Edited by csimiamifan89

Destiny POV

A big Miami sun was rising over the clear blue water that lapped against the shorelines, already giving way to that hazy look as the temperature started to climb to 80 degrees. I finished getting ready in my tiny, one bedroom apartment that overlooked the beach below me by scraping my unruly red hair back and ruffing it up with gel. Making sure I looked good I glanced down at my outfit. Jean shorts that were well short but not short enough that it would cause those annoying horny teenage boys to wolf whistle after me.  Anyway, those shorts were paired with one of my favorite t-shirts, it was blue and had a dragon on the front curling upwards towards the v-neckline; the only thing was, it was slightly see through. Hence the plain white tank top underneath. I smiled at myself in the mirror, then swiped my sunglasses off the dresser. I slipped them on over my bright, blue eyes, something my mother had once told me that I had inherited by my father. Even though I had no idea who he was, my mother pointed out our similar features quite often while I was growing up. I think a side of her missed him, even though she never told me why he was gone in the first place. I saw a photo of him once, the strange thing was he did look almost identical to me minus the female features of course. I grabbed my keys and left my apartment, locking up before I headed down to the lobby. I said hello to the same older couple like I always do then headed to the small café that was just around the corner from me. They served the best pancakes and milkshakes something my mother used to make me.

Thinking of her made me sad. Today was the 1 year anniversary of her passing and I planned on making a visit to her gravestone with a fresh bouquet of flowers just to say hello.

I scarfed down my breakfast to soothe my rumbling stomach, paid and thanked the waitress, then took a stroll through the sand on my way home. A cool breeze brought relief to the sweltering heat, but it wasn't enough to stop the fine sheet of sweat from developing on my skin. A few dogs played fetch with their owners, mother's played in the sand with their children and several bikini clad teenagers skipped out on school for the day to sunbath in the sun with their friends. I smiled to myself and shook my head, it was going to be one of those good days where nothing went wrong.  

A gunshot rang out. I jumped, my heart racing as I looked around. People were running away, screaming, mothers grabbing their children while other not so startled witnesses looked around in confusion. It brought back memories of when I was a police officer - horrible memories that often plagued my dreams at night and turned them into nightmares. I shook my head and focused on the chaos at hand, no time to dwell on the past anymore.

I may not be a patrol officer anymore but I'm still going to help, I thought, as I pin pointed where the shot came from I jogged towards it. Beach huts, perfect cover for a murder.

A man in dark ripped jeans, a black leather jacket and a black motorbike helmet hiding his face came out of the hut holding a gun, MRI Desert Eagle to be precise. I stopped dead in my tracks, hand reaching out of instinct for my side arm. As his head swiveled around, I froze. Well shit, I thought as he advanced towards me. I back pedaled rapidly, brain scrambling for any kind of training I could remember to help me gain some distance on this creep. Suddenly I tripped, landing face first in the sand. Coughing, I moved to get up when a hand was grabbing the back of my shirt and hauling me up off the ground. I struggled as he turned me around, the hand that held the gun raised high in the air. For a second, time seem to freeze as I recalled every waking detail of that horrible day that brought my career as a patrol officer to a screeching halt. Right before his gun smashed down on my head I caught sight of my terrified expression in the reflection on his helmet before everything went black.

#

#

I slowly came to, as the sound of a crackling radio and voices chattering in the distance reached my ears. A seagull shrieked high overhead and as my eyes opened a blue sky with a blinding ball of yellow in it caused pain to exploded behind my eyeballs. I groaned and turned my head to the side. A man in a white shirt was walking beside me. Confused, I squinted at the patch on his shoulder. Miami EMS. That meant........with a gasp I sat up abruptly, startling the young paramedic on my right. The other one however seemed unfazed by my sudden outburst for he put his hand on my shoulder.

"Whoa, take it easy ma'am," He cautioned. "Don't want you giving yourself another concussion."

I looked around to see people behind yellow crime scene tape and 2 hummers parked a couple of meters away. Two patrol cars were acting as stakes for the crime scene tape for it was wrapped around the vehicles side mirrors. People were all milling about, taking photos with their cameras and trying to catch a glimpse of the people working inside the closed off area.

"I'm fine thanks" I slide off the stretcher.

I swayed as the world suddenly tilted a terrifying 90 degrees, before righting itself and sending a tingling sensation all throughout my body. The paramedic gently grabbed me by the arm and sat me down on the back of the ambulance. I felt like crap but I kept telling them I was fine and didn't argue any further when they insisted that they clean my head wound.

As I sat there in my own little world, a man in a black suit with a dark blue striped under shirt, bright orange hair and rimless sunglasses approached me. 

"Ma'am, my name is Lieutenant Horatio Caine from the Miami-Dade Crime Lab, how are you feeling?" He took off his sunglasses and tilted his head ever so slightly to one side. I froze for a second then looked at the ground, panicking a little on the inside. 

It's him, my mum told me about him before she.....passed, I quickly snapped back to reality after I realized that he was waiting on an answer.

"Um I'm fine, thanks Lieutenant." I winced as the paramedic applied an antiseptic wipe to my wound, the smell of the alcohol burning my nostrils.

"Did you see what happened?" he asked, looking down then looking back at me. The paramedic put two white steri strips over my wound and walked away. "Well I was walking along the beach, then I heard a gunshot, people running and screaming and when I went to investigate a guy in a black motorbike helmet come out of the hut, he had a..a" I closed my eyes to trying to remember what gun he had. 

