Title: May Cause Drowsiness
Author: Carolina
Rating: PG-13
Spoilers: None
Pairing: E/C
Author's notes: This is an answer to a fanfic challenge posted at the CSI board at fanforum dot com. The challenge called for a character getting sick. This is just light and fluffy (hopefully). The challenge also called for it to be a short story. Pff. Me, short. Can you believe that? I am actually sick right now, so if it seems like this story doesn't make any sense, well, that's because it doesn't.

--
"May Cause Drowsiness" by Carolina
--

At exactly 8:23 in the morning, a sneeze reverberated through the Miami-Dade crime lab hallway, causing a brief silence before everyone went back to work.

In the A/V room, Ryan frowned and took a step away from the germ-riddled hapless. "Bless you."

"Thank you."

"Should you be working right now?" Ryan asked hesitantly.

Eric looked at him blankly. "Why shouldn't I?"

Ryan frowned and pointed as his own nose hesitantly. "You're... dripping from your nose."

Eric immediately wiped his upper lip with his sleeve before he reached for a tissue and blew his nose.

"I'm pretty sure you can't sneeze on the evidence. You know, contaminates it and all," the younger CSI argued, looking a bit disgusted.

"I'm fine," Eric said, struggling a little with the pronunciation of his Ns.

"You sure don't look fine," Ryan added, but was ignored. He continued to stare at Eric, and jumped back when the older man suddenly walked towards him. "Don't come near me!"

"Easy, I'm just reaching for some gloves," Eric said.

"Well," Ryan said, "if you're not going home, then please, at least stay ten feet away from me at all times."

Eric shook his head. "Not that I have to, because I'm not sick, but if I was sick, I'd tell you how ridiculous you just sounded."

"I think you just told me anyway," Ryan said and no sooner had he finished the sentence when Eric sneezed again. And again. "At least... borrow a mask from the morgue!"

"Would you relax? I'm not sick," Eric snapped.

"Either way... don't come near me," Ryan finished.

"Or what, you'll be forced to you use your pocket spray disinfectant?" Eric teased.

Ryan rolled his eyes. "They should make those, you know," he said, going back to work on his laptop but keeping an eye on Eric. Just in case.

"Good morning, boys," Calleigh sang cheerfully as she walked into the room, placing a thick file on the table.

"Morning," Ryan reciprocated; Eric replied with another sneeze.

"Bless you!" Calleigh smiled.

"Please do something about the human germ cannon over here," Ryan said.

Eric looked at him, aggravated.

"Are you sick, Eric?" Calleigh asked.

"No," Eric said, trying to feign ignorance.

"Uh huh," Calleigh said skeptically. She approached him and put her hand on the side of his face and before he jerked his head away from her touch, she could feel just how warm his skin was. "Eric! You've got a fever."

"I don't have a fever," Eric said. "Your hands are too cold."

Calleigh ignored that. "Come on, I'm taking you home."

"I'm not going home," Eric said stubbornly.

"Just keep him away from me," Ryan chimed in.

"You be quiet," Eric threatened.

"You can't be here if you're sick, you'll contaminate the evidence," Calleigh explained as tenderly as she could, but she could tell Eric's attitude would be a problem.

"Okay, we're fine then, cause I'm not sick," Eric replied with a miserable smile.

Calleigh's good natured demeanor suddenly disappeared. "Okay, now I'm not asking you to get off that chair and come with me, I'm ordering you to get off that chair and come with me."

Eric frowned disbelievingly and as he looked away, he muttered something under his breath.

"What was that?" Calleigh asked, arms crossed in front of her in a defiant stance.

"I said you're not the boss of me," Eric spat.

"Oh, what are you, five years old?" Calleigh said. "Do you want me to call your mother? Because I will call your mother."

"Ooooh!" Ryan teased.

Eric looked at Calleigh, trying to remain recalcitrant, but when it became clear to him that she wasn't backing down, he moaned and let his head drop on the table, defeated. "Why are you being so mean to me?"

"Because you're not cooperating," Calleigh said, matching his pitiful voice. "And I'll get even meaner if I come back and you're still sitting on that chair," she threatened and walked out of the room.

