Disclaimer: I don't own CSI: Miami. Shocking, I know.

A/N: I know it's been a while… -.-;;; I been busy with school… and random MVs. LOL. Check my profile for the Youtube link. LOl. Now, I back to writing. Heh. XD

NED.

SQUEE.

Chapter 21:

"Mr. Cooper." The young man turned on his comfy swivel chair and came face to face with his ginger-haired boss, who had just entered the A/V lab, thumbing his pair of dark sunglasses. "How are you feeling?"

"Fine. I guess next time I gotta be careful what I say." The young man laughed, but inside he was still a little freaked. He had always been good friends with Eric; he would hate to see that end.

"Hmm." His boss smiled with amusement. "What have we got?" He had accompanied Detective Frank Tripp earlier in the morning on a drive to the county prison for its security tapes.

"Nothing."

"Nothing?"

"Yeah, like these guys are pro. They knew when to skip out on the cameras apparently."

"Did you see the tape that was facing the outside of the visiting room?"

"Didja one better…there's one inside the actual visiting room, around the time of the attack." His boss nodded approvingly. "And that's when this guy walks in with these sunglasses on. Guess the other guy doesn't know him or something, but when he takes them off. He gets all weird. See?"

He watched with increasing interest. "Pause it there." It was the part where the visitor was taking off his sunglasses. "Hmm… Can we get a close up?"

"Yeah…one sec." He clicked the zoom button and boxed the area he wanted to zoom into. The picture was a little grainy, despite the technician's attempts to entirely clean it up. "Sorry, that's about as clear as it gets."

"That's alright; that's all we need. For now."

"Okay, so, do you want me to-" He looked up find the door closing. "-print it out…" That was quick…I guess I should just go print it out…

"Francis."

"Horatio. Where is everyone today? The lab seems… deserted."

"People have been calling in sick."

"Even Calleigh?" Calleigh had the cleanest reputation out of all them.

The orange-haired man chuckled. "Even Calleigh." He received a low whistle as a reply. "We need to pay Mr. Litano a visit."

"Luke Litano? The guy who killed his patrole officer?"

"That may not be true."

"How's that?"

"Look at this time stamp." He handed the printed Miami-Dade Penitentiary security photo that he had taken from the A/V Lab. Once Frank saw the time stamp and saw the man behind the glasses, the head crime scene investigator spoke up. "Now, I find it hard to believe that he was in that visiting room speaking to Larry Miller and at the Everglades killing Officer Paledez at the same time."

"Any idea what's going on?"

"That, Frank, is exactly why we need to pay Mr. Litano a visit."

"Right, you got an address?"

"Cocoa Bean Apartment Complex. Room 706."

"Hmmm...small world." The detective chuckled at something unseen.

"Frank?"

"It's that we've been getting calls from the landlord and some of the neighboring tenants that Room 706 is getting, um, 'stinky.'"

"Well, then, all the more to check it out." He had an idea what the smell could be.

"Alright. Let's get rolling."

"Let's." He put on his dark shades, while pushing the button for the elevator car going down. He took out his pager to contact his medical examiner; he hoped that this time, his hunch was wrong, but just in case, he wanted to cover all his bases. He would contact his CSIs upon arrival. I promised Natalia, but I have a strange feeling…

She felt so comfortable in this home, his home. After the firefighters and paramedics left, he had driven the four of them out here; a lovely quaint place deep within Miami's bustling Cuban community.

He was taking a shower, while his mother was doting upon her in the family room.

Clorinda Delko. Natalia loved how the name just rolled off her tongue. His whole family has really lovely soft names… what about Eric? That's so… sharp. She tried her very best not to laugh.

The two children, who had been given an old set of children's clothing, were now running around outside in the fresh air.

"Are you hungry, mi querida?" His mother's heavy accent instantly betrayed her origins; the younger woman returned the warm smile that she received.

Clorinda went into the kitchen to prepare something; her previous question had only been rhetorical. "You must be very good to Eric," she called out.

"Excuse me?" Natalia prayed that she had heard wrong.

In a louder voice, the elder woman said, "You must be very special to Eric."

