Title: Cause and Effect (4/?)
Disclaimer: I don't own any of these characters (including Maria. She's made it quite clear that she owns her own damn self, thank you very much.) I'm just borrowing them and will return them when I've had my fun, somewhat dazed and disheveled, but otherwise in their original condition. Also, Maria and I have decided to keep Eric for a while, and we're sending Tim to Yana...
Rating: R. There's a little bit of smutty stuff, but it's at the end of the chapter and isn't really all that graphic, nothing above an R rating. So if you don't like it, just don't read it. Is that so hard?
Pairings: Eric/Maria, Tim/Calleigh, John/Yelina, Horatio/Adele
Feedback: Hey, you! Yeah, I'm talking to you! You're reading this, right? Well then review it! Come on, pretty pleeeeeease? It only takes a minute or two, and it makes my day. Besides, we both know you've got the time. What else are you going to do, work?
Dedication: Yana, for, as always, putting up with my crazy self. Jackie, Tina, Mel, Annie, Dorothy, Nonnie, and all my other loyal reviewers, what would I do without ya'll? I'll tell ya what; I'd stop writing! And that would suck. So, thanks!
Note: Okay, I'd hoped to have this chapter up sooner. Life gets in the way sometimes, what are ya gonna do? Also, some of my loyal readers may have noticed that a bunch of my fics are gone. Why? Because friggin' fanfic.net went all FCC on me and took them down! Why? I have no idea. Maybe someone narced on me. Whatever, I don't like it. DON'T FRIGGIN' CENSOR ME! Also, if someone did narc on me, that is not cool, okay? If you don't like that stuff, no one is forcing you to read it.
___________________________
"So, she sounded all right on the phone." Calleigh said, a little nervous. "She didn't actually say anything about the pregnancy, so maybe that's a good sign."
"What did she say?" Tim asked.
"That it had to do with the case, and she couldn't tell us over the phone." Calleigh replied. She knocked on the door, waited for a moment, then opened the door.
"Hey, door's open!" Tim called out as a greeting. Rounding a corner, they found their friends in a position that suggested the unlocked door was news to them.
"You said you checked it." Maria pouted as she slid out of Eric's arms and jumped off the counter.
"I say a lot of things when I'm trying to get into your pants." Eric said sheepishly, sitting down at the table quickly.
"Charming." Calleigh said. "So, I take it from that little display that everything is...okay?"
Maria nodded and smiled. "I'm going to have a baby."
"Oh!" Calleigh gasped, hugging her friend. "Oh, sweetie, that's so great! I'm so happy for you guys."
"Yeah, congratulations on the successful commingling of your genetic material." Tim added, clapping Eric on the back. The other three gave him matching looks, and he shrugged. "Way to knock up your girlfriend, man."
"That is so sweet, Tim." Maria laughed. "Anyway, we've got eight months to talk about this. I called you guys here to talk about the case."
"Maria, it's Christmas, can't this possibly wait until tomorrow?" Tim asked.
"Aimee's arraignment is tomorrow." Maria reminded him. "We don't have much time."
"Okay, Maria, we're listening." Calleigh assured her. "What did you find out?"
"I called Estefan, had him look up a name." Maria replied. "Aimee Westin was medically discharged from the Army eighteen months ago, after being wounded in action in Afghanistan. She met Adam while she was recuperating in a V.A hospital in Virginia where he volunteered. Any of this sound familiar?"
"In a creepy, Twilight Zone sort of way." Eric said. "So, he went looking for a girl who looked like you, was in a similar situation to the one you were in when he got to you..."
"She was vulnerable." Maria confirmed. "So was I. And he could be very charming, extremely charismatic."
"Didn't folks say that about Charles Manson?" Tim asked. "Anyway, we better take this to the State's Attorney. Of course, in order to tie this to the murder, you'll probably have to testify to everything that Grant did to you when you were married to him."
