Date Chapter Written: June 18, 2008
Author: citymusings
Beta'd by: Zelda49
3 Elements from: Zelda49
1. The FBI
2. A mosquito (or mosquitoes, plural)
3. Russian word for 'Wife'

A/N: Thank you so much, Zelda49, for all your help! You've been an awesome beta, you put so much work into this story, and I really appreciate it!

Title was taken from Air Supply's song, Even the Nights Are Better.

AN2: Thank you to Amelia for her help with the Russian decoding.


Chapter Five: Even The Nights Are Better


From further in the golf course perimeter, a single gunshot reverberated from the trees, echoing in the now deathly silent air.

Eric and Calleigh froze, each quickly un-holstering their weapons and moving cautiously in the direction of the shot.

Another shot rang out.

Calleigh grabbed the phone off her hip as they ran. She dialed 911.

"My name is Calleigh Duquesne, I'm a CSI from Miami-Dade, Florida. I'm at Medal of Honor Golf Club. Two shots fired. My partner, Eric Delko and I are armed and headed to the scene."

"Where at the club are you?" The operator asked.

Calleigh looked around quickly, still running after Eric.

"We're in the wooded area near hole three."

"Two officers and a paramedic will be dispatched immediately."

"Thank you."

"Over there." Eric pointed to a man writhing on the ground.

Eric pulled off his shirt and used it to apply pressure to the wound. Calleigh checked the perimeter quickly and then returned to help him. She held the wounded man's hand and began to speak gently to him.

"It's okay, Sir. You're going to be okay. We called the paramedics, and they're on their way."

The man stared at her. "Thank you, Miss, but it's no use. I'm not going to make it."

"Don't talk like that, Sir," Calleigh said kindly.

"You remind me of my daughter," he said. "She has blond hair just like yours. I wish I could see her one more time."

Calleigh smiled sadly at him.

"Tell my wife…" he gasped for air. "Tell my wife I love her."

"I will." Calleigh promised.

In the distance they heard the sound of sirens approaching. It was too late. The paramedics pronounced the victim dead at 8:53 PM. The responding officer, Jim Thomas, took their statements and after he was satisfied that there was nothing more he could do, he told them they were welcome to wait for the other CSIs, if they wanted to follow through on this case. After the coroner arrived and released the body, the officer checked for ID. James Michael O'Shea, 68 years old.

"Why do people insist on committing such crimes?" Calleigh asked Eric, still a little shaken from the man's death.

"I don't know, Cal, that's what we'll have to find out," he answered gently.

Two CSIs arrived at the scene. Eric grabbed Calleigh's arm gently and led her over to meet them.

"Eric Delko, Miami-Dade CSI, this is my partner, Calleigh Duquesne."

"Nice to meet you," the other CSI greeted. "I'm Matt Davies, and this Angela Simms."

"You mind if we tag along?" Eric asked.

"Not at all. But if you could, I'd like to examine your shoes and Calleigh's, just in case there's any evidence trapped there. For now, though, you can just put some shoe covers on, and that should keep any evidence intact. I've got a box of 'em in the car." Matt said.

"No problem. I'll grab 'em and be right back," Eric replied.

"I got an extra shirt in there, too, man. You're welcome to it," Matt offered.

"Thanks." Eric replied, heading off in the direction of Matt's car.

"I kinda like him shirtless," Angela said, after Eric was out of earshot. Calleigh blushed. "And I think I'm not the only one," she added with a smirk.

Thankfully, Eric returned quickly, saving Calleigh from having to answer.

"Eyes, no hands." Matt instructed the two Miami CSIs.

"Of course," Calleigh said. "This is your scene."

"Feel free to put in your two cents if you think you have something, though," Angela added.

It took about an hour to process the scene. The guys found a strange red fiber on one of the bushes nearby, and Calleigh and Angela found both shell casings. There wasn't much else there, with the exception of the trace the guys collected, but they couldn't identify it in the field.

"We've done all we can for now. You two need to get some rest, we'll pick it up again tomorrow," Angela said.

"Sounds good to me," Calleigh replied. "You about ready to go, Eric?"

They finished up and said goodnight to Matt and Angela, agreeing to make themselves available as witnesses in case they were needed again.

They headed off the golf course and soon found themselves being assaulted by a swarm of mosquitoes.

"Get away from me," Calleigh told the little creatures. They didn't appear to be listening.

"Remember the floater at Little Maule Lake?" Eric asked.

Calleigh laughed at the memory. The bugs had devoured Eric and Calleigh, but Speed had escaped without a single bite.

