"Feli? Feli, can you hear me? Are you okay?" Ludwig's worried voice sounded through Feliciano's mind as all the thoughts bounced around in his head. He felt as his head weighed about fifty pounds and like he couldn't move. But he eyes opened when Ludwig flipped Feliciano on his back. "Feliciano? What happened?" Ludwig asked. Feliciano shrugged. "Did you eat this morning?" Ludwig asked. Feliciano nodded. "Drink? Are you under any kind of extra stress?" Ludwig asked, as he helped the Italian sit up.

"Um, of course I'm under extra stress. I'm supposed to take care of my daughter and I can't even do that because my job keeps on screwing shit up for me." Feliciano said.

"That's not your fault, though. Maybe you should think about leaving this job or taking a different positition that doesn't put so much stress on you. I mean, I'm an A/V tech and pretty much all I do is stay indoors all day and mess around with computers." Arthur said. "I bet that there's a job out there for you that will allow you to spend time with Maria. I mean, I am going to miss you if you ever, but if this job is making you pass out then there's something with how this job it treating you. And it's five till. We need to start gathering in the conference room before we get our asses kicked.

And six minutes later, 7 people without the two co-captains of the department were in the conference room. Ludwig, Feliciano, Francis, Roderich, Liz, Toris, and Arthur were in the conference waiting for information on the case.

And a minute later, two middle aged men came in, both of them carrying a folder. Once they settled down, they plopped both of the folders on the table. Ludwig, Feliciano, and Arthur reached for the one closest one to them and opened it. They got a case with a body that was found in a warehouse that was blown up by a bomb. Francis, Roderich, and Toris got a body that was washed up on the beach. And then there was Liz, the trace lab tech who was only sitting in the meeting because she enjoyed being informed. Lili was an undercover agent that was running a little late, and Vasch, their main undercover agent was gone doing undercover stuff that no one really knew about.

About five minutes into the meeting the blonde that had pestered Feliciano the first thing in the morning came in, taking a seat next to Liz. He engaged in conversation with her for a little bit until Liz got pissed off and he let our a yelp. Liz had hit his foot with her boots.

"So, Julio, would you like to explain what the cases are about?" The taller and more strict of the two asked their companion.

"Um, Otho, why can't you do this?" Julio asked through clenched teeth. Julio wasn't an actual captain, he was just Otho's understudy and he was supposed to transfer out to the New Jersey PD within the next six months.

Otho pulled the younger man out of the room and gave him a quiet yet seemingly angry lecture right out front of the door. "They fight like a married couple." Liz said.

"If they were actually married, they'd wouldn't talk anymore. Speaking of which, I heard that Matthew is engaged. Is that true?" Arthur asked. Ludwig sputtered and wished that his brother, he, and his brother's boyfriend didn't work in the same field. Gilbert, Ludwig's brother, worked the bomb squad, and Matthew worked in the A/V lab alongside Arthur.

"This is the first time I have heard anything about anything like this. My brother tells me nothing." Ludwig said.

"Maybe that's because you always look like you're about to punch someone in the face." Liz said. "I mean, the first time I saw you, I was afraid of being anywhere near you, fearing for my life." Liz said.

Ludwig sighed, putting his head on the glass desk before him. Feliciano just petted his hair as he snarled in anger. "Well, thanks for actually telling me that. When I first started working here I was trying to be nice as possible but now I find out that everyone was afraid of me." Ludwig said.

"Well, not everyone." Arthur said. "For me it was "Lol, new guy doesn't know how to express his feelings and acts like an emotionless rock. And it funny. Then Liz started being friends with you and then you were a little bit more outgoing."

"Whatever conversations are going on right now, all those conversations need to stop." Julio said, as he and Otho came back into the room. Otho smiled secretly and Liz tried to stiffle a laugh as Julio explained the two cases.

Since Matthew had the day off, they had to send Toris out into the field instead of Arthur who stayed behind and worked surveilance videos from a different case. Having Toris out in the field without Feliks was very complicated. Toris was someone who was still considered a newbie that still hadn't grasped all of the protocol. So today, Feliciano was the one that was showing Toris the ropes.

