FF106 "The Tribe Grows"
The mid-morning air was thick with humidity; indicating a storm was fast approaching despite the clear blue skies. Frank stood beneath the shade of some very large dwarf spruce trees as he tried to escape the uncomfortable heat and humidity. One would think that after living in Miami for so many years, he would be used to Florida's climate. Unfortunately, that was not the case, and it more often than not resulted in some light ribbing from Erik, who was native to the god-awful combination of heat and humidity.
Speaking of the CSI, the Texan reluctantly moved away from the somewhat cool shade once he spotted the younger man's SUV pull up. Frank frowned a bit as he noted that Calleigh had exited from the passenger side of the vehicle. Now, it was not unusual seeing the CSI team carpool together, but in all the years he had known the young woman, she always drove; even when carpooling. Granted; it was not an explicit rule. It was just one of those subconscious things that always happened. Well, aside from her not driving, the detective found himself extremely worried by the young woman's pale complexion. She was naturally fair complexioned, but with one look at her and Frank could not help but wonder if she was sick; even Erik kept throwing worried glances at the Ballistics Expert.
"You a'right, Calleigh?" Frank asked once the pair was in front of him.
She gave him a waned smile.
"Yeah," She replied, "What do we have?"
Usually, the Texan did not mind the down-to-business attitude of his CSI team, but Calleigh's pale complexion really worried him.
"A'right." He remarked, instead of calling her bluff, while sharing a look with Erik; both men knew that they would be keeping an extra eye on their friend, "The victim is Patricia Ames, 86 years, retired principle."
"Who called it in?" Erik asked as he began taking notes.
"The victim's daughter, Ashley." The detective motioned toward a trembling woman with the paramedics, "According to her, she came by to check on her mother when she failed to show up at the local food bank. Apparently, Mrs. Ames volunteered there every Sunday morning 'fore church services."
"Okay, thanks." Calleigh smiled as she set out to begin processing the scene.
"Oh… and one more thing…" Frank called, causing the pair to pause. The older man took a moment to look around; ensuring that there was no reporters nearby, "Can't be certain until Price shows up, but I think our victim was killed in the same way as the Leydecker case."
Calleigh and Erik shared an uneasy look with one another. The Leydecker case was never solved before Horatio went on sabbatical, and unfortunately, the case was put aside for newer and fresher cases. Although it was important to hold off judgment until the ME's report, but if Frank believed that there was similarities between the two cases then chances were that there was one.
"Thanks, man." Erik replied as he looked around but not seeing the ME van, "We'll keep an eye out… by the way, have you seen Price?"
"No, but just got word that she'll be here shortly." The Texan muttered, "She got called for that pile-up on Douglas Road, near South Dixie Highway."
"It might be longer." Calleigh sighed as she knew of the accident that her fellow Southerner was referring to. She remembered hearing about it on the scanner before coming to the scene. Not only was it a three-car accident with at least one fatality, but it was also the scene of a pedestrian accident if dispatch's reports were accurate.
"Well, we better get started." Erik mumbled as he headed in with his co-workers and friends.
Easily slipping underneath the yellow police caution tape, the trio quietly walked up the pathway leading to a small but comfortably spacious apartment. Before stepping into the apartment, Erik placed his kit down and prepped his camera to begin photographing the scene. He found himself taking a deep breath as he tried to keep his mind from wandering to his own abeula. It was not often, but sometimes the scenes they were called to would remind the young man of his family, and in this case his abeula. It terrified the young man to think that something as horrific as this scene could happen to his fiercely independent abeula.
At first glance, the apartment was immaculately clean. Did Mrs. Ames regularly clean her home? Or had the killer done it? Erik mentally asked himself
Erik then slowly walked into the apartment, taking pictures as he went through and documenting everything he saw. Maybe her daughter could identify if something is missing or has been re-arranged.
As he moved further into the apartment, he picked up the faint odor of burnt coffee; causing him to turn his attention to the small kitchen. There, on the counter, was a small four-cup coffee maker with about a cup of coffee missing. Immediately, the criminalist scanned the adjacent room and spotted a single cup on the dining table along with a small plate of eggs and toast. Erik frowned as he mentally theorized that the murder must have happened in the early hours of the morning. He made a mental note to ask Mrs. Ames' daughter when she was expected at the food bank. Perhaps we can get an unofficial time of death, or there about.
