Title: Whoever Fights Monsters (3/?)
Disclaimer: I don't own any of these characters (including Maria. She's made it quite clear that she owns her own damn self, thank you very much.) I'm just borrowing them and will return them when I've had my fun, somewhat dazed and disheveled, but otherwise in their original condition. Also, Maria and I have decided to keep Eric for a while, and we're sending Tim to Yana...
Rating: R
Pairings: Eric/Maria, Tim/Calleigh, John/Yelina, Horatio/Adele
Feedback: Hey, you! Yeah, I'm talking to you! You're reading this, right? Well then review it! Come on, pretty pleeeeeease? It only takes a minute or two, and it makes my day. Besides, we both know you've got the time. What else are you going to do, work?
Dedication: Yana, for, as always, putting up with my crazy self. Jackie, Tina, Mel, Annie, Dorothy, Nonnie, and all my other loyal reviewers, what would I do without ya'll? I'll tell ya what; I'd stop writing! And that would suck. So, thanks!
Note: A few people have asked me about the stories that were removed. They're posted at , but if you'd prefer to read an "edited" version, you can email me.
Tim looked at Maria and shook his head, suppressing a grin. "Cut that out before you hurt yourself."
"What?" Maria asked, staring intently at her left hand as she walked.
Instead of answering, Tim gently put his hands on her shoulders and moved her to one side just in time to stop her from walking right into Valera.
"Oh, sorry, Val!" Maria giggled.
"Whoa, let me see that!" Valera exclaimed, grabbing Maria's hand. "Well...you can't even see where the Titanic hit it. And by the way, finally!"
"Yeah, yeah, like no one else has mentioned that yet." Maria groaned. "Tim, I thought McMannon was coming in."
"He's stonewalling us." Tim explained. "Sent in one of his underlings instead."
"Somehow that doesn't surprise me." Maria said under her breath. Tim gave her a look and she shrugged. "I don't know, something about that guy just bothered me. I got a weird vibe off him."
"That's what Eric was saying, but I think he was just pissed that the guy was checking you out." Tim said. "You'd think he'd be used to that by now."
"Are you used to guys drooling over Calleigh everywhere you two go?" Maria pointed out.
Tim nodded. "Yeah, fair enough." His cell phone rang. "Speed. Yeah, he should be here by now. He what? You have got to be kidding me. All right, we'll meet you there." He closed the phone, a look of annoyance crossing his face. "That was Yelina. This residential staff member, Doug Gould? Says he'll only meet with us at his office."
Maria groaned and rolled her eyes. "What is with these people?"
"Hey, I just had a thought." Hagen said.
"Uh-oh." Eric and Calleigh both responded at the same time, chuckling.
Hagen rolled his eyes. "Ha, ha. Shut up. Delko, remember a couple years ago, when you had that run-in with radioactive shit, and you were worried it might have messed up your, uh, boys?"
"How the hell do you know about that?" Eric asked.
"Everyone knows about that." Hagen shrugged. "Anyway, maybe that's how Maria ended up pregnant."
"Super sperm." Calleigh laughed. "I just figured that since he's a strong swimmer, it would make sense that he'd have strong swimmers."
"I'd be really pissed at both of you if I hadn't already heard both of those jokes, I don't know, a hundred times in the past three months." Eric groaned.
"Hey guys." Maria said tiredly as she and Tim entered the room.
"Hey." Eric replied. "Kill me now."
"Screw you, man." Tim said. "Why do you get to die first?"
"Sperm jokes."
Tim shrugged. "Okay, fair enough."
"Hey, you guys leave him alone." Maria chided as Eric wrapped his arm around her waist and leaned in to kiss her. "Miss me?" She laughed and blushed as he leaned down and kissed her stomach.
"How are you feeling?" He asked.
"Fine. Tired." Maria admitted. "That asshole at the Dade Center was really obnoxious, totally evasive. He did give us the residential staff log, though. Every time a staff member gets called to..." She stopped abruptly. "I'll be right back."
