When he heard the order that they were heading to Miami to help PD hunt down a serial killer that was killing random men and women left and right, he knew he was caught between a rock and a hard place. The BAU had no idea about his past, had no idea that his name is Eric, not Luke, has no idea about The Russians or his birth certificate and prior issues with citizenship. All of his current co workers were kept out of the loop, and these orders had been given by the head of the FBI. When The Russians came back, he had no choice but to flee Miami, leave CSI for the safety of him, his family, and his coworkers. But he hated the idea of witness protection, the FBI changed everything about him, changed his past, his roots and where he comes from, for his and everyone else's safety.
He'd gone into witness protection in Atlanta for 20 months lecturing on the criminal justice system at Georgia State University before moving to BAU. And now here he is, Luke Alvez.
Born in the Bronx, not in Cuba. Formally a part of the US Army, not a tow truck company in The Glades. Later joined the FBI's Fugitive Task Force, not Miami Dade CSI. Eric was an entirely different person, still trying to get used to his coworkers calling him Luke, still trying to outprofile them so they couldn't figure out the truth, still trying to just get used to everything and everyone around him, though he knew realistically he'd never get used to it
But now they had a case in Miami, and he had to pretend he's not from there, pretend he knows nothing about Miami, pretend he's never once met anyone apart of MDPD, pretend he knew nothing about being a CSI. Horatio was the only one that knew about Eric's situation, about him having to go into witness protection because of The Russians. Calleigh knew he had to leave but knew she wasn't allowed to know anything else about the situation.
Now, on the plane, reading over the files, he had to pretend to not notice that all of the victims were named after hurricanes, all of them killed in the same order the hurricanes hit. He had to try and not stare at the photos of the crime scenes and evidence that Calleigh had signed, dated, and verified. But that was all he could think about, she was all he could think about. Holding her again, smelling her, kissing her, talking to her, explaining everything, waking up to her in the morning spooned together, picking up where they left off and pretending these last two years just never happened. If only life could be that easy.
"You find something, Alvez?" Morgan asked, glancing at him from the other side of the plane. He continued to stare down at the file, making it seem like he was in deep thought over the case, not over Calleigh.
"The victims," he said keeping his voice steady, "A while back I'd read an article about socioeconomic impact caused by hurricanes in South Florida," he lied, "these victims, they're all named after hurricanes."
Okay, maybe being from Miami did have an advantage if it meant it'd make him look like he was doing his job.
"Andrew Cunningham, Erin Taylor, Philip Opal, Charly Anderson, Ivan Rodriguez, Jeanne Sparks, Dennis Booker, Katrina Summers, Wilma Johnson," he shook his head at the file, figuring he'd already said too much, knowing he couldn't tell them that they were killed in order of those hurricanes, couldn't tell them that each of those hurricanes were either a category 3 or higher, couldn't tell them about the long days he'd spend waiting for gas right before a hurricane was about to hit, couldn't tell them about raiding the supermarket for water and alcohol and food, couldn't tell them about those couple of nights he'd spent over at Calleigh's. He hated having to lie, having to forget. He missed Miami, he missed Calleigh. Hell, he even missed the hurricanes.
He hoped that at some time during Spencer Reid's life he'd read about the order these hurricanes had come in, because there's no way Eric -Luke- could let any other knowledge related to anything remotely close to the same category of Miami slip, those orders were straight from the head of FBI.
And surely enough, Reid piggybacked off him, first with a question, "was that the order they were killed?" and at Eric's nod Spencer went on to recite.
"Hurricane Andrew hit Florida in 1992, Hurricane Erin in '95, Opal in '95 as well, Charley, Ivan and Jeanne in '04, and Dennis, Katrina, and Wilma in '05. And if I remember correctly I believe all of those hurricanes were a Category 3 or higher."