Erik was gathering his things before making his way to the back end of the apartment to join Calleigh in processing the back bedroom when he suddenly heard Frank call out Calleigh's name. He had enough time to see his blonde girlfriend rush out of the apartment. He immediately followed; thinking perhaps she found some lead or maybe the suspect, but soon paused when he heard the familiar sound of retching.
"Calleigh!" He cried as he instantly went to her side, holding her long blonde locks back.
From the corner of his eye, he saw Frank motion for the paramedics, who quickly came over.
"Calleigh?" He called while rubbing small circles on her back.
"Imma 'kay…" She murmured, causing Erik to wrinkle his nose in disbelief.
"No, you're not!" He hissed under his breathe, but before Calleigh could argue with him, the criminalist stepped aside; allowing the paramedics to tend to the obviously ill blonde.
Frank immediately stood by the younger man's side.
"Go, finish processing the scene." The Texan instructed, "I'll stay with her."
Although he wanted to protest, Erik knew that the scene had to be processed. Normally, procedure stated that two CSIs must work a scene. Unfortunately, he could not call Ryan to help for he was working on another case that he caught yesterday, and Natalia was working with Ryan. He could not even ask anyone from the other shift since they too were on other cases or maxed out on hours. It was moments like these that he wished there were more people at the Lab, but with budget cuts and such, Erick was just glad that the Lab still had all of her employees.
The young man took a deep breath and with a resolute nod, he went back to work while he listened to his girlfriend complain about being manhandled into the ambulance.
"With all due respect, ma'am, your blood pressure is low and your heart rate is high." One of the paramedics barked, "You're either going in the van voluntarily, or I'm gonna hafta haul your ass in there."
Erik paused as he heard the threat followed by what sounded like Frank chuckling. His curiosity took hold; causing him to look back and saw a petite African-American woman glaring at Calleigh, who eventually relented and did as she was instructed. Well, that's different.
Erik was finishing up processing the bedroom when he heard one of the officers' call for him. He quickly went to the front to see what the matter was.
"The ME's here." The officer plainly stated.
Erik looked at his watch. His brows disappeared into his hairline as he noted the time.
"Hey Densmore, mark the time she showed up." He instructed Officer Densmore.
"Yes'sir."
It had been almost three hours since he and Calleigh got the call, and Tara Price was only now arriving at the crime scene. He did not think that the Douglas Rd scene would have taken three hours to clear. Erik made a mental note to check with the officers on scene in regards to when the scene was cleared, once he had a chance. This was not the first time Price arrived to a scene hours after a previous scene was cleared; making both CSIs and officers wait for her and delaying their investigations. A few of the officers, detectives, and CSIs have made complaints about it, but it would seem the complaints fell on deaf-ears. Unfortunately, the most Erik, or anyone, can do was keep their peace and annotate everything.
"Delko." Tara greeted coolly as she looked around, "Where's Duquesne?"
"At the hospital." He answered truthfully, making the thin woman to arch a brow.
"I was told…"
"Her blood pressure dropped, causing the paramedics to take her." Erik quickly interrupted, "Now, if you don't mind, I would like it if we can wrap this up quickly. I want to analyze some of this evidence before heading to the hospital to check on her."
Tara gave Erik a cold look before entering the apartment with her assistant giving him an apologetic look.
Officer Densmore also gave the criminalist a sympathetic look, which the criminalist acknowledged with a rueful smile.
Erik soon found Tara in the bedroom with Mrs. Ames' body. He casually watched as she performed a liver temperature.
"Based off of the liver temp," She began, "she's been dead for approximately seven hours."
Erik looked at his watch, mentally calculating the time of death (TOD) for Mrs. Ames to be around six in the morning. He quickly annotated Price's estimated TOD in his notes along with a side note to confirm with Mrs. Ames' daughter when the elderly woman was expected at the food bank.
"Well, there's no doubt about it." The ME's tone caught Erik's attention. Her darks eyes peered into his.
Erik instantly noted a strange glee in her eyes that made him frown.
"It's the Boreas Killer." She proudly proclaimed.
"Who?" Erik had a sense of dread in the pit of his stomach when she suddenly beamed; as if she had been waiting for someone to ask that question so she could explain.
