CSI: Miami Christmas Story

Chapter One:

A/N: Christmas time is quickly approaching. It kind of sucks a lot here in Canada, as usually we'd have tons and tons of snow… this year? It's green! Freaking green. So it doesn't feel like Christmas at all. But nonetheless, here is another Christmas story. Only, this one is different. I am co-writing it with Jen ( and we're doing every other chapter, I think… well anyways, we'll tell you who's writing which one before you read it:P.

So this is a continuation of Christmas with Calleigh, my monstrosive Christmas saga from last year that I recently finished… this one will be shorter, more concise and better. It's not mandatory to read the previous one though it might make a few things make more sense. This A/N has been sufficiently long. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: We do not own CSI: Miami or anything related to it. All characters belong to Jerry Bruckheimer and CBS and all of those people.

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It had been almost a year. Close enough to one in her mind. Only three hundred and sixty five days, and already, she couldn't remember life without him. There'd been only one New Years Eve, only one Easter, one Halloween, one Valentines Day… and well, two birthdays… but unlike the majority of her life, she did not want to forget a single moment she spent with Eric. Eric was… Eric. He was perfect. And as of a year ago, he was her boyfriend.

"Cal!" She felt a pair of warm arms envelope her from behind. Speak of the devil.

"Hey Eric," She smiled brightly, spinning around in his arms to face him, promptly giving him a chaste kiss on the lips.

"You're feeling better this morning I see?" He asked, slight concern flashing over his features as he remembered the previous night where she had ducked out of their plans after work on account of nausea. He had insisted on taking her home and tucking her in, taking care of her, but she, being the strong willed, independent and at points annoyingly stubborn woman she was, made it quite clear that she could get home on her own.

"Yes. I'm sorry about last night." She was apologetic, and he waved it off.

"Really, it's no problem Cal. I just wanted to make sure you got home okay." He assured her.

"I know." She smiled. She was relieved Eric was fine with the … trying, for lack of a better word; way she handled things the previous night. She would have normally accepted a ride home from him, as she loved any chance she got to spend time with Eric but last night was a slightly different situation. She couldn't have Eric driving her home because she really wasn't feel nauseous at all, and she really hadn't been going home. She'd driven to the airport to pick up her Christmas present to him. And she couldn't have him driving her there now, could she? Truth be told, when she was around Eric she no longer cared about being strong willed and independent. She knew he respected her as a colleague, a woman and a girlfriend. She had nothing to prove with him.

"Good." He smiled. And for a moment, a very short moment, they were lost in each other's eyes.

"Calleigh!" Too short of a moment for their liking. They groaned as they heard their younger colleague call Calleigh's name.

"I'm over here Ryan." She called back as he fully entered the ballistics lab.

"Oh I knew where you'd be." Ryan told her as he approached the couple. "It's what you were doing that I couldn't predict." Both Calleigh and Eric blushed at this in the following moment of awkward silence, reflecting on the time, well… times, when Ryan had walked in on some… rather compromising situations. "Anyways," He continued, "I just wanted to say that I hope…" He got this far before Calleigh sent him a glare that cut him off so she didn't have to do so physically.

"You hope what, Wolfe?" Eric chuckled, the look Calleigh sent Ryan lost on him.

"I hope… that you two, uh, are looking forward to Christmas." He finished awkwardly, saying the first thing he could think of.

"Of course we are Ryan." Calleigh smiled enthusiastically before Eric could make a snide comment on Ryan's awkwardness. "It's our anniversary, remember?"

"Right." Ryan nodded with a smile. "Well, I am going to go… see Valera… results." He mumbled, walking out of the lab talking to himself.

"He gets weirder every day." Eric shook his head with a laugh as Ryan left. Calleigh just stared after him. It'd been a close call. She should have talked to Ryan beforehand, she figured. It was careless of her not to think that Horatio would have to tell Ryan that she and Eric had Christmas off. He would have to work and all. But if Ryan had told Eric that the two of them had Christmas off before she got the chance to, everything would be ruined. If it already wasn't, that was.

"Yeah." Calleigh chuckled light heartedly.

"So what are we going to do for our anniversary?" Eric asked, raising an eyebrow, making Calleigh laugh.

"Well, actually," She began.

"You have something planned?" He asked, slightly surprised.

"Well…" She trailed off trying to smile, but really she was more nervous than she'd been in a long time.

"And you didn't tell me?" He feigned hurt, and she was able to laugh slightly. "So are you going to tell me what it is that you have planned?"

"Actually," Calleigh began. "It's sort of a surprise. You have to do what I tell you."

"Why do I feel like I should be scared, or at least slightly intimidated?" Eric joked, and Calleigh hit him lightly on the arm. "You're right. Usually, when you tell me what to do, good things happen." He winked, and she hit him again, even more lightly this time. "Okay. So what do I have to do?"

"First of all, you have to pack." She instructed him.

"So we're going somewhere that's not in Miami." He concluded. "Where?"

"That would ruin the surprise!" She rolled her eyes. She was worried more so than anything that he'd hate where she picked to go. It was a completely opposite in every aspect of where he had chosen last year.

"Okay. Hot or cold?" He asked.

"Well, I guess you do have to pack." She conceded. "Hot."

"How hot?" He asked, hoping for more specification.

"Hot." Was all she told him.

"Will I get to see you in a bathing suit?" He asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Yes." She nodded with a smirk.

"I have my answer then." He was satisfied, and she was slightly puzzled.

"Eric, I wore a bikini last year and we went to Ontario." She pointed out.

"And it was really hot." He smiled victoriously. She shook her head, albeit with a smile on her face.

"What time is it?" She asked, and he glanced at his watch.

"Shift's been over for fifteen minutes." He told her.

"Then we should go. We'll swing by my place, as I already have my bags packed so we'll grab them and go back to your place where we can get some takeout and you can pack and we can sleep."

"We do have a lot to do tonight." He nodded.

"Yes, so we better get going." She told him, moving to get up.

"But I'm comfortable." He pouted.

"Eric," She rolled her eyes. "We have to be in…" She stopped herself before she said it.

"I almost had you there." He laughed getting up a moment after she did. "But I really was comfortable."

"We can get comfortable later." She told him, shaking her head as he followed her out of the ballistics lab and towards the car. It was going to be a long couple of hours until they got to the airport because if she knew Eric (and she knew Eric) he was going to relentlessly ask and try to trick her into telling him the location to their Christmas destination.

"Can't you please just tell me?" He pouted. Calleigh sighed. Yes. It was going to be a long night.

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A/N: Okay. So please review and tell us what you thought! Merry Christmas!