Calleigh was a little disheartened to see the look of frustration on Eric's face when he finally opened the door to her. When his brown gaze turned to surprise she only felt a little better. "I brought oranges," she said cheerfully as held up the small, jute bag she held in her right hand. "You know...they're full of vitamins and all that, should help you get better. Um, is something wrong?"

Eric wanted to smile as he filled with elation at the sight of the beautiful blonde but there was a niggling of irritation and worry that prevented him. He always appreciated the sight of Calleigh, the sight of her happy blue eyes and warm smile always seemed to make his pain lessen and the burning in his back a little more bearable. "It's the twenty-fourth," he said flatly.

"Right...and?" Calleigh just looked confused. She was tired from her late night action with Speed and had spent this morning with their potential witness and the family members of her deceased boyfriend. Their witness, Connie Queens, was in intensive care and incapable of talking at the moment but Calleigh was daring to hope. It was frustrating, their evidence was scant and if Connie hadn't seen the face of her attacker then they had nothing just theories, they needed their murderous magician unmasked. They could connect the masked magician to Vegas and Estella van le Rael, and to buying LSD and the rare drug Fatalis, which had been used to poison the twins, but they knew, frustratingly, that none of that would hold up in court, anyone could be beneath the mask, even more than one person could be wearing it as unlikely as that was.

"And it's been one year," Eric reminded her with a dark look, "since Ridley was buried alive."

Calleigh's mouth made a small o shape as her eyes widened in surprise. "I didn't..." She shook her head in annoyance. "God I should give her a call."

"I spoke to her this morning," Eric admitted wearily, "just briefly, I...I didn't draw attention to it, I was just seeing how she was and she was brief, said she had to go to work. I don't know though, something like that...I tried to ring her again a few minutes ago, to see if she was free for lunch but I've got no answer and I've rang Speed too, to see if he's actually seen her today but he's ignoring me as usual." He sighed angrily. He then gave Calleigh an apologetic look. "Sorry, I should invite you in." He stepped back from the doorway and gave her a small smile. "I'm probably worrying over nothing, she's seems pretty together lately and she said she was okay but it's on the news you know, they couldn't resist, especially with this Wonderland nut job still running about and her connection to that cartel business. I guess I'm sensitive to it given he got me as well...I mean I suffered only a fraction of what she did but it still bothers me sometimes."

Calleigh pursed her lips slightly as she thought about what she had said to Tim about post traumatic stress sometimes being triggered, an anniversary of something terrible was probably a good trigger. "I'll give her a ring," she decided as she stepped into Eric's apartment. She followed Eric into his modest kitchen, setting her bag on the table before tugging out her mobile and dialling. Her frown deepened when it went to Ridley's voicemail. "Voicemail," she murmured warily, "she must still be working."

"Probably," Eric said, feeling guilty for getting Calleigh worried now too. "Look, let's not worry, I sent her a text asking her to ring when she's free, I said to Speed a few days ago about doing something together tonight, just to keep her mind off things. Anyway, let's have some of those oranges and..." He tailed off with an unsure look.

Calleigh took his right hand tenderly and smiled up at him. It was good to see him on his feet again even if he did have dark circles under his eyes and was evidently still in pain. He was doing well despite his horrific injuries and desperate to get back to work. Unable to help out at work he had been doing his best with Raymond Jnr but it was difficult to entertain a ten-year-old boy in a bachelor pad, especially when Eric was slower than usual and tired from his medication.

"Let's watch some television," Calleigh suggested, "I'll cut up the oranges." She released Eric's hand; pushing back a strand of her blonde hair and flipping open her mobile again. She sent Ridley a quick text before turning her attention to the oranges. It was hard to ignore the prickle of concern burning in her but she reminded herself that Ridley was working extra shifts and probably just had her phone on silent.

"Hey Eric, when's the last time you cleaned in here?" the blonde queried teasingly as she looked at the dirty dishes stacking up beside the sink pointedly.

Eric blushed faintly. "I'm injured remember?" he retorted with a bashful smile. "And I wasn't expecting company."

Calleigh shook her head scornfully before grabbing a clean plate. She peeled the oranges on the plate and separated the segments before following Eric through to his modest living room. It was slightly untidy but clean, and thanks to Calleigh's gifts of a blanket and cushions the green couch was pleasantly comfortable. Calleigh sat her plate on the glass coffee table as Eric flicked on the television before sitting beside the blonde and giving her another small smile.

