Beyond the Crime Lab:
The Little Miracle
Part 1: Realization
"Something's not right," thought Calleigh as she processed evidence in her firearms lab in late July. "I just at an hour ago, how am I possibly hungry again?" Calleigh finished up what she was doing and fished two quarters from her purse, went up to the break room and got a candy bar from the vending machine.
Five days and many trips to the vending machine later, Calleigh finally got the courage to confide in someone she trusted. She quickly dialed Alexx's number and told her about her change in appetite and how she felt tired even after a good night sleep.
"Oh honey," Alexx started, "baby you need to go to your doctor. I mean, is it possible you're...?"
"No...I...well, yeah maybe. Oh God Alexx I can't be." Calleigh replied.
"Are you having any other symptoms?" Alexx asked.
"Well, yes. Um... can we meet up for lunch? We haven't talked in two months, do you have any free time?" Calleigh answered.
"For you dear, I have all the time in the world." Alexx told her.
Three hours later, Calleigh and Alexx met for lunch at a tiny café where Calleigh told all her thoughts and feelings. Alexx encouraged Calleigh to talk to her doctor to make sure everything was okay. If it was what she thought it was, she would have to take the necessary precautions to keep herself safe.
Shaking, Calleigh waited in her doctor's office until her name was called. A little while later, it was confirmed that she was, in fact pregnant. About 6 weeks along. Of course, Calleigh knew it. She was very in tune with her body. She just kept convincing herself it couldn't be the thing that her body kept telling her that it was. Mind racing, she headed back to the lab. How would she? Who would she? Well, she knew who to tell, it was just a matter of when.
"Eric, how about dinner at my place tonight?"
Calleigh found him busily working, eyes furrowed in concentration, his lips slightly apart, wearing a red button-up shirt. He looked amazing and Calleigh couldn't help but blush.
"Sure, say around seven?" Eric answered.
"That would be perfect." Calleigh answered.
At five minutes to seven, Eric rang Calleigh's doorbell. She let him in and the two sat on the couch. They stared at each other for a second before Calleigh's stomach growled.
"Whoa! Someone's hungry" started Eric, "Let's eat!"
"Oh my God, how does he know?! No wait he doesn't know, there's no way. Okay Calleigh, get a hold of yourself." she thought. Before she knew it, her mouth went ahead of her mind.
"Eric I'm pregnant!" she blurted out and fell onto the couch in a heap, crying.
"Eric, I'm so sorry. I..."
Not exactly knowing what to do, Eric breathed in and pulled Calleigh as close to him as he could.
"Sorry? You don't have to be sorry. Oh, Cal, no. Don't be sorry." He rocked her back and forth in his arms for two or three minutes before Calleigh pushed herself off of him just enough to look into his huge brown eyes. She remembered how he made her feel everyday for the last six years. As co-workers, friends, then a bit more than friends. She felt so relaxed in his arms. Finally, she spoke.
"Eric, this baby is yours. I'm positive. I'm sorry. I guess I messed up your life and mine. What are we going to do about work? What do we do now? I'm so scared."
"Calleigh, wait. You didn't mess up anything... not my life and not yours. There are plenty of busy moms and dads out there and the way I see it, this just speeds up the process." Eric said with a twinkle in his eye. "Now please, let's eat."
Eric pulled Calleigh to her feet, held her hand and led her to her dining room. He then went into her kitchen, fixed two plates - a little more for Calleigh - and walked back into the dining room, sat down and looked into her vivid green eyes; full of power and beauty. He loved her, now more than he ever thought he could and now knowing that she, Calleigh Duquesne, was pregnant with his baby made him happier than he'd ever been.
"Wow, so where do we begin? We have a lot of people to tell." Calleigh began, eating quickly to ward off that shaky and queasy feeling that gnawed at her most of the day.
"I know," Eric replied. "Cal, I don't want you to get yourself stressed out. Just relax and we'll figure out what to do tomorrow. Let's just be together tonight and not worry about anything."
