DISCLAIMER: CSI Miami and its characters are the property of Jerry Bruckheimer and CBS. No infringement intended.
ARCHIVING: Only with the permission of the author.
Choices
By sinjenkai
Part 1
Coming back to work after their honeymoon, Calleigh and Natalia were thrust back into the thick of things. For a month, they had to come to work in separate cars, as they would never know which one would be working later than the other, but they did make an effort to meet every other day at the stables so that they could ride Beltran and Adonia. That was their time together to unwind, and even if it seemed that they were trying to cram too much into their days, that simple act of spending time with the horses did more for them that they could explain. Other nights, Calleigh would actually make it home at a reasonable hour and they would have a quiet meal together, then they would cuddle up on the sofa watching movies or listening to music.
Work was hectic as ballistics was a mess or at least by Calleigh's standards, so she spent long hours cleaning the guns when not at a scene, while Natalia worked extra hours to make up for Valera and everyone else that covered for her while she was out.
Horatio made sure that both women had limited contact with Eric. He figured that given time, that everyone would settle down and they would be able to all work together. Ryan got both women new lab coats with their married names on them and most people laughed at that. Most people, Eric just scowled and walked away.
Calleigh exited through the elevator doors and headed towards ballistics, glancing over to the DNA lab as she passed by. Valera was looking at her computer screen with Ryan, and Natalia was nowhere in sight, but that didn't worry her. There were a lot of reasons and different places that Natalia could be. Stopping by the break room for a bottle of juice, she found her answer.
Standing in front of the window, looking out over the water fountain splashing outside, Natalia stood with her arms crossed, lost in thought. She was wearing white slacks with a pale green and white flowered shirt and was toying with the necklace that Calleigh had given her for their wedding, the one with the emerald that matched her wife's eyes.
"A penny for your thoughts, darlin'."
Turning, Natalia saw that Calleigh was leaning against the door jam, with a mischievous glint in her eyes. It took all of Natalia's willpower not to walk over and kiss the blonde senseless.
With her own eyes glinting, she teased back. "Now wouldn't you like to know?"
Not moving from the doorway, Calleigh's eyes grew dark as she contemplated what her wife could be thinking about. Breathing deeply through her nose, she swallowed hard before she muttered.
"I think that I have a pretty good idea and you had better stay over there or we're gonna shock a lot of people."
As if on cue, Ryan shouldered past Calleigh. "Ah, come on guys! You know it does some serious damage to my ego when I think that I can never have a chance with two of the hottest chicks I know?"
Natalia walked past Ryan, running a finger along his arm. "Oh, please Ryan. Like your inflated ego can't take a hit from us." Walking past her wife, she whispered. "I'll see you later Cal. Love you."
Calleigh couldn't help herself as she watched her wife sashay down the hall. "Damn, she has a nice ass."
As if Natalia heard her, she turned and winked at Calleigh over her shoulder.
Taking a deep breath, Calleigh finally walked into the break room and grabbed the bottle of juice. "She's right, ya know?"
Laughing Ryan agreed. "Well, you got me there, but I'm happy that I lost you guys to each other, 'cause you really make a great couple."
Walking over to the young man, Calleigh gave him a quick hug. "Thanks. How's your day been going?"
Hugging the blonde back, he joined her walking towards ballistics. "Not too bad. We got the arsonist of the warehouse fire. It was the owner's son. He was upset that daddy had taken away his new jet boat so he decided to get even."
Stopping right before they got to ballistics, Calleigh turned to her friend. "Listen, I need to know. How is Eric taking everything? We're trying to stay as far away as possible to give him time, but I know that he's a brooder, and he's gonna twist and turn all of this in his mind until he gets things to his satisfaction."
Pulling at his ear, Ryan looked down at the ground for a moment before he looked back up at the blonde. "Umm, he's not saying anything straight out, just a lot of innuendos and snide remarks. If you want me to be honest Cal, I think that he's on a short fuse and I don't know what will set him off. I'd watch out for quite a while."
Calleigh gave him a quick hug. "Thanks, we're gonna. I'll talk with you later."
She continued on to ballistics while Ryan turned to go to trace. He hadn't taken more than a couple of steps when Eric's voice came from behind him. "So you think that you can 'straighten' Cal out? Yeah, I can really see that you're doing a better job than me."
Ryan abruptly turned and stepped close to his friend. "What's wrong with you man? She's my friend; they're both my friends and I'm happy that they found each other. You just need to accept it and get on with your life."
Shaking his head, Ryan walked away, leaving Eric looking towards ballistics.
Later on that afternoon, Natalia was filing away some reports when her phone rang. "DNA Lab, DuVista."
Horatio's smooth voice came through the earpiece. "Ms. DuVista, would you mind coming up to my office for a few minutes?"
"I'll be right up."
A few minutes later, Natalia was walking into Horatio's office.
"Ms. DuVista, have a seat. It's time for your yearly review and I wanted to let you know that you are eligible to take the CSI 1 certification exam. And while I know that it is short notice, the exam is on Wednesday morning and there's a seat available for you."
Horatio nodded his head. "And Eric… Has he given you any problems?"
"No, none at all, I've seen him a couple of times, but he's always been professional. It looks like things are getting back to normal"
"I hope so Natalia, I do hope so."
They finished their conversation and Natalia was soon on her way. As she was walking down the stairs, her phone chirped. Looking at the caller ID, she smiled and answered, "Hey babe."
Calleigh's silky Southern voice caressed her ear, "Hey darlin', are you almost on your way home?"
