Disappearing Acts

Chapter 6

" You want anything to drink, Timmy?" Alexx called from the kitchen.

" No, I'm fine , Alexx thanks," Speed replied as he watched Alexx's daughter plotting with Sascha. He smiled faintly at the memories he had with his family. How he wished that everything could rewind and Calleigh would be in his life. Now he was left with just memories.

Alexx walked into the living room and sat next to Speed on the couch. He had worn the same expression for six weeks. Sadness. She touched his leg as she remembered the day that he got the paper.

Flashback

Speed looked up from his newspaper to see a man walking towards the break room. He wore a severe black suit and carried a brown envelope under his arm. He glanced at Alexx , who was taking a break as well. As the door opened , Speed instantly knew what this was about. Lauren had moved out of the apartment after weeks of 'trying to remember', and starting living in an apartment near the CSI building. At the lab, Speed had seen how close Lauren and Horatio were getting, the furtive glances that they gave each other, the small gestures that transpired between them. They didn't think anyone was watching ,but he was.

" Mr. Speedle?" the man asked curtly.

" Yes." Speed replied , continuing to read the paper.

" I have some papers from Mrs. Speedle. Could you sign here?"

Speed looked up , trying to hold in his anger. He signed the paper and snatched the folder from the man. The man turned and walked out quietly, his job was done. Speed tore open the folder and read the papers hastily. Alexx sat quietly as she saw tears come to Speed's eyes.

" Timmy,..." Alexx said before he got up and walked out of the break room. She followed him, recognizing the look of anger in his eyes.

She continued to follow him as he burst into the layout room where Lauren and Horatio were going over some evidence.

" Glad I got the two of you in one place. I got the divorce papers," Speed said as he held them up.

Horatio looked at him with anguish in his eyes, he knew that this was coming, " Speed..."

" No. Don't you say a damn word to me. I trusted you, Horatio. And you ... You do this to me!"

" Speed , calm down. We can talk this out..." Lauren added . She had been watching intently as Speed tore into Horatio.

" Calm down? You want me to calm down? How am I supposed to explain to Sascha that her mother is screwing "Uncle" Horatio? Any suggestions would help," Speed replied glaring at them both.

" I deserve to be happy, Speed. Just like you do. I haven't made progress, the doctors don't know if I will ever come out of this. I don't think it was fair to keep all of our lives in limbo. You and Sascha deserve to have someone who will love you." Lauren said as tears began to surface.

" I thought that we had that. I know if you tried, you would remember how much you loved your family. Don't give up on us." Speed pleaded. He couldn't lose her.

" I've made my decision, Speed." Lauren said simply.

Speed looked down at the floor and before he knew it, he slammed Horatio's cheek with his right hand, sending him to the ground. Alexx grabbed Speed as he went in for another hit. She held him back as best as she possibly could.

" I've made my decision as well. I quit," Speed spat. He eased up on Alexx and she let him go. He turned to walk out of the room, leaving Lauren and Horatio on the floor...

Present

" Alexx? Are you there?" Speed asked in a slightly amused voice. Alexx looked up at him and smiled.

" Yeah. I was just thinking how I am going to miss you and Sascha. It won't be the same."

" I'm sorry about that, Alexx. But I couldn't continue to work there knowing..." Speed stated as his voice trailed off. He remembered the tears he had in his eyes as he told his daughter that her mommy wouldn't be coming back.

" You have nothing to apologize for. They are moving on with their lives, why shouldn't you?"Alexx replied as she glanced at the girls on the floor. She had not completely forgiven Lauren or Horatio for doing this to him. " Besides you have to think about Sascha. She's just six, she can't go through this forever, it would ruin her."

" I used to think that one morning I would wake up and Calleigh would be there, back to her old self again. But it never happened. She just left us, Alexx," Speed said as he choked back the tears. He still loved her , but he couldn't stay . He had to leave her and Miami behind.

