Natalia leaned over the microscope again as she tried to figure out the trace. She sighed as she wished all of this didn't happen. She remembered that it was only some months ago when everyone was happy and cool. Eric and Calleigh were happy about their coming child and Maxine and her were still trying to figure out how they were going to get the attention of two certain men. She remembered the day that she found Calleigh in the lab sitting on the floor. She was so close to tears and she even tried to hide them from Natalia. She understood what it meant to be showing emotions in front of people, Calleigh and her shared the same feelings on that matter. Neither woman wanted to be seen as weak so they would put on a brave front and do whatever it takes to be seen as equals to the opposite sex. Natalia would like to believe that they could put down their guards sometimes but she learned the hard way that people would just try to take advantage of you. She sighed again. She had been doing that a lot lately and it was starting to bother her. She just wanted this nightmare to end, but one thing seemed to be happening after another. It was times like these she wished she had someone she could come home to, someone that could make her forget about the horrible things that she had gone through during the day. She wanted, no she needed that one person that could be her sanctuary, but that one person wasn't making any move to make her feel that they had something special. She thought back on the time that they were in the back room of the break room. It wasn't supposed to happen and that was not the way that Natalia wanted it to happen, but it did and now they were awkward, it just seemed like grief and pain was the only way that they would come together and she did not want to be in a relationship that would only work if they could only find each other when they were in pain, if that was the case then they couldn't be together.
Natalia put the trace in the machine to be tested and leaned against the table while she waited for the results of the trace. She sighed, she clearly saw that it was going to take a while, so she reached up and turned on the radio. She groaned when she heard the obnoxious sound of 50 cent come out the speakers and she realized that she was in no mood for that upbeat, I'mma Get that Booty music. She pushed on the CD button and hoped that someone left a CD that was decent. She swayed her head as the soft music spilled out. She groaned when the words seemed to fit her very situation.
Don't even like to think about it
I don't know what I would do without it
I only know I live and breathe for your love
Baby you came to me in my time of need
When i needed you, you're there for me
Baby, the love from you is what got me through
It's because of you I was able to
Give my heart again, you give me
Natalia closed her eyes as the next words rolled out of the speakers, grabbing hold of her mind. It was she became hypnotized and captured by the music playing. This song just made her want to find the singer and shoot him for making her feelings seem all the more real, but then she felt if she did indeed meet him, she probably would want to hug him because he made a song that could voice the feelings that she held at bay, trapped in her heart.
Someone to love
Someone to touch
Someone to hold
Someone to know
Someone to love
Someone to trust
Someone to hold
Oh someone to know
Natalia's mind disappeared with the song and she suddenly imagined that she was with Ryan right now, alone and together letting what they know was obvious between them grow into something beautiful and amazing. She wished he would let them have this chance, but even though many pushed her to talk to him about, she would, not when they surrounded by pain and anguish.
I thought I'd never love again
I thought my life was over and
I didn't want to face nor even see another day
Suddenly from no where,baby you appeared
You dried my tears, you cared for me
Baby your love for me, truly rescued me
It's becuase of you, I was able to
Fall in love again, you give me
It was like the words were describing her perfectly. She was beginning to wonder if somebody purposely put this in her lab to play a prank because they could see what her heart desire so much. But she knew that was not the case and that it just was a coincidence. She continued to listen to the soulful voice of the singer as if he was singing the words that told the story of her soul. In times of need he was the man that gave her comfort, someone to love.
Someone to love
Someone to touch
Someone to hold
Someone to know
Someone to love
Someone to trust
Someone to hold
Oh someone to know
She wanted to sit down and cry as she thought about all the feelings that Ryan brought out of her, but she knew that now was not the time. She almost regretted turning on this CD, if she didn't she wouldn't be here contemplating her bad luck when it comes to relationships and the many men that have been in and out of her life.
For so long in my life,
I wouldn't let love inside
But i swallowed my pride
the day you arrived
Now that you're by my side
Everything is all right
It's because of you, I was able to
Give my heart again, you give me
If only Ryan could find a way to get over what was stopping him from letting her in, from letting them experience a relationship that had the love that Calleigh and Eric shared, of course she didn't want them to remain in denial for as many years as Eric and Calleigh, but she guessed that if no matter happened between the two of them, they would eventually break the boundaries that was holding them apart, then she could consider living with it, Ryan was a good man and when he was with her, he respected her and treated her great. His OCD tendencies even left a positive impression on her. He was definitely no Eric, but if he was; then he would be that guy that was a brother figure. They had come a long way from the whole mole thing and she would love to see it go farther.
Someone to love
Someone to touch
Someone to hold
Someone to know
Someone to love
Someone to trust
Someone to hold
Oh someone to know
As the last strains filtered through the speakers, Natalia sighed as she pretty much thought herself into a headache. If she knew that coming to this lab would cause this much drama in her life then she probably would have declined from the opportunity, but then when she thought about it so more, she knew that she would not of had it any other way. This lab held her family and she would be damned if she never had the chance to be with them. They saved her from some of her worst times and made her feel welcomed where at other places she was an outsider. She can't imagine a time that she would be without them.
Natalia was brought out of her thoughts when the beeping of the machine came. It was nothing special but apparently and acid that would leak the oil of Horatio's hummer that would make the Hummer easier to combust. If anything it helped to destroy what evidence that might have been left by the man that blew up Horatio's hummer. She cursed silently at herself. She sighed again as she began to write down the findings in her file. She continued to work and finish what she could find from the trace. She was happy that there were only a few places in Miami that could sell this kind of acid. She wrote down the info and went about sealing this piece of evidence before putting it away. She took of the old pair of gloves and was about to pull on a new pair for analyzing Horatio's clothes when her pager went off. She looked down and saw that it was emergency. She pulled out her phone and called the number on the pager.