Eric groaned softly as Maria bolted out of the room.
"You are so cute, feeling guilty like that." Calleigh told him, as if she could read his mind.
"Can't help it." Eric admitted.
"It's completely natural." Calleigh said patiently. "And remember, it's just as much her fault as it is yours."
"Yeah, I know." Eric said. Not that it mattered. Seeing Maria suffer through any kind of discomfort was upsetting to him.
"Man, when she's in labor, I think you're going to need the drugs more than her." Calleigh joked.
Eric blushed, once again feeling like she could hear his thoughts. "Speed, what was Maria saying about the case?"
"Just that every time a staff member is called to one of the student's apartments, it's noted in this log that they have. According to the director of the residential staff, Gould, the girls were 'histrionic drama queens,' they had some problem or another almost every night. Looking over that apartment, though, we weren't too surprised. The toilet was broken, the thermostat was stuck and the whole place was freezing, and Mackenzie's room has water damage from a leak under the floor. These girls were living in pretty substandard conditions, even for a dorm."
"And Gould didn't have anything to say about that?" Calleigh asked.
"According to him, everything that's wrong with the place is the fault of the 'retarded' students living there, not the school." Tim replied, sounding more than a little disgusted.
"I can only imagine what Maria had to say to that." Eric said.
"She was pretty restrained, actually. The only time she actually mouthed off was when we were leaving and the guy made a pass at her." Tim shrugged. He cleared his throat and did his best impression of Maria. "'Sorry, Mr. Gould, maybe if your dick was half as big as your mouth, I might be interested.'"
Calleigh and Hagen cracked up at that, but Eric just shook his head. "Sick bastard. She's visibly pregnant and she's got a ring on her left hand."
"Well, I highly doubt that he noticed either of those things, seeing as he never looked anywhere below my chest." Maria responded, having entered the room just in time to hear what Eric said. "Anyway, relax, I took care of it." She leaned up and gave him a quick kiss on the lips. "What's going on with your case?"
"Done." Eric said, not minding the change of subject, at least at that moment.
"Damn, you are good." Maria purred. "So, you're ready to head home?"
"Actually, the guys and I were going to watch the game at that new sports bar down the street." Eric replied.
Maria blinked and shrugged. "Oh, okay. That's fine. I was just thinking that if we both went home now, we could get naked, get in bed, and not get out until there's peace in the Middle East, but whatever."
Eric clenched his jaw and tightened his grip on her waist. "Uh, I'll see you guys tomorrow." He said to Hagen and Tim, already pulling Maria toward the door.
"A salute to our fallen comrade." Hagen chuckled, snapping his wrist and imitating a cracking whip.
Calleigh rolled her eyes as she reached over and grabbed his left hand, so the light caught on his wedding band. "Shut up."
"Wow." Maria managed to gasp as Eric moved off of her, sliding his arm around her and pulling her close. They hadn't made it to the bed, hell, they'd barely made it into the bedroom. Driving home, she'd had trouble keeping her eyes on the road, and more than once, the temptation to pull into an empty parking lot and demand that he take her then and there had been almost impossible to resist.
Once inside the apartment, they'd managed to undress each other in what had to be record time, even as they made their way to the bedroom. They'd taken two steps when she sank down onto the floor, pulling him on top of her. He'd laughed at her urgency at first, until she'd grasped him and guided him into her.
"Have I mentioned how glad I am that I knocked you up?" Eric mumbled against her skin, kissing her neck and collarbone.
Maria laughed. "Glad you're enjoying it."
"I didn't hear you complaining." Eric pointed out. Shifting a little, he realized that he'd been pressing Maria's naked body onto the bare hardwood floor. "You okay?"
"Okay doesn't even begin to describe how I am right now." Maria sighed happily. She noticed the look on his face. "Really, I'm not gonna break if you fuck me a little harder than usual."