"The Boreas Killer; he punctured his victim's lungs, causing them to not only drown in their own blood but also asphyxiate. Much like that the assassin from Dan Brown's book, Angels and Demons."
Erik stilled.
"And who came up with that name?!" He demanded; knowing he would have to let Frank know of this in order for them to do some damage control. It was the last thing they needed; the media to sensualize the poor woman's death.
"Oh, one of my girlfriends." Tara waved dismissively. "She works for the Oakcrest Weekly. She came across that guy's death. You know, the one from a while ago. He was killed in the same way.
"Anyway, she didn't want to get in trouble with copyright infringement and stuff; so, she went with the Boreas Killer. Isn't that –"
"ENOUGH!" Erik suddenly bellowed, startling the ME, her assistant, and Officer Densmore, who was standing outside.
"Sir?" Densmore's voice called out, "Is everything alright?"
"No." Erik grounded out; however, he did not elaborate any further.
Tara's expression turned sour as if blaming him for his outburst. When in reality, it was her own callous behavior that made the young man lose his cool. Of course, she did not see it that way.
She turned her attention back to Mrs. Ames while Erik quickly and quietly took down everything she said for his notes. He immediately left when he saw her assistant prep Mrs. Ames for transport. Once he had everything safely secured in his own vehicle, he drove immediately to the Lab.
Ever since that time their Vegas brethren had their vehicle stolen during a quick breakfast run, H had made it standard procedure for all evidence to be dropped off at the Lab first before any other run was to be made. Even if the team got called to another scene. It was a hassle, but it ensured the integrity of evidence, which was very important to the Lab's reputation.
The drive back to the Lab was uneventful, and thankfully, Erik was not called out for another scene.
"Hey Maxine." He greeted as soon as he entered the technician's domain and laid out the evidence he collected.
"Hello Erik. Is this from this morning's call?" Maxine greeted back as she looked over the evidence; assigning them to her various subordinates to analyze. A slight frown marred her face as she noted that there was hardly any biological evidence for her to analyze. "There's not much here."
"I know, and I don't doubt what you do, find will only lead back to the victim." He replied, "The place was spotless. Like in the Leydecker case."
"Do you think it's the same killer?"
"Yeah, I think so." He answered then paused as he thought back to Price's comments, "Hey, do me a fav'?"
"Sure, what?"
"Don't refer to this guy with a name, please. Not you or your team."
Maxine frowned while her subordinates looked on in confusion with a mix of apprehension.
"Of course not," She remarked, "why would we do something so horrendous? Giving monsters like him a name only fuels him to commit more murders."
"Thanks…" He thanked then asked, "By the way, did Calleigh come back?"
"No." The technician replied, "I thought she was with you."
This time, it was Erik's turn to frown.
"She was sent to the hospital." He began, "I thought she'd be back by now."
"Hospital?! What happened?"
"Not sure, but the paramedics were worried enough to take her to the hospital." He answered while dialing the Southern Belle's number.
"Erik." Calleigh's voice was music to his ears when she answered.
"Hey! Are you still at the hospital?"
"No, I'm at home." She replied; however, there was a wariness in her tone that immediately set off alarm bells in his head.
"Is something the matter?"
"Can you break away from the Lab for a bit?" She asked instead of answering.
"Yeah, sure." Erik immediately replied as he made his way out of the Lab; acknowledging Maxine's make-shift hand signal for him to call her later. "I'm on my way. Something wrong?"
"It's something I prefer talking to you in person." She explained.
Suddenly, a rush of fear coursed through him; making him nearly run out of the building.
"Okay, I'll be there soon."
"Erik, don't do anything silly." She admonished as if suspecting that he would use lights and sirens to get to her place faster, "Just get here in one piece, alright?"
"Okay, okay, I'll drive carefully. I'll see you soon."
"See you soon."
Erik pulled up to Calleigh's apartment complex in what he thought was his best time, despite traffic and not using his lights and sirens. He looked around to see if Frank was still there. However, he did not see the Texan's car. The criminalist quickly walked up to Calleigh's building and covered the stairs, two at a time. He knocked and waited for a few moments before the door opened, revealing the smiling face of the blonde Ballistics expert.
A small knot of tension loosened from deep within his gut. If she's smilin' then it can't be bad news, right? He asked himself as he quickly slipped into her apartment.
