Discs.: I don't own CSI Miami nor its characters!!!
A/N: This is my very first fanfic - so I hope you're gonna like it! I'm actually not anymore a all that huge fan of the HipHugger pairing, however I still decided to post this story - though I'm not sure what will happen with the story...The second chap is done as well - but I'm not sure if I will write a third one...
Still Calleigh Duquesne
1. Sorry
Eric felt terrible as he left the Crime lab. He couldn't believe what he had done - no matter if it was only an accident or not.
He had hurt Calleigh and that was the only thought that was currently spinning through his head. A sad sigh escaped his mouth, he hadn't intended on telling Stetler about her relationship with Jake. Well, sure he wasn't happy that Cal was seeing that guy but he also wanted her to be happy - no matter what...
When he sat in his car he decided that he should do something to make Calleigh forgive him.
Meanwhile, at Calleigh's place :
Calleigh couldn't believe it, couldn't believe the events of the day. How could Eric do that to her?
She looked around herself, her apartment seemed so empty now that Jake was gone.
Calleigh wished he was there right now, she wanted nothing more than sitting on the couch, watching a movie and being hold in Jake's arms, but he wasn't there - and he would probably not come back...
Calleigh had known that Jake was no good for her. She knew it won't last forever, Jake was simply not that type of guy for a serious, longlasting relationship. Yet there was something about him that made her go weak again every single time...
A sigh escaped her mouth.
Maybe it was that damn bad-boy attitude of his that made her welcome him with open arms every single time. It didn't matter how much he hurt her - she let him always come back, let him back into her heart...
And she got hurt over and over again.
She wasn't even sure what she liked about Jake...After all, he wasn't looking that good - he was skinny, probably never heard of something called gym...
A grin appearedn on her face as her mind went back in time, taking her back several weeks...
Flashback :
Calleigh let out an exhausted sigh as she left the ballistic lab and headed for the locker-room. They had just closed a pretty tough case and she was damn happy that the day was over.
Now all she had to do before finally getting out of the lab - after working 96 hours non-stop without a single break - was getting her stuff from her locker.
While Calleigh was packing up her belogings she realized grateful that everyone else had already left. She was already looking forward to getting home, taking a hot bubble-bath, ordering something for dinner - catching up on sleep.
Just as Calleigh was about to turn to leave the door opened and someone entered the room.
"Calleigh...You're still here?" She heard Eric say from behind.
Calleigh turned around and replied :
"Well, I was actually on my way out. I thought you went already home..."
"Uhm, no...I had to finish my report before leaving...While everything is still fresh in my head, you know..." He paused, then his smile faded and he let his shoulders hang down, while he added,
"And to be honest...I waited for you to get done with your report as well..."
They locked eyes, and after a short moment of silence Calleigh asked :
"Why?"
"Well, I thought we could maybe head out together, get a pizza or something, watch a movie at my place and talk - like old times..."
Eric kept looking straight into her eyes, the smile had returned to his face, even though it was by far smaller than before.
"That sounds nice, but..." Calleigh tried but was interrupted by her friend.
"When was the last time we spent time together, besides working? - And even when we're working we barely talk...It's almost as if you're trying to avoid me..." Eric went silent and looked down for a moment, before he went on,
"Now do you?"
"Do what?" She knew of course what he meant, but still she asked...She was stalling, buying herself some more time to find an answer...
"Avoiding me..." A hurt expression crossed Eric's face.
They both knew the answer...It was true - she was avoiding him as much as possible...
"You know what, Eric? Pizza and watching a movie sounds great, especially after the last four days..." Calleigh offered.
She would prefer to stick to her original plan for the evening, but she knew that she needed to stop withdrawing...
"Okay..." Eric accepted, his smile widening.
"Alright, so I'll meet you at your place..." Calleigh smiled and got her purse and jacket and left.
When she started the engine of her car and drove out of the parking-lot, her cell phone started ringing and she hurried to take a glance at the caller's id - it was Jake.
'Great...Why has he always to call in worst moment?' Calleigh thought and decided to ignore him - for once...
She was simply not in the mood for talking with him at the moment. After all, it was slightly his fault that she had tried avoiding Eric in the last few weeks.
Truth been told she couldn't stand the feeling of guilt, which overcame her whenever he was around - especially if it was only the two of them...
She would never forget the hurt, which had darkened his eyes, the pain displayed in his body language when he had seen her and Jake kissing, she had regretted all day that she had looked at him from the elevator.
She knew he had feelings for her - if she hadn't known it before it had been in that moment, before the elevator-doors had closed, that she realized it...
