Disclaimer: Don't own any of these characters, wish I could find a way to have Warrick……….but not this day.

Author's notes: Thanks for the reviews! Please keep them coming! It helps to know people are actually reading this! I usually write Warrick/Catherine so this is a new venture for me.

Chapter 2 Bridging the Gap

Eric arrives to the scene right as the paramedics are hitting the water. In almost a panic, he rushes past the forming crowd, flashes his badge to the officer and goes straight into the water to help the paramedics get Calleigh out. They break the back window and easily slide Calleigh out onto the backboard. Eric keeps saying her name over and over and is relieved that her face didn't go totally underwater, but very scared because she isn't answering him either. As they strap her to the backboard, Eric grabs a side to help them get her out of the water and gets a good look at her pale face. "Calleigh, can you hear me? Answer me Cal." She stirs just the slightest and Eric's heart beats faster. They load her on the ambulance and he jumps in behind her. They start hooking her up to the monitor, and cutting off her wet clothes to do the assessment. Eric almost wonders if he needs to turn his head because Calleigh would be mortified about them cutting off all of her clothes with him watching, but he can't bear to look away. Part of it is due to the fact that he quickly realizes her underwear and bra match her shirt perfectly and he is more attracted to her the more they remove. Even more than that at the moment is the fact that Eric needs to see that Calleigh is all in one piece and not hurt. She has a big gash on her forehead that is going to need stitches, but otherwise looks OK. Eric knows that head wounds bleed a lot so he is trying to keep his panic from rising about all the blood. He reaches out and takes her free hand and just rubs her hand. She's stirring a little, but hasn't opened her eyes at all to his voice. His cell phone rings and he realizes he doesn't even remember picking it up from when he threw it in the seat. He sees that it's Horatio and knows he is going to be in trouble for not calling him already. He answers the phone and hears Horatio say, "Eric, what in the world is going on? Ryan said Calleigh called and you took off. Is everything OK?" Eric wonders why he still sounds so freaking calm. "H, I need you to meet me at the hospital. The bridge was out and Calleigh's car went off into the water. We got her out, but she's got a big head lac and hasn't regained consciousness." There is dead silence on the phone. "H, you there?" Horatio says in a much more stilted tone, "I'm here, Eric. I'll meet you at the hospital. Do I need to take Ryan by to pick up your car?" Eric hasn't even thought about the car. Leave it to his levelheaded boss to think of everything. "Yeah, that would be great. I don't guess you'd drive my car and let Ryan drive the Hummer huh? I don't want that guy in my car." Horatio gave a half laugh, "No, Eric, not a chance. We'll see you at the hospital."

They pulled into the hospital and as they were opening the back doors to unload Calleigh, Eric felt her squeeze his hand. He looked down and she was looking at him. She still looked groggy, but she smiled, "Delko, you're wet, guess you forgot your wetsuit for this rescue." Eric smiled back and always getting the one up and forgetting that she was hurt popped off, "Yeah, Duquesne and you're naked underneath that blanket……nice matching underwear." Calleigh's eyes got huge and she tried to raise up. "Whoa! Calleigh you can't get up! You're strapped down and have a head gash. They were discreet and you're covered…….it's fine! It was a bad joke!"

Calleigh gave him a mock glare, 'You should have turned your head Eric." Eric flashed his big grin, "I couldn't help myself Calleigh. The view was too majestic to turn away. That might've been a once in a lifetime." Before Calleigh could respond they wheeled her through the doors. "I'll be right outside Cal!" Eric yelled after her.

Eric made his way to the waiting area they directed him to about the time Ryan, Horatio, and Yelina came through the doors. "Wolfe did you wreck my car?" Eric said. Ryan rolled his eyes, "Come on Delko. I didn't start driving yesterday." Horatio steps in between his arguing boys and asks how Calleigh is doing. Eric tells them she woke up as they were getting her out and actually talked to him coherently. He didn't mention WHAT the conversation was.

After what seemed like hours, a young Dr. comes out to the group. He tells them that amazingly enough Calleigh is going to be fine. He has sewn up the laceration on her forehead and all of her X-rays and the Head CT Scan were clear. He tells them she is groggy, but should be able to go home soon. Dr. O'Neill tells them that she is asking for Eric. Ryan steps back and rolls his eyes. Yelina tells Eric to be sure and tell Calleigh they are all there. Horatio says nothing, just nods for Eric to go ahead.