Eric thanked whatever God or faulty condom that made Spencer Reid, because now everyone was interested in his input regarding the hurricanes, and Eric could be left to figure out how to react and what to say when he see's Cal. He vaguely heard over the loudspeaker that they'd be landing within 15 minutes as he watched out the window, and he could name each neighborhood they flew over, could point out where the lab was, could tell you exactly where Calleigh lived. This was his home, his city, the place he left everything behind, everyone that he loved, they were all here, right below them. This was where he was CSI Delko, this was where his family was, where Calleigh was, the lab and Horatio and everything he loved, it was all right here.
But then JJ sat next to him, had noticed him staring out the window, and he suddenly felt a completely new level of homesickness.
"Beautiful, isn't it Alvez? I've always wanted to come to Miami. You ever been?"
"No," he spoke too quickly, "always wanted to visit," he said, attempting to cover any slip up he may have let through. In reality he knew if anything, it was the overthinking of his actions that would get him busted.
"You okay, Luke?" He felt her gaze on him now, instead of outside. He kept his eyes dutifully on the scenery, taking note that they were landing at the Opa-Locka Executive Airport, and also taking note that he should make sure Reid doesn't walk around this area alone.
"Yea," he responded evenly, "just always wanted to come here, can't believe I finally did"
As the tires smoothly hit the runway of the airport, he instantly recognized the silver hummer that was parked by the terminal, felt relief when he laid eyes on Horatio, and smiled to himself over H's sunglasses. Eric was always one to miss the little things.
But beside H he saw Calleigh, and his belly twisted with nervousness. He'd been so anxious to see her, stuck in this idea that they'd just pick up where they left off, pick up like nothing had changed, that he hadn't really thought that she may have moved on, that Jake may have come back, that maybe she found someone else. He couldn't blame her, honestly, if she'd moved on, he couldn't hold that over her. Two years is a long time to go without intimacy, and despite his feelings allowing him to hold off, to wait for her, it was biologically inevitable for her to seek out someone else, in some form or another. But he'd been so caught up in his excitement, caught up in seeing her again, in holding her again, that he hadn't thought of the inevitable- Calleigh moving on.
She'd been so fucked over by men in her life he hoped that had she moved on this guy wouldn't go shooting himself in her lab or disappearing undercover for days at a time or getting forced into witness protection because of a part of his family he didn't really know existed. It's fair to say that Calleigh has had her fair share of shitty, complicated men. So Eric couldn't hold any of that against her. It wouldn't be fair.
His thoughts stopped when he felt Derek standing beside him, "you know them?" he asked, following Erics line of sight.
He shook his head, "no," he denied, "just observing what we're working with."
It was silent for a moment, until he heard Rossi instruct them to exit the plane, Eric was only half listening though. His eyes were on Calleigh, never leaving her until his line of site was blocked while he exited the plane. It'd been so long, too long. And it took everything he had to not go running to her and wrapping his arms around her again, finally. He was only a few yards away from her, completely tuned out from whatever Rossi was talking about. She looked just as breathtaking as she always has, her hair blowing lightly in the wind, her frame still small yet firm while she wore a simple blouse and business slacks and heels.
He was waiting for her to notice him, wondering if she'd already had, but if she did she didn't show it, not really. And if Horatio didn't tell her beforehand that he was here she was about to find out now, the moment he heard Horatio begin to speak.
"Agent Rossi," he said, reaching out his hand to shake Daves.
"Lieutenant Cane, it's good to see you again," he turned to look at Calleigh, and she offered the warm smile she always had, the one that really made Eric fall in love with her, the one he missed waking up to every morning, "I'm Calleigh," she said, shaking his hand as he reached out to her. Her eyes moved tentatively to Eric, who wasn't doing the best job at acting natural, though how was he not supposed to be distracted? Not supposed to think about them and what they have together? He'd been so lost in her, in everything, in what they'd left behind, that he hadn't realized it was his turn to introduce and shake hands.
Instinctively he reached his hand to hers, "Alvez. Luke Alvez," and his eyes stayed on hers, until he felt a cool metal band brush his hand, and he glanced down hoping, praying it was the one he'd left her, the one he'd left as a promise, because Eric was not one to break promises, especially to people he loved and would give his life for. The fact that she'd worn it all this time, that she not only waited for him, presumably, but openingly wore a piece of jewelry that would easily signify that she was at the very least engaged, made his heart flip.
