Chapter 2
Dreams and Reality
Almost five years ago…
Calleigh walked into the house for probably the thousandth time in the past month; she knew it basically by heart. She and Eric would normally spend their lunch breaks together in this soon-to-be-home, but today Eric had to go diving in the Everglades in the hopes of finding more evidence for a case, giving her a chance to walk through the house alone.
The two had mutually decided on this house together, it was the perfect place to move into and start their knew lives together after they got married in two short weeks. The house was in a safe neighborhood, close to both the lab and a local school. It wasn't like the all too extravagant houses in Miami, but more like a comfy home that could have belonged on any street of America. With brown bricks, a front porch and a green backyard, the two-bedroom house was perfect in every way imaginable, almost as though it was sculpted specifically for them to stumble upon and buy.
It all was so perfect, Calleigh thought. The house was beautiful, not too big, but not too small. The expense was in their price range, it was centered in a place safe enough to raise a family and start re-writing her family history, one certain to be better than the one she had with her parents in Louisiana.
The clanking of Calleigh's heels resonated through the empty house as they hit the wooden floor. An automatic smile graced her lips as she took it all in, her hand running across the pale painted wall, familiarizing herself with the houses comforting warmth as she walked down the hall to the bedrooms.
Across from the master bedroom was another room, which was there for one purpose and one purpose only, a purpose their realtor had guessed dead-on as she took the two on a tour through the house.
"Here's the second bedroom," the woman smiled as the engaged couple walked into the room, which was lit up by the sun that flittered into the bedroom. "This space can be used as an office, a guestroom, or you can just use it as a nursery if you two decide to have children."
Eric and Calleigh exchanged a smile at the idea as they took in the room. The room was a good size, plenty of room for a crib (which could be switched out for a bed later on) and room for a few other additional pieces of furniture.
Walking back into the room now, Calleigh could see the image of this being a baby's room clearer than ever. The room was empty for now, but Calleigh had the feeling it wouldn't be for long. Ever since she found out about Eric wanting to have children and him wanting to settle down with her not too long ago, before they were together, the idea at the time seemed nothing more than a fantasy. But now that she had an engagement ring on her left hand and was standing in a room planned for a child, it suddenly seemed as though things were falling into place. Calleigh's heart raced with excitement every time she thought this. The idea of holding a child that was half her and half Eric melted her heart, not the easiest thing you could do to Calleigh Duquesne (soon to be Delko). In all honesty, Calleigh wouldn't be surprised if in about a year this room would be complete with a baby boy or girl asleep in his or her crib.
Present…
Calleigh now stood in the same room, reliving that moment. If the dreams she had then had come true, she and Eric would probably have tucked their son or daughter in bed hours ago as the moon rose higher and higher in the darkness. Instead, she stood in the room, which was still just as bare as the day the house was bought.
Back then, the idea of not having children together didn't seem to be a problem, because it never seemed to be a possibility. They never considered the idea of not becoming parents; it just wasn't an option. But after years of disappointment and a still empty room, the idea seemed very real. It hurt Calleigh to admit that to herself.
Calleigh would never, and she knew Eric would feel the same way, do anything to this room that wasn't its intended purpose. Turning it into a guestroom or a place for storage wasn't going to be possible, not after being able to see this as a room for a third Delko so clearly. She would much rather stand in this room remembering what they could've had, instead of erasing the dreams completely from existence.
Calleigh tried to remember that, even though it didn't seem so, there was hope. She realized she was thinking as though all possibility had vanished, while it still lingered. Eric still seemed to be holding on after years of disappointment and still thought that it could happen one day.
Maybe I should take a page out of his book, she thought. Calleigh did wonder, however, how much more disappointment Eric was going to be able to take. Her threshold for disappointment had been dropping for quite sometime and kept sinking, she pondered how high or low Eric's was.
Calleigh walked over to the window and glanced out into the night, resting her palms against the wooden frame. It was a beautiful night; a full moon hanging in the sky was surrounded by thousands of shining stars. The glow of the moon set a pale look over the block, giving it almost a black-and-white movie persona. If only they were a black-and-white movie, where things normally had a way of working out for the better. God, Judy Garland and Lucille Ball made life look so damn easy in those days. Life didn't work out for Calleigh and Eric the same way it seemed to do for Dorothy Gale or Lucy Ricardo. Then again, that was TV; in other words, fake, an illusion. Just like the moon right now, making everything seem okay, when it wasn't.
