A/N: I've written fanfic over the years and published them on various websites that I am/was a member of, so I'm pretty comfortable writing stories for the world to see. I was compelled to write a story about Ryan/Calleigh because I've haven't seen one on any of the CSI sites that I frequent. I'm pretty indifferent to fanfic couples on CSI: Miami. I haven't felt close to any of the Calleigh stories with Horatio, Eric or Speed for that matter. I figured a Ryan/Calleigh would balance things out a little bit. I don't expect to travel down this road again. I'm someone who likes to head for the ditch: a rougher ride but you meet more interesting people there.

Roger

P.S. I will post this per chapter. It also might be slightly erratic, due to writing this while I suffer from chronic insomnia and the fact that ideals for this story are coming up too fast for me to sort out and write down properly. Enjoy.

P.P.S. I went back and fixed Ryan's name. This is what happens when you write two fanfics at once and switch back and forth betwen the two and end up putting the wrong name in the chapter. I hope this clears up any confusion. Currently writing Chapter 2.

Disclaimer: CSI: Miami and all original characters owned by CBS and its partners.

CHAPTER 1

Monday morning, 6 a.m. Calleigh stifled a yawn as she looked over her paperwork for the third time in a hour. She came into work early as usual, when a case or something on her mind kept her from getting a good night of sleep. She always figured if she wasn't going to get any rest, she might as well be productive and go into work. She couldn't help being a workaholic. She felt restless and uneasy if she found time on her hands and had nothing to do. It always kept her mind busy if she was focusing on things that prevented her from thinking about her personal life. Probably because there wasn't much of a personal life to begin with.

Among friends and colleagues, she was very outgoing and friendly. Her personality would radiate strong and outward whenever and wherever it called for it. But when she was by herself, the loneliness seemed to creep in no matter how hard she tried to block it out. It was almost like staring into a void. Calleigh never liked thinking about her lack of relationships that weren't work/friend only related. She always felt that deep down inside, she was running away from contentment and happiness. She loved her job and the requirements of it always made her feel wanted and respected. Throwing herself into her work seemed to cover up (if only temporary) the void she always felt. Still, she wondered how long she could keep running.

"I see that you're in early again." Calleigh looked up to see her boss Horatio Caine, standing in the doorway of the lab. "That's the third time in a week you've been in before me. Anything wrong?" "No, there's nothing wrong," replied Calleigh, hoping that Horatio wouldn't pick up the tone in her voice indicating that she was lying. "Just want to get ahead on this shooting." "Calleigh, are you sure that is the reason why you're in early? Said Horatio, looking at her with a quizzed, pointed look in his eyes.

Crap, Calleigh thought to herself. He knows I'm lying. I really want to avoid this from getting any deeper. "Yes, Horatio. It's nothing that a good, solid day of hard work and coffee can't fix. I'm fine." "Well, if you need to talk about it, come see me in my office." And with that, Horatio turned around in the doorway and left. He cared about Calleigh and didn't like it when something was bothering her on a personal level. But he respected her decisions and would let her come to him if she need help or advice. Any other way he felt would be wrong. Another hour passed before others came in and started up work.

"Good morning, Cal." Eric said as he walked up to the table Calleigh was standing at. "Any cracks in the case?" "No," sighed Calleigh. "I've been looking over everything in the last two hours and I still feel that I'm still in one spot. I'll have to try another ballistics test and see if I missed something from the last one." "Missed something?" "I can't believe the great Calleigh Duquesne would overlook anything!" Eric said, jokingly. However, Calleigh shot him a 'don't mess with me' look that showed Eric that she was not open to fooling around this morning. Eric quickly got the message and switched gears. "Well, the evidence we have is inconclusive to the point that there may be a second gun involved. I'll go back out to the lake today and do another dive to see if I come up with anything new."

"Hey, you two. Horatio wants to see the three of us in his office." Calleigh froze and looked up. It was him. Ryan was standing at the door to the lab, talking at her and Eric. For a while now, she felt weird when she was in Ryan's presence. At first, she couldn't figure out why. When Ryan first joined CSI, she felt somewhat hostile because he was Speed's replacement. It wasn't him personally, she would have reacted the same way towards anybody in his position because she was close to Speed and when he was killed, it seemed to make her void even deeper. To have anybody stepping into Speed's place felt like some sort of violation. Over the course of a few months however, she began to warm up to Ryan little by little. She was impressed on how committed he was to his job and was flattered on how he would look up to her like a student would to a mentor. Anytime there was a problem, he would turn to her. It reminded her of her relationship with Horatio. Soon, she would surprise herself when she looked forward to seeing him around. For some reason, she felt warm inside when he would look at her and give her a smile. It was almost like a kiss to her soul.

After a while, she would secretly hope that she was put on assignments with Ryan. She wouldn't come out and ask to be with him because it felt awkward and she didn't want people to think the wrong idea because she thought of that herself and yes, that's exactly where it was going. She couldn't believe the way she was feeling. It was not like her, to have a crush on a coworker, yet also feel that this was more than a crush. After her relationship problems with Hagen, she promised herself that she wouldn't get involved again with someone she works with. Yet here she was, about to betray that promise. At times, she also felt conflicted because he was a little younger than her. Not more than a few years, but younger all the same. She also liked to feel strong and independent and in control of her surroundings. She felt at times she was losing that control when he was around. It would shock her when she would walk into work and catch herself looking forward to seeing him in one his geek-like outfits with that grin on his face like he was up to something naughty; or to hear one of his wisecracks about the case they were working on that would break the stress. Over time, Ryan seemed to give her a feeling inside that was always coming up much too short in her life.

"What does H. want?" The sound of Eric's voice shifted her back into reality. "I don't know," replied Ryan. "He stopped me in the stairway and told me to come down and get both of you upstairs." Eric looked over at Calleigh puzzled and she gave him a shrug. All three of them left the lab and made their way up to Horatio's office.

to be continued...