Author: MoiraShipper

Summary: AU. Inspired in the episode of Castle, "Blue Buterfly" and Titanic. Eric, a Cuban investigator who is searching for his lost family, meets with Calleigh and the CSIs in a cruise trip and they fall in love, though the blonde is committed to Jake.

The pink heart

The day was hot and the sun reflected on the clear waters of Cuba. A cruise was leaving the harbor, going to Miami, full of tourists. But there was a man there who wasn't there in vocation. The brunette man removed his sunglasses as he walked down the hallway of the ship, searching for his cabin. His name was Eric Delko and, despite being Cuban, he had spent most part of his life in Miami, where he'd been raised in orphanages and after receiving a scholarship to college and then graduating at the police school, he had returned to Cuba to work as an investigator from police.

Since then he had been searching for his family there, following clues with the information that the orphanage had given him and he was on that ship, because some old residents from the town where he was born, told him that his mother still lived in Miami, but knew little about his family's past or reasons for having gone to the United States or giving him up for adoption.

Eric placed his bag on the bed and sat down, pulling something from his pocket and staring at the object. It was a beautiful pink heart-shaped pendant which he later had discovered that was made of diamond. According to one of the women from the orphanage, he had been with the pendant when his mother had left him at the orphanage.

The little that he knew was that his family had came from Cuba to Miami when he had been five years old and he had an older sister named Marisol, but didn't remember her face and hadn't been able to find her yet.

"If you two were having financial problems, why not sell that diamond?" The man ran his thumb over the stone, his eyes shining.

He had learned that his family had lost everything and his father died, but why not sell the jewelry, instead of placing it with him when they'd left him in the orphanage?

The brunette stood up, stripping from his beige jacket and dressed a blue shirt. He combed his short and black hair with his hand and decided to visit the deck and watch the sea.

There were several people walking down the hall and some women even tried to throw their charm on Eric, but he would just smile politely, going to the deck, where many people were in the sun, drinking or in the pool.

He ordered a whiskey and went toward the ship's railing, lost in thoughts, when a beautiful woman caught his attention, appearing in the deck with two other men, she was all dressed in white, and he removed his sunglasses, wiping his mouth with a napkin while his heart beat fast at the sight of her smile.

Calleigh Duquesne, a beautiful blonde with green eyes smiled as she accompanied her boyfriend, Jake Berkeley and her best friend and boss, Horatio Caine. She was laughing as the three headed to one of the bar stools and she sat between the two, adjusting her white pants that were set with a pink top, and then removed the white blazer. The brown-haired man, Jake, smirked as he kissed her lips and took the menu and Horatio, the red-haired man in dark glasses, shook his head amused at the couple, turning around and looking for the rest of their friends.

The three were there, along with Ryan, Natalia and Walter, returning from a trip to Cuba and the group worked together as CSI, investigating crime scenes. After resolving a long case, the group had taken a vacation together with Calleigh's boyfriend, Jake who was a detective that sometimes would work with them in the cases.

"Honey, I'm going to swim, you coming?" Jake asked, finishing his drink and taking off his polo shirt.

"Go ahead, I'll finish my drink." Calleigh replied, smiling and drinking her strawberry cocktail.

The man left, heading to the pool and giving an athletic leap to show his talent to anyone who was in the pool.

While Horatio asked for some snacks, the blonde stood up, taking her drink with her and heading toward the edge of the ship, staring into the clear water hitting the hull. She closed her eyes for a moment, lost in thought, feeling the salty wind and the little drops of water splashing on her face.

The trip had been amazing, she and her friends had been able to relax and spend some time together, but she hadn't felt so comfortable with her boyfriend, Jake.

The brunette had been very possessive, telling her what to do and controlling her steps. That's why she had spent so much time hanging out with Natalie, with the excuse to go shopping and thus able to breathe a little. She knew that if Horatio and the others found out, they would help her, but she didn't like to look weak, she was a strong woman.

She opened her eyes, staring at her hand where the ring Jack had given her in the beginning of their relationship rested, sparkling on her finger, looking heavy. She knew that when they returned to Miami, she would have to break up with him.

The ship balanced lightly and the blonde spilled her drink on the shirt of the man who was next to her, in the railings of the ship, staining his blue shirt with pink.

"Oh my God, I'm sorry!" She exclaimed, biting her lip and approaching the dark man, her green eyes going from his stained shirt to his face and her heart raced.

He was handsome, brunette wkthd golden skin and chocolate eyes, and despite lean, he had muscles and a beautiful smile that seemed to be able to reassure anyone.

"No problem." He replied, raising his hands and calming the blonde, laughing.

Now, closer, she looked even more beautiful and he couldn't tell if it was her drink that made her smell like strawberries.

"Then take this napkin." She said, reaching out and handing him the white paper, with a smile that made him happy. "Pink isn't your color."

"Yeah, I guess it suits you better." He said, wiping his shirt as she watched him, taking a sip of what was left of her drink. "By the way, my name is Eric Delko."

He extended his hand and Calleigh accepted it, greeting him and both felt something when they touched, the dark and big hand involving the smaller and pale one.

"It's a pleasure, my name is Calleigh Duquesne." She stared at his chocolate brown eyes and asked, after releasing his hand: "Are you Cuban?"

"Yes, I am, but I've been living for a long time in Miami, I'm going there."

"Have a good trip then." She said, saying goodbye, hearing Jake call her from the pool.

The Cuban watched the blonde head up to her boyfriend and he averted his eyes to the sea, looking sad, thinking that perhaps he had found his soul mate, but she had another man.

TBC