Fic: Long Distance Calls - Part 2: Washington D.C.
Title: Long Distance Calls - Part II: Washington D.C.
Author: Steppenwolf_20
Fandom: CSI:Miami/Criminal Minds
Pairing: Calleigh Duquesne/Jennifer Jareau friendship with mentioning of JJ/Emily and Cal/Nat
Disclaimer: None of the beautiful ladies are mine. No infringement intended.
Rating: PG
Word count: 3294
Warnings: There’s mentioning of JJ/Will and Calleigh/Jake in this part. Sorry. I’ll make it up to you.
Setting: This is set after CSI:M 7.01 Resurrection and CM 2.23 No Way Out II: Evolution Of Frank
Spoiler: see setting
A/N: This is a follow up to “The Barbie Murders” (link is provided with the first part of this installment). This is part 2 of those intermezzi.
A/N 2: Please keep in mind that Ryan is gone and I had to make some adjustments.
Archive: Women_in_kevlar,
Thanks: to my beta!smurf yellowsmurf6 for being awesome when I freak out *g*
A/N3: I'm without my beta!smurf for most of March. So I can't really say when the next part will be posted.
Miami
Calleigh Duquesne entered her apartment and kicked off her shoes. ‘Finally home.’ She went to the kitchen where she dropped her keys and mp3 player on the counter. Looking at the clock on the microwave, she saw that it was past 9 p.m. already. Seeing Jake again had rattled her more than she anticipated, so she had gone for a run at the beach. She must’ve run farther than she realized. She took a quick shower and came back to her kitchen again, where she opened the fridge. There wasn’t much in it besides some milk, eggs, and a lonely bottle of beer. She really should have stopped at the store. Well, she would have to go shopping the next day. She grabbed the beer and sat down at the counter, a sigh escaping her. She took a sip of the beer and started looking through the mail she had dropped here earlier. Half of it was junk and the other half were bills. She left all of the envelopes on the counter, grabbed her beer, and went to the living room. Her answering machine was blinking, so she plopped down on her couch and pressed play.
<< You have two new messages. Message one, Wednesday, seven forty-two p.m.>>
“Hey, Cal. It’s me, Natalia. I just wanted to say thanks again. You know…for not being mad at me about the Horatio thing? It’s good to know that you understand I couldn’t tell anyone, not even you. Call me if you wanna talk. See ya tomorrow.”
<>
“Hello, Calleigh, this is JJ. We had the worst case and I’m feeling horrible. Call me when you get this. Please. I need to talk. Love you.”
<>
Calleigh’s mood improved instantly. She hadn’t talked to JJ in two weeks, and she looked forward to the chance to talk to her again. Maybe talking to JJ would even help her sort through her feelings for Jake. She sent Natalia a short text, letting her know that she had been out for a run and that there was nothing she needed thanking for. She of all people knew how hard it was to keep crucial information under wraps. She finished by letting Nat know that she was about to JJ, and that she’d see her at the office tomorrow.
Natalia answered almost instantly that it was fine, and that Calleigh should pass her love to JJ and Emily.
The detective made herself more comfortable on the couch and dialed JJ’s cell. There was barely a ring before the younger agent answered.
“Agent Jareau,” JJ answered in her professional voice.
“Oh, I like it when you talk dirty to me,” Calleigh joked. “Say that again.” It was so good to hear her friend’s voice again.
“Calleigh! I’m really glad you called. The last few days have been crazy! Like a really bad dream.”
“Same here, but spill girl. What’s gotten you so wired?” Calleigh took another sip of her beer and steeled herself for the story that was about to come. She had learned a few things in the short time that she’d known JJ. Firstly, the BAU cases were never pretty. There was always some form of horror lurking around. And secondly, whatever it was, if it had gotten to JJ as much as it seemed, then it must be especially horrible.
