I don't own any of the characters as usual. I still cannot gain control of Eric Delko. CBS won't let me have him.
Author's Notes: This is in response to a Christmas Challenge for my friends at TalkCSI. It's light and fluffy. It was a fun change. I just came home from a Children's program tonight, had a general idea of the story, sat down at the computer and started typing. This is what we've got. Please review and let me know if it was totally boring! ;-) Enjoy and Merry CHRISTmas and Happy New Year to all of you! Be safe and happy and stay away from the Egg Nog!
Susan
Eric's Gift
"Eric, can you believe that it's almost time for Christmas? If we don't end up getting called in, we have a week off! How in the world did we manage that?" Calleigh says as they make sure they have things out of their lockers. Eric is just glad to have some time off. He has gotten a special present for Calleigh and is nervous about it. He is afraid that he is going too far, but then again he knows he's tired of tiptoeing around his feelings for her. There has been enough chemistry that he knows Calleigh feels the same way and this Christmas season, he's just decided that he's going to step out and see where it goes.
"Eric? Hello?" Calleigh says bringing him back to the present. "I'm sorry Calleigh. What were you saying?" Calleigh laughs and says, "I was trying to bribe you with food." Eric raises his eyebrows. "I'm listening."
"Well, they are predicting snow in a few days and there is a strand of lights out on my house. I was saying that if you would come over and help me replace the bulbs or just hold the ladder while I do it, then I will cook my famous meatloaf for you." She adds an extra bat of the eyelashes for effect. Eric grins and thinks that if he can go to her house, then it will be the prefect time to give her the present. "You're on."
Eric follows Calleigh to her house. He's thinking of how this Christmas is going to be so different than the others. Calleigh has already said that Christmas is really lonely for her and the only time it's manageable is when her Dad is sober, and that isn't often. Eric has always sympathized, but never could say he understood. This year he is going to understand a little better. His parents just flew out this morning with Marisol to take her to the Mayo Clinic for some testing and to see a majorly well known Oncologist. Eric knows they need to go and hates that he can't make the trip with them, but this seems to be the prefect opportunity to act on his Christmas wish.
Calleigh lets him in and offers to get the ladder and let Eric hold it. Eric laughs at her and tells her that he is going to do the lights while she cooks. "I don't mind doing the lights Eric. I just knew it would be dumb to try and climb up the side of my house by myself." Eric rolls his eyes. "I know that Calleigh. I can do it for you and I am starving! I don't want you to waste time on a ladder when you can be cooking!" Calleigh laughs and heads to the kitchen to start her meatloaf. She yells to Eric, "How about mashed potatoes, green beans, and croissants to go with it?" Eric props the ladder up and smiles, "Sounds good to me dear!" drawling out the dear really dramatically. Calleigh laughs, "Very funny Delko!"
Eric climbs the ladder and is checking the bulbs to see where the strand of lights is out. He smiles to himself as he listens to Calleigh singing, "Let it Snow, Let it Snow, Let it Snow" with the music she has on inside. He puffs his chest out as he thinks about the gift he has for her. He tries to swallow back the nervousness that Calleigh might say no. He finds the bulb that is out and just as he replaces it, he sees all these cars at a house down the street. He hears a lot of laughter so he assumes nothing is wrong. He props up on the ladder now that the lights are fixed and tries to figure out what the deal is. "Hey, you fixed it!" he hears. He looks down and Calleigh is on the ground looking up at him. He points down the street and asks her what the deal is. She looks and tells him she has no idea, but there have been cars like that all week. "It's the week before Christmas. Maybe they have special lights or something." Calleigh shrugs. Eric smirks at her, "Well, Miss Grinch did it ever occur to you to walk down there and see?" Calleigh blushes and says, "No, Actually it didn't. The meatloaf is in the oven, the green beans are cooking low and I'm doing instant potatoes, so we have about 20 minutes. Would you like to get our coats and walk down there?" Eric jumps down off the ladder, "I thought you'd never suggest that! Let's go." He goes in to get the coats and hears Calleigh laughing behind him. "You can't stand it, can you Eric? You are so nosy that you have to know what is going on!" Eric comes out and helps her into her jacket. He's grinning from ear to ear. "You're like a kid, Eric." Eric grins and says, "Ohhhh, you have no idea!"
