Thanks for the reviews! This is a nice long chapter, and one of my favorites, if I do say so myself. As per your requests: a quick update, lots of romance, and no Eric going to jail.
Chapter 8
Eric held Calleigh and let her cry. He could only think of two instances in their entire friendship when Calleigh had completely let go in front of him like this, and both came with the intimacy of their dating relationship: after her abduction last year, and again last month as Eric lay in the hospital. With every one of her soft sobs, Eric felt like his heart would burst.
Eventually, Calleigh's tears subsided, but her body still shuddered in Eric's tight embrace. He whispered soothing words into her ear and rubbed her back until she was ready to tell him what happened. Comfort first, explain later—Eric learned that early on with Calleigh. She needed time to come to terms with whatever was upsetting her. Right now, it was killing Eric.
After several minutes of silence, Calleigh nuzzled her nose into Eric's neck, and said firmly, "He's gonna regret ever stepping foot back in Miami." Then she laughed.
Eric pulled back slightly to make sure Calleigh hadn't actually lost it. He saw that she was genuinely laughing, and he couldn't help but become angry. "Are you serious, Cal?" he asked incredulously. "How can you be laughing right now?" He just couldn't understand her reaction.
Her eyes welled up with tears, and she looked at him so innocently and openly that Eric's anger immediately dissipated. She shrugged her shoulders in defeat. "Eric, I don't know how else to react. I mean," she looked up at the ceiling, searching for her words. "I was just humiliated in the middle of the lab, a place where I'm supposed to be safe. By a man I once trusted."
Eric sighed. He brought his hands up to cup Calleigh's cheeks and rested his forehead against hers, pressing a soft kiss to her lips. "I'm so sorry, Querida."
"It's not your fault. You didn't break my freaking arm."
His eyes popped open in fear and worry; he chided himself for not checking her over sooner. He backed up to take a better look at her—as well as he could, anyway, for Calleigh refused to let him go far.
Her eyes were dry, her flushed and tear-stained face the only evidence now that she'd been crying. Her hair wasn't tousled, nor were her clothes. But her arms—she held her right arm gingerly in her lap. Eric gently removed the ice pack to examine her forearm, biting back the piercing outrage that flared in him at what he found. He could see the red marks, the bruises beginning to set in, the swelling. I'll kill him. I'll kill the son-of-a-bitch.
Eric dropped his head to Calleigh's shoulder, not willing to let her see the anger on his face. A feral growl threatened to escape his chest. With every last ounce of his self-control, he managed a rough whisper: "Tell me what happened."
She explained everything, from the time Jake stepped off the elevator, to Natalia ushering her into the ladies' room. Every last look, every last word—Calleigh left out nothing.
Eric's hatred for Jake Berkeley only increased as Calleigh told him what happened. He let his fingers trail down her left arm until his hand covered hers, and the chain she still held; that chain and the love in Calleigh's eyes were the only things keeping Eric from racing out of the restroom to find and kill Berkeley right now.
He ran his thumb over her knuckles, turned her hand over, and let it fall open in his. "So," Eric said slowly, fingering the two delicate bands and diamond ring resting in her palm, "he knows."
Calleigh sighed. She could hear the disappointment in his voice. "I know we wanted to wait. And that Jake Berkeley should never have been the first to find out…"
Eric gave her a smile that told her it was okay. He caressed her cheek with his free hand, letting his thumb glide over her bottom lip. "He doesn't have to steal our moment. It will still be special."
Calleigh leaned up to join their lips. She kissed him deeply, willing her lips to convey the unmitigated love and devotion she felt for this man.
Marisol's murder and Eric's shooting made 2006 a hell of a year for the Delko family. It left all of them reeling, taking stock of the important things. Carmen had sat down with her son to give him one of the few precious possessions she brought with her from Cuba: her parents' wedding bands and engagement ring. They were modest, to say the least, but delicate and beautiful.
Eric held onto them, and as time passed, the vision of a stunning blonde woman dressed in all white and wearing his grandmother's rings haunted him more and more, refusing to stay shut in the drawer in the back of his mind.
As more time passed, they turned from friends to lovers, and the vision became an actual possibility. After Calleigh's abduction, Eric secretly removed the engagement ring from its hiding place and took it to the jewelers. He wanted to preserve the modesty of the ring, but he also wanted to spoil Calleigh a little. He thought it turned out perfect. He just needed Calleigh to be ready.
