Disclaimer: See Chapter 1

A/N When I completed Computer Calls I was completely out of ideas, as every one of these stories is based on actual tech support calls. Happily I have at least two more left and another one swimming around.

Dedicated to mummacass88. Glad I could cheer you up some.

More About Steaks and Emails

Emmie Stockburne walked into the computer lab, early as usual, making sure everything was ready to go. Even though she was excited about her birthday, there was always responsibility as the crime lab's senior computer tech. Her mind swam and she smiled as she thought about how to celebrate that special day.

As she approached her desk, she couldn't help but notice a small white box on her chair.

"Hmmm." She raised her eyebrows and peeked at the yellow Post-It note.

Emmie. Happy Birthday. Rick Stetler.

Any mention of Rick usually didn't sit well with her, but this time she shook her head. He didn't have to do this, she thought. She picked it up and looked around discreetly. Usually whenever Rick left her a gift of any kind he would be observing her from the shadows to gauge her reaction. Surprisingly he wasn't doing that this morning.

She read the shipping label. It was a package from Omaha Steaks, actually addressed to the Bureau of Internal Affairs rather than the computer lab.

That was very sweet of him. I really should thank him in person. God, I hate when he does things like this.

Internal Affairs agent Rick Stetler looked up from his latest investigation when he heard a quiet tap on his door. A lofty smile crossed his face. "Emmie. Happy birthday! Come on in!"

Emmie wandered in cautiously, wary of that smile of his. "Thanks, Sir. You know, you really didn't have to do what you did."

"I meant to get it to you sooner, but I couldn't get my email to work right. Maybe you can look at that for me."

"I can do that this morning, but I just wanted to stop by thank you for the package. I didn't know Omaha Steaks made beef jerky."

"What beef jerky?"

"The beef jerky that was in the package you gave me. It's good. I ate some of it this morning. In fact, I was gonna leave some in the break room to share with everybody. You want to try some?"

"Did they screw up my order? Those were supposed to be top-of-the-line Porterhouse steaks!"

Emmie's eyes widened and she felt her stomach tighten. She covered her mouth and stomach, spun on her feet and sprinted out of Rick's office.

Rick bolted up from his chair. "Hey! What about my email?"

She made it to the ladies' room just in time.

Emmie washed her face and gathered her dignity as quickly as she could before opening her cell phone and hitting speed dial.

"Hi Eric. It's Emmie. I need a big favor from you. It's really important, and for God's sake, please don't say a word to anybody. Can somebody in Trace do a tox panel on me? Please? I'll explain later because you'd never believe me. Thanks, Eric. You're a lifesaver! I'll be right down."

She sat with her arm out in the cold Trace lab. When he learned what had happened, Delko had to have another tech draw her blood because he was laughing too hard to hold a needle.

"You better quit playing hard to get with Stetler! He figures if he can't have you, nobody will!" Delko said to her between laughs.

Emmie leaned her hand on her chin and looked skyward as she held out her arm for the tech. "Very funny. Did you write that one?"

She breathed a sigh of relief as she made her way back to the computer lab, now tired, utterly humiliated, and with a burning sensation in her throat. Her co-workers in Trace were likely still laughing. At least Alexx had the decency to wait until Emmie had left with some antacid before laughing, she thought. But it was worth it. Negative for food poisoning.

She opened the lid of Rick's birthday present again, shaking her head. Very expensive cat treats, she figured. Her little silver tabby would love them.

The polite lady in her said that she should at least go upstairs and look at his email and let that be the end of it. She tapped on his office door again.

"You left in a hurry. Everything okay?"

"I'm good, Sir. Nothing like a little botulism scare at eight o'clock in the morning. I figured while I have some downtime I should come look at your email like you said."

Rick looked at her. "I don't know what you're talking about. I tried to have that package to you sooner, but my email didn't work, so I just kept the box here before leaving it on your chair this morning."

"Okay Sir, I'm confused. Your email works fine. What would your email have to do with sending a package?"

He looked dumbfounded. "I thought you might appreciate me emailing that package to you."

Emmie raised her eyebrows. "Why don't you show me what you mean?"

Never long on patience, Rick huffed and grabbed a folder from his desk. "This email thing really doesn't work for me, Emmie. I can't do anything with it."

Emmie watched in horror as he clicked on the email program, placed the folder on top of his monitor, and hit the SEND button. "You see that? What good is this?" Snatching the folder off his monitor, he glared at her. "I tried to send that box from here, but I couldn't get it to work. So I just hung on to it."

"How long has it been here?"

"About three weeks. So, when can you fix it?"

Emmie just stared. "I'm gonna have to really, really work on that one, Sir. Can you give me a day or two?"

"Okay." Then a smile crossed his face. "So how about I barbecue those up for you at my house this weekend? There's a good reason I ordered more than one."

She cringed. "I better be sure that won't blow my budget. Oh, and Sir? Just for future reference, I have simple tastes. A greeting card works just fine for me. Thanks again!" With that she hurried out of his office.

Rick stood up after her. "Saturday good?"

Emmie sank into her chair and sighed, staring at the white box by her feet. "He really, REALLY didn't have to do this!"

"Hey, happy birthday, Emmie" Tyler said cheerily. "Got any big plans?"

"If I can survive fixing Rick's computer, that'll be enough for me."