Standing in her living room, he quickly noticed a cup of tea on the table with a large prescription bottle. He had seen similar sized prescription bottle once before when Marisol first got sick; the knot in his stomach returned. Immediately, Erik gathered Calleigh in his arms, surprising her as he held her tight.
"Are you alright?" He croaked, causing her to look up in confusion when she heard the raw emotions in his voice.
"Oh you silly goose, yes, I'm fine." She assured him once she realized that her boyfriend was fearing the worst, "Apparently, it's normal to have low blood pressure and elevated heart rate in my condition, especially since I'm not getting the right vitamins and nutrient."
"Condition? What condition?" Erik began to panic; fearing the absolute worst – the ill-begotten C-word, cancer.
Calleigh took a small step back then slowly placed his hands over her stomach.
"I'm pregnant."
Erik froze.
Silence permeated Calleigh's apartment.
And she simply waited, knowing the news would startle her boyfriend. It certainly startled her when she found out.
"Pregnant?!" He whispered in a strangled voice.
She nodded while smiling.
"H—how?!"
This caused her to arch a brow, which seemed to have snapped him out of his daze.
"I mean… we've been careful, using protection and everything!"
"The doctors said that although rare, not all contraceptives are a 100 percent." She replied, "It seems we lucked out."
"Oh man…" Erik seemed to stagger, causing Calleigh to guide him to her couch before he fell flat on his face.
"Are you alright?" She asked.
"We're going to have a baby…" He mumbled; still in a daze.
"Yes." She replied with a big smile on her face.
Erik stared at the beautiful woman in front of him. He could not believe that this beautiful woman, who held his heart, was going to have his baby. He was going to be a father! Suddenly, he sat straight up as if hit by a bolt of lightning.
"Erik?" Calleigh called curiously.
He suddenly scrambled off of the couch and clumsily dropped to one knee.
"Marry me?" He asked, causing her green eyes to grow wide in surprise. "Marry me. Be my wife."
"Oh Erik…"
"I know I don't have a ring, but we can get one later… just…" He trailed off, "Just say yes."
"Erik," She whispered as her hand caressed his cheek. He turned into her hand and lightly kissed her palm, "Erik, I love you. I do love you, but no…"
"No?" Erik looked at her in confusion, "But why?"
"It's not that doubt you love me. I know you do. I know that you love me." She began, "But are you really asking because you want to get married? Or because we're having a baby?"
"Of course, I want to marry you! I love you!" He exclaimed.
Calleigh just smiled as she leaned in and gave him a sweet kiss.
"Until you're absolutely sure. My answer will be no." She said firmly then slowly stood up and walked to her kitchen for something to eat.
"I just don't understand." Erik muttered around the lip of his beer bottle.
After having an uncomfortable and yet quiet lunch with Calleigh, Erik had gone back to work. He checked in with the Lab to see if they had anything for him. Maxine apologized for not having anything for him. Apparently, shortly after he had left, Stetler had barged into the Lab with another case, claiming it had higher priority than Erik's. She did not want to cause any waves and had done Stetler's lab work first.
Erik did not fault her for that. He too would have done the same just to get the man out of the way. Now, with nothing else needing his attention and with his mind still in overdrive, he went to the one person, who could help with his confusion. However, Erik did not expected to see his abeula at H's loft, and judging the slight fond expression on the redhead's face, Erik would have to assume that this was not a first time thing.
So, there he was; explaining to his friend, boss and brother-in-law as well as to his abeula of Calleigh being pregnant and rejecting his proposal.
"Good girl!" Juanita praised, "Smart girl."
"Abeula?!" Erik exclaimed in absolute shock.
The elderly woman turned a critical eye on her grandson and spoke slowly and calmly as if trying to drive home a point.
"Need to know heart first before ask her to be wife." She cautioned, "You are good pair, but marriage must be free of doubt."
With that as her final words, she stood up and disappeared into the kitchen.
Helplessly, Erik turned to Horatio. The older man had not said a word while Erik spoke, and nothing of what the redhead thought seem to show on his face.
"H?" He hesitantly called.
A slow smile graced Horatio's face while his eyes were a mixture of sadness and happiness.
"First, let me say, congratulations." He began, "I know that Marisol would have been happy for you."
