Title: Damaged Goods (3/?)
Disclaimer: (To the tune of "You Don't Own Me," by Leslie Gore) I don't own it, I'm not trying to claim it in any way. I don't own it, don't hunt me down cause I'll never pay!
Rating: PG-13
Pairings: Eric/Maria (OC), Tim/Calleigh, Maria/Hagen (What? Quit looking at me like that, it was her idea.)
Feedback: Review, or I'll send Maria to your house.
Summary: A night out ends badly for the CSIs, and much worse for a young tourist.
Dedication: Hell, I'm just gonna go ahead and dedicate this part to the whole damn list, cause ya'll just kick ass.
Soundtrack: "This Land Is Mine" by Dido. If you haven't already, go pick up Life for Rent. The whole album is just unreal.
__________________________________________
"Are you sure?" Eric asked, reeling from what Horatio had just told him.
"Not completely." Horatio replied. "But it doesn't seem like it could just be a coincidence, does it?"
"So, the guy slips the stuff into her first drink." Tim mused. "When we show up, she's with a group, she's got safety in numbers. So she's not an attractive target anymore, and he moves on and finds another girl who's more vulnerable."
"I think I'm going to be sick." Calleigh managed to say, taking a deep breath. "I mean...oh my God...if we'd gotten there even just a few minutes later..."
Eric cringed. If he had resisted his friends' invitation for just a little longer, they would be having a very different conversation, maybe at that very moment. Even though he didn't want to, he kept picturing how that would have gone.
They would have gotten to the bar and found that Maria wasn't there. Knowing her as well as they all did, they probably wouldn't have given it too much thought. Maybe she went home, maybe she went to visit her brother's wife and kids, she'd been spending more time at their house ever since Anton had been deployed. They would have had a few drinks, had their fun, and gone back to Tim's apartment.
Considering when the body had been found, they would have just been leaving for the lab when Horatio would have called them, keeping his tone clipped, asking them to come to his office when they arrived. They would have filed in, all of them expecting to be reprimanded for their behavior, maybe a tech or someone else had spotted them at the bar and squealed on them.
Eric could picture clearly in his mind the solemn look in Horatio's eyes, the pain, the frustration, as he asked them to sit down, and broke the news none of them could have expected.
Horatio's voice pulled him out of his waking nightmare. "Eric? Did you hear me?"
"Sorry...what?" Eric blinked a few times, trying to push the horrible thoughts to a far, dark corner of his mind.
"I said we're not going to repeat one word of this to Maria. Not yet." Horatio told him. He looked at the three CSIs. "Understood?" All three of them nodded silently. "All right."
"God, she's going to be so upset." Calleigh said as they walked back to Maria's room.
"Yeah, I know." Tim put his arm around her. "But we've got to act like nothing's wrong. At least for now." They all paused and collected themselves before entering the room.
Just in time to see Maria slap Hagen across the face. "Geez, you're dumb! Thank God for that ass." She sighed, a small grin lighting up her tired face.
He smiled at her slightly as he rubbed his cheek. "Nice to see that fiery Latina temper of yours is as healthy as ever."
"And don't you forget it, pal." Maria replied, pointing a finger at him and grinning. She looked up and saw her friends. "Hey. Can someone get this perv out of here? He's not helping my blood pressure."
"I think that can be arranged." Tim said. He looked at Hagen. "Horatio needs to talk to you, anyway."
"Anything wrong?" Hagen asked.
"No, nothing, he just needs to talk to all of us about last night." Calleigh replied quickly.
Hagen shrugged. "All right. I'll be right back." He kissed Maria gently before leaving the room.
Maria placed one hand against her chest and groaned softly, causing her friends to crowd around her instantly.
"Are you okay?" Eric asked. "Do you need us to get the doctor?"
"No, I'm fine." Maria took a deep, labored breath. "Just a little short of breath, Dr. Anders said that might last for a day or two." She rolled her eyes when none of them stepped back. "Jesus, it's gonna be a lot harder to breathe if you guys don't back the fuck up off me, okay? Look, I'm fine. And that's mostly thanks to you guys. I'd be a lot worse off if it weren't for you."
