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It Takes Patience to Capture the Castle...

Natalia grimaced as she climbed out of the mini bus; she'd managed to put her foot straight into a puddle of brown, sticky mud. With an effort, she tugged herself free and headed over to where Eric and Calleigh were already suiting up. The two of them had been whispering for the entire journey and she couldn't help but feel a little concerned; 'they were definitely planning something.'

She took a moment to survey her surroundings. Stetler had brought them to a wood, the kind of wood that cast shadows everywhere with its towering trees that blocked out the sun, and obstacles littered the ground making the area perfect for activities like this. She stifled the urge to test an echo and turned to face Eric as he handed her a suit.

"I am definitely a city girl," she sighed.

"I second that," Valera moaned, as she flung herself down on the wooden bench to the side.

Calleigh exchanged a look with Eric and turned her attention to the squirming figure behind him. Ryan had managed to get himself stuck in his body suit and was making no effort to hide his annoyance. With a final grunt, he untangled himself and joined Valera on the bench. 'He hated this already.'

"You okay?" Calliegh teased.

Ryan eyed her suspiciously; she had that wicked glint in her eyes that told him that he should be very afraid. And as soon as the thought entered his brain, she picked up her gun and cocked it, turning it over in her hands to inspect it, and then with another playful look at Eric, she headed over to where Stetler was gesturing for them.

"That woman," Ryan swallowed as he watched her go, "scares me," he finished, pretty much summing up the feeling of the group.

"Alright team! Get over here!" Stetler barked.

"And that man," Valera gestured over to him, "is a jerk."

/EC/

Stetler watched as the CSI's slowly dragged themselves over, a smirk playing about his mouth. He turned his attention to his left when a voice spoke to him.

"Can't get the staff these days, can you, Rick?" Calleigh teased.

He studied her for a moment; there was something about her enthusiasm that was making him nervous. He glanced at Eric who, as always, was by her side and he couldn't help but notice that both of them had matching playful smiles.

"Seriously, Stetler, of all the possible activities that you could have chosen, why did you have to pick paintball?" Ryan groaned, pulling Rick from his thoughts.

He turned to face the group that had now assembled in front of him and met Ryan with a glare. "It happens to be a very good team game. It tests leadership, cooperation and trust."

Ryan moved his gaze to Calleigh - 'he definitely didn't trust her right now' - and he turned round when he heard the sound of footsteps behind him.

"Lieutenant Caine, nice of you to join us." Stetler raised his eyebrows.

Horatio forced a half smile and positioned his body to the side, adopting his familiar stance. "My pleasure Rick," he replied tightly as he removed his sunglasses and put them somewhere safe.

"Right, now that we're all here, I have taken the liberty of splitting you up into teams. Ryan, Horatio and Natalia you're with me - we're Team One. Calleigh, Valera, Frank and Eric, you're Team Two." Rick caught the playful glance that Calleigh shot at Eric and changed his mind, quickly. "Actually, Ryan and Eric swap. We don't want this day hampered by Ken and Barbie here."

Calleigh narrowed her eyes and bit back her retort. She and Eric had taken into account the possibility that they might not have been on the same team and Stetler had in fact, just made their goal a hell of a lot easier. So instead, Calleigh smiled at him sweetly, cursing him silently.

Apparently satisfied that he had adverted any potential sabotage, Rick began again. "Okay, Team Two, your mission is to flank our base. You must work as a team to break down our defence and you have an hour to do so. Three hits to a limb is a kill, it's two to a torso and one for this little area here," Rick pointed to the red circle that was on each of their camouflage suits, the one that was situated over their heart.

Calleigh smiled; 'so that's the bullseye."

"Any questions?" he continued.

"Uh, yeah," Tripp grunted. "Does it hurt?"

"No, Frank, the ammo's paint not bullets," Rick smirked.

Calleigh sighed; she was getting restless now and she turned to face the group. "Alright ya'll, how 'bout we get this show on the road?" And with a final look at Eric, she headed for the yellow flag that signalled her team's starting point.

