Wow, a lot of Wyatt in this one. I hope you guys enjoy!! More Calleigh and the baby, coming up next. I promise, she does have a name and you'll all hear it soon enough. ;)


Wyatt stood by the doorway with nothing on his person but a rumpled business suit - he'd already discarded his tie in the car - and a set of keys dangling from his fingertips. They were both fast asleep and he wasn't sure if it would be right to wake either of them. Calleigh was surrounded by machines and Eric looked like he might as well have been. He had bags under his eyes and his head resting on his arm at the end of the bed. His feet were dragging on the floor beneath what had to be an incredibly uncomfortable chair and Calleigh had her arms prone beside her, straight and stiff because any movement to the left or right could pull some form of monitoring equipment free. And if he knew Calleigh at all, which he liked to think he did, he knew she'd be far too conscious of that possibility.

He knew he likely wasn't supposed to be there, but it'd taken him an extra hour to make it down to Miami - there was an accident just short of his turn off the I-75 - and even though he'd bashed his steering wheel, screaming and cursing the skies, regardless of the fact that the sky had nothing to do with it, he knew that he was glad he'd been careful enough to ensure he made it there in one piece. It was well after hours and whilst one nurse had given him a strange look as he'd walked past the station, he was grateful that she seemed to be rather junior and had been sitting alone. So he'd slipped his way through the halls, ducking his head into each door until he'd found Eric snoring in the chair and Calleigh with that fitful look on her face she used to get when the night was too hot and she insisted that human beings couldn't sleep in such humidity - she'd been seven, if he recalled correctly - and it still made him chuckle that 'human beings' had been the first description she'd used, as opposed to just regular 'people'.

There were a lot of hints he'd seen in the past, that pointed to the fact that she was so undeniably different. Special, was the word he most liked to use for her. But every time he'd tried to tell her, she thought he was being sarcastic and he'd always been rewarded by a slap to the arm or she'd take his girls out for ice-cream and hype them up before it was time for them to head home to bed. She was an evil aunt, that he knew for sure, but even though the girls would drive him mad on those afternoons that he swore there was more than just sugar in their ice-cream, he always found it kind of funny.

Watching them, he could see that for all appearances, Calleigh was okay. But Eric looked so horribly drained that he started to worry that something had transpired in the hours since they'd spoken, that had the man on his last tether. He didn't want to wake him, because sleep was important, especially when you were looking like hell rolled up in a blanket of crap, but he needed to know that she was alright. He needed to know details and he wanted to be sure that he could stumble into a hotel room, hopefully by the time the clock struck two in the morning, with the knowledge that everything was fine. And the baby? He needed to know what had happened.

"Eric?" He whispered and the man flinched. Calleigh did too and Wyatt immediately regretted how loud his voice had sounded. Crossing the room, he touched his hand gently to his Brother-in-law's shoulder and carefully shook him awake. He sat up quickly, blinking and staring at Calleigh and Wyatt watched him slowly realise that it wasn't her that had woken him.

"Wyatt, hey. What time is it?" He rubbed his face and Wyatt checked the clock on his phone.

"A little after twelve."

"God, I think I've strained my back." He mumbled, stretching as he stood and Wyatt found himself chuckling just a little. Obviously, if Eric could talk about something as trivial as a sore back - and when your entire family is at stake, back pain is trivial - then everything had to be okay, right?

"That'll teach you for sleeping in those chairs. So," He sobered up. "fill me in."

Eric yawned and nodded, looking down at Calleigh to make sure she was alright before leading the man out of the room. "She's alright. The surgery was long but they said they think they got all of the cancer that had spread to her ovaries. They're still going to need to run some tests and the Doctor said that she's going to be monitored for a while, but we should know in a few weeks if she's going to need to try the Chemo again."

"Was the baby affected?"

Eric met his eyes and Wyatt couldn't help but feel his cheeks warm at the sight of such pride on his face. In the few months he'd known him, Eric hadn't only become his brother-in-law, husband to his only sister, but he'd become a friend too. And to see him brimming with such happiness, it made him smile too. "Nah," Eric breathed. "but we shouldn't really be surprised, I mean, this is Calleigh's kid, afterall. If she was going, she was going kicking and screaming."

"So it's a girl?" Wyatt blinked away a tear, hoping that the slip in his masculinity hadn't been noticed. But who was he kidding, he was talking to the proud new father of a baby girl, he was the last man in the hall that needed to be worrying about his masculinity come morning when everyone was going to be fawning over her.

"Yeah, and she's gorgeous. She's absolutely tiny and she's fair, just like Calleigh but she's got this amazing, thick head of dark hair. They washed her up and, man, that hair was sticking up all over the place."

