Stuck on Rewind
Chapter 4
The phone buzzed him awake and he turned over. He didn't want to answer it. Answering it would put the day's events in motion. The day that he was going to die. He had to figure out why he seemed to be stuck on repeat. Ignoring the phone , he got up and paced the room. He tried to remember if there was anything that he was forgetting. He waited until the cell phone stopped buzzing and then he looked at the clock, 8:32 am. He had started another chain of events in motion.
Walking down to his kitchen, he thought about his last day on vacation. Then he had an idea; he would go through his morning routine. Racing back upstairs , he quickly dressed for running and came back down. Walking into the kitchen, he tripped over his shoestring sending the spice rack over. This is familiar, he thought. He then picked up and moved on. He placed his hands on the phone, mocking hanging it up, then he walked into his living room. Sitting there on his coffee table was the gun cleaning kit. Tim had an a-ha moment as he sat down on the couch and opened the kit. This is what he was forgetting. He got his gun, disassembled it and began the lengthy process . After he was through, Tim called Horatio who had expressed his disappointment in his young protege for missing the call out. Tim apologized and told him that he was on his way.
Entering the lab, it had a different feeling. He no longer felt the heaviness or the familiarity as he walked down the corridor to the trace lab. He met Calleigh on the way, deciding to apologize for taking her light earlier.
" Calleigh, I'm sorry for stealing your light. You can use mine while yours recharges."
" Tim, how'd...Thank you. That's so sweet of you to admit you were wrong. Call me later," she said turning to walk to the elevators.
" Hopefully,"Tim said softly.
" Glad you made it in , Speed," Horatio said as they got out of the Hummer at the jewelry store,
"if not I would be doing this by myself."
" I had something important to do, H. But I am sorry for not making it to the call out."
" It's alright, we managed pretty good without you, but don't make it a habit. We already have that problem with Delko. Take a look at that," Horatio said nodding to the car.
" It's kinda gaudy , but I've been thinking about buying a car."
" You, a car?" Horatio said with humor in his voice.
" Yeah, Things are getting kinda serious between Calleigh and I and I think that I will need it. Besides, no one knows when their time is up. I want to capitalize on the moment."
" Well said , Speed. Let's get this done," Horatio said as he opened the door.
" Let's,"Tim replied walking through it. The unknown awaited him.
Tim pulled the gun and shot a couple of rounds off before diving for the ground. As he took cover, he saw Horatio advancing on the thugs that were behind the counter. Tim then took his position behind Horatio as the two of them took out each one of them. When the shooting stopped, Tim smelled the acrid smell of gunpowder as it mixed with the copper smell of blood.
Tim sighed a breath of relief , realizing that he had survived the shoot out. As he holstered his gun, he felt a stinging pain in his shoulders. Looking down , he saw the blood as it seeped through his blue shirt. He sunk down to the floor and watched Horatio as he moved quickly towards him.
" Speed? Are you okay?"
" Yeah, I'm fine. There's a bullet in my shoulder though," Tim said groggily. He was all of sudden very tired.
" Hold on Speed. ...Speed?" Horatio said as he saw Tim slip into darkness. The sounds of the sirens could be heard in the distance.
TS
The sound of the buzzing woke Tim up and he looked around taking in his surroundings. He wasn't in his bedroom, instead he was lying in a hospital bed. He breathed a sigh of relief as he saw the nurse come in and attend to his IV.
"Ah, Mr. Speedle, you are awake. Glad to see it. I'll notify your doctor," the nurse said sweetly.
" Wh-what happened?" Tim asked his throat parched.
" You got shot in the shoulder. Your lieutenant, Horatio Caine said that you passed out shortly before the paramedics arrived. You're a lucky man, an inch or two over to the right, they'd be planning your funeral."
" Are they around? My friends?" Tim asked as he tried to straighten himself.
" Yes , I'll tell them that you are awake, and I'll send them in .One at a time, though," the nurse replied as she walked out.
" Thank you."
Tim gazed out of the window to the clear blue Miami sky. Someone or something had given him the chance to change his destiny. He was thankful that he had found out in time enough to push play on his life and get it out of rewind.
The End