A/N: This is Stand Your Ground but I chose to go behind the on screen action and let most of the episode be seen through Calleigh's eyes...sort of. Since everything pretty much happened to her and she was the main storyline, I let the chapter revolve around her. Hope you like it.

Leaning on Loved Ones

The phone shrilling woke her. She glanced at her bedside clock. 2:30 am. Calleigh fumbled for the receiver and held it up to her ear, wondering what grizzly crime scene could have possibly occurred so that Horatio would pull her on duty in the very middle of the night on her day off. "Duquesne," she said hoarsely.

"Calleigh, this is brilliant! I couldn't have written an better paper!" Bob's voice enthused to her at the ungodly hour.

"Johannes Robert Wetendorf, do you have any idea on this planet at my latitude and longitude what time it is?" Calleigh virtually shouted. Now that it wasn't Horatio, Calleigh was rather annoyed.

"2:31 am." came the calm reply.

"Yes, it is and I was sleeping, getting a good night's sleep. It's something intregal to keeping me alive in my line of- Did you just call my work brilliant?" Calleigh asked, suddenly realizing that having one's work called brilliant by one of the leading physicists on the international stage was something huge.

"Yes, I did. Your paper on the physics behind the corner shot housing was eye opening and riveting reading. Do say that you're going to have a lecture tour," Bob said.

Calleigh sighed, running a hand through her tousled hair. "Bob, I'm not even awake enough to appreciate your praise. I have tomorrow, now today, off and was planning on sleeping in a little and then having brunch with my boyfriend. Bobby, I have a life and would appreciate it if you'd call during normal human hours. Not everyone is a non-sleep-needing Time Lord."

"Sorry Leela," Bob said, using his nickname for her as an apology. "I'll give you ring in human time. I am proud of you, Little One."

"Thanks, buddy," she said, her speech already slurring as she began to drift back off. She only managed to hang up on absolutely autonomic response.

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Calleigh managed to get another very needed six hours of sleep before she rose and made her way to the bathroom, showering slowly, enjoying the luxury of extra sleep and extra morning time before dressing and heading out to meet Jake for brunch.

She arrived at the cafe to find that Jake was already there and had a drink in front of him. She leaned over, placing a soft kiss to his lips. "Hey."

"Hey yourself," he purred, eying her forest green t-shirt, dark jeans and leather jacket. She looked fabulous. "I didn't get to ask you; how was the rugby game Saturday?"

"We lost and I took a hell of a beating," Calleigh said as a waitress placed a mimosa in front of her, handing her a menu. "Thank you. I have a huge bruise on my right hip from hitting the goal post. But it was the only goal we scored all game so I guess a little pain was worth it."

Jake shook his head. "I can't picture you playing such a rough game."

She took a sip of the champagne and orange juice drink before replying, "You wouldn't have to imagine it if you'd show up for a game. I think you might actually like it."

Jake shook his head. "I don't think so. Watching you possibly get hurt isn't my idea of fun."

Calleigh gave him a soft smile and ordered brunch. "I'm really sorry about how I behaved on Friday. I don't know-"

"Calleigh, you had a point and if I didn't really need to make this a quick brunch I would stay and we could talk about it and figure out where we stand," Jake said as his food arrived. "Bernstein had to go home early so I have to go in. I have to be in by 1:00. I'm sorry the Captain called just before you got here."

"Oh no, Jake, that's fine. I understand," Calleigh replied and she did really understand. Jake was still the new guy and the newbie always ends up being called in on their day off, in the middle of the night, weekends, holidays... "Hey, my paper on the corner shot was finally published."

"Yeah?" Jake asked as his pager went off. "Dammit. I've got to go. There's some sort of blow up and I'm being called in. I'm so sorry, Calleigh."

"Don't be; go. I've got the tab. You get the next one," Calleigh said.

Jake shoveled a little more of his meal into his mouth and chugged the last of his mimosa, placing a quick, yet passionate kiss on Calleigh's lips. "I will. You're the best."

"I know," she quipped as he strode away. She leaned back in her seat, wondering if it was too late to cancel her order when it suddenly appeared in front of her with another mimosa. She sighed, thanking the waitress and began to eat, choosing to enjoy the pleasant warmth of the day. Her time with Jake was yet another bust so she began to plan out what she could do with her day off. The brief thought of visiting the firing range flitted through her head before the promise she had made to Eric months ago about days off being just that and to never again engage in work related activities if at all possible.

Paying the check, she rose and decided to do a little fall wardrobe shopping. She could use a new pair of shoes and maybe some new blouses for work...she got into her car and started the engine and then everything went bad. The gun in her face and then the car speeding toward her. She fired her gun and then the car crashed through the sporting goods store window.

Everything went so bad so fast. The driver was dead and the passenger escaped and she had to call in an off-duty officer involved shooting with two fatalities. One that she was solely responsible for because the woman had only been a customer in that store.

Before she knew it, Rescue was there as were a slew of uniforms and she was sitting dejectedly in the rear of the emergency vehicle being tended to by the EMTs.

Frank waited until they finished their examination, deeming her unharmed, before he approached. "Calleigh, what happened?"

