From The Beginning
A/N: Thanks to Rebecca for supplying me with the inspiration and development for this chapter!
A/N #2: After a long bout with writer's block, here's an offering!
Chapter 10
Eric pushed through the doors of the trace lab, a grin placed firmly on his face. Last night was astronomical, and he wanted to thank Speed himself for inviting him, meaning to do so before he left, but realized that the senior CSI had left without him. If it hadn't been for Speed, Eric wouldn't have had the time of his life. The phone on his side started to ring, causing Tim to raise his head slightly, shaking it as he continued to work.
"You know, when they call you on those little things, it's pretty likely that it's important," Tim said as he moved from in front of the scopes.
"So, that's what they are for? Thanks for that newsflash, Speed." Eric replied , the smile still firmly attached as he sat down next to him. "So?"
"So?" Tim returned, taking a momentary glance at him, the irritation starting to take shape. He let the rookie slide with calling him by his nick name, and this little game of catch up wasn't going to put him in the best of moods. Besides, it was none of Delko's business.
"So, I saw you with a girl," Eric egged on despite feeling that this conversation should've been finished two minutes prior. "And she looked like she was digging you."
Tim sighed heavily, " None of your business."
"C'mon, Speed. I saw you, you looked as if you were digging her too."
Tim smiled faintly as he thought about his evening, and how it had slowly progressed, capping off with him taking Pam home and exchanging phone numbers along with a parting shot. Nothing heavy happened, but he was quite content with the knowledge that he was indeed going to see her again. Shaking himself out his thoughts, he frowned as he slid a file towards Eric, gesturing to it .
"Since you are so punctual, you get the first case of the day," Tim said nonchalantly. " Alexx is waiting for you in the morgue."
"Thanks for that, Speed. I appreciate it," Eric responded, leafing through the file quickly. "What's the story?"
"Possible GSW to the head," Tim returned steadily. Inside, he was ready to burst, the moment that Jack had foretold had arrived. "Might want to get down there and collect the evidence. Calleigh will probably meet you down there."
" Have you seen her this morning?" Eric inquired as he leaned in some, as if he held a secret.
"No, should I have?"
"I heard that she ah, arrived a bit impaired."
Tim shrugged and turned back to his work, " Maybe she had one of those nights. You should get down there."
Eric nodded as he held up the file and walked out, heading towards the fingerprinting lab. He would first stop by there, put on his lab coat and move on to the morgue. He felt a change swirling around him, giving him a sense of finally getting into the swing of things. Catching an elevator, he flipped through the file once more and waited patiently for the lift to travel downwards. Once he made it, the doors slid open, and he met Calleigh just as she was about to push through the double doors. At first glance, Eric could see the hints of whatever she had partaken of the previous night, but she was obviously good at concealing, because another glance told another story.
"Calleigh, how was your night?" Eric asked lightly as they both went through the doors together. Calleigh was slightly taken by his forward action but grinned, her eyes lighting even more. The color in her cheeks rose and she took a glance downward, remembering very well what she had done.
"Pretty good. Went to the grand opening of a new club. Run of the mill type, you know," she answered as she tried to maintain her focus . Quick memories flashed through her mind as she shifted her weight, the air suddenly seeming to get thicker. It would be a long time before she had another night out on the town like that. "But," she started as the doors opened once more, noticing Alexx as she came in from the other side, "that's another story for another time. Good morning , Alexx."
"Morning," Alexx responded as she stood in front of the pot slipping on an oven mitt , taking a spoon in hand. Eric snickered and her eyes gravitated towards him, a smile of her own rising. "What's so funny, Delko?"
"What, are we making, gumbo? What's with the pot?" Eric asked as Calleigh started to chuckle, but held it in tightly. "What?"
Alexx put the spoon down and took off the oven mitt, slipping on a pair of latex gloves as she approached a covered body. With one swift move, she uncovered the body and reached for the clipboard as if there wasn't a headless corpse lying in front of her. Eric's smile waned as he gulped hard, feeling the lump in his throat increase. His eyes shifted from the headless body to the simmering pot, shifting his weight uneasily as the two women peered at him intently.
"Eric," Alexx asked as she glanced to Calleigh, "Eric, are you alright?"