Calleigh instinctively moved into him with a grin, leaning against him gently, her grin widening when he raised his arm for her to curl up under. After what had happened and everything they had been through Calleigh had realised that her fears of their relationship going wrong were nothing in comparison to the fear of never knowing how their relationship could go like Horatio and Yelina. They had yet to tell anyone, not wanting to overshadow the tragedy of Yelina's passing, but Calleigh and Eric had decided to make their relationship official.

Eric turned and gave Calleigh a soft kiss. "Thanks for coming round," he said sincerely.

"My pleasure."

Tim stepped out of the Miami-Dade headquarters with a grim expression, it was a cool, grey day and he felt it was apt for his mood. He had debated about coming in today but Calleigh's words last night had gotten to him and so he had reluctantly made and attended a session with the psychiatrist. Now he was thoroughly regretting the decision having lost patience with the psychiatrist after exchanging several heated words with him.

He tugged out his phone as he rubbed at his dark hair wearily and frowned as he saw missed calls from Eric. Curious, he started dialling his friend.

"What's up?" Tim queried bluntly as he adjusted his sunglasses.

"Hey Speed, about time you called," Eric greeted cheerfully. "Look, I was just wondering if you've seen Ridley today."

"Not yet," Tim retorted wearily, "I've been busy."

"Well have you talked to her?" Eric queried, sounding slightly surprised.

"No," Tim answered bluntly, "why, what's wrong?"

"Seriously man, it's the twenty-fourth. Look I spoke to her this morning and she seemed fine but I just thought maybe you'd actually seen her or something to be sure."

"Shit, one year," Tim grumbled, "fuck, fuck. I had a rough night, I'll ring her now." He hung up the phone before Eric could reply and let out several loud exclamations, earning several looks of astonishment and disapproval in the car park. One year, how the hell had he woken up and just forgotten that? He immediately started ringing Ridley's mobile even as he headed to his motorbike. "Come on, answer," he murmured moodily. When the phone rang onto voicemail he let out another curse before swapping his shades for his helmet and climbing onto his bike. He wasn't even sure what shifts Ridley was meant to be working today, was she still at work, was she at home, was she with Raymond Jnr? He hadn't bothered to find out, after his grief last night he had gone home only to spend most of the night awake and thinking too much about rabbit masks. 'And I told Eric it wasn't a date I would ever forget,' he thought sardonically as he turned on his engine.

It took a little longer than planned to reach Ridley's house thanks to the lunch time traffic but Tim still felt he had made it in better time that he ever could have in his car. He was relieved to see Ridley's battered Mustang in her driveway and was quick to park his bike and hasten to her front door. He knocked it twice and when he got no answer he tried her mobile again but once again it rang off to voicemail. Frustrated, he tugged out his keys and unlocked the front door with his spare key before entering the house. He sat his helmet on the table in the hall, shut the door and called out, "Ridley."

Tim thought he could smell burnt toast and hear faint voices that he figured were coming from the television. He headed to the living room and found the door open and hastened into the room. He glanced down as his shoes crunched on something and saw a shattered cup on the ground with a pool of cold coffee around it. He looked ahead with a frown and saw Ridley on the floor with her knees hunched up to her chin and both hands clamped tightly against her ears as she shook her head repeatedly and murmured, "stop that noise, God make it stop, please."

Tim glanced briefly to the television and his frown tightened as he saw a news reporter with a colourful photograph of a barely recognisable Ridley being pulled out of a coffin by Horatio. The caption was 'One Year On' before it flashed to a photograph of Estella van le Rael and the reporter started talking about the 'Wonderland Murders'. Tim searched for the remote hastily and spotted it on the coffee table. He grabbed it and turned the television off quickly.

"Dirt," Ridley murmured, "oh God I keep hearing the dirt, he's burying me! He's burying me!"

Tim crouched down before the shaken woman and gripped her right shoulder, immediately prompting her to jolt back against her couch with a look of alarm. Her eyes filled with tears when she realised it was Tim before she started sobbing. "I keep hearing it; I keep hearing the dirt being shovelled on top of me! God I hear it, over and over, more and more, it won't stop!"

Tim sighed and gently prised the woman's hands down from her ears. He looked startled when she immediately threw herself against him with another sob and started quivering against him. "I'm sorry," he said to her sympathetically, "I...I forgot the date. I had a long night; I should have called or come round this morning."

