Disclaimer: I don't own anything
Summary: Spoilers for 'Lost Son'. Calleigh has memories of the time she spent with Speed.
Pairings: Calleigh and Speed
A/NSorry it took so long to update, but I've been really busy, what with getting ready for college and everything.
Okay, there are a few things I want to get straight. Near the end of the chapter, I have Ryan going to the police station, instead of to the hospital with Calleigh. He just has to take their suspect to get interrogated, but he'll be with Calleigh when she wakes up. I think that's everything. I hope everyone enjoys the chapter and PLEASE REVIEW. I just love reading them. Ciao.
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Horatio had dropped by McCauley Jewelers, once again-hopefully for the last time-and he had even tracked down Anderson's home address, but still there was no sign of the man, so he called into headquarters and asked for two patrol cars to be dispatched-one to McCauley Jewelers and the other to Anderson's home. With the hope that he'd soon have Anderson in an interrogation room, Horatio headed back to the lab to check if Valera had the results from the blood Eric had given her earlier. He mad the trip from Anderson's to the lab-which was about a ten minute drive-in six minutes. Horatio got out of the Hummer and hurried into the Miami-Dade crime lab
Five minutes later, he was walking into Trace. "What have you got on the blood Valera?" Horatio asked the lab tech, Maxine Valera.
Valera looked up from the microscope and asked, "The blood Eric brought in?"
Horatio nodded.
Valera handed him a piece of paper and said, "As you can see, the blood was too degraded to get a positive match. Look, Horatio, I know how much this case means to you-what it means to all of us-so I ran the sample numerous times, but each time, the result was the same; NO MATCH. I'm sorry," Valera finished sympathetically.
"So am I." Horatio set the report down and said, "Thanks Valera." Horatio left Trace.
----
Calleigh and Ryan stepped out of the Hummer and got their first good look at Jackson Enterprises. It was a small business complex about 20 minutes east of the crime lab. The building was starting to get run down; however, it was still in working order. Palm trees dotted the premises and however run down the complex may be, the vegetation was well groomed.
The two CSI's walked up the cracked sidewalk and opened the glass doors that would allow them entrance to the small business.
The lobby was small and crammed with two chairs and a small table, covered with magazines.
Unlike outside, there were few signs of plant life, what with one small palm tree on either side of the door.
Ryan looked around the lobby until his eyes landed on the young desk clerk, who, at the moment, was leaning backing her chair reading a paperback book.
As Ryan looked closer, he noticed the uncanny similarities between this young woman and his fiancée. Ryan tried hard not to, but he couldn't help it, and his concentration slipped away from the case, just as Calleigh's had so many times before.
"Ryan," Natalie Sanchez said into her cell phone, as she walked out of their apartment. "I just got called into work. I don't know when I'll be back, but I'll see you soon. I love you." She hesitated for a moment, but then she hung up the phone.
As she walked to her car, she pulled her long, black hair into a loose ponytail.
Natalie was a very beautiful Hispanic woman with long, black hair that touched her waist. Her olive green eyes lit up every time she saw her fiancé, Ryan Wolfe, and, quite frankly, she didn't know what she would do without him. She loved being with Ryan, but she had to admit, their relationship wasn't easy, what with him being a cop. She was constantly worried whether or not he would come home and she thanked the stars each night when he did.
Ten minutes later, Natalie pulled her red convertible up to Gordon's Gold, the jewelry store at which she worked. She quickly got out of her car and rushed into the store.
Gordon's Gold was the most expensive jewelry store this side of Miami. It was home to hundreds of the worlds most expensive jewels; however, they were sympathetic to those who couldn't afford as much. Those gems, though, were still quite pricey.
As Natalie stepped behind the jewel enclosed cases, she glanced over the store to make sure everything was in order. Here eyes immediately landed on a man sitting on a couch on the far right side of the room. The couch, along with the magazines piled on an oak table, were there to make any waiting customers comfortable while they waited for service.
She stepped across the nicely polished hard-wood floor to where the man, who was a regular, was patiently waiting. "Mr. Rennolds," Natalie started, "how may I help you today."
