A/N: This story started out as a vignette for my CSI: Briefly collection, but it took on a life of its own, per usual. I want to say thanks to everyone who reviewed, favorited and followed my stories over the last 9-ish months while I was gone! I so appreciate your encouragement to get back to writing in my "free" moments.
A/N 2: I'm posting a little at a time, but this story is completely written. I'm sure you'll love that change of pace, ha!
Disclaimer: I own nothing.
"All The Games We Play"
Set between Ep. 7x06 "Wrecking Ball," and Ep. 7x07 "Cheating Death"
Rated T
CHAPTER 1
The call to take shelter rang out over pagers and radios 20 minutes ago.
The crime scene was a total loss anyway with all the rain pounding Miami as Hurricane Paige began to make landfall, so Delko and Wolfe packed up their gear and braved the treacherous roads back to HQ with what little evidence they were able to collect.
Silence filled the Hummer as Eric traversed the city, carefully avoiding debris in the road. Luckily for them, the vehicle's weight kept them centered and firmly on the ground amidst the heavy gales of wind. Ryan knew Delko needed to concentrate and therefore avoided the casual conversation that normally kept them company on these cross-city drives.
Daylight fading quickly as they neared CSI headquarters, the younger CSI noted a crease between his partner's brow and the growing sense of tension in the set of his shoulders.
"You've been through hurricanes before, Delko. This is nothing new," he ventured a guess as to Eric's thoughtful concern.
Turning a corner and pulling into the lot, he watched as Eric's eyes scanned the line of official police vehicles lining the perimeter of the building. When he didn't find what he searched for, the crease between his brows deepened.
Ah, Ryan thought to himself. He's worried about Calleigh. He couldn't help but grin inwardly. He's so damned obvious.
Eric proved him correct with his next words. "Just wondering if Calleigh and Natalia made it back from Coral Gables. I don't see Cal's truck."
He slid the gearshift into park and the two men gathered their kits and evidence bags.
"She's a big girl, Delko," Ryan smirked. "I'm sure she's fine."
Eric glared at Wolfe for a split second before turning his back to lead the way inside. Despite their rain gear, he knew they'd be soaked before they reached the entrance to the building, and he had no desire to stay out any longer than necessary. As it was, he already struggled to stay on his feet against the strong wind.
An hour after the first radio call to head for cover, and Calleigh and Natalia still did not appear.
Eric paced at this point. "She's not answering her phone. That's not like her. Have you tried Nat?"
Wolfe had to admit, now even he felt the fear that his colleagues hadn't yet made it to safety. Hurricane Paige went from tropical storm to Cat 5 in a record 11 hours, and the two women needed to take shelter to survive the wrath of the storm. No crime scene was worth their lives.
"Nothing yet," he murmured distractedly, checking his phone one more time.
Just as Delko reached for his cell to dial Calleigh yet again, his eyes caught sight of two bedraggled CSIs traipsing through the entrance to the lab. Everything in him yearned to run to Calleigh to envelop her in a hug of utter relief, but he knew she wouldn't want that.
Instead, he called out. "Cal! Natalia!"
Soaked to the bone, Calleigh and Natalia made their way over to their partners.
"What the hell took so long?" Wolfe asked, eyeing Natalia from head to toe, making sure she didn't have a scratch on her.
Eric did the same with Calleigh. To the naked eye, she seemed unharmed. Just wet through and through. His heart did a little flip. Even looking like a drenched cat, she was beautiful.
Nat rolled her eyes. "We're fine. That wind gave us a run for our money, that's all."
Concern filled Eric's eyes as he turned to fully face Calleigh. "You're sure?"
He murmured so only Calleigh could hear, and while she hated the softness in his gaze and the tenderness of his words, she also wanted to drown in them as much as the water that saturated every inch of her skin and clothes.
Calleigh read Eric's file. She knew what he wanted now, and should have known all along. At first, she wondered why he never said anything, until she truly thought about it, and she realized he didn't have to. The look in his eyes, his loyalty, that fierce protective streak…he told her how he felt on a daily basis. Constantly, in fact. Calleigh just never gave him credit for the small ways he demonstrated he cared.
