A/N: Okay, I battled with myself over how to develop Jake in this story. I think his character has the potential to go both ways. So what did I finally decide? Read on, my friends.

Chapter 6

Jake had come to the lab in search of Horatio. At first, he had walked past the A/V lab, thinking that H would probably be in his office. What the—Jake thought as something caught his eye. He stopped mid-stride to watch the large LCD monitor in the middle of the lab.

Horatio, Wolfe, Delko and Calleigh were watching the TV intently. A man Berkeley didn't recognize was currently speaking, although he couldn't hear what was being said. Suddenly, the screen faded to black and picture after picture began to fill the frame. All of them were of Calleigh and Delko. That certainly caught Jake's attention. As stealthily as possible, he opened the door to the lab and stood hidden in the back corner. No one noticed his entrance.

'I'm just asking you to be careful, Cal,' Jake heard Eric's voice on the video.

'I'm a big girl, Eric. I can—'

'—take care of yourself, I know.'

'He won't hurt me.'

'Calleigh, the man isn't stable. At least—'

'—tell Horatio,' Cal said, rolling her eyes. 'Fine, but not because you told me to do it. I'm doing it because John needs help.'

The man on screen sighed in relief. 'I can live with that,' he said before pulling Calleigh into a fierce hug.

In the back of the lab, Berkeley fidgeted uncomfortably. He'd known nothing of his girlfriend's past relationships. In fact, she'd refused to tell him, and her unwillingness to talk about it had put a serious strain on their own relationship. Here stood Calleigh with Eric, however, and he not only knew the finer details of her dating life, but he was actually inserting himself into the situation, and she was letting him. That stung.

The more Jake watched, the more he realized what he'd known all along: Calleigh had never belonged to him. All the photographs, the way the pair moved across the dance floor—anyone with half a brain could see that Cal's heart was taken a long time ago.

The scruffy-looking man with the black eye returned: If I wanted to, Delko, I could create a seven-hour masterpiece with all the material I have. Lucky for you, I don't have that kind of time. You're probably already pissed as hell at me. That's fine. But I have a few things to say and I will not leave you alone until I have said them.

You usually help me come up with the titles for my pieces, but I did this one on my own. I have to say, I think it's my best yet. So... Sit back, relax—maybe grab a strong drink—and enjoy the rest of the show.

The opening credits began to play and suddenly Jake understood what this was all about. 'A film by Timothy Speedle.' Speedle. Of course. Who else would have the balls to tell Delko to get his shit together?

Calleigh never talked about Tim Speedle. Neither did Eric or Horatio. Out of curiosity, Berkeley started asking around the department one day. Everyone who remembered Speedle told him the same thing: "He was an outstanding CSI, little rough around the edges," or "Delko, Duquesne, and Speedle—those three were inseparable," or "that team's never been the same, just as good, but never the same."

When the detective asked Frank Tripp about Speedle, the man's face instantly hardened. 'Why do you want to know?' he'd asked. Jake was surprised by his reaction and asked if he'd crossed some sort of line. Frank just sighed and said, 'No. But be careful who you go askin' questions, alright? It damn near killed Eric and Calleigh when he died. Horatio, too, if you looked hard enough.' And that's all he would say.

Now Jake was slowly beginning to understand why Calleigh never talked to him about her friend. He was so much more than a friend. Tim was a brother to Calleigh, and Delko, too.

A commotion in front of him drew Jake out of his reverie. Damn, I missed what happened. Something in the video had caused Eric to get angry. He obviously wanted to shut it off, but Calleigh wouldn't let him.

"Cal, you can't be serious!"

"I am, Eric! We've already started this, and, let's face it, there's nothing in this film that Ryan and Horatio don't already know."

"You don't know that, Calleigh. You have no idea what's on this DVD," Delko warned.

Something in his voice caught Jake's attention, and he surreptitiously studied the two CSIs' faces. The Cuban man wasn't talking generics, and whatever he was talking about, Calleigh knew exactly what it was. Her face turned an appealing shade of pink.

