Slightly Condoned
Disclaimer: Don't own anything…
Rating: R (later)
Pairing: Eric/OC, Speed/Calleigh
Summary: There is no real synopsis I could give you for this chapter without giving it away, but I will leave u with this. This chapter is a major reason why I consider this fic mainly angst/humor.
Spoiler: Tinder Box, Body Count
A/N: Warning: This part is sad, and a little cheesy, but oh hell, just roll with it.
***
Part 13- The Good Boys
" Got what?" Delko asked, raising his eyebrow suspiciously, as Elisabeth received an epiphany.
" Okay, fine let me rephrase that." Elisabeth rolled her eyes, and Speed chuckled.
" Go ahead." Eric motioned, as he walked around the counter and took a seat on the stool across from them.
" Well, do you think, and call me crazy, but what if Amber Gale had actually been sane when she told Escalante that she did that to her."
" What'd ya mean?" Speed asked, a bit confused, and sharing in that feeling with his friend.
" Work with me here." Elisabeth announced and then went right ahead into her hypothesis, " Amber obviously knew that Leon wasn't going to make it. And she also knew that the one person to blame would be Council Woman because if she hadn't vetoed the bill, Leon wouldn't have fought the cops, and ended up dead."
The stilled silence fell on the trio after the ADA finished talking.
It was obvious that she opened a door of possibilities not yet explored and Elisabeth felt proud of herself that she could finally help out in some shape or form, not just a pretty face and authority figure.
" Hmmm." Speed was the first to break the silence with his grunt, " Why do it though?"
" Do what?" Eric asked, still unable to understand the full seriousness of the situation.
" Collapse in front of the Council Woman, did she feel like she was running out of time, what?" Speed also was now incapable of finding a good explanation for what Elisabeth suggested.
" Oh."
She tried not to sound disappointed, realizing that her blind shot in the gutter had turned out exactly that, and that she wasn't as trained and didn't specialize in the same field as these people, so what made her think she could outsmart them.
Another stretched moment of silence, as the trio tried to contemplate if it was worth a shot.
" Eh, you guys, fuck it, I mean it was only a little epiphany I had, discard it. I realize it was stupid." Elisabeth sighed, and tried her best not to show her disappointment.
" Hell no, it wasn't stupid. It was a shortcoming, and idea. How do you think we solve crimes Liz? By waking up one morning and thinking gee, I might find who poisoned this girl by sitting on my ass and doing nothing." Eric burst out and although both Elisabeth and Speed were taken aback, they didn't show it.
" I thought you had these neat little gadgets to test evidence, of which we have none!" Elisabeth shot back, now slightly pissed off that he was taking this way too personally.
She hadn't meant to offend their job descriptions; it was actually quite the opposite. She was cryptically complimenting them, NOT criticizing. However, it was too late to say anything now.
"Cat's out of the bag."
Her grandma used to say.
" Stop being so fucking pessimistic because one theory didn't pan out. That's not how we work Elisabeth." Eric returned and Speed felt the need to step in.
" Delko, chill man, she was just feeling a little discouraged, it's common." Speed pointed out somewhat sarcastically, and that infuriated Eric even more.
" Fine, Speed, take her side."
" I'm not taking sides."
" Guys, would you please keep it down." Elisabeth suggested in a low hiss, not wanting to attract any one's attention to the Lab.
" No, I will not keep it down, you know as a fellow scientist." Eric began, using air quotes as he demonstrated his anger, " You should be offended by what Ms. Hot Shot Lawyer said, but your not and that's the difference between you and me Speed, so I'm oughtta here."
Eric finally pulled the last straw and raced out of the room like a bolt of lightning.
Leaving Elisabeth and Speed a little stunned in his wake.
Almost as son as his best friend fled the scene of the incident Tim knew his outburst had nothing to do with Elisabeth's remark, and everything with her presence.
He was dead set on figuring out what the hell was going on.
Meanwhile Elisabeth couldn't distinguish if the beating in her ears was from her heart or from the hammers lodging themselves inside her brain as punishment for what she'd done.
Much likely the latter, she had similar thoughts as Speed, but before she could voice them out loud they were met by a third, refreshing if not almost as distressed party.
