Calleigh suppressed a yawn for the third time in as many minutes as she carried on watching the sped up version of a CCTV tape. It was from Sophomore Techs, taken as evidence to provide an alibi for both the assistant director and the driver. So far, they had watched the entire tape once, and were now double checking to make sure that it fit in with the timeline correctly.
"I think they were telling the truth." Natalia spoke up from next to her. It was only the two of them, and the A/V technician, Dave. The rest of the team had headed home after learning that there wasn't much that they could do at 9pm on the case of Daniel Sullivan.
After returning back to the lab, the first thing that Calleigh had done was to get the surveillance tape to A/V so that it could be verified as soon as possible. She had then headed straight to the trace lab where she had spotted everyone else. In the time that it had taken her to call Eric and get there herself, Calleigh was grateful to find that they had already started to put together the cases. Even though the only link so far was the lunch, no-one had ruled out the possibility of a double homicide.
However, unluckily for her and her fellow female CSI, Horatio had told them to carry on treating each case as separate until they got more information. With the only additional evidence for the Sullivan case being the identification of the miscellaneous trace from the shoes that Eric had found at the bottom of the Everglades as red wine, and finding out that the substance on the back of the victim's hand that Tara had found had been sun block lotion, there had been nothing else for them to do. The address that Calleigh and Frank had managed to get wasn't too far, but at the time that it was, Horatio had found it best to be left until the following day, which had allowed both Ryan and Eric to finish up for the day.
Glancing at her watch, Calleigh was surprised to see that it had only been 30 minutes since they had been in the meeting. She pushed herself away from the counter that she had been leaning against to get closer to the screen that was currently projecting their video. It showed their only two suspects, John Carter and Jones' driver Paul Sanchez, in the victim's office, working. The timestamp showed that they were present before, during and after the estimated time of death that the M.E. had managed to narrow down to a 15 minute gap.
"It seems legit." Dave told her, almost reading her mind and answering the question she had yet to ask. "No secondary encryption, no jumps. I don't think these two were involved."
"Yeah, me neither." She sighed before nodding.
"So we can rule out them two as suspects?" Natalia spoke up, approaching where they stood from where she had been sitting on a chair to the side. "We don't really have many other leads. I haven't gone through his diary yet. At least, not properly."
"I think that's our best bet right now if we want to get anymore of an insight into what might have happened." Calleigh said with a heavy sigh, running a hand through her hair. "There's nothing else on this tape that might help us?"
"Not that I can tell." The A/V tech shook his head, pausing at where they had reached and turning to face her. "I can keep running it if you want. There are other checks I could do, but they usually take a lot of time."
"Right now, I think it's all we have." Calleigh replied tiredly. "Thanks, Dave."
"No problem. I'll do it first thing in the morning. Unless, you want me to run it now? I could get the nightshift tech to keep an eye on it." He asked her.
"No, I think it'll be alright to leave until tomorrow. There's nothing we can do this late, anyway." She replied, thanking him once again before gathering up the files that they had brought into the room with them.
"Call it a day, then?" Natalia asked her as they exited the lab and headed towards the evidence storage area to replace the surveillance video with the files for the night.
"I can't see what else there is we can do. Even if we did find something, it won't be anything that can't wait until tomorrow morning." Calleigh assured her. Making sure that everything was put in the right place with the right labelling, the two women then gratefully made their way towards the locker room to finally leave.
"Alright. I'll get started on the diary first thing." She stated. Natalia's words were the last that they spoke of the case that night, instead making small talk as they got ready to go home.
They were in the car park not 10 minutes later, laughing at an anecdote that the younger CSI was reciting about her college years when Calleigh felt her cell phone vibrate. Digging it out of her jacket pocket as she carried on listening to Natalia's story, she couldn't help but smile when she caught the sender ID of the text message she had just received.
"And I'm going to stop talking now, because I'm pretty sure that nothing is going to go in now." Natalia joked when she spotted the look on her friend's face.
"I'm still listening!" Calleigh insisted with a laugh.
"Good, because then you'll know that was the end of it." She giggled as they approached the parking space for her car. "Have a good one. I'll see you tomorrow."
"You, too, Natalia." She replied, waving briefly with her free hand while carrying on towards where her car was parked. The smile on her face hadn't died down even by a fraction as she re-read the message on her phone.
'Babe, you finished work yet? Am getting hungry. x' It was plain, simple and not utterly romantic in any sense, but it still made Calleigh grin like a teenager with a crush. Putting it down to the fact that she could almost visualise the teasing smirk on his face as he had sent it, she pressed the call button on her cell and waited for it to connect.
