She thought no one was watching. Eric had yet to notice(granted he could be oblivious at times), though despite the two actually living together, it still blew past him. She figured Nat would notice, but if she did she stayed silent. And over the years Calleigh had gotten good at reading Natalia, and had she known the little secret she was hiding, she'd have brought it up in a subtle manner, hinted at it in some nonchalant way. But no, instead there was silence.
She'd have put money on Valera figuring out, but she'd also put money on Valera screaming her observation through the halls for everyone to hear. She wouldn't hide the fact that she knew, she wouldn't be subtle or passive about it, not a damn bit. No, Maxine would have brought it up without a moment's hesitation But no, instead when she picked up her DNA report, outside of normal lab chit chat, she was, again, left with silence.
She figured had Alexx been there she'd have noticed, at least. But Alexx no longer worried for those that were dead, thus her observation of interactions within the lab was nonexistent. She figured her female coworkers should notice, they were investigators for Christ sake, but they didn't. And she found it odd that out of all people, he'd been the one to notice. He'd been watching, had been worried and a bit curious as to why she was running to the bathroom rather abruptly most of the time. He'd noticed she was bit more tired than usual despite gulping down god know how many cups of coffee. He noticed that, at times, she would grasp her side or her belly or her back, and even though she hid her wince of pain, he still saw it, started putting together the pieces.
After about the third time within a week he saw her running towards the locker room, Ryan had followed her, standing surreptitiously outside of the women's restroom, listening. He heard gagging and puking and coughing and a very annoyed groan, then the flush of a toilet, the washing of hands, and Calleigh had come out. Ryan had tilted his head at her, which Calleigh mirrored.
"Ryan?"
She expected sarchasm, but instead was greeted with genuine concern, "you've uh, been sick a lot lately Cal."
She shrugged, attempted to play it off, "I guess food just hasn't been agreeing with me lately," she offered a small smile which Ryan returned.
"Well," he began, his hand on his shoulder, "Throwing up everyday, that sounds a little serious, don't you think?"
She sighed, too tired tired to keep up her front, and Ryan continued, "unless," he began, his hand sliding from her shoulder to her belly, "you and uh, Delko have been spending a lot of time together," he said with a smile, "leaving for the night and coming back in the morning together, one of the two of you in the same clothes as the night before, for the last couple of months."
He smiled at her and moved his hand from her belly to her shoulder, "I'm happy for you Calleigh."
She smiled back at him, "Eric doesn't know."
Ryan chuckled at that, "trust me, I know. Ever since the fire he's been more protective of you," he paused and smirked, "you know, making sure you don't run too much or you know, over exert yourself more than you normally do. If he knew you were..." he paused again, the word pregnant sat on the tip of his tongue but frankly felt a bit awkward and out of place, "...uh, you know, with him none the less, he'd probably have you walking around in a space suit."
Calleigh smirked, "I know," she chuckled, "I guess I'm still trying to come to terms with it."
She found comfort in his easy going smile and the thoughtfulness of his words, "Calleigh whatever you may choose to do-" they both heard the creak of the locker room door opening, signaling the ending to their conversation, "-I know Eric will support you."
The end of Ryan's sentence, though innocent out of context to most, echoed through the locker room and into the ears of the one person, of course, that wasn't meant to hear it. But that's just the way life always goes.
"What will Eric do what with what?" he asked, appearing before them, his head tilted to the side slightly with a friendly smile, while he studied the two. He'd never seen Calleigh look nervous before, not in regards to him anyways, but at his appearance she had tensed just a bit, and Ryan's apprehension followed hers, though frankly his was less hidden.
Calleigh nervously tucked a stray piece of hair behind her left ear, glancing to Ryan for any guidance on how to respond, but he merely glanced at her with the same look of nerves, though his may have been more obvious, hers were more severe.
Eric frowned slightly with concern, moving towards her and reaching out to brush the top of his hand lightly over her forehead and down to her cheek, "you okay?"
His touch was ridiculously tender, and the way his hand cupped her cheek, brushing his thumb over her in soothing circles while he watched her with concern, was the final straw that proved to Ryan the depth that they'd let their relationship grown. He reached out to her immediately, which Ryan would expect, but he'd also expect Eric to pull away, considering he was all knowing of the boundaries she'd surround herself with, but he didn't, and she didn't pull away from him. In fact, Ryan was pretty sure he saw her move into his touch, and the scene warmed him.
Calleigh smiled to Eric, reaching a shaky hand to grasp his and lace, pulling him towards her just a little, almost enough for their bodies to be brushing.
Ryan wasn't exactly sure what to do or where to go or if he might be needed in giving Cal a little nudge with telling him, but he didn't have much time to worry about it because now Calleigh was talking.
"Ryan noticed how I've been running to the bathroom more than usual, he wanted to know if I were okay."
Eric nodded, trying to read her, "yea I noticed too but didn't want to say anything. I went looking for you in ballistics and when you werent there I figured you were in here. Whats going on Cal, you okay?"
She glanced to Ryan for a second before locking eyes with Eric, "yea," she smiled, taking the one hand that was laced with hers and bringing it to her belly, still taught and not noticeably different, but Eric felt that spark, "we're okay."
He watched her a bit confused, waiting for the realization to set in. But it did, and he saw her and him together, a little one between the two. He saw a future, a real future for them, and it made him smile at her, made him unlace their hands so he could cup her belly fully, made him completely forget Ryan was standing on the sidelines and leaned in to kiss her, though only a gentle press and slide of lips. One hand stayed cupping her belly, the other at her cheek while he held her gaze, smiling down at her, and then pulling her into a reassuring hug. She felt like this breath she'd been holding finally released, the fear and uncertainty of the situation was gone and replaced with comfort and hope and security. Ryan just smiled at the two, figured something like this would happen eventually, knew it was inevitable. Though, it took him by surprise that apparently nobody else knew, and Ryan couldn't help but ask.
"Eric, how did you not know?"
Eric glanced to him with a smile, "I was... suspicious. But you don't exactly go up to a woman and ask."
Ryan smirked and Calleigh looked at him, "you got lucky," she smiled.
He shrugged with a smile, "maybe, I gotta get over to DNA, but congrats, the both of you," he looked to Eric, "yea yea don't worry I'll keep my mouth shut," and before leaving he couldn't help but add, "I don't think I'm the only one here that got lucky," and he was out the door before Eric could inflict any bodily harm. Not that he would, in all honesty- he was far more comfortable being here, with Cal, hidden in the locker room with a tiny sea monkey mixture of the two growing inside her belly.
"Boy or girl?" Eric asked, his lips brushing at her hairline.
"It's too soon to tell," she smiled into his chest, snuggling into his embrace.
"I know," he replied, his hands tracing up and down her back, "but boy or girl?"
"Healthy," she looped her arms around his neck, his hands at her hips.
He dropped his lips to hers, though only for a second, before touching their foreheads and asking, "marry me? Maybe not today or tomorrow or next week or even next year if you're not ready, but one of these days, marry me?"
She smiled, pulling his lips back to hers, his one hand on her belly, her hand over his, and as she kissed him she whispered, "okay."
