Title: Simplicities
Story Summary: While assigned to protective detail to a girl wise beyond her years, Calleigh and Ryan learn something about life.
Chapter Summary: Ryan remembers a woman he once loved and a young girl is in danger
Chapter Rating: T (swearing)
Warnings: None but swearing, gambling.
Note: This is my first caRWash fic. I just became addicted to this pairing so bear with me. :)
They were dramatic. Complicated. Occasionally Crazy. But not her, never her
She was simple.
Well, as simple as women went, that was. Things with her were easy. Clean. She never demanded anything from him, never expected and somehow was always pleased with whatever he had brought her. She always knew when to ask about his job or when to talk about things they could do sometime and never pushed it on him. She had a gentle and loving touch, deep rich brown eyes and disgustingly perfect hair that caused her sisters (both older and younger) to be jealous of her. She was the picture of perfection.
And he had thrown it all away in his early years.
The first time it happened, she was not angry. She was understanding and calm but not angry. He felt incredibly horrible and he promised he'd never do it again. She believed him, but he could feel it, in her touch, her kiss, that she had lost a slice of trust in him. But she gave him what he needed to fix it, a check of nearly $600 and warned him.
The second time it happened she was upset. She cussed at him and cried when she got upset with herself. He didn't blame her. He couldn't feel like more of an ass then, watching her scream and yell, her round face turning red and then going white in fear before collapsing to the ground. He had held her then, just for hours until she settled into a sleep in his arms. She produced him with a $1,000 check and he swore it would end because it had to end.
The third time it happened, she had no emotion when he told her. He'd never seen a look like that on her face before and it was heartbreaking. She turned away from his touch then, her eyes didn't even lift to meet his as she shelled out a check of $5000. This time he made the move. He took the check and because he couldn't live with hurting this perfect being anymore, he left the next morning, never to be in contact with her again. The memories were heartbreaking, but he kept them because they were worth it, because somewhere, it the back of his mind he remembered she was worth it. Still.
But the only reason there was this onslaught of preserved memories was because of a tiny Polaroid picture he had found while taking out his T.V. from its old slot. The worn picture had fallen down behind it before he had cleaned out the whole piece to get rid of it. The last thing to go was the television and he stopped when he saw the photo lying face down on the stand. He had picked it up and turned it over only to see a smiling pretty girl and a younger version of him in the picture. She's holding a small puppy in her arms and he's kissing her cheek in the picture. It made him smile.
He wanted to keep the picture, but thought it better to throw it out. Carefully he placed the photo in the trash bin next to his old television before picking up the T.V. and hauling it to his curb. He set it down and wiped his brow before placing his hands on his hips and sighing. That was the last of the stupid cabinet. Ever since he had decided to redo his home, it was the first thing to go. Now he'd just get Eric or Walter over to take it apart. He turned and headed back into his house just to catch the end of his cell phone's buzzing on the glass coffee table. Natalia's number lit up on his screen.
Natalia.
There was a dramatic woman. Natalia was, in all sense of the word, a drama queen. She made dramatic gestures and spoke in a dramatic tone and dressed in a dramatically Miami way. Sometimes, she just gave Ryan a headache. She was a wonderful CSI, but she was very much a Miami woman. She liked her cold drinks on the beach she had a deep tan and dyed hair and make up. He could only stand so much of her. He, at first, thought she was much different, with her I can do it attitude, he pictured her similar to Calleigh, but she was almost the polar opposite.
"Hey Natalia, what's up?" he answered his phone, walking back into the house.
"Oh, hey, Ry," she said on the other end of the line. She was clearly distracted by something. "Listen, I know work doesn't start for another hour and I wanted to call you before H, he needs you to come in early-"
Just then his phone buzzed. It was a text from Horatio, confirming what Natalia had just said. He sighed.
"Well, I guess I'm on my way to the lab-"
The phone buzzed again, telling him he was need at a crime scene. It was the location.
"Or not," he muttered. Natalia was speaking but he had hung up and pulled on a jacket before grabbing the keys to his Hummer and heading out the door. He had forgotten for a moment about the picture that lay on the top of the trash bin in his house. It would have to wait.
He drove the hummer down the freeway and headed out of the city, heading farther north until he came to the more rural area of Miami, if a place such existed. He drove for about an hour on rural roads before he decided he was going to give up and call in, because the coordinates were wrong. He made a left down a dirt road and drove for the length it told him. Just as he was about to turn around he came across the destination, a large horse farm in the middle of the flatness of Florida. He carefully rolled into the place and followed the tracks around the side of the large warehouse like building. He saw the yellow tape near an outer arena and pulled up by it before climbing out.
It smelled like a mixture of horse and sweat and dust. He sighed and looked idly at his Italian shoes before grabbing his kit and heading under the tape. He could hear the sound of hooves hitting dirt and the snorts and whinnies of horses and he looked around. There was another arena and people were riding around. Just as he turned around the thunder of hooves and loud music filled his ears, followed by a booming voice.
"That's a 15.415, fastest time of the day ladies," came the voice of an announcer. He gritted his teeth and headed over to the orange hair of Horatio.
"They still have the gall to continue to ride," Ryan said, coming up next to Horatio.
"That is, Mr. Wolfe, because they have deadline to meet."
Ryan sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "All right, who is this?"
Horatio handed him the I.D. and he flipped it open.
"Alyssa Maria," Ryan read, "Age 42."
Ryan looked down at the woman and sighed. She was a blonde, not naturally of course, and skinny. Her eyes were blue and she wore a ton of make up. Ryan squatted down in the dust near the body. He carefully looked over her shirt and jeans, trying to see if he can find any fibers. He found hairs instead.
"H, she's covered in hair."
"Yes, Mr. Wolfe," Horatio commented, "That's because she has a horse here."
"She was riding?" Ryan said, unable to believe it. Then a voice came from the tape where Tripp stood.
"She wasn't a rider," the thick accented voice said, "Mrs. Maria is Melanie Maria's mom."
"Where's Melanie?" Ryan asked, suddenly in a panic.
"She's up in 2 drags," the woman said again.
"And you are?"
Kelly Cooper," the black haired woman said. Her piercing brown eyes stared at him, "I'm Melanie's trainer."
"All right," Ryan said, smiling as he watch Calleigh's Hummer pull up to the scene, "I'll bite. A trainer?"
"Mr. um-"
"Wolfe."
"Mr. Wolfe," she said, looking at him with those criticizing eyes, "Have you even ever been around a horse before?"
"Sure, my niece loves them," he said nervously, "Why?"
"Well then you should know that Melanie is in the number one open-pro slot right now, on her horse and she needs all the help she can get to stay there. I help her out, coach her along, though her mother did most of it."
"Hey Ry!" came Calleigh's voice from behind him. He turned and looked at her as she waved him over.
"Excus-?"
"Go on, I've got to go anyway, I've got tell Melanie what's happened."
Ryan nodded and turned back to Calleigh as she knelt by the body. In her hands was a water bottle.
"It's a reusable water bottle," Ryan said bluntly. Calleigh nodded.
"I know but smell it." Ryan brought it to his nose and sniffed. Poison.
"She was poisoned?"
"Look at the name on the bottle Ryan," she said. Ryan flipped it around in his hands.
Melanie
Oh shit.
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