Choices 6B/?, CSI Miami, Calleigh/Natalia, NC-17

[sinjenkai]

Title: Choices 6B/?
Pairing: Calleigh/Natalia
Rating: NC-17
Disclaimer: I don't own them, but I spend a lot of time with them. This is gonna get really dark folks, so consider yourselves forewarned. Archiving: P & P, DuVista, women_in_kevlar, all others please ask. Next in my series. Many thanks to Soul_Caged aka Complete_Machine for being my new writing partner. This is not beta’d so all mistakes are ours.


As they pulled up to the Complex, Natalia looked down at Calleigh to see her looking off into space. She can just tell that her wife is trying to figure out the next move in catching Eric. “You can’t do it all by yourself, babe. You need to let Gray and Jordan do what they do best. They have people out on the streets, looking for him.”

“I know, I just feel helpless.”

Grayson exited the vehicle, and held the door open for them silently, her sunglasses showing the reflection of the Miami skyline behind them. Grayson smelled the salt in the air, the tinge of the gasoline in the air. She took a deep breath trying to relax and stay calm.

Going up to the second floor, Calleigh’s stomach rumbled loud enough for all of the occupants to hear.

Laughing, Natalia turned to Grayson. “Would you mind if I whipped us up something to eat? Calleigh told me that you have a state of the art kitchen.”

Grayson motioned towards the kitchen with a wave of her hand while she walked into the living room, taking off her jacket, dropping it on the couch, and opening up all the windows.

Going into the kitchen, Natalia started to open the refrigerator when she remembered that she needed to call her father. Leaning against a counter, she opened her cell phone and punched in some numbers. After waiting a few moments, her father came on the line.

As calmly as she could, Natalia explain the situation, and that Christine and her family were on their way to him. When he insisted that she join them, Natalia tried to explain to him that she was safer where she was. She assured him that Calleigh was doing everything possible to keep them both safe, and that they had hired bodyguards and private detectives to help them out. Alejandro still demanded that she leave the area, but Natalia explained that he needed to respect her decision, and that she was staying right where she was.

Calleigh could tell that her wife was getting upset, so she reached for the phone, and started to explain. “Alejandro... Hi... Yes sir, I understand your concern, but I promise that we are both in very capable hands and will call you every day... No sir, I’m not taking this lightly... Well, not exactly... Horatio is aware of the situation... Yes sir... I will... Thank you... Good Bye.”

Grayson threw open most of the windows, and pulled the holster off her shoulders, setting the gun down on the countertop. She looked silently at Calleigh, and then at Natalia’s stress ridden form. Turning around, she left them quietly, she wasn’t really that hungry to begin with, she sat down on a large black leather couch, facing an open window, examining the vivid scars on her knuckles.

Closing the phone, Calleigh went to stand next to Natalia, who was leaning with her elbows on the counter, with her head in her hands.

“Darlin’, he’s just worried. He wants us both to be safe.”

“It’s what parents are supposed to do.. WORRY.” Came Grayson’s gruff voice from the living area.

Natalia turned in that direction. “I know that they are supposed to worry, Grayson. I just wish that he didn’t have to go through it. I wish that none of us had to go through this.” Turning towards their borrowed bedroom, she continued. “I wish that Eric didn’t have a fucking bullet moving in his head, and didn’t have some wild fantasies about my wife. All I want is to love Calleigh and to get to know my cousins. Is that too much to FUCKING ASK FOR?”

Grayson stared after Natalia for a long moment, and then finally spoke. “That proves it, you have Cerano blood. You have our temper. Natty.. Talia.. it’s not too much to ask for, but everyone has their fight.” Grayson called after her.

“You’re not helping.” Calleigh told Grayson in a singsong voice.

“The only family I’ve ever known has had twenty-five years to perfect it with me, so cut me some slack, Short Stack..” Grayson glared at Calleigh half-heartedly. It was true, what did she know about children, feelings, and things like that? “Besides she’s your wife.. what do you suggest I say to her?” Grayson raged somewhat pitifully.

Stopping in her tracks, Calleigh abruptly turned to go stand in front of the young woman. “What do I want you to say to her? I don’t want you to say a fucking word to her right now. I appreciate that you’re a big, bad hit man... woman, whatever, and that you can kill me with one flick of your finger, but there are times when you just need to be quiet. Neither one of us are as hard-hearted as you, we feel a lot. I’m sorry that you have a violent family, but Natalia has a very loving family that cares about her well-being. So please, think before you spout off, or you’ll regret it.”

