A/N: Ugh. I think my muse fell out of the plane over the Caribbean somewhere. Seriously though, I have several ideas right now, but no way to string them together. Anyway. Here's this little thing that's been nagging me for a while, and I just finally got it put together. Not the greatest in the world, but it's E/C, so that in itself should make up for the not-so-greatness, right? Anyway. This takes place within that little scene in "10-7," right after Hagen killed himself and Eric's trying to talk to Calleigh. The part of "10-7" we didn't see, if you will. As you already know, I don't own anybody or anything, and all that other disclaimery stuff.

"…and frankly, I really don't think you should stay by yourself tonight."

Calleigh merely continued staring into space, replaying the past hour in her head. She knew that Eric had been trying to talk to her for a while, but she had stopped listening almost as soon as he started. Nothing that he was saying was important to her at the moment.

Nothing was of any importance to her at that moment.

Calleigh absently played with a loose strand on her lab coat. She distantly felt Eric rubbing her back, trying to reassure her. She wanted nothing more than just to sink into his embrace, even just to lose herself in his eyes. But she suppressed that desire, knowing that she couldn't handle seeing the concern, the worry in his eyes.

She knew she'd lose it. One look into his eyes, and she'd be too far gone to stop herself.

So Calleigh continued staring blankly into space, trying to figure out what she could have done differently.

Eric looked up at Alexx, silently begging her to help him. She simply looked back at Eric before leaving the room, but Eric heard the statement in her parting gaze loud and clear.

You're the one that she needs.

Eric could not even begin to fathom how he, of all people, could be the one Calleigh needed right now. Upon hearing what had taken place, Eric had dropped everything. He had been the first to Calleigh's side, finding her in exactly the same position she was in now. She hadn't moved nor even looked at him once. In fact, she hadn't looked at anyone. Eric honestly had no clue what he could do to help her.

Eric had only left her side once earlier to speak briefly with Alexx. Calleigh had given no indication that she knew he was gone, or even that he'd been there that entire time.

"Just keep talking to her," Alexx had said. "You can get through to her."

Eric didn't know what Alexx was talking about. He certainly didn't feel like he was anywhere close to getting through to Calleigh. Still, he kept trying. The last thing he wanted was for Calleigh to put her walls back up again; to isolate herself from the rest of the world. From him.

"IfI wasn't…if I hadn't been…if I'd just known…" Calleigh mumbled suddenly, catching Eric off guard.

"Calleigh…"

"It was my fault," Calleigh said.

"Calleigh, no, none of this was your fault," Eric said. It scared him that Calleigh could even think that, but what scared him even more was the lifeless, emotionless tone she spoke with.

"Yes it was; I was being selfish; I wasn't thinking—"

"Cal, if anybody here was being selfish, it was Hagen. Not you."

Calleigh chuckled mirthlessly. "No, I was selfish. I was only thinking about what I wanted; what I needed. I told him to get lost because I didn't want to deal with it. I just wanted him to go away, and, well, he did."

Eric cringed. The mere idea that she could possibly feel guilty for any of this was breaking his heart. He truly ached for her. "Calleigh, in all the time I've known you, you have never been the least bit selfish," he said softly. "You are the most selfless person I know. There is absolutely none of this that you can take the blame for. I won't let you." He continued gently stroking Calleigh's back with his right hand, at the same time tightly clenching his left. It seemed completely irrational to Eric to feel so much anger, so much rage toward a person who was no longer even living, and yet, the anger was there. He had never liked Hagen, for various reasons. But now, all he held was pure hatred for the man for what he had done to Calleigh. Eric wondered if in the process of taking his own life, if Hagen hadn't, in some way,also taken Calleigh's. Her lab was perhaps her favorite place to be, and Eric could not see how Calleigh would ever be able to walk in there again without feeling haunted.

"I could have stopped him…"

"Calleigh, stop it!" Eric had had enough. He couldn't take this anymore; it was tearing him to pieces. He stepped in front of Calleigh, a hand on each of her shoulders. Calleigh flinched; the first movement Eric had seen from her since he had gotten there. "Cal," Eric began, softer than before, "there was absolutely nothing you could have done. There was nothing you could have said to change this. And in no way was any of this your fault. He dug that hole himself, and he didn't want to get back out of it. He did this; not you." Eric placed a finger under her chin, gently tilting her head, giving her nowhere else to look but at him. If there was any part of his heart left to break, it shattered completely upon seeing the conflicting emotions in her eyes. Any outsider would look at Calleigh and think she was doing perfectly fine; that she was having no problem dealing with anything. But Eric saw past the façade. Eric saw Calleigh. He could see everything that she was feeling, all through her eyes. He could see the hurt and the anger within her, as well as the one emotion he knew so well but hated seeing Calleigh feel, especially when there was no room for her to be feeling it: guilt. "Oh, Calleigh…" he said, voice barely even a whisper.

Eric would never know why exactly he did what he did next. If ever there was a champion of the "wrong place, wrong time" situation, it was Eric. Maybe it was simply the close proximity, and he just wasn't thinking. Maybe it was seeing the haunted, shallow look in those normally sparkling green eyes. Maybe it was years of pent-up feelings that had always been just below the surface, but had never really been allowed to come through. Eric moved his hand from under Calleigh's chin, and yet, her eyes remained locked on his. With that hand he reached up to push a strand of hair behind Calleigh's ear, letting his hand linger just a little too long. Eric couldn't help but admit that even when feeling depressed and guilty, Calleigh was still beautiful. His mind was screaming at him not to do it, but really, when had he ever listened to his head when it came to Calleigh?

"Eric…" she murmured, knowing exactly what he was thinking. She made no move to resist, however, when she felt his lips lightly brush against her own.

Alarm bells went off in Eric's head, and he pulled back almost immediately. He ran a hand through his short hair, feeling very frustrated with himself. He brought his eyes back to Calleigh, noting that once again, she was avoiding his gaze.

"I'm sorry, Calleigh. That was--I really shouldn't have--I wasn't thinking…" Eric stuttered. In response he received no more than a half-hearted shrug from Calleigh. Eric looked to the door, then back to Calleigh. He couldn't take the tension any longer. He needed to get out of there, not because he wanted to get away from Calleigh, but because it was killing him to be in the same room as her, and not actually be able to be with her. To be there for her. "I should go," he said quietly, backing toward the door. Still Calleigh didn't look at him; she only nodded. "You probably want some time to yourself, after all." Her eyes flickered up only for a second, just in time to see him exit the lab, leaving her completely alone.

Closing the door behind him, Eric leaned his head against it for a moment. "Idiot," he muttered to himself, still not believing what he had done. He had probably shattered what was left of their already awkward friendship for just one kiss, completely in the wrong place at the wrong time. Silently he chastised himself again, before slowly walking away.

He didn't look back at Calleigh as he left. He never saw the silent tears that were making their way down her face. Tears that she cried not for Hagen, nor because of what he had done earlier. Tears that she cried only for Eric. She, like Eric, was tired of their feelings coming to the surface only in the wrong place and the wrong time. But mostly, Calleigh was tired of pretendingthat she wasn't in love with him.

She just hoped she hadn't already missed her chance.