Neither had realized they'd held their hands together a little longer than that of people from different worlds and walks of life meeting for the first time. And she knew it, he knew it, and while he may have dropped his hand tentatively, his eyes never left her, not once. And honestly it'd been too long, he didn't care about what his current co workers thought, didn't care about them profiling him and her and the situation. As far as he was concerned, Calleigh was the only one here with him right now.
He vaguely heard Horatio saying that they needed 2 agents at the lab while the other 3 took care of hotel arrangements and started getting settled, but he did hear clearly when Horatio requested that "Alvez and Dr Ried come to the lab with him," and Eric had absolutely zero issue with that. Most supervisors, they'd try keep him and her separate for now, figuring it'd only hinder both his and her effectiveness if they were together after so long. But realistically, it'd probably be far worse if they both had to keep playing along with the whole "Luke Alvez" role without having a second to say something to one another.
And since landing his eyes never left her, seeing her smile, hearing her voice, it made his heart race. He was tuned out of everything around him except her, he'd lost complete sense of his surroundings, all that mattered was that she was here. He vaguely remembered stepping the few feet into the Hummer, Calleigh in the passenger seat and Horatio driving, while he and Spencer sat in the back, and Eric couldn't help but smile to himself as he remembered that one time, a few months before their relationship was official, when they'd pulled over because the easy rain that lulled the morning turned into a torrential downpour that made it virtually impossible to drive. He didn't remember what it was exactly that caused the shift, nor could he remember exactly who started it- though in retrospect it was probably the both of them- but he did clearly remembered climbing into the backseat with her. That'd been a day he'd relive over and over again if he could.
He caught Calleigh's knowing smile in the mirror, and the way they glanced at each other now, as if things hadn't really changed, as if these past 2 years just hadn't existed, made his insides go a little gooey, and he honestly couldn't wait to get this briefing at the lab over with so he could grab Calleigh and run and hide in the supply closet or her ballistics lab or the locker room or even in the sketchy stairs in the parking garage for all he cared, itd been so long, and Eric was over waiting.
He was so distracted over her, over starting back up where they left off, that he hadn't realized they'd arrived at the lab until he felt Spencer open the door. The nostalgia he felt when he stepped outside and saw the front of the lab brought on this new level of homesickness. There was no way in hell he was going to go anywhere without her now- either the BAU was gonna need to hire Calleigh or he was just gonna need to quit and move to Canada with her. Either way, he really didn't care, he wasn't going to leave her, not again.
He didn't care about the case right now, about his coworkers, hell didn't really even care about Horatio, he just needed her, here, now. While he pretended to listen to Horatio guide them into the lab, pretended to care about what else was going on, he started plotting a way to get Calleigh alone. And she could see right through him, knew exactly what he was thinking, and he vaguely caught her smirk before Spencer turned towards him while they walked down the halls, "Alvez how did you say you knew about the hurricanes again?"
Eric caught both Horatio and Calleigh watching him, waiting for him to formulate an answer, and Calleigh glance to Dr Reid, curious as to how well he was doing at his so called profiling job. If he'd picked up on any of the tension in the air he chose not to comment on it.
"Read an article about natural disasters not too long ago," he explained blandly, turning with no hesitation around the corner of the hall, figuring they were meeting in one of the conference rooms. It was a little late though, he realized when he glanced out a window to find the sky had gone dark and the sun began to set. He vaguely remembered something about the rest of the team heading to the hotel, so if he and Spencer were gonna be in the lab it wouldn't be for long. Eric wasn't sure how long he could last without jumping her right then and there.
They stopped in front of a conference room, one he'd been to so many times before, for so many different reasons... one he'd had so many different... fantasies, in. He needed to stop thinking like this, and fast, because if he pondered too much on her and him like that he'd need to take himself(and her) to the locker room, and it wouldn't be for the first time.
Looking through the glass walls of the conference room, Eric saw each file for each case neatly placed along the table.
