Fic: Long Distance Calls - Part 8: Los Angeles - final chapter
Title: Long Distance Calls - Part VIII: Los Angeles - final chapter
Author: Steppenwolf_20
Fandom: CSI:Miami/Criminal Minds, now with surprise guests
Pairing: Emily/Natalia friendship, Calleigh Duquesne/Jennifer Jareau friendship
Disclaimer: None of the beautiful ladies are mine. No infringement intended.
Rating: PG
Word count: 1427
Warnings: None in this part
Setting: This is set during/after CSI:M 7.08 Gone Baby Gone and CM 3.10 True Night
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 8 and the last one of those intermezzi.
A/N 2: Please keep in mind that Ryan is gone and I had to make some adjustments.
Thanks: To my awesome beta yellowsmurf6 for her great work and her patience, sticking with me through this.
Miami
Calleigh Duquesne entered her apartment and kicked off her shoes. She was in a really good mood. Not only had they saved ten month old Sophie from being sold to South Africa, but she also had plans to go out with Natalia for drinks later.
She went to the kitchen where she dropped the mail, her keys, and bag on the counter. The blonde shrugged out of her jacket and hung it over the back of a stool. Looking at the clock on the microwave, she saw that it was a little past 5 p.m. Lots of time to get ready for the evening.
She went to the living room where her answering machine was blinking, so she plopped down on her couch and pressed play.
<< You have one new message. Message one, Wednesday, four forty-two p.m. >>
“Hello, Calleigh, this is JJ. I have lots to tell you. Call me when you get this. Love you.”
<>
Since she still had two hours before she was supposed to meet Natalia, Calleigh decided to call JJ back at once. The phone rang only once before her call was answered.
“Agent Jareau,” JJ answered in her professional voice.
“Oh, I like it when you talk dirty to me,” Calleigh joked. “I missed this, say it again.” It was so good to hear her friend’s voice again.
“Calleigh, you’re home pretty early. Not that I’m complaining.”
“You’re home pretty early yourself. Are you back in Washington?”
“Well, actually we came back from LA on Monday already and finished our reports the same day. I was able to take two days off and flew to New Orleans yesterday. I’m just back from the airport.” JJ paused a second to let it sink in. “I talked to Will,” she added.
“You broke it off with him?”
“Yes,” stated JJ matter-of-factly.
“Good for you. How did he take it? Did you tell him you’re gay?” This was great news. Calleigh was really glad her younger friend had pushed forward now that she had made her decision.
“Well, it’s a little more complicated than that. I told him flat out that it was over between us, that I was sorry, and I never wanted to hurt him. He asked if there was another guy and when I said no, he asked if it was a woman. I didn’t want to lie, so I said yes. He took the news pretty well. A little too well actually. I think he doesn’t believe my love for Emily is real, because he said something like ‘I’ll give you all the time you need.’ Like he thought it was a crazy phase or something. I tried to state that I didn’t need time or space, that I didn’t love him, never had and never will. I’m not sure he got it, though.”
JJ had been a little baffled by Will’s reaction. He had been too nice, too sweet, and he made her feel like a little child. Like he knew she would forget about her new toy once he invited her for ice cream.
“Oh no worries, he will get it. When you don’t call anymore or visit, he will get it.”
“I really hope so. I wasn’t fair to him. He deserves someone who really loves him. He is a good guy, he deserves happiness.”
“You did the right thing JJ. You talked to him, you were honest, there’s nothing more you can do for him now. He has to come around on his own. So, talked to Emily yet?”
JJ could practically hear Calleigh waggle her eyebrows and was glad for the lighter turn in the conversation. She wanted to close the chapter ‘Will’ for good.
“No, not yet. As I said, I’m only just back from New Orleans. I don’t want to rush the talk with Emily. I want to make it right. I think I’ll ask her out to dinner. I hope at the weekend. Depends on our caseload, I guess.”
“Sounds good to me. But tell me something else. How’s Garcia doing?”
“Oh she’s back at work and back to her old self mostly. Since we got the guy, she’s feeling safe again.”
“Why did he shoot her anyway? It’s not like she’s an agent, she’s just a tech, right?”
“That’s a rather complicated story, actually. You have to know that Garcia councils family members of murder victims on a voluntary basis. And to keep tabs on the unsolved cases she flagged a few of them in the FBI’s data base. And well, she had flagged some cases from an Angel of Death with a hero homicide complex. It’s usually fire fighters, but in this case it was a cop who shot people and then tried to rescue them. He thought Garcia was on to him. Took us a while to figure this out and make the connection. The guy actually had the nerve to walk into the BAU after he tried to kill Garcia a second time. He took a hostage, we had no choice but to kill him.”
“Well, I don’t wanna sound like the gun crazy woman I am, but he disrespected his badge, his oath, and his responsibilities. He deserved what he got.”
“There really was no other possible outcome, it was in his persona to die shooting.”
“Well, I really am glad you’re all okay and that you got the guy.”
“Let’s talk about something else. How are things on your end?”