If that's what he needed to encourage him to act, she could show him the same in kind, so she offered him a small smile and reached to quickly squeeze his wrist. "Totally."
She instantly saw and felt Eric relax. Something flashed across his features in addition to relief that she didn't totally recognize. Perhaps…gratitude? For a split second, Calleigh swore his chocolate eyes told her 'thanks' for accepting his concern rather than rebuffing him, which she normally might do.
Ryan and Natalia missed their friends' shared moment, having already turned down the hall toward the stairs that led to the locker room. No way would they be boarding the elevator with the chance of the power going out in this weather. The backup generators only funneled power to the most critical areas if the lab—evidence storage, refrigerated units, locking mechanisms, and the morgue.
Calleigh and Eric only dropped their interlocked gaze at the sound of Ryan's voice calling out over his shoulder 30 feet ahead. "Are you two coming? We have evidence to process!"
Natalia chimed in. "And I refuse to stay in these clothes a second longer than I have to."
Ryan grinned and sent her a sideways glance. "Don't let me stand in your way," he said with a smirk.
His comment earned him a solid punch to the shoulder.
"Asshole," Nat rejoined, although the twinkle in her eye told Ryan she took the joke in stride.
He thought back to the few dates they attempted over the years. They tried here and there, truly. Natalia possessed a special spark and a quick comeback quality that left Ryan wanting more…but Natalia made it clear after their last outing a year or so ago that she considered them just friends. Good friends, but friends, nonetheless.
They made their way downstairs, and as Ryan's thoughts strayed, so did Eric's.
She's not fine, he said to himself. She's been through hell these last weeks. But then, again, so have I.
Memories of Dr. Marsh and William Campbell flashed across his vision. He saw the same images every time he tried to fall asleep, as if they were burned into the back of his eyelids. Normally, cases didn't stick with him like this; but, these had become personal.
To the outside world, Calleigh seemed to be coping well with losing Campbell to Joey Salucci's rogue crane last week. Eric knew her best, though, and he saw the slight strain behind her eyes every time someone mentioned the case.
Now we're dealing with the first Cat 5 hurricane to hit Florida since Andrew. To think we almost made it out of hurricane season unscathed.
Then, there was the small little matter of his file. Eric knew without question Calleigh read Dr. Marsh's notes about his therapy sessions. He'd seen the folder in her stack and didn't make an effort to prevent her from reading it, despite what he knew it must contain. He watched her pull it from the pile, watched her breath catch and her body still as she read. He could almost feel the tension radiating off of her.
And then, she lied to him…in a way. Calleigh said she couldn't find anything useful in the files, but she also didn't deny she read Eric's. The mixed messages played games with his mind.
In the following days, something different shifted in the air every time they found themselves in a room or on a case together. Calleigh seemed more open, lighter, increasingly patient. He couldn't be positive, but if Eric ever saw a green light coming from a woman as closed off as Calleigh Duquesne, he saw it now.
At least, I think so, Eric sighed. She must know…
"Eric?" a quiet voice reached his ears from a distance.
When he turned to meet its owner, he realized it was his mind miles away, not Calleigh, who stood directly at his side at the entrance to the locker room.
"Eric?" she asked again, a half-grin on her face. "You still with me?"
When they made eye contact, her smile fully bloomed, and Eric's heart momentarily stopped.
"What?" he replied dumbly.
She laughed. "Earth to Delko. You sighed, and you're light years away. What's up?"
He grinned now, too, and shook off his contemplative mood. "Just thinkin' about this storm," he explained. "The lights are flickering."
Calleigh peered upward just as the overhead lights went out and flashed back on.
"We'll be fine. The back-up generators will keep this place running through the worst of it," she said as they closed the door behind them.
Suddenly, something outside boomed, and inky blackness enveloped them.
"You were saying?" came Ryan's voice from somewhere in the darkness beyond.
