Minor spoilers for 13x16 Last Woman Standing.
Enjoy! :)
Just as they were leaving CSI, talking about what kind of desk he'd like to have in his office, they nearly bumped into Greg. Ecklie immediately noticed a blush on his daughter's cheeks, but he wasn't sure if it was caused by embarrassment of nearly bumping into him or by something else.
"Sorry, I…" she started to stutter, obviously unsure of what she really wanted to say. Greg seemed just as unsure: "It's okay, I, eh…"
He nervously put his hands in his pockets, only to get them out again the very next second. "I, eh, just wanted to make sure you were okay."
"Oh, yeah, I'm fine," she quickly said. "I, eh, was just about to go and have dinner with my Dad."
"Right." A quick nod, but Ecklie had already seen the hint of disappointment on the young CSI's face.
"It's a bit of a celebration," he explained. "I've signed all the paperwork, so now I'm officially Sheriff Ecklie!"
"Really? Congratulations!" Greg seemed genuinely happy for him, which surprised Ecklie a little since they had never really spoken that much together. Was it because he was Morgan's Dad? Then he realized Greg would always be genuinely happy for someone, whoever it was. He was such a nice guy, maybe even a little too nice sometimes, but definitely nice enough for Morgan. And Ecklie knew he'd never hurt her, which was another reason for him to like Greg as Morgan's boyfriend. If he'd ever really become Morgan's boyfriend… Or was he already? Ecklie wasn't sure and as Morgan's Dad, definitely not as sheriff, he wanted to find out.
"Thanks, Greg," he said to the younger man. "I just felt like celebrating a little, so I made reservations for dinner for me and Morgan."
"Well, I won't keep you any longer then," Greg decided with a small smile.
"Actually… why don't you join us?" Ecklie suddenly suggested. From the corner of his eyes he saw Morgan looking up at him in total surprise, but with a slight hint of excitement in her eyes.
"Oh, I don't want to intrude," Greg hesitantly said.
"You wouldn't be or I wouldn't have invited you," Ecklie said to him. "What do you say? Would you like to join us? My treat…"
Next to him Morgan seemed to hold her breath.
"Alright then," Greg finally smiled. He didn't seem to notice Morgan let out a happy sigh, but Ecklie definitely did. He pointed to his car. "Well, let's go then!"
During the short car trip to the restaurant, Morgan sat next to him in the passenger's seat and Greg quietly sat in the back. After they had been shown to their table at the restaurant, the two of them seemed to have switched roles as Morgan suddenly fell quiet and Greg started talking.
"It must be really great for you to be the sheriff now," he said. "I remember you were the dayshift supervisor and now you're the sheriff… I mean… that's amazing!"
Ecklie smiled almost shyly. "Yeah, I guess it's been quite a career… Although I prefer not to think about my time as dayshift supervisor anymore. I was horrible back then!"
After the waitress had taken their food order, he and Greg continued talking about the past years at CSI. They talked about how the dayshift would pretend to be better than the graveyard team, about the discussions between Grissom and Ecklie, about how Ecklie had been promoted while Grissom had been perfectly happy remaining the graveyard shift supervisor and about notable cases Ecklie had worked. The most notable one was of course the one where the body from Ecklie's crime scene had disappeared and was later found with a party hat and a cigar in his mouth. Greg still remembered the case as well, even though he had been working on another case with Sara at the time.
"Grissom probably told you all about it," Ecklie grinned. Greg nodded, grinning as well. "Oh, yeah! I think I still remember the guy's name, Billmeyer or something?"
Ecklie nodded. "Yes, that's him! Oh, I still remember how I blamed David in Autopsy for losing the body, while he had nothing to do with it at all! I don't think I even apologized to him afterwards…"
Smiling, he took a sip from his drink, looking at his silent daughter. "You okay, sweetie? You've been kinda quiet!"
"Oh, yeah, I'm fine!" she quickly said, maybe even too quickly. She pointed to something behind him. "I think that's our food."
As they ate, she remained quiet, while Greg asked him a few more questions, which led to a light, cheerful conversation. After dinner Ecklie tried again: "You sure you're okay, M? You know, maybe this dinner was a bad idea after everything you've been through tonight."
"No, Dad, I'm sorry, I…" He saw the tears appearing in her eyes, but before he could say anything, she had already stormed out of the restaurant. Greg quickly got up as well, but then hesitated.
"Is it okay…" he started and Ecklie immediately nodded. He followed the younger man with his eyes as he left the restaurant and found Morgan outside. Through the window he could see the two of them talking, Morgan in tears and Greg touching her arm very carefully every now and then to comfort her.
Come on, Greg, just hug her, he thought, knowing a hug was exactly what his daughter needed. Not from her father, but from someone who cared about her just as much, but in a completely different way. Of course Greg didn't hear what he was thinking and he didn't hug Morgan… until she fell into his arms, crying. The way her shoulders moved, told Ecklie how upset she was, which hurt him deep inside. He hated seeing her like this, but he knew she'd pretend to be okay as soon as he'd step outside. So he just watched as Greg held her in his arms, gently stroking her back to calm her down. Finally, she looked up at him, her cheeks still wet from the tears. He gently wiped them away, which made a little smile appear on her face. He said something, something Ecklie of course couldn't hear. Morgan said something back, which looked like an 'I'm sorry'. Why was she saying she was sorry? Because she broke down? Ecklie had never wanted to be near his daughter so badly as now. What was she saying? What was Greg saying? He had a serious look on his face and Morgan just nodded in agreement.
"Would you like another drink, Sir?"
Startled, he looked up and saw a friendly smiling waitress standing next to his table.
"Oh, eh, no, thank you," he quickly said. "I, eh, think we'll be skipping dessert, so I'd just like to pay, please."
"Of course, Sir. Could you please follow me? We're having some trouble with our credit card system tonight and only the one at the cash register is working."
He followed the waitress, which of course meant he couldn't watch his daughter and Greg anymore. By the time he had paid and left the restaurant, they were already gone. He checked the perimeter to see if they were still somewhere close, but he just saw a note under his windshield.
Sorry about ruining the dinner. Can we celebrate some other time? M
A few more words had been added in another handwriting: Thanks for the invite!
Ecklie smiled, knowing Greg had written those last few words. He looked up again, the note still in his hand, and suddenly, he saw them. They were walking down the street, holding hands and smiling at each other. When they had to stop at a red light, they kissed each other, too happy to care about the people around them. Ecklie felt just as happy as they did, but for different reasons of course. His daughter finally had the boyfriend she deserved, but more importantly: he had managed to find out about it. He already couldn't wait for their next dinner together, knowing it would give him plenty of time to tease her a little about her secret relationship, which he approved for more than one hundred percent.