Busted
The jarring sound of a cell phone ringtone sliced through the pre-dawn darkness in Calleigh's bedroom. A tanned muscular arm reached out from underneath the plush white comforter, and the sound of a grunt could be heard as the hand attached to that arm patted around the nightstand looking for, and finding, the offending cell phone.
Eric sighed as he eyed the time on the alarm clock and flipped the cell phone open. "Delko," he answered groggily.
"Eric?" the voice on the other end questioned.
"Yeah, H… it's me," Eric stated as he gently disengaged himself from around Calleigh's nude form, running a hand down his tired face as he began to sit up.
"Eric… Eric, I um… I was calling for Calleigh."
Startled, Eric looked quickly at the phone and his eyes widened when he realized he'd picked up Calleigh's cell phone. 'Shit!' he muttered under his breath.
He gazed down at Calleigh as he thought about what to do and quickly came to the conclusion that there was no sense in lying about it, they were busted. No amount of subterfuge would work on the man who made Mala Noche gang members give up information, the man who so easily read people like a book.
"Uh yeah, sorry H… she's right here."
Eric hated to wake the sleeping beauty. She had a serene look on her face, a smile on her lips, and briefly he wondered what she was dreaming about. "Calleigh", he called out softly as he lightly shook her shoulder.
Calleigh merely sank deeper into her dreams; her lips parted and a soft moan was the only sound she made.
Trying again, Eric reached out with his fingers and lightly drew her blonde locks back off her face. Unable to help himself, he drew his fingers through her hair and down the silky soft skin on her back. "Baby… it's H." He winced at the slip of his tongue, knowing Horatio had to have heard the term of endearment slip from his lips. Mistake number two this morning and he hadn't been awake five minutes yet.
Calleigh's eyes immediately popped open at the mention of Horatio and she bolted upright. In the glow emitted by the cell phone she was able to make out Eric's face and the cell phone he held in his hands. The open cell phone. Her open cell phone. She stiffened, giving Eric her best death stare.
The death stare was short lived. She could never stay mad at him for long and she almost smiled at the puppy dog look of apology on Eric's face. After closing her eyes in resignation and mouthing the words 'Damn it', she took her cell phone from Eric's hand and greeted her boss with a very hesitant "Horatio?"
Reaching out with a finger, Eric tucked Calleigh's hair behind her ear and leaned over to place a lingering kiss on her shoulder. He moved his hand in a light caress over her back as he listened to her end of the conversation.
"Yes, no problem… uh huh… where was that again?" Eric's eyebrows shot up when she looked over at him, "Uh… okay, sure…" He watched as she snapped the cell phone closed and stared at it like it was a severed head.
"Calleigh?"
Calleigh slowly turned her head to look at him, lips slightly parted. "He um… he said to bring you with me."
Eric gaped at her. This could not be good.
...
Horatio stood on a porch in Coral Gables next to the dead body of an old woman, legs apart, hand on one hip, other hand holding his cell phone next to his ear. His eyes were not on the dead body, but on Detective Frank Tripp, who stood on the other side of the body.
On the third ring, the other end of the call picked up.
Quite unexpectedly a man's voice answered, "Delko."
A look of confusion on his face, thinking he'd pressed the wrong speed dial number, Horatio lowered the phone to look at the display. No, the display clearly said 'Calleigh Duquesne'. "Eric?" he questioned, earning a surprised look from Tripp.
Frank knew Horatio was calling Calleigh. It was very early in the morning and from what he could gather, Eric was answering Calleigh's phone. Things had definitely gotten interesting.
"Yeah H… it's me," Horatio heard Eric say.
"Eric," he smiled softly and shook his head. "Eric, I um… I was calling for Calleigh." He almost laughed, picturing the look on Eric's face, hearing the faint 'Shit!'
"Uh yeah, sorry H… she's right here."
This was going to be good, Horatio thought to himself as he listened to the commotion on the other end of the phone. His eyebrow shot upward when he heard Eric call her 'Baby', and he knew then that this was not a casual 'friends with benefits' relationship, or two people going too far after getting drunk at happy hour. To him, it appeared they had been together for a while, and their relationship was far deeper than he thought.
After greeting Calleigh and telling her where to be as soon as she could, he thought he would make them squirm for a little while. He didn't normally play with people, but Eric and Calleigh were two of his favorite people, and knowing what he now knew, he decided he could have a little bit of fun for a change.
"Oh, and Calleigh," he said cryptically, "bring Eric with you." Without waiting for a response, he closed his phone and chuckled softly.
"Spill it," Tripp demanded.
"No… no Frank, I don't think I can do that." He looked at the man pointedly. He wasn't going to divulge any personal information, but he was sure Tripp could figure out what was going on without his help.
While he waited for Eric and Calleigh to arrive, Horatio mulled over the situation and watched the new ME examine the old woman's body. He'd always thought Stetler's rule about fraternization was created just to harass people. He also knew that if two people could make it work, it was Eric and Calleigh. Hell, up until now, he didn't even know the two of them had been seeing each other.
Less than an hour later, Horatio looked up to find Eric and Calleigh strolling toward him, kits in hand. His lips twitched in amusement at the almost hesitant way they walked, at the contrite look on Eric's face, and the look of embarrassment on Calleigh's. Looking beyond them he noted only Eric's car parked next to his Hummer and gave them points for not trying to cover their tracks by taking separate vehicles.
He peered over the rim of his sunglasses at them when they stopped on the other side of the body. His eyes took in the pink hue to Calleigh's cheeks, and the fact that Eric's eyes were looking everywhere but at him.
He decided to make them squirm just a little longer. He peered over his sunglasses at them. "Eric… Calleigh."
Pausing, he took off his sunglasses, watching their gazes shift to him as they waited expectantly for him to lower the boom. Snickering inwardly, wanting to draw out the moment, he indicated the body at his feet with his dangling sunglasses and began, "This is Elaine Dawson. Cause of death as you can see is strangulation, although she does have stab wounds on her back and buttocks. The initial crime scene is in the house. She appears to have crawled out here in an attempt to flag down some help."
He pointed toward the front door as he continued, "There's quite a bit of blood in there, so that's the primary crime scene." He paused again as he straightened up and placed both of his hands on his hips, sunglasses dangling from his fingertips, as if he was getting ready to impart some bad news. But he said nothing, just watched as they shifted their stance and waited until they were both looking directly at him.
He almost laughed out loud when they both began to talk at the same time. "Horatio, I…" and "H, we…"
Their words were quickly stopped when Horatio interrupted them, "I…," He paused to put his sunglasses back on, winking just before he did so. "I know nothing," he stated softly, then turned and left the scene, leaving two shocked people in his wake.
Eric looked at Calleigh. Calleigh looked at Eric. She began to giggle in relief, as Eric shook his head and looked skyward, as if thanking God for having the boss that he did.
Really, Eric thought, there was no need to be nervous. They should have known Horatio would stand behind them. He gazed lovingly at Calleigh and murmured, "I love you."
"I know you do," she stated simply, a beaming smile lighting up her face. "I love you too. Now let's get to work," she added as she grabbed Eric's free hand and headed for the front door.