Suddenly, Erik felt as if someone had suckered punch him in the gut. This was perhaps the first time he had ever heard H freely speak of his late wife; at least to him.
"I would think she would have ran over to Calleigh's and begin baby shopping." H said with such affection that Erik could actually picture his sister doing that.
"Yeah…" The younger man croaked as he tried to fight back his tears, "Yeah, you're right… she would go baby shopping… getting all sorts of onsies… and toys… and…"
A sober silence fell over the pair.
Erik looked hesitantly at his brother-in-law and wondered had the redhead and Marisol ever thought about children?
"We did." Horatio's voice replied; startling Erik, who was unaware that he had asked his question. "We were planning on seeing an OB/GYN to see what our chances were of Marisol carrying a child to term.
"She wanted nothing more than to carry one, but we both knew that her chemo treatment could have had an effect on her. However, we wanted to see what our chances were before deciding on alternatives."
Erik just stared at the redhead. He had always known that his sister wanted children, but he had not known that the couple had been actively looking into it. He wanted to ask the older man more; however, he held his questions when he noticed that H's gaze kept shifting ever so slightly to the side; as if trying to catch a glimpse of something, and each time Horatio's gaze shifted, Erik could see the man's emotions warring within his glacier blue orbs.
Erick quickly looked away, sensing that he was intruding on an intimate matter. His own gaze landed on Seraphim, who was curled in a ball on a papasan chair. He immediately realized that furniture was new and was solely hers. Aside from her unnatural sleeping position, Erik noticed Sera's Siberian blue gems were looking at him thoughtfully before she moved her hands to sign, 'How long?'
Ever since the BBQ, each member of the team had Ryan teach them Sign Language so they too could talk with H's half-sister. Although not as far along as the others in the Lab, Erik knew he can keep up with the young woman as long as it was a short, simple sentences.
"Five weeks." Erik replied both with his voice and hands.
Sera's expression took on a thoughtful and yet surprised quality, which confused Erik, but he did not ask for an explanation.
He turned again back to Horatio, who too watched his sister with interest. The redhead must have seen Seraphim's expression; however, he also did not press for an explanation.
"H?"
"Hmmm."
"What am I gonna do?"
"About?"
"Calleigh!" Erik exclaimed, forcing Horatio to heavily sigh.
"Let me ask you this." He began, "If Calleigh wasn't pregnant, would you have still asked her to marry you?"
"Yes."
"Right now? Right this moment?" H asked, leveling a piercing look on the younger man.
Erik opened his mouth to say 'yes', but the word seemed to have lodged itself in his throat. He tried again, but no words came out. Horatio just smiled as he leaned forward and patted Erik's knee in understanding.
"That's what I thought." He stated, "But make no mistake; this does not mean you do NOT want to marry Calleigh. It's just that it is not the right time."
Erik leaned back in his seat; his beer in hand and his gaze un-seeing towards the balcony.
Sera glanced at her Fire-Fur, who had turned his attention back to his lap machine on the low table. She knew that he was trying to find the Shaman Blair, but thus far, he had not been successful. From what they have learned, the Shaman Blair disappeared with his Guardian Jim after lying about his many words.
Her Fire-Fur had even tried speaking with their old Chief, but the old warrior did not say where the Shaman and Guardian had disappeared to. She knew that most would be feel restless from learning nothing of the Shaman and Guardian, but not her Fire-Fur. In fact, he took the nothing as a sign. A sign of what; she did not know. It made little sense to her, but if her Fire-Fur took it as a good sign then she can only have faith in her Fire-Fur.
Horatio just finished his response to Simon Banks' email, a retired Captain of the Cascade Police Department in Washington State. In his response, the redhead enclosed his personal contact information, which he knew would be passed along to the "missing" Sentinel and Guide.
"Hey H?" Erik quietly called.
"Yes, Erik."
"Do you think I blew it?" The young man paused, "I mean with Calleigh."
"No. No, I don't think you did." Horatio replied without hesitation, "She's a smart girl. She knows that you love her, and that once you think about it, you'll agree with her that now is not the right time to get married."
"But when will be the right time?" Erik asked.
Horatio paused as he thought about it.
"It is a sense."
"A sense?" Erik arched a brow, "You mean like a feeling?"