Wyatt laughed, following Eric across the hall to where there were two seats beside the closed door to a room that wasn't being used. "So, she looks like Calleigh, huh?"

"Except for the hair, I think so." Eric beamed. "but we're going to have to wait and see when she's out of the incubator. I've got to see in the morning if they'll let me take Calleigh down to see her."

"Sounds great, man. So," Wyatt stood again. "I'm not actually suppose to be in here and I'm a bit scared that the nurses are going to find me, every one I've ever met has always been a Nazi. So I'm glad that you're all okay and I'm going to go crash in a motel or something, but I'll come back to see Calleigh in the morning."

"Are you sure you don't wanna stay, Calleigh'd love to see you when she wakes up."

"Nah," Wyatt shook his head. "let her sleep as long as she can. I'll come back." Turning, he moved to head out but Eric quickly grabbed his arm.

"Alright, but don't stay in a motel. Here," He pulled his keys apart carefully and handed his front door key over. "go to the house, we're not using it tonight anyway. The spare room's all made up, but just ignore all the baby stuff stashed in there."

Wyatt laughed. "Will do, thanks." They embraced quickly and as Eric turned to head back into Calleigh's room, Wyatt was already heading down the hall.


Everywhere I'm looking now,
I'm surrounded by your embrace,
Baby I can see your halo,
You know you're my saving grace.

~ Halo
, Beyonce Knowles


Calleigh laughed as she watched Eric swinging her around in circles. He had their small daughter by the hands, spinning in circles in the center of the back yard with her little red party dress swirling around her bare feet. Their barking puppy was chasing close behind her as she spun and both Eric's face and that of their daugther, was alight with a joy that there was a time in her life she thought she'd never see again.

The yard was filled with the smells of cake and candies, there were streamers hanging from the patio roof above her head and the amount of balloons that surrouned them, in an amazing rainbow of bright and pastel colours, made Calleigh feel like she'd wandered into a fairy land. She watched as their daughter's friends were all gathered around, laughing and cheering and hoping for their turn and she was grateful, for the happiness in her husband's deep brown eyes. "I love you." She mouthed, as he came to a panting stop and he grinned widely, from ear to ear. Her attention was snapped away though, when the feeling of a man's hand at her side, cut through her like a knife. She gasped, stepping back only to see Pavel standing there with a confused look on his face. He'd done nothing but touch her gently and she'd felt as though she'd been stuck with a shiv.

"Pavel," She smiled, hoping that he hadn't noticed her flinch. He did, but before he could mention it - and she'd seen the intention in his kind grey eyes - she doubled over in pain. She could feel Eric run to her side, she could feel his arms around her, but her mind was gone. The harder she tried to hold on, the more she slipped away until she could no longer feel his arms wrapped tightly around her shoulders, or remember the colour of her daughter's eyes as she looked up at her mother in fear.

Calleigh jerked awake, hissing and panting as she finally felt where the pain had come from. Her entire abdomen was aflame with sharp, stabbing pains and she closed her eyes tight in an attempt to fight it. "I'm sorry, Mrs Delko, but we've had to decrease your painkillers." An unfamiliar voice filled her ears but, as pleasant as she most regularly was, Calleigh couldn't find the strength to hide her discomfort.

"I noticed." She growled through her teeth, looking up at the young woman with a condensed look of disdain on her face.

"I'm sorry," She breathed, with a pathetic expression on her face and even with as much pain as she'd suddenly found herself in, Calleigh nodded, biting her lower lip.

"It's alright, I'm sure it'll become more bearable?" She questioned.

The woman nodded. "Yes, it will."

"Well alright then," She did her best to force a smile. "I suppose I can handle that."

The nurse smiled apologetically again, dipping her head before she practically dashed out of the room. Her time alone didn't last though, as Eric ducked into the room just as the nurse was leaving. "Hey," He smiled. "you're awake." Because the pain really was starting to ease, Calleigh couldn't help but smile when she saw him. His eyes were bright even though his entire being looked tired and she grinned as he sat down on the bed beside her, pressing his palm to her cheek and leaning down to kiss her lips tenderly.

"I am." She smirked and closed her eyes contentedly, forgetting the pain for a moment as she focussed on the feeling of the tips of his fingers, caressing her face. "How is the baby?" She whispered, opening her eyes in time to see Eric's face melt into the warmest smile.

"She's breathtaking." He dipped to kiss her forehead and Calleigh felt her heart flutter.

"I want to see her." She continued to whisper, unwilling to share anything that was said between them, with anyone on the outside of the small world they created when they were so close to each other their noses could touch.

