Thank you, thank you and thank you for the reviews. I could've posted this a bit earlier but I have to blame it on the holiday rush. Here goes the next chapter. I hope you all enjoy it. Happy Holidays to you all my fellow EC fanatics!
Calleigh was walking towards autopsy with a certain urgency in her stride. As she entered the room, she saw Horatio, Eric and Alexx standing on opposite sides of the autopsy table. There was a body on it but it was still covered with a white sheet. She slowly approached them but they seem not to notice her presence. Just in time she heard Horatio said, "I appreciate you coming over Alexx."
"I would not have it any other way Horatio. She was like a daughter to me." Alexx said with tears in her eyes. Calleigh deduced that the victim might be a close relative of Alexx. She came closer to the table and that was when she saw Eric. He was sobbing unashamedly. Calleigh was getting confused now so she decided to speak and let her presence be known.
"What is going on?" They simultaneously looked at her and just stared bewildered. She does not know what prompted her to do it but she lifted off the sheet. The sight she saw shocked her. On the autopsy was a woman with a big bruise on her right temple. Abrasions and more bruises filled her face and neck. Her blond hair was tussled with dried blood. What was more shocking is she knows her. She was staring at her dead body. Suddenly everything went dark except for a spotlight on her pale naked body on the autopsy table. She tried to wake her up. "No! This can't be happening. I can't be dead. Wake up please!" Out of desperation she shook her dead body. Without warning her "dead self" opened her eyes. She gasp in horror because instead of seeing her green eyes, dead black eyes stared back at her.
Calleigh woke up with a start. She opened her eyes and surveyed her surroundings. Her head was throbbing and she felt sluggish. She was lying in a bed covered with white satin sheets. There was a dark brown desk at the corner and a winged arm chair by the window. White orchids adorn a crystal vase on the side table beside her. It was beautiful and if her observation is right she is in a hotel room. The blinds were down but base on the light seeping in it was day time. With her CSI instinct kicking in, she quickly realized that she was naked under the sheet- well not entirely since she had her underwear on.
Oh God! What have I done? Could I possibly be sexually assaulted? Thinking about it caused a knot in her stomach. She carefully inspected her body for bruises but could not find any. She didn't feel any soreness in her body either which was a good sign. Calleigh closed her eyes again and tried to recall how she ended up here. All she can remember is feeling dizzy and felt her body drained out of all her strength. The last thing she remembered was that guy Chris leading her out of the club and in to his car. She is sure now that she passed out after that. She slowly sat up and looked around the room for her dress but she can't find it. Suddenly , she heard a muffled sound coming from somewhere. Calleigh then noticed that there was a door that lead to an adjoining room. "Oh my God, the scumbag is still here!" She surveyed the room to use as a weapon but the sound became louder and she can hear someone slowly opening the door. She quickly covered herself up to her neck with the sheet and pretended to be asleep.
She could feel the guy approaching the bed and then felt the bed dip from the weight of the idiot as he sat on her right side. Calleigh rolled her left hand into a fist ready to take action. Even with her eyes closed she could feel him hovering over her face and was about to touch her. With all her might she quickly raised her fist and struck his face with an upper cut jab.
"Ow, Calleigh! That hurts!" She opened her eyes in time to see a familiar face.
"Eric! Oh my God!" She quickly got up from the bed and hugged him. Calleigh was not even aware that the blanket fell down to her hips. All she felt was a tremendous relief that Eric was here and that she is safe now. It was maybe the mixed feeling of fear, frustration, anger and relief that made Calleigh just burst into tears. She held on to Eric tightly. Eric was caressing her back and whispering comforting words to her. "It's alright Cal. I'm here now." Eric just let her cry her eyes out until Calleigh's sobs finally subsided. She suddenly felt electricity run down her body as she felt her bare breast rubbing against Eric's shirt. She caught Eric's pained expression and so she quickly let him go and grabbed the sheet to cover herself. "I'm so sorry Eric. Did I hurt you?" She reached up to tenderly touch a light reddish bruise on Eric's upper left cheek.
