Natalia was tired. No, scratch that. She was exhausted, exhausted beyond the point of numbness. It had been stressful lately. Even though Eric was back and the workload had lessened for them all, there was still so much to do and things were still askew. As she sat at the microscope, staring into nothing, thoughts ran unchecked in her mind. Thoughts of work, of Eric, swirling and uncontrolled, random memory flooding in and out of Natalia's brain. She'd never seen him this way before, and even though he was hiding his memory loss well and the effects of his shooting well, Natalia wasn't sure how soon he might break.

It was a screw up; they'd all screwed up and they'd all do it again, but it was different for Eric. Eric was trying to compensate for what he was missing and deny what was going on. She wasn't Eric, but she felt like she was doing his work, and Eric knew what that meant. Natalia knew it, too, and she wondered for how much longer the lab could function like this.

"You know it's almost ten o'clock, right?"

Natalia shook out of her rambling thoughts to see Calleigh leaning against the doorframe to Natalia's lab. Running her hand through her hair, Natalia sighed and rolled her eyes. "I know. I'm just..."

"I know," Calleigh murmured, instantly looking older than her years. "We all are."

Natalia nodded, noticing Calleigh's blank stare. She knew what Calleigh had been going through lately; they had all been fighting their own battles. Natalia's breath suddenly caught in her throat. There had once been a time when they would fight their battles together, as a team. It was falling apart, and falling fast.

Natalia stood up, pushing herself away from the desk. "I should call Eric. Make sure he got home okay. He was a little out of it when he left."

Calleigh spoke softly as Natalia reached for the phone. "He got home okay. He's at my place. I actually just came back to get his kit. I thought I'd organize it in case he had a callout tomorrow morning."

Natalia tried not to look surprised as she met Calleigh's eyes. It was only now that she noticed Eric's kit in Calleigh's hand. "He's at your place?"

"I caught him in the parking lot, and you're right. He was a little out of it."

Natalia swallowed. She knew the way Calleigh and Eric were, the way they had always been. It was off and on, on and off, on again, then off before anyone could ever tell the difference. Natalia had learned to stop asking questions long ago. But Natalia still questioned, always wondered why they seemed to gravitate towards each other and move away just as quickly. Were they having sex? Was it just comfort during hard times? Were they each other's filler during the lonely periods? Or was it something real, something that didn't need restrictions?

Natalia cleared her throat, realizing that she'd been silent for too long. "I thought you said he'd never come to you."

"When did I say that?" Calleigh was quick to respond, her tone a bit sharper than she'd intended.

Natalia raised her eyes, now wide from the dull fear of confrontation with Calleigh. "After Ryan's birthday party, that night. We were in up at the bar and talking. You said Eric would never come to you."

Calleigh snorted softly, the sharpness in her voice gone. She rested her hand on her hip and stared down at the Eric's kit. "He comes to me for different things. It's complicated, Natalia," she announced, suddenly grabbing Natalia's eyes with her own. "We're complicated."

Natalia nodded, wishing she were drunk. She bit the inside of her cheek, hoping she might bleed. So many times she had wished that she would be the one for Eric, and so many times she had wondered what it was about Calleigh that she didn't have. Natalia twisted her mouth and pushed forward. She had to know. "Calleigh, what exactly..."

"Are we?" Calleigh interjected wryly, finishing the question. Shaking her head casually, the blond woman looked almost ready to laugh. "You know what we are. Eric and I… we're just two people, Natalia. Two people that somehow always end up in the same place."

Natalia nodded, not really understanding but wanting to pretend. "Comfort sex?"

The look on Calleigh's face startled Natalia; maybe she shouldn't have said it so bluntly, so honestly. Calleigh was shaking her head, not angrily, but not complacently. "You've wanted him for a while, Natalia. You made your move once, but if you still have those feelings then what are you waiting for? When are you going to make your move? When are you going to go and get him? He's not ever going to figure it out until you tell him," Calleigh blurted out, her eyes strong and her face hard.

Natalia felt stunned in place. "Then why do the two of you...why do you let him…"

"I don't know, Natalia, I don't know. It's just what we've always done," Calleigh said quietly, holding Eric's kit tightly to her body. She glanced around the dim and quiet lab, and then back at Natalia. "I've got to get going."

