so i've been working intensely from the 24th up till today & i'm happy to say that i've got two more chapters done after this, making me almost halfway done. i might extend the boxing day deadline to a couple days later, if i want to not be in front of my laptop for whole of the next few days.
i know, i know. i should started it actually on the 12th & just updated once a day, but school was a tard so i couldn't. but, better late than never, right?
Merry Christmas, guys! & to those that don't celebrate it, Happy Holidays! but still read my story, please. ;P
December 14th
Eric Delko could not believe his eyes. He had taken a short break from waiting for the DNA results and so had headed to the break room. The first thing he saw – even before he stepped in the room – was the bird.
It stood there, on the tree, minding its own business. At first he didn't mind it too much. As long as it didn't bother him, he wouldn't bother it. But while he had his back turned on the bird he heard a chirp.
Whipping around, he saw that the bird was in its usual stance, unmoving and perfectly still. Eric shook it off; probably nothing.
He began to ignore it, but soon he noticed that the bird would only make a noise whenever he wasn't looking. So he walked up to the tree, a Coke in his hand.
Eric peered at it, leaning closer and closer to the bird. It stared right back at him with the same beady eyes that Calleigh swore she would never forget.
Slowly he lifted an arm, and with his index finger gently poked at the bird.
The bird made its way through the plastic branches and made a clunk! once it reached the ground. Eric stepped back, eyes wide and unconvinced.
He rubbed his eyes again and again, but the bird was still on the floor, lopsided and looking dead.
Eric Delko had just killed something. In a Crime Lab, no less. Oh, the irony. He hated it.
He left the break room, in search of someone to help him cover up the scene. Or maybe he should just put the bird back up and let Wolfe be the one to 'kill' it.
--
"Calleigh?"
"In here, Eric!"
Eric stalked inside Calleigh's lab, suspicious of everything. He looked over his shoulder a dozen times, maybe, before he actually got to the table where Calleigh was working.
"I… uh… have a question."
Her eyebrows wrinkled in confusion. When was the last time Eric looked so pale?
"You look like you've seen a ghost. Oh! Was it the ghost of Christmas past? Oh, no wait! The future!! What'd you see?" Calleigh leaned her elbows on the table and looked eagerly at the Cuban.
"Yeah… you're full of caffeine right now, aren't you?" he smirked.
"Got almost no sleep. Don't ask."
"Okay. I won't. Instead, did you know it's company policy not to allow birds in the lab? Well, pets in general."
"The caffeine comment, Eric? Takes one to know one. What are you talking about?"
Delko fidgeted with his fingers. "See, I may have seen a bird in the break room."
Calleigh doubled up in laughter. "The bird? On the tree? That's my bird. And you don't have to worry about company policy. It's stuffed. It's not gonna be bothering anyone."
"It's…stuffed?" But he swore he could hear chirping. He feigned a laugh. "Right, right. Who would give you a stupid bird anyway? Unless you bought it yourself, then it wouldn't be stupid…"
"Ryan. And it's not stupid. He's teaching me something."
A snort escaped Eric's nostrils. "What? He's giving you lessons on things not to buy for Christmas?"
He received a glare from the blonde. "Shut up, Eric. I like birds. And I like stuffed things. So it makes perfect sense that he'd get me a stuffed bird."
"Yeah. Sure, Cal. I'll see you later." Eric waved and walked out, leaving Calleigh alone.
--
The computer screen had a post-it that she didn't remember putting up. For one thing, it was bright pink, and the lab's post-its were the standard issue yellow. For another, it didn't have her girlish scrawl on it.
C, Meet me at the roof. –R
Calleigh quickly inputted the information into her computer, and as it searched for possible gun owners she practically ran to the elevator. She punched ROOF more than a dozen times before the doors even closed.
She didn't expect the cool breeze once the elevator reached the highest level of the lab. But it felt nice.
There he was, leaning against the ledge casually. His hands were in his pockets, and his legs were crossed. She wished she brought a camera; he hadn't noticed her yet so he looked so cute in his thinking stance.
Beside him, she observed, was a bird cage. Inside were two birds. Only this time, these ones were alive.
"You know, Ryan. I heard that it was company policy not to have pets in the lab."
He looked up at the Southern voice and smiled. "I probably shouldn't tell you this, but I'm an expert at rule bending, Cal. See, these aren't my pets. And we're not in the lab, we're on top of it."
She matched his smile. "Well aren't you mischievous."
He shrugged, replying, "Gotta take risks once in a while."
Calleigh picked up the cage. "So what's this for?"
"For you, silly." Ryan took a package of birdseeds out of his pocket and fed the two birds. "Today's the second day."
He cleared his throat and began to sing.
On the second day of Christmas
My true love gave to me
Two turtledoves
She'd never heard him sing. It was wonderful. So wonderful that she asked him to sing it again, making the excuse that 'I can't remember unless you sing it more than once.' And again. And again. And again.
After the sixth time, he figured out her plan and stopped singing altogether.
"If you want me to sing, Cal, all you have to do is ask. I'm pretty sure you remembered it after I sang it once."
Calleigh blushed. "Will you sing it again?" And because she asked him this time, he did.
After she was fairly certain she got his voice etched in her brain (for future reference), she asked, "So what now?"
"Now you make a wish and set them free. Partly because I can't bring it downstairs or it'd be a violation, and partly because I'm running out of birdseed to feed them."
She nodded, holding the cage in front of her to look at the turtledoves closely.
Before making a wish, she queried, "Can't I keep one?"
"No, the guy at the pet store said something about how turtledoves form strong bonds with each other. 'They're emblems of love', I think was what he said. So I'm guessing if you want one you're gonna have to keep the other."
"Oh." Calleigh couldn't get what Ryan had reiterated to her (from the pet store guy) out of her head. She figured a wish about love would be fit.
Then she opened the cage door and let the couple out. Both she and Ryan watched as they flew together in circles. They looked so happy together, Ryan couldn't help but hope she wished for something like that for them.
A splat! broke his thoughts. The foul smell of excrement arose from out of nowhere. He looked at Calleigh, whose face contorted as she slowly backed away from him.
Ryan closed his eyes. He figured out what had just happened.
"Damn. I knew I shouldn't have fed them so much food."
Calleigh chuckled, taking a napkin from her pant pocket and offering it to Ryan. He refused.
"Thanks, anyway, Cal. But it's okay. Delko wanted this jacket, and at first I wouldn't let him have it. But a sudden message from above told me he was meant to own this."
He shrugged off the jacket, leaving him wearing a long-sleeved button-down shirt, and draped it over one arm, careful not to touch the contaminated area. He held the empty cage in the other hand.
Ryan turned to Calleigh, who was still a couple feet away. "I think you should take the elevator down first. Unless you want to smell like bird poop."
never too late to give me a nice online review present!
