This is my first attempt at a fan fic on this site. I started another on livejournal under the name jingo74 but this one wouldn't let go until I finished it. I own nothing you recognize. I hope you enjoy it. There is a slight spoiler for "Born to kill" if you haven't seen it. E/C all the way. This is unbeta'd so all mistakes are mine.

"What friends are for"

Calleigh Duquesne groaned as she reached for the phone. Calls at 4 in the morning were never good news."Duquesne" she snapped, sitting up as the voice on

the other end explained the reason for this early morning wake-up. "I'll be right there" she said in a shaky voice and hung up.

The drive to the morgue was quick, traffic at that time of day was light and for that Calleigh was grateful. After parking in her usual space, she made her way

down to the morgue where a body was waiting for her identification. In her career, Calleigh had seen lots of dead bodies but this one was different-this was her

father.

"Hey Calleigh, I'm really sorry about this" stammered the night shift M.E, Chris Patterson. "Thanks Chris, let's just get this over with" she replied.

Chris pulled back the sheet covering the body and Calleigh gasped "Oh Daddy, you shouldn't be here" she whispered, "what happened?"

"It looks like a heart attack, I'll know more when the autopsy is complete. I'll call you later with the results."

Calleigh thanked Chris and made her way out of the lab for some fresh air. After collecting her thoughts, she called Horatio to let him know what had

happened and to ask for a few days off to settle Duke's affairs. After reassuring her that she could take all the time she needed, Horatio said that he would

inform the rest of the team.

After arriving home Calleigh put on a pot of coffee and started the round of phone calls that would take the rest of the day. By the time she had spoken to

her brothers, her mother and various other relatives, chosen a funeral home and arranged to have her father's body flown back to Louisiana for cremation, it

was after 6pm and all she wanted to do was sleep. She was just drifting off when there was a knock at the door "Eric, what are you doing here?" she asked

in surprise. Her friend shrugged and stepped forward "H told me what happened and I wanted to make sure you were ok" Before he could say anything

else, Calleigh was in his arms crying into his warm embrace. He held her tightly and whispered words of comfort as she released all of the emotion that had

been building all day. After a few minutes she realised that they were still standing in the doorway. "Oh Eric I'm sorry I got your shirt all wet" she glanced up

at him with such sad eyes that he felt his heart might break. "Hey, don't worry about it Cal. That's what friends are for, right?" The tall, handsome Cuban

smiled and stepped into the apartment. It had been a while since he was there last. Things had been tense between them since Jake's PDA at the lab and they

had hardly spoken unless it was about a case. They had always been able to talk about anything, they were partners and best friends but now it was just

awkward.

"Can I get you something to drink, Eric?" Calleigh's southern belle personality was never far away even in the midst of a personal tragedy and Eric

couldn't help but smile at her. She looked at him questioningly but he just shook his head and reached out to brush a strand of hair away from her face. Calleigh

stepped back and ran her fingers through her long blonde hair. "I'm fine Eric" she said in a quiet voice "You don't need to worry about me" Eric knew she

was lying, sometimes he knew her better than she knew herself. "Calleigh you don't have to be strong around me. Let me help you" he implored "Let me

be your friend"

He reached out to her and gently touched her cheek. She put her hand on top of his and turned so her lips touched his palm, he gasped at her touch and

pulled her into his arms. They stood like that for a long time just holding each other, no words were spoken. Calleigh relaxed in his embrace and listened to the

rhythmic beating of his heart. She felt safe in his arms, loved, needed, wanted -all the things she had never felt with anyone else.

TBC