A Christmas Secret
By Alekat
Disclaimer: I don't own these characters.. Just borrowing them.
Rating: K+ for language
Pairing: S/C Reference, J/C
Summary: Calleigh has a secret that is brought out into the open.
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Eric watched as Calleigh strolled into the trace lab humming along with the Christmas music being played over the speakers all over the building. "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" was the song of choice for the moment and he laughed as she added her own version of the song. He watched her put her samples down and wait for Valera to take them from her. When Calleigh walked back into the hallway, he stopped her with a hand to her upper arm.
"Hey sunshine." Eric smiled at the bright disposition Calleigh was displaying lately.
"Eric!" Calleigh exclaimed cheerfully. "What are you up to?"
"Heading out to lunch, wanna join me?" He wanted to see if he could get her away from the lab so he could find out just what or who was to thank for her new lease on life.
"Oh Eric, I'm sorry." She said, apologetically. "I've got plans already."
"Hey. No problem." He grinned, "We'll go another time."
Natalia Boa Vista walked out of the trace lab and nodded to Eric and Calleigh. "I'll just get Boa Vista to go with me." Eric told Calleigh and left her standing in the hallway as he headed after Natalia.
"Hrumph." Calleigh mumbled and headed in the other direction to meet her lunch companion.
……………………………………….
When Calleigh stepped out into the bright sunshine, her mood brightened even more. She hummed the tune of 'Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer' aloud as she walked along the sidewalk toward her appointed meeting place. She was thinking of her first Christmas home in New Orleans in years and how she would not be returning alone. The thoughts kept her distracted and she didn't notice her coworkers, who were following her at a safe distance so as not to be noticed by Calleigh, or her potential lunch date.
The walk to the area where Calleigh was to meet her date brought her to a section of beach surrounded with crime scene tape, but there was no apparent crime scene and she grinned knowing that he had done this to ward off potential beach poachers. Neither one liked to share their stolen lunch dates with families, nor other couples, who liked to frequent this stretch of beach at noon. The tide was high today as an approaching cold front was moving in from the west. The wind caught Calleigh's long blonde locks and swirled them around and across her face. She reached to brush the stray curls away, but didn't have a chance before Jake surprised her from behind. Grabbing her around the waist, he lifted her off the ground, spinning them both as he did. She threw her arms around his neck and kissed him softly through the gales of laughter from both.
…………………………………………….
Eric pulled Natalia behind another line of shrubs to keep Calleigh from seeing them, but took off at a fast pace at the sound of squeals, only to stop short when he saw Calleigh in Jake's arms. Natalia was following behind Eric and almost ran him over when he stopped abruptly. She pulled him behind the shrubs to keep Calleigh and Jake from seeing them.
"I didn't know." She whispered conspiratorially thinking back to the day at the pier when Jake shot a suspect who was trying to kill Calleigh. "I was only kidding with her."
"Kidding with her about what?" Eric asked, his tone was a bit harsh and she took a step back putting some space between them.
"The day at the pier when Jake shot the suspect." She began but Eric cut her off.
"Yeah?" He questioned, his tone angry.
"I teased her about him. I didn't realize they were seeing each other."
"They're not." He intoned.
She leaned around the hedgerow and saw Calleigh and Jake walking toward the beach hand in hand. "Sure looks like it to me."
Eric followed suit and peered around the hedge just in time to see Jake pull Calleigh flush against him and drop several chaste kisses around her face, then join his lips to hers in a move rivaling nuclear fission. Eric could almost hear the sparks igniting the air around them with unbridled passion. He drew back resigned to let his friend have a private moment. He leaned against a nearby palm tree and crossed his arms, a frustrated sigh escaping on his breath.
"I didn't know you felt that way about Calleigh?" Natalia murmured not trusting herself with the ability to speak at a normal even tone.
"Huh?" Eric looked up at her puzzled, "No. It's not like that."
"Then how is it?" She countered.
"It's.." He hesitated, "It's complicated."