"We can turn it off any time, okay, Eric?" she conceded quietly. Jake's heart clenched as his last vestige of hope disappeared. Calleigh wanted to watch this film. She wanted to hear what Speedle had to say.

Wolfe pressed 'play.' Eric, you've given me reason after reason for why you can't be with Calleigh… Jake tuned out for a while, not sure he really wanted to hear all this.

… I present to you: The Top Ten Signs Eric Delko is in Love with His Best Friend.

It hurt to hear the words spoken out loud. It hurt to see Delko stand there next to Calleigh and not deny that all of it was true. Most of all, it hurt to see Calleigh stand there like none of this was news to her. He couldn't be upset, because he knew. Hell, he'd confronted her about it already. Jake knew all along that Cal was holding on to something—someone—from her past, and he had guessed that someone was Delko. He just didn't want to admit it. Jake couldn't be upset about finally knowing the truth, but it still hurt like hell.

The man sighed as more pictures of Eric and Calleigh crossed the screen. He'd never seen Calleigh look so happy, not even at the Academy. He wanted to make her that happy, but he didn't know how. Only one man in this room was capable of doing that for this woman, and his name wasn't Jake Berkeley.

Ten, nine, eight… Speedle listed sign after sign that Delko was in love with Calleigh. The tension slowly built in the room—and in Berkeley's stomach— as the countdown neared the end.

Finally, the Number One Sign that you are an Idiot…I mean, the Number One Sign That You're in Love with Your Best Friend…are you ready? Here it comes…

Jake held his breath.

If Calleigh was just your best friend, one night of making love to her would be enough. But it's not, is it?

Whatever Jake was expecting, that was NOT it. He felt like he'd been punched in the gut. Everything made so much sense, now, and he kicked himself for not figuring it out sooner. He could have saved both he and Calleigh a lot of stress and heartache. Damn it all! Jake was screaming in his head. Just, damn it!

The room exploded into chaos in a matter of seconds. The last thing Jake registered in his mind before the tumult began was an image of Eric and Calleigh kissing… really kissing. All the steam went out of him in a rush as he watched Calleigh fall into her best friend, watched her kiss him like he was the last person she'd ever need.

Suddenly, the detective became aware of a pair of shocked brown eyes boring into his own. Shit.

Calleigh could do nothing but watch helplessly as Eric unplugged every last cord from the equipment. She hadn't had a panic attack since high school, but the ballistics expert could feel the overwhelming tightness building in her chest. Her hands shook, and she fought to catch her breath.

She tried frantically to catch Eric's eye as he stood up, but his attention was immediately drawn to something in the back of the room. Calleigh turned to see the source of Eric's surprise and nearly died of shame. Jake didn't deserve this.

Horatio was watching his CSIs like hawks from the moment they dove toward the computer. Now, he followed their line of sight to the back corner. When he saw who, exactly, was standing there, the red-head chuckled to himself. This just keeps getting better.

Wolfe was the last one to notice Berkeley, and this time he nearly did fall out of his chair. Should I call security? he wondered.

There was no need.

Jake took a step forward, eyes trained on Calleigh—whose eyes were fixed firmly on the ground in front of her. He could see the embarrassment and remorse painted on her cheeks in red.

"Cal?" Jake asked softly. She slowly raised her head to meet his gaze with her watery eyes.

"Jake—" she began with a shaky voice.

"Don't, babe." Calleigh was instantly confused. Jake genuinely did not sound upset—after everything she had put him through in the last week. In fact, he sounded almost…happy?

"I get it now," he said with a sad smile. "I understand. You were talking about Delko, weren't you?"

Now Calleigh understood, too. Jake wasn't happy to find out that the woman he'd dated for the last two months was in love with her best friend. But he was happy to finally understand why Calleigh had acted the way she did.

"It's not that I didn't care for you, Jake," the woman uttered softly, taking a step toward him.

"I know," he said, this time letting a grin spread across his face. Jake knew that Calleigh cared for him. She was not the type of woman to jerk a man around or play games. "I just wish you'd been honest with me, Cal. It would have been easier on both of us."