Ryan followed her, not sure whether to be relieved or not that he was on her team. He had no doubt that in swapping him with Eric, Stetler had inadvertently played into her hands, and it was with that thought that he decided on relief; he was on the team that was going to win, and the team where he wasn't going to get hurt…

As soon as Calleigh's team were out of sight, hidden behind one of the various haystacks or obstacles, Rick moved his team to vantage points and together they waited for the Southern Belle's attack.

/EC/

Calleigh was crouched behind a line of wooden barrels and Ryan was situated as close as he could possibly get to her without risk of personal injury. He was a little concerned about being pummelled with a paint gun, and had put his trust in Calleigh to get him through this game unscathed. Valera and Tripp were crouched behind a haystack that ran parallel to them.

"Calleigh?" he whispered.

She didn't answer, her green eyes instead focused on studying the horizon.

"Calleigh?" he tried again.

"Sshh!" She shot him a glare. Her gaze then returned to its previous position, scanning ahead for the sign that told her when to move and in which direction. She bit her lip in concentration and continued to wait patiently.

Frank exchanged a look with Valera; he was starting to get a little bored. With a yawn, he stretched and raised his arms above his head, crying out when in quick succession, three pellets hit his hand, turning it a mixture of blue and yellow.

Calleigh turned to face him, her eyes mirroring the angry green stain that was spreading across his skin.

"Tripp, you're out!" Rick's voice shouted from an invisible place.

"I thought it wasn't supposed to hurt, Stetler!" he shot back, cradling his rapidly swelling hand. With a sigh, he stood up and headed back to the wooden bench in the clearing.

"Now what?" Valera whispered.

Calleigh turned to face her. "Now, we move. Hotshot there just gave away our position." She surveyed the distance between their current hiding spot and another one that was a few feet away. Eventually, she decided that there were two possible routes that they could take.

Ryan tensed when he saw it - that light that told him she had a plan and he knew he wasn't going to like it. Sure enough, she turned to face him.

"Okay, Ryan, you see that fence there? I need you to run for it. Approach it from this direction." She pointed to the route. "Oh, and move in zig-zags. Make as much movement as possible."

"What? You're asking me to be a human target!" he hissed. 'So much for not getting hurt,' he thought bitterly.

"No, I'm asking you to serve as a distraction, and, besides, your zig-zags will throw off their aim. They won't hit you, I promise." She flashed him one of her sweetest smiles and he almost believed her.

"What about me?" Valera asked, her eyes wild.

"We're going to take the second route, around that tree. But we'll take cover behind that haystack there."

"So you're using me as a sacrifice! Calleigh, they'll know my position!" Ryan raised his eyebrows, his voice a little hysterical.

"Exactly, which means they'll attempt to pop you and when they do, I'll be able to see their position and hopefully cap one of them. It will be a team effort."

Ryan didn't look so sure.

"Trust me," she smiled wickedly. "Now on the count of three…"

Ryan flexed his muscles.

"One…"

He took in a deep breath.

"Two…"

He exhaled.

"Three!"

He ran as fast as he possibly could. Flashes of green, blue, yellow and purple flew past him as he weaved in the direction that Calleigh had told him to go. If he didn't live through this, he was going to come back and haunt her. 'He'd make sure of it.' He could hear shouts echoing around him as Calleigh's plan began to take effect and concentrated solely on getting to his destination, and Ryan could have sworn his heart stopped beating when a slice of blue missed his face by an inch. He breathed a sigh of relief when finally, he found the fence and flung himself down on the ground. Wincing at the series of splats that smacked against the wood, he closed his eyes in an attempt to compose himself; but before he had a chance, a loud cry brought him out of his daze. Puzzled, he glanced over to the haystack where Calleigh and Valera had moved. The two women were grinning triumphantly, and he noticed that the tip of Calleigh's paint gun had a small trickle of yellow running teasingly down it.

"Natalia you're out!" Rick's voice boomed.

Ryan widened his eyes. "You shot Natalia?" he mouthed.

Calleigh shrugged. Now they were back on equal footing; each team had three members left. "Yes," she hissed. "Now freeze until I say you can move!"

Ryan winced as another splat smacked against the wooden fence. 'Trust me,' he thought. 'I'm not going anywhere.'

Satisfied that Ryan had understood her, Calleigh poked her head out from around the haystack, just enough so that she could see. She felt Valera fidget next to her and gave her a small kick.