Seeing Maria shrink back a little, Eric shook his head. "No friggin' way. How many times can she relive all the shit he put her through?"
"No, Eric, he's right." Maria said, taking a deep breath. "No one who hears what he did to me is going to believe that he wasn't doing the same thing to Aimee. Especially since it's pretty obvious that he used her as a replacement for me all along. It could be the only way to save her, considering that she's not interested in saving herself."
"She's so cold." Tim added. "She's not showing any remorse."
Maria rolled her eyes. "Well, what's she gonna do? Say, 'Aw, gee, I shot the son of a bitch who was raping and beating me. Shot him twice in the chest and once in the head. I am such an idiot, I am always doing shit like that! I suppose he's dead now, right? God, I could just kick myself!' Come on!"
"Okay, take it easy." Eric said. "We're with you on this, remember? You don't have to convince us."
"No, but I need to convince the State's Attorney." Maria sighed. "And I still gotta convince H."
"That shouldn't be too hard." Calleigh pointed out. "He wants to help Aimee just as much as we do."
"Right, but he's not going to assign me to the case." Maria said, frustrated. "And he probably won't let me talk to her again, at least not alone, and that might be the only way to get her to talk to me. And let's face it, even if she does admit what he did to her, the similarities between us and her word are not going to be enough in court. We need some kind of physical evidence."
"The bruises won't be enough." Eric agreed.
"I saw her yesterday." Maria continued. "And if he did beat on her before she killed him, he didn't do too much damage. At least not visibly." The color drained from her face and she sat down suddenly. "The gun. That needs to be sent to DNA and swabbed, right away."
"Why?" Eric asked, although from the look on Maria's face, he wasn't sure he wanted to know.
"It needs to be tested for Aimee's epithelials." Maria explained quietly, her voice shaking a little. "And...cervical tissue."
Calleigh was confused. Or rather, she knew what Maria was talking about. She just didn't want to accept it. "But those would only be on the gun if he..."
"He did it to me." Maria said flatly. "There's a good chance he did it to her, too."
"You mean he used the gun to..." Eric felt sick.
Maria nodded. "Yeah. With the safety off. He got off on describing what I'd look like inside if he pulled the trigger."
"Oh my God." Calleigh winced, burying her face in her hands.
Tim put his arms around her as he stared at Maria, slack-jawed, with a look of horror and pity on his face.
Eric closed his eyes, gripping the glass of water in his hand so hard that Maria grabbed it from him, afraid that he would break it and hurt himself. When he finally spoke, his voice was full of venom. "That sick son of a bitch is lucky I didn't get to him first."
"It's in the past." Maria said firmly, placing her hand over his. "We can't change it now. What we can do now is protect Aimee."
"Even with all of this new information, and even if you can get her to talk, it's going to be tough to prove self-defense." Calleigh pointed out. "She shot him three times, you know how that's going to look."
"That's another area where her having been in the Army can help us out." Maria replied. "In combat, when you find yourself in a situation where it's kill or be killed, you want to put the other guy down and make sure he stays down. The best way to do that is two shots to the chest and one to the head. Aimee must have been so traumatized that she reverted to her training, like she was acting on instinct. She had to have known that if she didn't kill him, he was going to kill her."
"You really think you can get her to talk?" Eric asked.
Maria shrugged. "I think it's our only shot."
_____________________
Hours later, Eric stood in the bedroom doorway, watching Maria recline on their bed, focused entirely on the papers and photographs spread out around her. She had spent most of the evening on the internet and on the phone with Estefan, compiling information about Aimee. She was so engrossed, she didn't notice his presence until he sat down beside her on the bed and ran one hand through her hair, leaning in to kiss the back of her neck.
"Hey." She sighed, leaning into him.
"You should get some sleep." Eric suggested, sliding his hands under the front of her t-shirt. "You gotta take care of yourself."
