Author's Note: This idea came to me the other night and by the time I realized what had happened, I had written 3 of theses things written already. LOL It's my first time writing for CSI: Miami so I hope you all like them!

An Introspective Into A CSI Romance
by Jaclyn Parker

Chapter 1: An Exercise in Happiness
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Calleigh was just finishing cleaning off her kitchen counter when she heard the knock at her door. Tossing the sponge back at the sink and rolling her eyes when it bounced off and landed on the floor, she headed to answer it.

Opening her door, she frowned seeing no one in her view. Poking her head out, she cast a curious glance at Eric when she noticed him plastered against the hallway wall. He looked back and forth down the hallway in a hurried motion.

"Eric, what…?" Calleigh started to ask as he gently forced her back inside, the brown paper bag he carried acting as a barrier between their bodies.

"Don't worry. No one saw me. I drove around for five minutes and then parked three blocks over behind a large building. I was going to paint my car a different color but I didn't have time to do that and stop to pick up beer." Eric said, his brown eyes sparkling as he looked down at her and after a moment Calleigh laughed.

"You're crazy, you know that?" She said, her own emerald green gaze shining back at him. "Sometimes I think you enjoy playing secret agent with our relationship."

Eric paused and his smile slipped into a frown. "Hey, you know that if I could I would run up and down the halls at work telling them about us. I love being with you, Cal, and I'm proud of our relationship."

Calleigh also paused, not expecting such a serious answer to her statement. Her eyes looked away from his intense gaze for a second as she gathered herself together to reply. As unexpected as his words were, there was no denying the rush of happiness that they caused inside of her.

Looking back at him, she gave him a soft smile and brushed her fingers over the slight five o'clock shadow that was forming along his jaw.

Eric knew that while Calleigh knew how he felt about her – that he loved her – she wasn't ready to hear those exact words or say them back. And that was fine with him because he knew going in, that this relationship was different than anything that they had both ever been in and while there were going to be many things for them to overcome, they were both in it for the long haul.

"Anyway, don't lie. You just want to brag to Ryan." Calleigh added lightly, her eyes sending him a silent plea.

Eric turned his face slightly to kiss the inside of her palm before letting her off the hook of a serious moment.

"Okay, so maybe I do want to tell him about us but can you blame me? After the way he follows you around like a puppy dog, everything inside of me wants to tell him that I'm the one who gets such a sexy and amazing woman for a girlfriend."

She was still laughing as he bent down to capture her mouth in a kiss. The laughter turned quickly into a soft moan and she took a step forward to get closer to him. But the crinkle of the brown paper bag in between them and the sharp edges of a six-pack holder poking into the chest area of her tank top, stopped all movement.

"Oops. Don't want to crush the bottles." Eric said, pulling away and smiling at her.

Calleigh's eyes fell to that bottom lip that so often drove her crazy; calling her name even as when they stood together in a glass lab in the middle of work.

With something akin to a low growl, she took the brown bag and hastily placed it down on the small table in the foyer where she placed her mail and keys at the end of the day. Then reaching for him, she grabbed a handful of his blue and green patterned button down shirt and yanked him towards her.

Eric was no fool and despite the small laugh he gave, he went willingly. Pulling her into his embrace, they pushed their bodies together in what was a proper kiss hello. Alternating between deep and slow and quick and playful nibbles, it wasn't long before they both knew that a few moments longer and they wouldn't just be kissing.

Calleigh was the first to pull back, Eric's lips and body instinctively following her backward until her small giggle forced him to open his eyes. They both had dazed looks and their chests hitched with the effort to take deep breaths and calm their bodies down.

"Did you…" Calleigh broke off at the breathless tone her voice held. Clearing her throat she tried again. "Did you bring the movie?"

It took Eric a moment to comprehend her question as he had been too busy thinking of things like his Uncle Ramon's toupee to get his mind off their kiss. He frowned and bit his lip.

"Oh, crap. I knew there was something I forgot!"

"Eric! I was really looking forward to watching it. You know it's one of my favorites." Calleigh said, her lips turning down in a pretty pout. Then her eyes narrowed as she looked into her boyfriend's face and noticed the twitch to his mouth that he was trying to suppress. Reaching back she swatted his arm and let out a huff of indignation. "You didn't forget, did you?"

Eric couldn't keep it together anymore and let out a laugh at the intensified twang to her annoyed words. Pulling her to him again in a quick hug, he let her go and picked up the brown bag again. Slipping off his shoes, he kicked them under the foyer table where her rain boots with ladybugs on them rested. Carrying the bag into the kitchen, he pulled out the DVD case and waved it over his shoulder in her direction.

Turning he saw that she had followed him and was now reaching for it. Placing the bag down on the table he held the case just out of her reach and watched with an amused smirk as she tried standing on her tiptoes for it. Then he noticed that as she reached, her tank top rose up from where it met the top of her rolled Victoria Secret sweatpants, allowing a nice peek of the cream colored skin along her waist and hips. Eric swallowed hard and blinked, his game of "keep away" momentarily forgotten.

In one swift movement, Calleigh claimed the DVD for herself with a noise of triumph. Sending an impertinent look his way, she stuck her tongue out at him and flipped the case over to scan the back.

