Secrets (A CSI Miami fanfic)

P.S. This story is really old!

CSI: MIAMI

SECRETS

By Cindy Miller  

CHAPTER 1

“Oh, please shut up.” Calleigh Duquesne practically yelled at her alarm clock, even though she knew it wouldn’t make it stop.  She had to be going to work now.  She liked her work.  She just wasn’t in the mood to wake up early this morning.  It had been a late night.  A date night.  She wouldn’t have mentioned to anyone who it was she was out with.  It was her little secret. Of course, there really wasn’t anything wrong with her dating this person, as far as, he wasn’t married or dating someone else… it wasn’t like that.  But they worked together, so it wasn’t entirely proper for them to be dating. She didn’t really care though.  He was a great guy and they had known each other for forever.  They had always been tight, best friends to the end.  It was one day when she called him from home, saying she had the flu really bad and couldn’t come to work, that she had first really noticed it.  She couldn’t get a hold of her boss, Horatio for some weird reason, and Eric was the first person on her list of people to call in case of emergency.  She had called and he said, “Are you ok?”

“Not really.  I’ve got the flu and I don’t think- uh…” She gagged. “I don’t think I can come to work today… I tried to get a hold of Horatio, and I couldn’t, so I was wondering…”

“…If I’ll tell him for you?”

“Yeah… Could you, please?”

“Of course.”

“Oh, thank you, you’re the best.”

“No problem.  It happens. You’d do the same thing for me, right?”

“Yes, I would.”

“I knew you’d say that. I’ll tell him for you… Now just get some rest and feel better. Ok?”

“Ok… See you, and… Thanks.”

“Your welcome.”

That seemed like forever ago now.  Calleigh remembered that on his lunch break, he brought her chicken noodle soup, a box of saltines, pepto, and 7-UP.  She had felt bad because she looked horrible, and he had smiled, “You still look great.” She had laughed, and then he handed her some movies to watch.  “In case you get bored.” He knew she was a workaholic and hated to miss work. And then, he had brushed the hair out of her face and told her to feel better. And then he was gone, but she felt better.  She knew he truly cared.  And she started going out with another guy later, and he broke her heart, which was a hard thing to do.  He had been there for her, let her cry on his shoulder, even sometimes at work.  He gave up his lunch break to talk.  On his day off, he dropped her off at work and helped her out by going to the store for her, and doing laundry so she didn’t have to.  He cleaned up her apartment.  She had been forever grateful.  He was so kind to her.  Then, one day it hit her… She realized that she enjoyed the time they spent together and longed for it.  She loved the crime scenes they got to investigate together.  He was funny when appropriate, very smart, thorough, and worked closely with her to find the culprit.  She loved the way he handled the witnesses and suspects.  He was compassionate when he should be, hard when he had to be… And she got home and realized,  she loved him.  She thought of him as more than a friend.  She wanted to be with him, not just at work, but all the time, whenever possible.  She had woke up in the middle of the night and realized that she had to tell him how she felt.  It was 1:30 in the morning.  She had reached for the phone with trembling hands, so unlike her, and dialed his number in the dark.  She had it memorized, she knew how the keys felt when she pressed the numbers down, it was so familiar.  She was glad when he answered, fully awake, not asleep.  He sounded a bit curious as to who was calling in the middle of the night, or was the proper question why?  He knew who it was.  He said, “Hi, Calleigh. What’s up?”

“You’re awake?”

“Yeah.  I’m awake.  It’s weird that you called… I was just about to call you.  I woke up and my brain told me to call you.  I don’t know why.”

“That is weird. I just- I just needed to talk to you.”

“What about?”  He sounded like he was smiling.

“Um… This is probably gonna sound really bold, and really strange, but I hope it doesn’t freak you out or anything.”

“I doubt it.  Spill.” When she didn’t say anything at first, he said, “it’s ok, Calleigh.  You can tell me anything.”  It was obvious that he didn’t know what she was going to say.

“Well… I… I like you…And not just as a friend… I know it’s weird and we work together… But I couldn’t just ignore my feelings, because I do that too much as it is, and I think you deserve to know.” She was silent, a bit embarrassed, and she hoped he would feel the same. Finally, he spoke.

“I feel the same way.  That’s what I was going to call and tell you.”

“Really?”

“Yeah.  I’ve been thinking about it all week… Actually, for a long time.  I don’t know why I never said anything.  I guess it’s because you were hurting so much because of Max… I didn’t want to drop this onto you, or pressure you.  I didn’t want to freak you out.”