" What in lord's name went on here?" Calleigh asked demandingly, placing her hands on her hips, " Eric just brushed passed me like he was Superman or something." She exclaimed, trying to sound ridiculous and humor her friends but nothing was working.
The death quite in the room glistened with a smother of distaste and inaccuracy, forcing Calleigh to question further on what she'd missed.
" Yeah, well, that sounds like a viable option at this point." Speed grunted and turned to the computer screen again, trying to make himself scarce without disappearing.
It was Elisabeth's turn to face the wrath of Calleigh Duquesne, as she turned her attention toward the ballistics expert in a confident glance.
" Okay what in good heaven's name went on here?" Calleigh exclaimed again, this time the patience in her tone was running visibly thin.
Elisabeth took two steps forward and passed Calleigh by just slightly, then turned to her with a semi menacing warning look and said, " You are never leaving this Crime Lab, without my consent." She poked her friend's shoulder and scurried out of the room.
Leaving Tim to explain everything.
And if Calleigh had anything to do about it, he would.
Speed tried to ignore his girlfriend's presence but couldn't help but glance at her from the corner of his eye every once in a while as she watched him.
He managed to type up only half of what Elisabeth had summarized earlier when Calleigh walked up to him, and turning around, he came face to face with the giant buckle of her beige pants.
It resembled a bull's head, and he decided to concentrate on that instead of Calleigh's probing gaze.
It wasn't until he reached out to tug it, that her hand caught his wrist and their eyes met.
" Okay, spill."
Oh shit.
***
Eric shoved his hands in his pockets as he walked down the corridor away from the Lab, and away from the mayhem in his head, which had forced him to break just a few minutes before.
He didn't mean to attack Elisabeth verbally, the way that he did, but something inside him snapped, and that scared him probably more than anything had before.
And that was a significant confession seeing as though he was a Crime Scene Investigator, who saw more than his share of gut wrenching things before.
Eric also had to admit that the words that came to him were mixed up in issues not completely from what Elisabeth had said, if at all, but rather from what he was trying to deny.
The turmoil got the best of him and he cracked under pressure, in the worst of ways, and in the worst of times.
Having first passed Calleigh on his way out, he knew he just left his two friends at the mercy of bullet girl, and wondered if they didn't condemn him afterwards for disappearing.
He just couldn't do it anymore; he couldn't be in the same room with her and still remain level headed.
He couldn't commit to his feelings, and the ever-growing desire inside him, where it stemmed from, he didn't know either.
His own feelings became an enigma to him, and one of the more dangerous kinds too, and Eric just couldn't deal with it any more.
Knowing that most people would be disappointed in his departure, Delko went to the only person who he could think of that wouldn't, and had never judged him.
Although now, it seemed as if he was getting a little more than annoyed of Eric, and he knew that that was the last thing he wanted.
So standing outside his boss's office, almost turning the knob on the door, Delko found himself stepping back, and decided that he really didn't need to personally announce his leaving to any one…
***
Elisabeth tried very hard not to get lost in the labyrinth like hallways of the CSI building, but by the tenth minute of her venturing, and realization that she was going around in circles, the ADA gave up, and slipped into the break room.
Keen on having another cup of coffee and maybe escaping this hell that apparently her mouth got her into.
She still couldn't understand what had wrong. Why Eric snapped the way he did, and innocent comment, not even at all directed to him in a malicious way, or even him specifically.
Was there something she had said that she didn't hear?
It was highly unlikely, seeing as though another CSI had been present and if he didn't like what he heard, he would've called Elisabeth on it.
She knew that's the kind of person Speed was within the second minute of meeting him, and she also knew that Delko and him were extremely different.
She had come to that conclusion a while ago, but what happened a few minutes before only strengthened her point.
And gave her insight on their relationship.
They were a lot like brothers, and the only reason beneath the growth of their friendship was probably because they were the exact opposites.
Not the same could've been said for her and Eric, and that troubled her.
Elisabeth hesitated starting another round of caffeine as she leaned against the wall and looked out the window.
Wondering just how fucked up the situation was going to be, from this point on.
And to think, a week ago she was saying good bye to the good boys in Manhattan, wearing Armani Suits and trying cases with no possible verdict against their favor, because they had connections upstairs.
These good boys took her to good restaurants, ordered good wine, and allowed her to pick the best, and made good intellectual if a little boring small talk, and yet with all the correct ingredients to make the recipe to her liking, she felt absolutely nothing for those 'good' boys.
