A/N: Urgh, I'm getting ill... After one week in school, I've already managed to get ill. I hate being ill, it's just a whole lot of trouble. You miss loads of lessons and have to make loads of work at home. You can't do anything fun, just lay in your bed and complain of how bad you feel. Does it sound fun? Not really... Urgh. I just hope it'll get better, before it gets any worse... Anyway, chapter ten is finished, so here you are! And if you have time, feel free to leave a review!

Disclaimer: The lucky ones are Jerry Bruckheimer, CBS and uh... Well, some other people (I wish I was one of them...)


The next day Madison felt too miserable to meet anyone so she stayed in her room for the whole day. It was one of those days when she was a wreck – she wasn't able to think of anything else other than Olivia. All day she lay in her bed, without eating anything or doing anything. She felt that she needed to be alone and her friends and family accepted that. They all knew that she – just like Ray, Stephanie and the others – needed time to recover. Today she needed to be alone. The day passed slowly and it was not until late that night that she fell asleep.

The following day she felt a lot better, and was told by her stomach rumbling that she had to start with breakfast before doing anything else. After eating, she took a quick shower and got dressed. After thinking of what she wanted to do, she phoned Stephanie.

"Hi Steph! Am I disturbing you?"

"Uh… No, not really. I was just trying to do some homework, but I'm glad you called. Now I have an excuse not to do it."

Madison chuckled – Stephanie hadn't changed much during the thirteen years they had known each other.

"I had nothing to do, so I just thought I'd call you."

"I'm glad you did. Have you spoken to Ray yet?"

"Yes…No, well… He still refuses to speak to us. We went to talk to him, but he refused to let us in or come with us. At first it seemed like he was going to let us in, but... I dunno, he needs more time."

"Yer… So what will you do now?"

"Horatio said on Friday that he would go and speak to him today, after work."

"Let's hope Ray lets him in."

"Yeah, I really hope so. Or else I don't know what we'll do…" A few seconds of silence passed between them.

"So why didn't you call yesterday?" Stephanie asked.

"Uh… I was having a bad day. I couldn't stop thinking about Olivia. I stayed in my room all day."

"Oh, I'm sorry… I thinking about it every night, you know."

"Me too… It's just so hard to accept that we'll never talk to her again, listen to her jokes or catch her and Ray snogging."

"Shh, it's not time for this now. We have to move on, Darling," Stephanie said when she heard her friend's voice tremble.

"I'm sorry… I just can't believe…"

"Shh, honey… Listen; I know how you feel - I feel the same way. But we have to try to move on. And we have to try not to think about it during the day – since it's all we can think about during the night."

"You're right, of course… You know, you're the same Stephanie I've known for all these years. You're still so smart, still trying to escape your homework. And no matter how many seconds you spend doing your homework; it's still perfect when you give it to your teacher."

Stephanie laughed.

"And you're still the same Madison I've known for all these years. Nothing has changed, you know. Still so smart, so happy and still talking way too much."

Now it was Madison's turn to laugh.

"You're right. We're the same as always."

"Feel any better?"

"Yeah. Thanks, Steph, I just had to talk to you for a few minutes – I just don't want to see Michael and Joachim at the mo'. But I'll not keep you from your homework any longer."

"You're right," She said and sighed. "I have to get this stuff done. I'll talk to you later then. Bye."

"Bye, honey."

A few hours passed, and all Madison did was sit reading. But at half past two, she was interrupted by the door bell. She opened the door to find Horatio.

"Horatio! Aren't you working?"

"I have taken the day off..." He took his sunglasses off, and their eyes met. "We've solved the case."

What Madison felt after hearing these words, couldn't be described with words. The relief inside her, mixed with sorrow and anger. They were such strong feelings that she didn't know what to do, say or even react.

"I… Oh, thank god, Horatio." And with tears in her eyes, she hugged her uncle.

"I'm about to go and tell Ray, but I thought I'd tell you first. And I…I was wondering if you would come with me."

"Do you really," Madison started. "Do you think that's ok, I mean, don't you think Ray wants to talk to you – alone?"

"I think that the best thing for him would be if you, his sister, were there with him. I don't know how he'll react when I tell him this. He… is a wreck at the moment, and all we can hope is that he can let Olivia go after hearing this. But I think he'd like to have you by his side."

"I'll come," she replied, and smiled at her uncle. It was amazing how Horatio understood how people and their feelings worked.

Horatio smiled back, and they went out through the door.

"Have you told Yelina and Suzie yet? And Olivia's parents?"

"I called the McWilliams as soon as we had arrested the suspects, and they came to the police department. I talked to them in person, and then Yelina took over. I wanted to come and tell you and Ray as soon as possible."

"Thanks, I'm glad you did. Have you told mom?"

"She didn't answer her cell. But why is she at work? – she doesn't work at the weekends."

"I know, but one of her colleagues is sick, so she had to get to work and help her with some stuff. But she isn't supposed to be there more than a few hours. She should be back soon."

"Then we'll tell her when we've spoken to Ray."

They sat in silence, both of them thinking. Madison was feeling so much relief, but also felt anger boiling inside her. She wanted to look those who killed Olivia in their eyes. And she wanted them to tell her why they had killed her. Shooting her in stomach wasn't necessary – Madison was sure about that.

"Did they… Did they say what happened? What reason did they give for shooting?" Madison asked after a while.

