Chapter Ten
Lucky Girl
-
Eric had always thought Paula knew more than she ever let on.
After all, she did work right out front, at reception. Her eyes were privy to all who walked into the crime lab; it was rare that anybody could waltz right in without speaking to her first. She'd become adept at reading people; given only a few moments, Paula could tell if someone was a family member of someone in the lab, an innocent simply wishing to check on the progress of a case, or a suspect who she would probably be calling security on in seconds flat.
But it wasn't only the strangers that Paula had taken to watching. It wasn't only the suspects; it wasn't only those that she'd probably never see again. Locked away behind her reception desk, fielding calls and visitors for those inside the lab, she couldn't help but immerse herself in their personal lives, when the opportunity arose.
If there was anybody who knew more about the inner workings and relationships in the lab than Valera and Cooper, it was Paula.
She knew the lengthy history between Calleigh and her father. She knew every time that Duke did something to upset his daughter by the way he walked into the lab with a vase of tulips, always yellow, and a penitent look in his eyes. She saw the frustration Calleigh felt every time Paula had to break the news of her visitor.
She had known about Horatio and Marisol, perhaps even before Eric himself knew. Paula had to admit, Horatio and Marisol had made a sweet couple, but throw Eric, Marisol's brother and Horatio's subordinate, into the mix, and the relationship became one that Paula couldn't begin to understand.
She knew the depth of Eric's financial woes; after all, she was the one who'd been fielding the calls from hospitals, from lawyers, from the woman who'd been collecting pieces of his paycheck, and so on. Though he took it in stride, Eric was still frustrated, as anyone would be.
She had seen the almost schoolboy-like crush that Ryan had harbored for Calleigh in the beginning. When he'd first transferred to CSI, Ryan had been eager to please her, perhaps more than he was toward anyone else. He'd looked up to her as a mentor, though her blonde locks and playful eyes had teased him relentlessly. But like with all simple crushes, that one too faded, and Paula watched as Ryan stepped out from under Calleigh's shadow, becoming his own CSI. That crush had faded into nothing, but there was another relationship that had blossomed right before her eyes, one which seemed to resist fading.
Paula knew, simply by watching, just what Calleigh meant to Eric. No words were ever necessary to describe the electricity that passed from him to her from gentle touches, subtle gazes. It was no crush what Eric felt for Calleigh, and their relationship, one of a friendship struggling to stay friendship while at the same time wanting to become more, had been one that had fascinated Paula for years.
And tonight, Eric had never been more grateful that Paula possessed that fascination, that knowledge of their deep relationship.
The call had come through about a quarter past ten. Eric had been on his way home when his cell rang, CSI flashing on the display. Any other night he might've ignored it - after all, he was officially off duty. But something made him answer this particular call, not even letting it get to the second ring.
And then his blood had run cold. A wreck, about ten miles north of his current location. One car that'd run a red light, smashing into another car, identified to be Calleigh's. As soon as Paula had heard the news, her first phone call had been to Eric.
He'd turned around immediately and raced to the scene, breaking all the speed limits but not caring about anything other than getting to Calleigh. Paula had told him it wasn't serious; that nobody had been hurt, but Eric knew his heart would not stop pounding until he saw her for himself.
When Eric finally saw her, standing and appearing unhurt, the sense of relief that washed over him had been overwhelming. He was relieved, but in no way did that slow his stride as he jumped out of his car, thoughtfully pulling a blanket from the trunk before he made it over to her, calling her name softly.
She turned to him, her eyes wide. "Eric…"
"Quite an evening, huh?" he murmured, gently wrapping the blanket around Calleigh's shoulders. Despite the muggy night air, she welcomed the warmth of the soft fabric over her shoulders. "You're not hurt, are you?"
Calleigh shook her head quickly. "No, I'm fine."
Eric bit his lip, looking over her body. It wasn't that he didn't believe her, but how many times could he really believe Calleigh when she said she was fine? Not this time, at least, not without some serious convincing and acting on Calleigh's part. Her eyes were still widened, the remnants of the fear that had coursed through her body. Eric could see she was shaking, though clearly trying to keep it unnoticeable. It was all Eric could do to remain professional, to keep from pulling her into his arms.