If only it was that simple. Calleigh just nodded, thinking back to last weekend…

FLASHBACK

Jake wrapped his arm more firmly around Calleigh's shoulders as they walked back to her apartment from eating dinner. She leaned into his embrace, and they walked together in companionable silence until they reached her front door. Calleigh was digging for her keys in her purse when she felt a pair of strong arms encircle her waist, and a pair of lips nuzzling her neck.

"Jake," she laughed. "Cut it out. I'm trying to find my keys."

A single hand reached down and deftly snatched the elusive keys from her handbag. "What, you mean these keys?" he said playfully.

Calleigh smirked and grabbed them from his hand, quickly unlocking the door and pulling out of Jake's embrace to walk into the apartment. Jake, for his part, sighed in frustration.

She heard the sigh and silently cursed herself for pulling away, yet again. He'd been so patient with her, but tonight it seemed like his patience had run out.

"Why, Cal? Just tell me what I'm doing wrong!" Jake asked angrily as he entered the foyer behind her. He let the door fall shut with a bang.

Calleigh turned to face her boyfriend, an apologetic look written on her face. "Jake, I'm sorry. I'm just—ugh!" She threw her hands up in the air in frustration, whipping around to lean her hands on the kitchen island.

Jake came up behind her and placed a gentle hand on her back, grateful when she didn't flinch. He wasn't totally oblivious to why Calleigh refused to let him in, why she was so cagey. Every time he reached for her, she got this haunted look in her eye. She tried, honestly. But he knew something was keeping her back, keeping her from loving him.

Soon after they started dating, Jake asked her to go to Aruba with him, and she'd come up with some lame excuse about how Horatio was leaving town and needed her at the lab. Jake knew Horatio would only be gone two days, but he said nothing. Then, a week later, he'd tried to take things a little further before he left for the night. Calleigh effectively freaked out. Her reaction surprised both of them, and Jake ended up going home wondering if all of this was a mistake. The next day at work, Calleigh apologized and told him she just needed to take things slow. So they had…achingly so.

Jake was okay with slow. Calleigh was worth it. But two months? Two months of dating and Cal still kicked him out the door if he tried to cop a feel. It wasn't like they'd never had sex before; they had dated for five months—a crazy, intense five months—at the police academy. Jake was confused, and concerned.

"We could be incredible together, Calleigh," he said hoarsely. "But you need to talk to me."

Calleigh sighed and turned in his arms. "I don't know what to say, Jake," she said tearfully.

"Somehow, I don't think that's true."

Game up. She didn't know how he knew, but he did. She watched his face for a moment before ducking her head under the intensity of his gaze. Wordlessly, she tugged his hand and led him to sit at the dining room table.

"I—I know I've been pushing you away. I'm sorry," Calleigh began after a minute. "It's just been…a long time since I was with anyone."

"Cal, you're not afraid of being with someone again," Jake responded in exasperation. "You're afraid of being with me. So don't give me some half-assed excuse. Tell me what's going on."

Anger flashed in Calleigh's eyes at Jake's demanding tone, but as much as she hated to admit it, he was right. She just didn't know if telling him why he was right was the best thing to do. If she confessed, their relationship was over. But then again, she guessed it was over if she didn't explain, so she might as well. She didn't really understand it, herself, to be completely honest.

She squeezed her eyes shut and tried to block the images that were assaulting her memory. She'd never talked about this with anyone, and it was tearing her apart to do it now. A solitary tear escaped her lashes and streamed down her cheek.

"None of this is fair to you, Jake," Calleigh said as she opened her eyes to meet his. "I'm so sorry. I didn't—I didn't know I would react like this."

Jake nodded, encouraging her to continue. She looked away from him as she spoke again. "It's been three years," she shrugged, "and I can't let it go."

"Let what go?" he asked quietly.

Cal wouldn't answer. She pursed her lips and shook her head, unable to give him what he wanted. Two more tears escaped, and she wiped them away tiredly. "I'm not the same person I was when we dated before, Jake."

