Stay With You

A/N: And it returns! This time I hope to complete it. I hope you guys like it!

A/N#2: I caught the inspiration from Katie, she is such a muse! LoL...

Chapter 14

Tim heard the car doors slam, then heard the familiar barking of the poodle from hell. His family had returned. He excused himself from Danny and Stella as he made his way to the door, hearing the animated conversation between his brother and Sam. A smile inched across his face as he opened the door to see them.

" Tim, you have to school your brother on the finer points of baseball," Sam said as she handed him a bag. " How can he be a Speedle if he roots for the Mets?"

" You know, I've been wondering that same thing, Sam," Tim replied as he grinned at his younger brother who greeted him with a scowl, " Nice to see you changed your mind , Kieran."

" Not that there wasn't lack of motivation on a certain some body's part," Kieran responded as he threw a backwards glance at their mother, " but I'm glad that I came."

"Dad, he told me about a bet that you lost when you were kids..." Sascha piped in as she held the door open for her grandmother.

Tim turned to Kieran with a slightly perturbed look on his face, " You didn't..."

"Relax, Tim, I gave her the pg version."

" Don't contaminate my daughter's innocence, Kieran."

" She wanted to know..."

"Kieran,..." Tim started as he saw the little white poodle scurry across the floor heading straight to him. The little dog nipped at Tim's trousers and he struggled to keep control of his actions, wanting very much to rid himself of the annoying beast. " Mom, did you have to bring Sebastian?"

" Since when have you known me to travel anywhere without my baby?" Sophia Speedle asked as she came up to Tim, giving him a quick peck on the cheek.

" We've been kicked to the curb, Tim," Kieran quipped as he began to walk into the living room. He noticed the two people sitting on the couch and waved to them. He then turned to walk back into the crowded kitchen, " You realize you have company , Tim?"

Tim came out of the kitchen followed by Sascha, and her face lit up as she saw Stella and Danny sitting on the couch. Stella got up and received Sascha in an embrace, smiling heavily. Danny then stood and repeated the same motion and rubbed her hair. It had been a long time since they had seen each other.

" When did you guys come in?" Sascha asked as she sat between them. Tim watched with a smile as the two CSIs huddled close to her.

"About a hour ago, around the time that your father was massacring the dinner," Danny quipped as he shot Tim a humorous glance.

" For the record, dinner is still on," Tim returned as Sam walked in behind his parents. Sebastian had found a sanctuary on Sascha's lap and relished the attention she was giving him.

" Timothy, aren't you going to introduce us to your friends?" Sophia asked as she huddled next to her husband.

" Oh, yeah. Where are my manners?" Tim asked as he moved closer to them, " Stella , Danny , this is Kieran, my brother..."

" How ya doin'? " Kieran asked as he smiled at them, his brown eyes flashing at the sight of Stella.

"And , this is my father, Thomas, and my mother, Sophia," Tim continued as he gestured towards them. Thomas shook hands with Danny and greeted Stella with a kiss on each cheek, and Sophia greeted them both with kisses. " You know, Sam..."

" Yeah the lucky bride," Danny said as he made his way over to her. He noticed the tired look she had and gave her a kiss on the cheek. " How are you doing, Sam?"

" Fine. I spent a couple of days in the hospital for a vacation," she smiled as she glanced at Tim, seeing his concern. The talk of what was going on with her still affected him and her smile disappeared.

" Hospital? Is everything alright?" Stella asked as she hugged her.

" Everything's good. I got a heart disease, but everything's fine," Sam returned as she tried to make light of the situation. Tim glared at her and turned to go back into the kitchen. Something as serious as her condition just wasn't funny to him.

" You say that as if it's a joke," Sophia said as she watched her son go into the kitchen, the obvious affects of this showing through.

" It's nothing to be worried about. They are treating it aggressively and they say that I can lead a normal life. There's no reason to make it a big deal. People live with this everyday."

" And people die with it , Sam," Tim answered as he returned into the living room. The atmosphere had turned uncomfortable within seconds , and all eyes were being adverted. The only thing that was constant was Tim's hardened gaze at Sam. She returned the gaze with no hesitation, standing her ground. There was no way she was going to let this sickness dictate how she lived her life.

" I thought we were going to have a positive outlook , Tim. Take it one day at a time."

" I just want you to take it seriously, Sam. This thing could kill you," Tim returned as he forgot about the audience they were keeping. Nothing mattered at this moment, only her understanding of the seriousness of this.

" Tim, I'm here , right now. And I intend on living . I need you to understand that I don't want this to take over. I want a normal life with kids, love,... you. Believe me, I understand that it is serious and that I may not see my child graduate, or marry, but I also know that I'm not going to waste my time on worrying about it. Life is too precious for that."

Tim looked into her eyes and saw the strength that her words portrayed. He moved to her and took her into a hug, not wanting to let go. Parting, he turned to see just about the entire room in tears.