Eric and Calleigh spend the evening watching T.V. before Calleigh fell asleep with her head on his chest. She only woke up once and Eric held her hair out of her face as she queasiness got the best of her. Eric then learned that the term "morning sickness" didn't always mean it happened in the morning.
The next morning Eric woke up a little before his sleeping beauty. It was amazing how one night had changed his life (and hers) and that soon, their world would be very different. Eric ran his fingers lightly over her stomach tracing a heart around Calleigh's belly button. He smiled as she breathed in deeply and opened her eyes.
"Hey" Eric said
"Hey to you" Calleigh replied sitting up. "I'm so hungry... again"
"Well, looks like we have 2 hours before we have to go in to work. What would you like, and I'll make it for you?"
"Right now cereal sounds really good, but you know I can do it myself" Calleigh replied.
"Not another word." Eric said, getting up, putting his shirt back on and going to the kitchen to fix her cereal.
After breakfast, Calleigh and Eric drove to his apartment so he could put on new clothes. The two decided that they should tell their boss as soon as possible so Calleigh and her unborn child would be safe from danger considering that their job could be far from safe sometimes. By noon it was decided that Calleigh would not have to go out in the field, use any dangerous chemicals or have to interrogate suspects. She would also have to give up her gun lab for the next few months until the baby was born.
As worried as Calleigh and Eric had been about sharing their news, they received hugs and congratulations from all of their friends and co-workers and of course their boss - who couldn't stop smiling. Eric's parents and Calleigh's father were elated as well.
Part 2: Growing
When Calleigh was 12 weeks pregnant, Eric's apartment lease ran out, Ryan offered to help Eric move his furniture into Calleigh's house. They had been living at her house since they found out, but waited until his lease ran out to move everything in. That was one more piece of the puzzle put together. Now things seemed more real than they had. They were really doing this!
The weather in Miami had gotten a touch cooler to allow September to make it's presence known. Most nights after work Eric would fix dinner, the two would eat, and then they would take slow walks on the beach.
"Eric, Calleigh started, "I am so glad this happened to us. I haven't been this happy in a long time." She rubbed her slightly protruding belly and looked at him.
"Me too," Eric replied, reaching into his pocket and pulling out a beautiful diamond ring. He got down on one knee and said, "You are the mother of my child and the most perfect woman in the whole world. I love every part of you. Calleigh Duquesne, will you marry me?"
A huge smile spread across her face as she carefully took the ring from his fingers and pulled him up onto his feet again."Eric Delko, yes, I will marry you, you hot thing, you!"
Eric just laughed and their lips met gently.
So then, a month later, Calleigh Duquesne because Calleigh Duquesne Delektorsky. But as Eric had done, preferred to have her last name as Delko. She kept her name Duquesne on her lab coat just as a personal preference. At 4 months pregnant Calleigh was anxious to find out if she and Eric would have a boy or a girl. As long as it was healthy, it didn't really matter.
During her long shifts at the crime lab, Calleigh worried if Eric was okay when he was out in the field. She never worried about like she did now. There was just so much at stake. She longed to be back in her "home" – the firearms lab, but knew it wasn't a good idea. Just in case something were to happen. She would watch from afar as a night shift employee worked with guns and analyzed striations. Wishing she could be the one doing it. She thought she started to feel her baby kick her from the inside one day as she watched. "Yeah, yeah, I feel you sweetie." she said. "You're imagining being out here while I'm wishing I was in there! Let's go find your daddy and get something to eat." Her lab coat covered her stomach, but it would be like that for very much longer.
Eric noticed Calleigh's stomach was starting to show a little more and that she kept having to buy new clothes that fit over their tiny miracle inside Calleigh's stomach. He loved that her hair was shinier than ever and that she seemed to glow. A little before Thanksgiving, Calleigh and Eric were pleased to find out that she was carrying a girl. They fought teasingly over what to name their little girl. One week it would be Alyssa, the next it would be Elizabeth. They started thinking their little one would come into the world and never have a name that they both liked.