Natalie was their snarky ME. No one except Toris really liked her presence but she worked well and saw things quite differently than everyone else. Ekaterina, also know as Kat was their other ME, and the two othen got into scuffles over how they wanted to do the atopsies.

On the scene where the body was found washed up on the shore, Kat was there. Kat was so much sweeter than Natalie, so talking to her was enjoyable. She was a little bit of a wimp, so she hated being out in the field, since the field could be dangerous. It had happened before that a ME had gotten shot by a sniper when they were examing a body.

Ludwig, Felicano, and Francis were also on the scene. The cold New York wind whipped their coats as the ocean mist sprayed on them everytime a wave hit the shore.

The body consisted almost fully of scar tissue, as though it had just been burned in a vat of boiling oil. Or it was just in a bomb explosion. "I won't be able to identify this body for a while." She said, as her assistants came with a body bag. "Hopefully Natalie has something useful on the other body. Because I know how much you guys hate not being able to get out of square one." Ekaterina said as the assistants moved the body into the bag, zipped it up, and hosieted it up onto the stretcher.

"Something's up with the girl." Feliciano said as Toris nearly fell into the water. He was able to catch onto Francis's arm before the wind knocked him over completely. "And I feel like our newbie needs to work inside before he is allowed to step outside. I don't want to transport a soaking wet CSI." Feliciano said. Francis and Toris were CSIs, while Feliciano and Ludwig were detectives. Francis decided to sift through the sand but he was finding nothing that could be considered evidence.

"It looks like it was actually washed up to shore and not just dumped here." Francis said. Toris was currently using his phone to figure out where the body could've come from. "And there was a storm last night so we can't really estimate where the body was dropped off at." Ludwig pulled out his cellphone and decided to call Lili.

Seconds later, Lili picked up. "Lili, is the warehouse that you're at located near the water?" He asked. "Well, I'm asking because we were given a body that was severly burned and it was washed up at the beach instead of being dropped here. Okay, so it is. I'm not making conclusions, I'm just trying out all the possibilities." He said, before hanging up. "So, the other location is near a peir, and Lili is going to go see if there are any drag marks near there and if there are that means that these two bodies are connected." Ludwig's phone rang again. "What? But we're already at a scene as it is. Okay, I'll be there in 10." Ludwig said, looking over at Feliciano. "Vargas, we've got another case. Someone saw a girl of about 12 years old fall from a motel window just about 10 minutes ago." Ludwig said and Feliciano shuddered.

"Um, and why do we need to be there?" Feliciano asked. He felt nauseated and light headed. Cases that involved young girls made him want to quit this job and run fast and run far. "We investigate violent crimes, not suicides." Feliciano said. He didn't want to see the face of that lifeless girl. Sure, he knew that it was a part of his job, but he also knew that these cases made him of the fact that this same thing could happen to his own little girl.
Ludwig sighed, knowing exactly why Feliciano wore the expression that he wore. "Feli, I know that you hate these cases because they make you think of Maria. But right now, she's safe and you need to get the creepos that can hurt her off the street. And isn't she with Feliks right now?" Ludwig asked.

"She is. And can you please tell me why we are being called out to the scene?" Feliciano asked.

"Witness say that she has a knife sticking out of her." Ludwig said. Feliciano took a deep breath as Ludwig placed a hand on his shoulder. "I don't know what you're going through, but I bet that it sucks. But she's with someone that you trust, and I really doubt that Feliks would ever want to break your trust or hurt Maria. Come on. I'll get you some coffee on the way their so that you can get your energy up and smile back on." Ludwig said. Francis overheard the whole exchange and just exploded into laughter. But he shut up once Toris kicked him and whispered something to him. "I really don't like the newbie." Ludwig said.

-x-

The scene that they arrived at was devastating. A young, beautiful girl was laying on top on a car, glass all around her, a knife stuck in her chest. Feliciano felt his nails dig into his palms as they neared the scene. "You know, I could just call Feliks out here and have you go home if this case hits home so much." Ludwig said. Feliciano shook his head.

"I'll be fine. And I'm really don't want to piss him off anymore. How am I going to repay him?" Feliciano asked. Ludwig frowned, thinking.

