Breathe

Chapter 11

Six months later...

She got out of the Hummer and walked in small strides to her destination, trying to get the words formed in her mind. She had been going over this moment for a while now, not believing that the day had come. She never thought that she would be strong enough to do this, but with him in her life now, Calleigh felt as if she could take on the world once more. His love had provided her with the feeling of belonging and being wanted once more, and every moment with Trent had been a beautiful reminder of what life should've been for her.

Coming up to the headstone, she knelt by it and placed a red rose in front of it. She hadn't been here in a while, but she did notice as it had been kept neat. She touched the stone, letting her fingers graze over his name, suddenly not feeling the debilitating pain that had been with her since he had left. She sighed and sat on her bottom, smiling tearfully. The difference was, that these weren't tears of sorrow or pain, but of happiness and love.

" Hey there hotshot," Calleigh said quietly , " I wanted to come to say goodbye to you. I have met someone. He reminds me a lot of you in so many ways, but there is something different about him. It's like he's wise beyond his years. His name is Trent Spaulding and he works for Miami Dade. I know, I should've tried to find someone outside of work, but honestly Tim, it's like he found me." Calleigh stopped to reflect on how she met Trent and released a shudder. She never again wanted to feel the pain of losing him like she did Tim.

" He's good to me and for me," Calleigh continued. " He and Camille have grown to love each other so much, it's like she's found a long lost best friend. She loves him to death... And I do too." Calleigh looked at the stone, the deafening silence replying to her. "Tim, I will always love you, truly and deeply. But , it's time for me to move on. I will always treasure and cherish what you gave me and I will never forget..."

The cell phone at her side interrupted her and she un clipped it glancing at it irritably. She had just been cleared and reinstated and today was her first day back in the field.

"Speedle," Calleigh said as she glanced at his name on the stone.

" Calleigh, we have a potential scene, near the Agramonte," Horatio said .

" Potential scene? Since when do we get those?" Calleigh replied a little tersely.

" A suspect is holed in his apartment with his girlfriend and he's got a gun to her head. We have been called to secure the area when they diffuse the situation."

" And that could be how long, Horatio?" Calleigh asked as she got up.

" They have been negotiating for almost two hours now and it seems like they have him ready," Horatio returned to her. She could hear in the back ground as the sirens blared and the dim roar of a growing crowd of bystanders.

Calleigh stopped in her tracks at the mention of negotiating, and realized that Trent was on duty today. She paused for a moment then spoke into the phone, " Alright, Horatio, I'm on my way." As she flipped the phone down, she placed a hand on the stone and smiled. She felt at peace with her decision and she felt like where ever Tim was, he understood.

TS

Tim glanced at the tiny screen and furrowed his brow. He had no idea how he had known how to do this , it just came naturally. Behind him, his team stood with their guns poised. They had been at this for almost two hours and he was wearing him down. Tim glanced at his side to check for his side arm, making sure that it was there. Since that day in his home with Tony, he had been observant to everything, remembering Tony's last words before he disappeared.

" We don't know the time nor date..."

Sighing deeply, Tim got up off of his haunches and yelled, " Rico, we've done everything that you've wanted us to do, now show us some good intentions and send Maria out."

" If that's all it takes, Trent, maybe I should be anglin' for your job," a voice said from behind him. Tim smiled as he looked behind him. In a short time span, he had learned to like the people he worked with, but they couldn't compare to the team that he had left behind.

" Frankie, if you can talk, you can do this ," Tim replied with a smirk. He then focused back on the matter at hand. He looked at the screen again and saw the man holding the woman by her hair. She had been crying for what seemed like hours and the man's nerves had frayed beyond belief. Tim knew that he had a short window of opportunity before the man lost his cool.

Suddenly the door opened and Tim saw the little girl come out with her hands over her ears, holding a stuffed animal. Tim motioned for someone to grab the girl as she crossed the hallway.

"Okay, Rico, good, now, we have to talk about Louisa," Tim said as he saw the little girl being taken down the stairs. He breathed a sigh of relief knowing that she was okay.

" There's nothing to talk about, ese. If I go down, the bitch goes down with me," Rico yelled.

Tim could hear he pleas to be let go and closed his eyes. He had to do something before this got out of hand.

" Rico, c'mon man. This has nothing to do with her. Just let her go. Then we can talk."

" She stays. And I need to call my homeys. They need to know what I did," Rico said as he pulled on her hair again, inciting her cries once more.

" Okay, we can do that, but first you have to let her go, Rico. I can't make a move until you give me something to work with. Let her go."

" Are you deaf or something? I said the bitch stays."

Tim heard the cock of the shotgun and stood up quickly. In a calm voice he called back, " Okay, Rico, take it easy. How about we make a trade? You give up Louisa, and you can take me instead. That way, we can talk about a way out of this."

"Whoa, Trent ,are you crazy? If you go in there, you'd be his hostage," Frankie said as he put a hand on Tim's shoulder.

" I know what I am doing, Frankie. Trust me," Tim said as he turned back to the hallway. " So what about it Rico?"

Silence returned to Tim and he felt his patience growing thin. He desperately wanted this over for the woman. Then the door opened and Tim walked up to it with his hands up. He came face to face with a young latina, seeing that her eyes were red and swollen from crying, but otherwise, she was fine. Tim walked ahead of her as she passed him and ran to the team on the opposite side of the hallway. Tim's radio crackled to life as he slowly continued to walk to the door. He took it off and tossed it to the floor.

" Grant, tell the snipers to back down," Tim yelled as he kept his eyes on the shotgun.