"The doctors said they'd prefer it if you didn't move. At least not yet."

Calleigh nodded, biting her lip as she slowly raised her eyes up to look at him again. He edged back a little, noticing how her eyes changed and her smile slipped away. Even the tone of her voice changed, but the volume of it didn't raise any higher than the low whisper that she uttered between them. Her words didn't lose an ounce of their forcefulness though.

"Eric," She swallowed, fighting back tears that she knew were only going to spring to her eyes anyway, no matter how hard she resisted. "i'm in pain. I can't breast feed her, I can't hold her and I've barely had a chance to touch her. Please," She whimpered. "don't tell me that I can't even see her."

Eric ran his fingers along her brow, feeling her soft hair against his fingers as he looked down into her glistening eyes. He couldn't refuse her. He didn't want her to over-exert herself, but he didn't want to and couldn't bring himself to break her heart by being the one to tell her that she couldn't go and see her own daughter. She'd given up too much to bring her into the world and she had more right than anyone, to feel her soft, milky skin beneath her fingertips. "Alright," He breathed. "I'll make it happen."

Her eyes fluttered closed and she took in a deep breath, willing the tears to subside as her lips curved into a smile. "Thank you, Eric."

"Anything for you." He whispered back, pressing another kiss to her forehead. "Both of you." And then he dashed out of the room, intent on keeping his promise.


"To find someone to love you for no reason,
and to shower them with reasons,
that is the ultimate happiness."

Robert Brault.


Wyatt woke slowly; He thought he'd heard a bang, but as he sat up and looked around, remembering where he was an why, he realised that he probably hadn't heard anything at all. He was curled up on the couch with Calleigh's favourite Channelle blanket wrapped around his shoulders. Eric had said that the spare bedroom was avaliable to him and that it was habitable, but he'd stuck his head in there the night before and only laughed at the amount of baby necessities and toys that were stacked up on top of the bed, ready to be introduced into the nursery. That in itself, wasn't even completed and as he'd taken in the sight of the pretty little room, painted blue with swirls of clouds all around and an adorable trail of multi-coloured animals following each other around the edges, down near the floor, he'd grinned.

He'd never imagined his sister with a nursery in her home. Not to say that he'd never considered the idea of her with children, on the contrary he'd looked forward to it for quite some years, wondering and asking when it was ever going to happen. And now that it had, he looked on the room with a smile and decided that it was exactly how he'd have pictured her child's bedroom, had he pictured it before. There was a pile of blank pine shelves stacked at the end of the crib, ready to be painted and nailed up to the wall and on a drop-sheet by the window was a can of canary yellow paint and a small pile of paint brushes. There signs all around the room, of their intention to complete it before the baby arrived, but now that she was here, Wyatt was hard pressed to imagine when Eric was going to get the time to get it finished before she got home.

Making his way into the kitchen, he jumped when his bare foot touched down on the cold tiles and he laughed at himself, as he took the second step more cautiously. He reached up into the cupboard, moving to take a coffee mug down as he flipped the kettle on when suddenly, he heard another bang. He realised then that it wasn't a bang at all, but a single loud knock on the front door. He frowned, wondering who it could be before he remembered his haphazard parking attempt on the driveway the night before. He knew that his Escalade was likely parked at a weird angle and he'd met some of their neighbours before. They were surrounded by kind neighbours and had managed to make quite a few friends in their street, friends that were likely to worry about a strange car parked in their driveway and the fact that Eric hadn't come home during the night, especially while Calleigh was still pregnant. The young couple across the road with three young boys and a very boistrous labrador had spent hours at their house the night of one of their barbeques. Their boys had adored his girls and whilst all the adults had gotten along swimmingly, they'd happily shared several bottles of wine, a few beers and Calleigh had sat contentedly drinking her sweet tea, with a hand on her belly.

The woman just next door was as interesting as they come and Wyatt wouldn't be surprised if she was wrapping her weathered knuckles across the door in search of his sister because she had such an effection for her, especially since she'd fallen pregnant. Throughout her Chemo, Calleigh had told him that the elderly woman had brought over full dinners and treats that she'd done her very best to enjoy, even when eating was the very last thing from her mind. And since she'd told the old woman that she was expecting a baby, she'd started making up old Cuban remedies for expectant mothers and bringing them over whenever she could see Calleigh was home. He knew that she was a little batty, telling her stories about her time as a young girl in Cuba during the missile crisis, encouraging his daughters to run away with their imaginations, but Calleigh liked her and even if that was only because Calleigh was so kind hearted, he knew that Calleigh wouldn't if she wasn't harmless.

