Disclaimer: I don't own anything
Summary: Spoilers for 'Lost Son'. Calleigh has memories of the time she spent with Speed.
Pairings: Calleigh and Speed
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Calleigh and Ryan were busy processing the evidence collected from Dante Walker, when Eric walked in. Eric figured that Calleigh would be in Trace, but he didn't expect Calleigh to be getting along with Ryan. When Horatio had told him that he was having Ryan work with Calleigh, he knew it was a bad idea. Not just because Speed had died, but because he knew how much she disliked Ryan. That was beside the point, however. He had come to see how she was doing and to drop off the blood evidence he had collected at the jewelery store. "Calleigh," Eric said, as he joined her by the computer, "how are you doing?"
"I'm fine," she said with a smile on her face.
That was the first time he had seen her smile like that since Speed had died. After watching Calleigh work for another minute, Eric was sure Calleigh would be fine working with Ryan and he left Trace to go find Horatio.
It was true, Calleigh was doing a lot better now and it was actually because of Ryan. She hadn't realized until they started working together, how much she had underestimated Ryan. He was only doing his job, he wasn't trying to push Speed away and she understood that now.
"Calleigh," Ryan said, a few seconds later.
She broke eye contact with the computer to hear what he had to say, but she didn't hear a word.
Calleigh was scared. Today was the day she was going in for surgery to remove the tumor. She stayed in bed for as long as she could, hoping that this was just a dream and that when she woke up, it would just all go away, but she knew better then that. It was better reality. She was going in for surgery and she was scared as hell. The part that scared her the most, though, was she might never see Speed again. These could be her last few hours with him, but she was determined to beat this.
"Cal, baby," Speed said, a few minutes later, "it's time."
Calleigh hesitantly got up and got dressed in blue sweat pants, a white tank top, and a blue sweater that matched the pants. She then joined Speed in the kitchen for breakfast, which consisted of toast, bacon, eggs, and a glass of orange juice. She hardly ate her breakfast and what she did eat, she hardly tasted.
"Calleigh, you have to eat," Speed persisted.
Instead of turning back to her plate, she got up from the table and went to Speed, hugging him when she got there. They hugged for at least five minutes and when they broke apart, Speed saw the tears running down Calleigh's pale cheeks. He wiped the tears away with his thumb and said, "It's going to be okay. I promise."
It was then that Calleigh knew everything was going to be okay. He always kept his promises.
Speed sat in the waiting room. Calleigh had gone in for surgery three hours ago. It was torture to wait this long. He just wanted to know that she was going to be okay.
Just then, a doctor walked up to Speed and asked, "Are you Mr. Speedle?"
Speed quickly got up and said, "Yes. Is Calleigh okay?"
"She's fine. She pulled through with flying colours. You can go see her now. Room 204," the doctor said.
However, he had had to shout the last few words to Speed, who rushed off before the doctor was able to finish.
By the time Calleigh woke up, Speed was sitting by the bed. Calleigh opened her mouth to say something, but Speed put his finger on her lips. He leaned in closer and put his mouth on hers. He never wanted that kiss to end. During their kiss, Speed brushed his hand through her long hair, but she pulled away.
"Cal, what's wrong?" asked Speed.
"Nothing," she said, smiling her irresistible smile. "I just want to look into your eyes."
"…Jack Hunter," finished Ryan. Calleigh gave Ryan the same glazed expression she had given Eric a few hours before and upon seeing this look, Ryan asked, "You didn't hear a word I said, did you?"
Calleigh didn't want Ryan to know that she had, one again, been thinking about Speed. Well at least this time I didn't cry, Calleigh said to herself. "I did too," Calleigh told the other CSI. Ryan had been patient with her, as he probably knew by now that her and Speed had been a couple, but when she saw Ryan raise his eyebrow and give her a suspicious look, she knew he didn't believe her. "Okay. I didn't hear all of it, but I did hear some. The hair we found under the vic's nail, belongs to one Jack Hunter." The only reason Calleigh knew this, however, was because she knew Ryan had been looking at the hair. Luckily, it had pulled out at the root, so they were able to get some DNA. Ryan had run the DNA through CODIS, Combined DNA Index System, which had led them to Jack Hunter. "There's also a place of business here," Ryan continued, as he looked back at the computer. "Um, a Jackson Enterprises." Ryan looked up at Calleigh, who was smiling. "That's where our vic worked." Now it was Calleigh's turn to inform Ryan of her findings.
Calleigh had been looking at the sap that had been found in the victim's hair. She had known that it was tree sap, as she had found the tiniest piece of bark in the sample, but she didn't know what kind of tree it belonged to, so she had run some tests and the results said that it was from a Cycad.
After being told this information, Ryan looked as happy as Calleigh felt. They both knew that a Cycad was rare in Miami, so if they found the tree, they would no doubt find their killer.
"If you thought that was good news," Calleigh said to Ryan, after telling him about the tree, "There's more. I tested the bullet and it is in fact a 9 mil and it came from a Glock. I also ran the shoeprint that we found at the crime scene, through our shoe database, and it is in fact a man's size 11, just as Eric and I suspected. It also indicated that this brand of shoe isn't mad anymore. Although it didn't give the exact brand, it gave a number of possible matches. I printed them out," Calleigh said, as she gave Ryan the list. "All we need now, is a print to match it to."
Ryan didn't think his day could get any better, but it did. He hadn't been this happy in months, but being around Calleigh made happiness possible. Ryan knew when he found out about Calleigh and Speed that she wouldn't take too kindly to him and seeing her face when he first told her that he was to work with her, he knew he was right. He was just glad that Calleigh was warming up to him some. There was still quite a bit of tension between them, but it was a start. Calleigh just needed time. He knew how it must look; him coming and immediately taking Speed's place.
He understood how she felt, although it might not seem like it. When his fiancée, Natalie, died, it took every part of him from lashing out at the world. He withdrew completely and there was nothing anyone could do or say to make him feel better. It took him two years to accept that Natalie was gone and to get on with his life. He knew it was different with Calleigh, though. He saw the way Calleigh and Eric looked at each other and they way Eric treated her. With him around, Ryan knew Calleigh would be fine.
"I think," Calleigh said, interrupting Ryan's thoughts, "it's time to see where these two men work."
Ryan agreed.