Eric, however, did not move a muscle. No use pretending anymore. Yup, he was sick. Miserable, to be exact. Every single one of his muscles ached terribly, his head was pounding and he felt like he had a wet toilet paper roll stuck up his nose. But today was an important day and he didn't want to miss it. He couldn't miss it. No way was he going home. No way.

"This is all your fault."

"Hey, I call in sick when I get sick," Ryan replied defensively. "That's why they call them sick days, so you don't have to work. And more importantly, so you don't walk around spraying germs in your co-workers' faces."

Eric didn't reply, but his body jumped into a sitting position when the door opened. After the room stopped spinning, he was relieved to see it wasn't Calleigh, walking back into the room to shoot him, but Horatio.

"Gentlemen, why aren't you on the field?" Horatio asked, hands akimbo.

"Delko's got the flu," Ryan said, ignoring Eric's exasperated sigh.

"Is that true, Eric?" Horatio asked.

"I'm fine, H," Eric replied.

Horatio narrowed his eyes and walked over, looking intimidating. "Say no."

Eric frowned. "What?"

"Say no."

Eric hesitated for a second before reluctantly replying, "...do."

"Go home," Horatio said.

"H—"

"Go home or lose your job, Eric. Take your pick," Horatio barked and walked out.

Eric shot Ryan a threatening look, but the young CSI just shrugged his shoulders. "I don't understand what the big deal is, you get a day off."

"The big deal is I have to be in court today. The big deal is I've been working on this case for weeks and today we may finally close it."

"So? Horatio can testify," Ryan said.

Eric didn't have neither the energy nor the patience to deal with Ryan, so he just let his cheek rest on the table again. He stared at the wall for what seemed like an eternity, trying to figure out a way to at least go to the hearing without Calleigh finding out. Not that he was scared of Calleigh... oh what the hell, he was scared of Calleigh. The woman could make Hitler look like Barney. But she was working a different case, which meant she couldn't keep her eyes on him at all times. Maybe he could sneak into court and testify real quickly. Of course, if she found out, the consequences could be devastating. Physically, especially. But hell, he would just have to figure out a way to get away with it, because he would rather die than let their suspect walk.

In his mind, he was formulating the details of his plan when suddenly a small cup full of green goo appeared in front of him.

"Drink it," Calleigh's voice ordered.

Eric sat up. "What is it?"

"It's NyQuil."

"Where'd you get it?" Eric asked.

"Alexx."

Eric picked up the little cup and stared at it suspiciously before he tried to give it back to her. "Don't want it."

"I didn't ask you if you wanted it, I asked you to drink it," Calleigh said.

Eric shook his head. "Ever hear the expression you can catch more bees with honey than you can with vinegar?"

"Ever hear the expression if you don't drink your medicine I'll force feed it down your throat?" Calleigh quipped.

Ryan chuckled. "I would do what she says if I were you."

Eric sighed again, pinched his nose, and swallowed the liquid down. "Yuck."

"It'll make you feel better," Calleigh said.

"In time for the hearing?" he asked, hopeful.

"Maybe."

Eric thought about it for a while and then put the little cup on the table. "Alright, hit me." Calleigh filled it again and Eric swallowed it down. They repeated the ritual one more time.

"Hey, you're not allowed to drink that much of it," Ryan said.

Eric picked up the bottle and turned it around to read the instructions. "Says here 'do not exceed four doses in 24 hours'."

"Yeah, but you can't drink all four doses at the same time. One dose alone causes drowsiness."

"It may cause drowsiness. May," Eric said, pointing at the miniscule letters on the back of the bottle like Ryan could read them from where he stood.

"Yeah. He's a big guy, he can take it," Calleigh said as she patted Eric on the back, feeling his skin burning even through two layers of clothes. She took the bottle away from him and screwed the cap back on. "I have to talk to Alexx real quick and then we're leaving."

"We may leave. May," Eric said as he folded his arms on the table and dropped his head on them. He never caught Calleigh's threatening look.

-2-

When Calleigh returned, Eric's upper body was completely draped over the table, failing to exhibit any signs of life. She walked over, placed her hand on his back and whispered in his ear, "Eric? Come on, we're going home now."

Eric barely moaned but didn't even move.