"It's nothing Cal. What's important is how you are feeling?
"What happened to me Eric? And how did I end up here with you? Calleigh asked rather impatiently.
Eric bowed his head and took Calleigh's hands. "Calleigh, your drink- it was laced with roofies. That explains why you can't remember anything from last night."
"I know that now. Rohypnol – ugh! How can I be so stupid to let this happen to me. I am a cop! I should be wary about these things. How did you find me Eric and where are we? Eric you have to tell me!" She suddenly went quiet. With her brows furrowed and a deep sigh, she finally asked him the question that was bugging her. "Was I raped? I mean I don't have my clothes on- I can't even find my dress! I swear I am going to find that scumbag and cut off his dick."
"Slow down Cal, aside from losing consciousness and ruining your dress, nothing terrible happened to you."
Calleigh breathe a sigh of relief. She again hugged Eric tight and rested her head on his chest. "Please Eric, tell me what happened."
"Cal, why won't you lie down and rest. I'll get you some water to wash it out of your system. I'll be back." He said as he stood up and left the room. Calleigh laid down and closed her eyes but she can't help feeling edgy. It might be the side effects of the drug or she is just too psyched up to fill in the time lapse.
Eric came back with 2 bottles of water and a hotel issued white terry robe. "Here wear this. I sent your dress to Laundry Service."
"Why? What happened?" Calleigh asked while carefully putting on the robe. "Eric please, I don't think I can go back to sleep not knowing what happened. You have got to fill me in right now! " Calleigh was getting a little frustrated with Eric delaying to tell the story.
Eric has never been to a wedding this grand. The ballroom of the hotel was elegantly decorated and the food was superb. It took a while for his college buddy Malcolm Cassidy to marry his high school sweetheart but he could say Malcolm certainly went all out to give his bride the dream wedding. Money was not a problem with Malcolm though. He hit the big time when he got drafted right after college and played professional football for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. For a year, he and Eric were together playing for the Hurricanes but even if Eric had to quit because of an injury they remained tight.
The wedding reception was winding down and some members of the entourage wanted to continue the party at the hotel's night club while the others decided to proceed to the hotel's lounge. Malcolm booked suites for the wedding entourage and so there won't be a problem if they all end up drunk. Eric opted to join the party at the lounge and on his way there he saw Natalia at the hotel lobby.
"Hey Eric! What are you doing here?" Eric heard Natalia say. He stopped on his tracks and turned to face her. Natalia was with a guy who looked very familiar. He noticed that they were holding hands.
"Natalia! I thought you went clubbing with Calleigh and Valera?"
"I am! The club is in this hotel. Oh! By the way, this is Joe. Joe, this is my colleague Eric." Both man shook hands. Natalia continued. "We stepped out for a while but we need to get back. So what are you doing here? You look dapper with a tux."
"My buddy from college got married and I am one of the groom's men. The wedding reception was held here and the party just ended so we are moving to the bar. I was just heading there."
"Oh, okay. Then we won't keep you any longer." Natalia said.
"Good to meet you man." Eric told Joe and then to Natalia." You have a great time! See you around!"
They went their separate ways since the club and the lounge were in the opposite side of the hotel. Eric joined his friends in a table by the bar. The table conversation was becoming a bit rowdy, tongues became looser and a lot of funny stories were shared. Eric 's thoughts though were somewhere else. He tried not to think about Calleigh who he assume was pretty much enjoying herself. Suddenly, he felt something vibrating in his pant pocket. He took out his cell phone and found the caller to be Natalia.
He has to step out of the bar before he answered the call. "Hey Nat!" What he heard was unexpected.
Natalia sounded frantic."Eric! Thank God you answered. You have to help me! Calleigh! She, she,oh my God!" Upon hearing Calleigh's name his heartbeat accelerated.
"What? Nat, I can't understand you. You have to calm down. What about Calleigh?"
"Eric, this guy – I saw him, as he and Calleigh were leaving the club. I think Calleigh is not herself Eric. Something is wrong. Now, I can't leave Maxine. She passed out and Joe is calling security. Eric, you have to find Calleigh. Please hurry! Before Natalia could finish Eric was already running towards the hotel lobby. "Nat, do you know where they are heading?"