Maria smiled as she turned over to face him. "I was right, you are going to be a pain in my ass for the next eight months."
"Hey, I'm just looking out for my family." Eric told her, pushing up her shirt. He leaned down and kissed her stomach softly. "Our family."
"Our family." Maria whispered, her voice catching. "I could get used to hearing that."
"Good." Eric moved back up and lay beside her. "So, what are you looking at?"
"Military records." Maria replied. "Not Aimee's. Mine." She picked up a photograph and handed it to him. It was a picture of her in camouflage fatigues, leaning against an Army Jeep.
Eric studied the picture, noticing that Maria even managed to make fatigues look sexy. "Is it wrong that I'm sort of turned on by this?" He teased, sliding his hand back under her shirt and gently teasing the skin right under her breasts.
"Nah." Maria replied, sighing as she arched into his touch. "I was eighteen when that was taken."
"Do you still have the uniform?" Eric asked, giving her a suggestive grin.
Maria laughed and hit him playfully with her pillow. "Don't push your luck." In an instant, she found herself pinned to the bed as Eric placed reverent kisses along her jaw and down her neck. Feeling him pressed against her hip, she giggled and writhed against him. "And what's that?" She asked coyly.
"That's me pushing my luck." Eric groaned against her throat. Suddenly, he put his hands firmly on her hips to still her movements, and pulled away from her.
"What?" Maria whined. She sighed when she saw the troubled look in his eyes. "You're thinking about what I said earlier. About what Adam did to me."
"I'm trying not to." Eric said, moving off of her. He lay on his back, staring up at the ceiling. "It's not like I want to think about it. The things that he did to you...I can't get my mind around how anyone could treat you like that."
"It's fucked up, I know." Maria said, running her hands through his hair soothingly. "But it's over. I've got a new life now, with you."
Eric nodded, leaning against her, needing to hear the steady, reassuring beat of her heart. "I just don't know if I'm ever going to be able to make up for all the shit you went through before."
"Hey!" Maria said forcefully, pushing him onto his back and straddling him. She put her fingers against his lips to silence him. "No more of that talk, all right?" She guided his hand to her stomach and pressed it against her smooth skin. "You had already more than made up for my past, even before you gave me this baby."
"I know." Eric said. "But-"
"Okay, just stop talking." Maria interrupted. She kissed him softly, then started moving down his body, hooking her fingers under the waistband of his boxer shorts and slowly, teasingly inching them down, smiling triumphantly when he began breathing faster. "Isn't there anything I can do to make you feel better?" She asked sweetly, lowering her head just a little.
"Well..." Eric choked out. "I'm sure you could think of something..."
As her hot, wet mouth closed over him, he lost his voice and forced himself to concentrate solely on Maria. It always amazed him how quickly she could make it feel like the entire world had shrunk to just the two of them.
He was still awake several hours later, unable to take his eyes off of her. She had fallen asleep after they had made love for a second time, but he felt wired, there was no way he would be able to follow her any time soon.
Even in the dark, he could see her perfectly. She was sprawled out on her back, with one arm behind her head and the other across her stomach. Her breathing was slow and even, and her chest rose with each inhale.
Suddenly, she shifted and abruptly rolled onto her side, facing the wall. For a moment, he thought she had moved in her sleep. Then her heard her breathing in fast, shallow gasps.
"Maria?" He whispered. "Baby, are you awake?"
She stayed as still as she could, trying to keep her breathing under control, until she felt Eric's fingertips trail down her back.
"I'm okay." She said softly, turning over to face him. "Really, it's nothing."
Eric moved closer to her and gently caressed her cheek. "Are you sure?"
Maria felt tears sting her eyes as she started to break down. It was just too much. "I had a dream about...it was about Adam. He was...I mean, I could feel him holding me down and...only I wasn't me. I was Aimee, somehow I just knew I was."
"Shit." Eric groaned, pulling her close and kissing her forehead. "I'm sorry, baby."