"Hey, you." Calleigh greeted him as soon as he had picked up with a short, impersonal 'Delko', indicating that he hadn't checked the ID before picking up. "I got your message."
"Yeah? You finally heading home, then?" Eric answered, his voice both light and warm at the same time with an underlying tone of gladness that was music to her ears.
"I'm just getting to my car as we speak." She assured him, laughing softly as she approached her car and dug the keys for it out of her purse.
"Good." His reply was strict even though Calleigh could hear the mischievousness in his voice.. "Because I don't think I can last much longer without eating something."
"Hey, that's your own fault. No-one told you not to eat anything!" Calleigh reprimanded him over the phone as she finally managed to set her bag on the passenger's seat and shut the door after climbing in the driver's side.
"I was waiting for you, so you could make us something to eat." Eric reminded her, his words insistent and carefully structured to sound earnest. "Like you promised you would."
"I'm touched. Really." She said dryly as her smile widened at the reminder of the bet from that morning. Inserting the key into the ignition, Calleigh started up the car with a newfound eagerness to get home. "I'll be there in 20. Yours or mine?"
"Mine." He informed her. She could hear a quiet rustling all of a sudden, followed by the unmistakable sound of a cupboard door shutting before he carried on. "20 minutes, Cal. I'll be counting."
"I'll see you then."
"See you." Eric replied hurriedly before hanging up and the dial tone rang in her ear.
Slightly confused by his urgency and the fact that he had hung up on her without the chance for her to add anything if she had wanted to, Calleigh frowned while tossing her phone onto the seat next to her, atop of her bag. She pulled out of her parking space a few seconds after tugging across her seatbelt, forcing herself to push the worry out of her head. Instead, she ran through a mental list of things that she could possibly cook up for dinner with minimal effort. The first thing that had popped into her head was to grab some takeout, but that thought was quickly rid of when she realised that that would take longer than actually cooking.
Deciding to leave it until she was actually in the kitchen, Calleigh was surprised to find that she had arrived at Eric's condo. Apparently, she had driven there on autopilot. The thought both made her tummy flip; the journey was so familiar now that it was like going home, and kind of freaked her out as she had never really liked spacing out and letting time pass her without any knowledge when no-one else was there. Especially when she was driving at night. She had been to too many crime scenes where someone had been heading home from work, usually to a loved one, only for them to never reach there.
Shaking her head to clear it and turning off the engine, it took only a couple more minutes for her to gather her things, exit the car and enter the building. Calleigh had the key in her hand, jiggling it subtly until she reached the door for which it would open. She didn't bother announcing her arrival, knowing full well the instant that she shut the door that Eric hadn't seen her yet.
Calleigh grinned to herself as she dropped her stuff on her way towards the adjoining room where she knew he was. Crossing the threshold into the large kitchen area, the clicking of her stilettos against the tiled floor gave her presence away, no matter how hard she tried to remain inconspicuous.
"Hey. I was just about to give you a call." Eric greeted her as he turned away from the stove where he had been busy working and towards her. "I didn't hear you come in."
"Not great observational skills for a CSI there, Delko." She teased him, approaching where he stood and peering into the pan on the hob to see what was cooking in it. "What's this? I thought I was making dinner tonight."
"I know, but like I said; I was getting hungry." He replied cheekily, pulling her closer to him by her waist as her arms came around his neck. "Plus, I figured after a day like today, you'd be too tired to cook, and I was already here, so I thought I'd take over."
"Well, aren't you the sweetest?" Calleigh whispered, her smile spreading to him just seconds before she wiped it away with a kiss filled with passion and need. Cutting it short before they got to the point where they decided to forego dinner, something they had done plenty of times before, she pressed another quick lingering kiss to his lips before pulling right away. She loosened her arms from where they were, gliding her hands down his front until she could wrap one around his waist. Calleigh could feel his own arms reposition themselves to her shoulders, holding her close as he could as she reached out with her free hand to pick up the spoon that had been stirring the gravy on the stove. "You spoil me, you know that?"
"It's just pasta. Don't get too excited." Eric scoffed. She dropped the spoon back into the pan, letting it rest against the side, and hit his chest gently with the back of her hand.
"I happen to like your pasta." Calleigh informed him with a fake scowl that soon disappeared when she sighed heavily and leaned into him. "Thank you, though. I'll make it up to you; I promise."
"I'll hold you to that." The words were innocent enough, but she could hear the slyness to it without having to even try.
"Hmm… I'm sure." She muttered noncommittally.