"Told him that causes drowsiness," Ryan said proudly. "But nobody ever listens to me, I'm just a newbie."

"I listened, Ryan," Calleigh said, trying to drag Eric out of his chair. "Not sure that your argument was very compelling, and the opposing council did have some excellent points."

Ryan thought about it for a while and then looked at her disbelievingly. "You drugged him on purpose?"

"Hey, I didn't force him to drink anything. It was his idea to take two more doses and you're witness," Calleigh said.

"You're evil," Ryan said and grinned. "I love it."

Calleigh smiled and nudged Eric. "Come on, Eric."

"Where?" Eric asked in a drug induced haze.

"Home. You're sick, remember?"

There was a pause before Eric whispered, "okay," elongating the word.

"Wow," Ryan said, impressed. "Don't come near me if I ever get sick."

Calleigh didn't reply, but smiled and winked at him. She helped Eric stand up and watched as he swayed back and forth a couple of times, trying to gain his balance.

"Are you okay?"

"The room is spiney," Eric said.

"It'll stop spinning when you get into bed, I promise," Calleigh said, swinging one of his arms over her neck. "I'll be back later, Ryan."

"Take some pictures!" Ryan called out as they left.

Calleigh dragged Eric out of the A/V room, one arm around his waist. It was taking him forever just to take one step, but it was definitely better than hearing him complain about how he wasn't sick. Eric was naturally easy going, but when he got stubborn, he got stubborn.

"You need some help with that?" Tyler asked as he walked by.

"Please," Calleigh grunted.

Tyler chuckled as he grabbed Eric's other arm and hung it over his shoulders. At that, Eric raised his head, looked at Tyler and smiled. "Heeeey, Tyler."

Tyler patted Eric's back as the CSI enveloped him in a hug. "Boy, he is really out of it."

Calleigh smiled and pressed the elevator button. "Three cups of NyQuil in less than ten seconds."

Tyler whistled, supporting Eric's weight. "How ya doing there, buddy?"

Still hugging Tyler, Eric merely muttered something incoherent against the technician's shoulder.

"Enjoy the trip," Tyler said, patted Eric again, and dragged him into the elevator.

Calleigh had to laugh. There would never be anything funnier than the sight in front of her now: Eric all snuggled up to Tyler and Tyler staring at the blinking elevator buttons like it was the most natural thing in the world. A few people came in and out of the elevator on their way down, all giving Tyler and Eric looks, but Tyler didn't even seem to think it was weird. He simply held Eric and waited for the elevator to reach the lobby.

The only thing she regretted at that moment was not having her camera.

With Tyler's help, Calleigh was able to drag Eric all across the parking lot and into her car. They struggled a little, trying to put the seat belt over him, and as soon as they shut the door, Eric rested his forehead against the window and passed out.

"Thanks, Tyler," Calleigh said, squeezing his upper arm.

"No problem," Tyler smiled. "If you need anything, you know my number. I make a killer mulligatawny."

Calleigh chuckled. "I'll keep that in mind."

"Alright, I'll see you later, sweetie. Don't give him such a hard time," Tyler winked and walked away.

Calleigh watched him go and got in her car. She looked at Eric for a moment, reached over and squeezed his forearm. He was practically burning. How had he been able to drive himself to work like that? It was a miracle he had gotten to work safely. Boy, was she gonna give him a hard time for that.

She decided to stop by the drug store on her way to Eric's place. Taking him with her was out of the question, he was practically comatose. So she left the window down and went inside to buy him flu medicine, tissues, soup, and lots of orange juice. When she returned to the car and shut her door, Eric's body jumped and he slowly opened his eyes.

Calleigh looked at him as she turned on the engine. "Good morning, star shine."

"What?" Eric muttered, looking even more confused than he sounded.

"How are you feeling?"

Eric looked around, trying to figure out where they were and what was happening. "Droopy."

Calleigh smiled. "We're almost there."

Where was 'there', Eric had no idea. But he trusted Calleigh with his life, so he rested his head against the window again and his eyes closed. She must have teleported them 'there', because Eric could've sworn his eyes had only been closed for less than two seconds. But suddenly she was turning off the engine, reaching for a bag in the backseat, and one look out the window let Eric know this was definitely where he lived. The door next to him was suddenly opening and he flinched away at the light of day. Calleigh grabbed his hands and helped him out. Hadn't she been on the driver's seat just now? What the hell?

