Title: Life As We Now Know It

Author: Morgan a.k.a. scgirl_317

Genre: Drama, family

Summary: When the widow of his former partner is murdered, Ryan must pull double duty to find the killer and take care of her daughter.

Ryan was in the lab filling out paperwork when a call came in, a murder in a suburban neighborhood. He traded out his lab coat for his jacket, and met Natalia out by the garage.

"You got the address?" he asked, starting the Hummer.

"Yeah, 317 Jamison Avenue, out in Coral Gables," she replied, already plugging the address into the GPS. "Horatio's gonna meet us there."

"317 Jamison Avenue," Ryan softly repeated, the address familiar. "No, it can't be."

"You know the house?" Natalia asked, concerned at Ryan's reaction.

"I hope not," he said, turning out onto the road, praying that he was wrong.

Ryan's prayers went unanswered, as the house the GPS directed him to was one he was well familiar with. He grabbed his kit from the back of the Hummer and went into the house, bracing himself for what he might find.

The living room was spattered with blood, evidence of the violent crime. Ryan forced himself to look at the victim, and his heart broke when he saw that it was indeed Maria Hartfield that lay in the pool of blood.

"No, not her," he breathed, kneeling by the body.

"Mr. Wolfe, do you know this woman?" Horatio asked, coming to stand by him.

"Her husband was my partner when I was on patrol," Ryan replied. "He died last year, traffic stop gone bad. Their daughter… Oh no, Sofie."

Ryan bolted out of the room, running up the stairs to one of the bedrooms. Stopping to take a breath, he slowly opened the door, one hand automatically going to his gun.

"Sofie, are you in here? It's me, Ryan."

He heard shuffling come from the direction of the closet and stepped over to it. Opening the door revealed a terrified twelve-year-old. He holstered his piece, and knelt in front of her.

"It's okay, Sofie."

"Is Mom dead?" she asked, voice wavering as she hugged her knees tighter.

Ryan's throat tightened as he nodded. Sofie whimpered as a tear escaped down her cheek. His heart broke for the little girl. He couldn't imagine losing both parents in the space of a year.

"C'mere," he said softly, pulling her into his arms.

He rubbed her back, quietly soothing her as she cried. She held on to him tightly—no doubt afraid of losing him, also—as did he. He put on a brave front for her, but he was shaken. Ben and Maria Hartfield had been like family, and losing them was devastating.

A throat being cleared in the doorway brought Ryan back to reality. He looked up to see Natalia standing there, and she gestured to speak with him. Reluctantly, he disentangled himself from Sofie.

"Hey, I want you to meet a friend of mine," he said, pulling back. "This is Natalia. She's a CSI like me. Natalia, this is Sofie."

"I'm pleased to meet you, Sofie," Natalia said with a smile, but all she got was a nod in return.

"Listen, I need to talk to Natalia for a minute, but I'll be right back."

Sofie bit her lip, and Ryan could clearly see she wanted to object, but she nodded again, and left her spot next to him and sat on her bed. Even though it was only for a minute, Ryan hated to leave her. Sighing, he stood and followed Natalia out into the hall.

"What's up?" he asked, doing his best to reign in his emotions.

"Tom's bagging the body now," Natalia said, trying not to come off as callous. "Also, Horatio said that, because of your personal connection, you don't have to work the case."

"Yeah, I do," he insisted. "Maria was my partner's wife. Sofie's my goddaughter. I'm not about to let this guy get away."

Natalia nodded, wanting to argue, but knowing that with Ryan, it was futile to even try.

"Have you called Child Services?" she asked, deciding it best to change the subject.

"Child Services, what for?"

"Ryan, both of her parents are dead. She has to go into the custody of Child Services until the court assigns custody. It's standard procedure, you know that."

Ryan knew she was right, but the idea of forcing her to go into a group home, even temporarily, unsettled him.

"You call them. I'm gonna stay with her until they get here."

Natalia nodded, and turned back towards the stairs, already talking to Child Services. Not happy with what he had to do, he went back to Sofie. Her sobs had quieted, though some tears still managed to make their way out.

"Hey, how about we go out back, get some fresh air?" he asked, hoping for some response. All he got was a shrug, but at least it was some acknowledgement, and he took her hand and led her down the back stairs, away from the bloody living room.

"Sofie, there's something I need to tell you," he said as they sat on a bench on the back patio. "Someone from Child Services is on the way. You're gonna have to go stay with them for a little bit."

"What?" she asked, turning towards him and allowing him to see the fear she felt at the idea of being sent away. "No, please, Ryan, don't make me go!"

"I wish I didn't have to, believe me. But it'll only be for a little while, and I'll make sure you're okay. I'll check on you every day, and you can call me whenever you need to, okay?"

He could tell she was trying her best not to cry again, and he wrapped an arm around her shoulders, pulling her to him.

"It'll be okay, Lady Bug."

They sat like that for several minutes until Ryan realized that she had fallen asleep. A breeze had kicked up, so he took his jacket off and laid it over her as he slid her down to lay on his lap.

All too soon, a woman in a starched charcoal grey suit walked out.

"Officer Wolfe, I'm Cynthia Martin, Child Services," she introduced herself. "I take it this is the girl?"

"This is Sofie," he replied, none too pleased by her detached attitude.

"Of course. I'm going to need her to come with me."

Fighting the urge to tell to woman where she could shove it, he leaned down and gently stroked Sofie's hair.

"Wake up, Lady Bug, it's time to go."

"No," she protested, not moving.

"I wish you didn't have to, Sofie, but you have to go," Ryan sighed. "It's only for a little while, I promise."

Sofie sat up and threw her arms around his neck. Ryan knew that the longer she stayed, the harder it would be to make her go, but he was unable to force her away. Fortunately, she pulled back voluntarily.

"Promise you'll catch him."

It was less of a request and more of a command, one he readily accepted, "I will."

Somewhat satisfied, she turned to leave with Cynthia, still reluctant but assured that Ryan would make sure everything went as it was supposed to.

Ryan sat there and watched her round the house. He took a moment to gather himself before returning inside. Maria's body was gone, but the blood remained. A switchblade with Ben's initials engraved on the handle lay a few feet from where Maria had laid, evidence of her attempt to defend herself and her daughter. Horatio and Natalia were photographing and collecting evidence, taking care not to disturb the red pool on the floor.

"Child Services just picked up Sofie," he told them.

"How is she?" Natalia asked, genuinely concerned and sorry for her previous attitude.

"She just lost her only remaining parent, how do you think she is?" he snapped, and then cursed himself when she flinched. He shook his head, "Sorry, I'm just-"

"Ryan, you don't have to work the case if it's too close," Horatio advised.

"Thanks, H, but I promised Sofie I'd find her mother's killer," he protested. "So if it's all the same to you, I think I'll stick around."

Horatio nodded his acquiescence, and Ryan began taking samples from each blood spatter. There was a chance that Maria had managed to wound her attacker before being fatally shot.

Ryan could feel Horatio's gaze on him the entire time they were in the house. Ryan couldn't blame him; if he were in the lieutenant's shoes, he couldn't say he would do any different. However he was determined not to do anything to give Horatio a reason to remove him from the case.