Her friends exchanged worried looks. Had she somehow found out?
"Just the thought of waking up naked in a strange apartment or some seedy motel room...God, if you guys hadn't gotten to the bar when you did, that's where I'd be." Maria continued. "If I'd woken up at all, that is. The doc said I was lucky that you guys tried to wake me up when you did."
"We're just glad you're all right." Tim assured her. "And we'll find out who did this."
"I know." Maria said. As the others began to relax, she let out a choked gasp and clutched her chest. They were hovering around her again at once, and she laughed. "Shit, are you guys that easy, or am I just that good?"
Eric gave her a look. "Oh, that's nice. Use our concern for you against us for your own amusement."
"I think I will." Maria replied in the same playfully sarcastic tone.
"Well, as long as we're all on the same page." Calleigh laughed. She turned her head slightly toward the open door, just in time to see Hagen's reaction to the same news Horatio had told them minutes before. He looked like he'd been kicked in the stomach, a look that Calleigh was sure she and the two men standing beside her had mirrored.
"Cal?" Maria tugged at her friend's hand. "Is everything okay?" She looked skeptical, suspicious.
"Everything's fine." Calleigh said, forcing a smile and a cheerful tone. "Now that you're okay."
_______________________
"And...I guess that's it." Maria sighed, rubbing her forehead slightly. "The last thing I remember clearly is getting into the cab at the bar. Sorry I can't give you more than that."
"You know what? It's enough." Adele assured the younger woman. "Right now, all you need to worry about is getting back on your feet, so we can put you back to work."
Maria smirked. "Your concern is heartwarming. All right, I'll see you later."
"Thank you, Adele." Horatio said as the Hispanic detective left the hospital. He turned his attention to Maria. "You take as much time as you need. We'll manage just fine."
"I'll be back tomorrow." Maria said cheerfully. "The sooner I get back to work, the more relaxed I'll be, which will help me work better, which will help me relax...oh, fuck it, you know what I mean."
Horatio looked at her blankly. "Rarely, if ever."
"Okay." Maria laughed. "You can go. And take Starsky and the Mod Squad with you, all right? If one of them asks me one more time if I'm feeling okay, or if I need anything, I'm...I'm just gonna snap, okay?"
"Noted." Horatio said. "Get some rest."
Maria nodded as she leaned back and pulled the covers over herself, closing her eyes and taking a deep, shaky breath.
Pausing in the doorway, Horatio turned around. "We will find out who did this to you, Maria."
"Duh." Maria sighed, opening her eyes slightly. "God, H, chill. You know, you're not getting any younger. You gotta start lightening up or you're gonna have a stroke or something."
Horatio smiled wryly. "You're definitely feeling better."
____________________
"Holy shit, is it really only ten-thirty?" Calleigh yawned, looking at her watch.
"Just about." Horatio replied. "What time are you picking her up?"
"Dr. Anders said she could go home around three." Calleigh said. "I thought she would want her dad or another family member to pick her up, but she doesn't even want to call them about this. She said it'll freak them out too much." She sighed. "Speaking of freaking out. Sooner or later, she'll find out about Natalie Mullaly, and you know she's going to take that pretty hard. Anyone have any idea how we're going to handle that?"
"I think she'll be all right." Eric spoke up. "Maria's pretty tough."
"I'm not so sure." Calleigh said.
"What do you mean?" Tim asked. Calleigh gave him a 'not now' look, and he shrugged, casually draping his arm around her. "Hey, where's Hagen?"
"He had to take off about half an hour ago." Horatio said. "He got paged."
Eric scoffed. "He bailed on her. Why doesn't that surprise me?"
"Will you give it a rest?" Calleigh groaned. "It's tired. We're tired. Just let it go."
"Easy for you to say." Eric replied stubbornly. "I mean, come on...they look ridiculous together. He's built like a linebacker, and she just barely made the academy's height minimum."
"You sure you want that to be your argument? There's a size discrepancy?" Tim asked, clearly amused. "Because if that's true, you guys didn't look any less ridiculous."
"Well, anyway, I think it's insane." Eric insisted. "How can it possibly work out?"