“It’s a really good day. We saved a ten month old baby today, and I’m going out for drinks with Natalia later.” Calleigh couldn’t help but smile at the thought of her non - date with Natalia.
“Oh, drinks with Natalia. Are you two officially dating?”
“No, just drinks between friends. But I’d really like to change that tonight. Did I already tell you about our new CSI, Riley?”
“No, you didn’t. What about him?”
Calleigh snickered. “Her. Riley is a woman. Pretty attractive, pretty straight-forward, and constantly flirting with Nat.”
JJ could hear the little annoyance in Calleigh’s voice.
“Are you worried? You don’t think Natalia would hook up with her, do you?”
“I don’t think she would, but still … seeing her flirt with Nat. It makes me feel … insecure. I didn’t think I could be that jealous about some harmless flirting, you know? And I know they went out together a couple of times. Natalia told me all about it, so there’s no reason to be worried, right? But still … I think I shouldn’t wait any longer. What do you think?”
“That’s easy. Go for it. You’ve been dancing around each other even longer than we have. Go for it. She’s a really good kisser, you know. You’re missing out.” JJ picked up the old joke, referring to the time she had to kiss Natalia to keep her from blowing her cover.
“I have to tell her, Jayj.” There was no asking for permission this time. Calleigh had to tell Natalia, and she knew that JJ was aware of that. It was time to move forward.
“I know. I promised I wouldn’t be selfish anymore, so tell her. I will talk to Emily soon, maybe you can ask Natalia not to tell Em just yet. Tell her I want to explain it to her myself. Ask her to give me a little time. Can you do that?”
“Yes, of course. I’m sure Natalia will understand and keep it to herself for a while. But you can’t wait too long to tell Emily. Otherwise it will backfire. Once I talk to Nat, things are set in motion. Are you sure you’re ready?”
“Positive. I’ve done the first step talking to Will. Now I will go the whole 9 yards.”
Calleigh could hear the resolve in JJ’s voice. “I’m glad. It was getting really hard, keeping this from Natalia. And while I don’t know how she’ll react, I need to do this.”
“Yes, and you need to do it tonight. So, I won’t be keeping you any longer. You need to get ready. I’ll keep my fingers crossed and await your report ASAP.”
Calleigh couldn’t help but laugh at the younger agent’s antics. “Yes, Ma’am. Talk to you soon.”
“I sure hope so. Tell Natalia … Oh God. She will hate me, won’t she?”
“No, she won’t. She will understand. She has to. Oh God, she has to. Okay, no more freaking out. I’ve got to go. Everything will be fine, okay?”
“Okay. Love you.”
“Love you, too.”
Author: Steppenwolf_20
Fandom: CSI:Miami/Criminal Minds, now with surprise guests
Pairing: Emily/Natalia friendship, Calleigh Duquesne/Jennifer Jareau friendship
Disclaimer: None of the beautiful ladies are mine. No infringement intended.
Rating: PG
Word count: 1427
Warnings: None in this part
Setting: This is set during/after CSI:M 7.08 Gone Baby Gone and CM 3.10 True Night
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 8 and the last one of those intermezzi.
A/N 2: Please keep in mind that Ryan is gone and I had to make some adjustments.
Thanks: To my awesome beta yellowsmurf6 for her great work and her patience, sticking with me through this.
Miami
Calleigh Duquesne entered her apartment and kicked off her shoes. She was in a really good mood. Not only had they saved ten month old Sophie from being sold to South Africa, but she also had plans to go out with Natalia for drinks later.
She went to the kitchen where she dropped the mail, her keys, and bag on the counter. The blonde shrugged out of her jacket and hung it over the back of a stool. Looking at the clock on the microwave, she saw that it was a little past 5 p.m. Lots of time to get ready for the evening.
She went to the living room where her answering machine was blinking, so she plopped down on her couch and pressed play.
<< You have one new message. Message one, Wednesday, four forty-two p.m. >>
“Hello, Calleigh, this is JJ. I have lots to tell you. Call me when you get this. Love you.”
<>
Since she still had two hours before she was supposed to meet Natalia, Calleigh decided to call JJ back at once. The phone rang only once before her call was answered.
“Agent Jareau,” JJ answered in her professional voice.
“Oh, I like it when you talk dirty to me,” Calleigh joked. “I missed this, say it again.” It was so good to hear her friend’s voice again.
“Calleigh, you’re home pretty early. Not that I’m complaining.”
“You’re home pretty early yourself. Are you back in Washington?”
“Well, actually we came back from LA on Monday already and finished our reports the same day. I was able to take two days off and flew to New Orleans yesterday. I’m just back from the airport.” JJ paused a second to let it sink in. “I talked to Will,” she added.
“You broke it off with him?”
“Yes,” stated JJ matter-of-factly.
“Good for you. How did he take it? Did you tell him you’re gay?” This was great news. Calleigh was really glad her younger friend had pushed forward now that she had made her decision.
