My version of Hostile Takeover. (SPOILERS)
Eric stood in the kitchen diligently stirring the cheese packet in to his macaroni which would turn it into macaroni and cheese. He could barely hear the news that was on in the living room. But he had it loud enough to hear the following. "BREAKING NEWS it appears that there is a hostage situation under way at Miami Dade crime lab. There is no word if there are any fatalities or on how many hostages they are. But I will stay here on the scene."
Eric's heart began to skip beats. He hadn't talked to Calleigh in days but he still freaked. He wasn't sure if they would work things out but he could still be concerned right? He knew he had to compose himself. He couldn't call her in the middle of a hostage situation, because he didn't know if she was a hostage or she was working it. He turned off the stove and forgot about the macaroni and cheese and began searching for information on the internet. He could only turn up minimal information. He sat there paralyzed staring at the TV.
6:53 P.M.
Eric still sat on the couch when the newscaster came back on and said it was over, but still had no information on whether anybody was hurt. He whipped out his phone and dialed Natalia's number.
"Eric?" She said her voice was shaky. He could hear people yelling in the background.
"Nat is everything okay?"
"Listen Eric I can't… Put pressure on it…"
"She's lost to much blood!" Eric heard somebody yell back to Natalia.
"I have to go." She hung up.
Natalia's eyes stared at her college that lay on the floor, blood covering her. Jesse Cardoza sat over her putting pressure on one of her many wounds. Blonde hair fanned out all over the floor. Medics began to take Cardoza's place. Tears threatened to fall from Natalia's eyes. What the hell had Calleigh done wrong to deserve this? Calleigh was always a good and straight forward CSI and cop, it was just plain wrong.
34 MINUTES LATER
Natalia paced the waiting room. Blood stained her clothing, Jesse's too. A doctor in gory scrubs came out.
"Miss Boa Vista?" He said.
"That's me." She replied.
"Miss Duquesne named you next of kin. So we need you to make a decision."
"No I believe she made Eric Delko next of kin."
"No she made you. So we must discuss a few procedures."
After the doctor explained both of them and how both of the posed great risk of death, but she would die without one of them. So she chose which one she thought was best. Nobody had told Eric. They just didn't know how to.
4:18 A.M.
Eric shifted around in his bed, constantly looking at the clock. Nobody had called him back. The news didn't say anything about fatalities or injuries. He couldn't help but feel that something was wrong. Sometime during the hostage situation, he felt something inside go blank. It hadn't hit him. He got down on his knees and began to pray. Pray for everything that he lost the day he did exactly what Calleigh warned him and begged him not to do.
10:27 A.M.
Natalia sat in the waiting room, in the same clothes that she had on from the day before. Her thoughts where distraught. How could this happen? The lap had security, why didn't the stop him. She looked around at her colleges and noticed that Eric wasn't there. Natalia stood up and went over to the nurses' station. She handed a nurse a number and said "Call Eric Delko, don't tell him anything just say he is needed at the hospital please." The nurse nodded. "Thank you."
Eric hadn't slept at all. He kept on trying to gather his thoughts, but his mind kept on wandering to that magnificent, beautiful, angelic woman aka Calleigh. He called again that morning she still hadn't answered. Eric's phone began ringing, he nearly pounced on it.
"Hello?" He said.
"Is this Eric Delko?" A strange woman asked over the phone.
"This is."
"You are needed at the hospital." She said.
"Okay." He was so confused.
He drove to the hospital where he saw Natalia standing there waiting for him. Her arms were crossed over her chest as if trying to hide something. But it didn't matter he could see the blood. He suddenly found it difficult to breathe.
"What's going on?" He asked.
"It's…it's um…Calleigh." She stuttered.
"No…oh my god no." He fell down to his knees. She knelt down beside him. "Tell me she's going to be okay. Just tell me."
"It doesn't look good."
"Just tell me that she's going to be okay." He cried.
"I can't." Her voice quavered.
"She has to be okay. She has to. I ca… I can't live without her Natalia."
"I know…I know." People stared at them, shocked by his grief. He slowly stood up and she led him to the waiting room.
"Can I see her?"
"They had to do another surgery."
"Why didn't anybody call me until now? Aren't I her next of kin?"
"I 'am her next of kin. And I'm sorry that we didn't call you until now, it's just too much was going on around for us to notice."
"How the hell did this happen?" Eric asked as he turned to Jesse.
