A/N: Do I really need to remind you why the story has a "M" rating? I guess so. Don't want to scar the kiddies.

Roger

CHAPTER 9

Ryan woke up and looked at the alarm clock. It was 6 a.m. He sat up in bed and looked down at Calleigh, who was peacefully sleeping. She was to wake up in about fifteen minutes. Ryan laid back down, but felt uneasy. It suddenly occurred to him that he felt uneasy because was aroused. He quickly tried to think of something else to distract his mind, but it was to no avail. He again looked over at Calleigh. Ryan reached out and stroked her hair gently, where upon his touch, she slightly stirred before letting out a deep breath and falling back asleep. Ryan again tried to ignore his arousal, but the urge was now too strong for him to turn off. He thought about what to do. Making his decision, he sat back up and gently pulled the sheets down. He moved down and over to position himself between Calleigh's legs. He lowered his face over the front of her underwear and looked up to see if she was still asleep. Confirming that she was, he reached up with his hand and slowly pulled her underwear to one side. He pulled them over far enough so that he could place his lips on her. He kissed her softly before his tongue slowly ran over the folds of her vagina. Ryan then pushed his tongue deeper into her, the sensation finally waking Calleigh up.

"Ryan? What are you…oh, god…" She let out a little whimper as she arched her back up, thrusting her pelvis closer to him as he continued to lick. He lifted his head.

"Do you want me to stop?" He teased as he placed his hand on her vagina, slowly rubbing it.

"Don't stop…please." Calleigh's breath was sharp and ragged as she spoke.

"Let's take these off of you." Ryan pulled her underwear off and placed his head back down into her crotch; his tongue flickering faster as he worked his way up to her clit, gently sucking at it as Calleigh let out little shrieks of pleasure. He inserted a finger as he continued to suck on her now swollen clit, causing Calleigh to jerk around from the reaction. He reached out with both hands and held down her hips to keep her still as he continued to pleasure her with his mouth. Calleigh placed her hands on his head and moved him slightly to the left.

"Right there…ahhh…" Calleigh's breathing was speeding up. Ryan could feel her thigh muscles starting to become tense. He knew she was near orgasm. He licked her faster, his hands still holding her down as her body started to shake.

"Oh…Ryan…" Calleigh let out a small scream as she came, her body shuddering from the reaction. Ryan released his hold on her hips and got up. Calleigh took off her nightshirt as Ryan positioned himself between her legs. Calleigh reached down and grabbed his penis, putting him inside of her. He shoved his tongue into her mouth, which she greedily accepted as she wrapped her legs around his waist. She gently bit his lower lip as their bodies rocked together. Suddenly, her alarm went off.

"Not now." Calleigh hissed as she swung out with her arm, knocking the clock onto the floor, effectively stopping the buzzer. She and Ryan let out a little chuckle together.

"Now, where were we?" Ryan said as he kissed her neck. Calleigh let out a little moan as he resumed his thrusting. "Faster." She whispered into his ear. Ryan obeyed until he finally climaxed, collapsing from exhaustion onto Calleigh. He looked into her eyes as he lay on top of her. "Good morning."

"Interesting wake-up call, don't you think?" Calleigh smiled.

Ryan smirked. "I'm sorry, but I was in the mood for some reason and I just couldn't help myself."

"Don't be sorry," Calleigh answered. "I thought that was very kinky. I've never been awakened with sex before…oral sex for that matter."

Ryan looked over at the time on his clock. "I guess rolling over and going back to sleep now is out of the question." He grinned at Calleigh, obviously not being serious.

Calleigh reached up and pinched his nose. "Mister, you and I have to take a shower. We can't go into work like this."

"What…you don't want to go in smelling like sex?"

Calleigh pushed Ryan off of her. He laughed as he fell onto his back. Calleigh then reached down to the floor to pick up her alarm clock and checked to make sure it wasn't broken. Ryan reached over to turn off his. He climbed out of bed and walked over to Calleigh, lifting her up and carrying her in his arms as he headed towards the bedroom door.

"What are you doing?" She looked up at him.

"I'm going to be marrying you in three months," he answered. "I might as well practice carrying you across the threshold."

Calleigh leaned her head back and laughed happily as Ryan carried her into the bathroom.

It was Friday night and again the team was out, enjoying one of their get-togethers. They haven't been out for a while; the current cases and shifting availability had made it too difficult for everybody to be off at the same time. Horatio decided to take everybody to a chinese restaurant for a change of pace. There also was an added bonus of Valera being able to join them for the evening because she had the night off. It was three months since Ryan and Calleigh announced their engagement and by then she had pushed her feelings for Ryan down far enough to where they wouldn't affect her. Still, every once in a while she could feel a tug at the heartstrings if she let her guard down. Everybody was enjoying the food and drink and basically getting to unwind, which was the point.

"…and then Cynthia opened the door thinking it was me, when it was her teenage brother, who came over for a surprise visit." Eric took a bite of food.

"What was wrong with that?"

"Uh, Ryan…she was wearing nothing but a smile."

The table erupted into laughter as Eric continued. "She was so mad at me later that night not because of what happened, but because she told me that her brother seeing her naked probably scarred him for life. I then made the comment that the sight of her naked would've traumatized anybody."

