" He's back ya know"
I looked up from the magnifying glass I was carefully peering through, hoping to get find a match to all the prints laid out in front of me. I raised an eyebrow and looked at my colleague, and then at the other two also working and they shrugged obviously not knowing what our co worker was talking about. I sighed and decided I would bite.
"Who's back?" I asked unable to mask my indifference at his statement. Ryan had the tendency to find the most mundane pieces of information of great importance, so I really wasn't expecting any great revelation.
"Berkley"
He had my attention. I dropped the magnifying glass and looked at his face, he looked scared and pained. Like he really didn't want to tell me the news. Our other colleagues who were both relatively new to the team and had no idea who we were talking about, however they sensed the tension and were looking back and forth between both Ryan and I.
"What do you mean back?" I hated to ask but I had to. I didn't want to seem too interested but honestly who was I kidding?
" I was out on a scene with Tripp, Jake is back from being in seclusion, ya know the whole crypt kings thing. I guess he is planning to come back to work here. Tripp says he is giving up ATF to work homicide here in Miami, again" Ryan looked up at his friend, and could see the waves of realization hit his face. This was not good.
" Hey man, I don't think you should worry I mean she…."
" None of my concern man, we could use the help around here and he is a good detective. Look these prints are a bust I'm gonna go check in with Valera and see if she's got anything." I walked out of the room and closed my eyes. I needed to breathe and I needed to calm down. This doesn't mean anything right? I mean she loves me, at least I think she does. Its not like her to just outright divulge her feelings, and I have been all right with that, but now I feel insecure and scared and so many things.
I had made my way to Valera's lab and didn't even notice that I was scowling and mumbling to myself. Valera looked up at me and smirked.
" So I guess Ryan spilled the beans."
" what are you talking about?" I tried to act calm, but I was about to lose it
" Nice try Delko but I know"
"know what?"
"Calleigh told me" she smiled and I looked struck
"she told you what"
Valera rolled her eyes "about Jake being back"
"she knows?" he thought back to seeing her this morning, she hadn't mentioned anything about Jake. Eric was starting to feel sick.
"Of course she knows, she was at the diner across the street with him this morning, I was having breakfast with some of the Lab techs and she was having breakfast with Jake"
"Breakfast?"
"or coffee I don't know." Maxine looked at him
Eric thought he was going to be sick, they hadn't spent last night together because she had to work late, no big deal right. Wrong, if she met Jake for breakfast at that ungodly hour of the morning, it was planned. Which means she must have talked to him last night. Oh god….
"Eric,Eric?"
Eric snapped his head and turned to look at Valera
"you have to trust her alright," Valera looked sympathetic
"what are you talking about max?"
"come on Eric I am not an idiot, look don't go off on her or anything, just talk to her. I am sure she has a good reason for talking to him. And you are going to have to deal with it if you are going to be working together."
Eric sighed, " I gotta go"
"Talk to her Eric"
Eric nodded at Valera and made his way down the hall the the ballistics lab.
///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
She was firing off a few rounds, thinking thinking. She was sick of thinking. Why did life have to be so complicated? Why did he have to come back, and why now. She could hear the door to her lab open and close and somebody walk towards her. She was expecting him, it was just a matter of time before he found out, and she would have to face this, all of this.
" Hey you almost finished" he whispered. Oh yeah he knew, she could tell by the tone in his voice.
Slowly Calleigh turned around, and she could see exactly what she heard. The pain, and uncertainty was evident in both his voice and his face.
"Yeah you?"
" Yeah I was just about to head out for the day" he looks at you waiting for you to say something
"so you heard huh?" Calleigh pulled herself up on the table in the firing range and looked at him.
"yeah I heard" he finally looks into your eyes, waiting for you to say or do something to make him feel somewhat better, but you cant.
"we need to talk Eric"
He winces, " I know. Where?"
"My place in an hour, you wanna pick up dinner?"
"sure see ya in an hour" he turns to walk away
"Eric?" my voices cracks as I say his name
He stops but doesn't turn around
" I ..I'll see you soon
He nods and makes his way out of the lab and to the locker room.