Mr. Rennolds glanced up from the magazine he was reading and met Natalie's eyes. He, like herself, was Hispanic. His chocolate-brown eyes sparkled with mischief and friendliness. Trapped deep inside his eyes, she also glimpsed a hint of adventure that she knew had once been there. He had dark hair and his image was mad complete with his usual beard and mustache.
"Natalie, how many times have I told you to call me Jesse. Mr. Rennolds makes me feel old," Rennolds said, who was just entering his 44th year.
Natalie let out a small laugh.
"Jesse," a voice said, coming out of the back room. The voice belonged to that of her friend and co-worker, Andy Bishop. "It appears as though we don't have the diamond you requested in stock, but we can call you when it comes in."
Jesse Rennolds placed the magazine on the table with the rest, stood up, and said, "Thank you. I'll be looking forward to your call Andy. Bye Natalie."
Once Jesse Rennolds had left the store, Andy turned to Natalie, and gave a sigh of relief. "Thanks for coming in Natalie. Billy called in sick and it was busier than I had expected."
Natalie smiled and said, "No problem. Ryan's at work, so I was really bored anyway.
Natalie and Andy had just gotten behind the counter when the door opened and two men entered.
The first was a black man of medium-build. He had the beginnings of a mustache and beard encompassing his mouth and jaw, his eyes had a shifty atmosphere to them, and his nose almost was almost pug-like.
The second man was the complete opposite. He was a tall, white man, but unlike the first man, he had a friendly quality that engulfed him.
"How may I help you two gentlemen today," Natalie inquired in a friendly manner.
Instead of answering, both men reached in their pockets and pulled out handguns.
The black man came to where Natalie was standing and ordered her to get on the ground, while the other man was doing the same to Andy.
She quickly obeyed his orders and as the tears started falling, all she could do was pray that they would leave.
Natalie could hear the sound of glass breaking and knew that they were going to do away with millions of dollars of jewelry, but at this point she didn't care; she just wanted them to leave.
All of a sudden, she just wanted to be at home in the warmth of Ryan's arms. She wanted to kiss his lips and look in to his deep, passionate eyes. Unfortunately, she had to get through this nightmare first.
It lasted another 5 minutes before she heard the sound of the door open. 'Thank God' she prayed.
She quickly glanced over at Andy, who seemed to be okay. Then she slowly got up and peeked over the counter, which she realized at the last minute, was a mistake. One of the men had come back and was looking squarely into her eyes.
Her eyes were drawn to the gun, positioned in his right hand. She saw his finger tighten around the trigger. Instinct told her to get back behind the counter, but before she could, the man had raised the gun and pulled the trigger. The next few seconds seemed to pass by in slow motion. She slowly put her right hand to her abdomen and when she released it from the entry wound, all she could see was the dark stain of blood covering her hand. When Natalie could finally grasp the concept that she had been shot, she fell to the ground and landed in a small pool of blood that was beginning to form at her feet.
Andy looked on in consternation as he saw his co-worker-the woman he saw everyday-fall to the ground in a pool of her own blood. He quickly looked around to make sure the man, who had shot her, had vacated the store and when he was sure the coast was clear, he rushed to Natalie's side. He looked into her eyes and saw a mix of emotions-fear and consternation, above all.
"Ryan," Natalie sputtered. Unfortunately, her speech was cut short by the sudden appearance of blood bubbling from out of her mouth.
In the distance, Natalie heard, or thought she heard, the sound of sirens. Had someone called 911? Maybe she would get to see Ryan one last time.
She tried to fight her injury, but she knew it was a lost cause.
She slowly turned her head and looked into Andy's kind, generous face. She tried, once more, to speak, and this time, she didn't let the blood stop her. "Tell Ryan…that I love…him." Saying those words took any fight she might have still had left.
"It's going to be okay, Natalie," Andy encouraged her, as he took her blood-soaked hand in his, but he knew it was too late; there was nothing he could do. He noticed the tears silently roll down Natalie's cheeks and then, in one swift movement, she closed her eyes. He half expected her eyes to open one last time, but when the rise and fall of her chest had ceased, he knew it was not going to happen. As he let go of Natalie's hand, he heard the sound of a door slam; the paramedics. He felt a surge of anger course its way through his body. Too late; they had come too late. He looked at Natalie's lifeless body and when the tears came, they wracked his body uncontrollably.
