A/N:I know I am inconsistent and I am extremely sorry about that. :(

This global emergency/pandemic has definitely put things in perspective for me. I'm wishing health and safety to everyone. :)

I know hardly anything is original for this chapter, but I'm hoping this can be a tie-over chapter that can be used to link the first half of the story with the second half. Again, I am sorry for this long delay.

Chapter 6: Jealous

Natalia absentmindedly walked up to the crime scene, a house that had a bloater, thinking over the choices she made for the day starting with her outfit. It was such an adolescent thought but the heat mixed with her pregnancy and the circumstances of the case, Natalia wasn't sure how she would hold up. Just as she approached the front door, she heard a car horn and whipped her head at the source. Nick. She let out a heavy sigh; there seemed to be no escaping him.

"I heard you got a popper," Nick said, a slight smirk on his face. He looked at Natalia. "Biohazards. That's major OT for us."

Natalia glanced around, relaxing a bit at the sight of a few uniformed officers. She looked at Nick again. "Really nice way with words, Nick."

Nick leaned over towards the passenger side of the van, a smile now tugging at his lips at the fact that he was unnerving his ex-wife. "You know, I got an extra pair of overalls in the back of the van here…you know, in case you wanna get dirty."

Natalia's stomach clutched in response to Nick's statement and it took everything not to openly show it. She didn't like the way he was looking at her…it gave her chills. With a roll of her eyes, she turned on her heels and proceeded to the crime scene, the feelings she had before were long abandoned as she now felt cold. She couldn't wait to finish processing the crime scene and head back to the comfort of the lab.

…

Natalia spoke with her husband and both agreed it was time to let Horatio know about her pregnancy. After all, she was a little more than ten weeks pregnant now and knew that she would start showing soon. She knew there was a chance that she'd be limited to lab work, but Natalia was willing to take that chance. Lately, Nick seemed to be at almost every crime scene she worked and she felt slightly safer in the lab. Natalia sighed as she paced the floor, thinking about the best way to approach her boss when her phone started ringing. She looked at the caller ID, realizing it was Nick. She didn't understand how he'd gotten her number but answered anyway. "Nick, I can't talk, I'm here with the councilman's family."

"Really," he questioned. "I don't see anybody."

Natalia looked around, realizing she wasn't alone. Nick was watching her from the other side of the room. She nervously shifted her feet when Nick began approaching her.

"Nice try though."

"I don't have time for this," Natalia said, attempting to walk away but Nick grabbed her wrist, making her stop. She gasped in response as her mind went into a flashback.

"Hey…hey, Nat," Nick said in a softer tone. "Calm down."

"What do you want?" Natalia asked.

Nick exhaled a breath. "Do you remember that time when you forgot your wedding ring in the elevator? I know you remember…you were getting so crazy. Your hand kept –"

"Stop, stop, Natalia said, cutting him off. "Nick…" She was really trying to figure out his purpose for bringing up the past when he raised his hand to her. She recoiled slightly but relaxed when she saw a small baggie in his hand.

"It's not the only time you forgot a wedding ring."

Natalia looked at the ring inside the bag before looking at him. "Where did you find that?"

"Your crime scene," Nick said. He noticed that she'd been slightly off lately but before he could say anything, Natalia started talking.

"No," Natalia said, shaking her head. "Because we went over the entire place."

Nick shook his head. He smirked a little. "Not after the body popped."

"If you find something at a crime scene, you're supposed to notify someone."

"I just did," Nick said, gesturing the small bag in her direction.

"I need to get this to trace," Natalia said, taking the bag. She started to walk off when Nick grabbed her wrist again.

"Hey Nat," he said softly. "I still have your wedding ring…if you want it back…"

Natalia exhaled slowly. "I'm married."

"Minor detail," Nick said. "What we had was real. All of those years…"

Natalia shook her head as she pulled her arm away. She felt slightly nauseous at Nick's thoughts. She scoffed and turned away.

Nick held his gaze on Natalia a little longer as she walked away. Now that he found Natalia, he wasn't going to lose her again and if anyone got in his way, there was going to be hell to pay. Nick nodded his head knowing it was time to move his plan into action.