"Neither of us are, babe. We've grown up, had other relationships. But—" He was about to say, 'But I don't see how that keeps us from being together,' when he caught the look in Calleigh's eye and stopped mid-sentence.

Calleigh didn't just mean that she had changed. She meant that someone had changed her. Someone with whom Jake could never compete, even if the man was now just a memory.

He swallowed the lump in his throat. "This isn't going to work, is it?"

She shook her head sadly and whispered, "No. I'm sorry."

"Stop apologizing, Cal. You haven't done anything wrong." Jake's words sounded so convincing he almost believed them himself. "Just do me a favor… figure things out before you start dating someone else, okay?"

She'd hurt him, badly. Calleigh knew that. And she knew she couldn't do anything to take back what she'd done.

"Hey," Jake said, standing up and bringing Calleigh with him. He wrapped her in a warm hug. "Don't beat yourself up. It's like you said, you had no idea you'd react this way. I'm grateful for the last two months, Cal."

Calleigh pulled him tighter as she choked out a teary laugh. "You shouldn't be so nice to me."

"Sure I should," he smiled. "We're still friends, Cal. Don't forget that."

He felt her nod against his neck. "Thank you," she murmured. "You're a good man, Jake." She pulled back and met his eyes, trying to convey how much she really did care for him, if not in the way he hoped.

"I know," he winked. Calleigh noticed his smile didn't quite reach his eyes. "Bye, Cal," Jake said, leaning down to place one last, tender kiss to her lips. She kissed him back, and when they parted they went as friends. Friends with a history, but friends nonetheless.

Cal watched as Jake grabbed his leather jacket and walked out the door for the last time. Then she collapsed on the couch and wept until she fell asleep. On Monday morning, Calleigh walked into work with a smile on her face, pretending as she did every day that everything was good and right in her world.

END FLASHBACK

Standing in the A/V lab and seeing the look on Calleigh's face, Jake realized that Eric Delko was not just a memory for his former girlfriend. She worked with him every day, spent time with him outside the lab. And it tortured her. From the look on Delko's face, it caused him just as much anguish. The funny thing was, Jake had seen those looks on their faces a thousand times, and he never guessed their real cause.

What the hell kind of mess have they gotten themselves into? Jake wondered. He hated to see Calleigh in so much pain. And as much as he wished he could hate Delko, he was actually a stand up guy, and Jake wouldn't wish this kind of torment on anyone. Being that close to the woman you love day in and day out… Delko must have some kind of inhuman strength… damn.

Berkeley closed the distance between him and Calleigh and wrapped her in a tight hug. "We're good, Cal. I promise," he whispered in her ear. "Talk to him, okay?"

Calleigh was in awe. She never expected such graciousness from this man. The Jake Berkeley she knew was all ego and testosterone, but the man hugging her was kind and selfless. "Why are you doing this, Jake?" she whispered back as he pulled away.

He just shrugged and said with a wink, "You and I both know we never had a chance. I can't be mad. I want you to be happy."

And although she wasn't sure of the chances of that happening, Calleigh smiled and pulled him into another quick hug. "Thank you."

Before Jake left the lab he stepped past his ex-girlfriend and extended a hand to a bewildered Eric Delko. The two men grasped hands and locked eyes as an unspoken message passed between them. Don't screw this up, you idiot, Berkeley seemed to say. Eric nodded, still shocked, and simply shook his hand. With that, Jake turned and left the room, never acknowledging Ryan or Horatio.

Eric was speechless as he watched Berkeley walk away. Any animosity he'd ever felt for the man was gone the instant they shook hands, and now he didn't know what he felt. The fact that he had no clue what had just passed between the detective and his best friend didn't help. Talk about cryptic, he thought.

Calleigh seemed to be regaining some of her composure. Slowly she turned around and pegged the three men with a steely glare. "Nothing, nothing, leaves this room." She knew she didn't have to tell them that, but it needed to be on the record.

