I do not own CSI Miami or any characters from the show; the wonderful people at CBS do. I just wanted to get the disclaimer out there. Thanks to everyone for the positive reviews; they are much appreciated. As aways enjoy...

Insomnia

Calleigh walked into the print lab. She wasn't sure exactly what she wanted to say or how she was going to say it, but first she needed information; was Eric in love with Elizabeth? If she could just get a sense of how he felt then she knew she could figure out what to do.

Eric watched Calleigh enter the room. There was something about her today, but he couldn't decide what it was. He did, however, know that he was through with waiting for Jake to be out of the picture. Being with Elizabeth had made him realize that he was cheating himself by waiting for someone who might or might not have feelings for him. He couldn't do it anymore. He wanted it all or nothing, so if she wanted Jake then he was not going to cloud the issue anymore.

As he turned back to the computer to check AFIS, he sighed when he saw that there were no hits on the fingerprint he was running. He felt Calleigh put her hand on his shoulder, and he half turned and smiled at her.

"What's up?" he asked, eyes dropping back to the computer screen once more.

In an effort not to be obvious, Calleigh decided to try the indirect route to get information from him. "So, Eric, do you and Elizabeth have plans tonight?"

Eric looked up from the computer and grinned. "Yeah, we're going to dinner with my parents and her grandparents. They want to celebrate her homecoming and other things."

Calleigh felt like she had been hit in the stomach; she felt like she was gasping for air. What "other things" could they want to celebrate? Were they getting engaged? "Wow, that's great," she choked. It took effort, but Calleigh thought she sounded normal and not like she was suffocating. She cleared her throat and decided to pry further, "What other things are they celebrating?"

"Ah, nothing special," he replied. "Why are you so curious?"

"No reason; I just wanted to know. You said that you and Elizabeth had been involved in college. You've never mentioned her, so I was just curious about her." Calleigh held her breath, praying that Eric would say that their relationship had been just a casual thing.

Eric was distracted with trying again to get a print from the knife from Mrs. Conner's house, so he had his back to Calleigh and didn't notice the almost desperate look in her eyes. He made some notes on his pad and said, "We met freshman year and dated on and off until graduation. We were living together by the time we graduated. I went to work for MDPD and she went to grad school. When she went to work for the FBI she ended it."

He looked back up from his notes at Calleigh. She was standing by the counter and appeared fascinated with the file she was holding. Obviously, she wasn't really interested. Now Eric was sure that letting Calleigh go was the right decision for both of them. As much as he loved her and wanted to be with her he knew that it was better for both of them if he just walked away. She really must love Jake. Eric sighed deeply, a feeling of sadness developing in the pit of his stomach. Why hadn't it been him? Thank God Elizabeth was here. She had always loved him, and he knew that, even if they didn't stay together, she always would.

Calleigh looked down at the file in her hands. She felt as if all of the oxygen in the room had been used up. This was worse than she thought. This was no fly-by-night thing. He had a real history with Elizabeth. They had lived together. He seemed so happy; he deserved to be happy. Calleigh knew it wasn't fair to either of them if she said what had been on her mind; it would be better for both of them if she walked away now. He hadn't said it, but he must really love Elizabeth. Calleigh sighed deeply, feeling her heart clench as she did so. Why hadn't it been her? Thank God she had Jake; he wasn't the most reliable man in the world, but she enjoyed being with him.

At that moment Calleigh's cell phone rang. She answered it, spoke for a minute, and snapped it shut. "Horatio needs me in ballistics. I'll see you later Eric. You have a good evening." Calleigh walked out of the print lab. Her heart was breaking, but she would allow no one to see it. Above all she was strong; she would survive.


The house was completely dark. The only noise was from the wind whistling in the trees. Calleigh settled back into the couch in her living room and looked at the shadows dancing across the walls. 3 am was a lonely time, and right now she was feeling like the only person on earth. As a general rule she rarely had trouble sleeping, but tonight she had things on her mind.

Jake had picked her up for their dinner date and wouldn't tell her anything about where he was taking her. The only clue he had given her was to dress up. When he had arrived at her door she had been ready to go, dressed in a sapphire blue silk dress that hugged her curves in all the right places. She had worn her favorite heels and topped it off with a silk shawl. She could see the appreciation in Jake's eyes when she had opened the door. He had looked pretty dashing himself in a black suit and tie, his hair tousled just so. Jake was not big on romantic gestures, so she had been completely surprised when he had handed her a single, blood-red rose. The gift had touched her deeply; he wouldn't have gotten a better response if he had handed her a dozen of them. He had held her hand as they walked to the car, opened the door for her, and gently helped her inside. Jake had been perfect.

