A/N: Okay, so my WIPs dropped back down to five, since I managed to finish one of those stories, and at least another one is very close to the end – my Spuffy magnum opus is just about done after over 300,000 words. . . . and I'm feeling a little blue about having it end. The good news is I'm going to be starting on the sequel to that probably soon. sighs Um. So yeah, about that WIP number – forget it. My thanks to Spikeslovebite, who did another bang up beta job. Disclaimers in full force and effect. I own nothing.

Thirteen

When Calleigh didn't clock in at her usual eight o'clock, Horatio just figured she was running a couple of minutes behind. He wanted to advise her about the head and a possible bullet. However, by eight thirty, there was still no sign of her, though her Jeep was still parked in the underground garage. He was starting to think maybe she was just one step ahead of him and they kept missing each other.

Alexx paged him at ten to nine with preliminary information on the trajectory of the bullet, and Horatio paged Calleigh. Ten minutes later she still hadn't answered her page, and he belatedly realized Tim wasn't in yet, either. Nor could he remember seeing the Ducati in the parking garage.

He didn't actually put two and two together until Dispatch paged him. There was a call out for a dead body near Shenandoah Park and no one had rolled. Quickly punching in Calleigh's number and then Tim's, Horatio headed toward the locker room. Neither of them were there, nor had they punched in. Dispatch had no call from either of them, and Paula had no messages. Horatio finally managed to locate Eric at nine twenty-three and he told him not to report in, but to just meet him at the scene.

Engrossed in the difficulties of gathering evidence in a playground, the missing investigators slipped his mind.

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As luck would have it, Horatio wasn't in the lab when they arrived. Their phones had been beeping on and off for the last hour and a half of their trip back into Miami, though by tacit agreement neither had motioned for a stop. The persistence of the beeps left only one conclusion – work was calling.

Since neither one of them wanted to answer the questions their combined lateness would no doubt engender, both ignored the summons.

It was ten thirty when they finally arrived at the lab, the last half hour of the trip fighting through snarled downtown traffic leaving both of them with frazzled nerves. Tim had pulled over just before the exit to Calleigh's place, asking her over his shoulder whether she wanted to be dropped off at her apartment. Her emphatic 'no' was only softened when she leaned into his shoulders, saying sweetly, "I've got a change of clothes in my locker. I can grab a quick shower there."

He nodded, indicating he understood and said, "I'm gonna do that, too."

"Horatio is gonna have our heads. How much longer before we get in?"

A glance down at his watch told him it was about nine-fifty and they were close to two hours late. "Not much longer, I can get through this traffic." He revved the engine and shouted over the roar of the engine, "Hang on, Cal."

She grabbed onto his belt, curling her fingers tightly around the leather as he expertly guided the Ducati in and around the stop and go traffic heading into downtown Miami. He made good on his word too, getting them to the lab within fifteen minutes.

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Delko got back into the lab before Horatio, sometime around one in the afternoon. He bypassed the DNA lab, and headed straight for the Trace Lab, hoping that he could run some tests on some unidentifiable gunk he'd found at that morning's call out. He had no idea both Calleigh and Speed were late; he hadn't bothered to ask Horatio why they were the only two on the call-out. He just figured the others had gotten their own.

He was surprised then, by the pallor and sleepy eyes of his partner. "Hey, Speed, late night?"

All Tim did was grunt at him, which wasn't out of the ordinary, so Delko just shrugged it off like he always did. "I called you twice last night. Thought we could hang while I grabbed something to eat."

"Yeah, I was on the road."

"Ah." And that said it all to Eric. He knew Speed sometimes took off on his bike, riding out until the wee hours of the morning. Especially when he couldn't sleep or was bothered by a particularly troubling case. "Did you get any sleep?"

"Couple hours." Tim hit a couple of buttons and started running tests, not giving Eric anything more.

"This stuff can sit for a while, why don't you go sack out in the break room?" Delko handed him the envelopes from his latest case.

