Title: Catalyst
Author: Natalie
Summary: When something reaches its end, Something new is reborn.
Disclaimer: My therapist still maintains that CSI: Miami and all its characters don't belong to me... who would have known!
Rating: PG and not a thing over!
Pairing: Horatio/Calleigh, as if my muse would allow anything else.
Spoilers: The Best Defence
A/N: Ok so this fic is another Insomniac Production, meaning me and my mate phantom made another bet! She is my silent co-founder in this fic, and partner in Crime. This is how it started, I was sitting at my computer writing my current fic CSI/CSI:Miami crossover, Phantom was overseeing the operation, made a passing comment that I couldn't write anything under PG anymore. So me, being as stubborn as I am, Said you wanna make a bet on that! And so the rules were laid down...
No Sex and/or anything relating to sex
No Bedroom scenes or reference to a bedroom
No exposed skin or removing of clothing
Had to take place as we are now in this season, (which for us Aussies, we only saw 'The Best Defence' few weeks back.)
Has to be PG
I think that was it...
As always I wanna thank Phantom, who inspires me more than words can say, I would be nothing without her and would definitely not be writing this good without her guidance and support, thanks for taking me under your wing Chickdee! Also the two songs used are "Too Lost In You" - Sugarbabes and "Head for the Barricade" - Limp Bizket
and you can find my Dust Jacket I made for this Fic, here..
http:67.18.37.18/1131/25/upload/p2335153.jpg
Anyways on with the Fic!
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I'm too lost in you
Caught in you
Lost in everything about you
So deep, I can't sleep
I can't think
I just think about the things that you do
I'm too lost in you
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Whose side are you on?
I didn't know the evidence took sides!
Calleigh jumped slightly at the sound of Horatio's cough.
Shit, she thought to herself, she didn't want Horatio to see her arguing with John.
"Is this urgent detective?" Horatio cocked his head to the side, his steely eyes resting on Hagen.
He had heard their voices down the hallway, and as he got closer they had started to raise more. Horatio knew Hagen would never hurt Calleigh, but he had to make sure she was ok and can handle him. He had stood at the doorway, listening for any indication that Calleigh might need him to jump in.
When Horatio watched John take a step closer to Calleigh and ask her whose side she was on, that was it; Horatio had stepped into the room and made his presence known.
Hagen narrowed his eyes at Horatio, and then replied, "It can wait."
He then turned back to Calleigh, and gave her a look that said 'This isn't finished'.
Calleigh straightened, and meet his gaze fully, she wasn't about to back down. After a few seconds, he turned and left the room, giving Horatio one last glare.
Calleigh sighed and closed her eyes, this wasn't happening, this was the last thing she wanted Horatio to see. She didn't want Horatio to think that any man could walk all over her, even Hagen. She didn't want to appear helpless in front of him.
Frustration and anger boiled to the surface. How dare John come to her place of work and jump down her throat like that. She was just doing her Job, the evidence doesn't lie! If the girl was guilty, the evidence would show this.
"You ok?" Horatio asked attentively.
"Fine." Calleigh snapped at him and she instantly regretted it. She inwardly cursed herself, this wasn't Horatio's fault. Her eyes came up to meet his and she saw his concern. It was all just too much.
"I gotta go... I've got to be somewhere." She muttered lamely, ducking out from under his intense gaze. Calleigh grabbed her keys and brushed past him, heading straight for the hummer.
Horatio stood there for a second watching her leave.
"Ok then," he mumbled to himself, then he turned and quickly followed her out of CSI HQ.
---
Calleigh accelerated hard as she pulled out of the CSI parking lot. The hummer's engine roared to life as she manoeuvred the mechanical beast out into the traffic, driving it hard, fast and without mercy.
She flicked on the radio, and changed the station a couple of times before settling on one. The music was heavy and loud, and at the moment just what she wanted. Guitar solos and booming drum beats blared through the speakers, reflecting her mood.
