Hey everyone, now this my first C.S.I Miami fic so be easy on me lol… I took a lot of liberties with this and changed a lot of their ages and back grounds and stuff but its all just for the fluff ok?
Thanks
Grace (aka bonesmad)
February
2002
As I sat they're clutching his hand praying he'd make it though, wondering if the crucifix I'd put in his hand would help in anyway, I thought about our long and complicated past. the team didn't know we'd grown up together. They didn't need to know. The past was the past. I'd left it behind years ago. But I knew we still had history.
February
1980
"Calleigh! Can you come down here please." My mother called up the stairs. I ran out of my room and down the stairs skipping the last two steps.
"Yes Momma?" I grinned. My two brothers were already standing in the hall.
"I want you all to met someone. This is Carmen Delko. She's going to be our new housekeeper." My mother turned to the woman standing behind her. "These are my children D.J. is thirteen, Benjamin is ten and my Calleigh is going to be six in two weeks time." She smiled at us. This new woman had darker skin then ours, was tall and was slightly rounder then my mother.
"Very nice to meet you all. So how do you like Florida?" she asked. She had a strange accent that I'd never heard before.
"It's ok. A lot sunnier then Darnell." D.J. said.
"Do you miss it?" she asked.
"Not really, we get to go back to the old house at the weekends." Benny shrugged. I didn't say anything. I wasn't sure what to make of her.
"Well I've to go out for a bit. I should be back later make yourself at home Carmen." My mother grabbed her bag and floated out of the room. We sat down with Carmen for a half an hour, well I did my brothers left after about ten minutes.
"So Calleigh are you always this quiet?" She smiled at me. I shook my head.
"just shy?"
"Not normally."
"You know I have a son about your age. He's going to be coming over here with me after school every now and again. I've already cleared it with your mother.
"He's six?"
"Yes since December." I smiled, as did she. I immediately loved Carmen's smile.
March
1980
"Calleigh hunnie I'm here!" Carmen called up the stairs.
"Hi Carmie." I said coming out of the sitting room.
"We're in the kitchen querido." She said. I skipped into kitchen. I loved when she spoke in Spanish to me. Carmen had been working for our family for a month now and I absolutely adored her.
"Hi!" I repeated jumping in the door.
"Call darling this my son, Eric." She smiled "Eric this is Calleigh Duquesne." I looked over towards our kitchen counter. He had the same dark skin as Carmen, with black hair and dark brown eyes. He smiled at me but I didn't smile back.
"Hi." He said waving I just looked at him for a second, just like I had with Carmen. Carmen crossed her arms and smiled at us. I didn't understand why.
June
1981
Over a year since I had met Carmen and Eric Delko, and I loved them both. I spent more time with Eric then I did my own brothers. He was my best friend, even though we went to different schools.
"Eric No!" I squealed as he splashed water up at me. He had been doing lengths of our outdoor pool while I sat on the edge, my feet swaying in the water. I didn't really like swimming, I wasn't very good. But Eric was excellent. He was faster then anyone I'd ever seen and he was only seven.
"What its only a little water!" he swam closer to me and went to grab my legs but I pulled them back quickly.
"Carmen help!" I said looking back at where she was standing doing the ironing.
"Eric leave Calleigh Alone, you know she doesn't like swimming." She laughed. She was always laughing at us.
"Chicken." Eric smiled. My eyes flashed red. I stood up and walked back towards the pool.
"What you say!" I said.
"Chicken… Pollo…"
"Nobody calls me a chicken! 'specially not you Eric!" with that I ran and jumped into the pool. When I came back up he was laughing.
"Ok you're not a chicken."
"I know." I smiled. My hair was stuck all over my face.
"Calleigh! What are you doing. You could get hurt." My mother came around the corner.
"Hola la mama como son usted." I beamed.
"Sorry?" she looked at me.
"I said hello mom how are you? in Spanish."
"Where did you learn Spanish."
"Eric… ysu madre me ensönan espãnol." I said slowly.
"Eric and I have been teaching her little bits." Carmen said. My mother looked over at her.
"oh right. No more jumping in like that Calleigh." She said and walked away. I knew she was probably just still angry about the big fight I had heard her and Daddy having when I had been in bed the night before.
"Come on Calleigh I'll race you." Eric laughed.
February
1982
"So Calleigh who are you inviting to your party next week." My mother asked. We were all sitting in the living room on one of the rare nights my parents were talking normally.
