By Your Side
chapter 3
A/N: I'm going to borrow some Etta James for this one...
Seven Years later...
The faint sounds of the swelling music stirred her, and she lifted her head slightly recognizing the song from her past. " At last, my love has come along..." Realizing that the radio wasn't on, she sat up quickly and looked around. As her eyes wandered across the bedroom she thought, " This isn't my house." She pulled the covers away from her and swung her legs over the bed. On the night stand there was a picture. She was about to pick it up when she heard the faint pit- patter of little feet as they scurried down the hall. Then she heard his voice.
" Hey ladies, no running in the house, ok?"
Her eyes went wide with shock as she recognized it. She then heard the two little voices return,
" Okay daddy."
In a instant, she saw two heads poking out from the doorway into the room. They were identical in every way, from the long strawberry blond hair to the light green eyes that shined like jewels. She heard them giggle as they entered the room and headed straight for her.
" Mommy! Mommy! You're up, Yay!" they said in unison. They bombarded her with kisses and started to jump on the bed playfully. She heard his voice again as he walked out of the bathroom.
" Girls, didn't mommy tell you not to... Good morning beautiful," Horatio said as he crossed the room. His smile was radiant as he bent to kiss her on the cheek. Pulling away, he saw the uneasiness that invaded her face. " Lauren, are you ok?"
" I-I don't know," she stammered. " I heard music. This may seem kinda strange, Horatio, but what am I doing here? Where's Tim? And why are you calling me by my sister's name?"
Instantly, Horatio knew what had happened. She had regained her memory. Calliegh Speedle had returned. His smile dropped and he sat down next to her. He promised himself that if the moment arose , he would tell her the truth. Sitting in front of her , his will seeped out of him. This was the moment he was dreading.
S/C
Alexx turned around as she heard the doors to the morgue swish open. Without looking up she said, " I don't have anything for you yet, Horatio. Give me a couple of hours..."
" Alexx, I have to talk to you," Calleigh said frantically. After Horatio had explained what had happened, Calleigh fled the house and headed straight for the one place she could get some answers. Alexx turned to see Calleigh with deep regret in her eyes.
" Lauren, what do you want?" Alexx asked curtly ,going back to her work.. She hadn't forgiven Horatio or Lauren for what they did to Tim.
" I need some answers, Alexx. Please."
Alexx stopped working and exhaled harshly. She was actually a time bomb waiting to explode.
" What kind of answers do you want? Like why you didn't give Tim a chance or why you married Horatio , or maybe you want to know why you treated your daughter like trash. Which one is it?"
" Al- Alexx I..." Calleigh said as tears invaded her speech.
" That man worshiped the ground you walked on, Lauren. And you just toss him away like it was nothing." Alexx replied barely able to contain herself.
" Alexx, I'm so sorry. But I remember. I remember everything before the accident..." Calleigh said as the sobs took over.
" Calleigh?" Alexx asked softly as she walked over to her. Looking into her eyes she saw the familiar sparkle that Calleigh had. She hugged her tightly and asked, " How did you get it back?"
" I don't know. I literally woke up. I heard our song and the funny thing was the radio wasn't on. But I heard it loud and clear. Then I saw him as I was walking down the aisle at our wedding, him next to me as I gave birth to my precious daughter... Alexx, I've made a mess out of this. Can you imagine what I felt like when Horatio told me about being married and seeing those two beautiful daughters of ours..."
" No honey I can't imagine it. What did you do?" Alexx asked.
" I told Horatio that I had to find Tim and Sascha. I told him that I did love him, once, but Tim and Sascha were my life. He was devastated, but I could tell that he had made peace with himself a long time ago. It was as if he was expecting this to happen." Calleigh said as she wiped the tears from her face.
" What are you going to do?"
" I'm going to get my husband and my daughter back." Calleigh replied matter of fact.
" Calleigh, what about Lizzy and Livvy? You can't just up and leave them , they're your daughter's just as much as they are Horatio's."
" Horatio told me to go find them. He said he would take care of the girls. I'm not going to abandon them like I did Sascha. I just want to find Tim, I want - I need to talk to him."
Alexx resigned herself to tell her where they were, knowing that this was going to rip his life apart.
" They are in New York City. Tim got a job at the CSI lab at the police department right after he quit here. Calliegh, they have put their lives back together..."
" Alexx, I know , but I have to try. I at least have to tell him how sorry I am."
" You think he's going to want to hear that ? " Alexx asked as she reached for the phone. She dialed a number.
" Are you calling him?"
" No, I'm calling in a favor. I'm going with you. Lord knows you're going to need all the backup you can get." Alexx said as she began talking .
Calleigh waited almost impatiently as Alexx made the arrangements to have another ME finish the post then took off her smock. She then followed Alexx to the parking garage and got into her car, trying to think of a way to reach Tim and praying that he would forgive her.
S/C
" Dad, I'm thirteen not five. Why can't I wear this?" Sascha Speedle said as she gestured to the 'mature' outfit that she had on. She was going out with some friends to the movies and she wanted to look stylish. It had took her sometime to get used to her life in New York , but she finally opened up. Now here he was about to torpedo her chances with hooking up with the hottest guy in school.
" Because, you are thirteen, sweetie. Now go change or you can spend the rest of the night with me and Sam." Speed said as he walked out of the kitchen. Sascha followed him as he sat down in the living room.
" Ewww. No thanks, dad. I'm not into old folks makin' out. I'll go change." Sascha said as she turned and bounded up the stairs.
