- For those of you who haven't read the prequel 'Recoil', I suggest you read that before you read this. There are a few jokes and running themes that you won't understand otherwise.

Here is the first chapter. It kicks off a few weeks from 'Recoil'.

Side note: Although there is a mention of R/N in this chapter, don't assume that it is going to take the same format as I took with E/C in the prequel. My story still revolves around E/C. For those R/N fans amongst you however, you're just going to have to wait and see what happens ;-)

Enjoy! x

Chapter One

Eric was asleep. It had rained that night; a hot, sticky, probing kind of rain that got in everywhere, soaked everything. A dense fog had now formed and was slowly seeping its way through the city.

Eric frowned; something was wriggling. He breathed deeply as he tightened his grasp, his fingers brushing against her stomach as he pulled her closer to his body.

"Stop it," he muttered.

He heard her laugh.

"Eric?"

He kept his eyes closed.

Calleigh wriggled in his embrace once more and turned her body round so that she was facing his. He released a little 'huff' and frowned again. She smiled; 'she loved that frown.'

"Eric, it's morning."

"So?"

His eyes were still closed.

"So we have to get up, we'll be late for work."

Sighing, he opened his eyes. He looked down at her, her hair a little ruffled, face free of make-up, a smile playing at the corners of her mouth. Four weeks had passed since she'd finally been able to reach out to him and she grew more beautiful each day. Eric cast his lazy eyes away from her to look out the window at the heavy grey sky.

"Not morning," he grunted sleepily, before closing his eyes again. "Dark outside."

Calleigh reached up and traced his pout. 'He was always so grumpy in the morning.'

"It doesn't have to be light to be morning," she countered.

He raised an eyebrow and opened an eye. She was watching him, her eyes burning a deep shade of green and he knew he wasn't going to win this one. With a yawn, Eric moved his head to look at the clock: 5.30 AM. He grimaced.

"I hate mornings," he moaned.

She laughed, slipping from his grasp, and headed for the bathroom. He heard the sound of running water as she switched the shower on and smiled when she reappeared at the door.

"Aren't you coming?" she asked him.

He studied her for a moment. She was wearing a faded old football jersey of his, her ruffled blonde hair falling delicately around her shoulders; her eyes were playful, mimicking the knowing smile that was tugging at her mouth. Eric didn't need to be told twice; in an instant he was stood in front of her. He snaked his arms around her waist and pulled her to him, kissing her neck as he did so.

"You know, when I said I hated mornings…I didn't necessarily mean every morning," he muttered between kisses.

Calleigh raised her eyebrows and rested her arms on his shoulders.

"Oh really?"

"Really," he breathed, before his mouth met hers. She moved her hands up to his hair, running her fingers through it. He tightened his arms as he lifted her up and moved them into her bathroom, kicking the door shut behind him.

/EC/

Ryan sighed as he looked at his reflection in the glass of the break room; his nose was healing nicely. There was no swelling anymore and the bruising was so faint now that you could barely see it. Aside from the slight pain he got when he breathed too hard, you wouldn't even know that it had been broken and even that would go eventually.

"Oh God Ryan, would you stop it!" Valera teased. She was sitting down at the table, her hands nursing a cup of coffee. Eric had hidden his cubano again and quite frankly, she was a little annoyed.

"What?" he asked, a little hurt.

"You've been staring at your nose now for the past ten minutes. It's not going to turn green and drop off you know!" she replied with a laugh.

"It might!" he defended, before he settled himself down on the couch, resting his feet on the coffee table.

Before Valera could retort however, Cooper walked in quietly humming the 'Jaws' theme.

"Dan, what are you doing?" she asked.

"Have you not seen the fog out there? It's creepy!" he shivered as he replied.

"Oh please, its just droplets of water vapor suspended in the air near the ground. There's nothing creepy about fog," Ryan rolled his eyes.

"Alright Science Boy, this coming from the guy who's scared of a little wooden box?"

"It was a coffin Dan!"

They were interrupted by Valera who was laughing at their exchange. With a final giggle, she moved to the sink and placed her mug down. She headed for the door, pausing only to say, "Frankly, you're both wimps."