“Oh God, I don’t even know where to start. Okay…we had this case a few months back in Nevada, in a small town in the middle of the desert. The unsub’s name was Frank, and we found out that he had killed countless women over a stretch of 30 years. He would drug them and take a rib bone as souvenir. There was one woman who survived - Jane. She’s a little nuts, to be honest. She thought she was abducted by aliens and had no fear, so that may be why Frank didn’t kill her. Instead, he brought her gifts…wind chimes. They were made out of the victims’ rib bones, and there were dozens of these chimes on Jane’s porch.
We knew Frank was the killer, but we had no solid proof. Gideon tried to outwit him, but Frank was a step ahead. He had kidnapped a school bus full of children, and he would only tell where they were if we gave him Jane and let the two of them leave. We really didn’t have any choice, and Jane went with him freely, although Gideon warned her that Frank would start killing again.
We heard nothing of Frank or any more of his killings for the next few months, but a few days ago, Frank came after Gideon. Jane must have left him, because he had started killing again. It seemed she was trying to search for Gideon, which was causing Frank to search for her, resulting in Gideon getting caught in his crosshairs. Frank framed Gideon by killing a long time friend of his in his own apartment, leading to him being wanted by the police. We knew it was Frank, but we obviously couldn’t investigate due to conflicting interest. We knew we were the only ones that had a chance, though, and we had to act quickly. Gideon wanted to come in, but Hotch convinced him to stay where he was and profile Frank instead. We had to find out his real name and more about his past if we had any chance of figuring out where he would go.”
“Wait a sec. So you completely went against protocol? That could have cost you your job, your career. All of you.” Calleigh interrupted.
“Yes, I know. But the police had no chance to catch up, and we already knew Frank. We couldn’t just let him go. Think about it, Cal. These people are more then mere co-workers to me. We spend so much time together and we have to trust each other so much. They are my family. I’d do anything to help and protect them. What would you have done?”
“Okay, I get your point. I’d have probably done the exact same thing. I’ve never experienced your whole team work a case, just you and Emily. And if that was any indication… you make one hell of a team.”
“Yeah, we do, don’t we?” Calleigh could hear JJ smile through the phone. “Where were we? Ah, yes. Hotch told Gideon to stay put while we tried to figure out the next steps. In the meantime, Frank started to kill off people we had saved in the past to pressure us into giving him Jane. Only, we didn’t have her. We had no idea where she was. And he had already killed one.
This made our new top priority Frank’s possible victims. Trying to warn them and keep them safe. We got a call from Metro that they had a woman in custody who demanded to talk to Agent Gideon. Emily and Reid went to interrogate her while I was sifting through tons of files to figure out who Frank’s next victim would be.”
“Um, sorry to interrupt again, but how did Frank know about the people you had saved? How did he know how to find them?”
“Oh, good question. As I said, he killed a friend of Gideon’s in his apartment. While Frank was there, he found Gideon’s little black book. He keeps it as a reminder of the people he has saved, as well as those he has lost. Frank took the list of the ones Gideon had saved.”
“Ah, okay. Keep going,” Calleigh gently urged.
“Long story short, we learned enough from Jane about Frank’s past to figure out where he lived, and Reid and I were able to save the girl he was keeping tied up in a closet there. We also found his dead mother’s mummified body. Creepy! In the meantime, the others went to the meeting point at the train station where Frank wanted to get his Jane back. Since we had the kid, he had nothing to pressure us further, so we thought we had won, right? Wrong. He persuaded Jane to join him, and they both jumped in front of an incoming train. Frank had killed another three people without us being able to catch him. I hope he rots in hell!”
“Oh God, Jayj, that’s awful. How are you holding up?”
“Well, Frank is dead. He won’t kill anyone else ever again. That has to count for something. Right?”
“Yeah. It’s good that he’s off the streets. It’s a shame that three innocent people had to die, though. You don’t blame yourself for their deaths, do you? Because you had to let him go the last time? Don’t do that to yourself, JJ.”
“Well, of course it’s tragic that they died. But we didn’t kill them, Frank did. I can’t let that get to me. No, it’s something totally unrelated.”
“What is it? Did you and Emily have a fight?”