She looked up at him and almost burst into tears. Clamping down on her emotional response, she explained everything that happened.

"Can you describe the guy that shoved the gun in your face?" Frank asked, not liking how shaken she looked. She was pale and her eyes were slightly glassy with shock. She was trembling and he knew that she was holding back tears.

She thought hard. He had a Smith and Wesson with a wood grain grip, but try as she might, she couldn't remember his face or what he wore or even what his voice sounded like. "No I can't. I'm sorry, Frank, I just-"

"That's alright. You're a little shocky right now. It'll probably come back to you when the adrenaline stops pumping so hard," he said understandingly as a department Hummer pulled up, Horatio and Ryan getting out. "I'll go let them know you're okay. Calleigh, you call me if you need anything, anything at all; you hear me?"

She nodded, giving him a ghost of a smile. "Thanks, Frank. I will."

Frank walked away and she vaguely watched the guys process the scene. She half expected Horatio to come and check on her, but, instead, he concentrated on gathering evidence. He did glance her way more than once while speaking with Frank. Everything passed into white noise as the sight of the dead customer, the innocent woman, kept flashing before her eyes. Shooting someone she could handle. If she was shooting at someone, then she was either defending herself or bringing a bad guy down. That never bothered her. But she caused the death of an innocent bystander and that she could not live with. Tears welled in her eyes and she felt her resolve to remain professional begin to fail.

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Eric cut the connection with Horatio and grabbed his kit, flying out of the Lab at a less than professional speed. H had said that Calleigh had been involved in an off-duty officer involved shooting and, while she was physically unharmed, she was still a material witness and that he wanted Eric to get her statement and then help with the processing. It was a big scene.

Even knowing that Calleigh was alright, he made it to the crime scene in record time, his heart in a knot of worry over her. He screeched to a halt and jumped out, scanning the area for her. He finally found her seated in the back of the Rescue wagon, the EMTs seemingly unwilling to let her get up and move around. He could see why; she was in shock. Eric's worry rose exponentially as he approached her, sitting next to her. As he looked at her he could see tears standing in Calleigh's eyes. He rubbed her back.

Tears threatened to spill from her eyes as Calleigh felt a familiar and reassuring hand on her back. It belonged to the one person in the entire world that she wanted to see more than anything at the moment; Eric.

Her voice remarkably steady she began, "I don't know what happened. I was just at a brunch...down the street."

Despite her being physically in one piece, she could be more torn up than anyone could guess. Eric remembered what a high level of emotional stress did to her and he wanted to make sure that she was okay that way, too. "Are you going to be okay?"

Calleigh began to shake her head no as the tears threatened again and then took a deep breath and nodded. She didn't want Eric in a panic. The vision of Valarie Gaynor, the innocent victim, flashed through her mind's eye again. "There was a woman in that building; an innocent woman."

Eric knew the weight of the guilt was crushing her and he didn't want to add to it, but he knew he had to ask, even though she seemed completely normal to him just then. He reached out and stroked her hair, letting his hand gently trail down her back, trying to soften the blow of what he had to ask. "Listen, Calleigh, I have to ask you something and I don't want you to take it the wrong way. I know you're off duty. Have you been drinking?"

He was right. If anyone but him had asked that question she'd have been offended. It still hurt that he asked it, but so had the paramedics. She had been drinking, but it had been with a brunch and it was so very little that there wasn't even a mild buzz. "You know, the paramedic asked me the same question." She could feel him stiffen beside her and she realized that the admission hurt him, too. "I had two mimosas but it doesn't have anything to do with what happened. It's my day off."

Eric's own heart hurt to hear the pain in her voice. He saw her struggle for composure and he just couldn't sit there and not help. He slid his arm around her shoulder. "You don't have to explain anything to me. I understand; I believe you. It's just not me that you have to worry about."

A single tear rolled down her cheek as Eric gave her a gentle pull. The rest of her resolve broke and she laid her head on his shoulder and wept. Eric wrapped his arms around her and held her while she vented her grief. No, she was nowhere near drunk. She was shaking from the adrenaline rush and wracked with guilt, but that was all. Eric rocked her, speaking softly to her until she calmed. When she pulled away, he handed her his handkerchief to wipe her eyes.

"Thanks, Eric; for everything. For believing me," she said, wiping her eyes.

He gave her a soft smile. "Cal, how could I not believe you? You've never lied to me before and you wouldn't now. I know alcohol is a touchy subject with you and you're always incredibly careful when you have anything to drink. You never get drunk."

"Yeah. I just-"

Frank came up to them. "IAB is circling. Stetler already let Horatio know that he wants you a PD ASAP. Damn buzzard."

Calleigh stood. "It's alright. He's probably got a whole slew of questions that he wants to ask me considering I'm the officer involved in the shooting and two fatalities took place. Let me get my keys and-"

"He wants a police escort," Frank said inwardly wincing.

"What?" Eric asked, dumbfounded.

"I didn't like saying that. If it were up to me, I'd let you drive yourself over," Frank continued. "But he said that there may have been alcohol involved and he didn't want a possibly intoxicated driver behind the wheel. I think it's horse hockey because you look perfectly fine to me. You're as drunk as I am."

