Stay With You

A/N: Guys, this has been the worst writer's block ever... Hang in there with me! I appreciate all of the wonderful reviews that you all give me. Thanks!

Chapter 3

Sam sat on the couch ,long after Tim had left ,and stared out into space. She tried to rationalize what she had done, but yet she couldn't find any comfort in it. She had gone against his wishes, simple as that. Breathing in deeply, she found the strength to carry her luggage up to their room, and tossed it on the bed.

I shouldn't bother unpacking, Sam thought to herself, as she crumbled onto the floor. Her thoughts returned to her time in New York. Where all of this had started. Closing her eyes, she tried to force those memories from her, feeling the tears as they made way down her face. Soon she was weeping heavily, her body shaking from the force of her sadness.

" I love him..."

"If you love him, then why are you here with me?"...

Why couldn't she have just left when she saw him coming through the door of the restaurant. Why did she stay at the bar, knowing what she had waiting for her in Miami? As her mind raced with the questions of why, she felt her stomach erupt and she quickly got up and ran to the bathroom, barely missing the toilet. She sat on her knees , hugging the porcelain, as the tears flowed steadily. How could she had done this to them?

She got up slowly, wiping her mouth with the back of her hand, still crying. She didn't know how she was going to tell him, fearing the worst. Fearing that he wouldn't understand what she had been feeling, or that he would just be angry at her. She had done what she had feared he would do ; she had sought comfort in her previous lover's arms. Feeling her stomach again , as it did a grotesque dance, she rushed back into the bathroom. Her heart was fluttering with anticipation, as that wasn't the only thing that she had to tell him. She sat there for a moment longer, before gathering herself and returning to the bedroom. She would tell him, everything. Even if it cost her the love that she had been afraid of losing. She would tell him.

S/S

Tim walked into the lab, very upset. If there was nothing more he hated , it was being interrupted. And Delko always had a knack for doing such. As the lift came to a stop on the trace lab floor, he stepped out and saw that the lab was empty. Furious , he continued to walk through the lab, seeing the microscopes that he hadn't touched since Horatio's shooting, suddenly missing them. He would rather be in the lab than in a supervisory position any day, hands down. If Horatio's incident had taught him anything, it was that he simply wasn't cut out to be someone's boss, yet. Pushing the doors open, he walked out into the corridor, not hearing a sound. This was weird. There wasn't a soul in sight.

What the hell is going on? Tim thought as he continued to walk to the corridor. He started to hear voices as he rounded the corner, coming to the break room. When he got to the door, he gazed at the people who piled into the small room, some speaking in hush tones, others just staring ahead at the big screen tv that was on full blast. Tim pushed his way through the sea of people, looking for familiarity. When he saw Delko, the expression that was on his face, instantly sent Tim's heartbeat in to overdrive. Something big was going down.

" Nice to see you finally made it," Eric said without any humor.

" What's going on here?" Tim asked as he glanced over to see Alexx staring at the tv. A look of absolute distress rested in her eyes.

" You haven't heard?"

" No, I haven't," Tim replied as he tried tofocus on the tv.

" The mayor has ordered an investigation into the criminal lab and all the cases pending are to be reviewed by an independent lab. Do you have any idea what this means for the lab?"

" It means, that we have less overtime to pay out," Tim returned less humorous than Eric. He then felt the cell phone buzz at his side. Trying to maneuver , he reached down and grasped it , bringing it up to his face. Stetler. " Speedle."

"Speedle, I need you in my office, now."

" I'll be there," Tim said as he flipped the phone down. He then turned to push his way through the people.

" Hey , where are you going?" Eric called as they began to disperse.

" I've been summoned," Tim said simply as he turned back around and walked out. He had a feeling that this day was going to get worse before it got better.

S/S

Horatio lifted his head and opened his eyes slowly. Had he fallen asleep? As he yawned ,he outstretched his arm, feeling the familiar tingle of pain in his shoulder, regretting that he didn't take his pain medication before leaving. He heard children's voices as he stood up , his eyes searching the now crowded playground for his girls. The last he saw, they were heading for the swings, and now as he set his sights on them, they were nowhere to be seen. He walked further into the playground, his heart beginning to set an insane rhythm, as he searched for them.

" Livvy! Lizzy!" Horatio called calmly. The other parents began to eye him suspiciously as they continued to play with their children. Where could they be, he thought as he quickened his pace. He searched by the slides and the monkey bars, not seeing them. Fear rose into his throat, threatening to burst forward as he called their names again, " Livvy! Lizzy! Where are you?"

A small petite woman with wire rimmed glasses, and salt and pepper gray hair, calmly walked over to him, and tugged on his sleeve. Horatio turned around quickly, startled by the diminutive woman as she plastered a small smile on her face.

" Are you missing someone, young man?"

Horatio took a moment to gather himself and glanced down at the ground,themany thoughts of what could've happened to his babies, swirling through his head. He had put many criminals away, and all of them had some time or another, hadsworn vengeance. He couldn't think about how he would explain how he lost his children to his wife.

" Um, I can't find them," he hesitantly admitted.

" What do they look like?" she asked as her eyes sparkled.

" They are twins, four years old, both have strawberry blond hair, light green eyes about 3 feet four inches..."

" I think I saw them playing over in the sand box, over there," the small woman said as she pointed in the direction in which Horatio hadn't thought to search. Horatio looked to the location to where she was pointing and saw them as they played in the sand.

In his happiness, he almost forgot to thank her for her help , but he turned quickly and did so, gratefully, "Thank you for tremendously. You have saved a life today."

She smiled widely and nodded her head saying warmly, " Glad I could help. Next time, keep your eyes on them. There are some crazy people out here ,you know."

Horatio nodded and then turned to walk rapidly to his little girls. This had been too close for comfort. When he got to them, he couldn't help but smile.

" Daddy!" they both squealed in delight. They were deep in the throes of playing happily in the sand.

" Livvy, Lizzy..."

" We saw that you were sleepin' so we played, daddy," Livvy said as she continued to rake her hand through the sand. Horatio could see the sand interlaced in both of their long locks.

" Yeah, we never get to play in the sand," added Lizzy as she threw the sand up, causing more to land on their heads.

They continued to giggle incessantly as Horatio stepped into the sand box with them. He gingerly sat down cross legged and watched them as they played, getting sand in his hair as well. Horatio laughed at the sight of his ladies playing, relief washing through him. There was no way that this was going to happen again.

TBC...

A/N: sorry this is so short... More to come!