The townhouse in front of him was spinning like they were in the middle of a twister and yes, he was pretty sure he had just stepped into The Wizard of Oz. Calleigh was the Good Witch of the North, Tyler was the tin man, Ryan the lion, he was Dorothy... no, wait, bad analogy. Maybe the townhouse was just spinning.

Calleigh let Eric rest against the wall as she opened the door. She flung the pharmacy bag over the couch and went back him immediately; his body was already on its way to the floor when she caught him.

"Eric, you're gonna have to help me here, you're a bit heavy," she grunted.

Eric muttered something unintelligible and really tried to stand upright and walk on his own, but his muscles seemed to have turned into jelly. He could only hang on to Calleigh and pray he didn't hit the floor face first.

When they reached the bedroom, Eric fell on the bed with a loud thump. Calleigh shook her head and undid his shoelaces, taking his shoes off and allowing them to fall on the floor. She opened his closet door and found a University of Miami sweatshirt inside. Hopefully that would be enough to keep him warm while she was gone.

"Wake up, Eric," she said. "Sit up."

Eric complained as he struggled to get into a sitting position. Couldn't hold it for very long, though; he immediately leaned into Calleigh's shoulder for support. Her body shivered as he breathed on her neck but she ignored it, took his shirt off and slid the sweater down his neck, all the while trying to keep him seated. It was a lot like dressing a baby, really. A 6'1", 180 lbs baby. When she let go of him, his body fell backwards and his head missed the headboard by a couple of inches.

She didn't hesitate much as she unbuckled his belt, unbuttoned his pants and began to tug them down, grateful he was wearing boxers today.

Lucidity briefly returned. Eric opened one eye and looked down; his mind was sharp enough to throw a quick joke as it struggled between drowsiness and clarity.

"Oh, I see what this is," Eric said, his words still slurred. "You accuse me of being sick, which I'm not, then you drug me and have your way with me." He let out a humorous sigh. "Well, go ahead, I suppose. If you must."

"Trust me, Eric, I wouldn't have to drug you," Calleigh said, folding his pants and laying them on the dresser. "You'd feel drugged afterwards."

Eric smiled briefly, eyes closed, before he drew the comforter over him and let the drowsiness claim his mind again.

Calleigh shook her head and walked back into the kitchen to pour him a big glass of orange juice. She briefly thought of heating his soup, but she doubted he would eat it anyway. So she walked back into the room, placed the glass on the night table, and knelt next to the bed. She pressed her hand to his cheek; he was still too warm. "You okay, Eric? Do you want some soup?"

Eric just moaned and shook his head, his face distorting into an expression of pain.

It nearly broke Calleigh's heart.

"Aw, poor baby," she cooed, eliciting a pouty lip and another moan. "Look, I'm leaving you some juice on the table. Drink it; it'll make you feel better."

At that, Eric opened his eyes. "Where are you going?"

"Back to work," Calleigh whispered.

"No, stay here," Eric whispered back.

"I can't, I have a case," Calleigh said, feeling like she was talking to a child.

But Eric's stubbornness suddenly kicked in. He grabbed her arms and with little energy, he pulled her into bed with him.

"Eric, I have to go!" Calleigh complained.

"Stay until I fall asleep," Eric whispered.

Calleigh let out a sigh as he snuggled up to her. She figured he was so out of it, it would probably take him all of five seconds to fall asleep, but no such luck. Every time she tried to get out of bed, he'd tighten his grip on her and pull her back down. So she stopped struggling after a while and decided to stare at the ceiling as his hold on her slowly loosened.

Finally, free at last.

But suddenly Eric took a deep breath and inched closer. "I wanna tell everybody about us."

It took Calleigh a while to decipher what he had actually slurred, and when she did, she analyzed the features of his face for a second before she placed her hand on his warm cheek and brushed her lips against his. "We can't."

"Why not?"

"We may lose our jobs," Calleigh explained.

"I don't care," Eric said, his hand finding its way under her shirt and resting on her stomach, fingers so long he could touch the edge of her bra. His words were still lethargic as he fought sleep. "I'm gonna quit."

