A/N: I'm glad you liked chapters 19 and 20! R/R as you see fit.

"Calleigh, do you have the results on that shotgun back yet?" Natalia whizzed into the ballistics lab late Friday afternoon.

"No." Came a terse reply.

"Do you have an idea when you'll have them?" Natalia didn't usually push Calleigh, but she wanted to go home early.

"Nope."

"This afternoon?" Natalia pressed. "Tomorrow? Next week?"

"Natalia, I am not accustomed to withholding evidence." Calleigh whirled and released her venom full-force. "I do my job well, and I will let you know WHEN I am done with your evidence, IF I am done with your evidence, and not a minute sooner." She whirled back around so her back was to Natalia.

Stepping back from the power of Calleigh's outburst, Natalia stared wide-eyed. This was unlike Calleigh, and despite the fact that she had every reason to be angry right now, she chose a different route. "Calleigh." She started hesitantly. "Is everything all right?"

"Everything's fine." She answered shortly. "I'm working." The message was unmistakable. Go away.

"If you want to talk…" She trailed off; Calleigh wasn't going to take her up on the offer anyway, so she turned and left.

"Hey." Eric greeted Natalia as she entered the lab.

"Hey." She paused thoughtfully, then continued. "What's up with Calleigh?"

"Calleigh?" He knitted his brow in confusion. "What do you mean?"

"I just asked her if she was done with my results," She explained. "And she bit my head off."

"Just like that?" This was a concerning turn of events. She's seemed off this morning, as well.

"I may have asked her if she knew when she'd be done with them." Natalia huffed. "But that did not warrant the tongue-lashing she gave me. She's usually so damned perky."

Eric knew he had to tread carefully; not display too much concern. His sisters could always tell when he was lying, and he had a hunch that Natalia could, too. "PMS?" He offered.

"That is so like a man!" She exploded. "Any time a woman has a bad day, just blame hormones. There could be another explanation, you know."

"Sorry." Eric figured he was in the clear as far as Natalia was concerned. "I'll go talk to her." He grumbled and fled the room. He'd have to wait until after work to talk to Calleigh, but he could do something to make her day better.

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"Coffee?" He carried a peace offering, holding the coffee out in front of him.

"You're an angel." She held out her hand for the mug.

Eric moved across the bench to stand next to her. To the casual observer it would look as though two colleagues or friends were merely sipping coffee and examining evidence. The conversation, however, was anything but casual. "You doing okay, Cal? Nat said you're upset about something. Talk to me, Honey." The endearment slipped across his tongue before he could censor it. He bit his tongue and looked through the microscope to give the illusion of "working."

Calleigh was silent for a moment, and Eric feared that she was offended by the term. "I don't want to talk about it."

He moved a hand to her knee and squeezed gently. Truthfully, he had hoped they were past all this "I'm fine" crap. "You're not fine." He whispered lips barely moving. "So don't tell me that you are."

"Not now." She croaked out through clenched teeth.

He stood, pushing his stool across the bay, and walked to the other side of the counter. "Come over tonight." He waited for her curt nod, and then left her to stew.

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Calleigh sighed, and raised her hand to knock on the door. Rapping softly, she waited until she heard footsteps, then took a step back.

The door opened slowly to reveal Eric, dressed in dark jeans and a crisp white shirt. He'd changed clothes after work – changed clothes for…her? "You look nice." She tried to change the subject.

"Have you eaten?" It was late. He figured she had. Her nod affirmed his suspicions. Stepping aside, he welcomed her into his home, but the tension she brought in with her was palpable.

"I think I'm going to look her up." Calleigh didn't beat around the bush, that's for sure.

It took a while for Eric to figure out what she meant by her statement. "You sure?"

"She deserves to know."

"To know?" Eric wasn't certain of her meaning. "To know what?"

"That her father died."

"That your father died." He corrected.

"Whatever." She shrugged nonchalantly.

He led her by the elbow to the sofa, and sat them both down. Covering her hand with his, he took a deep breath, searching for the words to say. "What can I do?"