" What did she mean by 'old folks'? " Sam asked as she came out of the kitchen with a drink in her hand. " Thirty nine isn't old!"
" It is to a teenager. But if it makes you feel better, I think you are the hottest elderly chick out there," Speed replied as he tried to dodge the pillow that Sam had grabbed. He ducked under the pillow as it passed and he grabbed Sam by the waist, making her spill the drink all over her shirt.
" Tim! You see what you made me do? Now I have to go change."
" Maybe that was my intentions, Samantha," Speed said as he pulled her closer to get a kiss. He gazed at her for a moment and remembered how they met.
Flashback
He walked to the interrogation room with a file in his hand and butterflies in his stomach. He had worked with the Feds before , but this was a high profile case. A very prominent politician had been missing and the Feds requested Speed to find all the trace evidence that he could. The politician was found and they had the suspect in custody.
When he entered the room, he saw Aiden and another woman as they stood at opposite sides of the room. A few years back , he had gone out with Aiden but nothing came out of it. Aiden was gracious about it, but he knew that she harbored some feelings for him. She gave him a slight smile and then looked at the blond haired woman on the other side of the room.
" Hi, I'm Tim . I worked the trace evidence on this case," Tim said as he extended his hand.
She took it and smiled lightly, " I'm Sam. So you worked the evidence? Good job. You do excellent work."
Speed continued to hold on to her hand as he looked into her blue eyes. Something had captivated him.
" Umm Tim, I'm going to need that hand back," Sam had said flashing a brilliant smile.
" Oh, I'm sorry. Here's the file that you requested." Speed replied feeling his face heat up. He then exited the room looking back at her.
After the interrogation that resulted in a confession, Speed saw as Sam had walked out the door, heading for the exit. He gathered himself and walked up to her.
" Sam?"
" Yes, Tim." Sam asked as she stopped and turned to face him.
" I was thinking, you want to go out for drinks sometime?" Speed asked hesitantly. He couldn't remember the last time he had asked some one out.
" I'd love to . Let me give you my number..."
Present
" What was that for?" Sam asked as he pulled away from the kiss. She wasn't complaining. Tim was the best kisser she had ever met.
" I just wanted to let you know how much I love you. You brought us through a rough spot, Sam. I didn't know if I could love again after Cal-..." Speed said as he dropped his head. He still thought about her, but he had made his mind up long ago that he wasn't going to stop living.
" It's ok, Tim. I know you loved her. She will probably be in your heart forever, but she's moved on from that and you have too." Sam said as she cupped his face in her hands. " No matter what, I am here for you, Tim. I love you too." Speed then took her again in a more passionate kiss.
" Dad! Couldn't you two wait until I left? God , at least go up to your room," Sascha said as she walked in on them.
Sam smiled at Speed as he sighed and held his head back. She then got up and walked to Sascha.
" We are sorry that you had to see 'old folks' making out. I hope that it didn't ruin your evening," Sam said as she straightened Sascha's shirt out. Sascha smiled at Sam then looked at the huge stain on her shirt.
" What happened to you? Did dad tackle you again? I swear you two act younger than me."
" Honey , that's what you do when you're in love," Speed called out to her. Sascha came to sit next to him. He noticed that she had changed. " Now that is better. You are free to go out now. Remember , when Karis comes to pick you up, don't talk to strangers and don't try to go bar hopping."
" Dad, you are a CSI and ,hopefully my soon to be step mother , is a FBI agent. I'm not stupid."
" Smart girl." Sam said blushing at her remark. " Tim, I'm going to get one of your shirts to change into."
" Okay, babe!" Speed called out to her as she ascended the staircase. He then looked at his daughter who had a sly look on face. " Sash, you weren't supposed to say anything."
" I know dad, but when are you gonna do it? It's been almost three years now." Sascha said smiling. She had liked Sam from the beginning and she loved how she made her father feel.
" I'll do it. Don't worry about it. But keep your mouth..." Speed said as he was cut off by the doorbell.
" I'll get it!" Sascha said as she jumped up off of the couch. She flew to the door just as Sam was coming down the stairs in one of her father's shirt. " It looks good on you, Sam." Sacha said as she winked. Sam started to walk back into the living room.
Sascha opened the door and let out a giddy scream, " Alexx? What are you doing here?"
Hearing that name, Speed got up from the couch and walked quickly to the door. It had been too long since the last time she had been to New York. He saw as Alexx hugged Sascha and kissed her on the cheek. Speed approached her with his arms open and a wide smile on his face and embraced her.
" I need a reason to come visit?" Alexx asked as she pulled back from the hug. " How are you doing? Hi Sam."
" We are fine. I'm surprised Horatio let you off. What's going on?" Speed asked noticing the apprehension Alexx had.
" I pulled some strings. When it's important , I make time. Like when is the last time you called me, Timmy."
" Sorry about that. I just got tied up at work and..." Speed said as he saw her move into the door way.
Sascha followed her father's eyes to the woman who now stood in the door way behind Alexx. As she moved forward, she remembered who she was.
" Tim,..."
" Lauren?" Speed said as tears welled up in his eyes. He hadn't seen her in seven years.
" No, Tim. It's me, Calleigh. I remember everything."
Sascha let out a cry and raced up the stairs as Speed let his tears drop, still staring at Calleigh. Sam noticed this and moved silently to go after her. No words were spoken as they continued to look at each other. The silence spoke for itself.
TBC...
A/N: I read the reviews and I thought, boy they really don't want Aiden and Tim to get together. So I changed it. Thanks randomwriting for the suggestion:)