" These two belong together," Stella said as she wiped her tears.

The door bell rang and Sascha got up , Sebastian jumping off of her lap and making it to the door before her , barking incessantly. Instantly, the sounds of little giggles filled the home, and Tim could hear Sascha as she greeted the guest warmly. She came back in, holding the two identical twins' hands and Calleigh and Horatio following behind her.

" Dad, look who's here," Sascha said as she smiled brightly. Sophia glanced over at Calleigh and Horatio, not masking the disgust and excused herself from the room. Tim walked over to Calleigh and kissed her on the cheek and shook Horatio's hand.

" Hey everyone, I want you to meet Calleigh and Horatio Caine," he said to the room.

" Hi ," Calleigh returned as she waved shortly to the curly haired woman and the man with blond hair and glasses. She deducted that these were Tim's colleagues from New York.

"Stella Bonasera" Stella said as she extended her hand. She then gestured to the man beside her, "Danny Messer. We worked with Speed when he was in New York."

Calleigh nodded her head , saying, " Calleigh Caine. This is my husband, Horatio and those are our girls , Lizzy and Livvy.

Horatio followed Calleigh with the handshakes and then stood by her, watching the rest of the room cautiously, seeing Tim's brother and father as they approached Calleigh first.

" Now , I know that you are not going to pass me over," Thomas said as he took Calleigh in a big hug.

" I could never do that , Thomas," Calleigh returned as she smiled brightly. No matter what had happened between her and Tim , Calleigh always felt as if she was welcomed by the Speedles, well almost. " Kieran, I see that we've grown some. How's school going for you?"

Kieran blushed lightly as he gave her a shy smile and received her embrace, " It's fine, Calleigh. How are things going with you."

" Well, they are busy, I can certainly say that," she answered as she patted the small bulge. A small chuckle erupted as Sam moved to grab their coats.

" You guys want anything?"she asked, trying to give them a reassuring smile. It had to be uncomfortable forCalleigh being in the same room with her ex-husband's family. This had been her idea, a way of bringing everyone together , and she hoped that it would pay off .

" We were just stopping by," Calleigh replied as she glanced back at the girls who were playing happily with Sebastian. " The girls wanted to see Sascha."

" You've gotta stay for dinner," Tim chimed in , " I've cooked enough that's for sure."

Before Calleigh could answer, Sophia called him from the kitchen. Tim sighed to himself as he walked passed Calleigh and Horatio. He could tell by the tone in her voice, that the conversation wasn't going to be a good one. Walking into the kitchen , he saw her as she stood with her arms folded tightly over her chest and her foot tapping impatiently.

"Could you please tell me what she is doing here?"

" Sam invited her," Tim said as he stared at her, " why are you making such a big deal out of this?"

"She's your ex-wife, Tim. She doesn't belong here, she's not apart of this family anymore," Sophia responded, bitingly.

" She's Sascha's mother," Tim stated tersely, " and she will always be apart of this family."

" She left you for him! Even when you stood by her when she had amnesia, you were right by her side. And she just threw you and Sascha away. How can you forgive her so easily?"

Tim felt his temper rising as he glared at his mother, matching her demeanor, " Keep your voice down, mother. I'm not talking about this here."

"When are you going to talk about it, Timmy? She hurt you, do you remember that?"

" You're making it damn hard to forget," Tim said as he started to walk out, " I'm finished with this conversation." He realized that their voices had gotten too loud as he saw Calleigh walking towards the door, Horatio following behind. Tim rushed out of the kitchen to catch them .

"Calleigh, H, where are you going? I thought you guys were staying for dinner."

"It's alright, Tim,"Calleigh said as she glanced behind him to see Sophia as she came out of the kitchen. " I can get the hint that I'm no t wanted. Livvy, Lizzy, we gotta go."

Horatio opened the door silently and let her walk out of the door first as the twins came up behind him, grabbing his hands.

"Daddy, can we get a puppy?" Lizzy asked smiling beautifully.

" Yeah , can we get one like Seb- Seb..." Livvy chimed in.

"Sebastian?" Horatio asked as he looked up at Tim with a small smile on his face.

" YEAH! Sebassian! Can we?"

"We will have to talk to mom about that. Now go get in the truck, I'll be right there," Horatio said as he turned back to Tim.

" H, I'm sorry. This could've gone a lot easier," Tim apologized.

" Speed, it's alright. Sam tried her best and that's what counts."

"You guys are still coming to the wedding aren't you?"

"That", Horatio started as he glanced over to the Hummer, " is for her to decide. If she's not comfortable, she won't come. You know her well enough to know that."

" Yeah , I do," Tim replied, defeated. Horatio nodded and started off to the Hummer. As they pulled away, Tim tried to gather himself to face his visitors. After what had just went down, he had to wonder what they were thinking.

TBC...