"It's my fault." Maria sobbed. "Everything that he did to her, everything she's been through, none of it ever would have happened if I hadn't let him get away."
"No." Eric whispered. "Maria, that's not true."
"I have to be able to help her." Maria continued. "I can't let her be punished for doing something I should have done myself three years ago."
"You will help her." Eric insisted. "She'll talk to you, I'm sure she will." He rubbed her back soothingly. "It's going to be okay, Maria."
Maria didn't answer, but whimpered as she ran her hands over his chest and down his arms. Then she shifted her hips against his and began kissing his neck, working her way down slowly.
"Maria." Eric groaned, unable to control his body's response to her. "Are you sure that's a good idea right now?"
Her lips covered his, effectively answering his question. "I can still feel him." She shuddered. "Eric, please...I need to feel good. I need to feel you."
As she kissed him again, he turned her onto her back, covering her body with his and gently pinning her wrists to the bed. He let himself get lost in her, in the way she arched against him, in the soft moans and murmurs of pleasure that she uttered as he made love to her.
Maria felt her eyes fill with tears again, but this time they were tears of joy and pleasure. The pain and fear of her nightmare quickly vanished. His movements within her were slow and gentle, exactly what she needed at that moment. Almost before she knew it, she trembled and called out his name as her release washed over her, and she felt him tighten his hold on her wrists as he came inside her, then collapsed, rolling onto his side and pulling her with him.
"Wow." She gasped out after a minute. "I should wake up in the middle of the night more often."
Eric gave her a tired smile as he kissed her lightly. "Think you can get back to sleep now?"
"Maybe." Maria sighed. A troubled look crossed her face. "I just feel so horrible about Aimee, and everything that-"
"You didn't do anything wrong." Eric interrupted. "Neither of you did. The one person who did, well, he's already gotten what he had coming. You and Aimee both have a lot of healing to do, but you'll get there."
"You really think so?" Maria asked.
"I know it." Eric corrected. "I'll bet you two will even help each other heal."
"Yeah." Maria said, taking a deep breath. "Maybe you're right. I hope so, anyway."
______________________
"Okay, so do you want us to go with you to talk to Horatio?" Calleigh asked.
"No, this is something I should do myself." Maria sighed.
"Just don't let yourself get all stressed out." Eric told her, putting one arm around her waist and gently patting her stomach. "You gotta keep your blood pressure down."
Maria rolled her eyes, but leaned against him as she smiled. "This is what I've got to look forward to for the next eight months."
"Don't kid yourself, princess." Eric said. "The further along you get, the more paranoid I'm gonna be."
"I'll kill you by the time I hit my second trimester." Maria said sweetly, leaning up to kiss him on the cheek. "Anyway, he's in his office? I should probably get this part over with."
As Maria left, Calleigh had to bite her tongue to keep herself from cracking up at the look on Eric's face. "She talks about killing you, and you still can't wipe off that grin."
"Can't help it." Eric admitted. "I found out about our baby one day ago, and already...I don't even know how to describe how I feel. It's amazing."
"You know, if Maria doesn't kill you, someone else might." Tim pointed out.
"You're not going to get to me." Eric said. "It really is such an incredible feeling, just wait until you two have kids, you'll understand. Anyway, I've gotta go get something, I'll see you guys later."
As soon as Eric was gone, Tim turned to Calleigh. "Uh, Cal-"
"No way." Calleigh interrupted, taking a deep breath. "I want kids, sure, but trust me, I can wait."
Tim let out a sigh of relief as he put his arm around her. "My thoughts exactly."
_______________________
"Horatio?" Maria stood in the open door to the office, suddenly feeling a little less sure of herself.
"Come in, Maria." Horatio said, looking up from the newspaper article in front of him. "Your message said you wanted to talk to me about something?"
"I need to talk to you about Aimee." Maria began, taking a deep breath. "It's kind of a long story..."