Natalia reached out a hand, softly touching his folded arm. "Complicated, how, Eric?" She hoped her gentle tone would coax an explanation out of him. She recalled his protective nature over Calleigh and how she sometimes felt jealous of that when she and Eric were dating. He had left her in the lurch on more than one occasion to rescue Calleigh from some unknown place. Her questions afterward had always been met with fierce resistance.
"He would have wanted me to protect her." Eric whispered. "I'm not doing a good job of that."
"He?" Natalia was confused. Who could Eric be talking about?
"Speed."
"Tim Speedle?"
Eric looked up at her when he processed her questioning tone and realized what he had said. Knowing Natalia would never let this go he decided to tell her everything. "Yes. Tim Speedle."
"The CSI who got killed?" She was sometimes too curious for her own good, but she couldn't stop till she knew everything.
Eric nodded in agreement. "He was my best friend."
"Oh Eric, I didn't know." She squeezed his arm gently. "I'm so sorry."
"It's okay." Eric began walking in the opposite direction from Calleigh and Jake. "Our whole team, Horatio, Calleigh, Alexx, Tim and I were all working a scene at the drawbridge. A boat hit the bridge but there was no one on board. Speed and I processed the boat. While we were on board, Calleigh came above deck from where she and Horatio had been and proceeded to ream Speed out for taking her flashlight from her kit and not recharging the batteries."
He stopped at an Oceanside vendor to purchase he and Natalia each a hot dog and drink that they took to a table under some nearby trees. They took a seat across from each other and began to eat. While they were eating, he continued, "I didn't know till that moment that Tim and Calleigh had been seeing each other."
"How did you figure it out?" Boa Vista asked between bites.
"It was the only logical answer. Calleigh would never let him touch her kit otherwise." He shook his head. "I questioned Speed about it and he admitted that they had been seeing each other for three months."
"She has never mentioned that she dated Speedle." Boa Vista told him.
"She never told me either." Eric confirmed. "When he was killed, she was the picture of professionalism. I never once saw her shed a single tear. I tried to talk to her but she refused. She withdrew and became statuesque in her actions. I knew there must be something or someone who had turned her attitude around. I just never thought it would turn out to be Berkeley. I don't like him. He's not just undercover for the job. He's bought into the undercover label. He's willing to cross the line to make his cover."
"You mean keep himself alive." She inserted her opinion.
"I mean he's probably walked the dirty side of the crimes more than he has the clean side." Eric scoffed.
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While Eric was telling Natalia Calleigh's past life, Calleigh, herself, was sprawled across Jake's chest as they lay on a blanket, under the shade of several palms, watching the boats sailing in the distance. Far on the horizon, they could see the outline of a cruise ship and were making bets on which cruise line it was.
"My left boot says it's Princess." Jake growled lazily.
"Okay, I'll take that bet and raise you my left shoe and my scarf that it's Carnival." She drew circles with her fingertips around the buttons on the front of his green/gold plaid shirt releasing them one by one till she reached the bottom button and slid her hand beneath his shirt, causing it to fall open, revealing a deep forest green tank tee shirt underneath.
The distant cruise liner came closer and Jake pressed a soft kiss to Calleigh's temple while he slipped his left boot off to join the right one that he'd already lost to her on a bet about a fisherman in his boat a few minutes before. "How do you always know which ship is which?"
She smiled and pushed his tee shirt up so she could press a soft kiss on his chest, "I'm just good at my job."
"And that would be?" He asked waggling his eyebrows.
"Why undressing you, Mr. Berkeley!" She exclaimed in that deep molasses coated Southern drawl that always curled his toes.
He laughed and rolled her under him making sure to cradle her head in his hand to keep it off the hard ground, "Have I told you today how much I love you, Ms. Duquesne?"
"No, but I do remember something to that effect at breakfast this morning." Her smile could light up the Miami skyline without the benefit of electricity, making that just one of the reasons he loved this woman so much.
"I do love you, Ms. Duquesne." He growled into her ear. "When do you think the time will be right to tell your friends at work about us?"