----
Ryan Wolfe stepped out of his patrol car and shut the door. When Ryan had heard the call that there had been sounds of shots fired at Natalie's jewelry store, he had wanted to panic, but his cop instincts had told him to remain calm.
Ryan placidly walked into Gordon's Gold, but when he saw the floor and Natalie's co-worker covered in blood, he knew the worst had happened. "Andy," Ryan said, heading over to where Andy Bishop stood with another officer, giving his statement. "Where's Natalie?" By this time, Ryan was anything but calm. "Andy," Ryan said again, "where's Natalie?"
Andy had hesitated the first time because he knew that only heartbreak awaited Ryan, but he realized he had no other choice. Andy slowly tilted his head toward the counter, as a tear rolled down his cheek.
Ryan quickly moved around the counter, knowing he would not like what he found. When he saw the lifeless body of his fiancée, he grabbed his head in his hands. His training was thrown out the window and he ran to her, not caring how much evidence was contaminated in the process. "Natty," he cried, as he took her hand in his. It wasn't until then, that the tears, which had been delayed upon his arrival, started flowing freely from his deep, brown eyes.
"Ryan, are you okay?" Calleigh asked Ryan, who was staring at the desk clerk with a confused look on his face.
"What?" Ryan asked, as he turned to Calleigh with the same confusion etched into his face.
"I asked if you were okay."
"Yeah. I'm fine." Ryan shook his head to get his concentration back.
Calleigh nodded her head to show she understood. She knew something was wrong, but she didn't want to push it, so on the way back to the lab, she would talk to him and hope that he would open up to her. Calleigh hesitated for a moment, but when she saw Ryan walk up to the desk clerk, she knew he was ready to continue, so she followed suit.
"Hi," Ryan said. "I'm Ryan Wolfe, this is Calleigh Duquesne and we're with the crime lab. We need to speak with Mr. Jackson. Is he in?"
When she didn't respond to Ryan's question, he repeated it in Spanish.
Calleigh had no idea that Ryan was capable of speaking Spanish. She saw him everyday and not once did he show signs of being able to speak the language.
When Ryan and the clerk had finished their conversation, he turned to Calleigh and said, "She says Mr. Jackson is in suite 180." Ryan knew Calleigh was able to speak fluent Spanish, but he knew how upset she had been lately, so he just wanted to make sure she got every word and he didn't even know if she had been paying attention.
Calleigh was still in awe, although she didn't show it, as she followed Ryan down the corridor. "Where did you learn to speak Spanish?" Calleigh asked him.
The smile that had been plastered on Ryan's face faltered and he looked away from Calleigh. "It doesn't matter."
By this time, they had reached Mr. Jackson's office. Ryan knocked on the door.
"Come in," said a gruff voice.
Ryan pushed open the door.
Mr. Jackson, who was a dark haired man with fair skin, looked up from a pile of paper work. "Ah, you must be from the crime lab. Adriana buzzed me and said you were coming. Dimitri Jackson," the executive said, as he got up from his chair, and extended his hand to the two CSI's.
After introductions had been made, Calleigh said, "Mr. Jackson, are you aware that Dante Walker was found dead this morning?"
The smile on Jackson's face quickly faded. "No…No I wasn't. What happened?"
"He was shot, Mr. Jackson," Calleigh informed the business man.
"Oh God," he said, as he stumbled back. He reached for his chair and began to sit down. Luckily, his chair was close enough that he was able to accomplish this task with little trouble.
Ryan and Calleigh looked at each other.
Over the years, they-even Ryan as a cop-had seen suspects act like this. Of course, it didn't mean that Dimitri Jackson was guilty. On the other hand, if he was in fact guilty, they would find the evidence.
"Mr. Jackson," Calleigh continued, "I know how hard this must be for you, but we need to ask you a few questions. Can you tell us what kind of man Mr. Walker was; at work, at home?"
Jackson gave a small laugh. "He was a good employee. He was working on a major business deal that was supposed to go down this afternoon. He proposed that…Never mind," he said, as he saw Ryan's lack of interest.
"What was he like at home?" Calleigh asked.
