Chapter Eight:

A/N: So it's nearly six in the morning, but I'm not tired yet, least I don't think I am… I feel kind of spinny, but that's okay hah I enjoy that feeling. So here we go!

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"Calleigh!" Horatio called from down the hallway as he spotted the short blonde stepping off the elevator.

"Thanks again Eric!" She called, as their Cuban co-worker headed off in another direction.

"I need to talk to you about the attack this morning." Horatio told her.

"I know." Calleigh nodded. "And I got a name of the man who hired Harrison, the guy that shot the vic. Eric's running the name now. And, well if all else fails, I got his number too." She brought Horatio up to speed.

"Great." Horatio commented, a little worried. He had been all morning, ever since he let Calleigh go off on her undercover investigation. He knew she was more than capable of handling herself, as she was a firearms specialist, a better shot than him, and was diversely trained in self defence, but she was still Calleigh, and he always felt the divine need to protect her. "We'll deal with that case later. We have an officer involved attack to tend to first, okay?" Horatio told her. He guessed that Michelle Swank probably had something to do with what happened at the club that morning, which could mean Calleigh had something to do with it as well. That was his first priority at them moment.

"Okay." Calleigh sighed. "Which interrogation room are you using?" She hated being interrogated.

"Two." He told her with a sigh. He hated interrogating his CSIs.

"See you there in five." She told him, heading off down the hallway towards said room. She was not looking forward to this interrogation. She hated talking about anything from her past, and Michelle was one of the last things she would wish to talk about when forced to do so. But if she refused, she knew how that looked, and she didn't want to go there. So, she would tell Horatio what he needed to know, and hopefully end this thing once and for all.

--&

Eric watched for a few moments while Calleigh talked to Horatio. They both looked mildly frustrated. He knew that there were things about that morning he didn't know, but he was sure that if it was anything important, Calleigh would tell him later. As Calleigh left Horatio and headed off down the hallway, Eric also left his spot leaning against the wall and headed to his lab where he could run the name Calleigh had given him through some databases. As he entered the lab, he was stopped by Ryan's voice calling him down the hallway.

"Delko!" The younger man hurried to catch up to him.

"What's up Wolfe?" Eric asked. It wasn't a secret that he didn't overly like the newest edition to their team, but it was a secret that he was starting to warm up to the guy just a bit as he began to realize that Ryan really wasn't trying to take Speedle's place.

"What's up with Calleigh today?" Ryan asked.

"I'm not really too sure." Eric shrugged. He really wasn't and he was the last person that wanted to start spreading rumours about Calleigh. "I'm sure if there's something we need to know, or if anything's confirmed, Horatio or Calleigh will let us know."

"Yeah." Ryan nodded. "I was just wondering… well never mind. I should get back to work." Ryan headed back down the hallway where he had come from. What was that about?

"Whatever." Eric muttered under his breath as he picked up the piece of paper Calleigh had given him earlier. Richard Houston: 574—7823, her neat scrawl read. He chuckled, shaking his head in amazement at the variety of things Calleigh was talented at. It was then Valera entered the room.

"Hey Eric." She smiled brightly at him.

"Valera, what's up?" He asked.

"Well, nothing really, I was just wondering… do you know what happened to Calleigh this morning?"

"Why does everyone keep asking me that?" Eric furrowed his brow in frustration. "Well, everyone knows you and Calleigh are pretty close… and you did come back to the lab with her…" Valera trailed off.

"No. I have no idea what happened really. Vague details, but nothing definite. Have something you'd like to share?
"No, no." Valera answered quickly. Too quickly. "Calleigh can tell you anything if she needs to know."

"Valera, just tell me now." Eric sighed.

"If you insist." Valera gave an overdramatic sigh. "Calleigh got in a fight at a crime scene this morning. Well, not really a fight, from what I've heard, but she was attacked."

"Attacked?" Eric's eyes grew wide. "She seemed fine when I talked to her."

"When she ran off with the murder suspect?" Valera asked.

"Valera, please don't go off starting any rumours, okay?" Eric pleaded.

"I won't Eric, I promise." Valera nodded honestly. She couldn't help if she'd already said things to a few people... but she wouldn't say anymore now. "But I'd better get back to my lab… more samples to run…"

"See you later Valera." Eric called after her. He really hoped she meant it when she said she wouldn't start any rumours about Calleigh. That was the last thing she needed this morning, he was sure.

--&

"Okay Calleigh, here we go." Horatio told her. She just nodded. "Do you know a woman named Michelle Swank?"

"Yes." Calleigh answered.

"In what capacity?" Horatio pressed.

"My cousin." Calleigh answered. "I haven't seen her in seven years though. Well, besides this morning." She saved Horatio the trouble of asking the question, since she knew how he ran his interrogations.

"Okay." He decided how to continue from there. "Did you two have problems?"

"To say the least." Calleigh rolled her eyes. "We were always competing growing up and eventually it got out of control."

"Out of control… how?" Horatio wondered.

"Well, like this morning for example. Michelle has… well she has some problems, mental ones." Calleigh answered seriously. "She is a control freak who had to be the best at everything. I could beat her at things and she hated me for it, and often got angry and had outbursts like today."

"Do you know what initiated today's outburst if you hadn't seen her in seven years?" Horatio asked.

"Well, not really, as I haven't seen her in seven years." Calleigh said. "As far as I knew, she was still living in Louisiana, so it could have been as simple as my Mother wanting me to come home for a vacation… mentioning me in conversation…"

"This is a pretty serious case of jealousy." Horatio commented.

"I guess so." Calleigh shrugged, "But she does have physiological problems, it's really not her fault."

"She seemed pretty sane to me." Horatio shrugged.

"That's the scary part." Calleigh told him. "She is."

--&

A/N: Okay, totally weird I bet. But yeah, okay. So what is everyone thinking about this chapter? Let me know, and I'll love you lotss!