Calleigh shrugged, growing increasingly impatient. "Well for one thing, she told me she's usually on top." That was enough to shut Eric up, but Calleigh could only savor that victory for a moment before she realized that Horatio was still there.
He looked at her for what seemed like an eternity before he finally spoke. "Well...now that I'm stuck with that image, I need to get back."
"Don't we all?" Calleigh asked.
"No, what the three of you need to do is go home and get some rest." Horatio told her. "I can't have you working on this investigation, at least not now. You're too close to it."
"Horatio..." Calleigh started to protest, but gave up. He was right, and she knew that.
____________________________
From behind these walls
I hear your song
Oh, sweet words
The music that you play
Lights up my world
Could it be that I've
Been touched and turned?
Oh, Lord, please
Finally, finally things are changing
This land is mine
But I'll let you rule
I'll let you navigate and demand
Just as long as you know
This land is mine
So find your home and settle in
Oh, I'm ready to let you in
Just as long as we know
This land is mine
_______________________
"So, do you want me to stay?" Tim asked as Calleigh closed the apartment door and leaned against it slightly for a moment.
"Of course." She tried to smile at him as he put his arm around her and kissed her forehead, but she found it impossible. "God...I just feel so...I can't describe it. I feel so relieved, but at the same time I want to cry or scream, and I feel so guilty for being happy that Maria's safe when that poor girl's family is suffering right now."
"Hey, come here." Tim drew her close, holding her against him as she let the tears of exhaustion, worry, and confusion finally fall. "It's okay, Cal." He knew she hated seeming vulnerable, but to him, it was almost a relief to see her cry. Lord knows he never wanted her to feel any kind of pain or sadness, but at the same time, he worried what might happen if she insisted on keeping those feelings bottled up.
"I'm sorry." Calleigh gasped, pulling away from him and wiping her eyes.
"You don't have anything to be sorry for." He insisted, cupping her face gently in his hands. "You're strong, Calleigh. You're so strong for Maria, and for all of us. You can't keep that up all the time, and you know it."
Calleigh smiled finally, wiping a few more tears away. "I do. But I need you to remind me of that every so often, okay?"
Tim kissed her lightly. "You got it." He mumbled against her lips before kissing her again, not nearly as lightly this time.
_______________________
After all the battles and wars
The scars and loss
I am still the queen of my domain
And feeling stronger now
The walls are down a little more
Each day since you came
Finally, finally things are changing
This land is mine
But I'll let you rule
I'll let you navigate and demand
Just as long as you know
This land is mine
So find your home and settle in
Oh, I'm ready to let you in
Just as long as we know
This land is mine
________________________
"I thought Horatio said you weren't going to be working on this case." Hagen said.
"As far as he knows I'm not." Eric replied. "And I'm guessing you're not supposed to be here, either."
Hagen nodded. "Yeah. But I was going out of my fucking mind just sitting around, I figured there had to be something I could do around here."
"Same." Eric admitted. "At least until H finds out we're here and suspends us."
"Horatio can do whatever he wants." Hagen said. "I'm going to be here when they bring in the bastard who did that shit to Maria."
"So am I." Eric said. "Hey, listen, when I told you this morning, not to go falling in love with her? I forgot to mention something else. If you ever hurt her, in any way, I'll kill you. I'm not kidding, man, I will fucking end you." He waited for a moment. "Hagen? You hear me? Hello?"
"Delko." Hagen said, staring straight at the TV in front of them. He pointed at the screen, at the news program that was on.
"...unconfirmed rumors that Maria Santiago, the stepdaughter of Florida Senator Yolanda Santiago, and a detective with the Miami-Dade police department, was rushed to the hospital early this morning after consuming a drink laced with GHB, a known date-rape drug." The reporter was saying. "No word yet on whether these rumors have any truth to them, or if the incident is related to the rape and murder of a young tourist who was drugged at the same bar where Maria Santiago was apparently spotted dancing with friends last night..."
"Fuck." Eric spat. He took out his cell phone.