“Well, it’s a little more complicated than that. I told him flat out that it was over between us, that I was sorry, and I never wanted to hurt him. He asked if there was another guy and when I said no, he asked if it was a woman. I didn’t want to lie, so I said yes. He took the news pretty well. A little too well actually. I think he doesn’t believe my love for Emily is real, because he said something like ‘I’ll give you all the time you need.’ Like he thought it was a crazy phase or something. I tried to state that I didn’t need time or space, that I didn’t love him, never had and never will. I’m not sure he got it, though.”
JJ had been a little baffled by Will’s reaction. He had been too nice, too sweet, and he made her feel like a little child. Like he knew she would forget about her new toy once he invited her for ice cream.
“Oh no worries, he will get it. When you don’t call anymore or visit, he will get it.”
“I really hope so. I wasn’t fair to him. He deserves someone who really loves him. He is a good guy, he deserves happiness.”
“You did the right thing JJ. You talked to him, you were honest, there’s nothing more you can do for him now. He has to come around on his own. So, talked to Emily yet?”
JJ could practically hear Calleigh waggle her eyebrows and was glad for the lighter turn in the conversation. She wanted to close the chapter ‘Will’ for good.
“No, not yet. As I said, I’m only just back from New Orleans. I don’t want to rush the talk with Emily. I want to make it right. I think I’ll ask her out to dinner. I hope at the weekend. Depends on our caseload, I guess.”
“Sounds good to me. But tell me something else. How’s Garcia doing?”
“Oh she’s back at work and back to her old self mostly. Since we got the guy, she’s feeling safe again.”
“Why did he shoot her anyway? It’s not like she’s an agent, she’s just a tech, right?”
“That’s a rather complicated story, actually. You have to know that Garcia councils family members of murder victims on a voluntary basis. And to keep tabs on the unsolved cases she flagged a few of them in the FBI’s data base. And well, she had flagged some cases from an Angel of Death with a hero homicide complex. It’s usually fire fighters, but in this case it was a cop who shot people and then tried to rescue them. He thought Garcia was on to him. Took us a while to figure this out and make the connection. The guy actually had the nerve to walk into the BAU after he tried to kill Garcia a second time. He took a hostage, we had no choice but to kill him.”
“Well, I don’t wanna sound like the gun crazy woman I am, but he disrespected his badge, his oath, and his responsibilities. He deserved what he got.”
“There really was no other possible outcome, it was in his persona to die shooting.”
“Well, I really am glad you’re all okay and that you got the guy.”
“Let’s talk about something else. How are things on your end?”
“It’s a really good day. We saved a ten month old baby today, and I’m going out for drinks with Natalia later.” Calleigh couldn’t help but smile at the thought of her non - date with Natalia.
“Oh, drinks with Natalia. Are you two officially dating?”
“No, just drinks between friends. But I’d really like to change that tonight. Did I already tell you about our new CSI, Riley?”
“No, you didn’t. What about him?”
Calleigh snickered. “Her. Riley is a woman. Pretty attractive, pretty straight-forward, and constantly flirting with Nat.”
JJ could hear the little annoyance in Calleigh’s voice.
“Are you worried? You don’t think Natalia would hook up with her, do you?”
“I don’t think she would, but still … seeing her flirt with Nat. It makes me feel … insecure. I didn’t think I could be that jealous about some harmless flirting, you know? And I know they went out together a couple of times. Natalia told me all about it, so there’s no reason to be worried, right? But still … I think I shouldn’t wait any longer. What do you think?”
“That’s easy. Go for it. You’ve been dancing around each other even longer than we have. Go for it. She’s a really good kisser, you know. You’re missing out.” JJ picked up the old joke, referring to the time she had to kiss Natalia to keep her from blowing her cover.
“I have to tell her, Jayj.” There was no asking for permission this time. Calleigh had to tell Natalia, and she knew that JJ was aware of that. It was time to move forward.
“I know. I promised I wouldn’t be selfish anymore, so tell her. I will talk to Emily soon, maybe you can ask Natalia not to tell Em just yet. Tell her I want to explain it to her myself. Ask her to give me a little time. Can you do that?”
“Yes, of course. I’m sure Natalia will understand and keep it to herself for a while. But you can’t wait too long to tell Emily. Otherwise it will backfire. Once I talk to Nat, things are set in motion. Are you sure you’re ready?”
“Positive. I’ve done the first step talking to Will. Now I will go the whole 9 yards.”
Calleigh could hear the resolve in JJ’s voice. “I’m glad. It was getting really hard, keeping this from Natalia. And while I don’t know how she’ll react, I need to do this.”
“Yes, and you need to do it tonight. So, I won’t be keeping you any longer. You need to get ready. I’ll keep my fingers crossed and await your report ASAP.”
Calleigh couldn’t help but laugh at the younger agent’s antics. “Yes, Ma’am. Talk to you soon.”
“I sure hope so. Tell Natalia … Oh God. She will hate me, won’t she?”
“No, she won’t. She will understand. She has to. Oh God, she has to. Okay, no more freaking out. I’ve got to go. Everything will be fine, okay?”
“Okay. Love you.”
“Love you, too.”