Thanks again for all the reviews on this story! Writing it was fun and interesting. Working steadily on Pliant. Merry Christmas, enjoy.
Maybe, Someday
Four
They are in a park.
The wind is blowing gently, there are children giggling and running and playing, couples are walking, and families are picnicking at the many tables in the park. Eric takes in the sight as he carries his own family's lunch while Calleigh and their two year old daughter, Lucia, walk a little ahead, Calleigh holding her hand as the toddler hobbles along, her attention caught up in all the activity. Strands of Calleigh's hair blow in the wind, and she stops when Lucia stumbles a bit.
"Uh oh," Calleigh chuckles a bit.
"Uh oh," Lucy echos as she pushes herself up.
"Let's wait for daddy."
"'kay Mumma."
Daddy.
Next to his given name, he thinks he loves being called "Daddy" the most.
Calleigh picks up Lucy and she turns to him, grinning contentedly, a brightness in her incredible green eyes that he's never seen before. She looks so gorgeous holding their daughter, like she's just stepped out of a magazine photo. She has on a yellow, flowy sundress, her hair is contained only by a few bobby pins, and she has on just enough makeup, not too little, not too much, and she still looks so natural. Breathtaking. And his other best girl, Lucy, is simply adorable. A perfect blend of him and Calleigh, with her curly, sandy blonde hair pulled up in pigtails, Calleigh's eyes and nose, his lips and skin tone...she is so perfect, so beautiful.
He catches up to them and he kisses Calleigh's lips softly before she begins to walk with Lucy again, looking back at him, blessing him with the gift a full, genuine smile...
Eric starts as he wakes up.
His ears finally pop, the pressure evening out in the cabin of the jumbo jet. He sits up a little straighter, gripping the arm rests tightly as turbulence rocks the plane. The captain announces that they are lowering in altitude so that the plane can steady.
After a few tense minutes, the turbulence stops and Eric, along with the other passengers and crew, visibly relax and continue to enjoy the flight from Denver to Miami. He sighs, looking at his watch. His flight is expected to come in at around five o'clock eastern time, and he can't wait. He's not much for flying, and he certainly can't wait to get back on solid ground. He looks out the window at the bright blue sky. The pilots managed to rise above the steely gray clouds and the sleet.
Another Christmas is upon him.
It is Christmas Eve, actually, and he hates that he's been stuck in Denver. The conference he attended ended two days ago, but his flight back to Miami got canceled because of the snow storm. He'd been mad as hell, wanting to get out of the blistering cold and back to the mild winter of Miami. he sat around in his hotel room for two days, itching to go home so that he could spend whatever was left of Christmas Eve with his parents.
When the storm finally let up, he was able to get on his flight.
He sighs, thinking that there's no better place for reflection than 30,000 feet up in the air.
When is he going to learn that not everything goes exactly as planned.
Eric has never been more uncertain about the future than now. Evidence of that can be found in his dreams of late. Of course, they revolve around Calleigh, and he doesn't know if he should think that his visions of her should be taken as bad omens or a sign of things to come. He is troubled by the fact that his dreams have shaken him enough that he can't get a full night's sleep. He doesn't know if they are meant to torment him or to comfort him. This last one was bittersweet, giving him a sense of comfort, but also a sense that he needs to be fiercely protective. The dreams are driving him mad.
Especially since a year and a half ago, Calleigh said no.
"Calleigh Suzanne Duquesne, will you marry me?"
A long silence passed, as she looked tearfully upon the ring, and she took in a deep breath.
"Eric..."
She swallowed thickly as a tear slipped down her face and his worst fear did come to pass as she shook her head.
"No..."
Pain stabbed through him, and he knew then that he should have just stayed in the fucking car. On top of pain, he instantly felt anger and frustration and such a sense of loss that he nearly choked on it. His heart began to beat so fast with bubbling fury that he almost couldn't breath. He blamed himself, he blamed Calleigh, he blamed God...he wished that he had never found the damn ring. He wished that he had just bought her a cute pair of earrings for Christmas and left it for her at the lab like he said he would instead of giving in to the hope that they could take a leap of faith together.
He couldn't stay mad at Calleigh for long though, he decided once he stood up and looked into her eyes. Calleigh was commitment-phobia and heartache rolled into one, and he'd certainly given her enough reason to doubt that she could ever trust him again.
Still, he couldn't quite shake the pain.
A year and a half later, things have changed.
