Title: Forever in Extremis

Author: Jodie

Special thanks: To Kazalene for all her help with this. Couldn't have done it without you.

Notes: This has been buzzing around my head for a while now. I wanted to do something a bit different for me, without abandoning my dear EC. So, here we have it.

Chapter one

The strong Carolina sun cast welcoming shadows across the dusty yard. The man stood beside two bags considering the irony of it, trying to keep the pain from his eyes as he realized it would be a while before he welcomed her here again.

"Daddy, I don't wanna go home again!" Aimee cried, shaking her blond head frantically. Joseph glanced down into his daughter's baby-blue eyes and felt his heart break once more. "I wanna stay with you, daddy."

Joe took his child's hand, tugging the five-year-old onto his lap. "I know you do, angel, but your mommy wants you to go back home with her. You can come visit next holiday." He pressed a soft kiss to the top of her head, inhaling the scent of her hair for the last time. It killed him to let her go home, but the deal he and his ex had agreed upon was set - Joseph would see Aimee at the holidays, and she would stay with Larissa for the rest of the year.

"But I don't like Russia," she complained. Joe simply smiled, unwilling to have the same argument with her again. Placing her hand into her mother's, Joe smiled at her one last time. "Bye," the child murmured tearfully, clinging to her father's hand until the very last moment.

As Larissa closed the car door behind her daughter, she glanced to her ex-boyfriend. "Thanks, Joe," she said, her Russian accent thicker than ever. "She always has a great time with you."

Joe nodded, biting his lip as things got to that awkward stage again. Months apart left them both refreshed -- neither really thought of the other-- but being thrown back together again caused the tension between them to rise again. "I should… I should go." She tossed her strawberry hair over her shoulders, smiling up at the blue orbs in front of her. Larissa lifted up on her tiptoes, pressing a lingering kiss to the corner of his lips. "Goodbye Joseph," she whispered.

"Bye, he replied, scratching his head through his dark hair. He waved at the small hand that appeared at the back window, keeping his hand in the air until they rounded a corner.

Joe sighed, glancing at his watch. With his daughter gone, it was time to catch his plane.

-/-

Entering the MDPD lobby, Joe shielded his eyes against the beams of sunlight that streamed through the glass as he searched out his target. "Miss Duquesne; long time no see," he called out down the corridor of the MDPD crime lab.

Calleigh turned on her heel, letting out an excited gasp when she saw the man in front of her. Leaving Ryan and Eric behind her, she skipped over, wrapping her arms around the man in the black suit. "AJ!" she exclaimed. "What are you doing down in Miami?"

Joe hugged her back, smiling widely at her excitement before releasing her. "That serial killer that's been buggin' you guys? Your boss called me in to assist," he commented, accent thickening in the presence of a fellow southerner. "I've completed my research into ritualistic homicide now, figured I could be a bit of help." He laughed at her big smile and raised eyebrow. "South Carolina can manage without me for a while." He continued when Calleigh let go of his arm; her smile never faltering. "You gonna introduce me to your friends?" he commented, noticing the two men still waiting for the blond.

"Guys, this is Joseph Donahue. He's a Behavioral Analysist." Calleigh motioned him forward. "Joe, this is Eric and Ryan, my colleagues." She watched with a smile as the men shook hands.

"Kinda like a profiler?" Ryan asked, frowning at the snort Eric gave.

"Close. I construct profiles… isn't my title, though," Joe answered, casting his eyes back to Calleigh.

"So, have you got the case files?" Eric asked, taking a long look at the dark haired man before him; trying to profile the profiler -- even if it wasn't his title -- perhaps wasn't a good idea. Especially when he seemed so close to Calleigh.

"Right here," he said, tapping the case he carried. Calleigh nodded, gesturing that they should continue down the hall.

"How's Aimee?" she queried. It had been a long time since she had last spoken to AJ; in fact, his daughter had just been born when they had last met up. They'd known each other since before college, and time never seemed to pass between them.

"She's great; just gone back with her mother," he replied and Calleigh didn't miss the flash of pain behind his blue orbs. She nodded anyway, waiting for them to gather around the glass table. "We'll catch up later, okay?" he asked, sending her that sign that he didn't want to discuss it right now. So she let it go, giving him an understanding wink.

"So where'd you wanna start?" she questioned, motioning for Eric to begin going over the case details when she received a playful shrug.

Eric stalled, casting an uncertain glance to this 'AJ' guy who had just swanked into the lab. Eric hadn't missed the wink that Calleigh had shot him - the pang still ran through his veins, though he knew his jealousy was unfounded. "Erm, the death count hit five last night. All female prostitutes, all seem to have gone with our guy willingly. He's conspicuous; no one saw anything."

Joe nodded. "Were all the bodies found in public places?" he asked, skimming the notes. He had all the files except for the most recent victim.

"Yeah, all public places but hidden; latest was dumped at the side of a restaurant, covered with cardboard."

"Remorse," Joe muttered to himself. "What about your forensic whatsits?"

"We've found hairs and fibers on the bodies. We don't have a primary crime scene as yet but he doesn't appear to care about evidence." Ryan paused glancing up as a frown gracing his face. "Unless he knows how to hide it, of course. Hairs had no tags and the fibers were a dead-end."

"He's aware," Joe mumbled again before raising his voice to a more audible level. "If you give me that last file, I should have enough to try and construct a profile." He smiled his thanks as Eric handed the papers over. "I may want to visit the freshest scene, if it's still secured."

"The latest is," Ryan said. "Mind if I tag along? This stuff's always fascinated me."

Joe chuckled. "Sure thing, let's go; you can show me to a room." As they exited together, he turned at the door. "Grab a drink later?" he called to Calleigh, smiling when she nodded her agreement.

Eric observed silently, noting the obvious ease into which the two fell. It took him all of thirty seconds before his curiosity got the better of him and he finally spoke up. "So, who's the guy?"

"AJ? He's an old family friend." Calleigh glanced up, rolling her eyes at the expression on his face. "A friend, Eric," she stressed. "Calm yourself."

"Why AJ?" he asked, wincing internally at the way he spat the name.

Again, he got the eye roll. "Alistair's his middle name. His grandpa called him it as a kid. AJ kinda came from there." Eric nodded and she leant over, laying her fingers on his hand gently. "Seriously, Eric, stop with the jealousy." She gave a soft squeeze. "It doesn't look good on you."

Eric gave a smile then, resisting the urge to lean down and kiss her lips. Their 'not at work' rule was working so far, but he felt that barrier in front of him all the time now, pressing against his chest as he pushed it as far as possible; wishing that rule would be flung out of the window along with several other things…

But he settled for a squeeze back, reminding himself of the weapon she carried at her hip. And he was about to speak, apologize or… something, when the pager at his waist gave a shrill beep. His eyes studied the screen, hand still buried under hers and sighed deeply as he took in the message on the screen. "Cal, we got another one."