A/N: Once again, I had to break up one chapter into two. I apologize in advance if you think that Calleigh's "ooc" in the next two chapters, but love makes you do and say strange things that you would normally not do in a normal state of mind (as if that comment makes any sense).

Roger

CHAPTER 10

Calleigh tried to sleep throughout the night peacefully, but it was not to be. She dreamt that the void was getting bigger and bigger, threatening to swallow her whole. No matter how fast she would run away from the darkness, it kept after her, which such speed that it would seem impossible to outrun it. She could feel it nipping at her heels, taunting her to no end. Calleigh turned her head and looked over her shoulder and could see it right behind her. Suddenly, a hand reached out from beyond the darkness and grabbed her. Calleigh woke up in a cold sweat, screaming. She bolted up from the sofa. It took her a few seconds to realize that she was dreaming again. Looking at the clock in the corner in her living room, it told her that it was 3:15 a.m. Calleigh let out a huge sigh and wondered if she should stay up or go back to sleep. She was afraid to fall back asleep, given that she might have more nightmares. She decided to try and stay up. However, she couldn't fight her body's need for rest and despite having a cup of coffee, Calleigh found herself drifting back off to sleep. Thankfully, her mind was calm the rest of the night, yielding no more nightmares to wake up from.

It wasn't until she heard the knocking at the door that woke her from a deep sleep. Calleigh awoke from the sofa where she decided to stay the rest of the night, due to not wanting to lay in her bed by herself. Too many nights she felt empty laying in a bed alone. Sleeping in a smaller area like the sofa, gave her a brief -if all too brief- comfort. The knocking continued and she heard a familiar voice. "Cal, honey? Are you there?" "Shit." Calleigh mumbled as she rubbed the sleep from her eyes, quickly realizing that she and Alexx were going out to breakfast together that morning at 9. She had totally forgot about it. Without thinking about her appearance, Calleigh got up and ran to her front door. "Hold on, Alexx. I overslept." Calleigh responded as she opened the door. "It's ok, sweetie. I-" Alexx stopped in mid-sentence, the smile on her face quickly faded away, replaced by a concerned look as she saw Calleigh's face. Calleigh looked over at the mirror by her door to see what Alexx was looking at. Her face was a mess. Countless tears caused her mascara to run down her face, leaving streaks all the way to her jaw line. Her eyes were still red and puffy from the crying that went on hours before. Not to mention that her eyes also had dark circles under them, due to the lack of proper sleep. Calleigh turned back to face Alexx. "Alexx, um…" Alexx cut her off. "Calleigh! What happened to you?" "Nothing." Calleigh's remark wasn't fooling anyone, especially Alexx. Calleigh stepped back to let Alexx in. Alexx glanced into the living room and saw countless tissues scattered around the sofa. "Alexx looked back at Calleigh. "You're not fooling anybody. Please tell me what happened."

"It's nothing, really." Calleigh answered as she walked into the living room and picked up the tissues that were lying on the floor and placed them into the empty ice cream container on the table. "Just a personal issue that I'm going through. Give me a few minutes to get ready for breakfast." She turned to walk into the kitchen, only to be blocked by Alexx, standing there with her arms crossed. Calleigh looked down, knowing all too well that Alexx wasn't buying any of her excuses. Calleigh turned around and sat down on the sofa. Alexx came over and sat down next to her. "I care about you, Cal," Alexx said as she wrapped her arm around Calleigh. "You're like a daughter to me. You know if that you have any problems, you can always come to me." Calleigh looked at Alexx and tried to speak, but could feel the pain rising to the surface again. "Alexx." Calleigh tried to get the words out, but instead broke into a heavy sob. She buried her face into her hands, her shoulders shaking as she cried. "Oh, you poor thing." Alexx reached over to the box of tissues that were laying on the other side of the sofa. She handed one to Calleigh, who took it without looking up. Calleigh blew her nose and wiped her eyes, then composed herself. She finally looked at Alexx, her eyes waiting for a response from Calleigh. For the next 30 minutes, Calleigh told Alexx everything. She told her all of her fears of being alone and the dreams that she'd been having for some time now. Then she told her the first moment she realized that Ryan meant something to her, then meant everything to her. She kept it together until she got to the part where she met Christine. Starting to tear up again, Alexx handed her another tissue. "Cal, it sounds like you're really in love with him." "How can this be love if it hurts this much?" Calleigh said as she took the tissue from Alexx. Alexx placed her hand on Calleigh's shoulder. "It wouldn't be love, Calleigh, it if didn't hurt at all." As she wiped away the new tears, Calleigh started to talk again. "Alexx?" "Yes, honey?" "Am I a fool for being like this, acting this way over someone who apparently doesn't feel the same way in return?" "You don't know that he doesn't have any feelings for you." Alexx smiled. Calleigh noticed the smile on Alexx's face. "Was that a rhetorical comment, or do you know something?" Alexx straightened up on the sofa. "I can't say for sure, Cal…but there have been times I've caught him staring at you, oblivious to the world around him. And I've noticed at times when we all go out, he won't talk to you." Calleigh felt a flutter in her heart. Maybe there was a chance between the two of them after all.