"Eric, I don't know but I'm guessing – the parking lot."
"Okay, don't worry Nat. I will find her whatever it takes. I won't let anything happen to Calleigh." As he was talking he was carefully but quickly surveying the lobby. He caught a glimpse of a man with his arm around a woman with long blonde hair. "Nat, what is Calleigh wearing?" He asked.
"Umm, a metallic color…bronze dress!" He dashed towards the direction of the couple he spotted. "Oh God! I hope I can catch them. Okay, I'll call you as soon as I see her." He hanged up and again looked around the vast parking lot. He could see from a distance the glint of Calleigh's metallic dress.
"Thank God!"
The guy just closed the car door on the passenger's side but Eric saw that Calleigh was slumped on the seat. He knew that something was wrong so he did not hesitate to confront the guy.
"Hey! What are you doing?" He proceeded to open the door with the intention of taking Calleigh out of the car. He was caught off guard when the guy rushed towards him attempted to sucker punched him and hit his shoulder. Eric turned and grabbed Chris' by his shirt. "Don't you dare touch her. I am her friend and I know that you drugged her." Chris wrangled and attempted to punch Eric but this time he was able to dodge him. Eric twisted Chris' s right arm, brought it to his back and pushed him face flat on his car hood. "You are under arrest for assaulting a police officer!" Chris struggled to break free but Eric pushed him down. With his other hand he got his cellphone and called Natalia. " Natalia, I got Calleigh! I need back up. I'm in the main parking area." Looking up at the post he added." Lot C by a lamp post."
It did not take long for Natalia to come running with two men who Eric assumed were the hotel's security.
"She's in the car- Nat, she's passed out." Natalia did not wait for Eric to finish his sentence; she carefully opened the front passenger door and checked on Calleigh.
Two police cars and an ambulance made their way to the parking lot. A few minutes later they took Chris to detain him at MDPD. He had a stunned look. He said to Eric apologetically." Look man! I'm sorry! I didn't know she was a cop!"
"Save it you scumbag!" Eric was still trying his best to control himself from beating up the guy. He to leave to check on Calleigh. She was now lying on a stretcher but was still unconscious. Natalia left a couple of minutes ago to take Maxine home.
The EMT told him that Calleigh's vitals were stable and Eric at first considered taking her to the hospital but the EMT assured him that all she needed was to sleep this off. They already took blood samples from her for some tests. Eric decided that it would be best to take her to his hotel suite so she can rest. Just as they entered the hotel room Calleigh threw up and messed her dress. Eric softly deposited her in the sofa and quickly went to the bathroom. He came back with some wet towels and wiped off some of the puke in her dress. He hesitated at first but then he realized that he can't let Calleigh sleep in her dress. Carefully he undid the clasp at the back of her neck. "Oh my God! I don't think I can do this." He told himself as he felt his body heating up. "it's all right. I can do this. I just have to do this quickly." He muttered to himself. He pulled down the bodice that was covering her chest and unfortunately it did not come off that easily. He found out that the front bodice was attached to Calleigh's skin with some sort of a tape. "Oh boy!" He carefully tugged it and slowly revealed more of Calleigh's alabaster skin. Eric has to breathe deeply and tried to avoid staring at Calleigh's now exposed body. He quickly wiped her with the moist towel and carried her to the bed. He covered her with the white satin sheets.
He would be a hypocrite if he'd say that no lustful thoughts entered his mind while carrying Calleigh's semi naked body to bed. He knew that he can have his way with her right now– something that he was fantasizing about for months- BUT he had too much respect for this woman to take advantage of her in this situation. One last look at her sleeping form, satisfied with what he saw, he rushed out of the room.
Whew! That was an absolute torture for him so he decided to take a quick shower to relieve the tension in his body. He got some pillows from the room and lay down in the couch. He deduced that sleep would be difficult for him since he can't stop thinking of the blonde sleeping on the other room.