Eric shook himself out of his very carnal thoughts and rolled his eyes at her child-like gesture. But he couldn't help the smile that was on his face at the same time. Eric wondered briefly if it would ever cease to amaze him that she was allowing him to see the unguarded and fun side to the very independent Calleigh Duquesne. Almost immediately after that thought he recognized that he knew deep inside that he would never ever take it or her for granted.

"Of course I brought it!" Eric said, bringing his focus back. "It's one of my favorites too. Besides, you know I get a kick out of how much you enjoy it."

"What's not to enjoy?" Calleigh said, quirking an eyebrow at him. "It takes place in Miami; it's got fast cars, big explosions, lots of guns, and a most importantly a very hot Will Smith."

"Oh, I see. The truth comes out." Eric joked and she sent him a playful look.

"Actually, I like the Hispanic cop. You know, the one whose brother helps them out when they're in Cuba."

"Oh you do, huh?" Eric said, taking a step towards her. Unfortunately he didn't notice the sponge that was lying on the floor from earlier and the next thing he knew he was landing hard on his butt on the tile floor.

"Eric, are you okay?" Calleigh gasped out, quickly placing the DVD down on her kitchen table. But as soon as she assessed that he was fine the giggles erupted from her mouth. Eric looked up at her from his position on her kitchen floor, his mouth gaping like a fish as he watched her cover her own mouth with her hands.

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" She said, from behind her hands and clearing her throat, she forced herself to stop laughing. Reaching her hand down in an offer to help him up she bit her lip in an effort to keep the bubbling laughter from spilling over again.

"Uh huh." Eric said and grabbed her hand. But instead of pulling himself up, he tugged hard so that she lost her balance and tumbled into his lap.

Sprawled sideways across his legs, her long silken blonde hair covered her shocked face but Eric caught a glimpse as she struggled to right herself. He grinned and didn't give her the chance, pinning her to lay over his thighs with his forearms.

"Say you're sorry and mean it." Eric said, his long fingers seeking out the spots along her ribcage that he knew she was most vulnerable and poking. At the sound of his very regal and very Southern-belle, Calleigh, letting out a high pitched squeal of laughter, he didn't care how childish this had suddenly become. She wiggled desperately, trying to escape his tickling but he was in the advantageous position with all the leverage.

"Eric! Eric…stop…this…right…now!" Calleigh said trying to catch her breath in between laughs. "I…mean…it! Stop…or…I'll…shoot…you!"

The threat lost most of its worth when it was immediately followed by a series of uncontrollable giggles. It was only when Eric felt a subtle shift in Calleigh's breathing that he relented. The struggle to pull air in was more than joking now and he quickly helped her to her feet, digging in one of the kitchen drawers at the same time. Pulling out an abuterol inhaler, he silently handed it to her.

Calleigh took one inhalation of the medicine, holding inside her lungs for a count of 15, and then slowly released it. Repeating the action, she frowned as she handed the inhaler back to Eric and noticed he wouldn't meet her eyes.

"Eric?" She said softly and finally he looked at her. The guilt that was displayed there tore at her heart but also stirred a small portion of anger. "Eric, I'm fine."

"I shouldn't have…I'm sorry, Cal." Eric said, rubbing a frustrated hand over his closely shaved head.

"Eric, I said I was fine." Calleigh said and stood, moving to place herself in front of him. "Alexx said that my lungs are going to be a little weak for a couple more months but I'm getting better every day. She said the best way to help is to exercise and that was definitely a really fun way to exercise them."

She stood on tiptoe again and kissed the underside of his chin. "Well, one of the more fun ways."

The throaty purr with which she said those words went directly to Eric's groin and when she looked up at him from under her lashes, he knew that she had felt the reaction of his body.

Letting out a sigh and a small chuckle, he pulled her to him and held her close. She tucked her head under his chin and rested her forearms on his chest, placing her cheek against where his heart beat.

"I just can't…sometimes it just hits me; how close I was to losing you." Eric's deep voice made his chest rumble and Calleigh couldn't help the tiny smile that graced her lips at the feel.

"I know." Calleigh said softly. Uninvited images of Eric lying in a hospital bed with a bandage wrapped around his head, popped into her mind and she unconsciously squeezed him tighter. Eric must have sensed where her thoughts went because his own embrace grew stronger and they just stood there a moment before Calleigh let out small sigh.

"Okay, the beer is getting warm, Will Smith is waiting and I'm pretty sure that my stomach is eating itself." Calleigh said and Eric laughed, causing her head to bounce lightly on his chest.

She pulled away and Eric pressed a kiss to her forehead before releasing her. "Okay, you order the pizza and I'll pop in the DVD."

"Deal." She said and grabbing the phone that sat on the kitchen counter.

"Hey, Cal?" Eric said and she paused before hitting the "dial" button, looking at him from where he was heading into the living room. "Before the end of the night, I promise you that we'll show those lungs of yours who's boss."

Waggling his eyebrows at her, he didn't give her a chance to respond before he continued on his way to the TV. But as he turned on the DVD player, the sound of her delighted laughter surrounded him.