Chapter 13

After Shift

Once he dismissed the team and they all left, he saw Calleigh still sitting at the table.

The case that they just completed was another rough one, so he sighed a little and walked over to the table, then spoke to her as he sat down. "Are you ok?" She cleared her throat as she looked at him, and the pain was evident in them again, but knowing it wasn't only about the case. He was tempted to cup her cheek, but didn't, instead he asked again. "You want to talk about it?"

Then in that second, her eyes darkened and she snickered before speaking in a sharp tone. "Oh, now you want to ask if I'm ok." Horatio was about to talk, but Calleigh continued while she stood up from the seat she was sitting in. "For three weeks, heck, even longer than that, you have been avoiding me, walking out of the room the moment I walk in most of the time, and now you want to see how I'm doing?" Horatio stood up while she stepped up to him, still angry with him. "Well I'll tell you, not very good and it isn't just because of the case!" Done with being in front of him at this moment, she finished. "Have a good night Lieutenant Caine." Before walking away and out of the break room.

Horatio mentally cringed as Calleigh walked out of the room, she hadn't called him that since the first day they had met, and although she said Mr. in front of his last name it sounded like an insult. He sighed as he turned around to look at the empty doorway. He didn't know exactly what to do, but maybe he should at least try to talk to her to smooth things over so it doesn't become so bad that it was disruptive to the team, so far he believes they hadn't done that bad working together despite what happened between them, but if this was just a preview of what was to come, he needed to do something.

He sighed again as he walked out of the room, vowing to himself that he'll talk to her tomorrow, knowing he couldn't do it now because he needed to let her calm down a little.

After Calleigh closed her office, she walked out of the lab wiping the remaining tears away, she knew that was her shot they could have finally gotten everything out in the open, but she just became so upset about everything that had happened, especially with him, he had to pick now to ask if she was ok when he had plenty of chances and weeks to ask that question and others, and she couldn't take it anymore, so she just snapped.

She gets into her vehicle, slams her door shut, puts her purse in the passenger seat before putting the keys in the ignition. Then after she started it she started to pull out of the lab parking lot, and when she got to the exit, she hit her blinker to show that she was going left, which was the direction to her house, then she shook her head as she changed the direction of the blinker and went right, the direction to the bar, feeling like she needed a drink.

When she parked in the parking lot to a bar that wasn't a regular hangout to the guys, she turns her vehicle off, grabs her purse, opens her door and gets out, then after shutting the door she walks toward the entrance. After she stepped in she went searching for the bar counter and it was in the opposite direction then the usual bar she goes to, so she walks to the left.

As she sits down at the end, the bartender asks what she wanted, and usually she would order a beer, but not now, she wanted something a little stronger so she ordered a martini. The bartender nodded then started on her drink. When he was done he sets it in front of her as a guy walks up to the chair next to her and asked. "Is this seat taken?"

She was going to tell him that she wasn't interested in getting hit on at the moment, but when she turned her head to look at him something made her stop while she looked into his brown, caring eyes, then she smiled and shook her head. "No, it isn't."

He smiled as he sat down. "Well now it is." She smiled in return, then after ordering a beer from the bartender, he looks at her and continued. "Martini? So I take it has been a long day?"

She snickered before taking a drink, then after setting it down she replied. "You have no idea, how about a long couple of weeks." Then she smiled a little bigger as she asked. "How did you know I'm not a martini drinker?"

After he took a sip of his beer he shrugged and replied. "You just don't seem that type, I would have taken you for a beer drinker."

She chuckled a little with a nod, then asked. "You're good, what else do you see in me?"

He looked into her green eyes and replied. "You've suffered a broken heart recently." She cleared her throat as she looked down, then he shook his head and replied. "I'm sorry."

She shook it off before taking a sip of her drink, then looked at him and replied. "It wasn't your fault. Anyway I don't want to talk about it." The short black-haired man nodded while Calleigh continued. "So what is that you do?"

He smiled after taking another sip of his beer. "I take pictures."

