I don't own CSI Miami, those lucky stiffs at CBS do. I hope that y'all are having a happy Thanksgiving! Here is a little post-ep for Power Trip. Please give me a bit of feedback since this is my first post-ep. ENJOY!

Apologies

Another case closed, but this win was not as satisfying as others she could name. Two women murdered, a cop dead from suicide and a woman's life shattered. All this, and it wasn't even 5:00. Taking a deep breath to center herself, Calleigh walked slowly through the lab on her way to ballistics. This case had shaken everyone up, and in her heart of hearts she knew she owed him an apology. Questioning him had become almost second nature since his injury, but she knew if she didn't then he wouldn't be such a great CSI.

How could she have missed it, though? Reggie had been a good cop, and had always followed the letter of the law. But, to be honest, in all of the years that she had known him, Calleigh had never known him to be so fixated on a suspect. The shame was that he had fixated to the point of breaking the law to make his point. A woman was dead, and for what? The doctor hadn't even been the killer.

She ran her hands through her long, blonde hair in a nervous motion and tried to decide what to say in apology for their argument. She hadn't said anything much, but she hadn't trusted his instinct about Reggie. She'd give Eric credit, though, he hadn't backed down, and he had eventually been proven right. Glancing through the wall into the fingerprint lab, Calleigh could see him hard at work. Another case had beckoned him, and he always went running. Would he come running to her as readily if she called?

The thought caused Calleigh's heart to race wildly and to also wonder where on earth that idea had come from. She felt a blush rise and her ears begin to burn with it. She shook her head in embarrassment and furtively looked around. Had anyone seen her reaction? She paused by his lab for a moment and watched through the glass as he worked to get a print off the knife the officers had found at the new crime scene. He was concentrating, his eyes were fixated on the item and he was biting his lip as he worked. Calleigh just stared at his profile and decided that Michelangelo would have loved to sculpt Eric. Physically, he was the most handsome man she had seen in a good while. Not only was he physically attractive, he had a good heart. Eric was a good man, dedicated to all things important to him.

Finally, Calleigh decided she needed to talk to him and quietly entered his lab. She stood across the counter from him as he photographed a print and ran it through AFIS. He looked up at her and gave her a concerned smile.

"Hey, Cal, you okay?"

She frowned for a moment and wondered why he would ask that question, but the longer she thought about it the clearer it became. He just knew her, knew her in a way that no one else ever had. She never had to explain how she felt or why she did certain things. Eric just understood. It was both disconcerting and comforting to her that anyone would be able to read her that well. She sighed and raised her emerald green eyes to his dark ones. His concern was palpable, and she found herself responding to it by wanting to reach out and touch him. Pushing that instinct away, she replied to him instead.

"I'm fine, Eric. I just came by… well… I sort of owe you an apology."

Now it was Eric's turn to frown. He looked at Calleigh and racked his brain for what she could possibly be apologizing for. Perplexed, he finally turned and asked,

"What for, Cal? I can't think of a thing you've done that you need to apologize for."

Calleigh felt another blush begin to rise. What had she ever done in her life to deserve a man who treated her like Eric did? He always treated her with such deference, and deep down, she knew it would take next to no time for her to become so accustomed to him that it would be easy to take everything about him for granted. In that instant, Calleigh made a promise to herself that she would do her best to show Eric that his feelings for her weren't misplaced. First, though, first she had to apologize.

"I'm sorry for doubting you earlier. Eric, you had a gut feeling about Reggie, and I discounted it because of his history. You were right, and I just wanted you to know that."

Eric gave a sheepish grin and asked, "Cal, do you want to go get some dinner after shift? We haven't been able to spend much time together lately."

Calleigh closed her eyes for a second and thanked the heavens for giving her someone like Eric. She threw him her signature smile and nodded her head. This was a first step towards exploring something new and she was a bit nervous. It almost felt like taking a step off of a cliff, but she was willing and ready to try. She said,

"I'd love that. Meet me in the parking lot at the end of shift."

Eric's sexy, dark eyes danced with anticipation as his computer beeped a hit on the print. He turned back to the computer saying, "See you later."

Calleigh walked from the print lab with a new spring in her step. Just being around him made the day a bit brighter and she felt as if he had lightened the load on her mind and heart. This dinner with Eric was going to be a new beginning. She took a deep breath in anticipation of the event and headed to ballistics. Things were definitely looking up.

Fin