"Not quiet…" H trailed off then looked at his sister, who too arched a brow but not in disbelief; more like 'don't look at me; I haven't a clue' expression.
"What made you give your blessing for Marisol and I?" Horatio asked, causing Erik to blink at the sudden and random question.
"Eh… I dunno… I… I remember seeing you two together. I saw how you two loved each other… and I guess… I just knew that you two were meant to be."
Horatio smiled as he watched realization sparked in the young man's eyes.
"I just knew…" He whispered, "I'll just know…"
"You will." H replied, "You will."
As Horatio pulled up to the Lab's parking lot, he could not help but be amazed at how quickly three months have passed. Glancing at his sister, who stared curiously at the glass building, the redhead found himself – not for the first time that day – wondering if it was really the right decision to bring her with him to the Lab. Over the three months, they managed to get her senses under control, using the visual techniques outlined in Sandberg's dissertation, and they have yet had an episode of "zone-outs" in almost two months. Of course, this was Seraphim's third time around a large group of people and the first time outside the comforts of their home. H could only speculate on the type of sensory overload that could happen in the Lab.
"Sera," H quietly called, drawing her attention to him, "I want you to dial down your sight and smell to two."
Seraphim closed her eyes as she took a deep breath. In her mind, she visualized a simple control panel with five dials. Each dial had a simple picture of each of her senses; an eye for sight, a nose for smell, a tongue for taste, a hand for touch, and an ear for hearing. As her Fire-Fur instructed, she mentally adjusted her sight and smell dials from three bars of light down to two bars of light.
"Good." Her Fire-Fur murmured, "Now, dial down your hearing to two as well."
She quickly complied then opened her eyes.
"We won't be here for a full day, but if it becomes too much for you, we will leave. Alright?" H remarked.
Sera nodded.
"Ready?"
She smiled as she climbed out of the vehicle and immediately followed her Fire-Fur.
It took the pair some time to reach Horatio's office; between getting Sera a Visitor's badge and greeting friends and colleagues along the way. The siblings enjoyed a few hours of simple socializing before heading to redhead's office. It helped Sera to re-adjust her dials to a more comfortable setting. Once in his office, H immediately contacted Human Resources (HR) to establish Sera as a consultant with the Miami-Dade Police Department.
When the sibling were planning on how to hire Sera on with the Department, they knew that there was not a lot of positions for her, even if they excluded her half-feral state. It was not until Ryan visiting them after a grueling double shift that inspiration struck Horatio while he watched Ryan and Sera talk to one another. After a few inquiries with Abigail, a sweet young woman who was the head of the HR Department, they quickly discovered that the Department did not have enough American Sign Language (ASL) linguists.
Armed with this knowledge, the pair came up with a plan to have Sera hire on as an ASL linguist. Granted; Sera had to go through a few department-approved courses to get her certification and followed up with an evaluation by the department. H knew that his sister would pass with flying colors. Fortunately, Abigail knew of their plan and was of significant help in getting the process started.
Horatio printed out the necessary documents for Sera; leaving her be to fill out the decently sized stack of documents while he set out to catch up on his own paperwork. They were enjoying the relative silence and peace; when from the corner of his eye, Horatio noticed his sister tilt her head to the side with a slight frown marring her face.
"Sera?"
'Weasel comes.' She signed with one hand while in the other she held her pen much like a weapon.
Looking up, the redhead instantly saw to whom she was referring to.
"So, I see." He replied then looked at her with a fond smile, "Please, put the pen down. He may be a weasel but that doesn't warrant maiming."
Sera turned and gave her Fire-Fur a blank look, but she did as he requested. Besides she did not need a writing stick to cause pain. She was a weapon after all.
"Horatio." A cold voice greeted, which in turn was greeted with a low growl from Sera.
Stetler stared at the strange woman sitting on the redhead's couch. He found himself immediately unnerved by her gaze. He was quickly reminded of a predator gazing upon a prey, and he was that prey. Instantly and nervously, he looked away; hating himself for being so unnerved by the smaller woman. He quickly shook himself free from her piercing stare, and in attempts to salvage his wounded pride, he leveled a glare on the quiet Irishman.
"What's she doing here?!" He demanded as he pointed at the woman.
Horatio arched a brow while for a moment he saw an after-image of Stetler as a child, stomping his foot in a fit.