Silence engulfed then for a moment, both lost in their own thoughts and the moment until Calleigh turned her head to press her face into his chest. She remained like that for a few seconds, simply inhaling his masculine scent that helped to calm her down and unwind after a hectic before pulling herself away with a deep sigh.
"How long until we eat? Do I have time to get changed?" She asked him quietly, running her hands through her hair to push it out of her face when she was completely out of his embrace.
"Yeah, sure." Eric replied. He took a few steps back and lent against the counter, crossing his arms as he spoke. "It's not going to go bad if we wait a little while."
"Actually, I was more worried about you, what with you being starving." Calleigh joked, making him roll his eyes mockingly.
"I'm sure I can last a few more minutes. I have lasted over an hour so far."
"Oh, the sacrifices you make." She gushed dryly, turning away from him and making her way out of the kitchen area and towards where his bedroom was situated. "I promise I'll be quick."
"Take your time, Cal." Eric called after her as he tended to the dinner he was making. A content sigh left his lips because, regardless of the time and the long day, making dinner for the two of them, no matter how small, was a domestic occurrence that had taken 12 years to get to. But they had gotten to it, and that was all that he was grateful for.
…
"You do realise that we have work tomorrow, right?" Calleigh whispered into the dark of the room. It wasn't dark, per se, but with the lights turned to the bare minimum and the TV supplying the only other source of light, it was close enough. They had been sitting in the quiet ever since eating dinner and washing up almost an hour beforehand until she had chosen to break it.
"I know." Eric replied from where he sat next to her, eyes trained on the TV. There was about a half a foot gap between the two of them on the couch; him slouching with his feet resting up onto his coffee table in front him whereas Calleigh had hers tucked underneath her body on the sofa itself.
"And it's a possible double where we have almost no leads." She added, turning her head to look at him from where she had it propped upon her arm against the back of the couch.
"I know." He repeated in the same blasé tone. Calleigh could tell that he knew her eyes were on him, especially by the way he attempted to hide the slight tug on his lips by taking a sip of his beer.
"So tell me, Eric," She paused to have a small taste of the red wine she had in her other hand. Swallowing it slowly, she peered at the glass with exaggerated curious eyes and swirled the liquid inside it around as she carried on. "Why did I let you convince me into watching a movie and having another drink this late?"
"Because, Calleigh," He mimicked in a smug tone., tilting his head to look over at her with his smile place. "You just can't say 'no' to me."
"Now, we both know that's not entirely true." Calleigh stated saccharinely, taking another sip of her drink before leaning forwards to place it onto the table.
"Oh?" Eric asked with a hint of a pout forming on his lips that was ruined by the inability to refrain himself from smiling.
"Please." She scoffed at him, reaching out with a single finger to tap him lightly on his jaw.. "You're cute, but not that cute."
"Ouch." He winced, placing a hand over his heart momentarily before breaking out into a grin. "Never heard that one before."
"Sorry." Calleigh apologized half-heartedly, barely managing to get the word out before she was stifling a yawn with the back of her hand. "But seriously, we should head to bed. It's been a long day."
"I know. Let's just finish this first." Eric replied quietly, turning back to the movie that was on the TV.
"And if I say no?" She asked him, raising an eyebrow challengingly as he simply stared at her for a moment as he took another sip of his drink.
"You won't. You're not going to move until I do. You're too tired." He told her with a gentle shrug before facing the TV once again. "Besides, you love me too much to leave me by myself here when we've hardly seen each other all day."
"You know me too well."
"It's a gift. Tends to happen when you've known someone for over a decade." Eric informed her, his voice softening at the thought of how long it had actually been, yet how short it felt like they had been together. Half a year wasn't anything compared to the 12 years of history that they had.
"Which is why I know you, too." Calleigh remarked while pushing herself away from the back of the couch and leaning more towards him. Taking the bottle out of his hand, she placed it next to her glass on the coffee table.
"What's that mean?" He asked, trying to act as nonchalant as he could even as she shuffled closer and then lifted a knee over his legs so she could straddle his lap.
"Still what to finish the movie?" She murmured, the words forming against his lips as she wound her arms around his neck as his hands settled comfortably on her hips.
"Movie?" Eric mumbled in between the quick, chaste kisses that they were sharing. "What movie?"
"Good answer."
…
The persistent blaring of the alarm clock woke them both up the next morning. Although she was sure that the alarm wasn't actually blaring, it sure sounded like it after a night of peaceful, if not short, sleep.