As Calleigh's stomach grew to accommodate their little angel, she and Eric's walks on the beach became shorter and shorter, however, the bond between Eric and his new wife became stronger and stronger. It was as if they were meant to be together and this little girl who would be coming in early April was making that happen, just a little quicker than either of them thought.
Part 3: Happiness
In February, Ryan and Natalia threw a baby shower for Calleigh and Eric. Beautifully wrapped presents in pink, purple and yellow bags and boxes were stacked on a table. Many other friends of Calleigh and Eric's came, not just their co-workers. Usually baby showers were more for ladies to attend, but Eric was way too excited to let Calleigh open the gifts. Plus, Ryan begged him to come so he wouldn't be the only male there. There were many smiles and much laughter as they opened the presents and passed them around for everyone to see. Calleigh's favorite gift was from Natalia who gave her a silver bracelet for the baby and a necklace with a tiny carriage on it for Calleigh. Eric seemed to be entranced with all the teeny-tiny outfits that his new little girl would soon be wearing.
After the shower, Calleigh and Eric, with help from Eric's mother took all of their presents home and sank down onto the couch from sheer exhaustion. Eric's mother left and finally the two had some well-deserved quiet time alone. Eric rubbed his hand gently over Calleigh's stomach. "Hello, sweetheart," he said. "We can't wait to meet you, just a few more weeks and we'll finally see you." He felt her move and his heart just about melted.
"Do you really think she can hear me?" he asked.
"Yeah, she can hear you! Some moms put headphones on their bellies and let their babies hear music, we should try it one day." Calleigh answered, smiling.
In early March, Calleigh decided to go ahead and take time off of work to get ready for the baby. It was getting harder for her to be on her feet for such a long time and she was having trouble sleeping. She didn't want that to make her mess up something at work. Some days Alexx would come over and the two would chat and drink tea. Once Eric took a "sick" day when he was perfectly fine. She also had a friend from down the street stay with her as well when it became closer to her due date just to be safe. That was more Eric's suggestion and it made Calleigh love him even more just because he cared so much for her.
March 27th started out ordinary. Eric got up at 5:45 a.m. and took a shower. He made sure to be quiet to allow Calleigh to continue sleeping. He was in the kitchen making coffee when he heard, "Errrrrrrrriiiiiiiiiic!!"
Dropping his coffee mug which crashed to the floor he ran as fast as he could to the bedroom. "What, Cal, where are you?!" he asked.
"I'm in the bathroom. I'm pretty sure my water just broke." Calleigh answered with a shaky voice.
As he entered the bathroom door he saw her standing there, eyes wide and completely terrified looking. "Okay, okay we've got everything ready. Let's call your doctor and see what to do. Come here, you need to sit down." Eric said as he grabbed his cell phone and quickly dialed her doctor. His hands now shaking. With Calleigh now sitting on the bed he talked to Calleigh's doctor who told them to get their bags and head to the hospital. At 6:55 a.m. they were admitted and the two were in a room where Calleigh was given a hospital gown and an I.V. was started.
Eric called his parents and Calleigh's dad. For a while, the two were alone in their room unless a nurse came in to check Calleigh. Eric's mom and dad popped in to say hello and waited in the waiting room with Calleigh's dad. Calleigh actually managed to sleep a little between contractions that weren't too terrible yet. Her high threshold for pain helped out as well... but not for long.
Almost asleep himself, Eric was awoken by someone grabbing his hand and breathing in sharply. It was Calleigh. "Eric, Eric, Eric, oh my god, ooooooh, Eric OOOOW!! Okay this one is bad!" He looked at the clock (9:34 a.m.) and then poked his head out of their door and saw a nurse. He waived her in their room where she checked Calleigh and found that she was 5 centimeters dilated. Calleigh then decided that she didn't want to go much further without an epidural. Before the anesthesiologist could come in another contraction hit her like nothing she'd ever felt before.
"Eriiiic, OOOOOOOOOW, please Eric, help."
"Honey he's coming and I promise you will feel better, it's okay, just breathe." Eric said as he rubbed her leg.
"DON'T touch me!" Calleigh half yelled. "Just AAH, Eric, I'm sorry. Please don't be mad. AAH! Oh God. Eric, will you hold my hand?"