"I'll take care of it."

"Calleigh." He tried not to sound as exasperated as he felt. "Cut the stiff upper lip cr…stuff, please. What can I do?"

"I could use a hug." She was proud of the fact that her voice didn't waver even a little with the request.

"Come here." He slipped an arm beneath her knees and pulled her into his lap, leaning back into the cushions, and holding her tightly to him. They sat like that for a while as Calleigh composed herself again.

"I, uhh." She started. "I could use your help finding her address." Truthfully, she wasn't sure she could do it all by herself. Now more than ever she was grateful for his support and affection.

"I might have already done that." He was treading carefully.

"Done what?" She raised her head from his shoulder. "You found her already?"

He couldn't tell by the tone of her voice if she was upset or not, and her face was unreadable. "Are you upset?"

"I'm not sure, to be honest." She wrinkled her nose. "Why?"

"I wanted to help. Honest. I just thought…if you changed your mind…it'd be nice if you didn't have to…you know…do it all on your own." He was rambling. "No one can connect it to you. No one knows. I swear."

When she did reply, her voice did not hold a shred of the anger he had anticipated. "What'd you find out?"

He kissed her and scooted her off of his lap. "Be right back." He shuffled into his office to retrieve the folded papers. Thank God she wasn't angry. This could have easily gone the opposite direction.

"Here." He sat down, and then offered her the papers. She sat staring at them at first, unable to unfold them and read what they say.

Slowly, with shaking hands she unfolded the papers. She glanced over the first page, breath catching a few times. Eric rubbed her back tenderly, wishing he could do something more for her. Flipping to the second page, she read a bit then the papers fluttered to the floor. "Georgia." She whispered. "She's in Georgia."

"The address is a little old." He cautioned. "She may have moved by now."

"It's an apartment." She nodded. "People in their twenties rarely stay in the same apartment for four years."

"I have a buddy on the Georgia state police." He wrapped himself around her in an attempt to comfort her. "I can ask him to see what he can find out."

"No." She shook her head. "I'll call the alumni association. Maybe she's a member. Keeps an updated address."

"Emory." He nodded toward the papers, now forgotten on the floor. "Good school." What he really was thinking was, "brains must run in the family," but Calleigh wouldn't want to hear that right now, so he kept his mouth shut.

Later that night as they lay in bed, he couldn't help but ask. "What made you change your mind?"

She raised her head from its comfortable position on his chest. "I'm not sure." She wasn't telling him the complete truth. The day before she'd had a talk with Eric's mother.

"Do you have brothers or sisters?" Chlorinda asked.

Calleigh hesitated, not sure she wanted to open that can of worms with a virtual stranger. "Not really." She settled for a half truth.

"How do you not really have any sisters or brothers?" Chlorinda didn't really understand. How could she? Calleigh barely understood herself.

"It's complicated." Calleigh picked up her spoon and stirred her coffee.

"Sweetie." Chlorinda reached across the table and stilled her hand, which was now nervously folding and unfolding her napkin. "You can tell me. I have good ears."

Calleigh glanced up at this woman, a virtual stranger. She was so much like Eric in so many ways. They were both so caring, so tender. So…loving. She took a deep breath, and considered diving in. "My dad died about a month ago." She decided to try jumping in feet first instead. She was never that fond of diving anyway.

"Eric mentioned that." Her eyes held the same sympathy that Calleigh had seen in Eric's when she'd told him. "How are you holding up?"

"I'm okay." She shrugged. "It's just…I found out something…weird…is all."

"Weird, how?"

"I might have a half sister somewhere." She couldn't believe she was telling this to someone she'd only met that day.

"Might?" Chlorinda pressed.

"I've never met her."

"She didn't come to the funeral?"

"I don't think she knows he's dead." Calleigh realized that there was no way for this other girl to have any knowledge of the man's death.

"A girl deserves to know her father's dead, Honey."

"I guess."

"I guess I had a change of heart."

"I like your heart." He leaned down and kissed her again.

A/N: It's short. I know. But it's a good stopping place. R/R