Disclaimer: I do not own CSI Miami or its characters.
I apologize in advance for any grammar/spelling mistakes. It's really late over here and I just wanted to get this chapter up. I know it's short again, I promise the next one will be longer :) Calleigh might seem slightly OOC in this, but it was necessary for the development of the story, so please don't hate me :)
In the meantime the team had arrived at Calleigh's and Eric's place. After Horatio had given his last orders, he headed for the Mercy Hospital, Jesse and Walter walked off in the direction of the crowd of people that was standing right behind the barrier tape and started to ask questions, while Natalia and Ryan were making their way inside the house to save everything that could be possible evidence.
They went over to the kitchen could smell the aroma of "stuffed chicken" that was still lingering in the air. "Mhhh," Natalia said and teasingly punched Ryan into his side. "What was that for?" He asked slightly surprised by her behavior. "How come you never cook such fab dishes for me?"
"Hmm. May be, because I'm really bad at cooking? Plus I didn't even know that you'd like to eat dishes Cuban style," he answered while kneeling down and searching for any kind of evidence at the same time. "I could really need your help down here." His voice sounded muffled from below the kitchen table.
"Yes, yes I know." Natalia shrugged and also kneeled down to join him on the kitchen floor. She had to be careful, because it was littered with bits of glass from the broken window. "Wow, it's kinda cramped down here and I'm a little uncomfortable," she said while trying to move into a more convenient position.
"Do you like it better, now?" Ryan whispered- their faces only separated by a few inches. "Yeah," she gasped before her lips finally met his.
"Wolfe, Boa Vista- anyone here?" Detective Frank Tripp's voice broke the moment and Ryan and Natalia immediately jumped apart. Natalia accidentally banged her head against the table while trying to distance herself from her coworker.
"Ouch," she whimpered quietly, but Frank must have heard it anyway, since he looked beneath the kitchen table, to find the two of them sitting pretty close to each other, Ryan looking sheepishly and Natalia pressing her hand against her forehead.
"What are you two doing down here? If you don't mind me asking…" Frank couldn't hide a grin from spreading all over his face. The situation seemed very bizarre.
xxxxxx
Finally, after two hours of waiting and telling his parents and Calleigh's dad about her critical condition, Eric was allowed to see her. Alexx, who had been sitting next to him the whole time, took him to Calleigh's room.
"Eric, don't worry. She will be ok. Just try to stay calm and not upset her. She is still very weak. She quietly opened the door and entered with Eric in tow. Calleigh blinked slightly as she noticed some movements beside her bed. She opened her eyes and recognized that Eric and Alexx were standing right next to her. She also noticed that Alexx wore a very concerned expression on her face.
She chose her next words very carefully: "Alexx, please tell me if there is anything wrong with me! I can handle it…"
Eric looked at her proudly. There she was, the strong and independent Calleigh Duquesne. She was back and had replaced the insecure and doubtful version of the woman he loved and admired the most.
Alexx didn't want to upset her, but felt obliged to tell her the truth: "Sweetie, I was just wondering about your blood pressure. It's still so high, though we gave you something to lower it down. I'll just run a few tests and check the data. I'll be back in a few minutes and then I'll be able to tell you more about your condition."
She hurried out of the room as quietly as she had entered it minutes before.
"So, honey. How are you feeling?" Eric asked, concern lacing his voice. He sat down on the chair next to her bed and gently squeezed her hand. She smiled: "Every time you enter a room I feel ready to take on anything! So let's say, I'm feeling almost great now."
She twinkled, but then her face became serious. "Eric, I have to tell you something. It's very important. Please hear me out and don't say anything before I'm finished."
She swallowed once, but then went on: "I've come to a decision- it really wasn't easy for me and I don't want to go in for something before we have talked about this… I don't know how to say this. There's no right way, so I'll just get it out now…" She sighed sadly, cleared her throat and started again.
"Eric, I want to get sterilized. I mean, it's not that I don't want to have children with you, it's… it's just that I think that… I know it would be irresponsible to raise children in such a world. Today has made it crystal clear to me that our lives are put in danger every day- mainly because of our jobs. I don't think that a kid deserves to have to deal with the fear of dying or losing his or her parents every day…"
Her last words were only a murmur and it broke her heart when she noticed how Eric's facial expression had changed during her little speech.
He couldn't believe what he had just heard. He didn't want to say something wrong, something that might upset her, hurt her and make her feeling worse than she already was, seeing his heart break along with hers. So he just gulped down his anger and frustration and calmly announced that he had to make some phone calls to let their parents know that everything would be fine and to cancel their trip to Montreal.
He had almost reached the door when Calleigh tried to stop him. "Eric, please…" she started. Though her words made him feel like he was the one who had done something wrong, he pressed down the door handle and left the room with a whispered "I'm sorry, I can't do this right now."
He almost ran into Alexx who had just come back with the results of the blood test and had placed a huge smile on her face. He excused himself and went down the hall to find some place to be alone.
When Alexx came back into Calleigh's room, she found her sobbing and quietly crying into her pillow. The former pathologist was really shocked to see her friend like that. Calleigh Duquesne had never cried except for that one day, after their rescue from the glades, when it wasn't certain whether Eric would make it and awake from the artificial coma in which he had been placed after he had had his head surgery.
She almost forgot about the big announcement she was about to make, before Calleigh's state had caused her to wonder what was going on between her and Eric and distracted her from revealing what she had learned from checking the blond CSI's data and evaluating her blood test.
She felt conflicted about what was the right thing to do, but decided that Calleigh as her patient had a right to know what was going on.
Alexx lightly stroke Calleigh's hand and she became aware of her friend's presence. She immediately stopped crying and said in the strongest voice she could muster: "Alexx, Eric and I had an argument. I, I want a sterilization!"
The words had just tumbled out of her mouth and she glanced over at her friend, searching for reassurance or another sign of support. Alexx failed to give her what she so desperately needed and just stared at her in disbelief for a few moments, before finally managing to say the words which she had came in here for.
"But, honey. You can't have a sterilization now- you are pregnant."
A/N: Since I'll be away for a few days, I thought I'd post the chapter today and don't leave you hanging ;) A big thanks to the people who reviewed: Annemarie, augus10, Margie, juannedianna, Anne and nonna99 ! I'm so glad that you're enjoying my story so far and hope that you like this chapter as well! If you do or even if you don't, dropp me a review and tell me your thoughts :) I really appreciate your kind words and even though I don't have time to respond to each review personally, I always read them :)