The professionalism he could hold onto, if he tried. But the anger, the coldness he'd projected toward her in recent weeks had fallen away, just like the fake wall that it was. He couldn't pretend to hate her now if he tried.
If Calleigh had died tonight, Eric would've never been able to live with himself, after the way he'd been acting toward her recently.
Pulling his eyes from her for the moment, Eric allowed himself to survey the scene. It made his stomach flip, seeing the twisted wreck of metal that had once Calleigh's car; that was something he couldn't bear to look at. Instead he turned his gaze several feet away, where the driver of the other car, after being checked out, was being taken into custody. Eric could tell by the way the man walked that he was clearly drunk. Just the thought made Eric's blood boil; the woman for whom he cared so deeply had nearly been taken away from him by somebody who clearly hadn't thought of the consequences, or perhaps he just hadn't cared.
His eyes shifted back to her, and to Calleigh's dismay, he didn't miss her slight trembling. "Are you sure you're okay?" he persisted, his hands on her arms, concerned. He reached up, pulling the blanket tighter around her shoulders, a move that, while she tensed slightly, she seemed grateful for. "Maybe you should run by the ER…"
Calleigh gave an embarrassed smile. "Eric…I'm fine."
"Look at your car, Cal," Eric said quietly, not missing Calleigh's flinch.
"Really Eric, it's just a few scratches…" she mumbled, glancing to the right. "I'm fine."
Eric gave her a small smile, seeking out her eyes. "I don't doubt that," he said, though only to placate her. "But I'd feel better if you went to the ER." He'd long since found that if he made it about his needing something instead of her needing something, Calleigh was much more ready to oblige. "If you don't go, I'm going to worry about you all night. Whether you might have a concussion, whether you're in a lot more pain than you're feeling right now…" He reached out, gently taking one of her cold hands. "Standing here and looking at your car…I just need to know that you're okay."
Calleigh closed her eyes, letting out a deep breath. "Fine," she murmured, almost inaudibly. She was too tired to argue anymore tonight.
Eric let out a sigh of relief. "Good," he said quietly, chuckling despite himself as Calleigh rolled her eyes. Gently he reached out, draping an arm around her shoulders. "Lets get you to my car, okay?" Calleigh simply nodded and allowed Eric to lead her.
It was only moments later, though it felt like much longer to Calleigh, that Eric was opening his passenger door for her. He couldn't help but smile as Calleigh shook off his touch; such a typical Calleigh action. He waited as she slipped into the car, resting her head against the back of the seat. She looked so tiny, so fragile, but Eric would never dare say that aloud. Instead, he smiled softly, reaching in and gently brushing a knuckle over her cheek. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah," Calleigh replied on a sigh. She gave Eric a grateful smile. "Thanks, Eric."
"You're welcome," Eric murmured, nodding slightly. "I'll be right back, okay?" She nodded, and with another smile, Eric closed the door and began reluctantly heading back toward the scene, toward where he'd briefly noticed Jake arguing with another officer just a few moments earlier.
He'd been engrossed in the argument - if there was anybody more stubborn than Calleigh, it was Jake - but his eyes had flickered to Eric as he'd made his way toward Calleigh.
Eric hadn't missed the look Jake had given him as he'd led Calleigh to his car. It had been cold, calculating. It gave Eric a strange feeling, though he couldn't describe it as more than that. Even so, he approached the other man, thinking only of Calleigh as he did so.
Eric just wanted to get to the chase; to tell Jake where he was taking Calleigh and why, and to be done with it. But his upbringing had taught him to at least seem polite, and he couldn't make himself ignore that now. "Hey, man, you alright?" he asked.
It was all Jake could do not to glare. Standing in front of him was the very person that he and Calleigh had been arguing over in the car. He tried to keep himself in check, knowing it would be far too easy to pin the blame for the wreck on Eric, despite the fact that physically he'd had nothing to do with it. "I'm fine," he muttered.
Eric's eyes dropped to Jake's arms. "You sure? Those look like some pretty nasty scrapes."
