"That was H" Eric said. Calleigh started to push back her chair to stand but he put a hand on her arm to stop her. "Relax, he was just calling to wish us a Merry Christmas and to remind us we're off call as of now."

Seeing that there wasn't going to be any excitement, the family lost interest and dug into their food. Calleigh remained relatively quiet as she passed dishes down the table, listening to the cozy blend of Spanglish with the occasional smattering of Russian sprinkled in. There was a palpable warmth that permeated the atmosphere and Calleigh recognized it as having been absent from her own family life while she was growing up. A tiny, cynical part of her brain wondered if all the good cheer was due solely to the holidays, but the adult, rational part of her brain knew that wasn't the case. Eric had a wonderfully loving family.

The children were the first to leave the table, running to continue playing where they had left off before dinner. The men decided to move back to the living room to watch TV and the women gathered in the kitchen again, this time to clean up. When they finished, they sat with their dessert, which the men had yet to realize had been served, and continued their girl talk. This time though, they steered clear of raising Eric as a topic.

After a little while, Calleigh was feeling the effects of her Diet Coke and excused herself to use the bathroom. On the way, she had to pass through the living room and found every single one of the guys asleep. She stopped and let her gaze linger on Eric. If she had ever thought he had patented little boy looks while he was awake, it was nothing compared to how he looked asleep. He was seated at the far end of the couch and had slouched down enough to let his head lean back against the cushion. His legs were stretched out in front of him, disappearing under the coffee table and his mouth was opened slightly. As she looked, she resisted the compulsion to lean over and kiss him awake. She turned and walked down the hallway instead.

Eric woke just in time to see Calleigh walk away and dozed as he waited for her to come back by. He was ready for dessert and thought they could eat it together. After ten minutes however, she hadn't come back and Eric decided to go find her.

As he neared the end of the hallway, he heard her voice softly speaking to someone. He passed the bathroom and looked into his parents' room where Marisol had earlier laid Celisse down for a nap. There was Calleigh, walking around the room with the baby, pointing out objects and naming them.

As natural with a baby as with a gun. Was there anything this woman couldn't do? Eric stayed in the doorway, not wanting to draw attention to himself and ruin the picture she made.

"And see? That's a book that your grandpa is reading, but I don't know what it's called because it's in Russian. And there in the doorway is your Uncle Eric. He's a lug but we like him anyway."

He stepped in as she spoke of him and Celisse's face lit up as she started squirming.

"Uncle Eric, she wants you to hold her."

Eric took Celisse from Calleigh and raised her high to blow on her stomach. The baby giggled and shrieked. He did this several times before settling her on his hip.

"I heard her cooing to herself when I came out of the bathroom," Calleigh said. "She had a dirty diaper and didn't seem to mind me holding her so I started talking to her."

"She's very good natured, aren't you Celisse?" He tweaked the little girl's nose. Celisse giggled again and Calleigh smiled. "Aww, don't be jealous," he said and reached over to tweak Calleigh's nose as well. She laughed, which sent Celisse into fresh giggles as she started squirming again. "Think you'll ever want one?" he asked as he handed Celisse back to Calleigh.

"I used to think so. I'm not so sure anymore though." Eric saw a flicker of sadness pass over her face before she covered it with a smile and a joke. "I'll bet with a family like this you want at least ten don't you?" she asked.

"Oh, at least," he deadpanned. "My woman is going to stay in the kitchen, barefoot and pregnant."

Calleigh rolled her eyes. "See what I mean?" she asked Celisse. "He's a lug."

"I'm a lug who wants dessert," he said. "You want some?"

"I already ate dessert with your mother and sisters."

"No wonder you all rushed off to do the dishes so quick, is there even any left?" he asked teasingly.

"I guess you'll have to look and find out," she said as they walked down the hallway and into the now empty living room. "But you better hurry, it looks like everyone else had the same idea."

X

Eric and Calleigh left not long after sunset. When they pulled into Calleigh's apartment building, Eric parked and helped her carry things inside.

"I'm never going to finish all these leftovers by myself," she said, trying to cram them into the refrigerator. "Are you hungry? I can heat something up for you."

