Title: A Little Knowledge
Author: Aeon Cole
Rating: FRT
Fandom: CSI: Miami
Pairing: Horatio/Stetler/Speed
Series: The Three Of Us
Word Count: 910
Summary: What would you do if you knew something the rest of the world did not? Calleigh's perspective.
Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.
Author's Note: This is just a little ficlet that will lead into the next major arc for this series which I hope to have done by the end of April barring any major interruptions. Just a touch of foreshadowing follows.
ooo
The components of the Glock were laid out carefully along the table as Calleigh gently moved the oiled cloth through the gun's barrel. This was a task she was able to find comfort in, something she was so totally familiar with that she could allow her mind to wander while her muscle memory took care of the task at hand. Two weeks had passed since that afternoon when she had caught sight of Horatio and Rick Stetler in the parking lot. She hadn't told anyone what she'd seen, not Eric, not Speed. She hadn't asked Horatio about it or confronted Stetler. She had kept it to herself doing what she did best. She observed.
On the surface everything seemed normal. To the casual observer, to any of the lab techs, any of the uniformed officers or detectives, everything was as it had always been. But to Calleigh a paradigm shift had occurred. Horatio wasn't Horatio any more, at least not the Horatio she had come to know. And she still wasn't sure how she felt about that. She began to question how much she really did know about him. She had watched him carefully over the past two weeks and had noticed subtle differences, in the way he dealt with the staff, in the way he handled himself at crime scenes, simply in the way he carried himself. She wondered how much of what she was noticing now had always been there but had gone unnoticed.
She watched Stetler too whenever the opportunity presented itself. He didn't really seem all that different other than that he appeared to be a bit more relaxed. It was when they were together that drew her interest the most. She would watch them together and try to figure out if what was going on between them was old or new. They still argued about the job and the way things were run at the lab but now she wondered if the arguments were real or if they were play acting. She couldn't tell. And even when they argued, she began to notice, that they seemed strangely comfortable with each other in a way she hadn't noticed before. That made her wonder even more.
She now stood at one end of the long hallway lost in thought watching another of their discussions when Eric walked up behind her. "At it again, are they?" he asked causing Calleigh to startle. He chuckled lightly. "Sorry," he said.
Calleigh shook her head and looked down for a moment, embarrassed that she had allowed Eric to sneak up on her like that. "I was just thinking," she said quickly. "I didn't hear you."
Eric smiled at her. "I said, they're at it again," he repeated as he gestured toward Horatio and Stetler at the other end of the hallway. Calleigh nodded. "I wonder what it is this time."
ooo
Rick glanced up noticing Eric and Calleigh at the far end of the hallway. "I think we're being watched," he said.
Horatio smirked. "Maybe I should stalk off to my office and have you follow me," he suggested.
"Works for me," Rick replied casually with an exaggerated hand gesture that didn't in any way match his words or tone.
"Come on. Let's go," Horatio said as he threw his arms up in the air in a gesture of surrender then he turned and headed for his office with Rick following closely behind.
ooo
Eric shook his head. "That didn't look good. I hope IAB isn't giving Horatio too much grief."
But Calleigh couldn't help smirking slightly though she kept her face turned away from Eric. There was no doubt in her mind that that little episode had been staged. She quickly schooled her expression and turned to face Eric.
"Well, I wouldn't worry too much, Eric. Horatio is more than capable of taking care of himself," she said then turned and headed off toward her lab.
To Calleigh it was like she had been living with a bag over her head all these years. Now that it had been removed she could suddenly see what others could not. The fact that the so called argument she had just witnessed was so obviously fake to her yet so real to Eric wasn't lost on her. They didn't want anyone else to know. That was obvious and she could certainly understand why. If the relationship was new, who knew how long it would last. And if it was not new, that possibility had so many ramifications for their department she didn't like to even think about it given how many times Stetler had been charged with investigating things to do with the lab. And this was completely putting aside the fact that Horatio was involved in a romantic relationship with another man. She couldn't imagine the uproar that would cause.
Calleigh knew what she needed to do. She would keep their secret, for now at least. She wouldn't say anything to anyone else unless something happened to cause her to have to reveal the secret. She would continue to observe, to make sure Stetler wasn't using Horatio to some end. She didn't trust him. He had given her no reason to trust him. He was IAB after all. Her instinct was to protect Horatio just as his had always been to protect her and Eric and Speed, and that was something she could live with, at least for the time being.
Fin