"I- uh...is that..." Eric said as he pointed to the pot his color turning. Alexx moved towards the pot once more, checking it and satisfied that it was done.
"Is it what, suga?" Alexx asked, putting the catcher in, and lifting it. As she pulled it up, the last of the skin slothed off and she peered at it, pointing with her free hand, " Now that's an impressive GSW."
Eric felt his knees give way as he toppled to the floor, Calleigh bending to attend to him. Alexx set the now pristine skull on the opposite tray and snapped off her gloves, bending to help. Calleigh couldn't help but snicker as they turned him over, giving him more air to breathe.
"Well, this is a new one," Alexx quipped as he started to come around. Lifting him up gently, she spoke in a softer tone, trying to hide her amusement. It always tickled her on how people reacted to the mechanics of death. "Eric, take it easy now, slowly."
Holding his head, he opened his eyes and looked between them, a scowl growing quickly. As they helped him to his feet, he shook his head and exhaled, " This doesn't leave this room."
"Sure," Calleigh answered with a laugh as she stood back, "are you alright to stand by yourself?"
"I'm fine," Eric groused, rubbing his head. "Remember, it doesn't leave this room. I'm serious."
"Oh come on, Eric, everyone has their moments with their first head wound," Calleigh rhapsodized with a smile. "We've all been through it, even Speed."
"Speed," he cringed now knowing who put the wheels in motion. Both Alexx and Calleigh laughed more as he sighed, gesturing to the body, "Alright, well, what about him?"
Alexx calmed , wiping at her tears of laughter with the heel of her hand, moving back to her position above the body. Calleigh glanced to Eric as they went through the particulars, watching as he focused intently on the information given. Despite the practical joke, Eric was now all business. It was a refreshing to see such determination on his part.
With the post over, the two CSIs left the morgue and stood at the elevator bank waiting for the elevator to come. The silence was nervous, Eric absently tapping his fingers on his hips while Calleigh tried to suppress a smile, keeping her eyes on the floor beneath them. Unable to hold it any longer, Calleigh unleashed a hearty laugh just as the elevator slid open and watched as he shook his head as he entered. It was then that Eric knew that he would never live this down.
/CSI/
Driving up to the scene, Horatio put the Hummer in park, raised up the steering wheel then exited the vehicle. Even though it was early morning he could feel the heat and humidity promising the day to be hot and sticky. Taking a moment, he surveyed the scene, then walked towards Detective Frank Tripp, noticing the Texan's demeanor easily. Placing his hands on his hips, he looked towards the two bodies that were strewn about, already approaching the scene in his mind.
"What do you have, Frank?" Horatio asked, his tone business like as he lifted his sights to the horizon, the heated Miami sun working its appeal.
"Looks like a gang shooting," Frank answered as he flipped his note pad up. Glancing away towards the scene, he continued, "Two dead, one survivor and he's headed to the hospital as we speak." Making a notation, he sighed heavily, " Seems simple enough, Horatio. Street punks taking care of business and all that."
"There's nothing simple about murder, Frank," Horatio reminded him with a slight smirk as he tapped at his shield on his belt. " What's the condition of the survivor?"
"Miguel Hernandez , twenty -two, gunshot wound to his chest but still concious when taken," Frank said as he read off his information. "The paramedics offered that it looked far worse than it was. Try telling that to Hernandez," Frank quipped as he folded his notebook down.
Horatio smiled as he gazed off towards the scene, seeing the ME arriving. Making a quick decision, he turned back to Frank, "I'm going to go the hospital to speak with Mr. Hernadez, along with collecting his clothes for trace, maybe between the two , we can find out what happened here." Horatio started walking as he called out, " I'm on my cell Frank."
Frank gestured to him as he slipped his note book into his pocket, walking towards the ME , shaking his head. If his reputation preceded him, he knew that the new Lieutenant was going to get down to the bottom of this, on his own terms.