Ryan glared at Cooper.

"You started it," Dan shrugged. He grabbed a biscuit before he followed Valera out.

Ryan sighed his frustration and turned his gaze to the window. The fog was certainly getting thicker; the sky was almost black and he could barely make out the lights of the next building. In the reflection, he caught sight of two people step out of the elevator. He turned his head round to get a better look. They were laughing, both had their heads turned to each other and their eyes were both sparkling playfully. Once their laughter had subsided, she took a step towards him and muttered something, a coy smile resting on her mouth, before she moved back and headed for Horatio's office for their weekly review. Eric watched her leave with a huge grin plastered on his face. Eventually, he turned and headed for the break room.

/EC/

He smiled when he smelt the regular coffee in the coffee maker, 'Valera hadn't been able to find his cubano.' Eric reached for the third cupboard on the left, the one under the sink, and felt around for his coffee which was hidden neatly behind the cleaning materials.

"That's a little gross Eric," Ryan told him.

Eric cast a weary eye over to his colleague.

"Hey, as long as it stays out of Valera's grasp, I don't care. Besides, It's sealed." Eric pointed to the twist top on the jar.

Ryan smiled and turned his gaze back to the fog outside the window.

"It's pretty heavy out there huh?" Eric's voice made him turn his focus back.

"Yeah, apparently Dan thinks it's creepy." Ryan rolled his eyes.

Eric laughed as he fiddled with the coffee maker.

"Speaking of heaviness, you and Calleigh seem to be a little heavy yourselves," Ryan teased.

Eric couldn't help the grin that pulled at his mouth. He took a sip from his coffee and drew his arms across his chest. He and Calleigh hadn't actually discussed how to play their relationship at work and Eric hadn't needed to ask. He completely respected her professionalism and knew that she wouldn't tolerate any display of outright public affection, 'although it was fun to try,' he thought wickedly. She seemed to be taking an, 'if they find out, they find out,' attitude as far as their colleagues were concerned and he was happy to go along.

"That's really none of your business," he shrugged, trying to play it cool.

Ryan arched an eyebrow and laughed. "You know, I think I preferred it when all you two did was make eyes at each other."

Eric met Ryan's eyes with a stern glare. "Trust me, I don't."

His colleague looked down for a moment, a wistful look on his face.

"I know," Ryan finally muttered. His thoughts turned to Natalia and he rubbed his eyes, trying to shake them away.

"So, uh, you two moved in together yet?" Ryan probed further.

"Not officially," Eric replied. They may as well have though; he couldn't remember the last time he slept in his own bed. Half of his stuff was at Calleigh's anyway.

"What about you and Natalia?" Eric enquired with a smirk.

Ryan sighed and shrugged. There wasn't a Natalia and him.

"That bad huh?" Eric noted.

"I just – I don't want us to end up like you and Calleigh did!" Ryan replied in exasperation. He knew what he'd just said was a little harsh, his crush on Natalia was nothing compared to what Eric had with Calleigh. He didn't even know if Natalia was aware of his feelings, but it was still frustrating nevertheless.

Eric considered being angry for a moment. What had happened between he and Calleigh was different; she'd had good reason to be scared. She grew up watching her father hurt her mother with his drinking, fell for a guy who didn't tell her he was engaged and watched her ex literally blow his brains out in her ballistics lab because he couldn't bare to be 'just a friend.' Eric himself was barely surviving before he and Calleigh took their relationship to the next level - the little moments they'd had, had driven him insane - but he would never have done that to her, 'could never do that to her.' But it was none of Ryan's business and so instead, he opted for a more sympathetic approach.

"If you're so scared of going down the same road that Calleigh and I did then just tell Natalia how you feel."

"But what if I can't?"

"Christ Ryan, how old are you?" He got up to leave. Eric softened when he saw the other man's face. Through the glass, he caught sight of Calleigh heading for ballistics and he smiled, his heart beating just that little bit faster whenever she was around.

"Then just know that in the end, when it finally happens. It's totally worth it."

Before Ryan could answer, Eric was gone.