"Oh." Natalia became red and embarrassed at the statement. She's sweet, but, uh, yeah… unfortunately, she's wrong… I think…

"He has never brought a girl home before."

"Oh." Is that so? Her cheeks grew even warmer.

"You must be special."

"Yeah." She laughed nervously as she stood up and began to pace around the family room, looking at all the Delko family photos. She half-smiled to herself as she recognized a baby Eric being teased by his older sisters. There was a photo of when he was five wearing a little pink tutu and standing with his sister Marísol, who was eight at the time. Aww! He's so adorable… he's so cute! Her heart skipped a beat when she saw a photo of him when he was a little bit older. Just like Jem…amazing…

She didn't feel another's presence in the room until his arms were wrapped around her waist from behind. She gasped, but didn't pull away; instead she leaned back into him and rested her hands and arms over his. She wore a teeny smile; he was warm and comfy… and smelled like soap.

"Crazy," he murmured in her ear. "I guess I never realized how similar he and I are."

"Yeah." Natalia felt drowsy a little. She loved the feeling of being held in his arms, of being in his presence. It made her feel safe, safer than she had felt in a long time. She wished it didn't have to end. As soon as Luke is placed behind bars and this protective detail nonsense is over with, he'll want nothing more to do with me…

Well, until then, I can pretend, can't I?

He, on the other hand, had other plans. Standing there, with her in his arms, looking at family portraits and vacation photos, had him thinking about the future. The one in which he spent the rest of his life with her. It's a stretch and we have some bumps…some pretty big bumps… to smooth out, but I hope that one day…possibly…

As she took in all the photographs and the atmosphere, she drew in a shaky breath. No, Natalia. Don't cry. Stop. Her eyes stung. I blame it on this stupid pregnancy and all the accompanying emotions.

"Natalia? You okay?" She could hear the incredible amount of worry in his tone.

"Yeah," she replied gently, "I'm fine."

"I'm here." He kissed the top of her head, on her hair. "Just so you know." He basked himself in her soft laughter.

That's when he felt it.

It wasn't much, but a kick was a kick.

"Did you feel that?" He asked the expecting mother wondrously.

She adored the amazed look that had crept onto his face. There's just something about him that… I wouldn't really mind if I spent the rest of my life with him… She had no idea that he had just been thinking about the same exact thing.

"The baby?" She half-smiled; the glow of pregnancy was finally beginning to radiate from her. "Yeah, he's been doing that for the last month or so."

"He? You're sure?"

"No, but after yesterday…and this morning… I'm pretty certain that the first baby will be a boy."

"With more to come." He presented her with a slightly cocky, slanted grin, making her laugh. She missed this feeling… this feeling of being in his presence.

His next move both surprised her and filled her with so much affection that she thought she would burst at the brim from pure bliss.

He unwrapped himself from her and swung around, dropping to his knees so that he was eye level with her enlarging tummy.

He lifted her shirt partially and placed his hand gently on her protruding bump.

"Hey, little guy! It's Eric… I'm your daddy, or Papí, I don't really mind which one you use…

"You don't know a whole lot about me and I don't know a whole lot about you, but I know your mommy and I know she's been taking really good care of you for these past five months. Now, I'm gonna be helping out too… so you're gonna have to get used to me, cuz I'm here to stay.

"I just have one favor to ask, okay? Don't cause your mommy too much trouble… you have plenty of time for that when you come out…"

He laughed somewhat. "Hey, and maybe you'll be lucky with the ladies, like your Papí… because I must've been really lucky to meet someone as beautiful and remarkable as your Mamí…

"We're gonna be here for you, little guy. Every step of the way…" With that, he kissed her tummy softly.

She stood there in absolute astonishment. She was left speechless… and was completely moved. How can he be so incredible and amazing like that? How can I deserve someone like him? This is Eric Delko. How come he can be so terrific and romantic… so perfect, but then… so… flawed…

...But then, who am I to judge? The tears welled up, ready to fall.

He stood up from his rather uncomfortable position and met her gaze.