"Madison, I'm not allowed to talk about the case, and you know that," Horatio said gently.

"I want to meet them. I want to look them in the eye, and hear an explanation."

"Don't we all?" Horatio said, and looked older than Madison had ever seen him. And as she looked into his face, she realized how much he must've gone through, how much his work must affect him, after all these years.

"Madison, I know it's hard, but you have to let it go," he said, and parked the car on the street. They jumped out of the car, the conversation died as they went up the stairs to the second floor. Horatio knocked on the door, Madison standing close behind him.

The door was opened, Ray looked at them.

"Horatio… Madison…"

"Ray, we solved the case," Horatio said, looking his nephew right in the eye. Madison recognized the look on Ray's face; she knew she must've looked the same way when Horatio told her. Ray didn't say anything, just hugged Horatio, who wholeheartedly embraced him in a tight hug.

"Horatio, I…" Ray was speechless; he didn't know what to say.

"I know…" Horatio said and sighed. "I know…" None of them knew how long they stood there, Ray in Horatio's arms, and Madison watching. She was – of course – happy that Ray had finally spoken to them, but at that moment, this wasn't what she was thinking about. She was feeling just as many mixed feelings as Ray was. After what could've been two seconds or two hours, the two separated, and Ray turned to Madison.

"Mad, I'm so sorry… I-"

"Shh, I know. And I'm sorry too, Ray. I'm so sorry."

And the half-siblings hugged each other. And no matter how long Ray and Horatio had hugged each other, it was nothing compared to this. The two of them felt so close during this moment. Not just physically, but also in their minds and feelings. The swell of grief and sorrow inside them didn't feel as big as it had before, and knowing that there was someone who understood you perfectly, made the two of them feelmore relieved than they could tell.

They separated, and Ray smiled down at Madison, who smiled back.

"How does 'let's take a walk' sound to you?" Ray asked, looking at his half-sister.

"We need that," she said and nodded.

"I'll give you guys some time alone, I'm off to see Suzie"

"Thanks for everything, Horatio. Tell the team how thankful we are, will you?" Ray said.

"Of course. I'll see you later then."

"Bye," the siblings chorused to Horatio's retreating back which gave a wave before driving off.

"A walk on the beach?" Madison suggested. Ray lived close to the beach, so it didn't take them long to reach the water-front.

"You know what's worst of all?" Ray asked as they walked in the surf.

"No?"

"That Olivia certainly didn't deserve this. Nobody does, of course, but Olivia was so full with joy and laugh and she really wanted to live her life fully. And now she can't." His voice trembled towards the end, and he looked down at his feet to hide his tears.

"Ray-" Madison made him look up at her, and she saw the tears in his eyes, "this wasn't your fault. Nobody but the one who pulled the trigger can be blamed for this. Nobody."

"I… I wished it would feel that way too," he whispered.

"You will feel better again," she said. She could see the doubt in his eyes.

"You will," she repeated.

They continued walking in silence for a while.

"Did he tell you anything about the case? Who did it?"

"I don't know. He refused to tell me who, how many and why."

"We have to talk to him. Make him realize that he can't hide it from us. We have the right to know."

"Ray, he'll tell us when he can, and when he knows what the real answer is."

"I miss her…" He said.

"Me too." It was her voice that trembled this time. The half-siblings hugged each other again.

They would get through this - together.

When they came home to Yelina and Horatio that evening, Suzie was already there. The whole family meeting more than once a week was not a common occurrence, but this evening they all felt they needed to sit down and talk. Or at least spend time with each other. They all felt that being with the family was what they needed.

They sat in the living room, Horatio and Yelina on one sofa, Suzie, Madison and Ray on another.

"… but Horatio, you can't not tell us anything. We have the right to know parts of it, at least!" Ray said.

"You have to tell us what you told Olivia's parents. We have the right to know as much as they do," Madison said.

Deep inside Horatio knew they were right, but still he knew the truth would hurt them as much as the false thoughts they lived with.

"I... I will tell you what I told the McWilliams. We arrested the five people that robbed the bank. Four males and one female."

"Who shot Olivia?" Ray asked.

Horatio hesitated.

"They were all using stolen guns. And all of them wore gloves… Which means that we can't prove who pulled the trigger. We know which of the guns she was shot with, but… It's impossible to put the gun in any one of the suspects' hands."

The truth hurts. Madison had known that all along, but now she really understood the truth in the words. The truth usually hurt more than you expect it to.

"But there must be some way to…?"

Horatio shook his head with a sad look upon his face. "I'm sorry, it's impossible. We've tried everything. Everyone in the team has been on it."

"So what will happen now?" Suzie asked, but the look upon her face, showed she already knew.

"They will all be arrested and charged with murder, but we can't tell who really did it."

"In all likelihood probably life, or at least very long sentences for shooting so many people because we can prove that all guns were used to shoot people during the robbery, which means that we can arrest them all for murder. That, plus serious robbery and hopefully we'll be able to arrest them for stealing those guns too. They'll get life - all of them," Yelina said.

"But we still don't know who killed Olivia…" Ray said quietly.

"Ray, I know that it means a lot to you, but they were all responsible for her death. You'll have to think of it that way."

"Still we don't know who pulled the trigger…" Ray said, leaving the room. He went back into his room on the second floor.

'We will get through this,' Madison thought. 'We have to…'