A/N: So, once again, I haven't updated a single thing in forever and a day. I have been stuck in my house for three days straight, as swine flu has canceled all of our school for a whole week, and it has been raining non stop (6 freakin inches, people: that's huge for my neck of the woods!). I'm kinda disappointed in 7.23: we didn't get much E/C interaction. Oh well, I better stop now and just let you read. Reviews make me happy!

Thunder clapped loudly outside the thick walls of Eric and Calleigh's home of six years. Humidity seeped in the outside atmosphere; in the house, even with the air conditioner and fan on and windows closed, the sticky heat's fingers crept through the dark rooms. As much as Eric Delko loved (and needed) to snuggle against his wife, he couldn't mix their body heat with the seemingly omnipresent outside warmth. After forcing himself to extricate his limbs from hers, Eric lay on his back and tossed and turned for a few more minutes. Now, without contact with her body, he didn't have a chance at sleep. A loud sigh here and a frustrated grunt there were the only things that broke the silence.

"Eric…"

At the sound of her sleep-filled voice, Eric stopped in mid-turn from his belly to his side.

"Yeah?"

She reached for his hand and tugged his entire arm over her waist once again, turning to face him. "I can't sleep."

Another deafening crash and a flash of light. "I'm sorry I woke you. I just couldn't get comfortable. After living here all my life, I don't think I've experienced a night hotter than this," he mumbled, rubbing a palm over his slightly sweaty forehead, then down to cover his eyes. The next thing he knew he felt soft lips trailing kisses along is large bicep.

Calleigh knew there was only one way they were getting to sleep. She led her mouth over his bicep once more, up his shoulder, then finally to his ear. "I bet we can make it even hotter," she whispered, punctuating her statement with a sharp tug on his ear lobe.

Eric's breath hitched. She was now lavishing that spot right below his ear, and he was losing track of his complaints. "Oh yeah?" he said, not able to think of much else, not while she was- "God, Cal."

She began to nibble on the same spot, and at the same time snuck her hand down to his boxers, stroking his growing arousal. A soft groan left his lips, and he moved his body closer to hers, almost covering her. He kicked the thin sheet to the foot of the bed, at the same time leaning down and kissing her. He trapped her hands in his and pinned them by her head. Calleigh had learned long ago that Eric was somewhat controlling in bed, and she had come to enjoy it. However, tonight she was not in the mood for his excruciating, passionate, tease-filled escapades.

Perhaps he had the same idea, however. As sheets of rain began to beat down on the windows and roof, Eric deepened the kiss, releasing Calleigh's hands and tugging her tank top over her head. Immediately his mouth descended on a perfect breast, laving and nipping pleasing.

Over the course of time, the rest of their few remaining articles of clothing were discarded and kisses were shared, all while rain continued to pour outside. When Eric broke one of their most passionate kisses yet, he looked into her deep eyes, finding love for him that he knew was reflected for her in his own brown pools. Caressing her cheek with his thumb, he murmured those three little words they had become so acquainted with sharing. Reciprocating the words, Calleigh reached between them, guiding him into her.

Both gasped at the delightful invasion. Eric slid into her warmth inch by inch, letting her adjust as he went. When he was in to the hilt, Eric pulled back, almost completely out of her, and then pushed back in. Just then, thunder cracked louder than it had all night; the two locked eyes once more, and chuckled shortly before resuming where they had stopped. The slow, loving pace gradually picked up to a fast rocking of hips. Between the loud noises of the storm and the fact that they were so wrapped up in their lovemaking, neither noticed the small creak of the door opening. There stood little Alyssa Delko, their four-year-old daughter, clutching her plush pink blanket, which followed her everywhere.

"Mommy," she began. "Momma, I can't sleep…"

It seemed like in the back of Calleigh's mind, she heard a voice: a familiar voice. Hmm, a very familiar voice…

"Daddy, what are you doing to Momma?"

Realization hit them both like a sucker-punch to the stomach. Eyes widened and in an instant Eric was out of her and the sheet was being pulled around their bodies. Calleigh found her tank on the nightstand and Eric reached for his boxers which had somehow ended up under the covers.

