work for someone else, [ O P E N ]

[Tim Speedle]

Tim Speedle working in the Audio/Visual lab going about 24 hours of security footage from a bank robbery case from night shift team – of course, the night shift was a little short-handed with the bank robbery case and a high profile CIA-related case that had taken up most of the night shift’s time. So, Speed was offered to help them out – but he didn’t have any plans on having to spend the next 5 hours (so far and it didn’t seem to be coming to a end any time soon, ether) going over security footage.

After watching the first 3 hour-long tape in normal speed, he decided to play the next tape in fast-forward. Of course it didn’t help any that his normal day shift had ended about 2 hours ago but he was still at the A/V lab going over the damn security footage. He had a pretty good idea by the number of tapes that he’d be pulling a all-nighter here at the lab.

The door opened behind him. Making Speed jump slightly and turn around in the chair to see who it was only to see that it was the night shift supervisor – Jase Matthews, was it?

Jase walked over, Speed quickly noticed the two new tapes in the other man’s hand. “Could you check these tape too? Bank just called and said that they forgot to give me the 1:00am to 7:00am tapes.” Jase said, setting the two new tapes down at the desk with the others.

Speed just nodded. He was already tried and really didn’t like the idea of doing even more work for a team that wasn’t even his. “Ugh. Sure,” he finally replied, rubbing his tried eyes and looking for the night shift supervisor back to the computer screen with the grainy black-and-white video still playing.

“Thanks again,” Jase said before leaving the A/V lab. The night shift supervisor let the door close loudly behind him leaving Speed alone in the room again with even more security footage then before.

Great. Why did he agree to help them out again?

[Calleigh Duquesne]

Calleigh was on her way to Horatio's office to grab her casefile when she saw Tim in the A/V lab, looking awefully tired. She scurried off to the break room, only to come back with two cups in her hand. She walked into the room and sat down in the chair next to him, placing one of the cups in front of him. "I brought you some tea," she said with a smile as she flashed him one of her all brilliant smiles. "Have you found anything useful yet?" she asked him on a more serious note. She figured he could use a little friendly company, and maybe a pair of fresh eyes as well, even if only for a few minutes.

[Tim Speedle]

Nothing. Speed was getting nowhere with watching all these tapes and he knew it. He'd gone though tape after tape and still hadn't found anything that gave him anything to work with let alone something to tell the night shift supervisor. Not to mention that he was tried and was starting to have a hard time focusing on the computer screen.

This time when the door open, he didn't bother to turn around - thinking that it was someone else from night shift ether asking him if he found anything or giving him more work to do. And the crazy part? he wasn't even working for his supervisor right now.

He couldn't help but feel somewhat relieved when he seen that it was Calleigh. "Thanks," he said tiredly in reply as she set down the cup of tea in front of him then flashed one of those brilliant smiles at him. Only to shake his head when she asked if he found anything. "I've watched those tapes for the past..." he paused for a second to think about the time "...6 or 7 hours and still haven't really found anything important. Haven't even gotten to the robbery yet," he said slowly as the tape stopped again and the screen went blank. Only this time he didn't make any move to change the tape.

"So, what are you still doing here?" he asked, not noticing the time and that he and the teams normal shift had just started about 20 minutes ago. He had stayed at the lab for a double shift. He'd managed to get a few short naps though-out the night but still the little bit of sleep he did get was no where near as much as any normal person was used to getting. "Don't tell me, our normal shift already started...?" he said with a slight smile when he noticed the time on the clock on the wall. "Can you please remind me why I agreed to help night shift with this," he mumbled before he took a sip of the hot tea that Calleigh brought.

[Calleigh Duquesne]

Calleigh saw the screen go blank, so she took the tape out, but didn't put a new one in. She sighed and looked over at him. He looked so tired, and she was glad that she'd come in or else he might have collapsed. Calleigh had justfinished one case and was ready to start another. But before she did, she was hungry and ready for breakfast. She'd pulled a double too, but no one had noticed because she buried herself in the ballistics lab the whole night.

Calleigh followed his eyes up at the clock, seeing that their shift had started about a half an hour ago.

"I was just going to get a new case, but I think it can wait. You want to grab some breakfast with me? I think we both deserve it," she told him, She put the tape that she'd picked up on the pile of the ones that he'd already seen.

"Night shift can finish this up, It's not your work anyway so they can't yell at you for taking a break," she drawled, beaming one of her irrisistable smiles.

[Tim Speedle]

[OMG! I am so sorry it took so long to post back. I didn’t even notice that you replied back. My bad. Sorry]

Speed watched tiredly as Calleigh put the tape on top of the pile of already viewed tapes as she told him that she was about to go get a new case but that he could join her for breakfast. “I still-” he stopped before saying anything else about the nightshift work when she reminded him that nightshift could finish this up and that he wasn’t really working for his boss right now.

Calleigh was right. Nightshift couldn’t really yell at him for taking a break when it wasn’t even his work or case anyways. And he was pretty sure that Horatio wouldn’t have a problem with him taking a break from the nightshift’s work. Plus, Horatio might need him to work a case on their normal shift. So nightshift could wait.

Plus, this was Calleigh we where talking about.

“True,” he nodded in agreement. “I could definitely use breakfast,” he said with a slight smile as he shut off the computer that he was working at – no need to leave it running when two other computers where already running in the lab, plus he was the only one using the A/V lab right then.