Cuz i'm ready to rock and now I'm playin' for real
I gotta... fight.... fight
Calleigh stopped at a red light, the engine purring. She sighed frustrated. Bloody Hagen, she honesty couldn't believe the nerve he had. His arrest jacket, that's all he cared about, not the truth, not that a innocent girl could be going to prison for something she didn't do, his only care was that he got a confession, guilty or not, he got it.
You'd better watch out when my adrenaline kicks
I gotta... fight... fight...
The light turned green and Calleigh pushed the accelerator down hard, the Hummer jumping to life, like a race horse out of its stall. Calleigh let the music wash over her, her head moving slightly in time with the drum beat. She focused all her anger on the music, and it slowly drained it from her.
Calleigh, who was so heavily focused on the music, barely heard her cell phone go off. She reached over and turned down the music, then plucked her cell phone off the passenger seat.
"Duquesne"
"So, where are we going Cal?" Horatio's husky voice hummed through the phone causing a tingle to pass through Calleigh, starting at her ear and spreading throughout her body.
"What are you..." she trailed off as she looked in her rear-view mirror. There he was a few meters behind her, in her Hummer's identical twin.
"I don't know," She began again.
"Well let me know when you do, ok."
And with that he ended the call, as quickly as it had begun.
Calleigh closed her cell phone and tossed it back on the passenger seat, she glanced in her rear-view mirror again, yep he was really there.
Calleigh cranked the music back up and continued driving, but her eyes continued to drift back to her re-view mirror, focusing on Horatio. What the hell was he doing, why was he following her? She knew he cared about everyone on the team, but she really didn't expect him to care this much, that he would follow her out of CSI HQ while they were suppose to be working on the Club shooting.
This wasn't fair of her to drag Horatio away from CSI, away from the case, to let him worry about her. Calleigh made a quick decision and took her next right, pulling into a small parking lot that was completely empty. Her gaze drifted down to the identical isolated strip of beach.
When she stepped out of the hummer, the fresh salt breeze hit her and her hair tumbled around her shoulders softly. She walked across the sand, moving to the waters edge, she glanced over her should once. Seeing Horatio standing next to his hummer, hands on his hips, eyes on her.
Horatio stood there watching her, his hands automatically coming to rest on his hips. His eyes followed her as she neared the waters edge, he wasn't sure if he should follow her. He thought about staying put for the time being and waiting for her to come back, and then talk to her, giving her time to herself. But when he saw her look back over her shoulder at him expectantly, he started his way down the beach.
Before Horatio reached her, he removed his sunglasses from his eyes taking away the barrier, silently telling her, he was there for her.
He moved up beside her, but stay a few meters away, giving her some space. He couldn't predict her mood, as she hadn't yet looked at him, her eyes were trained on some point on the horizon. So he sat down on the dry sand, and decided to wait it out.
Silence drifted out between them for at least 10 mintues, Horatio not wanting to push her and Calleigh still trying to rehearse what she was going to say to him. Calleigh opened her mouth to begin, but then her cell phone came alive, beeping furiously at her.
Calleigh sighed frustrated, then muttered 'Sorry' to Horatio and unclipped the offending item from her belt. She looked at the screen, two words flashed annoyingly at her.
John Hagen.
Calleigh's jaw clenched tightly, her anger raised swiftly, and without even thinking her arm swung back violently and threw the still beeping electronic device into the stormy waves below.
Horatio watched in interest, as her eyes cloud over when she looked at her cell phone. But her next movement almost made him burst out laughing. As he watched her cell phone go sailing into the deep blue waves and land with a tiny splash, all he could think of was never to get on her bad side.
He bit his lip trying to contain a small laugh from erupting from his mouth, as if on queue she turned on him. The fiery glow of her eyes, met his deep velvet ones, hers daring him to say anything about her little tantrum.
Horatio broke the contact and turned back to look at the spot her cell phone had landed, and sunk to the watery depths below, then without looking at her he spoke.
"You just threw your cell phone into the beach."
