Disclaimer: I don't know much about psychology, so I'm basically winging it. Forgive me in advance if there is any thing done in error. Oh... I still don't own a soul ,and of course the unknowns are mine.

Chapter 2

Speed looked into the room through the glass seeing Calleigh sitting on the bench. He worried about her so much now. Since the kidnaping, the strong southern belle had retreated into herself. She always looked as she felt uneasy with herself. It showed through her walk, her appearances as well as in the way she talked. The chipper Calleigh was long gone, and in her place was a nervous , unsure phantom.

He watched her for a moment longer as she pulled her hair behind her ear. She had lost most of her length during the ordeal, it being shredded by the late Therrin Mackenzie. It took Speed almost two weeks to get her to go to a stylist to correct it. In the end, despite all of her protest, Speed won. It took some getting used to , but he was becoming fond of the new look. Feeling a presence behind him, Speed turned around to face the doctor.

" Mr. Speedle, Calleigh's fine now, but there is something that I think you need to know,"the doctor said in a serious tone.

" What is it?"

" I think that Calleigh is suffering from post stress disorder. The panic attacks, the nightmares, it's all indicative of this disorder. Unfortunately , since she is six months pregnant, I can't prescribe anything to help her. So , in saying that, I think that you need to take her away from here. She's still too close to the incident, everything around her reminds her about what happened. I cannot say this enough, keep her stress free. She's in her second trimester, I don't want her to suffer any complications."

Speed took all of this information in. She was being tormented in her mind. Damn that man, Speed thought to himself. He had took everything away from her and left her with nothing but doubts and fears.

" Is there anything more that I can do, Dr. Matthews?"

" Watch her. Carefully. Usually as the disorder accelerates, paranoia starts to kick in. But I'm hoping that this won't be the case for her," Dr . Matthews replied giving a comforting smile.

" Thanks, Dr. Matthews," Speed returned offering his hand. He then turned back to the door and smiled lightly. No matter what the cost, he would be there for her.

S/C

" So are you going to tell me what the two of you were talking about," Calleigh asked lightly. She had felt a million times better after talking to Dr. Matthews.

" Nothing really. Except maybe how I should take you away from here for a while,"Speed said feeling a pang of guilt. He didn't want her to get upset about the doctor's diagnosis. " I think that it is a good idea."

" What?" Calleigh said turning her head to face him. " Tim, you just got back to work almost two weeks ago. I don't think that Horatio could spare you, being that I'm out of commission for god knows how long. I can't see how it is feasible."

" I just want you to get better is all, baby. Since the kidnaping..."

" Since the kidnaping, what?" Calleigh asked, fire burning in her eyes.

" You haven't been yourself. You have these god forsaken nightmares, and you are always paranoid about anyone watching you," Speed replied ,noticing as his tone had taken a darker note.

" How about you try being stalked , kidnaped , held hostage for six weeks and beaten and let's see how you fare out. I'm trying my best to get over it, but I don't have the 'I don't care' attitude that you've been blessed with. I'm...trying Tim." Calleigh said as the tears came down.

Speed stopped the SUV and turned to her. How he hated to see this woman cry. He held her face in his hand and caressed her cheek, " I know ,honey. That's why I want to take you away from here for a while. I want you back together again."

Calleigh touched his hand lightly and looked into his eyes. The love that she saw there, cooled her temper . She would follow this man to the ends of the earth if he asked her, " Maybe we could find time to get married while we are away."

" So you want to go?" Speed asked moving closer to her , feeling the need to be close, to protect her.

" Book the flight. I'll go if you want me to, Tim. I love you."

"I love you," Speed replied as he pulled her face closer. He could smell the new shampoo that she was using. He smiled lightly as he grazed his lips on hers, igniting passion between them. He pulled away from her to see her with a wicked smile on her face.

" Get us home, quickly," she said as she sat back . She felt the need to give herself to him at that very moment. Without a thought, Speed obeyed orders and sped home, running every red light on the way.

S/C

He saw them as they got out of the black Tahoe and smiled to himself. " They're home", he said barely audible. " Time to make an appearance"

S/C

Getting to the house, Calleigh could not contain herself, she pounced on him as he closed the door to the Tahoe. She kissed him hard forcing him backwards as he locked the door. He walked backwards while trying to keep physical contact with her, stumbling over the two stairs. As he moved to unlock the door, Calleigh pulled hungrily at his jacket. Then in an instant, she stopped. Speed noticed as her attention had suddenly focused on something else.

" Cal, what is it?"

" Did you hear something?"Calleigh said as her head twitched slightly. She had let go of him.

" No, I didn't. There's nothing there, Calleigh. C'mon let's go in."

" I heard something, Tim! I'm not crazy, someone is out there," Calleigh said in a whisper, pointing in the direction of the street with her walking cane.

Speed looked out into the neighborhood, there was noone insight, not even a passing car. He sighed loudly, feeling his frustration gather inside of him, " There is nothing out here Calleigh."

" Tim, please , take my word for it, there is someone here."

" You want me to check it out, Calleigh," he asked, slowly getting angrier.

" Please."

" Okay, I'll check," Speed replied as he walked out to the middle of the yard. He then walked further out into the street and motioned around. " See ? Nothing!" he shouted. He returned to her side in a huff. " Satisfied?"

" Yes, I am. Thank you. You could be a little less patronizing to me though," she said as she started to walk again. She stopped again, " Tim, I know you heard that. How could you not have heard that?"

Speed glared at her and unlocked the door, he had enough. " Dammit , Calleigh, there's no one out there. But if you rather spend the day watching for phantom sounds then be my guess. I'll be in the house."

Calleigh shot him a look of hurt and said " Well you don't have to be so pissy about it. I heard something out there, Speed."

She had called him 'Speed' and she only did that when she was angry at him. He softened his look and spoke lighter, "I'm sorry honey. Come in the house and we can talk about it. I didn't mean to be an ass about it. Forgive me?"

" Yeah sure," Calleigh said her southern accent thickening. " You admitted to being an ass, I can mete out forgiveness."

Speed let the smile come back and held his hand out to help her up the steps. He felt in his heart that something had to be done, and quickly. He didn't know how much their relationship could take, but he was willing to fight for it. He wasn't going to give up on her.

TBC...

I gotta tell you, this is the hardest story for me to write. This writer's block is kicking my tail. Forgive me for making Tim kind of a jerk in this one... He's worn out and stressed.:)