Episode 1.10, A Horrible Mind

Detective Adell Sevilla stood at the edge of the water, peering out at Eric, clad in full diving gear.

"Bring you back to the days when you were drinking murky canal water and dining on rusty car parts?" she called out jokingly.

"Yeah, don't knock it," he replied. "Underwater recovery gets all the chicks."

-/-/-

"Hey, how's your case?" Eric asked as he entered the break room and spotted Calleigh eating her lunch – a chicken salad, from what he could see – at the table, skimming through a magazine.

"Gory," she replied, crinkling her nose slightly. She looked up from the magazine. "Yours?"

He moved to the fridge, pulled open the door and poked around for a moment. "Smelly." He made a face. "Got a bloater," he explained.

She nodded. "At least you get to be near the water, right?"

"Dirty canal water," he chuckled, "yeah." He closed the fridge and groaned. "But hey, beggars can't be choosers."

Eric dug into his pocket and pulled out his wallet, extracting a five-dollar bill from within. He stuffed the wallet back into his pocket and headed to the vending machine in the corner of the break room. After pressing a few buttons, he found himself five dollars poorer and a turkey sub richer. He studied the sandwich for a moment, and after mentally declaring it edible, he opening the plastic wrapping and took a bite. A little dry, but better than going hungry for the rest of the day. He carried the sub to the table and sat down across from Calleigh.

She was smiling. "Did your mom forget to pack you a lunch?" she teased.

"Funny," he retorted wryly, taking another bite and chewing thoughtfully. "Actually," he added, swallowing, "I was just running late this morning and didn't have time to put one together."

"Want some chicken?" she asked, poking at the strips of grilled chicken in her salad with her fork. She skewered a piece and held it out to him.

He chuckled and leaned forward, which seemed to startle her momentarily. He figured out much later that she'd probably expected him to take the fork from her and feed himself, though in that moment, she didn't seem to have too many complaints about him approaching her. She smiled and looked away – telling, that – as he pulled the strip of chicken off her fork with his teeth and feasted on real meat, not the "turkey" cold-cuts in his sandwich.

The pair ate in silence for a few minutes, Calleigh suddenly very interested in the magazine beside her. That was alright with Eric, who was content simply being able to watch her do mundane things like eating lunch or reading (though not really reading) magazines.

"You know," he said suddenly, shattering the silence, "I kinda miss underwater recovery sometimes."

She looked up. "Yeah?"

"Yeah," he nodded. "I miss the guys."

"And the girls?" she asked with a knowing smile.

He grinned at the thought. "Some of them," he admitted, chuckling lightly.

She looked down at her salad, suddenly not very hungry anymore. She cursed herself from feeling that, something resembling irrationality, and she didn't know why little innocent comments like that would invoke that ever-so-slight tightening in her chest and that almost-imperceptible flush to her cheeks. Still, she refused to acknowledge anything by the name of jealousy, because she knew she simply had no reason to be.

Eric, slowly making his way down his sub, caught the quick shift in her mood and frowned. "I wouldn't go back though," he assured her rather unnecessarily.

She nodded with feigned inattention. "Paycheck's probably better here," she remarked.

His frown deepened at her dismissive tone. "That's not why I couldn't imagine leaving, though," he tried again, softer this time.

She looked up at him then, and he thought she probably understood what he'd just implied, though he couldn't be sure based on her reaction alone. She didn't say anything for a moment, simply studied him. Finally, she assessed, "You have made a lot of friends here."

"Yeah," he agreed slowly, "I have." He gave her a moment then shrugged, deciding he wouldn't do that thing she did, with the evasion and the walls. Too energy-consuming, as far as he was concerned. "I couldn't really imagine waking up tomorrow morning and not getting to see you," he stated without much fanfare.

But she'd felt the intensity in his words, and she believed them immediately, though she didn't particularly trust herself to form a coherent reply.

He finished the last bite of his sandwich and bunched up the wrapping into a ball. Pivoting in his seat, he took aim at the trash can on the other side of the room and shot the plastic wrapper into the air. It bounced off the rim and disappeared into the bin.

He turned back to Calleigh and smiled. "I don't think the chicks that come with underwater recovery are really worth what I've got now."