"I still don't know how he managed to avoid getting bit," she said, smiling.

"He told me later he knew it'd be bad and used bug spray," Eric told her.

Calleigh just shook her head in amusement. Speed had spent almost as much time teasing them about being eaten alive as he had processing the scene.

It was a lovely night, aside from the bugs, and Eric suggested they take advantage of it and drive out to the Starbucks in Dumfries for a cup of coffee.

"It may not be good coffee, but it's better than what we've been getting," he said.

Calleigh laughed. Only Eric would even think to suggest that Starbucks coffee was anything but liquid gold. It didn't occur to her at the time that there was a Starbucks on base, and driving out to Dumfries for coffee was just an excuse Eric made up to spend time with her. It probably didn't occur to her because she was looking forward to time with him, just as much as he was with her.

Matt was just heading to his car and overheard them talking. He recommended a little coffee house called Insomnia.

"Just head up Jefferson Davis Highway. Get off at the Fuller Rd. exit. Turn right at Fuller Road, and then make a quick left on Fuller Heights. Make a left at Old Triangle Road, and then right on Woodland Dr. Make another right on Graham Park Rd, then a left on Purvis Dr. Follow Purvis around the curve, and you can't miss it. There's always half a dozen hotshots sitting out there trying to catch themselves a girl."

Eric thanked him and they agreed to give it a try. They rolled down the windows and enjoyed the warm night.

"Which lecture did you like best so far?" Calleigh asked Eric as they turned onto Old Triangle.

"Dr. Pender's lecture." Eric teased, trying to keep a straight face.

"Really? What about it did you like so much?" Calleigh inquired, clearly not buying it.

"It was just so thoughtful of them to give us an opportunity to sleep after that long plane ride," he replied.

"Eric!" She scolded, trying not to laugh.

When they arrived Eric parked and they walked in to the little coffee house. He moaned at the smell of the wonderful coffee brewing. He was instantly tempted to buy a couple pounds of fresh beans, a grinder, and a french press. His attention was, however, quickly diverted to two men, probably father and son, arguing in Russian.

"Ne govorite so mnoj tot put'!" the older one yelled.

Eric didn't particularly want to hear any more of their conversation, so he greeted the men in Russian.

"Dobryj vecher," he said.

The men looked up with a start.

"Dobryj vecher," the younger man said quickly, obviously glad for the interruption. He looked Calleigh up and down before realizing how inappropriate he must seem. "YA sozhaleyu. Vasha zhena nastol'ko krasiva," he apologized.

"Ona ochen' krasiva. Odnako, ona ne moya zhena," Eric said.

The man looked back at Calleigh and smiled lustfully.

"Vse yesche," Eric added roughly, feeling suddenly jealous. He was sorely tempted to drape an arm over her shoulders, but decided she probably wouldn't appreciate it.

Calleigh was quite puzzled by the whole thing. "What in the world?" she asked.

"He said my wife is very beautiful," Eric said simply.

Calleigh blushed. "Thank you," she said, "but – "

Eric cut her off. "What do you feel like having this evening, Querida?"

She looked at him, puzzled.

"Just play along," he whispered in her ear, pressing a quick kiss to her neck.

She shivered at the contact. "Stop it, baby," she said in a teasing voice.

Eric grinned. He could definitely get used to this.

They both decided on a light Brazilian coffee and ordered them to go.

"Hey, lovebirds," one of the young Feds called, "if you're looking for a quieter spot there's a park just up Main street a bit. Make a right at Washington, and you're sure to see it."

Eric and Calleigh just looked at each other and shook their heads. Nonetheless, they did head over to the park to enjoy some quiet. It was a nice change from all the noises of Quantico.

"What was all that about in the coffee shop?" Calleigh asked after they'd sat there quietly for a few minutes.

Eric looked away. "I didn't like the way he was looking at you."

"Neither did I, but I don't think he was going to do anything."

"The look on his face was priceless, though."

"What did you say to him anyway?"

"I told him he was right. You are very beautiful, but you aren't my wife. Yet."

"Shame on you, Eric," Calleigh attempted to scold him, but she couldn't hold back the laughter.

The evening continued with the same light banter, and before they knew it the clock read 10:30. They regretfully agreed that it was time to get back. They parted ways back at Quantico and Eric was asleep in no time.

/EC/

12:58 AM. The numbers seemed to be taunting Calleigh as she lay there, trying to fall asleep. She rolled over again with a groan. She'd been lying here, wide-awake, for the last two hours.

