A Daughter's Fear

Pairing: Speed/Calleigh

Rating: PG-13

Disclaimer: These characters belong to CBS, I'm just borrowing them for a while!

Spoiler: Missing scene from Double Cap

A/N: Just a short piece I was inspired to write after watching last week's rerun of this eppy. Enjoy!

"Thanks for the flowers." Calleigh called, as her father walked away.

"You bet." Was his answering reply as he disappeared around the corner. Calleigh sighed deeply as she looked up at the ceiling. How much longer could he go on like this? Calleigh headed down the hallway in the same direction Tim had gone less than a minute before.

She needed him right now. Needed to hear his voice, knowing that just the sound of it would help calm the fear steadily rising to the surface.

Walking quickly to catch up to him, she saw him and the clicking of her heels on the floor alerted him to her presence.

Tim turned around and smiled at her, melting her heart on the spot and some of her fear slipped away as well.

"You okay?" He asked, as she fell into step beside him.

"Oh, I'm alright." Calleigh answered, "It's my dad I'm not so sure about." She felt tears burning in her eyes and it made her angry. She'd already cried too many over him.

Tim stopped as they came to the video surveillance room and opened the door for Calleigh, then stepped into the room after her.

"So, he came to apologize for yesterday, huh?" Tim asked her, the concern in his deep brown eyes evident as always.

"He brought me yellow tulips." Calleigh answered with a frown, her heart catching as Tim took a step closer to her. "He doesn't realize that all I want is for him to stop doing this to himself."

Tim closed the gap between them, pulling her into his arms. She wrapped her arms around his waist as their bodies molded together, closer in proximity than they normally allowed when they were at work.

"The only one who can make that decision is him, Cal."

"I know that but why can't he see that what he's doing is hurting him most of all?" Calleigh buried her face in Tim's chest, breathing in the scent of him, wanting to stay there forever.

"Maybe he just doesn't want to see it." Tim kissed her forehead and Calleigh lifted her head up to look at him.

"The doctors have already told him to stop drinking and he keeps promising he will. I want to believe him but I just can't" Tim stroked her cheek with his finger and she managed a weak smile.

"He's probably in denial. He thinks that every drink will be his last, constantly postponing the inevitable."

"I'm so scared for him, Tim." Calleigh said, as the tears returned to her eyes. "I'm selfish too, because I'm just not ready to lose him yet." Her lips trembled in her effort not to cry and Tim leaned down then, lightly brushing them with his own.

Calleigh put her hands on the back of his head, pulling his lips to hers again, kissing him hungrily. His warm hands slipped under her shirt, massaging their way up her back and causing ripples of sensation throughout her body. Calleigh held back a moan, knowing that this stolen moment was something neither of them should be indulging in.

Tim's thoughts seemed to match hers because he suddenly broke the kiss, smiling as he ran his fingers through her silky hair, gently bringing her head to his chest again.

"I love you, Calleigh. I just wish there was something I could do to help." He murmured.

"You are helping, Tim. Just knowing that you're in my life makes everything easier, including dealing with Daddy's self-destruction."

"I just wish your father could look at you and realize what he'd be missing if he doesn't stop drinking." Calleigh knew in her heart that he never would.

The man whose drunken rage she had lived in fear of while growing up had changed into a man who was now like a big teddy bear when he was drinking. Very loveable and almost like a little boy.

Growing older had mellowed him considerably but all she wanted was for him to give up on alcohol and live his life free of its grip. She was still his little girl, his lambchop but she was now his caretaker as well. Her relationship with her father would never be the one she wanted. He would probably never swing any of her children onto his knee because he likely wouldn't live to see the day of their arrival.

Calleigh had tried more than once to resign herself to that fact but part of her just couldn't and wouldn't stop fighting for him. She was a grown woman but part of her still needed him. How could she give up on her father?

The End

I wasn't planning on posting anything right now but I couldn't resist. I love feedback so please let me know what you think....