"This is a place of business Ms. Duquesne. We didn't talk about it much. I made a point to tell all of my employees to leave their personal problems at home; however, I know that Dante and his wife, Kiera, are expecting their first child, so I guess it can't be too bad."
Ryan had expected Calleigh to continue the questioning and when she didn't, he looked into her eyes and noticed they had glazed over, just as they had earlier that day. Ryan was about to ask her what was wrong, when he noticed her hands make contact with her abdomen. It looked as though he wasn't the only one who had something to hide. Ryan quickly glanced at Dimitri Jackson, who was very confused. Ryan motioned for him to wait a few minutes because he knew that Calleigh's concentration was broken, at least for the next few minutes.
"Calleigh," Speed called out, as he opened the door to their apartment and threw his keys on the counter.
"Hey," Calleigh said, coming out of their bedroom. She walked up to Speed and out her arms around him in a tight embrace, with Speed doing the same. They broke apart and Speed looked into her eyes.
"How are you feeling?" Speed asked Calleigh, who had been sick for the past few days.
When Speed had told her to stay home, she tried to argue with him. She insisted that she was fine enough to go to work, but, of course, Speed had won the argument. Calleigh realized later, that it was probably best, seeing as she constantly felt sick to her stomach.
"I'm feeling better, but Tim, I have to talk to you. Don't worry, it's nothing bad; at least I hope you don't think so," Calleigh added, seeing the strained look on Speed's face.
Calleigh led Speed over to the couch and sat down. She placed her hands in his. "Okay. To tell you the truth, I haven't been feeling well for about a week, so today, I went to the doctor's. I just actually got back a few minutes before you came home," Calleigh said, getting a little sidetracked. "Oh, right. So I went to the doctor's and she told me that I'm pregnant." Calleigh looked deeper into Speed's eyes and immediately-although it wasn't hard to see right off the bat-took notice of the shock. "Say something," Calleigh said, uncertainly.
Speed let a sigh escape from his mouth. He released his hands from hers and placed them on her face. "I love you Calleigh."
He leaned forward and placed his lips on hers. When they finally broke apart, Calleigh said, "So, you're okay with this?"
"Why wouldn't I be?" Speed asked in return.
"It's just, I didn't know if you'd want to be a father. We've never really talked about it and even I admit, it came as a bit of a shock."
Speed smiled. "Of course I'm okay with it Cal. It's great news."
Calleigh too broke into a smile and, once again, they put their arms around each other in a tight embrace.
"Calleigh," Ryan said, brining her back to reality. "Are you okay?" Ryan felt as though that question was getting a little worn.
"Yeah," Calleigh said without hesitation.
Calleigh was about to continue the questioning, when Ryan interjected. "Sorry about that, Mr. Jackson. So, you said before that Dante was involved in a big business deal. Was there anyone who was jealous of him; anyone who wanted that for themselves?"
"No that I know of, but you have to understand that as competitive as we may be with other companies, we get along really well on the inside. I just can't believe that one of my people killed Dante and because of business, no less."
"People get jealous; competitive," Ryan said.
"I am aware of that Mr. Wolfe, but like I said before, not here."
Ryan could see Dimitri Jackson's annoyance starting to show, so he decided to change tactics. "We also understand that a Jack Hunter works here. We need to speak with him," he said.
"He's not in right now, but he'll be back in a few minutes. You can wait if you want."
"While we wait," Calleigh spoke up, before Ryan was able to stop her, "do you mind if we look around his office."
"We may be a small business, but we bring in a lot of income and just you being here is bad for business, so without a warrant, I'm going to have to say no," Jackson told the two CSI's.
"Fine, but if we find any evidence that connects your business with Dante Walker's murder, you can guarantee we'll be back with a warrant, but in the meantime, we'll wait for Jack Hunter in the lobby. Thanks for your time Mr. Jackson," Calleigh said.
Calleigh and Ryan left Dimitri Jackson's office and went to join the desk clerk in the lobby.
When they got there, Calleigh mentally yelled at herself for slipping up they way that she did. No one was supposed to know that she was pregnant. It was going to be hard enough to raise the baby on her own, but if it was revealed right now, then she knew her entire team would comfort and console her.
Ryan gently touched her arm and asked, "Is that Mr. Hunter?"