" Trent..."

"Do it!"

" All teams this is eagle one, stand down, I repeat stand down. Detective Spaulding is entering the hot zone.," Grant said into his radio.

Tim looked up to Rico and nodded slowly, " Now we can talk without interruptions."

Rico took Tim by the lapels of his vest and snatched him into the room , slamming the doors behind them. Outside, Tim's team settled down on their haunches and lowered their weapons, they trusted him to do what he did best.

TS

Calleigh stood at the edge of the barricades, trying to get a view of what was going on. Until a crime had actually been committed, they were bystanders just like the rest of them. She nervously glanced at the building and heard applause erupt as a swat member came out with a little girl. Horatio noticed Calleigh's worry and tried to comfort her. He knew about the seriousness of her and Trent, and he was happy that she had found love again.

" Calleigh, Trent's good at what he does. He's going to be okay," Horatio said as he took off his sunglasses.

" I know, it's just that I'm a worry wart and you know that too," Calleigh said with a tight smile on her face. She knew about Trent's negotiating skills all too well, but just the same, she still worried. Horatio's radio burst in to static filled life and Calleigh listened with a bated breath.

"All teams, this is Eagle One, stand down, I repeat, stand down. Detective Spaulding in entering the hot zone..."

" What?" Calleigh exclaimed as she moved to cross the barrier. Horatio grabbed her by her tiny waist and pulled her back.

" Calleigh, you can go in there."

" The hell I can't! He can't do this," Calleigh said as she fought against him.

" You got to trust him, he knows what he's doing."

Calleigh stopped struggling and settled down ,realizing that Horatio was right. Trent was a very smart and articulate man. He could talk any one out of anything. She looked at Horatio with intense eyes and he let her go.

" Anything goes down, I'm in there," Calleigh said as she walked up to the front of the barricades. Horatio knew that she was right. She would die for this man.

TS

"Take off your gun, ese," Rico said as he continued to point the shot gun at Tim. Tim didn't hesitate and pulled the gun out slowly and laid it on the ground. He then stood up and moved several inches to the right, placing him right in front of the mammoth window that took up most of the wall space in the room. Rico kicked the gun and trained his sights on to Tim. Tim looked back at him and saw that he couldn't have been more than sixteen years old.

" So we are alone. What do you want to talk about?" Tim said calmly as he slowly extended his index finger slightly. Rico continued to focus on the gun that he held in his face, not noticing.

" I need to get word back to my homeys, that the diablos are gonna try and take them out."

" I got a cell phone . You want to use it?" Tim said as he brought one hand down to his pocket. Rico tensed up and Tim assured him as he put his middle finger up, " I'm just getting the phone."

Rico nodded and stepped in front of Tim with his back to the window, and grabbed the phone. Tim raised his ring finger and instantly the sound of shattering glass filled the room and Rico went down. Tim reacted quickly and kicked the gun out of Rico's reach as he reached behind him and grabbed a pair of handcuffs. The door flew open and his team rushed in with their guns raised . They lowered them when they saw Rico on the floor with a bullet in the shoulder.

" You never cease to amaze me, Trent," Grant said as two swat guys lifted Rico up and take him out of the room.

" You doubted me?" Tim replied breathlessly as he smiled. He then looked up to see her with a worried look on her face.

Grant and Frankie snickered at Tim as they walked out. They knew Calleigh very well.

" Hi Calleigh," they said in unison as they passed her.

Calleigh ignored them and kept her eyes on Tim. He saw the familiar fury that danced inside of them.

" Call us if you need back up," Grant called back to Tim.

Tim shook his head and smiled at him, giving him the thumbs up. He then looked to Calleigh noticing that she hadn't broken her icy glare.

" Hey, what's that all about?" Tim asked.

" What the hell where you thinking? You could've gotten killed up here!" Calleigh yelled at him.

" I know what I am doing ,Cal. I've been doing it for a long time now," Tim said as he walked over to her. He stood inches from her , feeling the concern as it wafted off of her. " I told you that I would be there for you didn't I? I intend on keeping that promise."

" You keep doing stunts like this, and it might make you out to be a liar," Calleigh said as she finally broke her gaze on him.

"Calleigh, I am here. I didn't get shot. Stop doing this to yourself."

" I can't help it, Trent. I think about all that I have lost because of what we do, and I get paranoid. No one knows the time or date that their number is up."

Tim turned to look at her, the words ringing in his ears. Those were the same words that Tony had said to him. He shook his head and let a controlled laugh escape.

" Calleigh, I'm not going anywhere, okay?" Tim said as he kissed her on the lips softly.

Eric walked in ,carrying his kit and grinned, " Hey , you are contaminating the scene, Spaulding."

Tim broke his kiss with Calleigh and stared at Eric. Again, his knack for showing up at the wrong time, reigned supreme.

" I'm leaving," Tim said as he glanced at the silver case. He felt the sadness knowing that he wouldn't be doing this with them. " Can we grab lunch or something?"

"Sure," Calleigh said as she let her arms hang around his waist, " I'm sure we won't be here long , will we Eric?"

" I'll try and have her out of here in an hour," Eric replied sarcastically.

" Lunch it is then. I gotta go, there's a ass chewing that I'm late for," Tim said as he left the room.

Calleigh glanced at him as he left and let a smile come up. She then bent down and opened her case. Eric opened his and grabbed his fingerprinting tools, not noticing a piece of paper that dropped out of the kit. Calleigh saw it and picked it up. She would give it to him after they finished the room.

TBC...