"Soon," She trailed her nails up either side of his lanky frame causing him to press into her in all the right places, "Especially since Eric and Natalia were following me this afternoon."
"You know he might just hate me more then Horatio does?" Jake told her before pressing another kiss on her forehead then cheek and following a path to her lips.
"Horatio doesn't hate you."
"Maybe not." He intoned, "But he will."
"Jake." She rolled him over and situated herself atop his well-toned body. She noted to herself that he was in very good physical condition. A by-product of the years spent undercover and the need to stay in shape to do his best work.
"Cal."
"They're my friends. They'll understand." She whispered as she leaned over and kissed his chiseled jaw line from the tip of his chin to the edge of his ear then she whispered into his ear, "And if they don't then I guess they weren't my friends anyway."
He caught her silky blonde locks in his hand loosely and returned her kisses in earnest.
…………..
Back at the lab, Eric and Natalia parted ways and he found a computer that he could use. His first search was of the police department database, where he found that most of the information on Jake Berkeley was classified due to the undercover status that Jake had recently held.
Eric was lost in his search when he heard someone clear his or her throat and he cringed as he turned to face his boss. "Hey H." He tried to look like he was innocent but it wasn't working.
Horatio pinned him with a hard glare, "What are you up to?"
"Uh..I..well.." Eric couldn't think of a logical explanation for why he was researching Jake's background.
"You know if Calleigh catches you, she'll probably use you for target practice." Horatio deadpanned.
Eric nodded and cleared his machine.
……………….
"Jake, I have to get back to work." Calleigh was once again curled next to Jake with her head on his shoulder. They had spent the entire hour making out like the teenagers that they had once been doing the same thing back in New Orleans.
He pulled her closer, "I'll be leaving for my assignment tomorrow. Can we leave tonight for just the two of us?"
She nodded as he placed a longing kiss on her forehead. "I'll cook your favorite for dinner," was her muted reply. She didn't want to think that he would be leaving for the next two weeks on an undercover assignment out of town.
……………
Over the next two weeks, Calleigh was content to hang around the lab. It was almost Christmas and Jake would be home in time to accompany her back to New Orleans. Back home. She was thinking of that when her computer chirped out an alert that someone was sending her mail. She clicked the necessary buttons to open the email.
She closed and opened her eyes again hoping that her eyes were deceiving her. They weren't. She printed the document and grabbed it from the printer on her way out the door. She breezed past Maxine Valera, who tried to say hello, but didn't have a chance as Calleigh was moving on pretty fast.
Calleigh found her intended target, Eric, in the break room standing next to Natalia and Alexx, who were setting out food for the annual team Christmas lunch. "DELKO!" She shoved the door open and bellowed out to him.
Eric whirled around to see the maddest southern belle he had ever laid eyes on in his life. "Calleigh?"
"WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU WERE DOING?" Her words echoed off the glass walls causing Eric and Natalia both to cringe as well as the rest of their team, who were already sitting at the table. Eric could not deny what he had been up to. Calleigh was mad enough that if he lied to her she might actually shoot him since he could see her hand was already resting on her service weapon.
"Calleigh, that day…" He hesitated then continued, "That day that Tim died."
"Don't you dare use Tim as an excuse?" She lowered her voice just a fraction. "This has nothing to do with Tim!"
"It has everything to do with Tim." Eric countered.
"No! It doesn't!" Her thoughts were swirling about a million things.
When he began his surveillance two weeks before, he had no idea what he would find and now that he had it just made him want to protect his friend even more. "Calleigh, Tim would have wanted me to watch out for you." Eric tried to smooth his mistake over.
"Tim knew!" She whispered her anger diminishing at hearing Tim's name.
"Knew what?" Natalia asked, hoping she wasn't overstepping her bounds.
"That I'm married." Calleigh's statement stunned Natalia and caught Horatio off guard as well. He had been walking down the hallway and had both, seen and heard the fury and the anger unleashed when Calleigh stormed into the break room. Natalia drew in a sharp breath, but Horatio remained stoic after Calleigh's revelation. Horatio nodded to Valera to clear the room and she ushered Cooper, Wolfe and Tripp out ahead of her departure.