A tall, blond haired man had just gotten out of a silver sports car and had started up the sidewalk. He had made it to the door and just opened it before he spotted the two CSI's. He quickly let go of the door and bolted.
Calleigh and Ryan followed, but once outside, they split up-Calleigh to the right and Ryan to the left.
Calleigh had enough experience to know that this line of work could be very unpredictable-suspects could do anything when under pressure-so she pulled out her gun and slowed down.
She was about to turn the corner of the building, when she saw a blur of black and felt a sharp pain on her abdomen. She dropped her gun, grabbed her stomach, let out a pain-filled yell, and fell to the ground. Before she could react, the metal pipe made contact with her stomach, one more. She looked up at her attacker, but the tears, that were starting to form, blurred her vision. "Stop," she whimpered. "Please stop."
Instead of meeting her request, her attacker only assaulted her more.
"Calleigh!" Ryan shouted.
Calleigh heard the familiar sound of Ryan's feet running toward her. Calleigh heard the sound of metal hitting the ground and her attacker running off.
"Calleigh!" Ryan shouted again, as he saw her lying on the ground clutching her stomach.
Ryan ran to her and knelt on the ground beside her.
Before Calleigh realized what she was saying, she said, "My baby."
Ryan stalled for a moment and looked at Calleigh in consternation. It wasn't until Calleigh let out a yell that Ryan remembered Calleigh was laying on the ground, suffering from possible internal injuries.
Ryan pulled his cell phone from his pocket and dialed 911. He only had to wait a few seconds before a voice came on the line. "This is CSI Wolfe. I have an officer down. 215 Beachfront Drive. Hurry," Ryan shouted. He slammed his phone shut and shoved it back in his pocket.
Ryan slowly lifted up Calleigh's shirt to see if any injuries were visible.
At the sound of a whimper coming from out of Calleigh's mouth, he stroked her hair and said, "I'm sorry Calleigh."
He looked back at her stomach. She was covered in large circular bruises, and, although no blood was visible, he knew she might be bleeding internally and he knew how dangerous those injuries could be.
Ryan had been so focused on Calleigh that he hadn't heard the sound of the approaching sirens. He looked up as he heard the sound of two pairs of feet approaching.
The two paramedics were very young and that left Ryan wondering if they were capable of properly treating Calleigh.
"Sir," on of the paramedics said, "you have to get back."
Ryan slowly got up, hesitant to leave her.
The same paramedic as before looked up from attending to Calleigh and said, "Sir, are you alright?"
Ryan hadn't realized that he had been crying until the paramedic had asked him that question. "Yeah," Ryan said, not bothering to wipe away his tears.
"Is there anything we need to know about her?" the second paramedic asked.
"She's pregnant," Ryan said.
The two paramedics loaded Calleigh into the ambulance and drove off, with lights flashing and sirens blaring.
Once the ambulance was out of sight, Ryan pulled a pair of latex gloves from his pocket. He put them on and picked up Calleigh's gun in one hand and the metal pipe in the other. He walked back to the Hummer, with the evidence in hand.
It wasn't until he saw Jack Hunter standing by the Hummer, that he remembered that he had handcuffed Hunter to the door handle before Calleigh had screamed out.
Ryan opened the passenger side door and opened his kit. He pulled out two evidence bags and placed both pieces of evidence in the bags. He rummaged around in his kit until he found the Casting Plaster. Ryan went back to where Calleigh had been attacked and poured it into a footprint indentation he had first noticed when he came to Calleigh's aid. Ryan waited a few minutes while it dried and when it did, he carefully lifted it out of the impression in the ground and put it in, yet, another evidence bag.
When he got back to the Hummer, he put the casted footprint into his kit, beside the gun and the pipe. Then, he turned to Jack Hunter and released the handcuffs from the door handle. He opened the back door, shoved him in, and cuffed Hunter to the inside door handle.
Throughout this whole process, Ryan had remained quite, but when he finally spoke, he was furious. "If her baby dies, it'll be on your head, so you'd better hope that Calleigh and her unborn child are okay."
He slammed the door shut, walked around to the drivers' side, and climbed in.
Ryan drove to the police station, praying that Calleigh and her baby would be okay.