He made his way to the door, picking Calleigh's blanket back up from where he'd dropped it on the floor, tossing it over the back of the couch before making his way into the hall. He was stunned though, when he opened the door to see the back of a tousled head of brown curls; she had a large duffel bag drapped over her tiny frame and the hands of two overbearing little girls, still wearing their pajamas, in each of her own.

"Hey," He smirked and she spun around, grinning and releasing a deep breath in relief. All of a sudden, two sets of skinny little arms were wrapped around his waist and he was looking down at his girls adoringly. "and hey to you guys, too." He laughed, taking Melissa into his arms as she practically collapsed against him.

"We got the first flight we could, which was unfortunately at an ungodly hour in the morning." She smiled appreciatively as he pulled the duffel from her shoulders. "There's some clothes in there for you, and a few things for the girls. I was in a bit of a rush." She laughed, but Wyatt just kissed her, hugging her tightly and not even minding that he got a face full of wild curls.

"How'd you know where I was?"

"You weren't answering your phone, so I called Eric." She laughed, kissing his shoulder.

"I'm just glad you're here," He whispered into her neck, hugging her tightly and it was only then that he realised how strained he'd been since Eric's phone call the night before. He hadn't slept all that well and was slightly grateful that he'd chosen the couch because he wasn't fond of the prospect of completely re-making their spare bed after tossing and turning all night and throwing the sheets every which way. Melissa picked up on his tension, letting her own troubles of juggling the girls all the way down from Tampa, go, in favour of comforting her husband. He practically clung to her, burying her face in the crook of her neck before finally leaning back to meet her eyes. She saw the first signs of tears then and her heart leapt into her throat, but her fears were belayed when he smiled and took in a deep breath. "she's alright, she's good even. I just," He choked up again and Melissa nodded, knowing exactly what Wyatt's sister had always meant to him.

"And the baby?" She asked carefully, worried about the answer.

"She's good," She felt the tension in his shoulders ease as she held him. "Eric says she's beautiful, but I think he's biased." He laughed and Melissa giggled, pressing her palm to his cheek.

"He might be biased," She smirked. "but you know there's a very good chance that he's right, regardless."

"Yeah, I know."

"So," She smirked again. "how about you shower, I'll get these girls ready and we'll head over to the hospital, how does that sound?"

"Wanna shower with me?" He asked playfully and Melissa mock-glared at him as she passed by, being pulled into her Sister-in-law's home, by her daughters.

"I don't know if Eric and Calleigh would really appreciate something like that going on in their bathroom."

"They're not going to know!" He called after her, chasing her and the girls into the spare room where she planned to get them changed.

"I would know," She laughed, grabbing him by the thin metal chain around his neck and pulling him close enough to kiss her. "and who's going to get the girls ready, if I joined you?"

"I suppose you've got a point." He pouted and Melissa grinned, kissing him again.

"Come on, hurry up, I want to see your sister."

"Alright," He grumbled. "alright, i'm going. But I'll be thinking about you."

"Don't think about me too much," She laughed after him. "remember, that's Calleigh and Eric's shower, you don't know what they've done in there."

"Oh my god, you didn't just say that!" He turned around, disgusted and Melissa cracked up laughing.

"Wy, you're not going to tell me that you still believe your sister's never had sex. She's thirty-six and she's married, you idiot. Not to mention the fact that she's just had a baby."

"Yeah, but I've never had to picture it before," He smacked his temple with the heel of his palm, ineffectively trying to knock the image out of his mind and scrunching his nose up in disgust. "thanks a lot."

"Anytime." She answered cheekily and Wyatt growled at her, disappearing into the bathroom muttering something about evil, diabolical women.

"Mommy, what do Aunty Calleigh and Tio Eric do in the shower?" Cora looked up at her innocently and Melissa had to try and hold back tears of laughter. Her daughters were still far too young to understand the context of their conversation, but that didn't stop them from hearing and understanding most of the words. She wanted to laugh, practically couldn't help it, but she knew that Cora's question was completely legitimate and she had to come up with something quickly as she looked between Cora and Emily, looking up at her expectantly.

"They clean themselves, baby, just like you do."

"Oh," She answered and Melissa could see from the look on her face that she was still confused about how that could be funny or how that could make Daddy look like he was about to throw up or make Mommy laugh so hard she peed. Cora never thought it was funny when she had to have a bath or brush her teeth. But maybe Aunty Calleigh and Tio Eric had games that made it fun. She made a mental note to ask them when she saw them later, because she was sure her Mommy and Daddy had no idea how to make bathtime fun because they'd never succeeded before.

TBC.