FLASHBACK
Calleigh stared at Matthew Sloan with great intent as if trying to send a message telepathically. Slowly she turned her head to look at Jesse and the other hostages. She tried to figure out a plan, a simple but effective plan. She slowly stood up, trying not to startle Matthew. He jumped up and quickly drew his gun.
"Sit down." He yelled.
"Not until you let her go." She said referring to Danielle who was shot in the leg.
"I'm not letting anybody go, not until I get what I want."
"Then I'm not sitting down."
"Sit the hell down bitch or I blow your brains out."
"I can tell you haven't done this before."
"Why does that matter?"
"Come on you seem like a good guy you don't want to go down for this."
"You don't know me."
"Well how 'bout I get to know you right now. Tell me 'bout yourself."
"I don't think so, I know what you're tryin' to do and it ain't gonna work."
"Tell me what am I trying to do?"
"You're tryin' to soften me up so I realize what I'm doing is wrong."
"No here's what I think" she began inching towards him. Jesse stared on in concern.
"Back up!"
"Give me the gun."
"I SAID BACK UP."
"Not until you give me the gun."
"BACK UP!"
"Calleigh do what he says." Jesse said.
"Shut up Cardoza." Calleigh replied. "I don't want anybody else to get hurt."
"Then why don't you back the hell up?" Matthew asked.
"Just give me the god damn gun."
Matthew stepped forward and pushed her back.
"I said back up!"
"And if I didn't make myself clear I said give me the gun!"
Matthew pushed her again. That's when he pulled the trigger, again, and again, and again, and again, and again. Six bullets in all. 2 to the abdomen, 3 two the chest, and 1 to the head. Cast off had covered the wall. Blood quickly ran from Calleigh's body. Jesse looked on in shock. About ten minutes later the hostage crisis would be over, except for the part of crisis which was far from over.
END FLASHBACK
12:59 A.M.
Eric still sat in the private waiting room that was set up for them. His hands shook slightly. His cheeks felt raw from the salty tears that ran down his face, but it wasn't as raw as his heart. He couldn't help thinking this was really the end. He knew he shouldn't be thinking like that but he couldn't stop the thought from entering his mind. A doctor entered the waiting room. "Is there an Eric Delko here." She asked.
"That's me." Eric said.
"Can you follow me please."
"Sure."
The doctor brought Eric down a hall. White tile, white walls, bright over head lights. It was simply nauseating. The doctor stopped in front of a door.
"She's awake and has been asking for you for quite awhile, but before you go in there I should warn you to go easy on her and that she may not look like the Calleigh you know and that she may not remember quite a few things from the year or two before this, but those memories may come back in trickles or floods. Floods are the worst because they can be so damaging so watch out for those in the future."
"Okay." He said. He only forgot about 4 months before his shooting but Calleigh might have forgotten up to 2 years, she might have forgotten about them. Eric slowly walked into the room and quietly closed the door behind him. It appeared that Calleigh was sleeping. Bandages covered most of her head, chest, and abdomen. Wires and tubes and monitors were everywhere. He sat down in a chair that was moved up close to the bed.
"Hey." She said in a raspy voice.
"Hi I thought you were sleeping."
"No. How bad do I look?"
"Not bad at all." He said and Calleigh let out a slight chuckle.
"You know I can't see."
"What do you mean?"
"I can't see anything. They said the bullet damaged my optic nerve, they said my sight might return."
"I'm sorry Calleigh."
"Don't, please just don't Eric. I just want to know that you're alright."
"Huh?"
"I remember us, I remember what I did. Please just tell me you're alright."
"I'll be okay as long as you're okay."
"I'm far from okay, but that shouldn't stop you."
"I can't be happy without you Cal, I can't be healthy without you, because I love you Calleigh, and if you're behind then so am I."
"I'm sorry."
"For what?"
"Shooting you."
"Don't worry about that, worry about recovering."
"I am recovering, the first part of me that I want to recover is my heart so if I can't see you with my eyes than I can see you with my heart."
"I shouldn't have been in that car. You warned me, do you remember that?"
"Not really, but I know I wouldn't just shoot you."
"I wish it was me in that bed."
"No you don't."
"Yes I do."
"Trust me Eric, you have been through enough."
"That doesn't stop me from wanting to protect you."
"You know what?"
"What?"
"I love you too."
"Really well querida not a much as I love you."
"I'm just glad I remembered how much I do love you, besides I don't think I could ever forget it."
"You better not forget it, ever. And You better not forget how much I love you."
"I won't I promise."
THE END