“No. It has nothing to do with Emily. Or, maybe it has everything to do with her. I don’t know. When we came back to the office… We were all pretty shaken. Gideon the most, of course. After all, Frank had killed one of his friends. I guess I was lucky because Reid and I had actively saved someone. But when I heard what happened at the station, I was really shocked. So when I got a call from Will later that day, I accepted his invitation and flew to New Orleans for two days.”
“You did what? What about Emily?” Calleigh was really shocked. She didn’t see that one coming.
“Yes, I know. But, that’s the point. Well…kinda. Will is safe. We didn’t sleep together, we just had some fun. Being with him is easy, Cal. He’s funny and gentle; and he doesn’t poke. He just accepted what I offered. And he doesn’t do that profiling thing. I think I could love him.”
Calleigh was silent for a moment. She really hadn’t expected this.
“Listen, Jayj. If he helps you recover, that’s fine. But it won’t be enough after some time. You can’t just use him. That’s not fair.”
“So, you’re saying I should’ve slept with him?”
“No. That’s not what I meant at all. You’re in love with Emily. Everyone with eyes can see that. It’s not fair to fool around with Will just because you’re freaking out over the fact that Emily is a woman. It’s neither fair to Will, nor to Emily. And, it isn’t fair to yourself. You can’t have them both. Don’t let your fears rule your life. It’s bound to backfire some day.”
JJ didn’t answer right away, and when she did her voice was barely audible.
“You know, during our interrogation with Jane, Emily said something. I don’t think it was meant for me; it sounded more like an excuse for her own feelings. But with those profilers… you never know. She said: ‘You don’t choose who you fall in love with.’ And you know, she’s probably right. But I can’t use that as an excuse for everything. A pedophile could say the same thing, or a rapist. It can’t be an excuse! I still have to make an active choice to act on it or not.”
“That’s right, JJ. But there’s nothing wrong with being gay and acting on it. There’s nothing wrong with being in love with another woman. As long as it’s mutual, of course. There’s a big difference between being gay and being a rapist.”
“That’s easy for you to say. You’re sure that you’re gay. Your friends, family, and co-workers know. You made your choice.”
Calleigh sighed. She had no idea that the prospect of being gay was such a horrible idea for JJ. She slightly wondered if the younger woman had been raised as a Catholic, or something as equally homophobic. That would at least explain a lot. But JJ was her friend, and she would try to help her in every way possible.
“First, it wasn’t really a choice, JJ. You don’t choose to be gay. Second, it’s not just black or white, straight or gay. There’s a lot in between. Most people are somewhere in the in between, actually. You know…people who claim to be straight, but have gay affairs one or two times? Or gay people who have had a straight relationship in their past. And then there are the bisexuals who openly admit to liking both genders. I personally see myself as gay, but I like to think it’s not about gender. It’s about the person. The gender shouldn’t be important. And thirdly, I have doubts, too, every now and then. For example, there’s Jake.”
“Jake? Who’s Jake?” The surprise was clear in JJ’s voice.
“Well, Jake and I go way back. We had an on/off thing for a while. I ditched him because of his drinking problem, not because he was a guy. He works with the ATF, mostly undercover, and he’s kind of a ‘bad boy’. Being with him was never boring. There was always a party, a bike tour, some concert - always something exciting going on. During our last case, he resurfaced again. When he’s undercover, I never really know if, or when, I’ll see him again. That’s the second reason I ditched him; I just couldn’t live like that. And now he’s resurfaced again. He always does that. He has a deadly instinct for the times that I’m vulnerable. There was a time when I thought we had a future together, but I realized that something very important was missing. I don’t trust him. He’s undercover with one of the gangs that operate here in Miami, and every time his name comes up I think it’s possible that he’s guilty of whatever happened.”
“What do you mean by ‘deadly instinct for times you’re vulnerable’? What happened?”
“Well, we had to deal with an arms dealer who had sold some nasty bullets to the local gangs. We came across those rounds while we were looking for old Russian rounds, which are illegal here.
At the first crime scene, the new ME, Alexx’s replacement, was shot to death. God, I hate myself for thinking it, but I was just glad that it wasn’t Alexx!”