She gave him a smile. "Thank you, Frank. I appreciate that."

The Southern Gentleman took over. "Listen, Calleigh, why don't I give you a lift? I'll run you back over to pick up your car later. There's no need to have to embarrass you by having some patrol officer escort you."

"Frank, you're an officer and a gentleman," Calleigh quipped, trying to raise her spirits as they moved off to his car.

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She was feeling more than just humiliated as she paced Horatio's office, hands balled into fists at her side. "He put me under Administrative Tactical Review! Can you believe that, Horatio? I have a nearly spotless record since becoming a cop and he's calling my actions into question because I had a breakfast cocktail at brunch on my day off? On my day off?"

Horatio's voice was soft and soothing although he was nearly as angry as she was."You know he's had it out for you for a while, right?"

"Yeah, yeah, you're right. He has. And he knows...or maybe he doesn't know. My dad and his drinking. I know I rode the line when he thought he killed somebody but I don't think Stetler knew anything about it," she said, sitting down on his couch.'I know you wouldn't say anything to him and no one else here would have either."

"I'm sure he doesn't. Now what can you tell me about what happened after you left your brunch this morning?" Horatio asked, pointedly placing a tape recorder in front of her and repeating the question.

Calleigh took a deep breath and recounted everything she could remember. She went slowly and into as much detail as she could. She still couldn't describe her attacker, but she gave a full description of his firearm and the number of shots she fired at the car as it tried to run her down. Once she was finished recounting everything, Horatio turned the recorder off.

"You didn't do anything wrong and I'm going to make sure this is the end of it. You can't be in the field right now until they lift the tactical review, but you're welcome to stay if you want. We could use your help," Horatio said.

"Horatio, thank you. That makes me feel a little better," She said as her pager went off. She read the text message. "I think I'm going to go and check in with Alexx."

Horatio exchanged a knowing look with her. "She's probably worried about you. I wonder if Valerie Gaynor's body has arrived. Could you find that out for me while you're visiting?"

"Sure thing."

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She was sick of it; of the roller coaster ride that her emotions were taking all day long. After talking to Alexx and finding out that Valerie Gaynor was already dead, she couldn't help but feel relief. At least she hadn't killed an innocent bystander. That relief had been short lived and by the time she got back from talking to Jake she didn't know what to do. Because of his extra drinks on the bill she paid for, she could lose her badge and her career could be over. She knew that Jake had been making excuses; she'd heard them all by her eighteenth birthday. Maybe in some ways he was like her dad and she just couldn't continue that relationship anymore. If she had room to feel one more emotion she'd say that she was heartbroken by the decision, but she had no place for it.

The locker room door opening broke her out of her thoughts as did the footsteps that approached. Eric turned the corner to find Calleigh in an emotional state that scared him. She was nearly frantic but with which emotion, he couldn't tell. He came closer and just opened his arms. "Calleigh."

She shot into his embrace and buried her face in his chest. Eric understood. He always understood and she'd been an idiot to run to Jake. She could see that just then. If Stetler, the Chief of Police and the Mayor all walked in on them she still would be powerless to stop herself. For the second time that day she dissolved into miserable tears.

Eric's grip on her tightened and he wondered what had gone on to put her in that frenzy again. All he knew is that he needed to soothe her, calm her back down because if Stetler saw her in the state she was in, he'd do more than just put her on tactical review. "Querida, hush. It's gonna be alright. We'll make it through this. We've all got your back. You didn't do anything wrong and we're all going to prove it. You did it to save your life. Please calm down now."

Wonderful, understanding, comforting Eric. His touch, his scent, his voice soothed her immensely and she snuggled into him, even though she knew that they could be disturbed at any time. She normally could handle everything life threw at her, but not just then. She found that she needed to lean on someone stronger than her; someone who didn't make excuses. She had protected Jake by not giving his name when Stetler asked for it. Would he do the same for her? She wasn't so certain. Eric would. He'd protect her and shelter her because that's who he was.

With a few last deep breaths she reluctantly pulled away from him. "I'm sorry about that."

"I'm not. I'm glad I was here for you," Eric said. "Do you want to talk about it?"

"Not here and not now. How about over dinner tonight? If I still work here by the end of the day, I'll cook you dinner," she said, trying not to break down again.

"We're all behind you, Calleigh; you know that. H is putting me back out in the field again since your statement. I just came to get my badge and gun from my locker. If I find anything that helps to corroborate your statement, I'll call you," he said, retrieving his things. "Are you going to be alright if I go? I can stay a little longer if you need me to."

She shook her head. "Go get my evidence."

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Several hours later the only thing that coursed through Calleigh was incredible satisfaction. Eric had found the bullet, her bullet, that blew apart Pete Morton's testimony and ended her tactical review. Stetler even was forced to apologize, yet it never really sounded like one to her, but she was beyond caring. Her career, her life, was made right again and she wanted nothing more than to have Eric over for that dinner and that conversation. She leaned back in her chair in the interrogation room and closed her eyes, a slight smile on her lips. She remembered something that Horatio had said a long time ago. The best defense was a clean life. It was.