Marisol sighed as she pressed the coffee button that morning and wondered who that man could have been. She never met this strange men until the other day, but in a weird way she felt like she knew him. She wondered if she should tell Horatio, but she didn't want to worry him. Ever since he and Eric brought her back from Cuba, Horatio had been on edge making sure she was okay. She loved how protective he was over her but she worried he wasn't getting enough rest; especially with the type of job he had. She decided to brush the incident today off as a minor coincidence. Her pondering was interrupted by her phone buzzing and she sighed when she saw that her mother was calling. She loved her mother but she was slightly disappointed in her at the moment. She really wish her mother would tell her father, Pavel Delko, the truth about Eric. It made her even angrier at the fact that Eric hadn't mentioned anything to him yet. "Hey."
"Mija….how are you?" Carmen asked.
"I'm…uh…fine." Marisol sighed. "How are you?"
"I'm well…..have you talked to Eric?" Carmen asked.
"No, why…..is everything okay?"
"Calleigh is in the hospital….Eric just called and told us. I didn't know if you knew or not," Carmen explained. "Anyways, I'm heading over there now…..would you like to come with me?"
"Yeah….I'll meet you over there." Marisol said. "Just give me a few minutes."
"Oh, well…I thought we could go together? If not, that's okay."
"Oh, well…..I mean….sure." Marisol scowled at herself for sounding so awkward.
"Mari…..you don't have too….I…I was simply wanting to spend time with you. I miss you, mija." Carmen said.
Marisol pursed her lips and sighed. "Okay mom…..um….let me shower and get ready. You want to come get me or should I come get you?"
"I'll be over in ten minutes." Carmen smiled.
"Okay, bye."
"Bye."
Marisol hung up the phone with a sigh and prayed their ride to the hospital wouldn't be as awkward as that phone call. She smiled when a pair of strong arms wrapped around her from behind. "Mmmm….good afternoon….you smell good."
Horatio smiled. "Good afternoon and thank you…..you do too."
Marisol turned in his arms to face him. "Hey, did you know that Calleigh is in the hospital?"
Horatio nodded. "Yes, I just found out….Eric….Eric sent me a text."
"My mom and I are about to head over there now." Marisol said.
Horatio nodded. "Have you two talked yet?"
Marisol shook her head. "I'm trying….I mean….when I'm around her I keep thinking about the fact that she cheated on my father. When I'm around him…..I feel…..I feel like I'm lying to him. I feel like my father is living a lie." Marisol huffed and walked to the bar stool to sit down. "Maybe I'm being childish."
"No, you can't help what you feel….but…sometimes….sometimes we don't tell the ones we love the truth because we're not….we're not ready for the truth to come out and….and we're not ready for the pain it might cause." Horatio said.
"You sound like you're speaking from experience." Marisol smirked.
Horatio smiled whilst looking down. "My brother, Ray."
No words were needed to be said because he already shared that part of his life with her. She reached for his hand and gave it a squeeze. "I guess I just need to be patient and there for her."
"Sometimes…..that's all we can do." Horatio said whilst looking into her beautiful brown hazel eyes.
Marisol smiled. "Well, I should get ready...but first." She leaned in and gave him a kiss.
Horatio smiled and moaned. "You keep this up….you won't be leaving this house."
Marisol giggled. "I would very much like that…..although you could just come with us?" Marisol grinned suggestively which made Horatio laugh.
"I….I actually have some work I brought home. However, I would like to see how Calleigh is doing. How about…..how about I pick you up from the hospital?" Horatio asked.
Marisol sighed and wrapped her arms around his neck whilst pouting. "You know that's just wasting gas."
Horatio hummed whilst wiggling his eyebrows. "You're worth it." Horatio smiled. "Besides….I…..I think you and mom deserve some much needed bonding. I have….been keeping you to myself for a while now."
Marisol smiled and sighed. "I suppose so…..I'll text you then." She gave him a peck on the lips one last time before walking away.
"Sweetheart…..we may be wasting gas today but…..but I'm pretty sure we can save some water." Horatio smiled.
Marisol giggled as he began following her to their bathroom. "Oh how I missed you, Mr. Caine."
"Mmmm…..and I missed you, Mrs. Caine."
