Chapter 8

Frowning, Dr. Alexx Woods, pathologist of the Miami Dade Crime Lab, stood in front of the Trace Lab and looked up the stairs which led into Horatio's office. She had known this man for over 15 years now, but she had never seen him acting like this before and that scared her. His current condition gave her a reason for concern. He seemed to be depressed, absentminded and doleful. Normally she would ask him of what was aggrieving him, but a case had ruined her plans. Since Tim had also been on this assignment, she couldn't ask him as Horatio's best friend, too. So there was just one other person left and she immediately went into search for her. She found her in the ballistic lab, where she seemed to be absorbed in her work. Careful of not to scare her, she approached her from the side and smiled at her. "Hi."

"Hello," Calleigh replied and occupied herself with the bullets. They didn't want to match and that stick in her craw. Nothing, really nothing wanted to work today. At first she had wanted to sit alone in the break room and who had appeared? Eric Delko, who needed to talk about his newest date. Then she had just left the room and Tim had crossed her way and had told her about his latest case, where he had had dealt with ants. And to save the best for the last, she had needed to talk with Horatio, who had given her her cardigan back. In her rush she had forgotten it at his house and that rankled her the most. The best thing would be to throw it into the litter, so she wouldn't be reminded of his lies.

This behavior was also really weird, because normally the petite southern lady always had a smile on her face. The fact that she was so short with her, approved Alexx' assumption that something was seriously wrong here. "A lot to do?" she asked casually, to get some time to probe the situation.

"I'm afraid so", Cal replied short and crisp. "I'm afraid it's not enough," she thought to herself and looked up from her microscope. "What can I do for you, Alexx? Do you have something for me?"

"Actually I wanted to ask you the same. Is there something new about the Anderson case?" There were only a few cases Alexx asked about the police investigations, because her work had the least amount on a case. She just provided the basics and her colleagues in the lab did the rest.

"No. Sadly, but no," Cal sighed and shook her head. "These are the bullets for the comparison, but they don't match. It seems that we have the wrong gun." Another reason why this day was horrible. "Maybe we should go back to the scene, let's see what the boss says." She probably should send Eric or Tim to him, so she wouldn't have to talk to him.

The title puzzled Alexx. "Sweetie, what's going on?" she asked worried, since she had noticed the dismissive behavior.

"Nothing's going on, Alexx. What should be going on with me?" "Except of the fact that my ex-boyfriend is a liar." She was doing fine. "I'm fine."

Alexx wasn't impressed by that. Slowly she drew nearer and rested a hand on Calleigh's shoulder. She gave her a silent glance and hoped that Calleigh would stop behaving like this. "But I can see that you aren't. Do you want to talk about it?" she asked her softly.

"There's no point in talking about it, Alexx. It's already settled." She should have known better. No man was as perfect as Horatio appeared from the outside. "Everything is in order, don't worry."

"Does it have to do with Horatio?" she dared to ask, because the assumption suggested itself.

Of course not. "Maybe…," she shrugged. "I got surprised to mark the occasion on Saturday…or let's better said caught on the hop."

"There was your date, right?"

"Yes. We've been in a park nearby his house; there had been a light festival. It was fantastic…and then…we went to him. It was the first time I've ever been there and he surprised me," she smiled, though it wasn't an honest smile.

"Surprised? In what way?" Alexx went into it and was glad that Calleigh was willing to talk about it. "You know that nothing we talk about will leave this room sweetie, right?"

"Yes, I know," she affirmed and thought hard about how she could tell her. "He had told me about a certain person…Elijah." Still she couldn't understand why he had kept that to himself instead of sharing it with her and it still disappointed her.

"Oh, that's wonderful!" Alexx smiled broadly. So this couldn't be the reason. "Eli is such a good boy, don't you think?" she went into raptures.

"You know him?" Calleigh asked nonplussed. So he could trust Alexx, but not the woman he loved, huh? That was coming strong. Love…you must be joking, this was nothing more than idle talk.

Surprised, Alexx looked at her. "Sweetie, I've known Elijah since his birth. It seems to me like it was yesterday when Horatio had called me in the middle of the night. He had been so excited, he couldn't even talk."

"Ah. Nice." Well she knew that. When it was about his son, he was never able to say something.

"Right. And the fact that he told you about him…is so special. It means that he trusts you wholeheartedly," she nodded in conviction, even though she didn't like the hide-and-seek most of the time.

"And what makes you say that?" Cal asked half-heartedly.