"I keep hearing it Tim," she choked out, "and it won't stop, God that awful noise won't stop! I...I turned on the television, went to the kitchen, got some coffee and put on some toast, I thought I was fine, I knew the date but I thought I was okay and...and then I came in and it was on there. That fucking coffin! God now I keep hearing the dirt being thrown on top of me and it won't stop!"

Tim hugged her close and weaved his right hand through her dark hair. "Would it help to get out of here?" he suggested. "We could go somewhere for the day?"

"I...I don't know," she murmured miserably as she shook her head against him, "God just make the noise stop. I can see those eyes again, those horrible, violet eyes, oh God it just doesn't stop."

"Hey," Tim protested as he pulled back slightly to give her a stern look, "don't think about Ridley, I know it's hard but you have done so well this year, don't let the media's bullshit drag you back down. Come on, I'm not working today so tell me where you'd like to go, anywhere in Miami, name it and we'll go and we will forget about this. Then tonight Eric was talking about watching movies with him and Calleigh so we can do that, they will probably be terrible movies knowing him but he has been asking about you and he's probably getting cabin fever. Come on Ridley, live in the now."

Ridley swallowed hard as she tried to focus on what Tim was saying but it was hard as all she could hear was the soft and repetitive sound of crumbled dirt being heaved on top of her.

Tim kissed her brow gently when she let out a low moan and said a little more firmly, "come on Ridley, where do you want to go? Just name somewhere and we'll go."

She shook her head and burrowed it back against him. Tim sighed, adjusting her as he usually did at night when she started whimpering so that she could his heartbeats. "It's okay," he soothed as he started to stroke her dark hair. "I promise Ridley, you're not there anymore, no one is burying you and that guy is dead. Horatio and I found you, you're out of that hole, don't let the media drag you back into it."

She tensed when her doorbell rang. "I...should...I should..."

"I'll get it," Tim said as he stood, urging her up with him before he placed her down on the couch and gave her a look of reassurance. "Think about what we should do today," he suggested as the doorbell rang again. He sighed before heading out of the living room hastily and up the corridor to open the door with a scowl.

Horatio tugged off his shades and gave the traces' expert a calm look. "Ridley didn't answer her phone, how is she today?" the redhead was straight to the point.

Knowing Horatio wouldn't be fobbed off or persuaded to leave without seeing her, Tim didn't bother with a lie, instead he answered bluntly, "not good, she had the television on and they started showing her in that coffin, fucking vultures."

Horatio nodded sympathetically, he had seen the news today and knew what would happen. It had made the redhead just as angry as Tim, wasn't it enough that they had already done it once this year? "Can I talk to her?"

Tim didn't know what to reply with, he feared Ridley getting angry with him if he let Horatio see her but he knew his superior wasn't going to just walk away. "Sure," he muttered as he stepped back from the door. "I want to get her out of here," he admitted, "away from the house and out for the day." He sighed. "Distract her with something."

"Good idea," Horatio answered calmly as he stepped in and shut the door behind him. "Of course you've brought your bike so how are you going to take her anywhere?"

Tim frowned. "I can go get my car," he grumbled before leading the way to the living room. He was please to see Ridley looking a little more stable, her eyes were bloodshot and watery, her face blotchy and red and there was still a very slight quiver but no more violent shaking or sobbing. She looked at Horatio at first in surprise and then in embarrassment as she rubbed at her eyes with one hand vainly.

Tim hovered in the living room awkwardly, unsure whether to sit beside Ridley or not, he wanted to continue consoling her but he didn't want to make her look weak in front of Horatio. It was too easy to recall how things had been earlier in the year with Ridley off due to an inability to control her trauma and Tim was fearful that it was all going to happen again.

"Ridley I saw the news," Horatio said calmly as he took a step towards her, "I hoped they wouldn't run the story again but I feared they might." He gave her a sympathetic look. "I know this isn't easy for you, every time you make progress something triggers a memory for you and I know it's twice as hard for you because you have two terrible periods in your life."

Ridley let out a harsh laugh at that and shook her head as she linked her fingers together in her lap. "Two terrible periods, seven days of hell when I was fourteen and one night when I was twenty-eight, it doesn't sound so bad does it? Just eight bad days in twenty-nine years," she said sarcastically. "I suppose I should be grateful the media doesn't know about those seven days, be grateful that for a long time no one knew. Why did it have to happen twice? I keep wondering, what did I do to deserve it? Twice I was imprisoned and tortured and raped," she said each word systematically with a bob of her head, "and left in a dark hole to die. Why twice? Why me?"

