This is my first multi-chapter fanfic. This is a story that takes place in season 9, after Eric has returned. What if Jake came back to Miami in hopes of getting Calleigh back? Will he succeed?

Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I own nothing

Chapter One

Returning With Hope

"Please fasten your seat belts as we prepare to land, thank you," the voice of the pilot said over the speaker. Jake did so as he looked out the window. He saw the city of Miami below him; he had missed this city. He missed how the skyscrapers and other buildings seemed to sit on the crystal clear water.

He had barely seen the ocean since he had to leave Miami, ATF seemed to like the idea of relocating him every other month, so it seemed, but never once was he next to an ocean. He had been seen Mt. Rushmore, the Rocky Mountains and the Great Plains, but he had yet to see an ocean in his year or so of hiding.

Now, he was getting his chance to return to Miami. ATF had finally given him the all clear to come out of hiding and the ability to return to Miami. The second he got that call he bought a plane ticket, packed his bags and said goodbye to Wyoming, where he had been placed at the time. The state was beautiful, of course, but he was starting to get cabin fever from being trapped inside, alone, the entire time.

Jake was already assigned to return to be a homicide detective at MDPD on Monday of next week; hopefully that would give him enough time to find an apartment to rent with the little money that he had. For now, he was going to have to stay in a hotel until he could find a decent place.

However, the one thing that made him truly happy about being able to return wasn't the job, the water, or even the idea of being to step out of his front door without the possibility of being shot. The best thing about being able to come to Florida was her.

The woman who he had known since college, the woman who probably had better aim than half the men in law enforcement and the woman he had been stupid enough to lose, Calleigh Duquesne.

They had zero contact in the last year, that was part of being incognito, no contact with the outside world. But he had heard things. Jake would open his laptop and read newspaper articles about MDPD or some other kind of public records to see if she ever came up. One night in late May, he stumbled across a rather disturbing article. He opened it and read the whole thing.

CSI Shoots Colleague

Last week, during a shootout, in which MDPD was involved, CSI Calleigh Duquesne was said to shoot her colleague and boyfriend, CSI Eric Delko, as he fled the crime scene as the shooting was taking place. Witnesses say that Delko had been driving his biological father, Alexander Sharova, whom he had only just learned about a few months back, away from the crime scene when Duquesne shot at the car.

Delko was able to drive away from the scene, however, the car he was suspected to be driving was later found crashed in the Everglades. Sharova, a known member of the Russian Mob, was found at the scene and Delko was nowhere in sight. Sharova was said to be covered in Delko's blood and was arrested at the scene, for reasons detectives didn't comment.

Delko was later found at the edge of the Everglades in critical condition. He was rushed to Dade Memorial later the same day. Doctors were unavailable to comment on how much damage Duquesne's bullet had caused Delko, who had already had had history of brain trauma in the past. They did however, inform us that he had miraculously survived with minimum brain damage.

Neither Delko nor Duquesne chose to comment on the events. However, we have gathered from a reliable source that both officers' jobs are on the line.

Jake wondered who wrote this article, he scrolled down to discover Erica Sikes wrote it. He had heard stories about this former news anchor, guess she switched careers. He didn't want to believe this story, for the reason of not wanting Calleigh to live with that, but after reading three similar articles he couldn't deny that Calleigh had shot at Delko and none of the people at MDPD commented if Calleigh's bullet had caused any damage. Jake soon learned later that both Calleigh and Delko got to keep their jobs, however, Delko resigned a day after returning. Jake hadn't heard anything since.

Jake knew he should have felt bad for Calleigh, but a part of him felt overjoyed. He knew that after he was gone Delko and Calleigh would probably start seeing each other. Jake always suspected she had a special place in her hear for Delko and it was obvious how he felt towards Calleigh. Reading the article had only confirmed his suspicion. But Jake did gather something else from that article; she and Delko had to be over. What else was supposed to happen after your girlfriend shoots at you and have possibly been the cause for your hospital stay? And then after learning that Delko left CSI…that pretty much confirmed his suspicion.

And with the call telling him he was safe again, the timing seemed perfect. He wouldn't be taking off anymore, Delko was out of the picture and Jake was coming back.

The plane began to descend toward the ground until it landed on the airstrip. The plane gradually began to slow. After waiting a few more moments, the pilot came over the intercom, again.

"Thank you all for flying, have a pleasant time in Miami," he said.

Jake unbuckled his seatbelt and stood up, he opened the overhead compartment and pulled down his duffel bag. He didn't bring all of his belongings to Miami, the rest would be sent to him when he found his own place. Jake flung his duffel bag over his shoulder as he walked out of the plane onto the terminal; he didn't attempt to push pass the people, knowing that they'd just shove him back and he'd end up at the back of the mob.

Once in the airport, Jake saw all the people rushing to meet their loved ones, all of them smiling at one another. No one was going to be meeting Jake here today; no one who would probably be halfway interested in seeing him knew he was coming. He just walked passed all the kissing couples and elderly people embracing their children and grandkids.

He collected his only suitcase from the conveyer belt and went to rent a car.

About an hour later, Jake pulled up to the front of the hotel, which was a good five miles away from MDPD. He climbed out of the Audi he had rented, grabbed his bags and walked into the hotel.