"Nice, I see that your good eye comes in handy then."

He nodded. "Very much."

After she smiles, they each take a sip of their drinks, then they started talking, mostly about his work. Then after she finished her martini, he ordered her another one and told the bartender to put it on his tab, which Calleigh liked, so she stuck around and they continued to talk.

Once her second martini was finished she excused herself to go the restroom and the kind stranger had ordered another one.

When she came back out and saw that there was another martini on the bar, she looks at him and said. "I think two should be my limit."

He used that charming smile and replied. "Come one, just one more, I'm not ready to let this night end."

If she would have had the two beers instead of the martinis she probably could have been a little stronger and more alert, but that smile had caught her, she couldn't deny it. Of course it wasn't like Horatio's...well...because no one could affect her like him, but he wasn't here and was with someone else, he's the one that turned his back on her, on them, without getting the true explanation on what happened.

Calleigh mentally shook her head as she walks to her chair slowly, then sets down next to him and replied. "Ok, one more."

He smiled as he picked up his beer, then after they clinked their drinks, he takes a sip of his drink while she took a sip of hers before they continued their night.

When she was done she stands up, but becomes dizzy, luckily he was there and he caught her arm before she fell, she chuckled and replied. "Yep, I should have stopped at two."

The bartender, who had seen her stumble a little asked if she needed a cab, but before she could answer, the charming man looked at him and replied. "I got it, don't worry about it."

Calleigh looked at the brown-eyed man before looking at the bartender and nodded her head. "That's ok." The bartender nodded after a second hesitation, not sure if it was a good idea to let her go, but it was none of his business who she went home with.

After Calleigh felt that she could walk, the man removed his hands from her arm, but kept a hand on the small of her back as they walked out of the bar. As they were walking to her vehicle she was walking slowly, but she wasn't walking straight and her head was already killing her.

When they finally got to her vehicle, she puts her hands on the trunk and closed her eyes to try and stop her head from spinning, then he puts his hand on her shoulder and said. "Are you ok?"

She took a few seconds and opened her eyes as she stood up straight, then as she looked at him she said. "I don't think..."

Before she could finish she closed her eyes again and was going to fall, but the man caught her in his arms. He looked around, noticing nobody around, then took her keys from her pocket before picking her up and walking to the passenger side. After a few crafty maneuvers, he gets the door opened and places her inside the vehicle as her head fell to the side, then after buckling her in, he walks over to the other side, gets in the drivers side, started the vehicle before moving her head so it was leaning against the window, the sighed as he tucked her hair behind her ear. "I'm sorry Calleigh." Then he removed his hand and started driving. He was sorry, but not sorry enough to lose the money he was promised or possibly his life.

When the attractive, 5'10, short black-haired, brown-eyed man, got to his destination, which was an old warehouse close the marina, he stopped the vehicle, and as he was getting out a 6'2, strong, bald man was walking toward the passenger door, so he asked. "Is he here?" The bald man nodded before he started walking toward the warehouse.

Once he walked in the warehouse his 'boss' was standing in front of a lone chair with his back toward him, then he stepped to the side as the bald-headed man was carrying an unconscious Calleigh toward the chair. "Alright I did what you said, I watched their every move, I took your pictures, sent them to who you wanted and I got Calleigh here, which was extra, now it is time that I get paid."

After his boss tied Calleigh's wrists to the chair, he looked at his other partner and nodded, a slightly shorter man but equally muscular than the bald-headed man, which he grabbed a briefcase and walked to the man who brought Calleigh here.

As he was opening the briefcase his 'boss' turned toward him and said. "Now that we have concluded our business, I suggest you leave town if you know what is good for you."

The man closed the briefcase looked at his 'boss' and replied. "Don't worry I am gone, bye, Mr. Berkley."

Jake nodded, and after one more look at Calleigh, his employer turned and walked out of the warehouse.

When it was just Jake, his two companions and Calleigh, Jake turned and looked at Calleigh and smirked, knowing he was going to have fun with this next part.