Eric pulled up to the crimescene, one hand on the steering wheel and the other resting on the console; in which it housed possibly the most important purchase he was yet to make; save from the four pregnancy tests he had purchased throughout the lifespan of he and Calleigh's relationship. In the glovebox sat 'the ring' as Ryan had put it. He had done the right thing of course; gaining consent from both Calleigh's biological father but also her father figure and their boss. He had planned on proposing to her after she had broken the news of their pregnancy to the rest of the team which had, for unfortunate reasons, had been delayed due to this particular crimescene. As he exhaled deeply, he exited the vehicle and locked it behind him; pocketing his keys and left hand as he walked towards the door. Hearing a gate slam shut, his brain kicked up a notch and he quickly shouldered the door open and drew his weapon. Stepping silently into the house to not scare any potential invaders still in the area, he held his weapon in front of him and stepped quickly into the kitchen. What greeted him made his heart drop into his shoes. Calleigh lay on her left side; eyes hardly open and blood slowly dripping from the top of her head near her forehead. His throat constricted, he dropped to his knees and lifted her into his lap, noticing her eyes begin to refocus.
"Calleigh?" He called softly, tapping her face gently with his hand and resting his other hand on her growing belly; silently checking the wellbeing of his unborn children. Almost like a soothing whisper, he felt the feather soft touch of a foot under the palm of his hand. "Oh thank god..." He whispered, turning his attention back to Calleigh. "Baby can you hear me? Talk to me..." He tried again. Calleigh blinked hard, in a vain attempt to get her head to stop spinning and her ears to stop ringing.
"Eric..." She moaned, leaning softly against him as he took her weight. When she moved, she felt nausea begin to rise up into her throat. "I think I'm going to be sick!" She cried out, trying to get to her feet. Spying a bag on the ground, he held it in front of her as she emptied her stomach. "Oh good lord..." She mumbled. "My head feels like a slate of bricks." She admitted, sighing as she closed her eyes.
"I'm calling Resuce." Eric announced, fetching his phone and speed dialling Dispatch. "This is CSI Delko I need Rescue at the Hamilton Crime Scene; 1013. Officer is-"
"Not that!" Calleigh hissed, her eyes closed. "Wait until we announce it. Please. I dont want to be lab gossip." She begged, for the first time since Eric arrived supporting her own weight. Eric hung up the phone and wrapped an arm around his girlfriend; slowly lifting her to her feet and leading her to the nearby couch. Calleigh uncerimoniously flopped onto it, one gloved hand resting on her head to still the bleeding. Eric went to her kit, retrieved the bandae he knew she always kept in there and was quick to press it against her head. A small hiss eminated from the blonde but that didnt phase him.
"Do you feel sick again?" He asked, looking into her eyes and noticed the slower reaction to him. Calleigh silently shook her head. "Good. I just want to make sure you are ok... I think this will need stitches." He gestured to the now bloody gauze on her head.
"That doesn't bother me... As long as they give me something so I don't feel it." She joked. She noticed the serious look on his face so she reached out with her clean hand and rested it on his cheek. "Hey..." She reassured. "I'll be fine. It's just a bump to the head." Eric remained silent. "What is it?" She tried again.
"Please don't fight with me with what I'm about to say..." He began. "I think after today you should think about Desk Duty." He voiced. He half expected her to object but he was more than surpirised when she said,
"I agree. It's too dangerous." The whoop whoop of sirens caught both of their attention. "Can you discretely mention about..." She gestured to her stomach. Eric nodded as the door opened. "In here." Calleigh called softly.
Two young paramedics, both females entered the room with kits in hand. "Can you tell me what happened?" The brunette asked, retreiving a BP cuff and torch light.
"I got hit in the head by... god only knows what. I uh... threw up about five minutes ago." She explained, trying her best to follow the light with her eyes. "I should mention as well that I'm pregnant." She said simply. Both girls smiled.
"Well congratulations." She smiled warmly, removing the BP cuff and then inspecting the wound on Calleigh's head. She quickly turned to Eric. "Do you have an evidence bag? I can see something in here." Eric grabbed a small yellow evidence bag and held it open, allowing the small piece of black plastic to be dropped in it.
"That bag was over my face... but I kinda threw up in it." She admitted, looking down. The brunette, named Ebony, smiled reassuringly.m
"It's alright. I'm in the same boat as you." She said with a wink. "Eleven weeks with number 1." She turned to the blonde, named Tash. "Chair stretcher? I want this cut stitched and I think we need an ultrasound." Tash nodded, setting up the chair.
Sitting on a bed in ED, Calleigh had her head back as the blood was shampooed out and her wound closed. Stitches were not needed, but rather glue and some butterfly bandages.