Natalia didn't move until Calleigh had disappeared from the lab, her heels were just tiny clicks against the tile as she headed out into the lobby. As the door swung closed, Natalia felt heaviness in the pit of her stomach, and she moved to gather her things. She grabbed her coat and Natalia switched out the last light illuminating the area. Darkness fell over the lab, and Natalia stood in the still, black silence, waiting for the pain in her chest to pass. Calleigh's words were echoing in her head, jumbling her thoughts together like crashing waves against rock. When was she going to make her move? When was she going to go and get him? Natalia wondered if she even could at all. The sudden realization fell over Natalia with sadness. It wasn't her that he went to. It was Calleigh. It had always been Calleigh, and it always would be. Even if Eric was not the man for Calleigh, and even if Calleigh was not the woman he loved, it was there just the same, anytime they wanted, needed another person. Natalia smirked and began to walk, wondering if she might not come back on Monday. It was a glamorous thought, though slightly childish, and it began to grow in Natalia's mind. She'd leave it all behind, Eric and Calleigh, and the rest of them. It might be what they deserved, what they all had coming in the end, anyway. Reaching her car, Natalia unlocked it and slipped inside, thinking about getting a tank of gas and her suitcase. As she navigated out of the crime lab parking lot, she began to drive home through the familiar streets. The route would take her right past Calleigh's apartment, and even though she swore she would not look, Natalia couldn't help but glancing up at the glowing building. The curtains pulled tight and a soft light on inside. Something pulled her eyes away, and harshly Natalia pressed the accelerator, sped past, and thought about where she might be by Monday.

Calleigh sighed as she rolled over once again. She couldn't stop tossing and turning, and despite the fact that it was a Friday night, there was nothing relaxed about it. Untangling the sheets from around her legs, Calleigh tried once more to make herself comfortable in the bed, wishing she could pinpoint the cause of her sleeplessness. It was driving her crazy, and all at once, as she glanced over at his still form, Calleigh was filled with jealousy.

But of course Eric was asleep, Calleigh realized with a roll of her eyes. She had yet to meet a man who didn't drop off the instant the sex was over. As she settled back down against the pillows and pulled the sheets back over her bare skin, Calleigh made sure her elbow "accidentally" found it's way into Eric's back; two more times, and he was shifting towards her.

"What the hell is your problem?" Eric asked in a husky, low and amused voice, his arm snaking around Calleigh's waist. Soon his lips were against the back of her neck, his head resting against her hair.

"I don't have a problem," Calleigh murmured, wishing she could feel as sleepy as Eric sounded.

Kissing her neck again, Eric pulled Calleigh's naked back closer against his bare chest. "You elbowed me. I've slept in the same bed with you enough times to know what that means."

Calleigh sighed softly, twisting around so that she could be face to face with Eric. Lying eye to eye with her sent Eric's heart fluttering, and suddenly he was wide-awake and pulling Calleigh closer. "What's wrong?" he asked in a whisper, brushing his lips briefly against hers.

Calleigh slipped her arms over Eric's shoulder as their legs somehow tangled together. Liking the feeling of his hands on her hips, Calleigh hummed as their groins made intimate contact. "I saw Natalia tonight when I went back to get your kit."

Eric moved his lips down Calleigh's neck, kissing slowly and softly. "Yeah?"

"I think I upset her when I told her that you were here with me," Calleigh responded, aware of Eric's growing erection.

Eric's hands had begun to wander over Calleigh's body, and they stopped suddenly at the swell of her breast. Pulling his head back a bit to see her eyes, Eric raised a brow. "Why would she be upset? She knows that you and I..."

Calleigh suddenly sat up, breaking the arousing contact their bodies had been engaged in. "She thinks that you and I use each other for sex when it's convenient or when one of us needs it. She thinks what everyone else thinks when they look and us."

Eric was startled by the hurt in Calleigh's voice. He moved slowly closer to her, tentatively sliding his hand over Calleigh's smooth back. When it was clear that she was not going to pull away again, Eric tightened his arm around her shoulders. "It doesn't matter what everyone else thinks. They don't know us, Calleigh, and I'm surprised that it bothers you."

"Natalia's in love with you, Eric. I told her that you could love her too." Calleigh said quietly, staring down at her bare knees as she hugged them to her body.

