A/N: Alright, I'll admit it right now. This is a filler chapter, but we need one of those before diving behind the stories again. I wanted to set up a few things that actually make sense with why things happened the way they did in canon. Like why Jake suddenly disappeared and didn't surface until this season. Hmn...you think he'd have been around when Calleigh was abducted, eh? Anyway, it's kind of random and has nothing to do with anything, just a view into who they are and who they all are to each other. It'll make sense when you read it. Spoilers for my Steel Magnolia are in here if you haven't read it.

Returning to Normal?

"Hey, Natalia, have you seen Eric? I need to ask him something and I can't find him anywhere," Calleigh asked entering DNA.

Natalia looked up from her paperwork. "He and Horatio went to the warehouse to bring Vasco Torres in."

Calleigh felt shock and a certain amount of fear course through her. Horatio happened to be acting like he was immortal and invincible lately and she didn't like the fact that he dragged Eric into what could very well be a fatal encounter for them both. "They what? He's a Cobra Familia and that's deep into Familia territory."

Natalia seemed unconcerned. "They have back up."

"How much back up?" Calleigh asked.

"I don't know; back up," Natalia replied and then looked over at Calleigh not liking how pale she had suddenly become. "What's wrong? Are you okay because you're very pale right now."

"The Cobras are almost as dangerous as the Mala Noche, Nat," Calleigh said as the elevator opened and Horatio and Eric walked out with several uniforms and Vasco Torres in cuffs. Relief that was so sharp as to almost be painful washed through her. She felt her knees weaken to the point that she needed to lean on the lab table. She tried to make it look casual.

Natalia glanced over at her, noting the way she suddenly leaned against the table. "Calleigh, are you alright?"

She straightened up. "Yeah. Just a little leg cramp. Guess that's what I get for wearing heels," she said lamely.

"Uh-huh," Natalia murmured back, not buying it for a second. "Hey, I heard about you and Jake. I'm really sorry."

Calleigh gave her a small, sad smile. "Thanks, Nat. I just guess it wasn't meant to be."

"Are you okay? Do you want to talk about it or anything? Sometimes a good tub of ice cream and an understanding friend can make it a little better," Natalia offered. She suddenly gave her a wicked grin. "That and shoe shopping."

Calleigh let out a small laugh. "The ice cream and conversation aren't necessary, but I might take you up on that shoe shopping. Who doesn't need one more pair of shoes?"

Natalia returned the laugh as Eric walked in. He stood there, puzzled at what the ladies were laughing about. "Natalia, can I have the lab results from the sweat collection? We've got both Garza and Torres and we need to nail them to the wall for the kid's death."

Still chuckling, she handed him the file. "Sure."

"Hey, Eric, can I ask you something?" Calleigh asked as they moved into the hall. She waited for the door to shut to DNA before turning to him. "Are you doing anything tomorrow morning around, say ten?"

"A Saturday morning? No, why."

"I could really use the moral support. Rugby season starts tomorrow and we're up against the toughest team in the league," Calleigh explained. She already anticipated being bruised and battered by Saturday afternoon.

Eric flashed her a grin. "You want me to come and watch you get smashed into the ground?"

"Yeah."

Eric pretended to think about it for a while. He only vaguely remembered seeing her play before. The bullet in his brain made the memory hazy at best. "And we go out for lunch at that pub again afterward?"

Her grin widened when she knew that she had him. "Yeah."

"Why not? It sounds like fun. Are you asking anyone else from here?" Eric asked, already knowing that he was going to have a good time. "Considering how rough rugby is, maybe asking Alexx wouldn't be such a bad idea."

She gave him a playful swat. "Eric, it's not that rough. And you know that I'm tough and can take it."

"Then it's a date."

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"It's a date."

The words continued to echo in her head for the rest of the day. Sure, it was a figure of speech but...Eric said it and when Eric said it it sounded like he wanted it to be a date and that made her insides go all fluttery and made it very difficult for her to concentrate on anything but Saturday morning. She glanced at her watch and saw that it was only fifteen minutes before her shift ended.

Where did the time go? Had she really been that distracted all afternoon? She looked down at the paperwork in front of her and sighed, wrenching her thoughts back to work. Maybe the county had something going when they were considering a new rule against fraternization between officers. She wasn't even in a relationship with Eric and look how distracted she'd been. Jake never got her going like Eric just did. Then again, although she was still seeing Jake, and in fact had a dinner date with him in just a few hours, she wasn't in love with him like she was with Eric. She did love him. It was more clear to her now than ever but she was in that oh-so-familiar-and-predictable-no-surprises relationship with Jake.

Shaking her head to clear it, she returned to the ballistics reports in front of her, renewing her concentration. She soon became absorbed in the facts and actually jumped when she felt a gentle touch on her shoulder.

"Calleigh," Horatio said softly.

"What? Oh, sorry, Horatio. I was concentrating and I didn't hear you come in," she said quickly. At least he caught her working and not daydreaming.

"I could see that. I called your name four times before you responded. Is everything alright?" Horatio asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine. It's just the Jensen case is weird and I was still trying to get my head around the thirty eight shots that were fired. I mean, who uses that much ammo in a domestic dispute?" Calleigh rambled.

"It's Friday and your shift ended a half an hour ago. Go home. Leave the file for Camden to mull over. He's always leaving files for you. Do him a return favor," Horatio said, giving her a small, knowing smile. "Besides, don't you have something engaging and challenging tomorrow morning?"