_______________________
TBC...
Disclaimer: I don't own any of these characters (including Maria. She's made it quite clear that she owns her own damn self, thank you very much.) I'm just borrowing them and will return them when I've had my fun, somewhat dazed and disheveled, but otherwise in their original condition. Also, Maria and I have decided to keep Eric for a while, and we're sending Tim to Yana...
Rating: R. There's a little bit of smutty stuff, but it's at the end of the chapter and isn't really all that graphic, nothing above an R rating. So if you don't like it, just don't read it. Is that so hard?
Pairings: Eric/Maria, Tim/Calleigh, John/Yelina, Horatio/Adele
Feedback: Hey, you! Yeah, I'm talking to you! You're reading this, right? Well then review it! Come on, pretty pleeeeeease? It only takes a minute or two, and it makes my day. Besides, we both know you've got the time. What else are you going to do, work?
Dedication: Yana, for, as always, putting up with my crazy self. Jackie, Tina, Mel, Annie, Dorothy, Nonnie, and all my other loyal reviewers, what would I do without ya'll? I'll tell ya what; I'd stop writing! And that would suck. So, thanks!
Note: Okay, I'd hoped to have this chapter up sooner. Life gets in the way sometimes, what are ya gonna do? Also, some of my loyal readers may have noticed that a bunch of my fics are gone. Why? Because friggin' fanfic.net went all FCC on me and took them down! Why? I have no idea. Maybe someone narced on me. Whatever, I don't like it. DON'T FRIGGIN' CENSOR ME! Also, if someone did narc on me, that is not cool, okay? If you don't like that stuff, no one is forcing you to read it.
___________________________
"So, she sounded all right on the phone." Calleigh said, a little nervous. "She didn't actually say anything about the pregnancy, so maybe that's a good sign."
"What did she say?" Tim asked.
"That it had to do with the case, and she couldn't tell us over the phone." Calleigh replied. She knocked on the door, waited for a moment, then opened the door.
"Hey, door's open!" Tim called out as a greeting. Rounding a corner, they found their friends in a position that suggested the unlocked door was news to them.
"You said you checked it." Maria pouted as she slid out of Eric's arms and jumped off the counter.
"I say a lot of things when I'm trying to get into your pants." Eric said sheepishly, sitting down at the table quickly.
"Charming." Calleigh said. "So, I take it from that little display that everything is...okay?"
Maria nodded and smiled. "I'm going to have a baby."
"Oh!" Calleigh gasped, hugging her friend. "Oh, sweetie, that's so great! I'm so happy for you guys."
"Yeah, congratulations on the successful commingling of your genetic material." Tim added, clapping Eric on the back. The other three gave him matching looks, and he shrugged. "Way to knock up your girlfriend, man."
"That is so sweet, Tim." Maria laughed. "Anyway, we've got eight months to talk about this. I called you guys here to talk about the case."
"Maria, it's Christmas, can't this possibly wait until tomorrow?" Tim asked.
"Aimee's arraignment is tomorrow." Maria reminded him. "We don't have much time."
"Okay, Maria, we're listening." Calleigh assured her. "What did you find out?"
"I called Estefan, had him look up a name." Maria replied. "Aimee Westin was medically discharged from the Army eighteen months ago, after being wounded in action in Afghanistan. She met Adam while she was recuperating in a V.A hospital in Virginia where he volunteered. Any of this sound familiar?"
"In a creepy, Twilight Zone sort of way." Eric said. "So, he went looking for a girl who looked like you, was in a similar situation to the one you were in when he got to you..."
"She was vulnerable." Maria confirmed. "So was I. And he could be very charming, extremely charismatic."
"Didn't folks say that about Charles Manson?" Tim asked. "Anyway, we better take this to the State's Attorney. Of course, in order to tie this to the murder, you'll probably have to testify to everything that Grant did to you when you were married to him."