"Thank you Eric." Calleigh said as she took his hand." As cheesy as this may sound- you're always my hero." She said with a grin.
"I am so glad that I was able to find you safe. I don't what I would've done if I didn't." He reached out and brushed her hair away from her face. "Before you woke up, Natalia called. She took your glass and the results came back. His fingerprints were on your glass, contents of the glass was positive for Rohypnol, your blood sample were positive for the drug too. All we need is for you is to press charges."
Calleigh slumped back and gave a huge sigh. "Ugh, I don't think I want to see that pervert yet. I might shoot him! I still can't believe this happened to me Eric. How could I let this thing happen to me. I mean, in our line of work, we are trained to notice these things. I'd blame myself, I should not have come."
"Stop beating yourself over it Cal. It could have happened to anybody…even an experienced cop like you. There's nobody to blame but that scumbag sitting in a detention cell right now." Eric was now tenderly squeezing Calleigh's left shoulder. Suddenly they both heard funny sounds coming from Calleigh's tummy. Calleigh giggled as Eric said. "Well, I guess somebody's hungry. Let's order room service."
As they both finished their food there was a knock on the door. Eric got up to get it. He returned with Calleigh's dry cleaned dress. Calleigh cringed upon eying the dress. "Here you go Cal."
"Umm, Eric, I don't think I want to wear that dress again. I don't know what I was thinking wearing that in the first place." She said shaking her head." In a way I was asking for it."
Eric rushed to sit in front of her. He touched Calleigh's face. "Hey, look at me. It was not your fault okay?" They looked at each other intently. There was definitely tension in the air.
"Control yourself Delko! Do not kiss her. It's not the right time for this!" Eric reminded himself. To break up the increasing tension Eric quipped" I tell you what. If it helps you can wear my shirt over your dress. How's that?"
Calleigh smiled. "Why thank you Mr. Delko. I'd appreciate that. What time is it?"
Eric took out his cellphone from his pocket " It's quarter after 6. Are you ready to go home?"
"Yeah. I'm feeling much better. I'll go change." And with that Calleigh took the dress.
An hour later they were heading to Calleigh's house. There was an awkward silence on the drive home. Calleigh was facing out the window . At first he thought she was asleep but he caught her looking at him. Eric was now wondering what Calliegh was thinking bout but decided not to question her. He felt relieved when he finally stopped in front of Calleigh's house.
"Here we are."
"Yeah. Umm, Eric… I could not thank you enough for what you did."
"Cal, you know that I am always here for you right? Nothing's changed – we're still friends, as you said we're family." Eric just had to add that last part. Hearing Calleigh say that a few months ago still hurt him a lot. They were silent for a bit. Then Calleigh reached over and then leaned in to place a kiss on his cheek but unintentionally Eric moved to face her so their lips collided. They were both shocked on the electricity they felt with the contact that they both hastily pulled away. There is no denying the sexual tension that they both were experiencing at that very moment. It didn't take long before he felt Calleigh's hand reached up to his neck and pulled him down. Her kiss at first was tentative but he did not waste time reciprocating. The kiss deepened as Calleigh opened her mouth to let in Eric's eager tongue. She was softly biting his lower lip and even tugging it with her teeth. So quickly it escalated that Eric felt his body heating up. Suddenly, he felt Calleigh slowly pushing him away.
"Eric, I'm ….sorry. I should not have done that." Eric could feel Calleigh now withdrawing and trying hard to take control of her emotions. He could not blame her though. After taking a deep breath he calmly said. " Hey, Cal, you don't need to apologize. I shouldn't have …I know you are vulnerable and I've taken advantage of that. "
Calleigh looked down at her hands as she spoke.
"I think it would be wise if I won't invite you in. Eric…we'll talk in the morning. Good night."
"Good night Calleigh." Eric replied as Calleigh quickly got out of his car. He waited until Calleigh waved her hand and entered her home.
This sure is a tough day for both of them but now he knows for sure that he is not the only one who is feeling this sexual tension. If only they'd stop fooling themselves and face the fact that they still have strong feelings for each other.