Calleigh knew she had to get out of here, it had been a long day and sleep was gaining on her. She had been lying in bed for a few hours but couldn't sleep. Calleigh dared herself to look at the moon a final time. The illusion of simplicity the moon cast on the Earth below may have been fake, but the moon itself was still beautiful.
"This room is yours whenever you want it," Calleigh whispered into the night, knowing she was talking to the child who had not yet able to be created. But, reading between the lines, it was a prayer.
A prayer, she wished more than anything, would be answered.
Sighing, she turned around and headed for the door, her bare feet not feeling the coldness of the floor or the coldness of the brass doorknob as she pulled the door closed behind her. When they first got married they left the door open, thinking it wasn't going to be so for too long and saw no problem with it being open. But after three years and several months of disappointment, Calleigh didn't want to have to wake up and see the empty room thrown in her face. So, one morning, she stomped out of bed and pulled the door shut. She glared at it for what seemed like an eternity, sadness and anger spreading through her.
From that point on, Calleigh only went in the room twice every two or three month's.
So the door was now closed, as it would stay, and Calleigh walked back across the hall into her and Eric's bedroom. Eric was sleeping, just as Calleigh had left him when she had gotten up to embrace the hollow room. Calleigh smiled a sad smile as she approached him, the man she loved more than life. If Calleigh had ever lost him, she wouldn't know what she would do.
With that thought, she was taken back to all the times she could have lost him; when he was shot in the head, when the crane struck the building the two were in, the odd shootout or with the trauma a few years ago. So many close call's, more near death experiences than probably anyone else on the force, yet here he lay, peacefully asleep.
Calleigh was suddenly scared she was going to lose him, something she wasn't going to be able to handle. The fear was irrational, especially knowing he was safe, but Calleigh was scared. She was scared of losing family. Her mom and dad were still alive, but she had lost them years ago, as far as she was concerned. With the idea of her parents being gone and the growing possibility of never having children coming into the light, she was frightened she was going to lose the only true family member she had left…him.
Not wanting to have any space between the two of them, Calleigh climbed into bed next to him. She laid her head against his bare chest and wrapped her arm over his torso, pulling herself closer to him.
Eric awoke at her touch, his eyes flicked over to the digital clock. It was one-thirty in the morning.
Eric lifted his hand to move some of the stray hair that had fallen in front of her eyes. He tucked it behind her ear, his fingers continuing down her neck, across her collarbone and traced down her arm and back up.
"I'm sorry, did I wake you?" Calleigh asked, she didn't turn to look at him, she didn't think she could take it if she did.
"That's alright," he whispered, his fingers still running up and down the invisible line on her arm, which was exposed by the tank top she was wearing. "Having trouble sleeping?"
Calleigh nodded, but she knew his mind would automatically jump to the conclusion of it being about her not being pregnant, and she didn't want to open that drawer again.
"I slept for a few hours, but then I woke back up," she replied. "But I'm pretty tired, I should be asleep again in a few," she said as she stifled a yawn, which added more of an effect.
Though she wasn't looking at him, Eric could see her tired face and that her eyes were drooping slightly. He couldn't blame her; she had had a rough day. He wrapped his arm around her shoulders and hugged her as close as possible.
Sleep did find Calleigh as she slept in her husbands' arms, his warm skin heating her up. Calleigh thought back to the night before and how she was anxious about running over to the drug store to buy a pregnancy test, certain that it would be positive. Last night, she thought that she and Eric would be smiling at the fact they had finally gotten what they had been trying to achieve for years. Twenty-four hours later and no such luck, just another illusion of their hearts.
What do you guy's think, to mushy? Like i said, this probably was better in my mind. If you think I should stop soon, tell me.
Hoped you like it and please review!
P.S. Does anyone happen to know why Adam Rodriguez is decided to return for season 9? I'm just curious.