Seeing Maria shrink back a little, Eric shook his head. "No friggin' way. How many times can she relive all the shit he put her through?"
"No, Eric, he's right." Maria said, taking a deep breath. "No one who hears what he did to me is going to believe that he wasn't doing the same thing to Aimee. Especially since it's pretty obvious that he used her as a replacement for me all along. It could be the only way to save her, considering that she's not interested in saving herself."
"She's so cold." Tim added. "She's not showing any remorse."
Maria rolled her eyes. "Well, what's she gonna do? Say, 'Aw, gee, I shot the son of a bitch who was raping and beating me. Shot him twice in the chest and once in the head. I am such an idiot, I am always doing shit like that! I suppose he's dead now, right? God, I could just kick myself!' Come on!"
"Okay, take it easy." Eric said. "We're with you on this, remember? You don't have to convince us."
"No, but I need to convince the State's Attorney." Maria sighed. "And I still gotta convince H."
"That shouldn't be too hard." Calleigh pointed out. "He wants to help Aimee just as much as we do."
"Right, but he's not going to assign me to the case." Maria said, frustrated. "And he probably won't let me talk to her again, at least not alone, and that might be the only way to get her to talk to me. And let's face it, even if she does admit what he did to her, the similarities between us and her word are not going to be enough in court. We need some kind of physical evidence."
"The bruises won't be enough." Eric agreed.
"I saw her yesterday." Maria continued. "And if he did beat on her before she killed him, he didn't do too much damage. At least not visibly." The color drained from her face and she sat down suddenly. "The gun. That needs to be sent to DNA and swabbed, right away."
"Why?" Eric asked, although from the look on Maria's face, he wasn't sure he wanted to know.
"It needs to be tested for Aimee's epithelials." Maria explained quietly, her voice shaking a little. "And...cervical tissue."
Calleigh was confused. Or rather, she knew what Maria was talking about. She just didn't want to accept it. "But those would only be on the gun if he..."
"He did it to me." Maria said flatly. "There's a good chance he did it to her, too."
"You mean he used the gun to..." Eric felt sick.
Maria nodded. "Yeah. With the safety off. He got off on describing what I'd look like inside if he pulled the trigger."
"Oh my God." Calleigh winced, burying her face in her hands.
Tim put his arms around her as he stared at Maria, slack-jawed, with a look of horror and pity on his face.
Eric closed his eyes, gripping the glass of water in his hand so hard that Maria grabbed it from him, afraid that he would break it and hurt himself. When he finally spoke, his voice was full of venom. "That sick son of a bitch is lucky I didn't get to him first."
"It's in the past." Maria said firmly, placing her hand over his. "We can't change it now. What we can do now is protect Aimee."
"Even with all of this new information, and even if you can get her to talk, it's going to be tough to prove self-defense." Calleigh pointed out. "She shot him three times, you know how that's going to look."
"That's another area where her having been in the Army can help us out." Maria replied. "In combat, when you find yourself in a situation where it's kill or be killed, you want to put the other guy down and make sure he stays down. The best way to do that is two shots to the chest and one to the head. Aimee must have been so traumatized that she reverted to her training, like she was acting on instinct. She had to have known that if she didn't kill him, he was going to kill her."
"You really think you can get her to talk?" Eric asked.
Maria shrugged. "I think it's our only shot."
_____________________
Hours later, Eric stood in the bedroom doorway, watching Maria recline on their bed, focused entirely on the papers and photographs spread out around her. She had spent most of the evening on the internet and on the phone with Estefan, compiling information about Aimee. She was so engrossed, she didn't notice his presence until he sat down beside her on the bed and ran one hand through her hair, leaning in to kiss the back of her neck.
"Hey." She sighed, leaning into him.
"You should get some sleep." Eric suggested, sliding his hands under the front of her t-shirt. "You gotta take care of yourself."