Jake rubbed his arms with his hands, grimacing a little at the slight burn. "I'm fine," he repeated. "It's just a bit of airbag burn. Believe me, I've had worse."
Eric nodded slowly, really not sure what to say to that. Awkwardly he crossed his arms, letting out a breath. "So what exactly happened here?"
"Jerk hit us, that's what happened," Jake scowled.
"I can see that," Eric sighed, trying to stay patient. "I meant, what really happened?"
Jake narrowed his eyes, unsure of what Eric was after. But he couldn't shake the suspicion that he was trying to blame the wreck on him. "Look, Delko," he began slowly, "I don't know what you're looking for, but you're not going to find it. We were on our way home, that guy ran a red light, and here we are."
"Relax, Jake," Eric said, holding up a hand. "I wasn't suggesting anything. I was just trying to figure out what happened."
A thousand questions flitted their way through Jake's mind. Why did it matter so much to Eric? Wrecks happened all the time; why did the mechanism of it concern Eric so much? And why did he show up here so quickly? Had he just been driving by? Or had somebody called him?
Did Calleigh call him? The very idea chilled him, and Jake shook his head slightly, trying to clear it. What he couldn't shake, though, was why on earth Eric would even be here now anyway. His presence seemed more than a little strange to Jake. Why was it that, recently, Eric seemed to pop up whenever something was going on with Calleigh? "What are you even doing here?" Jake asked, crossing his arms.
"Does it really matter why I'm here?" Eric said, slightly defensively, progressively growing more and more tired of playing nice. It was late, he was exhausted, frustrated. To beat it all, he could feel a dull throbbing beginning just behind his eyes. "I think what matters is that none of this was as serious as it could've been, and that nobody was hurt." Eric's eyes once more strayed to the slight redness on Jake's arms. "Seriously, at least. I still think that maybe you should get that looked at, though. Do you want a ride?"
"What?" Jake asked, slightly confused. "A ride where?"
Eric braced himself slightly, not expecting Jake to be happy with his explanation. "I'm taking Calleigh to the ER."
But the backlash never came. Instead, Jake's expression softened, the irritation in his eyes dimming. "The ER? Why?" he asked. "She's okay, isn't she?"
Eric couldn't help but be surprised by the amount of true concern in Jake's voice. "She says she's fine," Eric replied, watching Jake carefully, "but I've heard that enough from her that I don't completely believe her when she says it."
"She was pretty shaken up," Jake murmured, pursing his lips thoughtfully.
"Yeah," Eric agreed. "I just really want to take her by the ER and make sure she's okay. Make sure she doesn't have a concussion or anything like that." He paused for a moment, really not wanting to add his next thought, but knowing it was the right thing to do. "You're welcome to come with us, Jake."
Jake gave Eric an appraising look, once more unable to figure the other man out. When he combined this moment with the moment he'd witnessed earlier between Eric and Calleigh, Jake honestly didn't know what to think about the other man. He did seem like a decent guy, and he was one of Calleigh's closest friends...but was that all it was? Jake was really beginning to wonder about that. He really didn't trust Eric, for a number of reasons. After all, Jake did have ears; he'd heard a few things over the past year.
Part of him wondered if maybe this wasn't some scheme. Was Eric only offering him a ride because he knew Jake would refuse? And if Jake didn't refuse, what would happen then? It wasn't something Jake particularly wanted to find out, though. He gave a heavy sigh, his eyes surveying once more the scene around them. "Nah, I'm fine," he muttered.
Eric raised an eyebrow. "You sure?" he asked carefully. He didn't know why he insisted; Eric certainly didn't want Jake to accompany them. "That looks -"
"I said I'm fine, Delko," Jake persisted sharply.
Eric tossed up his hands in surrender. "You know what; fine. I was just trying to -"
"I know what you were trying to do."
Eric's eyes widened slightly at the badly concealed bitterness in Jake's voice. After all, he was only trying to be considerate. He never really needed to say anything to Jake at all; Eric could've just left the other man in the dark. "Look, Jake, I'm not trying to do anything but help," he countered. "I don't know what you think I'm trying to do, and I really don't care. The only thing that I'm concerned about right now is making sure that Calleigh's okay, and I'd have thought you would be too."
