Diamond in the Rough
Tim hopped on his bike and sped off into the night driving just a little too fast, considering that the roads were still wet with rain from earlier that evening. He needed to get out some of his anger before he showed up on Delko's doorstep. Thirty minutes later, however, he found himself in Calleigh's neighborhood. Tim pulled off to the side of the road and killed the engine, wondering how on earth he'd ended up there.
Maybe it's because it's Calleigh you want to run to, not Delko.
Nonsense. I just took the wrong exit off the freeway.
You don't even have to get on the freeway to get to Delko's.
I needed to blow off some steam.
How convenient that you finally calmed down once you reached Calleigh's.
Tim briefly considered going to Calleigh's house, knocking on her door and begging her reconsider their arrangement, but he quickly decided against it. He was pretty sure that Calleigh was still seeing Jimmy, and more than that, he knew he couldn't face Calleigh when his emotions were in such turmoil. There was no telling what would happen, and Tim wasn't ready to take that risk, even though such hesitations had cost him dearly months earlier.
Tim made it three blocks away from Calleigh's street before the voices started up again.
Running away again, are we?
No. I'm not running away. I'm just waiting for a better time – I need to cool off some more, and Cal doesn't deserve to have me show up on her doorstep unannounced, declaring my undying love for her when I'm not even sure that's how I feel.
Hmm…remember what happened when you waited the last time?
That was different.
You really enjoy using that excuse, don't you?
There are other things to consider – like the fact that she's my co-worker, and the fact that she specifically asked that our relationship remain platonic.
Oh yeah, she's definitely only interested in you in a platonic way, pal. The only reason she took the offense in that situation is because you were dragging your heels. She was willing to take the risk, but only if you were on board one hundred percent.
The voices were driving him insane, and there was only one way to make them stop. Tim wheeled his bike around in a large intersection, heading back in the direction of Calleigh's. It was time to make a stand, whether he was ready to or not.
Tim pulled up in front of Calleigh's house, noting that her car was the only one parked in the driveway. That observation was promising for two reasons – one, it meant that Jimmy wasn't there, and two, it meant that Calleigh wasn't at Jimmy's, a thought that made him slightly sick.
Jealous are we?
For the last time, shut up. I'm here on her doorstep, aren't I?
Tim spent a moment on Calleigh's front stoop, scuffing his feet and trying to come up with a plan. Finally deciding that his deliberations were only making things worse, he took a deep breath and rang the doorbell.
Calleigh opened the door a moment later, slightly breathless and obviously suppressing a laugh. The smile on her face melted away when she saw Tim.
"Tim? What are you doing here?"
"Cal, we need to talk. Can I come in?"
Calleigh looked over her shoulder briefly and then returned her focus to Tim. "Um, Tim, now's not such a great time."
"Cal, what I need to say can't wait. I don't want it to wait." Tim didn't wait for Calleigh to protest, the words spilling forth from his mouth like a busted dam. "Cal, I know we agreed to just be friends, but I've always known that it would never be enough for me. This thing with Kate…it was just a pathetic attempt to suppress my feelings for you. It was a disaster in the making, and I'm so sorry I put you through it. But it's over now, Cal. Kate and I broke up. And as much as I wanted to stay away from here tonight, wanted to give myself time to think things through, I knew that I didn't want to spend another moment without you. Cal, I love you, and I hope you can forgive me for hesitating earlier. Just one more chance, Cal. That's all I'm asking for."
"Tim…"
An unmistakably masculine voice cut through the air. "Cal? Who are you talking to?"
Calleigh grimaced. "Tim," she whispered. "I told you this wasn't a good time. You really need to go, ok?"
Tim stared blankly at Calleigh for a moment, not processing what was happening. It was Calleigh who brought him back to his senses; Calleigh who took his hand in hers and begged, "Please, Tim, just go. We'll talk tomorrow, ok?"
Tim was too numb to speak, but somehow he was able pull his hand from Calleigh's and turn away from her, shuffling back to his bike as his brain tried to catch up with what had just happened. His mind was replaying the same phrase over and over again – Cal? Cal? Who are you talking to? He'd thought that only he called her Cal, had thought that it was something special between them. Apparently not. Apparently, he had been wrong about a lot of things.
Tim sped away from Calleigh's house, suddenly desperate to put as much distance between himself and Calleigh as possible. Tim knew there was only one place left for him with the state that he was in. With a heavy heart, he made his way down familiar streets towards the crime lab.
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Tim awoke early the next morning, his back sore from sleeping on the break room couch. This only served to darken his already foul mood, and after banging around the coffee pot a few times, he headed off to trace, turning off his phone and pager as he did so. He was in no mood to deal with anyone.
He didn't expect Calleigh to stop by. She'd said that they would talk, but he figured she was probably just saying that to get him off her porch. What did they need to talk about? All it would serve at this point would be to rub salt in his wounds, and he could do that well enough on his own, thank you. So when Calleigh stopped by that afternoon around four, he was surprised but not pleased to see her – especially not after the conversation he'd overheard earlier that day between Valera and another tech from DNA on one of his few excursions out of the lab.
"Did you hear about Calleigh's big news?"
"No. I haven't seen her today. What's going on?"
"Well, apparently she and Jimmy…"
Valera's story was cut short as she and the other girl disappeared through a doorway. Tim was too shocked to follow after them. He didn't need to hear the rest of the story to know what had happened. Calleigh was engaged, and he was definitely not her fiancé.