He had made reservations at one of the most exclusive and expensive restaurants in Miami. Calleigh was still not sure how he had gotten them a table, but somehow he had. The food and champagne had been wonderful. Jake had gone through so much trouble to make the evening perfect; the atmosphere had dripped with romance. She had been enjoying herself immensely until she had noticed a large group entering the restaurant. She had been shocked to see Eric's parents and his two sisters walk in with a couple she didn't recognize. She figured they were probably Elizabeth's grandparents. A couple of seconds later Eric had walked in with Elizabeth. They had been holding hands and laughing at something. Calleigh couldn't help but notice how together they seemed. Her evening had been ruined after that. Jake had been so attentive and sweet, but all she could see was the group two tables over.

Calleigh settled deeper into the sofa and grabbed an old, comfortable afghan. She snuggled deep into it and watched the wind whip through the trees outside the picture window. This whole thing was her fault. She had simply waited too long. Eric had been there, ready and willing to take the next step; the ball had been in her court, and she had simply watched it fly by. She felt so regretful of her loss. Calleigh rubbed her eyes and stood up. She walked into the bedroom and stood there watching Jake sleep. She lay back down and snuggled up next to him. He sleepily put an arm around her and pulled her close. She closed her eyes and prayed for sleep to come, but she had never been further from it.


Elizabeth hated 3 am. She was sitting on Eric's deck watching the waves crash against the shore. Sleep was something she had learned to live without, but it was so much nicer when it didn't elude her. She glanced down to the textbook in her lap; the case files and her laptop were inside on the kitchen table waiting for her to get to work. She reached for her cigarette case and extracted one. Lighting it, she watched the smoke curl up and get taken away by the wind. It wasn't a healthy habit, but she found it relaxing. It was just one more way for her to deal with the stress. The wind was picking up speed. A storm was brewing in more ways than one. She and Eric had come home from the restaurant and had gotten into a very intense "discussion" about what their future held. She had been honest with Eric; she had always loved him but at this stage in her life she wouldn't make any promises. There would always be another monster to chase, and she would have to follow.

Her career had been chosen for her when she was ten years old. That was when her childhood had ended. Elizabeth had come home from school to find her mother's body; she had been raped and murdered by someone who had never been caught. Her Navy SEAL father had become the center of her life. It had been he who had given her the fearlessness and passion to grab what she wanted in life. He had taught her how to defend herself, and had encouraged her to compete in her chosen discipline. She glanced at the SEAL Triad tattoo on her shoulder. She had gotten it the day of her father's funeral; he had been killed while on a mission when she had been sixteen. Orphaned, she had moved in with her grandparents. They had stuck her in an all-girls Catholic school. Two years of stifling uniforms and nuns had been enough for her. She had moved out as soon as she had started college. Elizabeth loved her grandparents, but they really didn't understand her. Well, in all honesty, they hadn't really understood her father either. Their wild-child granddaughter had been a challenge, and they had done their best.

Elizabeth stood up and walked back into the kitchen. She sat at the table and picked up her notes. The profile was almost complete; she just needed to put the finishing touches on it. She glanced down at what she had written earlier in the day "these attacks are not directed towards the women murdered, they are just the casualty." In her gut she knew that the attacks were directed towards someone else, but who? Was it the spouse, the parent? Since all of the victims had been pregnant, Elizabeth was leaning towards the spouse as the actual target of the UNSUB. Now the question was why? The UNSUB could have a pregnant woman in his life, or one who had recently lost a child. The pregnancy was the most likely stressor she had come up with.

Her Egyptian Mau chose that moment to jump up on the table. Egypt regarded her with her light green eyes and just rubbed her head against Elizabeth's arm.

"Don't worry Egypt; we'll be going home pretty soon. I know you miss Virginia."

At that moment Eric wandered out of the bedroom looking for Elizabeth, so he heard her last comment. "You're planning to leave as soon as we close this case aren't you?"

"Eric, I told you earlier, this is what I do. I don't have a choice any more than you have a choice about being a CSI. I can't be what you need me to be. I am and will always be a wanderer. You need someone who will stay here in Miami, who you can take care of. You and I love each other. We always will, but admit it, Eric, we don't love each other enough to stay together forever. Besides, I think that there is someone that you do love. You just won't admit it to me or maybe even to yourself. I saw you in the lab earlier when you were talking to Calleigh. I can tell; the two of you have pretty strong feelings for each other."

"Calleigh is seeing someone. They're pretty serious," Eric replied.

"Hmmm," was Elizabeth's only reply. "Let's go back to bed. You need your rest if you're going to be alert." Elizabeth said. She pushed Eric towards the bedroom and stood in the kitchen alone. After turning off the light she looked out of the patio door again.

There was definitely a storm brewing.