He finally bought a house, a house with more space than he knows what to do with, but the DA's office pays him quite well and he thought the investment was well worth it. He's still trying to settle in, but with the help of his family, it's coming along. He's thrown himself into other activities, trying to keep himself busy so that his thoughts aren't always drifting away into hazy, disjointed dreams and visions that leave him waking up in a sweat, shaken, and unable to rest.
The rejection had been absolutely the hardest thing to face, but he mended from that quickly, desperately wanting her friendship, and just wanting Calleigh to be happy, most of all.
And she is.
She's taken some time off from work to set up her own home business. It's not so surprising that it has much to do with photography, especially since she's spent nearly fifteen years indirectly honing her skills through photographing hundreds of crime scenes and countless numbers of evidence and other items.
She is thinking of leaving CSI herself, and honestly, Eric had been first shocked, then scared shitless for both of them. Their friendship had been based on their years at CSI. What the hell were they supposed to talk about now?
"I think we'll figure it out, Eric," she assured when she informed him of her decision.
"But forensics talk is so sexy," he teased and she rolled her eyes. "Especially when you're doing the talking."
"Yeah, a couple of thirty-something science geeks talking about CODIS, IBIS, luminol, and spatter patterns," she mused. "Real sexy, indeed."
Still, he always thought she'd always be there, just as she thought he's always be there when he left. At a certain point, there is one case, one day, that changes the job. And for Calleigh, that day came when she got shot on duty for the first time in her career. The bullet got her in the shoulder, just missing the artery and she survived, but...the terror she felt completely gave her a new sense of her own mortality and that, try as she might, she can't save everyone.
So through the shock, he completely understood.
When he heard that she was shot, he was so afraid. He didn't know what condition she was in until he got to the hospital, and when he saw that she was still alive and in shock and more horrified than he'd ever seen her. That's when everything changed for her, for them.
The rustle of the curtains can be heard in the room when the ocean breeze rushes through the open window, bringing that calming, briny, yet refreshing scent of the water. Eric wakes up and he turns onto his back, inhaling deeply, getting the feeling that someone is watching him. He grins a bit, turning onto his side.
Brown eyes encounter green gazing back at him with amazement, with...love.
Calleigh is on her stomach, her arms tucked under the plush pillow, her hair flowing down over her bare back. He scoots closer to her and he gently kisses the tip of her nose before he sweeps her hair aside and trails his fingers over her back. She smiles, closing her eyes as she releases a soft purr.
They are both exquisitely fatigued, stated, and enamored.
After spending two days in the beachside suite, they finally succeeded in their attempt at leaving the room and going out for lunch in the hotel. They actually made it to the restaurant, but Calleigh managed to seduce him there, causing major problems. He didn't really believe it before, but oysters truly are an aphrodisiac. He didn't eat any oysters himself, but Calleigh did, and when she did, she'd been absolutely shameless in teasing him. The slurping and sucking served as an aphrodisiac for him, and he knew that it was definitely heightening whatever pleasure she was getting out of mercilessly teasing him.
And that was the appetizer. They didn't even last long enough to eat lunch, as Eric immediately got up and took her hand and they rushed back to their suite.
Their clothes are still in a pile at the door where they left them in their haste to make love again...and then again after that, making it a total of three times today (when they count this morning) before the afternoon is out. Now, Eric is just content to stare at her lovely face.
Only on a honeymoon can two people be so completely happy with just staring at each other. It is a good thing too, because after a while, he knows that there will come a point where they become too familiar. For now though, he tries to search for something new about her that he's never noticed before.
Calleigh sits up onto her elbows.
"I'm gonna go get our lunch order," she says and he furrows his eyebrows. "I ordered over the phone."
"Oh," he says, caressing his fingers down her arm. "Well hurry back..."
"Hmm, I'm thinkin' that I wanna take my time," she drawls. "Take in the scenery..."
"You're hilarious, you know that?"
"And you love it," she smiles.
He cups her cheek and leans up and kisses her.
She sits up and gets out of bed, the diamond ring on her finger sparkling in the sunlight. He gently catches her hand in his.
"Carina..."
"Hmm?"
He chuckles a bit. "You know this will be our first time being apart since we've been married?"
She laughs. "Oh my Lord, it will be. I need a break already."
"From me?" He asks, feigning hurt as he puts his hand over his heart. "And on the third day of the honeymoon. Ouch!"
She quickly dresses then she comes back over to the bed and kisses him.
"I shall return, love," she says before she heads out the back door. She looks at him for a long moment, before she steps out.
Eric makes sure to remember that look...
He awakens again, this time with more of a start, and he disturbs the passenger beside him.