And she had raised his hopes with her behavior toward him after he had come back to work.
After that day she had started to retreat, not sure about how to behave around Eric. After all, she didn't want to lose their friendship...Now the irony of the entire situation was that she was on the best way to lose Eric nonetheless - because she tried to avoid him.
Which was alos the reason why she had agreed on spending the evening with him.
At Eric's place :
When Calleigh arrived she was surprised that Eric was already there - even though he had left after her.
It took him only a few seconds to open the door for her.
"Come in..." Eric smiled happily at her.
After the door was closed behind her, Calleigh couldn't fight her curiosity any longer and asked :
"How did you manage to get here before me? I mean, you were still at the lab when I left..."
Eric grinned.
"Well, I know some shortcuts...By the way, I already ordered a pizza as well." His grin widened, then he wanted to know,
"Do you feel like getting some pop-corn?"
She smiled and nodded as a reply.
"Alright, then why don't you take a seat while I get us the popcorn and something to drink?" He paused, then he suggested as an afterthought,
"Or you could choose a movie to watch..."
"Sure..." She felt her tension lessen and watched how Eric went to the kitchen.
A moment later she turned and walked up toward a bookshelf, which was mainly used for storing Eric's dvd collection - not that he wasn't owning any books, but it was simply more relaxing to watch a movie instead of reading...
While she was looking at the titles of some of the movies, noticing some new ones, Eric called from the kitchen, wanting to know if she prefered coke, soda or some juice.
"I think soda will be fine..." Then she grinned, knowing now what movie they were going to watch...
Ten minutes later :
When Eric sat down next to Calleigh he gave her a questioning glance.
"So, what are we going to watch?"
She handed him the case of the dvd while taking a bite of her second piece of pizza.
"Men in black two?"
"Well, I figured that, after the last few days, we could use something funny...And furthermore it's one of favorites, you know that, dont you?"
"Of course I know that - after all, we watched it already a few dozens of times together."
They smiled at each other. It was true - they had watched this movie so often that they both had memorized each second of it, but it was still funny...
"So 'Men in Black' it is..." He started the movie.
After a couple of minutes he paused it and looked at Calleigh, who tried to stifle a yawn.
"I guess it's getting time to call it a day."
They locked eyes, Calleigh yawned again and replied, while getting up :
"You're right, I should probably go now..."
"No...You stay..." He got softly a hold of her wrist making her look at him.
"Eric...Don't be ridiculous...I..." Calleigh tried halfheartedly.
"There's no way I will let you drive home now - not as tired as you are!" Eric insisted.
"Fine...I'll stay." Calleigh surrendered.
She knew that Eric got a point here - she was by far too tired for driving home. So she returned to her place on the couch and Eric let go of her hand.
A moment later he left to get everything ready. When he returned she had almost fallen asleep. Eric sat down next to her and whispered, stroking softly her shoulder :
"Calleigh..."
She blinked and looked at him.
"I put one of my old shirts and a pair of sweat-pants you can wear into the bathroom, there should be a spare tooth-brush in the cabinet over the sink and if you need something else - just ask." He smiled at her, leaving once more.
Calleigh got up and went to the bathroom to change. While she was brushing her teeth she was wondering if she should give jake a call, but decided against it knowing it would be such a bad idea to call him as tired as she was. When she left the bathroom she almost ran into Eric.
"Whoa Cal, guess you really need some sleep..." He said, slightly chuckeling.
Then he trailed off looking at her - she was only wearing his t-shirt, which was by far too big for her.
Calleigh knew that if she hadn't been so tired she would have blushed.
"What? The sweat-pants were way too oversized for me..." She mumbled.
"I didn't say anything, did I?" Eric smirked at her.
"Anyways, you go and get some sleep and I make some tea..."
Only then she noticed the blanket and pillow on his arms.
"And what else are you up to?"
"I'll take the couch..." Eric explained,
"I think you still know where the bedroom is?"
Calleigh only nodded, knowing that there was no point in trying to change his mind about this matter. Not to mention that she was by far too tired for a discussion like that.
"Good night..."She said quietly.
Eric smiled. "You too."
With that he left her alone and she went to the bedroom.
Ten minutes later :
Calleigh was on the best way to fall asleep when the door opened and Eric came in, carrying a tray with a cup and a tea-pot. She watched as he put both down onto the nightstand and turned to leave.
"Eric..." He stopped by hearing her voice.
Calleigh sat up and went on,
"Why don't you stay? I mean, we both worked for more than four days without a break you need as much some goodnight's-sleep as I do. And this bed is most definitely big enough for both of us..."
