All that matters Chapter 7, a csi: miami fanfic

Notes: Here it is - the final chapter… I hope you enjoyed my little piece…

Chapter 7

As Tim got home that evening, he was awaited from Josh at the porch. "And? How did it go?"

"Oh, not like we had hoped for", Tim answered.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Let's get inside first, okay?"

"And?" Josh asked once they settled down in the kitchen after grabbing something to drink.

"We talked to his parents, well, actually we talked with his father because Mark and his mother didn't say a word. That made us suspicious and we were right about it. After I got back to the lab, I did some research. Mark's father is known for beating his wife and kid several times before, but she never gave up any statements. So he can't be punished."
"That's ridiculous! How can you say that?" he shouted.

"That's the way it works. We can't do anything, until…"

"…one of them ends up dead…", Josh said angrily.

"Look, Mom's already working something out with the Social Service. We'll have to wait until she comes home."

Josh's head went up. "Really?"

"Yes."

"Oh. I'm sorry for freaking out."

"No harm done. It's okay to have those emotions."
"But I still don't get it why he acts like this."

"Maybe he's just jealous about you. Or maybe it's his way to get attention. I don't know."

"You'll think he knew that we could help them?"

"Well, at least that's what we're doing right now."

Linda came home late at night, which the others already in bed including her husband. She put her things in the study and went to bed after eating a bit from the leftovers.

After she settled down on her side of the bed she stayed awake for several minutes. She was startled when she heard Tim mumbling: "Could you please stop tossing and turning around?"

"Sorry, I didn't mean to wake you."

"What's bothering you?" he asked after a moment.

"I called Marty from the Social Service and Judge Emerald. They will look into the case tomorrow. But I still feel bad for Mark and Bridget. I want them to be safe real soon."

"So do I, but we've done enough for today. Why are you so late tonight anyway?"

"Sammy needed an apply for a petition. It was complicated to get all the papers right. You know Sammy, she freaks out when it comes to work under pressure."
"I would like to see her one day in the lab. She would be losing her mind."

They stayed silent for a while.

"Are we doing the right thing, Tim?"

She heard no answer and sighed. How could he get asleep so easily?

"I keep asking me that all day long. My heart says yes", he finally answered.

"And we both know that you have a good heart", she said and turned around to caress his cheek. They kissed deeply.

A few days later Tim got a call from Linda in his office. She told him that Bridget finally committed towards the social worker that her husband had abused her several times. With that things started to roll and by the end of the week, Maurice was arrested by the police.

As Tim got home one evening he went straight to the kitchen to grab a bottle of non-alcoholic beer. Then he made his way to the backyard. He could hear Josh grumble over something and stepped outside. He looked up and greeted his father. "Hi Dad! Good timing! I need your help."

"What's up?" he asked as he sat down and opened the bottle.

"See, we've been playing basketball and I did this", he explained and showed a move.

"So what's the problem?"

"The problem is, Mr. Speedle, that Josh stepped over the line. So this shoot doesn't count", Mark replied quietly from the corner of the field.

"Point taken. Josh, the shoot doesn't count", he said and took a sip.

"Alright. But it's still 8 to 15 for me. Hey! Why are you drinking beer? It's Wednesday and I think you'll have to work tomorrow…"

"Yes. And I'm a grown man and can do whatever I want", he shot back. "Besides it's non-alcoholic."

"Can't you take a hint? Just tell me the reason you are celebrating."

"The reason? Well, Henderson's out of the game Friday afternoon…and that's fantastic."

"Great. I mean, I don't feel lucky for Henderson, but that means you'll be home more often, right?"

"Right."

"Good", he said and turned to Mark. "Move on, pal."

Tim watched to two of them playing along and smiled. After an hour they stopped exhausted and Josh went inside to get something to drink. Mark stood alone in the garden.

"Hey, come here. I don't bite", Tim offered.

"Thanks, Mr. Speedle", Mark answered hesitantly and walked up to him. He eyed Tim carefully as he sat down at the porch. "I'm sorry for my behaviour and the trouble I've caused", he said finally.

"Yeah, well, it wasn't a pleasant time, but I guess we worked it out quite well, don't you think?"

"I never wanted to …", he began, but was interrupted as Josh got back with two bottles of water. They drank a good amount of it.

"You wanted to say something, Mark", Tim said after a while.

"Never mind."

"No, go on. You know, your father isn't here and he can't beat you. You were afraid of saying your opinion in front of him. I'm not your father. I'm just a guy who's interested by this obviously very talented basketball player."

Mark stayed quiet. "You mean that for sure?" he asked suddenly.

"What?"

"That I'm talented?"

"Sure you are."

"But I lost."

"It isn't about winning every game. It's how you play it. You're a good guy. Don't believe your father. He wasn't paying attention and didn't see your talents."

Mark nodded. "All I wanted to say was thank you for your help, Mr. Speedle."

"You're welcome. And it's Tim. Mr. Speedle sounds so…old…don't you think?"

"You ARE old, Dad!" Josh laughed which earned him a smack on his arm.

"Stop saying this in front of other people", he smiled.

"Dad, I wanted to ask if Mark could come to the barbeque next Saturday?", Josh asked.

Tim thought about it. "Is that alright with you? I mean, there will be a lot of people around…"
They did the barbeque because Patrick and his girlfriend were coming home for a few days. And because Alexx was his Godmother, she would be here as well. There was nothing that could stop her to see him, since she was so proud of him to study medicine.

"I would like to come. As long as Josh stays near I'm okay", he answered. "Of course I can help with the preparations and I will pay for the food…"

"I don't want you to pay for the food. Be our guest", Tim said and was happy to see Mark's face lighten up.