"Eric…" Calleigh groaned, pushing at him lightly to make him turn around and switch it off. She knew that she could also reach around him to do the same thing, but for some reason, she felt much more drained that morning than before. "Er-"
"Yeah, I go' it." He mumbled before she could finish and rolled onto his back to turn it off. Calleigh could feel the cool air hit her as soon as his body lost touch with hers. Despite the humidity of the morning, she snuggled back up to him, this time curling up into his side rather than against his chest.
"What time is it?" She asked him, refusing to open her eyes as she got comfortable once again, even though she knew it would be short lived.
"6." Eric replied. His voice was still hoarse from sleep, making Calleigh smile at the sound of it.
"Already?" She sighed, finally opening her eyes as she felt herself wake up a bit more, even as the hand rubbing her back soothingly was only working to do the opposite. Calleigh was pretty sure he was succeeding in getting her back to sleep when she inhaled deeply to fight back a yawn. "What time did we go to sleep?"
"Last time I checked," He paused momentarily as he tried to recall the memory from the night before. Calleigh tilted her head up as she stretched herself out on the bed, watching curiously as a slow smirk grew on his face. "It had been around 12.30, but-"
"I got you." She cut him off, knowing exactly where his thoughts were heading, and knowing even more specifically which actions his words would lead to. Instead, she let out another groan whilst pulling away from him and laying down flat on her back against the cool sheets of the unused side of the bed. "I don't think I can make it through today with just 5 hours sleep."
"Hmm…" Eric murmured, turning onto his side towards her but remaining in his half-asleep domain with his eyes still shut and voice low and husky. "Thank God for coffee."
"You got that right." Calleigh said almost inaudibly. Taking in a deep breath, she gathered some urge to push herself up onto her elbows before sitting up slowly. "Ok, c'mon. time to get up."
"For you, maybe." He replied, pressing his face into the soft pillow beneath his head. "I'll get up after you get out of the shower."
"You're going to fall back asleep." She warned him with a cheerful manner that only she could conjure up that early in the morning, throwing the sheets that were covering her to the side before moving to sit on the edge of the bed. Fighting the want to simply collapse back into bed again, she straightened the overwhelming t-shirt she had pulled on at some time, once belonging to the man behind her, before standing up.
"That's the plan." His answer came a few seconds later. Calleigh turned to look at him, not sure whether to smile or scowl at the fact that he had made himself comfortable once again in his bed, replacing what had been her body under his arm with bunched up sheets.
"Eric…"
"I just need some more time."
"We all do." Calleigh scoffed before laughing. Leaning a knee onto the bed, she reached over to pull the sheet away from his body , not impressed to see that he had some pyjama bottoms on already. Huffing, she picked up the pillow that was now free and used it to hit him once around the head. "Hey, up!"
"Hm." He merely grumbled, seemingly unaffected by her actions.
"Ignoring me isn't going to get you anywhere, babe." Calleigh informed him sweetly. When she got no response once again, she leant in closer so that she was speaking directly into his ear; dropping her voice to a low, seductive whisper. "C'mon, let's go conserve water."
"You know we won't." Eric replied sleepily, turning his face out of the pillow towards her without even opening his eyes when he felt the pressure of her body against the mattress leave.
"You're choosing 10 more minutes in bed over helping the environment?" She questioned him incredulously, an eyebrow raised daringly when she spotted the smirk return to his face.
"Is that what they call it these days?" He asked her, finally fully opening his eyes to look directly at her. She could tell that they were still sleep riddled; cloudy and not able to focus properly, but there was a gleam to them that told her that her words had scored an effect on him.
"Maybe. Why don't you come and find out?" Calleigh said innocently, holding out a hand and wriggling her fingers in an invitation. "You know you want to."
Eric simply stared up at her, blinking a few times to both rid his eyes of sleep and to take her in. It was a sight, despite how many times he saw it, he could never get enough of. Her blonde hair was shining in the little bit of sunlight that streamed in from the window blinds, making it look that much more glorious. The fact that it was sleep tousled, along with the fact that he knew she was wearing nothing but his shirt, made him realise just how true her words were.
Groaning dramatically, he turned onto his back and rubbed his face with both hands a couple of times to clear his mind. They still had work to get to in an hour or so, regardless of what happened or could happen between now and then. But that didn't stop him from finally getting up and out of bed, rounding it to take hold of the small and soft proffered hand.
"Alright, alright." Eric said as he did so, still rubbing his eyes with his free hand as she dragged him towards the bathroom. "You're buying me coffee for this."
"Yeah, whatever." Calleigh brushed off, knowing that when they did eventually come out of the shower, coffee would be the last thing on either one of their minds.