The day had turned into night, and the CSIs of the Miami-Dade County dayshift were finishing up last minute paperwork. "Hey Lauren," Eric Delko said walking into the Trace Lab.
"Hey Eric, what's up?" Lauren Wolfe asked initialing the last page of her paperwork.
"Calleigh and I are heading out for some dinner with a few other people. I think your brother is coming to."
"I would love to, but I can't. I got hockey practice in about an hour or so. And Eric, my brother has a name, it's Ryan." Lauren grinned at Eric.
He was still giving Lauren's younger brother, Ryan Wolfe a hard time. Ryan joined the team in September after Tim Speedle - better known as Speed - one of their own was shot in the line of duty. They needed an extra pair of hands while he recovered, and Lauren knew her brother would be a perfect fit. He was eager and willing to do as asked, and was looking for a career change.
Eric laughed. "I know. You know I like to tease you about it, and I can't believe he's been here four months already."
"I know! He's doing a great job too." Upon hearing the door open the two look to see who it was. "Hey Calleigh!" Lauren said to her co-worker and ballistics expert, Calleigh Duquesne.
"Hi, I came by to steal Eric away. Everyone is ready to leave. Are you coming with us? Ryan is coming."
"No, I have hockey practice, but if I didn't, you know I would."
"Okay, see ya tomorrow then," Calleigh said in her sweet southern accent. Eric said goodbye to Lauren and followed Calleigh out.
Lauren finished up her paperwork and headed up the stairs to turn it in to her boss, Lt. Horatio Caine. She smiled when she saw Homicide Detective, Virginia Caine, Horatio's wife, sitting in one of the chairs across from him. "I hate to interrupt this little chit chat, but I have some paperwork for you, H," Lauren said smiling as she handed Horatio the folder. "It's the paperwork on the Jennings Case."
"Thanks sweetheart," Horatio said taking the manila folder from Lauren and returning the smile. "You headed out then?"
"Yeah, I have hockey practice in an hour. Hi Virginia!"
"Hi honey, how are you? I didn't get to see you today I got stuck in court."
"I'm good and I heard. Not fun at all. You two doing anything fun tonight?"
"No, not really. The kids want to go see a movie," Virginia said.
"That sounds fun. What are you going to go see?"
"Not sure, but the kids want to see The Incredibles for what, honey like the hundredth time?" Horatio chuckled and agreed with his wife.
"That was a cute movie," Lauren said with a smile.
Virginia arched an eyebrow and asked, "When did you see it?"
"About a month ago when it came out. Speed and I went. He had physical therapy that day so once he was finished we went out to eat and decided to go see a movie."
"You two have been hanging out a lot with each other lately," Horatio said interested in what was going on with his two CSIs.
"Yeah, I'm helping him with his recovery. His parents aren't much help, which is sad, pathetic really. Plus, he's staying with me until he's ready to move back into his apartment," Lauren said smiling. "Well, I better get going I have to be at the rink early. See you guys tomorrow!" Lauren hugged them and said her goodbyes.
Lauren headed down the steps, and made her way to the locker room to grab her stuff and head out. When she walked in Speed was there. "Hey Speed-o!"
"Hi, Lauren. You leaving?" Speed asked grabbing his motorcycle helmet off the top of the lockers. It was the only thing that didn't fit in his locker.
"Yeah, I got hockey practice. See you're leaving, you going anywhere tonight?"
He chuckled a little and said, "Yeah… a date."
"A date? Oh really? Who is she and do I know her?" Lauren asked intrigued.
Speed just laughed as he put on his black leather jacket. Yes, he had a date and he couldn't believe he was going out with her. About five months ago, before he had been shot, he was on a case involving a murdered adult film star. He later met a friend of the victim while searching for the victim's dog. In the end she gave him her number and told him if he ever wanted to hang out or grab some coffee to call her. Naturally he would have said no and he did at first because she was part of the investigation, but later changed his mind. He couldn't believe he was doing this. He was breaking his rule.
"You're like a nosey little sister aren't you? I'm going out with Sara Piper."
"Sara Piper, better known as, Cookie Divine? Nice Speed, although she seems like a nice girl. Didn't you say that you had a rule about dating someone involved with an investigation? No dating co-workers or people related to an investigation, and I'm not a nosey little sister, I care about you and I want to know... okay maybe a little bit nosey."
"I did. I thought one date wouldn't hurt."
"I see. You going to break the co-worker rule next?" Lauren asked teasing him. Speed grinned. The two walked out to the parking garage together in silence.
"Good luck tonight at practice. I'll see you later," Speed said waving goodbye to Lauren.
"Thanks. Have fun with Cookie tonight. I won't wait up for you." Lauren winked at him, got in her car, and drove off.
Speed had to laugh. He loved her sense of humor. She could always make him laugh, and life was always better when she was around, which made him think back to what she had said earlier, the no dating co-workers rule. He would wait and see.
Lauren's night had gone from terrific too horrible in a matter of hours. After practice she got a call from her mother, wanting her to come over. She agreed, but as soon as she arrived she regretted it. Her older sister was there with her husband and three kids. This was another lecture about getting married and producing children. The worst part was her mother asked Angela, her sister to bring some of her guy friends over. Lauren had been humiliated. Why couldn't they leave her alone? She apologized to the men and left.
Sitting on her bed, phone in hand, and TV on, Lauren was talking to her best friend, Margaret Coors. "Maggie, you should have been there. I mean I cannot believe they went that far. I'm still young I have time. Just because they were married at my age doesn't mean I have to be. Pretty soon Ryan is going to get this treatment, and it's seriously embarrassing," Lauren complained.
"They actually brought over guys for you? Were they hot and did you get their numbers?" Margaret asked.
