A/N: This chapter was pretty difficult to write, but i'm pretty satisfied with the result.

And those that have reviewed; you're awesome. Thanks so much.

Disclaimer: Nope. Still not mine.

Chapter two – Angel in hell

"I'm so sorry, Horatio. I can't believe this happened."

"Neither can I," he replied, his sad eyes meeting her beautiful brown ones.

"Do you think it's a good idea that you-"

"I AM going to work this case, Yelina," Horatio interrupted.

Her lips turned into an almost unnoticeable smile, "I knew you would say that."

Horatio merely nodded, looking away from the Latina.

"But if someone from IAB finds out…" Yelina started, but then she trailed away.

In this case both of them knew that 'someone' meant nobody else but Rick Stetler; the man whom was widely known as Horatio Caine's enemy, but also as Yelina Salas' boyfriend.

"Rick won't find out as long as nobody tells him about Suzie."

"My lips are sealed."

Horatio turned his head and looked away from Yelina, out through the window and at the blue ocean. All his energy was focused onto a single point so that he wouldn't start crying, but his efforts didn't stop the woman next to him from seeing his sorrow.

She stroked her hand over his back. He froze at her touch, but didn't object. She swallowed, took a deep breath and whispered, "Are you going to be okay?"

It took several seconds before he replied; the question had brought tears to his eyes, and once again had he been forced to focus on holding back his tears, before doing anything else. "I'm more worried about Madison right now."

She nodded, and removed her hand from his back. They stood in silence, both of them looking at the ocean and the beaches, which now where filled with people.

"Isn't it beautiful?"

Yelina understood that he was talking about the ocean; she knew about his love of the great ocean.

"It is," she agreed, before walking away. She knew him well enough to understand when he needed to be alone.

--

"Alexx," Calleigh acknowledged the woman whom entered the crime scene. Her voice was serious and there was no sign of the bright smile that could usually be found in her face.

"I just heard..."

Calleigh nodded, leading the coroner towards the dead body on the floor.

"How is Horatio taking this?"

Calleigh shrugged. "I haven't talked to him yet."

"He's with his niece?"

"No, she's alone at the moment…" Calleigh replied, "I think there's a police officer with her."

"A police officer!?" Alexx exclaimed with her eyes wide open. After a quick nod from Calleigh she continued: "I'll be right back." Alexx turned at the spot, guiding herself through the apartment until she found Madison's room.

She softly knocked at the already opened door, before stepping into the room. The young girl was lying on her bed, and she didn't even react when Alexx entered the room.

"Hello, Maddie," Alexx said softly, looking around the small room. Three of the walls were painted with white colour, but the fourth was painted a beautiful gold shade. On the small, dark blue couch lay several pillows, all of them with some kind of golden motif. On one of the white walls hung a big poster of the Little Mermaid.

She sat down next to Madison on the bed, stroking her hand over the young girl's back. "You like the little mermaid?"

Madison moved her head slightly, though whether that was a small nod or just an attempt to lie more comfortable was impossible to tell. Alexx, however, decided to assume it was a nod. "My daughter loves the little mermaid too. She always sings along with Ariel in the songs, and always laughs at Flounder and Sebastian… She's about the same age as you are – she's six. How old are you, sweetie?"

At first it seemed like Madison wasn't going to reply, but then, after several moments, she opened her mouth and whispered, "Six."

Alexx couldn't help but smiling, feeling relief that Madison finally spoke. "Maybe you should meet my daughter sometime, I'm sure you two would get along well."

The sound of a floorboard creak made both Madison and Alexx look up. Horatio stood in the door way, smiling weakly towards his friend and his niece.

His eyes met Alexx and she rose from the bed. On her way out of the room, she stopped next to him.

"Thank-you," he whispered.

"No problem, honey. It's a sweet kid you've got over there. Take care of her."

"I will," Horatio assured her. Alexx nodded and left the room, since there still was work for her to do here. Suzie Barnham's body did still lie untouched.

