For the next week Calleigh and Eric only saw each other at work. They tried to act as though nothing had happened, but their interactions were strained. Those who worked closely with them were even beginning to notice.
"They so totally like each other, he should just ask her out already," Valera said to Ryan one day after they watched Calleigh and Eric stiffly discuss the results Valera had handed them.
"I bet he won't," Ryan replied.
"Why not?" she asked.
"Because some people are just too dense to realize they're perfect for each other," he said as he picked up his own results and headed for the door.
And so it continued until one morning Calleigh came to work and treated everyone to the same tight lips and brisk professionalism that Eric had been receiving. This time though, it had nothing to do with him. At least, he hoped it didn't. He was eventually able to corner her in the hallway to the morgue.
"Calleigh, what's wrong?"
She mumbled something about a new tech giving her the wrong data and tried to brush past him. He moved, blocking her path.
"No, there's something else, I can understand you giving me the cold shoulder, but Ryan's been off licking his wounds all morning."
She gave him her best 'please stop exaggerating' look. He threw up his hands. "Hey, all I'm saying is that he doesn't understand why you ignored him this morning. And neither does anyone else for that matter. What's wrong?"
"It's nothing, Eric."
"It must be something or it wouldn't be upsetting you."
"Don't worry about it then."
"Too late."
"Fine. My father has decided to go to Louisiana for Christmas."
Eric blew out a breath. "We're on call that day."
"Exactly. I can't leave."
"Have you told him this?"
She nodded.
"And he's still going to go?"
"Yup. Says he's sorry but it's been too long since he's seen my brothers."
"Calleigh, you know you're welcome to spend Christmas with my family."
"Oh, Eric, thank you but—"
"No, seriously, consider it. You've met my mother before, you know she'd love to have you over."
"Really, I couldn't—"
"You'd get to see how my sisters like their gifts," he said enticingly.
She couldn't help but laugh and he saw a tiny bit of light return to her expression.
"Alright, ok, I'll come."
"Good. Now, there's a certain wounded puppy you should apologize to."
"Ryan? I'm sure he'd already been tended to by Valera, they like each other, you know."
"Yeah, but ten bucks says he'll never ask her out."
"Why not?"
"Because some people are just too dense to realize they're perfect for each other."
After that conversation, things loosened up between Eric and Calleigh. They never spoke of the kiss but there was an air of agreement that they were rational adults and shouldn't let it bother them any longer. Both continued to convince themselves it hadn't meant anything anyways.
Christmas morning saw Calleigh up at her usual hour of six a.m. Leaving the rest of her apartment darkened, she turned on the lights decorating her tiny tree and watched them blink as she sipped her coffee. As furious as she was about her father leaving her, she could understand it, she hadn't seen her brothers in a while either. Besides, Eric had been kind enough to invite her to spend the day with his family and she was looking forward to it.
She took her time getting ready, after all, it was Christmas and Eric wouldn't be coming to pick her up until nine. She took a shower, blow dried her hair, and then sat at her vanity to apply her makeup. When she was finishing up, the box that held her crucifix caught her eye. She took it out and looked at it, debating on whether or not to wear it.
She had inherited the necklace from her maternal grandmother, who had been the one to insist that Calleigh be baptized in the Catholic faith. She had also made sure that Calleigh received her First Holy Communion, but had died shortly after that. Since neither one of Calleigh's parents seemed to think that instilling religion on their children was important Calleigh hadn't been to church in years andas a resultdidn't even see herself as being Catholic.
But the Delko family was, and wearing the necklace, especially on a day like Christmas, wouldn't hurt her. She clasped it around her neck.
Eric arrived promptly at nine o'clock, holding a gift. "Here," he said, pressing it into her hands, "it's going to get crazy over there so I want you to open this now."
She sat on the couch and shook it, trying to guess what it was. Clothes? She opened it.
"An apron!" She burst out laughing and then dug through the bag of presents she had ready for Eric's family.
"You've got to open yours," she said, placing it on his lap. He did, also pulling out an apron.
"Well, you know what they say about great minds," he quipped.
They laughed again and Calleigh suddenly had the thought that she didn't remember laughing at all the previous Christmas.
"Eric," she started, wanting to say something that conveyed her gratitude without exposing the reason why. "Eric, thank you, I really love it," she finally said.
"You do?" he asked.
She nodded.
"Well then, I guess there's no reason to give you this then." He pulled out a small box from his pocket and her eyes widened as he handed it to her.
"Oh, Eric," she breathed when she saw what was inside. It was a thin silver bracelet with tiny delicate butterflies dangling from it. "Eric, I can't accept this." She tried to hand it back to him but he just took it, pulled her hand towards him, and latched the bracelet around her wrist.
"I saw it and it made me think of you. I want you to have it." What he didn't explain was that, knowing what he did about her background, butterflies always reminded him of her. It took strength and determination for a butterfly to escape the confines of its cocoon and show the world it's true colors. Calleigh had escaped the confines of a desperate childhood, a childhood permeated with alcohol, to become a self-assured independent woman. To Eric, both scenarios were nothing short of miraculous.
Calleigh lifted her wrist, watching the silver catch the light. She was trying to avoid the implications involved in receiving jewelry from a man on Christmas by convincing herself it was merely a friendly gesture on his part. He was a sweet guy, and gracious, it wasn't so far-fetched that he'd see something and want her, his friend, to have it, right? Of course it wasn't.
She brought her wrist back down. "Thank you," she said simply.
