CHAPTER 2

"What?" Calleigh was shocked over Horatio's comment. She paused briefly before speaking again. "What happened?"

"I'll give you the details when you get down here. Grab Ryan and leave immediately."

"Ok." Calleigh hung up her phone. She walked back into the living room where Ryan was opening another box. "H. needs us to come in right away. There's been a shooting at a crime scene that involved the night crew."

Ryan stopped unpacking and looked up. "What happened?"

"I don't know yet. H. said he'll brief us when we arrive."

The two of them quickly dressed and left for headquarters. Pulling into the parking lot, they met up with Eric, who had just arrived himself. The three of them walked into the building. As they approached the labs, Horatio came around the corner and motioned them to follow him up to his office. When they were all inside, Horatio closed the door.

"H, what is going on?" Eric asked as he turned to face Horatio.

"There was a robbery at a convenience store and the owner was shot and killed; his wife was able to call 911 before she was also shot and killed. Apparently, the shooter was unable to escape before the police arrived and hid somewhere in the store. When patrol arrived, they failed to find the shooter despite doing a sweep of the store. They assumed that he was on the run. The night shift went out with Detective Hagen to process the scene." Horatio paused and looked over at Ryan and Calleigh. "As the crew was working, the shooter took his chance and tried to escape before he would be discovered. C.S.I. Fuchs, noticed him and pulled out his gun and ordered the suspect to drop his weapon. Instead, the suspect opened fire at Fuchs, killing him instantly. C.S.I. Bennings and one of the officers each quickly fired a round at the suspect and hit him, but not before the suspect fired off a few more shots. One shot struck C.S.I. Palmer in the leg. Another…" Horatio trailed off and looked down at the floor, letting out a heavy sigh.

"Horatio? Did someone else get killed?" Calleigh looked at Ryan, then back at Horatio, waiting for an answer.

Horatio winced. " Detective Hagen was hit in the side of the head…he died on the way to the hospital."

"Oh my god." Calleigh covered her mouth with her hand. A look of shock and disbelief formed on Eric and Ryan's faces. The room was silent for a moment.

Ryan cleared his throat. "When did this all happen?"

"About 30 minutes ago. Lt. Bowman called me from the crime scene, requesting our team. Alexx is already down there. We need to go now ourselves." Horatio reached for his keys.

Ryan looked at Calleigh. The color had drained from her face. He knew that before he joined the team, she dated Hagen. He never asked how close she was to him; he figured it was none of his business. Besides, he really didn't want to know about her past relationships with other men. He was about to ask Calleigh if she was ok, when Horatio spoke up.

"Eric, take Ryan with you. We'll be right along in a few minutes."

Ryan looked at Horatio. He wanted to protest Horatio's decision and ride along with Calleigh, but he knew better than to question an order. Ryan took another brief look at Calleigh. She quickly looked at him before turning her eyes away and down. Ryan looked back at Horatio and nodded in response to Horatio's request. Without another word, he and Eric left the office.

Horatio waited until they were both gone, and then walked over to Calleigh. "Are you going to be ok?" He put his arm around her.

"I'll be fine." Calleigh blinked back her tears.

"If you want, I can put MacReady on the case."

"No, I can handle this. Let's go."

Calleigh and Horatio went downstairs and got into Horatio's hummer. For a few minutes, they were silent. Horatio would occasionally look over at Calleigh, who was looking down at her lap, deep in thought. Despite how bad her relationship became with Hagen, there were some good moments. However, his behavior and other circumstances over time caused her to end it between the two of them. He didn't want it to end, but she had enough. She hoped that the two of them could still work together professionally and he eventually honored her decision, but every once in a while, he would say or do something that would remind her of how bad he treated her personally. When he found out that she was dating Ryan, he made it well known that he didn't like it at all. Ryan was mature enough to blow off any comments he might have overheard about him, but Calleigh was a different matter. During their last case together, Hagen made an off-hand comment about how he wouldn't date people who were still in high school, alluding to the fact about Ryan being younger than her. It took all of her willpower not to slap him. That was about a week ago, the last time she saw him alive. She broke away from her thoughts and slowly looked up.

"I never told John about the baby."

Horatio sighed. "Did Ryan know?"

"No, I never told him. I was afraid of his reaction, especially if he were to go and confront John about it. And with John not knowing to begin with, it would have opened up a whole new can of worms. I was also afraid that Ryan would leave me if he knew."

"I think Ryan would've handled it like an adult and not leave you, Cal."

"Still, I can't shake the feeling that he would take it the wrong way. I always wished that I could have told John about it, but I could never find the right time. I didn't want to be reminded of what I went through with him. Now he's never going to know." Calleigh started to cry.

Horatio frowned. He never liked seeing Calleigh in so much pain. It hurt him when she suffered. He wished that she wouldn't be so hard on herself. She needed to let go of a few things and get on with her life and be happy for once. It pleased him to know that Ryan was there for her when he wasn't around. He was happy that Ryan was in her life and gave her some comfort. But there were still some things inside of her that sadly no one could heal. He reached over and squeezed her hand gently. "Are you sure that you want to work on this case?"

"I'll be fine, Horatio. It would be closure for me, I guess. I shouldn't let memories get in the way." She wiped away the tears in her eyes and composed herself.

"We're here." Horatio pulled the Hummer onto a side street and parked. They both got out and met up with Eric and Ryan, who were getting their kits. Calleigh and Ryan looked at each other. Ryan could tell that Calleigh was crying, but he knew it was not the time to say anything. She gave him a small grin. He smiled back. The four of them slowly approached the crime scene tape surrounding the area.

to be continued…