Toe Steppin'
One
Eric didn't deny it.
It felt good giving that bastard Townsend a few good hits before forcing him out of the lab. He was just waiting; waiting for the day for the cowardly prick to make a move, and that day finally came. Until Eric got the call out for Nick's murder, he'd been gearing himself up for round two should the dumb ass set foot on the grounds of the precinct again. But he got the call, and he couldn't say he was too broken up over it.
That fucker...good riddance.
However, he remembered Natalia and that he had to be delicate in his approach. Even though Nick was abusive and possessive, he was still Natalia's ex...relationships like that were complicated, Eric knew and despite the fact that Natalia had betrayed him deeply, he still cared for her, still wanted to protect her because she was a woman, and Eric didn't believe in abusing women. He couldn't hit a woman if he tried, no matter how angry he became. Growing up with three sisters, he was taught to respect and protect women, no matter what the situation.
The fear that Nick invoked in Natalia was powerful, Eric could see it in her eyes.
Nick disgusted him, and there were very few people in his life that actually made him feel that way. Nick was a coward, a weak man, because it took a cowardly, weak, insecure man to beat on a woman half his size and strength.
He cared about Natalia, and it hurt him to see her so terrified.
The only regret he had about Nick was the fact that he didn't get to kill the man himself.
Either way, they closed the case, and he thought that at least he'd be able to salvage the shitty day he'd had by having a good evening.
He ran into Calleigh at the elevators.
"Hey," she said in her sweet accent and soft smile.
"Hey Calleigh," he said, grinning at her a bit. "Good job with Emma."
He heard about how she took care of the little girl in her case, how she'd sat with the child for nearly three house just listening as Emma talked about her fears, how she was going to miss her daddy. It was exactly the kind of thing Calleigh would do; there was no doubt that she would protect a child to the death if she had to. When she returned to work, Eric noticed a little glow in her face, a brightness in her green eyes. Suddenly, he began to picture her as a mother. She would be a great mother; caring, sweet, loving, protective...she would be a devoted mother.
She tilted her head to the side, modest. "Thanks. Emma's going to be taken care of. Her aunt decided to adopt her."
"That's great," he said. "A blessing for Emma."
She nodded her agreement. "So, where're you headed?"
"I don't know," Eric shrugged.
"Well, you wanna go get a drink with us?"
"Us?"
"Me and Jake."
Scratch that. He wasn't going to have a good evening after all.
That was another man that stuck in his craw almost as bad as Nick had, and this time, it involved Calleigh, whom lately, he couldn't stop thinking about. It was twisted, the way he was thinking about Calleigh lately; six months ago, if anyone had asked, he would have definitely said that she wasn't his type, that she was his friend and coworker. Of course he'd always had the faintest of crushes on her, any man would because it was just downright sexy that such a petite woman could handle guns the way she could. But he knew where the line was.
It wasn't until after Marisol died that everything changed. Calleigh had been a pillar of strength for him, for Horatio, and his family. She always had his back, no matter what, and that was when he began to reevaluate his life, reset his priorities and grow up, be more intentional with dating, really considering what qualities he would value in a woman, a wife. He had several, and they all had one common denominator.
Calleigh.
And she was dating Jake and she was happy.
It was typical that when he finally allowed for his heart to embrace his romantic notions toward her that there would be a road block.
Eric wasn't one for jealousy. He knew that Jake and Calleigh were in something resembling a relationship, and that was alright, why should it bother him?
Jake Fucking Berkley.
A damn idiot, that's what he was, and Eric was sure that Calleigh could do much better. He was willing to admit that she could even do better than him because he had a trail of debts and human carnage behind him; he was definitely sure that she could find a man much better than him.
He found that he was not only jealous, but envious, almost covetous, committing three of the seven deadly sins. This wasn't goddamned National Geographic's Wild Kingdom. He couldn't lay claim to Calleigh like he was some alpha male claiming the alpha female as the ultimate mate to dominate the Savannah...this was Miami and they were human beings with more evolved instincts and he had enough respect for Calleigh not to interfere with her relationship.
As far as his pride was concerned, well, it was hurt. While Eric would love to boot Jake out of the picture, preferably with his fists, all he could do was suck it up and accept the fact that Calleigh was dating an inconsiderate, low-class, dunce of a detective who had really convinced himself that somehow Valera and Boa Vista went all "Thelma and Louise" and conspired to kill Nick together. Such mind-numbing bullshit like he couldn't believe and it boggled the mind to think what Calleigh saw in him.
Jake was Calleigh's first love.
"Yoo hoo," Calleigh sing songed with a chuckle. "Eric?"
He snapped out of his thoughts.
"Yeah?"
"You want to come?" She asked.
"Sure," he agreed, against his better judgment.
She smiled brightly then as the elevator opened and they both stepped onto it. "Okay."
She pressed the button to go down and the doors began to close.
"Whoa, wait up!"
Slender fingers caught the doors and opened up again.
Eric set his jaw as Jake stepped onto the elevator and took his place beside Calleigh, who was now between the two of them.
Jake looked over at Eric.
"Hey," he said, wrapping his arm comfortably, yet quite possessively around Calleigh's tiny waist, that odd, rugged smirk on his face.
Smug little...
Calleigh stood in between the two men, unaware of the tension. He wondered if she'd deluded herself into thinking that her relationship didn't rub him and Horatio the wrong way. That they didn't care one way or the other.
He leaned in and planted a kiss on her cheek and she blushed, grinning.
Eric just looked straight ahead at the stainless steel doors of the elevator, hands in his pockets. He casted a quick glance at Jake, who was now playfully twisting a lock of Calleigh's hair in his fingers.
Goddamn it, the sight of that was a hard pill to swallow.
The elevator doors grunted open and the three of them stepped off.
"So, I'll see you at Tesoro's in thirty?" She asked.
"Delko's coming too?" Jake asked, looking slightly annoyed.
Eric smirked. "Yeah. I'll be there in thirty."
"Alright," Calleigh smiled and then she looked at Jake. "Ready?"
"Yeah," Jake said, then he looked at Eric. "I guess we'll see you there."
"You will," Eric confirmed.
Jake turned and followed Calleigh down the hallway.
Eric had the utmost respect for Calleigh, and he wouldn't do anything to hurt her, wouldn't do anything to undermine her relationship.
But Jake was fair game.
He knew he didn't approve, and that he thought Calleigh was too good for him. The fact that he was Calleigh's first love was irrelevant to Eric.
He was perfectly content with being her second because he knew that it'd be for life.
That notion was worth enduring an evening with Jake in tow.
Bring on the night.
So much for the growing up part.
TBC