Author's Note: So in tomorrow night's episode, Nick is killed and Natalia is the prime suspect… how can I NOT write a fic about that? This is my take on what might happen. (This is purely speculation on my part after reading the episode description and watching the preview.)

Internal Affairs
Chapter One: The Phone Calls

It was ten o'clock in the morning and something very rare was going on at the Miami-Dade Crime Lab. The usual loud murmur of employees' voices was nowhere to be heard, the Lab Technicians weren't rushing around to get results back in record time, and there had been no calls regarding crime in Miami-Dade County. That alone was strange, because there was always crime in Miami. Whether it was an attack, a robbery, an attempted murder, or a homicide, there was always something new that the CSIs were responsible for solving.

That wasn't the case today, though.

Even though it was nice to have a break from crime solving, something wasn't right. No reports, none at all, had been sent to MDPD. It was as if a higher power had granted the CSIs some extra free time so they could relax before a big case came along. A big case that would push each CSI to his or her limit.

Well… almost each CSI. One had already been pushed to her limit, if the anger in her voice was any indication: "What do you want?!"

Natalia Boa Vista stood in the corner of the otherwise empty break room, on the phone with her ex-husband Nick Townsend for the forth time that day. He had been harassing her for the past several weeks and she was getting tired of it. He had no reason to be calling her over and over again, and there was no reason why she had to put up with his crap.

"No, Nick, stop. Just stop," she said as she raked a hand through her loosely curled hair, clearly aggravated. "I want you to stop calling me and I don't want to talk to you unless we end up having to share the same crime scene at some point in the future. And even then, I'll only talk to you if we absolutely have to, for the sake of the case. Understand?" The last bit was rhetorical, so she didn't bother leaving any room for Nick to get a word in. "Good. Goodbye, Nick."

Once again, she didn't wait for any response. She didn't want to hear any response from Nick. Just thinking of the man, never mind hearing his voice, brought up so many unwanted memories and bad emotions… and she wasn't in the mood for them. So she pulled the cell phone away from her ear and flipped it closed. She then angrily tossed it on the counter and stood still for a moment or two, trying to calm herself down. She had gotten all worked up from the latest conversation and now she needed to compose herself before stepping back into the lab to join her coworkers and friends.

Natalia closed her eyes and took in a big breath of air, then let it out slowly. She began to repeat the process when the familiar ring of her phone sounded. At this, her eyes snapped open and she stared down at her phone that was still resting on the counter. On the front screen was the name of the person calling her: Nick Townsend.

"Goddamnit," she said a little too loudly, as she grabbed her phone to get a better look at the screen. She let out something mixed between a frustrated yell and a growl as she slammed the phone back down on the counter.

"Nick again?"

Natalia had been completely caught off-guard by whoever it was now in the room with her. She inhaled sharply and spun around in the direction of where the voice had come from. For a second there, she feared it would be Nick. It certainly wouldn't be the first time he snuck up on her… or the second… or the fifth.

Upon seeing who it was, Natalia relaxed. "Eric," she said, relief obvious in her voice. The relief didn't last very long though… In fact, the nerves settled in as soon as she had finished saying his name. "How long have you been standing there?"

Eric stepped into the room, leaving the doorway where he had been for the past five minutes. "Long enough to know that Nick is giving you a hard time." That was what he had assumed, anyway. Her anger and frustration made it obvious that Nick was doing something Natalia didn't like.

"He won't leave me alone," Natalia explained to him as he moved closer to her. "He's been doing this for the past several weeks… calling me nonstop, stalking me in public… he even had the nerve to come to my house three times. Three times, Eric! I thought I made it blatantly obvious that I never wanted to see him again unless I absolutely have to… Did he not get that message?" After finishing her mini-rant to Eric, she sighed and covered her eyes with her hands. Already worn out and the day had yet to begin.

Anger flared up inside Eric when Natalia let him know Nick had been harassing her. Even though the two CSIs have had a really rocky relationship for the past year, even though Natalia had been the mole in the lab… he was still very protective of her. In fact, when Nick had come back into Natalia's life only several months ago and harassed her at their crime scene, it took everything Eric had to hold himself back from beating the guy to a pulp right then and there. Instead he had given him warnings and demanded that Nick leave, which was very unlike Eric. The only reason why he had been so passive about the entire thing was because they had been surrounded by officers and pedestrians out in public. He'd had to play it cool, which he did, even though he had been dying to throw some punches. That was the kind of protector he was, at least when it came to Natalia. He wasn't one to give out warnings like he had. With Natalia, he was much more protective than he had appeared to be that day. Much more protective.

Why?

Probably because he was still in love with her. He had never stopped loving her. Not after the pregnancy scare, not after the "cleared for landing" mishap, not after the small fight over her broken car window, not after the mole fiasco. He still loved her with everything he had, and he was just as protective, if not more, than he was when they were still dating.

As much as he wanted to give into the urge and go over to Nick Townsend's condo and beat the shit out of him, he knew he couldn't. He knew it would be wrong and that there would be severe consequences… severe consequences for something that wasn't even worth his time. ...But at the same time, what Eric would do for the chance to teach Nick a lesson or two... To show him how it feels to be the punching bag.

"How about you put in a request for a number change? I'm sure they'll grant you one if you explain the situation to them," Eric suggested. That way, whenever Nick would try to call Natalia, he wouldn't get through. It seemed like a logical thing to do.

Natalia picked up her phone, which had been quiet for several minutes now, and eyed it. Eric's idea was a good one and she wondered why she hadn't thought of that before. "Good idea," she said as her eyes left the phone to look up at Eric. The two shared a small smile as they stood in silence but it was quickly interrupted by Natalia's phone. Ringing. Again.

The two CSIs frowned as Natalia picked up her phone so they could both get a good look at the Caller ID. Once again: Nick Townsend.

Natalia brought her hands back down to her sides as she turned to face Eric. "I think now would probably be a good time for me to put in that request," she said, frowning.

Eric smiled and nodded his head. "All right. See you later, then."

Natalia returned the smile. "See you later," she said as she left the break room with her cell phone, which was still ringing.