Left Undone

Chapter 4-Re birth

The next morning, Timothy bounded down the stairs dressed and with his book bag. Last night, as he played with H at the club, he felt like he was being reborn. The sadness had quieted some, but he knew that as much as he enjoyed it, that the sadness would never completely leave him. The truth of the matter was that his father was dead, but as he laid in bed before drifting off to sleep, he realized that he was doing his father's legacy a serious disservice. Before he closed his eyes, he promised his dad that he would get his act together, and start living.

Calleigh came from the kitchen , glancing at her watch, with a cup of coffee in her hand. She had a look of confusion as he planted a kiss on her cheek before venturing into the refrigerator for a bottle of apple juice.

" Timothy, what are you doing up so early?" Calleigh said as she turned to face him.

" I've got school..."

" You usually don't roll out of bed until fifteen til eight. Is everything okay?"

" Yeah, I thought that I'd take some time to talk to you before you left for work," Timothy said as he unscrewed the top . " I've got a lot of explaining to do."

"If you are doing this in an attempt to get out of talking with Horatio, then you can forget it buster," Calleigh returned sternly.

" It's not like that mom. I really want to apologize for what I've done these past two years. I know I've been a pain in the ass..."

Calleigh peered at his eyes to make sure that he wasn't stoned and shook her head, " What kind of trouble are you in?"

" Mom, I'm not in any trouble, really. I just realized last night that there are things that I should be doing instead of wasting my time and energy on being angry. I shouldn't have said what I said about you. I know you loved dad... I was being a jack ass."

Calleigh stepped back and gazed at him. Was this the same boy that stood in her face just yesterday and accused her of murdering his father? Calleigh was about to say something when her cell phone rang. Timothy turned to the cabinet to snatch something quick to eat. When she was finished, she walked to the sink and place the cup down.

" Hey mom, do you think that I could talk to Horatio this morning? I don't have to be at school until eight . I have something really important to do after school."

" I don't know, Timothy."

"C'mon mom, you know that Horatio gets there before the sun comes up," Timothy said with a little smirk.

Calleigh felt a smile coming at the sight of her son's new attitude. It had been a while since he had addressed her in any way, much less in a respectful way, so she had to wonder what had happened to him.

" What did you get into yesterday?" Calleigh asked as her accent slipped.

" Nothing really," Timothy said as he dropped his head. He didn't want her to know just yet that he had gotten a job, he wanted to surprise her.

Calleigh studied her son for a moment longer, seeing the light that had returned inside of him. Whatever it was, she was thankful.

"Alright, Junior, I don't see why you can't talk to him. But I don't want you to be late for school," Calleigh warned as she grabbed her bag. He followed her out of the house and stood next to the Ducati, slipping on his back pack. The sun had barely rose above the horizon and a slight chill was in the air making Timothy shudder somewhat. He watched his mother as she got into her silver Crossfire and started the engine. He did the same and glanced over to her with a wicked smile on his face. " Race you there?"

" Not on your life Junior. Be careful on the causeway," Calleigh said as she slipped on her sunglasses. She then flipped the visor down to check her makeup in the mirror. On the inside of the flap, she kept a picture of Tim. She smiled lightly as she touched it and flipped the visor up quickly. " And put your helmet on."

" Yes mom. See you there," Timothy said as he backed the bike out of the driveway, and raced off in the direction of the CSI lab. Calleigh did the same and flipped the visor back down as she pulled away.

" There's something going on with your son, Timmy," she said as she drove down the street. The day had an interesting but pleasant start, and Calleigh had only wished that it would get better.

TSJ

Timothy walked into the building with his helmet tucked neatly under his arm, heading straight for the desk sergeant. He smiled at Paula as she looked up at him with surprise, he had made it a point not to come to the lab, it being a part of his grief. This is where his dad spent most of his time and Timothy hadn't been able to forgive it for that.

" Well ,well , look what the cat drugged in," Paula said sweetly, " Timothy, I haven't seen you in so long. How have you been?"

" Okay, going through some issues. Is Horatio here?" Timothy asked as Paula shot him a furrowed brow, " I know, silly question."

" Yeah, it is. You know where to find him," Paula said handing him the visitors pass. Timothy signed his name on the log in and smiled back at her.

"Thanks , Paula."

Paula smiled broadly at the sixteen year old and nodded. She was awestruck at just how much he looked like his father. Timothy walked quickly to the bank of elevators as he heard his mother walking in the door, greeting Paula. He held the elevator for her, as she trotted to join him.

" Let me see, if I can remember straight, firearms is on the ground floor?" Timothy asked as he eyed the key pad.

" No, you must be thinking of Alexx, I've been moved to the second floor," Calleigh said as she pressed the second floor button. " That's right, you haven't been here since the new changes."

" Yeah, I saw all the windows. A bit too much."

" Well this is Miami," Calleigh said as the elevator came to a stop. She moved to get out and Timothy caught her with a kiss on the cheek. Shocked, she touched it and smiled, " What was that for?"