______________________
Calleigh sighed and lay her head on Tim's bare chest. Lazy, peaceful afternoons like this were rare. Whatever the reason was, when they found an opportunity to steal away and spend time together, they took it, no questions asked. Making love, watching a movie, or just laying in each other's arms.
He kissed the top of her head and ran one hand slowly down her naked back. "Feel any better?"
"Are you kidding?" She laughed, propping herself up on one elbow to look into his eyes. "You even need to ask?"
Tim wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her down on top of him, catching her lips in a deep, passionate kiss. "I guess not." He said with a smirk, suddenly flipping them over so she was pinned between her bed and his body.
Calleigh laughed, then moaned softly as he started kissing her neck, pulling her tightly against him.
The ringing of a telephone had never sounded more ugly to her.
"Ignore it." Tim said, his voice muffled against her throat.
"Uh-huh." She gasped out. She reached out blindly with one hand to turn off the answering machine, but it was too late.
"Calleigh, it's Eric, pick up the phone. I know you're there, this is important."
Cursing under his breath, Tim reached over and grabbed the phone. "Delko, what the fuck, man?"
"Speed?" Eric sounded surprised to hear him, but only for a moment. "I might have known."
"What's going on? We're trying to rest, here." Tim said impatiently.
"Sure, man." Eric said sarcastically. "I know what you're there for, and it's not rest. Look, let me talk to Calleigh."
"All right." Tim groaned. He handed the phone to Calleigh. "He wants to talk to you."
"What's going on?" Calleigh asked. She listened for a moment. "Fuck! Yeah, okay, we'll handle it." Hanging up the phone, she climbed out of the bed and practically sprinted out into the living room, not even bothering to wrap a sheet around herself.
"Are the shades closed out there?" Tim asked as he followed her, pulling his boxer shorts back on as he walked. "What's going on?"
"Look." Calleigh said, pointing to the TV as she grabbed a blanket off the back of the couch and wrapped it around herself.
"Holy shit." Tim muttered after watching the news for a moment. "What are the odds that she's seeing this?"
"I don't know." Calleigh admitted. "We'd better get over there, though. Just in case."
_________________________
TBC...
Disclaimer: (To the tune of "You Don't Own Me," by Leslie Gore) I don't own it, I'm not trying to claim it in any way. I don't own it, don't hunt me down cause I'll never pay!
Rating: PG-13
Pairings: Eric/Maria (OC), Tim/Calleigh, Maria/Hagen (What? Quit looking at me like that, it was her idea.)
Feedback: Review, or I'll send Maria to your house.
Summary: A night out ends badly for the CSIs, and much worse for a young tourist.
Dedication: Hell, I'm just gonna go ahead and dedicate this part to the whole damn list, cause ya'll just kick ass.
Soundtrack: "This Land Is Mine" by Dido. If you haven't already, go pick up Life for Rent. The whole album is just unreal.
__________________________________________
"Are you sure?" Eric asked, reeling from what Horatio had just told him.
"Not completely." Horatio replied. "But it doesn't seem like it could just be a coincidence, does it?"
"So, the guy slips the stuff into her first drink." Tim mused. "When we show up, she's with a group, she's got safety in numbers. So she's not an attractive target anymore, and he moves on and finds another girl who's more vulnerable."
"I think I'm going to be sick." Calleigh managed to say, taking a deep breath. "I mean...oh my God...if we'd gotten there even just a few minutes later..."
Eric cringed. If he had resisted his friends' invitation for just a little longer, they would be having a very different conversation, maybe at that very moment. Even though he didn't want to, he kept picturing how that would have gone.
They would have gotten to the bar and found that Maria wasn't there. Knowing her as well as they all did, they probably wouldn't have given it too much thought. Maybe she went home, maybe she went to visit her brother's wife and kids, she'd been spending more time at their house ever since Anton had been deployed. They would have had a few drinks, had their fun, and gone back to Tim's apartment.
Considering when the body had been found, they would have just been leaving for the lab when Horatio would have called them, keeping his tone clipped, asking them to come to his office when they arrived. They would have filed in, all of them expecting to be reprimanded for their behavior, maybe a tech or someone else had spotted them at the bar and squealed on them.