[Calleigh Duquesne]

(No problem )

Calleigh thought that at first, he was going to protest, and that she was going to have to persuade him to join her. She'd been spending as much time as she could around the lab with Speed, even telling Horatio how she felt about him so that he would assign her a case or two with him. "As long as it doesn't affect your job preformance," he'd told her. She was perfectly willing to keep it professional, as long as she could see him.

Calleigh was excited that Tim gave up and wanted to go to breakfast with her. By the looks of it, he needed it, and if he had opposed, she wouldn't have taken no for an answer. She always loved to get a chance to know Speed better, and maybe he felt the same way that she felt towards him, but she wasn't going to push it because the way she saw it, she was probably wrong.

"Good, come on, I'll drive, you look tired. You've been staring at a screen all night, and I've been staring at bullets all night, I think I'd take the bullet-eyes over tv screen-eyes," Calleigh said jokingly as she pulled him up by his hand, later finding out that she'd yanked too hard and he was now hurdling towards her. She stopped him by putting one foot back, and catching him, almost as if they were hugging. She soon stepped away from him and blushed a deep red. "Sorry about that," she drawled as she picked up the keys from the counter. "Are you ready to go?" she asked, trying to play off what had just happened.

[Tim Speedle]

Speed chuckled slightly when Calleigh commented on the fact that she should drive because of the fact he had been staring at a TV screen all night and that she had been staring at bullets all night. “Alright, ‘Bullet Girl’.” he smiled, using Calleigh’s nickname. She was most likely right even if she did say it in a joking tone of voice.

He was just about to stand up from the chair at the same time Calleigh pulled on his hand. Somehow making him stumble forward and lose his balance. In a effort to stop himself from falling on to Calleigh, he tried to stop himself but grabbing onto the desk next to them but still ended up landing in Calleigh’s arms.

When she stepped back, he also took a step back, chuckling embarrassedly. “Sorry,” he repeated her, his cheeks where also flushed a slight red now. Of course, he had liked Calleigh as maybe more then a friend for a while now and what had just happened was just awkward.

Thankfully, Calleigh quickly changed the subject and asked if he was ready to go. “Yeah, yeah. Lets go,” he nodded, also trying to play off what had just happened.

[Calleigh Duquesne]

Calleigh saw the way he reacted to her pulling him too hard, and she thought that maybe there were some hidden feelings there worth persuing. She took a deep breath and nodded a little, "Tim....." she said hesitantly, wodnering wether or not she should tell him how she felt about him. She'd liked him for a very long time, ever since she started working here she had, but she thought that he would never like her back, she felt like this lab was highschool all over again, Something that Calleigh never really wanted to experience again.

"Do you think of me as more than a friend?" she asked quickly, hoping that he picked up what she said. She'd said it so fast that she wasn't sure if he heard. "I mean, if you don't it's okay, and we can always be friends but I just think that maybe we should give each other a chance and who knows, maybe things would work out and we could be happy and I just don't want to let this go and in the future wonder if things could have been diffrent and I don't want to grow old alone and all the guys I've dated are just asses and.....I really like you Tim," she rambled, making the last part so soft that it was barely audible. She was suprised that he didn't just tell her to shut up already.

[Tim Speedle]

Please don’t tell me that this is some kind of dream… Speed couldn’t believe that he was hearing right now. Calleigh - the woman who he’d found himself slowly falling in love with but always thought that she’d never feel the same way - was just telling him that she had liked him for a while now.

She was rambling now before he could reply to her question, and every time he tried to say something she must not have noticed because she kept talking. And really, he found it kinda cute. When she stopped, he decided to speak before she started to ramble on more. “Cal,” he started, slowly a smile appearing on his face. “Calleigh, yes… yes, I like you… alot” he paused for a second, saying the words as if it was one of the easy thing in the world. “I mean, I really like you – and have for a while. And yes, we should give this a shot. Might work out,” he added, not sounding how it sounded in his head, but he was just glad that this was getting out in the open… plus, Calleigh just said that she liked him.

He hadn’t even noticing during that moment that he’d managed to take another step closer to her. And somewhat they’d managed to get uncomfortably close to eachother and he couldn’t help it. Placing a hand on her shoulder, he leaned closer to her, hesitating a little, before he finally kissed her.

[Calleigh Duquesne]

Calleigh was blushing up until the moment that he told her he liked her too. And not only had he liked her, he liked her alot. And not just for a little but, but he'd liked her for a while. She was so happy and flashed a bright smile, she couldn't believe this was actually happening. She'd tried to convicne herself many many times that she was over him, and that she was moving on, but it never stuck. She was falling in love with him and she knew it.

All rational thought was gone from her mind as he stepped closer to her. She didn't even register what was happening until it was actually happening. Tim Speedle, the man she knew she was falling in love with, was kissing her, and she felt like her life couldn't get any better than this. As soon as she felt his hand on her shoulder, she reached up and wrapped her arms around his neck, responding to his kiss.

She felt her stomach flip flop and her heart rate increased as their lips connected. She never in a million years thought that this would happen. She thought that Tim would never think of her as anything more than a friend, and that she would end up hopelessly in love with him and not able to have him. Maybe now she thought, I can have the life that I always wanted.