In front of the computer, fiddling about with something was Dan. 'Morning, Dan.' She said. Dan turned around, glared at her and walked off. Cheryl sighed and sank into the previously occupied chair. She wasn't overly surprised. Her and Dan hadn't been on the best of terms recently. Not since she'd destroyed his beloved Coldplay CD, despite the fact she'd given him a limited edition British version in replacement.

The computer had managed to match forty nine prints so far. Cheryl turned to the records the hotel had provided and began matching the prints to the previous guests to eliminate them. She was doing this an hour later when Horatio appeared at the door.

'No music today?' He asked her.

'Can't say I'm in the mood.'

'Yes. The papers.'

Cheryl turned around to face him. 'Please tell me you aren't about to say something about that, because I never spoke to the papers, and I certainly wouldn't say what was said.'

Horatio smiled sadly at her.

Cheryl rubbed her eyes. 'It's just a piece of fiction, Horatio.'

'It's not about the paper.'

Cheryl looked up at him, 'this is about what Suzie was her for yesterday.'

Horatio nodded.

'Madison?' She whispered.

'She has a form of Leukaemia, Cheryl.'

'Is it treatable?'

'She needs a matching donor. Neither Suzie or I are a positive match.'

'We have the same father, can I help?'

'It would mean a nurse taking a sample of your blood, and if it were a match, a bone marrow transplant.'

Cheryl shut her eyes. She could feel the blood draining from her face. 'Needles.' She murmured.

'I'm not,' he told her quietly, 'I'm not going to force you to do this.'

'You don't have to force me to do anything, Horatio. I'll do it, no doubt about it.'

Horatio smiled, 'I knew you would. We should go to the hospital.'

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

'How long have you known, Horatio?'

'Suzie came to see me yesterday, as you know. I knew nothing about it until then.'

Cheryl eased herself back into the hospital bed. The nurse had led them to the bed, and now they had to wait for another nurse to become available to take her blood. 'What happens if this doesn't work?'

'We'll cross that bridge when we come to it.' He took a seat next to her. 'So where did your phobia of needles come from?'

'Haven't you read the papers? I'm an ex-junkie who is afraid of returning back down that path.' She told him bitterly.

Horatio just stared at her with that look that felt like he was boring into her soul. It was a look which often made her pity the suspect who was at the receiving end of it.

'You wouldn't believe me if I told you.'

'Try me.'

'The dentist.'

'The dentist?' He repeated, with a small smile on his face.

'When I was little, I had to have a few teeth out. Apparently, my mouth is actually too small for the amount of teeth that are supposed to be in it. Anyway, I'm sat in the chair, with the dentist hovering over my mouth with a six inch needle, okay,' she said, looking at the expression on Horatio's face, 'it was smaller than six inches, but that doesn't matter when your dentist has allergies.'

'Phobias stem from the strangest places.'

Cheryl rubbed her tongue over the top of her teeth. She hated it when he came out with comments like him. And it wasn't distracting her from the upcoming needle. Speaking of which, the needle was now heading towards her, accompanied by a nurse. Nurses. They had the most sadistic job on the planet. They could pretend to be helping you, but if they wanted to cause pain, they could. Quite easily.

'I'm sorry?'

Cheryl looked over at him. 'I said that out loud, didn't I?'

Horatio nodded.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Cheryl sat rubbing her arm. The nurse had taken her blood a couple of hours ago, and she had since returned to the lab, and was back checking through the prints and visitors. And out of all the prints that had matched, none were relevant. There were three belonging to housekeeping, and they were all accounted for at the time of death. The rest were all tourists, the majority of which had come from outside of the country and had stayed there at least one month previously. If the prints weren't coming up with anything, she would have to look elsewhere.

She headed towards the trace lab, thankful that she had found Eric in the first place she looked, for once. He was busy with his nose down a microscope. He looked up, 'Carter.'

Cheryl sat down opposite, 'Delko.'

'In overnine months you have never addressed me by my surname.'

'In over nine months, neither have you.'

'The white powder was cocaine, as you know, but it also contained traces of lily pollen.'

'The only flowers in that room were roses.'

'So where did the pollen come from?'

'Back to the hotel room?'

Eric nodded. Give me ten minutes to put this evidence away. I'll meet you in reception.'

She was stood there, minutes later, when someone started shouting at her. 'I can't believe you lied to me.' Cheryl turned around to find Speed storming across the reception area towards her. 'You lied to me!' He repeated.

Cheryl looked at him blankly. She had no idea what he was talking about. 'What are you on about?'

Speed turned around, grabbed the television remote that lived behind the reception desk and turned the news channel on, on the television that was suspended above their heads.

Cheryl stared at the image on the screen. For a moment, she couldn't even hear what the reporter was being said. Instead, all that she could focus on was Cole Turnall kissing her. Except she had never kissed him. But the television was saying otherwise. There she was, in the same clothes she was wearing the other day, with her mouth locked against Cole's.

'That's not me.'

'No? Is that your twin then? Because she has the same scars as you do.' He yelled at her, as he pointed at the bullet scars that were on her arms.

Cheryl looked closer at the screen. 'That's me, but it's not me.' She said quietly. She couldn't understand it. In fact, she was beginning to question her sanity, at this point.

'That's the best you can come up with?' Speed had tears in his eyes now. He dug into his pocket and pulled out her keys to her Hummer and flung them at her. Then he pulled her apartment key of his key chain, flinging it in the same direction.