Her head popped up from behind the refrigerator door and he couldn't help but smile. This was certainly not the Calleigh he saw at work, with her makeup faded and her hair a delightful mess from when she joined one of the children's games earlier. He liked that he was privy to such a sight.

"Eric? Are you alright?"

He snapped out of it. "Yeah, I'm fine. And no, I'm not hungry. Although I sure wouldn't mind having a piece of your sweet potato pie," he grumbled as an afterthought.

"Hey, you snooze, you lose," she said.

"How was I supposed to know it would be gone before I even got to it?"

"Never underestimate the power of a southern woman's cooking. Besides, I made the pecan pie, you had some of that."

"But I wanted to try the sweet potato. There wasn't even a crumb left."

"Marisol fed the crumbs to Celisse. She liked it."

"Beat out by someone who can't even talk yet. I have all the luck." He pouted.

"Well, if you're that upset about it, I'll make you one."

"You will?"

"Sure, I can always stand to hear more compliments on my cooking."

"Ah-ha! The truth comes out, you have an ulterior motive."

"Of course I do, you don't think I cook for fun, do you?" As she spoke she went to the cupboard and pulled out a plate, setting it on the counter. She then went back to the refrigerator and pulled out one of the containers she had just put away.

"What are you doing?" he asked.

"Talking about pie made me realize I wanted another piece." She grabbed a can of whipped cream and squeezed a healthy fluff onto the pie. Eric's finger suddenly darted out to scoop some and, seeing this,Calleigh reacted the only way she knew how: she seized his wrist and licked it off his finger, herself.

It took two seconds, tops, for her tongue to lap over his finger, but to Eric it felt like a decade. She looked up at him, a slightly shocked look on her face at what she'd just done. Neither said a word and all he could do was stare at a tiny spot of cream that still clung to her lips.

"Calleigh," he breathed and then let his mouth fall on hers, kissing her for the second time in a lifetime, tasting the sweetness of the cream and the saltiness of her lips, both combining to create a taste that was uniquely Calleigh, a flavor he couldn't get enough of.

She sighed, a tiny mewling sound in her throat that drove him wild, and her lips parted. He hesitated; partly to tease but mostly to give her a chance to back away. She didn't, instead he felt her sharp teeth nipping at his lower lip, forcing him to submit to her own invasion. He felt her hands snake around his hips, pulling him closer. She moved her own hips against him, leaving no doubt in his mind as to what she was suggesting. His brain screamed at him to continue the delicious friction, but he pulled back before she managed to unman him. He let his lips trail along her jawbone before resting his cheek against hers. The kitchen seemed to echo with their breathing.

"Eric, please."

Her voice, low and desperate in his ear, completely shut down any resistance he may have had. He made no protest when her hands reached up to pull his lips back to hers.

Somehow they reached the bedroom. It was the first time he had ever stepped foot into her inner sanctuary, but at that moment he couldn't have cared less. He had Calleigh, warm and willing in front of him and he wasn't about to take his eyes off the sight.

She started to take off his shirt but he stopped her. He had fantasized about this moment for too long to let it wait another minute. He pushed her back onto the bed and started by unbuttoning the blouse she wore. He half hoped, half expected to see the blue undergarments but they were black instead. The moonlight that fell through the window served to turn her skin to ivory cream and the black cloth boldly outlined the curves of her body.

It didn't take long for both sets of clothes to end up scattered on the floor as Eric and Calleigh lost themselves in each other. Afterwards, they pulled the covers up over their sweat-cooled bodies, still entwined, and fell asleep, momentarily reassured that nothing existed outside of that bedroom.

X

Speed had known this night was coming. He had known long before Calleigh and Eric had even shared their first kiss, after all, when all one can do is watch, one picks up on the nuances everyone else misses. But knowing didn't keep him from feeling the sting of betrayal when Calleigh's eyes went cloudy with lust and she kissed Eric without any intention of stopping. Knowing didn't keep him from feeling an intense hatred for the man he had once called friend.

Dammit, that should be him there in Eric's place, kissing her like he couldn't live without her, that should be him being pulled to the bedroom…

He didn't follow. There was nothing he wanted to see.

X

A/N: I apologize for the shortness of this chapter (not like any of my chapters are very lengthy, anyways.) It was originally meant to be part of the previous chapter but I didn't want to detract from E/C nookie :)