Eric could picture clearly in his mind the solemn look in Horatio's eyes, the pain, the frustration, as he asked them to sit down, and broke the news none of them could have expected.
Horatio's voice pulled him out of his waking nightmare. "Eric? Did you hear me?"
"Sorry...what?" Eric blinked a few times, trying to push the horrible thoughts to a far, dark corner of his mind.
"I said we're not going to repeat one word of this to Maria. Not yet." Horatio told him. He looked at the three CSIs. "Understood?" All three of them nodded silently. "All right."
"God, she's going to be so upset." Calleigh said as they walked back to Maria's room.
"Yeah, I know." Tim put his arm around her. "But we've got to act like nothing's wrong. At least for now." They all paused and collected themselves before entering the room.
Just in time to see Maria slap Hagen across the face. "Geez, you're dumb! Thank God for that ass." She sighed, a small grin lighting up her tired face.
He smiled at her slightly as he rubbed his cheek. "Nice to see that fiery Latina temper of yours is as healthy as ever."
"And don't you forget it, pal." Maria replied, pointing a finger at him and grinning. She looked up and saw her friends. "Hey. Can someone get this perv out of here? He's not helping my blood pressure."
"I think that can be arranged." Tim said. He looked at Hagen. "Horatio needs to talk to you, anyway."
"Anything wrong?" Hagen asked.
"No, nothing, he just needs to talk to all of us about last night." Calleigh replied quickly.
Hagen shrugged. "All right. I'll be right back." He kissed Maria gently before leaving the room.
Maria placed one hand against her chest and groaned softly, causing her friends to crowd around her instantly.
"Are you okay?" Eric asked. "Do you need us to get the doctor?"
"No, I'm fine." Maria took a deep, labored breath. "Just a little short of breath, Dr. Anders said that might last for a day or two." She rolled her eyes when none of them stepped back. "Jesus, it's gonna be a lot harder to breathe if you guys don't back the fuck up off me, okay? Look, I'm fine. And that's mostly thanks to you guys. I'd be a lot worse off if it weren't for you."
Her friends exchanged worried looks. Had she somehow found out?
"Just the thought of waking up naked in a strange apartment or some seedy motel room...God, if you guys hadn't gotten to the bar when you did, that's where I'd be." Maria continued. "If I'd woken up at all, that is. The doc said I was lucky that you guys tried to wake me up when you did."
"We're just glad you're all right." Tim assured her. "And we'll find out who did this."
"I know." Maria said. As the others began to relax, she let out a choked gasp and clutched her chest. They were hovering around her again at once, and she laughed. "Shit, are you guys that easy, or am I just that good?"
Eric gave her a look. "Oh, that's nice. Use our concern for you against us for your own amusement."
"I think I will." Maria replied in the same playfully sarcastic tone.
"Well, as long as we're all on the same page." Calleigh laughed. She turned her head slightly toward the open door, just in time to see Hagen's reaction to the same news Horatio had told them minutes before. He looked like he'd been kicked in the stomach, a look that Calleigh was sure she and the two men standing beside her had mirrored.
"Cal?" Maria tugged at her friend's hand. "Is everything okay?" She looked skeptical, suspicious.
"Everything's fine." Calleigh said, forcing a smile and a cheerful tone. "Now that you're okay."
_______________________
"And...I guess that's it." Maria sighed, rubbing her forehead slightly. "The last thing I remember clearly is getting into the cab at the bar. Sorry I can't give you more than that."
"You know what? It's enough." Adele assured the younger woman. "Right now, all you need to worry about is getting back on your feet, so we can put you back to work."
Maria smirked. "Your concern is heartwarming. All right, I'll see you later."
"Thank you, Adele." Horatio said as the Hispanic detective left the hospital. He turned his attention to Maria. "You take as much time as you need. We'll manage just fine."
"I'll be back tomorrow." Maria said cheerfully. "The sooner I get back to work, the more relaxed I'll be, which will help me work better, which will help me relax...oh, fuck it, you know what I mean."
Horatio looked at her blankly. "Rarely, if ever."
