eyes. " I'm sorry doctor, I don't know these men."

Speed's demeanor dropped as he looked for any familiarity in her eyes, he saw nothing.

" Well this gentleman here , is your husband," Patterson said gesturing to Speed.

"Calliegh? You remember me right? Tim," Speed replied desperately.

" Who is Calleigh?" she asked blankly.

" That's you, honey. Calleigh Speedle. We were married seven years ago, we have a six year old daughter, Sascha. You love vanilla, you are a CSI, specializing in ballistics..."

" Ballistics? I don't like guns, why would I specialize in them? And what in blazes is CSI?" she asked.

" You are a crime scene investigator. Have been for almost ten years. Horatio went to New Orleans to recruit you himself."

" You're Horatio?" Calleigh asked pointing to him.

" Yes, Calleigh. Do you remember that day in New Orleans?" Horatio said gently.

Calleigh closed her eyes and thought hard. " No. I'm sorry."

" Nothing to apologize for," Horatio replied with a tiny smile.

Calleigh returned the smile back to the red head then turned her attention to the dark haired man standing closer to her. She search his eyes for anything familiar, finding nothing. She looked at his left hand spotting a wedding band. She held up hers and slipped it off of her finger. It matched his perfectly, but it meant nothing to her.

" I'm sorry, Mr. Speedle, but I can't wear your ring if I don't know who you are," Calleigh said as she put the ring in his hand.

Speed looked down at the tiny silver band in his hand and fought the tears back. He closed his hand into a fist , then slipped the ring into his pocket.

" Calleigh, you have to be released to Mr. Speedle. He is your husband."

" He is not," Calliegh replied rather coldly.

" Legally he is. He is going to take you home, Calleigh."

" Why do you keep calling me Calleigh? My name is Lauren."She said with a touch of anger.

" That's your sister's name," Speed offered.

" Where did it come from, Cal- Lauren?" Dr. Patterson asked truly intrested.

" I don't know , it just popped into my head," Calleigh replied.

" So you want to be called Lauren?"

" Yes."

" Calleigh,..." Speed started.

" Mr. Speedle, I just told you that my name is Lauren." Calleigh replied matter of factly.

Speed looked at the doctor in disbelief. He then glanced over at Horatio who was looking at Calleigh with sad eyes.

" Lauren, I am releasing you into Mr. Speedle's care. It would help if you go back to your home, be around your surroundings, maybe something will click for you. I'll prescribe you some pain killers for your headaches and I want you to come and see me in about a week for a follow up. Ok?"

" Sure , doctor."she said shrugging her shoulders.

" I'm going to draw up the discharge papers. You can get dressed now."

Speed and Horatio followed behind the doctor to give Calleigh some privacy. When he got outside the room, Speed exploded.

" How long is she going to be like this? Is this permanent?"

" I don't know. Sometimes this last for weeks maybe months. In worse cases, I've seen it go on for years. It depends on how much information she allows. Remember, don't push her. She may regress instead of progress. Be patient, Mr. Speedle."

" That's easy for you to say, you haven't lost your wife," Speed replied angrily.

"Mr. Speedle, you haven't completely lost her. She's disappeared for a while, with a little time and patience maybe she could find her way back to you." Patterson said as he presented the papers for him to sign.

Speed sighed heavily as he signed the papers, then waited for the attending nurse to wheel Calliegh out. This wasn't going to be easy, but he was willing to fight to regain the life that they had with each other.

TBC...

A/N:

Isn't this sad. Calleigh isn't Calleigh anymore... :(