Title: "The Little Things"

Timeline: Set after ep.7x14, "Smoke Gets In Your CSIs."

Rating: K


Horatio Caine stood at the top of the stairs that led to his glass-walled office. From that vantage point, he could survey a good one-third of the lab. Right now, the only thing capturing his attention was one stubborn, blonde ballistics expert.

Calleigh was struggling to breathe; she hid it well, but he could see the alarm growing in her eyes from thirty feet away. She was standing in the hallway, engaged in a conversation about an ongoing case, and there was no escape in sight.

Horatio watched her chest rise quickly and erratically as she tried to catch her breath. He saw her fists clench into little balls at her side before she crossed them behind her back and forced herself to calm down.

Just as H was about to descend the stairs, he spotted Eric coming down the hall. The tall Cuban picked up on Calleigh's distress even faster than Horatio had. A look of worry instantly crossed his face as he quickly sized up the situation.

From his perch high above, the lieutenant was surprised when Eric didn't stop in the hallway to talk to his best friend. Instead, he simply passed her by, maneuvering himself sideways between Cal and another lab tech.

If Horatio hadn't been watching closely, he might have missed it. When Eric brushed up against Calleigh, he expertly slipped something into her hand behind her back, then kept walking like nothing had happened.

Calleigh's fingers clenched tightly around the object in her hand. The tension in her shoulders relaxed, and a look of relief and gratitude and…something else…washed over her face.

Soon, her conversation ended, and a pair of curious eyes followed Calleigh to the lab across the hall. Safe inside the vacant room, she took the object from behind her back.

It was her inhaler. Three puffs and four deep breaths later, Calleigh could breathe again. She slumped against the wall and closed her eyes for a minute, regaining her composure before heading back out into the fray.

Horatio chuckled to himself. They're good.