“I understand.  Totally.  I didn’t feel ready either… but I do now.  We work together… And I thought it wouldn’t be proper for us to date, but it doesn’t really bother me anymore.”

“me neither…” he had paused. “Hey, um, do you want to get together and talk?  I know it’s late, but I just felt I had to see you… I could come over.  You don’t have to go anywhere.”

“That would be nice.”

“Ok… I’ll be over in a few minutes… Oh, and you don’t need to wear anything special… I’m just throwing a shirt and some shoes on.”

“ok. See you in a bit.  I’ll have coffee ready.”

“Great. See ya.”

And when they hung up, she combed her hair and made the coffee, anticipating his arrival.  Finally, the doorbell rang, and she opened the door, inviting Eric right in.  “Coffee’s all ready.” He had said it was great, and she’d poured him a cup.  And they talked all night.  Luckily, they didn’t have work the next morning.  They found out a lot about each other.  He loved listening to her beautiful southern accent, and told her so. 

“I don’t know if I’d ever mentioned it before.”

“You have. About 15 times, but I like to hear it.”

The décor in her home was a lot like a dress she loved to wear.  White with pink flowers.  He décor matched the dress.  She had worn it many times.  That was something he already knew about her.  He found out that she wanted to get married in a church and have 2 kids of her own.  She found out the same about him, and they laughed.  He said that his sister, Marisol had always wanted kids.  She never got any.  She wanted to be there at his wedding, and later on, hold his baby in her arms and spoil it.  She had never got it.  Died before she ever got the chance to live.  It was so sad.  Eric always got upset when he talked about his sister.  Calleigh just sat by him and held him close.  That was all he needed.  That was the beginning of a wonderful relationship.  And it was months ago.  Now, she was just trying to wake up.  It was the third time she had tried, and finally, she forced herself out of bed.  She took a shower and got ready, grabbing a bagel before she left.  It was too early for this.  She loved work, but she didn’t want to get up.  It was just one of those days.  She drove to the lab, and walked in, checking her messages.  Nothing.  In a way, she was glad.  She got to her office and checked her email.  There was one from Eric saying that he had enjoyed their date the night before, and that he hoped she wasn’t too tired.  He said that he would be coming into work on time.  She looked at the case files on her desk.  All were closed except one, the Maria Hollander case.  She was a 15-year-old girl who had been kidnapped from her home the previous week.  She had been murdered 2 days later.  But so far, as much as the team had worked on it, it was full of dead ends.  Calleigh had contacted the Las Vegas and New York labs to see if they had anything that might help them.  So far, the only thing they had found was that the father was from New York and had once been pulled over for drunk driving, but he entered rehab, paid his fine, and it never happened again.  Her mom hadn’t done anything to get her name in the system.  Overall, they were the all-American family.  Horatio knocked on her door and she invited him in.  “You’re here early today.”

“Am I that early?”

“You’re here an hour earlier than you need to be.”

“Oh. I didn’t realize… Well, whatever… I can always find some work to do.  I can always go to the lab and run some DNA or something.” She smiled. 

“Well, I don’t have anything new for you, just more recovered weapons from the Hollander case.  So far, they’re a mystery.  But I know you’re good.  You can find just about anything.”

“Thank you for the words of affirmation.” She smiled. He looked into her eyes and said, “You look tired. Late night?”

“Uh, yeah… Didn’t intend on staying out that late… Movie ended at midnight… We decided to get an ice cream.  It was hot out.  Then he stayed for a long time, not on purpose… We were chatting away… We looked at the clock and it was 3:30. Time flies.”

“That it does.  Who were you out with?  New boyfriend?” He looked curious.  If it was anyone else, she would have accused him of prying, but he was concerned, mostly because of her break up with Max and the trauma he had caused her.  Horatio Caine was not one to let anyone beat up on one of his team, especially Calleigh.  She blushed because she didn’t want to tell her boss that she was dating a coworker.   But she didn’t want him to think she was lying, or keeping something from him.  He was not only her boss, he was a friend.  She sighed and said, “Yes, I have a new boyfriend.  It took me a while to get over Max, and he was always there for me, to help me through it.  Then, one day, I realized that I was in love with him.  I called him up and we talked for hours.  He felt the same way, had for a long time, but because of Max, he wanted to give me time to get over it… It was very considerate of him.”