His eyes met hers again, and his lips twitched up into a small smile. Calleigh blinked once. Twice, then she cracked. A smile played on her lips and an exasperated laugh bubbled from her throat. Her hand came up to cover her eyes as she continued to laugh.
When her hand dropped back down to her side, Horatio noticed her once glowing green eyes were glassy and her laughing had ceased. She forced a smile at him, but knew instantly that Horatio would see straight through it.
"Come here," Horatio reached out, beckoning her to him.
Calleigh hesitated at first, not quite sure what to do. All she had ever wanted was for Horatio to wrap his arms around her, so she can feel loved and protected. But now after showing her lack of control, showing her soul to him, she didn't know if she wanted it. She didn't want him to be wrapping his arms around her in pity or sympathy. Only love.
Calleighs eyes meet Horatio's and in one look, she saw all the love and desire that she has ever wanted. One look and she realized that she never wanted John; she cared for him, but never really wanted him. How could she when her heart was already claimed by someone else?
Calleigh walked towards Horatio and slipped her hand into his. He tugged her down gently to sit in between his legs, her back pressed against his chest. Her elbows lent on his knees, and she tensed against him, not quite sure what to take on this whole situation.
Horatio felt the tension in her body, he felt it radiating off her. He gently brushed her hair over her right shoulder, then ran his hands down her arms, causing a wave of tingles to speed through her body. His hands made there way down to hers, leaving a burning path behind them, and then they moved under hers and laced their fingers together loosely.
Calleigh's body stiffened slightly and her breathing hitched, when she felt his breath on her neck. His lips right next to her ear.
"Relax Cal," His velvet voice soothed, "Just relax and trust me. I've got you, I'm right here. Nothings ever going to change that."
His voice smoothed out the tension in her, and she found herself almost melting against him. Calleigh sighed softly and lent back into his embrace. Feeling this, Horatio tightened his fingers around hers faintly.
They sat like that in silence for several moments, Calleigh drawing strength from Horatio's arms, and body. She was completely relaxed now, the sound of the waves crashing along the shoreline washed over making her feel completely at ease.
Suddenly Calleigh couldn't hold it in anymore, she had to get everything out, the question that would probably be the death, it had to come out. She knew Horatio couldn't give her an answer, but she just had to say it out loud.
"Why can't I find a nice guy Horatio? Someone that isn't going to want me for my looks, someone that actually cares."
Horatio was silent for what seemed like hours, but that was ok, she didn't expect him to have an answer.
But then he spoke, and when he did he spoke with such passion, Calleigh almost believed him.
"There is no use hiding it from you Cal, your beautiful, absolutely stunning and most guys will see that first and not look beyond it. But a small few will see something even more beautiful, something that I see every day, your mind. You will find him Cal, I promise you that. But you have to be patient."
He paused for a second and moved his lips closer to her ear, almost whispering to her.
"But then again, maybe you'll find someone that was right in front of you the whole time, a friend maybe, but you never really 'saw' them. Like a switch has been flicked somewhere, and the person who was just a friend, will become the person you cannot live without."
Horatio was practically wearing his heart on his sleeve here, her next words would ultimately decide on there relationship, or his approach to it anyway. He had known now for a while that he cared deeply for Calleigh, he might even love her, if she gave him the chance.
But the way his body betrayed him when she was in the room... it was too much for Horatio to handle. As soon as his senses got a detection of her, his body went into overload, his heart rate increasing swiftly.
The smell of her sweet scented shampoo, vanilla mingled with strawberries, engulfed him instantly and he could never think straight, it was amazing he could get anything done around her. But those thin low cut tank tops that she wore, left absolutely nothing to the imagination, they hugged her curves almost like a second skin. It should be illegal for her to look so damn good at work.
His mind turned his thoughts full circle and came back to the question at hand. Did she want him, as much as he wanted her?
Calleigh turned slightly in his arms, twisting her head so she could look at him and before she could think about the consequences to her reply, the words spilled from her mouth.
"Like you?"
He smiled that ever rare smile of his, the one that made her knees buckle beneath her and her breathe catch in her throat.
"Like me."
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Fin