Alexx, Calleigh and Valera simultaneously let out a low moan, knowing that Eric said the wrong thing to his wife.

Eric threw his hands up. "I know, I know! But I was clearly joking."

"So, what happened afterwards?"

"I uh, got to break in our new couch by sleeping on it the entire night."

Everybody laughed as Eric shook his head.

"Poor Eric. When will you ever learn?" Calleigh said as she reached for an egg roll. Eric made a face at her.

Calleigh couldn't resist. "Is that the same face you make when you taste your foot in your mouth again?"

Everybody laughed again, including Eric. "Calleigh, you're such a ham."

"I aim to please." She said.

Eric looked at Ryan as he pointed at Calleigh. "You want to put up with that for the rest of your life?" Calleigh playfully took a swing at Eric, who ducked to avoid her hand.

"I sure do." Ryan said proudly.

"I can't believe that in three months, you're going to be married to Maynard G. Krebs over there." Eric said, as he gestured at Ryan.

"Well, he's the sexiest Maynard G. Krebs I've ever met. So shut up." Calleigh reached over and grabbed Ryan's hand.

"In your face, Delko. IN YOUR FACE!" Ryan couldn't help but rib Eric. Horatio smiled. It was moments like these that he could sit back and enjoy watching his crew be so relaxed with each other.

"So, have you two decided on what kind of wedding that you want?" Alexx asked.

"Well, we decided on a simple interfaith wedding. We didn't want to invite four hundred people or something like that." Calleigh answered. "We want to keep it intimate, with just a small group of friends and family."

"That's nice." Alexx said. "Planning weddings is always exciting to me."

"Isn't it?" Calleigh gushed. "I just love the whole excitement of it all."

Eric rolled his eyes at Calleigh's chipperness. "Ryan, man…let me tell you something. The minute you say 'I do', the amount of sex you have goes downhill. Enjoy it while you can."

"Oh, shut up Eric." Ryan replied.

"No, I'm serious. Then the woman you thought you married turns into some kind of dictator. After a while, you'll be happy to go outside and mow the lawn, just so you can get a break from her mouth running non-stop. And then, when you run out of yard work to do, you go and hide in your garage. Why do you think we never saw our dads on the weekends? They were always hiding in the garage!"

"Eric, I'm serious. Shut up!" Ryan was laughing so hard from Eric's rant; he was having trouble getting the words out. Calleigh did nothing but glare at Eric. He ignored her and went on.

"I'm telling you, if you get a house, get one with a big garage. She won't find you if it's big enough." Eric paused, before looking at Calleigh. He started to laugh. Calleigh and the rest of the crew couldn't help but laugh themselves.

Alexx rested her hand on Ryan's arm as she looked at Eric. "Sweetie, don't give away all of the secrets of married life. You'll scare the boy." She turned her head to look at Ryan and winked at him. Ryan grinned.

Alexx then looked at Valera. "Honey, you better get married soon, or we'll bore you to death with stories about married life."

"Oh, it wouldn't bore me." Valera answered. "Besides, I'm not the only one in the group who wouldn't be married. H. is single."

"You're wrong there. I'm married to my work." H. replied in a tone that didn't reveal if he was serious or joking.

"We need to do something about that, H." Calleigh said as she reached for her beer.

"Maybe someday."

Alexx continued. "Maxine, I don't mean to pry, but don't you have anyone special in your life?"

"No, not really." Valera answered as she picked at her food. "I'm like H. I guess…I'm married to work myself. I usually spend my off time sleeping or catching up on things I use to do at night. I just haven't found the time to look for someone."

"Don't worry, Maxine. The right one will come along when you least expect it." Ryan's comment caused her to flinch slightly. The fact that the man she was in love with was the one who said the words made her feel sullen inside, reminding her that she would never have him. His reply almost felt like a slap in the face. Her body stiffened up, as if she was subconsciously trying not to show any outward emotion, while warding off anything else that might hurt her. Horatio picked up on her body language, but said nothing.

The waiter approached Horatio. "Will there be anything else for you sir?"

"No, thanks. Just the check, please."

The waiter produced the check as Horatio pulled out his wallet. Everybody almost simultaneously thanked Horatio for dinner.

"No need to thank me. It's always my pleasure to enjoy a night out with all of you." He gave the waiter his credit card.

Valera yawned. "Guys, I think I'm going to call it a night. Thanks again for dinner, H." Horatio nodded as Valera stood up. "It was great to go out with all of you again after being away for so long."

"We miss seeing you during the day." Said Alexx.

"I miss you all too. I'm just lucky that I got fully reinstated and I have my job back."

"I can look into getting you back on days." Mentioned Horatio.

"I'm fine where I am right now H., but I'll think about it." Valera was a little grateful to be working nights, anyway. It meant that she wouldn't have to be around Ryan so much. She wanted to concentrate on her job and not be distracted with her personal problems.

"Goodnight, all." Valera started to walk away from the table. Everybody said goodnight in return. Over the next few minutes, everybody else got up to leave for the night leaving Horatio as the last one there. He took a look around at all of the empty chairs at the table that just contained his team. He let out a little sigh and smiled as he got up.

"My family." He thought to himself.

to be continued…