"Thank you, Sir…I mean, Tim. That means a lot to me."

Saturday afternoon the Speedle's were busy preparing the food for the barbeque as the doorbell rang. "Could someone please get it?" Tim shouted from the kitchen. Linda answered it and was stunned to see Bridget and Mark standing in front of her. "Hi. Please come in", she offered.

But Bridget refused. "No thanks. I just wanted to bring Mark and this", she said and gave her a cake. "I've heard about the barbeque and thought that you'd like to eat some dessert."

"Thank you very much. It wasn't necessary."
"But I wanted to. There's no way to show my thankfulness to you and your husband", she said and turned to Mark. "Have fun. I'll get you around 7."

"Oh, that's way too early. We are known for celebrating for hours. Mark can stay overnight, if you don't mind."

"No, I don't want him to be a burden…"

"Bridget, neither him or you are a burden. Why don't you stay, at least a little bit?"

"Come on, Mom. They are cool", Mark said and stepped inside.

"But only for a little while."

They walked past the kitchen and Tim asked "Who was it?"

Linda peeked inside. "It's Bridget and Mark. I said that Mark can stay overnight and also invited Bridget to stay a while, since she brought a cake."

"Good. I'm coming soon."

Linda let them in the backyard where Josh and Ashley already got the grill into position. "Hey Mark! Good to see you. Hi Bridget", Josh said. Mark went over in order to help them with the tables and chairs. Lucy placed table-cloths on it. Linda and Bridget sat down to watch the kids. "Your kids are amazing", Bridget said as she waved to them.

"Thanks, but Mark's a great guy, too."

"You're such a blessed woman, Linda. To have such a wonderful family and loving husband", she sighed.

"Don't give up, Bridget. I know that you'll find the right one someday. I mean, Tim and I met in our early thirties. Before that, we all had to learn our parts. You can't imagine how unbelievable stubborn my husband can be."

They sat for a while and it was then as Linda noticed that Tim wasn't coming out. "Excuse me, I'll need to drag Tim out from the kitchen each time."

A few minutes later Tim appeared on the porch, still wearing his apron. "Hi Bridget. How are you?" he asked and sat down slowly.

"Good. Better than ever, to be honest."

"Nice to hear."

"What about you?"

"Me? Oh, the same as ever."

Linda got out with lemonade and all of them gathered together at the porch.

Two hours later, the doorbell rang again and Tim immediately looked at his watch. Linda noticed this and smiled. He had been nervous all day long and couldn't wait to meet Patrick again. "I'll get it, Dad", Josh said and jogged through the garden. He came back alone. "Wrong address", he said and shrugged. Tim's face fell. Unnoticed to him, Pat sneaked up from behind and tapped his shoulder. He turned around and – was speechless.

"Hi, Dad", Patrick said hugging him.

"Uh, Pat", he finally managed to get out, still holding his oldest son.

"Dad, you can let go now", Pat laughed.

"Sorry." He looked at him. He was definitely wearing the famous Speedle grin, although he had light brown hair and green eyes which came from Linda's side. "Man, it's good to see you. You don't know how I longed for this moment."

"Mom told me when she was in NYC. Thought we'd better show up real soon", he said and stepped aside to let his girlfriend Kelly greet them as well.
Tim introduced Bridget and Mark to them and vice versa.

Alexx came soon after and she couldn't help but smile to see that everyone had gathered around Tim and Linda. Patrick went to her. "Alexx! Good to see you!"

"Patty, honey, I've missed you", she said and hugged him as well.

"Can't wait to tell you my latest test results…"

"I'm eager to know if you already chose your special field?"

"Neurology." His father's sickness had played a big part in choosing this.

Alexx nodded. "I'm impressed. Did you tell him already?"

"No. Later. First I want to eat something", he answered.

Another prove of his descent. All the Speedle's loved to eat anything anytime anywhere.

The evening went on and sometime around midnight, Bridget excused herself and went home. Linda watched Tim as he was deep into a conversation with Alexx and Patrick. He had looked forward to this day since months and his joy was clearly visible. She smiled and let out a deep breath. Things had started to get normal again these days and she thanked the Higher Ups that she had met him in the hospital all these years ago. Funny thing about it was, that she wasn't supposed to work that particular case with a man who ended up in a traffic accident. Actually she had covered up for colleague. It was there that she met Tim for the first time, who shared the same room. At first he stayed silent and she wondered how she got attracted by him. She often thought back to those days and after all that time she knew that it were his eyes that she instantly fell in love with. She was glad that he had found enough courage to ask her out, even if it had taken him 4 long weeks to do it. Although she always had suspected Alexx to stay behind all of this, which both of them lividly denied. From that day on the two of them had found each other and although they went through rough times, she wouldn't want to change a single day. They were meant to be.

(When I first saw you, I saw love.
And the first time you touched me, I felt love.
And after all this time, you're still the one I love.)

Looks like we made it
Look how far we've come my baby
We mighta took the long way
We knew we'd get there someday

They said, "I bet they'll never make it"
But just look at us holding on
We're still together still going strong

(You're still the one)
You're still the one I run to
The one that I belong to
You're still the one I want for life
(You're still the one)
You're still the one that I love
The only one I dream of
You're still the one I kiss good night

Ain't nothin' better
We beat the odds together
I'm glad we didn't listen
Look at what we would be missin'

They said, "I bet they'll never make it"
But just look at us holding on
We're still together still going strong

I'm so glad we made it
Look how far we've come my baby

(Is there a better way to end a story than with Shania's "You're still the one"?)

The end - or not? I've got a sequel to this one…tell me if you interested…