" Timmy, don't beat yourself up about this. You tried," Alexx said as he moved to embrace him. She always thought of him as a son , and she held him as he let all of his tears run it's course. She could kill them for what they had done to her Timmy. She held him until the tears had subsided and rustled his hair. He returned the sentiment by giving her a rare smile.

" You'll have to bring Bryan and Janie up to New York to see us. Sascha would appreciate it," Speed said as he wiped his face with the back of his hand.

" Next extended break I get, I'm there. Come to think about it, I have vacation time coming up soon, which is a good thing . I need to get away from work. The new guy is kind of annoying."

" I heard about him, Ryan Wolfe? Doesn't he have tourrettes or something?"

Alexx pushed him playfully and replied, " You are so bad. He's got OCD. And he's a smug son of a bit-..."

" Language, Alexx," Speed said with humor in his voice, " There are impressionable children in the room."

"Sorry. He's walking around there as if he owns the place. You should see Delko. He's still pissed that you left, and he keeps taking it out on Wolfe. Poor guy. Sometimes I feel sorry for him," Alexx said as she got more comfortable in the chair. She enjoyed talking to Speed. " So tell me about the new job in New York. I heard from a colleague that they were very impressed with your expertise."

" You know some one in New York?" Speed asked with wide eyes.

" Yeah, Sheldon Hawkes. He's the ME for the New York police department. He works for your new boss, Mac Taylor."

" You never cease to amaze me, Alexx. You know more about my business than I do."

" That's my job. Really , tell me about it," Alexx said propping her head on her wrist.

" Well when I quit here, I immediately sent my jacket to New York , cause that's the only place besides here that I'd rather live."

" What did your mother think about you moving to the city instead of back to Syracuse?"

" She wasn't happy , but I told her that she could come down any time to see her granddaughter. We'll see how that pans out. But getting back, So I sent my jacket and with in a matter of days, Detective Taylor calls me back and offers a position. I start on Friday, so that's why I'm saying good bye tonight. I still have a lot to do , getting Sascha registered for school , getting our place livable. I think it will be good for both of us to get a new start," Speed said as he glanced at Sascha. She had a beautiful smile on her face as she played with Janie. He wondered where she got the strength to deal with all that was going on in her short life. She had took it very bad when Speed told her about the impeding divorce, but she quickly got over it. Speed suspected that he would have to take her in for counseling to help her cope with the transition.

" What about the divorce? Will you have to come back down for the ruling?" Alexx asked hesitantly. She knew that Speed had not let his love for Calleigh go.

" I'm not contesting, she's getting everything, the house, spousal support, everything she needs. There will be no need to come back. I've requested the decree be sent to New York. It will be a done deal in a month."

"Does she know that you are leaving?"

" A better question would be , does she care? I haven't had a long conversation with her since that day in the layout room. I really don't have anything to say to her or Horatio," Speed replied not wanting to revisit that pain. " So that's it."

" That's it. In a day , you'll leave here and never come back. I could snap their necks for pushing you away ," Alexx said with a hint of anger.

" I'll keep in touch with you and Delko. The Caines , well let's just say that I won't be sending Christmas cards," Speed replied with a pained smile on his face.

After talking well into the night, Speed gave Alexx a hug and kissed Janie on the cheek and said their goodbyes. He wiped the tears from Alexx's face , telling her " It's not like I'm dying , Alexx. Don't cry."

" I'm going to miss you Tim. Be good to yourself and to Sascha, and be careful. I don't want to have to come to New York for a funeral."

" Yes mom," Speed simply said as he put a slumbering Sascha in her seatbelt. He got in and cranked the Tahoe up. Backing up , he saw as Alexx continued to cry. This was harder than he thought it would be. He waved one last time before he pulled away and headed back to his house. In his mind he knew he was doing the right thing , but in his heart he wanted to drive over to her apartment and take her back. Knowing that it would never happen, he stored those feelings for Calleigh away and planned for his new life in New York.

TBC...

A/N: You know I'm not going to leave you all hanging. There is a sequel! Keep watching!

A/N # 2: Yes there will be a slight crossover with CSI: NY. But before this ends I think it will return back to Miami...or will it?