Rick allowed himself a brief smile. It wasn't long before his thoughts returned to the time when his private email address had been leaked. As he thought about that, his lips pressed into a thin line. He knew without a doubt that if Horatio had learned that it had, in fact, been Yelina who was the culprit the small amount of progress they had made would have disappeared in an instant.

In fact, it was probably a good thing that the woman was in another country. There was no doubt in his mind that she'd find new ways to make his life even worse. Asking her out had been the biggest mistake of his life.

With one last glance in the mirror, Rick adjusted the sunglasses before shoving his hands into his pockets where he exited the locker room and stalked towards the elevator. He used the short ride to think. There was an unfamiliar nagging feeling at the pit of his stomach that had appeared when he first thought about Yelina and it hadn't gone away. If anything, it was getting stronger. He had the feeling that something was about to happen and while he didn't know what it was, there was one thing Rick was certain about. It wasn't going to be anything good.

The elevator slowed to a stop. A few seconds later the elevator doors slid open, revealing the Crime Lab. As soon as he stepped off the elevator his attention was torn in two different directions. The first thing that he noticed was Frank Tripp on his cell phone talking in a low voice. Frank looked up guiltily when he saw the redhead emerge from the lift. However, before he could determine what Tripp was up to, his attention was quickly diverted to the other end of the hall where he head the sounds of two familiar voices arguing. "Don't those two ever quit?" He muttered to himself.

Rick, just barely resisting the urge to slam his head into the nearest wall, pinched the bridge of his nose instead and turned towards the sound of the commotion. Sure enough, Eric Delko and Ryan Wolfe were arguing with each other yet again. Spotting Calleigh, he watched as she said something that went ignored by both men before she threw her hands up in the air and then placed her hands on her hips and glaring at her co-workers.

He moved quickly, silently, coming to a stop behind Calleigh. "What's going on?" Rick inquired. The blonde jumped, before she turned around to face Rick. "Sorry," he said, giving her a small smile. "I didn't mean to scare you."

Calleigh rolled her eyes. "No worries, H. You'd think I'd be used to it by now." She took a deep breath and let it out with an exasperated sigh as she tried to collect herself. "As for what's going on, they're at it again. Eric, upon returning to the lab, asked us what all he had missed while he was out. Of course, Ryan told him that the two of you had had a match. To which Eric so eloquently said 'huh?'. So I told him that the two of you sparred."

She winced when upon mentioning the match which resulted in Rick having to fight to keep a straight face. Calleigh took a deep breath before continuing. "Of course the next thing that Eric asked was who won. When Ryan told him, Eric accused him of lying. What you see before you is the result."

"Why didn't you say something?"

"Believe me when I say that I've tried. You know it's not my problem if the two of them refuse to notice much less listen to anyone when they get into one of their blasted arguments. They're about as bad as you and Rick. No offense." She added with a grimace upon realizing exactly what she had said and to whom.

"None taken." Rick replied with a grin. Once he had successfully schooled his features, he took a deep breath. He then stepped closer to the bickering men and let loose a loud, shrill, whistle that effectively silenced not only Wolfe and Delko but the rest of the crime lab as well. There were a few moments of welcomed silence before the majority of the lab returned to whatever it was that they had been doing.

"Enough," he said in that low, calm tone of Horatio's, "the gym. Now. By the time I get there you both had better be in your workout clothes. This ridiculous fighting has gone on for way long enough. Calleigh?" Rick said, turning to face the ballistics expert with a grin on his face from seeing the identical 'oh shit, what have we done?' expressions on their faces.

"Yes, Horatio?"

"Calleigh, I want you to escort both Eric and Mr. Wolfe down to the gym and make sure that neither of them runs off."

"My pleasure." She replied with a grin.

Rick chuckled softly to himself as he watched the blonde walk right up to her taller teammates and began pushing them towards the elevator. He then quickly pulled out his cell, and sent Horatio a quick text consisting of only two words. GYM NOW.

He then turned around, hoping that he could have a chat with Tripp about what he had been up to. However, the Texan was nowhere to be found. The nagging feeling at the pit of his stomach was back as well. Rick frowned, before he walked back over to the elevators and stepped into it once the doors had opened as he headed back down to the gym.

When he arrived back at the gym, the sight that greeted him was enough to make him grin. Calleigh was standing in front of the locker room, arms folded across her chest, glaring at the door, and tapping her foot against the ground.

When he heard the metal bang of the door swinging open and slamming shut behind him, Rick knew without a doubt who it was. He didn't have to turn around. Calleigh pushed the locker room door open and called out. "Time's up. Either the two of you are coming out, or I'm coming in."