Cheryl stood there and allowed them to bounce off her, watching Speed storm off, back into the lab, tears also in her eyes. 'I didn't kiss him, though,' she whispered. She turned her attention back to the television, like all the other people in reception.

'…seen here, Cole is back with his girlfriend, Cheryl Carter, from the Miami Dade Crime Lab, who is also working on murder case Cole has been caught up in. A close friend of Cole has told Channel 6 News that Cheryl is doing everything in her power to get him cleared in this case. But the question that this reporter has, is how legal is this?'

'Are you having a laugh?' Moaned Cheryl. She turned to face Horatio, who had come over the moment he had heard Speed shouting, 'it's all-'

'You might want to consider that answer very carefully, Miss Carter.'

Cheryl turned back around to find herself face to face with Rick Stetler.'

'Internal Affairs, are you kidding me?' She exclaimed.

'Afternoon, Rick,' said Horatio.

'Horatio.'

'And what brings you here on this fine afternoon?

'I would have thought that was obvious, Horatio. Yet again, another member of your team has bought the integrity of this lab under scrutiny.'

'I have done no such thing!' Interjected Cheryl.

'Cheryl,' Horatio said quietly, in a warning tone.

'It is all over the news that your relationship with Cole Turnall is going to affect this case.' Said Rick, 'and then there is also the issue of your drug problem.'

'There is no relationship! And there is no drug problem!' Cried Cheryl.

By this point, Yelina, Eric and Calleigh had come over to join them. 'Is there problem?' Asked Yelina.

'Hello, Yelina,' said Rick.

'Yes, there is a problem,' said Cheryl. 'The problem is, everybody is believing what the news is saying, and not what I'm saying.'

'Where have you been this morning?' Asked Rick.

'Why is that relevant?' Asked Cheryl.

'Because, according to the news, you were with Cole this morning.'

'I've just told you, the news isn't telling the truth.'

'So you are saying the news is lying?'

'Yes!'

'Cheryl, the news checks their sources before they tell the public anything.' Said Calleigh quietly.

'Oh my God,' exclaimed Cheryl, 'are you accusing me of lying now?'

'Where were you this morning?' Repeated Rick.

Cheryl looked over at Yelina, 'I can't tell you,' she said quietly, 'it's not my business to say.'

'Cheryl, you could save yourself a lot of trouble,' said Eric.

'Cheryl,' said Horatio, 'Cheryl, I want you to go and wait in my office.'

'But Horatio!'

'Now, Cheryl.' Horatio ordered, raising his voice. Cheryl stared at him. He never raised his voice unless he had to.

Cheryl nodded and did as he said, leaving the others.

'I'm not going to ignore this, Horatio.' Said Rick.

'I should hope not, Rick,' said Horatio. 'However, I take it you won't mind if I begin my own investigations.'

'So long as they don't interfere with mine,' he replied in a tight voice, before storming off into the Crime Lab.

'Excuse me,' said Yelina, and she left in the opposite direction.

'Eric, I want you to continue working on the Cole Turnall Case. Get Speedle in on it too. Tell him to give his case over to the night shift. Cheryl is obviously no longer on this.' Horatio told Eric, who hurried out in the direction Speed had gone.

'Horatio?' Questioned Calleigh in her soft, southern voice.

'Calleigh,' continued Horatio, 'Calleigh, I want you to run the investigation into Cheryl.'

'Is there anything I should know?'

'She doesn't have a drug problem.'

Calleigh nodded, 'the drug test will tell us that.'

Horatio sighed. 'She was at the hospital with me this morning.'

'Are you okay?' Asked Calleigh, instantly looking worried.

'Suzie Barnum.'

'Yes?'

'Her daughter, Madison, is also my niece. She was diagnosed with Leukaemia.'

'Yelina doesn't know about Madison either.' Said Calleigh, a look of understanding washing over her face.

Horatio nodded, 'Cheryl won't say where she was because she is protecting Yelina.'

Calleigh smiled, 'well, we will have to find another way to show Cheryl's innocence then.'

'I know you'll be able to.' Said Horatio, as Calleigh accepted her task. 'Right now, I need to go talk to Cheryl, before Rick does, and she loses her temper.'

Calleigh nodded and walked off into the Crime Lab, heading towards the Audio/Visual Lab. Horatio let out another sigh and headed towards his office.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Cheryl was pacing up and down Horatio's office, chewing agitatedly on her nails, something she never normally did, when Horatio got there. 'You shouldn't do that,' he told her, as he walked in and sat behind his desk. 'You'll hurt yourself.'

'Horatio, I didn't-'

'I know. That's why I have Calleigh working on it.'

Cheryl sank into the chair opposite, 'I won't say anything about where we were. It's none of Rick's business.'

'I know. And you won't have to.'

'I should go get back to the case.' Said Cheryl as she started to rise.

Horatio shook his head. 'You're off that case, Cheryl.'

'Horatio!' Exclaimed Cheryl, 'I thought you just said-'

'I just said I believe you. Rick on the other hand, doesn't.'

'So you're going to punish me because someone is telling lies about me?'

'Cheryl, I want you to sit back and allow Calleigh and Rick to carry out their investigations, I know,' he told her, 'I know it's the last thing you want to do, but you are going to have to trust me on this.'

Cheryl stared intently at him, 'I do,' she sighed, slumping back into the chair, 'I do trust you, Horatio,' she repeated.