E/C~E/C~E/C~E/C~E/C~E/C~E/C~E/C~E/C~
Calleigh sighed as her eyes fluttered opened to the morning rays of sunlight. She stretched her sore body and moaned as muscles ached slightly. She smiled when she saw Eric waking up with a frown and chuckled. "I hope our baby does not have you're sunny attitude."
Eric snorted. "That's cute…yeah you know what…..you sleep on this couch and then let's see how you wake up feeling."
Calleigh huffed. "Oh please, Eric…..this hospital bed is not comfortable. Plus, I hate to say this babe but you kind of wake up on the grumpy side sometimes."
Eric sighed and smirked. "Sorry."
"Don't be….I still love you. Plus I think it's cute." Calleigh grinned.
Eric grinned that crooked grin she fell in love with years ago. He walked over to her bed and grabbed her hand before kissing her softly on the lips. "Good morning,"
"Mmmm….good morning. How are you?" Calleigh smiled.
Eric lifted an eyebrow. "I should be asking you that question."
Calleigh rolled her eyes a little with a smile. "I'm fine…we're fine."
Eric laughed. "Yeah, I know you're fine…that's the main reason we have a bun in the oven at the moment."
Calleigh chuckled. "Easy boy….don't start something you can't finish."
Eric gave her a naughty smile. "Mmmm….if only you had a naughty nurse outfit."
"Eric," Calleigh warned.
Eric grinned. "Okay…okay, I'll uh…I'll behave….for now." He grinned. "What do you want to eat this morning?"
"Mmmm…..surprise me." Calleigh grinned.
Eric rolled his eyes with a chuckle. "Okay." He kissed her forehead before leaving the room to head to the cafeteria. He pushed the elevator button and when the elevators door opened his whole mood changed. "What the hell are you doing here, Jake?"
Jake sighed. "Look, Delko, I get that we don't get along….but she's still a good friend of mine. I'll be in an out before you even get back from wherever you were going."
Eric clenched his jaw and shook his head. "You're lucky she still wants to be friends with you."
Jake exhaled and walked to Calleigh's room. He ran his fingers through his hair before knocking on the door. He entered when he heard her sweet voice and smiled whilst poking his head in. "Hey gorgeous."
"Jake, what are you doing here?"
"If I got a penny for every time I got asked that question…..I'm pretty sure I'd be rich." Jake smirked and walked over to sit in the chair next to her bed.
"That's not what I meant and you know it." Calleigh smiled a little. "Thank you for coming…..how did you know I was here?"
"Word travels fast in an office, Cal…..especially with a bunch of detectives and CSI's in the building." Jake smiled. "So, what they have you in here for?"
Calleigh smiled a fake smile and rolled her eyes a little whilst waving her hand. "It's nothing…..I'm leaving tomorrow anyways."
"So, in other words you don't want to discuss it." Jake sighed. "Typical Calleigh….well, I'm glad you're okay."
Calleigh's smiled faded. "Why did you really come here, Jake? I mean…..you came back to Miami for one reason and we both know what that is…..and I'm sorry."
Jake sighed. "I just…..I get why you chose him, but I just want to be friends."
Calleigh frowned. "I didn't just choose him, Jake. It's always been Eric…...from the moment we met…..and I'm so sorry for being in love with him when we were together. Honestly, I didn't know how I felt about Eric until I dated you again."
"Which is why you weren't as eager to make it work as I was when it had to end." Jake said.
Calleigh sighed. "I never once regretted dating you…but I do regret letting it go on as long as it did."
Jake huffed. "It wasn't just your fault…..I knew you had feelings for Delko. I just…..wanted to be that guy for you."
Calleigh smiled a small smile. "So, are you going to continue to work at CSI?"
"I have no idea," Jake's voice trailed off. He wanted to tell her all of his secrets, but he knew she would just talk him into turning himself in. Although Jake didn't go through with his plans he knew he could go away for attempted murder. Looking into her beautiful green eyes it dawned on Jake that if he truly loved Calleigh he couldn't go on with his plans. He decided on telling her the truth now and clear his conscious. "Calleigh, you are going to be pissed as hell when I tell you this…..and I can't believe I even thought about doing this idea…..I mean….I don't hate him. I just…..I-"
"Mija…..how's my future daughter in law and future grandchild." Carmen smiled walking in with balloons. "Oh, I'm sorry."