Grayson effectively shut up. She stared at Calleigh before standing, putting up her hands, palms outwards, facing the blonde. She backed away silently towards the elevator, leaving the couple in solitude.

Calleigh turned to finally make her way to her wife. Looking through the door, she saw Natalia standing in front of one of the bookcases. Now that she had the time, Calleigh took a good look at Grayson’s room. The bed is on a raised dais in the center of the room, oak four poster bed with hunter green sheets and burgundy comforter, the room itself is modeled after a library, all the walls are shelves of books on almost everything, hunting, literature, philosophy, poetry, history, art. A massive steel Cerano crest with the family colors and motto hanging on the wall over two fencing swords. An iPod was on the dresser next to the only picture in the room. Grayson and a young woman were fighting in a ring, oblivious to the camera.

Going to stand next to her wife, Calleigh reached forward to pull out a history book on feudal Japan. “Your cousin’s mouth engages before her brain does, but she’s young and will hopefully learn.”

When Natalia spoke, Calleigh could hear the tremor in her voice that would eventually give way to tears. “It’s in her blood. I’m hoping she’ll grow out of it too.” Natalia smiled a little bit, trying to fight away the wave of emotion that threatened to pull her under.

“Darlin’, if she’s anything like you, she ain’t never gonna to grow out of it, so she’s just gonna have to learn.” Putting back the book, Calleigh pulled Natalia into her embrace. “You’ve turned out real well, so I have high hopes for her.”

Natalia melted into Calleigh’s body, her arms naturally circling the lithe body in front of her, bringing their foreheads together, she whispered softly. “I have hopes that she lives past her next birthday.” The taller brunette closed her eyes, just holding Calleigh to her.

Biting her tongue, Calleigh thought to herself. ‘I hope that we all make it to our next birthdays’. Rubbing her hands up Natalia’s back, Calleigh nuzzled the tender spot underneath her wife’s ear. “Talia, we’ll get though all of this together, but right now, I need something to eat, so let’s go see what they have in their kitchen.”

Natalia agreed, and let her wife lead her towards the kitchen. Silently she noticed Grayson was nowhere to be seen, though that would most likely change once she smelt food, if she was anything like Natalia.

The two women opened the double doors to the refrigerator, checked out its contents and decided on hamburgers with bacon, avocado, salsa and a Caesar salad. So while Natalia fried the burgers and the bacon, Calleigh took care of making the salsa and the salad. When she had finished, she told Natalia that she was going downstairs to find Grayson.

The stormy brunette was at the farthest end of the garage, far away from any of the occupied lifts. She had a bull’s eye hung on a far wall and from forty feet away she was chunking pieces of razor sharp steel into the bull’s eye. Each knife landed in the wood almost to the hilt making a dull thud every few seconds.

Walking up behind Grayson, Calleigh watched for a few moments, before coughing loud enough to get attention. “Lunch is ready.”

Grayson threw the last knife hardest of all, so hard in fact, that it went through the bulls eye, and the metal tip penetrated through the other side, making a sharp ping off the steel pillar. Grayson left them where they were, and walked past Calleigh silently, her stomach grumbling.

Calleigh turned and silently followed. Neither on saying anything in the elevator. Letting Grayson get the gate, Calleigh led the way into the kitchen where Natalia was finishing up.

Turning to her cousin, Natalia asked. “Is Jordan coming back anytime soon?”

“No, he’ll be gone until I go to work tonight.” Grayson’s reply was short. She wasn’t actually in the mood for talking at all. It was something her brother respected, her ability to turn her emotions on and off at the flick of her wrist.

Natalia didn’t bat an eye as she handed the young woman a plate with the burger and salad, then directed her to sit down at the table. After handing two more plates to Calleigh, she picked up three tall glasses and placed them on the table.

Calleigh grinned when she realized what her wife had fixed, and quickly took a big swallow.

Sitting down, Natalia spread a napkin on her lap while saying, “I hope that you like chocolate and peanut butter shakes.”

Grayson took her time chewing, thinking mostly to herself about Calleigh verbally handing her an ass whopping. She understood though, she wasn’t really the best with her words. Words weren’t really her thing, it was always about punching, shooting, driving, escaping; feelings and advice were a whole new area to her... unless you wanted advice on how to have someone disappear.

Finally swallowing after a long few minutes she looked at rest of the hamburger. “I don’t eat sweets.” She murmured taking another large bite chewing again, her eyes fixed on something out the window on the skyline. If Eric wanted to play dirty, she could play dirtier.