As they walk down the sidewalk, Eric reaches over and takes her gloved hand. Calleigh looks over and smiles at Eric and he is thrilled that she's comfortable enough to just walk and hold hands in silence. They see a group of teenagers walking back up the street and Eric asks them what's going on at the house. A young, blonde girl excitedly tells him that there are lots of lights and that they have 4 live reindeer! Eric picks up the pace. "Live reindeer! That's too cool!" Calleigh has her tongue in cheek and is almost ready to laugh out loud at Eric's excitement. They get to the house and see a line going into a huge tented type area. Calleigh can't hide her laugh as Eric promptly puts them in line. "What? I love animals and Calleigh! They have real reindeer! How much do you want to bet they have real reindeer names?" Calleigh laughs at him and can't take her eyes from his face. She cannot get over how cute he is right now. Her smart, cocky co-worker and sexy, sultry friend is acting like an absolute 10 year old child. Calleigh thinks it might be the cutest thing she has ever seen. They finally get into the tent and Calleigh hides her laughter the whole time. Not only does Eric squat down and pet each reindeer, he also asks the guy what their names are! Calleigh lost all composure when after hearing the man tell them their names were "Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, and Vixen" Eric looks up at her and says, "I told you so! I win!" Calleigh laughs, "Eric I don't recall taking your bet!" Eric tries to get Calleigh to pet the reindeer. Calleigh doesn't want to miss a moment of watching Eric. "I'm fine right over here Eric. They stink." Eric mockingly covers the reindeer's ears and whines, "Calleigh, don't make fun of them! They can't help it!" They both leave the little tent are laughing and by this time, Eric has slipped his arm around her. "You smell like a horse, Eric," Calleigh giggles. Eric puffs his chest out, "Yeah, I'm such a stud." Calleigh laughs and punches him in the chest.
The snow has started to fall and the temperature is really dropping. Eric pulls Calleigh closer and tells her to watch where the puddles are getting icier. "Calleigh looks up and sees a lighted snowman on skis. "Look Eric! Is that not the cutest thing! Frosty is skiing!" Eric smirks, "Cal, you don't like live reindeer, but you are going to get excited about a fake, blown up snowman on skis?" Calleigh rolls her eyes." It's cute, Eric! Besides, he's skiing and that's such a wintertime snowy thing." Eric's heart lurches and before he can even think about the timing, he's already speaking, "So, you think skiing is fun?" Calleigh's eyes light up, "I've only tried once when I was in college, but I've always wanted to really go and try the slopes." Eric says, "Oh really………………" Calleigh looks at Eric. "What? We've talked about this before Eric. What do you know? What's with that tone?" Eric sits her down on the bench and grins.
"Calleigh. I know that Christmas is a tough time for you. I know it can be really lonely. I wanted to invite you to my family's Christmas, but they're gone with Marisol to the Mayo Clinic and will be gone for 2 weeks. I know that you and I said we weren't going to gifts, but I had this idea. It is kind of a gift for both of us."
Calleigh looks at Eric and cocks her head to the side and squints at him. "Eric? What's going on?"
Eric takes a deep breath and says, "Reach into my coat pocket Cal." Calleigh's eyes get big and she quickly reaches into Eric's pocket. She fishes around frantically. "Eric! It's empty!" Eric is biting his lip to not laugh at her because now she is all excited. "Oh yeah, it's in the other pocket." He turns so she can reach it. She pops him the chest and grabs for the other pocket. She pulls out an envelope and when she opens it her eyes get big and her chin drops. She looks up at Eric, "Tickets? To Vail, Colorado? Oh my God……………Eric! Are you serious?" Eric grins at her. "I don't want Christmas to make you sad, Calleigh. I know you wanted to try skiing again and I do too. So, let's just go to Vail and spend a few days and ski and have a good time." Calleigh is still in shock. She reaches up and hugs Eric and before she thinks she kisses him quickly right on the mouth. Eric laughs, "Is that a yes?" Calleigh jumps up and pulls him up with her. "Yes! Eric! This is going to be awesome! When are we leaving?" Eric decides to get her even more excited. "I was thinking tomorrow morning if you can get packed." Calleigh squeals with excitement. "I won't even sleep tonight! This is awesome!" She stops and looks at Eric with a raised eyebrow, "Did you get separate rooms Delko?" Eric grins really big. "Yes, Calleigh, I did…………….BUT………..they are a suite so they have an adjoining door." Calleigh grins back and says, "OK, so long as I can lock you out if I need to." Eric raises an eyebrow, "You may not want to." Calleigh laughs about the time Eric's stomach growls.
They both look at each other and Calleigh's eyes get big, "Oh my God, Eric! The meatloaf! How long have we been here?" Eric and Calleigh both take off running back up the street. They run in the door and hear the smoke alarm. "Shit!" Eric curses as he goes into the smoke filled kitchen. He grabs her potholders and opens the oven door. He is relieved to see that even though the meatloaf is not recognizable, there is no fire. He throws the meatloaf down and turns the burner off because the water is all out of the beans and they are scorched to the pan. Eric stifles a grin and clears his throat. He turns around to see a mortified Calleigh standing behind him with the smoke detector, minus the battery, in her hand. "Oh, Eric………..I'm so sorry." Eric tries not to grin. "Calleigh it's OK. Not a big deal." Calleigh looks like she is crossed between royally ticked off and bursting into tears. "Eric, I wanted to cook for you. My meatloaf is really good." Eric walks over and puts a hand on her arm. "We're going to be spending the next 5 days together Calleigh. They have the stuff to make meatloaf in Vail." Calleigh smiles in spite of herself and nods. "Ok, well……………let me see what is in the fridge." She opens the door and sees how empty it is. "Well, Eric, I have ketchup. We can have ketchup sandwiches." She says with a laugh. Eric is picking up the phone. "No way man. I can smell the burned ketchup on that meatloaf. It stinks so badly in here! How about you open a window and I will order a pizza." Calleigh turns up her nose. "Or better yet, how about we open the windows and go out for pizza. It really stinks in here. The temperature is dropping outside and it's going to get cold in here, but we have got to air it out. We can go get pizza and then come back build a fire and drink some cocoa." Eric likes the way this evening is turning out. He puts his coat back on and they leave to go to the pizza joint a couple of blocks from Calleigh's house.
