Chapter 1:

The dreaded phone call had finally arrived. That phone call that Calleigh Duquesne has always feared and especially after Speed had died, she just couldn't handle another loss like that. Every time he went out on the field and she was not there to have his back, Calleigh would have her stomach in knots until he is finally back in the lab and Calleigh would be able to release the breath she had been holding up for as long as he was out. It did not matter with who he was out, and even though she knew that all her team mates are good CSI's, it didn't ease on the fact that Calleigh was scared that something would happen to Eric.

Ever since he joined the team, Calleigh and Eric had become really good friends. They had seemed to connect in ways, Calleigh had never connected with anyone before, not even with Horatio. It could be the fact that he was good looking, and Calleigh hadn't failed to notice that the first time they met. His caramel skin, his dark brown eyes, his very well toned arms...She had always imagined she would fall for a blonde man with blue eyes but no Eric had gotten to her. She had secretly admitted to herself that she has a soft spot for him. It could have also been the case that Eric always flirted a bit with her, and maybe deep down, Calleigh had to know that he liked her in that particular way, that if she didn't have that rule of not dating a colleague then maybe, just maybe, things would be different today.

Ryan was staring at her, watching her as her phone dropped from her hand, and Calleigh literally started shaking.

'Calleigh...Calleigh what's wrong? What happened?' he asked his hands on her shoulders, realizing that something terrible had happened from the way she was acting. It wasn't every day you see Calleigh rattled like that, so her shaking and the way she had suddenly turned pale told Ryan that something very bad had just happened.

'It's...it's Eric' she replied staring straight ahead at nothing in particular.

'What happened? Who's on the phone?' Ryan asked her 'Calleigh look at me' he yelled shaking her a bit.

Calleigh stared at him, trying to compose herself, lips pressed together, eyes turning red as she finally met Ryan's eyes 'He's been shot. In the head' she told him and Ryan's hands dropped from her shoulders as his eyes went wild, running a hand through his hair.

'Is he...?' but he couldn't say it to her seeing the way she was reacting, so he stopped. He knew she understood him anyway.

Calleigh shook her head 'Not yet' she whispered 'They are on the way to the hospital. Horatio is with him' she told him. It was like she was frozen to the spot.

'Let's go' Ryan told her, as he grabbed her phone, grabbed her hand and they literally stormed out of the lab.

oooOOOooo

Calleigh was standing behind the door to Eric's room, contemplating whether to go in or not, trying to find the courage within her to face him once again. She had already gone in as soon as he was out of surgery. She had managed to get in before Horatio as he was on the phone at the time. She was not prepared though to see him in the state that he was in, so she just sat down next to his bed with a rosary in her hand, saying a prayer. She prayed to God that he would help Eric get through this. She took his hand in hers then, placed the rosary in his palm and got out of his room for some much needed air.

She had to compose herself, feeling tears on the verge to start rolling down. She couldn't go in looking like a mess, ready to burst into tears, because that would alarm him. He could read her like an open book not like other people. With Eric, Calleigh couldn't always hide what she was going through, what was tormenting her or not. For some reason, Eric always figured out what was going on with her. Being shot in the head would not change that, of that she was sure. He would be able to tell that she was a complete mess, and Calleigh didn't want to worry him...that is...if he would wake up. Horatio and Alexx had already went in to visit him, but Eric didn't respond. The thought that she would go in again and he wouldn't acknowledge her presence pained her, and Calleigh had to fight back tears once again.

'What are you waiting for? Go in' she heard Alexx say from behind her.

Calleigh swallowed hard and turned around to look at her 'I don't know' she replied. The truth was...she was scared.

'He needs you' Alexx told her softly.

'Why me?' she asked her pressing her lips together. She had done this simple gesture so many times already, her lips were starting to hurt.

'Because you are the one closest to him Calleigh. He will feel your presence. I'm sure of it' Alexx encouraged her 'Besides...I know you need to be with him too' Alexx told her.

