A/N: Chapter 3 was pretty short, and I'm about to be out of town for several days, so here's a quick update with the next chapter of the story!
CHAPTER 4
Facing the prospect of spending days trapped together in a small dark room, the mood rapidly shifted amongst the four friends.
"Look," Calleigh reasoned. "It might only be a matter of hours. We don't know what the storm will do."
"Ever the ray of sunshine," Ryan groused.
"Watch it, Wolfe," Eric snapped. "She's just trying to stay positive. And maybe she's right, and the storm will blow over quickly."
Ryan shook his head. "Horatio didn't even give us a status update on the hurricane."
"Settle down, fellas," Natalia interrupted. "Let's regroup and take stock of our supplies. Has anyone tried the door to the gym?"
Calleigh nodded. "I did, there's no lock. Why?"
"Because if I'm camping out on this floor, I'm doing it on those yoga mats. My ass is killing me after sitting on concrete for so long."
Twenty minutes, several gym mats, and four foam rollers later, they had made quite the nest for themselves in the locker room.
"Two apples, three packs of granola bars, a box of peanut butter crackers, a jar of trail mix…"
Calleigh listed off the snacks in Eric's not-so-secret stash as they tallied their supplies.
"We also have the vending machine in the gym," Natalia added.
Ryan huffed. "Right, the one powered by electricity."
"Don't be grumpy," she shot back. "We can break the glass if we get desperate enough."
"The point is, we're totally fine in here for at least a day, maybe two," Calleigh said, heading off any potential squabble between her friends. "We have potable water and it's not like the air supply is comprom—"
"Ah ha!"
Their heads whipped in Eric's direction to surprisingly see another source of light illuminating his face along with much of the room around him. In his hand he held an industrial flashlight.
"Where did you get that?" Natalia exclaimed.
"I may or may not have broken into the gym's janitorial closet."
"And you're just now turning that thing on?" Ryan asked incredulously.
"I had to fix the switch on the handle. A little hard to do in the fucking dark, Wolfe."
"Okay, fine," Ryan parried in defense. "I am grateful to have more light in here."
"Switch the smaller one off for now. Let's save the battery," Calleigh told him.
Eric lowered himself to the mat close to Calleigh and settled the large flashlight in the middle of their small ring.
"Time for ooky-spooky campfire stories," Natalia said, wiggling her fingers in the air and grinning mischievously.
"Time for Truth or Dare!" Ryan countered.
Eric rolled his eyes. Something in the way Ryan insisted on playing this game put him on alert. What were they going to dare each other to do in the dark, confined to a single room, a set of showers, and the Lab's small gym?
That left only "truth," and Eric possessed secrets too deep and long held to risk willingly for a children's game.
"Your wheels are turning," Calleigh murmured next to him.
"I just think this is a stupid idea," he admitted. "Look where we are. Tell me what kind of good dares we can possibly do."
"I've got one," Ryan stated quickly.
Of course Ryan sat waiting in the wings with a dare prepped and ready in his pocket. He wanted to play the game.
Eric grumbled under his breath. "By all means, Wolfe, dazzle us."
Ryan did, indeed, come prepared with an idea…
For almost two years, he stood on the sidelines watching Calleigh and Eric dance around each other, playing a cat and mouse game. Since Eric's shooting, at least.
Natalia called him oblivious once, years ago, and while he may claim guilt for that to some degree on certain matters, he wasn't blind.
Eric loved Calleigh.
And Calleigh clearly felt strongly for Eric.
They never let it affect their jobs, but the whole vibe changed the moment the two found themselves in a room together. Palpably.
So maybe they needed a little push?
Natalia also once told him he stuck his nose where it didn't belong more often than he should, which may hold some truth, too. Her words left the door open for a caveat, though—it meant there were, in fact, times when he should intervene.
Like now.
About a year ago, Ryan stood reviewing a case with Delko while the man packed up the gear in his locker to head home for the day. A book tumbled out of the locker, and before Eric could grasp the worn binding, it clattered to the floor, a few items coming loose which had been tucked in the pages for safekeeping.
At first, Ryan didn't think anything of it, until he saw the pages were handwritten, and especially when he saw the small fragments of paper which shook loose from the book.
Not scrap paper, but two photos.
Eric scrambled to scoop up the fallen items, clearly aware of what Ryan just witnessed and that Ryan had immediately and correctly identified the cause of Eric's hasty attempt to hide the book and its contents.
"Not a word, Wolfe," he had growled last year.
Ryan had held up his hands and slowly back-pedaled. "I saw nothing."
He kept the promise he made to Delko…until today. Technically, he didn't plan to spill his friend's secrets, but his plot did include giving the man an opportunity to do it himself.
Six of one, half a dozen of the other.
Ryan, ever-aware of how much he could infuriate Delko, knew the man wouldn't like what he was about to do, and Ryan really did want to take up some of this endless wait with Truth or Dare, as sitting in the dark for an indefinite period of time doing nothing was not at the top of his wish list for the day.
He needed to stall.
"Uh, no that's not how the game works!" he improvised. "We play Paper Rock Scissors to see who goes first. Everyone knows that."
"I haven't played this game sober since middle school, Wolfe," Natalia complained. "Can we just start?"
"Fine. Nat—paper, rock, scissors…go!"
Paper beat rock and Natalia found herself on the winning end, just as Ryan hoped.
"You're up first," he said with a false grimace he actually pulled off, no one the wiser.
Natalia paused in contemplation. "OK, let me think…"
A moment later, the group watched Natalia's face light up as she finally came to an idea.
"Calleigh," she said with a crooked grin. "Truth or dare?"
And thus, the games began.