By Your Side

Chapter 13

Two weeks later

Tim placed his hand on the door knob hesitantly. It had only been two weeks since Horatio's death, and he had been tapped to take his place . At first he was unsure that he wanted the position, but something inside of him told him that this was the right thing to do. If anything ,he wanted to honor Horatio, and by taking the Lieutenant rank, he felt like he could do it with excellence.

Tim turned the door knob and entered into the dark office that he had been in so many times through out the years. He half expected to see him standing in front of the mammoth windows that looked over into the lab. He always kept his eyes on us, Tim thought as he closed the door behind him. He walked over to the desk, noticing that it was just as he had left it, papers neatly piled and pictures of his family scattered among them. He picked up a picture of him ,Calleigh and the twins and saw joy on the man's face. There was a time that it seemed that Horatio would never settle down, but the incident that took Calleigh away from Tim , had changed his life. Horatio was able to experience fatherhood through a random chance.

Tim was about to start putting Horatio's things into the box that he had brought with him when he saw the door open. Calleigh entered slowly and stood by the door. She still wore her grief around her shoulders and her green eyes were still dull with pain. Tim walked over to her and inhaled then slowly exhaling. They had not talked much since the funeral and he was at a loss for words at that moment as well. The silence hung in the air thickly before Tim found his voice and spoke.

" Calleigh, what are you doing here?" Tim asked before he thought. He realized as it sounded rather harsh.

" I came to get his things, Tim. You don't need reminders of him here," Calleigh returned as she walked to the desk. She sat in his chair and felt her eyes get heavy with sorrow. She remembered the countless times she sat here with him.

" I could've done this for you, Calleigh. It isn't a problem."

" No, you shouldn't have to, I am- I was his wife. I have to do this," Calleigh said as she picked up the same picture Tim had looked at. " He was so happy, Tim. But lately he had started to withdraw from us. He was almost reflective."

" Do you think he felt like something was going to happen?" Tim asked as he stood in front of his desk.

" I want to say that was what it was. He was trying to protect us, as always," Calleigh said as she put the picture inside the box.

" How are Livvy and Lizzy doing?"

" Oh, they are doing as well as can be expected. Lizzy's had it the worst though, she was his favorite. Sascha's helped them out a lot "

Tim nodded and then asked, " How are you doing?"

" It's hard, Tim. I keep expecting him to walk through the door, I turn in bed and he's not there," Calleigh said as the tears erupted. " I miss him."

Tim went to her and took her into a hug. There was nothing worse than to see Calleigh in pain. He consoled her gently and held her until she had stopped crying. He had seen the day that he would've rather socked Horatio than to talk to him, but time and circumstances had changed Tim. Life was too short and he wanted to make the best of everything he had in his life which had included Horatio and Calleigh once again. She pulled away from Tim and smiled lightly as she wiped the tears from her eyes.

" What would Sam think?"

At the mention of her name, Tim felt a tug of guilt. He had not thought about her often since she had left, but the death of Horatio was put in the forefront of his mind. He now wondered why she hadn't called at least once. He made a mental note to call her cell phone .

" She would think that I was just being a good friend to someone who needed it," Tim offered.

" You are such a horrible liar, Tim. She would be jealous, and you know it." Calleigh said with a little spirit.

" You know her well."

" I am a woman," Calleigh said as she returned to the picture. She began to put Horatio's things in the box and worked silently as she remembered the times she had spent with him. Tim left her to her work and went to check on his lab.

" So, Alexx," Tim said as he knelt to his haunches next to her, "what do we have?"

Alexx looked at Tim and smiled. This was his first callout as a lieutenant and she beamed with pride. Inside, it tore her up that he was in that position because of Horatio's death , but she was still proud of him nonetheless.

" Well, Lieutenant Speedle, COD is exsanguination due to the bullet that pinged around in his head but something extra, he has double lividity. He's been moved."

" So we are in desperate need of a crime scene," Tim said as he got up and looked at the location. It was a deserted warehouse district, and any number of places could be their scene. " TOD?"

" Liver temp says twelve hours ago, I also found some trace on his eyes. A fine dust. You want to get it now?"Alexx said as she turned the body over again. Before she knew it she was laughing out loud.

"What's so funny?" Tim asked as he looked back down at her.

" I just remembered that you are not the 'trace expert' anymore."

" Just because I don't work it exclusively, doesn't mean I can't collect it," Tim replied as he opened his kit and grabbed a pair of gloves. He collected the dust then tagged it. " Now was that hard?"

" Hmm. I think after a week you'll be searching for a field tech. You are going to have more to do now more than ever," Alexx said as she stood up and snatched the gloves off. " Coming to the post?"

" Well , yeah," Tim said. No matter what his title was , he was still Tim Speedle. Alexx chuckled at him as she walked with the body. Eric passed her then walked over to Tim with his kit in hand.

" So what do we have, fearless leader?" Eric said lightly.

" You're unbelievable," Tim replied as he heard his phone ring. He walked away as he answered," Speedle."

" Tim Speedle?" a rough voice said. It was unfamiliar to him.

" Yeah. Who is this?"

" Jack Malone, I work with Sam. Mr. Speedle, we have a problem."

Fear and acid crept up into his throat as he registered what was said, " What's the problem , Mr. Malone?"

" Sam's missing," Malone said simply.

" M-Missing?" Tim asked as he cleared his throat. " How long has she been missing?"

" Almost two weeks. She was working this case that she had been called up here to do and one day she didn't report in. We are actively looking for her."

" Two, weeks, and this is the first that I've heard of it?" Tim asked as his anger began to override his fear.

" At first we thought that she may have returned to Miami, but her things are still in her room and her badge was found on the night stand. The room looked like it had been tossed. We are looking at several suspects at the moment."

" How did you get my number?" Tim wondered as he paced the length of the crime scene tape.

" Before she began, she gave it to me and said to call you if anything happened to her. She said that she was going to marry you."

" Yes we're engaged. Do you have any leads, yet?"

" I said we are actively looking for her, Mr. Speedle," Malone replied with a hint of anger in his voice.

" Yes, I heard you, but the feds are known for missing important pieces of a puzzle."

" What are you saying Speedle? You don't think that we can handle this? This is what we do, we find missing people."

" Or their bodies. Look, I know you are 'actively ' looking for her, but maybe just maybe you missed something. I'm coming up there." Tim said with sarcasm and finality. He couldn't trust Sam's well being with anyone else.

" There will be no need for that, Speedle. We have it under control. This was just a courtesy call." Malone said as he hung up.

Tim looked at his phone and fumed. There was no way he was going to be satisfied with that. If he couldn't be there, then he would call someone he trusted.

" Hey, Danny, this is Tim Speedle. I need you to look into something for me..."

TBC

A/N: We are getting to the end, just click on that little purple button and let me know what you feel about it... :)