Note: I do apologize this took me so long-really, so very long-to update! I've been busy with work, volleyball, etc... :/ BUT please review this chapter, and I promise you I'll update my story soon! Gosh, all I can say for this chapter is poor Calleigh! And don't you just adore those Alexx/Calleigh mother/daughter moments? :) And, by the way, Calleigh is NOT going to die. I'm not that evil. ;) Oh, and if anyone has any suggestions regarding the storyline, just let me know, and I'll try to incorporate them into the next chapter(s)! :D

P.S. Does anyone watch Criminal Minds? How AMAZINGLY AWESOME is next season going to be? With JJ and Emily coming back! As Garcia would most definitely say, "My babies are all back together again!" ^_^

"AHHHHHHH!" She heard a piercing scream coming from the direction of Calleigh's room. Nurses and doctors could be heard frantically shouting out orders. Alexx bolted up and practically sprinted to the C.S.I.'s hospital room. What she came upon scared the hell out of her. Calleigh was jerking and thrashing in her bed, her eyes wide open and staring, her hands clenching the bed sheets as a group of doctors and nurses tried desperately to hold her down. Suddenly, there was a gurgling sound as gouts of blood bubbled up from her throat, causing her eyes to roll back into her head as she fought with her body to breathe.

Alexx stood at the door, shocked into silence, her brain picking out bits and pieces of the doctors' frantic shouts.

"…bleeding internally…lungs collapsed…when we moved her onto the bed…"

Then, nothing. Nothing but the thoughts overwhelming her mind, showing her Calleigh as she had been but two days ago: lively, enthusiastic, sweet Calleigh. And now, all she could see was the nightmare: Calleigh's face contorted in pain, her arched back as she struggled to fight off the ever-persistent Death…

"Doctor Woods?…Doctor Woods!"

A shout broke through Alexx's terrifying thoughts—she snapped back to reality.

"Open a new airway for her!" Alexx yelled. "Do it now!" She ran over to the C.S.I. and clutched her hand; it was ice-cold and unnaturally sweaty. "Calleigh, calm down, Cal, please. You're gonna make it through this—I promise—but I need you to calm down." Calleigh's struggles subsided slowly; Alexx wasn't sure if her words had been acknowledged or if the patient was simply becoming too weak to fight anymore.

"Doctor, now!" She commanded, making a strong effort to keep the rising emotions from creeping into her voice.

The doctor stood beside Alexx, a shot full of morphine in one hand and a scalpel in the other.

"Morphine!" He shouted as he plunged the needle into Calleigh's arm. As the drug began to take effect, he positioned the scalpel above her throat, then plunged downward, cutting open a new airway for her body to breathe. A gurgling sound ensued as Calleigh's lungs spit out the last of the suffocating blood. Her body relaxed as the newly-created airway sent oxygen to the brain and organs, reviving them. The doctor completed the ventilation procedure; Alexx let out a long, pent-up breath—it was over, Calleigh would be fine. She knelt down beside Calleigh's bed, letting her head just fall onto the bloodied sheets.

"Baby girl," she breathed. She felt a hand on her shoulder, then nothing as the hospital staff gave her a few moments of privacy. "Never again…never, ever again." Alexx closed her eyes, laughing quietly in relief.

Horatio stood on the top floor of the parking structure, surveying the scene below. He and Tripp had found where Seth and Tommy had parked after leaving the abandoned building; now, all they had to do was find them. He had found a white powdery substance on an imprint of a tire tread that the team had identified as a match to a red 2003 Ford Ranger. Tripp was on the phone with Trace—once they knew what the substance was, they would be able to locate Seth and Tommy's whereabouts. He fondled his sunglasses, remembering their history. Eric had given him those sunglasses, long before he had become a C.S.I.. Eric. He sighed; he was almost positive Eric and Calleigh were in a relationship, and he had no idea what would happen if Calleigh—no, he told himself. She's strong, she's going to make it through this. Lost in his thoughts, he started when a hand grabbed his shoulder.

"Horatio?" Frank, his eyes full of nothing but concern, stared down his old friend. "You okay? 'Cause Eric just called; he's got a lead."

Horatio glanced at him, taking in the worried look on his friend's face. "I'm fine, Frank. What'd we get?"

Frank's eyes tightened. "The substance you pulled was magnesium sulfate."

"Frank, magnesium sulfate is used to reduce severe symptoms of acute asthma...is there any possibility one of our kidnappers had asthma?"

"Well, Eric figured the same thing, so he called Yelina. She looked up our guys, and guess what? It turns out Tommy has a severe case of asthma."

Horatio smiled. "So, Frank, where would you go if you where on the run from the police, and you had a very serious case of asthma?"

Frank grinned, fully aware of what Horatio was assuming. "The hospital…"

"That's right," Horatio said. "So let's have Eric check up on recent visits to local hospitals—let's say, visits from today or yesterday—specifically for a tall, black male in his twenty's."

Frank grabbed his phone, already dialing. He quickly explained their plan to Eric, then he hung up and placed the phone back into his side pocket. "And then, once we find Tommy, we beat the crap out of him until he spills on Seth's whereabouts."

Horatio nodded, then looked his friend in the eye. "Yes, Frank, that's exactly what we're going to do."

Frank met the Lieutenant's gaze. "Well, what are we waiting for? Let's show them not to mess with our Calleigh!"

With that, the two men turned around and began the walk to the nearby Hummer, loosening the guns in their holsters, both eager for the confrontation that was ahead.

*AT MIAMI-DADE GENERAL HOSPITAL*

"Sir, I'm going to have you put this on," the nurse said as she held up an oxygen mask, "and then I need you to count to sixty, but slowly."

Tommy took the mask from her hand and held it up to his face, relieved when the burning in his lungs began to subside. "Thanks—."

The nurse frantically shushed him. "I said count to sixty. That was more like fifteen."

Tommy grinned and, although he knew that the worst of his asthmatic fit had long since passed, he nodded. If it made her happy...

"Excuse me? Nurse Walker? Nurse Jillian Walker?" An attendee bolted into the room, his breathing heavy as he stopped to catch his breath. The nurse withdrew her attention from Tommy and glanced up at the attendee with a newfound concern.

"What is it?"

"C.S.I. Duquesne is coding, ma'am. Doctor Sullivan has requested your assistance immediately."

Nurse Walker scrambled to her feet. "I'm on my way." She glanced at Tommy. "I'll be right back, so don't go anywhere, and keep that breathing mask on!"

Tommy nodded his assent. Duquesne. The attendee had said Duquesne. Realization dawned on him and he leapt to his feet. Could it be-? The C.S.I. he and Seth had—oh, God! He had to tell Seth…maybe they could finish the job…he whipped out his cell phone and hit speed dial.

RING! RING! R—" Hello?"

"Seth? Hey, it's Tommy. I'm at Miami Dade Hospital and you'll never guess who's here with me. Calleigh Duquesne. What? No, of course I'm serious! Yeah, and she's coding. Hmm…yeah, but if she does survive, we'll need to finish the job before she's conscious enough to spill on us. Yeah? Sure, but I'll need some supplies…really? Alright, but hurry up. Yeah, bye."

Tommy snapped his phone shut, staring at it for a few seconds before he tucked it into his back pocket. You got lucky the first time, Calleigh…your little cop boys came to the rescue. Not this time… He chuckled to himself. Hell no, not this time.