A month ago, after the chaos with his father and a very long talk with the love of his life, possibility became reality. He knelt on one knee, she said yes, and they made love that threatened to burn the house down.
Eric and Calleigh talked, and decided they wanted to revel in the happiness of their secret engagement for a while. Even Horatio remained in the dark on that front. When they did announce it, they planned to make it an unforgettable occasion, something special they could always share with their friends.
So much for that, Calleigh thought dismally. "Eric, Natalia knows. So do Ryan and Jesse. They overheard the whole thing."
That didn't phase Eric. "So it's not how we planned. We still get to celebrate with the people we care about." Calleigh didn't seem convinced. He gently seized her chin and forced her eyes to his. "Cal, I love you. You're going to be my wife," he couldn't stop the smile that formed every time he said that word. "No one--no one can take that away from us." He placed a light kiss against her lips.
Wife. I still can't get used to it. I'm going to be his wife. He'll be my husband. The force of that thought nearly overwhelmed her. Calleigh sighed and smiled a little. "You're right. Besides, they only know we're together. They don't know we're getting married."
She shifted her weight a little, realizing too late that it was the wrong thing to do as she jostled her injured arm. Eric noticed her wince, and the anger that had simmered down in the last few moments reared its ugly head. He carefully took her arm in his hands and raised it to get a better look.
"You need to go to the hospital, Cal. Your arm is broken," he seethed.
"It's not broken, it's just—"
"It's broken!" Eric cried a little too loud.
Calleigh faltered at the raw look in his eye. "Eric," she warned. "I'll go to the hospital. I'll see Alexx. Whatever you want," her eyes bored into his, "but you will not approach Jake about this." She put a finger over his lips as he tried to protest. "We'll tell Horatio, he'll handle it. But you will not go near him, you won't talk to him, you won't even look at him. Got it?"
She saw the obstinacy in his features and knew he couldn't promise her that. But Calleigh Duquesne was a force to be reckoned with, and she refused to let Jake's actions ruin Eric's career. They were finally in a good place, one where they could be together without fear of repercussions; one rash decision could jeopardize it all.
"Eric, I told you once that I wouldn't let you cross the line. I didn't keep that promise," Calleigh thought back sadly to their ordeal with Sharova and the Russian mob. "I won't make the same mistake twice. I know you're angry, but you have got to let Horatio handle this one."
Her emerald eyes begged him, pleaded with him to do this for her. Eric bowed his head and squeezed his eyes shut. I want to kill him. I want to make him hurt... He brought his gaze up to find Calleigh's sweet face. But at what cost?
"Okay," he whispered.
Calleigh let out a breath and whispered back. "Thank you."
Eric studied the rings in her still-open palm, and thought of the one thing that could make him forget all about Jake Berkeley right now.
"So," he began coyly. "Since everyone knows about us now, does that mean I can finally get you to wear my ring? I am on one knee, after all…again," he laughed.
Calleigh chuckled, "Yeah, in a bathroom, after I've just had my arm broken by a royal douche bag."
His heart dropped at the remembrance of her pain, but the gleam in her eye told Eric that she would be okay. And, he supposed he could see the humor in their current location. It was less than ideal. Not to be deterred, he lovingly removed the chain from her hand, undid the clasp, and slid the engagement ring off. Calleigh watched his every move.
Taking her left hand in both of his, Eric said quietly, "For better or worse, right?" And he slipped the ring on her finger.
Calleigh's smile melted Eric's heart and lit a fire in his soul. "For better or worse," she declared. She brought her newly decorated hand to rest on Eric's cheek, and they shared a simple, sweet, yet undeniably earth-shattering kiss.
When they finally broke apart, Calleigh rested her forehead on Eric's shoulder and they just sat there for a moment, until she broke the silence with a sigh. "Eric, my arm is throbbing and this toilet seat's killing my ass."
She felt his chest rumble with laughter. "Te amo mi novia," he said and bent down to lightly capture her lips with his. "C'mon, let's go. I'll call and have Horatio meet us at the hospital."
He helped her stand up, and as she tried to smooth her clothes one-handed, he looped the chain with the wedding bands over her neck. Oh, the things to come.
Rough translation for my very rusty Spanish:
Te amo mi novia-- I love you, my bride.
*novia can also mean girlfriend or fiancee, I believe. Just ignore that.