"Calleigh, we're almost done. Do not come in here!"

"The two of you need to hurry it up." Rick called out.

The blonde grinned. "See?" She called out, before letting the door swing shut. When she turned around her grin instantly faded. She blinked when she saw both Rick and Horatio standing there.

Before she could say anything, the door swung open and Eric stormed out with Wolfe hot on his heels. When they came to a stop beside Calleigh, they glanced up spotting both men. Delko turned around and stared at Rick. "What the hell, are you doing here Stetler?" Eric asked glaring at Horatio before looking over at Rick. "H?"

"Eric, I thought that it would take less time if we cleared up the main reason behind this latest argument of yours. The fastest way to do that is for Rick to be here." The redhead explained, glancing over to his left at Horatio.

"Which is?" Eric pressed, not taking his eyes off of Horatio.

"I don't trust him." Ryan added

"Like that's a surprise." Horatio mumbled under his breath, earning himself a glare from Calleigh as well as Wolfe.

Rick pinched the bridge of his nose. If he wasn't careful there was going to be another fight. He counted to ten slowly before he looked up at 'his' team. "Yes, Rick and I did have a sparring match today, no thanks to the two of you." He said, looking pointedly at Calleigh and Ryan.

"See? I told you."

"So what, Wolfe? I still don't think that Horatio lost to him." Eric retaliated, with a jerk of his head towards the brunette.

"Well, I did." Rick admitted.

Eric blinked, sending Ryan one last glare before he jerked his head in Rick's direction. "What did you say Horatio?"

"He said that he did, in fact, lose to me."

"I didn't ask you, Stetler.

"Enough, Eric." Rick whispered, cutting Horatio off. It was also enough to shut Delko up.

Four pairs of eyes turned their focus to Rick. Three blinked in confusion, and one in pure surprise.

"What?"

"I want the three of you to treat the Sergeant with more respect."

"You can't be serious Horatio."

"I am Eric." Rick stated struggling to keep the growl out of his voice. "We're all on the same side as far as the law is concerned. He's just doing his job like we're doing ours." Calleigh and Ryan exchanged looks as Eric just stared at them.

Eric slowly approached Rick. "He's an ass, Horatio. We all know that."

"Here is a new rule, Eric. Unless Rick is being an ass to you, there is no need to be an ass to him. After the match, we learned a few things about each other."

When Horatio quirked an eyebrow at Rick, silently questioning him, he simply gave him that sly smile. The brunette barely tilted his head, acknowledging that he had gotten the message.

Horatio was surprised. He knew that his team didn't care for Stetler, but he never expected them to be as rude to his face as they were being. Of course, he thought to himself, wincing. He might have been partly responsible for that, given how he and Rick treated each other in the past.

"So why did you want us down here in our workout clothes?" Wolfe asked, trying to change the subject.

Horatio coughed, muttering under his breath. "I can't believe he just asked that."

Rick was the only one that had actually heard what Horatio had said. Despite the fact that they actually agreed on something, the redhead just shot the other man a look. "Rick."

Horatio just raised an eyebrow at Rick but kept silent.

Rick cleared his throat in an attempt to not burst out laughing. The last thing that he needed was for Horatio to be mad at him again, and for the team to find out something as embarrassing as what happens when he laughed. He didn't want to endure the teasing for however long they remained in this situation.

"As I was about to say before I was interrupted," the redhead said as he glanced at the three members of Horatio's team, "that despite the fact that we're both going to be feeling the effects of that match for a while to come. It actually was beneficial."

Rick was struggling to maintain a neutral expression at the dumbfounded looks on the Horatio's team's faces. It also didn't help matters much that he had heard Horatio mutter in a voice that was low enough that only Rick heard, "agreed".

"And that means?"

"For crying out loud, Eric." Calleigh exclaimed as she smacked both of her companions on the back of their shoulders. "They think it would be a good idea for the two of you two spar. Honestly, can the two of you really be that dense?"

"He wants us to do WHAT?" The two men exclaimed at the same time.

Horatio saw that Rick was really struggling not to laugh at 'his' team's behavior. It was also clear to him that he was losing the battle as well. Since he was standing beside him, he decided to help Rick win his internal battle by pinching him as hard as he could. Surprisingly, it went unnoticed by the team. It may have earned him a glare, but it helped to keep Rick from laughing.

Rick and Horatio both sighed earning them three puzzled looks. Rick cleared his throat. "Calleigh is right. I want the two of you to have a sparring session and work out some of that excess energy. Who knows, if nothing else, the two of you might actually managed to work out enough of the tension that the two of you might possibly be able to carry out a civil conversation with each other for once."