Calleigh was the first to recover from the shock of being caught in bed by their infant daughter. "Alyssa, sweetheart, what are you doing up so late? It's past your bed time."

"I know, Momma, but the noises are scary. I want them to stop."

She had already crossed the room and was attempting to climb on her parent's bed. Calleigh assisted and lifted her to sit between them. Eric mumbled something about having to use the bathroom and left his two girls in the bed. Alyssa snuggled into Calleigh's side.

Glad to see that her daughter had seemingly forgotten about their actions, Calleigh responded. "Sweetie, we can't control the storm," she explained, running a hand over Alyssa's long dark brown hair.

Alyssa looked up at Calleigh with a face strikingly similar to Eric's, minus the darker skin and brown eyes. "Momma, why were you and Daddy making those noises?" she asked, simply out of pure curiosity. "What were you doing?"

At this Calleigh wasn't sure how to respond. "Oh," she said, merely to buy her time. "Well—"

Thunder rang through the night and Alyssa buried her face into her mother's breast. At that moment Eric came out of the bathroom. He looked like he had recovered from the embarrassment as well as the shock, and now sported a white undershirt along with a fresh pair of boxers. When he reached the bed, Eric leaned down and gave first Calleigh a kiss on the forehead, then Alyssa.

"Come on, princesca. I think it's time to get you back to bed." Alyssa received one last kiss from her mother and finally unglued herself from Calleigh and reached for Eric. He got the obvious message and lifted his daughter into his arms. On the way to her room, Alyssa wrapped her arms around Eric's neck, pressing her tired face into his darker skin. By the way she was relaxing in his arms, Eric could tell that she was beginning to fall asleep again.

When they arrived in the very pink, Pooh-adorned bedroom, Eric lay Alyssa down in her new big-girl bed, straightening the only covered apparently needed, the sheet, over her tiny body. Eric kissed her cheek and murmured, "Good night, Ally, I love you," before starting his way out again. He was stopped, however, by a tug on his shirt.

"Papi," she began in her tiny voice, "Daddies don't hurt mommies, right?"

Eric felt his heart break. "You thought I was hurting Mommy?" he clarified. Alyssa nodded.

"Alyssa," Eric started. He didn't know how to tell her this other than the straight truth. "Some daddies hurt mommies. But I promise you that I would never, ever, hurt you or Mommy. Do you believe me?"

Alyssa nodded. "I love you, Daddy," she said, putting both of her tiny hands on his cheeks and leaning up to kiss him. Eric met her halfway and murmured them back as he had all night. "I'll see you in the morning, sweetheart."

When Eric gently shut the door to Alyssa's bedroom, he was eager to get back to his own to tell Calleigh what had just occurred. He had to wonder, however, how such a trivial thing turned into a serious conversation. One way or another, though, he was glad it was over.

Calleigh had fixed the covers so that they were not in a piled heap at the foot of the bed and had removed the comforter altogether. She had also found a fan and had it pointed directly at the bed, which she was currently lying in, the dim light of a lamp illuminating the room just enough that she could read her magazine. When she saw Eric enter, she put the magazine aside and turned off the lamp. The thunder and lightning had subsided at this point, but rain still poured.

"Is the crisis taken care of?" she asked jokingly. Eric chuckled.

"Yes." He hesitated. "Cal, she thought I was hurting you."

Calleigh's eyes widened slightly. "How do you mean?"

Eric gave her the story and Calleigh's eyes were pricking with unshed tears. "I think that you made a good decision to give her the truth. It avoids questions later."

Eric pulled her to him. "My thoughts exactly."

There was a short silence. "Well, are you going to finish what you started?"

Eric chuckled. "You know it."

Eric rolled over her once again and began with a heart-stopping kiss. Tangling one hand in her hair and the other finding the creamy skin of her back, Eric thrust his hips into hers. Despite her moan, Calleigh pushed him off of her, crossing the room to the door. She hated to lock it, but they couldn't afford another intrusion.

"Just in case," she muttered once she was back in the bed with him. Kisses were resumed and clothes were shed once again, and, true to his word, Eric finished what he started.

A/N: So it wasn't my best writing but I wasn't in the mood to make a real effort. Don't forget to check out this new thing I posted called What You Got Cookin'.