Title: Who You'd Be Today Author: CSICatts Rating: no more than T Pairing: Talleigh Warnings: CHARACTER DEATH Lyrics: “Who you’d be today” by Kenny Chesney Not beta'd If I've made any mistakes, feel free to correct me, but don't hound me for it please. Sunny days seem to hurt the most. I wear the pain like a heavy coat. I feel you everywhere I go. I see your smile, I see your face, I hear you laughin' in the rain. I still can't believe you're gone. Alexx had told her, she’d come into the bridal room and Calleigh knew that something was wrong. He was gone, he’d walked into the jewelry store, and he’d been shot. He was picking up their rings, the ones that they would slip on each other’s left hand ring finger after they would have said their vows. Calleigh felt like the wind had been knocked out of her. She sat there in the bridal room, in her wedding dress, clutching her engagement ring in her hand. This wasn’t supposed to happen to her. She was supposed to get married to the man she loved today. They were supposed to live happily ever after. Now she was alone in this room, looking as beautiful as she had ever looked. He’d always told her he was beautiful, no matter what she looked like. She loved him more than she had ever loved anyone else in this entire world. And now that one man was gone. Tim Speedle was gone, and she would never see him again. Calleigh didn’t move for a half an hour. She stayed in the same spot. She was kneeling in front of the mirror, looking down at her bouquet in her hands, along with the engagement ring. She looked down at her stomach, and the tears started to fall. No less then five minutes later, Horatio walked in and sat down next to her. He pulled her into his arms and rocked her back and fourth. He told her that she looked beautiful, and that Tim would have loved her dress. It only made her feel worse. She cried harder, thinking of how today was supposed to be the happiest day of her life. Ever since she’d met Tim she knew that she was one day destined to be Mrs. Speedle. But fate had turned on her, and now her fiancé was dead. He was never coming back to her. It ain't fair: you died too young, Like the story that had just begun, But death tore the pages all away. God knows how I miss you, All the hell that I've been through, Just knowin' no-one could take your place. An' sometimes I wonder, Who'd you be today? As she came out of the church, there were a few close relatives waiting outside for her. The first couple she went to were Tim’s parents. She went up to Mrs. Speedle and threw her arms around her. Both Horatio and Mr. Speedle watched them, two women with equally shattered hearts. Calleigh and Mrs. Speedle cried in each others arms, whispering small words of sorrow to each other. Mrs. Speedle told her that she looked beautiful, and how her son would have thought the same thing. The two women would never be closer then they were right now. The next person Cal went to was her supposed father-in-law. She looked up at him at first, not sure if it would be appropriate to hug him, but he answered that question for her. She took the broken, run down woman into his arms, and told her what ever other person here had told her; she looked beautiful. He stroked her hair like he would if he had a daughter of his own and then kissed her forehead as they pulled away. Would you see the world? Would you chase your dreams? Settle down with a family, I wonder what would you name your babies? Some days the sky's so blue, I feel like I can talk to you, An' I know it might sound crazy. Calleigh Duquesne, the intended Calleigh Speedle, sat in their empty house that they had bought together. They knew that it would be a good place to raise their kids one day. She had a room set out for the child that she was already expecting. How was she supposed to tell her son or daughter that her father was dead? One day they would say “why don’t I have a daddy like everyone else?” and Calleigh would have to answer it. Now she was in her empty home, with an empty heart, searching through her closet for her black dress. Tim’s funeral was today. She’d chosen not to make it an open casket. Tim had always hated suits, and she knew that if she had one that he would have to be dressed in a suit. She changed into her black dress and did her hair up real nice, and then headed out the door to Horatio’s car. He’d offered to take her, and she gracefully accepted. As they drove to his funeral, Calleigh thought of the life they could have had. It would have been a lot happier then it would be now. She would have lived the life she wanted with him, she still couldn’t believe this was happening to her. The service was the worst she had ever been to. Not because it was a bad ceremony, but because of the place, and the words said. It was in the same church she was scheduled to get married in just the day before. She’d never cried so much in her life, and it got so bad that she couldn’t even read the speech that she had planned. Alexx had to read it for her. Her life was falling apart into little tiny pieces right before her eyes. She didn’t know if she would ever recover. It ain't fair: you died too young, Like the story that had just begun, But death tore the pages all away. God knows how I miss you, All the hell that I've been through, Just knowin' no-one could take your place. An' sometimes I wonder, Who you'd be today? Five years later It was a warm day in Miami on September 3rd, 2011. It would have been their five year anniversary. She went to visit his grave ever year on their anniversary. Their little girl, Blair, was 4 years old now, and already knew why she didn’t have a daddy. Cal approached his grave, knowing that Blair was at home with Horatio watching her so that she could go see Tim. She placed the note that Blair gave her by his grave as her tears fell. “Hey Tim,” she said lightly. “Blair wrote you a note, she’s four years old now, I know she never met you, but she still loves you very much. She told me not to read it, so I didn’t. She said that she wanted it for your eyes only. She’s just like you Tim, she looks like you, she thinks like you, and she even has your eyes. I’m doing good for myself Tim, Horatio’s helping me take care of her, so that she has a father figure. I miss you so much baby, sometimes I think that every time I go on a date I shouldn’t be doing this, that I’m cheating on you, but I can’t raise our little girl on my own, without you it’s even harder. Horatio and I have been dating, but he understands that I’ll never get married. At least not yet. I’m still wearing the engagement ring that you gave me six years ago. It’s beautiful, just like you used to say about me. I wish you could have seen me on our wedding day. Everyone kept telling me I was beautiful, and that you would have said the same thing, but they didn’t have to tell me, I already knew.” Calleigh wiped away her tears and sniffled a bit as she looked down at his tombstone. She took a deep breath and laid down the flowers she had bought him. “I have to go baby, Blair is waiting for me, I told her I wouldn’t be long. I miss you so much Tim, I love you.” Calleigh kissed her hand and then touched the tombstone. She took one last look at it and then turned away and walked back to her car. She hadn’t returned straight home, instead, she sat in her car for a little and cried out the rest of her tears. Afterwards, she drove away from her love, her life, and her happiness. Sunny days seem to hurt the most. I wear the pain like a heavy coat. The only thing that gives me hope, Is I know I'll see you again some day. Some day, some day, some day. The end
Aww, excellent story. *wipes eyes* So sad. Poor Calleigh, lost her Speedy boy. *sigh* Don't you just hate it when that happens? Anyway EXCELLENT fic, I hope you write more stories and post them here.
*wipes tears from eyes* wow, that was just...fantastic. That was really well written, you're a great writer. Write some more soon.