Cha-Cha Changes

disclaimer: there is a child murder that the team is investigating in this chapter, so be advised.

chapter 4

" Thanks for seeing me on such a short notice, Doctor West."

" I try to accommodate by any means possible," the doctor said as she sat across from her patient,

"So, what do you need to talk about today?"

" Well, I've been having a hard time today. I really needed someone to talk to," she said as she absently fiddled with the pen she had in her hand.

" That's what I am here for. This is a place where you can talk about whatever is bothering you. I realize that you are still dealing with the loss of someone close to you. How are you handling that?" Dr. Westasked as she eyed the pen tapping against the chair.

" Not well, I can't help but think about what his death has done to us, me. Every time I think about it, I get angry. Upset at the fact that he was impulsive, stubborn, but most of all ,young. It was a senseless loss. I cared for him so much," she said as her eyes started to glisten with her tears. " I should've been there more for him."

" There was nothing you could've done, RJ was killed in the field."

" I could've talked to him more. I feel like I could've done more than what I have done."

" What have you done?" Dr. West asked as she handed her the tissue box.

" I've tried to be there to help them come to terms with his death," she replied as she wiped her eyes. It felt so good to her to be getting this out.

" But who is trying to help you come to terms?"

" I have to be strong for them, doctor. They are my family."

" You can't be strong for them , if you are not strong for yourself first. Take things in perspective, break away from the mother hen mentality, give yourself time to properly grieve your loss."

A slight hum interrupted them and Dr. West smiled endearingly at the woman as she looked down. She flipped the gadget open and sighed heavily then turning to Dr. West , " I'm sorry we are going to have to cut this short. I have to get back to work."

Dr. West nodded and got up, " It's okay. Time waits for no man. Come back when you need to chat?"

She nodded and replied quietly, " I will."

She walked to the door, feeling somewhat better, but couldn't quite put what Dr. West was telling her to do, together in her mind. How could she stop being there for her family? Dr. West noticed the confusion still etched on her face and put a comforting hand on her arm.

" Alexx, I am not telling you not to be there for them, just open yourself up for someone to be there for you. Can you understand that?"

Alexx smiled lightly and nodded her head, " I'll try, doctor. Thanks for listening to me."

"Anytime, Alexx."

Alexx walked out of the office and down the corridor to the elevator. The steps she had taken to get past RJ's death had been painful, but she was doing the best she could. If only she could've talked to him...

There you go again, Alexx, she said to herself as she rode the lift down to the morgue. She had to stop doing this to herself. As much as she loved RJ, she had to realize that the blame wasn't solely hers. The doors to the elevator opened and she walked out , heading into the morgue. There was a call out that she had to get to.

TNR

Eric noticed Speed as he walked over to the yellow crime scene tape and pulled it up to slide under. There were so many emotions running through him at that moment , that he decided against confronting him about the long lunch hour, instead taking a detour and going the opposite way. What his daughter had confided in him, was wearing on his consciousness. As much as she wanted this, what was making her want to turn away from it? It perplexed him something terrible, and he didn't hear as Maddison had come up to him and addressed him.

" Eric?"

" Uh, um, yeah, Maddison?" Eric said as he glanced in Jen's direction. She was standing near the perimeter of the scene, to herself.

" I said I wanted you and Speed to check the back of the building for anything that could tell us what happened to this girl." Maddison returned , noticing Eric's detachment.

" Okay, I'll get on it," Eric said as he turned to walk.

Maddison put a gentle hand up to stop him, " Eric , is there something wrong?"

" No, just got a lot on my mind," Eric replied as he walked away.

Maddison continued to look at him then turned to glance at the rest of her team seeing phantoms of what they used to be. Instead of chatter , there was silence as they worked. The only inkling of life that was present in her group was Rory who was bending down to pick up a piece of the evidence, but even with him , she saw a slight hint of uneasiness. Sighing heavily, she walked over to them to join in the investigation. When this was complete, she was going to have a talk with them all.