"Maggie, come on! No I didn't get any numbers. I was humiliated." Lauren spooned a large amount of ice cream into her mouth. It was peppermint stick ice cream. Her favorite.
Speed pulled into his parking spot, shut off his Ducati motorcycle, and headed up the Lauren's apartment. He opened the door and said, "I'm home, Lauren!" No answer came. He figured she was in bed so he walked down the hall to check on her. He was surprised to see her awake talking on the phone.
"Hey Maggie, I gotta go, Speed just came home. I'll call you tomorrow after I get off of work."
Speed looked at Lauren. Something was off. She was usually cheerful after she came home from hockey practice. "You okay, Lauren?"
Lauren half laughed and said, "Parents, you gotta love them." She shoved another scoop of ice cream into her mouth. "She tells me, 'when you going to get married, have kids, and get a better paying job?' It never ends, Tim. Pretty soon she's going to start bugging Ryan." Lauren paused for a few seconds then continued, "The thing that pushed me over the edge was the fact that she had my sister, my sister, Speed, bring guys over to the house. She tried to get me to go out with them. I was so humiliated and embarrassed. I got up and left."
"You know she's just trying to help. She wants to see you happy," Speed said as he sat down on the bed.
"Yeah but she's forcing them on me, and I'm not going to change my job. I'll find someone when I find someone. She needs to back off. Just because she was married at my age doesn't me I have to be," Lauren said annoyed as she got up to throw the ice cream carton away. "I love my parents, but sometimes they just need to get off my case for just five minutes." She stopped in the bathroom to wash the stickiness of the peppermint ice cream off her hands. Speed sat on her bed and waited for her to return.
While on his date with Sara, all he did was compare her to, Lauren. Lately, he had been comparing everyone to Lauren. He was falling for her more and more every day. If it weren't for her he would probably be at home, and working full time instead of taking it slow. He would've stopped physical therapy once he felt well enough to go back to work. She even, for the first couple of months hid his Ducati from him.
Lauren returned to her bedroom, Speed was lounging on her bed looking up at the ceiling. Lauren stopped and stared. For the first time, she realized how handsome Speed really was. "How was your date with Miss Divine?" Lauren asked grinning.
"A waste of my time, all the guys kept hitting on her," Speed said as he felt Lauren lay down beside him.
"Shocker!" Lauren said laughing as she realized she forgot to set her alarm clock. Leaning over Speed she reached for the clock. Speed smiled, but Lauren lost her grip and fell on top of him. She began to laugh, which made Speed laugh.
Lauren managed to sit up without slipping again. "We better get to bed. We to have work tomorrow."
"But I'm comfortable," he said.
"Chop, chop, Mr. Speedle. I need my sleep and you know what happens if I don't." Lauren grinned and brought her face close to his.
"Yeah. You turn into Miss Grumpy Pants." Lauren playfully hit him on his good shoulder. "Hey, not fair!" Speed said grabbing Lauren and rolling her over so he was on top of her. Bending his head he gave her lips a quick kiss before getting up and heading to his room. Lauren laid there in shock for a few seconds, but a smile soon crept onto her face.
Speed slipped on a pair of pajama pants and headed back to Lauren's room. "Speed, can you stay with me tonight?" Lauren asked pulling her bed covers back. She slid in and patted the side next to her. Speed slipped under the covers and snuggled up against her.
Lauren draped her arm over his waist and snuggled into him. She closed her eyes for a moment. When she opened them they locked eyes. "Kiss me again," she huskily said. Leaning forward he captured her lips with his. Speed broke the kiss, looked into her deep green eyes, and kissed her again, this time with a little more force.
As he took her in an intense, passionate kiss, he tugged at her shirt and pajama shorts; she pulled them off. Lauren grabbed his pajama pants and pulled them down; Speed kicked them off. Lauren fumbled in her bedside drawer for some protection. She handed it to Speed.
Speed looked Lauren straight in the eyes and asked, "Are you sure you want to do this?"
"Absolutely," she said quietly. "Are you?" He bent down and kissed her right above her left breast; he kissed her on the side of the neck; he kissed her glossy lips. She took that as a yes.
The next morning, Lauren jumped at the sound of her alarm clock ringing in their ear. She fumbled and hit the off button. "Speed wake up," she said kissing his lips. He didn't move. "FIRE!" Lauren yelled jokingly.
"What?" Speed yelled quickly sitting up in bed. Lauren began to laugh hysterically. "I'm taking shower first," Speed said heading to the bathroom.
"No way! You took all the hot water last time," Lauren said getting off the bed and running toward the bathroom.
"Well, we could always share the shower," Speed said catching up with her, and scooping her up in his arms just as Lauren's cell rings. "Now what?" Speed growled.
Lauren answered it seeing Horatio's name displayed on the screen. "What's up Horatio?"
"I need you to do me a favor."
"What's that?" While Lauren was talking on the phone, Speed quickly hopped into the shower.
"Call out to Biscayne Bay. Alexx is on her way there now."
"What happen at Biscayne Bay?" Lauren asked looking for some clean clothes. She made a mental note to do some laundry tonight. Grabbing her bra and a clean shirt from her dresser she quickly got dressed. Heading out to the kitchen Lauren grabbed a cereal bar.
"We have a 31 on the beach."
"Okay, am I the only one going out there?"
"Eric is on his way now."
"All right I'm on my way out now. I'm just gotta let Speed know."
"I'll see you in a little while."
Lauren ended the call with Horatio. "TIM, I got a call out, see you later at the lab," Lauren called sticking her head into the bathroom.
"See you later!" he said with a raised voice so Lauren could hear him over the running water. Speed sighed as he heard Lauren head out the door.