'God, had she really just said what she thought that she had said?'
She glanced at Eric and judging by the amusement displayed in his eyes and the soft smile on his lips she had said it...
"You think that's a good idea?"
"Yeah, I do...After all, no matter how comfy your your couch is, you'll feel terrible if you sleep on it."
Calleigh was aware of the fact that it was, considering the circumstances, probably not a good idea - but she was damn tired, it was impossible for her think rational...All she knew was that he would regret sleeping on the couch the next morning. But in the back of her mind she knew that it wasn't the main reason - it was only the most rational one.
"You're sure?" Eric asked quietly, needing apparently some kind of reassurance.
"I am..." She assured, emphatizing her point by nodding slowly her head.
"Okay, I just go an change..."
"Okay..." Calleigh laid back, a satisfied smile on her lips.
When Eric laid down next to her, Calleigh snuggled closer to him, as he put his right arm around her. Just as she was drifting off for the land of dreams she felt him brushing a strand of her hair out of her face, before he bend down and gave her a featherlike kiss onto her forehead. Well, maybe she had just imagined the last part - but she didn't really mind...
Only now, while lying in his arms she realized how much she was missing him. God how much she had missed Eric in the last few weeks...
'Well, that's your own fault...You were the one avoiding him.' Calleigh reminded herself.
She couldn't believe how much on ease she was feeling. Jake was completely forgotten - all she was able to think about was the past...
The time when when things had still been okay and easy between her and Eric, to be more precisely.
Calleigh felt as if the time was standing still as she was resting next to Eric, breathing in his scent...The combination of his aftershave, shampoo and cologne mixed with something that she couldn't name other than just Eric, had something incredible soothing, it was intoxicating...
Right now she wanted nothing more than that it could stay like this forever, she didn't want to leave the cocoon of warmth she had found in Eric's arms. The last thought that went through her mind before she fell finally asleep was the realization that she didn't feel bad for lying in bed with Eric - even though she was Jake.
But then again, who was Jake once again?
The next morning :
When Calleigh woke up she was feeling like a huge burden had been lifted from her shoulders. As she opened her eyes, she needed a moment to remember where she was.
The moment she realized that she was lying in Eric's bed she wondered how she had gotten there and in the next moment she asked herself where he actually was...
He wasn't lying next to her anymore, that was kinda obvious to her, so she got up and decided to search for him. Well, maybe she should get dressed properly first of all...
It wasn't like she minded wearing his t-shirt - which was now also carrying his scent, but nonetheless...
She let out a sigh as she opened the bathjroom-door - and froze dead in her tracks by the sight in front of her...
It took her mind a few seconds to comprehend the situation. Calleigh hurried to turn her head away and stated :
"God, I'm so sorry, Eric...I should have knocked..."
Eric chuckled and replied, while wrapping a towel around his hips :
"Relax, Cal, after all, I could have locked the door..."
Calleigh turned to face him again.
"By the way you look cute when you blush." Eric added, smiling at her.
She felt how his eyes were wandering down her body, and she remembered why she had actually gone to the bathroom. Calleigh couldn't keep herself from taking a closer look at his appearance.
He looked great, the muscles of his arms and chest were well trained, his abdomen was covered with a sixpack - yet he wasn't overly trained, his skin naturally tanned...
In fact he wasn't just looking good or great - he was damn handsome, if not to say hot...
'Didn't you forget something Calleigh? It might be only a small the detail, but still very important and is called Jake...Jake Berkley, your boyfriend - you remember?!' An inner voice scolded her.
A sigh escaped her mouth as the thought of the Detective crossed her mind, even though only for a second...
Surprisingly she wasn't feeling guilty at all.
"Uhm, why didn't you wake me?" Calleigh forced herself to ask, trying to stop thinking too much.
"I thought you could use the sleep, and after all, H gave us the rest of the week off, so I decided against waking you up..." Eric answered still smiling at her.
"Well, if you want you can take a shower...I'm going to make breakfast in a few minutes."
"Alright..."
A moment later he left her alone.
End flashback
Calleigh was interrupted in her reverie by the ringing of the door-bell. So she got unwillingly up, hoping on the one hand that it was Jake, even though she knew that the odds for that to happen were pretty low.
On the other hand she hoped it was Eric...
She let out a sigh and opened the door.
When she saw that it was really Eric she was slightly surprised, even though mainly because of his appearance and the items in his hands and not because it was him...
"Hey Calleigh..." Eric said softly, "Listen, I'm really sorry for what happened..."
Tbc
A/N: Hope you liked it! Please let me know what you're thinking!