Chapter 3

Help me out
Yeah, you know you got to help me out
Yeah, oh, don't you put me on the backburner
You know you got to help me out

"All These Things That I've Done," The Killers

Tim snuck a look at Calleigh as she drove towards Horatio's condo. She was tense and unhappy and he felt bad, because he knew that it was partly his fault. "I'm sorry," he mumbled.

She glanced at him. "Then why don't you stay here?"

"No," he said.

"All right," she sighed. "But I really do not understand why the first time you actually want to leave the house is the only time I really would rather you stayed home."

He shrugged. He didn't know that, either. "Are you going to tell Horatio not to let me come?"

She didn't answer immediately, but eventually she shook her head. "No. I'm not," she said, looking at him.

"Oh," he said. "Ok." She shook her head bemusedly and turned her attention back to the road.

Horatio was putting things in the back of his truck when they pulled up to his driveway. He glanced up and seemed startled to find Tim sitting in the passenger seat. Calleigh sighed again and said, "Wait here," as she got out of the car.

He couldn't hear what Calleigh was saying to Horatio, but he could tell they were arguing about it. He wasn't entirely sure if they were arguing about him or about the trip in general. Calleigh didn't seem any too happy about picking up and driving to North Carolina, with or without Tim along. The argument seemed to subside, and Horatio looked over Calleigh's head at her car and said something before walking towards it.

Tim swallowed hard. He hoped Horatio didn't ask him why he wanted to go. He didn't have an answer. All he knew was as soon as Calleigh told him where she was going, he knew he had to go too. It wasn't entirely that he didn't want to be left alone. It was almost more that he didn't want to be left behind. But he didn't know how to explain that.

Horatio opened the car door and regarded Tim wearily. "Speed," he started, "Are you sure you want to do this?"

Tim nodded and forced himself to look at Horatio. Looking at people was hard. Some days he could barely manage to look in someone else's general direction, let alone directly at them. He knew it was a depression thing; he'd always had a hard time meeting people's eyes when he was having trouble with that.

"It's going to be a very long drive, you know that, right? And Calleigh says you're allowed to drive right now, so you're not going to be much help. And I shouldn't really take you to begin with, since you're not at all cleared to be doing this. It could cost your job, you know. I could be in a great deal of trouble if I let you come along," Horatio continued.

"I know," he whispered. "I don't…I'm ok with taking the chance with my job, but I don't want to get you into trouble," he admitted.

Horatio regarded him for a long moment, then sighed. "You won't touch anything that could remotely be considered evidence. Nothing. I'm completely serious about this, Tim. I can't lose this case on a technicality."

"I won't," Tim nodded. He understood that.

"And you do what you're told," Horatio said. "That means you eat and rest."

"I will," he nodded again.

"All right. Come on, then," Horatio sighed.

Tim didn't wait for another response, but followed Horatio to the truck and climbed into the back seat.