"Okay." Maria laughed. "You can go. And take Starsky and the Mod Squad with you, all right? If one of them asks me one more time if I'm feeling okay, or if I need anything, I'm...I'm just gonna snap, okay?"
"Noted." Horatio said. "Get some rest."
Maria nodded as she leaned back and pulled the covers over herself, closing her eyes and taking a deep, shaky breath.
Pausing in the doorway, Horatio turned around. "We will find out who did this to you, Maria."
"Duh." Maria sighed, opening her eyes slightly. "God, H, chill. You know, you're not getting any younger. You gotta start lightening up or you're gonna have a stroke or something."
Horatio smiled wryly. "You're definitely feeling better."
____________________
"Holy shit, is it really only ten-thirty?" Calleigh yawned, looking at her watch.
"Just about." Horatio replied. "What time are you picking her up?"
"Dr. Anders said she could go home around three." Calleigh said. "I thought she would want her dad or another family member to pick her up, but she doesn't even want to call them about this. She said it'll freak them out too much." She sighed. "Speaking of freaking out. Sooner or later, she'll find out about Natalie Mullaly, and you know she's going to take that pretty hard. Anyone have any idea how we're going to handle that?"
"I think she'll be all right." Eric spoke up. "Maria's pretty tough."
"I'm not so sure." Calleigh said.
"What do you mean?" Tim asked. Calleigh gave him a 'not now' look, and he shrugged, casually draping his arm around her. "Hey, where's Hagen?"
"He had to take off about half an hour ago." Horatio said. "He got paged."
Eric scoffed. "He bailed on her. Why doesn't that surprise me?"
"Will you give it a rest?" Calleigh groaned. "It's tired. We're tired. Just let it go."
"Easy for you to say." Eric replied stubbornly. "I mean, come on...they look ridiculous together. He's built like a linebacker, and she just barely made the academy's height minimum."
"You sure you want that to be your argument? There's a size discrepancy?" Tim asked, clearly amused. "Because if that's true, you guys didn't look any less ridiculous."
"Well, anyway, I think it's insane." Eric insisted. "How can it possibly work out?"
Calleigh shrugged, growing increasingly impatient. "Well for one thing, she told me she's usually on top." That was enough to shut Eric up, but Calleigh could only savor that victory for a moment before she realized that Horatio was still there.
He looked at her for what seemed like an eternity before he finally spoke. "Well...now that I'm stuck with that image, I need to get back."
"Don't we all?" Calleigh asked.
"No, what the three of you need to do is go home and get some rest." Horatio told her. "I can't have you working on this investigation, at least not now. You're too close to it."
"Horatio..." Calleigh started to protest, but gave up. He was right, and she knew that.
____________________________
From behind these walls
I hear your song
Oh, sweet words
The music that you play
Lights up my world
Could it be that I've
Been touched and turned?
Oh, Lord, please
Finally, finally things are changing
This land is mine
But I'll let you rule
I'll let you navigate and demand
Just as long as you know
This land is mine
So find your home and settle in
Oh, I'm ready to let you in
Just as long as we know
This land is mine
_______________________
"So, do you want me to stay?" Tim asked as Calleigh closed the apartment door and leaned against it slightly for a moment.
"Of course." She tried to smile at him as he put his arm around her and kissed her forehead, but she found it impossible. "God...I just feel so...I can't describe it. I feel so relieved, but at the same time I want to cry or scream, and I feel so guilty for being happy that Maria's safe when that poor girl's family is suffering right now."
"Hey, come here." Tim drew her close, holding her against him as she let the tears of exhaustion, worry, and confusion finally fall. "It's okay, Cal." He knew she hated seeming vulnerable, but to him, it was almost a relief to see her cry. Lord knows he never wanted her to feel any kind of pain or sadness, but at the same time, he worried what might happen if she insisted on keeping those feelings bottled up.
"I'm sorry." Calleigh gasped, pulling away from him and wiping her eyes.
"You don't have anything to be sorry for." He insisted, cupping her face gently in his hands. "You're strong, Calleigh. You're so strong for Maria, and for all of us. You can't keep that up all the time, and you know it."