" Have a good day , mom. Be careful," Timothy said as the doors slid closed. He pressed the third floor button, knowing exactly where he was going now. To the trace lab floor. He felt his heart start to flutter as he pressed the button. He hadn't been here since his father had died, and he now wondered what it would feel like to see someone working in the place of him.

As the elevator doors slid open, he walked out and instantly saw someone standing in the trace lab. He went to the door and watched the man as he prepared samples for the mass spec. For a moment , Timothy lost himself in memories of coming here when his father was still alive, being his little helper in the lab.

"Dad, why do you shake them before you put them in there?"

"I don't know , son, I just do. It's a habit. Can you pass me the extractor..."

" Extractor?..."

" Yeah, the thing that looks like a long turkey baster.."

" Excuse me, is there something that I can help you with?" a voice said from beside him.

Timothy looked to his side quickly , seeing the man that had been in the trace lab, as he poked his head out of the door. Timothy saw his name stitched onto his white lab coat, A Peters.

" You work trace?"

" Yeah, I do. I've had some big shoes to fill though. Speed was the master of this universe," Peters said as he continued to watch the young man. " You know, you look an awful lot alike him."

" I'm his son," Tim said as he extended his hand, " Timothy Speedle, Junior."

" So another Speed," Peters said as he took his hand. " You going to do what your old man did?"

Timothy thought about it, then dropped his hand. The memory of his father's funeral hung in his mind as he heard the echos of the 21 gun salute. " I don't know, we'll have to see."

Peters nodded and then turned his attention to the mass spec which spit out a report, " I gotta get back to this, but hey, it was nice meeting you, Timothy."

" Same here,..."

" Aaron. Aaron Peters."

"Aaron. See you around," Timothy said as he turned to Horatio's office. He saw the outline of the man as he stood at his desk. As Aaron disappeared back into trace, Timothy heard a familiar voice behind him.

" Timmy Jay, I know that you weren't going to come in the lab and not see me," Alexx said as he turned to face her. She had a bright smile on her face as she grabbed him and pulled him into a tight embrace. It had been six months since he had last seen her. " It has been too long."

" Yeah, Alexx, it has . I'm sorry about that."

" Don't sweat it baby. We all have our issues to figure out. How have you been?" Alexx asked innocently. She knew exactly how he had been, because she had done her fair share of comforting Calleigh .

" I think you know already, Alexx."

" I do, I just want to hear it from you," Alexx replied as she stared at him. When she heard how he was acting, she had wanted to talk to him personally, but Calleigh didn't think it was such a good idea so she let it go. But when she made her weekly trips to the cemetery, she let Timmy know what was going on with his son.

" Yes, I was being an complete ass," Timothy said as he looked back at her. " But I'm getting better . Matter of fact, I'm going to talk to Horatio right now."

Alexx smiled again and squeezed his cheeks, " You have your father's stubborn streak ,but I knew you come around. I gotta go Timmy Jay , be good in school."

" Yes mom," Timothy returned. He saw the slight notion of sadness as it appeared quickly then vanished. Memories, Timothy said to himself.

He waited until she got around the corner before he ascended the stairs to Horatio's office. He would definitely have to reconnect to the second most important woman in his father's life. Timothy knocked on the door softly, straining to hear as Horatio gave the command to enter. He opened the door to the office, seeing Horatio standing at the front of his desk, dressed in a black suit and a black button up. Timothy could see that he too was still grieving.

" Timothy, come in," Horatio said as he gestured to the chairs. " I know that you have to get to school , so hopefully this will be brief."

Timothy sat in a chair and watched Horatio as he put his hands on his hips. He had seen him interrogate suspects and he always said that he never wanted to know what that felt like. Now suddenly, he found himself in that position.

" Timothy, I know it's been a hard time, but I really think that you need to have someone to talk to when you feel like you're angry. Lashing out at your mother will not bring your father back, and it makes her feel awful. Do you think that your dad would want you to hurt your mother?"

" I know he wouldn't Horatio, and I've apologized to her for that. It's just that his death consumed me to the point where I lost myself. I didn't know what I wanted to do, or if I wanted to be around anyone. But now, I have a different out look."

"Really? And what might that be?"

" I kinda want to keep it under wraps for now, but I promise that it's nothing bad. I found something out yesterday that's going to help me cope better."

Horatio nodded as he looked Timothy in the eyes. By looking there, he could tell if the teen was just telling him something that he wanted to hear ,or if he really believed what he was saying. He believed every word that Timothy said.

" I believe you, Timothy. Just know that you have people you can talk to when you need to."

Timothy nodded and stood up as he glanced at his watch, " I do ,and thank you, Horatio."

" You're welcome, Timothy. Now get going, it's twenty till eight. Don't speed..."

Timothy again noticed the sadness that revealed its self when Horatio said that. He really didn't know how bad everyone else was hurting. He was only concerned about what he had been going through. Timothy reached out to Horatio and took him in a hug. For the most part , he knew the red head as grandpa number two, being that he and his father were close. After the hug, Timothy noticed the slight smile that slowly crept about Horatio's face. It was then and there that he knew that he had to do right from this point on.

TBC...