'I already went in and he didn't wake up. What makes you think he will now?' she asked her.

'Because when you went in earlier it was too early. He had just gotten out of surgery' Alexx replied.

Calleigh closed her eyes and took a deep long breath and without saying another word, she opened the door to Eric's room and slowly made her way inside, trying to embrace the little strength she could feel inside of her.

He was lying there, his head facing the other side, a bandage round his forehead and a huge gauze covering the left side of his head. She had to blink a couple of times as she slowly approached his bed. He was still in the same position as earlier. Watching her best friend lying there...in that way...fighting for his life... She swallowed hard as tears threatened to spill, feeling her nose and eyes turning red as she finally made it to his bed.

'Eric' she whispered a forced smile on her face, as she slipped her hands into her back pockets. She was staring at him, taking in his state, before she swallowed hard realizing that he wasn't going to wake up any time soon, so she decided to take a seat next to his bed, pushing her hands forward between her legs, when Eric blinked slightly his eyes, and Calleigh had to smile, relieved that he was awake.

'Heyyy' she smiled 'It's Calleigh' she whispered a huge smile on her face, relief too obvious on her face.

Eric moved his head a bit and swallowed hard 'Cal' he whispered weakly and a happy sigh escaped her as his nickname for her escaped his mouth so easily.

'You look good' she told him still smiling, as her eyes started turning watery. He tried to smile but she could see that the simple gesture pained him and the smile dropped from her face as she tried to control the tears. She pressed her lips together and took another breath before speaking again.

'Your emm...your parents are on their way, they're going to be here very soon, and emm' she paused to run her hand through her hair, trying to compose herself again 'Horatio was here, Alexx...' she told him swallowing hard, trying not to cry as she watched him force a smile, moving his head just a bit trying to look at her.

'Where's my sister?' he whispered, swallowing hard.

'What?' she asked him swallowing hard as she shifted a bit closer, not sure if she just heard him right.

'Marisol' he whispered and Calleigh could see that he was getting a bit confused, as he swallowed hard again before he spoke 'Where's my sister?' he asked her.

Calleigh looked away realizing that he was suffering from memory loss, trying to figure out what to say to that question now. It was definitely not the right time to remind him that his sister was dead.

'I want to see my sister' he whispered.

'Hey' she whispered, to stop him from talking, placing her hand onto his shoulder 'Why don't you rest?' she asked him seeing how agitated he was starting to get. He looked up and swallowed hard 'Just rest' she whispered feeling utterly shocked at this new realization. She smiled at him and rubbed his shoulder lovingly before she pulled her hand away as if the realization had just burned her.

He closed his eyes then, as he easily fell back into sleep and Calleigh just stood there staring at him, taking it all in. Trying to stay as strong as she could. He needed her to be strong for him. He was going to need her, she was sure of that. They were always there for each other, always have been each other's crying shoulder...well maybe not exactly crying...but they both knew they had a shoulder to lean on when things got bad or too much for them, and she was going to be that for him again.

She was not going to let him down.

Calleigh had no idea for how long she had stayed in there with no one interrupting them. Not even the nurses didn't come in once. It was like people secretly knew they needed to be left alone. It was actually kind of strange how "intimate" their relationship was and how obvious it seemed to be to everyone else. She just had no idea what to do. She felt she was at a loss. She felt like she needed to do something, and Calleigh wished time would go by so Eric would recover and get back to normal, but that wasn't something she could actually do. The only thing she could do was figure out who shot him and arrest him.

Determinedly, she got up from the chair, leaned down and kissed him on his bandaged forehead 'I will find out who did this to you. I promise' she told him, and with that she turned around and marched out of his room.

Alexx saw her coming out, so she quickly went over to her 'Are you alright?' she asked her.

'I will be once I find out who did this to him' she replied and with that she excused herself and made her way to the lab.