Calleigh let out a sigh. She knew he was still drugged, and so sick he probably had no idea what he was even talking about. But still, there was a twinge of sincerity in his voice that scared her. Was he actually considering this?

"I'll quit; you can stay," he repeated.

Calleigh pressed her lips to his again; they were warm and dry. "You can't quit."

"Why not?"

"Because I'm ordering you not to."

He frowned, eyes closed the whole time like he was somehow having this conversation with her in his sleep and maybe he was, but then a moment of irrational emotions crossed his face. "I'm sick of hiding."

"I know," Calleigh said, kissing his cheek. "We'll tell them when the time is right."

Whether he was going under again or was satisfied with her response, Calleigh couldn't tell. But he let out a sigh and that was the last sign of life he gave her before he fell asleep. She slid out of bed and this time his arms simply lay limp on the mattress, and as she watched him there she briefly thought of calling his mother, at least one of his sisters - what if something happened to him?

But Eric's mother, uncharacteristic of the mother of an only boy in a family of four children, simply remained satisfied with the knowledge that Calleigh was taking care of him and reassured her there was not much to worry about. Apparently, Eric had been taking care of his niece just the day before and must have gotten the flu from her. Three year old Cecilia was back in day care today, which meant this was probably a twenty four hour bug – no need to worry too much.

So that gave Calleigh the peace of mind she needed to return to work. Horatio was waiting for her by the elevator to go over their case, Ryan made sure she stayed ten feet away from him at all times, apparently she could transfer Eric's germs onto him, and everyone else was too busy to even notice Eric was missing. Calleigh called him in the middle of the day and he picked up the phone, sounding a bit more lucid than he had before, but a lot more pathetic. Men. A small headache and suddenly they were on their deathbeds.

She found an excuse to split early and drove straight to his place. Everything in the kitchen looked exactly the way she had left it, which meant he hadn't eaten anything all day and that worried her a bit. When she walked into the bedroom, she saw him almost in the same position he was when she left, fast asleep. She pressed her hand to this cheek – his skin was cool now and she let out a celebratory smile.

As she turned to walk out, though, an arm snaked its way around her waist and suddenly she found herself in his bed again.

"Eric!"

"What took you so long?" Eric asked, smiling, tangling arms and legs together.

"I was working," Calleigh said defensively. "I assume you're feeling better."

"Yeah," Eric said. "How'd my case go?"

Calleigh smiled and threaded her fingers through his. "Guilty on all counts."

Eric's eyes opened wide he grinned. "You're kidding?"

"Nope," Calleigh said. "Horatio testified. The jury thought your evidence was strong enough to support life without parole. Only took them an hour to deliberate."

"Oh," Eric moaned. "I can't believe I missed that."

"So, congratulations, Mr. Delko," Calleigh teased, kissing his chin. "You might be in for a promotion real soon."

Eric smiled to himself. Could life get any better than this? Probably not. He was in bed with Calleigh Duquesne. He was doing better and better at work. Everything just seemed to be clicking, working out perfectly. And yes, the very notion of 'perfect' was probably a suspicious affair in itself, but he put that out of his mind for now. He wouldn't let paranoia ruin his happiness.

"Did your mom call?" Calleigh asked.

"Yeah, she's bringing me some food."

Calleigh's body immediately tensed up and she swung her legs over the side of the bed. "Now?"

"Later," Eric said, watching as she relaxed a bit. He reached over and pulled her closer again, depositing a lazy kiss on her shoulder. "She knows, Cal."

Calleigh's eyes widened and she looked at him over her shoulder. "You told her?"

"No, she figured it out," Eric said.

"How did she figure it out?"

"I don't know, she's my mom. How do moms figure things out? They don't. They just know."

Calleigh let out a sigh. So this whole time, Eric's mom has known. Which means his dad probably knows, and his sisters probably know; even his families in Cuba and Russia must be getting the news right now. And if his mom could figure it out, what made her think Horatio wouldn't? The man had a radar for a brain. He spent twelve hour days around them, he had eyes on the back of his head... oh, this was a disaster.

