Chapter 1: Time to go

Eric walked through the lab and wondered how this all could have happened.
He knew he had walked through this lab about a 1000 times. Probably more.
Yet he couldn't remember anyone of them. Why had this happened?

He kept walking and then stopped at firearms. Inside he saw Calleigh was
explaining something to that woman. They told him her name was Natalia. It's
so weird, the last thing he can remember about Calleigh is that she quit her
job as a firearms expert. The next thing he remembers is Calleigh sitting by
his hospital bed. He still couldn't believe that two years had passed. Two
years he couldn't remember. Just like he couldn't remember Natalia, no
matter how hard he tries.

Flash back

Tim Speedle was standing in front of Horatio Caine抯 office, waiting for his
boss to arrive with the new CSI. After a couple of minutes he saw Horatio
approaching with a young Cuban looking guy next to him .
"Speed."
"Hi H."
Horatio smiled.
"This is Eric Delko. The new guy. Eric, this is Tim Speedle, he抣l give you
a tour of the place and he will teach you everything you need to know. OK?"
"Ok. Lt Caine."
Horatio smiled at the young CSI
"I told you Eric, call me Horatio."
"Ok, Horatio."
Horatio walked away, leaving an awkward silence behind.
"So." Tim said to break the silence, taking in the CSI's appearance.
"Where you from?"
Eric was so nervous, poor guy.
'Well, I was born here, but my parents came from Cuba.'
Speed frowned.
"But Delko doesn't sound very Spanish to me."
Eric shook his head.
"Oh no, its Russian. It used to be Delkosky, but we changed it when we came
to Florida"
"Oh I see."Tim smiled. He could see Eric was still nervous.
"Hey Eric, relax. I'm not the devil, and neither is Horatio alright? I'm
your friend." "You are?"
"Well, well be working together, so I think that counts." Speedle smiled at
him, and Eric relaxed, returning his smile.

Flash

Eric sighs and kept walking. He stopped at the morgue to look at Alexx who's
performing an autopsy. Part of him wants to walk in and talk to her. But he
knows he can't, she'll want him to explain what's going on. Why he feels
like this, but he can't. he wouldn't even know where to start.

He keeps walking and stops in front of the A/V lab. Inside he sees Ryan,
Ryan...something. God, he should really ask for his last name. He was
standing next to the computer guy, Cooper, apparently a friend of his. The
last thing he remembers about Ryan is fighting with him, a lot. Hard to
believe that now their friends. Just like he and Speedle were.

Flash back

Speedle and Eric are walking in circles in the DNA lab.
"Hey you think we're going to be here forever?" Eric asked.
"You mean working in this place or waiting for the lab results?"
"Both."
"Lab results will be out in 5 minutes, finally."
"And the other thing?"
Speedle smiles and thinks a while before answering.
"No. one day we will move on. But right now we're were we have to be."
"How do you know that?"
Speedle turns to Eric.
"Do you feel at home?"
"Sorry?"
"When you walk in, do you feel at home? Do you feel like you belong here?"
"Yeah I guess so?"
"Well so do I. When you're talking to one of use to you have a very strong
feeling of friendship?"
"Yeah?"
"Me to. That means we belong here. We're ..."
Eric finishes his sentence for him.
"...where we have to be."
They both smile.

Flash

Eric was standing in front of his locker, he opens it and looks at the
pictures. Lots of them, of places he once went to. Things that once
happened, things he said, things he did. Things he can't remember no matter
how hard he tries. Slowly he starts to take the pictures down.
Him and Marisol, Horatio, Calleigh and Ryan, Alexx and Calleigh,... he takes
out his address book and all of the personal stuff. He just leaves the
clothes. He doesn't remember wearing them, hell he doesn't remember buying
them. They're not his. They're from another Eric. Slowly he closes the
locker door.

He walks out and passes Alexx, who is sitting drinking coffee. Probably
waiting for everybody else. He passes Ryan and Cooper, stops at Calleigh and
Natalia. He debates whether he should walk in or not, when Natalia notices
him he smiles at her. Then he continues his walk, he stops at Horatio's
office. Maybe he should go in, to talk to him. To explain him why, maybe he
wants Horatio convince him not to do it. He pulls out his hand to open the
door. But he doesn't, he doesn't want to be convinced. He sighs and keeps
walking.

Finally he stops in front of the list of names, close to the elevator. He
stares at his name, between all of the others. Does it belong there? Should
it still be up there? He looks at the other names and stops at Ryan Wolfe.
Well at least he knows his last name now. He smiles.

Flash back

Eric and Speedle are standing at the elevator, waiting for it to come up.
"So when do you think we'll move on?"
Speedle just stares at him.
"In the lab, you said that one day we'd move on. When do you think that will
be?" "When it's time to go, you'll know."
"How?"
Speedle looks at him, thinking.
"The day you walk in here and you feel like a stranger. The day you walk in
and you wonder 'what am I doing here'? when you look at a job and think and
now what? When you talk to your friends and you don't feel that friendship
anymore then..." Silence.
Eric waits a minute before asking
"Then what?"
"Maybe it's time to go."

Flash

Eric sighs and looks around. There's nobody there except for him and the
secretary. He has made up his min. He looks at that full list one more time.
Then he takes out his name. Slowly he walks to the secretary and leaves it
in front of her. He takes his gun and badge and puts it on top of the name.
"Could you, euhm..." he hesitates.
"Yes?"
"Could you give this to Lt. Horatio Caine please?"
"euhm. Sure but why?..."
He turns around without answering.
"Would you like me to give him a message?" She asks
Eric hesitated, then nodded.
"Tell him that sometimes, in Miami, we do close."
Before the secretary can say anything else he walks away.

Eric walks to the elevator while waiting for it he can hear Speedles voice
in his head saying to him.
"When you walk in and you feel like a stranger."
He looks around, remembering the feeling he had when he walked in a couple
of hours ago.
"When you look at a case and think now what?" he can still remember
Calleigh's look when she told him about his mistake. How devastated he felt,
how mad he was at himself.

He looks around, from far away he sees Horatio coming and waving at him.
Maybe he wants him to wait, he's not sure. But he won't not this time, not
ever again. He waves back and smiles, before walking into the elevator.
While the elevator doors close he looks one last time at the lab while still
hearing Speedle's voice in his head.
"Then maybe it's time to go."
He smiles and whispers :
"Yeah Speedle, I guess it's time to go."
Then the elevator doors closed.