Eric meekly gave her his hand afraid of being yelled at again or worse. She looked up at him with the most pleading eyes and he felt like he was the most powerless person in the world.
"Breathe, Cal, breathe. You have to breathe." Eric said. Calleigh kept holding her breath. Eric's heart was racing. He hated seeing her in so much pain. Having her yell at him scared him to death. He just wanted this to be over and to be able to hold his little girl in his arms. He wanted to run out and find the doctor and MAKE him give her the epidural so she'd feel better. What was taking so long?
Finally, the anesthesiologist came in and gave Calleigh the epidural. It was just before 10:00 a.m. She was checked and was still 5 centimeters dilated. The epidural made her feel so much better. She managed a smile and that eased Eric's worries as well. Eric sat beside her and watched TV while she slept peacefully. She only woke up when her nurse came in to check on her. Natalia called Eric's cell phone for an update. Nothing new yet, he told her, but he'd let her know as soon as anything happened.
Eric wondered how long labor could actually be. He had heard from some people that it took many, many hours but that some women breezed through it. He hoped Calleigh would be like that. She'd done so well so far. He text messaged his mother's cell phone asking if she could bring him something to eat. He'd remembered he and Calleigh hadn't eaten anything that day. Eric's mom brought him a sandwich which he ate on the far side of the room. One, so he wouldn't wake Calleigh and two, so she wouldn't see him eating.
Late in the evening, a new nurse came in and checked on Calleigh. She was fully dilated at 10 centimeters. It was time to push. The room was set up for her to deliver and her epidural was lessened so she'd feel the contractions and be ready to push. Her doctor came in and got her and Eric ready.
"Okay, Calleigh. When your next contraction comes, I want you to push." Her doctor told her. She nodded her head in agreement.
As the contraction came, Calleigh said, "Eric, I need you up here NOW!"
Eric grabbed her hand and she pushed while he and her doctor and the nurse counted to ten. Four more good pushes later, her doctor told her the next one would be it. When the next contraction came, Calleigh was ready. She gave it her best. Halfway through the push, she screamed out in pain and dug her nails into Eric's hand.
"Calleigh, come on, she's right there. Come on honey, come on." Eric said.
As she pushed, their little miracle finally made her presence into the world. She was cleaned up and handed to her daddy who gave her tiny head a kiss and laid her into her mommy's arms. "Here ya go, mommy!" Eric said, tears in his eyes.
"Wow, Eric she looks just like you!" Calleigh replied, tears in her eyes as well. "Welcome to the world, Adriana Caroline!" she said. "Look how blue her eyes are, oh my God she's perfect!"
"Just like her momma." Eric said.
Adriana was beautiful. A touch of her daddy's Cuban skin tone and teeny tiny black curls. She was the spitting image of him. She seemed to look at Calleigh and Eric as they smiled down at her. So happy to finally be a family.
Part 4: Home
Eric and Calleigh were allowed to go home 2 days after Adriana was born. Eric carefully placed a sleeping Adriana in her car seat, then helped Calleigh into the back seat of their car so their little angel wouldn't be alone. They pulled out of the hospital and were on their way home. For a minute the two were totally silent, then Eric heard a sniffle, looked in the rearview mirror and discovered that Calleigh was crying.
"Aww, Cal, what's wrong?" he started.
"It's just... so... weird. I mean, she's here, and we're her parents and this is actually happening. We can't just hold her and then give her back to her mom. She's ours...to keep... forever and ever. Ahh stupid hormones! I don't even know why I'm crying." Calleigh answered back.
"What's she doing right now?" Eric asked.
"Just sleeping. I thought she was waking up, but she's in dreamland. Whatever newborns dream about, she's dreaming about it. She looks so peaceful. I'm so in love with her."