She grinned up at him, closing the file. "You remembered."

"How could I forget after the way we all found out last year?" he said. "Do you need a cheering section?"

She shook her head, keenly aware of what she asked of Eric. "No, not this week. We're up against the Vikings and that's a tough team to start your season against. I will need, though, a little slack Monday morning. I know I'm going to get a good beating."

"Done. Now get out of here and get a good nights' sleep so you can outrun those Flankers and don't forget to carbo-load," Horatio advised.

Calleigh pulled off her lab coat and hung it neatly on the rack. "I will. I was thinking of inviting everyone for next week's game. Let me get my clumsies out of the way this week."

Horatio stuck his hand in his pocket and pulled out a long, thin paper. "Listen, I saw this on line and I thought you'd like it."

Calleigh took it from Horatio and unfolded it. It was a bumper sticker that read: "Rugby players have #'s on their jerseys because the coroner can't identify the bodies by the dental records alone." She broke into a fit of laughter. "Thank you, Horatio. That was really sweet although I don't think Alexx would appreciate it. You're not prone to giving little presents. Why now and why me?"

"I've been a bit distant lately and I just wanted to let you know that I still care. Finding out I have a son made me think about my family here in this Lab and how I've not been as involved as I should have," Horatio said unexpectedly. "Anyway, tear it up out there tomorrow."

"I will."

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Jake stared as Calleigh's plate of pasta was put in front of her. He knew she had a healthy appetite, but that was a lot. "Are you sure you're going to eat all of that?" he asked, cutting his steak.

"Sure," she replied. "I'll burn it off in a heartbeat."

"Is there something you're not telling me? I mean, you don't have to tell me everything, but-"

"Rugby game," she said after swallowing. "I need to carbo-load a little."

Jake shook his head. He should have known. It was October. Of course she had a game. He'd hadn't been able to see her for about a month on Saturdays and Friday nights were cut short without either of them staying over anywhere. He felt like their relationship was suddenly in a holding pattern. "Calleigh, where are we going?"

She looked up from her plate. "What do you mean?"

"We haven't done anything more than casually date for about a month," he said.

"Jake, you're the one that wanted to cool off for a while. We're already going behind the department's backs by still seeing each other. Just dating is probably a good thing right now. If we want this to work, the relationship can't be 90 physical like it has been. I mean, that's fun and all, but I really do want more," Calleigh said honestly.

Jake was silent for a long time. She wanted more. What exactly was more and did he want the same? Why couldn't she be content to lose herself in the sensations like before? "What prompted this?"

"I've been doing a lot of thinking lately. The whole thing with Cooper and Speed's anniversary made me sit down and think. Neither of us are getting any younger, Jake and we're not going to live forever," Calleigh said seriously.

"So, what are you saying? Is it the biological clock ticking?" he asked, still not understanding.

Calleigh shook her head. "No. I just...I want more. I want a relationship, not just a good time. I want to share the good stuff and the bad stuff and all the stuff in between. I want to have a conversation that doesn't end up in bed. Do you get any of this, Jake? I don't want a baby. I want a partner."

"Don't we have that? Didn't I show you I care about you? How about when you were all down because of Speed? We talked and I let you be you and was nothing if not supportive," he asked, completely confused.

"And we slept together."

"At your instigation, Calleigh. This isn't only on me. It takes two," Jake shot back.

Calleigh put her fork down in frustration. It wasn't going the way that she wanted. "I know that, Jake. It's me, too. I'm not blameless and I instigated it that night and plenty of other times."

Jake felt the frustration flow through him. "Calleigh what do you want from me? Spell it out because I'm confused."

"I just told you. You know what, this isn't working tonight and I never meant to get in a fight with you. I'm tired and I'm frustrated and I can't take the guilt for much longer and I don't want to fight," she said, perilously close to tears. "I don't like who I've become since agreeing to go behind the departments' back. I've always been honest, especially at work. I don't think I can do this much longer."

"So you want to break up, is that it?" Jake asked.

Calleigh sighed heavily. How did it get around to this? How did it all go so bad so quick? "No...yes...I don't know. Maybe I'm just overworked and over tired. You don't have to drive me home. I'll take a cab. I can't do this tonight."

Jake watched as Calleigh stood and walked away without even a backward glance at him. He had never seen her like that and it worried him. What was going on with her? Was there someone else? Was Stetler putting pressure on her? He wanted to get up and go after her but it was clear that she didn't want the game and the chase.

He threw money on the table and got up, following her out. He made it outside the door just in time to see her get into a cab. She was serious in what she said. To him it sounded like she wanted to settle down, maybe have a family. He was nowhere near ready for that. Just being back in Homicide was driving him insane with inactivity and sameness. He was bored, not with Calleigh, but with his work. He wanted like nothing else to back to UC, but he promised himself and Calleigh that he wouldn't if she would give him a second chance. She did and they were where they were and he didn't exactly know where that was now.

Jake walked back to his car, knowing that he had some serious thinking to do and figure out just what his priorities were and what order they were in. Things were now at a crossroads with Calleigh; that much was clear. That she was having such a hard time with the deception was telling to him. Maybe she was discovering that he wasn't enough of what she wanted. Maybe she wasn't enough of what he wanted. Maybe just the sex was what was good between them because every time they tried to have a conversation lately it was either sex or fight. Calleigh was obviously straight in her mind what she wanted. Now Jake had to get himself in order and admit to himself what he really wanted and what was the most important to him. Just what was it?