"Y'know if I wasnt in an Emergency Department I would be loving this." She smiled, her eyes closed. Doctor Savage opened the curtains, papers and photos under her arm.
"Once that is out you;re free to go." She smiled. "Your prince and princess are in perfect health, all with ten fingers and toes and strong heartbeats. Eric tells me you haven't announced it yet?" She asked, handing Eric a towel to dry her hair.
"Not yet... I will be when I get back to the lab. Eric and I were talking and we think I should take desk duty as of now. Do you agree?" Calleigh asked, closing her eyes at the sensation of Eric's hands on her head and massaging her scalp.
"I certainly agree." She agreed, putting the towel in the skip next to her. "Now is the crucial time to take it easy and rest... Unfortunately you are unable to take any painkillers if your head starts giving you grief but I can reccommend a lavender oil blend on the skin. It's natural and wont harm you or babies." Redressed, Eric helped Calleigh to her feet. "Now I hope the next time I see you is when I get to deliver these beautiful babies!" She smiled as she walked away.
Natalia paced the breakroom, checking her phone every ten or so seconds.
"What is keeping them?" She asked, growing rather anxious. She had heard the call Eric had made but it was unclear if Calleigh was ok. The elevator doors opened and the nerves inside the DNA analyst relaxed, like steam being released from a rice cooker. Ryan, Tara and Travers were sitting at the table in the room, all of them nursing much needed cups of Coffee. Natalia had told them to gather in there, ready for Calleigh and Eric's return. They were still waiting for Horatio to arrive but Natalia relaxed when she saw him exit his office. "They aren't the only ones with news." She though to herself. Eric opened the glass door, walking in first as Calleigh stood behind him. Natalia was the first to see the bandage.
"What the hell happened?!" She asked.
"I got a visit from someone at the crimescene. I'm ok!" She reassured, seeing the look of fear flash in her friends eyes. "Alright now that y'all are here-"
"Don't start without me." Horatio smiled, sitting next to Natalia. Both Calleigh and Eric noticed the smiles exchanged between the Lieutenant and the DNA analyst; they exchanged them on a daily basis! The look Horatio gave the two of them said loud and clear; We will tell you later. You give your news first.
"Ok." Calleigh tried again. "Now that y'all are here. There's something we need to tell you." Eric took the photos out of the envelope in Calleigh's hand and passed them out, his right hand grasping the ringbox in his hand.
"What are we looking at here?" Travers asked, holding the photo up to the light. Tara and Ryan grinned.
"Congratulations!" Tara smiled brightly, getting to her feet and embracing the blonde. "Are you all going?" She asked, offering her seat to Calleigh as she put her coffee mug in the sink.
"We are doin great, I just have a sore head. I'm on desk duty as of now so there are no more dangers to worry about..." Calleigh sat down slowly, smiling as Eric embraced his male coworkers. It was rare the big tough Cuban exterior came down and when it did it always tugged at her heart just a little more. She saw Horatio rest both hands on Calleigh's shoulders and nodded, almost in approval. He moved over to the table and took hold of Calleigh's hand. She noticed a smile creep up onto his face. "What are you doing?" She asked, realising almost immediately what he was going to do.
"Something I should have done 17 years ago when we met..." He tightened her hand in his and slowly got down onto one knee, looking into her eyes.
"Calleigh Grace Duquesne when you stole my heart at the age of 18 I knew right then and there that you were my person. You were the one I was going to spend my life with. We have had our ups, those being Julie's birth and the two of us reconnecting, and our downs which we do not need to mention. But they have brought us even closer together. And now in four months time our family will be complete. Will you marry me?" He opened the ringbox, revealing an 18 carat diamond ring with a square of diamonds atop of an infinity diamond band. The ring took her breath away as the tears sprung to her eyes.
"You can't expect me to say no to you can I?" She cried happily, lifting Eric into her lap and hugging him to her, tears in her eyes. Eric took her left hand, sliding the ring perfectly onto her finger. She grabbed his shirt and pressed her lips to his, forgetting everyone in the room as her world slipped into a place she never thought she would feel again.
Happiness.
This is the last chapter for this story!
However keep a look out very soon for sequal beginning this week.
Titled 'Change'Plot: With a ring on her finger and babies in her belly, Calleighs life could not get any better. However as the old saying goes 'What goes up must come down.'Pairings: Calleigh and Eric, Horatio and Natalia, Julie and Kyle.
Thankyou all so much for staying with me on this story. Six years, more than a dozen cases of writers block, a surprise baby, three deaths in the family and moving three times. To all of my loyal readers, I love you all so much.