Chapter 6

A happy and clean shaven Tim was entering the lab the next morning. He went to his office to check the notes Calleigh had made for him. After reading several emails and doing some calls that couldn't wait any longer he wheeled into the break room to find Eric and Calleigh sitting there. They were talking to Raymond Caine, jr. who had become a Detective in the homicide division.

"Couldn't find any relatives from the vic. I'll have to dig a bit deeper, see what comes up", he said and noticed Tim coming in. "Hey Tim. You're back?"

"Yes. So, any news for me?" He asked after Ray went away.

"The mayor says hello to you and he's going to check the budget again", Eric informed him.

"Really?"

"No. He wanted to know why the lab needs the extra money for the new microscope."

"Because the old one doesn't have the…wait, why I'm telling you this? You're the one who wanted that stuff."

"But your name and signature are under the order, so you're responsible for it", Eric laughed as he saw Tim's face getting angry. "Hey, cool down. Just making fun. I think we found a way to keep the level of the budget…"

Tim raised an eyebrow. "Now I'm surprised. How did you manage that?"

Eric told him his solution and he looked really impressed. "Good work, Eric."

"Thanks."

Speed turned towards Calleigh. "And? How did you do all the while?"

"Excellent. At least I didn't blow up the lab like Eric."

"Hey! That was like ages ago! Besides it wasn't my fault", Eric said.

"Hey, kiddos! Shut up", Tim laughed.

They looked stunned at him. "What kind of drugs do you use these days?" Eric wanted to know. "Because this was the first laughter from you in weeks."

"My wife's coming home tonight, so there's nothing, I repeat, absolutely nothing that can ruin this day."

"Nice to hear", Calleigh said. Unfortunately she had stayed single since Hagen committed suicide and sometimes she silently complained about her status.

"Alright, here are the assignments…where's Little Joe by the way?" Tim stated.

"He's running late, he called a few minutes ago, said he's stuck in traffic", Eric explained. Joe was the newest member of the day shift and had still his problems to fit into the tight bond of his colleagues. But he was a good kid and they all supported him as much as they could.

"Okay, here we go." Tim handed out the actual cases and then made his way back to the office.

"Why does it take so long to land this damn plane?" Tim asked for the 10th time since they got to the airport. He was sitting in the wheelchair, tapping his foot slightly.

"Dad, I already told you 10 times that they have to wait until that other plane gets away from the gate. They are having some technical problems", Josh answered slowly.

Tim scowled, but stayed silent and went back to read a magazine.

After what seemed like an eternity, their plane-number was announced and short time later Linda stepped out into the waiting area. Josh saw her first and had to laugh about Tim. There he was eager to see his wife and now he was totally absorbed by a story not noticing that she made her way towards them. "Uh, Dad?"

"What?" he asked, not looking up.

"Mom's here."

"Jeez! Why didn't you tell me that sooner?" he asked and quickly tossed the magazine away. He wheeled towards her and was about to stand up. But she pushed him down gently.

"Don't even think about it, Tim. You don't have your crutches", she said as she kneeled down to kiss him. "Hey. I missed you."

He held her face with his hands, not wanting to let her go. "I missed you, too." He got lost in her beautiful and warm eyes. "Did I tell you that you're a wonderful woman?"

"Sure you have. But now let's go home. I want to see Ashley and Lucy."

Josh already took care of the luggage and was a few steps in front of them. Linda pushed the wheelchair towards the entrance. "I'm capable of moving forward by myself", Tim complained.

"Yeah, but after a few minutes you'll get so slow, a turtle can beat you in no time", she smirked and ruffled his hair from above.

"Stop doing this."

Josh could hear the both of them arguing in the background and rolled his eyes. 'Parents' he thought. 'One can't live without the other'.

After Linda had everything stored again she went upstairs to their kid's rooms. Since Tim couldn't take the stairs well, they switched the stories. So the kids were at the second floor while she and Tim had their rooms at the first floor. Josh always remarked that the second floor was their emergency exit in case they got into some trouble and wanted to make sure that Tim didn't get after them. Tim already told her about Josh's fight Monday afternoon and she wanted to talk to him in private. She knocked at his door. "Come in", she could hear.

He lay on the bed, reading a book.

"So he said you're grounded?" she smiled. She knew that this sanction was harder for her husband than it was for Josh.

"Yep."

"Wanna talk about it?" she asked as she sat down on the bed.

He took the book aside and looked at her. He had his fathers' dark features and she wasn't really angry about him, but she needed to know why he kept fighting.

"Mark doesn't stop to insult Dad. I really tried to ignore him, but it got harder each day…" he trailed off. "I don't really want to fight with him, but I can't let him go on either."

"Did you try to talk to him?"

"Mom, really…", he was lost for words. "How…how do you talk to someone who says that your Dad is a loser and things like that?"

"I see your point, but those fights lead to nothing. Maybe we should talk to his parents", she suggested.

"Dad said the same."

"Well, every once in a while he comes up with something useful, doesn't he?"

"Now you're the one who makes fun about him", he smiled.

"Just speaking the truth", she blinked at him and got serious again. "No, honestly I think it is a good idea to speak with them." She stood up. "You coming down for dinner?"

"Sure."

They both went down and saw Tim playing cards with Lucy in the living room. She tried to explain the game to him, but sounded somehow annoyed. "No, Daddy! You can't do this!"

"Why not? The card has the same colour", he said.

"Because you need a pair of them…"

"A pair? Like this?" He took another card.

"No Daddy! The colour is wrong!"

"Alright, let's start all over…"

"I don't wanna play with you again."

Linda and Josh just smiled and went towards them. "Hey, poker face. How are you holding up?" he asked his father.

"I'm getting too old for this kind of stuff…", he sighed.

Linda kneeled next to Lucy who looked sad. "Let's eat first and then we both try to get the rules into his head, okay?"

She smiled brightly. "Okay."

"Oh please, help me", he begged towards Josh.

"Sorry. I only play the real poker game."

The evening went on and Linda and Lucy got their fun as they tricked Tim at every round.

On Thursday afternoon Linda went to Tim's office finding him lost in thoughts doing the paperwork. She smiled. He looked so damn cute with his reading glasses and she stood in front of his door a few seconds before she knocked. His head went up and he smiled at her sight, waving his hand to let her in.

"Ready?" she asked.

"In a minute", he said and signed a few papers. Then he grabbed the phone. "Eric? I'm heading out for a while. Could you cover for me?", he waited for an answer. "Great. Thanks." Then he stood up troublesome and rounded the corner on his crutches to join her. She frowned. "Pat's not going to be pleased to hear that you don't take care of yourself. When was you last appointment with your therapist?"

"Stop telling me that. Things will get better. I've heard that Henderson will be transferred. That means more time for me."

She looked at him, one eyebrow raised.

"For us, of course. I promise to get in touch with Steve next month", he said as they walked slowly towards the entrance.

Short time later they pulled into the driveway of Mark's parents house. They had called them in order to clear things between their sons.

After they had finished their conservation, which wasn't really successful, Linda and Tim got into the car again. "I get the feeling that there's something going on. Mark and his mother were silent all the time. And his father – I don't know. He seems to be a cold hearted man", Linda say while driving back to the lab.

"Yeah, just what I thought. I'll do some research", he said after he got out and went inside. Linda drove off to the office.

tbc…