"You're pregnant?" Jake asked in shock.
Calleigh smiled and sighed. "Yeah, we're not telling everyone just yet because we're still trying to tell our families. So please don't say anything."
Jake nodded. "I….uh…I should go."
"Wait….what were you going to say? Jake don't leave….I wanted to hear what-"
Jake exhaled. "Forget it…..just forget it." Jake left the room before Calleigh or anyone else had a chance to say anything to him. He didn't know why he was mad, but he was infuriated with Calleigh. He paced the hallways in anger and still not sure why he was so angry. He balled up his fist and before he realized what he was doing he punched the wall. He instantly regretted it after the excruciating pain that ran through his hand. He ignored the looks and whispers from people as he walked to the stairs exit. He needed to get away and fast.
"Who was that, mija?" Carmen asked.
"It was just an old ex-boyfriend….how are y'all?" Calleigh smiled a tight smile. She brushed off the weirdness of Jake's explanation and tried to concentrate on her two guests.
"We should be asking you that question." Marisol smiled whilst hugging Calleigh.
"Okay, Eric number two…..we are both fine." Calleigh smiled.
E/C~E/C~E/C~E/C~E/C~E/C~E/C~E/C~E/C~
Natalia scanned her menu for what felt like the tenth time before checking her watch again. Ryan was officially late for their very first date and she couldn't believe it. She knew he wasn't the type of guy to stand her up, but at this point she was beginning to think he was that guy. With one more glance at her watch decided to just order take out and head home. She couldn't believe Ryan and she wanted nothing more to punch his face at the moment. Once she was home, she decided to change out of her formal attire and put something more comfortable on. As she walked into her kitchen to get her utensils to hit and catch up on Gilmore Girls, there was a knock on her door. She instantly rolled her eyes knowing it was probably Ryan. She stomped over to her door, pulled the door open, and was instantly shocked by what she saw. There stood, or slightly stood, Ryan Wolfe badly injured. He had a broken nose, busted lip, and a possible broken leg.
"Nat…." Ryan grunted as he tried his best to lean on her doorframe.
"Oh my God, Ryan….what happened?" Natalia asked in shock as she rushed to his side. She helped him inside to her couch and began to tend to his wounds. "We have to get you to a hospital."
Ryan grunted. "No….no hospital…I'm alright."
"Ryan….I'm pretty sure you have a broken leg. Plus, you don't look or sound good." Natalia said.
Ryan chuckled and grunted at the same time. "Thanks…..I just….I just needed you to know I wasn't….I wasn't trying to stand you up."
Natalia sighed. "Look don't worry about that right now. I'll be back…..I'm going to get my first aid kid."
Ryan exhaled slowly. "I'll be here."
Natalia huffed with smirk. "I'm glad you make jokes out of this situation." She walked quickly to her bathroom and returned back to Ryan on her couch with her first aid kit in her hand. Natalia cleaned the blood of his lip and nose. She was relieved to see that his nose didn't look broken, but she wasn't too convinced about some of his other bones. "Ryan, you really need to get checked out."
"I need to warn Billy's dad…..I can't just-"
"Okay, well first you need to worry about you…..Ryan let me help you. I can drive you to the ER and you really don't have a choice, because by the looks of it mister you can barely move." Natalia said. "So, you can either let me drive you or I'll just call an ambulance. Pick your poison." Natalia crossed her arms.
Ryan sighed knowing he wasn't going to get out of this without choosing the hospital. He rolled his eyes and nodded to her keys by the table. "You don't have to do this."
"Well, you didn't have to come all the way to my house to tell me you didn't stand me up. You could have just went and got help for yourself." Natalia smiled a little. "Thank you for not bailing on our date though…..and I'm sorry this happened."
Ryan chuckled. "It's not your fault…..and for the record it would take a lot more than just a beating from me not seeing you."
"I love how you are still so charming in this condition." Natalia smiled as they both slowly made their way to her car.
"Only for you, Nat."
So, a lot is starting to happen...Jake is really pissed, Marisol keeps seeing some weird guy, and poor Ryan gets beaten up once again =(
I hope to be able to post another chapter soon!
R&R please :)!