"I don't know. But I'll think about it. Just for you." Ludwig said, and Feliciano smirked. "Okay, where is our cat? Or Natalie for that matter?" Ludwig asked, looking up at the window that she fell from. "It doesn't look like she has an defensive wounds." Ludwig said.

"And the knife in her chest isn't a result of a struggle?" Feliciano asked, bitterness seeping into his voice. He was angry. He was angry that this kept on happening to really young girls and boys that have not reached anything important in their life yet.

"I don't think so, actually. I, um, think that this may be part of those really fucked up "Pay ten grand and be able to kill someone" things. She was dead before she hit the car. I think that this was a dump." Ludwig said. Feliciano just looked at the body. "You should wait here until one of our MEs arrive, while I'm going to go and see what was going on in that room." Ludwig said, looking up once more.
Feliciano didn't have to wait long for the ME to arrive. It was Kat, and that made Feliciano's day a little bit more easy. The thing with Natalie was that she radiated a vibe that said "Come anywhere near me and lose a limb." and that kinda scared Feliciano. And everyone else, too. Kat, though, always had a warm smile even in the dead of winter. And a person who could that was a treasure. "Hey, didn't I just see you?" Feliciano asked, and Kat answered with a sarcastic ha-ha. "Well, can you tell me what the COD of this victim was?" Feliciano asked.

"The answer that a new ME would give you would be "Well, it's obvious that her death was caused by that knife that sticking out of her chest" but since I'm not new, and you know me, then you should stop asking me stupid questions. Feliciano just rolled his eyes in response. "That's cute."
Soon enough, the body of the girl was gone, and Feliks had donned his CSI suit and began examining the car. Ludwig soon returned, and laughed. "That white really suits you. Maybe you should get married in it." Ludwig said, as Feliciano exmained the top of the car.

"Maybe I should get married to you in it." Feliciano responded, and Ludwig couldn't even answer Feliciano. "So, is it true?"

"Is what true?"

"Are Matthew and Gilbert getting married?" Feliciano asked. Ludwig shrugged. "If they are, then I guess you're gonna end up being Gilbert's best man." Ludwig just laughed.

"Knowing his lack of humour, he might just give you the job even though he's only known you for about a year." Ludwig said. "Or even better, he'll get the maid of honor to be Feliks and the bridesmaid to be Francis. I really don't understand the logic or lack of logic in gay weddings."

"If by lack of logic you mean that he'll have the best man to be Liz and the maid of honor to be Feliks, then that's not lack of logic, but lack of lack of awesomeness, then yes, Gilbert does have a lot of lack of logic."

Ludwig grimaced. "I'm starting to worry a little about you." Ludwig said. He wasn't worried though. He really was worried about himself. Ludwig couldn't be gay. But everyone kept on saying that he was in the closet and there was no shame in coming out, and yet, Ludwig was ashamed. Maybe he was developin a crush on Feliciano. Maybe it was only the fact that they were just really close friends that made him think of the fact that he may have a crush on Feliciano. Sure, Feliciano was a sweetheart, a great dad and he had a wonderful sense of humour, but that didn't mean that Ludwig was obligated to have a crush on Feliciano because they worked together for the past year and half.

"Um, and why are you worried about me? Oh, is it because you think that I might be like Gilbert? Ludwig, it's my way of joking. It's a stupid way, but it's also quite a hilarious way of joking as well. What'd you find upstairs?" He asked.

"A room. Anyways, except for that, I also found two sets of footprints and this." Ludwig said, handing Feliciano an evidence bag with a wallet in it. "It doesn't have anything in it except for library card, two dollars, and the membership to a secret friendship. It looks like she was in elementary when yeah." Ludwig trailed off. Feliciano sighed again. "She might not even be 12. She might be younger." Ludwig said. Feliciano just wanted to stop working the case. He wanted to go home and protect Maria.

"Did you call the tow truck?" Feliciano asked. Ludwig nodded. The two worked until the tow truck arrived and the extra CSIs arrived and then the two of them left.

Feliciano was walking to his car when the darkness struck again.

AN: And I updated. no beta, please review. I'll be updating more often now. :3