"I'm sorry," he apologizes quickly to the college age kid beside him.
"No problem, dude."
Again, that disconcerted feeling crept into his dream, a feeling that he felt on a honeymoon. That is definitely strange. Usually, disconcertment doesn't enter into the list of feelings that a newly married couple has on their honeymoon.
Another hour passes before the captain announces that they are about to make final approach into Miami.
The FASTEN SEATBELT light dings on, and he does so.
He feels the strange floating sensation in his gut as the plane lowers in altitude and he can see the familiar cityscape of Miami quite clearly. The mechanical symphony vibrates all throughout the plane as the flaps on the wings lower, and the landing gear robotically folds out, the tire treads ready to once again burn and smoke once it hits worn pavement of the runway.
The orange and blue lights of the flight path blur by as the plane picks up its final velocity as it lands, and the stripes on the runway speed by his eyes.
SCREECH, SCREECH...
The engine quickly decreases as the plane slows to a coast and the pilots glide the jet into the terminal.
Eric is home.
In Miami, at least, but he's not quite home, home yet.
After finally getting off of the plane, he makes his way down to baggage claim.
It is just his luck that his garment bag is in the first batch to make it to the claim and he picks it up before he turns and looks around.
"Eric..."
He sees his wife waving at him and he smiles when he spots her.
There has never been, nor will there ever be, a sight more beautiful than his wife smiling, waiting for him in the baggage claim of Miami International Airport. He walks over to her and he drops his bags before he gently wraps his arms around her and kisses her lovingly.
Eric pulls away and he takes Calleigh in.
Calleigh sniffled as she took in the utter, pathetic hurt on Eric's face at her rejection. He closed the box and stood up.
"Cal, I-"
"Give me your watch," she interrupted, her heart racing.
He furrowed his eyebrows. "What?"
"Give it," she demanded and, like a trained puppy, he obeyed.
He put on the one she gave him for Christmas as soon as he saw the inscription, and just when he thought that at least he'd have that much of her, she was going to take that away too? And he was letting her?
She wipes her tears as she gets on her knees before him, confusing him even more.
"What the hell are you doing?"
She was blushing madly, and she looked up at him.
"Eric Delko, will you marry me?"
This was definitely not how he envisioned this happening. And it wasn't another daymare.
"What?"
"Will you marry me?" She asked again, and he shook his head as he sat on the porch next to her. she turned and faced him, tucking her legs under her.
"What are you doing, Calleigh?"
She looked down at the watch in her hands, caressing her thumb over her engraved message, and she sniffled as more tears came. He gently touched a finger to her chin and lifted her eyes to his.
"Calleigh, tell me," he urged.
"I-I didn't know what else to say to you," she cries. "After we broke up...I almost couldn't take it, Eric. I swear, I almost couldn't take it. Then I found your watch, and...I realized how in love with you I was...am, but I was still afraid to tell you myself so, that's why I had your watch engraved. But then you made me forget about the past and this time, you made me jump, you made me risk everything because you've done the same for me. And I'm glad you did. I've hurt you, and for that I am so sorry. You have been the most loving, amazing man to me, and...I want you everyday."
She sniffled again and wiped her tears before she dangled the watch.
"I'm in love with you, Eric Delko," she smiled. "I am so madly in love with you and nothing would make me happier, nothing would give me the greatest honor more than being your wife. So...will you marry me?"
Eric cupped her cheek in his hand, catching her tears with his thumb, grinning.
"You know I can't say no to you," he smiled.
"So that's a yes?"
"That's a yes," he confirmed. "But Calleigh..."
"Yeah?" She asked.
"If, in twenty or so years, we're still married and we want to renew our vows," he began. "I'm the one that's going to propose."
She laughed and rested her forehead against his. "Deal."
He kissed her.
"You look so amazing," he says, caressing her cheek.
Her hair is in large curls and in a ponytail tied off to the side so that the length of it can cascade over her shoulder, and she has on a red silk blouse and a pair of dark blue jeans with some sparkly red ballet flats on, and he chuckles.
"I thought you looked shorter to me," he comments and she rolls her eyes, scrunching up her nose a bit.
"I know," she drawls. "But you're looking quite handsome yourself there. You got home just in time."
He puts his hand on the six month swell of her belly, feeling their baby kick.
"The baby's been playin' around in there all day," she says. "I think he or she knew that daddy was coming home."
Daddy.
He loves the sound of that already.