"Alexx?" "Yes, Cal?" "Do you know anything about Christine? Has Ryan ever talked about her?" "He's mentioned her once or twice. Nothing specific. Just small talk. Not enough to tell me that he's seeing her. But it's none of my business anyway. You wouldn't know unless you ask." "That's the same thing H. told me. I think I'm detecting a pattern here," Calleigh thought to herself. She looked at Alexx. "Well…I was planning to 'come clean' with Ryan on Monday. Just to get my feelings and frustrations out. Think it's a bad idea?" "I don't think so, if you do it right," answered Alexx. "If you were to take him aside and explain what you are feeling towards him, I don't think he'll take it the wrong way. I wouldn't be surprised if he tells you the same thing, too." "Really?" Calleigh's face brightened up at Alexx's answer and let a huge smile stretch across her face. Alexx took a look at Calleigh and nodded her head, smiling herself. "Don't you feel better getting all of this out?" "I sure do." Calleigh reached over and gave Alexx a hug. "Thank you, Alexx." "Anything to help a friend out." Alexx kissed Calleigh on her forehead and stood up. "Now how about a nice breakfast to help you start the day." "You don't need to read my mind," Calleigh replied as she stood up herself. "My tummy's been telling me the whole time that ice cream is not enough to get through the day." Alexx laughed as Calleigh headed to her bathroom to clean up.

It was now Monday afternoon and the crew was winding down their work for the day. Eric and Ryan were so caught up in the case that they were working on, neither one spoke to the other about the weekend. However, everything was coming to a stop for the evening and Eric couldn't resist grilling Ryan about Christine. "So, how was your weekend with Christine?" "It was great. I missed her. I hadn't seen her in about 18 months." Ryan was still looking at his paperwork while he talked to Eric. Eric broke into a grin. "I'll bet that you made up big time for those 18 months." Ryan looked up at Eric. "Eric, what did I tell you on Friday. We're only friends, nothing more." "What side of the bed did she sleep on?" Eric was hoping that he would catch Ryan lying, if Ryan told him the answer. "I don't know. I slept on the sofa. Nice try to get me to screw up and say the wrong thing." "Aha!" Eric pointed his finger at Ryan. "Either you're telling me the truth or you knew that I was trying to get you to slip up." "Whatever." Ryan said as he shrugged his shoulders at Eric and went back to checking his paperwork. Eric headed for the door. "Have a good evening, Ryan. I'll see you tomorrow." "You too, Eric." Ryan still was looking down at his paperwork. "Ryan." Ryan looked up at Eric. "Yes?" "You know I'm joking with you about Christine. Just giving you a hard time." "I know." Ryan said with a slight smirk on his face. "Goodnight, Eric." Eric left as Ryan finished checking his work. Ryan noticed that the ballistics report didn't have Calleigh's signature on it. "What the hell?" Ryan thought to himself. "Since when does Calleigh give me a report with no name on it? I better catch her and get it before I turn this into H. He'll tear me a new one if I file another incomplete report." Ryan grabbed his paperwork and headed to the firing range.

to be continued…