"Will you just let me be a little paranoid?" Eric chuckled, sitting up and sliding his arms under her body. He lifted her up and carried her over to the bed. "Besides, you gotta enjoy this while you still can, because pretty soon, I'm not going to be able to pick you up."
Maria swiped playfully at him as he lay her down. "You're lucky I'm still in a post-coital haze, or you'd be a dead man."
"Yeah, I'm not worried." Eric said, lying down beside her and pulling her on top of him. "Face it, you can't do without this." He slipped one hand between her thighs, covering her moan with a soft, passionate kiss.
"You got me." Maria said softly, closing her eyes and sucking in a deep, shuddering breath as she felt his fingers inside her, pressing on her spot just as his thumb moved to circle her clit. "Jesus fucking Christ, you so got me."
Two hours later, she was rudely awakened by an aspect of her pregnancy that was much less enjoyable than the raging hormones. Grumbling under her breath about the discomfort caused by having someone sitting on her bladder, she got out of the bed quietly to avoid disturbing Eric, and made her way into the bathroom. When she returned to the bedroom a few minutes later, she picked up Eric's discarded t-shirt, pulled it over her head, and sat down in front of the computer.
As the machine booted up and connected to the internet, she absently rubbed her hands over her slightly expanded stomach, feeling a sense of peace come over her as the ring on her left hand sparkled in the dim light. Five months earlier, if anyone had told her that she would soon find herself engaged, pregnant, and overwhelmingly happy about both, she would have laughed. But now, if she closed her eyes, she could easily picture Eric, with a ring on his left hand and their baby in his arms. She loved imagining what their child might look like. Five more months seemed like such a long time to wait.
"Come back to bed." Eric's sleepy voice brought her back to reality.
"Just a minute." She sighed, smirking at him. "I'm sending an e-mail to Dad and Yolanda."
"You can call them in the morning." Eric pointed out.
"Yeah, but then I'd actually have to talk to them, and you know how annoying that can be." Maria laughed. After shutting down the computer, she returned to the bed, stretching out next to him.
"So, you're gonna stick with the Matthews case?" Eric asked.
"Why wouldn't I? Taylor and Jake asked for me personally, they trust me." Maria said, lazily tracing circles on his chest with one finger. Besides, if there's anything I can do to help those kids, I want to do it. Eric, the place is appalling. The apartments are crap, the staff are a bunch of incompetent fucktards, and that director, McMannon..." She shuddered. "There's just something about him that I don't like. I mean, it's obvious that he looks at vulnerable, troubled teenagers who really need help and support as dollar signs. But there's something else about him that just bugs...can't put my finger on it..."
"How about the fact that he practically leaves a slime trail behind him?" Eric said. "I didn't like the way he was looking at you, I didn't like his attitude towards us. And now I hear about this other guy hitting on you-"
"That's what this is all about." Maria said, a sudden edge to her voice. "You just can't stand it when other men notice me, is that it?"
"That is not it." Eric insisted. "But no, I don't like seeing guys leering at you, and I don't like hearing about perverts making passes at you."
"Like I never have to watch other girls eying you." Maria sighed, pulling away from him. "God, do you really think I would ever...Eric, I am going to marry you. I'm going to give birth to your child. If that's not enough for you to trust me-"
"Hey." Eric interrupted, his face and tone of voice softening. "I do trust you. It's the other men that I don't trust." He reached out and wrapped his arms around her. "Maria, baby, you have been through so much hell, and the thought of anyone ever hurting you like that again damn near kills me."
Maria turned her face toward him, but didn't say anything.
"And now..." Eric continued, laying his hand across her stomach. "Now that you're going to have my baby, it hurts me even more to think about something happening to you. I don't want to act like a possessive, jealous freak, I swear. I just want to keep both of you safe."
"Eric..." Maria sighed. "I always feel safe with you."