"I'm not…sure I really understood any of it anyway," Ryan admitted, looking nervously at Horatio.

The lieutenant had garnered little more from the conversation than Wolfe. "Ms. Duquesne?" he asked, seeking some kind of explanation. Eric finally rejoined the conversation upon Horatio's question, interested in hearing the answer.

Calleigh looked around the room at the three men before her. This was no time for nervousness or hesitation, so she answered point blank. "We broke up last Saturday. Horatio—"

"Save it, Calleigh," her boss said kindly. "You didn't invite your personal life into the office. It invaded. I'm not worried about your professionalism. Like you said, nothing leaves this room."

She managed to murmur a quiet 'thanks,' then the room went silent. Eric was still processing Calleigh's words. We broke up last Saturday.

"Eric. Eric!" Horatio was calling his name. When he finally caught the man's attention, he said, "I suggest you make an early weekend of it. Perhaps a long one…I don't want either of you back here until you've worked this out."

The time for denial was past. The ability to pretend, to put on a pretty face and act like everything was okay, no longer existed for Calleigh or Eric. They couldn't hide from each other, and they could no longer hide from the other two men in the room. Eric couldn't decide if he was more humiliated or grateful. He met Calleigh's eyes for a split second before he answered quietly, "Alright, H."

Calleigh mimicked Eric's response, then turned her eyes back to her best friend. "I'll meet you downstairs." She couldn't bring herself to look at Ryan as she quickly left the lab.

As soon as she was gone, Eric spun on his heel and traversed the few steps to the swivel chair, where he collapsed with his head in his hands. "Shit. Shit, shit, shit." That's all he could say, and he didn't care that he wasn't alone. Suddenly he shot out of the chair and stared wide-eyed at his brother-in-law, gesturing wildly as he asked, "Horatio, what am I supposed to do?"

H sighed. He could handle drug busts and shootouts and crooked cops any day of the week, but Eric and Calleigh? That wasn't exactly on his resume. He'd had plenty of experience in complicated affairs of the heart, so at least he could draw on some of that to help Eric. One of Horatio's biggest regrets was not telling Yelina how he felt when he had the chance, and one of the happiest times of his life had come from letting go with Marisol.

"Tell her how you feel, Eric."

The younger man scoffed. "It's not that simple, H!"

A quiet voice sounded from behind him. "Yeah, it is, Eric. It's exactly that simple." Eric had completely forgotten about Ryan, and he twisted around to face the man.

"What?"

Wolfe was dead serious, and the tone of his voice dared Eric to contradict him. "Delko, I've never seen two people love each other as much as the two people in that video. From what you've told me, Speedle knew you and Calleigh better than anyone. Go home, watch the rest of the DVD, and talk to Calleigh." He shoved the disc into his friend's hand and turned him on the spot, giving him a little shove toward the door.

Eric tossed Horatio a pleading look, but he just raised his hands in defense. "You heard the man," H said with a crooked smile. So Eric rolled his eyes and obeyed, taking a deep breath as he walked out the door of the A/V lab to face his future.

Ryan shot a glance toward his boss. "Did all of that really just happen?" he asked incredulously.

"Yes, Mr. Wolfe," Horatio answered with a gleam in his eye, "I believe it just did."

"Are you going to start looking for two new CSIs?" the younger man asked nervously. Because in all seriousness, they were playing with fire, and there was a very real possibility that one of their friends might not come back on Monday.

Horatio had known Eric and Calleigh longer than his counterpart, and he was much more confident in their ability to resolve the situation. "They'll do the right thing, Ryan. You'll see." He smiled secretly and took his leave.

Wolfe stood all alone in the A/V lab, wondering when the hell the world had turned upside down, and dreading having to fix all the equipment left behind by Hurricane Eric. He sighed and set to work on the mangled cords, thinking all the while about the things he'd witnessed in the last twenty minutes. One single line ran on repeat through his mind:

If Calleigh was just your best friend, one night of making love to her would be enough. But it's not, is it?

Yeah. So maybe this was a little complicated…