"Ow! Cal – "

"Sshh!" she breathed, cutting the other woman off.

Valera frowned and began to rub the dull ache in her leg. It was typical that she'd been paired up with quite possibly the most determined person on the planet, and Stetler had brought out her competitive side. 'Ugh,' Valera thought. 'She hated this.'

/EC/

Eric was lying on his front behind a rather large log. To his right, behind a wooden crate, was Stetler. Horatio was further back, crouched in the bushes. So far, he and Calleigh hadn't been able to execute their plan but whilst Tripp had inadvertently delayed them, it had resulted in the removal of Natalia which meant one less witness for what he was about to do.

He glanced over at Rick who was watching the now multi-coloured fence intently - his hands were gripped so tight around his gun that his knuckles were turning white with the pressure. Stifling his urge to laugh, Eric moved his head to look at Horatio, but frowned when he couldn't see him. Eric sighed; he couldn't wait any longer, they were running out of time. If Horatio saw him, he saw him; 'it was going to be worth it.' Carefully, he removed the small mirror that Calleigh had given him and propped it up against a rock, making sure it was positioned at an angle that caught the light whenever the gentle breeze opened up a gap in the trees.

/EC/

Calleigh's eyes tensed. 'Was that it?' She kept still for a moment, waiting for clarification. This time, she definitely saw it; a sharp glint that gave away his position. Her brain kicked into life as she surveyed the area. She'd agreed with Eric that he should keep Stetler on his right at all times, allowing her deduce where he was. She moved her gaze away from the log to the crate that was situated a few feet away and smiled; 'that's where he is.'

"Okay, Ryan, Valera, here's what I need you to do…"

/EC/

Eric tensed, knowing that her attack was imminent. He knew she wouldn't intentionally shoot him - or at least he hoped she wouldn't - but he wanted to be ready to move should he need to. He glanced over at Rick who was still frozen in his position, his eyes sharp. 'He was taking this way too seriously,' Eric noted as heard a shuffle from behind him somewhere, signalling that Horatio had just shifted his weight.

He looked back at the painted fence and caught sight of Ryan peering around it. His finger instinctively reached for the trigger and he had to override his impulse to shoot.

"Delko!" a voice hissed from his right. "You've got a clear shot! Take it!"

Eric sighed and slipped his finger over the trigger once more. He took aim and fired, hitting a tree just to the left of Ryan, and watched as the other man took cover again.

"How did you miss!" Stetler whispered in disbelief.

Eric shrugged; 'I didn't,' he thought. As much as he'd liked to have capped Ryan, he knew that Calleigh needed him for her attack. Maybe if she hadn't lost Frank…

"Delko!" Rick cut in. "Do you see that?"

Eric looked to where Stetler gestured and caught a glimpse of a pair of legs as they ducked behind a crate, and he seized the opportunity. "I'm going to move forward; check it out." He wasn't quite sure where he was heading, but he knew that Calleigh would keep an eye out for him.

Stetler nodded, his gaze settling back to the wooden fence where he assumed Ryan was still taking cover.

"Horatio, cover me," Eric whispered.

"Eric…" He heard a rustle as Horatio shifted his body, "Eric, I've got your back."

/EC/

Calleigh smiled as she watched Valera throw herself behind the crate. She glanced over to Eric's position, hoping he'd caught sight of Valera's manoeuvre. Moving Ryan had been trickier; everytime he moved he triggered a rainbow. She'd told him to move backwards, towards a stone wall that he could use to get to a good position, just to the left of Valera. And she smiled again when she saw he'd taken up his new hiding spot. She made eye contact with them both and slowly, they began to move forwards, crawling along the floor towards the crate that she knew Rick was hiding behind.

Just then, she caught sight of Eric sprinting towards a large hedge on her right and she checked her team's position; if she moved to the hedge she'd still be able to make contact with them. She grabbed a handful of debris from the ground and threw it at the now multi-coloured fence that had been Ryan's hiding spot. Another rainbow erupted, spraying on another coat, and she used the cover to run over to Eric undetected.

She flung herself down next to him, hardly out of breath and grinned at him. "So far so good."