Pregnancy has made Calleigh more curvy and a little more plump and Eric is loving every minute of it. He anxious to know the sex, though, but he has a good feeling of what they're having. Calleigh is enjoying her pregnancy so far as well, though she's not enjoying the wardrobe change. For some reason, he can't get her to like maternity clothes, no matter how fashionable and chic the style. She misses her petite sized blouses and slacks so much, and she doesn't help matters by calling her maternity clothes "frocks."
"I've missed you so much, carina," he says, kissing her again. "I can't even tell you how much I've missed you."
"Then why don't I take you home so you can show me?" She suggests against his lips and he raises an eyebrow.
When they arrived home, they immediately made their way up to their spacious bedroom with a view of the canal. Of course Eric figured that he could fill all the spaces in the house with children. Shortly after getting married, Eric and Calleigh made their first major purchase together. Their two story, five bedroom, three and a half bath home with gas fireplaces in the formal living room and in the master suite and a view of the canal, and with a pool.
Since then, they've slowly been decorating and finding furniture.
Calleigh surprised him with an early Christmas gift; some silver and white sparkly lingerie, a long, red feather, and some edible oils. After spending a couple of hours enjoying themselves, they quickly redressed and headed to Eric's parents' home to spend Christmas Eve with them.
Now, they are cuddled close on the couch in the living room, Eric's hand on his wife's belly as they watch It's A Wonderful Life with his nieces and nephews while his parents and his sisters and their husbands are either at the table, still eating or playing games. He kisses her forehead as he rubs over her belly, feeling the baby kick.
Eric found his wife in one of the private rooms in the ER. His heart was pounding the whole ride over to the hospital, afraid of what he would arrive to because he didn't know Calleigh's condition when she arrived.
He was so incredibly relieved to find that she was sitting up, that she was all bandaged up and ready to go home.
"Carina," he said as he immediately kissed her. "I'm so glad you're okay. How are you feeling?"
"Like I got shot," she lamented and he rolled his eyes.
"Calleigh..."
She gently bit at her bottom lip, trying to keep the tears forming in her eyes from spilling over. She had to get used to it, the knowledge that she could cry in front of her husband.
He brought her into a gently hug and that's when she set the tears free.
"I'm sorry," she cried. "I'm so sorry."
"You don't have to be sorry," he assured. "These things just happen. All that matters now is that you're okay. Calleigh? It's alright."
She nodded and he wiped her tears for her, grinning.
"Ready to go home, Super Cop?"
She chuckled a bit before she nodded and he helped her off of the bed.
Before they could leave, the doctor came into the room.
"Whoa there," Dr. Trent said with a smile. "Before you folks leave, I have some news."
"What?"
"Congratulations, Mr. and Mrs. Delko. You're pregnant."
He grins.
He realizes that the odd dreams and visions are because he thought he'd nearly lost her again that day, with their baby inside her. But he knows that nothing his mind torments him with will come to pass because they've come too far already. Calleigh is strong, Eric is strong, and together they are resilient. Nothing can and will break them now. They simply won't let it.
Since finding out that they are going to have a baby, they've made some adjustments. Calleigh decided that she will leave CSI for good once the baby's born so that she can enjoy being a mother and also enjoy the fledgling success of her business. She does photography and she sells items for scrapbooking and she does workshops. She is so happy, and Eric is completely proud of her.
Maybe, someday, he'll stop thinking that it's all just some incredible fantasy that he is conjuring up while he's still sitting in his car in front of Calleigh's home, clutching the velvet box in his hand.
Calleigh places her hand atop his on her tummy and she kisses his cheek, whispering a question about the rest of the night's activities once they get home and he grins. It is real, Calleigh is real...they are real.
"I have a present for you," he says quietly.
"And what's that?" She asks, raising an eyebrow at him. "'Cause if it's anything like what I gave you, I'm game."
He laughs softly. "Uh, this one's a little more innocent."
"What is it?"
"A name for our daughter."
She furrows her eyebrows at him. "And what makes you think the baby will be a girl?"
"We're gonna have a girl," he assures. "Trust me."
She eyes him suspiciously, thinking that he may have peeked at the last sonogram picture after all.
"Alright, lay it on me," she sighs.
"Lucia Marisol Delko."
Calleigh lets the name float around in her head a bit, then she says it out loud quietly to herself, then she nods.
"I think it's beautiful, Eric. It's perfect."
With that, she puts her hand on his cheek and kisses him lovingly.
"Merry Christmas, Mrs. Delko," he whispers against her lips.
"And to you, Mr. Delko."
Eric is glad that on that night, he got out of the car.
END...MERRY CHRISTMAS