They left soon after that, riding in companionable silence all the way to his parents' house. They arrived at the same time as Eric's oldest sister, Doris, and her family. As they made introductions in the yard, the rest of the family spilled out of the house to greet the stragglers. What ensued could only be described as borderline mass chaos.
As everyone helped to transport presents and special dishes into the house they periodically stopped, distracted by each other, to talk. It was in this way that Calleigh managed to meet Doris in the front yard, Yulia in the living room, and Marisol in the kitchen. She chatted with each one briefly, finding that Eric's sisters were just as personable as he was. When she reached the yard again, Eric attempted to give her a rundown on the children. However, it was difficult to tell exactly where Eric was pointing since the kids had decided to start up a lively game of tag. In the end, the only child of whose name and parentage she was sure of was Marisol's six-month-old daughter, Celisse.
Things settled down slightly when the kids realized that there were more presents to be opened and converged on the living room floor to do so. After a flurry of wrapping paper and many delighted squeals, the children, suddenly bored with such close adult supervision, took their new toys to the backyard to play. The adults then took their turn to open presents.
Calleigh watched with amusement as, after opening their presents from him, Eric's sisters attacked him with affection, showering him with kisses. He struggled to keep them away but when they finally pulled back he was smiling through his blushes.
"You see what I had to grow up with?" he asked Calleigh, rubbing lipstick off his cheeks. She reached up to wipe away a spot he had missed but didn't answer, she was laughing too much.
When the women left the men to go to the kitchen, Calleigh joined them, enjoying the air of womanly camaraderie as they set about their tasks. During the in-between moments, they all sat around the island counter and gossiped. Eric's mother was the one to mention him first.
"I'm just so happy that you and Eric are finally together," she said. "He always talks of you."
Calleigh's jaw dropped. "Mrs. Delko—"
"Please, call me Clorinda."
"Clorinda, Eric and I are not together."
The sisters passed surprised looks with their mother.
"But you like him though," said Yulia.
"Of course I like him," Calleigh started, "we work together, we're friends—"
"She means you like him," Marisol said.
Calleigh didn't answer but could feel her face turn red. The other women noticed and gave her smiles.
"He likes you, you know," Doris said.
"He's always talking about you," said Marisol.
"Why aren't you two together?" Yulia asked.
Calleigh didn't really have many close girlfriends to talk to and she found herself wanting to confide in these women. She wondered how familiar they were with Eric's work life and tried to decide if they'd even know who she was speaking of if she mentioned Speed's death. She decided to be vague.
"I haven't really thought about dating anyone for over a year. The man I was seeing died."
The women made sympathetic noises and Clorinda reached over to pat her hand.
"Besides," Calleigh continued, trying to keep the mood from turning depressed, "Eric is a friend and I don't want to mess that up."
"But what if it didn't mess things up?" asked Marisol. "Friends make the best lovers."
"And if Eric has even half the charm of his father…" Clorinda sucked in a breath and let it out on a sigh. Calleigh felt herself blushing again as the story of the kiss she had shared with Eric threatened to spill out.
"Uh-oh, looks as if something's already going on," Yulia said.
"How was he?" Marisol asked.
"Marisol!" Doris exclaimed. "He's your brother!"
"I don't care, I want to make sure he knows how to treat a woman properly."
Calleigh grinned. "It was just a kiss."
The women raised such a ruckus at this tidbit that they could have been mistaken for some locker room jocks ogling a calendar girl.
"Just a kiss, she says!" exclaimed Yulia.
"It always starts with just a kiss," said Doris.
"I'm sure Eric has kissed lots of girls," Calleigh said.
"Not as many as you might think," supplied Marisol.
"Eric is picky," Clorinda said. "He didn't even go to his senior prom in high school. He just wasn't interested enough in anybody."
"Not that the girls weren't interested in him," Marisol said. "Remember all the ones that used to call for him?"
"Yeah, lucky Doris got to miss most of that, she had already moved out by then," Yulia explained.
"The phone used to ring constantly, it got to the point where we wouldn't even bother to answer it if Eric wasn't home," said Clorinda.
"Well, can you blame the poor girls?" asked Doris. "It's nearly impossible at seventeen to find a guy who is good looking, smart, and nice. Most guys that age are punks."
"He was always friends with everybody," said Clorinda.
"So have we sold you on him yet?" asked Marisol.
Calleigh laughed, answering, "I was sold on him a long time ago. I know he's a great guy.
"Then what's holding you back?" Yulia asked.
Calleigh struggled to find a valid answer but her mind clouded with the memory of processing Speed's gun. She looked down and plucked at the fringe on the coaster under her drink.
"Well," said Clorinda softly, "I suppose if it's meant to happen, it will happen."
Dinner went on the table at two o'clock. Everyone, including the children, crammed around the table with Pavel Delko at the head. When everybody was settled he launched into grace.
"Bless us, oh Lord, and these thy gifts, which we are about to receive, from thy bounty, through Christ our Lord, Amen."
Everyone murmured "Amen" just as a cell phone rang. Calleigh and Eric both reached for theirs.
"It's mine," said Eric, flipping it open. "Delko." He paused. "Ok. Alright. Calleigh is right here, I'll tell her."
He hung up.
"That was H," he said.
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A/N: Ok, I don't really know how the CSI work schedule goes on a holiday so I took initiative and made up my own system to fit the story. It's fiction, I'm allowed.
The names of Doris and Yulia are made up. Marisol has been indicated in the show and Eric's biography on indicates the names of his parents.