Jake wasn't sure which had been more packed, the airport or this hotel lobby. Tons of people were waiting to be checked in, most of them had tourists written all over them. Jake had a feeling this was going to be a long wait as he stood in line, he figured he may as well be doing something to take the first step in repairing his relationship with Calleigh. Jake was feeling confident, almost to the extent of being cocky, that with Delko no longer a part of Calleigh's life, that he had a pretty good chance of getting her back. All he had to do was prove that he still cared for her and had no intention of leaving again…right?

The line moved forward a little.

Jake rethought his strategy. Was it really that simple?

No, of course it wasn't, Jake thought with a sigh. Calleigh was a very complicated woman, for all he knew; she could have said screw all relationships after the incident with Delko. Maybe she changed in the last year or so. Jake's confidence had defiantly dropped with these thoughts.

But pondering the what ifs wasn't going to make anything better, so Jake pulled out his cell phone and dialed her cell phone, hoping he'd catch her on her lunch break. However, the phone didn't ring. Instead, her voice came on the line straight away.

"You've reached Calleigh Dusqene, sorry I missed you. Leave a message and I'll call you back," her voicemail said.

That was the first time Jake had heard her voice in God knows how long, he never realized how much he missed the Southern accent that fit Calleigh so well. He hadn't exactly planned exactly what he was going to say but the beep came at the other end and he knew he had to say something.

"Um…hi, Calleigh, it's me…Jake," he stammered, searching for the words as the line moved forward. "Um…I'm back in Miami, so…call me back when you get this it'd be great to hear from you…I guess I'll see you around…bye," he concluded, hanging up the phone, feeling like an utter moron.

Jake slid his phone into the pocket of his jeans, hoping Calleigh would get the message soon. The anxiety was killing him. The line moved forward.

"Fancy running into you here," said a female voice from behind him. He turned to see a young woman, with hazel eyes, looking up at him. She had a dazzling white smile that you would only see on an Orbit Gum commercial, which contrasted perfectly with her tanned skin and dark hair. Jake looked behind him to make sure she wasn't referring to someone else, because he surely didn't recognize this woman. But she was looking directly at him with the same picture perfect smile.

"I'm sorry, have we met?" Jake asked, trying to be as nice as possible, but in truth he really wasn't interested in talking to anyone…with the exception of one person.

The woman laughed.

"Not officially," she said. "We only just spent the last few hours sitting next to each other on a flight."

"Oh," Jake replied. Jake hardly paid attention to anyone or anything on the flight to know whom he was sitting next to.

"I guess you were pretty absorbed in the movie," she shrugged. She was obviously trying to make small talk as the line grew shorter.

"Yeah," Jake nodded, though the movie had held no interest to him; the main reason he had the headphones in was to avoid conversations with people.

Thankfully, he was now up at the check-in desk and didn't have to continue the conversation.

"Welcome to the Miami Beach Hotel," grinned the manager in a way so fake that Jake wouldn't be surprised if her face hurt. "Do you have a reservation?"

"Yes, for Berkeley, B-E-R-K-E-L-E-Y" he said.

She typed something in on her computer.

"Jake Berkeley?" she asked.

"That's me," Jake said as he handed her his credit card. He was checked in and assigned to room 502.

"Enjoy your stay," the manager said, handing him his room key and his credit card.

"Thanks," Jake said, turning towards the elevator.

"Bye," called the woman who had been standing in line behind him. Jake turned back and nodded at her before continuing for the elevator. Jake hit the button for the elevator, praying it would arrive before the talkative woman had the chance to check in and get on the elevator.

His prayers were answered by a ding! as the elevator doors opened. He let the two people exit before loading it himself and hitting the button for the fifth floor, where his room was. The elevator doors closed and it began to levitate up the floors. The annoying elevator music was slightly comforting to him, never a good sign. Either he was seriously jetlagged or he was losing his mind over this whole Calleigh scenario. Did he really stand the chance of her taking him back into her life? Jake wished he had thought this through before, but it was too late to turn back now.

Ding!

The elevator doors opened once again and he stepped off as he began to walk down the hall to his room. 499, 500, 501, 502. Got it. He slid his card into the lock until the red button turned green and Jake heard the faint click as the door unlocked. Jake opened the door as he walked into the suite.

It was like most hotels; clean, unlived in and, just like every other hotel in America, boring. Jake walked through the kitchen/den area to the bedroom in the back. It was just like Jake knew it would be; pale walls, white sheets on the lone bed and the feeling you just stepped into quarantine. Shaking off the uneasy feelings he had about stepping into the room, Jake threw his bag and suitcase onto the bed. He unzipped his duffel and the contents were revealed to him. On top of the clothes and other items was a small velvet box. Jake picked it up and opened the lid to see the diamond ring it contained. The ring was nothing too extravagate, he knew that wasn't Calleigh's taste, but it was a ring that would seem to suit her.

Jake bought it before he decided to return to Miami, it may have been a bit rash to buy an engagement ring before even knowing she would take him back. But he thought it would be in his best interest to buy one and there was no time like the present.

He happened to look over at the digital clock on the mahogany bedside table. One-thirty, the red numbers said, there was no way he was going to be able to stay in this shoebox room for the rest of the day. With that, he closed the box and put it slid it in his pocket. He picked up the rental car keys, his wallet and room key before heading for the door.

I'm sorry if this chapter seems a bit rush and not that interesting, I promise it'll get better. And I'm sorry if the details in the newspaper article are a bit sketchy, I haven't seen "Seeing Red" in a while and I can't remember all the details, I have the worst memory. I hope you enjoyed it nonetheless.

Please review!