My mind clicked. "He had a MRI Desert Eagle and whacked me with it. I don't know how he got away though. That's all I know." I told him, letting out a big breath and looking down at my hands that were wound tightly in my lap. 

"Okay, one of my CSI's is going to collect a DNA sample from you if that's alright?" He stated as a blonde haired girl approached next to him. She was a lot shorter then him with bright green eyes and a wide smile

I couldn't help but return it, even though it felt forced. "Yeah that's fine and my name is Destiny, Lieutenant Caine." I said not knowing why I felt compelled to tell him my name. Maybe it was because there was a good chance my mother had told him either before or after I was born. Or maybe I was just hoping some part of him would remember something in his past and we would have one of those sappy, father/daughter reunion moments like the ones you see in the movies. 

He smiled a little "Well Destiny this is CSI Calleigh Duquesne she's going to take your DNA, okay?" He put on his sunglasses and put his hands on his hips. I nodded slightly and he walked off to what I presumed to be the other team members.

"Hey Destiny you can just call me Calleigh," She said with that wide infectious smile. She had a strong southern accent which I seemed to like and got out a long white rectangle box, opened it and pulled out a swab. I opened my mouth and she swabbed the inside of my cheek and popped it in a small box. Once she closed her kit, she fixated her green eyes on me. "Have you done this before?" 

"No but I've seen how it works back when I was on patrol." I put my sunglasses on my head. 

"You were a police officer?" She asked, looking slightly startled.

"Yeah I left a while ago, I had to look after my mum but she passed away." I said softly, briefly looking down at my hands again. They had wound themselves a little tighter in my lap.

"I'm sorry for your loss." She replied, sympathy clear in her voice. 

"Thanks Calleigh." I looked up at her and smiled.  

"Well you're free to go now, you look after yourself okay?" She smiled, picking up her kit. 

"Okay cool thank you." I got up from the ambulance, brush my pants and shirt with my hands to get the sand off and looked around. There were still people standing behind the tape but you could tell that a few people had gotten bored and left. Good thing too, who the hell wants a photo of a dead body on their phone?

I put my sunglasses on face and put my hands on my hips. I turned my head to look at the ocean; It was still flat with the waves rolling into shore. I turned to look down the beach; it was strange seeing how empty it was, besides the crowd at the crime scene. There was maybe two more groups hanging out farther down, seeming unfazed by what just happened moments ago.

I sighed, my head starting to sting a little. I winched and lightly touched the steri strips. The tender skin pulsated in pain and I took my fingers away. I should probably let that heal. I took a step and started walking toward home but I stopped and looked back at the crime scene to see Horatio looking in my direction with his hands on his hips. I smiled putting my hand in the air, he copied and then I dropped my hand as his attention was snagged by one of whom I presumed was his CSI. I turned and continued my walk home. 

How am I going to tell you who I am, Horatio?

Horatio's POV

I walked into the DNA lab to see Natalia hard at work. 

"Miss Boa Vista have you got the DNA results yet?" I asked holding my sunglasses in my hands. Natalia looked at the screen then turned to me. 

"It's almost done, Horatio," She replied. The computer pinged and she turn back to the screen. "Our DB has a name...Sam Creed. No wife, no kids several priers for DUI, B&E...man this guy was trouble," She said, reading the screen and glancing at me. "Hmm okay so he might have made some enemies."

"Is there anything else Natalia?" I questioned looking down at the ground for a moment then back to my DNA expert. 

"Nothing more on him but one of the samples we got from the witnesses caught my curiosity. The girl that got hit by the shooter...Destiny," She looked at me, I turned my body to the left and tilted my head slightly to one side as my curiosity peaked.

"What about her?" I asked. 

"I may be wrong but when I ran her sample and got her DNA profile, I noticed that she has the same last name as you Horatio." Natalia turned the screen so I could see it. 

I looked at Destiny's profile that was displayed. I must say she did look a bit like me with the orange hair and blue eyes. Could she be related? I thought. 

"She does look like you Horatio" Natalia said with a little bit of confusion in her voice. 

"Natalia compare my DNA with Destiny's then we well know if you're right." I said, feeling a ball of emotion beginning to build inside of me.

She nodded, turned the screen back towards her and typed away on the keyboard. I put my sunglasses on the table and leaned over, putting my arms on the table also. 

It didn't take long for Natalia to compare the DNA, her large brown eyes widening as the computer beeped. "It's a familiar match Horatio, s-she's your daughter" she had shock and surprise written all over her face as she turned the screen again. 

It's 98% match to my DNA, I thought. I felt a strange yet good feeling come over me. 

"I have a daughter." I let out a breath that I hadn't been aware of holding. 

"What are you going to do Horatio?" Natalia asked. 

I looked at her "I'm going to find her. What's her address?" I asked, even though we had a murder today, finding out that I have a daughter is more important.

"153 Ocean Drive, Apt 27, Miami Beach, It's not far from the crime scene." She said. 

"Thanks Natalia, good work." I put my glasses on, took the elevator to ground level and jumped into my Hummer. As I drove I had many questions running through my head. What do I say to her? Will she believe me? Would she want me in her life? That same ball of emotion from earlier exploded in my chest and all I could do was sigh and wait till I got to my destination for the answers I seeked. I parked the car, slid out and looked up at the high rise building, placing my hands on my hips "Here goes nothing".