She still hadn’t mentioned who she was dating, but Horatio wasn’t one to pry.  If she wanted to tell him, she would… maybe it just wasn’t the right time.  He told her it was ok, and he told her to just go ahead and work on the Hollander case.  She got straight to work, heading over to the gun lab.  “Be still my heart.” She said, as she walked into the lab.  She loved her guns.  She was known as ‘bullet girl’ or ‘gun girl’.  She didn’t take offense.  She was good at her job.  Really good.  She test fired some guns and found out that the bullet that killed Maria Hollander wasn’t fired from the suspect’s gun.  It was from her brother, Mark’s gun, but his fingerprints and epithelials weren’t on it, so it didn’t seem like he could have shot his sister.  There was no apparent reason for him to shoot his sister.  So, she was right back where she started from. She hated that.  It really sucked. 

 

CHAPTER 2

Calleigh rolled over in her bed, adjusting the covers, or trying to. It was harder than it usually was.  She didn’t know why.  She would have shrugged, but she just went back to sleep.  It was hot.  She woke up again and kicked the white sheets off her and was surprised when her legs hit something… Or someone as it turned out.  “Ouch!” the voice said, and at first, she couldn’t place it, but then she realized that it was Eric she had kicked.  She turned around and saw him staring at her, rubbing his sore leg under the covers.  “Sorry.  I’m not used to sleeping with someone, I guess.  I’m all disoriented.  What time is it?  What day is it?”

“It’s 2:30 in the morning, Wednesday.”

“Oh. Right.  Thank you.” She said, her accent thick. He chuckled. 

“I love that accent”

“I know, you’ve told me.” She said softly, tired. She smiled though. She finally remembered what had happened the night before.  She giggled, not meaning to.  He chuckled in response.  “What are you laughing about?”

“I don’t know.” She giggled again.  “I just remembered what happened last night, and it’s funny to think that it all started with a kiss.”

“And a bottle of wine.” He laughed.

“True… true… But I wasn’t drunk… I just pretended, just to see what you would do.”

“Nuh-uh!” He looked shocked, and then when she giggled again, her sneaky giggle, he tickled her neck, which made her laugh uncontrollably.  And when he stopped, he kissed her, still laughing, and she kissed back. This was all so unreal.  Who would have thought that these two, who worked together, both very professional, could fall in love and go against their previous better judgment and get together?  Calleigh for one didn’t care anymore.  She loved Eric, more than she had ever loved any other man.  They had been dating for over a year now, and they had seen each other through so much crap.  He had been shot in the head and she thought she had lost him.  That seemed like forever ago.  She was glad that it didn’t seem like he had forgotten her like he had forgotten other things.  He had forgotten about his sister’s death, and had asked her where Marisol is and why she wasn’t there, and then, Horatio, who had been married to Marisol, had to tell Eric again, that she was dead, and he had cried.  He had already liked Calleigh for a long time before the accident.  At that time, however, he would have never thought that they would ever date, or that they would be sleeping in the same bed with each other.  He was grateful for all of it though.  He was surprised when out of the blue; she leaned over, smiling, and kissed him for a long time, rubbing his strong shoulders with her small hands.  He wrapped his arms around her, rubbing her back with his hands, feeling the soft silk of her nightgown, and he was so glad he didn’t have to go to work the next day.  And he thought of something… He loved Calleigh, and she knew that.  She loved him, she said so… He decided to ask… “How do you feel about marriage?”

 

They had been dating six months when he brought it up.  So far, no one seemed to know about them being a couple.  Not that she cared if they knew. She seemed a little shocked at first, when he asked, but then smiled, “I like it, the idea, I mean.  It’s fine with me. Why?  Are you asking me?”

“Yeah… I am.” He said, into her blonde hair.

“Alright then, I accept.”

He smiled.  “I guess you like me then.”

“I like you fine.” She said, just like a southern girl. “You know, you’re my favorite gentleman caller.” She smiled.  They both knew she didn’t have any others.

“I hope so.  I can get mighty jealous.”

“I know.  And you’re a cop, so that’s kinda dangerous…”

“You’re a cop too.”

“You’re so right.” She laughed.  “Now, let’s go back to bed, and we can make love some more tomorrow.”

“Sounds good to me. Not to be affirming the stereotypes of the gender.”

“Ha ha.” She rolled her eyes and smiled.  “Now, go to sleep, baby.”

“Alright.  Goodnight.”