And here was this side tracked Russian-Cuban reformed Catholic boy who, she pretty sure hated to wear suits, and never set foot outside Miami-Dade, and yet with all his shortcomings, Elisabeth felt for him the equivalent of 20 of those dates with the 'good' boys, and needless to say she wasn't welcoming that feeling.
She didn't want it.
How ironic was it? She had been looking for love in all the wrong places, although they could've been considered the right ones, she knew it wouldn't last.
Not with a lawyer with too cocky of an attitude and less than humorous approach to issues, even if that's what every one around her preferred, Elisabeth somehow always knew that that wouldn't be the case with her.
Yet she kept pushing, trying to satisfy everyone around her, it was never just Elisabeth, it was always, "What will mom think if I brought this boy home?"
Somehow she was still stuck in the same dimension and train of thought.
Caught between two train wrecks so to speak.
Even miles away from her family, they remained the main focus in her vision, and she knew that she would come home and call her mom to update her, and tell her all about what a great time she had with John Hagen.
A Homicide Investigator, who was headstrong, and pampered her to no end, and her mother will be explicitly happy, and ask Elisabeth if she really liked this 'good' boy. And Elisabeth will lie and say, " Yes mom, I think this could finally be it."
And once again she'd prove herself redundant, and disappoint her mother when she'd call back and tell her she got another date, and her mother would wonder what happened to John, he was such a good boy she'd say.
And Elisabeth would bite her tongue to say, " Yeah, that's the problem."
Nonetheless she'd claim that it was blind sighted lust, and be done with it, knowing that the next day she'd be having the same conversation with her mother, telling her this one didn't last either.
And her mother would once again ask would happen, and Elisabeth would bite her tongue again, and the cycle would continue over and over again with no end, that's what Elisabeth feared.
Although what scared her even more was the knowledge that if she ever brought Eric Delko home with her, the cycle would be broken.
***
" Spill what?" Speed asked trying very hard to maintain an unbreakable front, although he knew it would eventually bite him in the ass.
Calleigh let out an expected sigh of exasperation to warn Tim that he wasn't going to win this one.
Yeah like he didn't already know that.
For all the months he'd been involved with this woman, her natural shrewdness never ceased to amaze him, and it wasn't hard to admit that that part of her also attracted him.
Her stare narrowed, and closed in on Speed, making him feel somewhat claustrophobic, but that was to be expected seeing as though he had something to hide now.
And it quite literally pissed him off that Elisabeth left him with the grunt work. He could understand Delko's sudden departure, although the hasty out burst of his, made no sense to Tim whatsoever.
But he didn't know why Elisabeth left, and on a threatening note too, was she crazy? Calleigh seemed in lower spirits then usual anyway and the sudden troubled aura around her, made Tim wonder where she'd been.
Usually, visits with Mia left her in a chipper mood, and uplifted her spirits instead of shooting them straight to hell, where they seemed to be at the moment.
Her patience was running thin, Tim could tell, it was only a matter of time before she snapped as well.
" Tim, tell me what the fuck happened, because I will eventually get it out of you any way." Calleigh announced in a voice just above a whispering hiss.
Speed wasn't fazed one bit, he knew her well enough to conclude that any tone she used with him now, was of misplaced anger, something happened to her as well, but what?
Something told Speed, she wouldn't just willingly give that information up any time soon, but he'd make it his mission to figure out what was on her mind.
" Yeah, yeah." Speed groaned in a muffled tone, not because he was scared, but because it seemed to be the safest way out for now.
" Tim." Calleigh said warningly, and walked over to the opposite side of the table, grabbing a stool and dragging it over to where her boyfriend reclined.
He sent her a doubtful look, and pressed on, " If you're in dire need of gossip don't leave this crime lab abruptly, we've turned into a fucking soap opera." He muttered somewhat annoyed, as Calleigh watched him.
" Aha, honey, reality check." Tim turned to her, as she spoke, " I think you should up to the party too late. It's always been a soap opera." She announced and Speed had to agree.
" Yeah, well, it wasn't so obvious before." He countered lamely, and Calleigh smirked.
" Care to back up your accusation?" She wondered, tapping her nails against the tough surface of the counter.
