A/N: Set between ep.8x05, "Bad Seed," and ep.8x11, "Delko for the Defense." Not beta'd.
Disclaimer: I own nothing.
"Is that my sweatshirt?" the handsome Cuban man asked with a cheeky grin.
Oh no, Calleigh thought. Here she was trying take things slow, rebuild their friendship and maybe, just maybe, something more. And I blow it by wearing his sweatshirt, like nothing has changed?
Then, Calleigh knew. Nothing had changed. She still felt the same way about Eric that she did months, even years ago. And she knew by the constant sparkle in Eric's eye that he at least felt something for her, too.
She thought about what she had discovered earlier today. When she came across those papers, Calleigh didn't know what to think or feel; she just sat numb. She wondered if Eric knew, and it killed her to think that he knew and still didn't come back.
"Cal?" Eric asked hesitantly, trying to gain her attention. "Cal, hey I'm sorry." Eric hoped to God that he hadn't just gone too far. He wasn't asking her if that was his sweatshirt; he knew that it was. Even in jest, his real question couldn't be mistaken, not by Calleigh. 'Are you still holding on?'
Calleigh snapped back to reality, giving Eric an apologetic smile. He just laughed and asked softly, "Hey, where'd you go?"
Moment of truth. Calleigh decided to throw all caution to the wind; for a month they had talked like this, repaired their broken trust, grown even closer than they were before. And for a month, all Calleigh really wanted to say was "Come home."
"Sorry, I just spaced for a minute," she said. Eric saw the thoughtful look on her face and knew she had more to say. He learned long ago not to rush Calleigh, especially when she was willing to open up a little. Patience had its rewards.
Calleigh locked her sea-green eyes with Eric's brown ones as best she could through a video camera and a thousand miles; she didn't want him to just hear her, she wanted him to understand.
"Horatio had to go to New York yesterday," she said nonchalantly. Eric furrowed his brow: whenever Calleigh started a conversation with an inane piece of information, he knew it would be a heavy one.
"Cal, is everything okay?"
She smiled at him, a real smile this time, and snuggled deeper into her sweatshirt (an action that did not go unnoticed by its true owner). "Yeah, Eric. Everything is fine. It's just that, Horatio left me in charge of the lab."
Eric was baffled. "He's done that before, Cal. Did something happen?"
"No," Calleigh laughed, "everyone was just as crazy as normal."
When she didn't elaborate any further, Eric began to worry. "Calleigh," he said slowly, "tell me what's really going on."
He always could see right through me, Calleigh thought with a smile. Her eyes filled with tears as she struggled to find the right words to say to him, to explain what she was feeling. Meanwhile, Eric was becoming more alarmed every silent second.
Calleigh cleared her throat, resolve sinking in. "I was in Horatio's office this afternoon, looking for some paperwork that he needed," she began. "And I found something…interesting."
"Interesting?" Eric queried. "Interesting, how?"
Calleigh nervously bit her lip and studied Eric's face, then she asked in a rush, "Did you know Horatio never filed your resignation papers?"
Complete shock. Calleigh had her answer as to whether or not Eric knew that he still, technically, worked for the Miami-Dade Police Department. Hope soared in the pit of her stomach, momentarily and infinitesimally.
What? Eric had no idea. Why would he do that? His mind raced with the possibilities. Horatio Caine might not be one to love paperwork, but he never intentionally shirked it. If Eric's papers hadn't been filed, there was a reason. Eric had a pretty good idea what his brother-in-law and…current…boss was up to, but he needed Calleigh to confirm it.
"Cal, are you sure?" he asked, surprise and confusion filling his voice.
She nodded earnestly, still biting her lip and fighting back the tears he could see she wanted to shed. Eric wouldn't let him think about what that could mean.
"I'm positive," she said. "Bottom drawer of his desk. He still has your badge, gun, and resignation papers…Eric, there was something else."
Now, Eric was positive he heard apprehension behind her words. "What?"
"I know I shouldn't have looked, but I was just so surprised, and then I just couldn't help myself, and—"
"Calleigh, what else?"
She sighed. "Horatio filed for your extended sick leave, Eric. He had copies of all the paperwork."