Calleigh smiled finally, wiping a few more tears away. "I do. But I need you to remind me of that every so often, okay?"
Tim kissed her lightly. "You got it." He mumbled against her lips before kissing her again, not nearly as lightly this time.
_______________________
After all the battles and wars
The scars and loss
I am still the queen of my domain
And feeling stronger now
The walls are down a little more
Each day since you came
Finally, finally things are changing
This land is mine
But I'll let you rule
I'll let you navigate and demand
Just as long as you know
This land is mine
So find your home and settle in
Oh, I'm ready to let you in
Just as long as we know
This land is mine
________________________
"I thought Horatio said you weren't going to be working on this case." Hagen said.
"As far as he knows I'm not." Eric replied. "And I'm guessing you're not supposed to be here, either."
Hagen nodded. "Yeah. But I was going out of my fucking mind just sitting around, I figured there had to be something I could do around here."
"Same." Eric admitted. "At least until H finds out we're here and suspends us."
"Horatio can do whatever he wants." Hagen said. "I'm going to be here when they bring in the bastard who did that shit to Maria."
"So am I." Eric said. "Hey, listen, when I told you this morning, not to go falling in love with her? I forgot to mention something else. If you ever hurt her, in any way, I'll kill you. I'm not kidding, man, I will fucking end you." He waited for a moment. "Hagen? You hear me? Hello?"
"Delko." Hagen said, staring straight at the TV in front of them. He pointed at the screen, at the news program that was on.
"...unconfirmed rumors that Maria Santiago, the stepdaughter of Florida Senator Yolanda Santiago, and a detective with the Miami-Dade police department, was rushed to the hospital early this morning after consuming a drink laced with GHB, a known date-rape drug." The reporter was saying. "No word yet on whether these rumors have any truth to them, or if the incident is related to the rape and murder of a young tourist who was drugged at the same bar where Maria Santiago was apparently spotted dancing with friends last night..."
"Fuck." Eric spat. He took out his cell phone.
______________________
Calleigh sighed and lay her head on Tim's bare chest. Lazy, peaceful afternoons like this were rare. Whatever the reason was, when they found an opportunity to steal away and spend time together, they took it, no questions asked. Making love, watching a movie, or just laying in each other's arms.
He kissed the top of her head and ran one hand slowly down her naked back. "Feel any better?"
"Are you kidding?" She laughed, propping herself up on one elbow to look into his eyes. "You even need to ask?"
Tim wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her down on top of him, catching her lips in a deep, passionate kiss. "I guess not." He said with a smirk, suddenly flipping them over so she was pinned between her bed and his body.
Calleigh laughed, then moaned softly as he started kissing her neck, pulling her tightly against him.
The ringing of a telephone had never sounded more ugly to her.
"Ignore it." Tim said, his voice muffled against her throat.
"Uh-huh." She gasped out. She reached out blindly with one hand to turn off the answering machine, but it was too late.
"Calleigh, it's Eric, pick up the phone. I know you're there, this is important."
Cursing under his breath, Tim reached over and grabbed the phone. "Delko, what the fuck, man?"
"Speed?" Eric sounded surprised to hear him, but only for a moment. "I might have known."
"What's going on? We're trying to rest, here." Tim said impatiently.
"Sure, man." Eric said sarcastically. "I know what you're there for, and it's not rest. Look, let me talk to Calleigh."
"All right." Tim groaned. He handed the phone to Calleigh. "He wants to talk to you."
"What's going on?" Calleigh asked. She listened for a moment. "Fuck! Yeah, okay, we'll handle it." Hanging up the phone, she climbed out of the bed and practically sprinted out into the living room, not even bothering to wrap a sheet around herself.
"Are the shades closed out there?" Tim asked as he followed her, pulling his boxer shorts back on as he walked. "What's going on?"
"Look." Calleigh said, pointing to the TV as she grabbed a blanket off the back of the couch and wrapped it around herself.
"Holy shit." Tim muttered after watching the news for a moment. "What are the odds that she's seeing this?"
"I don't know." Calleigh admitted. "We'd better get over there, though. Just in case."
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TBC...