" You okay?" Speed asked Jacinda as she glanced at the nude body of the little girl then back up to Jacinda. She had a look of despair on her as she knelt down to her haunches.

" How can someone be so brutal to do this to a little girl?" Jacinda asked as she pulled the blond hair out of the little girl's face. She couldn't have been more than eight years old. Instant thoughts of her baby came to mind when she looked into the small face of their latest victim.

" Who knows anymore," Alexx said coming up to them and putting her kit down angrily. There was nothing worse than a murdered child. She started by looking into the little girl's eyes , seeing the familiar splotches of red. She then moved down to her tiny neck, noticing the bruises. " She's got petechia and ecchymosis around her neck, saying strangulation. There are no ligature marks, so whoever did this, did it with their bare hands. Poor baby was too small to fight him off."

"Or her," Maddison said as she walked up to them, " Alexx, TOD?"

" Judging from the liver temp," Alexx said as she pulled the thermometer out of the little girl's side, " I'd say about ten to fifteen hours. Which would put her out here around noon yesterday."

"Aren't the kids in school?" Jacinda asked as she glanced away from the body feeling her stomach flip.

" Yes, they started last week," Alexx answered as she turned the body. " I got more bad news, double lividity, she's been moved. She wasn't killed here."

Speed sighed as he got up and walked away from them . Sometimes, this job was too much. Maddison looked up and then back to Alexx.

" Anything to tell us who she is or where she came from?"

Alexx looked around the body, seeing nothing of importance, " There's nothing. I'll know more after I post her. I'll get the trace to Timmy as soon as I am done." Alexx said as she motioned for the body haulers to come.

" Good, thank you , Alexx," Maddison said as she saw Speed coming back towards her. " Speed, you got a minute?"

Speed absently looked to her then dropped his head to where the body was lying and nodded. Someone lost a child here. Suddenly , he felt almost grateful of losing RJ the way he did. No one could handle not knowing where there child was. He shook himself out of his thoughts and turned his attention to Maddison.

" Yeah?"

" I wanted to talk to you briefly about something,..." Maddison started before she heard her name being called from near the bushes. She spun around on her heels, then back to Speed, "Can we do this later?"

" Sure. I gotta finish here," Speed said as he put the camera up to his eyes and began to snap pictures.

Maddison walked to the bushes and found Rory bent over something. He didn't have any gloves on.

" Rory, where are your gloves?" Maddison asked appalled.

" Right here in my pocket. I was going to put them on when I found something, which I did," Rory said as he pulled a pair of latex gloves out.

" Next time, glove before walking on to the scene," Maddison warned. " What do you have?"

" I found some clothes and a pocketbook. They look like a little girl's school uniform," Rory said as he pushed the bushes back. " Everything's here and folded neatly."

" That's odd. Why would the killer take their time to fold the girl's clothes and risk being seen?" Calleigh asked as she walked up to them.

" They could've folded them before hand and placed them here, denoting a sense of remorse," Rory offered. The ladies turned to him with surprised looks on their faces, " What?"

" That's a good point, Rory. But if there was remorse, then wouldn't they cover the body as well? She 's in plain sight , it's not logical," Calleigh added.

" You are adding logic to an illogical act," Maddison said as she bent to her haunches to open the little pink pocketbook. It reminded her of her things that she had while growing up.

" You sound just like Horatio," Calleigh said with a smile.

Maddison smirked slightly and cocked her head to the side, pulling out a small wallet. There was a school id in the plastic covering. She looked at it and dropped her head, it was indeed , the little girl.

" Her name is Shannon Moore," Maddison said as she handed the wallet to Rory who then placed it in plastic bag. " Let's go to the school and get some information. I'll be with Alexx if you need me."

Calleigh and Rory nodded in sync and bagged the clothes and pocketbook as Maddison slipped on her sunglasses and walked away. The more things changed the more they stayed the same.

TBC...

A/N: I couldn't help myself with the references to Horatio as we see him :) Bear with me , cause I'm battling a little inspiration lapse..