"Besides," Eric said next to her, tearing her mind away from her paranoid thoughts. "You told Tyler. So I'm allowed to tell one person."

"So you told your mom," Calleigh said.

"No, I didn't tell her, she figured it out on her own. I still get one person."

"You could've denied it," Calleigh said.

Eric ignored her accusatory tone. "I think I'm going to tell... Valera."

"Oh, Valera?" Calleigh exclaimed. "You tell Valera and five minutes later it'll be on CNN."

"Well, that's my choice. You had your choice, now I get mine. I choose Valera," Eric smiled.

Calleigh sighed and shook her head. "You're teasing me."

Eric chuckled. "Yeah."

She smiled, closing her eyes and relaxing. But then she opened them again, feeling the need to get things clear. "I told Tyler because he's my only girlfriend."

"I know," Eric said. "But I still think we should tell them."

Calleigh wasn't so sure, but she didn't say anything, simply lay there, feeling tired and hearing Eric sniffle every once in a while. It was getting dark outside, and she was beginning to get a bit hungry, but a sudden laziness took over her and just the idea of moving one muscle seemed torturing. But then that torture felt sort of good. She hated feeling lethargic, but there was something about spending a lazy afternoon wrapped around Eric that always left her feeling rejuvenated. Laziness yielding to energy. There was a weird thought, but it happened every single time.

"Stay here tonight," Eric suddenly whispered in her ear, not a question, not quite an order, either.

Took Calleigh a while to reply, feeling like she had just taken three hits of NyQuil herself. "Your mom's coming."

"So? She already knows."

"Yes, but she doesn't know that I know she knows," Calleigh said.

"I'm not even gonna try to process that sentence," Eric muttered, closing his eyes. He felt her hand rest on his cheek again, probably to see if he had a fever. Compulsive thoughts tended to dwell in Calleigh's head when she worried, so he took her hand and kissed it. "You're very sexy when you play nurse, did you know that?"

Calleigh opened her eyes, laziness forgotten. "Yes. And speaking of, why didn't you call me?"

"When?"

"When you started feeling sick. Do you know how dangerous it is to drive when you've got a fever?" Calleigh asked, her voice rising to a disciplinal tone. "You could've killed yourself. Don't ever do that again, Eric."

"I'm sorry," Eric said in a pitiful voice and waited until she cooled off next to him to inch closer and kiss her neck apologetically. "Are you mad at me?"

"Yes," Calleigh said, given away by a small smirk on her face.

Eric kissed her skin again. "I drank all the orange juice."

"Good."

Another kiss, giving him the impression he had somehow transferred all the heat onto her. "Are you going to take my temperature in naughty ways?"

Calleigh laughed, feeling all the anger and worry melt away. "You can be so disgusting sometimes."

Eric smirked. "Yes, and you're staying here tonight."

"I may stay. May."

-3-

At exactly 8:28 in the morning, a sneeze reverberated through the Miami-Dade crime lab hallway, causing a brief silence before everyone went back to work.

In the A/V room, Ryan frowned and took a step away from the germ-riddled hapless. "Bless you."

"Thank you."

"Should you be working right now?" Ryan asked hesitantly.

Calleigh looked at him blankly. "Why shouldn't I?"

Ryan frowned. "You're sick."

Calleigh chuckled, a bit nervously. "No, I'm not."

"Yes you are," Ryan said. "Two days ago, Delko was sick. And now you're sick."

Calleigh shifted on her seat uncomfortably, feeling exposed. "I don't know what you mean."

"I told him to wear a mask. He probably sneezed on you, didn't he?" Ryan asked.

Calleigh relaxed. That was close. "Yeah, he did."

Ryan shook his head. "Well, you know the rules."

"Ten feet, I know," Calleigh said, and watched as Ryan reached into his back pocket for a mask and covered his nose and mouth with it. "Do you know how ridiculous you look right now?"

"Better safe than sorry," Ryan said, his voice muffled.

"Good morning," Eric said cheerfully as he walked into the room.

"Morning," Ryan muttered.

Eric frowned when he saw the mask over Ryan's face, and then looked at Calleigh, who was trying very hard to appear normal, and he understood. Eric shook his head, smiled at her and motioned towards the door. "Let's go."

The end