Left Undone

Chapter 7 A shot out of nowhere

Timothy brought the bike to a stop at the light, still feeling her warmness pressed up against his body, smiling. What he thought would be gut wrenching was actually more healing than anything else. He was able to share his father with someone whom he loved and trusted, and that meant the world to him.

He was lost in deep thought as a car pulled up beside him, blaring loud music. Riley shifted uneasily behind him, causing him to glance over to his side, seeing the supped up Honda, knowing who it was. Cooper Royston. Timothy inched the bike forward slightly , readying himself to take off when the light changed, putting a comforting hand on Riley's as she squeezed him harder. He remembered what they had gone through in the past two weeks with Cooper. Every since Timothy embarrassed him in the hall, Cooper had made it his business to terrorize him, and when he found out about Riley, her as well. The one incident that stood out in his mind, made him cringe. That day, he almost lost his cool.

Riley walked into the classroom, several minutes before anyone else, wanting to prepare herself for the class. She glanced at the door, waiting for Timothy , knowing that he wasn't far behind her. As she thought back at their time together, she smiled warmly. Despite their initial meeting, Riley had grown to like him, and now their relationship was headed for more serious terms.

Sighing loudly she turned from the door and readied her books. She didn't notice the rough hand until it was clamped over her mouth. Fear coursed through her as she struggled against her captor. When he spoke, she instantly knew who it was.

" So you and Speedle, huh? You downgrading? You better tell your little boyfriend to watch out. No one makes a fool out of me."

She nodded, feeling the tears coming. She knew that he was serious. The bell rang and the hand dropped , leaving as fast as it came. She held on to the desk, trying to get herself together before the other kids came in. When Timothy took his seat next to her, he instantly knew that something was wrong.

" Riley, are you okay?"

" I'm fine," she lied. She didn't want him to worry, not when he was getting his act together.

" Riley, c'mon, I know you. There's something wrong," he said as he looked into her stricken face. She looked back at him, those brown eyes, melting her to the core.

" Cooper threatened you. He came in here when I was alone and surprised me from behind," Riley said as she fought valiantly against the tears.

" Did he hurt you?" Timothy asked as the redness came back into his sights. It was one thing to talk about his father, and an entirely different one when it concerned Riley. Timothy clutched his fist tightly , trying to hold in his anger.

" No, but he said that you should watch out. Speed, I think he's gonna try something stupid. I'm worried about you."

Timothy reached his hand to take hers, in an effort to comfort her, " I'm going to be fine, don't worry about me."

She tried to smile through the glittering of her eyes, her stress tearing at his heart. This wouldn't happen again.

The horn from the Honda blared at him, shaking him from his memories. Timothy noticed as the light turned green and he let the clutch go, sending the Ducati through the intersection. Speeding through the streets of Miami, he didn't see the Honda until it caught up with him and swerved in front of him, causing a momentary lull for Timothy, as he turned the bike to compensate.

This idiot is going to kill someone, Timothy thought as he slowly applied the breaks. He then turned sharply, leaving the Honda on the road by itself. He continued on until he finally got to the park, relieved to see that the Honda was nowhere in sight. Getting off, his first instinct was to check Riley to see if she was okay. She took off the helmet and in one movement, embraced him. He didn't want her going through this for his sake, but he knew if he tried to tell her that it was for her own safety that she left him alone, she would reply with a smack.

" Don't even think about it, Timothy," she said as she kissed him lightly on the cheek. " I'm going to be fine."

" How did you know?" Timothy asked as he gazed in her eyes. The love he saw there was debilitating, in a good way.

" I can tell by the way you look, you get that concern squint going," she replied as she turned to see a group of people headed their way. " Timothy, who are all of these people?"

" They are my family," he replied simply. Timothy smiled as he saw his mother walking with the rest of them, seeing a clarity in her eyes. Maybe she just needed to be around them without work attached.

"All of them?"

" Yes, all of them," Timothy returned. Soon they were in front of them, smiling. Riley watched as Timothy was pulled into several hugs by several different people, feeling the sense of a strong family still trying to pick up the pieces of their lost. She hadn't known Timothy's father, but from what she saw from this group of people , she knew he was loved.

" So are you going to introduce us to your gorgeous friend here, or what ?" Alexx said as she came to Riley. Riley blushed at the comment.

" Alexx, every body, I want you to meet Riley Highsmith, my girlfriend," Timothy said as he stepped aside to make room for his mother. Riley smiled warmly and presented her hand to shake.

" Oh no you don't honey," Calleigh said as she took her into a strong hug, " You get more than a handshake for the happiness that you've given my son. I'm Calleigh by the way."

Timothy felt the heat rise just above the collar of his shirt and continued on, " Riley, this is Alexx Woods, Horatio Caine, Eric Delko, Maxine Valera, and Tyler Jensen and you've met my mother. They all work at the Miami Dade Crime lab. They are CSIs."

"CSIs? What is that?" Riley asked sheepishly as she acknowledged them all. Her question elicited groans from the group as the red head stepped up, wearing dark glasses. Riley tried to remember his name, knowing that it was a literary figure.

" We are crime scene investigators. We take a look at the evidence that is left behind at a crime, and try to find the person or persons that did it."

" So you all just go to a crime scene and collect things?"

" Yes, we each have a specialty , if you can call it that," Horatio continued as the rest eyed him. "Alexx here is our medical examiner, she performs autopsies for us, Eric here is our underwater recovery guy..."