Eric pulled into their driveway, stopped the car and gingerly took Adriana out of her car seat. His mother was waiting for them to arrive home and she helped Calleigh out of the car and lead her to the couch. She hurried back to the kitchen and started preparing a lunch for them. Calleigh smiled and closed her eyes for a second but Adriana had other plans. She didn't cry loud, just enough for her mom to know she needed something. It had been about an hour and a half since she'd eaten so Calleigh took her to her room to feed her. When she was done, Calleigh brought her back out to the living room and laid her in Eric's arms so she could get some lunch.
Adriana opened her tiny eyes and looked at Eric as if to say "hey dad!".
"Hello, sweetheart. How are you? You are so pretty. Look at your eyes. Hey, hey Adriana. Can you see me?" He put his finger on her hand, she opened her hand up and closed her fist around his finger. She closed her eyes and drifted back off to sleep. Eric held her for a good hour before Calleigh begged him to let her hold their daughter.
Five days later, a familiar gold Hummer pulled into their driveway as Calleigh sat upstairs with Adriana in her arms. Calleigh walked downstairs and saw Eric on the couch, half asleep.
"Eric... hey, hon. Guess who just pulled up?" Calleigh said.
"Mmm?" was all he could manage, being half asleep.
About that time, the doorbell rang, and Eric shot straight up.
"What, Cal, huh?"
"Horatio's here! Ha ha, you are so funny when you get woken up all the sudden," Calleigh said as she went to answer the door.
She opened the door to her boss who had a huge box in his arms.
"Oh, Horatio, you didn't need to do that!" Calleigh said as she opened the door.
"Yes I did. How's the new little Delko? I hear she looks just like Eric. Just what we need, another Eric." Horatio said, smiling. "Adriana, right?" he asked.
"Yes, Adriana Caroline. Would you like to hold her?" Calleigh said, laughing. "She does look a lot like Eric. Here, lets put this box in the kitchen and then we'll go sit in the den."
As they sat down, and Calleigh handed Adriana to Horatio, he said, "I didn't come all this way not to hold a future CSI in my arms. Wow, she's so little. You forget how little they are. Maybe she'll open her eyes for me."
As tough as Horatio was with the hardest criminals in Miami, Calleigh and Eric had never imagined seeing him be so gentle to someone, ever. He touched her hands, and rubbed her cheek with his finger, causing Adriana to move her head to try and nurse on his finger. He spoke softly to her and she opened her eyes and looked at him, they stared into each other's eyes like they had known each other for a long time. "Hey sweet Adriana. How are you today? You are such a lucky little girl to have such awesome parents. How amazingly little are you?!"
"She is tiny isn't she?" Eric said, rubbing his face, trying to pretend like he hadn't drifted off to sleep. No overtime at work was ever this tiring for Eric as it was being a new dad, but he loved every minute of it.
Eric, Calleigh and Horatio talked for a while until Horatio needed to get back to the crime lab. He gave Adriana a kiss on her forehead and gave Calleigh a hug. He said good-bye and was on his way.
As Adriana grew, Eric and Calleigh became more confident as parents. Learning what her cries meant and trying to get on some sort of schedule. When she was 9 weeks old, Calleigh went back to work and Adriana stayed with Eric's mother all day until either Eric or Calleigh would pick her up and take her home. One of the two would feed her and when they were all 3 at home, would wait until it cooled off in the evening, put Adriana in her stroller and walk around the neighborhood. Most nights it would be too warm so the three would lay on a blanket together and Calleigh and Eric would listen to the noises Adriana would make. Her hair, black at birth, was slowly becoming a little lighter in color but the curls remained. She watched intently as her daddy's lips moved as he talked to her. She smiled as her mommy made a toy make noise.
"Aww, Eric! Did you see that smile?" Calleigh exclaimed.
"Yeah. She's so cute when she does that and her eyes get all squinty." Eric answered. He leaned in and gave Adriana a kiss on her cheek. "Hey what about me?" Calleigh said, pretending to pout. He kissed her and said, " I always have a kiss ready for you."
Calleigh smiled and blushed and butterflies fluttered in her stomach the same way they did the first time they met. She couldn't have planned a better life; a loving husband, a beautiful daughter, a great job and a fantastic house. Her eyes met Eric's and they kissed.
THE END!