AN: Thanks for the reviews, favorite, and follows. Here is the next chapter, enjoy.
Chapter 2: Meeting her new team
Once Calleigh parked in the lab parking lot 10 minutes later, she got out and walked to the lab entrance.
When she stepped into the building she walked straight ahead to the reception desk, which there was a female receptionist standing behind it, she was Caucasian, slim, a little taller than Calleigh and had short brown hair. She smiled at Calleigh and asked. "Is there anything I can help you with today?"
Calleigh smiled politely and spoke, her southern accent noticeable. "Yeah, I have to talk to Horatio Caine, this is my first day here, so I need to see him." The receptionist nodded, held up a finger to show one minute, and Calleigh nodded as the woman picked up the phone.
While she dialed a few numbers, Calleigh's attention turned to looking at the part of the lab she could see standing right there, it was kind of dark looking, not a lot of sunlight came through, the halls led to different parts of the lab, which the rooms she could see had glass walls, and there was an elevator at the end to the right.
Her thoughts get interrupted when the receptionist talked to her again. "Mr. Caine will be here shortly, him and his team was already at a scene, so go ahead and sit tight."
Calleigh nodded with a polite smile and said. "Thank you." before walking to the chairs that were close to the reception desk and sitting down in the first one, then she looks down at her hands and waited patiently for her new boss to show up.
About five minutes later, which she was still looking down, she heard the most soothing tone she has ever heard in her life. "Calleigh Duquesne?" Her heart started to speed up after she heard that voice, which she just chalked it down to a little nervousness on meeting her new boss for the first time.
As she was lifting her head up she mentally cataloged on what she saw in front of her, he was in nice shoes that went with his suit, he was lean, and when her eyes got to his facial area she had to mentally gasp because his sparkling blue eyes were staring at her with such tenderness already, but before she got lost in them she noticed he had short red hair. When she looked back into his eyes, she was still speechless.
After a few seconds she remembered he had asked her a question, so she nodded her head with a smile and replied. "Yes, I am Calleigh Duquesne." She was thankful she was still sitting down because he smiled at her next, which made her heart speed up just a bit faster, and she could have had a more embarrassing reaction if she was standing.
She mentally shook her head again as he spoke. "Why don't you come to my office ma'am, and we'll get you started on your first day here."
She smiled at his politeness and was in agreement, then after mentally taking a breath she stands up, took a second to make sure she could walk before following him to his office, which was close to the entrance and up a flight of stairs, making his office window face the lab parking lot.
When they were in his office he walks to his desk then around to his office chair, while Calleigh walks up to one of the chairs that was in front of his desk. Once they got to their respective seats they look at each other and he indicated with his hand for her to sit down, and he only sat down after she had sat down first, which made Calleigh want to blush, but she kept it at bay before it showed up.
After Horatio grabbed the file he had of her, he asked her some questions before having her sign a few papers.
As she set the pen down he says. "Welcome to the CSI team in Miami, I hope it works out for you."
She smiled and replied. "Thank you, me too."
As he grabs the files and pen he asked. "Is it true that you can dismantle and put a gun back together faster than any of your old team members in New Orleans?"
Calleigh didn't mean to sound like she was bragging about it, but she smiled with a nod, and replied. "Yes it is." She didn't say that they had made bets against her sometimes, which they would lose more often times than not.
Horatio smiles as pulls his gun out of his holster, sets it on the desk in front of her and asked. "If you don't mind, can I see it?"
She'll never tell him that all he had to do was look in her eyes and his wish was his command already, she mentally shook her head for the third time in the last 30 minutes, cleared her throat, grabbed the gun from the desk then did what she was told, concentrating only on her task.
When the gun was put back to the original state it was in before, she looks at him as she hands him the gun and noticed he was a little speechless.
He stayed that way for a few more seconds, then he smiled as he grabbed his gun and said. "That was amazing."
This time she did look down to hide her blush as she replied. "Thank you." He nods while his smile was still there, but she didn't see it.
After she looked at him again they have a little eye contact in silence, until he cleared his throat and started speaking again. "I think I'll have you start easy today and keep you in the lab. We can get your temporary badge now and we'll issue you a gun by the end of shift, ok?" She nodded and he continued. "Alright, I'll show you around so you can be acquainted in your new environment and when the team gets to the lab later I'll introduce you to them."
She nodded again before grabbing her purse from the floor that was next to the chair she was sitting in, then when he stood up, she mirrors that action, and they walked out of his office.
When it was time for the first break, and since she didn't have any work to do at the moment, she uses the elevator to go up to the main floor and walk to the break room. When she got there she walked over to the coffee pot that was on the counter.
As she was filling her coffee mug she heard two guys talking as they were walking in the break room, then she turns around just as one of the guys said. "I'll catch up with you later I have to take these bullets down to ballistics, I heard Horatio finally hired someone new."
