Eric Delko gazed longingly out the large window at an American Airlines terminal at Miami International Airport. Next to him, Calleigh Duquesne sat reading a book silently. They would both soon be trading sunny Miami for a week in rainy San Francisco, California, for tormenting two-to-four-hour-long seminars and conferences that Horatio insisted they attend; he said it would look good for Eric coming back into work after the shooting, and might help them avoid incidents similar to those that had all ready happened. At first Eric refused, but when Calleigh agreed to tag along for moral support and after insisting that she needed to be freshened up with the information as well, Eric agreed.
Savoring the last bit of sun, heat, and warm ocean water that he could through the thick glass of the window, Eric finally looked away and sighed, turning his gaze to Calleigh instead. She was wearing black slacks and a cream top with a little more jewelry than normal that made her eyes sparkle even more than usual.
"Did you know that Seattle and San Francisco have the most suicides in the U.S. because of lack of sunshine?" Eric asked her in a flat voice that stated that he clearly did not want to go to California.
"I didn't," Calleigh replied, glancing up at him from her book. "And as interesting as that information is, you still have to go. Sorry babe."
Eric put his hands in his lap and pouted immaturely. Calleigh put her book away and took one of his hands in hers.
"Eric, I know this has to be hard for you, but it will do you a lot of good," she said lowly. Eric looked at her and he knew she understood how he felt; understood him. "Just try to act like you might find something good out of this trip, for me."
Eric nodded. He would do anything for her, and she knew that. She also knew that there was more reason behind her coming with him than sitting in boring meetings with him for moral support. This was her chance to reconnect with Eric after the shooting, after Tim's death, after every traumatizing thing that had happened to them in the past five years.
A woman's voice came screeching through the speakers, calling for first class and business passengers. Calleigh squeezed his hand and they both stood, picking up their small carry-on bags. They waited in line and gave the woman their boarding passes, who was smiling a little more than necessary in Eric's general direction. Calleigh took Eric's hand, sharing a smile with him. This was a sort of game they liked to play; when women began overtly flirting with him, Calleigh would take his hand and they would smile at each other as if a boyfriend and girlfriend would. The woman's smile faltered a bit as she watched them go.
Once inside the connecting hallway, the two burst out laughing, though Calleigh didn't let go of his hand. They passed the smiling stewardesses and slid into their large, more-comfortable-than-coach seats, placing their bags on the floor.
It was a while before the nasally voice of the captain came from the intercom above them and the plane was being pushed backward. When the monitors had run through the safety film, the captain told them all that the flight was 6 hours and 15 minutes, and the temperature in San Francisco was an average 65 degrees and cloudy.
"Sounds great," Eric muttered miserably. Calleigh cast him a grim look before facing the seat in front of her once again.
Fifteen minutes later found them in the air, hovering over Miami's giant spread-out downtown, and soon they were gaining even more altitude. This was always Calleigh's least favorite part of flying; being so close to the tops of the buildings and the unsteady movement of the plane always felt as though the plane would suddenly drop. Afterwards, however, she was perfectly fine, but for the time being she closed her eyes tightly.
"You okay, Cal?" Eric asked concernedly. Calleigh nodded and opened here eyes briefly and gave him a small smile. Eric decided to take her word for it, and a few minutes later the flight attendant announced that it was okay to use electronic devices.
Eric smiled. "You up for a movie?"
Calleigh rolled her eyes, now confident that she would be fine, but returned his smile. "You brought a DVD player? Honestly, Eric…"
"No, I brought my laptop, if you must know," Eric replied, smugly. He pulled out the computer and a CD case, obviously filled with movies.
"You can pick," he said, bending down to his bag and coming up with two pairs of headphones. Calleigh rummaged through the slots, pulling one out with a delighted smile.
Eric took it from her and smiled, placing it in the player. "Independence Day?" he laughed.
"Yeah," Calleigh said. "It's one of my favorites; there are lots of guns and it has Will Smith in it. Plus, it kind of fits for the time of year."
"How's that?"
"It's Fourth of July in three days, CSI Observant," Calleigh giggled at the color in Eric's cheeks.
"Hey, don't make fun of me," Eric whined.
"Then don't make it so fun," Calleigh retorted.
Eric rolled his brown eyes, plugged in the headphones and gave a pair to her. "And what's so special about Will Smith?"
Calleigh looked at him incredulously. "Are you kidding? He's an amazing actor. And, you know, he's 40 years old and has the body of a football player," she added with a small girlish grin that she rarely used.
Eric couldn't help a small surge of jealousy course through him. But then again, he thought, he pretty much had that kind of body. "So that's your…turn on: muscles?"
Calleigh blushed slightly, but shrugged. "Now, if I tell you that, Mr. Delko, you might get, uh, cocky," she told him slyly. Eric's eyes nearly bugged out of his head; this was not typical Calleigh behavior. He set that though aside and replaced it with one that went along the lines of 'maybe she feels for me like I feel for her.' With that in mind, he put on his headphones and pressed 'play'. Calleigh copied him.
They each got their drink, the laptop on Eric's tray in front of them, causing Calleigh to have to lean over a bit to see the screen better. Both of them were quite aware of their close proximity, but neither showed it to the other.
When the movie ended, Calleigh pulled off her headphones and handed them to Eric, sighing. "I love that movie," she said.
Eric very nearly said back, 'And I love you', but smartly didn't. Instead, he replied, "I'm glad."
Putting the things away, he noticed that Calleigh was resting, and he thought it best not to disturb her. They were several thousand feet in the air now, and he opted to look out the window.
Calleigh opened here eyes and watched him. He was so cute, with his nose nearly touching the glass and one of his hands on the wall; he looked like a child looking in the window of a candy shop. After a minute, she decided to speak.
"Having fun?" she asked playfully. Eric started and turned to look at her, but smiled sweetly.
"Yeah," he answered truthfully. "When I was a kid we almost never flew, because one, we didn't have much money, and two, because we didn't have any family or anyone to visit. But after my sisters and I were older, we took a little vacation once every couple of years. I always loved looking out the window once we were above the clouds best. I'm not really sure why, but I guess it's because it gives you a different feeling, being higher than the clouds. I mean, there's nothing above you except…space."
That wasn't the answer she was expecting, but it was a sweet, almost boyish answer nonetheless. "We never flew either. It wasn't because we didn't have family far away, because we did, and it wasn't because we didn't have money, because we were plenty well off. I was never given a straight answer, but I always thought it had something to do with my dad, you know, with his alcohol problem. So, like most things involving my past, I don't have a favorite part of flying, only a least favorite."
Eric's eyes were flooded with sorrow and his mouth was opened slightly in awe at this new information. He couldn't remember Calleigh being that open ever before about her childhood. Hearing it, he was suddenly thankful for his loving parents and three sisters to look after him.
"I'm so sorry, Cal, I had no idea," he said softly, placing his hand on top of hers, caressing her fingers slightly with is thumb.
She shook her head and smiled again. "It's okay; I've never said anything about it before. But now you know."
Eric smiled back and watched her rest her head on her seat, closing her eyes slowly. She turned her hand over in his and laced their fingers together, squeezing his hand softly. Eric leaned his own head back, and sighed contentedly. The flight still lacked about two hours, and he was starting to get tired. Closing his eyes, he fell asleep.