Hey all, thanks for the reviews. For those of you worried about whether Calleigh will ever walk again, you'll have to wait and see. I'm not finished yet.

Homecoming

Eric opened her car door and lifted Calleigh into her wheel chair. He was going to push her, but she began to roll herself toward her front door. Respecting her display of independence, he followed behind, nodding at the front window. As they neared the door, it opened on it's own and Alexx stepped forward.

"Welcome home, baby," Alexx said, bending down and giving her a little kiss on the cheek.

Calleigh gave her a small hug in return. It felt good to be home after so long. "There's a house full of people, isn't there?"

"I couldn't stop them. You know how determined that batch of CSI's are. Besides we're all so glad to have you back home again," Alexx said as she ushered them inside.

"Yeah," Calleigh said softly. She felt Eric squeeze her shoulder as she rolled herself inside. She had hoped that the team would have left her to come home and adjust to her new surroundings in her new circumstance on her own, but that wasn't the case.

Before she knew it, she was overwhelmed by hugs and kisses and warm welcome homes. Even Frank bent over to give her a little peck on the cheek that left him blushing slightly.

"Now, Lambchop, we're not going to stay all that long. We just wanted to give you a little welcome home party and make sure you have everything you need," Kenwall said as his daughter began to wheel herself over to the couch.

"Thanks dad, everyone. I didn't even think about anything other than sleeping in my own bed tonight. Do I even have food that isn't spoiled in the refrigerator?" Calleigh asked as she set her brakes and stared hard at the couch, trying to figure out how she was going to get herself onto it without asking for help.

"All taken care of," Natalia said. "Maxine and I went grocery shopping and Alexx and Horatio made you up some meals so that all you have to do is heat them up. Horatio is an excellent cook, by the way."

"Being single make you learn to cook," Horatio said humbly.

"I made you some barbecue chicken with that sauce you like so much," Frank said proudly. Barbecuing was his thing and he knew how much Calleigh enjoyed his barbecue parties. She had told him that his barbecues reminded her of what it was like when things were good back home. He knew what she meant, especially after having to handle her dad's DUI a few years back.

"Mr. OCD over there made sure you had a clean house when you came home," Eric said as Calleigh leaned forward and tried to lever herself out of the chair and onto the couch.

"Thank you all so much. I really appreciate it. It's a little overwhelming, what you've all done. I didn't expect it at all," she said as she inched closer to the couch.

"Lambchop, let me give you a hand," Kenwall said, already stooping to pick her up. He hated to see her struggle.

"No, daddy, let me do it. I need to try." She inched closer until she could slide her weight carefully onto the couch. "See, I can do it."

"Well Ms. Independent, are you hungry?" Alexx asked with a chuckle. It was good to see that the fight didn't leave Calleigh. It did her heart good to see it because Eric had confided in her how much Calleigh was struggling with the changes.

"Starving, actually. Because I was dealing with the discharge papers and insurance forms and I don't know what, I missed breakfast and it's already past lunch," Calleigh replied with a roll of her eyes.

"Well let me go and make you something," Natalia offered, already moving off toward Calleigh's kitchen, a kitchen that Natalia, herself, coveted.

"No, you don't have to; really. I can make it myself," Calleigh protested, already beginning to move to her chair.

"I want to. I love your kitchen. Can I just move in so I can cook in there?"Natalia asked.

"Then let me help," Calleigh offered.

Natalia shook her head. "No way. You're the lady of the hour right now, so just let me get it for you."

Eric sat next to Calleigh. "Accept the help," he whispered.

Calleigh nodded, knowing that he was right. "Okay."

Ryan sat on her other side. "Did the doctors say when you can come back to work? We need you around the Lab. The guy that's been your temp is good, but he's no match for you."

"Look, I don't know when I'll be back yet. I don't even know how I'm getting around the house yet so you need to be patient," Calleigh said with stark honesty.

"Your Lab will be finished in a couple of days, so whenever you're ready, it'll be ready for you," Horatio said. He smiled at her. "I'm so glad you made it through everything, Calleigh."

"You're still feeling guilty, aren't you?" Calleigh asked quietly, running a hand on his arm.

"I do. I know that you don't blame me, but..." Horatio's voice trailed off.

"But you do and knowing that I need to be in a wheel chair for whatever the duration isn't helping you get rid of that guilt, right?"

Horatio shook his head. "I still feel like it's my fault."