Tim shook his head negatively. "Can't. Didn't get back on time, and if H finds out that I fell asleep, he's gonna have my hide."

Eric stopped, staring at him for long minutes. "You got in late?"

"Yeah. Only got back around ten." Tim moved around him, slitting open the first evidence envelope and dumping out the contents. "What the hell is this?"

The stuff was bluish, with a consistency of loose gum, and Tim stared at the bottle it was housed in, while Eric answered his rhetorical question. "Dunno, man, that's your job. I just collect the stuff."

"Thanks, Delko, I appreciate it."

Tim rolled his eyes as he gingerly opened the bottle. Eric stood there watching him for a little bit, but when he realized Speed wasn't going to say anything further, he huffed a bit. "I'm gonna head over to DNA and run some blood evidence."

He didn't wait for Tim's reply, already knowing there wouldn't be one.

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Calleigh hadn't lied when she said she could shower quickly or change. Twenty minutes after they clocked in, she was showered, dressed, and on her way to the morgue to see Alexx. Her page was the last, and although it didn't carry an urgent status, Calleigh figured she might as well start her day there.

It was also the least likely place Horatio would look for her.

Shoving aside the guilt she was feeling about being late, since it had been decidedly worth the aggravation, Calleigh sailed into the morgue with a sweet, wistful smile playing about her lips. Tim had been good – and if she were honest with herself, more than good – company. She wanted to giggle madly over him chatting away so uncharacteristically, and then being so sweet in the morning. But the best part about the whole road trip were those twenty minutes they'd spent watching the sunrise. . . . and he'd kissed her. Calleigh forced herself not to touch the spot on her temple, realizing how silly that would look.

"Hey, sugar, where you been all morning?" Alexx' voice broke into her reverie and Calleigh smiled brightly in response. If anyone might understand, it would be her.

Trying hard to corral the smile threatening, Calleigh replied, "Was out of range and I didn't get in until late this morning."

Alexx stared at her, surprise and disbelief warring on her features. "You got in late?" She stepped back, checking out her colleague from head to toe. "Who are you and what have you done with my Calleigh?"

The giggle she'd been suppressing for hours erupted from her lips. "Oh, shush, you. I've been known to stay out a time or two."

"Ahuh. Sure you have." Alexx raised an eyebrow, a knowing look on her face. "So, girl, dish."

Calleigh shifted, moving to take the bullet from Alexx, when every leg muscle she had seized up on her and cramps wracked through her. The wince and grimace caught the coroner's attention and she stopped what she was doing and folded her arms across her chest. Her eyebrow rose up, almost reaching her hairline and Alexx stared at Calleigh. "What were you doing? And how come you're all tied up in knots?"

The blond ducked her head, trying to hide her blush from the other woman. "I told you, I was out."

"That ain't the whole story." Alexx tsked her tongue, eyebrow still raised, waiting for Calleigh to come clean. "The truth, detective."

The quickly mumbled words didn't register with Alexx until she caught the blush. "What was that?"

Calleigh straightened up, trying to school her features into something resembling nonchalance. "I went for a ride."

"And the rest of that sentence?"

"Alexx," Calleigh whined out her name, but all Alexx did in response was smile at her. With a huff and quick glance around the empty morgue, Calleigh finally caved and told the other woman the truth.

"Fine. I was with Speed."

"What? You were out with my Tim?" Shocked disbelief slackened her dark face and her smile thinned a little. "You were out all night with Timmy?"

"Ahuh."

"What were you two doing?"

Calleigh quickly waved her hands, trying to quell Alexx's maternal instincts. "It wasn't like that! We went for a ride on the Ducati."

"Really?" The sarcasm wasn't lost on Calleigh, who got even redder.

"It wasn't like that!" She leaned in, and in a breathy whisper said, "Lord, Alexx, my thighs are still quivering."

The smirk that greeted her statement had Calleigh groaning internally, which worsened when Alexx said, "Sounds like one helluva ride."

to be continued . . .