"Filling out paperwork."
"Paperwork? What paperwork?" Again, he demanded.
The over-imposed shade of child-Stetler was in the middle of a full blown temper tantrum worthy of any two year old child.
"If you must know, as an ASL consultant."
"A what?!" Stetler and the ghost of child-Stetler gasped.
"An ASL consultant; apparently the department does not have enough qualified ASL interpreters."
"Is she even competent to use sign language?" Stetler sneered, "Last I checked, growling is not normal human behavior."
The redhead looked at his sister with an arched brow as if saying 'well'. She in turn gave him a smile that was all teeth.
'Weasel small mind.' She signed.
'Oh?' Horatio replied back in sign.
'Yes, small mind. Know not he is prey.' She explained, 'Needs reminding. Prey to me. Prey to you.'
Horatio coughed to politely hide a chuckle; understanding what his sister was insinuating. The redhead wondered if Seraphim still had her voice, would she have called Stetler to task for his disrespect. Judging by her military records; yes, she would and she would have done so still within the rules and regulations. Horatio silently mourned for his sister's loss of voice. He knew and understood that she had other means to let her displeasure be known, such as her predator like stare and low warning growls. Now thinking about, it made H wonder if Sera was purposely mimicking the small shadow cat-like creature Horatio kept seeing from the corner of his eye.
"What the hell did she say?!" Stetler demanded.
"Nothing of importance; just an observation." Horatio answered then asked, "Was there anything else you wanted?"
"Actually, there is." Stetler snapped as he shot one last sneer at Sera, who only arched a brow.
Horatio patiently waited, knowing that the other man just baiting him into a confrontation. Thus, H waited and waited until finally Stetler's expression morphed from smug to rage at being so blatantly dismissed.
"I'm having Duquesne and Delko investigated for having an unprofessional relationship!" Stetler finally claimed.
Glacier blue orbs slowly blinked while the office echoed with a low growl coming from Seraphim.
Finally, the small lizard portion of the human psyche, responsible for fight-or-flight, flared within Stetler; causing him to cast a wary eye at the young woman. Instinctively, he shifted his weight, positioning his body for a swift run out of the office in case the small woman decided to attack.
Horatio was hardly surprised by his sister's reaction. To her, Stetler was threatening members of her tribe, and any threat to the tribe must be dealt with. And H wholeheartedly agreed with her; knowing that Stetler was only threatening the Lieutenant's people to get to the redhead. While physically attacking Stetler would bring some measure of satisfaction, it will not stop Stetler. Taking a deep breath to calm himself, the redhead focused his stare on Stetler but addressed his sister.
"Seraphim, that's enough."
Sera growled even deeper then became silent; mentally pleased with herself when she scented the sour odor, she had associated with fear, coming from the weasel.
"Before you start an investigation on two members of my team, I suggest that you thoroughly check all of your facts." Horatio casually stated.
"Check all of my facts?!" Stetler exclaimed, "I don't need to check all of my facts! Duquesne is pregnant, and Delko knocked her up!"
H's eyes suddenly flashed with barely contained rage at the other man's callous words.
"Tread carefully, Dick." The redhead coldly warned.
"The facts," Stetler sneered, "speaks for themselves. She's pregnant! And they work together! I'll have both their badges and you investigated for ignoring the rules of appropriate conduct within this Lab!"
'Weasel is rabid.' Horatio saw Sera sign as she held a dangerous glower on the other man.
H gave his sister the barest of nods, indicating that he understood. Slowly, he reached for the lower drawer of his desk, where he kept all of his personnel's files. Opening it, he immediately reached for both Erik and Calleigh's files. He then placed them on his desk for Stetler to read.
Stetler had a credulous look on his face as if he could not believe that the redhead would give up so easily. Immediately, he became suspicious for he knew the Lieutenant. He knew Horatio would never give up nor back down from a fight, especially when it came to his people. Stetler cast a nervous glance towards the small woman, who just continued to watch him like he was some sort of prey.
Hesitantly, he reached for the files, and immediately found a particular form from HR. It was a disclaimer form, which disclosed any inter-department relationships. There was one in Duquesne's file as well as Delko's, and both were dated a little over a year ago. Stetler felt a brow twitch in realization that his investigation into any misconduct into the Lab was null and void since the pair had filled out the appropriate documents.
