CHAPTER 9
Calleigh witnessed Eric taste the droplet of water and stop midstride, and she knew as soon as she saw the reaction on his face what he'd discovered. She swiftly leaned down to scoop some of the liquid into her hand. As she stood, she brought the cupful of water to her nose and sniffed, then tasted it with her own tongue.
"Sea water," she said in disbelief.
"No way. We're four miles from shore," Natalia declared, mirroring Calleigh and testing the water so she could verify the truth for herself.
"We're only a mile and a half from the nearest saltwater canal," Ryan reminded them. "A hurricane the strength of Paige could force the storm surge this far."
"On top of dumping dozens of inches of rain," Eric added.
They all grew silent and simply stared at each other for a long moment. The gravity of their situation suddenly sank in, leaving them with a sick feeling in the pits of their stomachs.
"It's been hours," Calleigh nearly whispered. "If the storm stalled when it hit land, and if it breached the canals…"
"We could be under multiple feet of water right now," Eric finished her sentence.
He didn't care if Natalia or Ryan saw, he reached for Calleigh's hand and drew her into his side. Without thought, Calleigh wrapped her arm around his waist, not minding or noticing that his wet clothing began to soak her own.
"I refuse to die this way," Natalia said angrily after several laden seconds of silence passed among them.
"How long can this door hold?" she asked Eric and Calleigh.
Calleigh shrugged the shoulder not wedged firmly under Eric's protective arm. "No way of knowing. This isn't the sealant's usual application, and the pressure will only continue to build."
"If we're under water, how is it that we still have airflow? Don't the external vents to this basement surface just above ground? I swear I've seen them," Ryan thought out loud.
Calleigh shook her head. "If that were the case, water would be intruding from those vents." She pointed up. "The air shafts must ventilate on at least the second floor."
"Finally, some good news," Natalia grumbled. "C'mon guys, let's think. There has to be some way to buy us more time."
All four of them descended into thoughtfulness.
The longer Eric contemplated their lack of options, the higher his anxiety rose and the nearer he tugged Calleigh to his broad chest, until eventually he engulfed her with his other arm and simply hugged her close. Calleigh did not use words, she just wrapped her other arm around his waist and buried her forehead and the bridge of her nose into the gentle dip of his sternum.
His heart beat fast but steady, and the rhythm soothed Calleigh enough to clear her head of the panic slowly growing in her own chest.
Finally, it hit her, and she abruptly pulled back in Eric's arms.
"The vending machine!" she cried.
Eric peered down at her. "You think it will fit through the gym door?"
"It has to," she said. "They built the gym equipment in place. But the vending machine? They're delivered assembled from the factory."
Natalia began to make her way to the gymnasium. "They had to get the damn thing in there somehow!"
Ryan took off behind her, as did Calleigh, but Eric caught her wrist and momentarily held her back, pulling her against the hard planes of his chest once more.
"Cal," he murmured. "If…if we don't get a 'later,' I need you to know—"
She shook her head and drew him close with hands on either side of his hips. "I care about you too much to let anything happen to you, Eric. We'll have our 'later.'"
Fireworks set off inside Eric's chest. He knew what that simple confession cost Calleigh, who struggled at the best of times to discuss her emotions or reveal her feelings. He loved her all the more for it.
Eric dropped his forehead to hers in a move more intimate than the bounds of their friendship had ever allowed. "Promise me," he whispered.
Her heart pounded at the proximity of his lips to hers, and she barely breathed in response, but he heard her: "I promise."
They stood that way for precious seconds, foreheads touching, her hands on his hips and his on her arms, until Ryan's voice shouted from around the corner.
"Guys, we need your help!"
Calleigh placed a quick, tender kiss to the corner of Eric's mouth, another promise.
"He really does have the worst timing," she quipped.
Eric gave her a half smile and returned her kiss with one to her cheek.
"Let's go," he said, feeling the regret of separation the moment Calleigh left his arms.
Another half hour passed as they worked as a team to maneuver the massive vending machine out of the gym, through the locker room, to the back of the room where they positioned it firmly against the creaking door.
With the addition of every free weight and kettle ball available, they created a veritable mountain against the door.
Then they collapsed on the wooden benches in a sweaty heap. Moving objects with brute strength which usually required a wheeling dolly was hard enough; doing it while wading through more than ankle-deep water increased the difficulty tenfold.
The four CSIs lifted their feet up to sit cross-legged on the wide bench to spare their toes and ankles from the cold water. They had significantly slowed the flow rate through the door…they didn't need to escape drowning just to die of hypothermia.
"Now what?" Natalia asked, teeth chattering.
"We should have heard from Horatio again by now," Ryan observed.
Calleigh nodded in the pure darkness. Their eyes were beginning to adjust, and they needed to save their batteries, so they had made the decision to switch off the flashlights.
"You're right. He wouldn't just leave us."
"Who knows what's happening up there," Eric remarked.
He couldn't see her well, but he felt Calleigh's body shivering next to him on the bench.
"Come here," he whispered in her ear.
He shifted his body so she could sit in that perfectly Calleigh-sized space in the middle of his lap, her back to his front, the backs of her thighs and knees settling over his crossed legs.
Eric wrapped their arms together around her body and attempted to give her as much of his body heat as he could. She sighed quietly and gratefully relaxed into him, hoping what little heat her own body still possessed would keep him warm, too.
"I may not be able to see you, but I know what you're doing," Ryan's annoying voice came from the other end of the wide bench.
"And what exactly is that?" Calleigh challenged him.
"Sharing body heat," he correctly guessed. "It works better when you're naked, you know."
"I think you've 'helped' quite enough for one day, Ryan," Calleigh snapped in his direction. "Eric's right, this is not your business."
"So there's a ' this'?" Ryan pressed.
"Seriously, Ryan, shut up," Natalia intervened before he found himself face down in the water with either Eric or Calleigh's hand at the back of his head. Or both.
"And don't you get any ideas of sharing body heat with me," she added. "That's a hard no."
"Even if you were freezing?" he countered.
"That won't be a problem. I didn't get as wet as they did."
Ryan knew Natalia didn't mean it. She was too practical, and she was just as wet as the rest of them, except Delko, who got drenched while he sealed the door earlier.
Calleigh felt too exhausted and chilled to the bone to care what Ryan and Natalia thought about her and Eric.
"If y'all are going to bicker, take it somewhere else," she ordered the two partners. "I'm going to try to rest. In fact we all should. That giant counter in the bathroom is a good spot to stretch out above the water."
"You guys go ahead. We can spread out here with the freed up space. Besides, we should take turns resting—someone needs to watch the water level," Natalia said.
Calleigh knew Natalia offered them the counter so Eric could lean his back against the wall and be more comfortable while he held onto Calleigh, and if Natalia could have seen her friend's eyes, she would have seen extreme gratitude reflected in them.
On the way to the bathroom, Eric grabbed a few of the dry towels they wisely chose not to use in the blockade of the door. When they reached the long, wide counter that ran the length of the wall opposite the sinks, he lifted himself atop it, settled his back against the wall, and pulled Calleigh up to nestle into his lap. He covered them both with the towels for warmth and they settled into each other.
"Eric."
Calleigh spoke his name so quietly and sleepily he almost didn't catch it.
"Yeah, Cal?"
"I did read your file," she whispered.
He hugged her closer and placed a kiss on her hair, but he said nothing. She curled into his embrace and nuzzled her nose in the curve between his neck and collarbone, and he tightened his hold on her even more.
"Later," he breathed against her hair, and placed another feather-light kiss there.
She was fast asleep in his arms before he uttered the word.