"This is Boa Vista, what is the emergency?"
"I'm sorry Miss Boa Vista, but it looks like someone broke into your home and we want you to come over and report if anything was missing."
"Really?"
"Yes Ma'am. If you want we can send a car to come pick you?"
"No, no that's fine. I'm on my way."
"Thank you ma'am, we'll be here waiting for you."
"Um, whom am I speaking to?"
"Oh, sorry, this is Officer Lee, Preston Lee ma'am."
"Okay, Officer Lee, I'll be there soon.
"We'll be waiting ma'am."
"Good, bye." Natalia closed her phone and was a little irked that her house was broken into. She felt weird about the situation but she thought to herself that anyone would be feeling irked out if his or her house was broken into. She threw down the new pair of gloves and wrote on a post it note that the folder was her trace findings and that Calleigh should go ahead and process Horatio's clothes without her. Natalia walked by Paula and told her to tell anyone that might as for her that she had an emergency at home that she had to take care of.
Natalia walked out of the building and climbed into the hummer. She pulled out of the parking lot and sighed as she felt the exhaustion of the past couple of months weigh down on her. She could find herself slipping back into her thoughts and she did not want to go there, It was like her every thought brought her back to Ryan and that was not where she was wanted to go at the moment. She reached out and turned on the radio and sighed as she rolled down the window to feel the breeze. She began nodding her head to the music that filtered out when the next song began to play.
Whoa, ooh
Seems like ever since
The first day we met
There is no one else I think of more than you
I can't seem to forget
Can't get you out my head
Cause the verdicts in
I'm crazy over you
How can one be down?
Tell me where to start
Cause every time you smile
I feel tremors in my heart
I have but one concern
How can I get with you?
Till my day comes here's what I'm gonna do.
Be sittin up in my room
Back here thinking 'bout you
I must confess I'm a mess for you
Be sittin up in my room
Back here thinking 'bout you
I'm just a mess with a thang for you
Pray that you'll invest
In my happiness
All it takes is just one simple call from you
Turn my heart around
If I'm making ground
Pretty baby please tell me if I'm getting through
Tell me what is up
You see I need to know
Tell if I'm far or if I'm getting close
I have but one concern
and one concern is you
Till I'm with you here's what I'm gonna do
Ooh whoa, oh yeah, oh yeah
Hmm, oh, oh, oh
How can one be down?
Tell me where to start
Cause every time you smile
I feel tremors in my heart
I have but one concern
How can I get with you?
Till my day comes here's what I'm gonna do
Natalia groaned as the song ended. Life was so cruel; couldn't it, just once, not remind her of her present relationship problems. As she sat at the red light that was down the street from her place, she was sorely tempted to bang her head against the steering wheel. She groaned as she heard the beeping horn of the car behind her, she had been sitting at the light too long. She turned onto her street and stuck her hand out the window in apology. She pulled up to her house and saw a lone police car in the driveway. She knitted her brows together as something about this just didn't feel right. She parked the car on the street. She climbed out of the car and walked to the house, seeing the door broken down.
She walked in to see her place was actually in perfect order. The only sign of a break in was a door and that was when it her. This was a set up. Natalia reached down to pull out her gun when she felt the prick of a needle in her neck. She barely registered the words, "Too late," before she collapsed into darkness.
Two Hours Later:
Paula sat at her desk drinking her cup when a shady looking man came onto the floor. He had the suit of a deliveryman but he seemed to look awkward in the lab. It made her feel suspicious but when he came up to her to tell her that he had a delivery for CSIs Delko, Duquesne and Wolfe he seemed genuine enough so she put her suspicions aside. She signed for the package and watched as he quickly walked out of the lab. She looked down the package and felt that it was in the shape of a tape. She looked up when she heard the chatter of Ryan and Eric. She left her desk and walked in front of them, "Um, Eric, Ryan, a deliveryman left this for you both and Calleigh."
"Really?" Asked Ryan.
"Yeah. I don't know what it is but it feels like a tape." She smiled at them before walking away to leave them with the tape. Ryan and Eric gave each other a look before going into the break room and finding Calleigh there. Eric was the first to say, "Hey Calleigh, a man delivered this for us."
Calleigh raised a brow at him before taking the package, opening it to find a tape. She looked up at both of them only getting a shrug in reply from both. "Shall we?" Both Eric and Ryan nodded to her in reply. She took the tape and brought it to the VCR and popped it in.
The Tape:
There was static at first. Then there was a dark room. It was hard to see anything in the room, but as if someone was reading their minds the room began to get brighter. There against the wall at the center of the screen was a woman on her knees and gagged. A feeling of dread passed through the viewers of the tape. Then a figure moved beside the victim and reached, roughly pulling the bag off the head of the bond and gagged woman. A collective gasp escaped the viewers as they laid eyes on their fellow CSI Natalia Boa Vista with tears staining her face. The voice that followed made it worst. "Well she's no Calleigh Duquesne but she'll have to do. " Peter's face swam into the view of the camera and he smiled sardonically. "Don't worry, Natalia and I will now have a chance to get to know each other." His laughter was the last thing the CSIs heard coupled with a close up of Natalia's fear stricken face as their final picture before the tape returned back to static.
It was like the air had been punched out of his lungs. He felt fear grip her hearts s tightly he thought he was going to die. That sick bastard had Natalia, he had Natalia. Ryan was going to kill him if he harmed Natalia. That he knew for sure, he was going to kill that son of bitch if anything happened to her. But he knew for sure that most likely Natalia was going to suffer at the hands of a mad man. Ryan felt the strength leave his body and he could barely feel Eric's hand on his shoulder. He had to find her; he had to find her before he lost the chance to tell her, to tell her he loves her.