"Tim?" she asked, stepping into the trace lab and closing the door behind her. "Is everything ok? You didn't show up this morning. Everybody's worried about you."
"Uh-huh," he mumbled into his microscope, refusing to look up. He didn't want to see the sympathy in her green eyes, didn't want her to catch his eyes flicking over to her left hand.
"Tim, there's something I think you need to know…"
"Calleigh, if it's about you and Jimmy getting engaged, then I really don't, okay? Look, I know you want to try and smooth things out between us, but there's really nothing to say. Can you just forget what I said last night? It was stupid, okay? I was just overreacting, I guess. It's not like I really meant it." His last sentence was a bold-face lie, but if he avoided looking at Calleigh, he thought he might be able to swing it.
"Is that true, Tim?"
Calleigh's soft-spoken words caused Tim to look up, and he was surprised to see the beginnings of tears in her eyes. Tim fumbled for words. He had not been expecting Calleigh's question.
"What? That I just want to forget what happened?"
"No…the part where you said you didn't mean what you said."
"I – uh…" With Calleigh's eyes boring directly into his own, there was no way he could repeat his lie a second time.
Calleigh continued. "Because Jimmy and I broke up last night, and a lot of the reasons behind that break-up had to do with you, and if you didn't mean what you said then I've just gone and given myself a double-dose of heartbreak." Calleigh looked away then, tapping a finger to each eye in an attempt to stifle the tears.
Tim took a moment to process Calleigh's latest words and subtly checked out her bare left hand before asking the question foremost on his mind.
"So you're not engaged?"
"No! Honestly, Tim, where would you even get such an idea?"
Tim managed to look somewhat sheepish before asking his next question. "And you aren't seeing Jimmy any more?"
"No."
"And you're not seeing him anymore because of me?"
Calleigh wrung her hands before answering. "Kinda….yeah."
"What did I have to do with it?"
Calleigh's discomfort increased. "I don't know exactly. I mean, we're just friends, right? At my own insistence…although you agreed, remember? I just – I just couldn't give myself fully to a relationship with Jimmy – or anyone else, for that matter. It took me a long time to realize that I still had…I don't know…feelings for you, and that until I dealt with them I wouldn't be ready to see anyone else."
"So you want those feelings to go away?"
"Yes – no – I don't know, Tim! Why are you asking me all these questions?"
Tim stood up and walked towards where Calleigh hesitated in the entryway to the lab. "Because I want to make sure you're not going to clock me with your gun when I kiss you," he said, in the instant before his lips captured hers.
Calleigh struggled for a moment as her rational mind told her that kissing a coworker – at work – was definitely not a good idea. But Tim didn't back off, so after a moment she decided to throw caution to the wind and kiss him back with all the passion she'd been restraining for the last few months.
Tim uttered a soft groan when he felt Calleigh yield underneath him, and one hand came up to cradle her face while his other arm wrapped around her waist and pulled her against him. Calleigh was unaware of her feet moving, but eventually she noticed that she was sandwiched between the wall of the trace lab and Tim, and that it felt very, very good.
After a while, Tim pulled away from her, and Calleigh's eyes snapped open to find out why he'd stopped. His mouth was still just inches from hers, and his dark brown eyes were searching hers, looking for an answer. "Is – is this okay?" he asked, his voice was low and husky. A small smile tugged at Calleigh's lips, and she answered Tim not with words but by pulling his head towards hers until they were kissing once more. It was only then that Calleigh felt his body relax and soften against her own. Calleigh put everything she had into the kiss, anything to prove to Tim that yes, this was very much okay.
Tim's lips eventually moved downward, kissing Calleigh wherever her skin was exposed – her face, her neck, her shoulders. Calleigh's breath came in ragged hitches as she lifted her head upwards to expose more of her neck for Tim. The only thought that was now running through her mind was that if Tim made her feel this good just by kissing her neck, then how good would it feel when he –
"Let's get out of here," she whispered hastily.
"Uh-uh," Tim mumbled, his lips still dancing across Calleigh's collarbone.
This answer surprised Calleigh, and she managed to worm one arm in between her and Tim's bodies and push until he finally looked up at her.
"What do you mean, 'uh-uh?' We certainly can't stay here, Tim. And it's almost time to go home, and since we have no cases – something you'd know if you'd bothered to show up this morning – no one's going to miss us."
Tim managed a small smile at the anger that darkened Calleigh's eyes. "Cal, I meant it when I said I loved you. I really do. But I've already screwed this thing between us up once, and I don't intend for it to happen again. So the only way I'm leaving here with you is if you agree to go on a date with me. You've given me a second chance, Cal, and I'm determined to do it right this time around. Believe me, it's already taken a hell of a lot of restrain on my part not to throw you down on the floor right here and make love to you until we're both senseless."
Calleigh felt her insides melt. The very idea of making love to Tim, of feeling his lean, hard body on top of hers was intoxicating. Hearing him talk about it was even more so. Calleigh writhed unconsciously against Tim as she considered what he'd said. "But if I'm the one who's giving you the second chance, shouldn't I get to have a say?"
Tim leaned against Calleigh to whisper his last remark directly into her ear. "Believe me, babe, when it comes time, you'll definitely get your say." The tone of his voice left no doubt as to what he was implying, and when Tim pulled away from her he smirked at the surprised look on her face. "Come on, Cal, I know there's a southern belle hiding in there somewhere that's just dying to be wined and dined. Let's go – I know the perfect place." Tim grabbed Calleigh's hand and pulled her after him, and Calleigh had no choice but to follow.
TBC…