She leveled a steely gaze on him. "Well it's not so stop. It could have happened to anyone. It could have happened to Ryan or Eric or Natalia, or even you."

"I know, Calleigh, but it was you. You're one of the toughest women I know and since most of them are officers, that's a tough group. To have seen you so weak and ill...Calleigh, for the first time I realized that you're not some wonder woman and can get knocked down like the rest of us. It frankly frightened me that we could have lost you," Horatio admitted.

"But that's no reason to feel guilty about it." Calleigh said as her stomach growled loud enough to be heard. "Keeping me from having one of Natalia's home cooked meals is."

Horatio gave her a soft smile. "Well, let's not compound my guilt, then."

ECECECECECECECECECECECECECECECECECECECECECECECECECECECECECECECECE

Calleigh sat back, appetite mostly satisfied. "That was great, Nat. Thanks. One of these days you'll have to come over and let me make it up to you. In fact, once I get my wind back, I really think I just might want to have a barbecue."

"Wind back? Darlin' what are you talking about?" Kenwall asked.

"I'm still tiring pretty easily. I'm still taking frequent naps so it'll be a while before I have my old stamina back," Calleigh said.

"Then I know I won't be shooing you out of the Lab long after your shift ends," Horatio teased. "Or find you already there when I get in?"

"I promise. Eric said he'd be my wheels until I can get hand controls for my car. If I'm ever late, blame him," Calleigh said, batting her eyelashes at Eric.

"She'll be late," Eric said, giving a significant look to Calleigh, which made her blush ever-so-slightly.

Calleigh busied herself with taking another sip of her sweet tea before eying Eric's muffin. Natalia's home made and lemon poppy seed; her favorite. "Eric, can I have this muffin?"

"You want my muffin?" he asked incredulously. She had already polished off a lasagna omelette, a large glass of grapefruit juice, several slices of bacon and toast and butter.

"What can I say? Natalia is an amazing cook and I'm still hungry and you're not eating it." Calleigh said, reaching for his muffin.

He didn't stop her. It was good to see her so enthusiastic. "Yeah, go ahead."

"Alright folks, I think we need to go and let Calleigh get a little rest," Horatio said, standing.

"Oh, no, you don't have to go," Calleigh protested around a small yawn.

Alexx pat her shoulder. "Someone needs a nap."

"No I don't," Calleigh argued.

"You need a nap, Calleigh. You're getting cranky," Ryan admonished with a touch of humor. "You know I don't like Cranky Calleigh."

"I'm not cranky."

Despite her protests, she received hugs, kisses and good wishes as everyone, save Eric, left so that she could actually get some amount of rest. In truth, she was beginning to flag badly, but she had been having such a great time with everyone there that she was sad to see them go.

"So, you're off too then?" Calleigh asked as Eric picked up the extra plates.

"Me? No I thought that you might want, I mean, I thought I'd stay around here in case you need anything. You said that you didn't even know how you were going to get around the house, so I thought that maybe I'd hang around and pitch in until you have something worked out," Eric said, stumbling over his own words.

"Come here," Calleigh ordered softly. When he sat down next to her, she scooted over and snuggled up to him. "You don't need an excuse to stay."

"I didn't want to assume that you'd be okay with it. I know you still need your space," Eric said, arms encircling her. He could feel her exhaustion in the way she leaned against him.

"I'm more than okay with it," she murmured softly, her eyes closing.

Eric slid his arms around her, lifting her up as he stood. No matter how much weight she had put back on, she still felt light as a feather to him. "Come on, you'll get a backache if you fall asleep here."

"Eric, put me in the chair. I can roll myself to the bedroom," she protested, yawning, head still resting on his shoulder.

"Nope. You're already half asleep. Let me do this," he said as they entered the bedroom. Someone had already turned down the bed and fluffed the pillows. Eric laid her down gently. "Do you need anything?"

She took his hands. "Just you."

"I'm right here," he replied, a little puzzled at what she meant.

"I know, but you're not close enough." With a surprising display of strength, she tugged on his hands, pulling him onto the bed. "That's better, but I don't think you're too comfortable."

Eric let out a low chuckle, fully understanding her intention. He lifted her up and moved her over so he could lay down properly. "You're right, this is much more comfortable."

"Good." She struggled a little, but managed to get herself onto her side, laying her head on his shoulder. She sighed contentedly and closed her eyes. "Now you're close enough."