Alexx began to wonder. "Because no one else knows about Elijah…not even the team. Didn't he explain that to you?" This was the crux of the matter. "That's why it's so great that he let you in."

"That's what I thought…about the team I mean," Calleigh nodded and sat down on her stool. "We didn't…talk so much about it.."

"Well, that surprises me. Horatio is so proud of the boy, normally you have to stop him or he talks without interruption. And that means something," she winked at her.

"He didn't have the chance of talking about…his son." It was still difficult to use this appellation in combination with Horatio's name. "Because I broke up with him."

Alexx barely managed to stop her jaw drop the floor. "S-say again??"

"When he told me about Elijah…I broke up with him," Calleigh sighed and hung her head, so her long hair fell into her face.

"Good lord!" She shook her head in disbelieve and leaned against the edge of the table behind her. No wonder that Horatio moped. Now she had even more sympathy with him than she did before. "But why? Horatio is the best that could ever happen to you…"

"He lied to me, Alexx. We've known each other for two years we're…we'd been a couple for three months and he never breathed a word about his son. What do I make out of it? What tells me that? That he doesn't trust me." It was that simple. Hopefully. "It hurts to know that the man you love doesn't trust you."

Alexx bend forward. "I can only partially endorse his decision of keeping the boy hidden, but I respect it. Elijah's well-being is his main priority, there's nothing he wouldn't do for him. You of all people know that he has a lot of enemies. Looking at it that way, I can understand why he wants his son safe."

"But..," she started and sighed annoyed, "…why didn't he tell me right from the beginning? Why did he leave me in the dark? Didn't I show him, that he could trust me? I just don't understand."

Alexx sighed too. "He just didn't believe that something could develop between the both of you. He had fallen in love with you the day you two met, but he had hesitated to tell you about his feelings. And well…he had let you in after three months. In comparison to the two years where he had loved you from afar, it happened relative quickly." She didn't know how many times he had told her about his feelings for Calleigh and that's why she had been surprised and proud when he had told her that he had asked her out.

Dejected, Calleigh looked to her hands and fumbled around with them. "I was so angry of him…and jealous…of this other woman. He said that she and Elijah would be very important to him and…oh I don't know. He should have told me right from the beginning. On our first or second date."

Encouraging Alexx rubbed her shoulders. "He doesn't have an easy life. After the divorce…he had a few dates and acted just like you have suggested. But this way hadn't been successful. And now…he had waited, because he wanted be sure, that he wouldn't blow it…"

"…and it was me who blew it," Calleigh finished the sentence. "I can't believe he's a father, Alexx. I have ever fancied how he would be like one and now..I know and...what should I do?"

The answer came straight away. "Give him a second chance, sweetie. It probably wasn't the best way of how he approached it, but I know it cost him a great deal of effort to tell you about his secret. But the fact that he did…is worth so much more. He loves you Calleigh and he trusts you. Now it's your turn to trust him too."

"I don't believe that he gives me a second chance, Alexx. It wasn't a nice break up, it was painful," she pulled a face when she remembered that she had actually slapped her boss.

"I know that, I saw him," she answered. "A new start won't be easy, since both of your feelings got hurt. It had obviously hurt him that you left him with no chance to explain." You didn't need an expert to see that Horatio suffered from the break up. "But he's a forgiving man. Give him a chance to explain himself and listen to your heart. Because I know," she smiled and stroked her cheek, "that you still love him. It would be a shame to see that you two would stand in each other's way, because you would lose so much."

"I…I will think about it, Alexx. But I need some time. This knowledge has changed some things, you know? There are question that haven't been there before and yes…I will think about it," she nodded in the end.

"I can't ask you for more, sweetie. But I'm happy that you consider it." Once again she laid her hand on Calleigh's shoulder.

"Mhm," she murmured and stood up again. "Well I have to continue this," she said and gestured to her bullets. "Work helps me thinking," she smiled faintly.

Alexx understood. "You know my door is always open, when you have something on your mind."

"Thanks, Alexx. I guess we'd all be lost without you," Calleigh smirked.

She couldn't help but laugh at this thought. "I think so too." She gave Calleigh a hug and said goodbye. "Listen to your heart," she whispered before she left the room. Outside she needed a moment to gather her thoughts. She had played a matchmaker without Horatio's consent after all. "We could use a little help, you know?" she looked upward. With one last glance at the Ballistic Lab, she wandered to her kingdom.

Listen to your heart was easier said than done when you were confused and unsure. Because in fact everything and nothing had changed. Now Calleigh had to find out, if she could accept the knowledge or not. And this would take some time, because she didn't want to rush things.

Tbc

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