He nodded and reached out to brush away a stray leaf that had got caught up in her hair, brushing her cheek lightly as he did so. His eyes found hers and she held his gaze for a moment, neither of them moving.

"Eric…" she whispered. But she broke eye contact when a jet of red shot past the hedge and hit the already redecorated fence. "Stetler can't think Ryan's still there, surely?" she breathed, her earlier thought suppressed.

"Isn't he?" Eric frowned, the butterflies in his stomach still fluttering.

Calleigh wiggled her eyebrows at him playfully. "No, he and Valera are currently flanking your leader." She flashed him a smile.

"You know, just when I think I've got you all figured out, you go and surprise me again."

"Well, a girl's got to maintain some mystery," her eyes danced back at him.

Eric laughed. Whilst he'd always admired her professionalism, he could get used to playful Calleigh. Sure, she allowed him to see this side of her every now and then, but today she seemed more reachable, more daring, and he loved it. 'He loved her.'

Calleigh bit her lip. He was staring again and she found herself wanting him to; she loved the way he looked at her. Normally, a part of her would be terrified, but she didn't know if it was the adrenalin or the knowledge that she was about to get one up on Stetler that was making her more carefree.

"So, uh, what's our next move?" he finally asked her, eyes still locked with hers.

"You've got twenty minutes, Calleigh!" Rick Stetler's voice boomed from behind his crate.

She rolled her eyes and poked her head around the hedge. Ryan and Valera were in a good position; the former on Rick's left, the latter on his right. She caught their eyes and motioned for them to hold fire whilst she found her own vantage point. Calleigh's eyes flickered around her surroundings; she wanted the best shot possible and eventually, she turned back to Eric.

"Okay, here's what we're going to do…"

/EC/

Stetler tensed; he could have sworn he saw movement around that fence. Ryan had been a sitting duck for at least half an hour now, and he sighed irritably before he caught sight of Eric sprinting back over to him. Rick frowned; there was no paintfire. 'Why?' He surveyed the area intently, looking for something, anything. Eric's movements were hardly subtle and he was surprised that Calleigh hadn't opened fire. His body froze; 'something was wrong.' He flickered his gaze back to Eric again and watched as he flung himself back down behind the log.

"Couldn't find anything," he shrugged, feigning innocence.

Rick studied him carefully. "Uh huh," he eventually replied, still a little suspicious.

Eric held back a smile when out of the corner of his eye, he caught sight of a flash of blonde slide in front of Rick's crate; he had successfully distracted Stetler.

/EC/

Calleigh caught Ryan and Valera's eyes and nodded, signalling the start of the attack and, simultaneously, Ryan and Valera fired their guns upwards, shooting a fountain of paint towards the sky.

Behind his crate, Stetler jumped, the sound of the paint splat startling him. He glanced over at Eric. "What's going on?" he mouthed.

Eric poked his head round the log and locked his eyes with Calleigh, while Ryan and Valera continued to blindly fire paint in all directions. With a smile at her, he turned back to Rick.

"You see that haystack over there?" Eric pointed a little way forward. Rick nodded. "When I say go, move to it." He found Calleigh again and widened his eyes, telling her to get ready, watching as she relayed the signal to Ryan and Valera before he whispered to Stetler, "Go!"

Rick stood up, expecting to have a clear run to the haystack, but instead found that he came face to face with a certain Southern beauty.

"Hi, Rick." She cocked her head to the side, grinning at him devilishly, before she pulled the trigger and watched as a fist of yellow shot forwards and landed snugly on the patch above his heart. At the same time, Ryan and Valera opened fire, making a rainbow out of him. "Guess this means you're out?" Calleigh smiled as she looked down at her watch. "Ooh," she shrugged innocently, "and with twelve minutes to spare." She directed a knowing smile Eric's way and headed back to the clearing where Frank and Natalia were sat, mouth's wide open.

"Did she really just do that?" Frank asked.

"Uh huh," Natalia replied. "Think I got off lightly," she sighed as rubbed the shoulder that Calleigh had decorated.

Frank nodded and reached for the itinerary, grimacing when he saw the next item on the agenda; 'The day was about to get worse.'

Much, much worse...

Anyway, hope you're all enjoying the weekend. I'll try to update soon.

Reviews very much appreciated :D