/CSI/
Horatio entered into the emergency room bay, the flurry of action being almost immediate. He stood at the admittance desk, watching with a keen eye as the door slid open and a doctor came out of the trauma room, her eyes set in a stern gaze. He was instantly taken with her, tilting his head somewhat as he thought he recognized her from somewhere. Watching her more, Horatio took notice of her dark hair that was put up in a bun, a stray strand falling over her hazel eyes as she talked with a nurse, flipping it out of her sight irritably. With a small smile, he approached, taking off his sunglasses and holding them in his hands as he cleared his throat somewhat, brining her attention to him. She looked him over and continued speaking with the nurse for a second longer before affording him with all of her attention.
"You know, you're not supposed to be back here," she informed matter of fact as she crossed her arms about her. Horatio nodded and adverted his eyes then bringing them back up to see her name stitched on the lab coat, the stethscope dangling precariously from her neck. His eyes met hers and his hands went to his hips, her attention now to the shield that was clipped on his belt. "Oh, I see, one of Miami's finest. I'm Doctor Carmen Mendoza, I think I'm working on your victim."
"Lieutenant Horatio Caine, CSI," Horatio started smoothly as he looked towards the gurney, seeing the activity surrounding the young Hispanic. "I'm here for Miguel Hernandez and his personal affects."
Carmen arched an eyebrow, "Wow, no please in there at all. You are defintely starting off on the right foot, Lieutenant." Horatio noticed the accent and her dark , coffee colored skin, a small smile coming to his face as she looked to him, "Well?"
"Well, I need to get to him for investigative purposes. He may very well be able to tell me who did this to him. You wouldn't want to impede on an ongoing investigation, now, would you , Doctor? Obstruction of justice is a very serious matter."
" I see," Carmen responded as she turned towards the action, the doors opening quickly, giving way to a more critical case patient that was now entering. Kicking it into gear, Carmen followed the gurney as she glanced to the red haired Lieutenant, "I'll be right with you, Lieutenant."
Horatio nodded as he took a seat and watched the action unfold, folding his arms about him. He could wait it out.
/CSI/
Tim eyed the material on the scopes, comparing it to a journal , squinting . The door opened and he looked up to see Jack walking through with another crate of evidence, setting it down with a heavy sigh. Tim continued to watch the older man, his brow furrowed slightly as he took in his demeanor. Lately, the old Jack had been fading away, erstwhile a new Jack, one that was prone to silence and long thoughtful pauses , started to surface. Tim had joked with him on many occasions about actual retirement, but the laughter from the joking had started to become thoughtful gazes into nothingness.
"Hey, Jack," Tim started as he looked to the scopes again, "I'm having a hard time identifying this, think you can help out?"
Jack pulled an evidence envelope and tossed it to the side, a sigh coming from deep within. He knew very well what the kid was doing, " Speed, you know , as well as I do, that you are the smartest one in here at the moment. It's alright, Tim, honestly."
Tim nodded as he bent to peer into the scope, " What does Meredith think about your plans to retire?"
Jack stopped what he was doing and stared at the envelopes , shaking his head with a small smirk, " For twenty years, this has been my life , Tim. The business of bringing about peace of mind to those in need, piecing together someone's traumatic loss, it's what I did. And I did it well. It's," he said as he looked to him, " it's just time to hang it up, ya know what I mean?"
Tim continued to work, his demeanor dropping with every second, "Um hmm..."
"Don't do that, Speed. It's not like I'm dying or anything. I'm just retiring, you can come and bug the shit out of me at home," Jack chuckled as he exhaled again. Tim lifted his sights to his friend, his mentor and Jack smiled heavily, "It's time to pack it in, Tim. Loss of passion is not good in this line of business. You have to use it to do right by others, to make it better. Always remember that."
"Done," Tim responded with a sharp shake of his head, "now, honestly, I need your help over here, cause I have no idea what I'm looking at."
" You are the king of bullshit artists, I commend you," Jack responded with a snicker as he made his way over to the scopes. Peering down, he raised his eyebrows, " You weren't kidding. Okay, here's how we are going to do this," Jack started as he gestured towards the cabinet of books. "We will do a visual, then compare it to the mass spec. How's that sound?"
"Sounds...okay, ...I guess," Tim responded with a shrug of his shoulders as he anchored a hand to his side. He watched with a smirk on his face, seeing the old Jack making a brief appearance. It would be hard to see him go, but Tim knew that nothing stayed the same, and he was going to have to change along with everyone else.
TBC...