Tim burned with guilt as he took a step towards her and then hesitated. 'Why?' he thought numbly. 'Because you or your partner shot and killed your first attacker which led his screwed up son to seek revenge on you by repeating his father's actions. God I thought it would be worse for you to know that but now I'm wondering if it's worse that you don't and you keep torturing yourself looking for answers.' He swallowed hard and looked to Horatio, though he felt he was being a coward leaving his superior to make the decision over what to say.

Horatio took a seat beside Ridley and gave her a small, faded smile, given his own circumstances it was the best he could muster. "Ridley we all ask why, why did Yelina have to die? Why was Eric injured? Why was Speed shot? We let ourselves get weighed down with it when the fact is, the why doesn't always make sense or matter and it makes no difference because the bad thing has happened. You didn't do anything to deserve what happened to you, not with the Suburban killer and not with Hawkes.

Now, what you have to stop and realise for a moment is that you survived them, you survived Hawkes and you grew up to become a very successful detective, and then you survived the Suburban killer to continue being a successful detective and a strong, young woman, they didn't win, you won."

She shook her head. "I don't know, all it takes is for them to show that...that coffin and I lose it," she confessed with a shudder, "I see his face, I hear that dirt being shovelled on and I think I'm still trapped there, that some part of me will never get out of that hole, that some part of me never escaped the first hole."

Horatio placed an arm around her shoulders loosely and pulled her close. "You did get out Ridley, both times," he assured her, "because you're a survivor and a fighter. You got out and you helped so many people after, there are a lot of people in New York and Miami right now who wouldn't be alive if you didn't overcome what you went through and became the detective that you did.

I know it's still hard for you and it will be for a while, but you have to think of what you have accomplished, what you have been through since those days, you're not just the scared teenager who was abused by Hawkes or the detective who got buried alive. You're Detective Ridley Moon, the detective who found Glenn Kinskey, who worked out who killed Mr McDowell, who identified and helped lead us to a serial killer, who fought off the cartel to help Emily Jenkins. You're also the only woman I know who could get Eric interested in American History, Calleigh to watch a ballet performance the whole way through, Speed to slow dance and me to read a fictional horror story right to the end. Do you understand that Ridley? You're more than this tortured victim the media tries to make you think you are and the next time you're thinking about what happened remember all those good things instead, remember you're a clever, strong detective and a strange but special friend."

Ridley smiled up at the lieutenant gratefully, touched by his words and amused to see the glint of embarrassment in his cerulean eyes. "Thank you," she said sincerely.

Horatio nodded before withdrawing his arm. "Well, Speed says you're going out somewhere so you should hurry up and make the most of the day."

"You could come," Ridley offered suddenly, "you and Raymond." Her brown-grey gaze flickered over to Tim who could not conceal his annoyance at the thought of enduring Raymond Jnr for a day. "I er...I want to go to the zoo."

Tim's brown eyes widened as he swallowed down several sardonic retorts and a refusal that came to mind. "The...zoo," he repeated dubiously.

Ridley nodded even as she gave a sheepish smile and fiddled the camera charm on her bracelet. "You said anywhere," she reminded him softly.

Tim sighed. "I suppose I did," he murmured. 'But not anyone,' he thought dryly. "The zoo it is then."

"I wouldn't want to impose," Horatio said quickly.

"But you have the car," Tim reminded him pointedly, "whilst I only have my bike."

"And it would be good for Raymond too," Ridley said, "he's with his nanny, right? I mean, would it be okay?"

Horatio looked awkward as, like Tim, he found himself unable to refuse the bloodshot, pleading gaze he was now receiving. "I...I'm sure it would," he retorted calmly though he didn't know how he was going to deal with his young nephew for an entire afternoon.

"And maybe Calleigh and Eric," Ridley mused as she tugged out her mobile, "I forgot...my phone was ringing, both of them," she mused as she scanned down her missed calls. "And Uncle Chris," she murmured as she looked guilty. "I'd better ring them."

"I'll ring Yelina's mother," Horatio said, hiding his unease from his voice.

"And I'll do nothing," Tim muttered, seeing Ridley's look of scorn he added hastily, "okay, I'll ring Eric, you ring your uncle."