Maria smiled as she turned over to face him. "I was right, you are going to be a pain in my ass for the next eight months."
"Hey, I'm just looking out for my family." Eric told her, pushing up her shirt. He leaned down and kissed her stomach softly. "Our family."
"Our family." Maria whispered, her voice catching. "I could get used to hearing that."
"Good." Eric moved back up and lay beside her. "So, what are you looking at?"
"Military records." Maria replied. "Not Aimee's. Mine." She picked up a photograph and handed it to him. It was a picture of her in camouflage fatigues, leaning against an Army Jeep.
Eric studied the picture, noticing that Maria even managed to make fatigues look sexy. "Is it wrong that I'm sort of turned on by this?" He teased, sliding his hand back under her shirt and gently teasing the skin right under her breasts.
"Nah." Maria replied, sighing as she arched into his touch. "I was eighteen when that was taken."
"Do you still have the uniform?" Eric asked, giving her a suggestive grin.
Maria laughed and hit him playfully with her pillow. "Don't push your luck." In an instant, she found herself pinned to the bed as Eric placed reverent kisses along her jaw and down her neck. Feeling him pressed against her hip, she giggled and writhed against him. "And what's that?" She asked coyly.
"That's me pushing my luck." Eric groaned against her throat. Suddenly, he put his hands firmly on her hips to still her movements, and pulled away from her.
"What?" Maria whined. She sighed when she saw the troubled look in his eyes. "You're thinking about what I said earlier. About what Adam did to me."
"I'm trying not to." Eric said, moving off of her. He lay on his back, staring up at the ceiling. "It's not like I want to think about it. The things that he did to you...I can't get my mind around how anyone could treat you like that."
"It's fucked up, I know." Maria said, running her hands through his hair soothingly. "But it's over. I've got a new life now, with you."
Eric nodded, leaning against her, needing to hear the steady, reassuring beat of her heart. "I just don't know if I'm ever going to be able to make up for all the shit you went through before."
"Hey!" Maria said forcefully, pushing him onto his back and straddling him. She put her fingers against his lips to silence him. "No more of that talk, all right?" She guided his hand to her stomach and pressed it against her smooth skin. "You had already more than made up for my past, even before you gave me this baby."
"I know." Eric said. "But-"
"Okay, just stop talking." Maria interrupted. She kissed him softly, then started moving down his body, hooking her fingers under the waistband of his boxer shorts and slowly, teasingly inching them down, smiling triumphantly when he began breathing faster. "Isn't there anything I can do to make you feel better?" She asked sweetly, lowering her head just a little.
"Well..." Eric choked out. "I'm sure you could think of something..."
As her hot, wet mouth closed over him, he lost his voice and forced himself to concentrate solely on Maria. It always amazed him how quickly she could make it feel like the entire world had shrunk to just the two of them.
He was still awake several hours later, unable to take his eyes off of her. She had fallen asleep after they had made love for a second time, but he felt wired, there was no way he would be able to follow her any time soon.
Even in the dark, he could see her perfectly. She was sprawled out on her back, with one arm behind her head and the other across her stomach. Her breathing was slow and even, and her chest rose with each inhale.
Suddenly, she shifted and abruptly rolled onto her side, facing the wall. For a moment, he thought she had moved in her sleep. Then her heard her breathing in fast, shallow gasps.
"Maria?" He whispered. "Baby, are you awake?"
She stayed as still as she could, trying to keep her breathing under control, until she felt Eric's fingertips trail down her back.
"I'm okay." She said softly, turning over to face him. "Really, it's nothing."
Eric moved closer to her and gently caressed her cheek. "Are you sure?"
Maria felt tears sting her eyes as she started to break down. It was just too much. "I had a dream about...it was about Adam. He was...I mean, I could feel him holding me down and...only I wasn't me. I was Aimee, somehow I just knew I was."
"Shit." Eric groaned, pulling her close and kissing her forehead. "I'm sorry, baby."