“I get it, and I’m glad it wasn’t her, too. It’s always easier to see someone get killed when you don’t know them. Not that it’s ever really easy. But loosing someone you know and love is so much harder.”
“Exactly. Anyway, we found some misfired rounds and I took them to the lab for examination. One of them rolled off the table while I was on the phone and all hell broke loose. The round exploded on impact and set the whole lab on fire.”
“What?! Oh my God. Did you get hurt? Are you okay?” JJ’s voice nearly cracked with worry.
“No, I’m fine. I wasn’t hurt. Luckily, nobody was hurt. The automatic sprinkler system went off right away. I was just pissed that I had made such a stupid rookie mistake. Eric found an intact round in all of the debris, and I was able to finish my assessment. They turned out to be forty year old Russian bullets. We followed those rounds and came across the ‘fused alloy’ rounds. These new rounds go through everything. Kevlar, bullet proof glass, armored cars. Everything. We got the guy who sold the stuff, but the ammunition was already gone. In addition, the arms dealer put a price out on Horatio’s head. So H decided to stage his own death with Natalia’s help. The rest of the team didn’t know anything. We really believed him to be dead. I was devastated. And very angry because Natalia was acting strangely. First, she left in the middle of an interrogation. Then, she was mysteriously the first at the crime scene where Horatio had been shot, and had already released the body before Eric and I got there. Additionally, we couldn’t get a hold of the body. It was very suspicious. We found out who shot Horatio; it was an ATF agent who had been searching for the ammo, too. And with his cell, we could connect the shooting to Natalia. Of course we confronted her, and she finally admitted that Horatio was still alive, and that she had helped him stage it so that he could go after the ammo and the guy who bought it.
Those were some of the worst hours I’ve ever experienced. And to top it all off, there was a heist on an armored truck. One dead. Clean shot through the bullet proof glass. The truck had been stuck at a red light that wouldn’t turn green. We found out that the light was manipulated by an emergency device that’s used by fire-fighters and ambulances to turn their lights green so they can go faster. The device used in this heist was registered to Jake. Obviously some guys of his gang had used his bike, or stolen the device from his bike. Well, that’s what he said, at least. He brought me the weapons used in the heist, blowing his cover on the way. And then he had the nerve to tell me that he didn’t blow the cover for the case, but for me. I nearly gave in again. With me being angry at Natalia … I almost caved to his little boy smile and those blinking eyes. But it was the thought of Natalia that finally made me stop and see some reason. I would have done the exact same thing if I had been in Natalia’s place. Hell, I would have done worse. I couldn’t blame her for doing her job and following orders.”
Calleigh took a deep breath, finishing her story.
“In the end, all of those bullets, in addition to the arms dealer, were blown up during a shoot out by Horatio. And now we’re out of ME’s and one CSI short. But that’s beside the point. The point is, you’re never 100% certain; you can always fall for someone you don’t expect. If you love them, go for it. Life is precious and can be so very short. In our line of work, we know that better than anyone else.”
“God Calleigh, I know. But, I … I’m just not sure. I don’t know what to do. I can’t loose Emily as a friend. A relationship would complicate things even further.”
“You don’t have to decide right away, JJ; just follow your heart. Do whatever makes you happy. If you’re sure that Will is who makes you happy, then go for it. I just want you to be happy. Don’t rush into anything. Listen to your heart, and try to overcome your preconceptions.”
Calleigh yawned and JJ’s cell gave a little bleep at the same time.
“Oh, crap. Calleigh, I’ve got to go. It’s the Bureau. Something about Hotch not being fit to lead the team. But, you’re tired anyway. So… Call you next week?”
“Sure. Good luck with your team thing, and send my best to everyone. Natalia also says to send her love to you and Em.”
JJ’s cell bleeped again.
“Sorry, Cal. Gotta go. Love you.”
“Love you, too!”
The connection broke when JJ hung up. Calleigh found herself smiling. She really felt better after this conversation, but she was also slightly worried about her friend.