Fic: White Light, Chapter 1 (CSI Miami, Eric Delko / Ryan Wolfe)
Title: White Light, Chapter 1
Pairing: Ryan Wolfe / Eric Delko
Rating: PG
Disclaimer: Not mine, etc.
Feedback: Always Welcome
Notes: Inspired by the movie Just Like Heaven
CSI Miami Main List
“Is there bloodstains?”
“No.”
“Brain matter?”
“No.”
“Hair?”
“Speed.”
“Yeah?”
“You’re stalling. You said you’ll help me, so grab a box and move your ass. And I got movers to handle the really heave stuff, furniture’s already inside.” Eric grabbed one of the moving boxes from the back of the van and headed to the front door.
“At least tell me you got an elevator!”
“Shut up.”
Speed followed him up the stairs, grunting like a badly maintained steam engine. Finally they reached the third floor and Eric had to put his box down to dig out his keys.
“If I get a heart attack, I’ll come back to haunt you…”
“Be grateful for the exercise. Maybe I should charge you for it.” Eric opened the door and walked in. “Maybe you’ll loose your love handles.”
“They’re here for a reason.” Speed hesitated at the door. “Did they clean the place up before you signed the lease? I get enough of gore at work, I don`t wanna see it on my time off.”
“For the last time: The guy didn’t die here!”
“Are you sure?”
“He’s not even really dead.”
“How dead can you be if you’re not alive?”
“Remember that hostage situation couple months ago?”
“Yeah.”
“That guy was one of the cops on the scene. Got a bullet lodged in his head.”
“So he’s… you know…”
“What?”
“Balloon without helium? Player without the disc? Drooling vegetable? Brain-dead?”
“How should I know? Last I heard, he’s comatose.”
“And?”
“And what? The guy’s in a coma with a piece metal in his head for three months. That`s like Land of the living dead, without the walking corpses.”
“And you rented his place?”
“He was renting it from his uncle, and the old geezer didn’t wanna keep this place empty. They packed up his stuff in storage and I’m moving in. End of story.”
“Face it, man. Gary Copster is on a permanent leave in La-La-Land and you’re moving in. That’s really cold or really lucky.”
“He’s not coming back and why would they keep the place sitting here empty? This is close to the lab and the rent’s reasonable.” Eric eyed the white walls. “And bland as hell, but I can’t paint it. I asked.”
“What would you do, paint flowers on the walls to match your wardrobe?”
“Really funny, Speed. Pick a box and start unpacking.”
-------------------------------------
Eric hung his head down and let the water run over him. The warm shower did wonders for his tensed muscles and he silently congratulated himslef for his decision to hop in as soon as he had booted Speed out. His fears about the state of the apartment had vanished when he had seen it, but he had been genuinely surprised when he had stepped into the shove stall. Even after few months it looked cleaner than Eric’s old place at it’s best. He shut down the water and reached his hand out between the glass doors to reach the towel hanging on the wall.
“Come on, don’t be shy. You already rummaged my apartment, we’re like old buddies.”
Eric lost his balance and fell out of the shower to the cold tile floor. He got up as soon as he could, grabbed the towel and held it in front of him.
“Put your hands up and come forward, I’m armed!”
“You left your gun to the bedroom, and what you have under the towel… that’s not much of a weapon. In the bathroom or in the bedroom.” The voice laughed and Eric’s felt blood rushing up to his face. He wasn’t sure if it was caused by embarrassment or anger.
“I haven’t had any complaints!”
“Is that the best comeback you can think of?”
Eric wrapped the towel around his waist and approached the door. He peeked his head out carefully, but the apartment was empty. He quickly checked all the rooms, but he couldn’t find anything out of place. His gun was on the nightstand in its holster, just the way he had left it.
“Be careful with that thing, or you’ll hurt yourself.”
The voice seemed to come out of nowhere.
“Where the hell are you?!”
“Come here…” The bathroom door opened slowly.
“I’m going crazy…” Eric stared at the door, his mouth hanging open. “That’s the only explanation.” He walked into the bathroom and waited. “Okay, deep breaths. Count to ten, mental illnesses are nothing to be ashamed of-”
“Look in the mirror.”
Eric glanced at the mirror. His reflection looked panicked and wide-eyed. Slowly a foggy figure appeared behind his back.
A dark-haired young man.
He twirled around, but the bathroom was empty. Eric turned back to mirror again, and the man gave him a crooked grin.
“I don’t know about you, Delko, but I haven’t had this much fun in a long time.”
“What the hell are you?”
“Maybe I’m the ghost of Christmases past. No… wrong time of year…” The ghostly vision pondered with a heave layer of mischief. “Maybe a poltergeist? Or maybe I’m a symptom of a brain tumour and you only have a week to live.” His laughter sounded slightly unreal. “No, that can’t be it. You’d need a brain for that… Maybe you’re just going crazy.”
“I’m not awake, this is a dream.” Eric closed his eyes and repeated it like a mantra. “I’m not awake, this is a dream, I’m not-” “
“Keep telling yourself that, this is fun.”
“Wait…” A sudden thought came to Eric. “You called me Delko. You know who I am.”
“Sure I do. Should I be insulted you don’t remember me?” The vision chuckled. “Of course you were too busy to notice me. Your main concern was how to pick a right colour wetsuit, and would white neoprene make your ass look big.”
“What are you-” Eric paused. Suddenly a short flash of recognition hit him. “I’ve seen you. In a uniform.”
“Give yourself a gold star, you actually managed to remember someone you’ve seen time after time.”
“You’re a cop, aren’t you?”
“Well… sometimes. I’ve been keeping a low profile for a while.” The man shrugged and grinned widely. “Almost bored myself to death.”
“Death?” Eric repeated. He couldn’t keep his voice from shaking.
“Almost. I was pretty mad at you when they packed up all my stuff and sent them away, but I got over it. Being here alone day after day makes time go really slowly.”
“You’re here all the time?”
“Where else would I go?” He stated and gave Eric an unreadable glare. “You’re my only entertainment.”
“You know what?” Eric growled and turned to face the man. This time he didn’t vanish. The man stood in front of him. “I don’t care what you are. If you’re a hallucination, don’t come here unless I’m drunk. If you’re a ghost, walk to the white light or whatever you do. Just get the hell out of here.”
“I’m not going anywhere.”
Eric tried to grab the man, but his hands went right thought the foggy flesh. The man let out a throaty chuckle. Eric tried again, looking at his hand wandering through the vision`s shoulder. In the moist haze of the steamed up bathroom, the lines between the man and the mist seemed to fade.
“And if I heard correctly, you told your pal you signed a lease for a year, so you’re stuck. Too bad for you. But good for me.” He smirked again, looking absolutely thrilled. “It’s like having a roommate: Keep me happy and I’ll leave you alone.”
“What do you want?”
“Think about it. And remember, I’m keeping an eye on you.”
The vision faded into the a cloud of mist, disappearing slowly.
Chapter 2