Jake shook his head slightly in disgust. "I do care about Calleigh," he argued quietly. "I don't appreciate the implication that I don't."
"Well, I'm glad you finally made that clear," Eric replied, taking a step back. "It just seems strange to me that you don't want to go with her to the ER. Doesn't sound to me like you want to make sure she's okay."
"What can I do to help her if we're sitting in a waiting room for hours?" Jake asked seriously. "I do want to be with her, and if I didn't think she was okay, I would be. And I think I know Calleigh a little better than you do. She doesn't want the entire world fussing over her. I can do more to help if I stay here and help out."
Eric didn't bother telling Jake that there likely wasn't much he could do here at the scene. "Okay, fine," he replied with a shrug. "I don't care what you do. I was only thinking about what Calleigh might've wanted." With that, Eric turned and swiftly headed back toward his car.
His footfalls softened, though, the closer he came to the car. Angry thoughts of Jake left his mind, replaced by concern for Calleigh. That concern grew as he opened his door and slipped inside with her, as Calleigh barely even acknowledged his presence. She was too still, too quiet. Eric just wanted to reach out and pull her into his arms, but he didn't give in to that urge, knowing it wouldn't help the situation. Instead, he quietly started the car and began to drive them toward the ER.
They were halfway down the highway before Eric finally broke the silence. He couldn't take it; he needed to talk to her. He wasn't used to quiet, somber Calleigh. "Do you want to tell me what happened tonight?" he asked softly, hoping she didn't think he was prying. He didn't want to push - after all, he'd already gotten her to let him take her to the ER. This was still Calleigh Duquesne. There was only so much he could get from her before she inevitably closed down.
"No," she groaned, leaning forward in the seat. She rested her head in her hands for a moment.
Eric nodded, watching the road in front of him. "Okay."
Calleigh straightened up again, a deep sigh escaping her. "We were arguing," she explained quietly, looking down at her hands. "I was mad…not paying attention, I guess. Suddenly, Jake was grabbing at the wheel, and then the airbag was in my face. Next thing I knew, Jake was helping the driver of the other car, and I was standing in the middle of the street trying to remember what happened..."
Jake.
It came as a jolt to her, shocking her away from the present. Where was Jake now? Calleigh couldn't remember where he had gone; what he had been doing. She remembered him helping her out of the car. She remembered him touching her shoulders gently, reluctant to embrace her completely for fear of hurting her. She remembered him asking her to stay put while he checked on the other driver.
And that had been the last time she'd seen him. She didn't know if he was okay or not. Jake had obviously been running on adrenaline, from both the argument and the wreck. What if the effects of that had masked any injuries?
It was a horrible sequence of events that coursed through her mind; Calleigh could see it so clearly. Jake, moving about as though nothing was wrong, but wincing slightly, holding his side while nobody was looking. His face pale, his eyes dull, his breathing becoming steadily more labored, a sweat breaking out along his brow - and he was just like Calleigh; she knew that if Jake were really hurt, he wouldn't be likely to bring attention to it. If he were hurt, Jake would let it fester, thinking it was merely a cramp or something like that; something short-lived. Calleigh could just see him, sinking to the ground somewhere out of sight under the pretense of catching his breath, but instead succumbing to the pain and the possible internal bleeding.
Calleigh had been through enough close calls with the man. She knew how he acted; she knew how stubborn he was. That knowledge, combined with uncertainty and not knowing where he was, along with Calleigh's current stress level…it put a vision in her mind. Despite the fact that Jake had seemed fine moments before, Calleigh couldn't prevent herself from seeing him sitting at the side of the road, barely holding on to consciousness, then losing it altogether…
"Calleigh?"
Calleigh sucked in a breath, startled. She hadn't realized just how fiercely her heart was pounding; just how unsteady her breathing had become. She was gripping the armrest tightly, and the shaking in her body was apparent. She felt a warmth creep into her cheeks, and she ducked her head, trying to hide from Eric the fact that she'd lost control of her thoughts. She took in a few deep, steadying breaths, but she just couldn't force the frightening image of Jake hurt from her mind.