//////////////////////////////////////////////////////
Calleigh was pacing, he was late, and Eric was never late. She sat on the couch and nervously pulled at the hem of her shirt. She was so afraid of this, she did not want to do this but she had no choice, Eric deserved the truth.
Finally she heard a click and Eric came into the front foyer of her house. She jumped up and went to grab the takeout bags he had with him. He followed her to the kitchen without saying a word, and helped her arrange the food on plates. He really wasn't hungry but…he went along with it anyways.
Calleigh looked up at him, she stroked his cheek with her palm and he looked down at her
"Cal.." he whispered
She could hear the pain in his voice, and she wrapped her arms around his torso and pulled him close to her.
"Cal just tell me okay…. I mean if I am losing you just tell me, I need to hear it now I nee…"
Calleigh pulled him into a kiss, and he moaned. She wrapped her arms tightly around his neck and he ran his hands through her hair pulling her closer to him. She dropped her hands from his neck and rested them on the buckle of his belt, she began to unloop the belt when he grabbed her hands away from him and pulled her away.
"no.." his voice was rough but steady
She looked up at him with a confused look
"Cal we need to talk"
Calleigh sighed and sat down in one of the chairs at the island in her kitchen, she motioned to the chair next to her, and eric sat waiting.
"Jakes back"
Eric laughed " I know and"
"and I had breakfast with him this morning"
Eric dropped her hand clenched his temples. He knew about breakfast but hearing it again made it even more real.
" Look I will tell you everything but you have to promise not to interrupt not once no matter what."
He nodded. Not trusting himself to speak
Calleigh took a deep breath "You know all about the case with the Crypt Kings and that because of the guns jake took from them he had to go into hiding 'on ice' I think he called it until things cooled down. "
Eric nodded again
" what you don't know is when he left he asked me to wait for him, I declined I told him I had spent enough time waiting. That was nearly a year ago. Yesterday he called me just before we got off work. I lied when I said I had to work late. I just didn't know what to say. Jake wanted to see me, I agreed to breakfast outside the MDPD. I didn't see you last night because honestly I didn't know how to explain breakfast with Jake to you."
Eric shifted and turned to look at the wall, he couldn't look at her, she lied to him last night and with such ease.
"Eric, I needed to see him, to tell him it is truly over. I think when he left he got the impression that it was over because of the job, but it wasn't just that it was so many things and I needed to tell him. In person, its only fair I did it in person."
"you could of told me, I get that" he said coldly still not looking at her
"Theres more. After breakfast, I told him I had moved on, he asked if it was you, I told him it was irrelevant. Outside the diner when he walked me to the car, he kissed me." Calleigh closed her eyes for a moment and then looked at Eric. He was gripping the counter and his Jaw was tense, this was it he was going to lose it.
"Eric" Calleigh reached out to touch his arm
Eric stood up quickly and walked out of the kitchen.
"Eric please, I pulled away immediately, I told him again it was over I swear. Eric please" Calleigh was pleading, she stood in front of him and put her hands on his waist "please I love you not him, I want you I swear. Please Eric"
Eric finally looked down at her
"You sure?"
Calleigh wrapped her arms around his neck and buried her head in the crock of his shoulder and neck.
" yes I am sure, Please don't leave me"
"you lied"
" I know"
"why?"
"I thought I could handle it on my own, I didn't want you to worry. I know I can be difficult and I know you have doubts about my feelings for you, and I wanted to squash them before you ever had to worry."
Eric was softening. He sat down on the sofa and pulled Calleigh into his lap, she leaned in to kiss him but he stopped her. "no more lies Cal, or that's it I swear"
" I promise no more."
Eric allowed her to kiss him, softly at first, and then it became more urgent more passionate. He needed her, he needed to show her, he was the one for her. He was still angry but damnit he loved her. In one quick movement he picked her up and carried her to the bedroom down the hall. He would show her she choose the right man.
NOTE: SHOULD I MAKE THIS A ONESHOOT OR NO. R&R