With the room clear of everyone but Horatio, Natalia, Eric, Alexx, and Calleigh, Eric walked around the table he had been standing behind and reached out to touch Calleigh's arm, but she jerked away, still angry with her friend. "Don't!" She took a step back and Eric retreated to lean against the nearest table. "Look, it was something that happened a long time ago." She told him. "And besides, what business is it of yours anyway?"
"I'm your friend, Calleigh. I was just trying to look out for you." He spoke softly and with each word he tried to reel Calleigh back to being his friend. "And besides, it's what Tim would have wanted."
"Tim's gone, Eric." She sighed, the frustration in her voice beginning to wan, "Listen, I didn't tell anyone because it was heartbreaking. It's been that and much more since Jake returned." She sat down next to Natalia and continued her story. "When Jake and I were high school seniors, we made some mistakes. Mistakes that led to more mistakes."
Horatio stepped up next to her and took her hand, "Calleigh, we don't have to hear this."
"No, Horatio," a soft sigh escaped her lips between her words, "it's okay. I need to tell my friends." She pulled her hand from his gentle grip. "I need to get this out into the open." She looked to Eric and beyond to Jake who was standing in the doorway holding the glass door open. She nodded and he entered, skirting around Eric and Horatio, to stand next to Calleigh, who reached out and took his hand. Jake brushed a tear from Calleigh's eye and squeezed her hand.
"Jake and I were young and we both wanted to get out from under our parents so we ran away from home right after our high school graduation and got married." There was an audible gasp from the other occupants in the room.
Eric stood there stunned. He knew he had no right to feel betrayed, but that was exactly how he felt. One of his closest friends was telling him that she had been keeping a ten-year-old marriage secret. "How could you keep this from your friends? No wonder you and Tim didn't put your relationship out in the public view." His words cut deep and she sat down in the nearest chair. To her benefit, Jake stepped up and took the role of protector.
"Eric, I talked to Tim." Jake began and looked down at Calleigh revealing something she had not even known till now. "Tim called me about a month before he died. He had planned to ask Calleigh to marry him." He knelt next to her and reached out brushing more tears from her cheeks, his soft chocolate eyes telling of the pain that conversation had caused him. "He wanted to know if I would sign the divorce papers if Calleigh agreed to marry him."
Calleigh's tears were flowing freely. "I can't believe he called you." Her tone was so soft that he almost didn't hear her. She swiped her stray tears from her chin. She couldn't believe what Jake was saying. She remembered having a conversation with Tim early in the beginning of their relationship where she told him that she had married her high school sweetheart. They had been talking about things they had each done in the past and she trusted Tim enough to share that with him. Tim had listened patiently and been understanding of the fact that she and Jake had married, for the most part, to get away from their respective parents and when they knew the marriage wasn't going to last neither had thought to pursue a divorce. But she never even thought that Tim would look him up and ask Jake to sign the divorce papers.
Jake nudged her back to reality and continued, "Tim loved you, very much. That's why when I heard about his death, I knew I had to come find you."
"Jake." Calleigh whispered.
Eric stood unmoving. He didn't know what to say. All he had wanted to do was keep his friend safe. "Calleigh, I'm sorry." He touched her shoulder and she looked up at him. "I never meant to cause you any pain."
She stood and touched his cheek, "I know you were only trying to look out for me. And I shouldn't have kept my marriage a secret."
Alexx spoke up, "No honey. It's okay. We understand." She came around the table and hugged her friend. Then she looked to Jake, her tone decidedly motherly. "You better not hurt her this time."
"No ma'am." He agreed. Calleigh reached out and took his hand and smiled then she said to everyone, "I want you all to get to know Jake."
Horatio decided it was time to have some fun. He called Tripp and told him to bring the rest of the team back and then he spoke to the rest of the team in the room, "Okay everyone let's enjoy our lunch and welcome Jake to the group."
The End.