They both fell asleep, and she dreamed of what their life could be like.  Then she thought back.  She had been tired, but had she heard him ask to marry her?  Yep.  She had said yes, and she was glad.  It was a moment that she knew she would always remember.

 

His eyes opened and he looked around at the room.  He saw Calleigh lying there next to him and felt so blessed.  She was so beautiful, and he was so lucky.  She was wonderful, and she had agreed to marry him.  The way he proposed wasn’t exactly the way he would have planned, but it was sweet.  She had said yes.  He grinned as her eyes fluttered open.  And she looked into his eyes, smiling.  “Hey.”

“Hey.”

“I can’t believe you proposed last night.” She grinned.

“It wasn’t the exact place I wanted to ask you, but I couldn’t let another minute go by without asking you to be mine forever.  You are the one I want to spend the rest of my life with.”

“That’s beautiful.” She smiled. And he took her in his arms and kissed her, not having a care in the world.  And then the moment was shattered by the phone ringing by Calleigh’s bedside. She rolled over and picked it up.  “Hello?”

“Hey, Calleigh, do you know where Eric is? I called his house and he wasn’t there.” Horatio said.

“Did you try his cell phone?”

“Yeah. A couple times.”

“Oh.” She looked at Eric like Oh crap! And she mouthed, Your cell phone!  Horatio! And he looked momentarily shocked and looked at his phone.  It was on SILENT and he said, “Oh shit.” A little too loudly.

“Who was that?” Horatio said in that inquisitive voice he had when he knew someone was keeping something from him. 

“Well…” She said, wincing. “Um, he’s here.  With me.  His phone was on SILENT.  Nothing’s wrong.  He’s right here if you want to talk to him.”

“Yes, I would like to talk to him. Thank you, Calleigh.”

“You’re welcome.” She winced and handed the phone over to Eric who looked like he might throw up. This was not going to be good.  But maybe it won’t be that bad. Calleigh tried to be positive.   Horatio was a good guy, and he was very understanding, so maybe he wouldn’t be angry.  He must have known something was going on between them.  She crossed her fingers and hoped for the best.

 

Eric put the phone to his ear and said, “Hello,” In a gravelly voice. He knew how stupid he must sound.  He was surprised at how calm Horatio sounded.

“Hello, Eric.” He said, and he chuckled slightly.  “So you’re at Calleigh’s.”

“Yeah.” He didn’t say anything else until his guilty conscious kicked in and he couldn’t hide it anymore.  He was Catholic.  And Horatio was a close friend, like family. He couldn’t lie, so he took a deep breath and said, “Yeah, I’m here.  We went out last night, again, we’ve been dating for about half a year…We um---.” He stopped when Horatio interrupted.

“It’s alright, Eric.  I’m not angry.  What my employees and friends do in their leisure is none of my business…And I’m ok with you and Calleigh.  It doesn’t bother me.  I believe the both of you know what you’re doing.  And… I kind of already figured it out.  I have eyes and ears, and I can deduce from the way you guys act around each other, that you’re in a relationship, and I’m ok with that.  Don’t feel like you need to hide things from me.”

“Ok. Well, since I’m not hiding things, Calleigh and I are engaged.  I asked her last night.”

Horatio chuckled again and said, “Congratulations.  I’m sure you’ll be very happy together.”

“Thanks, H.” he paused and then said, “What was it you wanted to talk to me about?”

“Oh, I just wanted to tell you that you’ve got the day off.  I meant to call you last night but you weren’t home.”

“Great.  Calleigh’s off too.”

“Yes.  Have a nice day off, Eric.”

“Thanks.” And they hung up. 

Calleigh smiled because it had all went well.  “You’re off today?”

“Yeah. You are too.  Maybe we can hang out together.”

“I’d like that.” She laughed when he tickled her. “Alright, alright.  If you let me get up, I can shower and change and we can go somewhere…maybe to the park or something.”

“Sounds brilliant.” He said, letting her up.  She got clothes out of her dresser and kissed him before she went into the bathroom.  He smiled and got out of bed.  He drove home really quick and showered, changing, and going to the grocery store to buy some breakfast food. He got back before Calleigh was done with her makeup.  She hadn’t even realized that he’d left.  That made him chuckle.  They all had their secrets. She came out, asking him to help her put a necklace on, and she sniffed the air, saying, “You smell good.  What is it?”

“I took a shower.”

“How? I was in there.”

“I went home.”

“You did?”

“Yeah… And I took a shower, dressed, went to the grocery store to get something for us to eat.”