Horatio and Rick, along with Calleigh watched as Eric and Ryan just stood there glaring at each other. It got to the point that the blonde just rolled her eyes. "Guys, that's not a sparring session. That's a staring contest and neither of you can compete with Horatio."

When they just turned the direction of their glare onto her, the ballistics expert just smirked. She wasn't the least bit bothered by it. "Don't you two glare at me. If you don't get on that mat and start sparring soon, I'll drag you over there myself and show you both how it's supposed to be done."

Eric and Ryan both gulped. They knew that Calleigh wasn't playing. She didn't make threats, she made promises.

While Calleigh was focusing her attention on her coworkers, Rick and Horatio retreated a little ways so that they could talk but still keep an eye on the sparring match whenever if finally began.

"I was thinking…" Rick started before he glanced over at Horatio. He paused, before shooting the other man a look over the top of his sunglasses. "I know what you're thinking and don't you dare say it."

Horatio just smirked. "I wasn't going to say anything."

"Yeah, right."

The brunette just stared at Rick, waiting for him to continue. When it became evident that he wasn't going to say anything, Horatio sighed. "Well, don't keep me in suspense. What were you thinking about?"

A loud thud following by cursing drew their attention back to the exercise mat. They looked over in time to see Ryan climbing to his feet, rubbing his jaw and glaring daggers at Delko.

"Come on Ryan, I know that you can do better than that."

Eric glanced over at Calleigh. "Just whose side are you on, anyway?"

"Neither. Both. Take your pick." She replied, before wincing as Wolfe tackled Delko to the ground. Wolfe's triumphant smile didn't last very long as Eric easily flipped him over and smirked.

"Nice try, Wolfe. Are you ready to give up?"

"Not hardly." Ryan replied as he scrambled backwards, easily escaping the taller man's grasp.

"How did you?" Eric asked, surprised. That was the quickest anyone had ever worked themselves out of a hold once he had pinned them.

They began to circle each other as Ryan gave him a short answer. "Practice."

"What do you mean by practice?" Delko pushed, not only dodging a punch but landing one of his own although it wasn't where he had been aiming.

"High school. The jocks liked to pick on the smart one…"

Horatio cleared his throat, so as to get Rick's attention but not the team's without being too obvious. "Anyways, you were saying?"

Rick turned so that he was facing Horatio. He was right. It wasn't getting any easier to look at the other man and see himself. "I was saying that I was thinking it might be a good idea for the two of us to go back to that restaurant tonight after our shifts. What do you think?"

"I hate to say it-" Before he could finish his sentence, Rick had interrupted him.

"Then don't. But maybe you should. Something tells me, I'd like to hear you say whatever it is."

"Can it, Rick." Horatio turned around to face 'himself' and wasn't the least bit surprised that he was smirking. "As I was saying, I hate to admit it but that was a pretty good idea actually. I'll meet you there after work?"

"Yeah, sounds good." Rick agreed, with a quick nod of his head. He wasn't sure why, but he had been thinking about offering Horatio a ride. It was an idea that he had quickly talked himself out of due to how it would look. If they did and any of their coworkers saw them, they'd assume that apocalypse was upon them. He chuckled lightly at that.

"What are you chuckling about?"

"Nothing important. It was just a random thought that passed through my mind." He replied, hoping that it was enough to quench the other man's natural curiosity. Luckily, for him it worked.

The two men returned their attention to the exercise mat in time to see Wolfe hit the ground hard as Eric maneuvered himself around to pin him. This time, no matter how much Ryan struggled and wiggled, he was unable to get free. He finally stopped struggling, signaling that he recognized that he had lost. When Eric let him up, Wolfe quickly climbed to his feet. It was obvious to everyone that they were both going to be black and blue before the night was over with.

Calleigh walked up to Eric and Ryan as soon as they were off of the exercise mat. "Eric, you go on ahead. Ryan will catch up in a few minutes. Nice work." She added with a smile as she gave her friend a wave.

"You always take his side," Ryan grumbled.

Eric nodded, and when Ryan started to follow him, Calleigh grabbed him by the shorts. "Oh no you don't." Then when she realized where she had grabbed her friend, she blushed. "Oops. Sorry, meant to grab you by the back of your shirt."

He sighed in defeat. "What do you want Cal?"

"I just wanted to let you know that we and you are going to be spending a couple nights a week here in the gym working on your sparring skills. Honestly, Ryan, you need help. I know that you can be a much better opponent than you just were."

He blinked. She couldn't be serious. "You're joking, right?"

"No, I'm not." She replied with a smirk at the look that appeared on her co-worker's face. "We begin on Monday."