" Not really." Speed shrugged, and watched amusedly as her expression changed, " But I think I may have to." He supplied with finality and could almost sense Calleigh letting out a sigh of relief.
" Yeah you do, so c'mon, I haven't got all day." Calleigh pushed his shoulder slightly, and he looked at her suspiciously.
" What?" Calleigh asked after a few silent moments between them.
" You just, look, so childish, and the arm shoving, good going Cal." He mumbled and Calleigh's smile only widened.
" Well, it's only because I hate being kept in the dark, it's uh, frustrating, for lack of better wording." Calleigh winked, and Speed captured the hidden meaning behind her implication.
He smiled as well, and leaned in to her, whispering in her ear, " Later."
Pulling back, he detected rose flushed on her cheeks, and was content with knowing he still had some sort of affect on her. Yet it was obvious Calleigh couldn't be so easily bent or wrapped around his finger.
As he soon could tell with her menacing grin, in place of the soft smile before, " Not if you don't tell me what the hell happened."
" Oh you just love to set ultimatums don't ya?" Speed teased not exactly leaning away, nor leaning in.
Torturing Calleigh to no end.
" You bet I do." Her retaliation came in the form of the sweetest southern drawl that could escape her lips.
Hmm, now there was a thought…her lips.
They suddenly became the object of his affection but Speed continued to torment her.
" I don't like to play games Cal." He informed her, and she stiffened.
" Well, I do."
" I know, that why you're good at them." Speed pointed out, and watched as Calleigh stood up again.
That outrageous bull on her belt staring back at him, but this time Tim got up as well, finally not caring that they stood in the middle of the most open lab, in brought daylight, and he was about to kiss her.
" But, I'm not." He added, and pulled her closer, slipping one arm around her waist, and the other, lower, tracing the leather belt, before venturing into the back pocket of her jeans.
Calleigh's heartbeat quickened instantly, at first from the burning sensation gathering with anticipation at the pit of her stomach and then when she felt Tim's hand glide down into her pant pocket.
The same pant pocket she clumsily shoved a scrap of a legal pad earlier that morning.
It wasn't until Speed took hold of this evidence that Calleigh came out of their embrace, decently flushed, but both knew it wasn't from the thrill of their tryst anymore, but rather from the fear of being discovered.
Tim fingered the paper he found as Calleigh stepped back a few strides.
" What is this?" he asked, after hesitantly unraveling it, and studying its contents.
" It's a number." Calleigh said, suddenly feeling very out of place, and guilty.
" I'm aware of that." Speed snapped curtly, " The question is why do you have it?"
The sinking disappointment in his voice was difficult to hide, and Calleigh swallowed deeper when she realized the consequences where catching up with her.
Karma was catching up with her.
" Calleigh." Tim's voice trailed off threateningly, but not at all maliciously.
He wasn't mad, she could sense it, but he was well, disappointed, discouraged, aware now that if she was accepting numbers from strangers named Josh, their relationship really was over.
It just sort of hurt Speed that he wasn't informed of this, it would've made the heart break just a little easier on him.
Hell, at least he still had his apartment to go back to…right?
Well that was really a fucked up consolation prize for the shit she put him through.
Great.
" Tim, I can explain." Calleigh began but somehow, in those few precious moments of silence before that, Tim had received his closure, he got his breaking point and came across it coolly.
This all just justified what he knew before.
"Love wasn't worth taking risks."
" Yeah, I don't think I want to hear it." He shrugged, and took her hand, and when Calleigh tried to come closer, he kept her at a distance, jamming the piece of paper into her palm as gently as possible.
" Here. Give him a call, just make sure he's worth you okay?" Speed asked, and closed her hand in a fist, returning it to her side.
Calleigh looked lost.
Her eyes glossy with tears, but Speed held no more emotion for them in his heart.
It was then that he knew it was truly over.
All she did was nod.
And he passed by her, brushing his hand on her shoulder, squeezing it, but no longer as a lover would, only as a friend.
" I'll be by later to get my stuff." He added with a parting note and disappeared from the lab.
It hurt him worse when he turned around half way in the corridor, and realized, she couldn't even look after him leaving.
She just stood there.
Alone.
Good.
Because now she knew how he felt…
***
" Nobody said it was easy
It's such a shame for us to part…"
---Coldplay
***
TBC…