"You shouldn't have had that coffee," she silently chided herself. The coffee was great to keep her awake during lectures, but when Eric offered to buy her a cup off base, she couldn't seem to refuse. Having Eric all to herself for a whole evening just sounded too good to pass up. She'd been right. It had been wonderful.

"Insomnia Coffee House," Calleigh mused, "is responsible for my insomnia. How ironic." It had been worth it, though. They'd had a lovely time. They'd laughed and talked for a little over an hour. It was as free and warm as the days before Speed's death had been. The way it was before they'd starting to think too much about their relationship and the possibility of losing each other.

After another ten minutes, Calleigh gave up on trying to sleep. She grabbed an old pair of workout shorts and a "Gun Control is Hitting Your Target" shirt she'd picked up in one of the shops. She pulled them on over her new black swimsuit. After dressing quickly, she grabbed her room key and headed for the hotel gym.

Even at a little after one in the morning there were people in the gym. Calleigh spent thirty minutes on the stationary bike before heading over to the pool to swim laps. As she stripped down to her tankini she wished she had remembered to pull her hair back, but it wasn't enough to stop her from swimming. The water was a little colder than Calleigh was expecting and she shivered slightly, but her body quickly adjusted and she fell into a easy rhythm, moving up and down the lane for almost an hour.

/EC/

Eric woke abruptly. 2:30. He shook his head, trying to clear the images of Speed from his brain. He wasn't quite sure what had triggered this dream. They usually came after particularly rough cases, or the resurrection of old memories. The mosquitoes. Eric laughed mirthlessly. He missed his old friend so much. Speed would have loved coming here with them. He would have been just as bored in the lectures as Eric was, but they would have had fun. He would have enjoyed ribbing Eric and Calleigh about being mistaken for husband and wife, and he would have made sure everyone knew about Eric's reaction to the man's lustful attentions.

Eric didn't know quite what had prompted that. He just didn't like seeing the man stare at his Calleigh. My Calleigh? When did she become mine? Ah, who was he kidding? He'd been fighting his feelings towards her for months. He knew it would be unprofessional, but that hadn't stopped him and Natalia. If he was really honest with himself, he'd admit he was just scared. Scared that she wouldn't feel the same way. Scared that she would and it wouldn't work out. Scared of losing his best friend.

Eric knew he wasn't going to be sleeping again anytime soon, so he decided to go swim laps. He changed quickly and walked down to the gym. The sight that greeted him was a most welcome one. Apparently he wasn't the only CSI from Miami having trouble sleeping.

He slid quietly into the lane next to her and waited until she finished that lap before making her aware of his presence. He toyed, briefly, with the idea of surprising her from below, but he quickly decided that she probably wouldn't appreciate it at two in the morning.

"Couldn't sleep?" he asked.

"No, I guess I've got too much caffeine built up in my system. You?"

"Thinking about Speed. How much fun he would have had here with us."

Calleigh laughed sadly. "Then there would have been two of you to wake up during Dr. Pender's lecture."

"Exactly! Two of us to share your wrath," Eric teased.

"Eric Delko!" She cried, pretending to be offended. "My wrath?"

Eric started swimming away quickly. She swam after him, but he was a much stronger swimmer. She looked around quickly. They had the pool all to themselves, so she swam over to the next lane chasing him in his own lane. He reached the other side of the pool and saw her coming after him, so he swam down and waited for her to notice he was missing. When she stopped swimming and started looking for him he swam under her and tugged her down by one leg. They were both gasping for air when he let her go and they resurfaced.

"I start chasing you, so you pull me under? How does that make sense? Just more for me to get you for!" She grabbed his arm before he could get away.

"Please lower your voices, and don't splash in the pool for heaven's sake." A voice requested. Calleigh let go of Eric and turned to face the displeased gym employee.

"Sorry. Long day," she apologized with a smile.

"Just don't let it happen again," the older woman ordered.

"We've gotta be back at the conference in a few hours, we should get some sleep," Eric said.

Calleigh agreed and they quickly dried off and starting walking back. Eric walked Calleigh to her door and squeezed her shoulder before continuing on to his room with a much lighter heart.


In case you're wondering, here is the translation for the Russian conversation.

Ne govorite so mnoj tot put' - Don't speak to me that way!

Dobryj vecher - Good Evening;

A sozhaleyu. Vasha zhena nastol'ko krasiva - I'm sorry. Your wife is so beautiful.

Ona ochen' krasiva. Odnako, ona ne moya zhena - She is very beautiful, but she is not my wife.

Vse yesche - Yet.


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