Calleigh stood there in the room waiting for the world to stop turning. It was over. All of this, Peter, the fear, the anxiety; It was all over. Calleigh wanted to feel elated, she wanted to feel joy but ultimately she felt nothing. She felt nothing. She guess that is was just, after all that after everything that happened because of her, she wouldn't get to feel peace or closure that comes from the death of the man that killed her child. She gave out a snort. She was still angry, because after everything that happened Peter got off easy. He was dead and gone and she had to remain in this world continuing to suffer from the pains he caused her and her family. Horatio was barely hanging on after what Monica did to him and then Natalia; she didn't even want to think about what Peter possibly did to her. Calleigh shifted and pulled out her gun again when she heard a noise in the back room. She waited before shouting out, "I know you're there, come out with your hands behind your head." She waited again, slowing her breathing so she could pinpoint exactly where she was hearing the noises from. She waited for about a minute before the door to the back room opened slowly.
"I'm unarmed, don't shoot. I'm coming out slowly." Calleigh didn't bother with a response as she waited for the guy to step out of the room. He looked down at Peter's body and smirked, "Stupid son of a bitch. I knew your ass would be put down." He looked up from the body and gave Calleigh a frown. He reached for his pocket when Calleigh tensed. He held his hands back up quickly and said, "Wait, wait, I have something the sick bastard wanted me to give you okay. Then you can handcuff me and lock me up. I'm too tired for this shit. Okay." Calleigh nodded at him and once again he slowly reached and pulled out a cassette. "I suggest that you listen to this yourself before you let anybody else, including that pretty boyfriend of yours get within a earshot of this tape. The bastard told me it was like a parting message just in case things did not go as planned. Guess he didn't really see himself dying." The man slowly slid the cassette across the table toward Calleigh and then he slowly turned around and put his hand behind his head. "You can arrest me now, no reason for me to end up like the late bastard lying next to me." Calleigh hesitated before moving toward him.
She pushed him against the wall and handcuffed him, but her mind was already on the tape that the guy gave her. She froze when she heard the door opening behind her. She turned to find Eric there, his nostrils flaring and his eyes wide. "I just came to see if you were ready to leave. I did not know anyone else was here." He glared at the man on the wall, as if ready to pounce on him, if he did something to hurt Calleigh. Calleigh shook her head at him and gave him a look that made him freeze.
"Eric, let's go." She nodded to him and he nodded his head back before relieving her of the convict. Calleigh walked out with the tape in her pocket. She climbed into the hummer and drove away knowing that Eric would be mad that she left him, but she needed this time to hear what Peter said and she knew that Eric would not be so happy about this idea. She sighed before whispering to herself, "What could you possibly want now Peter." She pushed in the tape and pressed play.
'Calleigh, I take it you have received this tape in the case of my death. Preferably I went by your hands. But that's not important. If I am dead then I will be waiting for you on the other side. I have always been attracted to you Calleigh and I guess that it has lead me mad in some ways, but you must understand that all I have done, I have done in what I believe to be our epic love. In many ways you have saved me Calleigh, you have made me complete and free. You have made me a better man, someone who would got to the ends of the earth to have the woman he loves by his side. If you are listening to this, then I see that our love was not meant to be in this lifetime, but know that regardless of that, we will stand the testament of time, we will prevail, and our story, our lives will be told in the annals of great love. All this I truly believe. You have every right to be angry, to blame me and yourself for all that went wrong between us, but I thought that night when you finally excepted my date that this would be the beginning of something beautiful. But instead you went to him, you left me for him and I could not swallow the feeling that maybe you were scared of what we had the potential to be. I don't blame you for everything that has happened and I would hope you won't blame yourself either. I did all these things, I did them because I wanted you to see, I wanted you to feel the passion that you evoked in me. You're so beautiful Calleigh and I wanted that beauty for me and no one else. I realized now that I have done us some harm, but I know in my heart that I hold a special place in yours and I hope that these trying times will not break what we have. This is my revelations Calleigh, this me wide open. I have no desire to torture you with sick and twisted obsession but rather a reminder Calleigh that my love will never leave you ever. Ever since that time I had you writhing beneath my body I knew, I knew that we would have eternity to let our love unfurl and grow. Know this my southern belle, we will see each other again, in this life or the next. Nothing will keep us apart.
Love Peter.'
Calleigh stopped playing the tape and felt sick to her stomach. She couldn't believe his parting words and in some way it gave her closure knowing that no matter what Peter dreamed for them, she would never be with him, in this life or the next. She reached down and pulled the tape out and threw it out the window where the tape would land and lay forgotten forever. She pulled up to outside the precinct waiting for Ryan's hummer to show up. She slowly reached down and rubbed her stomach in the memory of her child that they had lost. She knew that her and Eric had a long road to travel before they would be blissfully happy but she could not help the feeling that they would have to find away, that they could not break apart no matter how hard things got. She rubbed her stomach, as if sensing that something was within her, something beautiful.
"You alright baby?" Calleigh jumped and turned to find Alexx standing behind her.
She smiled before replying, "Yes, finally everything is over. Peter's dead and we found Natalia relatively unharmed. Maybe we have finally found a peace where we all can move on from what happened."
"That is all we can hope for baby. I'm glad that that bastard is dead. Death is too kind a punishment, but I rather it than to have him back in our lives again. I have great news actually." She waited for Calleigh to raise her brow questioningly. "They have stabilized Horatio and they said it should take a couple of weeks, but he'll be back on his feet in no time." Calleigh smiled happily before wrapping her arms around Alexx. "I know baby, maybe we have finally found peace." She squeezed Calleigh tight and released her, nodding in the direction behind Calleigh.
Calleigh released Alexx and turned to face behind her when she saw Eric walking quickly toward her. She glanced at Alexx who was already moving to the now conscious Natalia being held securely by Ryan. She looked back to Eric, he opened his mouth to say something, most likely to complain about her leaving him but se beat him to it, "Eric I'm sorry. Right now though could you just hold me and we can do the arguing later." She gave him a watery smile, not wanting to break down in front of everyone. Eric smiled a little before reaching out and encasing Calleigh in a strong and warm hug that she tried to snuggle in deeper to hide herself away in.
She jumped when Eric started whispering in her ear, "Calleigh, I'll hold you anytime and we have nothing to argue about. It's over and right now I just want to be with the woman I love. I love you, always and forever."
Calleigh smiled before looking up and whispering back against his lips. "I love you too." She gave him a gentle sweet kiss before burying her face back in Eric's chest. Eric kissed the crown of her head before looking back to see Ryan holding Natalia in a similar fashion with Alexx looking on happily. Alexx looked up to Eric and when their eyes connected, she smiled at him brightly as if telling him that everything is as it should be.