“You’re fast… what did you get?” She said as he finally got the latch closed.

“There… Got it… um… I got bagels and cream cheese.  You said you liked that… And before, I noticed you were out of OJ (orange juice for people that aren’t good with abbreviations), so I picked some up for you.”

“That was nice of you.  I can pay you back for it.”

“It was just breakfast and OJ, and we’re engaged, so I consider it even.”

“Ok.  I just don’t want to make you feel like I’m taking advantage of you.”

“I’ve never thought that.”

“Ok… Then we’re even.  Come on, Eric, let’s go.”

“Alright.”, he smiled at her as she picked up her purse and took her keys out of the basket on the dresser.  He followed her, and they locked the door behind them, just glad they had the day together.

 

 

 

           

Eric had gotten Calleigh a ring.  It was gorgeous and she cried when she saw it. 

            “I’m glad you like it.  I looked all over for the perfect one.”

            “Well, it’s perfect alright.” She grinned.  There was only three more months until the wedding.  The anticipation was mounting.  Calleigh had gone out to a bridal shop with Natalia and Alexx to buy a wedding dress.  They were her best gal pals, and her mom never seemed to care much.  That was what hurt Calleigh more than anything.  Now, her dad was thrilled to pieces that she was getting married.  He loved Eric.  He thought he was the greatest thing since a slice of bread.  They wouldn’t be having any problems with each other.  At the bridal shop, Calleigh was trying on dresses and Alexx and Natalia were fixing her up like a rock star.  She was having the time of her life.  And she found the one.  It was the one that made Alexx’s mouth drop open and Natalia say,

            “Wow!”

            “Do you like it?”

            “Yes, honey, it’s gorgeous.  And it makes you look like a princess.” Alexx told her.

            “Well, I like it too.  I think this is the one.”

            “Eric will love it.” Natalia said. 

            “Yes, he will.” Alexx agreed.

So, that was the one Calleigh picked.  She planned the wedding, and every time Eric saw her looking at bridal magazines, he had to smile.   This woman—this wonderful, beautiful woman was looking at bridal magazines, so she could marry him.  It felt good.  She had been surprised when he seemed interested in what she was doing.  He was actually kind of active in the wedding planning, which was odd for a groom.  Usually, the bride just tells them when to show up.  But Eric, while he probably didn’t care much about what color the flowers were, he cared about her and her wishes.  He was excited about the wedding, and being her husband, which made her want to marry him more.  About a month after the engagement, Calleigh had noticed him acting weird, and for a few days, she was worried, but, on the two month anniversary of him proposing, he took her to dinner, and then told her he had a surprise.   He put a blindfold on her and then took her somewhere.  When they had reached the destination, Eric led her up a few steps and through a door he had unlocked.  Then, he took off the blindfold and she saw, a beautiful house.  It was the perfect size, and everything was laid out perfectly.  She looked at him, surprised.  “Where are we?” She had asked.

            “Our house.”

Her breath caught in her throat.  “Our—this is ours’?!”

            “Yeah.  Sorry I was so secretive; I just thought it’d be a nice present. Do you like it?”

            “It’s—it’s prefect!” She was still catching her breath.

            “There’s more.  Come with me.”  He led her by the hand to the back of the house, upstairs, and to a bedroom.  “This is ours… I fixed it up a little.  I really just put another layer of paint on there.  You can pick the actual color.  And over here is another bedroom.  This will be for our kids when they’re older, or kid or whatever, you get the point.”

            “Yeah.” She blushed.  She had been surprised that he was looking so far into the future.  He looked like he was really excited about the next room, so she let him lead on.  And he smiled.  “This room looked really awful when I bought the house, which, by the way, was for a sum of $11,000, which is really low.  The lady selling it, she just wanted to get rid of it.  She has plenty of money… But that’s water under the bridge.  This is the BEFORE.” He took out a picture.  He was right.  It DID look awful.  “Well, this is the AFTER.”  He led her in.  “Oh my—Eric!  It’s gorgeous!  Is it—?” She was still in shock.

            “Yeah, um, it’s a nursery.  I tried to make it look bright and cheery.”

            “It is.  Oh, Eric, I love it.  Thank you.  This is the best anniversary present you could have given me.”

            “You’re welcome.”

And in his arms, she had smiled.  She was marrying this man—the love of her life.  He was someone who went out of his way to make her happy. He thought of their future.  And in it, he had seen what she wished for.  They were on the same page.  And she awaited the day when she would be his wife.