Calleigh cleared her throat and spoke. "You're in luck you don't have to go very far."
The guys look her way and started to stare as a third member of the team came walking in the room, this time it was a Hispanic woman, she looked to be about a year younger than Calleigh, 5'7, slim with brown hair and brown eyes.
She smiled at Calleigh, walks up to her and said. "Hi, I'm Natalia Boa Vista."
Calleigh smiled at her as she shook her hand. "Hi, I'm Calleigh Duquesne."
They release hands as Natalia nods, then they look at the guys and they still hadn't said anything.
Natalia rolls her eyes, looks at Calleigh and continued. "And the two guys who are still staring are Jesse Cardoza and Eric Delko." Then she whispered. "You would think they haven't seen a beautiful woman before."
Calleigh hid the blush because of the nice compliment as the guys came out of their dazed state, then the guy on the right smiled, walked up to her, held out his free hand, because he was the one that was holding the three small bags with a bullet in each of them and said. "Jesse Cardoza."
Jesse was a Latino that stood about 6 feet and looked to be about a few years older than Calleigh, he had an athletic build with dark brown hair and brown eyes, and if he had been smiling at some other woman they might have swoon, but to Calleigh it did nothing to her. She could see how somebody could be attracted to him, she does have eyes, but there was no extra skip of the heartbeat, like she it had done with Horatio, or a shot of electricity when she took his hand to shake it.
She mentally shook those thought away as they were releasing hands, then replied. "Nice to meet you."
Jesse nodded and Eric walked up to him, held out his hand, and Calleigh said. "Then that makes you Eric Delko." They shook hands as he smiled at her with a nod.
Eric Delko was a Cuban that stood an inch shorter than Jesse, looked to be a few years younger than Calleigh, he also had an athletic build, but with short black hair and brown eyes, and again Calleigh could see the same thing she saw within Jesse, but it did nothing for her.
As Calleigh and Eric were releasing hands she said. "Nice to met you too."
Eric nodded just as a fifth person walked in the room, and when Calleigh's eyes went right towards that direction her heart skipped a beat when she saw it was Horatio
He smiled when he saw his team, then looked at Calleigh. "I see you have become acquainted with the rest of the team."
They all turned their attention to their boss as Calleigh answered. "Yes, I have." He nodded, and after a few seconds of silence, Calleigh cleared her throat, looked at Jesse and asked. "You wanted me to take a look at the bullets you collected?"
Jesse looks at Calleigh with another smile, handed them to her and replied. "Yes please."
Calleigh gives him a polite smile as she took the bullets with her free hand, and as she looked at her team, she said. "It was very nice to meet you all, I can't wait to work with you out in the field." They nodded with a smile, then she continued. "Well in the meantime I'll be in my lab, good luck with the rest of your case." Looking at Jesse she finished. "I'll give you the results once I have them." After a nod from him, she walked out of the room.
Once she was gone Natalia speaks. "See seems nice, I think she will fit in nicely." The younger guys nodded with another smile and Natalia chuckled before continuing. "You guys are just happy you get to look at a beautiful woman." They tried to deny that's not all they saw when they looked at her as three of them walked out of the room to continue working.
When it was just Horatio in the room he let out the breath he felt like he had been holding in since this morning.
From the moment he saw Calleigh he felt off balance and he believes his heart was still skipping beats every time he thought of her, and it wasn't all about her beauty to him, he felt there was something else about her.
Before his thoughts got to far, he mentally shakes them away.
He also felt that he had no shot with her because eventually one of those younger guys on the team or in the Miami area will catch her attention and she won't look twice at him.
He shook his head again and walked out of the break room to concentrate on work, or at least try to.
It was the end of shift and surprisingly they finished their case on time, which made Calleigh happy because she had to pick up C.J. from the afterschool program she had signed him up for just incase she had to stay later, knowing there will be times where that could happen.
When Calleigh walked back into the break room to wash out her coffee mug she sees Horatio talking to an African-American woman who looked about Horatio's age, she was an inch taller than her, slim, had brown hair that went just below the shoulder, and when she looked in Calleigh's direction she saw that this woman had brown eyes.
The woman smiled at her, held out her hand and said. "I'm the ME, Alexx Woods."
Calleigh smiled back, took the older woman's hand and replied. "Calleigh Duquesne, nice to meet you." They release hands as Alexx nods.
As Calleigh started walking towards the sink, the room filled up with the rest of the team and Horatio speaks. "Well done you guys, it was another successful day, and I'll see you next shift."
They nodded, then Eric looked over at Calleigh, who was still by the sink, and asked. "Would you like to go out and have a few drinks with us?"
Calleigh shook her head and replied. "Sorry, but how about a rain check."
She didn't know these people well enough to tell them about her situation, so she thought it would be easier to just ask for a rain check, which she does plan on cashing in, but only when she finds something better than an afterschool program for C.J.