"The cases are in order of the death of each victim," Horatio explained, "I need to catch up with some other CSI's about some other cases. Calleigh is head investigator on this case, she'll be here to answer any of your questions," he glanced to Eric and gave him a slight nod while Spencer eagerly entered the conference room, "we've concluded that the unsub has probably had some sort of traumatic event with hurricanes, each of the victims what were killed had a name in common with a hurricane, each killed in order that the hurricanes hit," he turned to Eric, "what else do you remember from the article you read?"
Eric sat down across from Spencer, Calleigh taking a seat beside him, carefully putting a good bit of distance between them, it was hard though, for her to not lean towards him, especially when here he was smelling just as delicious as she remember, she wanted to reach out to him, feel his skin against her fingertips, wanted to lace her hand with his, wanted to pull him into a much needed hug, wanted to rest her head on his chest, feel his strong arms around her, wanted to hear his heartbeat, wanted to kiss his neck, his jaw, wanted to tangle her fingers in his hair, pull his lips to hers and kiss away all the painful loneliness she'd held onto these past 2 years, wanted to tug at his shirt and rip it over his head, wanted to explore the hard contours of his chest, wanted to feel his warmth all around her, wanted his hands to explore and caress her skin and move to her chest to twist and tease while he kissed his way down her belly, wanted to tug at his belt and feel his hardness against her, feel him inside her, fill the empty spa-
"Calleigh?" It was Spencer's voice. She hasn't realize she'd been staring down at this same file for the past 10 minutes, hell she didn't even remember grabbing the file. Whose smart idea was it to bring Eric back for such an important case when she had spent the last 2 years sleeping in an empty bed without him? How the hell did they expect her to to concentrate and put all of her focus on the case when Eric was hardly a foot away? How was she supposed to not jump his bones right here and now? She knew she wouldn't be able to focus on the case until she had them alone, until she could feel his lips on hers again, feel his strong arms circle her. She needed a minute to compose herself, to put herself together before she explodes and forces him on the table.
"You know," she said looking up from her file, glancing at Spencer for just a second before grabbing her phone from her hip, "I'm going to see if one of our techs ID'd the white powder we found at the last 2 scenes, see if that helps us figure out why it wasn't at the first few scenes."
"That would make since if something happened to the unsub that brought up some other trauma," he glanced to the three case files in front of him, "and the past 2 victim's injuries show a greater increase in the unsubs rage. The others had been strangled with the blue tarp they were found wrapped in, but they weren't tortured, and he'd chosen victims that didn't have much to look forward to. But the recent victims were strangled with his hands and then wrapped in a tarp."
Calleigh nodded, "if Travers hasn't gotten to the sample yet I'll be sure to make him move it to the top," she bumped Eric's knee twice, a code of some sort, and invitation for him to follow her. He knocked her knee back so she knew he understood. She stood wordlessly and Dr Reid seemed to be too enlaced in the case files in front of him for him to notice. When she left Eric got a gust of her intoxicating scent, and he knew the next few minutes of waiting until enough time passed for him to leave without it seeming suspicious would be utter hell.
His heart raced with anticipation, he'd been so overwhelmed by her just being here, by just seeing her, he hadn't come up with what he was going to say to her, what he could say to her, he had so much he wanted to tell her, so much he wanted to explain, so many questions and his mouth went dry. He tried not to think about it, trusted that they'd be able to talk freely like they had before, when he was able to sneak in past her hard walls she'd built around her, boundaries to keep herself safe, that she let down for him. But then he left, and he could only imagine how much thicker they must be now. Anxiety coursed through his veins when he glanced at his watch. 2:19, roughly 8 minutes since she'd gone to trace, and that was good enough for him.
"You know," he began, flipping through the pages as if he'd come up with a legitimate question, "I'm gonna go print out the general information about each of the hurricanes, see if there's a minor connection we're missing."
"Alright, you want me to come with you?"
"No," his voice was steady, something he was beyond grateful for, "you stay with case files, it'll only take a couple minutes."