There were yellow tulips waiting for Calleigh when she arrived at work on her birthday. She opened the card, smiling when she saw her father's familiar handwriting. He'd remembered!

There was a hand at the small of her back. Startled, she turned around, immediately relaxing.

"Hey, Horatio."

"You got a minute?"

She nodded. His hand still at her back, he guided her to his office, closing the door behind them. Calleigh was immediately confused; Horatio rarely closed the door.

He removed a gift-wrapped object from his drawer. "Happy birthday."

Calleigh sat down, forcing herself to open the gift slowly. When she saw what it was, she burst out laughing. She turned the alligator carving over in her palm. "Thanks."

She stood, but Horatio's hand on her shoulder kept her from going anywhere. He dipped his hand into his pocket. "Here's your real present."

Calleigh opened the box and smiled in delight. The jewelry box held a silver necklace with a tear-shaped silver and blue pendant. "Oh my. This is beautiful. Thank you."

Impulsively going up on her toes, she kissed his cheek, letting her lips linger. He turned his head and their mouths met. His tongue tentatively requested entrance, which she allowed, sliding her arms around his neck. He pulled her closer.

"Horatio—" Alexx stopped, peering through the half-open door. "I can come back later if you're busy."

Horatio broke the kiss but didn't release Calleigh.

"I did knock," Alexx said. "I guess you were too preoccupied to hear."

Calleigh couldn't meet her friend's eyes. How embarrassing, she thought, to be caught like this!

"Anyway, you know where to find me if you need me. Happy birthday, Calleigh." Alexx left, closing the door on her way out.

Calleigh tried to extricate herself from Horatio's embrace. "I, uh . . ."

"I'm sorry about that." He cupped her cheek, and she couldn't resist nuzzling into his hand. "I should have locked the door."

Calleigh chuckled, suddenly at ease again. "Well, now you know for next time."

"I don't usually make a habit of kissing all my coworkers in my office."

"That's a relief. I'm sure Tim and Eric will be glad to hear it."

"Calleigh . . ." He kissed her again, then, reluctantly, pulled back. "I'd very much like to continue this later."

Calleigh hoped she didn't sound as giddy as she felt. "Okay."

Horatio took the almost-forgotten necklace and fastened it around her neck. "Can I take you to dinner tonight?"

She sighed. "I've got plans with Nate. How about tomorrow?"

"I'd like that." His hands resting on her shoulders, he turned her around to face him. "Have you had coffee yet?"

Not exactly sure what was happening, Calleigh shook her head. Horatio put his hand at the small of her back as they headed to the break room; Calleigh would always think of that as his spot from now on.

"Happy birthday!"

Calleigh's coworkers were crowded around a small table. They started singing as she entered ahead of Horatio. Alexx gave her a sly wink, and a look that said, "We'll talk later."

Calleigh turned to Horatio, lowering her voice. "So all that was just to keep me busy until they were ready."

His answering smile left her heart doing flick flacks. He guided her to the table, and bent his head to whisper in her ear, "Not all of it."

Simone and Nicole skipped into the grocery store ahead of Calleigh and Nate. Calleigh laughed. "You'd swear they've never seen a store before."

Nate hooked his arm through Calleigh's. "It's the weather, I think. It's still very much winter up in DC."

"I don't know how you stand it. I hate the cold."

"It's not so bad, once you get used to it." He shrugged. "Oh, before I forget. I have a message from your favorite cousin—"

Calleigh laughed. "Let me guess, her words?"

"She wants to know when you're planning to visit again."

"Tell her to come here."

"Damn, I owe her ten bucks. She told me you'd say that."

Calleigh steered her brother to the back of the store. "Let's get what we came for, and get back to my place. I'm starving."

"Right. Ice cream, here we come." Nate exaggerated the movement of his head, then pointed. "This way."

Calleigh lightly socked his arm. "Behave yourself."

"Wait, I left my wallet in the car."

"I've got it."

Nate looked visibly affronted. "You're the birthday girl."

Calleigh sighed and tossed him her car keys. Nate went out and Calleigh found the girls already waiting at the freezer.

"Hey, monkeys, what do you guys want?"

"Chocolate!" They spoke together, going up on their tiptoes to see the selection.

Calleigh smiled, and took out a carton of chocolate ice cream. Then, inexplicably, she knew something was wrong. Whether it was from her years of training or just an intuition, she slowly turned and looked to the front of the store as a young Hispanic man pulled his gun on the cashier.

Calleigh put her finger to her lips and motioned for the girls to get down. She reached instinctively for her gun then realized she was off duty and unarmed. Still not panicking, she dialed 911 on her cell phone and set it on the floor. Hopefully the operator would hear what was going on and trace the signal. Calleigh ducked low, sneaking across the back of the store as she tried to find something that could be used as a weapon.

"Hey, what's going on here?"

Calleigh froze, recognizing her brother's voice. Please don't do anything stupid, she thought. Please don't try to be brave.

"Get on the floor!" The gunman sounded nervous; not a good thing in Calleigh's experience.

She reached the knives section. If she could sneak up behind him and surprise him, she might be able to disarm him. Selecting a carving knife, she remembered a joke that was a favorite at the shooting range: Those who live by the sword get shot by those who don't.

Well, she thought, all she had was this knife; it was going to have to do.

"I said, get on the floor."

"Look, let's just talk about this."

Calleigh saw Nate standing at the counter, his hands in the air. His wallet was on the floor between him and the gunman. Calleigh gripped the knife tighter, and slowly tiptoed closer. Nate didn't acknowledge her, thought he must have seen her. It was the cashier who glanced nervously at her, his eyes widening, that alerted the gunman.

He turned and fired.

Calleigh dropped the knife, stumbling backwards with the force of the impact. Nate yelled and lunged for the gunman. He tackled him to the ground. The gun skittered across the floor, just out of reach of Calleigh. She reached for it with her left hand. Nate and the gunman were struggling for the knife. Calleigh saw a flash of silver. Her fingers closed around the gun's handle just as the gunman left Nate and came at her.

Without thinking, Calleigh fired twice. The gunman collapsed on top of her. She tried to push him off, anxious to get to Nate. The last thing she remembered before passing out was a burning pain in her right shoulder.