"It's my fault." Maria sobbed. "Everything that he did to her, everything she's been through, none of it ever would have happened if I hadn't let him get away."
"No." Eric whispered. "Maria, that's not true."
"I have to be able to help her." Maria continued. "I can't let her be punished for doing something I should have done myself three years ago."
"You will help her." Eric insisted. "She'll talk to you, I'm sure she will." He rubbed her back soothingly. "It's going to be okay, Maria."
Maria didn't answer, but whimpered as she ran her hands over his chest and down his arms. Then she shifted her hips against his and began kissing his neck, working her way down slowly.
"Maria." Eric groaned, unable to control his body's response to her. "Are you sure that's a good idea right now?"
Her lips covered his, effectively answering his question. "I can still feel him." She shuddered. "Eric, please...I need to feel good. I need to feel you."
As she kissed him again, he turned her onto her back, covering her body with his and gently pinning her wrists to the bed. He let himself get lost in her, in the way she arched against him, in the soft moans and murmurs of pleasure that she uttered as he made love to her.
Maria felt her eyes fill with tears again, but this time they were tears of joy and pleasure. The pain and fear of her nightmare quickly vanished. His movements within her were slow and gentle, exactly what she needed at that moment. Almost before she knew it, she trembled and called out his name as her release washed over her, and she felt him tighten his hold on her wrists as he came inside her, then collapsed, rolling onto his side and pulling her with him.
"Wow." She gasped out after a minute. "I should wake up in the middle of the night more often."
Eric gave her a tired smile as he kissed her lightly. "Think you can get back to sleep now?"
"Maybe." Maria sighed. A troubled look crossed her face. "I just feel so horrible about Aimee, and everything that-"
"You didn't do anything wrong." Eric interrupted. "Neither of you did. The one person who did, well, he's already gotten what he had coming. You and Aimee both have a lot of healing to do, but you'll get there."
"You really think so?" Maria asked.
"I know it." Eric corrected. "I'll bet you two will even help each other heal."
"Yeah." Maria said, taking a deep breath. "Maybe you're right. I hope so, anyway."
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"Okay, so do you want us to go with you to talk to Horatio?" Calleigh asked.
"No, this is something I should do myself." Maria sighed.
"Just don't let yourself get all stressed out." Eric told her, putting one arm around her waist and gently patting her stomach. "You gotta keep your blood pressure down."
Maria rolled her eyes, but leaned against him as she smiled. "This is what I've got to look forward to for the next eight months."
"Don't kid yourself, princess." Eric said. "The further along you get, the more paranoid I'm gonna be."
"I'll kill you by the time I hit my second trimester." Maria said sweetly, leaning up to kiss him on the cheek. "Anyway, he's in his office? I should probably get this part over with."
As Maria left, Calleigh had to bite her tongue to keep herself from cracking up at the look on Eric's face. "She talks about killing you, and you still can't wipe off that grin."
"Can't help it." Eric admitted. "I found out about our baby one day ago, and already...I don't even know how to describe how I feel. It's amazing."
"You know, if Maria doesn't kill you, someone else might." Tim pointed out.
"You're not going to get to me." Eric said. "It really is such an incredible feeling, just wait until you two have kids, you'll understand. Anyway, I've gotta go get something, I'll see you guys later."
As soon as Eric was gone, Tim turned to Calleigh. "Uh, Cal-"
"No way." Calleigh interrupted, taking a deep breath. "I want kids, sure, but trust me, I can wait."
Tim let out a sigh of relief as he put his arm around her. "My thoughts exactly."
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"Horatio?" Maria stood in the open door to the office, suddenly feeling a little less sure of herself.
"Come in, Maria." Horatio said, looking up from the newspaper article in front of him. "Your message said you wanted to talk to me about something?"
"I need to talk to you about Aimee." Maria began, taking a deep breath. "It's kind of a long story..."
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TBC...