Chapter: 4
What would I do?:
Calleigh didn't mean to but she ended up falling asleep on the car ride back to Eric's place. She fell into a light slumber, but one nonetheless that gave her a dream. One of what happened … well what could have potentially happened between her and Eric at the beach. It was nice to dream up her own image of what could have happened. She sighed in her sleep but then felt herself being lifted. She realized Eric had lifted her from the car and was carrying her. Her head rested on his shoulder as her body bounced with his movements. His cologne wafted into her nose causing her body to shutter from pleasure. She heard the door open and felt the light through her eye lids as she buried her face deeper into his neck.
Eric smiled feeling her do that, feeling the soft touch of her lips touch his skin. She was really light in his arms, like a feather. This was the first time he ever really held her like this, he should have known from her petite figure she would be light. Eric didn't turn his bedroom light on; he just pulled the covers back and laid Calleigh down on his bed covering her up. She finally let her eyes open and realized she wasn't in her own bed. "Eric!" she whispered as he looked back at her. "Shh, sleep Cal. I'll wake you up in the morning and drop you off at your car so you can get ready at your place for work." He whispered back to her with a smile seeing her open her mouth to protest. Eric quickly put his fingers over her lips, "Sleep, I said." He whispered sweetly to her moving his fingers to her cheek and caressed it for a moment before heading out.
Calleigh smiled and sighed moving her fingers over her cheek where he had touched it. His touched lingered there all night, well until she fell asleep. She was surrounded in Eric. Not just because she was in his bed, but because his smell was on the pillow and sheets. It was so sweet and enveloping. It caused her to dream about him again. Only this time it was unpleasant, he was dead. It all fell after his shooting a year ago. Calleigh knew in the back of her mind it was a dream and it was all stirring up because of what happened to Horatio.
She was trying to wake herself up, and after a few fights against the sheets she finally sat up in a cold sweat calling out Eric's name. She panted to catch her breath and looked around lazily her vision clouded by tears and saw the clock flashing 3:30 a.m. She grunted and stumbled her way out of Eric's bed and opened the door walking down the hall. She found him sleeping on his couch with only the light from the muted TV and the moon shining through the window to light the room. She flipped the TV off and stepped closer to him, she knew it was just a dream yet still she couldn't help but check on him. Calleigh sighed and ran her fingers through her hair walking to the wall sized window looking out to see the moon full and beautiful.
Eric stirred a little from his light sleep and blinked a few times seeing a familiar perfect silhouette of a body across the room. He knew it was Calleigh as he slowly and quietly got off the couch walking up behind her putting both his hands on her upper arms. She jumped lightly and turned her head to see it was him. She sighed in relief and swallowed hard. "Eric," she whispered letting her heart rate pump faster. He titled his head and saw that there were puddles in her eyes from unshed tears. "Cal, what's wrong?" he asked her softly moving his hand up to brush a few strands of hair from her face as she turned to face him. She shook her head some, "J –J –Just a dream… a bad dream." She confessed.
He looked at her with a light smile moving his hand back to her cheek caressing it softly as she closed her eyes cuddling her cheek into his touch. "I –," she started then stopped herself as she opened her eyes letting a few tears roll down her cheeks. Eric quickly wiped them away, "What is it?" he asked her softly. Calleigh moved her hands up and rested them on his chest without hesitation. "I thought you were gone." She whispered in her southern accent as he looked at her confused. "My dream – I dreamt, I dreamt you were dead. S –Seeing Horatio like that today made me think of you, when you were shot. I just couldn't –," Calleigh let the tears stream down her face. She was opening up a little to him at that moment; it was something she needed to do.
Eric's hand never strayed form her cheek, she shook his head wiping more of her tears away, "But I'm not Cal, I'm right here. It was just a dream." He assured her. "I know that. Just the thought of losing you, Eric, it scares me." She finally confessed to him. Eric smiled at her and leaned down to kiss the top of her hair. "Your not going to lose me Calleigh, even with a bullet in my head I'm still Delko Strong." He chuckled as she did too. It was a new height in their relationship. Calleigh was finally opening up a little about her feelings for him, and that was what he had been waiting for, for so long. She wasn't pushing him away, if anything it was like she was trying to keep him closer. And Eric didn't mind that one bit, but he wasn't going to push her too much either.
After a few moments of standing there Calleigh yawned again as Eric chuckled, "You should get back into bed. It's late." He said to her almost in a fatherly tone. She smiled and walked down the hall with him to his bedroom as she slipped under the sheets. "Eric?" she called out to him softly seeing him ready to walk out of the room. All she had to do was say his name and he knew what she wanted. Without a word he walked over and started to remove his shirt but stopped himself. Sure it was his bed and his place, but he wanted to be respectful, not only that he and Calleigh hadn't completely jumped the intimate hurdle yet, whether it was just kissing or holding her. Eric crawled onto the bed over the sheets bringing her close to his chest. Calleigh sighed contently as Eric pressed a soft kiss to her temple as she laid her head against his chest feeling the rapid beating of his heart. It brought and ever growing smile to her lips as well as his own. Eric figured once she fell asleep he would slip out of the room and go back to the couch. He didn't want to press his luck. Calleigh was his best friend… more importantly he loved her, and although the past two days he had come close to expressing more of his feelings for her he still didn't want to press his luck. She was just now finally starting to slowly open up to him; Eric didn't want to ruin that. But he couldn't help his tired eyes.
Neither of them really knew what this all meant yet, but it was something… Something that was long over due.