Eric watched her carefully from the corner of his eye, though he kept most of his attention focused on the road before him. After all, Calleigh had had enough of a scare on the road today. He'd felt her close down right next to him; he'd seen the way she'd unconsciously gripped onto anything she could hold, her knuckles paling in the process. And Eric knew that this wasn't anything uncommon - Calleigh had just been in a wreck. She was likely scared; she would likely be jittery for a little while. But this was Calleigh. What scared Eric wasn't that she seemed panicky; what scared him was that he'd just never seen Calleigh quite like this before.
He lay a tentative hand on her shoulder, feeling her tense beneath it. "Everything okay?" he asked softly, wishing she would look at him.
Calleigh sighed, squeezing her eyes tightly closed for a second. "I can't stop thinking about…" she began, but quickly stopped herself. She didn't want to think about it; she didn't want to talk about it. What she wanted…what she needed…was to know that Jake was okay. That they were okay.
To her dismay, Eric latched onto her broken sentence. "About what?" he asked gently.
She knew that Jake wasn't the best subject to bring up with Eric; just as Eric now wasn't the best subject to discuss with Jake. But the not knowing - it gnawed at her, twisting her stomach, running rampant through her imagination. It gave her an almost ominous feeling; a feeling which wouldn't be suppressed by logic. She had seen Jake. He had looked fine. It was the nagging voice at the back of her mind which she couldn't ignore though.
"I just…" she gave a helpless shrug. She needed to get some kind of confirmation. "Where's Jake?"
Eric gave an imperceptible flinch. It did rather hurt that in this moment, while he was thinking only of Calleigh, she had to be thinking of Jake. He bit his lip, wanting to choose his words carefully before he said anything.
His silence struck Calleigh, and she felt her heart skip a beat. "He's okay, isn't he?" she asked, amazed at how calm her voice sounded, despite the emotional turmoil within.
"He's fine," Eric replied quietly. "He just felt the need to stay behind and help out."
Calleigh frowned. "Oh." What did that mean exactly? Did Jake really want to help out? What was there he could do, and even if there was something, wouldn't it have been a conflict of interest? So was he really helping out, or was he still angry? Did he just not want to be with Calleigh tonight? What about tomorrow night? Or any of the nights to come? Did he not care anymore?
Calleigh was completely unprepared for the ache that struck her heart at that train of thought. If anything, the confirmation that Jake was okay only made her feel worse. Before, he wasn't with her because he might've been hurt. Now, though, there was the possibility that he just didn't want anything more to do with her.
And now, here was Eric, who was another puzzle in himself. He'd made it clear weeks before that he didn't want anything to do with her. And in one day, all that had changed? He'd been cold to her for so long, and now, all of a sudden, he was back to being her best friend? Just like that?
None of this made any sense to Calleigh at all. Every time she thought she was finally figuring everything out, something else came along and mixed it all back up. Why couldn't anything ever be simple?
"You know," Eric commented quietly, once more startling Calleigh out of her thoughts. As he turned into the parking lot, he glanced to her from the corner of his eye. "You were lucky tonight."
It wasn't exactly the choice of words Calleigh would've used, and she couldn't help but give a quiet, cynical laugh. "Lucky? I just totaled my car, Eric. There's no way I'm going to be able to afford something new right now. My entire body is going to be killing me for the next week. How is any of that lucky?"
"It's lucky that Jake was paying attention, because that wreck could've been a whole lot worse. It's lucky that it was the other driver's fault and not yours. It's lucky that I'm the one taking you to the ER, and not an ambulance or a helicopter." Maybe Calleigh couldn't see it, not tonight, but Eric knew there were a million ways that she could be considered lucky tonight.
The silence filled the small car as he pulled into a parking space, quickly cutting off the engine. Before Calleigh could move, he reached over, gently laying his hand atop hers. Startled, she looked up, immediately falling victim to his dark gaze. It'd been a while since she'd been privy to that look. It was a look of compassion, so different from the bitter gaze, that look of agony he'd been sporting since that night not too long ago. As he spoke once more, Calleigh found that she couldn't look away.
"It's lucky that you're still here."