They took her request without asking questions, then three of them looked at Horatio and Alexx, and Jesse asked. "How about you two?" They both declined too, Horatio also mentioning a rain check and Alexx wanting to go home and spend time with her family.
Once they nodded again, Natalia, Eric and Jesse walk out of the room after saying bye and nice to meet you again to Calleigh.
After a few seconds of silence Calleigh speaks. "I'm going to head out too." When she got into the doorway she looks back at Alexx and Horatio, which Alexx could tell were Calleigh's eyes were mostly looking at, or it was more like who, and she said. "Have a good evening Mr. Caine."
Horatio shook his head and replied. "Thanks for the formality, but please its Horatio or boss."
She nodded and replied with a smile. "Then have a good evening Horatio."
He nods with a smile. "You too."
Calleigh looks at Alexx and said. "And it was nice to meet you, have a good evening."
Alexx nodded. "You too." Calleigh nodded, and after one more look at Horatio she walked out of the room.
When it was just the two of them Horatio was still looking at the empty doorway, Alexx looks at her good friend and said. "Honey, do you have it bad."
Horatio mentally shakes his head, looks at her and asked. "What do you mean?"
Alexx smiled and replied. "Now, don't play dumb with me. How long have we been friends?" Horatio looks at her for a second before looking down, and if Alexx didn't know him better, it would almost seem like he was blushing. She smiled bigger and continued. "Wow, almost blushing. I got to say I don't think I've ever seen you blush over a woman before, this is a first."
He lifts his head, up, groans a little. "Alexxxx."
She chuckled. "Alright I'll stop picking on you." Then she puts her hand on his arm and continued. "But seriously, I can tell something is there, what are you going to do about it?"
Horatio sighed, looked at her, and as he walked to the break room door he answered. "I'll deal with it."
He gets to the doorway as Alexx speaks. "And in Horatio's words that means you'll say nothing and try and hide it." He looks back at her sadly before turning and walking out of the door.
Alexx sighed as she looked at the empty doorway, that man can be confident in a lot of things, including his job, but when it comes to the matters of the heart he was a little shy, which she guesses she understood that because he's had his heart-broken a few times. But she feels this was different and thinks Horatio wasn't the only one with the strong feelings inside them, and hopes in time they will figure it out.
Alexx shakes her head from those thoughts and leaves the room to go home to her family, it was ultimately up to them on how they wanted to proceed with their hearts.
After Calleigh picked up C.J. she drove home, and once they were inside, he went straight to his room and started on the bit of homework that he had to do, while she started making them a light snack.
When the homework was done and they finished the light snack he asked if he could play out on the beach, which after she allowed it, he went to his room to grab the toys he wanted to play with, while she grabbed a book and her phone, since she was going to be out there to keep an eye on him.
Once they were outside C.J. walks down the steps of the covered deck and walked the path until he got to the beach and started playing and building stuff close to the their fence.
Calleigh sits down in the chair on the deck and watched him for a few minutes, then looked at her watch and saw that it should be late enough that Sara would be up, or she hoped as she was dialing her number.
After a few rings Calleigh hears. "Sidle."
It did sound like she was a little groggy, so Calleigh apologized. "Sorry Sara, I hoped you would be up."
Sara yawned and replied. "It's ok I am just waking up actually, so how was your first day?"
Calleigh smiled and talked as she kept her eye on C.J. "It was amazing." Then she told Sara about her day in complete detail.
When she was done Sara replied. "It does sound like a good day for you, and it also sounds like you have a thing for your boss."
Calleigh gasped. "Sara!"
Sara chuckled. "What? I think you said his name about 10 times." It was quiet and Sara continued. "I knew it."
Calleigh does a deep sigh, which Sara understood that type of sigh, then she speaks. "Well It's not like I can do anything about it, he is my boss, my new boss at that, and I am not going to go up to him and make a fool of myself or make things uncomfortable, I really like it here."
"Even if you have to hide what your feeling?"
She sighed again. "Yeah. And I am not the only doing that am I?"
Sara cleared her throat and replied. "I guess not." Then she chuckled before continuing. "We sure know how to pick them this time around."
Calleigh chucked this time. "Yes, but I already believe he would be an upgrade." Then cringed as she thought of her last boyfriend.
"Me too. I'll tell you what, when you're ready to tell Horatio how you feel then I'll tell Grissom how I feel."
Calleigh smiled and replied. "You are on."
Both knowing that could be awhile.
It was a few seconds of silence before they continued to talk, then they hung up about 15 minutes later.
Later that evening after dinner was eaten, showers and/or baths were taken, their sleeping clothes on, bedtime story read, hugs and kisses goodnight were said and done, and tucked in their beds, Calleigh sighed as she closed her eyes, happy she was here, and she really couldn't wait to see what happens next. The future looked good, or at least she hoped it was.
AN: Want to know what happens next? Please review.