He saw in her eyes regret, sadness, and also… hope. She's so beautiful, so open… why did we both screw up? Why did I screw up…

She saw in his eyes such love, compassion, and faith. Or maybe I'm just imagining things… it could be misery or something … Or maybe I'm being overemotional... I'll blame the baby for that...

A drowsy feeling overtook the two of them as their eyes remained locked, both becoming intoxicated by one another's presence. Gradually, they began to lean forward, closer and closer, until their lips were just brushing against each other… when a shout brought them back to reality.

"Abuela Clorinda!" The two children ran in from their outside excursion into the kitchen.

Their grandmother, with a stern smile, warmly chided the siblings. "Salga! Ahuyente! Go wash up and clean your hands! Breakfast will be ready soon." As the boy and girl ran out and into the bathroom, she laughed whole-heartedly, making the wrinkles by her eyes and mouth deepen. She hadn't had little children running around the Delko home in a long time. This unexpected visit brought back happy memories.

Eric detached himself from Natalia, but still held onto her hand as they entered the kitchen together. They were both breathing shakily. "Mamí, do you need help?" She's got to be the one… whoa, what's wrong with me… we have all these issues to work out… but I don't care… I just want to be with her forever… but she doesn't want to… Does she? Do I? I've never felt this dizzyover a girl before…

"Sí, sí. Prepare the table." She handed him the plates and Natalia the napkins and utensils. Before they departed for the dining room, she snatched her son back and whispered, so that Natalia wouldn't hear, "I approve; ella está muy curvaceous, muy bien!" She smiled with much affection and consent.

He turned beet red and quickly muttered a forced 'gracias, mamí' before leaving the kitchen. Natalia took one look at him and laughed. "Are you okay?"

"Perfect," he choked out. Did she hear? More importantly, did she understand?

As they set the table up for breakfast, she tried her very best not to smile, but her facial muscles were not listening too well. I wonder what his mom said. What could possibly embarrass him that much? She chewed on her bottom lip in wonder.

They snuck into the room as slick as foxes. He was now in the living room, popping the CD into the remote controlled CD player and presetting the volume to be at its very max. Besides him was a cheesecloth he had grabbed from the bathroom; it would be for the bottle of nitrous oxide. Once he was prepared, he took his hiding spot by the small crevice between the wall and cabinet. Nobody would be able to see him. Those officers do a quick glance over before they clear a room, they won't be looking that hard…they won't even see me.

He had the remote in his pocket and bottle of nitrous oxide with the cheesecloth on the floor. He would saturate the towel later for the most optimum result. It'll knock her out…easier to carry… and if it just so happens that a miscarriage ensues- perfect. He grinned spitefully. Teach her who she's messing with.

Luke stood in the kitchen. It stunk in there due to the dead body, but other than that he was getting antsy. He held the bat in his hands and stood in the kitchen cabinet, with the door open a crack, waiting. I wish everyone would speed up a bit. I wanna get it over with. I want to kill that boyfriend for taking what isn't his. I want to kill her for not being faithful and loyal to me, but that's his job. I just gotta focus my rage and beat the crap outta that guy. Everyone else-unconscious is fine, but that guy, that boyfriend, that thief, I gotta kill him, beat him so bad. He won't even know what hit him. Eye for an eye, mate.

It was really starting to smell and the room was pretty much warm, which made the dead body's odor even worse. The front door was open a crack, so they were hoping for the best-that the landlord and the tenants were complaining now and that the right people came. Luke thought bitterly, We're going to have a problem if Nat and that guy doesn't come…that would totally ruin everything… but I trust that they will call them…

A/N: Teehee… NED… balanced with creepy Luke. Thank you floofymiko for random grammatical help.

SPANISH TERMS:

mi querida: my dear

Abuela: grandmother

Salga!: Get out!

Ahuyente!: Shoo!

Ella está muy curvaceous, muy bien!: She's very curvy, very good! (LOL… look I was doing some research on Cuban food, and there was a random thing that said that the woman are "supposed to be curvy" or something to that effect… so I decided to add this tidbit… XD)

Gracias, Mamí: Thank you, mommy.

---stay tuned! XDD climax is getting closer! ;D ---