Eric sat back in his chair, reeling with that piece of news. Calleigh watched him for a long moment, gauging his reaction. So far, he just seemed shocked, but not as much as she had been earlier this afternoon.
"Eric, aren't—aren't you confused? Horatio put in for your sick leave and the rest of your vacation time. You still work at MDPD."
Eric laughed, feeling something grow in his chest that he hadn't felt in a long time. "Calleigh, I guess I should be more surprised, but this is exactly what H would do. You know?"
Calleigh heard something in his voice that made her laugh, too. She hadn't heard it in a long time. "Yeah, I guess it is," she chuckled.
Eric grew serious. "He didn't want me to leave."
"Eric—"
"I know he's not angry with me. I just can't help but feel like I've disappointed him. Like I've disappointed everyone by choosing to go."
That I've disappointed you.
Calleigh chose her words carefully; she wished Eric had never left, but she knew it was his decision and that he desperately needed the time to sort through his priorities. "Eric, you could never disappoint us. Ever."
A faint smile played on Eric's lips. He suddenly realized he hadn't asked Calleigh a very important detail, and he tried to sound casual when he posed his question. "Exactly how much time did Horatio ask for?"
Calleigh clamped down on her emotions, attempting to pull off the same nonchalance with her answer. She knew, however, that nothing could change what these words meant for him, for them: he had a choice.
"Thirty days," she stated, then added, "The department granted you forty-five."
Eric's brows shot toward the ceiling. "Are—are you serious?"
"Yeah, I guess after you get shot twice in the line of duty…" she tried to joke. But Calleigh couldn't joke anymore.
She took a deep breath before she broached this subject. "Eric, I—I know this probably doesn't change anything."
An ocean away, Eric sat screaming to himself, This changes everything! The last month was meant to be an escape for him, miles away, on an island surrounded by family and nothing there to remind him of the horror of the last few months of his life. But Eric could never escape her. She was part of him.
He went to Puerto Rico to find himself. Instead, he found Calleigh all over again.
Eric realized she had started to speak again, although her voice cut out for a moment over his computer's speakers. "I just need to say this," he heard her say.
"Everything that happened—with your father, with Stetler—it's past." Calleigh stopped to take another deep breath and fight a sniffle. Eric longed to be there to comfort her, but knew it was impossible. A stubborn tear finally broke free, and Calleigh quickly swiped it away.
Her next words came out in a near-whisper, and Eric had to strain to understand her. "I can still smell you, Eric."
His stomach tightened so hard Eric thought he might be sick. "Every night when I go to bed, I can still smell you on my sheets, even though they've been washed. I w-wake up every morning," Calleigh's voice constricted, more tears leaking from the corners of her eyes, "wishing I was waking up to your smile and not an empty bed."
"Cal—" Eric started to say. She heard the hurt, the regret, the deep desire in his voice, and she shut him down before he could interrupt her.
"No, let me say this," she insisted, swallowing hard against the lump in her throat. She felt ridiculous, sitting alone in her apartment, crying and spilling her deepest secrets to a man who had chosen to leave her behind.
"Eric, I don't know what you've learned about yourself in Puerto Rico… but I have learned something since you left. You belong here."
Eric gasped. He had no time to react further before Calleigh continued, her eyes studying her hands for a moment. "I realize you might not want to come back to Miami…but I am asking you, Eric. Please come home. If not to the Crime Lab, come home to me. I still love you, and I don't think I can keep going like this, without you here."
Calleigh collapsed back into her chair, bringing her knees up to her chest and resting her head there. She couldn't bring herself to watch his reaction. Her honesty left her feeling raw and exhausted.
I still love you. Love you. Eric stared in absolute shock at the woman flickering on the screen in front of him. She'd buried her head in her knees, unwilling to meet his gaze. Part of him was grateful; his heart never could handle Calleigh Duquesne's famous green eyes. I still love you.
"Calleigh, look at me," Eric managed to say, voice gravelly with emotion. Slowly, she raised her head and let it drop sideways on the arms that rested atop her knees. Eric nearly died at the look on her face: her cheeks were flushed from crying, her hair tousled (Damn, that was sexy), and her eyes—he could see straight into her soul. He stopped breathing when he realized she had willfully opened up that portal, and only for him. For twelve years Eric had known Calleigh, as co-workers, as friends, and finally as lovers. But right now, in this moment, when they were a thousand miles apart, he felt like he was seeing her for the first time.
