Disclaimer: Not mine, not making a profit.
Chapter Five: In which Megan gets suspicious, Calleigh is initiated, and Speed, Alexx and Calleigh advise Megan.
At the crime scene, Speed watched Calleigh as she spoke to the patrol officer who had called in the body. He snapped photographs and jotted down notes, waiting for his companion to rejoin him.
A few minutes later she did so, not exactly smiling now but still cheerful.
"Well, Miss Sunshine, what did you gather?" Speed couldn't help himself from pushing at her. He wanted to know where they'd stand, and he'd learned that the most effective way to discover boundaries was to get slapped for crossing them.
Given the amount of times he'd been slapped over the years, he barely felt them any more.
Calleigh just grinned at him, so he knew he hadn't crossed the line yet.
"It seems officer Simmons discovered the body at oh-eight-hundred and called it in immediately after ascertaining that it was, in fact, dead. I'm guessing the hole where his heart should be tipped him off." Speed smirked. It looked like another person who was fluent in sarcasm had been hired. Lord help anyone looking for a pleasant conversation in the lab.
"Anyway, the M.E.-"
"Alexx," Speed interrupted.
"Okay, Alexx has been notified and should be here any minute. Simmons roped off the area to prevent cross-contamination and swears that no one else has been here."
"Great. Know how to work this thing?" Speed indicated a camera identical to the one he held. Calleigh seemed to bristle.
"Of course. I may be a woman, but I know how to work a camera."
"I wasn't insinuating you couldn't because you're female," Speed smirked. "I was insinuating you couldn't because you were a patrol cop. Patrol cops are not known for their technical expertise."
Calleigh was taken aback for a moment, before returning the smirk.
"Oh, you're gonna pay for that."
"Would you care to rephrase that statement in the form of a wager?"
"You wish."
"Do I have to send you two to time-out?" Alexx asked as she ducked under the police tape. Speed and Calleigh turned to her, sporting identical grins.
"Sorry Mom," Speed quipped.
"We'll be good," Calleigh added before taking the camera Speed held out to her. Alexx chuckled.
"Timmy being good? Never happen." She bent over the body and began her preliminary check. "Well, the obvious cause of death is the bullet wound to the heart. No stippling, but I think I see some residue. I'll get our boy here back to the lab and get started on him."
"Thanks Alexx," Speed muttered, turning back to the crime scene. Calleigh was standing at the corpse's feet, looking thoughtful.
"May I look at the wound?" She asked a little nervously. Alexx looked up in surprise.
"Of course you can, Honey. Get on down here."
Calleigh knelt opposite Alexx and gently moved the victim's shirt, studying the entrance wound.
"Looks like small calibre. Definately not a rifle. Oh, I'll have fun with the bullet when we find it." Her eyes had lit up and Speed could tell that this was her calling. He looked down and noticed the sunlight glinting off something near his feet.
Kneeling, he placed an evidence marker down and snapped away with the camera before picking up the bullet casing.
"Oi, Sunshine. A present." He picked up the casing with gloved fingers and held it out to her.
"For me? Aww, you shouldn't have."
-DLG-
Back at the lab, Megan was concerned. She was looking over some of Jo's paperwork, and had started to notice some discrepancies. There was nothing she could really report him for, but she was worried about some of the results.
Shaking her head, she decided to visit Alexx and see if she'd noticed anything off with the younger scientist. Walking through the doors to the morgue, she noticed Alexx, Calleigh and Speed all standing around a body.
"Alexx," she started, "I need some advice."
"Always carry a hanky," Alexx spoke with certainty.
"Use a Magnum 44-40 instead of a Glock," Calleigh nodded.
"There's no such thing as breasts that are too big," was Speed's input.
Megan just looked from one to the other, then shook her head.
"Okay, that was my fault. I should have specified. Speed, Calleigh, can you give us a minute?"
Calleigh shrugged.
"Well, I've got my bullet," Calleigh shrugged. "I'll be in the gun lab if you need me."
"I've got some soil to identify. Trace lab for me."
Speed and Calleigh wandered out together, chatting amicably about the use of the Magnum, leaving Alexx and Megan together.
"The Glock's not bad, I'll give you that, but I go for Maggie every time."
"Maggie?" Speed grinned at her as the elevator doors opened and they entered.
"Maggie," Calleigh nodded, patting the hip where her Magnum rested. "She's my best friend. And when it comes to dropping a crim, nothing easier."
"I'd say a rocket-launcher would be easier to stop them."
"I said drop, not stop." Speed raised his eyebrow, and Calleigh continued to clarify. "Y'see, all you have to do is aim between the shoulders and the hips. Any direct hit results in a dead crim, the only variable is how long it takes. Easy as that."
"Ah, fair enough." The doors opened again, and the pair stepped out before heading their separate ways.
-DLG-
By the end of the day, Speed was itching to go home. Avari's temperature had gone down and he figured she could go back to child care the next day. Unfortunately, if the pair of them didn't get a good night's sleep, they'd both be cranky, and it looked like Speed was going to be at the lab late. They had identified the cadaver as Jonah Farley, a bartender at a local club. Now they were trying to work out why he had been in that alley that morning, several blocks away from his house and in the opposite direction to the club.
Horatio strode in, having been working on a case with Jo. He didn't like the younger man, but tried not to let it show. Speed, on the other hand, he did like. The young man was snarky and occasionally hostile, but he also had a wicked sense of humour.
"So, how are things with the new girl?" Horatio asked, noting the tension in his new coworker.
"Calleigh?" Speed asked, surprised. "She's great. Definitely knows her stuff. And seems a good sport."
"Hazed her yet?" He was a little concerned as to how a new female would receive her initiation test, but Speed shrugged.
"Not my department. Paula's taking care of it."
"Paula? The receptionist?"
"Yeah. She's a good sport. Should be interesting."
-DLG-
"Your mission is to take this, and record the measurements of all the males working at CSI." Paula handed Calleigh a tape measure with a knowing wink. Calleigh just looked thoughtful.
"On the slack, or standing proud?"
-DLG-
"Hey, Speed?" Calleigh called out cheerfully as she entered the lab.
"What's up, Sunshine?" Speed raised an eyebrow.
"I need your measurements, drop your pants." She smiled brightly and held up a tape measure. A moment passed with both men looking at her, before Speed shrugged.
"Sorry, after Avari was born Amanda cut mine off. I assume I'll get it back once Avari's out of the house."
Calleigh let out a burst of laughter before turning to Horatio.
"What about you, Handsome? Gonna give me your measurements?"
Horatio obviously looked Calleigh up and down.
"Give me yours, and I'll give you mine."
"Deal," Calleigh's eyes sparkled.
"Y'know," Speed commented as he hefted Avari out of her box, "I don't think she needs to hear this. I'm going to get her some fresh air, catch you guys in a minute."
Calleigh and Horatio both let out a chuckle as they watched father and daughter leave the trace lab.
"Where's he going?" Calleigh wondered aloud. Horatio smiled at her.
"Where he always takes Avari to settle her. For a ride on Duchess."
-DLG-
Five minutes later, Speed tore out of the parking lot on his beloved bike, Avari zipped up safely inside his jacket, and he felt all his concerns slip away in the wind. Sure, they'd be waiting for him when he slowed down, but for now there was just the smoothness of the wind past his head, the warmth of Avari at his chest, and the roar of Duchess beneath him.
It wouldn't last forever, but for now, it was enough.