As they get out of the car, Eric is overwhelmed at how comfortable Calleigh seems to be. He is pleasantly surprised that she is so willing to go on this trip with him. He sees a bush outside the restaurant with icicles all over it from the dripping gutter above. He grins and says to Calleigh, "Hey, you hear the wind chime?" Cal looks at him like he is crazy. "Wind chime?" He grins even bigger and pushes her into the bush. The icicles clatter and shatter on the ground, getting Calleigh wet in the process. "You are such a kid, Eric!" she grumbles at him, wiping herself off. Eric is still laughing as they go in the door.
They eat their pizza and just enjoy quiet conversation. They are both thinking about how natural this is to just hang out together and have fun. They both know that it has been too long since they were able to do this. Eric reaches over and takes Calleigh's hand. "This is nice isn't it? I've missed you Cal." Calleigh squeezes his hand. "Me too Eric. I'm just amazed at how much I miss you and we've been right here together for months. Yet, I've felt like we were so far apart. I thought I'd lost my best friend." Eric pulls her hand up to his and kisses it. "I'm right here. Want to go back and build that fire?" Calleigh smiles and gets up. "Yeah, I'm freezing because somebody tried to make a wind chime out of my body and icicles. I'm still wet!" she says with a dramatic whine. Eric wraps an arm around her and says, "Well, let me get you home and you can take your clothes off!" They both laughed as she swatted him.
Eric tries not to laugh as they walk back into Calleigh's house. The smoke is gone, but there is still a very rancid smell. Calleigh groans and Eric stifles a laugh. "I don't think I will ever eat ketchup again. That smell of burned ketchup is killing me." Calleigh swats him on the arm. "There wasn't THAT much ketchup on the meatloaf Eric!" Eric hugs her and says, "Go change and get on something dry. I'll make the cocoa, light your scented candles, and start the fire."
Eric gets the cocoa and fire made and they sit on the floor in front of the fire. Eric is stretched out up against her ottoman. Calleigh has scooted in and is sitting in the crook of Eric's arm. She sips her cocoa and says, "This is awesome Eric. I can already tell this is going to be the best Christmas ever." She looks up at him with a sly smile and continues, "Too bad you don't have your stuff. I'd invite you to just spend the night here." Eric licks his lips and says, "My bag is in the car. I was afraid I'd have to work late and wanted to be sure I had everything ready, so I packed last night and it's all in the car. Want to change your offer quickly?" Calleigh swallowed and took in a deep breath. "No. I wasn't joking." Eric reaches down and kisses her. She puts her hand up to touch the side of his cheek as she kisses him back. He pulls back and looks at her. "Know what I want for Christmas Calleigh?" She looks at him almost holding her breath. She slowly shakes her head.
"I want you." He says quietly. She looks at him and has no idea how to respond. "In what way, Eric?" she says in almost a whisper. "In every way baby. I want you as my best friend. I want you as my lover. I want you as my companion. I want to see you the first thing in the morning……I just want you." Calleigh swallows and reminds herself to breathe. "Eric, it would be so complicated. I want that too, but…………" Eric reaches up and puts a finger to her lips. "Calleigh, this is what I want to ask. Will you just go with me to Vail? Let's just love freely and be together. Not thinking about work or H or anyone else. When we come home, we can talk about where we go from here. Can we do that?" Calleigh reaches up and kisses Eric softly. "We have to do that Eric. I can't go away with you for 5 days and pretend that I'm not attracted to you. I can't be in a romantic place with the person I love the most and not be romantic. Let the chips fall as they may." She puts a hand on his chest and looks in his eyes. "Merry Christmas, Eric Delko. I'm yours." She kisses him slowly and passionately. He hugs her hard. "Does this mean I don't have to sleep on the couch?" he says smiling. Calleigh gets up and offers him her hand. "Come on Delko. I'll show you where we are going to sleep…………among other things."
I'm sure that I will have to add to this IF (and only if) I get enough reviews. It ended up being too long to tell the Vail story so I'll have to add more. It may be after Christmas though! We'll see! Please review! I need feedback!