Reaching over, Calleigh snagged the shake in front of Grayson, placing it in front of her plate before getting up to go over to the fridge. “Water, juice, milk or what?”

“I’m fine.” Grayson snatched a bottle of water out from under the cupboard. She knew how this worked, even though they were family, they had cop like tactics, Grayson thought with a smile. ‘Oh, please let me make you more comfortable, food, drink? Ha’. Grayson’s pride was a little wounded, and instead of opening her mouth and making it worse, she thought it wise for the first time in her life to just stay quiet.

Shaking her head, Natalia knew what Grayson was thinking, and smiled. It really wasn’t that hard to figure out; Calleigh had called her out on her actions so Grayson was sulking while thinking that they were trying to get back in her good graces by feeding her. Maybe one day, she would realize that they actually cared for her and her brother.

Finishing their sandwiches, both Natalia and Calleigh pushed back their plates and enjoyed the remaining shakes, slurping down the last drops.

Calleigh couldn’t resist. “Thanks for not drinking yours. Usually Natalia won’t let me have more than one, but what the heck.”

Grayson finished her burger while the ignoring the slurping noises coming from Calleigh. She wiped the corners of her mouth neatly before folding her napkin into a small square. “You’re welcome. I’ll do the dishes since you cooked.” Grayson lifted the plates, glasses, and silverware into her hands, and laid it all in the sink, starting up the hot water.

Natalia stood up to grab a wet towel to wipe down the table, and playfully wipe Calleigh’s face clean of her chocolate mustache. Chuckling, she made her way over to the sink, there she grabbed another towel and started to dry the dishes.

Finishing up the dishes in relative calm, and quiet, Grayson took all the dishes her cousin had dried, and put them back in their respective cabinets. Then she made sure to feed the dogs since she’d forgotten to do so in the confusion of the early morning, filling up their giant steel water bowls.

Natalia stopped Grayson as she started to walk away. “Gray, wait a moment please.”

The young woman stopped, but didn’t turn around.

Pausing for a moment, Natalia continues. “I know that this is hard for you. To think that you are on a simple bodyguard job, then to find out that they’re family, it’s a lot to take in.”

Slowly going around in front of her cousin, Natalia tried to gauge if she’s getting through, but it’s impossible to tell by the lack of expression on Gray’s face, so she continued.

“I know that you have every reason to not trust cops, but right now, neither Calleigh nor I are officers. Right now, we’re your family, and as your family, Calleigh was just letting you know that don’t always have to say what’s on your mind. I shouldn’t have gone off on you, and for
that I apologize. And I also wanted to thank you for opening up your home, and giving up your room to us. We can never repay you for your hospitality.”

Putting her hand on Grayson’s shoulder, Natalia leaned down to place a gentle kiss on her cheek, and then turned to walk away.

As badly as Grayson wanted to, as much as she needed to tell them both, ‘I trust you, you’re welcome, and anything you need’ she couldn’t. It was physically impossible for her to utter those words. Fifteen years of ingrained training wouldn’t allow her to begrudge a flicker of emotion across her blank face. Outwardly, she was the picture of perfection, calm and serene. Inwardly, Grayson was a hurricane force of emotions, and words, but it all went unsaid as she sighed, and headed back down to the garage, silently.

Natalia headed towards their temporary bedroom, determined to see if Grayson was right about her bed being a black hole. After all of the excitement this morning, all she really wanted to do was to lie down for a while, and relax.

Pushing away from the table, Calleigh washed the final glass, dried it off, and put it away before following her wife. As she walked into the bedroom, she found her just getting comfortable under the green sheets.

“Hey Darlin’, did you take your vitamins this morning?”

Putting her hand over her face, Natalia muttered, “No, I didn’t, and I don’t even believe that I brought them with me. Can you ask Gray to call Jordan to see if he could bring them with him when he comes home?”

Kissing Natalia on the forehead, Calleigh whispered. “Not a problem. You just take it easy for a while. I’ll be downstairs if you need me.”

“I’ll always need you, and want you even more, but I will call you if something comes up.”

Calleigh laughed. “The feeling is mutual, Darlin’. See you in a bit.” And with that, Calleigh made her way downstairs to find Grayson.