"And I will make sure that you always will." Eric vowed, kissing her softly. "I promise, I will protect you and our baby. No one is ever going to hurt you again." He brushed his lips across hers, then started placing feather-light kisses along her jaw.
"How can I stay mad at you?" Maria whispered, lying back and pulling him onto her, squirming when she felt him harden against her thigh.
"You can't." Eric said cockily, sliding his hands under the t-shirt she had put on. "This shirt never looked so good on me. But right now, it's gotta go."
Maria grinned and quickly pulled the shirt over her head, discarding it and reaching up to wrap her arms around him. "I love the way you think."
Even when she was sound asleep, and he was barely awake himself, Maria had an amazing effect on Eric. He smirked as he leaned over her, watching her peaceful, lovely features in the dim early morning light, wondering if she would ever have any idea just how crazy she made him. He couldn't hold back a groan as she shifted a little in her sleep, the same way she did when she moved under him as they made love.
As he watched, her lips parted and she began panting softly. Hearing her whisper his name in her sleep, Eric realized she was dreaming about him, and his smile grew as an idea formed in his head. Pulling the sheet back to reveal her naked body, he moved down, resisting the urge to run his hands over her warm skin. He placed his hands on the insides of her thighs and pushed them apart, then waited for a moment to be sure she was still asleep before he leaned in.
Maria gasped as she woke up with a start. Looking down, she saw Eric's head moving between her thighs. She murmured his name and reached down to run her fingers through his hair. He looked up and smiled devilishly at her, then lowered his head again.
Some time later, they were tangled up in each other and the sheets. They stayed like that until the alarm clock went off. Eric reached over to turn it off, then lay back down and pulled Maria back into his arms.
"Yeah, I think I prefer your method of waking me up." Maria chuckled softly. "Keep it up, and I just might become a morning person."
"I doubt even I'm capable of performing that much of a miracle." Eric teased.
Maria responded by sticking out her tongue and playfully hitting him with her pillow as she sat up and got out of the bed.
"Hey, come back here." Eric said, reaching for her but only succeeding in grabbing a handful of her dark red silk robe as she wrapped it around her naked body.
"Uh-uh, we've got to get ready for work." Maria replied. She looked back at him and caught the disappointed look on his face. "Go get in the shower. Maybe I'll join you in a few minutes."
Eric grinned. "Better hurry, I might use up all the hot water." When he left the bedroom, she was just sitting down at the desk and turning on the computer. He had just stepped into the shower when he heard her shout.
"Holy shit! Eric!"
There was an urgency in her voice that scared the living hell out of him, and he didn't bother turning off the water before he raced back into the bedroom.
"Your dad and stepmom bought a house for you guys?" Calleigh gasped.
"They're calling it an engagement present." Maria replied.
Eric shrugged. "I think it's more of a 'please stop hating us just because you're a bastard' present." Maria smacked him on the shoulder. "What, you can say it but I can't?"
"Uh, yeah." Maria said.
"You guys just got engaged yesterday, how did they already manage to buy a house?" Calleigh asked.
"Yolanda's e-mail said that they put a deposit on it a few weeks ago, and they were 'saving it' for when we got engaged." Maria said with a shrug. She took a folded piece of paper out of her pocket and handed it to Calleigh. "There's the picture she sent us."
"Oh my God." Calleigh gasped. "That's not a house. That's a small European country. What the hell are you guys supposed to do with a place like that?"
"Live in it, apparently." Eric said.
"Okay, but I think you're gonna need a sherpa and a pack mule to get from the bathroom to your bedroom." Calleigh joked. "So, are you going to take it?"
"We don't know yet." Maria admitted. Her cell phone rang at that moment, and she stepped aside to answer it. "Hello?"
"Maria?"
"Taylor?" Maria was instantly concerned, the older woman sounded like she was crying. "What's wrong?"
"It's..." Taylor had to pause for a moment as she sobbed. "It's Cassie."
TBC...