When his friend and co-worker had left the room, Horatio walked to the bed and sat down on the bed next to his niece, whom was lying with her head resting on a small pillow. After a short hesitation, he lay down next to her.

"Madison?" he whispered, making the young girl to look up at her uncle. But she didn't reply. "Sweetheart, I need you to talk to me."

"What if he comes after me too?" she whispered back, her eyes meeting his.

"No one will ever hurt you again, Madison. Do you hear me?" The young girl nodded. Horatio hesitated, knowing he would be forced to ask her this one question sooner or later. "Who did this to your mother?"

"He was so mad…" Madison's face got all pale and Horatio could see the fear clear in her eyes.

Without saying another word, he sat up and then lifted her up and put her on his knee. His niece rested her head on his chest, silently starting to cry. Horatio wanted to slap himself in the face for being so stupid. Yes, it was a question he would have to ask her – but not just a few hours after her mother had been murdered. Shaking his head at his own stupidity, he put his arms around her, as a shield against all evil in this world. From now on, he would protect her from everything and anything that could possibly hurt her.

She was a little angel, yet she was going through hell.

The little girl didn't stop crying, and all Horatio could do was gently rock his niece to and fro until she calmed down. And it took a while before her cries turned into sobs, which slowly faded away too. When the girl sat silent in his lap he dried away a tear from her cheek, giving her a small smile.

He put her down in the bed once again, and rose. Walking up to the dark blue bookcase, he bent forwards to read the titles of the books.

Once he had found the book he had been looking for, he returned to the bed, and sat down next to Madison. After lifting her up in his lap again, he started to read.

"Once upon a time, there was a red-haired mermaid who lived in the deep, blue ocean…"

--

Inside Madison's room, where Horatio and Madison now sat curled up together in the bed, time didn't seem to pass anymore. The cruel reality would soon remind the two of them of what had just happened, but until then, they'd be able to escape the tough tasks that lay ahead. No fairytale could stop time from passing by and the future from coming closer. But maybe, just maybe, would it stop them for suffering for at least a little while.

However, outside the room, time passed by like always, and as Alexx bent down next to the dead body of Suzie Barnham, not even a fairytale would've made her feel any better.

"Poor, baby. What a way to have one's life ended…" she mumbled, as Calleigh sat down next to her.

"There are traces of struggle in the kitchen," Calleigh informed Alexx. "I think Suzie here put up a real fight against whoever attacked her."

"No doubt there," Alexx agreed, "There are a big number of defensive wounds on her arms and hands; we might be able to get some DNA from under her fingernails too."

Calleigh's lips turned into a sad smile. "Let's hope so, for Horatio's and Madison's sake."

"I couldn't have agreed with you more," Alexx mumbled as Calleigh rose.

"There he is!" burst Calleigh as Ryan Wolfe stepped into the living room.

"Traffic," he muttered, putting down his kit on the floor. "How's H?" he whispered to the blonde next to him.

Calleigh shrugged. "I don't know, honestly. He's not talked to anyone 'cept Yelina and Madison since I got here. Eric was the first CSI to get here, except for H, and they only uttered a few words to each other." As she said this, Eric walked up to them.

"Traffic?"

Ryan nodded. "How does H seem to take this?"

There was no trace of a smile on Eric's face as he replied. "Not too good, it would seem."

They all stood in silence, and none of them moved. Two of Alexx's men helped her lie the body on a stretcher, and when they carried Suzie's body out of the apartment, Alexx stopped next to them. Her face had a determined look upon it, and as she spoke her voice was firm and boiling with anger, "Let's catch this son of a bitch, before this happens to somebody else."

A/N 2: I gave Alexx some space in this one, both together with Madison and in the end. I think she was the best person to talk to Madison. Not quite sure about Alexx's daughter's age, but here she's 6, ok? ;) What do you think about the chapter? Feel free to leave a review. Thanks guys.