The downstairs was thick with the Miami humidity, with the tangy smell of gasoline and motor oil in the air. All the bay doors were thrown open, and Led Zepplin was playing softly in the background. The sound of a wrench being tweaked hard every few seconds gave Calleigh a clue to where Grayson was. And as she came around the corner, she saw Grayson’s long legs jutting out from under the body of the ‘67 Mustang, her feet rolled limply to the side, everything from the waist up was underneath the car.

“Grayson, I hate to bother you, but do you think that you could contact Jordan to ask him if he would bring the pill bottles that are near the sink back here with him?”

Grayson pulled out her Blackberry, laid it on the pavement next to Calleigh’s foot, and went back to tightening the bolts on the body of the car.

“Mmkay.” Leaning down, Calleigh picked up the phone, and started to scroll through the phone book. Finally finding Jordan’s name, she pressed talk button and waited for him to answer.

“Hey Gray! Their nosey neighbors are annoying as hell.” Jordan answered back as soon as he picked up the phone, thinking it was his sister.

Chuckling, Calleigh answered back. “They may be, but they are a hell of a neighborhood watch during daylight and evening hours.”

“Oh hey SS, what’s the deal?” Jordan leaned against the fence, watching twelve men attempting to strip the DuVista house of red paint.

“Hey Bear; would you please bring the pill bottles that are near the kitchen sink? We forgot them this morning.”

“I will defiantly bring them when we’re done here. Is there anything else I can bring you?” He replied back kindly.

Calleigh almost said, ‘A personality change for your sister’, but she refrained. “No, that’s it. How are things going there?”

“We’re getting the first couple of layers of paint off the house; we’re going to have to repaint the whole thing. You sound stressed out, is everything alright, Calleigh?” Jordan’s voice sounded slightly worried towards the end.

“Yeah, just peachy. Well, thanks for what you’re doing.” Calleigh sighed.

“Grayson isn’t the only one who knows how to read people Calleigh; we’ll be having a nice long chat when I get home tonight.” Jordan replied to her exasperated sigh. His tone left no room for any argument.

“Well then, someone needs a refresher course. See you when you get here. Be careful please.” Calleigh cautioned.

“She takes awhile to get used to Shorty. I’ll see you tonight.” Jordan said his farewells, disconnecting the call.

Sighing, Calleigh put the phone back in the same spot that she picked it up from. “Thank you... Is there anything that I can do to help?”

Grayson didn’t say anything for a few moments, silent seconds ticked by before she slid out from under the car, staring hard at Calleigh. She still didn’t say anything, nodding to rows of tools in the towering toolboxes; she slid back under the car.

Standing with her hands on her hips, Calleigh sarcastically asked. “Yes, those are tools. And I’m supposed to do what with them?”

“Coveralls are under the last bench on the left.” was all Grayson said in way of explanation.

Going over to the last bench, Calleigh found the coveralls, and pulled them over her jeans and t-shirt. Rolling up the legs past her ankles, then the sleeves up to her elbows, she went back to stand next to the car. “Okay, now what?”

“Get down here, and give me a hand.” Grayson responded, moving over slightly to the side, making room for the blonde.

Sitting on the floor, Calleigh leaned back and scooted next to her in-law. “What do you need me to do?”

Grayson sorely wanted to tell the blonde to stop testing her patience because it wasn’t infinite, she choose different words though. “I’m attempting to tighten the bolts around the bottom of the chassis so I can lower the engine further into the car.” She handed the blonde a socket wrench, and pointed to several bolts a few inches above their heads.

“Okay, not a problem. Tighten it is.”

Grayson went back to her own work, shifting her body further away from the blonde, and reaching for a different wrench, preferring to work in silence than to talk. In the garage, she preferred to spend her time in silence.

After tightening the bolts to the best of her ability, Calleigh coughed to get Grayson’s attention. “What’s next?”

After making sure all the bolts were nice and tight like they should be, Grayson slid out from under the car and leaned over the open hood. Since Calleigh’s hands were so small, it was easier for her to maneuver the engine down into the correct space, while Grayson lowered the three hundred and ninety cubic inch 6.4L V-8 engine onto the bolts. “Don’t let it hit the sides, please.” After making sure that it sat perfectly, she slid back under the car, seeking out the motor mounts.

“Is it in the right spot?”

Grayson grunted an affirmative, and moved around, checking each motor mount, making sure it perfectly tightened. She didn’t want to sacrifice the power of the car because the engine was swinging around inside. She reached up, and unhooked the chains from around the massive heart of the car and tossed them out over the body, hearing them hit the floor. She handed Calleigh, yet another wrench, and pointed to several more bolts that needed to be tightened, now that the chains were out of the way.

