"Three shots!" she yelled at no one in particular. Squeezing the trigger in a practiced motion she fired three times; bang, bang, bang. Shooting guns was usually a calming ritual to her, but not today. Today she had something else on her mind.
"Damn" she cursed. Frustrated she wrenched off her safety gear and pulled her platinum blonde hair down, giving it a slight toss as she did so. It was at that exact moment her problem walked into the room.
"Whoa Calleigh, you could take an eye out with that hair" Eric joked.
She gave him an annoyed stare before removing the gun's clip.
"I'm assuming you came for the results. They're in the folder on the table."
Eric frowned, grabbing the folder as Calleigh set the gun down on the adjacent table, trying hard to ignore him.
She'd been acting strangely to him for days, ever since they'd celebrated the capture of a brutal serial killer a few weeks back. They'd gone to a bar with Ryan, Natalia, and Valera but Calleigh had come down with a sudden fever and he promptly took her home. He, being a gentlemen and her best friend, had stayed with her all night, camping out on the couch. Something he did that night had obviously changed things between them without him even knowing it.
"Eric, was there something else you needed or can I get back to work?" Her voice brought him out of his thoughts.
"Uhhhh.. Cal, was there… Did I do something…? I mean I just wanted to say…"
She looked up at him with a curious sparkle in her deep blue and green speckled eyes. Man, he loved those eyes; he would be content to sink into their radiant depths forever. He loved her, so much so that the last thought he had as the bullet had pierced his skull two years ago, was of her and her alone.
Exactly one week ago he had promised himself that he would tell her how he felt; so far he had tried twice and failed at the last moment. All the while she seemed to distance herself further from him. He had already wasted two shots, and this, his third, was quickly slipping away as he struggled to find the words.
"Calleigh, I… I just… I was just wondering if you had processed the Jackson's 9mm yet?"
Calleigh, caught off guard dropped a spent casing on the floor. As she leaned over to retrieve it thoughts of him swirled through her mind. She hadn't meant to hurt him, but after he had lovingly stayed up all night nursing her back to health, she had begun to feel differently about him, started to love him, and it scared her. Everyone she had loved up until now had hurt her; her father's drinking, Jake cheating on her twice, Hagen blowing his brains onto the ceiling. In typical Calleigh fashion, she was shutting Eric out because she loved him too.
"Uhh, no. I'm not quite done yet Eric…" She trailed off as he suddenly appeared under the table right beside her, their eyes locking.
"Calleigh, truth is that there is something else I need here. You. I need you. I love you. I love everything about you, the way you talk, the way you move, the way you swish your hair, the way you are. I love you Calleigh Duquesne, and I hope you can love me back."
Eric looked at her for what seemed an eternity. She didn't know what to say, no one had ever told her anything like that before. Her mind screamed for her to say it back, but the words didn't come.
Eric broke their gaze and handed her the dropped casing.
"I just thought you should know." He muttered before he headed towards the door.
Calleigh jumped up from under the table and yelled "Eric, wait!"
stopping suddenly he whirled around in anticipation as she ran up to him.
"Eric, I just… I can't find the words…" she stuttered. As he gazed into her eyes he saw them sparkle; for it was in that moment she realized that she didn't need words, and she kissed him. As their lips locked and she slipped snugly into his arms a single thought crossed his mind; three shots later, and he was finally complete with her in his arms.