Eight o'clock in the evening found Ridley, Tim, Horatio, Calleigh and Eric on Horatio's wooden decking listening to the calm lull of the ocean as they sat beneath a clear autumn sky glancing up at the twinkling white stars. It was cold and Calleigh and Ridley were snuggled up beneath a brown, woollen blanket between Tim and Eric as Ridley showed Calleigh the photographs on her digital camera of their day at the zoo. Eric had had to decline going due to his injuries and Calleigh had reluctantly declined again, not wanting to leave Eric despite his protests, though they had insisted on uniting for a dvd night. Calleigh had been startled when Horatio had calmly offered his own house to house the night of bad movies.

"Ridley there are like twenty photos of giraffes on there," Eric scolded as he peered down at the camera in Calleigh's hands.

"We were feeding them for forty minutes," Tim complained mournfully.

"Raymond liked it," Ridley grumbled.

"For fifteen minutes," Tim replied, "seriously, you put a ten-year-old boy off giraffes, that's a skill."

"Any lions?" Eric quipped hopefully.

"We avoided the big cats," Horatio said calmly, "we saw enough at the circus." He was sitting on a wooden chair, one leg crossed over the other as he looked at the dark ocean thoughtfully.

"Right," Eric commented hastily as he realised his error, "well what about wolves?"

"There was a Singing Dog and African Hunting Dogs," Ridley answered.

"All of which we saw for about ten minutes," Tim murmured, "because we had to go back to the giraffes." He winced when Ridley elbowed him sharply as Calleigh laughed.

"That's a good one of you and the fox Horatio," Calleigh said happily as she looked at a photograph of Horatio leaning against a fence facing the camera with a red fox standing behind him looking inquisitively at the photographer.

"You know I think I see the similarity," Eric jested, "and now I finally get your Halloween costume H."

Calleigh laughed at a photograph of Tim making a face of disgust at an anaconda eating before smiling at one of Ridley holding Raymond's hand and pointing at the zebras. "That's a nice one," she said to Ridley sincerely, "you know you'll make a good mum one day."

"In another five years time," Tim said quickly, "I like my child free life right now."

Eric laughed as Calleigh rolled her eyes in scorn and Ridley bowed her head wordlessly.

"Well," Calleigh said as she passed the camera back to Ridley, "it looks like you had a good day."

Ridley smiled as she accepted the camera. "I did," she said sincerely.

"One to remember," Horatio remarked softly as he stood up.

Ridley smiled up at him and nodded in agreement.

"Anyway," Eric said with a grin, "Phantom of the Rue Morgue isn't going to watch itself."

"Tragic," Tim commented sardonically, "and where did you find this nonsense again?"

"Ridley," Eric answered merrily as he stood up slowly with a wince.

Tim frowned down at Ridley and remarked dryly, "I should have known."

"It's about the first fictional detective, C. Auguste Dupin," Ridley explained.

"I'm in it for the killer gorilla," Eric said brightly with a grin.

"Okay neither of you pair are ever going to be allowed to pick a movie again," Tim retorted as he stood up, pulling Ridley and the blanket with him.

"I think I might have to agree," Calleigh retorted as she gave Eric an apologetic grin.

They headed back into Horatio's living room, Calleigh and Eric occupying the three seated couch whilst Tim and Ridley took the two seated couch and Horatio headed for the single sofa. "This is a three seater Horatio," Calleigh said pointedly, "come join us."

The redhead shook his head politely until Calleigh started patting the couch beside her and Eric remarked teasingly, "come on H Calleigh doesn't smell that bad. Ouch!" He winced at the sharp nudge he received to his ribs from the blonde.

Horatio sighed in surrender and took a seat beside Calleigh. "Alright," he murmured.

The night wore on steadily and by eleven o'clock Tim and Ridley had nodded off beside each other, prompting Calleigh to fix the blanket around them and Eric to take a photograph on his mobile. Just after midnight, Calleigh roused the pair again and the four headed off in a taxi together, as Calleigh's house was closest the taxi headed there first. Neither Tim nor Ridley said anything except warm farewells when Calleigh and Eric exited together, Eric blushing madly as he did, though Ridley did give the blonde a knowing smile whilst Tim decided he would torment his friend about it tomorrow. Tim and Ridley then headed on to Ridley's house together where they settled peacefully in Ridley's bed and fell asleep almost immediately.

I think we're nearing the end again :-o probably only a couple more chapters or so to go. I'll admit it, I do have ideas for a sequel so if anyone's interested let me know :-) As always thanks for lovely reviews and favs and please keep them coming!