Leaning over the engine, Calleigh reached to tighten the bolts, but found that the only way that she could do that was to almost lying on the side of the car, with her feet off the floor.

Grayson reached for her digital camera underneath a nearby toolbox, making sure Calleigh wasn’t looking, and turned the flash off. She tried to catch the perfect angle after aligning the photo. Snapping it quietly, she thought it would make a fantastic gift along with the car when she handed both the photo and the keys to the couple.

“What are you doing?” Calleigh caught a glimpse of Grayson, putting something away.

Grayson just smiled humorlessly, and slid back under the car with another socket wrench.

“Hey! What am I supposed to be doing up here?” Calleigh called out.

“Making sure you don’t drop a giant piece of steel onto my skull... for starters.” Grayson sighed. She reached up, took Calleigh’s hand, and moved it towards a bolt she hadn’t noticed before. The younger woman then slid out from under the car, and leaned down to admire their handiwork. “Not bad DuVista.”

Calleigh smiled, crossing her arms over her chest. “Thanks Cerano, so what’s next?”

“Right now, nothing. Jordan will be home in an hour, I need a shower before work.” Grayson looked at Calleigh out of the corner of her eye. “What color should I paint it do you think? I haven’t decided yet.”

“Oh, I don’t know. Mine was a midnight blue, but a black car is always hot, and we all know that you look good in black.”

The tips of Grayson’s ears turned slightly pink, but that was about all that happened by way of expression. “I’ll keep your opinion under advisement. Let’s go grab a change of clothes, I’m sure we stink.”

Calleigh couldn’t help, but chuckle. “Now suga’, don’t you know that Southern women don’t sweat. We perspire.”

Grayson arched an eyebrow, still no smile though. She left well enough alone, and started cleaning up the mess, putting away any tools that were still left out.

Walking around the car, Calleigh made sure that they didn’t leave any tools or loose items. Picking up a wrench that she found almost underneath a tire, she took it over to Grayson.

The brunette in turn, grunted in response, and took the wrench, stowing it away in the giant Craftsman toolbox. Grayson peeled off the black mechanic’s gloves, throwing them into a bin, and walking towards the sink to wash what little oil was on her hands off under some warm water.

Sighing, Calleigh shook her head and started towards the elevator.

“DuVista.” Grayson ground out. She had to say something, she knew the blonde thought she was a heartless bitch, it was true, for the most part. Grayson motioned her back with a nod of her head.

“Yeah. what’s up?”

Grayson dried her hands off, thinking carefully what to say. “What I said upstairs...” She looked at the floor, damn it, she didn’t do emotional or anything remotely near it. “It was out of line and you were right saying what you did.” There it was out, thank God. Grayson dropped the towel on the workbench, and walked towards the elevator. Throwing it open, she waited for the blonde patiently.

Grinning, Calleigh walked past and lightly punched her on the shoulder. “Not a problem. It’s in the past. You learn, I learn, we move on. Hey! Do you still have beer in the fridge?”

“Yes.” Grayson closed the gate behind her, and looked at the offending shoulder. Jordan showed affection towards her like that, she wondered if the blonde wanted her to return the favor, though more than likely it wouldn’t be wise on her part. One mistake in her calculations, and she’d cripple the CSI. Oh well, she shrugged to herself, and walked out of the elevator towards Jordan’s bedroom.

Heading into the kitchen, Calleigh opened the fridge, found a beer, and opened it. Closing her eyes, she almost moaned with her first swallow. Leaning against the counter, she smiled slightly as she thought back to Grayson admission. She knew that it took a lot for her to say what she did, and that in itself was a big deal. With the second swallow, she went over what she told Natalia’s father. She didn’t exactly lie to the man, but she did give him the impression that Horatio knew what was going on... Shaking her head, Calleigh sent a quick prayer to cover her lie.

One more swallow, then Calleigh poured the rest of the beer down the sink, and headed to her wife. Opening the door, she squinted to see Natalia’s form underneath the sheet. Quietly, walking over, she looked down at her peaceful face, loathe waking her so she instead turned, and headed towards the bathroom. She opened the door, and literally skidded to a stop. The shower was running, and the room was steamy, so Calleigh quietly backed out and closed the door. Damn! She didn’t know that the bedroom shared the bath. That would have been quite interesting.

Turning around, she went and sat on the floor where she could watch her wife sleeping.