"I love you, too." Eric had wanted to say those words to her for years, and he felt a huge weight lift from his shoulders as soon they parted from his lips. A blinding smile spread across his face, until he noticed that Calleigh hadn't heard anything he said.
On the screen, Eric saw the image of Calleigh flash, disappear, then come back to life. He could see that she was talking, but he only heard garbled noise. This is not happening right now, Eric steamed. They finally get to this point, only to be thwarted by technology? Eric felt the injustice keenly.
"Calleigh, can you hear me?"
On her end, Calleigh was having the same difficulties. This is not happening right now, she steamed. The most important conversation of her life was taking place over a video chat, she'd just spilled her whole heart to the love of her life, she wasn't sure how he felt, and the connection was choosing now to throw a hissy fit. Calleigh wanted to throw one herself.
"Cal—'eer me?"
"Eric, I can hear you."
He tried again, praying she would catch his words before it was too late and the connection failed completely.
"I—'oo," was all Calleigh heard, then the screen went blank.
Eric waited on pins and needles, watching his best friend's beautiful face, finally realizing she could not understand his words. He sighed in sheer frustration and rubbed a hand roughly over his head. Calleigh's face disappeared, and the call was lost.
No way in hell would Eric leave Calleigh hanging after what she just told him, but he refused to tell her he loved her over a phone call. He needed to see her. Quickly formulating a plan, Eric snatched his phone off the desk, typing a familiar number, then a short message.
In Miami, Calleigh's phone buzzed violently on the table, breaking her free from the depression that was quickly consuming her. She flipped it open in a hurry: 'Cal—thank you. We'll talk tomorrow. Que duermes linda, querida.'
One last tear rolled down her face, this time driven by tentative hope. Eric's message reassured her that he was trying to say exactly what she thought he was saying when he was cut off. Yes, she would definitely sleep well tonight. A crooked grin graced her features as she prepared for bed.
Back in San Jose, Eric tossed his phone to the bed and raced around the room, grabbing articles of clothing and throwing them violently into his suitcase. On his desk, his laptop was busy finding him a way home.
"H!"
"Eric?" Horatio looked at the phone in his hand just to make sure he wasn't hearing things. Nope. Definitely him. The red-headed lieutenant hadn't heard from his friend in over a month.
"Yeah it's me. Listen, I need a favor."
"Name it."
"Pick me up at the airport?"
Calleigh was throwing her keys into her purse and searching for her wallet when she saw Horatio's SUV pull up in front of her house. That's weird… it's my day off. If H needed help with a case, he'd just call.
She huffed in frustration and gave up trying to find her wallet, opting instead to head to the door and greet her boss. When Calleigh swung open her front door, she received the shock of her life. No one was there.
But across her front landscape, standing with his head inside the open passenger window, was a familiar figure. A figure which had haunted her dreams for longer than Calleigh liked to admit, which she had longed to see—really see—for a month.
The man patted a hand to the doorframe as he said his parting words to Horatio. He turned, and his deep chocolate eyes came alive. A blinding smile lit his face, the bag dropped from his shoulder, and he started running as if his life depended on it.
Eric never stopped running, plowing straight into Calleigh and sweeping her into his arms. In one fluid motion, he had one arm around her waist, a hand tangled in her hair at the back of her head, and his lips firmly on hers.
Calleigh thought Eric might crush her ribs, he held her so tightly. When they finally broke for air, her mind was spinning, her lips tingling, her vision fuzzy. But she didn't miss his words this time.
"I love you, Calleigh. And I'm home for good."
Some part of the woman's brain registered an SUV pulling away from the curb, its driver laughing happily. She gave it little thought as the man in her arms captured her lips once more in a toe-curling kiss.
Eric finally pulled back and Calleigh grinned up at him hazily. "I guess I don't need to go to the store for a new webcam anymore…"
"Nope," Eric murmured as he crashed his lips to hers.
Definitely not, they both thought as they backed into the house and shut the door behind them.