"Scuba boy as I would like to refer to him as," Calleigh chimed in as the others laughed.

" Funny, Cal. I see you haven't offered up what your nickname is," Eric countered.

" It's bullet girl... I don't have a problem with it... I embrace it," Calleigh said exuding her southern charm. Riley smiled at them and returned her focus to Horatio, truly interested in what he was saying.

" As I was saying, Eric is our underwater recovery guy, Calleigh as you heard is an expert in firearms and tool marks, Tyler is a whiz in Audio Visual..."

"And his name is string bean..." Calleigh said as Tyler shot her an embarrassed look, " What ? It's a personal nickname."

Again, the others laughed as Horatio soldiered on, " And Maxine Valera is our DNA tech."

Riley nodded and asked, " So what did Mr. Speedle do?"

At this question the atmosphere had changed quickly, and she instantly regretted speaking his name. Horatio glanced at the ground uneasily, then returned his gaze to her and cleared his throat, "Speed, um ,... Speed was our trace analyst."

There was a hushed silence as their thoughts had turned to the one that was painfully missing. She looked into their faces and saw what Timothy had held in his eyes long ago, sadness. She felt like a heel for imposing this on them, just as it seemed that they were enjoying a respite from their grief.

" I-I'm sorry, I didn't mean to..." Riley started as she felt her eyes beginning to water.

" No, honey, it's nothing. We just miss him," Alexx said as she took her into a hug, "you did nothing wrong."

Riley looked to Calleigh and saw that the beautiful smile had disappeared, it being replaced with a forlorn gaze. Great, I've alienated my boyfriend's mother, she thought as they all turned to go back to the picnic. She turned to see Timothy with an uneasy smile, as he held his hand out to her. Taking it, she felt somewhat better, but she couldn't help but think about her major slip.

" Riley, you did fine," Timothy said as he watched his mother amble slowly with the others.

" I'm sorry ,Timothy. I should've kept my mouth shut."

" They are having a hard time, Riley. Like Alexx said, you did nothing wrong."

" Why does it feel like it?" Riley asked as Timothy took her in a hug.

" Don't worry about it, they love you and I love you.It was just a simple question."

Riley nodded as she took his hand and walked with him, hoping that she hadn't made the wrong impression.

TSJ

H sat at his computer , working on the layout of the program for the evening at his club. He thought about asking Timothy if he would sit in with the band tonight, knowing that he would knock them dead. He remembered the night that he met Timothy and their little jam session, knowing that his skills were above par. He could see a future for the young man, but he wanted him to find his own path. Just like his father before him, H had taken an instant liking to Timothy and he wanted to see him excel so he stepped in as a father figure to him, helping him with his daily struggles of being a teen. He was pleasantly surprised to see the budding relationship that he started with Riley, seeing her bloom as she became en Amor with him. Since her mother had died four years ago, Riley had retreated somewhat into a shell, not letting anyone get too close. So it shocked the hell out of him when he saw them in an embrace one night after they had finished working.

He stood silently at the window watching them as they smiled at each other. Their body language exuded the feeling of awkwardness that they both felt, but their gazes held the truth, they liked each other. H smiled warmly to himself as the door opened and she walked in, oblivious to anything or anybody around her.

"So when were you going to tell me about Speed?" H asked lightly.

Riley stopped in her tracks and glanced at him, then away, " I-I..."

" It's alright, honey. I'm glad that you found someone that you can relate to. He's a decent kid, I trust him."

" Oh daddy, really?" Riley asked as she lifted her gaze , her eyes lighting up.

" Yeah, just as long as you exercise some common sense, I'm cool with it, you know what I mean?"

" I do, daddy. He's a total gentleman, and I think that I really like him."

" You mean love him right? Riley, I'm your father, and I have lived a heck of a lot more years than you have, I know love when I see it."

"Daddy..." Riley said as she felt her cheeks warm up.

" Don't deny it, baby. Some of the most lasting and loving relationships develop in highschool. Your mom and I were highschool sweet hearts, and we were married for almost nineteen years."

" Thanks daddy," Riley said as she hugged him tightly around his neck, " you are the greatest!"

" I know... Do you think you could get Timothy to do me a favor?"

" Dad, we just starting seeing each other, and you already want a favor?"

" Yeah, I want him to play at the club sometimes."

" The club? Isn't he a little too young?"

" That's true, but have you heard him play ? No one would pay a moments notice to his age once they heard the boy play."

Riley gave her father a sideways glance, " Well you'll just have to ask him yourself."

" So I have your permission?"

"Daddy..." Riley said again, effecting her embarrassment onto him. He laughed and walked away, happy to see his daughter happy.

A knock at the door jarred him from his thoughts, and he got up from the computer , crossing the floor quickly. He wasn't expecting anyone this afternoon ,and Riley had told her friends that she was going to be out all afternoon. Curiously, he peeked out of the window to see a car that he didn't recognize in the drive way, but he couldn't see anyone in the car or at the door. Something inside of him bubbled with apprehension as he looked out the peep hole, and then he heard it. He tried to move quickly , but he felt something sear through his chest as he fell back. He put his hands to his chest feeling the warm stickiness as he fought to breathe. Before he passed out, he heard more commotion then a car speeding off. His eyes flirted with closing as he heard a voice in his ear, " You hold on..."

Malcolm's world went dark as he held on to those words, that seemed to be in a familiar voice.

TBC...