…

"Calleigh, call me back, I think I might've just put you in a jam," Eric said. He exhaled heavily as he snapped his phone close. Even though Calleigh had made the comment to him that he was her choice, she kept a relationship with Jake and for the life of him, he couldn't understand why.

What was that evening all about then? It was confusing because Calleigh had called him to her house. There was no way to misinterpret a kiss. After all, it wasn't a 'cheek' kiss. She'd kissed his lips, he kissed hers…they spent the evening together, but after all of that, it was still Jake. Eric let out another sigh. Regardless of how he felt about Calleigh's relationship, he wouldn't intentionally spread her business in the lab.

Eric exhaled as his mind replayed the events of the afternoon.

He and Natalia were in the evidence locker, Natalia putting away evidence as he reviewed fingerprints on a ten card, when she dropped the box to the floor. Eric looked up, catching Natalia just in time before she fell to the floor. "You okay?" He asked out of concern. Natalia mumbled a 'mhmm' and Eric inquired further, asking her what was wrong.

It didn't go unnoticed to him that the first thing she did was clutch her stomach before she answered him but she said her shoulder was out. He suggested that she go see a doctor, but Natalia declined saying that she didn't want it to go on her record that she couldn't shoot a shotgun. She'd asked if he could put her shoulder back in place and though he felt slightly uncomfortable doing it, the look of desperation on Natalia's face made him do it. Just as he finished up in the evidence locker, he ran into Rick.

"Delko," Rick said simply.

"Stetler," Eric said in the same tone. Rick was in the lab more often than usual these days and almost every time he was there, there was a problem. "What are you sniffing around about?"

"Horatio's got me working on a court order for our bloater, you know, the councilman," Rick said. "I'm working on an evidence warrant."

"Hmm, working with us for a change," Eric said.

Rick looked at him and got down to business immediately. "So…you are aware of the pending new rules regarding fraternization among officers, aren't you?"

Eric looked at him. "New as in different after you and Yelina Salas?" Eric continued to shuffle through his papers as he half-listened to Rick. What he couldn't understand was why Rick talked to him about fraternization amongst officers when he wasn't even in a relationship with anyone, let along another officer. Eric was pushed over the edge at Rick telling him he'd best be served sharing the news with others in the lab and before he could think about what he was saying, Eric started talking. "Listen Stetler, if you have something to say to CSI Duquesne or Detective Berkeley, you'd best be served telling them yourself."

But it was Rick's reaction and response that let him know that he'd said too much.

"Duquesne and Berkeley? I was talking about you and Boa Vista…but thank you."

It was a little passed an hour by the time Eric finally caught up with Calleigh. She'd just parted ways with Jake and based off the way she was walking, he could tell that she either got his voicemail or Stetler had personally spoken with her. Either way, he needed to talk to her and explain his side. "Hey Calleigh…I heard you were riding over to the councilman's office. I'm going to ride with you."

"I think you have to," Calleigh said, running her hands through her hair. She replayed the last few minutes with Jake as she tried to process everything. She was embarrassed that Rick knew about her relationship with Jake and hurt that Jake's solution to that was to break up.

"Calleigh, what's up?" Eric said.

"Nothing," Calleigh said, waving it off. She exhaled heavily, choosing to throw her feelings into her work.

"What's wrong?" Eric question. "Did I interrupt something?"

"How does Rick Stetler have even the faintest idea about what's going on in my personal life?"

"It was an accident," Eric said, sighing. "He looked at Calleigh, noticing that her eyes held an angry glare to him. He exhaled. "I left you a message, I called you…"

"I didn't get it," Calleigh said, cutting him off. She couldn't believe that Eric would go as low as to tell Rick about her relationship with Jake. It hurt her.

Eric let out a sigh, breaking eye contact with Calleigh for a moment. "I never intended for this to happen…" He could tell by the look Calleigh gave him that she didn't believe him. "I don't like the situation with Jake but I wouldn't rat you out. You know that."

Calleigh wanted to believe that but she wasn't even sure. She knew the conversation she'd just had with Jake and she didn't want her job performance to suffer. She cut her eyes to Eric, shutting down her emotions. "Let's just work the case."