"They've been working a case together! Which goes against the policy of the disclaimer form!" Stetler snapped, knowing he was grasping at straws.
Horatio arched a brow. While it might be true that there was a policy stating that couples could not work together in the same department, on the same shift, or as the case with Calleigh and Erik on the same case, the policy in question was not strictly enforced; mostly because the Lab did not have the manpower to truly adhere to the policy.
"As you well know, my team is short-staffed with no suitable personnel to fill in the gap." The redhead dismissively stated.
"Then get someone from another shift!" Stetler shouted.
"Personnel from other teams and shifts have already been pushed to the maximum hours they can legally be on duty." H calmly stated. "To ask them to go beyond that not only puts this Lab at risk for liability, but the Department and the County as well."
Stetler wanted to scream; he wanted to lunge across the redhead's desk and beat him an inch of his life. Everything he tried to do to discredit the damned Lieutenant had blown up in his face. He threw the files down and stormed out of Horatio's office; yelling at the onlookers, who stopped to watch him fail in his latest scheme to attack the redhead.
Sera grinned at her Fire-Fur.
'Fire-Fur 1. Weasel 0.'
Horatio chuckled as he gathered Calleigh's and Erik's files to put away.
'Why weasel hunt you?' Sera signed, causing Horatio to frown slightly as he thought about her question.
He knew that she did not mean in the literal sense but figuratively because there was no other way to describe Stetler's relentless pursuit to find fault with the redhead. This dogged campaign to discredit him in some fashion began ever since H made Lieutenant before Stetler. Granted; it was not by much, maybe a couple of months and yet Richard felt slighted that the quiet criminalist promoted before him.
Horatio also knew that Stetler was only looking for some fault to remove H from his position as the Head of one of three prestigious crime labs in the nation; a position Stetler coveted for himself.
Of course, their work relationship became even worse when H learned of Stetler's brief relationship with Yelina. Yes; Horatio would admit that he was not happy about the relationship; thinking his sister-in-law deserved someone better, but if Stetler made her happy then H was fine with the relationship. Unfortunately, Stetler was not comfortable with the redhead's apparent acceptance of the relationship and even began accusing him of coveting Yelina. Of course, it was not secret that Horatio deeply cared for his sister-in-law at least once upon a time.
There was no proof to Stetler's accusation that Yelina and H were having an affair; mainly because they were not having an affair, but Stetler was absolutely convinced otherwise, which resulted in him becoming physically violent. Horatio immediately put a stop to that once he saw the bruises on his sister-in-law's face and reported Stetler. Although some in the department felt H had betrayed the code of silence among the brothers in blue by reporting the incident, the vast majority were relieved that he had.
His actions showed everyone in the department that Horatio Caine will be fair and uphold the law regardless if one carried a badge or not. This probably incited Stetler even more. Granted; he did not get much in way of punishment, just a black mark on his record that effectively killed his chances for further advancement, and unbeknownst to the redhead, the quiet Irishman gained the loyalty of nearly every officer on the force.
'Fire-Fur?' Sera knocked, catching his attention.
"Sorry," H remarked, "I did not mean to ignore you. It's just that Stetler and my relationship is…"
'Bad?'
"Complicated." He corrected.
'No complicated; just good or bad.' She countered with a pointed look, 'Weasel thinks he is Alpha. He is not. Why he think he is Alpha?'
"Honestly, I don't know." H answered, "It's been this way since I made Lieutenant, and it had become worse over the years."
'You made rank first?' She asked.
"I believe so." The redhead replied, "We promoted about the same time, and to be honest, I was surprised I even made Lieutenant. You see, I was new to the department. I probably was with Miami-Dade for a year or so."
Suddenly, the office echoed with a strange hissing sound. The sound startled him, but what startled him even more was the fact that the sound was Sera laughing; more specifically Horatio got the sense that she was laughing at him.
"Sera?"
'You are good Alpha.' She signed, causing her Fire-Fur to arch his brow, 'But you see not your worth.'
At this, Horatio scoffed.
"I am no better nor lesser than the next man, Seraphim." He stated then immediately turned his attention to the pile of paperwork on his desk.
Stay tuned for the next installment of CSI: Sentinel - Awakening comes June 1st, 2017.