"The girls in my class I suppose, my cousins and Eric." I said listing them off my fingers. "And maybe Marisol." I added Eric's sister. he had three but Aleece was sixteen and Sofia was seven years older then us so I didn't know them that well, but Mari was only twelve so we played with her from time to time.
"Oh darling I don't think the Delkos, will be coming. It's Carmen's holidays so they're probably going away. Besides all your school friends mothers will be here Carmen would probably feel left out." My mother said.
"But Eric's my friend." I said.
"Eric is an acquaintance darling. Your school mates are your friends. Eric isn't the same as you. He's different to you. A different class."
"He's the same class Mommy, just a different school." I just looked at her. My father laughed.
"She doesn't understand Margret." He said. She looked at him.
"The Delkos will not be coming Calleigh."
"But he's my best friend." I frowned.
"I said no. just leave it!"
"Eric es mi amigo major!" I said standing up and leaving the room. When I got to my room a sat on the floor once again wondering just why my mother didn't like Eric.
April
1985
"Eric, Its happening again…" I whispered down the phone.
"What Call… are they shouting again."
"He's really bad tonight… I'm scared Eric."
"Where are the boys?"
"Benny went to D.J.'s but I couldn't because of dancing." I heard a crash down stairs and whispered softer, terrified he'd hurt me again.
"Calleigh go out to the hut and wait for me I'll be a while but just stay there." He said.
"Ok…" I said just as I heard a yell. Mom yelled back. She never hit, just yelled. "…Hurry Eric."
--------
"Calleigh…" I heard a whisper. Looking out the window of my tree house I saw Eric standing there with his bike. It was an hour since I'd rung him and I was cold.
"I'm here Eric."
"Are you ok?" I just nodded.
"Come on get your bike." He called out. "We can go to my house."
---------
He opened the door slowly, his parents didn't know he'd gone out, it was late. We snuck up the stairs. I looked around. The house was a lot smaller then ours which I found surprising since there was six in their family and only four of us lived at home now. The house was very colourful, with lots of strange decorations. My mother had all our stuff cleaned up if we took anything out, but there was things all over the house here. He opened a door and we stepped into a small room.
"This is my room. I get my own and the girls share." He smiled. It was about the same size as my parents bathroom. "You ok Cal?" he asked. I nodded. He looked at my arm and saw the red mark, I pulled down my sleeve. "are you hurt?" he was only eleven but he talked like an adult. Like Carmen.
"Not really… he doesn't mean it." I said. Quietly.
"Cal…" he was the only one that called me that. "… he shouldn't do that."
"It's ok he doesn't know." I say he didn't say anything, just sat on the ground in front of the bed. I say next to him. after a few minutes he started talking again. he told me the story about how they're teacher had caught on fire by accident by a candle. That made me laugh. He could always get me laughing. We must have gotten very loud though because Carmen came in the door after a bit,
"Eric what are you…" she started but she stopped when she saw me.
"Calleigh! What are you doing here it's past eleven o' clock." She said kneeling down in front of us.
"I'm sorry Carmie. I had to leave the house." I said. Pulling my sleeve further down my arm.
"Are they fighting again?" she asked. I looked up at her, she had never talked about my parents fights before. I didn't even know she knew about them. "Come on querido lets get you something to eat and ring your brother." She held out a hand and pulled me to my feet. The three of us went down stairs. Eric and I sat at the kitchen table.
"D.J. It's Carmen. Calleigh is here with me, I think her and Eric ran away… is it ok if she stays the night?" she looked over at us. "Great see you in the morning." She hung the phone up. "Come on lets get some ice-cream and you can both sleep in the living room."
I snuggled up under the big blanket Carmen had given me, on a big squashy arm chair. Our ones at home were cold and leather, but these ones were lovely and cosy. Eric put a video into the machine and sat in the chair beside me.
"Thanks for bringing me here Eric." I said.
"It's ok Cal, that's what best friends do." He smiled. "you know the boys at school mock me when I say my best friends a girl."
"Yeah?" I sat up.
"It's ok, I told them you're not a girlie girl."
"Too right! I can run faster then you remember."
"I'm a better swimmer then a runner."
"I beat your high score in the shooting game to…" I smiled
"Shh Calleigh the movies started!"
"Eric you think my Daddy would stop shouting as much it I learned about something he likes… like law or guns or something." I said after a minute.
"Maybe I don't know…"