"Yeah, I'm headed to my locker and then on my way to you."
"Oh the visual I get with that statement… Anyways… How do you feel about grilled chicken and vegetables? I had a sudden urge to grill."
Natalia chuckled, "Well, I want you to give in to all of your urges so go ahead a grill."
A slow moan came over the earpiece. "All my urges, huh? Hurry home and I'll show you a few more."
"I'll be there as soon as I can. Do you need me to pick up anything?"
"Just me when you get home. Drive careful."
Laughing, Natalia closed her phone and walked into the locker room, grabbed her purse and was soon headed towards home.
After pulling the car into the garage and closing the door, Natalia walked through the kitchen to hear Latin music coming from the back yard. Coming around a corner, she found Calleigh, wearing a pair of black drawstring pants and a green bikini top, swaying in front of the grill to the rhythm of the music.
Walking up behind her wife, Natalia lightly placed her hands upon the swaying hips and matched her body to the movements. Leaning her head down, she nuzzled a sensitive spot under the blonde's ear, murmuring. "I do love the way that you move."
Reaching up to wind her arm around Natalia's neck, Calleigh moved her neck slightly to allow Natalia more access to her skin. "Mmm, and I love moving against you."
Wrapping her arms around her wife, Natalia pressed kisses along Calleigh's throat and jaw, all the while moving with the music. They stayed that way for the longest time, swaying to the music, Calleigh eventually turning in Natalia's embrace and draping her arms about her wife's shoulders.
"So how was your day darlin'? Any problems?"
Shaking her head, Natalia answered, "No, I sat down when I could. How about you, are your eyes giving you any problems?"
Reaching up to caress Natalia's face, Calleigh took a moment to gaze at her wife, "Not really, they get a bit tired by the end of the day, but nothing to be alarmed at. As long as I can see this beautiful face, I'm great."
"Hmm, well make sure that you keep your appointment on Wednesday, which reminds me. Horatio arranged for me to take the CSI 1 certification exam Wednesday also."
Rising up on her toes to place a kiss on her wife's lips, Calleigh drawled. "Oh, congratulations darlin'. I know that you'll do great. Its two hundred questions and you have three hours to finish. It's about stuff that you already do every day, so you've got it made."
"From your lips to God's ear."
Smirking, Calleigh replied, "I'd rather it be from my lips to yours."
"Oh really?"
Threading her fingers in golden hair, Natalia swiped her tongue against Calleigh's bottom lip and was pulled into a warm, willing mouth to duel with Calleigh's tongue. Moaning, the brunette angled her head and deepened the kiss while pulling the blonde harder against her. The kiss went on until they had to take a breath, and Calleigh moved her lips along a bronze jaw until she paused against a pulse point.
"Yes really…whew. I do love the way that we kiss." was breathed into Natalia's ear.
"Me too… How long until the chicken is done?"
Calleigh looked down at her watch. "I put it on about fifteen minutes before you got here so I would say in about an hour and a half. Why?"
"Would you mind lying down with me and just holding me for awhile?"
Looking worried, Calleigh put her hands on Natalia's hips. "Are you alright darlin'?"
"I'm fine babe. I just want to be held for a while. Nothing's wrong, I promise you."
Holding out her hand, Calleigh led her wife inside to their bedroom and lay down on their bed, watching as Natalia kicked off her shoes and started to lie down with her.
Calleigh briefly closed her eyes, and when she opened them back up, her wife was walking out buttoning up an old long sleeve oxford shirt that barely reached the top of her thighs.
"I still can't believe that you bought that at a second hand store."
"I just couldn't resist when I saw it. It's so comfortable and it covers everything."
Calleigh knew that the stress of work was taking a lot of out Natalia, that she wasn't one hundred percent recovered from Jethro yet. Nightmares still plagued her from time to time, but they were getting scarce.
Lying there, Calleigh let her mind wander over the past few months and all of the changes that their lives had gone through. It still amazed her that they had both found happiness with each other and had been under each other's noses for so long. They had gone through Jake, Nick, and even Eric before their revelation, but in her mind; it was worth the wait.
Calleigh stayed there as long as she dared before she had to get up to take the chicken off the grill and put the vegetables on. Carefully, she moved out from underneath her still slumbering wife, quietly made her way into the kitchen for the sliced vegetables, and then out to the grill. Removing the chicken and replacing it with the veggies, Calleigh quickly grilled them up and got everything plated and inside on the dining table before going back into the bedroom.
As she walked through the door, she saw that Natalia had turned to face the entrance, so Calleigh went and kneel beside the bed to brush the caramel colored hair from her face.
"Darlin', dinner is ready. Do you wanna stay here for a bit longer?"
Mumbling softly, Natalia reaching up to wipe at her face, "Uh uh, I'll get up. Just give me a few minutes and I'll be right there."
Placing a gentle kiss on her forehead, Calleigh stood up and headed back towards the dining room. She had only been seated for a moment before Natalia came out with a pair of shorts on underneath her shirt and sat down.
"Wow babe! This looks great and I'm starved."
During dinner, Natalia asked Calleigh what type of questions were on the exam, and they discussed a few examples. After dinner, Natalia did the dishes while Calleigh cleaned the grill, then afterwards they relaxed on the sofa, watching 'Rear Window' with Grace Kelly & Jimmy Stewart.
When the final credits began to roll, Calleigh looked down to see Natalia sound asleep with her head in Calleigh's lap. Running her fingers through her hair, Calleigh gently woke her up and led her to bed and they were soon both fast asleep.