A/N: I'm usually an HC shipper, but I decided to give Eric and Calleigh a chance. I got my inspiration for the story from the song "How Did I Fall In Love With You" by the Backstreet Boys. Look up the lyrics if you like.

Disclaimer: I do own any miniscule part of CSI: Miami… I would love to, but alas, I do not. Nothing here belongs to me, except the plot.

Rating: Teen for now… may become more mature as the story progresses.

How Did I Fall In Love With You?

Calleigh sighed as she walked past Eric's lab. How could this happen, she asked herself. How could I fall this hard for someone who's almost family to me? We're supposed to have a platonic relationship. This feeling surpasses that. How could I let it happen? She had been denying it for almost two years now, but with each passing day, Calleigh had a harder time suppressing her feelings for her co-worker. She knew that if they ever got together, they would never be left alone. Other co-workers would meddle, and they'd eventually have to break up, so she kept the façade of just being friends. Inside, however, she was falling apart and wanting to be in Eric's arms.

When Calleigh left to go home, Eric was still hard at work on their current case. "Bye Eric," Calleigh left a lingering drawl on the word "bye." "Later, Cal. See you tomorrow." Calleigh held onto the sound of Eric's voice on her way home. She loved the way that while he didn't have an accent for the most part, there was a trace of his mother's accent in his voice. I still can't believe that I feel this strongly for him. I've always been able to keep myself romantically detached from co-workers…what about him is making it so different? Calleigh sighed again as she unlocked her apartment door. She breathed in the soft scent of lavender that filled her home. Immediately, she was ready to take a short bath and go to bed.

The next morning, Calleigh woke up to the sound of her alarm clock. "Obnoxious piece of shit…" She stumbled out of bed and went to her kitchen to make a pot of coffee. Scratching her head like her father used to, she waited for the coffee to brew. Her father… there was a tender subject. While she loved him and loved inheriting some of his habits, she had suffered quite a bit of abuse from him. He never meant to; it was always when he was drunk that he hit her. She knew that it wasn't him hitting her; it was the monster that alcohol awakens that did it. Still, she was afraid of her father. The coffee maker gurgled, indicating that her coffee was ready. "Caffeine…" Calleigh took a big gulp of coffee and started to get ready for her day. She put her long hair into a bun. She had a very strange feeling that they were going to get a new case today, and that this case would include a lot of blood. She rarely got these feelings and hated when she did; they never indicated anything good. Calleigh finished getting ready out of mundane habit. Put this in her purse, take some Advil, put that in her pocket, and clip her badge to the waistband of her bottoms. Everything, just as it was every morning. Calleigh liked the habit. She knew that she wouldn't forget anything if she never changed her morning routine. Calleigh headed out the door and went to work.

Calleigh greeted Claudia in her usual chipper manner. No one ever knew the torment that ran rampant in Calleigh's soul. She always hid behind a wall, a mask. No one had ever known Calleigh to break down, so it wasn't unusual to Claudia to see Calleigh happy and perky. When Calleigh passed Eric, though, Eric questioned if she was ok. NO! I'm not ok! I like you more than I should, I'm having bad feelings about what may happen today, and I don't want to hide behind this mask anymore! "I'm fine, Eric."
"Are you sure?" Eric looked Calleigh deep in the eyes, but Calleigh's response remained the same. "I'm fine. Really." Eric gave her one last concerned look and nodded. "If you say so. You know you can come to me if you need to talk." Eric walked off toward his lab. "I can't talk to you about this," Calleigh mumbled. "I can't talk to anyone about this."

Calleigh continued onto the Ballistics lab with her feeling of dread becoming worse. By the time she reached the lab, her dread had taken control of her body. Calleigh tried to rationalize it, but to no avail. She was on high alert. She had no idea what was going on, but she was certainly going to find out.

A/N: The story is a bit scatter-brained, but that's because I'm scatter-brained. Leave me reviews and let me know if you liked it, and if not, how I can improve... apart from the scatter-brained thing. .