Eric walks in to see Calleigh sitting up in bed, drinking a Sprite. "How ya doing, Calleigh?" Eric speaks softly as he walks up and takes her hand. "I'm fine. Thank you for coming to my rescue. Even if you DID watch them cut my clothes off." Eric smiles and squeezes her hand. "This is not going to be the best time to bring this up then, but you aren't staying alone tonight. Not with that nasty bump." Calleigh sighs, "Eric, the CT Scans were normal. I'm fine. I want to sleep in my own bed." Eric shrugs, "Fine. I don't mind sleeping on your sofa." Calleigh leans her head back, "I'm not going to win this one am I?" Eric flashes his smile, "Nope. Not a chance. You're stuck with me tonight." Calleigh laughs and says, "You'd better watch out. I may come and cut your clothes off while you are asleep." Eric laughs and raises his eyebrows, "You go ahead hotshot, but you may get more than you bargained for."

They both smiled and the rest of the CSI's slipped in the door. Calleigh looks at Horatio. "Sorry I was late Horatio." Horatio smiles his easy smile. "I'll let this one pass ma'am." Ryan pops up with a grin and says, "And for the record, ma'am, you weren't late, you were a no show!" The whole group laughed and the nurse came in for papers to sign so Calleigh could be released. The nurse tells Calleigh that she really needs someone to stay with her tonight. About the time Eric says, "I am.", Ryan and Yelina both say, "I can stay with her." Calleigh says, "Thanks guys, but Eric has already invited himself to sleep on my couch." Ryan glares at Eric who sticks his chest out at him.

Eric gets Calleigh home and feeds her pizza that he's ordered and gets her situated in her bed and sits down on the bed beside her. Eric reaches out to take her hand, "All joking aside, Calleigh. You scared the hell out of me today. I'm glad you are OK." Calleigh let her hand rest in his. "Can I ask you something Eric? And please be honest?" Eric shrugs and says, "Sure." Calleigh looks right in his eyes, "What exactly scared you so bad today? The minute I said I was in the water, you lost it. I was expecting you to be calm and you were as freaked out as I was." Eric kind of pales, but tries to play it off. "I was 10 miles away and couldn't get to you. It scared me." Calleigh shook her head. "No, Eric. There was sheer panic in your voice. There was more. I asked you to be honest." Eric looks away and when he looks back into Calleigh's eyes, he knows that for the first time in years, he is going to have to talk about it. He fights the nausea rising in his throat. "You're right. There is more. And I haven't told anyone about it." Calleigh reaches up and touches his cheek. "Tell me, Eric." Eric struggles to even speak and when he does it is barely above a whisper. "I've been joked about being the baby around the crime lab, I've been joked about being the baby of my family. Well, the only reason I am the baby in my family is because my baby sister died. Calleigh gasps. "What? How?" Eric looks out the window of her room and is almost in a daze.

"I was 6 years old. My family was at the lake and one of my older sisters wanted to go down to the boat. Emma was 3 years old and she wanted to go too. My sister told her no and I told her I would go with her in just a minute. I wasn't supposed to go down there by myself either, but I thought maybe if I promised Emma that would keep her happy for a while. I saw a frog and started chasing it. I yelled for Emma to come and look at it, but I was so enthralled with the frog that I didn't realize that she didn't come. I don't know how long I chased the frog before I caught the stupid thing. I turned to go back to show Emma and realized that she wasn't standing there anymore. Mom came out of the camper and asked me where she was. I knew before my feet even took off that she had followed my sister down to the water. I told my Mom that I thought she was with Eliza, but I was panicking at the same time because I wasn't sure. I took off running toward the water." Eric sucked in a sob and Calleigh , already crying, reaches up and takes Eric's other hand, squeezing them both.

Eric tried to catch is breath and control the emotions. "I was much faster than Mama was. I saw her before I ever got to her. She was face down in the water. She looked just like Eliza did when she'd do the dead man's float and I kept praying and screaming for Emma to get up and stop goofing off. To this day, I have no idea if I was screaming it out loud or just in my head. About the time I got to the water, I heard my Mama screaming, Eliza running out ahead of me screaming and she and I pulled Emma up. She was already blue." Eric allowed the tears to flow unashamed and as the sobs came, Calleigh reached up and pulled him in her arms. "When I heard the water was up to your chest Calleigh, all I could think about was Emma. And how I was just going to die if I couldn't get to you in time." Calleigh's tears were falling on his head as she held him in her arms. " It's OK Eric. You got to me in time. You helped save me and I'm fine. I'm so sorry about your baby sister."

More to come…..reviews help it move faster!