Eric sat back, taking his arms away from Calleigh's back. They were silent for a moment, the traffic on the street the only noise filtering into the darkness of the bedroom. Eric finally cleared his throat, watching Calleigh as he spoke. "I don't love her, Cal. I don't! I know what everyone thinks about that, too, but they're just as wrong as they are about you and me. I don't understand why you would tell her that, Cal, why you would do that?"

Calleigh felt the mattress dip, and soon Eric was pacing the room, his anger palpable. She watched him from the bed for a moment, biding her time before she got up and joined him in the middle of the room. "I call it like I see it, Eric, that's all," she offered in a neutral tone, folding her arms over her naked breasts.

The room was dark, but light filtering through the blinds sent shadows over her face. Before he could even think, Eric grabbed Calleigh and pulled her body close, leading them back over to the bed, their mouths melting together with heat. Pushing her back down onto the mattress, and crawling over her body, Eric slid his arms possessively under and around her. Punctuating their hot, heavy, and drugging kisses with his words, Eric struggled with his feelings. "You don't see anything, Calleigh. You have no idea, no idea at all."

"I have no idea?" She murmured, pulling his mouth back to hers, moaning as she felt his knee slip between hers to separate her legs.

Eric raised himself up over Calleigh, positioning his erection at her entrance. Looking into her eyes with his emotional pair, he slid his hands down to pull her ass upwards, completing their connection. With twin groans, they stopped to savor the feeling, and Eric sighed against Calleigh's neck. "You have no idea what I feel, who I love, or what I want. Not if you think it's Natalia."

Calleigh pushed against Eric, urging him to move inside of her. With her arms bracing against Eric's muscled shoulders, and the fire growing to unbearable levels in her center, Calleigh could no longer focus on his words. "Eric, Eric, Eric. You can love whoever you want, but right now, you just need to move!"

Eric stared into Calleigh's blue eyes, staying completely still as he searched them. "This is important to me. You're important to me. Incredibly so. I can't believe you don't know that."

"What are you saying?" she gasped, sparking with pleasure as Eric began to slowly move his hips.

"It's you, Cal, it's always been you," Eric groaned, suddenly rolling them over until Calleigh was on top. Their fingers instinctively threaded together as she began to ride him, and soon they were moaning in unison. Frantically their friction grew until an explosion was just the start.

Lying together, tangled and sweaty, Eric held Calleigh's body tightly against his, not willing to let her go even an inch. They were silent for a moment, catching their breaths and their thoughts. Calleigh spoke first. "If it's always been me, why are we this way?"

Eric smoothed Calleigh's hair, pressing a kiss to her temple. He sighed, not sure how to answer her. He responded with questions of his own. "I didn't start this with the intention of falling in love with you. Somehow we just always gravitated towards each other. We ended up together for our own selfish reasons. But I fell in love with you Calleigh. Somewhere along the way I fell for you. Do you think we'd be lying to each other? Do you feel like I'm lying to you now?"

"I don't feel like you're lying to me, Eric," Calleigh whispered, subconsciously tracing the scar on the back of his head with her index finger. "I trust you with everything. You're my best friend."

"And you are mine," Eric said matter-of-factly. He sighed, catching Calleigh's gaze. "That first time. When we were together, didn't it feel perfect to you?"

Calleigh felt tears spring to her eyes. She had never wanted to reveal those feelings to Eric, because when she relived them, she was always so sure he had not felt the same thing. To be honest, it had been just after he had been released from the hospital. At first she was so relieved that he remembered her that she had completely ignored the feeling that were welling up inside. Then, we they had connected it had been perfect. "Oh, Eric, you couldn't even know."

He smiled into the dark, satisfied with her truth. "I do know. It feels that way every single time, Calleigh."

Calleigh smirked, hoping she didn't sound too bitter. "Then why do you suppose days and days go by in between? I've stopped wondering if it will be another three weeks before you're here again. I already know."

Eric squeezed Calleigh's shoulder and put his lips softly to hers. They parted slowly. "I think we can change that, Calleigh. I think we should."

"Let's just take it easy, Eric. We're too old to be this stupid," Calleigh responded, closing her eyes. She was suddenly feeling very sleepy.

Eric noticed her drooping eyes and decided to drop the conversation. They'd said enough for one night. He had revealed enough. "Goodnight, Calleigh Dusquesne."

Calleigh snuggled closer to Eric, warm in the comfort of his arms. He had revealed so much to her tonight, and as she dropped off to sleep, Calleigh wondered where they were going.